Elegant Botanical - Stampin' Up! Lovely & Sweet

    I had my monthly class yesterday and I was so excited to show off so many new products that are in the Stampin' Up! January-April mini catalog. The Nature's Sweetness suite of products is really shown off with my design here.  I wanted to show the fun mix and match possibilities between the 2 stamp set and coordinating die sets as well as how pretty the Nature's Sweetness DSP is even though I've only used a small amount of it here.

 My layout was inspired by last week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  I started with a Pebbled Path card base then stamped the large almond branch stamp in Pebbled Path ink on the card front. Then I stamped it again on a Stylish Shapes dies circle.  I colored the flowers with Calypso Coral Blends. 

Next, I used Notes of Nature dies to make the notebook paper holes in the DSP and adhered it along the the fold side of the card. The circle is then adhered to the card front lining up the image on the circle with the one on the card front.

  I used the Notes of Nature dies and Lovely & Sweet dies to make the ticket element and distressed gold specialty paper leafy element.  The ticket and branch are added to the card with dimensionals and then I finished the details with the Sale-a-Bration Opaque Faceted gems in Calypso Coral.

 All of the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE. 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Notes of Nature, Lovely & Sweet

Ink: Pebbled Path

Blends: Calypso Coral light & dark

Paper: Pebbled Path, Basic White, Nature's Sweetness DSP, Distressed Gold Specialty paper

Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, Notes of Nature dies, Lovely & Sweet DSP, dimensionals, Opaque Faceted gems (SAB)

  

XOXO Valentine - Stampin' Up! Heartfelt Hellos

   I probably don't need any more Valentine's Day cards but I just can't stop making them!  The Most Adored DSP which is one of the Sale-a-Bration choices is the perfect paper for these cards.  And most of the patterns aren't overt V-day designs at all which makes them even more versatile!  How pretty are those gold patterns??  You've got until Feb. 29 to place a qualifying order to get this paper pack for free.

  I combined challenges for my card today; the sketch comes from CAS Colours & Sketches and the use of the x's and o's is from the Inspired By challenge.

  The diagonal angle was a fun element to contemplate while still keeping the card clean and simple so I thought a clean simple plaid pattern in gold against a white background would work.  What do you think?

  I took a 4" x 5.25" panel of the DSP and cut it on the diagonal for a nice clean line across the card.  I used the other side to decorate the inside of the or you could make a second card with it.  It's a win either way.  After adhering the DSP to the Basic White thick card base I got to work on my x's and o's.

  I used the retired Playful Alphabet dies but any smaller alphabet die set would work well.  First I cut 2 of each letter from some gold specialty paper.  I used the retired Fine Shimmer but gold foil or distressed gold paper would work too.  I repeated the die cuts again but used the foam adhesive sheets.  I adhered the gold letters to the foam and then put them all on a Stylish Shapes square die cut.  The straight edges and using Basic White cardstock kept the look clean and simple.

  Finally to follow the sketch I had to add a sentiment in the lower right hand corner.  I pulled out another Sale-a-Bration reward Heartfelt Hellos stamp set and stamped it in Real Red and fussy cut the 'love' and trimmed the 'you' and popped them both on dimensionals. The bit of red really pops with the white and gold of the rest of the card.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased or earned for free in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Heartfelt Hellos (SAB)

Ink: Real Red

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Most Adored DSP (SAB), Fine Shimmer gold (retired)

Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, foam adhesive sheets

Bright Floral Anniversary - Stampin' Up! Textured Floral

   My card today is one that I made more than a week ago to celebrate my downline's one year anniversary of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  I didn't want to post it until I knew she had gotten it first!  She's a fabulous stamper and I've enjoyed cheering her on as she jumps right on in on each new challenge to build her business and have fun stamping.  She's on Instagram and Facebook as @scattersomejoy so give Kimberly a follow and wish her happy anniversary!  And if you're a stamper in Dallas maybe you can join her at her next class!!

  Anyway on to the card!  It was such gray and cold weather when I was choosing a stamp set and color palette that I just had to go for bright florals which made me think of full bloom summer gardens!  The Textured Floral stamp set was perfect for these colors which came from the As You See It Challenge.  Melon Mambo, Granny Apple Green, Mossy Meadow and Crushed Curry are the specific colors in the challenge.

  I started with a Mossy Meadow base and then stamped my own DSP on a piece of Basic White.  I just stamped the flowers and leaves all over filling in the white spaces.

  Then I stamped each flower and leaf again and then die cut them with the coordinating dies.  I didn't want to cover up that gorgeous background so I used a piece of vellum as a kind of frame/anchor for the die cut flowers and leaves which I adhered with dimensionals.

  The sentiment from Ringed with Nature is stamped in Mossy Meadow and also popped on dimensionals.  Finally I added a few of Iridescent adhesive-backed discs in Melon Mambo.  These embellishments were in the Sept.-Dec. 2023 mini catalog but are still available online for the time being!  

  All of the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Textured Floral, Ringed with Nature

Ink: Melon Mambo, Granny Apple Green, Mossy Meadow, Crushed Curry

Paper: Mossy Meadow, vellum, Basic White

Accessories: Textured Floral dies, dimensionals, Iridescent adhesive-backed discs

Sophisticated Jewel Tones - Stampin' Up! Softly Sophisticated

   I only had a small amount of time to stamp today before the football games started but I wanted to play along with the Hand Stamped Sentiments color challenge.  The colors are beautiful jewel tones that look beautiful together and I paired them with the Sale-a-Bration stamp set Softly Sophisticated.  Night of Navy, Pretty Peacock and Berry Burst are a gorgeous combo aren't they?

  I had some scraps left from the retired All About Autumn DSP and I thought the Pretty Peacock and copper pattern would be pretty as a background.  I didn't have a full sheet so I used 2 panels instead and adhered them to a Berry Burst card base.

  The flowers and stems are stamped on a Tailor Made tag in Pretty Peacock and Berry Burst.  The sentiment is stamped in Versamark and embossed with copper embossing powder.  I used the retired Stitched Shapes dies to cut it out.

  I hadn't used any Night of Navy on the card yet so clearly it was going to be an accent color at this point.  I cut a small strip of scallops with the Basic Borders dies and added it to the edge of the tag.  A scrap of retired Night of Navy bordered ribbon is tied at the top of the tag. And to round out the retired products on this card I had exactly 3 of the really old candy dots left in Night of Navy.

  It was fun combining the free SAB stamp set with some retired odds and ends to make this card.  Don't forget you can get the Softly Sophisticated stamp set and embossing folder for FREE with a $100 product purchase until February 29, 2024.  Don' miss out!

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Softly Sophisticated (SAB)

Ink: Berry Burst, Pretty Peacock

Paper: Berry Burst, Basic White, Night of Navy, All About Autumn DSP (retired)

Accessories: Tailor Made Tags dies, dimensionals, copper embossing powder, Basic Borders dies, Stitched Shapes dies (retired), candy dots (retired), Night of Navy Bordered ribbon (retired)

In the Sky Birthday - Stampin' Up! Hot Air Balloon

 With February coming in just a few days I really need to stock up on birthday cards.  We have 6 family birthdays to celebrate in the month and I need to be on my game to get all the cards out in the mail on time!  No rest for this card maker.  I used the theme challenge of "Sky" from the Addicted to CAS challenge to get me started on today's card.  With "sky" as the theme it wasn't a far leap to pull out the new Hot Air Balloon bundle!

  For CAS (clean and simple) cards I usually stick to a white card base to add to the 'clean' feeling and literally have "white space".  But white space doesn't necessarily mean white the color, it can be open and uncluttered space on the card having nothing to do with color.  So with the theme, CAS parameters and my need for masculine birthday cards I went with a Tahitian Tide card base to mimic the sky and have a nice solid background for my balloon to really pop.  

  I did score a 1/4" line on each side of the card front to make a sort of frame for some extra detail while still keeping it CAS.  A large Basic White circle cut with the Stylish Shapes dies is the anchor for my scene. It's popped up on dimensionals.

  The balloon is stamped in Real Red and Blueberry bushel and then die cut.  It's also adhered on dimensionals to the side of the circle.  2 white die cut clouds balance the the other side of the circle.

  Finally the sentiment is stamped on the card front in Blueberry Bushel ink and a few iridescent adhesive-backed discs in Poppy Parade (a very close match to Real Red) are added to bring a tiny bit of red to that side of the card.

  I love how this one turned out and the crisp colors and clean layout are perfect for one of the many birthdays coming up!

  All of the supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hot Air Balloon

Ink: Real Red, Blueberry Bushel

Paper: Tahitian Tide, Basic White

Accessories: Hot Air Balloon dies, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, iridescent adhesive-backed discs

Let's Eat Cake - Stampin' Up! Hooray for Surprises

   I'll admit it took me a few days of thinking about these colors before I was able to try to make anything with them.  At first I thought I would take the easy way out and just use the Sale-a-Bration rewards Trusty Toolbox DSP since all 3 colors are in the papers. But in the end I decided to challenge myself and used 2 of my sets from the Jan.-April mini catalog.  The colors are from the Global Design Project challenge by the way; Gray Granite, Lost Lagoon and Poppy Parade.

  I've found that the Hooray for Surprises stamp set and the Heartfelt Hexagon stamp set/punch really work well together.  The mix of images and sentiments gives a lot of mix and match options.

  I started with a Lost Lagoon base, then a layer of Basic White and then a layer of Lost Lagoon on which I stamped the cake from Hooray for Surprises in the same color ink.  

 I did end up using just a tiny piece of the Trusty Toolbox DSP for the strip across the card front.  The grid paper pattern is just enough to break up the darker background and give the sentiment an anchor.

  The sentiment border from Heartfelt Hexagon is stamped in Gray Granite, the sentiment is in Lost Lagoon and the heart is in Poppy Parade.  After it was punched out I added some Poppy Parade baker's twine to the back of the label and adhered it with dimensionals.  

  

  Since it is a birthday card I wanted to add a little bit of celebration sparkle so I added a few retired clear adhesive-backed glitter sequins around the sentiment.  I'm glad I waited to try out these colors because I do like the end results.   And I always need masculine birthday cards so it's a win!

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hooray for Surprises, Heartfelt Hexagons

Ink: Gray Granite, Lost Lagoon, Poppy Parade

Paper: Lost Lagoon, Basic White, Trusty Toolbox DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Heartfelt Hexagon punch, dimensionals, bakers twine (retired), clear adhesive-backed glitter sequins (retired)

Winter Love - Stampin' Up! Snow Crystal

   Well the weather in central Virginia keeps us on our toes!  We had snow and very cold weather all last week and today it's 70 degrees and so humid that my hair thinks it's July!  You really can't switch out your closet for the seasons here; you just leave your clothes piled up with no concern for what the calendar says as one day you'll be in longjohns and wool and the next capris and t-shirts. So with the crazy weather it's only fitting that I share a snowflake card on this balmy January day lol!

  Two of challenges that I follow have similar themes this week so I'm sharing this one over at Time Out Challenges and their "winter solitude" theme as well as at CAS on Friday challenge with their theme of "winter".

  This on was a doozy to try to photograph!  The white plus the white sparkly embossing was just too much for my skills!  Squint and pretend!  I started this winter beauty with a Basic White thick base.  I used the Perennial Postage dies to cut a large panel for my image.  The Snow Crystal is stamped in Versamark and then embossed with the retired Shimmer White embossing powder.

  I tied a piece of silver cord around the snowflake panel and then popped it all on dimensionals.  The sentiment from the Ringed with Nature stamp set is stamped in Smoky Slate and punched out with a heart punch.  I used my Smoky Slate stampin' write marker to lightly edge the heart with ink and then popped it with more dimensionals.

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snow Crystal, Ringed With Nature

Ink: Versamark, Smoky Slate

Paper: Basic White, Basic White thick

Accessories: Perennial Postage dies, dimensionals, silver cord, heart punch, Shimmer white embossing powder (retired)

Patchwork Valentine - Stampin' Up! Bee My Valentine

   My card today is a 3 for 1 deal!  I used the Patchwork Pieces dies to make a bright, fun background to show off the adorable bee in the Bee My Valentine stamp set.

  I pulled my main colors from the SUO Challenge.  They want us to use some of the colors from the Bee Mine DSP so I'm using Lemon Lime Twist, Sweet Sorbet and Pool Party for the main colors of my cards.

  To make the patchwork background I took panels of Lemon Lime Twist, Sweet Sorbet and Pool Party and gave them a little boost.  The Sweet Sorbet one got stamped with hearts, the Lemon Lime Twist is embossed with the Sale-a-Bration (SAB) reward Softly Sophisticated embossing folder and the Pool Party is stamped with the honeycomb stamp.

I die cut each panel with the Patchwork Pieces die (found in the annual catalog) and then reassembled the pieces on a panel of Basic White alternating the colors. Then the finished panels are adhered to the card fronts; one in each color.

  I used some Stylish Shapes circle die cuts that I had in my orphaned card parts bin to stamp the sentiment and heart and then popped them on dimensionals.  The bees are stamped in Daffodil Delight and Memento black and the wings are Pool Party.  The pieces are all punched out with the Bee Builder punch and then adhered together and popped on dimensionals to the side of the circles.

  I had such a good time putting these together and they just make me smile.  Little bees with heart shaped wings and antennae??? Yes please!

  All of the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Bee My Valentine

Ink: Sweet Sorbet, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Memento Black

Paper: Lemon Lime Twist, Sweet Sorbet, Pool Party, Basic White

Accessories: Patchwork Pieces dies, Bee Builder punch, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB)

Sweet Copper Birthday - Stampin' Up! Lovely & Sweet

  The team over at Color Hues challenge is working with green and copper this time which I thought was a fun combo.  A metallic always adds such a nice element to any card.  I chose to use Soft Sea Foam with a little bit of Old Olive for accent for my green hues.

  I started with a Soft Sea Foam card base.  The Nature's Sweetness suite of products all work together so well and I used both stamp sets for this card.  I used the grid and field notes stamps from Notes of Nature to cover a square of Basic White.  The Soft Sea Foam ink is nice and light and make it look like a faded journal page.  

  

  I inked up the cocoa bean image from Lovely & Sweet in Versamark and stamped it right over the grid stamping then embossed it in Copper.  It's such a pretty contrast with the light green!  I used a blender pen and ink to color in the leaves.

  This panel is backed with a piece of Oxidized Copper that is a carryover item from the Sept.-Dec. mini catalog so it's still available!  I used the Lovely & Sweet dies to cut the Old Olive tab.  I stamped the grid image on it and then distressed it a bit by crumpling it up.

  The sentiment is stamped in Old Olive on a strip of Basic White and I trimmed the ends on an angle.  Before adhering it to the card with dimensionals I tucked a length of copper ribbon behind it for a little more pop of copper.

  The final touch are 2 Copper Clay 2023-2025 In Color dots in the corner of the image panel.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lovely & Sweet, Notes of Nature

Ink: Soft Sea Foam, Old Olive, Versamark

Paper: Soft Sea Foam, Basic White, Old Olive, Oxidized Copper Specialty paper

Accessories: Lovely & Sweet dies, copper embossing powder, 2023-2025 In Color dots, dimensionals, copper ribbon (retired)

Pastel Rainbow Wish - Stampin' Up! Hot Air Balloon

   I'm squeaking this card in just in time over at Freshly Made Sketches.  I loved the split panel in the background of this layout and spent a little bit of time thinking how to show it on my card; piece of ribbon? strip of narrow card stock? contrasting piece of DSP?  In the end I just cut my background layer into a large and small piece and and adhered it to the card base with dimensionals.

  The whole Hot Air Balloon suite is so pretty and the soft colors are perfect for looking ahead to spring cards as well as brightening these gray winter days lately.

Once I chose my background paper it was just a matter of trying to narrow down which of those colors I wanted to use for my balloon.  I went with Fresh Freesia and Lemon Lolly.  Crumb Cake is used for the basket. 

  After I die cut the balloon I adhered it to a retired Stitched So Sweetly scalloped rectangle and and adhered it to the card front.

  The sentiment is stamped in Balmy Blue and fussy cut and added to the side of the balloon.  A few die cut clouds covered in clear Wink of Stella give just a little bit of sparkle.  A few rainbow adhesive-backed dots finish off the details.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hot Air Balloon

Ink: Fresh Freesia, Lemon Lolly, Balmy Blue

Paper: Balmy Blue, Lighter Than Air DSP, Basic White

Accessories: Hot Air Balloon dies, dimensionals, Wink of Stella, rainbow adhesive-backed dots, Stitched So Sweetly dies (retired)

Heartfelt Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Heartfelt Hexagons

   I started out trying to make a birthday card using the Color Throwdown colors but they just didn't want to go in that direction so I went with it and made a sympathy card instead.  The dusty blue, blush and pink are such a pretty combo and felt like they should be used with some florals.

  I started this one with a Boho Blue base, then a layer of Basic White and then another layer of Boho Blue on which I stamped in the same color of ink the flower stamp in the Heartfelt Hexagons stamp set.

  I stamped the sentiment in Boho Blue on a wide band of Basic White.  To pull in the other challenge colors I used the Painted Lavender dies to cut 3 springs.  For the other two challenge colors I used Bubble Bath and Petal Pink.

  The only embellishment on this card is a tiny Petal Pink twill ribbon knot.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Heartfelt Hexagons

Ink: Boho Blue

Paper: Boho Blue, Basic White, Petal Pink, Bubble Bath

Accessories: Painted Lavender dies, Petal Pink ribbon (retired)

Love You - Stampin' Up! Most Adored DSP

   I'm getting quite the collection of Valentine's day cards made lately and I hope I have enough people to send them to!  I guess I could offer the extra cards for sale because at this rate I'm going to have a lot of cards!

  My card today is inspired by The Card Concept challenge.  They have a very pretty inspiration photo and I pulled several elements from it for this clean and layered design.  I pulled the red hearts, the large 'LOVE' letters in the background, the white space and the woodgrain from the tiered tray.

  I dug around in my retired DSP stash and pulled up the Wood Textures DSP which had this nice shabby painted wood pattern which worked for my background.  The strip of red plaid is from the Sale-a-Bration (SAB) choice Most Adored DSP.  I layered a scrap of Real Red ruffled ribbon across the plaid.

    Next I pulled out my Alphabet a la Mode dies, a piece of foam adhesive sheet and the small heart pattern from the Most Adored DSP and cut out the word love.  I tossed the actual letters and kept the larger foam piece.  I adhered it to a scalloped rectangle die cut and then adhered the whole piece to the card front.

 The 'you' is from the larger 'for you' stamp in the Heartfelt Hexagon stamp set and is stamped in Memento black and fussy cut.  It's adhered to the edge of the foam.

  I added red glimmer paper hearts in 3 different sizes in the corner as the final detail.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Heartfelt Hexagons

Ink: Memento Black

Paper: Most Adored DSP (SAB), Basic White, Wood Textures DSP (retired), red glimmer paper (retired)

Accessories: foam adhesive sheets, Alphabet a la Mode, Stitched So Sweetly dies (retired), ruffled ribbon (retired), various sized heart dies/punches

Sunny Congratulations - Stampin' Up! Sunny Days DSP

   I'm heading into the weekend hoping to get a lot of stamping time in!  How about you?  My first class of the new year is coming up so I'm busy getting lots of samples made and trying to narrow down which products I want to show off.  It's a hard job but someone has to do it lol!

  I used the current Global Design Project CASE the designer challenge to make a card featuring the Sunny Days DSP.  The designer sample by Cindy Timmers uses a lot of DSP so I took that as inspiration as well as the layout.

  My husband needed a congrats card for one of the people on his team who was celebrating 15 years with the company so I used that sentiment as well.

  The only stamping on this on is the sentiment which is from the Lovely & Sweet stamp set and is embossed in black.  I really let Designer Series Papers do the heavy lifting here!

  I pulled all of my colors from the pretty floral pattern in the Sunny Days DSP which is a Sale-a-Bration reward.  Though I think the flowers have Crushed Curry centers I subbed in Wild Wheat because I had a nice subtle striped pattern in that from the retired Garden Walk DSP which I used to cover the card front.   

  The next layer is a Pool Party linen look pattern from Softly Stippled DSP also a Sale-a-Bration (SAB) selection.  I cut Stylish Shapes circles of the floral pattern and then some Pool Party leaves (using the Notes of Nature dies) and tucked them behind the circles before adhering.

  The sentiment strip is popped on dimensionals with a black baker's twine bow embellishing the the side.  A few retired white adhesive sequins are scattered around the card front for the last detail.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased or earned for free in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lovely & Sweet

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Pool Party, Sunny Days DSP (SAB), Softly Stippled DSP (SAB), Garden Walk DSP (retired)

Accessories: Stylish Shaped dies, Notes of Nature dies, black embossing powder, dimensionals, black bakers twine, white adhesive sequins (retired)

Get Well Fox - Stampin' Up! Playing in the Rain

  The Alphabet Challenge is on the letter 'U' this time and they gave us the theme of "Under" to work with.  I immediately went to under the weather and then perused my stamps and decided that the fox under the umbrella worked perfectly for the challenge and for a get well card.

  It was a fun opportunity to use an older stamp set with the Sale-a-Bration Sunny Days DSP.  The rainy cloud pattern seemed like a good fit though looking at the finished product it might be a bit busy.  Hopefully it will cheer up whomever ends up getting this one regardless!

  The large panel of the Sunny Days DSP sets the stage for the little scene of the fox walking in the rain.  I embossed the sentiment (Ringed with Nature stamp set) in white along the bottom edge of a piece of Shaded Spruce card stock.

  The fox is stamped in Memento and then colored with Stampin' Blends.  The umbrella is paper pieced with a bit of Bee Mine DSP in a cheery red floral pattern.  The image is then die cut and popped on dimensionals onto a Pool Party circle.

  Using the Playing in the Rain dies I cut out a few clouds and colored over them with clear Wink of Stella for a bit of shimmer.  In the same die set are a few dies for sprigs of grass or flower stems (whatever you need them to be) so I cut a few of those in Shaded Spruce and popped them on mini dimensionals.  

  I added a few adhesive-backed flowers (can find these in the mini catalog in the Bee Mine Suite).  They tie in the umbrella and the yellow of the raincoat nicely.

  All of the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Playing in the Rain, Ringed with Nature

Ink: Memento black, Versamark

Blends: Daffodil Delight light & dark, Cajun Craze light

Paper: Sunny Days DSP (SAB), Bee Mine DSP, Pool Party, Shaded Spruce, Basic White

Accessories: Playing in the Rain dies, Stylish Shapes dies, white embossing powder, dimensionals, Adhesive-backed hearts & flowers, Wink of Stella

Up and Away Birthday - Stampin' Up! Hot Air Balloon

   I've been trying to increase my birthday card stash but it seems that as soon as I make one, one has to go in the mail so I'm not making much progress!  I wanted to play along with Seize the Birthday challenge to get me even more of a push to create some birthday cards.  They are asking us to use embossing (either wet or dry).  I'm assuming wet embossing is what I call heat embossing but just in case I went with dry embossing with a folder to be safe!

  I started this one off with a Balmy Blue base and then another piece of Balmy Blue cut slightly smaller and then embossed with the Distressed Tile embossing folder.  I ran my brayer over the embossed piece using Balmy Blue ink to make the pattern just a little bit more prominent.  I thought it gave a nice effect for behind the balloons.

  If you've gotten the Hot Air Balloon bundle and you don't have the Basic Borders dies yet you're going to want to add it to your next order!  The cloud die that is in this die set is a perfect companion to this bundle.  I used it here to make a diagonal layer to give a sky like element to the card front.  And also a place to stamp my sentiment!  I used Blueberry Bushel ink for the sentiment and then popped the layer on dimensionals.

  The larger ballon is stamped in Bubble Bath with the basket in Pecan Pie.  The center band is cut out of a piece of Bubble Bath Soft Shimmer paper.  You can't tell from the photo but it's a nice little bit of sparkle there.  I overlaid it with a scalloped die cut in Parakeet Party.

  The smaller balloon is stamped in Bubble Bath and Blueberry Bushel with a Pecan Pie basket.  I used dimensionals to adhere it to the the embossed layer.

  To tie in the colors I added a few embellishments.  The large balloon has a knot of Blueberry Bushel ribbon that I found in my scrap bin from when it was an In Color.  The small balloon has a Parakeet Party baker's twine bow and finally a few retired Parakeet Party dots accent the sentiment.

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hot Air Balloon

Ink: Balmy Blue, Blueberry Bushel, Bubble Bath, Parakeet Party, Pecan Pie

Paper: Balmy Blue, Basic White, Parakeet Party, Soft Shimmer paper

Accessories: Distressed Tile embossing folder, Hot Air Balloon dies, Basic Borders dies, dimensionals, baker's twine, Blueberry Bushel ribbon (retired), Parakeet Party dots (retired)

Heart Tulips - Stampin' Up! Hooray for Surprises

  I used the CAS Colours & Sketches challenge colors for this design.  It has a few layers but I left a lot of white space so I'm hoping it's CAS enough! Berry Burst, Shaded Spruce and Highland Heather are a nice trio of colors I think.

  I started with a Basic White thick base and then stamped the heart from Hooray for Surprises in Highland Heather on square of Basic White.  I used my Blends markers to color in the tulips with Berry Burst and Shaded Spruce.

  Next I cut a larger square of Basic White and cut the heart out of the center then embossed it with the Sale-A-Bration offering Softly Sophisticated embossing folder.  The square is then popped up on dimensionals over the the stamped heart.

  I cut a sprig of leaves in Shaded Spruce and tucked it under the edge of the square.  The sentiment from the Timeless Arrangements stamp set is inked in Versamark and stamped onto a small piece of Berry Burst then embossed in white.  

 A small tinsel gem on the sentiment is the only embellishment to finish off this clean and simple design.

  All of the products used to make this card can be purchased or earned through Sale-A-Bration in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hooray for Surprises, Timeless Arrangements

Ink: Highland Heather, Versamark

Blends: Berry Burst light & dark, Shaded Spruce light 

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Berry Burst, Shaded Spruce

Accessories: Hooray for Surprises dies, Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB), dimensionals, white embossing powder, tinsel gem

Bird Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Flight & Airy DSP

  I'm not generally one that fussy cuts a lot of images directly from Designer Series Papers but the Sale-a-Bration offerings this year really give some great designs that are so easy to use even if you don't have a stamp set that coordinates with it.  I used the Trusty Toolbox DSP last Friday for a great masculine birthday card and today I'm used the Flight & Airy DSP for a sweet and simple sympathy card.  The Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge has a pretty mood board to draw inspiration from and I decided to focus on the the little bird on the branch for my card.

  

  It's always good to have sympathy cards on hand because I think it sucks having to make them on purpose.  I'd much rather just pull one out and send it off than to try to create something under sad circumstances.

  I used another piece of the Flight & Airy DSP for the background.  It's a nice Boho Blue watercolor look and pairs nicely with the rest of my color combo.  I backed a Basic White panel cut with the Perennial Postage dies with Fresh Freesia.

  

  The 2 leafy branches in Soft Sea Foam and Garden Green are die cut with the Notes of Nature dies and stacked and popped up with dimensionals.

  I fussy cut 2 of the birds and nestled them into the branches also using dimensionals. The sentiment is stamped in Boho Blue and can be found in the Lovely & Sweet stamp set. A bit of Garden Green baker's twine tied in a bow is added to the branch. I added a Fresh Freesia tinsel gem in each corner as a finishing detail.

  Don't forget you can earn the gorgeous Flight & Airy DSP with a $50 or more order during Sale-A-Bration (SAB).  All of the supplies used to make this card can be purchased or earned in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lovely & Sweet (SAB)

Ink: Boho Blue

Paper: Flight & Airy DSP (SAB), Basic White, Fresh Freesia, Soft Sea Foam, Garden Green

Accessories: Perennial Postage dies, Notes of Nature dies, dimensionals, Tinsel Gems, Garden Green baker's twine (retired)

Lovely Lavender - Stampin' Up! Lovely & Sweet

    Shades of purple paired with a crisp green are on the menu with today's card! The layout is inspired by the Freshly Made Sketches challenge and gave me a great reason to use the large almond branch image in he Lovely & Sweet stamp set. 

  I started with a clean card base and used Basic White thick.  Then I layered the strips of DSP and specialty papers according to the challenge.  The Perennial Lavender DSP has some beautiful patterns though these narrow strips don't really show them off. The wider strip in the center is a piece of retired Fine Shimmer paper in Fresh Freesia.  It's such a gorgeous paper I wish they would have options for all of the colors! The current Soft Shimmer Specialty paper is almost exactly the same if you're looking for a similar but currently available option.

  Next I stamped the large image in Shaded Spruce ink and then colored it in with my Blends markers.  Then die cut it and popped it on dimensionals.

  The sentiment from the same stamp set is stamped in Shaded Spruce and adhered with mini dimensionals.

  A few retired Opaque Adhesive-backed gems in Gorgeous Grape are sprinkled around the image for a final touch.  The current Purple Fine Shimmer gems are an excellent substitution.

  All of the current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lovely & Sweet

Ink: Shaded Spruce

Blends: Shaded Spruce light & dark, Fresh Freesia dark, Highland Heather light, SU400, SU600

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Perennial Lavender DSP, Fine Shimmer Specialty paper (retired)

Accessories: Lovely & Sweet dies, dimensionals, Opaque Adhesive-backed gems (retired)

Zany Hearts - Stampin' Up! Zany Zoo

    I'm playing along with the Global Design Project challenge to use hearts on our project.  I was going to go with the obvious Valentine's day sort of card but it kind of veered to a hello card when I didn't have any teeny tiny sentiments for V-day that would fit where I wanted to stamp it.  The heart (haha!) wants what the heart wants I guess!

  This one starts with a Basic White thick base with narrow strips of cardstock through the center for a rainbow-ish effect.  It's always satisfying using up some of those 1/2" strips that I just can't throw away.  

  The Tailor Made Tags die gave me a nice landing spot for the raccoon from Zany Zoo.  I stamped him on a piece of scrap cardstock and masked off the balloons he's holding.  Using Blends I colored him in and then extended the balloon strings with my black Stampin' Write marker. Some fussy cutting then found him ready to be adhered to the tag.

  I made new balloons using the Bee Builder punch mini heart and the same colors I used for the strips.  The top balloon is covered with Wink of Stella and appears darker but it's the same Flirty Flamingo as the strip.  

  I added some Petal Pink Duo Ribbon to the tag and then stamped the sentiment.  You can find this small 'hello' in the Notes of Nature stamp set.  It's part of a larger sentiment so I just inked up the part I wanted with my marker and added it to the top of the tag.  Finally a few dimensionals adhered the tag to the card front.

  Final touch are a few Rainbow adhesive-backed dots under the strips to balance the tag.

  All of the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Zany Zoo, Notes of Nature

Ink: Memento Black, Azure Afternoon

Blends: Smoky Slate light & dark, Gray Granite dark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Flirty Flamingo, Petal Pink, Lemon Lolly, Coastal Cabana, Azure Afternoon

Accessories: Tailor Made Tags dies, Bee Builder punch, dimensionals, Petal Pink ribbon, Wink of Stella, Rainbow adhesive-backed dots

Toolbox Birthday - Stampin' Up! Trusty Toolbox Designer Series Paper

   I was in need of a masculine birthday card and it just so happened that the Paper Players challenge is having a birthday theme.  It was meant to be!  My birthday card stash is a bit low but my masculine birthday cards are pretty much non-existent so it was high time to get going!  I ended up making 2 versions of this design and just used different tools on the peg board. One to mail out right away and one to keep in the stash.

  The Trusty Tool bundle is a new mini catalog product and has a coordinating Sale-A-Bration item which is the Trusty Toolbox DSP.  Both are really cute and perfect for all those DIYers in your life.  I only used the DSP to make this card and the only stamping is the sentiment.  

  I started with a Copper Clay base and then layered 2 different designs onto the card front.  The top is a plain Copper Clay piece with a dot grid but once you add some tools cut out from the DSP you get a neat peg board look!  So cute right?  I just picked a few tools that would fit in the the space and fussy cut away!

  A Poppy Parade strip covers the seam between the patterns.  The sentiment is another Sale-a-Bration reward called Heartfelt Hellos and is stamped in Lost Lagoon.  I stamped one of the outlines from Heartfelt Hexagons stamp set (found in the mini catalog) in Basic Gray around the words then punched it out with the Heartfelt Hexagon punch. 

  The sentiment is popped up on dimensionals and accented with 2 Copper Clay 2023-2025 In Color dots.

  All of the products used to make this card can be purchased or earned in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Heartfelt Hexagons, Heartfelt Hellos (SAB)

Ink: Basic Gray, Lost Lagoon

Paper: Copper Clay, Poppy Parade, Basic White, Trusty Toolbox DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Heartfelt Hexagon punch, dimensionals, 2023-2025 In Color dots

Watermelon Slices Hello - Stampin' Up! Watercolor Melon - SAB

 Here in central Virginia we have been having a lot of rain lately and it's been very gloomy so I've been drawn to stamping with some bright, vibrant colors.  I was inspired to ink up the Sale-a-Bration Watercolor Melon stamp set for the first time to play along with the As You See it challenge as I thought some watermelon slices would work perfectly in their sketch and give me the bright colors I was needing!

  I used this design for my customer thank you cards for orders placed in December so I ended up stamping and cutting out a lot of watermelons!!  I used a bunch of other Sale-a-Bration products as well but the watermelons are the most obvious.

 The card front is a piece of the Sunny Days DSP (which coordinates with the Bright Skies bundle in the mini catalog).  Next is a piece of Basic White embossed with the Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (also a SAB reward) and is backed with a piece of Shaded Spruce.

  The watermelon slices are stamped in Sweet Sorbet, Shaded Spruce and Memento black (for the seeds).  I fussy cut them out and popped them up around the center panel.  Notice that one of the slices has a bite taken out.  Such a cute detail!

  The sentiment is also a SAB reward and is the Softly Sophisticated stamp set that is paired with the embossing folder of the same name.  These 2 items together make up a $100 level reward.  I cut the sentiment out with the Stylish Shapes banner die and added that to the side of the center panel and accented it with a Sweet Sorbet baker's twine bow.

  If you'd like to receive a hand stamped card like this from me just place an order in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Watercolor Melon (SAB), Softly Sophisticated (SAB)

Ink: Sweet Sorbet, Shaded Spruce, Memento black 

Paper: Sunny Days DSP (SAB), Basic White, Shaded Spruce

Accessories: Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB), Stylish Shapes dies, Sweet Sorbet baker's twine, dimensionals

Planted For You - Stampin' Up! Planted Paradise

  The CAS on Friday challenge has kind of a wide open challenge titled "just for you" so I thought I would play along.  Knowing I needed to keep it clean and simple and really only have a "just for you" type of sentiment left the rest of the details wide open and it actually took me a while to pick a stamp set and color combo!  Too many choices is hard for me lol!

  I went with the Planted Paradise stamp set and a straightforward centered layout.

  Since the 2022-2024 In Colors will be retiring in a few months I'm trying to be more mindful in using the cardstock and any accessories that I have.  I hate getting to the end of the sales period and having a ton leftovers and saying I wish I had used more of them!  So todays card has Orchid Oasis as the card base and the pot color and some Parakeet Party in the leaf veins as well as a retired matte decorative dot.

 No bells and whistles on this CAS card.  Just a bit of Pool Party ink lightly blended on the Basic White background to anchor the image a bit.  The pot and leaves are stamped and then fussy cut and adhered.  

  The sentiment in the new Heartfelt Hexagon stamp set and is stamped in Memento Black.

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Planted Paradise, Heartfelt Hexagons

Ink: Memento Black, Pool Party, Orchid Oasis, Garden Green

Blends: Parakeet Party

Paper: Orchid Oasis, Basic White

Accessories: blending brush, matte decorative dot (retired)

Layer Cake Birthday - Stampin' Up! Hooray For Surprises

 If you stamp a lot of cards 'just because' (as in you don't have to get them in the mail TODAY) and don't necessarily have a need for them immediately you might have bins and bins full cards just like me!  But no matter how many cards I do have already stamped I tend to run low on birthday cards the most so I really have to make an effort to be sure to create birthday cards regularly so I have enough!

  I used the current color challenge at Just Us Girls to inspire me for just such a card.  I think these colors can easily run to masculine but the way my card turned out I think it can be for either a man or a woman.  Since the cake image is on the small side I kept the rest of the card clean and simple so it wouldn't get lost!  The challenge colors are teal, navy and green.  I translated those into the Stampin' Up! colors of Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy and Granny Apple Green.

  The card base is Basic White thick, then a layer of Basic White embossed with the Sale-a-Bration (SAB) product Softly Sophisticated embossing folder.

  I had a Stitched Rectangle in my orphaned card parts bin so I decided to use that as a base for my cake.  I stamped the cake from the Hooray for Surprises stamp set once in each of my colors and then fussy cut the layers and adhered them onto the rectangle. I added a candle in Night of Navy for good measure.  The flame is made by coloring the stamped with my Daffodil Delight and Coastal Cabana marker.  I backed the white rectangle with a layer of Night of Navy. And popped it on dimensionals.

  I wanted a small narrow sentiment to not overwhelm the smaller image and I had to search my sets to find one that was just right and I found it in the Sweet Songbirds stamp set.  It's stamped in Night of Navy ink on Coastal Cabana cardstock.  

  I used some retired Enamel Dot Essentials in Night of Navy to accent each corner of the rectangle panel.

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased or earned in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hooray for Cake, Sweet Songbirds

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy, Granny Apple Green

Markers: Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy

Accessories: Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB), Stitched Rectangle dies (retired), dimensionals, Enamel Dot Essentials (retired)

Uplifting New Year - Stampin' Up! Hot Air Balloon

   I wanted to send a few happy New Year cards out and thought that the Hot Air Balloon bundle would be a fun set to use.  There are so many mix and match possibilities with these balloon and the matching dies.  I pulled my colors right from the coordinating Lighter Than Air DSP.  I used Flirty Flamingo, Pool Party, Lemon Lolly and Azure Afternoon.  Time Out Challenges is having a "New" challenge so I'll be sharing this one over there.

  The base is Pool Party then I backed a piece of the Lighter Than Air DSP with a piece of Basic White.  The large balloon is stamped in Azure Afternoon and Lemon Lolly.  The small balloon is Lemon Lolly and Flirty Flamingo.  Both baskets are stamped in Pecan Pie.  After everything was die cut I popped them on dimensionals on the card front.  I added a flag banner to the large balloon and a scallop one for the small balloon.

  The sentiment is stamped with the More Wishes stamp set in Azure Afternoon and then popped on dimensionals.

 The last touches are the Lemon Lolly baker's twine bow on the small balloon and a few Rainbow Adhesive-backed dots on the sentiment strip.

  All of the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hot Air Balloon, More Wishes

Ink: Azure Afternoon, Lemon Lolly, Flirty Flamingo, Pecan Pie

Paper: Pool Party, Basic White, Lighter Than Air DSP, Flirty Flamingo, Azure Afternoon

Accessories: Hot Air Balloon dies, dimensionals, Rainbow Adhesive-backed dots, Baker's twine three pack

Simple Valentine - Stampin' Up! Most Adored DSP

  There are so many great packs of Designer Series Paper in the Sale-a-Bration offerings this year that it can be hard to choose which one to work with but today I focused on using the Most Adored DSP to make a simple Valentine's Day card.  This is a specialty pack because each sheet has a great gold foil design on one side and we know gold is for all year round!   

  My layout is from Freshly Made Sketches and they have a nice clean trio of elements to work with. Perfect for a line up of hearts!

  The base is Basic White thick and then the layer of gold plaid Most Adored DSP.  The red hearts are cut with the heart die in the Hot Air Balloon die set. They are popped up with dimensionals.

  I embossed in gold the sentiment from Country Bouquet stamp set and layered the strip across the bottom of the hearts to follow the challenge.  

 Finally I pulled out some red foil paper and used the itty bitty hearts die that is found in the Thoughtful Moments Hybrid embossing folder/dies. In this set you can find a bunch of tiny accent dies like leaves, hearts, flowers, stars and rainbows.  The hearts were the perfect size for the sentiment strip.

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased or earned through Sale-a-bration (SAB) in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Country Bouquet

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Most Adored DSP (SAB), red foil

Accessories: Hot Air Ballon dies, dimensionals