Sweet Little Snowman - Fab Friday 49

  It's a Fab Friday challenge Friday!  What a great way to start off the weekend!  Thanks to all who played along with our last challenge where we surprised Mindy with baby cards in honor of her new baby boy.  This time around we have a sketch challenge.  Fun fun fun!

  Here is my sample:

 How cute is this set?  White Christmas is now available in the Holiday catalog which went live yesterday for customers!  Woo hoo!  This little snowman is just too cute!  I think this card looks way better in person...but I guess you'll just have to take my word for it.

  Head over to Fab Friday to see the rest of the Fab Design Team samples and play along!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: White Christmas (Holiday Catalog)

Ink: Versamark  Markers: Pumpkin Pie, Pear Pizzazz, Lost Lagoon

Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White

Accessories: white embossing powder, All is Calm Designer Washi tape (Holiday Catalog), silver ribbon, dimensionals, Decorative Dots embossing folder

Baby Boy - Fab Friday 48

 It's a special day over Fab Friday!  Our fearless leader Mindy has an adorable new addition to her family and we are celebrating it with a special Baby Theme Challenge!  Woo-Hoo!  The Design Team hijacked the regularly scheduled color challenge to make it a theme challenge instead to celebrate the arrival of Baby Ian (and hopefully surprise Mindy)!

  So go ahead and make a baby themed project and link it up to our gallery and join in our excitement of having a new member in our stamping family.

  Here is what I came up with for our special Baby Challenge!

  Being a mom of two boys I remember that I got kind of tired of all the newborn infant gear in the pastel blues and greens so I wanted to go with some bold boy colors for a change of pace for this card.  

  The base is Early Espresso with another layer of Early Espresso embossed with the Alphabet Press folder.  You've probably been seeing a lot of this stamped notebook paper around blogland and I wanted to try my hand at it.  The lines are Coastal Cabana stamped off once and then Real Red along the edge also stamped off once.  The holes are punched using the new 1/4" handheld circle punch.  Corners were rounded using the envelope punch board.

  The giraffe from Zoo Babies is stamped in Crushed Curry and then cut out.  He's (has to be a boy giraffe right?) popped up with dimensionals and embellished with a button.

  The banner flags are punched with the banner punch from various DSP packs; Confetti Celebration, Trim the Tree (coming in the Holiday Catalog), and Flashback.  The banners are hung on a doubled length of linen thread with itty bitty bows on the ends.

  The sentiment was stamped in Early Espresso using the Endless Birthday Wishes and a bit of creative masking.  Look for more cards with this set in the next month or so!  I'm holding a mini stamp-a-stack using this set at the end of the month for my local ladies.  Such a fun set!

  We would love to see your Baby Project add to our Fab Friday challenge gallery so get to stamping and show off your stuff!  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Zoo Babies, Endless Birthday Wishes, Draw the Line

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Early Espresso, Crushed Curry

Paper: Early Espresso, Whisper White, Confetti Celebration DSP, Trim the Tree DSP pack (coming in the Holiday Catalog), Flashback DSP

Accessories: Alphabet Press e.f., linen thread, button, corner rounder, hole punch, banner punch, dimensionals

Healing Birds

  Here is a cute little card that I made using the Moonlight DSP pack.  I pulled the colors of the birds from this paper and used my Blendabilities to color them in.  Nothing fancy here but sometimes you don't need to go crazy with too many details.

  The Rich Razzleberry oval is paper pierced using the piercing templates and then the bird oval is popped up with dimensionals.  I'm really liking this new cotton ribbon; it's a nice weight and isn't shiny so it's good for those cards that don't need a fancy looking ribbon...I would say it's like an everyday comfortable t-shirt...essential to the stamping wardrobe!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: For the Birds, And Many More

Ink: Memento black, Sahara Sand  Blendabilities: Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive

Paper: Sahara Sand, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Moonlight DSP

Accessories: cotton ribbon, oval framelits, paper piercing template, dimensionals

Beachy Shadow Box Collage

  I have many friends and customers getting ready to head to the beach for vacation before school starts in the next few weeks so I thought I would share this project that I made a while back to give as a gift.  Friends invited us to their beach house for a weekend back in May so of course I had to make a little something to show our thanks.

  It is a 12x12 collage page that I put in a shadow box frame.  I couldn't get a good picture of it due to the glass in the frame and the crazy reflections so just imagine a nice black frame around the collage.

  It was a lot of fun designing each of the nine panels and trying to get each one to be a little different but still using the stamp stamps and colors.  The colors that I went with always make me think of the beach and are similar to colors our friends have in their house.

  I used a lot of different supplies and tools.  Every panel is sponged with Crumb Cake ink including the the larger 12x12 piece.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: By the Tide, Hardwood, Work of Art

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Soft Sky, Versamark

Paper: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Pool Party

Accessories: button, candy dots, ribbons, vintage trinkets (retired), circle punch, oval punch, scallop circle punch, linen thread, Typeset Alphabet dies (retired), dimensionals, Pool Party embossing powder,

Bold Endless Birthday Wishes

 I was playing around with my Endless Birthday Wishes to begin designing some cards for my mini stamp-a-stack class at the end of the month and saw this sketch from the super talented ladies over at the Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  I thought I would give it a whirl....not sure if it's going to make the final cut for one of the designs but it was fun to make!

  Here's the sketch:

  Here's what I did with the sketch:

 The base is Bermuda Bay and then a piece of the new Typeset DSP.  I thought the numbers pattern was appropriate for a birthday card!  I added a tiny strip of silver Glimmer paper (the old silver) along the right edge just to bring some bling to the card.

  The cake was stamped in Memento ink onto Very Vanilla and colored in with the Coastal Cabana and Daffodil Delight assortments of Blendabilities.  I'm still working on my coloring skills....it would probably be going better if I did it more often!  

  Using the square Framelits I cut out a window in a piece of Black cardstock offsetting it to stick with the sketch.  I popped the frame up with dimensionals over the cake panel to make kind of a flipped polaroid.

  I embossed the "happy birthday" with black embossing powder onto a narrow strip of Bermuda Bay and then stamped the "have a" in black on Crushed Curry cardstock and hand cut the little flag.

  The final details are some Dazzling Details on the candle flames and a bit of silver ribbon tied around the edge of the frame and a candy dot on the sentiment.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Endless Birthday Wishes

Ink: Memento Black, Versamark  Blendabilities: Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight

Paper: Bermuda Bay, Typeset DSP, Silver Glimmer (retired style), Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Crushed Curry

Accessories: Square Framelits, black e.p., Dazzling Details, candy dot, dimensionals, silver ribbon

Flower Frenzy Mini Card Pouch

  Today's project just makes me smile!  It's such a cheerful little card and I love the dimension of the flower; it reminds me of a waterlily.  We made this one last week at my July stamp club.

  I combined a few of my favorite new items from the catalog...Draw the Line stamp set, Kraft cardstock and two of the new In Colors.

  First, we stamped the Draw the Line line stamp on a 6x6 piece of Kraft cardstock (love this stuff!) then we used the Envelope punch board to make the envelope and turned it into a pouch by adhering one of the small flaps down to the inside of the pouch leaving one end open.

  The Flower Frenzy die was used to make the flower using 2 pieces of Calypso Coral for the larger flower shape, 1 piece of Crisp Cantaloupe for the smaller flower shape, Hello Honey for the center and Mossy Meadow for the leaf.  Using the bone folder we slightly curled up the edges of the flower petals and adhered them together with the Crisp Cantaloupe one being popped with a dimensional.

  A small faceted button was added to the center on top of the Hello Honey circle for some sparkle.  Next, we added some lines and a sentiment to a piece of Whisper White for the insert.  A larger Hello Honey circle was punched out and added to the top by folding it over and adhering to both sides.  One of the new hand held circle punches added a small circle and then a piece of Mossy Meadow satin ribbon is tied through the hole.

  

 So cute!  This could easily be used as a gift card holder too!  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Walk the Line, And Many More

Ink: Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral

Paper: Kraft cardstock, Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Whisper White

Accessories: Envelope punch board, Flower Frenzy die, faceted button, circle punch, satin ribbon

Versatile Sea Street

As I continue to clean out my "cards to upload" file I found this one from my June class.  Even though it says Father's Day this card could be for so many other occasions just by changing the sentiment.  We used the And Many More set which gives so many options.

  I love the colors found in the Maritime DSP and pulled them out for the rest of this card design.  The adorable octopus in Real Red makes me smile every time!   It's hard to see in the photo but the Coastal Cabana panel is embossed with the Decorative Dots embossing folder for some added texture.  Doesn't it look like bubbles?

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sea Street, And Many More

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Night of Navy

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Maritime DSP

Accessories: Decorative Dots e.f, 1/4" cotton ribbon

Flower Patch Bookmark

  We have been quite the reading family this summer.  The boys were very excited to participate in our local library's summer reading challenge.  Not only did they get some small prizes for participating and completing the challenge they are now entered into a drawing for an iPad mini.  The  Holy Grail of the elementary age!  They are eagerly waiting to see if their school will win again this year.  I am so proud of the awesome readers they've become and it's so nice to sit outside on our patio and have everyone reading quietly....emphasis on quietly.  =)

  Since I am always reading a book my bookmarks get kind of beat up so occasionally I need to make a new one.  I designed this bookmark for my New Catalog party in June.  I wanted to show off some of the 2014-2016 In Colors and the Flower Patch stamp set.  This design would also make a nice gift tag for a birthday or thinking of you gift.

 The Crumb Cake piece is punched with the scallop tag topper punch and stamped in Crumb Cake with one of the flower shaped stamps.  The large flower was stamped off once with Hello Honey and then Tangelo Twist was used for the center.  The leaf is the solid shape stamped off once with Mossy Meadow and then the leaf shape stamped right on top in full strength Mossy Meadow.  The photopolymer is so easy to line up!  You can see right through them!

  The matching Flower Fair framelits make it super easy to cut out these images.  A few of them you just have to play with to get them lined up but it's well worth it!

  

  The flower and leaf are both popped up with dimensionals.  The sentiment is stamped in Mossy Meadow.  The final touches are a rhinestone in the center of the flower and a length of Tangelo Twist satin ribbon through to the top and tied off.

  What good books have you read lately?  What books do your kids like?

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Flower Patch

Ink: Crumb Cake, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist

Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White

Accessories: scalloped tag topper punch, Flower Fair framelits, satin ribbon, rhinestone, dimensionals

Masculine Color Block

 Today's card is one that I made after being inspired by some samples in an issue of our demonstrator magazine Stampin' Success.  They were showing the new In Colors and using the color blocking technique and I wanted to give it a try and make a card for my husband.

 I am loving this color combination, Basic Gray, Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey.  It makes great guy cards and is still fun and fresh.  The Moonlight DSP pack makes it really easy as well since many of the patterns use these colors together.

  I used the 'I love you' from the Label Card thinlet set and cut out a section of the Lost Lagoon panel.  Then I cut 'I love you' again this time using the Moonlight DSP and filled in the Lost Lagoon with the patterned piece.  The arrows are also from the Label Card thinlet.

  The star from the Epic Alphabet set was so easy to line up and stamp across the whole Hello Honey panel.  I'm really getting on board with these photopolymer sets.  They are so easy to line up with out using a stamp-a-ma-jig.  And you can't beat the prices!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hardwood, Gorgeous Grunge, Epic Alphabet

Ink: Basic Gray, Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, Moonlight DSP, silver glimmer paper (old style)

Accessories:  Label Card thinlet, 3/8" satin stitched ribbon, button, white baker's twine, banner punch, star punch

Christmas in August - Fab Friday 47

  After getting a peek at the upcoming Stampin' Up! holiday catalog I've had Christmas on my mind!  It's never too early to start planning your Christmas projects so I used today's Fab Friday challenge to start my stash for December.  It's a sketch challenge this time around.  Those circles could be any shape...think of the possibilities.

  Only having one current Christmas stamp set and no holiday papers didn't slow me down too much! But it will be a lot easier after I place my holiday catalog preorder today!  So many new goodies that I can't wait to get my hands on.

  The card base and top layer are both Smoky Slate with the top layer embossed with the Large Polka Dot embossing folder.  

I looked through my Designer Series Papers to find a pattern that could work for Christmas and landed on this argyle look from the Flashback DSP.   Then I stamped the cute little ice skating bird from the For the Birds set omitting the "merry christmas" portion of the image.  I colored it and then punched it out and layered it with a larger Cherry Cobbler circle.

  I wanted to use a snowflake for the smallest circle in the sketch but I don't have any snowflake stamps or punches....yet!  The closest thing that I had to a snowflake shape is one of the flower pieces from the Flower Frenzy die.  I think it works pretty well in Glimmer paper.

  I used a soon to be release special hostess set for the sentiment.  I won the Good Greetings stamp set from Stampin' Up! during a sales challenge and I just got it on Monday.  Yay!  I love the font and it is very similar to the Endless Wishes and Endless Birthday Wishes sets so it's sure to be a hit.  I embossed it in black at the bottom of the largest circle.

  I sprinkled some small rhinestones around the largest circle as well as one larger one in the center of the snowflake.  The final embellishment is the Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon and fork bow (click here for a tutorial on how to make a fork bow) at the top with just a small bit of silver thread from the silver bakers twine.

  Go check out the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team samples and play along with us.  Remember you have 2 weeks to do the challenge so there's no excuse! And it's never too early to plan for the holiday season!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: For the Birds, Good Greetings

Ink: Stazon, Versamark  Markers: Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Smoky Slate, Flashback DSP, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Silver Glimmer (old style)

Accessories: Circles framelits, 1 3/8" circle punch, Large Polka Dot e.f., Flower Frenzy die, rhinestones, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, black embossing powder, silver baker's twine