Blackberry Bliss Thank You

  Today's card is one that my stamping ladies made at my new catalog party earlier this month.  I always like to show off the new In Colors so they can see them in action.  Sometimes just seeing something in the catalog doesn't do it justice.  This card features Blackberry Bliss and Lost Lagoon.

  The Work of Art stamp set is another new item that I wanted my ladies to see; it can be a stand alone set or be used to make beautiful backgrounds for other stamps.  First we used one of the brush stroke stamps and stamped down one side with Smoky Slate.  Next, we inked up the long zigzag stamp in Blackberry Bliss and stamped it down the cardstock without reinking.  Aren't the graduated colors cool?  It's like getting 4 colors of ink in one ink pad.  My ladies thought this was pretty neat.

  We tied a piece of new 3/8" stitched satin ribbon in Lost Lagoon around the stamped panel and then added a fork bow.  For a quick photo tutorial of this super easy bow see HERE.

  For the sentiment we stamped another brushstroke in Smoky Slate and then layered the words over the top in Blackberry Bliss.  It was punched out with the Decorative Label punch.  We added a pearl that was colored with one of the new Coastal Cabana Blendabilities markers.  So neat that you can color rhinestones, pearls and the faceted buttons!  We put the pearl on a brad base and attached it to the corner of the label.  To adhere the label we used dimensionals.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Work of Art

Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Smoky Slate

Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White

Accessories: stitched satin ribbon, pearl, Blendabilities, silver brad base, Decorative Label punch, dimensionals.

Cheerful Flower Patch

  It will be a few days coming up for me but I still wanted to keep sharing some new projects with you.  This one today is surprisingly not for a challenge.  I think I ran out of challenges last weekend on my marathon stamping run so I came up with this one all on my own!

  As soon as I saw the Flower Patch photopolymer set I knew I wanted it.  I think the possibilities are endless with this set....there are so many different flowers and stems that you can create all sorts of different looks.  And the fact that the Flower Fair framelits go with this great set makes it even better!  Get the bundle of the stamp set and framelits together and save 15%!

  This color combination came from fabric I saw in a quilt shop when I was shuttling my mom around to various shops when she visited last month.  I don't sew but get plenty of inspiration from the fabrics and quilt samples.  I used Calypso Coral, Cantaloupe Crisp, Old Olive and Wisteria Wonder for my flowers and leaves.  I cut them out with the matching framelits and layered them along the side of my card front.  Some are popped up with dimensionals for added height.

  One very cool thing about the totally clear photopolymer stamps is that they are super easy to line up.  I made my own background stamp by placing the Flower Patch stamps onto a larger clear block and then stamping them all at once onto my Crumb Cake panel.  So easy!!

  I left a sentiment off of this card for now and will add one when I have the need for a bright happy card to sent to someone.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Flower Patch

Ink: Calypso Coral, Cantaloupe Crisp, Old Olive,  Wisteria Wonder, Crumb Cake

Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White

Accessories: Flower Flair framelits, rhinestone, 1/4" cotton, ribbon, dimensionals

Star Baby Boy

  Here is another example of weekend quiet house stamping fun.  Neighbors of ours just had a baby boy so I needed to have a card (of course!) to go with the gift.  The colors in the new Flashback DSP are just perfect for guy and boy cards so I went with that for my inspiration instead of the traditional baby colors and themes.  I used the Paper Players sketch challenge for my layout.

  The base is Smoky Slate and then I embossed a layer Smoky Slate Core'dinations with the Large Polka Dot embossing folder then sanded it a little and rounded the corners.  Next,  I added the panel of Flashback DSP and the 2 banners at the top.  The yellow banner is the pattern on the opposite side of of the first piece of Flashback DSP and the red banner is stamped with the small stars from the Be the Star set.  I added a Smoky Slate button tied with new Basic Black baker's twine.

  For the bottom element of the sketch I stamped a star in Crushed Curry on Crushed Curry cardstock and cut it out with the star framelits and added an "e" that I stamped using the new Epic Alphabet photopolymer set. I always try to make baby cards personal with the child's first initial or monogram and in this case his name starts with an E.

  I used the Endless Birthday Wishes photopolymer set for the "it's a boy" element.  The set doesn't actually have a stamp that says "it's a" so I used my Basic Black marker to ink up just a portion of the stamp that says "it's all about" and stamped it onto a strip of Smoky Slate then flagged the end.  The "boy" is from Endless Birthday Wishes as well and no finagling was needed for that one.  Just stamped it onto Pool Party cardstock and cut it out with another star framelit.

  The big star is popped up on one layer of dimensionals and the small star is popped up on 2 layers of dimensionals.  The Real Red candy dot is the final touch.

  I can't wait to use this Flashback DSP some more.  I don't think there is a pattern in the pack that I don't love...usually there is at least one that I don't care for but this time I'm going to have to really think about which side I want to use!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Be the Star, Endless Birthday Wishes, Epic Alphabet

Ink: Real Red, Pool Party, Basic Black, Crushed Curry

Paper: Smoky Slate, Smoky Slate Core'dinations (retired), Flashback DSP, Crushed Curry, Pool Party, Very Vanilla

Accessories: corner rounder, Large Polka Dot e.f., button, baker's twine, star framelits, dimensionals, candy dot

  

Golden Butterfly Get Well

  Today I'm sharing another one of my weekend-quiet-house cards. I checked out the CAS(e) This Sketch challenge and they happened to be teaming up with the Fusion challenge for this fun combo!

  Unfortunately I need a few get well cards this week so I used this challenge to make another one.

  Of course I used new products on this card too...a little old a little new!  The butterflies are cut using the Beautiful Wings embosslit, one layer in the NEW Gold Glimmer paper and the top layer in vellum.  

  The striped background is also made with a NEW stamp: Draw the Line which has 4 long patterns and is photopolymer so you can line them up really easily to create an all over background.  This line stamp has only 4 lines but I stamped it all the way down the NEW Kraft cardstock in Crumb Cake ink.  This cardstock is great!  It comes in packs of 12 12x12 sheets for only $5.95!  It's a different color than Crumb Cake and kind of heavier so it will make great boxes.

  The other NEW item I used is the embossing folder on the banner...Large Polka Dot!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Draw the Line, Thoughts & Prayers

Ink: Crumb Cake, Versamark

Paper: Whisper White, Kraft,  Gold Glimmer paper, vellum

Accessories: sequins, Beautiful Wings embosslit, gold bakers twine, chalk marker, paper piercer, Large Polka Dot e.f.

  

Sea Street Get Well

  I had a ball over the weekend breaking into all of my new supplies!  It's amazing how much I can get stamped in a quiet house.  By all accounts the boys had a ball camping in the great outdoors so it was a successful weekend for the Mertz family!

  I took some time this morning to clean out my Bloglovin' feed which had built up quite the number of posts.  I scrolled through the past week to find some of my favorite challenges and then headed to the stamp room.

  Here is my attempt at the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge which closes tomorrow afternoon so I'm just under the wire here!  I did flip the sketch on it's side but I don't think the ladies at Hand Stamped Sentiments will mind!

  It's so easy to do this color combination with this set because the coordinating Maritime DSP is so cute and is perfect for summer cards!

  I used my brand spankin' new Little Letters thinlet dies.  At first I was excited to see these guys in the catalog but then I saw that they were only 3/4" high and thought that was way too small.  But then I reconsidered and realized they were the perfect size for cards.  For this card I cut out the "get well" and then backed the Night of Navy panel with a piece of Maritime DSP.

  The lobster and crab were stamped in Real Red on Whisper White cardstock and the starfish in Coastal Cabana ink and then I punched them all out.  I also stamped the long line of flags across the bottom in Real Red using the the stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up just so.

  I used the Banner punch to make the little fishy flag and then wrapped some white baker's twine around the center panel and tied it off with a bow.

  New stamping stuff is so FUN!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sea Street

Ink: Real Red, Coastal Cabana

Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Night of Navy, Maritime DSP

Accessories: Little Letters thinlets, circle punches, Banner punch, baker's twine

Be the Star!

  I received a large box of goodies on Friday afternoon so I have a lot of new stuff to play with.  My husband took the boys camping this weekend so I had some time yesterday to try to decide what new products to play with first.  Let me tell you, it was hard.  I want to use it all but then the card would look like a hot mess!  I limited myself to a few items and used 2 challenges to focus even more.  I haven't played along with any challenges in so long it was great just to stamp with no set purpose other than to just create.

  One of the things I was most excited to see in the new catalog were Star shaped framelits and a matching stamp set, Be the Star.

  Another thing I put on my wish list right away was the Backgrounds Rule large background stamp.  How cool is this large image??  And let's not leave out the GOLD! Glimmer paper.  Can't you just see the gorgeous Christmas cards?

  I used the sketch challenge from Freshly Made Sketches  and the Friday Mashup Challenge which is to do a black and white/vanilla with one other color card or mash it up and add in a word bubble to the design along with the colors.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Be the Star, Backgrounds Rule

Ink: Stazon

Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Gold Glimmer paper

Accessories: Stars framelits, Word Bubbles framelits, star punch, dimensionals

  

  

Fab New Colors - FabFri44

  I know I'm late in getting my card posted for this week's Fab Friday Challenge but this week has kicked my butt.  Cub Scout camp is so busy and tiring that I didn't even realize what day it was until Mindy reminded us that it was a challenge week!  It figures that today is the day I didn't volunteer to chaperone and the temperature is only going to get up to 86 degrees!  All week it has been 95+!  But the kids all had a great time and it's so fun to see the activities that they get to do.

  So let's get on with it then!  Our Fab Friday challenge this week is all of the new In Colors that just came out with the release of the new catalog.

  Don't they look great together even just on the challenge logo?  I wasn't a huge fan when we first got a peek at them...I thought they were too close to other colors we already had but using them has made me like them a lot more, especially the Blackberry Bliss!  Yum Yum!

  I used the same look as the logo and just lined up strips of the In Color cardstock, punched out a star from the bottom of each color and added a punched Glimmer Paper star to the negative.  I was excited to get the Endless Birthday Wishes photopolymer set so I stamped a sprinkling of confetti in Versamark across the center of the panels and made a few flags for my "happy birthday" sentiment.  I layered the flags over some silver taffeta ribbon and added a large silver button with a silver bow.  

  Go check out the rest of the Fab Friday design team projects!  They rocked it for sure!  And then go grab your new In Colors and show us what you've got!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Endless Birthday Wishes (photopolymer)

Ink: Versamark, BlackBerry Bliss

Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist, Whisper White, Glimmer paper

Accessories: star punch, silver button, silver taffeta ribbon, dimensionals
 

Crazy 8 Birthday!

  Since we are sweating our butts off at Cub Scout camp this week I thought I should share a boy card today!

  This is a fun birthday card I made for Ryan to give one of his buddies a few weeks ago.

  I have used the Sea Street stamp set a whole lot since I've gotten it and I still have lots of plans for it.  For this card I used a Lost Lagoon base topped with Crumb Cake embossed with the Arrows embossing folder.  I added a small strip of Crumb Cake to stamp the sentiment.

  The octopus is stamped in Lost Lagoon on Whisper White and cut out with the Circles framelits.  I used a craft knife to slice around one of the tentacles and then made it hold an 8 that I cut out from Tangelo Twist cardstock.  

  To make sure the other side of the card wasn't too bare I added a punched banner with little fish stamped on the flags.

  Final touches are the Dazzling Details on the octopus tentacles and a retired Pumpkin Pie button that is a close enough match for an 8 year olds birthday card!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sea Street, Something to Celebrate (retired)

Ink: Lost Lagoon, Tangelo Twist

Paper: Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake,  Whisper White,  Tangelo Twist

Accessories: Arrows e.f., Circles embossing folder,  button, banner punch, baker's twine, Dazzling Diamonds,  Typeset Alphabet dies

Watercolor Silhouette

  A few weeks ago I had stamp club and this is one of the cards we made.  I love this color combination and it was fun to show off the watercolor paper which I don't use nearly as much as I should.

  So much of my stash had been retired and already sold out that I had to work hard to get this one designed.  We used the Pool Party reinker and an Aquapainter to paint the color onto the watercolor paper panel.  We hit it with the heat gun to dry it and then stamped the Serene Silhouette stamp with Stazon.

 A scalloped border in Crisp Cantaloupe was added as well as a few punched butterflies.  The banner was stamped, then trimmed with paper snips.  Linen thread is wrapped around the banner before adhering it with dimensionals.

  There are a lot of great new sentiment sets in the new catalog so don't fret because Sweet Essentials; go ahead and browse that great index in the back of the new catalog and find one that fits your needs!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Sweet Essentials (retired)

Ink: Pool Party, Stazon

Paper: Crumb Cake, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, watercolor paper

Accessories: Large Scallop edgelit, Bitty Butterfly punch, linen thread, Aquapainter
 

Work of Art Sympathy

  I don't know about everyone else but I keep finding more and more ways to use the new set Work of Art.  Demonstrators who went to the catalog premiere at the end of April were treated to this set along with a copy of the new catalog.  One of the great perks of being a Stampin' Up! demo!  Since getting the set it's been fun seeing how others use it as well as spending plenty of time creating in my own stamp room.

  Unfortunately, I needed a sympathy card not too long ago.  I used the Work of Art set paired with Lovely As A Tree.  Are you as glad as I was to see that it was carrying over into the new catalog.  I used the different brushstroke stamps to color in my background and then embossed the row of trees in Early Espresso right over the top lining it up so the greens would be behind the trees and on the ground.

  I stamped off once for the "grass/ground" with Pear Pizzazz and used the full strength color for  behind the trees.  The sky is Soft Sky.

  The corners of the tree panel are rounded and a length of white taffeta ribbon and linen thread are wrapped around the top portion.  This whole panel is popped up with dimensionals over a piece of Soft Sky Core'dinations (retired) cardstock embossed with the Decorative Dots folder and sanded a bit.  The base is Early Espresso.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Work of Art, Lovely As A Tree

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Soft Sky, Versamark

Paper: Early Espresso, Soft Sky Core'dinations (retired), Whisper White

Accessories: corner rounder, Early Espresso embossing powder, Decorative Dots e.f.

You're the Best! Fab Friday 43

  Oh my goodness!  It's Friday again!  How did that happen?  My stamp room has been in complete disarray for about 3 weeks!  I'm surprised I could find enough supplies to make a card for this week's Fab Friday challenge!  I'm holding my annual New Catalog and Retirement sale next Tuesday so hopefully most of my retired stuff will find new homes with my customers and I can have some room to spread out again!

  Check out the Fab Friday inspiration this week.  Fun sketch right?  I'm really digging those triangles and I went completely predictable and used them on my card too....

 

  But I did go a little crazy and flip the sketch on it's side.  It worked better for the octopus and thought bubble.  Since I liked the triangles so much I added more than the 3 shown in the sketch.

  So I have to tell you about the color combination.  My parents visited a few weeks ago and whenever my mom is in town she likes to go check out all the local quilting stores.  So I take her to all the stores and while she's shopping for fabric and other stuff I have no idea how to use I just look at all the fabrics and pull color combinations from them to use on cards.  I probably look like a lunatic using my phone to type notes of color combinations.  This is one combo I got from our outing; Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi (and new In Colors!!), Tangelo Twist and Hello Honey.  I added the pop of black to ground the brighter colors.  I thought these are great boy/guy colors.

  I know I used this octopus from the new Sea Street set on the last challenge too but it was the only one calling me again...once I get my first order from the new catalog I'll have more to play with.  Probably too many choices then but whatever!  =)

  Go check out how the rest of the Fab Friday design team used this sketch and be inspired to play along!

  

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sea Street, Just Sayin'

Ink: Tangelo Twist, Black Stazon

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Hello Honey, Wild Wasabi, Tangelo Twist, Basic Black, Whisper White

Accessories: Edgelits, Arrows e.f., banner punch, triangle punch, metal button, baker's twine,  Word Bubble framelits, dimensionals,