Around the World on Wednesday Blog Hop – Color Challenge

The AWOW team and I are hopping today — here on our blogs, and on Instagram — and this month’s challenge is a color challenge. Grab a cup of coffee, and take a trip around the world with me to see what all of my global stamping friends have done with this challenge!

For this color challenge, all we were given was this image:

Such a pretty photo, and I love Paris… These colors reminded me of the 2023-2025 In-Colors. I see all 5 of the new In-Colors in this — Copper Clay (the leaves), Pebbled Path (the Eiffel), Wild Wheat (the leaves), and Moody Mauve and Boho Blue as part of the group of houses/train station at the bottom. Here are those colors:

I could have taken a more literal route and chosen the beautiful DSP from the All About Autumn Suite. When I first saw this photo, these papers are the very first thing I thought of:

The only thing is, this paper is not currently available and I wanted to go into my stash and see what I had / could come up with. I immediate found the Ringed With Nature bundle and thought that would do well – mainly because the mushrooms look very “french!”

Here is my card:

I used Pebbled Path as my base, and a Pebbled Path piece of DSP that reminded me of the lines on the Eiffel Tower. I like how this turned out – simple, not too involved, so a quick and easy card with just stamps, ink, and paper. And, I like how I pushed myself out of the obvious!

Let’s see what my new Around the World on Wednesday friends did. Next up in the Hop is Shel Anderson from Canada.

Happy Stamping friends! Kelly


Roll Call

Jan Clothier – NZ

Leonie Stuart – AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith – AU

Cazz Boylan – AU

Cheryll Miller – AU

Danielle Kassing – NL

Aurélie Fabre – FR

Mikaela Titheridge – UK

Annette Ball – CA

Kelly Taranto – US – YOU ARE HERE!

Shel Anderson – CA

Chris Smith – US

Tricia Butts – US

Theresa McEntee – US

Lori Willcox – CA

Teri West – US

Cheryl Hamilton – US


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CTCS – Festive & Fun meets pg 46

Happy Sunday friends! After a very busy weekend, I’m ending today in my craft room — and it’s only 9:14pm, but was 10:14pm yesterday. Who loves Daylight Savings ending like me!? I also love the extra hour in the morning. My favorite day of the year.

Today’s CASEing the Catty Sunday Challenge (CTC#444) was to CASE a project on page 46 of the Annual Catalog from the Zoo Crew Suite. Well, I have been itching to use the Festive & Fun stamp set and figured it would work well case-ing this card:

Here is my card:

The Beary Christmas 12 x 12 DSP was perfect to pair with the crisp white background and the fine line images of the Festive & Fun stamp set. I love how this turned out — and love this card sketch!

Have a great week, and happy stamping! Kelly


Shop the Supplies:

Merriest Trees Balcony Card

Happy Saturday! Today I’m Stamping with Friends and the challenge was to make a balcony card. I have never made this fun fold before, and it is super fun! I will be trying it again with another set of products.

Be sure after reading through my post today to click through the Roll Call at the bottom of this post.

This card was so much fun to make. So first, the outside / card front is so pretty using products from the Joy of Christmas suite of products:

That suite of products makes it so simple to use to make an elegant card front.

But wait….there’s more! Because then, you open the card — and WOW!

That’s pretty too, and makes a lovely card, but then pop out the inner steps and BAM! There it is!

Love this fun fold to make this scene! I used the Merriest Trees Bundle and since the middle tree is on the fold, I scored that as well. Here’s a look from the top:

Isn’t this adorable? For all the products used, be sure to look below to shop the supplies.

For directions to make this Fun Fold, download this attached project sheet from Lisa Curcio.

Lisa is another Demonstrator, and she has wonderful tutorials for all kinds of Fun Folds. Check out this pattern, and make it your own!

Blog Hop time!

Looking forward to seeing what products my friends are working with in their projects today, and how they all used this Fun Fold! Be sure to click “Next Blog” below in the Roll Call!

Happy Stamping! Kelly


Roll Call


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Tricks & Treats!

Happy Halloween! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been able to blog, but I couldn’t let Halloween pass us by without posting something. I love the Tricks & Treats bundle in the mini catalog, and you will too! The dies comes with a die cut to make this adorable little treat bag. If it’s not in your collection, add it now…and you can start making treat bags for Thanksgiving!

Here’s my Halloween version:

That candy corn die is why I actually bought the whole bundle…I know…I have a problem. But, it is a great size – 1″ x 1 1/2″ and is simply perfect for this time of year. I also used the Delightful Doily Hybrid die set in the Annual Catalog to make the black doily and the white label for the greeting. Here’s another look:

And yes, those are peanut M&M’s – 3 packets fit in here just fine. I will be using this die for Thanksgiving in Christmas projects, so stay tuned!

Because it’s Halloween, and you’ve asked for Tricks & Treats….I went through my card stash and found these oldie but goodie ideas. All of these were made by me over the years (some are made with VERY old product–you may even have some of this in your stash!) But, wanted to share some more “treats” with you on this fun holiday!

So many of these cards can be remade with current product today — the first two show other great uses of a black doily. There is a new crate die in the catalog to remake the one with the cats in crates, and the very bottom on was an old Paper Pumpkin kit that had Crackers — you could use the current Cracker & Treat Box dies to remake something like that.

Thanks for looking, and happy Halloween!

Kelly

Around the World on Wednesday Blog Hop – Sketch Challenge – Sketch 104

Good Wednesday morning from the Eastern Time Zone! Today I’m hopping with my Around the World on Wednesday (AWOW) friends.

Grab a cup of coffee and take a trip around the World with me! This month’s challenge is to use this card sketch for inspiration:

Since it is starting to feel like Fall here in eastern North Carolina in the US, I decided to stick with products from the All About Autumn Suite.

I love how this designer series paper does all the work here. I followed along with the sketch and came up with this! Let’s take a closer look.

I love this sketch! I might try it again this weekend, and this time with a bow. A sub-challenge to this challenge was “To Bow or not to Bow!”

You should try it out to, and send me a pic of your creation!

Let’s see what my new Around the World on Wednesday friends did. Next up in the Hop is Shel Anderson from Canada.

Happy Stamping friends! Kelly


Roll Call

Jan Clothier – NZ

Leonie Stuart – AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith – AU

Cheryll Miller – AU

Danielle Kassing – NL

Ximena Morales – DE

Aurélie Fabre – FR

Mikaela Titheridge – UK

TIna Zinck – CA

Annette Ball – CA

Angie McKenzie – US

Kelly Taranto – US You are here!

Shel Anderson – CA

Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – US

Chris Smith – US

Brenda Nelson – CA

Tricia Butts – US

Theresa McEntee – US

Bree Renwick – US

Lori Willcox – CA

Teri West – US

Cheryl Hamilton – US


Shop the Supplies!

CTCS – All About Autumn meets Joy of Christmas

Happy Sunday! Today’s CASEing the Catty Sunday challenge (CTC439) was to CASE the Joy of Christmas suite, pages 28-31 of the September – December 2023 Mini Catalog. I chose to CASE this card from page 28:

Here is my version using the products from the All About Autumn Suite:

Thanks for looking, and here’s to a crafty week! Kelly


Supplies Used:

CTCS – Two of A Kind

Happy Sunday Friends! Today I’m bringing back the “CASEing the Catty Sunday” series as it’s been a while. And, because it’s the last Sunday of the month, I’m also hopping along tonight with my NC Demos group so you’ll get even MORE inspiration tonight! The theme for this month’s NC Demos’ Blog Hop is “Two of a Kind.” It’s a simple challenge: create one card layout, then make two cards using this layout with two different stamp sets and color combos. I’m following along with my CASEing the Catty Sunday group as well to get me going, and the challenge for that was to CASE a card from the O Holy Night suite, pages 14-17 of the September – December 2023 Mini Catalog.  As always with a blog hop, you’ll want to “hop along” to the next Demonstrator to see her amazing projects. Click the Next Button below to see a project from the talented Tracie Langley  or follow along using the Roll Call below.

Two of a Kind:

As a reminder – this post is doing double-duty: reintroducting CASEing the Catty Sunday challenges, AND I’m participating in the NC Demos monthly challenge. Here’s the CASEing the Catty challenge:

As I got going though, all I was thinking of was my favorite Stampin’ Up product: the Designer Series Paper. And, I didn’t even end up using any products from this suite, or a sketch from this Suite either. That’s what I love about CASEing…you never know where the inspiration will lead. Here are my cards:

Not at all like any projects on pages 14-17, but, I was inspired nonetheless. The designer series paper packs in the Mini Catalog are simply gorgeous, especially those in the O’ Holy Night Suite, and I love that those pages inspired me to use papers from the All About Autumn Suite and the Garden Walk Suite.

Tutorial:

Here are the measurements/directions for my sketch:

  • Card Base: 8 1/2 x 5 1/2, score at 4 1/4. Cut from the card front @ 2 1/8″.
  • Flap Layers: solid cardstock – 2 x 5 3/8″; DSP – 1 7/8 x 5 1/4
  • Front rectangle layers: solid cardstock – 3 3/8 x 4 5/8; DSP – 3 1/4 x 4 1/2
  • Scallop front: I used the scallop rectangle from the Scalloped Contours Dies and the vanilla/white piece measures 2 1/8 x 3 1/2

Here’s a closer look at each:

Hope you like this simple, yet beautiful card sketch!

Now, let’s Hop!

Thanks for stopping by, and hope you take this card sketch and try it out. Now, let’s see what the others have done with this challenge! Click the next arrow to hop over to Tracie Evans Langley’s blog!

Happy Stamping! Kelly


Roll Call:

September Blog Hoppers
Toni Campana 
Tina Lesson
Kristine Vicente
Ronnie Johnson 
Laurie Meier
Kelly Taranto – The Late Night Stamper — You Are Here!
Tracie Evans Langley, the Sassy Stamper


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Stamping With Friends – Gift of Giving

Happy Saturday! Today I’m hopping with my Stamping with Friends group and featuring the new Gift of Giving stamp set from the new Sept-Dec mini catalog. We were to create a project using projects from the new mini catalog, so I immediately picked up this new stamp set. It was the very first on my wish list when I saw the new book…after all, it has a mug, and I love all-things coffee! Be sure to check out the Roll Call at the bottom of this post so you can carry through and see the other creations of my talented stamping friends!

Here’s my card:

In addition to the Gift of Giving stamp set, this project also features two other new products — both that are a little bit hidden in the catalog: the “perfect for the season” DSP called A Walk in the Forest, and the Deckled Circles Dies. (You can see all supplies used at the bottom of this post).

I say these products are “hidden” because they are tucked in corners of the new booklet. Stampin’ Up catalogs are not only product sales tools, they are books for inspiration (hence why I’m always “CASE-ing the catalog, like today!) They have to cram so much into these books, so sometimes products aren’t highlighted so prominently. This happens — so be sure to check the index in the back of the book too as sometimes that helps you find these hidden gems. Let’s look at all of these products:

The Deckled Circles are a little pricey – $37 – but WOW, they are worth it. Again the catalog does not do these justice. The largest circle measures 5 3/4 in diameter and is HUGE! These are a great addition to your stamp collection.

Also, something special about A Walk in the Forest DSP? $3 from each sale of this paper pack will be donated by Stampin’ Up! to support organizations dedicated to spreading cheer and providing support to those in need. This is part of SU’s “Making a Difference” program.

My card was inspired by a card on that page of the mini catalog:

If you saw my post from Wednesday where I mentioned Case-ing the catalog, this is where those card designs also came from. Love this layout – simple, yet effective! Let’s take another look at my card for today:

Love how this turned out, and will be making more with the other images in this stamp set!

Be sure to hop along using the links below. Thanks for looking today, and happy stamping!

Kelly


Roll Call


Shop the Supplies

Around the World on Wednesday Blog Hop – Let’s Go For A Walk

Happy Wednesday! I’m excited to report that I am now a member of the Around the World on Wednesday (AWOW) Team! I am so honored to have been chosen to join this amazing group of stampers. Huge thanks to Angie McKenzie from Central US for reaching out to me and asking me to join when a spot opened up on the East Coast. This is so exciting! Here’s a photo of us:

This month’s Blog Hop theme is “Let’s Go For a Walk.” I can’t wait to see what my new stamping friends came up with for this theme. The instructions were pretty wide open, so I have no doubt you’ll be inspired. Grab a cup of coffee and take a trip around the World with me!

As soon as I read about the theme for this Hop, I knew I wanted to use the new All About Autumn suite in the Sept-Dec 2023 Mini Catalog, featuring the new All About Autumn designer series paper. Let’s take a look at these papers:

I grew up in eastern Pennsylvania, and then lived in Massachusetts for 20 years, taking a walk or a hike in the fall was something we did often because the fall leaves are just so beautiful! The new DSP in this suite is so pretty and these images immediately took me back to crisp fall days in the Northeast. Now living in eastern North Carolina I crave the foliage. We get a little of it down here, but not quite like in the mountains.

Here are my cards:

Let’s take a closer look:

For these cards, I used the exact same layout – inspired by a card on page 4 of the Mini catalog (more on that later this week when I do a Case the Catalog post). In addition to the All About Autumn dsp, I also used the Autumn Leaves bundle, the new Distressed Tile 3D embossing folder, and the GORGEOUS Oxidized Copper 12 x 12 Specialty DSP. These photos do not even do that paper justice. Holy moly it is so pretty. Shop the supplies below.

The first card of the three is my favorite — and makes me feel like I’m walking along that path. Here it is again:

I’m curious to hear what would you do for this “Let’s Go for a Walk” challenge. Let’s see what my new Around the World on Wednesday friends did. Next up in the Hop is Shel Anderson from Canada.

Happy Stamping friends! Kelly


Roll Call:

Jan Clothier – AU

Leonie Stuart – AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith – AU

Cheryll Miller – AU

Danielle Kassing – NL

Aurélie Fabre – FR

Mikaela Titheridge – UK

Annette Ball – CA

Angie McKenzie – US

Kelly Taranto – US — You Are Here!

Shel Anderson – CA

Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – US

Chris Smith – US

Brenda Nelson – CA

Tricia Butts – US

Theresa McEntee – US

Bree Renwick – US

Lori Willcox – CA

Teri West – US


Shop the Supplies:

NC Demos Blog Hop: To Die For

It’s the last Sunday of August, so that means time to Blog Hop with my NC Demo Friends! This month’s theme is “To Die For” and the challenge is to feature a standalone die or bundle that featured a large die. I am choosing the Paper Florist Dies from the annual catalog. This post also will kick off a Product Feature Week so expect to see more projects using these dies throughout the week. You may have come from my friend Laurie Meier’s Blog, or you might be arriving here first. Be sure to “hop” along through the Roll Call below so you can see all of the projects with this fun theme!

Okay, so let’s look at these dies because you may have missed the Paper Florist dies in the catalog!

This die set is a standalone set in the Annual Catalog, meaning it doesn’t have a coordinating stamp set. It can be found on page 165 if you have a hardcopy, and it is $37 for a set of 18 dies. Boy, is this die set full of wonderful dies — well worth the money! You might be looking at this thinking, what are all of these dies? Well, there are 4 leaves – three leaves for flowers, and one 3-stem cut for tulips. They are circled here:

Then, there are 4 main dies for petals to make different styles of flowers (including the tulip heads!)

Finally, the rest of the dies can be mixed and matched to make a variety of things — mostly the centers for the flowers, but really anything — so many options!

Okay, enough already, let’s take a look at these dies in action! For my project today, I used these dies to make home décor items. The first is a little sign I have above my stamping desk.

Since this is in my craft room, I of course used The Late Night Stamper brand colors, as well as a coffee mug to hold all of my flowers. I also used the new “More Dazzle” 6 x 6 Specialty Paper for some of the flower centers to give it a little bling. The saying looks Balmy Blue in this photo, but it is actually embossed in Basic White embossing powder using the Alphabest stamp set.

Once I got a few flower building under my belt, I made these larger décor items. These will make great gifts. I imagine putting a little saying in the blank space, or even a person’s name. Let’s first look at one made with the same colors as above:

Here’s a closeup of these flowers so you can also really see the flower center that is made with that long die that looks like it makes fringe (the navy center of the big yellow flower, and the coral center in the big blue flower):

Then, I was on a roll and had a bunch of cardstock in various yellows sitting there, so I made a yellow version:

And again, a close-up:

You’ll see I used a variety of greens for leaves, some early espresso for some of the centers, and some specialty papers to add some shimmer. I imagine this bright yellow frame of sunshine will brighten someone’s day!

Hope these items give you an idea of what this die set can do. Stay tuned this week for more projects using these dies on cards. Note: if you shop my online store, you’ll see these dies are currently unavailable. They will be back in stock for ordering the week of September 11th.

In the meantime, let’s see what the others have done with this challenge. Click the next arrow to hop over to Tracie Langley’s Blog!

Happy stamping! Kelly


August 2023 Blog Hoppers
Tina Lesson  
Jo Anne Hewins
Toni Campana
Laurie Meier
Kelly Taranto You are here!
Tracie Evans Langley, the Sassy Stamper