Trees & Leaves - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature

  I have had cause lately to send quite a few thinking of you or sympathy cards so my on hand supply is getting dangerously low.  I decided to re-stock a bit and came across the Paper Players challenge to make a project using trees and leaves.  Easy enough theme for this time of year even if everything is still green around here.  I went with the green theme for my thinking of you card.

  This card started with the panel of embossed Crumb Cake which ended up on my 'card parts' pile after it was rejected from another project.  It's embossed with the Tin Tile embossing folder (my current favorite!) and then lightly sponged with Crumb Cake ink.

  I backed the embossed panel with a bit of Soft Sea Foam and layered that onto a Crumb Cake card base.  I also used Soft Sea Foam to stamp and die cut the 2 leaves on the edge of the main panel.  It's a nice light spring-y green but I think it pairs nicely with the darker Shaded Spruce. I used a bit of narrow Shaded Spruce cardstock to anchor the center of the card.

  For the large oval (cut with the Layering Oval framelits) I stamped the large tree from Rooted in Nature in Crumb Cake then overstamped the sentiment in Shaded Spruce ink and then popped it up with dimensionals.

  The final (and only) adornment is the bit of knotted Nature's twine on the leaf stems.

  I hope I won't be needing to send this one out any time soon but if I must at least I'm prepared!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature

Ink: Shaded Spruce, Soft Sea Foam, Crumb Cake

Paper: Shaded Spruce, Soft Sea Foam, Crumb Cake, Whisper White

Accessories: Nature's Roots framelits, Tin Tile embossing folder, Layering Oval framelits, Nature's twine, dimensionals

Fall Birthday Wreath - Stampin' Up! Falling for Leaves

  I get a lot of inspiration for stamping in my day to day life.  I see cool color combinations at Target in the bedding and decor departments.  At church I look at peoples clothes and jot down the Stampin' Up! colors to try out.  When I take my mom shopping at the local quilt stores I always leave with a list of colors and photos of fabric designs.  I also seem to find colors or styles that jump out at me in the Company Store catalog.  This bedding is what inspired today's card.  I liked the cluster of leaves and flowers in the brown tones with the subtle pop of the bluish/gray color.

  I thought that the Falling for Leaves bundle would be perfect to create a mostly monochromatic card in this style.  The coordinating Detailed Leaves thinlets are perfect for a variety of leaves.

  Once I saw that the current Just Add Ink challenge was to use vellum I got to work!  The card base is Very Vanilla thick then a layer of Very Vanilla embossed with the Tin Tile embossing folder (my favorite!!).  Using a sponge I lightly brushed some Crumb Cake ink onto the embossing to highlight the beautiful pattern.

  The sentiment circle is Very Vanilla and I stamped the large leaf stamp in Balmy Blue (not quite the same as the bedding but SU hasn't come out with this bluish/gray shade yet!) after stamping off once.  It gives a nice light pattern behind the Soft Suede sentiment from the Colorful Seasons stamp set.

Next, I cut a bunch of leaves out of Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and vellum.  For the Balmy Blue leaves I stamped off once so that the image would be lighter.  I used tear tape across the back of the circle and then added my die cut leaves all around it.  I even added a few little loops of the Nature's Twine in Crumb Cake for some more texture.

  After all the leaves were added I popped the whole wreath up on dimensionals on the card front.  This wasn't a hard card to make just a bit time consuming with all the die cutting.  But I think it turned out decently.

  Head out into the world and see where you can find inspiration for your next card!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Falling for Leaves, Colorful Seasons

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Balmy Blue

Paper: Very Vanilla thick, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Balmy Blue, vellum

Accessories: circle punch, Detailed Leaves thinlets, Tin Tile embossing folder, Nature's twine, dimensionals

Joyous Christmas - Stampin' Up! Merry Christmas to All

We had a long weekend here for Columbus day so I had a bit of extra time to stamp and started diving into some more Christmas cards.  I had ordered the Joyous Noel Specialty DSP back with the preorder and it is beautiful and so easy to design a card using it.

  I used the current CAS(e) this Sketch challenge as my starting point and pulled my colors directly from the DSP.  Merry Merlot and Tranquil Tide are a knockout color combo for Christmas.  I love the jewel tones paired with the copper accents; it's so elegant.

  The Tranquil Tide card base is stamped with the Christmas Pines stamp set to tie in with the pine in the DSP.  I layered a wide DSP flag with a slightly smaller one in Copper Glimmer paper.  The Joyous Noel Glimmer paper is beautiful and a perfect match for this DSP; Copper, Merry Merlot and Tranquil Tide.

  The sentiment from Merry Christmas to All (in the Holiday catalog) makes for a beautiful focal point embossed in copper onto Merry Merlot.  I cut it out with the Stitched Shapes oval and popped it up over the flag.

  A Tranquil Tide mini ruffled ribbon bow finishes off the side of the sentiment panel.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Merry Christmas to All, Christmas Pines

Ink: Tranquil Tide, Versamark

Paper: Tranquil Tide, Joyous Noel Glimmer, Merry Merlot, Joyous Noel DSP

Accessories: Stitched Shapes framelits, Tranquil Tide ruffled ribbon, dimensionals, copper embossing powder

Colorful Leaves - Stampin' Up! Falling for Leaves

  I think my Stampin' Blends collection is just about complete.  I have all the colors except the In Colors and so I have a lot of color combinations to try out.  I gave my stampers all the colors to use to make their own cards last week at class.  And they jumped right in and I think they had fun doing adult coloring!

  The card design is very basic so the colors can really pop.  I left the background in neutral with the card base Crumb Cake stamped with the Falling for Leaves stamps in Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.  A strip of Wood Textures DSP lines on side of the card front.

  The real stars of the card are the fabulous leaves!  One is cut with the Detailed Leaves thinlets in Very Vanilla cardstock.  It is a beautiful, detailed lacy look and is perfect for fall cards.

  The other leaf is stamped in Memento Black and then colored with Blends.  My stampers were all so creative in their color choices and each card was unique and gorgeous.  This sample uses Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry.  Once the leaf was colored it was die cut and then popped on dimensionals.  A piece of Braided Linen trim was tied in a knot and then adhered with a glue dot to the leaf stem.

  This 2nd sample is colored with Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight and Bermuda Bay.  If you're looking for all the Blends colors don't forget the newest colors offered in the Holiday catalog so you can get a few more shades for fall and Christmas.

  And here's a puzzle for you that my youngest brought up the other day...he wanted to know why we don't say "fall time" like we do with "spring time", "summer time" and "winter time"?  We just say fall or autumn and it doesn't sound right at all to say fall time.  Things that 10 years think about!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Falling for Leaves

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Memento Black

Blends: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry (sample 1), Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay (sample 2)

Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Wood Textures DSP

Accessories: Detailed Leaves thinlets, dimensionals, Braided Linen trim

Vintage Goodness - Stampin' Up! P.S. You're the Best

  You can't get any more vintage than a typewriter and tin tile.  We paired up a new annual catalog stamp set with a fantastic new embossing folder and metallic paper from the holiday catalog to make a lovely vintage all purpose card at my last class.

  If you're ever stuck on picking out colors to get started with a card look to the catalogs and the Designer Series Paper.  The pros at Stampin' Up! have already designed and paired up lovely  combinations in the DSP and they are a great source of inspiration for colors.  For this card I used a group of colors from the Country Lane DSP in the Holiday catalog;  Mint Macaron, Blackberry Bliss and Crushed Curry.

  The card base is Mint Macaron with the little flower stamp from P.S. You're the Best stamped on one half in Mint Macaron ink.

  On the other side of the card front we used the new Galvanized Metalic paper and the new Tin Tile embossing folder which is my absolute favorite at the moment!  Just look at that detailed texture!! I'm on my 4th pack of this paper!  Don't judge me!  One edge of the embossed panel has a narrow strip of Blackberry Bliss cardstock adhered to the back to pull together the colors.

  The typewriter is stamped in Momento black with the splatter stamped in Crushed Curry.  The flower accent and sentiment are stamped on the piece of paper.  Using the regular Stampin' Write markers we colored in parts of the typewriter and flowers using the 3 colors.  After the typewriter was finished it is fussy cut and then popped up on dimensionals.

  The final detail is a little faceted dot in the center of the large flower.  The colors in the faceted dot pack coordinate well with the card colors since it contains Blackberry Bliss and Mint Macaron as 2 of the colors.

  This is a great design to make a few of and leave off the sentiment until you need to send the card.  I think it could cover a lot of occasions.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: P.S. You're the Best

Ink: Memento Black, Mint Macron, Crushed Curry

Markers: Crushed Curry, Mint Macaron, Blackberry Bliss

Paper: Mint Macaron, Blackberry Bliss, Galvanized Metallic paper, Whisper White

Accessories: Tin Tile embossing folder, Faceted Dots, dimensionals

Autumn Leaves in Copper - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature

  If you're not a fan of the Rooted in Nature set you might need to leave me a comment as to why.  This set is by far my 'go to' set from the 2018-19 annual catalog.  It is so versatile to mix and match with sentiments from other sets to create really any type of card you need.

  Just yesterday I shared a card I made for Christmas with the little pine trees but I've done hello cards, sympathy, thank you, birthday...and now today I've got a lovely fall theme using all the cute little leaf stamps from the set.

  We made this at my stamp club last week and I just love these colors together.

  The card base is Sahara Sand which is a great crisp clean neutral for fall cards.  The leaf background is Very Vanilla and stamped with Merry Merlot, Pumpkin Pie and Cajun Craze.  The delicate leaf stamp was then inked up with the new Bright Copper Shimmer Paint.  Just dab a little bit directly onto the stamp with a sponge dauber.  An easy way to pick up the ink is to shake the bottle with the lid on (lol!!) and then tap your dauber into the lid.

  It was super hard to get a decent photo of the copper leaves but I hope this gives you some idea of how it looks.  It's nice a shimmery in real life.

  The panel behind the leaves is Early Espresso.  The wood cut is Early Espresso stamped off once and then fussy cut.  Another leaf is stamped in Merry Merlot and cut out and layered over the top with Very Vanilla cotton twine and a punched sentiment from Labels to Love.  The whole wood cut  grouping is popped on dimensionals.

  If you haven't fallen in love with Rooted in Nature yet I hope this design pushes you a little closer!  It's a fun, easy card to make.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature, Labels to Love

Ink: Merry Merlot, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso

Paper: Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso

Accessories: Bright Copper Shimmer Paint, Nature's Roots framelits, dimensionals, Very Vanilla cotton twine

Pine Tree Trio - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature

 As a Stampin' Up! demo sometimes I have to stamp way out of season to make samples to show at class.  I was playing around with some Christmas items from the Holiday catalog with the intention of making a few samples to have on hand and then the cart went off the rails.

  Do you see this card?  There isn't anything on this card from the Holiday catalog except the Cherry Cobbler twine.  Best intentions right?

  The card base is Mossy Meadow and then a layer of Wood Textures DSP that is embossed with gold stars.  The stars are from the carry over set Night in Bethlehem.

  For the main panel I embossed a bit of Whisper White cardstock with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder.  I added the 'tis the season sentiment in Cherry Cobbler and punched it with the Everyday Label punch.  The Festive Farmhouse cotton twine goes around the panel.

  The pine trees from Rooted in Nature are stamped in Mossy Meadow and then die cut.  I used the Starlight Thinlets to cut a gold glimmer paper star for the front tree.

  And sometimes when I have to stamp out of season I end up creating a card that I'm not completely thrilled with.  I'm going to have to give these colors and trees another go...maybe when it's a bit cooler it will come easier.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature, Night in Bethlehem, Itty Bitty Greetings

Ink: Versamark, Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow

Paper: Mossy Meadow, Wood Textures DSP, Whisper White, Gold Glimmer paper

Accessories: gold embossing powder, Everyday Label punch, Festive Farmhouse cotton twine, Nature's Roots framelits, dimensionals

Fall Colors - Stampin' Up! Sheltering Tree

  We had a great weekend having fun with friends who visited from out of town to cheer on the JMU Dukes in their win against the University of Richmond on Saturday.  It's always great to get an out of town win and then celebrate with pizza and s'mores!  The kids all enjoyed it that's for sure!

  So even though it's football season it's not quite full on fall here.  The trees are still all green so I'm projecting with my card today with the lovely fall colors!  We will be raking leaves soon enough but for now the only colorful leaves are the ones on this card.

  The Sheltering Tree stamp set has been around for a while and I don't reach for it nearly enough but it makes lovely seasonal cards.  I paired it up with Colorful Seasons stamp set for a great autumn look.

  The card base is Crumb Cake stamped with a leaf from Colorful Seasons in Crumb Cake ink.

  The tree is stamped with Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie and Real Red (stamped off once).  The grass is Granny Apple Green and the rake is Soft Suede.

  For the sentiment element I die cut a delicate leaf in Pumpkin Pie and then layered a smaller leaf in Real Red with the embossed sentiment from Tabs for Everything.  Both dies are in the Seasonal Layers thinlets.  A little piece of linen thread accents the leaf stems.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sheltering Tree, Colorful Seasons, Tabs for Everything

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Granny Apple Green, Soft Suede, Versamark

Paper: Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Granny Apple Green, Whisper White

Accessories: Seasonal Layers thinlets, copper embossing powder, linen thread, dimensionals