Ok I guess Fall is here...

Hi Stampers,

Well it is the first week of November and the weather finally matches that - it's raining and the leaves are blowing all over the place. We had great weather in October so we knew this was on the way.

My share today uses another of the single A La Carte stamps from the Holiday Mini Catalog called Leaves of a Tree. I really like this stamp and hope you like this card as well. The colors her are Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, Old Olive and More Mustard. I created the card for our monthly Demonstrator meeting - we had a circle sketch challenge and this is what I came up with - we also made it at my "Scrap City" stamp camp. I started with a piece of Soft Suede cardstock and then attached the Old Olive and More Mustard pieces to that - I ran the More Mustard piece through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice embossing folder. I cut the Scallop Circle on the Big Shot and then stamped the tree in Soft Suede. To add some color I used my Stampin' Pastels and then added the side circle accents, which are both from Falling Leaves. I stamped the top circle once in Old Olive and once in Soft Suede and punched the acorn out with the 1/2 inch punch and used a Dimensional to pop it up.

Fall is my favorite season especially when we have nice weather here in Chicago - enjoy this taste of fall!

Just a reminder - Stampin' Up has extended the FREE BIG SHOT offer for new demonstrators through November 11! Contact me today to take advantage of this offer! OR if you'd like to host a workshop and get an extra $35 in Hostess Benefits for a $350 workshop, book a date with me today.

Keep Stamping,

There's a Big Deal on the Big Shot!

Hi Stampers,

Well, Stampin Up has certainly started October off with a bang - or should I say a Big Shot? Today they announced that anyone who joins the SU family in October will get a FREE Big Shot with their Starter Kit - this would be a great time to join my group of demonstrators! If you already own a Big Shot, you can get $100 in product when you join! Contact me today to get more info on this or click on the top left icon on my blog! Stampin' Up welcomes all types of demonstrators - if you want to BUILD your Stamp Collection or if you want to BUILD a Business, you can be a Stampin' Up demonstrator and I'd love to have you join my group.

As most of you know, the Big Shot is definitely one of my favorite things to use in creating cards. Today I'm sharing a card that I created for my Fall Fun stamp camp and shared with a group last night at a fun workshop as well. I uses the A La Carte Stamp "Leaves of a Tree" from the Holiday Mini catalog. If you haven't checked out the single stamps in the regular catalog and the mini you are missing out! For this card, I stamped the Leaves of a Tree in White craft ink on Whisper White cardstock (that I cut out with the Scallop Circles Big Shot die) and heat embossed it with White Embossing powder. Then I used More Mustard ink and a sponge dauber to rub color onto the whole scallop circle. The ink resists wherever the embossing is (this technique is called Emboss Resist). I attached the image to a 3.75" Pool Party circle that I die cut and then ran through the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder using Stampin' Dimensionals. The card base is Soft Suede and I stamped one of the leaves from Gently Falling in Soft Suede. The DSP on the bottom is Spice Cake and I scored 1/2" from the top and folded it over to get the contrasting Pool Party edge across the top. The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and is stamped in Soft Suede on Vanilla cardstock and sponged with More Mustard.

Again, contact me today to see how you can get a FREE Big Shot (or $100 in product if you already have one)!

Hope that everyone enjoyed the beautiful day we had today after a week of rain!

Keep Stamping!

Small Cards, Good Ideas

Hi Stampers,

Last night was our monthly demo group meeting and our shoebox swap theme for this month was 3X3 cards. This size card is great for attaching to a gift bag! We decided that each person would do 2 cards with the same stamps set or accessory. It was great to see all the creativity there and so I thought I'd share my two cards today.

I decided to use the Doily Triple Layer Punch since I had seen it used for a tree on a few blogs, starting with the talented Connie - she's the Connie of Create with Connie & Mary, which is a great place for stamping ideas (see the right side of my blog for a link). Anyway, I used the Doily Triple Layer Punch on the 3rd setting with Cajun Craze cardstock to get the tree and then backed it with a 1.25" circle of More Mustard. The falling leaves are the pieces that come out of the punch when you punch it and I glued those on with Tombo glue. For the tree trunk, I came up with a pattern which I traced onto a sheet of Soft Suede cardstock that I stamped with the Woodgrain Background Stamp in Early Espresso. The frame is from the new Embossing Folder duo called Designer Frames - I cut it out after running it through the Big Shot. This piece is attached to a piece of Old Olive that I put through the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and then flipped over so it's debossed instead of embossed. The card base itself is Crumb Cake. The greeting is Teeny Tiny Wishes stamped in Early Espresso on More Mustard and punched with the Word Window punch.

Now for the 2nd card I went with a simpler design which used the Doily Triple Layer Punch on the middle setting to get the snowflake shape - I punched it out of the new Silver Glitter Paper from the Holiday Mini and added an Elegant Eggplant Brad in the center. This was then attached to the Elegant Eggplant scalloped circle from the Perfect Pennants Die which I also ran through the Snow Burst Embossing Folder, also from the Holiday Mini. This is all attached to the actual card which is Whisper White - I stamped the small snowflake from Snow Swirled in the corners in Eggplant and attached it to another piece of Elegant Eggplant in the back.

Two different looks for the same punch - hope you enjoyed these small cards - I will be doing a stamp camp featuring these 3X3 cards in 2012!

Keep Stamping,

Time for Fall Fun

Hi Stampers,

I hope that you are enjoying the cooler weather we've been enjoying in Chicago and it feels more like fall this week. Today I wanted to share a card with you that we will be making at my next stamp camp - it's called "Fall Fun" and it is coming up on Friday, September 23rd at 7:00.

This card was cased from one of the girls in my downline - shout out to the very talented Barbara. It was her swap for this month's meeting of the very fun group of stampers I meet with each month - one of the great perks of being in my group! It uses Soft Suede, Pool party and Whisper White. The great thing about this card is that it's a card and a little gift because the large flower is a bookmark using a large Paper Clip. The Soft Suede piece uses the Square Lattice embossing folder and the Word Window punch to make the spot for the bookmark. The Bookmark is made with the Fun Flowers die and Pool Party cardstock, Spice Cake DSP and one of the new large buttons from the Holiday Mini Catalog. The Spice Cake DSP is also used for the background piece and is torn at the top. The greeting is stamped on Whisper White in Soft Suede and sponged around the outside after it was punched with the Large
Oval punch. It is popped up with Dimensionals and attached to a piece of Pool Party which was punched with the Scallop Oval Punch.

Want to make this cute card? Sign up for my Fall Fun Stamp Camp today!

Holiday Spectacular Sale Starts today and more Days of Gratitude

Hi Stampers,

Just a reminder that the Holiday Spectacular Sale starts today and goes through November 30 - there is a link on the left side for the sale - you can either place an order directly through my website or contact me to place your order - great items on sale - you won't want to miss out!

Last week I sat down with this stamp set to see what I could create for Thanksgiving and so today I'd like to share a few more of the cards I made with this set.

For this birthday card, I used the flower image from Day of Gratitude - I colored it with markers to make the flowers More Mustard and Cajun Craze and the leaves Old Olive, which are two of the colors in the Autumn Spice DSP, which I used for the top of this card. After I stamped the flowers, I punched them out with a circle punch and then used some more of the DSP to layer the flowers. I also used a strip of More Mustard under the flowers. The card is Cajun Craze and the greeting is from All Holidays stamped in Early Espresso.
The second card also uses more of the Autumn Spice DSP - this time I used some of the images from the DSP punched out and attached to Early Espresso. I accented the the circle pieces with brads from the Neutrals and Brights Collections and attached the circles to another piece of DSP - the Autumn Spice DSP is actually more like cardstock as well as being textured - great to use for cards. The card itself is More Mustard and I used one of the leaves from Day of Gratitude in More Mustard. I accented the Old Olive DSP with a piece of Cajun Craze punched with the Dotted Border Scallop Ribbon punch. The greeting is also from Day of Gratitude stamped in Early Espresso and punched with the oval punches.

I hope that you enjoy these fall cards and have a great Thanksgiving - I'm looking forward to my son being home from college for a few days!

Don't forget to check out the Holiday Spectacular!

Keep Stamping,


Dawn Dickinson

Fall Continued...

Hi Stampers,

Well the weather here in Chicagoland has felt more like June than October, I want to share another fall project with you today.

This was another of the projects from my "All About Fall" stamp camp in September and it was inspired by something I saw on Stampin' Connection, Stampin' Up's Demo Only site for ideas. The colors are Concord Crush, Old Olive, More Mustard and Cajun Crush. First I took a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and used sponges to put color randomly all over the top of the Vanilla. Then I took a stamp from Autumn Splendor and sprayed it with Stampin' Mist and stamped it on the cardstock. It almost gives a faded bleachy effect because it pulls the color off. I used the Square Lattice Embossing Folder for the bottom of the card with Old Olive Cardstock. The greeting is from Perfect Punches and is punched out with the Wide Oval punch and attached to the Concord Crush strip with Dimensionals.

Happy Fall - hope we can turn the A/C off for good soon!

Hope you like the new look of my blog!

Hi Stampers,

Well, since it's the beginning of a new month, I thought I'd unveil a new look for my blog! Thanks to Michelle at Laycock Designs, I changed my look.

I'd also like to share a card with you today. Since fall is here (and for once the weather agrees with the calendar), I'm sharing one of the cards we made at last weekend's "All About Fall" stamp camp. I used the Big Shot Square Lattice Embossing folder to add some texture to Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler and More Mustard cardstock. Then I used the Leaves #2 Big Shot Die for the leaves and sprayed them with Vanilla Smooch Spray to give them some shine. I cut a piece of Autumn Spice DSP with the Top Note Big Shot Die and then attached everything to a piece of Cajun Craze cardstock. The narrow cardstock ribbon is Early Espresso and is wrapped with Linen Thread on the left side. The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes stamped in Early Espresso and punched with the Word Window and the background piece is Early Espresso punched with the Modern Label punch - I love those 2 punches together.

Hope that everyone enjoys the great fall weather this weekend!

Keep Stamping,

Dawn Dickinson

Since my All About Fall Camp is tomorrow...

Hi Stampers,

It seems like this weekend Fall has arrived not just on the calendar but also with the weather. Last night was perfect weather for York's homecoming victory over DG North and it seems like fall is really here.

Today's share is one that I did for a display board - it is a CASE directly from this year's Catalog (page 28). The colors in the card are Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz and Peach Parfait. The front is wheeled with the Bright Blessings Jumbo Wheel in Riding Hood Red. I used the Falling Leaves stamp set for the Acorn & Greeting stamped in Early Espresso and Pear Pizzazz. The greeting is attached with Hemp Twine and staples. The thin strips of accent cardstock were really easy to cut with the SU Tabletop Paper Cutter.

I love copying ideas from the catalog - that's why it's not only a catalog, but a great idea book. Get your copy for FREE by hosting a workshop - fall is a great time to get your friends and family together to stamp!

Enjoy fall!

Hi there,

Another calendar insert to share with you today for Thanksgiving. This one was pretty easy to do - I used Soft Suede (my new favorite neutral color), More Mustard and Elegant Eggplant in cardstock and ribbon. The DSP is Autumn Traditions and the "Grateful" is from Falling Leaves.

Hope everyone enjoyed yet another beautiful day - seemed more like spring than November, but I'm sure real Chicago weather is right around the corner!

I know this next week will be busy for me as I look forward to hosting Thanksgiving, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I'm grateful for my family and friends!!

Happy Fall y'all!

Hope everyone is having a good week - I'm just happy there's no rain in Elmhurst this week! I'm sharing a few more of the inserts we made last week at the Wood Calendar Stamp Camp - this one uses one of my favorite sets from the Holiday Mini Catalog - Autumn Splendor. This set is so easy to use and comes out beautiful when you emboss it, as I have here. I stamped it in Gold Encore on both the Really Rust and Taken with Teal Cardstock and then heat embossed with Gold Embossing Powder. Then I cut the leaves out and curled them around a chopstick to give them some dimension. The background cardstock is Chocolate Chip and I used DSP from the Autumn Meadows DSP from the Mini catalog as well. The letters are cut out with the Big Shot using the Timeless Type alphabet in Really Rust.

Royal Blog Tour

Welcome to the July Blog Tour!

I hope that you enjoy all of the samples on this tour from the great new 2009-10 Stampin' Up! Catalog & Idea Book. I have chosen the new stamp set "Falling Leaves" and its coordinating wheel "Bright Blessings" for these samples. Enjoy!

This first sample is done with Ruby Red & Soft Suede Cardstock and inks. I used the Soft Suede ink for the jumbo wheel and wheeled it on Naturals Ivory cardstock. I stamped the leaf from the Falling Leaves set in Ruby Red, cut it out and attached it with a dimensional on the wheeled piece. I also used the Big Shot with the Many Thanks Sizzlit for the Thanks letters and attached those with Tombo adhesive. Vintage mini-brads on either side of the Thanks complete this quick card.

My second card uses a technique I haven't really used in a while - Poppin' Pastels. Each leaf from Falling Leaves is stamped in Versamark on Very Vanilla cardstock and then colored with Stampin' Pastels using a sponge dauber (More Mustard, Really Rust, Old Olive and Not Quite Navy). Each leaf is punched with the 1 1/4" circle punch and the coordinating cardstock is punched with the 1 3/8" circle punch. The greeting is done the same way with Old Olive from the On Your birthday set and I think this card makes a great fall masculine birthday card (my dad's birthday is in September, so that's why I thought about this card). I used Old Olive cardstock for the base and Textured Chocolate Chip cardstock.

My final sample uses the Big Shot again. I used Kraft cardstock with the Top Note die. Then I stamped the leaves in Versamark and embossed them with Clear Embossing powder. I stamped the acorn circle with Chocolate Chip Craft ink and clear embossed it too. The cardstock used is Certainly Celery, Ruby Red, More Mustard and Not Quite Navy and it is torn across the bottom of each image. I also used the 5/8 grosgrain ribbon in Chocolate Chip.

I hope that you have enjoyed this taste of fall!