October 13, 2014

Flower Patch Thank You - Retro Sketches #136

October 13, 2014/ Shannon Jaramillo

Hello there and happy Tuesday to you! I did a fair amount of stamping this weekend so, as promised, here is one of my creations:

Flower Patch Thank You - Retro Sketches #136

I was in the mood for something bright and crisp! I recently came across a card that I adored that used the Flower Patch Stamp Set without the coordinating Flower Fair Framelits and a light bulb went on over my head. Then I saw this sketch and the card came together pretty quickly from there! I love the combination here of Crisp Cantaloupe and Calypso Coral for my flower. So bright and cheerful! I stamped the flower center in Calypso Coral as well and then added some Wink of Stella for a touch of sparkle. I used Crisp Cantaloupe, Pink Pirouette, and Soft Sky for the background flowers. I also liberally applied Wink of Stella to them as well, unfortunately the sparkle doesn't photograph well..

The details...I frayed the ends of my Twine to add extra dimension to the card and applied sequins liberally :) I couldn't resist the stitching detail on the tag. It's the 'Anytime Tags" Die from Lil Inker.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

EZ Peasy Stampin' Up! Supplies List:

Paper:

Stamps: Flower Patch; Itty Bitty Banners

Ink: Calypso Coral; Crisp Cantaloupe; Pink Pirouette; Soft Sky

Tools: Big Shot; Bitty Banners Framelits

Accessories: Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Baker's Twine; 2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment

October 13, 2014

Creative Blog Hop

October 13, 2014/ Shannon Jaramillo

Good Morning! Today is a bit special as I have been asked by my friend and fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Eva Bussom to be a part of the Creative Blog hop!

What is the Creative Blog Hop? Well...it's sort of like a chain letter. The person at the start answers four questions about themselves and then nominates one or two other stampers to participate and do the same! It's always on Mondays and just hops from one blog to the next in a never-ending chain! Neat!

The purpose of the Hop is to give us the opportunity to share a bit about ourselves and to be able to introduce our readers to others stampers who's work we admire.

I have been following Eva's work for awhile now and love her style and the refreshing way she looks at things! I was honored to be asked to be part of this hop! And now to tell you a bit about myself...

What am I working on now?

I am currently working on Christmas gifts! Of course I never know who might be reading my blog so no details can be revealed but I am working steadily on my gifts with the goal of having them completed by Halloween. I have already made enough Christmas cards for this year but may have to sneak a few more in:) I am also working on finishing up projects to get them off my desk! Organize, organize, Organize! I LOVE to organize :)

One of the projects I just finished last weekend was a set of wood owls. They have been sitting in my room unfinished for close to a year but I finally did it! Woot! I'm so pleased with the way they turned out but I have to warn you...I didn't use Stampin' Up! paper. I know, I know, but I saw this paper in an ad in a scrapbooking magazine and just HAD to have it. The yellows in the paper are the PERFECT shade of happy! I've been adoring and hoarding this paper for awhile now, it's too pretty to put away in a book! Now that it is on my owls and on display in my craft room I get to look at it everyday and that makes me so HAPPY!

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

It seems to me that many of my fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators have a certain style. Lots of paper, lots of layers and embellishments. And they are SOOO inspiring! And so that's what I was emulating when I started stamping. But over the past four years that I have been stamping, I find myself evolving towards a more minimal style. I also use more color and white space than I used to. Lately, in an attempt to use my paper stash, I have been working on combining color and paper with my clean and simple concept. Here is an example of my clean and simple style:

Why do I create what I do?

It makes me happy. That's it. I love the process of taking raw product and making something with it that I think is beautiful. I love the end product but ultimately it is the process of creating it that is the most rewarding for me. Also, I have found a community of fellow stampers beyond anything I could have dreamed of. They are kind and caring, and so supportive of each other! I would never, ever have been able to learn and grow as a card maker without the generous gifts of their talent and knowledge. They are the heart of Stampin' Up!.

This card was SO much fun to make! How can you look at all that yellow and not be happy?

How does my creative process work?

I'm all over the board on this one. When working with a sketch, I study the sketch and usually find a shape or a stamp that will work with it. If I'm working with a color challenge, I will pull full sheets of the colors out and study them to decide what their mood is. Sometimes I pull my bin of pattern paper out and just look through it to see what sticks. The other day when doing that, I was interrupted by the ding of the computer with a FB message and it wouldn't stop so I jumped up to take care of it and knocked my papers all over the floor. In the process of putting them back, I found the perfect paper for my next project! I am also greatly inspired by the wonderful card makers who share their talent so freely.

Here is a card that was inspired by a package of napkins I saw while shopping at the grocery store...You never know where inspiration will come from!

I hope you have enjoyed today's post and have learned a bit more about me and why I do what I do! And now I would like to introduce you to a very special fellow Pal and Stampin' Up! demonstrator. Her name is Michelle Gleason and you can see her work on her website Stampin Mojo. We met in person two years ago at Convention and clicked. She has a wonderful and kind heart and is SO talented. I love her clean and simple style and am honored to share a bit about her with you!

Originally born in Chicago, I am a transplant to the Southwest Florida area. My husband and I will be married 30 years next month and we are recent empty nesters. We have raised two terrific sons, one who is a junior at the University of Florida and a freshman at Northwester University. I work full-time overseeing the operations of a large independent insurance agency. I have always been a scrapbooker and paper addict. About two years ago I was invited to join a colleague at a card making event and they used Stampin' Up! products. I got my hands on a catalog and I wanted everything. I began looking for card samples and was drawn to Mary Fish's style. Then one evening I decided to join her team and purchase all those items I wanted. I am a passionate hobbyist that enjoys inspiring and sharing the joy of creating with others through my blog, www.StampinMojo.com.

I hope you pop on over to her blog to see some of her wonderful work and check back with her next Monday, October 20th, to learn a bit more about her!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I was a busy stamper this past Saturday and have lots to share! I will be back tomorrow with a project for Retro Sketches!

October 12, 2014

Can You Case It #40 - Kinda Eclectic Happy Healing

October 12, 2014/ Shannon Jaramillo

Welcome Stampers! Today I am here with another challenge from the Can You Case It Challenge Blog:

What a fun color combination this week! I can't wait to see what you do with it! Here's a bit of inspiration for you...

Can You Case It #40 - Kinda Eclectic Happy Healing

I really wasn't sure where I was going with this...I used this lovely pattern paper from the Park Lane Designer Series Paper and grabbed the Kinda Eclectic stamp set and the three challenge colors and just started stamping :)

I'm very pleased with how it turned out! I did stamp off the Pumpkin Pie ink before stamping on my card to tone down the color a bit. I used my Pumpkin Pie Blendabilities to color my pearls, such a handy feature of the Blendabilities!

I've not used this butterfly stamp before, I absolutely LOVE it and will be using that little guy more in the future!

A quick and easy card for your inspiration today, please pop over to the Can You Case It Challenge Blog to see what the other designers have created for you!

Thanks for stopping by!

EZ Peasy Stampin' Up Supplies List:

Paper: Park Lane Designer Series Paper

Stamps: Kinda Eclectic, And Many More

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: Basic Pearl Jewels, Natural Linen Thread

October 11, 2014

Boo the Friendly Ghost - RS#135 & FabFri52

October 11, 2014/ Shannon Jaramillo

Here I am beginning my weekend with two fabulous challenges! First I spotted this challenge over at Retro Sketches:

The challenge is that I get to look through ALL of their past sketches and pick whatever I want!!! Oh my gosh, I was like a kid in a candy store...so many awesome choices! Ultimately, this one grabbed me:

Retro Sketch #9...a loonngggg rime ago but still relevant!! I paired the sketch with the color combo over at Fab Friday:

What a rough color combo...for me it only said Halloween but I wanted to make it a FUN Halloween, not scary. I think I succeeded :)

I used A LOT of supplies to make this fairly clean and simple card! lol. I'm not sure how that happens...

I knew where my ghostie needed to be immediately, but first I tried hexagons behind him. Ick. So I switched gears and pulled out Gorgeous Grunge and then stamped off with my colors before stamping onto my card. Perfect! Just a touch of Tangelo Twist :) Then a few randomly cut pieces of card stock with some Linen Thread to keep it fun. Add a bow, a not-so-scary "BOO" and there you go! Well, not quite. I had to go back and add some scary eyes (in place of my beloved Candy Dots) and NOW it's complete!

Did you spot my mistake? I kept looking at my card after I was done and realized that the set of eyes above Boo the Ghost should have been stamped black to keep my sets of three going...but I don't think your average 7 year old will notice :)

And now I'm inspired to pull out the Halloween decorations :)

Have a great day and I will be back tomorrow with another fun challenge from the Can You Case It Design Team :)