Bright Hexagon Thank You - Fab Friday 36

And we're back for another round of Fab Friday!  We have a great color challenge this time.  These are vibrant colors to work with and if you have the Kaleidoscope DSP from the Occasion catalog then you're already half way there to a card because it is the same collection of colors as our challenge.

  Our palette:

  I don't have the Kaleidoscope DSP (I know, I know but I had already bought most of the Occasions catalog and I had to cut it off somewhere!) so I did struggle a bit to get the right balance of colors and white space.  I've mentioned "color bullies" before and I think the bright colors of Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry and Strawberry Slush can be color bullies and can make it hard to work with them.  I think my final try (after several failed attempts!) is a good balance.

  After birthday cards I use thank you cards the most so I went with a really simple greeting from the Lots of Thanks set.

  I also broke out the Hexagon Hive thinlet die that I had gotten months ago and it hadn't been opened yet.  The trick I've learned for this die to get the pieces popped out easily is to use a layer of waxed paper on top of the cardstock before placing the die on top.  The pieces come right out without any effort at all!  So your sandwich from the bottom up would be platform, cutting plate, cardstock, waxed paper, thin let die, cutting plate.

  I just cut a bunch of the hexagons in the challenge colors and layered them down the side on top of a Whisper White layer embossed with the Honeycomb embossing folder.  The tag is punched with the new Scallop Tag Topper punch.

  I kind of went crazy with the ribbon but I couldn't help myself!  I used black chevrons and 1/8" taffeta for the top and then ruffled stretch trim and another piece of taffeta on the bottom.  I added a little Crushed Curry button to the corner and topped it with a rhinestone for a bit of sparkle.

  I hope you'll head over to Fab Friday and see what the other designers have with these colors.  Get inspired and then play along with us!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lots of Thanks

Ink: Black Stazon

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Strawberry Slush

Accessories: Hexagon Hive thinlet, Honeycomb e.f., Scallop Tag Topper punch, button, rhinestone, chevron ribbon, taffeta ribbon, ruffled stretch ribbon, dimensionals

Birthday Fun

  Just as I'm getting ready for stamp club tonight I realized that I never shared the third project we did at class last month!

  This one is a fun birthday card using some new Occasions catalog stuff.  I think this one can be guy or girl or kid or adult.  It's always a good idea to have some birthday cards in your stash; you never know when a celebration is going to sneak up on you.

  Wow!!  I must have edited this photo at night in my dim tv room!  I promise the Tangerine Tango is not this bright in real life!  At least it draws the eye in right....or blinds you!

  This was one of those cards that started off with me wanting to use a few new products and then it just morphed into, "let me add just this one more thing"!

  The highlights on this card are the triangle punch and coordinating Geometrical stamp set, Just Sayin' stamp set, Arrows embossing folder, gold sequin trim (just pull individual sequins from the string and glue down), Word Bubble framelits and the Retro Fresh This and That wash tape.  Whew!

  I really like how so many of the different products in the Occasions catalog work well together.  It makes putting together a fun card like this really easy!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Geometrical, Just Sayin'

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, So Saffron, Coastal Cabana

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla

Accessories: gold sequin trim, Arrows e.f., Retro Fresh washi tape, triangle punch, Word Bubble framelits, dimensionals

Watercolor Wonder Sympathy

Unfortunately I've needed several sympathy cards lately...it does seem to happen in waves doesn't it?  I used some of the new Watercolor Wonder DSP since the colors seemed soothing to me.

  I used a sketch from Sketch Frenzy Friday from a few weeks ago for my inspiration and I just flipped it on it's side.

  Nothing complicated on this card.  Check out the supply list for product details.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Sweet Essentials

Ink: Gumball Green, Versamark

Paper: Smoky Slate, Island Indigo, Watercolor Wonder DSP (Occasions catalog), Whisper White

Accessories: mini flower punch, pearls, white e.p., baker's twin, button, dimensionals

Sweet Sorbet Get Well

  I've still been watching a lot of Olympics so my stamping time has been almost non-existent! I guess I better get going since I have to design a few projects for my stamp club which meets next week.  I have lots of ideas I just need to sit down and play.

  My card today is one that we made at the last stamp club.  It's a simple design that uses a lot of colors and shows off some Sale-a-bration items.  I did change the final design for class from what is shown in this photo.  The more I kept looking at the original the more I thought that the narrow black ribbon across the corner looked like one of the "in memory" or "in honor" bands that you sometimes see on uniforms to recognize someone who died.  I figured that probably wasn't the feeling that I wanted on a Get Well card!  So my stamping ladies made a bow from the Sale-a-Bration (SAB) Sweet Accessory pack twine instead.

 We used most of the Petal Parade stamps and made a little collage pulling colors from the Sweet Sorbet DSP.  The Sahara Sand and Summer Starfruit was stamped off once before stamping onto the cardstock so those images would be a little less bold.

  My ladies had a choice between a black or Sahara Sand candy dot for the center of the big Crisp Cantaloupe flower.  The flower panel is popped up on dimensionals over a narrow strips of Sweet Sorbet DSP.  Can you tell that I love these coordinating SAB products?

 Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Petal Parade (SAB), Delightful Dozen

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party, Sahara Sand, Summer Starfruit, black

Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, Basic Black, Whisper White, Sweet Sorbet DSP (SAB)

Accessories: dimensionals, candy dot, 1/8" black taffeta ribbon

Fishy Birthday - Fab Friday 35

  We can add 2 more snow days to our school calendar for this year.  School was cancelled due to the snow yesterday and today.  We at least got a little bit more with this storm so it doesn't seem quite as ridiculous.  The boys had fun playing outside yesterday.  I think we were outside for about 4 hours total so we got plenty of fresh air!  We even built a little launch ramp for sledding in our front yard.  The slope is so gradual it's hard to get up any speed while sledding so we helped it out a bit.  Hopefully the ramp will last a few more days!

  Between all the snow fun I had some time to make my design team card for Fab Friday.  We're back with a sketch challenge this week.  I have to admit I was really stumped with this one.  I tried a bunch of different ideas and this card is what came out of the giant mess on my stamping desk.  Seriously, the papers and inks were just stacked up and sliding all over the place!

 Check out the sketch:

  And my card:

 I need a birthday card for my brother in law at the end of the month and I thought these colors were perfect for a guy card.  I stamped the main panel with several stamps from the By the Tide set using Soft Sky, Coastal Cabana and Midnight Muse ink.  I went back and stamped over the fish with the retired white Shimmer paint.  I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to line it all up. 

  

  For the half doily element of the sketch I decided to emboss the coral with Pool Party embossing powder.  It's a close enough match to Soft Sky.  The Soft Sky panel is embossed with the Stripes e.f. on a diagonal and then layered with a piece of 1/8" Bermuda Bay taffeta ribbon.

  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs and punch out with circle punches.  I added a rhinestone and also a little scrap piece of Midnight Muse stitched ribbon.

  Head over to Fab Friday and check out all the fun Design Team samples and then play along with us.  Be sure to give a warm welcome to the newest Fab Friday Design Team member, Brian King!  Are we stacked with stamping all stars or what?

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: By the Tide, Petite Pairs

Ink: Midnight Muse, Coastal Cabana, Soft Sky

Paper: Midnight Muse, Soft Sky, Whisper White

Accessories: Shimmer Paint (retired), Stripes e.f., taffeta ribbon, stitched ribbon, Pool Party e.p., circle punches, rhinestone, dimensionals

Cajun Hardwood Birthday

We've had a busy weekend cheering on all the Olympians in the various sports.  It's so fun this time around as both boys are a little more interested in the competitions and sports that they aren't as familiar with.  We even moved the kitchen table into the tv room the last 2 nights to eat dinner and watch some of the events.  The boys thought that was pretty cool...I told them not to get used to it!  =)

  The card I'm sharing today is the one I made for my father-in-law's birthday which was last week.  I kept it pretty simple but did use my new Hardwood background stamp available in the Occasions catalog.  It hadn't seen ink yet and I really love how detailed it is.  All the knots and growth lines look very realistic!

  My layout came from a Just Add Ink sketch challenge from a few weeks ago.  The base is Crumb Cake and then a slightly smaller piece of Crumb Cake stamped with Early Espresso and the Hardwood stamp.

  Next I cut some circles, one out of the retired First Ed. Specialty and another out of Cajun Craze cardstock.  The First Ed. was stamped with the tree from Serene Silhouettes in Crumb Cake.  It ended up just looking like a splatter which I didn't hate so I went with it.  The Cajun Craze circle was embossed with the Woodgrain embossing folder.

  The smaller sentiment circle was stamped with Early Espresso ink using the birthday stamp from Petite Pairs and layered on an Early Espresso circle.  I added 3 retired Cajun Craze (or maybe Really Rust???) brads to the sentiment.  I used my favorite man ribbon (linen thread!) to go around the middle and then punched a little banner just because I can't resist!

  I hope you and your family are having fun watching all of the fabulous athletes from all over the world compete and show their love for their countries!  I'm thinking there might be less stamping than usual here at my house due to the fact that I don't have a tv in my stamp room!  =)

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hardwood, Serene Silhouettes, Petite Pairs

Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake

Paper: Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, First Ed. Specialty DSP (retired), Orchard Harvest DSP (retired)

Accessories: linen thread, brads, Woodgrain e.f.,  Circle framelits, circle punch, banner punch (SAB)

Watercolor Tag

  I've had today's project ready to share for a while now but last week the snow in our area prompted me to cancel my Tuesday night class.  We rescheduled for this past Tuesday night and had a great time catching up with each other since December was the last time we had stamping.  I like to wait to share class projects until my ladies have had a chance to make them themselves.  Kind of a first dibs thing!  If you're in the Richmond area and want first peek on class projects just let me know!  I'd be happy to have you join us!

 One of the first sets to catch my eye in the Occasions catalog was the Happy Watercolor set.  The mix of images, splotches (technical term) and sentiments lends itself to many different kinds of cards.  The different stamps can be used together on one card like in this one or they can be used mixed with other sets.  I know I will get a lot of use out of the splotches and the "thank you".

  For this card we started with a Smoky Slate base.  Then we stamped the little dots down the center in Smoky Slate ink  A strip of Watercolor Wonder DSP fills up the left side of the card.  I love the soft colors and patterns in this pack!

  One of my new favorite tools is the scalloped tag topper punch also in the Occasions catalog.  And from the orders my ladies placed after class they loved it too!!  We punched out a tag and then stamped twice with Daffodil Delight to get our splotches.  Then we stamped the flower right on top using Smoky Slate ink.

  The sentiment is Smoky Slate as well and punched with the large oval punch.  The top of the tag is tied with Smoky Slate (how many times can I write that color in on post??) chevron ribbon and knotted with a piece of Whisper White stitched ribbon.  The tag and oval are all adhered to the card front with dimensionals.  The final touch is a large adhesive rhinestone where the sentiment meets the tag.

  Such a great thank you card especially once spring rolls in!  Or it might be even better to send now that it is cold and wintery and it can brighten someone's day in the midst of all the snow!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Watercolor

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Smoky Slate

Paper: Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Watercolor Wonder DSP

Accessories: Scallop Tag Topper punch, large rhinestone, Smoky Slate chevron ribbon, Whisper White stitched ribbon, dimensionals

Welcome Baby Colton!

 How fun is it to make a new baby card??  I've been using the Zoo Babies set a lot lately haven't I??  Well since this is really the only baby set I've got you'll probably see it for more baby cards in the future, that is until Stampin' Up! decides to retire it on us!

 

  On way not to get tired of using a set is to change up the layout and colors each time.  But really how could you get bored with this cute little rhino image??

  I used the Sketch Frenzy Friday challenge for my layout.  The little banner element isn't on the original sketch but I hope you can see the bones of the challenge on my card.

  I'm not going to chatter on and on about the card today as I'm getting jammed up on my 'to do' list today!  School volunteer things as well as a rescheduled "due to snow" stamp class have me running to and fro trying not to forget anything!

  Always feel free to leave a comment or send me an email if you want more information on my card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Zoo Babies

Ink: Smoky Slate, Versamark  Marker- Island Indigo

Paper: Gumball Green, Whisper White, Island Indigo, Sycamore St. DSP (retired- SAB 2013), Epic Day This & That DSP, Winter Frost Specialty DSP (retired- Winter catalog 2013)

Accessories: Banner punch, baker's twine, oval framelits, Alphabet Press e.f., white embossing powder, dimensionals, metallic button (retired)

Love Thoughts

  It's a gray, wet day here in Richmond!  When the boys woke up this morning and noticed the rain Alex asked if school was cancelled!  Poor kid, the way they've been calling off school lately I guess that rain is a perfectly valid reason to not have school.

  The weather was really nice over the weekend and we enjoyed it with lots of time outside but I still had time to do some stamping.  I used the Retro Sketches challenge to get me started with this card.

   I took some liberties with the size of the main panel but I think it ended up OK!

  I wanted to use one of the patterns from the fun Sale-a-Bration (SAB) Sweet Sorbet DSP and I really liked this Pool Party and Black design.  I went with a square card since I don't really make them that often and the challenge sketch is a square layout.

  I rounded the corners on one side of the DSP and then added a Basic Black flag on the other side.  I used the Owl punch for the little Pool Party hearts and then covered them with Dazzling Details.

  For the main panel I heat embossed in black the little sentiment from Love You to the Moon and cut it out with the matching Word Bubble framelit.  I embossed just the heart with Pool Party embossing powder and cut it out and popped it up with a dimensional.  I layered all of that on to a Basic Black oval and added a Pool Party bow to the top.

  I think I'll be sending this one to my Grandma for Valentine's day.  Do you have your cards made?  Remember they don't have to be over the top cards to be appreciated.  Send your love to someone and put a smile on their face!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Love You to the Moon

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Sweet Sorbet DSP (SAB), Pool Party

Accessories: Banner punch (SAB), Owl punch, corner rounder, Dazzling Details, black & Pool Party embossing powder, oval framelits, Word Bubbles framelits, bakers twine, dimensionals

Birthday Flower

I'm still finding cards I made a while ago that I never posted on Did You Stamp Today?  I can't even remember when I made this one, only that it was quite some time ago from the way it was sorted in my folder.

 Fun right?  The base is Pool Party with flowers from Betsy's Blossoms embossed with clear embossing powder.  The banner is also Pool Party with a smaller flower stamped all over in Pool Party ink.  I added a little strip of scallops made with the scallop edgelit over on the right side.

  For the flower I punched out a stack of Rich Razzlebery DSP flowers with the Fancy Flower punch and then crumpled them up and smoothed them out for a little texture.  The center of the flower is a Vintage Faceted button with an Island Indigo candy dot in the center.  Under the flower is a white satin ribbon flag and then another one in Island Indigo.

  The last detail on this card is the sentiment embossed with white embossing powder on the banner.

  Hopefully I'll have some time to stamp over the weekend so I'll have some more projects to post next week.  All the snow days lately have really thrown off my stamping....my creativity flies out the window when the boys are home.  It's hard to focus up in the stamp room when I'm always half listening to make sure there aren't any disasters happening with them downstairs!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Betsy's Blossom, Sweet Essentials

Ink: Versamark, Pool Party

Paper: Pool Party, Rich Razzleberry, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB 2013)

Accessories: scallop edgelit, white e.p., clear e.p., Fancy Flower punch, vintage faceted button, candy dot, satin ribbon (retired)