Sweet Notes - Stampin' Up! Lovely & Sweet

  I held my monthly stamping class earlier this week and as always we had a blast!  I enjoy the design process each month to come up new ideas and ways to show off the products.  The Nature's Sweetness Suite of products has so much potential for different designs with the mix and match images and die cuts.  My stampers made THIS card last month in class using the same suite so I wanted to show another design using a different image and other papers for this month.

  While the other design was clean lined and elegant this one has more of natural distressed feel to it.  This one starts with a Pecan Pie base and then a layer of Crumb Cake which is stamped with the grid stamp from Notes of Nature in Crumb Cake ink and the "field notes" stamp from the same set in stamped off Pecan Pie ink.  Then I showed my stampers how to distress the panel by roughing up the edges with your fingernail or the blade of a scissors.  We folded edges, made little tears, peeled back corners and then used a blending brush and Crumb Cake ink to add more distressing.  I love this distressing and it's never the same twice so each one is truly unique.

  After adhering the Crumb Cake panel to the card front we added a length of gold faux leather trim with knots tied on the ends.  I suggest using a bit of Tear and Tape to hold down the cord so it doesn't pull away.  Next 2 pieces of Nature's Sweetness DSP are layered with the larger one having the edges torn and more distressing with the blending brush and Crumb Cake ink.

  The image is stamped in Pecan Pie and then colored in with Blends markers, die cut and popped on dimensionals over the DSP to the side where the cord is to help hit the little lump.

  Finally we embellished with some Petal Pink die cut flowers and a few of the fun cork rounds that are part of this suite of products.

  All of the items 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: Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake

Blends: Petal Pink dark, Old Olive light & dark, Pecan Pie light & dark

Paper: Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Basic White, Nature's Sweetness DSP, Petal Pink

Accessories: Lovely & Sweet dies, dimensionals, adheisve-backed cork rounds, gold faux leather trim

Be Still Bookmarks - Stampin' Up! Petal Park

   I don't make many projects that aren't cards but I was asked if I would decorate some small bags for an all day women's retreat my church was hosting so I said of course!  After consulting with the organizer I decided to do tags that doubled as a bookmark for after the retreat.  

  The theme of the retreat was "Be Still" so the organizer had found a stamp online so I used that along with the color purple since it is Lent.

  Since I was making about 65 of the bookmarks I had to search through my retired DSP to find a pattern that I had enough of to make that many tags.  Luckily the Dandy Designs DSP that was a host reward a few years back had had enough sheets of this Fresh Freesia plaid left!  I used the retired tag punch to make the shape on both the DSP and a piece of Gorgeous Grape.  I adhered the Gorgeous Grape to the back of the DSP to make for a more sturdy bookmark.

  The Be Still was stamped in Gorgeous Grape ink and I used the smallest of the Perennial Postage dies to cut it out.  I was happy to use up a lot of small scraps of Basic White for this element!

 Next I stamped the trio of flowers from the Petal Park stamp set.  Gorgeous Grape is used for the outline and it's filled in with Fresh Freesia for the second of the 2 step stamps.  The Petal Park builder punch made quick work of the punching out the flowers.

  Before adhering the flowers I tied some white satin-y ribbon through the hole.  The ribbon was part of a leftover stash that I found in the church's arts and crafts supply closet so it was nice to be able to put something extra like this to use.

  The final step was to tie all the bookmarks to the handles of the little brown bags before they went off to be filled.

  This was a fun project for me to do with minimal supplies and cost but which I think added a nice little touch for the retreat.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Petal Park, non-SU "Be Still"

Ink: Gorgeous Grape, Fresh Freesia

Paper: Basic White, Gorgeous Grape (back of the tag), Dandy Designs DSP (retired)

Accessories: Tag punch (retired), Perennial Postage dies, Petal Park builder punch, dimensionals, non-SU white ribbon

Spring Quilt - Stampin' Up! Perennial Postage

   I'm busy getting ready for my class on Tuesday but wanted to pop in to share this quilt inspired card I made last week for the Inspired By challenge but I didn't have to time post it before the challenge closed.  I was inspired by the inspiration photo of the quilt and colors and used the suggested layout as well.

  It was satisfying to use up some smaller bits of card stock and DSP to create the little quilt blocks and the colors are nice and bright colors.  

  I started with a Basic White thick card base, then created the blocks with various retired DSPs, Basic White card stock and then the smallest square in cardstock to match the color of the DSP.  For reference the DSP squares are 1 1/8", the Basic White squares are 5/8" and the colored card stock squares are 1/2".

  Once the squares were adhered to the piece of Basic White I embossed just the blocks with the Softly Sophisticated embossing folder which you can still earn for free during the last few days of Sale-A-Bration.

  I left the lower portion of the top panel un-embossed so that I could have a nice flat surface to stamp my sentiment.  I chose the long sentiment from Perennial Postage to fill the space and used Melon Mambo ink.

  Some Coastal Cabana twine and adhesive-backed glitter sequins finish off the details.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Perennial Postage

Ink: Melon Mambo

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Coastal Cabana, Sweet Sorbet, Melon Mambo, Tea Boutique DSP (retired), Sunshine & Rainbows DSP (retired), Dandy Designs DSP (retired)

Accessories: Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB), dimensionals, Coastal Cabana baker's twine, adhesive-backed glitter sequins (retired)

Sweet Doggie - Stampin' Up! Happy Tails

   A friend recently had to say good-bye to her sweet dog so I wanted to send her some love and tell her I was sorry for her loss.

  The retired Happy Tails stamp set and coordinating dog builder punch is a classic that I have kept since it retired years ago.  

  I used 2 now retired challenges; the layout is from Freshly Made Sketches and the red and crumb cake color combo is from Color Throwdown.  Time got away from me so I didn't get it shared in time to enter the 2 challenges.

  This one is pretty straightforward; I used a Basic White thick base and embossed a piece of Basic White cut on an angle with the Sale-A-Bration (SAB) Softly Sophisticated embossing folder. 

  I stamped the heart and paw print in Crumb Cake ink onto a narrow strip of Crumb Cake card stock and matched the angle of the embossed piece.  The large heart was die cut from the SAB Most Adored DSP.

  The sweet pup is embossed with Early Espresso embossing powder on Crumb Cake card stock and punched out. He's popped with dimensionals onto the heart.  I added a stamped heart and a baker's twine bow to dress him up a bit.

  Finally I stamped the sentiment onto a Stitched Shape circle and tucked it under the edge of the dog.

  Current supplies used to make this card can be purchased or earned for free in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Tails (retired)

Ink: Versamark, Real Red, Crumb Cake

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Crumb Cake, Most Adored DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Dog builder punch (retired), Hearts dies (retired), dimensionals, baker's twine, Stitched Shapes dies, Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB), Early Espresso embossing powder (retired)

Lavender Flight - Stampin' Up! Painted Lavender

   I had a few stamping projects to keep me occupied while I was sick and one of them was my customer thank you cards for orders placed in January.  I decided to combine the Painted Lavender bundle with the Sale-a-Bration DSP Flight & Airy.  It's got a spring feel to it doesn't it??

  I started with a Boho Blue base, then used a band of Flight & Airy DSP in a floral pattern.  Next up is a piece of Basic White die cut with the Perennial Postage dies and then embossed with the Sale-a-Bration (SAB) embossing folder Softly Sophisticated.

  I stamped the flower stalk in Boho Blue, one layer is stamped off then the top layer is full strength ink.  The stems are in Garden Green and the butterflies are in stamped off Calypso Coral.  I die cut those images along with the Garden Green leaves and stamped sentiment.  The birds are fussy cut from one of the Flight & Airy patterns. Then everything is arranged on dimensionals and accented with a baker's twine bow and some retired white gems.

  Here is the whole set.

  A change in sentiment and I think this would be a sweet Easter design or a spring birthday.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Painted Lavender, Hooray for Surprises 

Ink: Boho Blue, Garden Green, Calypso Coral

Paper: Boho Blue, Basic White, Flight & Airy DSP (SAB), Garden Green

Accessories: Perennial Postage dies, Painted Lavender dies, Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB), dimensionals, baker's twine, opaque adhesive-backed gems (retired)

Birthday Balloons - Stampin' Up! Beautiful Balloons

   It's taking me a bit of time to get back into the swing of things in my stamp room after being down sick for a few days.  The colors over at the Just Add Ink challenge caught my eye so I thought I would see what I could do with them! Tahitian Tide and Gorgeous Grape (along with white) is a fun combo and nice and bold and bright!

  I thought these colors would look great as balloons and also give me an excuse to add to my dwindling birthday card supply!

  I leaned heavy into the Tahitian Tide since I always have some regrets when an In Color retires and I feel like I didn't use it enough (or have so many supplies in the color that I realize I over-bought!).  Soon the 2022-2024 set of In Colors will be retiring so I've got to try my best to use them now!

  I started with a Tahitian Tide card base on which I stamped the streamer stamp from the Beautiful Balloons stamp set all the way down the front. 

  I added a Basic White frame made with the Countryside Corners dies to give a bit of an anchor for the balloon elements.  One balloon is in Gorgeous Grape with the sentiment in Tahitian Tide and the other one is stamped in Tahitian Tide on Basic White and then has some of the same color ink blended on the edges.

  For the accents I used the retire 2022-2024 In Color Glimmer paper to cut the large star as well as some of the smaller starts sprinkled in the corner (the others are of course Gorgeous Grape).  The tassel is also in Gorgeous Grape and the string is Tahitian Tide baker's twine.  

  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: Beautiful Balloons, Hooray for Surprises

Ink: Tahitian Tide, Gorgeous Grape

Paper: Tahitian Tide, Gorgeous Grape, Basic White, 2022-2024 In Color Glimmer paper (retired)

Accessories: Beautiful Balloon dies, Countryside Corners dies, dimensionals, 2022-2024 In Color baker's twine

Birthday Piñata - Stampin' Up! Taco Fiesta

 I've been down and out with Covid for the last week so I haven't had much time in the stamp room but I had to rally myself for this card today because I'm a Guest Designer over at As You See It Challenge!  It's so exciting to be asked to join this fun challenge after this card was a top pick a few weeks back.  For this challenge the team has a recipe for us to use!  All 5 elements on the graphic must be included as part of the design of your card.  

  I ended up starting my card by finding the only current plaid DSP I had in my stash!  I knew I had some retired Christmas themed plaids but I'm not ready for all that in February!  This pretty Daffodil Delight plaid can be found in the Bee Mine DSP.  It's a versatile design that works for more than just Valentine's day.

    The rest of the card came together using colors that worked with the Daffodil Delight and then bringing in each ingredient from the recipe list.

  For the die cut element I went with 3 Stylish Shapes die cut circles.  The largest one in Pool Party is also embossed with the Sale-a-bration (SAB) Softly Sophisticated embossing folder so that takes care of the embossing folder ingredient.

  The piñata from the Taco Fiesta stamp set is stamped in Memento black and colored in with Blends markers and fussy cut and popped up on a Basic White circle.  The sentiment from Zany Zoo is stamped in Versamark on a Flirty Flamingo circle and heat embossed in white.

  For the last 2 ingredients (twine/ribbon and rhinestones/dots) I used long retired Pool Party baker's twine to "hang" the piñata and 2 SAB Opaque Faceted Gems in Pool Party.

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

  I hope to see your card made with this fun recipe in the As You See It Challenge gallery!  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Taco Fiesta, Zany Zoo

Ink: Memento Black, Versamark

Blends: Flirty Flamingo light & dark, Pool Party dark, Daffodil Delight dark

Paper: Bee Mine DSP, Basic White thick, Pool Party, Basic White, Flirty Flamingo

Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB), Opaque Faceted Gems (SAB), dimensionals, white embossing powder, Pool Party baker's twine (retired)

Sweet Bee Valentine Treat Bags - Stampin' up! Bee My Valentine

   A while back one of my stamping ladies shared with me these adorable Designer Series Paper magnetic tabs that she had made.  I asked her all the details and saved them away for later.   I've been using the tabs in my planner to quickly find different sections but they could be used for bookmarks too or any sort of tab that you need.  I thought they might be fun as treat bag toppers so I ordered the magnets and watched Lolly Palooza's video showing how to put them together and then made a whole bunch for Valentine's day treats for my stampers at my last class.

  I got little glassine treat bags at Michaels and filled them with chocolates.  I was able to fit 5 Dove chocolates and 2 Lindt chocolates in each bag.  I coordinated the bag to match the tab using the same DSP.  I used 2 patterns from the Bee Mine DSP and these little hearts from the Sale-A-Bration Most Adored DSP.

 

  I think I made about 22 of the magnetic tabs and they really came together quite quickly when I set up assembly line style.  The Tacky Glue glue I had on hand wasn't the easiest to work with because it was quite old and was really hard to squeeze out of the tube but seemed to adhere just fine as I didn't have the glue used in the video and I was too lazy to head back out to the craft store lol!

  The bees were all stamped with the Bee My Valentine stamp set and punched with the coordinating Bee Builder punch.  Get these 2 products as a bundle to save 10%, more money for candy then!  The finished bees are popped on the top of the tab with dimensionals.

  I had a lot of fun making these for my stampers and the magnetic click of the tab closing is just kind of satisfying!  I loved being able to make them a treat and having a part of it continue to be used as a bookmark.  Maybe some of the bees are marking special pages in their Stampin' Up! catalogs??

  Thanks to Virginia for sharing the idea and Lolly for making the original how to video!!

All of the current Stampin' Up! products used to make this project can be ordered on my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Bee My Valentine

Ink: Memento Black, Daffodil Delight, Pool Party

Paper: Basic White, Bee Mine DSP, Most Adored DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Bee Builder punch, dimensionals, Sweet Sorbet bordered ribbon, corner rounder (retired), rare earth magnets (non-SU), glassine bags (non-SU)

Celebrate Nature - Stampin' Up! Notes of Nature

 The Notes of Nature bundle continues to get a lot of use in my stamp room.  The images and die cuts are just so versatile.  I used them with a color combo from a recently closed challenge; Color Throwdown. Kraft, Green and Blue seemed like a good fit for this bundle.   I translated the challenge colors into Stampin' Up!'s  Boho Blue, Garden Green and Crumb Cake.

  I was going for a masculine nature inspired birthday card.  Guys should get texture and interest in their birthday cards so I have layering and distressing that hopefully doesn't cross into the "fussy" realm!  

  This one starts with a Crumb Cake base.  Then I added a piece of 2023-2025 In Color DSP in Boho Blue and distressed the edges before adhering it.

  I stamped the leaf image in Garden Green then colored it in with Soft Sea Foam blends.  It's adhered with dimensionals on a Crumb Cake circle die cut . 2 vellum leaf sprigs are tucked behind it before adding it to the card front over a narrow piece of Garden Green card stock.

  I used the Thoughtful Moments hybrid embossing folder/dies to create the "celebrate" using Garden Green ink and then filling in the letters with Soft Sea Foam blends.  More dimensionals are used to adhere it to the card front.

  To embellish this card I added a few retired Crumb Cake adhesive-backed speckled dots as well as a linen thread bow that I found in my newly organized scrap ribbon stash (did you see my Instagram reel a few weeks ago??).

  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: Notes of Nature

Ink: Garden Green

Blends: Soft Sea Foam light & dark

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White, Garden Green, vellum, 2023-2025 In Color DSP

Accessories: Notes of Nature dies, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals. Thoughtful Moments hybrid embossing folder/dies, linen thread, adhesive-backed speckled dots (retired)

Hang In There Balloons - Stampin' Up! Hot Air Balloon

  I used 2 different challenges for inspiration for todays card.  The Global Design Project has "balloons" as the theme and The Color Hues has pink & red as the color combo.  I don't need any more Valentine's day cards so I went in a bit of a different direct while still using the red/pink and some Sale-a-Bration Most Adored DSP.  A change in sentiment and this could very easily become a V-day card if you're still looking for ideas!

  The red/pink combo is very bright so I wanted to make sure there was plenty of white and white space on the card so I kept this one pretty simple as far as layout.

  I started with a Basic White thick card base, then embossed panel of Basic White with the Sale-a-Bration (SAB) Softly Sophisticated embossing folder. Using a number of patterns from the Most Adored DSP, Real Red and Flirty Flamingo card stocks I die cut the balloons, baskets and overlays and mixed and matched the colors.

  The two balloons on the left are adhered flat on the card front and the smaller one on the right is popped on dimensionals.

  Each balloon is jazzed up in its own way.  The large balloon has Wink of Stella highlights on the scalloped border, the middle balloon has a Flirty Flamingo baker's twine bow and the right hand balloon has a trio of gems decorating the basket.  The gems were retired a few years ago and I had 3 left in the container so it was meant to be!

  Eagle-eyed stampers might have spotted the sentiment and thought "I don't have a curved sentiment like that in my Hot Air Balloon set" and you'd be right!  I took this straight sentiment and curved it on the clear block to fit inside the Basic White band going across this balloon.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hot Air Balloon

Ink: Real Red

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Real Red, Flirty Flamingo, Most Adored DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Hot Air Balloon dies, Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB), dimensionals, Wink of Stella, Flirty Flamingo Baker's Twine

Bee My Valentine Pop Up - Stampin' Up! Bee My Valentine

   I taught my stampers how to make this adorable pop up card last week at class.  I've put together a quick video showing how to make the pop up mechanism.  It's really easy and can be adapted to fit any kind of pop up images you'd like to add to the inside of your card.

  The Bee Mine suite collection is perfect for a card like this because all the elements work so well together to make a sweet Valentine with the little bee buzzing around inside the card when you open it.

  Check how the video for all the how to's.  Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss out on future videos.  All the supplies are listed below.  To order any of the products used to make this card check out my ONLINE STORE.

 Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Bee My Valentine

Ink: Memento Black, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lime Twist, Sweet Sorbet

Paper: Pool Party, Sweet Sorbet, Basic White, Bee Mine DSP

Accessories: Bee Builder punch, Deckled Rectangle dies, window sheets/acetate sheets, dimensionals, Sweet Sorbet bordered ribbon, Adhesive-backed Hearts & Flowers

Lavender Love - Stampin' Up! Painted Lavender

   This is the second card that my local stampers made at class this week.  The Perennial Lavender suite is just so pretty and hits all the right notes with the colors, images and coordination between all the products.  I've probably used the Perennial Postage dies the most so far just because they work for so many different designs and the 12 dies means there is a size for every need!

 I wanted to make sure my stampers got to use several patterns from the Perennial Lavender DSP and also because it's hard to pick just one to use so I designed a postage stamp collage look for this project!  

  We started with a Crumb Cake base, then used a layer of Lost Lagoon on which to arrange the DSP die cuts. We used 5 of the postage stamp dies and 2 pieces of DSP and used both sides for a nice variety. The smallest die cut is Fresh Freesia cardstock.

  To make the two-toned lavender flowers we inked the stamp up with Fresh Freesia ink and before stamping it we used a sponge dauber and Gorgeous Grape ink and dabbed some darker ink directly onto the stamp.  We huffed some hot breath on the stamp to make sure it was nice and moist and then stamped it on Basic White.  The stem is stamped in Shaded Spruce.  

  Once the images were die cut they are popped on the card front with dimensionals.  The sentiment from Perennial Postage stamp set is stamped in Gorgeous Grape and then fussy cut and also popped on dimensionals.

  A baker's twine bow and a few Fresh Freesia tinsel gems finish off the details.

  I think Painted Lavender bundle will be fantastic for Mother's Day and other spring cards.  All of the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Painted Lavender, Perennial Postage

Ink: Fresh Freesia, Gorgeous Grape, Shaded Spruce

Paper: Crumb Cake, Lost Lagoon, Fresh Freesia, Basic White, Perennial Lavender DSP

Accessories: Painted Lavender dies, Perennial Postage dies, dimensionals, white baker's twine, tinsel gems