Lotus Blossom Tag

  Happy Occasions catalog day & Happy Sale-a-Bration day as well!  So many great new items in each of the catalogs!  Remember during Sale-a-Bration (SAB) you earn free products for each $50 you spend (before tax/shipping).  Head over to my online store to place your order today and get started on your spring projects!  Link on the sidebar.

  Here is a cute card using one of the free SAB stamp sets, Lotus Blossom:

  My stamping ladies made this one at my Open House yesterday.  The purples really pop don't they? The trick with this stamp set is in the 3 layers that you stamp to give the depth and detail on the petals.  It's a great way to use those Dynamic Duo colors listed on the Color Coach.  The lighter color is stamped off once on the final layer so you get the look of 3 colors with only 2 ink pads.

  After stamping the flower and sentiment I used the scallop tag topper punch and added a bit of Blackberry Bliss satin ribbon anchored with a staple.  I'll be honest here and tell you that I'm not sure I like the staple trend and I can't decide if it works with this card or not but sometimes you've got to try new things or you'll miss out on something great!  In this case the staple holds the ribbon down and also doesn't add any bulk to the card the way a bow or knot or brad would.  Give it a try and see what you think!

  Before adhering the tag to the card front with dimensionals I tore a bit of the Typeset DSP and adhered it to the Old Olive card base.

  As a side note the Tag Topper punch, Typeset DSP, ribbon and a pack of colored cardstock add up to just over $50 earning the Lotus Blossom set as a free SAB reward.  A nice card design using minimal supplies!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lotus Blossom (SAB)

Ink: Old Olive, Blackberry Bliss, Wisteria Wonder

Paper: Old Olive, Typeset DSP, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Blackberry Bliss ribbon, Scallop Tag Topper punch, staple, dimensionals

Happy New Year!

  Happy New Year stampers!  I took quite the break from blogging over the very very busy Christmas holiday but I'm back now with some fun new projects to share.

  The Stampin' Up! Occasions catalog is getting ready to go live on Tuesday so I've been having a lot of fun with my preorder (fun demo perk!).  Don't forget Sale-a-Bration too!

  The Celebrate Today stamp set and coordinating framelits make cute cards!

  What better way to celebrate the New Year than with some fun balloons!

  I stamped a balloon in Crisp Cantaloupe and one in Pistachio Pudding onto Whisper White and then added some accents in gold.  Next I stamped the strings in black.  The string stamp is actually straight but one of the cool things about photopolymer is that you can bend the stamps on the clear block so I added some curves.

  I stamped the "happy" balloon in gold and then cut it out with the framelit.  I popped it up in front of the other balloons with dimensionals and then went to work with my embellishments.

  The Celebrate Today comes with some fun stamps to dress up the balloons so I used one of them, the tassel stamped in Crisp Cantaloupe paired up with a strip of gold sequin trim.  For the banner I used a marker to ink up just the "new year" part and stamped it on a thin strip of Pistachio Pudding and flagged the ends.  The retired hostess only set Good Greetings has really come in handy for a lot of my sentiment needs lately.

  Here is a not so great photo of the inside of the card.  I used the almost retired 25 Days Countdown set from the Holiday catalog to do the year.  

  I hope you enjoyed the last few weeks and time with family and friends.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Celebrate Today (Occasions), Good Greetings (retired), 25 Days Countdown (Holiday)

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Black, Gold

Paper: Basic Black, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White

Accessories: gold sequin trim, Balloon framelits (Occasions), dimensionals

  

Delicate Butterfly

  I was able to make another card using supplies from the upcoming Occasions catalog and 2015 Sale-a-bration.  I really need to get all of my Christmas to do list finished up so I can have some more time to play with my box of goodies.

  I made this card using the Retro Sketches challenge.  I broke out the Butterflies thinlits that are just gorgeous.  Like with other thinlets using a bit of wax paper when cutting the image will help all the little pieces fall out.

  I layered 2 of the middle sized butterflies and popped the top Crisp Cantaloupe one with dimensionals.

  The vine paper is so cool!  It's a Sale-a-Bration selection called Irresistibly Yours Specialty DSP.  It's white with the glossy images already on the paper so you can sponge, daub, spritz or color however you would like.  The ink on the images just wipes off with a tissue.  Think emboss resist but you don't have to break out your heat gun.  There are 6 different patterns and they are regular 12x12 sheets and you get 2 of each pattern.

  I used a sponge and Pear Pizzazz ink and went from lighter to darker for my background.

  I added some punched scalloped border along the side.  I went a little crazy with the embellishments but it was fun adding the rhinestones and candy dots and used the lightest Calypso Coral Blendabilities marker to color the small rhinestones.  It's a great match for Crisp Cantaloupe!

  The sentiment is also new in the Sheltering Tree set and I added a Soft Sky cotton twine bow to pull in a bit more of that color.

  Off to check my list!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sheltering Tree (Occasions)

Ink: Pear Pizzazz

Paper: Whisper White, Irresistibly Yours DSP (SAB), Soft Sky, Crisp Cantaloupe

Accessories: candy dots, rhinestones, Blendabilities, dimensionals, scallop border punch, Butterflies thinlets (Occasions), cotton twine (Occasions)

Celebrate!

So many thing to celebrate right now...Christmas, New Year's, time with family, school vacation, and Stampin' Up! preorder!  Not necessarily in that order!

  I received my preorder for the Occasions catalog and Sale-a-Bration on Wednesday and I had a little bit of time that night to open my package and pet each item.  I'm not the only one to do that am I?  You need to make sure nothing is damaged right?

  I was able to stamp a few things to try out some of my new items and I used the current sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and paired it up with the new Celebrate Today set.  It's a great all purpose set using balloons and it has matching framelits so it will definitely be a hit.

 I also used a Sale-a-Bration item called Best Year Ever DSP.  The colors in this pack are fantastic for tons of spring projects and all occasion cards.

  I can't wait to have more time to play with my new box of goodies.  Be on the look out for more previews as well as several final Christmas cards in the next week.

  If you are one of my local stamping ladies and would like your catalog before my January 5 Open House then let me know and we can arrange for you to get your copy!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Celebrate Today (Occasions)

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Soft Suede  Markers: Crushed Curry, Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana, Soft Suede

Paper: Whisper White, Best Year Ever DSP (SAB), Calypso Coral (base- not visible)

Accessories: Balloon Framelits (Occasions), dimensionals, candy dots

Over the Hill & Through the Woods

  Still rolling through the Christmas cards.  I had some fun with my Blendabilities markers with this one.  This White Christmas stamp set is so cute and I love seeing all the different scenes that other stampers have come up with.

  I stamped the trees and star and and then highlighted the the snow lines with the lightest blue from the Night of Navy pack.   The trees are colored with the Crumb Cake assortment and the star with the Daffodil Delight pack.  I lightly covered the "snow" and star with Dazzling Details for a small bit of sparkle.

  I stamped the car and tree on a small piece of scrap and then colored them in. The photopolymer makes it really easy to line up the tree on the roof of the car.   I used Old Olive for the tree and Cherry Cobbler for the card.  The tires use Smoky Slate.  After the car and tree were colored I cut it out and popped it up onto the tree panel using dimensionals.

  The flags are made from the Trim the Tree DSP (the plaid Cherry Cobbler flag) and an old retired DSP pack that I can't remember the name of.  If you know let me know and I can update my info.  This design is a great way to use up some smaller scraps of DSP.

  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs and punched out and layered with circle punches.  I used a bit of Cherry Cobbler baker's twine and Old Olive candy dots for the final accessories.

  I used a sketch from Sketch Frenzy Friday and flipped it on it's side.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: White Christmas, Petite Pairs

Ink: Memento Black  Blendabilities: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Smoky Slate, Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Kraft cardstock, Whisper White, Trim the Tree DSP stack, unknown retired DSP

Accessories: candy dots, dimensionals, Dazzling Details, baker's twine, circle punches

Easy Punched Tree

  I'm still rolling through the Christmas cards!  I hope I have enough on hand when I need to start sending them out!

  This is a great one to mass produce if you need a lot in a little amount of time!

  I really like this monochromatic look with the browns and then the sparkle from the gold accents.  I'm trying to use up some retired Core'dination paper so I choose the Sahara Sand for my top layer.

  I stamped the smallest snowflake from Endless Wishes in Early Espresso and then used the small splatter stamp from Gorgeous Grunge with gold ink.

  The tree is punched from the Trim the Tree DSP stack and popped with dimensionals.  I topped it with a Gold Glimmer paper star and added the gold sequins and baker's twine.

  The sentiment is also stamped in the Early Espresso ink.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Endless Wishes, Gorgeous Grunge

Ink: Early Espresso, Gold

Paper: Early Espresso, Sahara Sand Core'dinations (retired), Trim the Tree DSP stack, Gold Glimmer paper

Accessories: Tree punch, star punch, baker's twine, gold sequins, dimensionals

Year End Closeout Sale!

Holy Cow!

  Stampin' Up! must be making room in the warehouse for the upcoming Occasions catalog and Sale-a-bration!

  Check out all the great deals with some items at an 80% discount.  There are even some current Holiday catalog items in there.

  You can place your order today through my business website:  Stamping With Amanda

  There are some perfect items for stocking stuffers as well as some kits for those other crafters on your shopping list!  Or grab a few kits to have a fun group activity if you're entertaining all ages during the holidays.

Mini Trees Squared Up - Fab Friday 56

  I've taken quite the break haven't I?  Well I am back and ready to share with you the next Fab Friday Challenge!

  Now I'm going to warn you, it might be intimidating at first because there are A LOT of colors!  But I know you can make some fabulous cards because the colors are so awesome together!  I went with Christmas but I think they would work for a guy card, kids cards....really anything you can dream up!

  And here is my Christmas card using our challenge colors:

  There isn't too much stamping on this one but there are still some details to point out.   The stamping is just a few snowflakes stamped in opposite corners and then the sentiment.  I used Chocolate Chip ink for the sentiment because I needed something darker so it would show up without taking away from the colors of the trees.

  After punching the mini trees out I mounted them on a Whisper White squares that are paper pierced using the square piercing guide.  Those squares are popped up with dimensionals onto a slightly larger Crumb Cake square.

  Next I decorated each tree with various bits and baubles.  The Old Olive tree is topped with a bit of silver thread from the silver baker's twine and held down with a Cherry Cobbler candy dot.

  The Bermuda Bay tree is decorated with a snowflake from the Frosted Sequins collection.  I topped it with a rhinestone for some sparkle.

  The Coastal Cabana tree has a punched Glimmer Paper heart.  The heart in the owl builder punch was the perfect size for the mini trees.

 Last is the Cherry Cobbler tree that has a large silver sequin from the Frosted Sequins collection.  I colored a small rhinestone with the darkest Old Olive Blendabilities marker and added it to the top of the sequin.

  I can't wait to see what you make with these great challenge colors.  Check out the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team samples and then play along!

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Endless Wishes

Ink: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip

Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Silver Glimmer paper (old style)

Accessories: Tree punch, paper piercer & guide, rhinestones, Frosted Sequins, candy dot, Owl punch, silver baker's twine, dimensionals