Golden Flurry - Stampin' Up! Joyful Flurry

   Gold is always a winner when it comes to using it on Christmas cards.  I don't think you can go wrong with gold in all it's different forms on a card.  I used a bit of gold ink, embossing and ribbon on this elegant Christmas card.

  The Joyful Flurry bundle has a mix of images and sentiments and the dies are gorgeous; they cut out the snowflake shapes but there are also ones that cut the shape into the cardstock for a cool pop up effect.

  I started with a Merry Merlot card base then added a layer of Night of Navy with 2 snowflakes cut into it.  I highlighted the snowflakes by blending some gold ink over the designs.

  Next, I added my sentiment stamped in Night of Navy and arranged the embossed and die cut snowflakes and strip of gold ribbon around it.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Joyful Flurry

Ink: Versamark, Night of Navy, gold

Paper: Merry merlot, Night of Navy, Basic White

Accessories: Frosted Flurry Dies, dimensionals, gold embossing powder, gold shimmer ribbon

Rustic Harvest Pumpkin - Stampin' Up! Hello Harvest

   I'm using the gorgeous colors over at Color Throwdown for my card today.  The colors they have for us are powder blue, cream and kraft.  I translated those into Stampin' Up! colors and used Seaside Spray, Crumb Cake and Ivory (Blends).

  At first I thought to use Balmy Blue but it just seemed too bright for 'powder blue'.  Luckily I still had a bit of retired Seaside Spray cardstock and pulled out this already embossed panel to use on the card front.

   I stamped the flower stamped in Crumb Cake ink along the one edge of the card front.  I added a bit of retired lace trim to the edge of the embossed panel.

  The pumpkin is stamped in Crumb Cake and then colored in with the Ivory Blends marker and then die cut.  I added a few Crumb Cake vines and then popped it up over a length of burlap trim and the sentiment from Full of Love.

  To balance out the bottom of the card I added a small banner with a linen thread bow and a fussy cut sunflower at the top.  The retired gold faceted gems are the final touch on this rustic pumpkin card.

  It was satisfying to use some retired products to pull this card together.  While it's always fun to focus on using the newest items we can't forget to check our retired stashes from time to time.  If we don't use older stuff up we won't have room for those new items!

 Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hello Harvest, Full of Love

Ink: Crumb Cake

Blends: Ivory, Crumb Cake light

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White, Seaside Spray (retired), Harvest Meadow DSP (retired)

Accessories: Rustic Pumpkin dies, linen thread, dimensionals, Bark embossing folder (retired), burlap trim (retired), scalloped lace trim (retired), gold faceted gems (retired)

Fish in Blues & Greens - Stampin' Up! A Fish & A Wish

    Yesterday after I had gotten through a few business-y things I had to do it was time to check out some challenges to play along with.  The Just Add Ink theme of "Under the Sea" and the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches seemed perfect to pair up.

  I used a lot of blues and greens for this birthday card and enjoyed using the retired Sea Bed embossing folder.  It's very detailed and blending the ink onto it with blending brushes really makes it stand out.

   I stamped and adhered the fish to vellum circle which I covered in clear Wink of Stella for a subtle shine.  The sentiment is from Vintage Tools and is cut apart and popped with dimensionals.  A few Fine Sparkle adhesive gems are sprinkles across the card front for some more subtle sparkle.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: A Fish & A Wish, Vintage Tools

Ink: Soft Sea Foam, Mint Macaron, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Tahitian Tide, Bermuda Bay, Balmy Blue

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Vellum, Tahitian Tide, Bermuda Bay, Balmy Blue

Accessories: Circle dies, Wink of Stella, dimensionals, Fish Builder punch, Fine Sparkle adhesive gems, Sea Bed embossing folder (retired)

Acorn Thank You - Stampin' Up! Inspired Thoughts

   My card today has very little stamping, instead I used die cuts, embossing and DSP to pull my card together.

  I used the whole Ringed with Nature bundle as well as the Sale-a-Bration reward, Rings of Love DSP.

  I made a set of this design to send out for my June customer thank you cards. I started with a Night of Navy base, then a layer of the DSP in this pretty medallion pattern.  I cut the banner and then embossed it with the Tree Rings embossing folder.

  The branches and acorns are die cut with the Tree Rings hybrid embossing folder/die set and then adhered with dimensionals on the edge of the banner.  The sentiment is stamped in Night of Navy and added.

  The final embellishments are the linen thread bow and Elegant Faceted gems for a bit of sparkle.

  Thanks for looking.  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Inspired Thoughts

Ink: Night of Navy

Paper: Night of Navy, Mint Macaron, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Basic White, Rings of Love DSP

Accessories: Basic Borders dies, Tree Rings Hybrid embossing folder/dies, dimensionals, linen thread, Elegant Faceted gems

Candy Cane Love - Stampin' Up! Sweet Candy Canes

   Today is a good day to stay inside and think about cooler Christmas weather!  It's a hot humid day already here in central VA and everything is already sticky before it's even noon!  I know I'll probably be wishing for warmer weather come December but the grass is always greener right?

  I used the Sweet Candy Canes stamp set to put this card together.  If you have a bit of patience with this set you can make a lot of variations to the stripes for different looks. 

  

  By using a blender pen to lift off the main ink color from the thin stripes then adding a different color back in with a Stampin' Write marker you can get fun multi-colored candy canes.  For these I used Sweet Sorbet and Garden Green & Blushing Bride and Sweet Sorbet.  

  

  I paired these classic Christmas colors with a pop of gold bling with some Adhesive-backed Seasonal Sequins and Gold Shimmer ribbon.

  Some texture was added by embossing a piece of Garden Green with the Whimsical Woodland embossing folder.

  The sentiment is in the Brightest Glow stamp set and is stamped in Garden Green ink and cut out and popped with dimensionals.

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sweet Candy Canes, Brightest Glow

Ink: Sweet Sorbet, Blushing Bride, Garden Green

Markers: Garden Green, Sweet Sorbet

Paper: Sweet Sorbet, Garden Green, Basic White

Accessories: Candy Canes Dies, dimensionals, Whimsical Woodland embossing folder, seasonal sequins, Gold Shimmer ribbon, circle dies/punch, blender pen

Hippo Congrats - Stampin' Up! Hippest Hippos

   I haven't shared a hippo in a few days and this one is sure to brighten your day!  I love the black and the gray tones paired up with the bright, colorful balloons.

  I used some of the Metallic & Shimmer Specialty paper for the background.  It looked like confetti to me which went with the congratulations theme I was going for.

  The hippos is colored with blends and then die cut.  I stamped all the balloon using the stamp from the Penguin Place set and then fussy cut them and popped them on dimensionals.

  The words were stamped on Tahitian Tide cardstock and then fussy cut.  The Amazing Phrases set is one I know I'll have for a long time since it works for so many different card types.

  Thanks for looking!   Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hippest Hippos (SAB), Penguin Place, Amazing Phrases (SAB)

Ink: Memento black, Sweet Sorbet, Balmy Blue, Gorgeous Grape, Polished Pink, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Orchid Oasis

Blends: Smoky Slate light 7 dark, Gray Granite light & dark, SU1000

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Tahitian Tide, Metallic & Shimmer Specialty paper

Accessories: Hippo dies (SAB), dimensionals, black baker's twine, Polished Dots

Rings of Toadstools - Stampin' Up! Ringed with Nature

   My stampers made this card a few weeks ago at my open house kickoff for the new mini catalog and Sale-a-Bration.  The stamp set, die set and embossing folder can all be found in the mini catalog and the Rings of Love Designer Series Paper is a Sale-a-Bration reward.  If you order the whole bundle the DSP can be your free reward!  I love how that works out!

  

  Aren't these great colors for fall?  I love this Poppy Parade, Crushed Curry & Evening Evergreen combo.  These rich colors are balanced out with a healthy amount of Crumb Cake on the embossed panel.

 

  The Tree Rings Hybrid embossing folder is so cool because you can use it for just embossing but then you can add the die to it and cut the tree rings at the same time as it embosses!  On this card we just used the embossing folder on it's own but I love when you can use a product in multiple ways; it makes your options for designing nearly endless!

  Another new product that we used on this card is the Glimmer paper in Evening Evergreen for the 2 die cut branches.  It will be gorgeous on Christmas projects.  And even better is you get Gold and Very Vanilla Glimmer paper in the same pack!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Ringed with Nature

Ink: Poppy Parade, Soft Suede

Paper: Poppy Parade, Crumb Cake, Crushed Curry, Basic White, Rings of Love DSP (SAB), Evening Evergreen Glimmer Paper

Accessories: Tree Rings Hybrid embossing folder/dies, dimensionals. circle punches/dies

Cool Blues - Stampin' Up! Good Feelings

   Sometimes little dies in a set can get overlooked as far as being a focal point on a card.  I decided to use the cute little sunglasses from the Sale-a-Bration reward die set, Hippo Dies and use it as the main image on a card.

  The current layout at Freshly Made Sketches was just right for this purpose because it has a smaller rectangle that can be used to highlight a smaller image.

  I chose a blue based color palette to show off my cool shades.  The base is Starry Sky and is stamped with 'hooray' from the Good Feelings set also in Starry Sky ink.

  Next I added a wide band of 2022-2024 In Color DSP in Tahitian tide.  The sentiment from Sweet Songbird is stamped in Starry Sky and cut apart.  I popped the words up on narrow strips of dimensionals.

  The sunglasses were die cut in the various colors and Basic Black for the lenses then adhered to a Basic White Stitched Rectangle which has a Coastal Cabana rectangle behind it.  Each of the lenses are colored with clear Wink of Stella for a subtle sparkle.

  A few adhesive backed sequins (found in the July-Dec. mini catalog pg. 19) are added to embellish.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Good Feelings, Sweet Songbird

Ink: Starry Sky

Paper: Starry Sky, Tahitian Tide, Coastal Cabana, Basic Black, Basic White, 2022-2024 In Color DSP

Accessories: Hippo dies (SAB), Stitched Rectangle dies, dimensionals, Wink of Stella, sequins

It's Amazing - Stampin' Up! Amazing Phrases

   I'm finding the 2022-2024 In Colors perfect for summer boy birthdays!  After seeing the Paper Players challenge to use Parakeet Party, Tahitian Tide and Basic White for a card I knew they would be a great combo for a teen boy birthday.

  I did add a bit of black as a neutral to make the colors pop even more than they do on their own and it was also an opportunity to throw in a little bit of Black Glimmer paper for some sparkle.  I used it on the '14' and the '!'

  The Amazing Phrases Sale-a-Bration reward stamp set has been seeing a lot of ink.  I think the casual fonts and fun mix & match possibilities work nicely for cards for teens and men.

  I created the background panel by stamping the balloon from Penguin Place (a returning favorite from last Christmas season! You can find it in the July-Dec. mini catalog) in Tahitian Tide ink onto Tahitian Tide cardstock.  

  Next I stamped all my sentiments and fussy cut them and popped them up with dimensionals around the dir cut 14. I stamped a few more balloons and fussy cut them to add to the side of the layout.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Amazing Phrases (SAB), Penguin Place

Ink: Tahitian Tide, Parakeet Party, Memento Black

Paper: Basic Black, Basic White, Tahitian Tide, Black Glimmer paper, Parakeet Party

Accessories: circle punch, Tasteful Label dies, Playful Alphabet dies (retired), dimensionals, black bakers twine

Merry Tree Lot - Stampin' Up! Trees for Sale

   Isn't Sale-a-Bration a fun time of year?  I love getting free products when I order because let's face it I'm going to be ordering anyway and who doesn't love a little reward for doing so?  The Tree Lot die set in the Sale-a-Bration brochure coordinate with the Trees for Sale stamp set in the July-Dec. mini catalog and they are so cute together and on their own!  

  Plan out your order for $100 or more (before tax/shipping) and you can choose the Tree Lot dies as your reward.  Sale-a-Bration is a fantastic time to stock up on not only the seasonal supplies you need for fall and winter but also the stamping essentials like card stock (Basic White is always a must have in my stamp room) and dimensionals and other adhesives that you'll use all year long.  Might as well get a SAB freebie for things you're going to order anyway!  My ordering link is in the sidebar -----> if you'd like to support my business.

  We used this fun pair of products at my catalog kickoff event last weekend.  I couldn't resist creating a fun little scene with the trees and camper.  I could have added about 10 more details but restrained myself from it so my stampers would have time to finish the other projects!

  As always on a new catalog kickoff event I want my stampers to see and use as many new items as I can so I made sure to add some of the new Sweetest Christmas DSP in this fun striped pattern as well as bit of White glimmer paper on the camper details for some sparkle.  Both can be found in the July-Dec. mini catalog.

  It's a fun color combo using the Parakeet Party and Granny Apple Green for the trees paired up with the Real Red and Coastal Cabana.  Has a bit of a retro vibe almost.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Trees for Sale

Ink: Crumb Cake, Coastal Cabana, Parakeet Party, Granny Apple Green

Paper: Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Basic White, Crumb Cake, Sweetest Christmas DSP, White Glimmer Paper

Accessories: Tree Lots dies, dimensionals, Real Red rhinestones

House of Love - Stampin' Up! Ringed with Nature

   I loved the Ringed with Nature stamp set the first time I saw it in the July-Dec. mini catalog and still somehow I forgot to add it to my demonstrator preorder.  I kept thinking that I would wait to get it whenever I needed to put another order in but then I couldn't wait that long!  I ended up placing another preorder just to get it and a few packs of paper that I was low on.  The justifications that I go through to order more stamps lol!

  I used this set to make an anniversary card last week.  The little house and heart just seemed like the perfect images to celebrate.

  The coordinating dies and embossing folder, Tree Rings Hybrid embossing folder/dies, are really cool because you can emboss the tree rings and cut them out at the same time with on pass through the die cutter.  It's a neat way to get a pile of the wood cuts all at once to use on multiple projects.  The rest of the dies coordinate with the stamp set but don't actually cut out any of the images but the images are pretty straightforward if you want to fussy cut them like I did with the house and heart.

  After I stamped and die cut my pieces I layered them on top of a Crumb Cake wood cut and popped the heart on dimensionals.

  The little bit of DSP behind the sentiment comes from the Happy Forest Friends DSP and definitely looks like hearts to me but you might just see a knit pattern.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Ringed with Nature

Ink: Soft Suede, Night of Navy, Calypso Coral

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral

Accessories: Tree Rings Hybrid embossing folder/dies, dimensionals

Silver Snowflakes - Stampin' Up! Joyful Flurry

   I certainly don't need to be making snow cards to cool off right now!  We had the lowest high temperature on record for our area yesterday and even though today is quite a bit warmer it is still not hot so the snow cards are just what I'm sharing and not a wishful thinking kind of thing!

  I paired up the Joyful Flurry set with the Snowflake Specialty vellum for this snowflake covered card.

  This one starts with a Whisper White base, then I added a strip of Balmy Blue and then the snowflake vellum over the top.  I didn't want to cover up any of the lovely snowflake design so this is a great way to add some color behind the vellum layer without losing any of the pattern.

  Next I stamped and embossed in silver 3 snowflakes, die cut them then popped them along one side of the card front. 

  The sentiment is stamped in Highland Heather and slipped under the edge of the Balmy Blue snowflake.

  The soft flocked and silver embossed snowflakes didn't need any competition from a ribbon or other embellishment so I left it at that.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Joyful Flurry

Ink: Versamark, Highland Heather

Paper: Basic White thick, Snowflake Vellum Specialty paper, Balmy Blue, Highland Heather

Accessories: silver embossing powder, dimensionals, Frosted Flurry dies

One Layer Snowflake - Stampin' Up! Snow Crystal

   Today's card is a great one to do for a beginner class or to show off heat embossing.  Or if you need a quick card to create multiples of!  The big Snow Crystal stamp is stunning especially in a metallic! 

  A one layer Christmas card? Yes please!  This card takes no time at all and really gives a gorgeous finished look.

  I used a Basic White thick card base, then rounded the corners and embossed almost the whole snowflake on one corner in silver.  Then I used some Pool Party ink and a blending brush to add some color around the flake.

  A pretty sentiment from Joyful Flurry in Polished Pink adds a nice contrasting color and a bit of Iridescent Trim along the fold is the finishing touch. 

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snow Crystal, Joyful Flurry

Ink: Versamark, Pool Party, Polished Pink

Paper: Basic White thick

Accessories: silver embossing powder, Iridescent Trim, corner rounder

Primary Color Hippo - Stampin' Up! Hippest Hippos

   Can you believe it that we're already 5 days into Sale-a-Bration?  What's your favorite SAB reward this time?  Sometimes I have a clear favorite and other times I like a bunch of the items equally.  I think the Hippest Hippos might just be the front runner for me right now.  They just make me smile and the the fun Hippo dies that go with are like icing on the cake.  Whether the hippos are your favorite or if you've got your eye on another item, definitely don't wait to place your order.  Sale-a-Bration is only until the end of August and there's no guarantee that all the items will still be available late in the promotion.  Make that wish list and place an order of $50 or more (before tax/shipping) and start earning your freebies!  My shopping link is on my side bar --> if you'd like to support my business.

  On to the fun stuff of sharing a project!  I used a closed color challenge over at Just Us Girls because these bright primary colors just worked with the fun hippo image.

  There isn't much to this card.  Just some coloring with blends for the hippo and then the tag and accessories to bring in the pops of Daffodil Delight and Tahitian Tide.

 I brought some texture in with the Brick & Mortar embossing folder in the background and a little bit of a pattern with a strip of the Sweet Sorbet 2022-2024 In Color DSP.

  If hippos aren't your thing check out another one of the SAB rewards in the Amazing Phrases stamp set.  A good set of mix and match sentiments are always a good addition to any stamp room!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hippest Hippos (SAB), Amazing Phrases (SAB)

Ink: Memento Black, Sweet Sorbet

Blends: Smoky Slate light & dark, Gray Granite light & dark, SU1000 

Paper: Sweet Sorbet, Basic White, Tahitian Tide, Daffodil Delight, 2022-2024 In Color DSP

Accessories: Brick & Mortar embossing folder, Tailor Made Tags dies, Hippo dies (SAB), baker's twine, dimensionals