Black & Gold Classic - Stampin' Up! Blended Bloom

  Last Tuesday I had stamp club and wanted to highlight a few last stamp sets and other products that were retiring.  The Blended Bloom single stamp was one that I chose to use and I paired it up with the retiring Typeset Specialty Paper.

  I told all of my stampers to do as I say and not as I do when it comes to Designer Series Papers.  I have a tendency to not want to use so I will have enough to use for classes but if I don't use it when I'm stamping then I tend not to come up with designs to use in class so the paper sits unused and then it retires before I've shown it off!  It's a terrible cycle and I'm bound and determined to to do better with papers from the new catalog (available to order from tomorrow!!!).

  For class we used 3 (well really 6 if you count the backside pattern) sheets and mixed and matched them to created this blocked background.  

  I think the black and vanilla and gold combo is such a classic look.  We added a bit of sparkle by using a Black Glimmer paper behind the flower panel.  We colored the center of the flower with the Gold Wink of Stella.

  Adding a bit more gold behind the flower with the Printed Gold vellum paper and then a strip of gold sequin trim.

   Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Blended Bloom

Ink: Black

Paper: Basic Black, Typeset Specialty DSP, Black Glimmer paper, Very Vanilla, Printed Gold vellum

Accessories: Gold Wink of Stella, gold sequin trim, dimensionals

Celebrate with Stars - Fab Friday 88

  The weeks are just flying by and my boys just finished up all of their standardized tests and are in the home stretch.  For now we've got to stick to it and end the year strong...and I say we because it's not just the kids that are ready for the summer!  This mom is looking forward to not making lunches every morning or getting out of the house on time every day.  A more relaxed schedule and some time at the pool will do everyone some good!

  But it's Friday and that's always a good thing, especially when it's a Fab Friday challenge day!  Yay!  This is our last hurrah with a few retiring In Colors so I hope you'll play along to say good-bye!

  Isn't this a pretty color combination?  I think so but it was not camera friendly!  I think my Blackberry Bliss looks kind black in the photo and when I tried to lighten it my Hello Honey ended up more like Daffodil Delight!  Oh well, it's clear that I still don't have a handle on my new camera!

  The card base is Whisper White, then a smaller Whisper White panel embossed with the Stars embossing folder for some subtle texture.

  Using the Enjoy the Little Things stamp set I heat embossed the cute little striped background stamp in white and then stacked them up the side.

  The Celebrate banner is stamped in Blackberry Bliss and the stamp is from the Party with Cake stamp set.  I needed to use the Stamp-a-ma-jig to get it lined up just so!

  Next I added a bunch of different stars in our challenge colors as well as some old style silver Glimmer paper.

  The silver ribbon tied in the know is the finishing touch.

  I hope you'll play along with us at Fab Friday as I love seeing all the great ideas in the gallery! 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Party with Cake, Enjoy the Little Things 

Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Versamark

Paper: Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Bermuda Bay, Silver Glimmer (old style)

Accessories: stars border punch, small star punch, star framelits, white embossing powder, Stars e.f., silver ribbon

Spring Tree - Stampin' Up! Happy Home

  The last few weeks I've been making a great effort to try to use retiring products for one last hurrah. Some of them I know I didn't use them nearly as much as I should have and now I'm sad that their leaving.  I'll try better with the new catalog I promise!

  I combined two challenges again.  The colors are from last week's Color Throwdown and the sketch is from the still open Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge.

  I like these soft colors together even though I don't tend to grab light pinks.  Paired with the grays and the pop of darker Rose Red I like how this one came out.

  The tree was stamped with Basic Gray and then sponged with Pink Pirouette ink.  I colored over the tree with clear Wink of Stella for just a little shimmer to go with the rhinestones in the small punched flowers.

  The banner is embossed in white with enjoy and layered over a small strip of the English Garden DSP.  I tied a bit of silver thread around it to bring some sparkle to that corner of the card.

  The background piece of Whisper White is embossed with the Woodgrain embossing folder.

  Don't wait to order those last retiring items on your wish list.  Things are starting to go quickly. To start your order please click HERE and Shop Now!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Home

Ink: Basic Gray, Versamark, Pink Pirouette  Marker: Rose Red

Paper: Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Basic Gray, English Garden DSP

Accessories: Squares framelits, small flower punch, rhinestones, white embossing powder, silver thread, corner rounder, Woodgrain embossing folder, 

Enjoy the Swirls - Stampin' Up! Swirly Bird

  And the rain has done it again!  Normally I'd be out taking my morning walk at this time but it is raining yet again!  Soccer was cancelled all weekend as well so I had a lot of time on Saturday to prepare for my class on Tuesday so that left Sunday to stamp for fun!  So I guess the rain isn't all bad...but I would have liked some sunshine for soccer.

  I always want to play along with the Freshly Made Sketches challenge but for some reason by the time I get around to making my card, taking a photo and editing it and then it's Monday (and we all know how Mondays can go) and then the challenge is closed.  So I definitely wanted to get this one shared for today before the gallery closes.  I paired the layout with the colors from ColourQ for a nice fresh look.

  I hope you aren't sick of seeing the Swirly Bird stamp set from the Stampin' Up! preorder.  I only got this set and and a sentiment set in the preorder because some of my favorite new sets weren't available yet.  I am waiting anxiously for June 1!  But Swirly Bird seems to work for so many kinds of cards so I keep grabbing it!

   There some "old" and "new" going on here.  The new of course are the Swirly Bird images which I used some masking to get my swirls layered and to keep the splatters and little bows from overlapping the larger images.

  The old is the Coastal Cabana color that retired last year but still looks so good on projects (and I have almost a whole pack of cardstock left!) and the little Coastal Cabana button that was a Sale-a-Bration reward a few years back.

  The sentiment is from Enjoy the Little Things stamp set from the Occasions catalog and is almost retired.  If you like bolder fonts and encouraging sentiments this is the set for you so get it before it's gone!

  After stamping my images in color I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and then embossed it in black.  The embossing is a nice detail on an otherwise clean and simple card.

  The weather the rest of the week looks like it might be warmer and sunny....we shall see!  I don't think I'll be holding my breath!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Swirly Bird, Enjoy the Little Things

Ink: Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy, Versamark

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy, Whisper White

Accessories: black embossing powder, button, white baker's twine

Swirly Birthday - Stampin' Up! Swirly Bird

  As like so many other stampers I've upped my birthday card game thanks to the lovely Shannon West and her #imbringingbirthdaysback campaign.  I needed quite a few this month so I'm trying to restock my inventory!  

  I've been lucky to have a consistent amount stamping time lately and I've tried to make the most of it by using some challenges to get my card making focused so I can (hopefully) complete more projects.

  This card used the Mojo Monday sketch and the Global Design Project challenge and the card came together quickly with those 2 starting points.  The Global Design Project challenge is to CASE the Designer so you can pull elements from the designer card to create your own.  I was inspired by her  colors.  Mojo Monday is this fun tilted design.  I'm usually a "straight and everything in its place" kind of stamper so it's fun to do these layouts.

  I've got some retiring, carrying over and new products working to bring this one together.  The base is Tip Top Taupe which is a lovely neutral and is in the group of In Colors which is sticking around for another year.

  Next up is a layer of DSP from the Botanical Gardens DSP which is from the Occasions catalog but is retiring at the end of the month so if you love those bold tropical patterns you better get it before it's gone!  This is one of the lighter colored designs in the pack.

  Then I've got the Softly Falling embossing folder on Whisper White cardstock.  Softly Falling was such a huge hit from the Holiday Catalog it's carrying over again.  It's a nice subtle pattern for all sorts of card themes.

  The sentiment is stamped in Mint Macaron and can be found in the Rose Wonder stamp set also carrying over to the new catalog.

  And finally the new products from the upcoming annual catalog!  Swirly Bird stamp set and the coordinating Swirly Scribbles thinlets.  The background scribble is cut from Tip Top Taupe cardstock and then layered with a stamped flower in Mint Macaron as are the leaves.  The easiest way that I've found to adhere these designs is to use the fine tip glue.  It makes getting the adhesive in the right spot a snap!

  I tried added some different ribbons to the design and nothing worked very well but it still needed just a little something!  I decided pearls would do the trick and used one medium sized pearl for the very center and then added the smallest size around it creating a cluster.

  I'm thinking now that I should have made several of this design while I had the supplies!  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Swirly Bird, Rose Wonder

Ink: Mint Macaron, Tip Top Taupe

Paper: Tip Top Taupe, Whisper White, Botanical Gardens DSP

Accessories: Swirly Scribbles thinlets, Softly Falling embossing folder, pearls, dimensionals

Wild Birthday - Stampin' Up! Zoo Babies

  It continues to be gray and cool here in Central VA.  I don't know whats going on but the sun is so scarce that my basil plants are looking pretty sad and the pots that I planted with flowers 2 weeks ago look exactly the same size.  The only thing that's growing seems to be the grass!

 I'll try to brighten my day with this card! And maybe yours too!  I combined 2 challenges for this one and I think it came out pretty cute!  The Zoo Babies set is a favorite of mine and I will be sad to see it retired at the end of May.  It makes such cute baby cards.  Here are few fun examples of how I've used Zoo Babies in the past: Welcome Baby Colton, Zoo Babies Gift Set, Welcome New Baby, and Baby Boy.  Do you see a theme?

  Even though I generally use Zoo Babies for baby cards I decided a birthday theme was in order for today!  Using the Retro Sketches challenge and the theme of wild animals at Paper Players

  I stuck to the sketch and used the It's My Party DSP for the stripes in the background.  With all the fun patterns in this pack you could make a whole stack of cards and never repeat the same combination of papers!

  I used a piece from my card parts pile that had already been stamped with the Writing Notes background stamped.  I think it's Pool Party ink but looks close enough to Mint Macaron to work for this card!  It even already had the holes punches it was quick work to add a bakers twine bow and then a layer of Basic Black cardstock behind.

  The sweet "wild" zebra was stamped in black and hand cut and then popped up on the notebook paper layer.

  Using the new Thoughtful Banners stamp set (coming the new annual catalog!) I stamped the sentiment on narrow strips of Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo and Mint Macaron and then just snipped the angles with my paper snips.

  A few candy dots in matching colors finish off the embellishments for this card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Zoo Babies (retiring), Thoughtful Banners (new)

Ink: Basic Black, Pool Party

Paper: Whisper White thick, Basic Black, Whisper White, It's My Party DSP, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Mint Macaron

Accessories: hole punch, candy dots (retiring), dimensionals

Soccer Coaches Thank You - Stampin' Up Simply Sports

  I'm digging into the vault for todays card!  I spent my stamping time yesterday designing some projects for my stamp club next week so I'm going to keep those under wraps for now!

  There isn't much time left to get the items used to make this card!  Retirement time is kind of bittersweet as some favorites are going away but then we have new products to look forward to.  I used the Simply Sports quite a bit for coaches thank you cards and for kids birthday cards.  The boys would grab this set when they were making a card for a friends birthday.  They liked being able to choose from so many sports when they were stamping....sometimes a card ended up with (in my opinion) too many sports!  lol!  It looked like the Olympics happening all on the span of an A2 size card front!

  Some other retiring items on this card are the circle framelits and the hexagon punch to make the soccer ball inspired background.  These tools might still have a place in my supplies because really can you ever have too many shapes for card making?

  Anyway if you have some sports nuts that would appreciate sports themed cards then don't wait as May 22 is the last day that Stampin' Up! will guarantee that stamp sets will be available.  After that it's a "while supplies last" situation.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Simply Sports

Ink: Tangerine Tango, Basic Black

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango

Accessories: Circles framelits, hexagon punch, dimensionals

Goodbye Sea Street - Stampin' Up! Sea Street

  We are winding down with the 2015-2016 Annual Stampin' Up! catalog and a few favorites are retiring so I've been trying to give them some love these last few weeks.

  Sea Street was a favorite of mine as soon as it came out and I have made a lot of cute cards (if I do say so myself) with it. Check out some of these for more ideas for this sweet set.  Sea Street Get Well,
Sea Street Hugs & Kisses,  and Under the Sea.

  I used the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge for my layout and used a circle as the main panel instead of a square.

  Can you spot the new product from the upcoming Annual catalog?  It's this new shade of blue called Dapper Denim.  I will be using this one a lot!  I used a bit of it for the larger circle and then to stamp the anchor and starfish.

  To give this card a bit more nautical flair I added some of the retiring mini silver brads around the perimeter.  The ribbon is the previously retired 1/8" taffeta ribbon in Bermuda Bay.

  Real red for the crab and lobster and Bermuda Bay for the octopus finish off the stamping for this card.

  It will be hard to say goodbye to some of these retiring stamp sets but I am looking forward to getting my hands on more new stamp sets in the new catalog.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sea Street

Ink: Real Red, Bermuda Bay, Dapper Denim

Paper: Whisper White thick, Dapper Denim

Accessories: circles framelits, silver mini brads, 1/8" taffeta ribbon, dimensionals

Party with Cupcakes - Stampin' Up! Sprinkles of Life

 I'm much later with my post today than I usually as am as I had to go to a food safety training course for our church's food pantry this morning.  I think I'm in the nick of time for adding my card to the Freshly Made Sketches challenge as the gallery is closing shortly.  Needless to say this will be a quick one!

  I don't know how fresh this one is but it's bright and cheerful for sure!  This is a great layout to use for showing off different patterns and/or textures.

  I used 3 different DSP patterns from the It's My Party DSP stack along with Mint Macaron.

  The cupcake bottom is stamped with Sahara Sand ink onto Sahara Sand cardstock and cut out.  The cupcake top is stamp in Melon Mambo ink onto Pink Pirouette cardstock and punched out with the Tree Builder punch.

  The clear Wink of Stella pen was used to color the cupcake top.  It left an unexpected but cool look as the Melon Mambo ink bled a bit as I was going over it.  So it's lightly shaded as well as sparkly (I could not get the sparkle to show at all but it's there!)

  The cupcake is layered on 2 of the new square framelits that will soon be available in the new annual catalog.  I love those sweet little scalloped edges and the mix of straight and scallop edge square in this new framelit collection gives a lot more options for mixing and matching.  The bottom is adhered right to the square and the top is popped up on dimensionals.

  The Happy Birthday sentiment also from Sprinkles of Life was stamped in black onto a narrow strip of Mint Macaron.

  The candle is stamped in Sahara Sand ink and then colored with the Mint Macaron marker. I hand cut it and then attached it to the top of the cupcake with a little glue.  The very last thing I did was to add a small amount of gold Dazzling Details to the candle flame.

  I really love this layout for DSP and need to dig through my scraps to see what other cards I can come up with using different patterns.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sprinkles of Life

Ink: Sahara Sand, Melon Mambo, black  Marker- Mint Macaron

Paper: Mint Macaron, It's My Party DSP, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Sahara Sand

Accessories: square framelits, Dazzling Detail, Wink of Stella, dimensionals

Swirly Wreath - Stampin' Up! Swirly Bird - Fab Friday 87

It's a Fab Friday challenge again!  We are all rockin' a fun sketch challenge this time around!  I hope my card brightens up your day a bit...I keep looking at it to brighten my own day.  It's has been rainy and gloomy here so much lately that I forget what the sun looks like!  I feel that everything is going to start going moldy!  Here's to hoping for sunshine this weekend!  If not I have my Stampin' Up! preorder to play with!

  Here's the sketch:

  I kind took some liberties with this one but that's the whole idea right?  A starting point!  And speaking of preorders I used the new Swirly Bird set to come up with this card!

 

 I centered my wreath on the left side and instead of adding another layer of cardstock for the element behind the circle I simply left it blank and embossed the 2 sides with the Woodgrain embossing folder.

  To make make the wreath I cut out 2 shapes with the new Swirly Scribbles thinlets and glued them together.  Then I stamped multiples of the 3 smallest flowers and several leaves and cut those out as well.

  I went about layering the flowers and leaves using dimensionals (well little bits of them!) to give some height.

  The sentiment banner was stamped with Thoughtful Banners stamp set and tucked under the edge of the wreath.

  The wreath is hung up with some of the awesome new Ruched Ribbon.  I used Emerald Envy to go with the leaves and added a quick fork bow. 

  The final touch are the smallest rhinestones added to 3 of the flowers.

  My colors are inspired by the current ColourQ challenge but I added in the Emerald Envy.

  I can't wait to see your card using the Fab Friday sketch! Head over to the challenge site to see the rest of the Design Team samples!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Swirly Bird, Thoughtful Banners

Ink: Melon Mambo, Calypso Coral, Peekaboo Peach, Crumb Cake, Emerald Envy, black

Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Swirly Scribbles thinlets, Woodgrain e.f., dimensionals, rhinestones, corner rounder, Ruched Ribbon

Best Dad Ever - Stampin' Up! Going Global

  As we look ahead on the calendar we see Father's Day coming up so I'm working on getting my stash of cards ready to go.  The Going Global suite has a great variety of images and papers to make these masculine cards easy to put together.  But don't wait to order them as they are retiring at the end of May.  I was really hoping to see this stamp set make it to the new catalog but it's not happening so I need to move on and enjoy it while I can!

  This is a basic design with the Going Places DSP in the background.  Looks a bit like swirling water to go with the nautical compass that I stamped in black onto Very Vanilla and punched with a circle punch.

  I had a small stockpile of glimmer brads from a while back and added one of those to the compass center.  Punched stars out of black Glimmer paper highlight the sentiment from And Many More (also retiring).

  Crisp and clean for a dad!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Going Global, And Many More

Ink: Basic Black

Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Going Places DSP, Lost Lagoon, Black Glimmer paper

Accessories: circle punch, star punch, glimmer brad, dimensionals

Teacher Flower Tag - Stampin' Up! Festive Flower Builder Punch

  Last week was Teacher Appreciation week so I made a few personalized tags for the boys teachers.  I tied the tags around vases of flowers which I didn't get a picture of because as usual we were rushing to get out the door.

  But here are the tags on their own.

  The tags and flowers were a good size and super easy to make. 

  The base is Kraft cardstock, the names were cut with the Little Letters thinlets (soon to be retired - Boo!) out of Mossy Meadow cardstock.  I used candy dots for the period.

  One teacher loves sunflowers so I made a sunflower for her tag.  The Festive Flower punch made really quick work to make 2 layers for each flower.  The sunflower is Hello Honey and the pink is Rose Red.  Once I had 8 petals for each layer I used the Simply Scored to score a line on each petal and then folded them for dimension.  The edges are also sponged lightly with the respective ink colors. 

  The centers of the flowers are punched circles and embossed with the Decorative Dots embossing flower (also soon to be retired!).  The raised dots are colored with gold Wink of Stella for a little sparkle.

  I used Very Vanilla striped ribbon from the Holiday catalog to tie the tags around the vases.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: none

Ink: Hello Honey, Rose Red

Paper: Hello Honey, Rose Red, Mossy Meadow, Early Espresso, Kraft

Accessories: Festive Flower builder punch, circle punch, Decorative Dots e.f., Gold Wink of Stella, Little Letters thinlets, dimensionals, candy dots, striped ribbon

Purple & Gray Mother's Day - Stampin' Up! All About Everything

  My mother in law LOVES purple so I always try to make cards that include her favorite color.  I thought the All About Everything stamp set which was the free in the April Paper Pumpkin kit would look sweet in Wisteria Wonder paired up with Smoky Slate.

  I added quite a few lumpy details so I had to mail it out in a padded envelope!  But the pearls really added a lot of detail!

 I sponged some hearts onto the background DSP and hand cut the flowers and added the large metal rimmed pearls.  The darker centers of the flowers are colored with Wink of Stella.

  The sentiment is also from the April Paper Pumpkin kit and I layered that with 2 sizes of labels from the Tags & Labels framelit set.

  The little flowers on the sentiment are colored in with Wisteria Wonder and mini pearls are added to the centers.

  One last sparkly detail is the silver slimmer paper scallop cut with the large scallop square framelit.

    Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: All About Everything, Lovely Little Wreath kit (sentiment stamp)

Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Smoky Slate

Paper: Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White, Perfectly Artistic DSP (retired-SAB), Silver Glimmer paper (old style)

Accessories: Tags & Labels framelits, metal rimmed pearls, adhesive pearls, organza ribbon, Wink of Stella, dimensionals, Hearts stencil

Swirly Bird Sneak Peek! - Stampin' Up! Swirly Bird

  One of the many perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is being able to order select new products a month before the catalog is released.  Our pre-order started last week and I splurged and had my order sent with expedited shipping.  I mostly just wanted the new catalog as soon as I could get it but getting the new In Colors and a few other products were a nice bonus.

  I made some time on Friday afternoon to get into the stamp room and create a quick card.  I used the current challenge over at CAS(e) This Sketch for my inspiration.

   The card base is Whisper White thick and then a layer of Crumb Cake with the corners rounded.  I stamped some Gorgeous Grunge splatters in Crumb Cake ink.  Then I got to work with my new stuff!  Using the Swirly Scribbles thinlets which coordinate with the Swirly Bird stamp set I cut out the wavy looking element and layered that on top of the splatters.

  The pretty purple-y color is called Sweet Sugarplum and has a lovely ruched ribbon that I used across the card front.  Next I added the stamped rose.  I stamped off the Sweet Sugarplum ink once for a lighter look and added the Sweet Sugarplum die cut scribble over the top.

  The leaves are stamped off once in Emerald Envy and then the details were added in full strength ink.  The leaves are layered behind the popped up rose.

  For the sentiment I stamped the banner in Crumb Cake and then added the words in Emerald Envy stamped off once.  The new Thoughtful Banners set and coordinating Duet Banner punch will be a great all purpose set in my collection.  It will be fun to mix and match for all occasions.  

  I added a few gold sequins to finish this card off.  

  The Swirly Bird set and Swirly Scribbles thinlets have a lot of possibilities and I can't wait to get some more time in the stamp room to play with them.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Swirly Bird, Thoughtful Banners, Gorgeous Grunge

Ink: Crumb Cake, Emerald Envy, Sweet Sugarplum

Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Sweet Sugarplum

Accessories: Swirly Scribbles thinlets, Duet Banner punch, gold sequins, dimensionals

Special Day Blooms - Stampin Up! Garden in Bloom

  Sometimes I buy a pack of DSP with grand plans for a lot of cards and then I just can't bring myself to cut into it and actually use it!  Sometimes the patterns are too pretty and I want to be sure to have just the right project to use it on.  Other times I want to save it for a card design for a class but then I don't want to use too much for my samples and then not have enough for class.  And then there are patterns that I like but I'm just not sure how I want to use them on a card.  Whatever the reason I always end up with sheets from a whole DSP pack that never get cut and used and then the catalog comes to an end and I'm kicking myself for not use these great designs!

  Ahhhh, that's the case with the English Garden DSP!  It's almost retired and I'm just now getting around to using this lovely blue flowered pattern!  What was I thinking waiting so long?

  I made this mailable design for a sweet friend's birthday.  Once I committed to cutting this DSP I went ahead and used the colors for my inspiration for stamping the blossom from Garden in Bloom.  The outline is Soft Suede and the petals are filled in with Marina Mist stamped off once.  Hello Honey fills in the center and then I fussy cut the flower so I could pop it up on the corner of the sentiment panel.

  The sentiment is stamped in Soft Suede as well and the layers are cut with the super useful Tags & Labels framelits.

  A few lengths of linen thread bring all the elements together.

  I hope to have some samples from the new catalog to share next week.  My preorder came yesterday afternoon and I haven't even had a chance to look at my catalog that was included!  It's killing me but I'm determined to get my to do list taken care of and then I can truly enjoy the new catalog and my preorder items!  Good motivation or torture...I can't decide!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Garden in Bloom

Ink: Soft Suede, Marina Mist

Paper: Whisper White thick, Garden in Bloom DSP, Soft Suede

Accessories: linen thread, Tags & Labels framelits, dimensionals

Bright & Shiny Split Card - Stampin' Up! Party with Cake

  Today's card is the third project we did at my last class and it's a fun fold kind card.  No crazy stamping but a kind of fun way to show off some DSP and add a little extra element of interest.

  I've seen this type of card referred to as a "Split card" but I'm sure there are some other names for it also.  I was trying to channel my inner pre-teen to come up with something that might be good for a younger crowd.  Not sure if I pulled it off or not....does it scream 80s and Madonna to you?  That is my "preteen" wheelhouse  :)

  We used a fun color combo of Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Basic Black and silver.  The trick to getting the split is to cut off part of your card front, then take that cut piece and cut it in half.  That gives you the nice little opening.  And just cut your DSP 1/4" smaller for each of the panels for a perfect layered look.

 

  We used the Sunburst thinlet on the silver Glimmer paper and used the scalloped tag topper punch to make the sentiment tag used to hold the card front together. I know it seems obvious but don't forget to only put adhesive on the very top and very bottom of the tag when attaching the pieces together....you don't want everything stuck together and not be able to open the card!

  A mix of twine and silver cord for the tag top and a candy dot on the sentiment finish this card off.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Party with Cake

Ink: Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Basic Black

Paper: Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer, It's My Party DSP stack

Accessories: tag topper punch, Sunburst thinlet, candy dot, silver cord, Bermuda Bay thick bakers twine, Baker's twine combo (Melon Mambo), dimensionals

All About Thank Yous - Stampin' Up! All About Everything

  Are you a Paper Pumpkin subscriber?  It's such a fun little craft kit to get in the mail every month and a great way for busy people to carve out some crafting time without having to sort through their supplies and figure out what to make.  The kit comes with everything you need, just have some adhesive on hand and you're good to go!

  While I have a whole room full of stamping supplies it's still nice to get that box and see what surprise is inside!  I don't get every month but of course I had to get the April kit because I wanted that free extra stamp set that Stampin' Up! was including to celebrate Paper Pumpkins 3rd birthday.  It's called All About Everything and is a nice mix of floral images and sentiments.  I put it right to work making some cards for Administrative Professionals day last month.

 

Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz, Tip Top Taupe

  I made 3 different color combinations but only ended up taking pics of 2 for some reason.  I was probably interrupted part way through and didn't remember to go back and finish!  Story of my life!

  This is a fun layout as you stamp on a piece of Whisper White down one section and then add the solid cardstock over the top with a section cut away to reveal the images.

  I used Tip Top Taupe for my base and top layer.  The top layer is embossed with the Softly Falling embossing folder and also sprayed with the long retired Shimmer Paint mixed with rubbing alcohol to make shimmer mist.  It adds a nice light sparkle.

  I used the One Big Meaning set and framed it up nicely with the Tags & Labels framelits.  I fussy cut one of the large blossoms and added a die cut fern from the Botanical Builders framelits.  A scrap of Whisper White organza ribbon and a vintage faceted button tied with gold cord finish off the embellishments.  Since the cards were all going to be hand delivered I wasn't worried about making a lumpy card.

Calypso Coral, Cajun Craze, Pear Pizzazz, Tip Top Taupe

     Who do you need to thank this week?  Definitely those teachers in your lives...they work really hard and deserve to be recognized for sure!  Get those thank you cards in the mail today!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: All About Everything (free Paper Pumpkin set), One Big Meaning

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Tip Top Taupe, Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Calypso Coral, Cajun Craze

Paper: Tip Top Taupe, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White

Accessories: Softly Falling embossing folder, faceted button, gold cord, organza ribbon, Botanical Builder framelits, Tags & Labels framelits, dimensionals, Shimmer mist, corner rounder

Lighthouse on the Coast - Stampin' Up! From Land to Sea

  I know I'm not the only one who browses Pinterest and pins card ideas and then when I go back to take a closer look it seems that I'm drawn to designs by the same people again and again.  I had pinned this beach scene a few months back and when I was designing projects for my last class I thought a sponged beach would be fun for my stampers as we were getting closer to beach season as well as Father's Day.  When I clicked on the Pinterest pic it brought me to my fellow Fab Friday Design Team member Amy Koenders blog!  Her cards are always eye catching and well designed so it's no wonder the beach scene caught my eye!  Thanks for the inspiration Amy!

 

  Using scrap paper with a torn edge for a mask we sponged Crumb Cake for the beach side and then leaving a bit of white space sponged Marina Mist for the ocean.  To speckle the sand we used the Gorgeous Grunge set and stamped off once before stamping on the sand side of the card front.

  The ships wheel is stamped in Crumb Cake ink onto Crumb Cake cardstock and then punched with a circle punch (Circle Framelits would work great as well).  On top of that we layered the stamped and cut out lighthouse colored with Real Red and Crushed Curry markers.  The light is colored over with the Gold Wink of Stella as well for just a hint of sparkle.

  The Marina Mist banner is stamped with a sentiment from the Going Global set and my stampers had a choice of several sentiments to fit different occasions they might have coming up.

  The final little detail is a Whisper White baker's twine bow glued down to the edge of the banner.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: From Land to Sea, Going Global, Gorgeous Grunge

Ink: Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Basic Black  Markers: Real Red, Crushed Curry

Paper: Marina Mist, Whisper White, Crumb Cake

Accessories: circle punch, baker's twine, dimensionals, Wink of Stella-gold

Blushing Rose - Stampin' Up! Rose Garden Thinlets

  They say April showers bring May flowers but my kids were wondering what do May showers bring?  The weather here has been crummy since last week and it doesn't look like it's going to improve this week either.  I think we're going to start getting moldy!

  With Mother's Day coming up I wanted to do a flower-y springlike card for one of my class projects last week.  What better flower than a beautiful rose for a beautiful mom?

  The Rose Garden thinlets make this card really easy and there isn't much stamping but you can really decorate the inside with the coordinating Rose Wonder stamp set.  And if you don't need a Mother's Day card it's so easy to switch the sentiment to fit your occasion!

  We die cut the rose with Blushing Bride Glimmer paper and the leaf in Mint Macaron.  After popping out the die cut pieces from the Glimmer paper we used the fine tip glue pen on the back of the rose and then glued it down to a piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock. After the glue dried we cut off the excess Pink Pirouette to finish the flower.

  The card base is Sahara Sand (a nice neutral that pairs well with Very Vanilla) and a piece of Very Vanilla embossed with the Elegant Dots embossing folder.

  We added the accessories next with some Mint Macron lace trim, a Very Vintage Designer button tied with linen thread and the sentiment punched with the Word Window punch.  The leaf is tucked behind to finish this card off.  The sentiment is from And Many More which is retiring so if this one is on your list don't wait too long!  I think the Word Window punch is already sold out unfortunately.

  You still have time to get a card made and in the mail for mother's day! 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: And Many More

Ink: Sahara Sand

Paper: Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette, Blushing Bride Glimmer paper

Accessories: corner rounder, Rose Garden Thinlets, Elegant Dots e.f., lace trim, vintage button, linen thread, dimensionals, Word Window punch (retired)