Good Morning!

What's new at FM?

Artisitic Outpost stamps came in today. If you wanted a set from the Workshop, they are back in stock. The 2 newest sets arrived, too. One is a full sheet of Christmas & winter images called Snowy Woods, the other is Bluebirds which has winter & spring images. They're all beautiful! You can check them out on the Artistic Outpost website.


New Cosmo Cricket papers came in last week. One line is for the holidays. Others are for Halloween. The print paper on the Robot card is one of the new holiday designs.


Last night I put together a card using some papers from designer Kimberly Poloson for Fiskars. I realy like the deep browns & patterns on this paper line. The dotted paper in the background is a coordinationg print. I used the coordinationg cardstock Border Stickers to create the band along the ribbon. There are 4", 6" & 12" strips in the set. I used 2 Spellbinders dies to cut the oval & scallop. The verse & faint swirl are from an Hero Arts set called Trees, Birds & Messages. I did absolutely no distressing on this card. Can you believe it?

-Judy

Robot Holiday Greeting

A fun robot card.....

.....created from a small Hero Arts holiday clear set.

The robot is colored with Tombow markers & Spica glitter markers. The patterned paper is one of several new holiday papers from Cosmo Cricket.

Isn't he cute? Or is it she?

Hero Arts also has a larger robot clear set for birthdays.

Keep stamping!

-Judy

A Christmas Greeting

I set out to make some cards on Tuesday night....thinking plural! I had ideas for several. Well, I worked on one idea using a big background Christmas stamp and that was all! My original idea didn't work out as I had hoped. Once I stopped trying to make that work, I came up with this card.
The gold embossed background with the bird & poinsettia is created with a Hero Arts stamp. The greeting is from a small Hero Arts clear set. I used 2 Spellbinders Nestabilities dies to cut the ovals. The background color is sprayed with Tattered Angels "Juniper". I also sprayed the white poinsettia from Imaginisce. 3 little brads make the flower center.

Enjoy!

Judy

Upcoming Events

I just updated the upcoming events list in the sidebar. Here's a bit more information.

Take 6 for October will be on the 11th - second Saturday for this month. Make 6 easy cards for $2.00 each. We ask that you please sign up for a time because of our space limitations. Time slots are 9-11, 11-1, 1-3, 3-5.

Moonlight Madness will be October 30th from 4-8 pm. .........always a fun time! Come in your Halloween costume & get a free gift! Every customer draws for a coupon for a percent off their entire purchase.

We have a Spellbinders Extravaganza planned for November. The days are
November 6 - 12-8
November 7 - 10-5
November 8 - 10-5
The Spellbinders dies were very popular at our Workshop. We are expecting a huge order of many of the new dies to arrive soon. You can see all the new products on the Spellbinders website. At the Extravaganza we'll offer a free make & take card. You'll have a chance to use the dies! Other cards will be $2.00 each. All of the Spellbinders dies will be discounted on those days. Put it on your calendar! You won't want to miss it!

We're also planning to offer a time to make some of the Workshop cards for those of you who couldn't come. Keep watching for a date. We're still working that out.

Fun days ahead! See you at the store!

Thank You

Thank you to all our demonstrators at the Workshop on Saturday! We appreciate your time & effort that made the workshop a great success. Check out the new group photo!


Thank you to everyone who came to the workshop! YOU made our day! We appreciate your support & hope you had a wonderful time! I heard lots of good comments. It was fun to see many familiar faces and meet many new stampers.

Here's a few photos at the very beginning of the workshop:

-Intent stampers at my table........

-Early shoppers at the "store" -Robyn, Helen & MaryJo teaching

I especially enjoyed sharing the day with my sister, Kathy. She did a great job teaching at a table right next to me. Thanks to her for taking the photos.

Keep April 4th on your calendar for the Spring Workshop........

The End

and at last #15..........

I designed this card from Tim Holtz' set called Elements of Time. This was fun to make using Distress Embossing Powder, lots of Distress inks, and Adirondack markers. I used a Spellbinders circle die to cut acetate that covers the clock face.

This the last of the cards made at the workshop. I hope all of you who attended enjoyed the day! To our blogger friends, we hope you enjoyed all the photos. Please email or call the store or myself for more informations. We'd love to receive comments!

14 is almost the end......

We're coming to the end........this is 14

This is the 3rd card made from the Fancy Pants clear set. Doreen created this beautiful holdiay card.

Holiday Joy

13 & still counting.............



This is another creation using the Fancy Pants clear set. Doreen made this card. I really like how she stamped the wreath off the edge. Spellbinders circle dies cut all the center pieces that nest together so well.

Peace Dove

this makes 12......

This is one of 3 cards designed with a wonderful holiday stamp set by Fancy Pants. Silver pearl embossing powder with Distress inks create this pretty card.

Designed by Judy

May You Love

and 11..........

I created this card with a stamp by Paper Bag Studios. The flowers & oval are cut with Spellbinders dies. I used Distress Crackle Paint for the oval. A bit of checked ribbon finishes it off.

Three Sheep

and # 10........

Dianne designed this card using stamps from Primitive Beginnings by Cornish Heritage Farms. Doesn't the stitching around the edge add a nice touch?

Give Thanks

Here's # 9.......

Sally created this card using CuttleBug dies and Core'dination papers. Sanding brings out the core color of the paper & really gives the images dimension. The verse is from a Cornish Heritage Farms set.

This is eight.....

Are you still counting? This is number 8.

Again created by Doreen......yes, she was busy!

She stamped this design & then cut it into 1 inch squares to become an "inchie" card. The images were colored with Spica glitter markers. I couldn't quite capture the glimmer in the photo. The stamp set is by Hero Arts - Live Simple.

And 7..........

........the last of the Hero Arts Bold Messages cards.....a birthday message. The paper is from My Mind's Eye. The flower was cut with a Spellbinder's die. Created by Doreen.

Number 6

.......the 3rd of the Hero Arts Bold Messages cards. Dianne created this slider card which also uses a Spellbinders die for the butterfly & a message from a Cornish Heritage Farms set.

Five & Counting..........

Here's the 2nd of the 4 cards from the Hero Arts clear set of Bold Messages. The stamp featured is "Friends". The flowers are also from Hero Arts. Another Doreen creation.

And a Fourth......

This card is one of 4 created from a Hero Arts Clear Design set called Four Bold Messages. The paper is by Graphic 45. Doreen created this card.

Serenity

Number 3.........

This is another creation by Doreen. The stamp is from a set by Artistic Outpost.

A Vintage Holiday Card

The next card.........

Doreen created this card using a stamp by Paper Bag Studios. I love the vintage look!

Tim Holtz ATC Collage Card

Here's the first of the workshop cards.........

This card was created with a Tim Holtz ATC collage stamp and Spellbinders flower die. The verse is from Cornish Heritage Farms. If you want more details, please email me or the store.

Only a wake up........

Only a wake up until the workshop......the culmination of many hours of work by all the FM girls". Everything is set up at the community center. I think there are only a few minor details to complete before we welcome everyone at 9:00 a.m.
I had a wonderful surprise yesterday evening. My sister is coming to the workshop! I had invited her to help never expecting her to come. It's an 8 hour drive from her home in Wisconsin. Well, she decided to come for the weekend. She'll be teaching one of the projects. I look forward to sharing the day with her.
To everyone coming tomorrow, I look forward to seeing you! To everyone else, check back for photos tomorrow!

-Judy-

2 Days

Just 2 days until the big FM workshop! Hope to see you there!

Another Artistic Outpost card

Another card made with the Artistic Outpost "Home" set!

I must admit I spent quite some time working on this one. I really enjoy coloring stamped images like this using the Ranger Distress Inks. The truck, barn background & trees are all colored with various Distress inks. I use pieces of Cut N Dry foam to apply most of the color & a Q-tip for a few areas. The "home" piece was cut with a Spellbinders tag from chipboard & painted with Distress Crackle paint. I used "black" & "red pepper" paint from the Ranger Paint Dabbers to stamp "home". The barbed wire image stamped many, many times created the ground under the truck. It worked great!

Enjoy!

Questions? Leave a comment or email me.

4 days & counting.............

Judy

5 Days & a Wake Up

Workshop week! 5 days & counting.... We've come to crunch time. We'll be cutting paper and gathering supplies the next 3 days. Our demonstrators will have an opportunity to make all the cards on Thursday or Friday plus learn which card they'll be teaching. That's when we find out if we forgot something, what tool or supply is missing from a project. I'll have photos of all the cards to share after the workshop. I can hardly wait!


I had some time to work with an Artistic Outpost stamp set on Saturday. Here's the card I made using Graphic 45 paper & the rooster image from the Artistic Outpost "Home" set. When I first saw this set, I couldn't imagine how I'd use that stamp. I challenged myself to work with it. Surprise! I really like how it worked with these papers.

I have another card to post later using most of the other stamps in that set. If you'd like to see the stamp set, check out the Artistic Outpost website.

See you at the workshop!

Judy

Is it Fall already?

It sure feels like Fall here in southwestern Minnesota even though it's still truly summer. The day time temps have hardly made 70 this week. I love the crispness in the air but not the coolness.

I have a few final changes to make on that last workshop card. Ugh! I think I have a mental block. I can't seem to get the combination of "beauty, technique & ease to make" to come together.

Since a photo is worth a 1000 words .............here's a card from Kathy for you to enjoy!

She used a Spellbinders die to cut the maple leaf. The negative created when she cut the leaf out of cardstock was used as a stencil to create the subtle leaf patterns in the background with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. I think 2 of the leaves were colored with Glimmer Mist also. One of the leaves is cut from craft foil which she colored with Ranger Adirondack alcohol inks. I love the fall colors. Thanks, Kathy!

I hope many of you are signed up for the workshop......

Get your supples together & be ready for a fun creative day! Only 9 days & a wake up to go......

Keep stamping,

Judy

Sneak Peak

Good morning all!

We're counting down now......only 12 before the Workshop! Wow, that makes me a bit nervous. Not about the projects or teaching. No, now's when I start to wonder if we remembered to order everything for each project. I made up duplicates today of the cards that I designed. As I worked on them, I thought of a few supplies I'd forgotten to add to the original list. Good thing there's still 12 days...........we have time to order yet.

Last post I listed all the projects. Today, I'm giving you a sneak peak. Since I was working on this card today, I had these supplies laying on my table. Hope this makes you want to see the finished card.

If you come to the workshop, you'll have a chance to make a card with these elements. If you can't come to the workshop, don't worry. I'll post all the cards afterwards.

Workshop Info

I had a wonderful Labor Day weekend spent with family. I was exhausted yesterday! I know I haven't cooked that much in the past month!!!

Now, I'm concentrating on the the Fall Workshop. I have one card design to finish. Then I'll start writing supply lists & directions for my card projects. After that we'll start cutting paper, gathering supplies & making final preparations. I love seeing all the plans come together.

New stamps companies that will be featured are:
Cornish Heritage Farms
Artistic Outpost
Paper Bag Studios

Remember the date is Saturday, September 20, 2008 at the Walnut Grove Community Center. Cost is $25 & must be paid in advance. There will be 12 Stamping Stations with an instructor at each table. All materials are provided and pre-cut for each card! Please bring your own adhesives, scissors, and any other tools you prefer to use.

Here's the Fall Stamping Workshop 2008 Project List:
Tim Holtz Truck - Masculine Card (1 point)
Fancy Pants Christmas - 3 cards (2 points)
Tim Holtz Collage (1 point)
Paperbag Studio May You Love Anniversary/General Card (1 point)
Serenity-Artistic Outpost Sympathy Card (1 point)
Paperbag Studio Kids Christmas (1 point)
Hero Arts Greetings Set of 4 Cards (2 points)
Cornish Heritage Farms Primitive Sheep Card (1 point)
Hero Arts Live Simple (1 point)
Fall Leaves Card (1 point)

We look forward to seeing some of you at the Workshop!