October 2009 Tour de Freaks Blog Tour

Welcome to my blog entry on the October 2009 Tour de Freaks Blog Tour! This month's theme is Christmas Cards, and you should have just arrived from the blog of the talented Shona Watson.

I think my personal theme for this month is "non-traditional" holiday colors. I'm really enjoying using natural colors like Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, and Kraft.

[Remember: Click on any image to see it full-size!]

My first card is full of snowflakes, but there's nothing specifically Christmas-y about it, so you can send it even if you don't celebrate that holiday. It features the Serene Snowflakes stamp set and the Four the Holidays stamp set. To make the ribbon, I layered Very Vanilla Tafetta Ribbon over the solid side of the Soft Suede Polka Dot Ribbon. This is not a complicated card, but because of all the brads used on it, I probably would only make these for my very special card recipients!

This next card is made with the O Christmas Tree Popup Bigz XL Die, which you use with the Big Shot. It's really hard to get a picture to do it justice, but these cards are just spectacular to open up in person. Because of the numerous times through the Big Shot to get all the pieces you need, and to emboss the tree pieces, and cut out all the ornament pieces you need, I don't recommend making these in large multiples.

The next card was made with the Patterned Pines Hostess stamp set (available in the Holiday Mini Catalog) and the colors are Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry, with a Pale Plum layer. These colors coordinate with the Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper layer. There's a little bit of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint around the edges of the Pale Plum layer, giving it a glittery look.


This last card is one that was created by a fellow demonstrator for a Susan G. Komen fundraising event I participated in earlier this month. I stamped some of it at the event, because I don't own this Yuletide Christmas stamp set--then I brought the pieces home and tried to remember what the card looked like! I added "snow" to the top of my card, using the Itty Bitty Backgrounds stamp set. This is a great card to make in multiples, because the stamping is easy and it goes together really fast.


Your next stop on the blog tour this month is Jan Tink's blog. Enjoy your Halloween, but don't forget to take notes along the blog tour so you can get a head start on your holiday cards. Before you know it, December will be here, and if you don't plan ahead, you'll find yourself too busy to enjoy the rewards of handmade holidays this year!

~Kimberley Morris
Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator
http://kimberley.stampinup.net
procrastistamper@gmail.com

Tour de Freaks Blog Tour

Welcome to my stop on the September 2009 Control Freaks Blog Tour! You should have just come from the blog of Shona Watson.

This is my first month to participate, so please be kind. This month's theme is Halloween, Fall, and Thanksgiving. The leaves haven't started turning colors outside here in Colorado just yet, but that's okay with me, because I have no idea where the summer has gone. [Remember: click on any photo to see it larger.]

My first card was really hard to get a good picture of--it's kind of a dark card, and I used shimmer paint for moonlight. The only problem with that is, the shimmer paint kept reflecting the light off my lamp! I know I'm biased, but with that shimmer paint, it's really gorgeous in person.



There is a little surprise hiding in the grave marker...the grave marker is actually trimmed down from the Two Tags Bigz Die, with a Small Oval Punch layered at the top for the R.I.P. engraving.



This next project uses the Fancy Favor Bigz XL Die, and the Sweet Centers stamp set, with the Sweet Treat Cups.



I wanted to toss in this beautiful little stick candy favor, but I have to tell you that even though I stamped it, it was not my design idea. It's just so pretty, I had to share.



And this last little fella is a special treat box...a coffin made using the Box #2 XL Die, and a pattern I created for the top. Come back on Monday and I'll post the pattern and instructions for you--it's super simple. UPDATE: YOU CAN FIND THE COFFIN BOX PATTERN HERE.


Click the button to the left to go to the next stop on the Tour de Freaks Blog Tour...the blog of JAN TINK! Jan created a darling coffin treat box (on an older blog post, not on this tour) which inspired the one I made above.