Belle Papier {pretty paper}

I think these must be among my top favorite embellishments that I have discovered in the past few months! I just adore these little pins! So fun and easy to work with…they make a great addition to most projects. I love their fresh look! The new Fashion Sense Pins from Fancy Pants Designs are so darling…I just want to have them all. Each package comes with 32 pins. There are 6 different selections available and in each one…4 pin-head designs and 4 different colors. The Sassy, Playhouse, Harvest and Splash pins have color combos to span the seasons. Tis the Season and With Love Pins are more seasonal in nature and have darling little shapes and colors to their packages.

How to Use

If you’ve never added pins to your designs, they are very easy to use. The pins can be held with ribbon, buttons, slid into chipboard or through felt, and are a great embellishment to work in with other types of embellishments. A cluster if you will. These pins sell for around $5.99 US and I know if you buy one package, you’ll definitely be back for more.
Where to Find

• I purchased my pins at my local scrapbook store… The Scrapbook Studio. I love their great selection.
• You can also purchase these Fancy Pants Fashion Sense pins on-line at various retailers

Holiday Wishes, Loving Kisses

I started off this design by wanting to try out a new stamp set from Kitchen Sink Stamps. I love this darling Three-step Mistletoe. What a great, flexible Christmas set and it has darling sentiments to go along with it too! The Purely Pomegrant, Bashful Blue and Old Olive color combo is pulled from this darling Striped Christmas paper from Webster’s Pages. I just love it!

After stamping my three-step mistletoe with …you guessed it…three layers of stamping, I added a little knotted piece of May Arts ribbon. I find it easiest to add the pin by first knotting the ribbon how you want it and then sliding the pin through. To add a fun touch to the pin, I added a little rhinestone sticker embellishments.

Quick Tip:  Have fun embellishing your embellishments for a fun, unique touch. Embellishments can be sanded, painted, inked or have stickers or rhinestones added to make them that extra bit special

To add a couple extra touches, I stitched around my layers with brown thread and then added one super huge copper brad from Karen Foster Designs.

Wishing you holiday wishes and may you get lots of kisses!

Some other designs… (click on image to go to original post instructions)

It’s Saturday…another busy Saturday as Christmas draws nearer! Only ten more shopping days to go! I’m busy trying to finally get up our Christmas tree today so this entry will be super short. I just know you have things to do as well!

Christmas Peace

This is a super clean and simple design using this darling little Christmas tree set, Playful Christmas from Kitchen Sink Stamps. I just love the two step stamping and had to try it out with a little flocking. The trees were first stamped with the solid image in Soft Sky and Olive Olive. Using my Essential Glue Pad, I inked up the funky circles tree and stamped it right on top. Using blue flocking, I sprinkled both trees and then tapped off the excess. I love how the flocking changes the colors underneath a little and the flocking looks so funky with those retro trees. I just love this Figgy Pudding 6×6 pad of paper from Basic Grey. What great fun color combos and patterns, sized perfectly for designing cards. A mat of metallic red cardstock and Soft Sky borders my image and for a sparkly touch…some big fat clean rhinestones from Doodlebug Designs adds a festive touch to the top of the trees!

Hope your Saturday is simply wonderful!

Making a list…checking it twice…

I’ve been busy making lists, lists, lists…to do lists, to buy lists, food lists, when-on-earth I’m going to do it all lists! This year Christmas has really crept up on me and I am scrambling. The tree has yet to go up…that is Saturday’s project. While I’ve been busy making all these other lists though…I’ve written a Christmas Wish List article for Craft Critique. A list of things I’m wishing for this Christmas and a list of things I love in case you need a little help with finishing off your Christmas list. What did I wish for? Well….check it out….

Dear Santa…a papercrafter’s list

What’s on your list this year? I’d love to know!

Enjoy the rest of your countdown to Christmas and remember…it’s really not about the gifts…it’s about the joy, hope, love and peace that God’s gift to us has brought.

I love monochromatic color schemes and really, I just don’t use them enough. Soft, elegant and beautiful…monochromatic designs are all about design and texture and the beauty of the image themselves. It’s Thursday again and time for another Ways to Use it Challenge! This week the challenge is to find ways to use a monochromatic color scheme. If you’d like to play along…all are welcome! Check out the challenge at WT144

White Christmas

For this design, I actually limited myself to only white cardstock, Sahara Sand ink and a touch of soft yellow Copic markers to highlight the glow from the windows. When using only one color of cardstock and ink, you need to rely heavily on the element of texture to keep your design from looking flat. After stamping my Thomas Kinkade Stonehearth Hutch image from Cornish Heritage Farms onto my main image panel, I sponged the edges of my white cardstock with Sahara Sand ink. This helps define my layers. The sentiment, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, also from the Thomas Kinkade line was stamped directly on top of the image. On top of my main card base, the Textured Harlequin backgrounder was stamped on a slightly smaller white cardstock panel and again, my edges were sponged. After adhering my layers together, I straight-stitched around my main image and around the background panel, used a free-style stitch. The edges of my image were pulled up with my finger to add some more texture.

My finishing touches…some Basic Grey chipboard holly leaves were sponged with white craft and then the edges sponged with Sahara Sand. Three Making Memories rhinestone stickers form some glittering holly berries and keep with the monochromatic scheme.

Hope you enjoy this design. I’m hoping for a white Christmas here! It just doesn’t seem like Christmas without a little snow!

Kim’s been busy creating more darling stamp sets! If you haven’t already checked them out…Kim Hughes has another SEVEN darling new sets, just released from Cornish Heritage Farms. So cute and fun, I just had to share them hear with you today. Canada Post being what it is at holiday season, my sets are still out in the great wide world out there! LOL I don’t have any samples yet to show you. I’ve been stalking that mail-person…hoping today is the day! I can’t wait to use that Supah Star set on some great boy designs. I have four of them you know…boys that is. And won’t Say What work well with that Quirky Alpha? So fun! I also can’t wait to use the Hugs and Kisses set for Valentine’s. I must say…my favorite set of the release is America the Beautiful. Now this may be a little strange seeing as I am Canadian. LOL But I just LOVE that eagle! He has some serious attitude! You can check out the design team samples in the Kim Hughes Collection Gallery at Cornish Heritage Farms.

America the Beautiful

Bloomin Beautiful

Hugs and Kisses

Pet-tootie Sentiments

Quirkie Alphabet

Supah Star

Say What?

Have a fun day! I’ll be busy finishing up some stamping assignments and doing some MORE Christmas shopping. Does it ever end?! And tonight…the High School Christmas Concert. I’ve been waiting for this one all year! :)     Make sure you check back in tomorrow as I have a Ways to Use it Challenge for you that I’m sure you all can play!