Lots of Christmas Layers - Stampin' Up! Festive Post

   Today's card took a lot of time to put together even though there isn't any stamping except for the teeny tiny sentiment.  I just kept changing and trying out different elements for each of the many layers until I got them all just so.

  The many layered design is compliments of the Paper Players challenge this week. The sketch has all of these layers and I made myself stick with with them all.  And I can't believe that I only have the sentiment stamped.

  The base layer is a piece of Wonder of the Season Specialty DSP in the red foil pattern.  Then I embossed a piece of vellum with the Winter Snow embossing folder.

  From there I used a piece of Green foil topped with strip of 'Tis the Season DSP in a fun green plaid.  For the flag I used yet another DSP; Heartwarming Hugs DSP in a Real Red pattern.

  The label is cut with the Tasteful Labels dies in Whisper White and then I used more of the green foil to cut the little sprigs.  The sprigs are cut with the Forever Flourishing dies and then I layered them with mini dimensionals to form the wreath.  Real Red rhinestones are added around and then a Real Red baker's twine bow at the top.

  And finally what you've been waiting for...the stamping.  I used the Festive Post stamp set and stamped it in Memento black and it's popped on a dimensional.

  So you definitely get a good look at a lot of the Christmas papers that are in the Aug.-Dec. mini.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Festive Post

Ink: Memento Black

Paper: Wonder of the Season Specialty DSP, vellum, Green Foil, 'Tis the Season DSP, Heartwarming Hugs DSP,  Whisper White

Accessories: Winter Snow embossing folder, Tasteful Labels dies, Forever Flourishing dies, Real Red rhinstones, Real Red baker's twine (retired), dimensionals

Plaid Fall Wreath - Stampin' Up! Banner Year

    My daily post is a bit late today as I had a much needed walking date with a good friend this morning.  We hadn't really seen each other besides in passing for many months so it was wonderful to spend some time chatting and catching up while getting in the daily steps.

  The card for today is one that I made using The Card Concept challenge I went with the clean and layered look for my card.

  I used the inspiration photo pretty literally and created a leaf wreath using the Plaid Tidings DSP and the leaf dies from Nature's Root.

  I put a piece of In Good Taste DSP on top of a Whisper White card base and then layered my leaves on top with dimensionals.

  The sentiment from Banner Year is stamped in Rich Razzleberry and added across the center with a piece of thick twine accenting the one side.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Banner Year

Paper: Whisper White thick, In Good Taste DSP, Plaid Tidings DSP

Ink: Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: Nature's Roots dies, dimensionals, thick twine 

Natural Birthday - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature

   I hope everyone had a fun weekend!  We didn't do very much so I can't decide if I feel relaxed going into the new week or disappointed in myself that I didn't get more accomplished.  It's a dilemma!

  I had some time to make a few cards for a special card order which included a request some masculine birthday cards.  Always a bit tough but I used the CAS(e) This Sketch challenge for the layout and pulled together a nature-y card.

 The card base is Soft Sea Foam with a piece of retired Wood Textures DSP.  I embossed a piece of Soft Sea Foam with one of the Greenery embossing folders then cut it in half to follow the sketch.

  For the wood cut I inked the stamp from Rooted in Nature in Crumb Cake then used a sponge dauber to add the darker Early Espresso ink around the bark edge.  After fussy cutting it I popped it with dimensionals and then added the rest of the details.

  The leaf is stamped in Garden Green onto Garden Green cardstock then die cut.  It's adhered to the wood cut.  The sentiment from Itty Bitty Birthdays is stamped in Early Espresso on Whisper White and adhered.

  I layered a piece of linen thread and Garden Green twine and made a bow for the edge of the sentiment layer.  I was able to use up a few more retired candy dots as accents.

  Even though this card has a few layers and accents I still thought it look crisp and clean to go with the sketch.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature, Itty Bitty Birthdays

Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Garden Green

Paper: Soft Sea Foam, Whisper White, Garden Green, Wood Textures DSP (retired)

Accessories: Natures Roots dies, Greenery embossing folder, dimensionals, linen thread, Garden Green bakers twine (retired), candy dots (retired)

Color Blocked Leaves - Stampin' Up! Here's a Card - Fab Friday 198

   It's Friday!!  Come join us at the newest Fab Friday Challenge!  We've got a cool color combination today! 

  These colors just seemed like masculine colors to me.  I used them to make a birthday card because I needed a few guy birthday cards to fulfill a card order I recently received.

  This card starts with a Misty Moonlight base.  I sponged the color blocks using some stencils I made buy cutting the shapes out of some scrap cardstock and then overlapping some of the edges of colors. After the sponging I cut the Whisper White panel with the Stitched Rectangle dies for a little details on the edge.

  I stamped the sentiment in Misty Moonlight then cut it out with a Tasteful Label die.  I trimmed the excess on the one side and adhered with dimensionals.

  The leaves are cut with the Gathered Leaves dies (a returning fave from last year's mini catalog - page 47 this year!) in the challenge colors then adhered with dimensionals.

  A tiny braided linen trim knot on the Misty Moonlight leaf and some Bumblebee In Color enamel dots on the sentiment label are the only embellishments used to keep it appropriately masculine.

  I hope you'll join us by sharing your creation for this color challenge in our gallery!  For more inspiration see the rest of the Design Team samples here.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Here's a Card

Ink: Gray Granite, Seaside Spray, Misty Moonlight, Bumblebee

Paper: Misty Moonlight, Whisper White, Seaside Spray, Bumblebee

Accessories: Gathered Leaves dies, Stitched Rectangle dies, Tasteful Label dies, dimensionals, In Color enamel dots, braided linen trim

Sympathetic Sprigs - Stampin' Up! Forever Fern

   One of my sweet aunts ordered a set of cards the other day and asked for a few sympathy cards to be included.  So I decided to combine 2 challenges that seemed like they could work well together for a sympathy card.  The first is the layout which is from CAS Colours & Sketches and the colors are from Color Throwdown. 

  I looked through my cards for some skinny stamps to go with the layout and not finding too much I figured a few of the Forever Fern images were as close as I was going to get.  No need to hem and haw too much; it's a challenge after all right?

  The off-white on the color palette challenged me a bit too...Whisper White is full on white and Very Vanilla seems to yellow to me to be called "off white".  I dug through my cardstock and what did I find??  Long ago retired Confetti White cardstock!  I had forgotten how much I loved this paper.  It's white but has nice random flecks that keeps it from being just Whisper White.   I used a piece of that for the base and then another layer embossed with Pinewood Planks embossing folder.  That seemed like a good start to a sympathy card.

  Next I stamped 2 different fern sprigs in the challenge color values of Seaside Spray, Pool Party and Terracotta Tile.  The Color Throwdown team doesn't use Stampin' Up! specific colors but generic tones so these are the colors I thought fit the challenge.  Once the ferns were cut out I adhered them to the cardfront; wrapped a bit of linen thread around and then added my sentiment.

  The sentiment is from Here's a Card and is stamped in Basic Gray and die cut with the Stitched Shapes dies.  It's popped up above the linen bow.

  I added a few In Color faceted gems in 2 of the challenge colors to finish off this CAS card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Forever Fern, Here's a Card

Ink: Seaside Spray, Pool Party, Terracotta Tile, Basic Gray

Paper: Confetti White (retired), Whisper White

Accessories: Forever Flourishing dies, Pinewood Planks embossing folder, linen thread, Stitched Shapes dies, dimensionals, In Color faceted gems (retired)

Emperor Penguin Christmas - Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Christmas

   Last spring I discovered a few Christmas card challenge sites.  It's been fun to try to participate in those during this crazy year and work on my Christmas cards stash a bit at a time.  My card today is for the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.  They've got polar bears and/or penguins as the theme.  Super cute right?  I thought so too but do I have any stamps that fit the theme?  Of course not!  I put on my thinking cap and decided to do what I usually do if I want to make something and I don't have an appropriate stamp....punch art!  Or in this case die art!

   The die sets got a workout to put together this giant penguin!  I had a cute little igloo too but the penguin ended up so big that the igloo wouldn't fit!  So it's clearly one of the giant emperor penguins and not one of those cute itty bitty little guys lol!

  The card base is Balmy Blue, then a layer of Whisper White embossed with Winter Snow embossing folder.  On top of that is a Stitched Rectangle cut from the Snowflake Splendor DSP.  I cut a few snowflakes in shimmery white with the So Many Snowflakes dies.  I added a Pool Party sequin to the centers.  

  The sentiment from Itty Bitty Christmas is stamped in Night of Navy and hand trimmed and then popped on dimensionals.

  And now for the penguin!  

   Body - Layering Oval dies (Whisper White, Basic Black)

   Wings: Wild Rose dies (Basic Black)

   Feet: Birds & More dies (Mango Melody)

   Head Tuft: Autumn Punch pack (oak leaf) - Basic Black 

   Beak: Stitched Triangle dies (Mango Melody)

   Eyes: small circle punches (Whisper White, Basic Black)

  Once I had the big guy put together I added a scarf and then popped him up with dimensionals on the card front.

  Definitely don't skip participating in a challenge if you don't have that exact themed stamp!  Use all those dies and punches.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Itty Bitty Christmas

Ink: Night of Navy

Paper: Balmy Blue, Whisper White, Basic Black, Mango Melody, Snowflake Splendor DSP, Shimmery white

Accessories: Winter Snow embossing folder, Snowflake Splendor dies, Layering Oval dies, Wild Rose dies, Birds & More dies, Autumn Punch Pack, Stitched Triangle dies, circle punches, dimensionals, sequins (retired), fiber trim (retired)

Pups Love Autumn - Stampin' Up! Beautiful Autumn

   I'm playing along with the Paper Players challenge for my card today.  Their challenge is to do a Clean and Simple pets card.  

  I decided to use my own dog as a starting point for my card and then added in some nice fall leaves for color.  My pup Aggie had a good time playing in the leaf piles last fall when we raked the yard so I thought I would try to create a card around that.

  I started with a Very Vanilla thick card base.  The next layer is Cinnamon Cider topped with a Very Vanilla panel embossed with the Tasteful Textiles embossing folder.  I stamped the Happy Thanksgiving sentiment from Banner Year in Cinnamon Cider ink before embossing.  

  My pup is stamped with the retired Happy Tails stamp set.  Aggie is a black lab so this set is her to a t!  I think I'll hold onto this retired set for a really long time.  I embossed the dog with clear embossing powder so she's got a nice little shine just like in real life.  I chose Cherry Cobbler for the collar to keep with the fall color theme.

  For the leaf pile as well as the falling leaves I stamped the leaves from the Beautiful Autumn in a variety of colors and then punched them out.  The falling leaves as well as a few in the pile are popped with dimensionals.

   Since the challenge was for clean and simple I didn't add any other embellishments but I will show you the inspiration for my card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Beautiful Autumn, Banner Year, Happy Tails (retired)

Ink: Versamark, Cinnamon Cider, Bumblebee, Pumpkin Pie, Terracotta Tile

Paper: Very Vanilla thick, Very Vanilla, Cinnamon Cider, Basic Black

Accessories: Tasteful Textile embossing folder, clear embossing powder, Autumn Punch pack, Dog builder punch, dimensionals

Beautiful Autumn Blocks - Stampin' Up! Beautiful Autumn

   The cooler fall weather has followed us into this Monday morning.  One of the boys asked us this morning when we'd be turning on the heat!  He was told to put a warmer blanket on his bed lol!

  I needed to design and make a set of thank you cards to send out to my customers for some recent orders.  Of course I wanted to be seasonal so I pulled out my Beautiful Autumn stamp set and coordinating Gilded Autumn DSP.  I was able to make 15 of these cards in no time.

  The layout was for a challenge a week or two back but I couldn't for the life of me find it in my bloglovin' list so please let me know if you recognize it and I will update this post.  I liked it because the 3 blocks were a nice way to highlight some DSP and foil paper as well as a stamp set.

  The card base is Very Vanilla thick, then a layer of Very Vanilla embossed with the Old World Paper embossing folder.  For the first block I used a nice Cajun Craze pattern from Gilded Autumn DSP with a piece of the Braided Linen Trim tied around it.  Below that I used a small bit of the Brushed Metallic cardstock in copper.

   The stamped panel is stamped with some of the Beautiful Autumn images that match the punches.  The oak leaf is Cajun Craze, maple leaf is Bumblebee and the acorn is Crumb Cake and Early Espresso. I stamped an extra image for each and then punched it out and popped it up with a mini dimensional. 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Beautiful Autumn

Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Bumblebee

Paper: Very Vanilla thick, Very Vanilla, Gilded Autumn Specialty DSP, Brushed Metallic cardstock (copper)

Accessories: Braided Linen trim, Beautiful Autumn punch pack, Old World Paper embossing folder, dimensionals

 

Mistletoe & Dove - Stampin' Up! Banner Year

    Happy Sunday!  I hope everyone has had a relaxing weekend so far!  We've had some downtime ourselves in between yard work and sports.  We'll be easing into Monday with an early bedtime I think!

  My card today was made using the Color Throwdown challenge which is green, white and kraft.  My card photographed kind of weirdly (it seems to have a weird green tint) but in person I think it's a cute look.

  

 A Crumb Cake card base starts this card with another layer of Crumb Cake with the corners rounded and stamped with a few of the Snowflake Wishes snowflakes in Crumb Cake ink.  The sentiment from Banner Year is embossed in white for it to show up a bit better.

  I had the larger Whisper White label already cut in my pile of rejected card parts so I used that to build up for the focal image.  A Garden Green banner comes next.  Then I stamped the Smoky Slate dove holding a few sprigs of what I'm calling mistletoe in Garden Green.  I cut that out with another of the Tasteful Label dies and popped it up with dimensionals.

  I used up some more of the long retired candy dots on the larger label and then used some small adhesive pearls on the sprigs for the mistletoe berries.

  Another card added to the Christmas stash!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snowflake Wishes, Banner Year

Ink: Crumb Cake, Versamark, Smoky Slate, Garden Green

Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Garden Green

Accessories: Tasteful Labels dies, white embossing powder, dimensionals, adhesive pearls, candy dots (retired)

Classic Christmas Wreath - Stampin' Up! Wreath Builder Dies

    It was 52 degrees this morning when I woke up!  If that doesn't get one thinking about Christmas I don't know what does!  Spring and fall in central Virginia can be so crazy with the temperature swings that I have like 3 outfits hanging out on reserve so I can quickly switch throughout the day to follow the heat (or cold).  I won't feel comfortable taking the shorts out of my drawers until late October just in case.  So I guess I'll be sharing more Christmas cards until the temps swing back up and I'll switch back to summer flowers and beachy themes!

  My card today is for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  The circles made it a no brainer for me to do a wreath.  I could have stretched my brain to do something crazy but I'm not really that kind of girl!  And 2020 is tough enough as it is right?? A classic Christmas wreath it is!

  If you've got a significant other or child that likes to Big Shot then this a is great card to get them to help you make.  It's all Big Shot with a tiny bit of stamping.

  I started with a Real Red card base and then a piece of Wonder of the Season Specialty DSP.  This is the first time I've used it and I dithered about trying to decide which foil sheet to use and I had finally decided on one of the red sheets but then when I started putting the card together I ended up liking the printed typeset side better.  Go figure.  I'll get the foil patterns on cards soon.  It's too cool not to use.

  For the wreath I cut 2, one in Garden Green and one in Mint Macaron.  They are layered and popped on dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped and embossed in gold and and die cut with the Stitched Shapes dies and also popped.

  For the embellishments I did a fork bow with the Real Red sheer ribbon in the mini catalog.  It ties wonderfully for this kind of bow.   And it's a bit hard to see in the photo but I added some pearl clusters around the wreath for a bit of shine.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Itty Bitty Christmas

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Real Red, Wonder of the Season Specialty DSP, Mint Macaron, Garden Green, Whisper White

Accessories: Wreath Builder dies, Stitched Shapes dies, gold embossing powder, Real Red sheer ribbon, adhesive pearls, dimensionals

Christmas Tree Time - Stampin' Up! Festive Post

   We had some topsoil delivered the other day from our local greenhouse.  The man who delivered it turned out to remember me from last year when I was choosing our Christmas tree at the same greenhouse.  I'm not really memorable in any way but maybe my excitement at finding a great BIG tree stuck in his mind or he has a great memory.  I get really excited about my Christmas trees so who knows lol! Either way it was nice to chat him up and it made me realize I need to make sure to watch the calendar for the Christmas Tree delivery date!

  So since we're talking about Christmas trees I've got a sweet card that fits the theme!

   If only it just took one tie to hold a tree to the roof of the car lol!  I started this card with a Misty Moonlight card base topped with a piece of the Plaid Tidings DSP in a nice neutral Crumb Cake.

  Using markers I colored in the various ink colors for the tree and car and stamped them on Whisper White and punched them out with the Rectangular Postage Stamp punch.  I popped them up on the card front with dimensionals with the bottom car being over the top of a Real Red satin ribbon.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Festive Post

Ink: Pear Pizzazz

Markers: Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Misty Moonlight, Old Olive, Basic Black, Soft Suede

Paper: Misty Moonlight, Plaid Tidings DSP, Whisper White

Accessories: Rectangular Postage Stamp punch, dimensionals, Real Red satin ribbon

 

Frosted Trees - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature

    I've not been able to stamp since Sunday so I'm glad I had a few cards stockpiled to share this week. Hopefully I can sit down to create a bit today; the rainy day helps!  I'm still chugging along with Christmas cards and I hope that you're finding some inspiration for your own Christmas card plans.  Sometimes I get so wrapped up in new Christmas sets that I kind of forget to pull out some older sets.  Today's card uses Rooted in Nature for a fun sparkly card with a sponged background.

  I started with a Misty Moonlight card base, then a Whisper White layer topped with another Whisper White layer cut with the Stitched Rectangle die and sponged.  I sponged Highland Heather then Balmy Blue and finally at the top Misty Moonlight.

  I embossed some itty bitty snowflakes from the Snowflake Wishes set using the retired Shimmer white embossing powder.

  The Rooted in Nature pine trees were stamped in Versamark on Whisper White and also embossed in Shimmer White.  Once they were cut out I popped the single tree on dimensionals.

  The banner is stamped in Misty Moonlight using a sentiment from Itty Bitty Christmas.  To finish off the focal grouping I added a little silver/white baker's twine bow.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature, Itty Bitty Christmas, Snowflake Wishes

Ink: Misty Moonlight, Balmy Blue, highland Heather, Versamark

Paper: Misty Moonlight, Whisper White

Accessories: Nature's Roots dies, Shimmer White embossing powder (retired), silver/white baker's twine (retired), dimensionals

Hello Baby - Stampin' Up! Cute Fruit

  Are you looking at this baby card and wondering where the heck the Cute Fruit stamp set is here??  I didn't have any overt new baby images or stamp sets so I used the little circle/starburst as well as the open circle for my heat embossed backgrounds.  I thought it was a unique way to use some of the basic shapes in that set and not just have the focus on the fruit.

  I used the CAS(e) This Sketch challenge for the layout and Daring Cardmakers challenge of 'Oh Baby!'  I didn't have any baby cards in my stash and figured it would be good to stock it just in case and it was also a nice change from fall and Christmas cards.

  I started with a Gray Granite card base and embossed the open circle in white.  Next I embossed a narrow strip of Petal Pink embossed with the Dainty Diamonds embossing folder.  Under that is a piece of Purple Posy cardstock with the little starburst image embossed in clear embossing powder.

  Down the side I cut the 'baby' with the Playful Alphabet dies in Whisper White cardstock and Foam Adhesive Sheets for a nice popped up look.  Before adhering the foam and cardstock I embossed the cardstock with the Subtle embossing folder.

  I stamped the 'hello' from To A Wild Rose in Highland Heather and cut the flag with Tasteful Label dies and popped that to the side.  I pulled in a bit more of the Petal Pink color with a retired sequin topped with a rhinestone.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cute Fruit, To a Wild Rose

Ink: Versamark, Highland Heather

Paper: Gray Granite, Purple Posy, Petal Pink, Whisper White

Accessories: Playful Alphabet dies, Tasteful Label dies, foam adhesive sheets, white embossing powder, clear embossing powder, Dainty Diamonds embossing folder, Subtle embossing folder, adhesive rhinestone, sequin (retired) 

Bitty Flower Get Well - Stampin' Up! Arrange a Wreath

  Each Monday I try to post a photo from the catalog to my Facebook stampers group page to give my stampers some inspiration for their at home stamping.  I try to use the inspiration photo for my own stamping and share what I end up making.  I'm a bit behind as this one was from 2 weeks ago but now that school has started the home routines have had to shift a bit again!

  The inspiration photo is the card on page 2 of the Annual Catalog (the sample showing the stamping off technique).  I chose to use the layout as my inspiration as well as the flower theme.

  I started with a Pear Pizzazz base then a slightly smaller layer of Pear Pizzazz embossed with the Tasteful Textiles embossing folder.

  I cut a Stitched Rectangle in Whisper White to do all my stamping on.  I pulled out the Arrange a Wreath and stamped some flowers in Blushing Bride and leaves in Pear Pizzazz.  For some dimension I stamped a few flowers again but on Blushing Bride cardstock and leaves to match on Pear Pizzazz cardstock then cut them out and popped them with dimensionals.  I added some retired From the Heart faceted gems (I'm nearly done with the container!).  

  To add the scalloped detail that the inspiration card has I used my Stitched So Sweetly dies and just cut a few scalloped edges from some scraps of Soft Suede and layered 3 along the one edge.  I wrapped a few lengths of linen thread around the whole panel and tied it off with a bow.

  The sentiment from Gather Together (returning Fave from last year now in the current Aug.-Dec. mini catalog) is stamped in Soft Suede.  Finally the whole stamped panel is popped on the card front with dimensionals.

  So better late than never and I guess since it's already Tuesday I should find this week's Monday Inspiration huh?  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Arrange a Wreath, Gather Together

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, Blushing Bride

Paper: Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, Blushing Bride

Accessories: Tasteful Textiles embossing folder, Wreath Builder dies, Stitched So Sweetly dies, Stitched Rectangle dies, dimensionals, linen thread, From the Heart faceted gems (retired)

Christmas Sampler - Stampin' Up! Festive Post

   Monday, Monday, Monday!  Back to the grind today.  I hope you all had a nice weekend and lots of relaxing was done.  We had our first soccer game in 6 months so it was nice to have that 'normal' back.  

  My card today was made for the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown which has already closed but the layout was what I used so I wanted to give credit where credit is due. I enjoyed pulling parts of different sets together to create 3 circles that worked well as far as scale.

  The card base is Shaded Spruce with a layer of 'Tis the Season DSP on top.  I pulled the colors for the rest of the card from the DSP for a nice cohesive look.

  The first circle features a Tree Angle Christmas tree using Mint Macaron and Shaded Spruce ink for the top and Soft Suede ink and paper for the trunk.  A gold foil star is the topper.

 The middle circle is the reindeer from Festive Post inked in Soft Suede.  The snowflake are from Snowflake Wishes stamp set and stamped in Pool Party.  I gave the reindeer a Real Red rhinestone nose. 

  The third circle is a poinsettia made from the Wreath Builder dies and the Red Velvet paper.  I cut 2 layers and between them I added a gold foil circle before popping the top layer on a mini dimensional.  The leaf is cut from Green foil and tucked under the bottom layer of the flower.

  Finally the sentiment is from the Itty Bitty Christmas set and stamped in Shaded Spruce.  I flagged the end and then added a smaller flag behind in Red foil.

  I had a lot of fun pulling images and dies from different sets to create this layout.  This is also a great design to show off some smaller Christmas images from different sets.  You could swap them in and out while sticking with a basic color theme.  Bells, snowflakes, elves, holly, bows, ornaments and doves could all be featured on a circle.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Festive Post, Tree Angle, Itty Bitty Christmas, Snowflake Wishes

Ink: Shaded Spruce, Soft Suede, Pool Party

Paper: Shaded Spruce, 'Tis the Season DSP, Mint Macaron, Whisper White, Gold foil, Red foil, Green foil, Red Velvet paper

Accessories: Stitched Shapes dies, Stitched Triangle dies, Wreath Builder dies, dimensionals, Stitched Stars dies, Real Red rhinestones

Chalkboard Thanks - Stampin' Up! Ornate Thanks - Fab Friday 197

  Well we've made it to Friday after a short first week of back to school.  So far so good but it's nice that we have the weekend to gear back up for 5 whole days next week!  I hope you'll have time to stamp over the weekend and play along with us at Fab Friday Challenge with this fun sketch challenge.

   My thank you card stash is still a bit low so I used that as my starting point when designing my card.  Remember the chalkboard technique from a few years ago?  It's basically stamping in white craft ink and then lightly sponging more craft ink for the dusty look.  Or as I did it on my card I stamped and embossed the sentiment in white embossing powder and then swiped the craft ink.  I didn't trust myself to put the card together and not smudge the whole thing if I used just craft ink!  I'm messy like that!

  I started with a Balmy Blue card base, then another layer of Balmy Blue embossed with the Dainty Diamonds embossing folder.

  For the chalkboard frame I used a piece of In Good Taste and cut it out with Stitched Rectangle dies.  the board part is Basic Black with the stamping and sponging. The whole panel is popped on dimensionals.

  The decorations are made with the Arrange a Wreath stamps and coordinating Wreath Builder dies.  They work pretty well as sunflowers right?  I used Bumblebee, Garden Green and Early Espresso for the colors.

  Once I had the little banner stamped and trimmed I arranged the flowers around it and popped them on dimensionals.

  Check out the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team for more inspiration for this versatile sketch!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Ornate Thanks

Ink: Versamark, Memento black, Garden Green, Early Espresso, White craft

Paper: Balmy Blue, Basic Black, In Good Taste DSP, Bumblebee, Garden Green, Early Espresso, Whisper White

Accessories: Dainty Diamonds embossing folder, Stitched Rectangle dies, Wreath Builder dies, white embossing powder, dimensionals

Sweet Squirrel - Stampin' Up! Banner Year

   For the first time in a long time I had to be some place at a certain time this morning and let me tell you it took more mental capacity than I thought it would to get ready and out the door on time.  So the morning routine got moved to the afternoon including posting my daily card.

  I'm still having a ton of fun with the Banner Year set and this time I paired it with the Festive Friday challenge which is "First Day of Fall" and I chose leaves, acorns, squirrels, plaid and stitching from their inspiration list.

  I started this card with the Whisper White thick card base and worked my way up with a layer of Pretty Peacock topped with more Whisper White cut with a Stitched Rectangle die and then embossed with Pinewood Planks embossing folder.

  Next up I used a strip of Plaid Tiding DSP and used that as inspiration for the rest of my colors.  The leaves are stamped in Bumblebee and Cajun Craze, the squirrel is Cinnamon Cider and the acorns are Soft Suede and the tops are colored with Crumb Cake Blends.  Once I fussy cut all the images out I popped them up on dimensionals onto Pretty Peacock stitched squares.  I added a teeny tiny linen thread bow to one acorn as well as gave the squirrel a little face.

  The sentiment is stamped in Early Espresso on Cajun Craze cardstock by using a marker to ink up just one word at a time so I could have them spaced enough to cut them into pieces for the stacked sentiment instead of one longer sentiment.  Those are also popped with dimensionals.  The final detail is the Bumblebee enamel dots that I placed around the sentiment.

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Banner Year

Ink: Bumblebee, Cajun Craze, Cinnamon Cider, Soft Suede

Markers: Crumb Cake Blends, Early Espresso Stampin' Write

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Pretty Peacock, Cajun Craze

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Stitched Shapes dies, Pinewood Planks embossing folder, dimensionals, linen thread, enamel dots

Minimalist Christmas Tree - Stampin' Up! So Many Snowflakes Dies

  I'm still plugging away at my Christmas cards and I'm doing pretty well I think.  I have a few designs already made that I can go back and make multiples if I find my inspiration or time lacking to do one of kind cards but for now it's been fun to come up with a few more new designs each week.

  My card today uses the CAS Christmas Card Challenge which is "Christmas Tree".  It was fun to make a tone on tone background in white and then top it with an eye-catching tree for this challenge.

  This card is really much prettier in person as the sparkle on the tree just doesn't show well in the photo.

  I started with a Whisper White card base, then a smaller layer of Whisper White embossed with the Subtle embossing folder.  I cut a variety of snowflakes using the So Many Snowflakes dies and adhered them to the embossed panel and trimmed off the overhanging bits.  I wrapped a piece of crinkled seam binding ribbon around the lower part of the panel and tied it off with a knot.  

  For the tree I convinced myself to finally cut into the really cool Rainbow Glimmer paper.  I used one of the largest Stitched Triangle dies and cut into the green/blue section of cardstock.  I popped it up over the snowflakes with dimensionals and then tucked the flagged sentiment under the edge.   I added a few rhinestones to the centers of some snowflakes for a bit of shine on the rest of the card.

  I could make a few more of this design but I might have to go back to hoarding this paper!  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Itty Bitty Christmas

Ink: Bermuda Bay

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Rainbow Glimmer paper

Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, So Many Snowflakes dies, Stitched Triangle dies, Crinkled seam binding ribbon, dimensionals, rhinestones

Hello Autumn - Stampin' Up! Forever Fern

   Well so far only a few hiccups on the first day of school!  Fingers crossed that all the small bumps get worked out and the kids can enjoy school as much as possible.  Now I just need to figure out where I can be in the house without getting on someone's camera by accident or making noise doing all the stuff I still need to do all day!  It's a learning process for the parents as well this virtual school thing!

  Some things aren't going to be different like sharing a card everyday (or trying to anyway!).  I've got a nice fall card today that shows off a lot of nice rich gold foil accents.  I made this one for the CAS(e) This Sketch challenge.  I liked the label front and center with some foliage (or whatever) behind it.

 The card starts with an Early Espresso base, then a Stitched Rectangles panel in Very Vanilla.  I topped that with a piece of the lovely Gilded Autumn DSP.  

  I die cut 2 of the fern fronds one in Very Vanilla and one in Brushed Gold (or is it Bronze?? I still can't tell which is which!).  I layered the Very Vanilla one behind and then adhered them to the card front.

  A piece of gold Metallic Edged ribbon wraps around the middle.  I topped that with a gold embossed sentiment on Early Espresso cut with the Stitched So Sweetly dies and popped up with dimensionals.

  Not a lot of stamping on this card but it was fun to use a nice large piece of DSP and the large fern frond.  They make a nice background for a clean and simple sentiment.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Forever Fern

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Brushed Metallic gold/bronze

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Forever Flourishing dies, Stitched So Sweetly dies, gold embossing powder, gold metallic edged ribbon, dimensionals

Jewel Tone Tiles - Stampin' Up! Todays Tiles

   I had some fun pairing up 2 challenges over the weekend.  They both end today so I'm just in time to share it and still be current!  I used the colors from The Color Throwdown and the layout from Freshly Made Sketches.

  I love these jewel tones and thought they would work really well with the Today's Tile set.  What do you think?

  The card starts with a Whisper White card base, then a layer of Rich Razzleberry and then a layer of Whisper White embossed with the Tasteful Textile embossing folder.

  I mixed and matched the ink colors to stamp the images using the Stamparatus and then snipped the different tiles to line them up to follow the sketch.  They are popped up with dimensionals.

  The sentiment gave me the hardest time as I was trying to find one that didn't overly cover the tiles but still stand out enough.  I pulled this one from the fall set Beautiful Autumn.  It's nice and narrow yet the words are easy to read.  I embossed it in white onto Brushed Metallic Copper cardstock.  It did take me a few attempts as the Versamark ink slid around a bit on the slick surface of the cardstock.  I persevered and got a decent image.  I layered that across the panel blocks and adhered the one end with a dimensional so it's on the same level as the tiles and won't crease when it's mailed.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Today's Tiles, Beautiful Autumn

Ink: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Misty Moonlight, Versamark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Brushed Metallic Copper

Accessories: Tasteful Textile embossing folder, white embossing powder, dimensionals 

Back to School - Stampin' Up! Well Said

   Our very, very, very long break from school is winding down here as the boys start school on Tuesday.  It's all virtual so they aren't really going any where but they still need to get up and be ready to learn first thing for a full school day.  It might be a rough morning here...wish us luck.

  I made this back to school card to give to my boys as a little bit of encouragement as they start this crazy new school year.  It was fun to do a bit of "die art" to create this big pencil.

  I started with a Whisper White thick card base topped with a lovely plaid paper from the Plaid Tidings 6x6 DSP. 

  The next layer is a hand made piece of notebook paper.  I used my dark Pool Party and light Cajun Craze Blends markers and a ruler to make the lines.  I was pleased with how well it came out.  I used my Stampin' Up! grid paper as a guide for the line spacing so that was helpful in keeping even spacing as well as straight lines.

  The tip of the pencil is a tiny Stitched Triangle in Basic Black and the the 'wood' part is a larger Stitched Triangle in Crumb Cake.  The barrel of the pencil is cut with one of the Stitched Rectangle dies in Bumblebee.  I used my Simply Scored to add some score lines down the barrel to mimic the ridges of a real pencil.  The eraser is just a square of Blushing Bride and I hand trimmed the corners to make them slightly rounded. The metallic band is just a hand trimmed scrap of the retired Galvanized Metal paper.  I think any metallic could be substituted easily though if you wanted to recreate this one.

  Once I had my pencil popped up on dimensionals on the notebook paper I added a quick sentiment from Well Said in Pretty Peacock.  I wanted a 'good luck' sentiment but believe it or not I didn't have anything like that in all my sets, even the retired ones.  The virtual school start will certainly be an adventure so I guess it's fitting!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Well Said

Ink: Pretty Peacock

Blends: Pool Party dark, Cajun Craze light

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Plaid Tidings DSP, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Bumblebee, Blushing Bride, Galvanized Metal (retired)

Accessories: Stitched Triangle dies, Stitched Rectangle dies, dimensionals

Garden Bouquet - Stampin' Up! Jar of Flowers

   I'm glad I had some stamping time over the weekend to stock up on a few projects to share this week because so far I haven't made it into the stamp room at all!  I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms I think!

  For my card today I was inspired by the Daring Cardmakers challenge which is "In the Garden".  I have some small patches of flowers as well as some big pots planted with flowers so I've got some color in my yard.  I actually cut some the other day to enjoy inside in a vase so I thought a nice floral bouquet would be a good starting point for a card for this challenge.

  I scrolled through Pinterest for some color inspiration and I hit upon a paint swatch that translated into Stampin' Up! colors is Gray Granite, Pretty Peacock, Old Olive and Blackberry Bliss.  I loved these rich hues and thought they were a great combo for going into autumn.  

  The card starts with a Gray Granite base and then a layer of the awesome In Good Taste DSP.  I love the mix of the hard tile in the geometric pattern mixed with the more soft floral images.

  I stamped the flower bunch on watercolor paper and watercolored it with an aquapainter and inks and then fussy cut.  The jar is punched in Gray Granite and then I sponged Versamark around the edge and embossed with gold embossing powder.  The jar/flower combo is popped on dimensionals.

  The sentiment from Itty Bitty Birthdays is embossed in gold as well on Pretty Peacock cardstock and then layered on the diagonal.

  I added some more gold accents with a gold twine bow and some gold faceted sequins.  I was very proud of myself for using up these 3 sequins which I've had for a while and I was able to toss the tiny little bag they were in! Baby steps in using up the stash right??

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Jar of Flowers, Itty Bitty Birthdays

Ink: Stazon, Gray Granite, Pretty Peacock, Old Olive, Blackberry Bliss, Versamark

Paper: Gray Granite, In Good Tatste DSP, watercolor paper, Pretty Peacock

Accessories: Jar punch, gold embossing powder, gold twine (retired), gold sequins (retired)

Big Deal Whale - Stampin' Up! Whale Done

   I'm a bit late getting my card shared today.  I've found myself dealing with a lot more emails and prep for my kids going back to school next week so I've been spending a lot more time on the computer trying to figure out the virtual learning stuff and new schedules and filling out forms and all that kind of stuff.  It's definitely a whole new world for "back to school"!

  My card today is one I made for the Just Add Ink challenge which is to make a guy card.  What a good challenge as I sometimes struggle to get a masculine design that I'm happy with. 

  I went with the Whale Done stamp set and Whale of a Time DSP for my design. 

 

 

  I had a few partial sheets that I cut down to be able to use to make a blocked background.  I embossed a Pool Party circle with the Seabed embossing folder and built my card parts up from there.  The whale is stamped in Blackberry Bliss and punched out and popped on dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped in Pacific Point and punched out and popped also.  I stamped 2 seahorses in Pretty Peacock and one in Just Jade.  After fussy cutting them they are popped on dimensionals around the whale.

  And since it's a guy card I kept the embellishments to a minimum and just used 3 In Color enamel dots in Just Jade.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Whale Done

Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Pacific Point, Just Jade, Pretty Peacock

Paper: Whale of a Time DSP, Pool Party, Whisper White

Accessories: circle punches, Seabed embossing folder, In Color enamel dots, dimensionals

Merry Snowflakes - Stampin' Up! Snowflake Wishes

   The whole Snowflake Splendor suite in the mini catalog is beautiful and I'm enjoying creating with the products.  I have a simple layout using it today inspired by the CAS(e) This Sketch challenge. 

 Since this is CAS (clean and simple) challenge I don't have a lot of extras on this card.  I let the pretty images and Balmy Blue Glimmer paper speak for themselves.  You can tell in the photo but the sentiment tag is Shimmery White cardstock.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snowflake Wishes, Banner Year

Ink: Highland Heather, Misty Moonlight

Paper: Whisper White thick, Misty Moonlight, Snowflake Splendor DSP, Balmy Blue Glimmer paper, Highland Heather, Shimmery white

Accessories: So Many Snowflakes dies, Stitched Rectangle dies, Tasteful Labels dies, dimensionals, From My Heart faceted gems (retired)