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It has been two years since I've joined Stampin' Up as a demonstator.  Wow.  I'm not one to jump in head first.  I prefer to do things little by little.  For example is this blog.  I had been thinking about it for about a year.  Now I finally got the courage and here I am.  I never kept a diary and a blog is like that, only definately not private.  My next goal is to set up a HomeStyle Stamper Facebook page.  I know it should have been done when this blog was set up, but it didn't get done.  I want to have it up within a month.  There.  Now it's out for people to see and it will push me to get it done.  I've got to stop procrastinating about it.  That's all there is to it.  

I wanted to share a card my upline, Lyssa Zwolanek, set me for my 2 year anniversary.  The card style is just fabulous.  I can't wait to use it at my club.  It's different but not too complicated.  

This all I have for now.  It's getting late and I do have to work tomorrow.  

Until next time...Stampin' Always

Cheryl, HomeStyle Stamper

What's fall without some pumpkins?  Same goes in card making.  I made this card for a card swap and also my monthly card club.  Duo purpose card.  Gotta love it.  Can  you recognize where this stamp came from?  It's just one stamp of 25 from the At Home with You set from the annual catalog.  It's designed to go next to a door, but I like it all by itself.  Look at what you all get with this stamp set!  And the best thing is that it also has framelits so no fussy cutting.  

I dug out the watercolor pencils to color the stamped image.  Sometimes I have a tendency to forget about these.  What's nice about the watercolor pencils is that you don't get any  lines the markers leave.  And it's so easy to blend and shade with the colors.  You could use watercolor paper and the aqua painters.  But I used the blender pens with Very Vanilla cardstock.  

It's super easy.  Just color the image with the watercolor pencils.  Starting with the lightest color, use the blender pen and color over the image.  Do this one color at a time.  In between colors, just wipe the blender pen off on your grid paper and go on to the next.  Look at the picture.  The left image is just watercolor pencils.  The right image is with the blender pen.  It gives a polished look to your card.

Isn't the difference amazing?  And it's super easy to do.  I'm not a big fan of coloring, but this was fun to play with.  Brings out the kid in me.  The key is to clean the blender pen in between the colors so don't forget.

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the picture for the dimensions and instructions.  Hope everyone has a great weekend! 

Until next time...Stampin' Always

Cheryl, HomeStyle Stamper

I was so glad to have my club people back again!  Not all could make it, but that's ok.  We still had fun.  Summertime is pretty crazy, so we don't always meet then.  For our first time back, I like to have a small favor to welcome them back.  I dug out the crate framelit for the first time and played with that.  It's so adorable.  The picture isn't the greatest because at the last minute I realized that I didn't take a picture.

 The crates are made from the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack.  There are a variety of different wood textures to choose from.  My favorite was the birch tree texture.  I decided to save that for a possible future card.  So, I chose 3 different wood grains and then they could pick from those.  Add some fall candy.  The crates fit into the gusseted cellophane bags perfectly.  Top with a tag made from the Labels to Love stamp bundle and you have a perfect club favor.  Who doesn't love a little something extra?  Especially when it's for no reason at all.

Until next time...Stampin' Always

Cheryl, HomeStyle Stamper

 

 

The leaves are definately starting to turn around here.  Autumn in Wisconsin is absolutely beautiful.  To be honest, Spring and Fall are my two favorite seasons.  The only part I really don't like about the Summer is the heat and humidity.  I can't stand it.  I love having  the windows open at night and the cool night air comes in.  On the other hand, my husband loves the hot weather.  He complains this summer wasn't hot enough.  ugh.   

The leaves are two-step stamped.  For me, it's easier to stamp the vein first, then the leaf second.  I personally just eyeball the second stamp to get them both lined up together.  I had to play with the colors a bit to get the right combos.  Try a few other yourself.  In stamping, remember there is no right or wrong way to do things.  It's all about how you like the final result.

The copper trim was pretty neat to work with.  If you want, you can fan out the ribbon and it gives the bow a totally different look.  It looks more full.  I can't wait to play with it more.  

These are the colors I used.  Maybe you can come up with your own combo.  The possibilities are endless!  Have fun creating your own leaves.  

 

Until next time...Stampin' Always,

Cheryl, HomeStyle Stamper

The week is finally almost over with.  I don't work Friday's, but I do have to work Saturday this week.  I'm so glad that I don't have has many hours next week!  I'd be happy only working 2 days a week, but the checkbook wouldn't like it.  Some day.

Have you had time to study the new Holiday Catalog?  Isn't it great!   I have been working on a cute fall treat but I can't show that until Wednesday.  I made if for my club people and I don't want to give away the surprise.  We haven't met since June so it'll be great seeing everyone again.  We always have such a good time.  

You can click on the image above and it will bring you to a video Stampin'Up has on Youtube.  Go check it out!  

That's it for now.  

Until next time...Stampin' Always

Cheryl, HomeStyle Stamper

Happy Labor Day everyone.  I spent the weekend moving my two daughters back to college then cleaning the house.  It's always sad when they leave, but it's where they need to be.  On the otherhand, the house stays cleaner longer with them gone.  Megan has a tendency to leave her shoes all over the house.  That I do not miss at all.  Let's hope they have a great semester.

Amongst all the craziness, I did get down to my room and create a card.  I finally got to use Wood Words stamp set.  I love all the little shapes the set comes with.  Isn't the Rooster adorable?    He's the perfect size to add another detail.  For the linen thread, I wrapped it around 4 fingers and adhered it to the back of my oval flowers.  A great tip to adhere the thread is by using washi tape!  The rolls always come with so much tape, so don't be afraid to use it.  Also, it's better than glue because sometimes you  need to manipulate the thread to get the look you are looking for.

 

This is the color combo I used.  They are all from from the 2017-2019 In-Colors.  Love how they all go together.  I would never have put them together on my own.  This is why I love Stampin'Up.  They pair the colors that would work together so we don't have to.  

Look at the inside of the card.  The Roosters are a fun touch!  When I can, I like to do a little something on the inside.  It makes for a nice surprise.

Click on the picture for dimensions and instructions.

Until next time...Stampin' Always

Cheryl, HomeStyle Stamper

 

 

It's September 1st.  This means the new Holiday Catalog is active!  Yay!  It's filled with yummy goodness that is hard to pass up.  You can see on my gallery that I have already used the Gourd Goodness and Carols of Christmas stamp sets.  I personally wasn't a fan of the Painted Harvest stamp set (the sunflower set), but the more I see online, the more I like it.  Don't you hate when that happens?  You plan and place your order, then later see enough samples and you change your mind.  Sigh.  Click on the picture and it will take you my store where you can view the catalog.

This all I have to share today.  We moved one daughter to college yesterday and the other one today.  It's been kind of crazy and not much stamping going on this week for me. My goal tomorrow is to clean my house then spend time in my stamping room.  Work before play.  

Until next time...Stampin' Always

Cheryl, HomeStyle Stamper  

Doesn't everyone love fun mail?  I received this card from my upline, Lyssa Zwolanek last week.  I just bought this stamp set and framelet, but  haven't had time to play with it yet.  Love the sunglasses.  They are just adorable.  

It's kind of a crazy week for me.  I don't have to work any more this week at my job.  But the other job starts now.  Getting 2 girls ready to move back to college.  Megan leaves Thursday and Alyssa leaves Friday.  They are ready to get back to school, but I will miss them like crazy.  So far my living room is filled with Megan's stuff that we have to finish getting everything together, reorganize it all, and start packing the cars.  Once that is done, Alyssa can bring her stuff upstairs and then it starts all over with her.  

Crazy week so I don't know how much I will be posting while this is going on.  Still don't know if I like this empty nest stuff, but there's anothing I can do about it. Already can't wait for them to come home for the weekends.

Until next time...Stampin' Always

Cheryl, HomeStyle Stamper