Free Skate

Happy Friday!
Today's a day that can't make up its mind. If I look east out my windows, it's a gorgeous fall day with just a little dusting of snow on the mountains and oodles of pretty fall leaves decorating the landscape. If I look west out my windows, the sky is angry and gray and getting ready to usher in the next snow storm. That's life here in Montana!

Do you like to ice skate? Did you ever ice skate as a kid?  I did occasionally but never got real proficient. My kids got a little more exposure to it because the elementary school they went to actually had an ice rink on the playground all winter. It took a team of dedicated parents to maintain it but the kids really had fun at recess skating.

My share today is related to ice skating and the "Free Skate" bundle. It's such a sweet set and having dies to go with it really make it fun to create with.  Here are some of my ideas:

For my first card, I used the stamp set and dies in a pretty straightforward way. I used my gray Stampin' Blends to color the bases of the skates and blades.  Don't you love this color combination?  I can't get enough of the new In Color, Pretty Peacock. The Designer Series Paper is from the "Come to Gather" pack and I think wood grain and gingham are my two favorite patterns right now! I stamped some snow flakes on the wood paper and used the wonderful bow die from this bundle.  I also grabbed the coordinating ribbon and faceted gem that come in all the In Colors.

This card was not difficult, just time consuming as I had to lace each skate with some navy Baker's twine! The skates were made from a coordinating die that comes in the set and I cut them out of the platinum foil paper. My background is from the wonderful "Wrapped in Plaid" DSP. My sentiments fit perfectly in some of the Layering Squares dies.

I also wanted to try something besides a card. These skates are big enough that they can really make a statement on a package or gift bag. Another favorite of this bundle is the holly die. It cuts out super easy and will adorn anything! By tying the skates to the handle of the bag, it looks like they are the laces on the skates. I loved this! What comes to your mind when you see this bundle?

Some of my friends and I had a fabulous time last night at my first "Sip N Stamp" event. My husband has a monthly board meeting he has to go to on the 3rd Thursday of the month so I'm going to make this event a regular recurring thing on that night!  We had so much fun!  I had set out several boxes of things to play with like the "Everything is Rosy" medley which is on the Clearance Rack right now, the "Most Wonderful Time of Year" medley which is in the Christmas catalog, a couple of cards, a Paper Pumpkin kit and the cards and Memories and More supplies from the "Night Before Christmas" suite of products. It's fun to get a chance to fiddle around with some different things and then see if you'd like to buy them. Put November 21st on your calendar as that will be the next "Sip N Stamp"!

I have been focusing on Pinterest lately and doing some research as far as getting more followers and also how to get more attention for my pins. If you have never checked out my Pinterest social media, please do!  It's a handy way to see all my work and each pin directs you back to a specific blog post which covers the details of products and techniques I used.   Here's the link:

Big Sky Stampin' on Pinterest

I would be so grateful if you started "following" me and invite your stampin' friends to do so as well!

That's it for today!  I have a Holiday card buffet next week so I'm off to start getting ready for that! It's always a great time and I can't wait to see some of you! I'll post more but it's from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, October 25th and 26th!

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah