Odd Combination

This card didn't turn out the way I was planning at all! In my head, it was pretty in pink and barely banana -- kind of soft and flowy. Somewhere along the way though, it took a surprising turn to rose red and vintage violet -- much more elegant than I envisioned. I'm not really sure where the colors came from. I just pulled them out and gave it a shot. After all, it's just paper right?

The layout is from sketch challenge 84 at splitcoast stampers. I especially loved the way that Trudee used organdy ribbon in her Marigold Petals card here.

This card features another way to use watercolor wonder crayons with watercolor paper. Instead of using the direct to rubber technique that I used for this card, I stamped the flowers and butterfly with Timber Brown Stazon ink on the watercolor paper. Then with my aquapainter, I picked up color from the bottom of my crayons and colored in the images. By using watercolor paper, I had more time to blend colors than I would have with cardstock.

Finally I stamped both the vintage violet and rose red layers with the Fine Lace background stamp to soften the layers.

Stamps: Butterfly of Happiness, Fine Lace Background Stamp
Ink: Rose Red, Vintage Violet, Timber Brown Stazon
Cardstock: Rose Red, Vintage Violet, Chocolate Chip, Watercolor Paper
Accessories: Ivory Narrow Organdy Ribbon, Watercolor Wonder Crayons (Regal Rose, Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron), Snail Adhesive, Aquapainter

Sweet Thanks

I am loving the new Loves Me paper in the winter mini. The colors are so me. This card is super simple to make, but uses a bunch of punches.

First I stamped the thank you flower on whisper white cardstock and punched it out with the new small tag punch. Then I punched the regular tag out of regal rose. The horizontal slot punch makes a nice little opening for the taken with teal tab made from the word window punch out. The pretty in pink brad helps tie the whole color scheme together.

This is my favorite layout to showcase tags. I've used it before for this birthday card and originally CASEd it from Jen McCracken whose original card I can't find online anymore but was CASEd here on splitcoast.

Stamps: Tagger's Dozen
Ink: Regal Rose, Cool Caribbean
Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Regal Rose, Cool Caribbean, Taken with Teal, Whisper White, Loves Me Designer Paper
Accessories: White Grosgrain Ribbon, Soft Subtles Brads, Small Tag Punch, Tag Punch, Word Window Punch, Horizontal Slot Punch

Happiness is...

I love butterflies. I think I might own all of the butterfly stamps in the Stampin' Up! catalog. So, when I got my Winter mini catalog in the mail and saw the Butterflies of Happiness set, I had to add it to my first order.

To get a soft watercolored look, I colored directly on the butterfly stamp with my watercolor wonder crayons. Then I sprayed the watercolor paper with water and stamped. This is my favorite way to use the watercolor wonder crayons.

Every layer of this card was stamped with the linen background stamp to soften it a little. I also used the cutter kit to rough up the layer behind the butterfly. I think this adds a whispy and airy element that looked perfect. To just stamp the word "Happiness", I inked up the single word with my basic black marker.

The layout is from sketch challenge 86 at splitcoast stampers.

Stamps: Butterfly of Happiness, Linen Background Stamp
Ink: Ballet Blue, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana
Markers: Basic Black
Cardstock: Ballet Blue, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Watercolor Paper
Accessories: Light Blue Gingham Ribbon, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Snail Adhesive, Cutter Kit

It's a Good Thing!

The name of this stamp set cracks me up. It makes me think of Martha Stewart saying "It's a good thing."

Anyway, the simply sent kit that I ordered arrived on Wednesday as I was in the middle of Thanksgiving pie making. It's been a busy couple of days, but I finally had the chance to open the box and play today. Let me tell you, I am loving these kits. I have a funny feeling I will be ordering at least one more of them during Sell-a-Bration. I haven't made the cards that came in the kit yet, but popping out the die cut rubber was like heaven. It was so easy to mount the stamps since I didn't have to trim the rubber myself.

I have a winter mini swap due with a wonderful group of demonstrators and I was determined to use my new kit (or at least the stamp set from it). I wasn't feeling the earth element colors today though, so I decided to try something different.

This is my favorite color combination from the Color Coach. (Best tool ever!!) Whenever I get really stuck, I just give the wheel a spin and see what comes up.

I used the word stamp from the Good Things stamp set to stamp the 6 words over and over again on the whisper white cardstock in Stazon Jet Black ink. I used Stazon instead of Basic Black to ensure that it wouldn't bleed on my markers later. To make sure everything lined up correctly, I used my Stamp-a-majig. (Second best tool ever!!) Then with markers, I highlighted some of the words to make them stand out more. I saw something similar in a Hero Arts catalog a few years ago and I guess the idea just stuck with me. The layer with the heart is popped up with a dimensional to help complete the look.

Finally, the layout is from sketch challenge number 68 over at splitcoast stampers. I wish I made time to do the challenges every week, but I usually don't. However, I do go back and use old challenges quite often. I think they are a wonderful resource to get your creative juices flowing. This layout in particular is one of my favorites.

Stamps: Good Things Simply Sent Kit
Ink: Stazon Jet Black, Cameo Coral
Markers: Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Basic Black
Accessories: Black Gingham Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Snail Adhesive

Nutmeg Stamping

I finally decided to take the plunge and start my very own stamping blog. So far, naming it has been the hardest part. I chose Nutmeg Stamping because I live in Connecticut -- the nutmeg state. I figured it also works because my first hobby was baking. So, there you go! Nutmeg Stamping.

So, a little about me. I have been married for 6 and a half years now to my very wonderful husband. We own our own home and have a puggle puppy named Lucy. No kids yet, but we're hoping to start a family at some point.

By day I am a software engineer, but by night I am an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator -- at least some of the time.

That's enough about me. I hope you'll stick around for some stamping chatter!