Sunset Relaxation - Stampin' Up! Palms Dies

   Sometimes a mistake in shipping can be a royal pain and other times a happy accident.  My big mini catalog preorder mistakenly included the Palms dies instead of another die set which I ordered.  Stampin' Up! was of course very quick to fix the mistake and let me keep the Palms dies so I figured I should have some fun with it!

  In the last few months I discovered a new to me challenge which is all CAS.  The Perfectly CAS challenge is a fun one that really makes a stamper pare down a design to 1/3 or less of the card front and really keep to the spirit of a clean and simple card.  Easier said than done most of the time but I wanted to give their current challenge a go with these new surprise dies!  The theme is Sky or Sea so I decided a beautiful sky to complement the palm tree die was a great challenge.

  I started with a narrow strip of Basic White and blended colors with blending brushes starting in the lower corner with Daffodil Delight and then working my way up getting darker as I went and ending with Misty Moonlight.  I layered the colored strip onto a Basic White thick base.

  I cut the palm tree and grassy hill out of Basic Black and adhered them on top of the colored strip.  Finally I added a small sentiment from Many Happenings in black.

  In the spirit of Clean and Simple I refrained from adding any ribbon, twine or rhinestones which was hard but less is more sometimes and I'm pleased with how this card turned out.   

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Many Happenings 

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Misty Moonlight, Memento Black

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic Black 

Accessories: Palms dies, blending brushes

Celebrate 2022 - Stampin' Up! Brilliant Rainbow Dies

   When the Christmas card rush is over I always make some card to celebrate the new year.  We have some people in our circle who don't celebrate Christmas so we send them a New Years card to wish them well and let them know they are thought of.  I'm sharing this one over at Global Design Project which has a theme of Celebrations for the current challenge.

  And as always, foil is so hard to photograph.  The one line in the rainbow is not a weird yellow but gold foil.  I promise it looks better in person!  

  I had fun using the new Brilliant Rainbow dies to put this one together.  Actually I made 4 cards as the rainbow die cuts 4 pieces at a time so I used the 4 different papers and then mixed and matched and wasted no pieces.

  The card starts with a Soft Sea Foam base, then a layer of Basic White embossed with Tasteful Textile embossing folder.  Then I added my rainbow arches in Rose Gold Metallic paper, Misty Moonlight, Gold Foil and Sunshine & Rainbows DSP (Sale-a-Bration item).

  Using the Playful Alphabet dies I cut the numbers out of foam adhesive sheets and another pattern from the Sunshine & Rainbows DSP and made my year.  I embossed in gold the scripty "happy" from Biggest Wish, fussy cut and then popped it on dimensionals. 

  A few champagne rhinestones for a little more sparkle finish off the details.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Biggest Wish

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Soft Sea Foam, Basic White, Misty Moonlight, gold foil, Rose Gold Metallic, Sunshine & Rainbows DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Brilliant Rainbow dies, Playful Alphabet dies, Tasteful Textile embossing folder, gold embossing powder, foam sheets, champagne rhinestones, dimensionals

Golden Joy - Stampin' Up! Gingerbread Dies

   Only a few days left to be able to share Christmas cards so I figured I should get on it.  I designed this card for some challenge or other that had Navy and gold as the color combo.  It was fun to do a classic color combo after some of the bright and crazy colors I had been working with at the time. 

  My husband liked the design so much that he asked if he could re-create it and use it for his team Christmas cards.  He did a great job with all the stamping and die cutting and his team was very impressed when they received them.

  A bit of gold foil and gold ink and foam adhesive sheets are really the only supplies needed for this design.  Any detailed ornament or star shape would work if you don't have the Gingerbread dies.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sparkle of the Season

Ink: Gold

Paper: Very Vanilla thick, Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, Gold foil

Accessories: Gingerbread dies, Stitched So Sweetly dies, Playful Alphabet dies, foam adhesive sheets, dimensionals, gold edged satin ribbon (retired)
 

 

Otterly Awesome - Stampin' Up! Awesome Otters

   I'm having fun breaking in my new stamps and the Awesome Otters (Sale-a-Bration reward) was the lucky one that saw ink yesterday.  I saw the new Inspire. Create. Challenges pop up and thought what great timing for a color challenge with browns! 

  It's a basic card as I was making it with the thought of giving it to one of my boys.  They don't appreciate a lot of froof on cards but they do appreciate a good pun so I let the stamps do all the work.

  I started with a Basic White thick card base then I stamped the otter in Early Espresso in the corner of another piece of Basic White that is cut 1/4" smaller than the card front.  I didn't stamp the otter directly onto the card base since I didn't want the Blends coloring to seep through to the inside.  I colored him with Cinnamon Cider and Crumb Cake Blends.

I topped that with a piece of Beauty of the Earth DSP with a circle cut from the corner to show the cute otter.  The sentiment is embossed in white and then I highlighted it with a row of the new Pebble enamel shapes in the Cinnamon Cider color.  They are such a cool new embellishment and I can't wait to see all the creative ways people with use them on projects!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Awesome Otters (SAB)

Ink: Early Espresso, Versamark

Blends: Crumb Cake light & dark, Cinnamon Cider light & dark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Beauty of the Earth DSP

Accessories: Circle dies, white embossing powder, Pebbles enamel shapes

Sweet Hearts - Stampin' Up! Sweet Conversations

  It's always fun to have a whole box of new supplies to create with and I'm trying to go through each new set/bundle and make at least one card to get me started.  The bundle that I chose to work with today was the Sweet Conversations bundle.  Valentine's day is the next card heavy holiday on the calendar so I want to get going with all the hearts!  I'm excited for January 4 when these items will be available to all when the Jan.-June 2022 mini catalog goes live.

  I combined 2 different challenges for this card.  The colors come from The Color Throwdown and the layout is from Freshly Made Sketches.  I think it's a great combination!

   I started with a Mint Macaron base with a layer of Blushing Bride next.  I embossed a piece of Basic White with the new Gingham embossing folder.

  After stamping and cutting out the hearts and little tag I arranged them according to the sketch and popped them with dimensionals. Next I  added the sentiment strip and a few Iridescent Rhinestones for a little bling.

  I'm definitely going to have fun creating Valentine's Day cards with this bundle!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sweet Conversations

Ink: Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride, Real Red

Paper: Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride, Basic White

Accessories: Sweet Hearts dies, Gingham embossing folder, Real Red Faux Linen ribbon, Iridescent Rhinestones, dimensionals

Friendly Birthday Wishes - Stampin' Up! Friendly Hello

  I rewarded myself for finishing my Christmas cards the other day with some stamping time getting to play around with some new products that will be out on January 4.  I used the the sketch challenge at Global Design Project for this sweet birthday card.

  I haven't done any watercoloring in a long time (probably because it isn't one of my strengths lol!) and the images in this set are perfect for it and even make my limited skills look ok!  They are from Friendly Hello which will be one of the new Sale-a-Bration rewards! I first embossed the images in black on watercolor paper.  Then using brushes and inks I colored the images and then fussy cut them.

  The sentiment is also embossed and I arranged the flowers and bird around the sentiment strip to go with the sketch.  The background paper is another Sale-a-Bration choice called Sunshine & Rainbows 6x6 DSP. I also added a narrow strip of Granny Apple Green to the edge to bring more of that color to card. 

  The final touch are a few Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels sprinkled around the sentiment. These are in the upcoming January-June Mini catalog also coming in January.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Friendly Hello (SAB)

Ink: Versamark, Fresh Freesia, Granny Apple Green, Petal Pink

Paper: Basic White thick, Granny Apple Green, Sunshine & Rainbows DSP (SAB), watercolor paper

Accessories: Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels

 

Blushing Christmas - Stampin' Up! Sparkle of the Season

 Pink, gray and silver are always a winning color combination and at Christmas even more so. I went full on Blushing Bride and silver for this card.

  The Sparkle of the Season bundle paired with a piece of the iridescent Whimsy & Wonder DSP makes this a fun layered Christmas card.  I love the double wreath with the stamped bit in Smoky Slate and then topped with a die cut wreath in silver foil.  A piece of Blushing Bride Frayed ribbon adds a bit of texture as well.

  I hope you're making your lists and checking them twice in Christmas preparations!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sparkle of the Season

Ink: Smoky Slate, Blushing Bride, silver

Paper: Blushing Bride, Basic White, Silver foil, Whimsy & Wonder DSP

Accessories: Seasonal Swirl dies, Layering Square dies (retired), Blushing Bride frayed ribbon, dimensionals, Blushing Bride baker's twine, From My Heart faceted gems, candy dots (retired)

Snowy Stocking - Stampin' Up! Sweet Little Stockings

   I'm winding down on Christmas cards to share so I better find some time to do some stamping with my preorder or it will be radio silence here for a while!

  My card today uses some bits and pieces that I had colored a while ago and I finally put them into the form of a card.  Many of the items on this card are retiring on January 4th and are on the Last Chance list.  Check the online store for what's still available.  Many products have already sold out but you might get lucky so don't wait to shop.  My store link is in the sidebar.

  

The Whimsy & Wonder DSP makes a nice little starry night background for the stocking, snowflake and gift.  

  I colored the elements with Stampin' Blends (colors listed below) and then popped them up wtih dimensionals and added a few gems, rhinestones and snowflake sequins for accessories.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sweet Little Stockings, Christmas to Remember

Ink: Memento Black, Fresh Freesia

Blends: Misty Moonligh light & dark, Fresh Freesia light & dark, Soft Sea Foam light & dark

Paper: Basic White thick, Whimsy & Wonder, Basic White

Accessories: corner rounder, Wonderful Snowflakes, Stocking dies, sequins, gems, snowflake sequins, dimensionals, white baker's twine