December Birthday - Late Posting! It's Busy at the Holidays!

My cousin's wife's birthday is almost mid-December.  Mom and I finished the calendars early enough that there was time for me to show her this set of dies and stamps I ordered from Papertrey Ink.

I've made this card quite a few times since I first bought the bundle.  Each time it's a different color set...  Dark Blues, Purples, Sky Blue as on this card.  My beloved Bermuda Bay...

 I saw this on Pinterest, and after some investigation I found this comes from a company called Papertrey Ink.  The stamp set is called Paper Clippings.  Scroll down on the page, and you'll find the two coordinating die sets.

The inside is a new stamp set available in just a few days from Stampin' Up!  You can find more information on my Stampin' Up! blog... Susan Vilar Stamps!

Secret Sister Reveal - Thanksgiving

This past Monday evening, we had our Secret Sister reveal.  I didn't take pictures of the other cards I sent because it might have been a give away.

Here's the last card I made for her - with the other reveal card appearing on my other blog - Susan Vilar Stamps!

The card base and die cut are in Old Olive with the scroll work highlighted in Old Olive ink with a sponge dauber before I removed the die cut from the die.

I've had this cornucopia stamp for a VERY long time!  I'm not sure if I got it at Hobby Lobby, or found it on our travels. 

The BEST part about this, is I used the NEW  not-yet-released Stampin' Up! Watercolor pencils.  When we were in Kansas City, we had an opportunity to try them, and I fell in LOVE!  I love watercoloring anyway, but this was fantastic!  I used the blender pens to move the color around.

You can get a wonderful close-up view by clicking on the picture.  I love the shading watercoloring gives.  Definitely a medium I love to use!

W for Michael

So yes, that sounds strange.  Did it get your attention? 

The little boy's last name begins with a W...  now it should make a little more sense.

 I REALLY enjoy making these letters with the cars!  Granted, this W wasn't as large as the G.  Hobby Lobby just didn't have that large of a letter.  I would have preferred a larger W. Turns out I had too many cars!

It's meant to be  placed on the wall in his room.  Thankfully the letters come with the area for nails already made (Whew)! 

Now I need to find out what is on his Christmas list! :)  That might be the next project... or pick-up at WM since we aren't close to where they live.

Baptism Gift for my Great Nephew

Over the past few years I've made many of these.  MANY.  This was a Stamp Camp project 3 or 4 years ago from my upline Kathy.  I made one of these for family members...  I even sent one to Panama with my husband for his Dad, so they've gone international! 

I went through my Lutheran Hymnal and found a great baptismal hymn to use as the background.  The Canvas backing is painted with acrylic paint as are the edges of the two wood crosses.

They are both covered in some retired Stampin' Up! DSP.  The pattern on the larger cross in the back has some flocking on it to give some texture.

I tea-stained the hymn, and used Mod Podge to adhere it to the backing, and cover it to protect it.  If you haven't heard of E6000 (E six thousand)... take a look at it - it's some SERIOUS adhesive! 

My husband also helped me pick out the cross embellishment.  There were probably 6 to choose from, and this was by far the best choice.

Nursery/Playroom Decor Matchbox Cars

I saw this idea on Pinterest as so many ideas I've found lately.

If this doesn't fit well in the nursery, I figure my nephew and his wife can hang this in Felix's eventual playroom.

I have plans to make another one of these as a Christmas gift for another baby boy in the family.  It will be a W... we'll definitely need more cars!!

 My husband isn't always a big fan of my craft work, BUT when I told him I needed matchbox cars, he thought I'd dip into his collection.  I think that scared him pretty good!  BUT I wanted new ones.  He was really helpful in finding some great cars, and also had input on the placement of each car.

This letter is MUCH bigger than the F I posted previously.  This G is probably 2 feet tall.  It's BIG! As I was taking the pictures, my little black curious kitty decided he had to see what was going on.  He likes to be in the center of things for sure!  Silly Poopie!!

NOT a Pinterest Idea, but My Own! Nursery Decor

A little over a month ago, my great nephew (my FIRST great nephew) was born!  I'm now a Great Aunt.  Can't quite get my head around it yet, but I will soon enough.

The theme of his nursery is "Under the Sea".  An earlier blog post shows the shower invitations I made for the Baby Shower my sister hostessed.  It was a great success, and I heard there were great comments about the invitations. :)

 SO... with all the time I spend surfing Pinterest... and it's lots of time on Pinterest....  I came up with this idea.
The big F is from Hobby Lobby. It's about a foot and a half tall.  I used acrylic paint in Harbor Bay Blue, and swirled some white into it while it was still wet.

I used the Best of Pixar Cart to make these characters...  I cut Nemo and Squirt at 3 inches, and Dory at 4 inches.
I did some marker work on the figures to give them dimension.
You can see the F (for Felix) hanging on the wall of my craft room.  I'll try to get a picture of it in its spot in the nursery.

OMG! I saw it on Pinterest!

How many times have you heard that?  I know I say it a lot, and I hear others say it as well.  Fashion (not my thing), Home Decor (sometimes my thing), Recipes (DEFINITELY my thing), and crafts....  (almost always my thing)!

I saw cards made with this stamp set and die cut images, and HAD to have them!  I love anything fancy and scroll-y.  This really fit the bill.  The Happy has a really interesting flair to it, and the die cut is SO cool!

No excuses, right?  BUT this was my first try at it, and I've already got another one of these cut I want to use my alcohol markers on to see if it will make it glow.

Stay tuned... this will be used often, and it will look a lot better than this first try (even though I still like it).

HERE is a link to the stamp set, and scroll down for a look a the 2 sets of die cuts.

Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen

I've had this stamp set for a LONG, LONG time! 

After starting the other blog, Susan Vilar Stamps! for my Stampin' Up! projects - because I didn't want to continue mixing the two styles, I'm going to begin showing my other creations.

 I used vanilla cardstock as my base simply because I thought white would be too harsh with the cameo look.  The cameo and the frame are die cuts coordinating with that stamp set.

I've recently found a little local shop here in town that does consignment type things for crafting.  These two cards will go in with the first 'shipment' of things I take over for sale.

A little story:  I found the 6 hour mini-series by chance quite a few years after it debuted in 1995.  After my husband bought me the DVDs, I watched it almost every weekend for about 2 years?  3 years?  Yes, really.  I still break out the series when I have a lot of intense crafting to do.  It's like an old friend, and of course... Colin Firth.  What could be better I ask you?

HERE is the link to the stamp set, and if you scroll down, the die cuts are also available.

Cricut Crafts Stay Here, Stampin' Up! Projects Moving!!

Good Afternoon!!

This decision has been creeping up on me slowly over the last 6 months.

I have a Cricut and Crafts Blog where I mostly post my Stampin' Creations, and my Cricut Creations get little attention.

Though I'm stamping more now than Cricut-ing....  I'm going to leave this blog live solely for my Cricut and Crafts, and move my Stampin' Up! projects over to my newly created blog.

https://susanvilarstamps.blogspot.com/

Please continue to visit Sue's Cricut and Crafts to see my Cricut projects, and all my Stampin' Up! projects will go live tomorrow on the new blog.

Save it to your favorites or bookmarks!

Thank!!!

New Catalog (2016-2017) Event Samples 18

Here it is... something SUPER cute for my last sample post (for this first set, at least).....

When the boy gets old enough, this will be sent to him as a birthday gift...   I've never met a kid that isn't fascinated with dinosaurs... some more than others, and I've met a LOT of kids after teaching for 28 years.  LOTS of them!

I follow a French lady's blog - Lezards de Cilou.  She does some really amazing work!  AMAZING!  She works in dimension a lot, and I love looking at her samples.

Giving this a second look, I will stamp the dinosaurs closer together next time.

 One lunch time when I was surfing, I came upon this stamp set.  She had them cut in squares... but back in the aeons of time, I bought a die that cuts puzzles. :)

Here it is, broken apart a bit...

Below you'll find all the Stampin' Up materials I used to make this project.

No Bones About It Photopolymer Stamp Set

$26.00

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

$6.00

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.50

Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

New Catalog (2016-2017) Event Samples 17

Only ONE post for this event after this one....  18 posts in all...   for now. :)
I am going to continue making samples for this event....   tomorrow (June 1st) I can order the new items I'm going to use for my 2 Make-and-Takes... and stamping.

I don't use my Gift Bag Punch board very often, and at the 2nd try, I came up with this.  I used the So Saffron paper from the DSP pack, and matched it with Melon Mambo.  This is a small-sized bag, and you can make them much larger!

This little treat bag uses all the new colors. I used the Playful Palette DSP again for this bag, and the die cuts to construct it.  

If you're interested in 3D projects and gift packaging, contact me, I can help you find your style, and help you customize your packing to your needs.

Here are the materials I used to construct both of these gift packaging solutions.

Gift Bag Punch Board

$20.00

Scalloped Tag Topper Punch

$23.00

Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack

$22.00

Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies

$40.00

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

$6.00

White Stampin' Chalk Marker

$3.50

Melon Mambo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$7.00

Playful Palette Designer Series Paper Stack

$10.00

Sweet Stack Photopolymer Stamp Set

$17.00

Sweet Sugarplum 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

Peekaboo Peach 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

Tear & Tape Adhesive

$7.00

Banner Triple Punch

$23.00

Painter's Palette Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$18.00

New Catalog (2016-2017) Event Samples 16

Ok, folks... we're taking a break from cards.
I have some 3D projects to show you...  courtesy of Playful Pals, and Pyramid Pals die set.

The base is actually a square pyramid...  and you definitely want to use the Tear and Tape to put these together!  It's amazingly sticky stuff, but so much easier to work with than the tape with the red plastic!!

An elephant...

A zebra...

and....  What is it?  Anyone?
 Mom immediately knew what it was... and so did my friend.  

It's a One-Eyed, One Horned Flying (do you see the wings on the back) Purple People Eater!!!

Here are the materials I used to make these cuties.

Playful Pals Photopolymer Stamp Set

$35.00

Pyramid Pals Thinlits Dies

$35.00

Neutrals Designer Series Paper Stack

$22.00

Regals Designer Series Paper Stack

$22.00

Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.50

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

$6.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

$4.00

Tear & Tape Adhesive

$7.00

Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50