LMac's Catered Crops

Favor-ite Snowman

I happened onto Mary Jo's tutorial to make holiday-themed favor tins through the SUDSOL website. Oh my, the little mini-tins she turned into magnets are so adorable. I had to give it a go. This was my first stab at it using Stampin' Up! Cutie Pie designer paper and Holiday Tag Team stamp set.

Mary Jo's tutorial is incredibly easy to follow. You'll find it here. Do be sure to pop over to her web site, Techno Stamper. You'll find lots of fun and hip-chick ideas.

The little mini tins are made by Wilson's and usually in the bridal section of Michaels. They come 30 to a box for about $15.00. I really liked the idea of paper piecing the scarf and hat. I confess, I haven't done that much, and it's so easy. You just stamp the image on white and again on designer paper. Well, check out Mary Jo's blog, she explains it better. Anyway, with my first attempt, the pattern in the paper was too large to really show up on the snowman. And, I thought I'd be a smarty and try stamping "let it snow" with white Staz-on ink onto the cover, but it didn't really work all that well (can you see it?). So, I made a few more using the Polka Dot and Paisley paper.

Even though I like Cutie Pie, this turned out much better. The only other change I made to Mary Jo's already fabulous design was to use Old Olive for shading instead of Going Gray. Whenever I use Going Gray for shading it looks dirty to me. I think I'm just not doing it right. I added a little glitter and used micro beads for the snow - 'cause that's what I had on hand. Well, with my design to my liking, I made a few more - 12 more in fact.

Oh, and one more little tip. Since these little tins are pretty deep (7/8 inches), I really wanted the snowman to pop out. Poppin' Dimensionals would have done the trick, but I wanted it to stick out more. So . . . I used the scraps from trimming my stamp sets. Did you know that if you remove the orange rubber and paper protection from your gray cushion, you have two sided tape similar to mounting tape? It's probably not archival safe, but works perfectly for this project. In fact, I used three layers of what we'll call "rubber tape."

So, what am I going to do with 13 of these cuties? Well, I promised my Hostess club members a little something when they share some of their projects. They are amazing crafters, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what they bring.

Thank you Mary Jo for all the inspriration and instruction. I really had fun making these.

The Case of the CASE'd CASE

I am thoroughly thankful to Chris Twing for giving me this idea (bad pun, considering we used the Thoroughly Thankful stamp set). Chris "CASE'd" (copying and sharing everything) her framed art from the current Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog. She brought her project to our Lonestar Stamper's monthly club meeting, and I was entranced. Okay, so I was off to buy the stamp set and CASE her CASE of the Catty. Thanks to Chris, my Hostess Club ladies will get a chance to make this project at our monthly meeting in October.

For what I call "extra special extra credit," I try to give my Hostess Club ladies a chance to pimp my projects, if they want. So, with this project they can use a little glue dot to add black microbeads to the center of the flower image. And . . . drum roll . . . help me break open my pretties kit. Oh, I love this kit. The fun thing about the hat pins is that the possibilities are limitless. That little hook at the top of the pin just begs to have something dangling from it. So . . . drum roll . . . I finally also broke open my confetti tag sheets. (I haven't been hoarding my tag sheets so much as I've been forgetting about them.) While the pretties kit comes with some lovely beads, you're not limited to the beads in the pretties kit to embellish the pin. So, I broke into my very tiny stash of beads that my adorable sister helped me start.

I opened up yet another package I'd been hoarding, my watercolor paper. Really, I kind of flunked out of coloring in school, but I love how easy the watercolor crayons are with the aqua painters. You certainly don't have to use watercolor paper, but I can see now why people do, the difference is dramatically beautiful. To help me get the shading right, I used both Really Rust and White watercolor crayons on the pumpkins. A little of More Mustard enhanced the Old Olive in the leaves, and the sunflower is just a little More Mustard. Then, I used my re-inker with the aqua painters to color the sky blue background (very subtle, you may not be able to see it).

The rest of the recipe is the Thoroughly Thankful stamp set; Sky Blue textured and non-textured paper, Old Olive textured paper, Really Rust, and Basic Black card stock, 5/8 inch Old Olive ribbon and gingham ribbon, and the tool kit and Signo white gel pen for faux stitching.

Now . . . for a little commercial break. Please don't forget that there are just three days left to get this stamp set and some other lovely fall-themed sets for 30% off. Here's the link for more information.

Fall Frenzy Promotion

And . . . if you've ever even thought for a moment that you might like to be a demonstrator, now is absolutely the best time. But, again, there are only three days left to take advantage of the terrific promotion Stampin' Up! has now for new demonstrators. Here's the link

Choose Your Family

Jumpin' into a demonstrator-ship might seem like a big leap, but really it's not. It's a fantastic bargain for all the incredible products you get in the starter kit and for the discounts. And, if you do choose to promote your Stampin' Up! business, you have me and all of the terrific group of Lonestar stampers at your side, including terrific artists like Chris Twing, and the artists featured earlier this week: Pam, Cyndee, Jane, and Kathryn. Please don't hesitate to write me if you're interested and have questions (lkmcclain2002@yahoo.com). But, remember, the clock's ticking on this special promotion.

Pam's Fall Colors

I love Fall, I love these colors, and I especially love Pam Downs' creations. She puts so much lovely detail in her cards. Sadly, this is the last one I have to share with you for a while, at least until the next catalog comes out and we have another excuse to swap cards again. Meanwhile, you can keep up with Pam at her Splitcoast gallery, here, and her website, here.

That new background stamp, Sanded, creates the upper panel, and Pam used the True Friends stamp set again for her focal piece. Look carefully, and you'll see the paper piercing she did that really sets this card apart from the rest. (You can click on the image to enlarge it.)

Thanks, Pam, Cyndee, Katherine, and Jane for being my guests these past two weeks.

A True Friend

Friends come in all shapes and sizes, as this little background picture portrays. That's my little son looking up to his Grandpa during one of their first visits to see us in Texas after we moved from Indiana 22+ years ago. From the day my Ben was born, he and his Grandpa were true friends.

My guest artist's card does such an excellent job of portraying the importance of our friendships in this non-traditional size card. A True Friend is You friend!

As amazing as this card is on the outside, with the True Friend stamp set and Apple Cider paper, it's even more amazing for the way it opens. It's a tri-fold card by guest artist Pam Downs, held closed by the smallest circle.

Pam used no less than four punches to make this card and the Coluzzle system to make the larger circle. You can get the rest of the recipe by visiting Pam's Splitcoast gallery, here.

Pam's Back

Yes! She's back! One of my favorite all-time paper crafters, Pam Downs, is back as a guest artist. I love her work for her creative use of tools and the detail she puts in her cards. Isn't this card just amazing?!

Pam posted this card in her Splitcoast Gallery, here. You can get all the details and the recipe there. She used the corner-round punch to make the scalloped circle, but, even though its just a background on an already beautiful card, she added faux stitching, paper-pierced holes. Then, there's that amazing corner she made by folding the two-sided designer series paper and using the photo corner punch.  She calls this card "flip this corner."

Her brads are just the perfect touch at the right corner, the center of the flower, and along the "Stampin Around Boho Friend" image. Beside the Boho Friend wheel, she also used the True Friend stamp set from the Holiday mini catalog. Stay tuned, Pam's got two more cards to share with you.

Pam wrote me earlier that she's learning how to use her new scanner. She must have it down, because her Splitcoast gallery is growing with beautiful examples of her work. Go visit her gallery (here), you'll be amazed.

More, you ask?

From your comments about the cards from our Lonestarstamper's swaps, it sounds like you'd like to see some more. These next three cards from from the very talented Katherine LaPierre. She used the Jumbo stampin' wheel, snow, and the Snow Burst stamp set from the Stampin' Up! Holiday mini (here).

This card is so stunning in person because of all the embossing and glitter Katherine used. She dyed the ribbon to match her colors by just sponging on ink from the classic ink pads.

The most incredible thing about the cards Katherine gave us is how each of her cards is so very different. (I tend to typecast my stamp sets, and all the cards from them look the same.) Katherine really helped me see how versatile these stamps are, well, that, and even more so, how talented Katherine is.

More, you say? Well, okay, here's one more of Katherine's cards.

How in the word did she get all those stamped images to straight and even? She told us she made the top two white lines with just her white signo gel pen. Can you see the other touches she did with the gel pen? It's gorgeous. And, it's another good gender-neutral, holiday-neutral card for winter.

I hope you're all having a great weekend. We're visiting my daughter at University North Texas, and had a great day in Dallas. Caitlin's is so pleased to be working as an intern in a very elite interior design studio - open only to designers, and we got to see a peek of it today. I am so proud of my little girl. Ah, if only UNT had won their football game. Maybe sometime before she graduates we'll get to see them win.

It's late, and I'm getting pressure to turn off the light in our hotel room  . . . more later. A very special thanks to Katherine for being my guest artist tonight.

Monochromatic Magnificance

Jane Schenck made these next two cards that are just so stunning in their simplicity. Simple colors, one stamp set, and just a few embellishments - oh, and lots of glitter. She put together the perfect ingredients for these magnificent cards.

She used the Season of Joy stamp set in the Holiday mini catalog with the new Sky Blue and Blue Bayou colors. Unfortunately, you can't see the glitter that really makes this card glisten. Oh, and Jane broke open her Pretties kit for the sparkling rhinestone in the middle of "joy".

If that didn't knoc, your socks off, check out this card.

Yeah, girl, is that not Magnificent!? So simple, but so stunning. I'm gonna start stocking up on that gorgeous satin ribbon. It makes such a great statement on every card. Jane used the five-petal punch behind her stamped flower image. I didn't think I liked Purely Pomegranate at first. I thought it was a little too bright. But, now I'm thinking it's the perfect color for Christmas: very rich.

I know you must be in shock, so many posts from me in such a short time. The cards I got last week from our Lonestar Stampers swap are just too gorgeous to keep under wraps. Stay tuned, there's more to come.

Two Artists, Two Sketches, Too Terrific!

I had the incredible honor of participating in a swap with these two terrific ladies, Cyndee Rust and Jane Schenck. While we swap to help each other promote the latest catalogs, we also just enjoy the excuse to eat out together. I'll be featuring swaps from Cyndee, Pam, Katherine, and Jane using sets from the Holiday mini this coming week, so you're in for some real treats.

Cyndee Rust and Jane Schenck are the masters behind these two cards. What's amazing is that, in their genius, they both independently came up with two cards using the same layout sketch and similar color themes.

Cyndee told us she heat embossed on-board chipboard pieces with clear embossing powder to give her focal point a real wow factor. I love, too, how she added brads to make the scallops match that gorgeous ribbon.

You can't see it very well from the picture, but Jane added glitter to her tree image, and her card on the left is so elegant in person. Can you see, too, how she sponged white ink to the edge of her center green piece? Her beautiful ribbon is from the Theater ribbon package.

I thought you'd all enjoy seeing how versatile this sketch is with the Prints Designer Serious paper is. That old adage really is true, "brilliant minds think alike."

Colts & Titans - Joy!

For displaced Hoosiers living in Central Texas for the past 20+ years, nothing's better than watching UT Hero Vince Young take on Indiana's Peyton Manning. Vince took us to the Rose Bowl; Peyton, is, well, Peyton. It's just good football. Joy!

Everyone who see this Joy card by Melissa Smith just loves it, It's one of those cards that fits all - not too cute, too feminine, too "Christiany-Christmas." Just a joyful and classy card. And easy - how fun is that!

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Melissa used the Brocade Background designer paper and the Perfect Presentation Hostess stamp set. She heat embossed the word Joy with white embossing powder, used the Spring Flower Bouquet punch for the top star, and added a rhinestone brad.

Thanks, Melissa, for sharing such a great card. Go Titans, er uh, Colts!

When I saw these two cards made by my guest artist, Cyndee Rust, Burl Ives starting singing in my head. I hope little ones still watch the movie Rudolph at Christmas, it brings back such sweet memories.

Silver and gold, silver and gold
Everyone wishes for silver and gold.
How do you measure its worth?
Just by the pleasure it gives here on earth.

Silver and gold, silver and gold
Mean so much more when I see
Silver and gold decorations
On every Christmas tree

Cyndee put such beautiful touches on these Merry & Bright cards with the Bashful Blue taffeta ribbon and the new gold elastic cord in the latest mini catalog. Those Brushed Gold and Silver papers are so beautiful. Thanks, Cyndee, for giving me an excuse to use them.