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I used the rest of the Gelli Print paper from this morning's card to die cut some MFT Die-Namics Stitched Flowers.
I used 3-D Glue Dots for dimension on some of the blooms and added Eyelet Outlet White Round Jewels to the centers. The layout is this week's MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge.
I finished with a sentiment from MFT Essential Sentiments.
When I saw the theme at Just Us Girls Challenge this week, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.
I pulled out my favorite Big Sentiment die cut and a piece of Gelli Printed paper from Art Camp.
I love the cool graffiti-like effect and how you can see the texture in the paint.
When I attended Stamp Joy a few weeks ago, Taylor provided us with a list of local stamp stores who helped sponsor the event. Since I knew we were headed on a Wisconsin Road Trip this week, I mapped in a variety of stores that we were able to stop and visit along the way.
We started our vacation in La Crosse, Wisconsin (if you go ... make sure you stay at the fabulous Charmant Hotel). Stamp 'n Hand was one of the first stamping stores I visited when I started making cards. Unfortunately, I believe some of the inventory that was there over 15 years ago is still in the store. If you like vintage products, you might be able to find them here. She does carry some new papers and stamps, but a lot of the stamps are older wood block designs.
Our next stop was Picture This in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. This was by far one of the biggest and best stocked stores we visited. They had a wide variety of scrapbooking and stamping products and an exceptional selection of die cuts. I even found a super-cute goat that I can't wait use.
Make sure you go next door to Five & Two Cafe and treat yourself to a Latte after you shop (or you can leave your husband there to enjoy a Latte while you shop).
Next we headed north to Rice Lake to revisit two locations from prior trips ... the first was Bargain Bills. The selection seemed quite a bit less than I remembered (then again, after years of shopping for supplies, it could just be my perception). Also, the prices weren't exactly bargain either. It is a large space with lots of craft supplies. I found a few paper packs I hadn't seen.
The other location we wanted to re-visit was the Norske Nook. The pie was as yummy as we remembered ... Coconut Pineapple Dream Pie for Rod ... Peach Raspberry Melba for me.
Our final stop of the day was Creative Hideaway in Medford, Wisconsin. This store carries stamping, scrapbooking and quilting. I scored a few Taylored Expressions dies on the clearance table, some tubes of foil, and some fun scrapbook papers.
The next day we visited The Stamp Shoppe in Schofield, Wisconsin. The space was somewhat small, but I did find the new Penny Black Christmas stickers to add to my stash.
After that, we headed south to Wisconsin Rapids where I visited my favorite store of the trip ... Let's Create. The staff were very engaged and helpful including finding me the cute Penny Black Happy Snowman Die that has been sold out everywhere I looked. They carried a wide selection of stamps and other creative products. I liked how they had them displayed in baskets, so you could easy look through the designs.
She also shared that if you don't live close enough to attend their classes (they usually hold one in the morning & a second in the afternoon, so you can make a day of it), they will gladly ship you the class materials, so you can make the cards at home. There was a group having a lot of fun at a class when I visited.
If you're in the area, I would definitely make a point to stop in and visit.
Just down the road is a second store (which is rather hard to find because it is nestled between a car dealership & the car repair center) is Lighthouse Books & Gifts. This store had one of the largest inventory of stamps that I encountered, but none of the staff spoke to me or even came over to this side of the store the entire time I was there. If you like House Mouse and other *cuter* stamp lines, this would be a stop for you.
Hope you enjoyed my tour. It was fun to be able to shop local for lots of fun products.
PS - If you want to the food we ate and other places we visited on our adventures, follow me on Instagram.
I picked-up so many new goodies on my recent travels, it's hard to decide where to start (I know ... tough problem to have).
This card features Kind Words from Impression Obsession, together with several Impression Obsession Die Cuts for their To Die For! Challenge.
The frame is from All In One Frames Ovals (so fun that it cuts a bunch of different frames all together). I layered four Large Poinsettia die cuts together with three Pine Branches.
I'm also joining CAS on Sunday where the theme is flowers.
I got some new Taylored Expression Party Grumplings, which I thought would be great for some masculine birthday cards.
I used the colors from The Male Room Challenge to start my design.
I stamped my Grumpling on yellow cardstock and then paper pieced some orange.
I combined designer papers and cardstock using this week's Match The Sketch.
It's also Anything Goes at Simon Says Stamp.
I wanted to sneak in a final Halloween Card for this week's ColourQ Challenge.
I love these fun little Monsters, so I used one for the 100th Addicted to CAS Challenge.
A googlie eye and sticker sentiment completed my design ... I resisted sequins, since I wanted to keep it CAS.
The theme at Stamping Our Stash this week is to make a card featuring at least Three Trees. This group of trees has been hanging out in my studio since the great Color Burst Art Camp of 2015, so I was thrilled to finally incorporate it into a card.
I die cut my Color Burst Watercolor Paper panel with CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Nesting Rectangle Die cut before attaching to my base. The sentiment is Thanks CUTplorations also by STAMPlorations.
The layout is from Paper Play Sketches.
Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers is celebrating W is for watercolor.
When I saw these fun Pepsi Emojis at the SplitcoastStamper Inspiration Challenge site DieLine this morning, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to break out my Eyelet Outlet Emotion Brads (they come in regular size & mini).
I started with this week's Freshly Made Sketch (flipped to work with the larger emoji elements).
I started with the three large Emotion Brads lined-up like the inspiration piece and then added some Minis to join the party. I finished with a few Puffy Monster stickers and some Party Hat Brads that tied in perfectly to the Paper Source sentiment.
You know if I have an opportunity to break-out a YETI, I'm going to do it ... especially since I have these new Beast Friends stamps & dies from My Favorite Things.
At Jingle Belles we're still celebrating CREATURES which can include all ranges of animals ... and some monster/creatures too. I used Spectrum Noir Markers to color my Yeti and his cute Santa Hat (IG1, IB1, IB3, FS1, FS3, DR3, PP2, Blender). I added a few accents with my Signo UniBall White Pen.
I finished with a bit of Merry Christmas Washi & Enamel Dots from Eyelet Outlet. The layout is this week's Sketch Saturday layout.
My color inspiration came from The Challenge.
More fun finds from the land-o-blogs:
Have a tremendous Thursday!
