Stamping Around Challenge Take 2

You might remember that over at Stamping Around we are currently enjoying a month of challenges sponsored by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  It's time for our second challenge from SNSS dt member Lorie Souther and it's something I'm sure we can all do - make a card using a snowman!! Even if you don't have a snowman stamp it'd be super easy to make one with circle punches or Nesties - just be creative!!  You have until Tues, January 12 to send us a link to your creation (add the link in the comments section of this post) and we'll randomly choose a name to win the not-yet-released Sweet 'n Sassy set, Love You This Much!  FUN!!

For my card I played along with CAS46 challenge on SCS - it was a sketch from a great card by Lori Tecler.  The snowman stamp is called Nestfull of Love and is from Paper Pretties.  It's such a sweet image and lots of fun to color - not your run-of-the mill snowman! :)   I colored the image with Copic markers, added a bit of Distress Stickles to the trees, and some chunky glitter to the snow (which is difficult to see but it's there!).

Now it's your turn - show us your snowmen and don't forget to leave us a link at Stamping Around!! I'd love for you to win!  Have a Happy and Safe New Year's Eve my friends! I'm looking forward to sharing another fun and creative year with you!

Cardstock:  Green (Bazzill), Ivory (Gina K Designs), Patterned Paper:  Jolly By Golly (Cosmo Cricket), Stamps:  Nestfull of Love (Paper Pretties), Ink: Memento, Accessories:  Copic Markers, Nestabilities, Distress Stickles (Ranger), Glitter (Martha Stewart), Snowflake (??)

Prettie Noted Wednesday

It's Prettie Wednesday!  This week it's my turn to challenge you and it's your chance to win a $15 coupon to the Paper Pretties Boutique.  Just add a picture of your creation for this week's challenge to the Weekly Challenge Gallery by next Tuesday for your chance to win.  Ok, here's the challenge:  since we are coming up on a brand new year, I thought it'd be fun to make (or alter) a notebook in which to record special blessings, events, etc.  You could even make a special photo album or a journal, whatever would be most useful to you!

To give you some inspiration, the Prettie Girls have some beautiful projects to share and as always please start at Christie's blog so you don't miss even one!  I plan on using mine to record blessings and things that I am especially thankful for throughout the year so my Praise & Thanksgiving stamp from Paper Pretties is perfect!

My little notebook measure approximately 6"x2.5" and I used my Bind-it-All to put it together. I also used the flower stamp from Sassy Shoes and the circle stamp from Sassy Circles.  Hopefully you can see that on the Aqua Mist panel I stamped the circle stamp using Aqua Mist ink.  Then I stamped the flower stamp inside the circle using Fresh Snow ink. On the sentiment panel I also stamped the flower using Summer Sunrise. I even pulled out the shrink plastic and made a teeny tiny pink flower to add to my sentiment (it's really shiney IRL).

On the inside of the notebook I added some more flowers to the bottom of each page - just to make 'em prettie! :)  Oh and I forgot to say that I used the recipe cards from Papertrey Ink for the notebook. I simple cut off the edge that has "Recipe" on it (it's only about 1/4" that you need to trim away).  So now it's your turn to get creative! I can't wait to see what you make!!

Now it's time to hop over to Jana's blog for further inspiration.  I hope you have a great day!

Cardstock: Kraft, Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist, Summer Sunrise, White (Papertrey Ink), Patterned Paper: Papertrey Ink, Stamps: Praise & Thanksgiving, Sassy Shoes, Sassy Circles (Paper Pretties), numbers from Simple Alphabet (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Summer Sunrise, Raspberry Fizz, Fresh Snow, Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink), Accessories: Foam adhesive, Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Scalloped edge punch (SU!), Shrink Plastic, Copic marker, Summer Sunrise ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

Happy (almost) 2010!

Welcome back!  It's Monday already again but thankfully we have more fun to look forward to this weekend - I love that these 2 holidays are so close together - you get to stretch out the fun! :)  I thought I'd make a fun New Year's card for Kitchen Sink Stamps Monday - I even did a few things that I normally don't try!

For my card today I used Multi-Step Ornament & Stars, one of the newest mini sets from KSS which are a great way to try them out since they come complete with a color recipe in the package!  I started with a piece of glossy cardstock and stamped the 3 sizes of stars all over the cardstock using this recipe:  Step 2: Crushed Curry (SU!), Step 3: More Mustard (SU!), Step 1: Dandelion (Memento).  I then took the Step 1 stamp and stamped it over the top of the finished stars using Versamark so that I could emboss the stars with clear ep.  Now here's the part I don't normally do . . . I used the Bouncing Brayer technique that my friend Charmaine always manages to make look to pretty!  I used my blue Spectrum pad and I think it came out pretty cool!  After I wiped the excess ink off of my embossed stars I went back and stamped some star swirls from Swirly Hearts & Stars using Fresh Snow ink which I then embossed with Iridescent Ice ep.

For the center sentiment I used white shimmer paper and stamped the year using Half Pint Playful Alphabet Buddy and my Spectrum pad again.  The word "Happy" is from 3 Step Bells. I stamped another star there and embossed it with Iridescent Ice ep.

It's a bright and different card but fun for the New Year's celebration don't you think?!  Please visit the rest of the KSS Crew today to see what goodies they have for you! Maria, Lynn, Angela, Makiko, Connie, Lisa 

Remember today is the last day to take advantage of the After-Christmas Sale!  Get 20% off your purchase by using coupon code JULIE20KSS.  Thank you so much for visiting!!! Have a great day!

Cardstock: White cardstock base (Gina K Designs), Shimmer White (Papertrey Ink), Glossy White, Black (SU!), Stamps: Multi-Step Ornament & Stars, Half Pint Playful Alphabet Buddy, Swirly Hearts & Stars (Kitchen Sink Stamps), Ink:  Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink), Blue Spectrum pad, More Mustard, Crushed Curry (SU!), Dandelion, Tuxedo Black (Memento), Versamark (Tsukineko), Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Clear embossing powder (SU!), White satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink), foam adhesive

Warm Heart

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderfully Merry Christmas!  Our family was very blessed and enjoyed day with lots of family and food!

I had a chance (over the course of 3-4 days) to finally ink up one of my new My Favorite Things stamps. Their new line, Pure Innocence, is just so adorable and I couldn't resist this little cutie (it must be sold out right now because I cannot find it to link to). The dp is October Afternoon's holiday line - I love the colors!!  I used a layout very similar to this a few days ago and really liked the look.  One thing you cannot see in the photo is that I added some white glitter to the snowballs and the snow line.  I also added some Distress Stickles (I used Rock Candy) to the snowflakes on the dp.

A quick look on the MFT blog tells me that they have some great deals going on right now - including 25% with a coupon code! 

Have a great day!

Cardstock: Kraft, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink), Soft Sky (SU!), Patterned Paper: October Afternoon, Stamps: My Favorite Things, Ink: Memento, Accessories:  Nestabilities, Copic Markers, Distress Stickles (Ranger), Ribbon, Button, Twine (Papertrey Ink), Corner rounder punch, foam adhesive, glitter (Martha Stewart)

Post Holiday Sales!

Just popping in to remind you about 2 big sales  . . . in case you needed any ideas for that holiday cash you received!! :)

1.  Paper Pretties is having a Boxing Day Blowout sale from now until New Years Day.  Everything Christmas related - stamps, paper, ribbon, etc. - is 45% off!! No coupon code needed!  And , as a bonus, anyone who orders during the sale will receive a FREE Around the Block Antiquing Tool - woot!

2.  Kitchen Sink Stamps is helping you keep a little more jingle in your pockets by offering 20% off your total order when you use coupon code JULIE20KSS!  The sale runs midnight to midnight, December 26 - 28.

Happy shopping my friends! :)

Salt Challenge: Joy

Happy Christmas Eve my friends!  I know everyone is busy busy busy today getting ready as are we so I'll try to make this quick.  Our Salt challenge this week is Joy - specifically the joy that can be found in Jesus.  Please read Ruth's post on the Salt blog.

For my ATC today I just used the word "Joy" from the Wings of Joy set from Taylored Expressions.  I simple masked off the birdy when I stamped it.  I love the way the paper pieced letters turned out, even with all the cutting! :)  The dp is from Making Memories - so pretty with the foil berries!

Cardstock:  Green (Bazzill) Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink), Patterned Paper:  Making Memories, Stamps: Wings of Joy (Taylored Expressions), Ink: Memento, Accessories:  Copic markers, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Taylor's Tiny Twinkles (Taylored Expressions), Ribbon (SU!), Clear Glaze pen, Spica pen

Moderation . . . please!

Hi all - just wanted to let you know that I've turned the comment moderation on on my blog. I think my little blog has been targeted by a few bots and I've been getting a fair amount of spam.  This seemed the best course of action for now (since I loathe comment verification and didn't want to make you do that!) :) Just so you know - your comments won't show up now until I "publish" them. Thanks for our understanding!

Prettie Lovey Wednesday (PWC83)

Good morning my friends! Today's Prettie Wednesday challenge is brought to us by lovely Jana!  She's challenged us all to think ahead to Valentine's Day and make a special card . . . without using any red or pink!!  I decided to use one of the newest Cooper stamps, Beary Best Friend from Paper Pretties to make a card for a special little boy.  I used a layout that I used a few months ago here, thinking it would work well here.

The papers are from My Mind's Eye - love the colors!  The sentiment was stamped on vellum which was then cut and matted using Nestabilities. 

Now it's your turn!  Show us your non-red/pink Valentine's card by uploading it in the Weekly Challenge gallery by next Tuesday night.  You could win a $15 coupon to the Paper Prettie Boutique!!

Hop on over to Jana's blog now and see her Prettie creation!  Thanks so much for visiting - have a great day!

Cardstock: Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink), White (Gina K Designs) Patterned Paper:  Stomp collection (My Mind's Eye), Stamps: Beary Best Friend (Paper Pretties), Ink: Black (Memento), Accessories:  Nestabilities, Copic Markers, Rhinestones (Kaiser), foam adhesive, Ribbon (May Arts), Button (Papertrey Ink)

Gift Set KSS Style

Happy Monday!   I've been working on this little set for a while now (only about 2-4 minutes at a time) so I'm excited to share it.  I used my new A Year of Thanks II stamp set from Kitchen Sink Stamps. The images are so wonderful in these little thank you stamps - you will love them.  The cards are all 4.25 square and I've included matching envelopes made using a template on the Scor-Pal website.   I also made this set for the Challenge going on over at Stamping Around website - please go check it out and play along for a chance to win a great prize!!

I started with My Timeless Templates' Lollipop Along and tweaked and changed it to be the size I needed for this gift of 4 cards with matching envelope.  Instead of a solid bottom, I made the bottom open at the top so that the cards sit in it.  Each card has a similar design with slightly different papers and can be used for different occasions.  I'll be making another one of these sets so I hope to use a few different papers and stamps for that one.

In the Sink News:  KSS is having an after-Christmas sale!!  The sale will be December 26-28 and for being my wonderful readers, you will get 20% when you use coupon code JULIE20KSS!! What a great way to spend some of that holiday cash! :)

Please visit the other Crew members today for some great Christmas inspiration!

Maria, Lynn, Angela, Makiko, Connie, Lisa 

Cardstock: White (Gina K Designs), Clear Cardstock, Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, Ocean Tides (Papertrey Ink), Patterned Paper:  Papertrey Ink, Stamps: A Year of Thanks II (Kitchen Sink Stamps), Ink: Black, Lady Bug Red (Memento), Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides (Papertrey Ink), Accessories:  Taylor's Tiny Twinkles (Taylored Expressions), Ribbon (Papertrey Ink), foam adhesive, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug embossing folders (Swiss Dot, Swirls, Candycane Stripe)

From Our House To Yours

I had some time this past weekend to play along with Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #94.  I love a great sketch and this was one lots of fun!  I've been wanting to play with this cute Wings of Joy set from Taylored Expressions - how cute are those birdies?!! This was the set we used at Stamping Around PA.  Oh and have you checked out the Stamping Around website and read about our fun sponsor challenge??  Play along for a change to win prizes from our sponser Sweet & Sassy Stamps!! 

For my card today I used some pretty My Mind's Eye dp from last season - it was perfect since it was bird/tree themed and I love the colors.  A couple things you may not be able to see from the photo . . . there is white flocking added for "snow" on the birdhouse and  I added Glossy Accents to the string of lights.  The image was colored with Copic markers.  For the birdhouse I was going for a "weathered wood" look, not sure if I totally achieved that or not.

Have a great day!

Cardstock: Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink), White (GP), Patterned Paper:  My Mind's Eye, Stamps: Wings of Joy (Taylored Expressions), Ink: Black (Memento), Accessories: Copic markers, ribbon (Michaels), Twine, Button (Papertrey Ink), Fun Flock (Stampendous, Snowflake (??), Scalloped Scissors, Glossy Accents (Ranger), Word Window punch

Prettie Wednesday: Eyelets & Prettie News

Happy Wednesday!  Our Prettie Wednesday challenge this week comes from Christi and it's to use eyelets on your creation!  You all can do that for sure!  Remember you have until next Tuesday night to submit your creation - using eyelets - by uploading it into the Weekly Challenge Gallery at Paper Pretties.  The winner will receive at $15 coupon to the Paper Pretties boutique.  Be sure to start our Prettie Wednesday hop on Christie's blog today.

I pulled out this adorable drummer boy stamp, Pa Rum Pa Pa Pump for my card today.  Oh, and can we just pretend that we don't notice the crooked sentiment please!!  Sheesh - I think I am stamp-a-ma-jig challenged (I read that one someone's blog once and thought it was so funny . . . don't remember where) - I lined it all up, stamped it - crooked - arrrrggggghhhh!! Course it was the absolute last thing I did so there was no switching out the dp without totally starting over!

So are you ready for the news?  Paper Pretties has a brand new website - go ahead, check it out!  We're so excited about the new look and lots of new features that should make navigation and shopping much easier!  To celebrate the new site, Paper Pretties is having a sale - 35% off everything!!  Use coupon code newsite to take advantage of this awesome deal from now until Saturday night.  Can't wait to hear what you think of the redesign!

Now, hop over to Jana's blog for some more eyelet inspiration! Have a great day!

Cardstock:  Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink), Patterned Paper: October Afternoon, Stamps: Pa Rum Pa Pa Pum (Paper Pretties), Ink: Black (Memento), Accessories:  Twine, Button (Papertrey Ink), Ribbon (SU!), Nestabilities, Copic markers, snowflake punch (Marvy Uchida), glitter (Martha Stewart), Eyelets (SU!)

New Challenge at Stamping Around

I'm popping in to let you know about a brand new feature we have at Stamping Around!  Check out the website for all the details about our new monthly sponsor challenges.  Each month we will have 2 challenge sponsored by some great companies - this month it's Sweet 'n Sassy!!  I'm working on my project for the challenge and hope to share that soon but in the meantime head over, get the details and show us what you've got - there are PRIZES involved!! :)

Birthday Hop Prettie Style!

It's a special day - Prettie Girl Kristy Ketterlin is having a birthday and we're hopping in to say Happy Birthday!  Hopefully you've come here from Christie's blog, the start of the hop! 

I pulled out this adorable Always in My Heart Sophia from Paper Pretties for my card today which was based on the sketch over on The Sweet Stop blog (I just couldn't come up with anything I liked for the criss-cross element!)

So you know by now where to go next right?? Hop over to Jana's for some more birthday goodies and don't forget to leave Kristy some birthday love at the end! 


Hope your day is FABulous Kristiy - Happy Birthday! :)


Cardstock: Sweet Blush, Orange Zest (Papertrey Ink), White (Gina K Designs), Blue (Bazzill), Patterned Paper:  Abbey Road (My Mind's Eye), Stamps:  Always In My Heart, sentiment from Make a Wish (Paper Pretties), Ink: Memento, Accessories: Copic markers, Twill ribbon, button, Twine (Papertrey Ink), corner rounder punch, crocheted heart, heart bling (??)

Lily of the Valley

Happy Monday to you!  I'm sure you are all gearing up for this final full week before Christmas and believe me I have tons yet to do!!  Why do I always seem to put things off until the last minute?  We were able to get our annual Christmas picture of the children done this weekend and I think it turned out pretty cute!  It sure is difficult to get 5 children all looking decent and at the camera at the same time - lol!

Ok, so today is Kitchen Sink Stamps Monday and I took a break from the holiday-themed cards to give you another look at the newest KSS set, A Year of Thanks II.  Remember, this set comes with 12 of the KSS thank-you stamps as well as a multi-step Lily of the Valley set which is so pretty!  Maria put together a great PDF Color Recipe for the Lily of the Valleys using different ink companies for each recipe.  I combined them a bit to come up with a color combo I liked for today.  Here's how I stamped mine:

Step 5:  Olympia Green (Versafine)
Step 4:  Landscape (Palette)
Step 3:  Bamboo Leaves (Memento)
Step 2:  Chartreuse (Palette)
Step 1:  Summer Sky (Memento)  - I know, this seems strange, but trust me (or really Maria) it works!

The sketch was taken from a card in Paper Crafts new book, A Card A Day (I think it was Teri Anderson's).  If you're looking for a great gift for your stamping friends this book would be a wonderful choice!! It's beautifully done - the photographs are so pretty and it's packed with inspiration!  I have several cards in there too! :)

I stamped and cut out one set of the Lilies and added them in front with pop dots at the top for some dimension.

Please visit the rest of the KSS Crew and remember to enter the KSS Crew Challenge this month for a chance at some great prizes!

Maria, Lynn, Angela, Makiko, Connie, Lisa 

Cardstock:White (Gina K Designs), Patterned Paper: Paper Salon, Stamps: A Year of Thanks II - Lily of the Valley, sentiment from 3 Step School Days (Kitchen Sink Stamps), Ink:  Olympia Gree (Versafine), Landscape, Chartreusse (Palette), Bamboo Leaves, Summer Sky, Black (Memento), Accessories:  White satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink), Pink Crocheted ribbon (Making Memories), Taylors Tiny Twinkles (Taylored Expressions, corner rounder punch

Salt Challenge: God With Us

I finally finished my Salt Challenge - never having more than a few minutes at any one time to work on it really dragged the process out!

Please take a minute to read Pauline's write-up on the Salt blog.  This week's theme is "God with us" taken from Isaiah 7:14 " a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel."  I love this stamp from Unity called Prince of Peace, which includes the names for Christ as given in Isaiah 9:6, it seemed perfect for my ATC!

I'll just leave you with a link to another one of my favorite songs from Michael Card - it's most appropriate.

Immanuel

Have a great weekend!

Cardstock:  Riding Hod Red (SU!), Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink), White (Gina K Designs), Patterned Paper: Merry Wishes (Daisy Bucket Designs), Stamps: Prince of Peace (Unity Stamps), sentiment fro Take a Bough (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Black (Memento), Riding Hood Red (SU!), Accessories: Paper ribbon (Daisy Bucket Designs), foam adhesive, Copic markers, Nestabilities, Distress Stickles (Ranger)

CAS Stick Choir

Hello!  I'm posting late today - it's been busy here!   I wasn't able to get this week's Salt Challenge done but please do hop over to the Salt Blog and check it out!  I'm hoping to make something later tonight.

I started this card last night and wasn't able to get back to it until today (sorry for the dark pic!).  This stamp, Carolers - which happens to be on special this week!! - was the first Rubber Soul stamp I bought.  I just love it!!  I used 2 different CAS (clean & simple) challenges for this.  First, the CAS Challenge on SCS this week was to use red & brown.  Second, this is FTL#70 from last week on Clean & Simple Stamping.

It's hard to tell in the photo but I've added some Fun Flock, in red, white & tan, to the carolers' accessories.  The dark brown scarf and hat have Sparkly Fluff added and the red Santa hat was done with a Spica pen.  the dp is new October Afternoon - their new holiday line is so pretty!

Be sure to check out the news at Rubber Soul, there are NEW holiday stamps and they are amazing!! I am in love with the vintage-y style of these brand new stamps from artist Ward Jenkins.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Cardstock:  Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink), Ivory (Gina K Designs), Patterned Paper:  Very Merry (October Afternoon), Stamps: Carolers (Rubber Soul), sentiment from Wings of Joy (Taylored Expressions), Ink: Memento, Accessories:  Fun Flock (Stampendous), Sparkly Fluff (Our Craft Lounge), foam adhesive, Copic markers, Spica pen, Ribbon (SU!), button, Twine (Papertrey Ink)

Prettie Scrappy Wednesday

Welcome to another fun Wednesday challenge with Paper Pretties!  Our challenge today comes from Christie - so I hope you started on her blog for today's Challenge Hop!!  The challenge is to create a 6x6 scrapbook page - eeeks!! It's been forever since I scrapbooked - *hanging head low! *  I feel so guilty about this but there's just no time these days.

Anyway, it was fun to pull out the stamps and see what I could come up with.  Since it's Christmas-time and we just bought our tree last weekend I thought Trim the Tree Sophia might be perfect!  Now, when we get our tree up and decorated I'll just snap a picture and viola! Done! :)

So, how about you? When was the last time you scrapped?  Go ahead, give it a try!! Be sure to upload your cards to the Weekly Challenge album in the gallery for your chance to win a $15.00 gift certificate for the Pretties boutique!

Next stop . . . Jana's blog.  Have a great day my friends!

Cardstock: Kraft (Papertrey Ink), Sage Shadow (SU!), Ivory (Gina K Designs), Patterned Paper: Jolly By Golly (Cosmo Cricket), Stamps: Trim the Tree (Paper Pretties), sentiment from Multi-Step Lights (Kitchen Sink Stamps), Ink: Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink), Tuxedo Black (Memento), Accessories:  Glitter (Martha Stewart), Nestabilities, Copic Markers, foam adhesive, Ribbon (Papertrey Ink), corner rounder punch

Anna's 6!

Happy Birthday to our sweet Anna!  Today she is 6!  It's amazing how time flies, isn't it?!  I remember so well the morning I woke up and realized it was time to meet this second baby of ours.  As we drove to the hospital in the midst of a snow storm I was looking forward to finding out "who" we were having - I was so sure she would be a boy - lol!!

Anyway, this is the card I came up with for Anna's birthday - it matches her invitations and goes with her requested gingerbread theme.  We had a little party last night with the grandparents. Nana made the cute cake that looked like a gingerbread house.  The children sure had fun eating all the candies and frosting!

Today for her "real" birthday we'll make a big gingerbread cookie in a large gingerbread man shaped cookie pan that my aunt gave our children a few years ago.  They can't wait to decorate it - probably eating more than decoration! :)

In case you wondered, the stamps for her card are Oven Fresh Gingerbread Joy from Waltzingmouse Stamps.  I stamped her with Raspberry Fizz ink and colored her with  an E55 Copic marker.  The "frame" behind her is from Very Vintage Labels No. 4 which I love! Having frames to stamp that match the Nesties is just so fun!

Happy Birthday Anna - we love you lots!! MWAH!

Cardstock: Raspberry Fizz, Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink), White (Gina K Designs), Patterned Paper: Papertrey Ink, Stamps: Oven Fresh Gingerbread Joy, Very Vintage Labels No. 4 (Waltzingmouse Stamps), Background Basics Diamonds (Papertrey Ink) Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink), Latte (Adirondack), Accessories: foam adhesive, Nestabilities, Copic markers, Glitter (Martha Stewart), Swarovski crystals, Ribbon, button, Twine (Papertrey Ink)

KSS Release/Challenge Monday!

 Happy Kitchen Sink Stamps Monday . . . Crew Challenge #20 . . . Release Day!  That's right folks, today is a big day!   First, the release  . . . today A Year of Thanks II is being released.  If you've purchased from KSS you know that Maria sends wonderful little "thank you" stamps with orders.  Last year she compiled them all in a set, Year of Thanks which had a special multi-step Hummingbird stamp included.  This year's A Year of Thanks II set includes a fabulous multi-step Lily of the Valley set which I cannot wait to try out - it's one of my mom's (and my) favorite flowers!

Next, we have a new KSS Crew Challenge and this one comes from our fabulous "boss" Maria:

With the gift giving season, barreling down upon us us... I thought this challenge would be helpful. :)

KS Crew Challenge #20:  Wrap it, Bag it or Tag it.

How ever you choose to decorate you gift. :)

So I chose to "Tag It"!  Have any of you been reading Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas?  Even though his style is completely different from mine (in truth it scares me - lol!), I have been reading and have been inspired lots!  He is a great teacher and I've gotten some fun ideas that I thought I'd try today.

For my tag I used several KSS sets:  A Year of Thanks II, Plaid Plus, Multi-Step Pine Trees and Multi-Step Gift (for the sentiment).  Tim made plaid using alchohol inks . . . I used Plaid Plus and I love how it turned out!  I started by using New Leaf (PTI) cardstock and the double line stamp, stamping it with Landscape Palette ink leaving a bit of a wider space in between stamping.  I then went back with the thin line stamp and stamped it using Fresh Snow (PTI) ink in those wider spaces.  Finally, I took that same thin line stamp and stamped it using L'Amour Red Palette ink in between every other double line stamp. . . phew!! I should have take step-by-step photos, would you like that, would it be helpful?  I added a bit of distress ink to the edges and also distressed them before adding my plaid to the tag (which was also distressed and inked).  I added some antique brass brads to the corners of the plaid which I roughed up by pounding them with a hammer (very cool think Tim does!).

I then made my little tag by using the beautiful deer tag stamp from A Year of Thanks II (I inked only the deer, not the "thank you").  I added the sentiment and then distressed the tag with quite a bit of ink!  Finally, I stamped the largest pine tree from Multi-Step Pine Trees as follows:  Step 3 - Landscape (Palette), Step 2 - Bamboo Leaves (Memento), Step 1 - New Sprout (Memento), Step 4 - New Leaf  (Papertrey Ink).  I inked the bottom of the trunk with Dark Chocolate after I cut out the tree.  Then, just for fun and because it looked so cool on Tim's tree, I added some "snow" to my tree.  I don't have the white Sparkly Fluff but so I used white Fun Flock which I mixed with glitter.  Of course I added some distress ink here as well (trying to be as grungy as possible - lol!).  I just put everything together and added some ribbon and a fun little antique brass clip I found.

So, want to play along for a chance to win some fabulous KSS prizes?!  Just take the challenge and leave a link on the KSS blog to your project (Wrap It, Bag It or Tag It).  You have until December 31st which gives you TONS of time!! See the KSS blog for all the rules.

If you're still reading, thanks for hanging in with me!! :)  Be sure to visit the rest of the KSS Crew:

Maria, Lynn, Angela, Makiko, Connie, Lisa

Cardstock:  New Leaf, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink), Ivory (Gina K Designs), Stamps: A Year of Thanks II, Plaid Plus, Multi-Step Pine Trees, Multi-Step Gift (Kitchen Sink Stamps), Ink:  Landscape, L'Amour Red (Palette), Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink), Accessories: New Leaf Grosgrain Ribbon, Vintage Cream Satin Ribbon, Twine (Papertrey Ink), green organdy ribbon (SU! retired), clip, Fun Flock (Stampendous), brads