You might have missed it in the Annual Catalog but on page 86 is a set of dies that I think are a great addition to any crafters supplies. The Party Banners dies contains 14 banner dies and 6 dies for cutting the holes in the banner corners. I don't make many banners but that's ok because 10 of the banner dies are sized to an A2 (5.5" x4.25") card or smaller. I used one to cut out the card shape and the next smaller die to cut the insert for the inside. Shaped cards can be really fun and I'm excited to be able to use this set to make more! And now that I'm "scrap-curious" I think this set will work wonderfully for page accents!
Amanda Mertz ~ Independent Stampin' Up!® Demonstrator ~ didyoustamptoday@gmail.com
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Tiger Birthday Banner - Stampin' Up!® Party Banner Dies
Sunday, May 25, 2025
Tote Full of Blooms - Stampin' Up!® Impressions Abloom
I was just playing around with some supplies the other day and came up with this tote with flowers popping out. The Notes & Totes bundle is so cute and I think it's really fun paired up with non-beachy type things like flowers. You could really put whatever you want inside for a really personalized card. The flowers from Impressions Abloom are so pretty in Petunia Pop and give a really cheerful look to this design.
I used a piece of Floral Impressions DSP and Pool Party cardstock for the tote bag. A Petunia Pop bag scarf is added to help tie in the flower color. The sentiment is part of a larger one and I just trimmed off the bit I wanted and added it with dimensionals to the edge of the bag.
If my kids were still of the age where I was sending in end of the year teacher gifts this would have been a perfect card I think.
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Impressions Abloom (Online Exclusive), Notes & Totes
Ink: Petunia Pop, Shy Shamrock, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight
Paper: Shy Shamrock, Basic White, Pool Party, Floral Impressions DSP (Online Exclusive)
Accessories: Impressions Abloom dies (Online Exclusive), Notes & Totes dies, dimensionals
Friday, May 23, 2025
Floral Bee - Stampin' Up!® Bee My Valentine
I'm busy designing for an upcoming class but I squeezed in some extra stamping yesterday to play along with the Time Out Challenge which has us using our 'favorite winged thing' on our projects. I decided to pair up a carryover stamp set with brand new Designer Series Paper. The Bee My Valentine stamp set gets heavy use in February but doesn't see much ink this time of year but it looks cute with the new Floral Impressions DSP.
I pulled my colors straight from the DSP using Garden Green, Darling Duckling and Timid Tiger. The card base is Garden Green, then a layer of Darling Duckling then the DSP cut on a diagonal to show off a floral as well as a small octagon print.
The bee is stamped in Darling Duckling and Memento Black and is popped on dimensionals. I stamped a few flowers in various degrees of stamped off Timid Tiger ink for a light look to match the orange flowers in the DSP. You can find the flower image and matching dies in the Impressions Abloom bundle which is an Online Exclusive.
The small but sweet sentiment is in a new set called The Right Words and is also an Online Exclusive. I stamped it in Memento Black then fussy cut it and popped it on dimensionals under the bee. Finally I added a few Earth Tones Shimmer Gems which as of this posting are in the Last Chance category on discount. they add just a bit of sparkle!
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Bee My Valentine, Impressions Abloom (Online Exclusive), The Right Words (Online Exclusive)
Ink: Timid Tiger, Pecan Pie, Darling Ducking, Memento Black
Paper: Garden Green, Darling Duckling, Basic White, Floral Impressions DSP (Online Exclusive)
Accessories: Bee Builder punch, Impressions Abloom dies (Online Exclusive), dimensionals, Earth Tones Shimmer Gems
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Birds In Color - Stampin' Up!® Along These Lines
I'm back with another project using some of the new In Colors. Today I've put together Timid Tiger, Darling Duckling and Strawberry Slush to make some sweet colored birds with the Along These Lines stamp set.
I made a large stack of this design and just worked assembly line style to put them together once all the pieces were ready. I used all 3 colors for the bases just so I wouldn't completely deplete all of one color but the photo uses Strawberry Slush. I used the new Glass & Garden embossing folder for the center panel. I thought the flower design worked well with the birds.
The birds are stamped in Memento black and then colored in using Stampin' Blends in the 3 colors changing up each one to look different. I used a circle punch to quickly punch them out and then popped them with dimensionals.
The sentiment is from the new Beautiful Motifs stamp set and is just a narrow strip with the end flagged. Since I used all 3 colors for the card bases I alternated the colors of Flat Pearls and this one ended up getting Darling Duckling for a nice pop.
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Along These Lines, Beautiful Motifs
Ink: Memento Black
Blends: Darling Duckling light, Strawberry Slush light, Timid Tiger light
Paper: Strawberry Slush, Basic White
Accessories: Glass & Garden embossing folders, dimensionals, 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls, circle punch
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
New at SU! - Encircled In Colors
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
To the Beach & Back Scrapbook Pages - Stampin' Up!® Ocean Friends
I started working on this scrapbook layout a while back before the Ocean Friends bundle ended up on the Last Chance List and I set it aside before it was complete and just the other day got around to finishing it. I had to ask my mother in law about the dates as the photos were from 20+ years ago! We were babies!! I'm sure I'm going about scrapbooking all willy nilly just grabbing pictures without a care for chronological order and whatnot but I figure that starting to do it at all is the most important part. Next I need to learn to photograph the layouts better....they are so big lol!
I'm learning something new with each page I create from scratch or from a kit and I am definitely starting to see the appeal even if it's a HUGE canvas to fill!
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the current products used to make this design can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Ocean Friends (retired)
Ink: Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie
Paper: White Willow 12x12, Two-Toned Pool Party, melong Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Lemon Lime Twist, Summer Splash
Accessories: Ocean Friends dies, Dotted Circles embossing folder, Soft Waves embossing folder, Forever Plaid embossing folder, Playful Alphabet dies (retired)
Monday, May 19, 2025
Layered Birthday - Stampin' Up!® Layered Thoughts
I've got a super simple birthday card to share today. It used 3 of the 5 new In Colors and can easily be switched up to use any color combo you'd like. Think of it in blues and greens for some nice masculine birthday cards. We all need those right?
This was another of the make and takes from my new catalog open house and shows off how well Timid Tiger, Darling Duckling and Strawberry Slush work together.
It starts with a Strawberry Slush base then a layer of Darling Duckling. The nice large happy birthday sentiment from the Layered Thoughts stamp set is stamped in Memento black. Using the 2025-2027 In Color Stampin' Write markers each letter is just colored over alternating between the 3 colors all the way through.
The 'to you' is stamped on a narrow strip of Timid Tiger and is popped on dimensionals over a twist of white baker's twine. A few Strawberry Slush & Pretty in Pink Gems are added for a pop of sparkle.
Didn't I tell you this one was simple? If you wanted to step this one up you could heat emboss the stamping in black for a nice shiny raided look. The Happy Birthday layer could also be cut out with dies like the Perennial Postage die set or the Textured Notes dies. Some Faux Linen ribbon could replace the baker's twine too. If a simple layout is not your style there are so many ways to step it up!
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Layered Thoughts
Ink: Memento Black, 2025-2027 In Color Markers
Paper: Strawberry Slush, Darling Duckling, Basic White, Timid Tiger
Accessories: white baker's twine, dimensionals, Strawberry Slush & Pretty in Pink Gems (Online Exclusives)
Sunday, May 18, 2025
Gallery in the Clouds - Stampin' Up! Gallery Blooms
As soon as I saw the Beautiful Gallery suite collection at Stampin' Up!'s OnStage demonstrator event this past March I knew it would be making it's way into my stamp room. I loved the vintage, moody feel of the DSP and the stamps and dies are perfect for making all kinds of cards. I showed it off last week at my new catalog open house event with this soft thinking of you card highlighting the new In Color Cloud Cover.
Friday, May 16, 2025
In Color Motifs - Stampin' Up!® Beautiful Motifs
Last Saturday I held my new Annual Catalog Open House and got to show my stampers tons of samples and gave them a good look at the new In Colors as well as a ton of new products. It's always a fun event to design make and takes for because I have so much new product to choose from and I always highlight the new In Colors as well. For one of the 3 make and takes I combined all 5 new In Colors along with a simple sentiment and large die cut from the Beautiful Motifs bundle.
I CASED this card by Kim Singdahlsen from 2023 as I loved the strips of colored cardstock that give a nice focal area to show off a die cut. What a perfect way to show off all 5 new In Colors. And how cute do they look in a bit of a rainbow order?
To show off as much new stuff as I could I added a ribbon knot in the new Faux Linen ribbon in the color Secret Sea. And a mix and match look with a variety of the colors of the 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls are scattered around the die cut.
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the products used for this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Beautiful Motifs
Ink: Secret Sea
Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Secret Sea, Cloud Cover, Darling Duckling, Timid Tiger, Strawberry Slush
Accessories: Beautiful Motifs dies, Faux Linen ribbon, 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Mother's Day Impressions - Stampin' Up!® Impressions Abloom
I'm pretty sure my mom has gotten her Mother's Day card so I'm sharing it today. If not then we can blame the USPS and hopefully it will show up eventually! I used 2 of the new In Colors for it and I thought they paired beautifully with Fresh Freesia! What do you think?
I started with a Secret Sea card base then embossed another piece of it with the Eyelet embossing folder. I created a tag using the To the Point label punch and Cloud Cover cardstock to form the focal point for the card. Using the Elements of Text stamp set and my Cloud Cover Stampin' Write Marker I added some text to the tag for some depth and a bit of vintage feel. I've had some square vellum doilies hanging about for years and thought it might be a cool detail to add to the edge of the tag. Some seam binding ribbon in Fresh Freesia and bakers twine were added before popping the whole tag up on dimensionals.
I'm continuing to enjoy using the Impressions Abloom stamp set and I think these flowers turned out fabulous using Fresh Freesia and Lemon Lolly ink.
The sentiment is from the long retired set Something to Celebrate and is stamped in Secret Sea ink and then flagged.
The final detail are a few Brushed Brass Butterflies for a bit of shine.
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Impressions Abloom (Online Exclusive), Elements of Text (Online Exclusive), Something to Celebrate (retired)
Ink: Secret Sea, Fresh Freesia, Lemon Lolly, Cloud Cover (marker)
Paper: Secret Sea, Cloud Cover, Basic White, Lemon Lolly
Accessories: Impressions Abloom dies (Online Exclusive), To the Point Label punch, dimensionals, white bakers twine, Brushed Brass Butterflies, Eyelet Embossing folder, Fresh Freesia Seam Binding Ribbon (SAB- retired), vellum square (retired)
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Labrador Lines - Stampin' Up!® Along These Lines
I haven't used the Along These Lines very many times since I won it during prize patrol at OnStage in March so it was high time it saw some ink. I wanted to have at least one sample with it at my new catalog open house so I decided to see what I could make with the adorable dog stamp. I think it turned out cute and now I want to try out some other dog colors.
I started with a piece of Beautiful Gallery DSP in a neutral paint texture pattern for the background. Then I embossed the dog in white onto Pecan Pie card stock extending the lines across the panel. A bit of fussy cutting makes the pup stand out nicely but I really wanted him to show up even darker so I used Early Espresso ink and a blender pen to color him for more contrast.
I added a length of linen thread following the embossed line and then stamped the sentiment underneath in Early Espresso. A few Pecan Pie ribboned dots add a bit of sparkle to finish this card. These gems are on the Last Chance list right now so make sure you give them a look before they're gone!
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the supplies used to make this project can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Along These Lines, Simply Said
Ink: Versamark, Early Espresso
Paper: Beautiful Gallery DSP, Pecan Pie
Accessories: white embossing powder, linen thread, Pecan Pie Adhesive-Backed Ribbon Gems
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Day at the Beach - Stampin' Up!® Notes & Totes
I'm back with another project using the Notes & Totes bundle. I made this one for Matt's stepmother for Mother's Day as she loves the beach and being out on the boat. I pulled much of my inspiration for the card from one of the samples on page 81 of the annual catalog. I loved the idea of using DSP for the background so I pulled out a piece of Thoughtful Journey DSP and got to work.
Once I chose my DSP I used those colors for the tote bag accessories. The tote itself is made with Very Vanilla and Pecan Pie. I stamped and fussy cut the flower so I could add it to the pocket and coordinated the scarf to match.
The picket fence dies are a great extra in this set because it makes creating a scene really easy and can definitely be used paired with other sets. I think I see a card with a pretty fence covered with lots of flowers in my future!
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Notes & Totes
Ink: Balmy Blue, Fresh Freesia, Calypso Coral, Basic Gray
Paper: Thoughtful Journey DSP, Basic White, Very Vanilla, Pecan Pie, Balmy Blue, Fresh Freesia, Calypso Coral, Petal Pink
Accessories: Notes & Totes dies, dimensionals
Monday, May 12, 2025
Sunglasses Note - Stampin' Up!® Notes & Totes
I've been a bit MIA lately and while I have been stamping I just haven't been finding the time to blog! I had my New Catalog Open House over the weekend so I was very busy getting ready for that but hopefully things will quiet down and I can try to get projects posted more often because I have a lot of new products that I want to share with you all! My card today was my customer thank you card from April and uses the new Notes & Totes bundle which is adorable!
I got inspiration from page 82 of the new Annual Catalog for my layout. I decided that I wanted to make a card that used just the sunglasses from the Notes & Totes die set. Sometimes it can be hard to use a smaller image or die cut and keep it highlighted but not have the card feel empty. I used texture and layering to achieve it here.
The color combo is from a now closed challenge; Time Out Challenges that just seemed so happy and cheerful. I started with a Petunia Pop base and stamped some of the speckles across the card front. Next I added a strip of Floral Delight DSP (always trying to use up small scraps!). I die cut a rectangle with the Textured Notes dies and then embossed it with the Soft Waves embossing folder and then trimmed a bit of the edge off and adhered it.
Using the Spotlight on Nature dies I cut a circle from Beautiful Bokeh DSP which gives a nice place to highlight the sunglasses. Daffodil Delight and black glimmer paper are used to cut out the sunglasses and they are popped on dimensionals on the circle.
The sentiment is stamped in Petunia Pop ink on Basic White and is also popped on dimensionals. A few adhesive backed Dots for Days finish off the details on this one.
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Notes & Totes
Ink: Petunia Pop
Paper: Petunia Pop, Basic White, Beautiful Bokeh DSP, Floral Delight DSP, Daffodil Delight, Black Glimmer (retired)
Accessories: Notes & Totes dies, Textured Notes dies (Online Exclusive), Soft Waves embossing folder, Spotlight on Nature dies, dimensionals, Adhesive-Backed Dots for Days
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Bunny Friends - Stampin' Up! Storybook Friends
At my last class we used the carryover set Storybook Friends to make a sweet spring card with an all purpose sentiment. It's great to have a few of these kinds of cards tucked away for those "just in case" moments when a card has to go out in the mail right away and there just isn't time to sit down and create something new.
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Floral Delight Fault Line - Stampin' Up! Delightful Wishes
Using the beautiful Delightful Wishes bundle and coordinating Floral Delight DSP (which are all carryover products) I designed this card for my last class to show how to make a Fault Line card. Once you know the measurements and where to tear, this is a fantastic design to show off your Designer Series Papers.
Embellish as desired and finish the card. This design uses some of the flower dies in the Delightful Wishes die set to add a blossom and a little Tiny Bee Trinket for an understated accent.
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Delightful Wishes
Ink: Old Olive
Paper: Basic White thick, Old Olive, Floral Delight DSP, Lemon Lolly, Peach Pie, Pecan Pie
Accessories: Delightful Wishes dies, dimensionals, Tiny Bee Trinkets
Monday, May 5, 2025
Crab Birthday Fold Over - Stampin' Up!® Ocean Friends
I had a good time last week hosting my monthly stamp club class and I was able to feature one last time the Ocean Friends bundle. I just checked the online store and the dies are still available but the English version of the stamp set looks to be sold out. If you don't care about the sentiments and just want to get your hands on the crab and lobster images then the French language stamp set is available. After hoarding the Friends of the Ocean DSP (also still available) to make sure I didn't run out I ended up with quite a bit of it left so I decided to use a large panel to show off a super easy DSP technique and technique is used loosely here lol!
I started this card with a Melon Mambo base, then a layer of Summer Splash cardstock with the sentiment embossed in white across the corner. The DSP layer comes next and following the angle of the sentiment I just folded down the corner to show off the B side of the paper. Before adhering the flap with a dimensional I tucked the Lemon Lime Twist seaweed/coral die cut underneath.
The crab is 2 step stamped in Melon Mambo and Bubble Bath, is die cut then popped on dimensionals.
The final touches are a scattering of retired Sunny Days Iridescent Dots.
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.
Stamps: Ocean Friends (retired), With You In Mind
Ink: Versamark, Melon Mambo, Bubble Bath
Paper: Melon Mambo, Summer Splash, Lemon Lime Twist, Basic White, Friends of the Ocean DSP
Accessories: Ocean Friends dies, dimensionals, white embossing powder, Sunny Days Iridescent Dots (retired)