Little Christmas Tree - Stampin' Up! Perfectly Plaid - Fab Friday 175

  Wow!  Fab Friday has reached challenge number 175!  I'm a bit proud to say that I've been on the design team since challenge number 1.  I hope we are continuing to inspire you with your stamping projects and stretching those creative muscles every other week.  I know that I am still having fun and can't wait to see what the next milestone will be!

  This time we have a sketch to try.  I had fun with this one!  It's a nice layout for putting together some smaller elements to create a focal point on a card.

 

  I had a lot of products I wanted to try to incorporate onto this card and I think I was pretty successful.  We just won't talk about all the card parts that are laying unused on my stamp desk!

 

  I started with a Coastal Cabana card base and then a layer of Whisper White embossed with the Winter Knit embossing folder.  Next is a subtle pattern in Coastal Cabana from the Let it Snow DSP.

  The tree is from the Perfectly Plaid stamp set and is embossed with white onto Pear Pizzazz cardstock.  It's punched out with the Pine Tree punch and then adhered to a Mercury Glass acetate circle.  It looks a bit like a snow globe doesn't it?  The Mercury Glass acetate is really cool and gives a great vintage vibe to a card.  Use it little bit as an accent or use a large piece to add that WOW factor.

  The sentiment from the same set is stamped in Pear Pizzazz and punched with the Tailored Tag punch.

  And for the final touch; some rhinestones colored with Stampin' Blends to decorate the sentiment and the tree top.  There isn't a Coastal Cabana Stampin' Blends so I used Bermuda Bay which is great match. 

  I hope you'll find some stamping inspiration in this challenge as well as in the other samples from the Fab Friday Design Team.  Please play along!  We'd love to see your card in the gallery.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Perfectly Plaid

Ink: Versamark, Pear Pizzazz

Blends: Bermuda Bay dark

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Mercury Glass acetate, Let it Snow DSP

Accessories: Winter Knit embossing folder, white embossing powder, Layering Circles dies, rhinestones, dimensionals

Purple Christmas - Stampin' Up! So Many Stars

  I've put together a few of my favorite things for today's card.  Stars and purple.  I've long had thing for stars and purple is a favorite color.  I even have a whole Christmas tree decorated in only star ornaments.  Stars and Christmas are always a safe bet in my book.  Add in purple and it's a home run!

    I loosely used the current sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch challenge and probably have more stars than absolutely necessary but I had fun with it!  And I had to set the sentiment over to the side so as not to cover up most of the largest star (and my coloring!).

  The card base is Smoky Slate with a line of stars stamp diagonally in Smoky Slate ink.  I used Purple Posy and Highland Heather as my purples and cut a few stars in those colors, did a bit of silver embossing as well as cut a few stars with the new Mercury Glass Designer Acetate.

  The large center star is colored with Purple Posy Stampin' Blends and I added a small rhinestone to the center before popping it up with dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped in black with a light layer of Highland Heather stamped off mini stars in the background and cut out with the Stitched Shapes dies.

  I found some little star sequins left from a long retired kit and added a few to the card as well.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: So Many Stars

Ink: Smoky Slate, Highland Heather, black

Blends: Purple Posy light and dark

Paper: Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Highland Heather, Purple Posy, Mercury Glass Acetate

Accessories: Stitched Stars dies, silver embossing powder, Stitched Shapes dies, dimensionals, star sequins (retired)

Fall Colors - Stampin' Up! Gather Together

I've seen a few maple trees here and there that are changing color but overall it's still very green in our area.  My card today uses some of those lovely fall colors I hope to see soon.

  When I was looking at my stamp sets I noticed that the daisy from my long neglected Daisy Delight stamp set and the maple leaf from Gather Together were very much the same style and would work well together on a card.

  The stampers over at Stampin' Up! Only Challenges have a "coloring" challenge going on right now so I thought it would be a good mix with these stamp sets to put my Stampin' Blends to work.

  I stamped 4 daisies and colored them in with various Stampin' Blends and then layered them for a more full flower.  The leaf is also colored with Blends. 

  The colored elements are all layered on the edge of a piece of Come to Gather DSP which is adhered to an Early Espresso card base.

  The birthday sentiment is a combo of a stamp from the Well Said set and a die cut from the coordinating Well Written die set.   I added a long retired candy dot in Cajun Craze to anchor the birthday strip.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Daisy Delight, Gather Together, Well Said

Ink: Memento Black, Early Espresso

Blends: Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Bronze, Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody

Paper: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Whisper White, Come to Gather DSP

Accessories: daisy punch, Gathered Leaves dies, Well Written dies, dimensionals, candy dot (retired)

Snowman Love - Stampin' Up! Snowman Season

  I'm starting to get rolling on my Christmas cards and the Snowman Season stamp set continues to offer a lot of inspiration.

  I used the current (for a few more hours) Freshly Made Sketches challenge for the layout.  It's not quite as tight as the sketch but I was definitely inspired by it.  I was set on having these snowflakes so I had to stretch the cluster of the sketch a bit.

  The card base is Whisper White thick, then a layer of Let it Snow Specialty DSP backed by a layer of Basic Black.

  The snow man and hat are stamped in Memento Black and then I added a little bit of color with Stampin' Blends.

  The snowflakes are cut with the the Seasonal Layers dies.  This set has been around for a while and might be overlooked for newer products but it has a wonderful mix of dies for all seasons.  The snowflakes are especially pretty and work well with other winter themed stamp sets.  I used the retired white flocked paper that I still had quite a bit leftover.  I think it sold out so fast I didn't get to use it in class.   Might want to bring that one back Stampin' Up!!

  The sentiment is stamped and embossed on Shaded Spruce with the Shimmer White embossing powder.  My pup Aggie snuffled it right before I took the photo so the smudge on the sentiment banner is from that.  I guess it's some extra love for whomever receives this card!

  I'm off to get my to do list checked off so I can stamp some more!  Have a great Monday!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snowman Season

Ink: Memento Black, Versamark

Blends: Pool Party light, Petal Pink light, Pumpkin Pie dark, Basic Black light & dark, Real Red dark, Shaded Spruce dark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Basic Black, Let it Snow DSP, Shaded Spruce, white flocked paper (retired)

Accessories: Shimmer white embossing powder, Seasonal Layers dies, dimensionals

Hooray for Love - Stampin' Up! Sip Sip Hooray

 Happy Friday!  I hope you have lots of fun plans for the weekend!  I have some plans for stamping of course but also lots of time to relax and enjoy some nice fall weather.

  We were invited to an upcoming wedding and unfortunately it conflicts with another event so we aren't able to attend but I wanted to get a card made so we can send it to the happy couple after the big event.  I don't have to make very many wedding cards these days so it's fun to play around with some new stamps to see what I can come up with.

  I originally purchased the Sip Sip Hooray set as more of a Happy New Year set but it very much works for weddings and engagements as well.

  While this design is very much a clean card it's not exactly simple.  I'm actually surprised I pulled it off in one take not having to redo any of the elements.  I used a now closed Cas(e) This Sketch challenge and the current Global Design Project challenge is for a wedding or anniversary theme so I can definitely enter that one.

  This one starts with a Basic Black card base then a layer of the long retired Brushed Silver cardstock which I miss greatly and have been hoarding for years with the hope of Stampin' Up! bringing it back.  Next is a layer of Whisper White die cut with the Stitched Rectangles dies.

  I embossed 5 champagne flutes in silver, stamped some champagne in So Saffron and then added some of the new Shimmery Crystal Effects to each glass.  While the Crystal Effects was still wet I sprinkled a little bit of the Ice Stampin' Glitter over it for a bit more sparkle.  It did take a while for the CE to dry as I put it on pretty thick so just be careful that it's really dry before handling it too much.

  For the sentiment I cut out 3 layers for each element with the Well Written dies and used my fine tip glue pen to adhere them to make for a thicker more sturdy die cut.  After the glasses were dry I added the sentiment and finished off the 'bride' with a rhinetsone.

  I'm pretty happy with how this card turned out to be honest.  Sometimes what I envision doesn't come out at all.  This one is spot on to my vision!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sip Sip Hooray

Ink: Versamark, So Saffron

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Brushed Silver (retired)

Accessories: Well Written dies, Stitched Rectangle dies, dimensionals, silver embossing powder, Shimmery Crystal Effects, Ice Stampin' Glitter, rhinestone

Sweet Snow Baby - Stampin' Up! Snowman Season

  The weather was cool and crisp this morning so I took Aggie for a walk around the neighborhood and she did the whole thing without dragging.  I think she's definitely a cool weather exercise kind of pup.  The least bit of heat or humidity she takes 10 steps and seems like she'll pass out. We need to build up her stamina!

  While snow is a long way away for us here in Central Virginia I'm sharing this sweet little Christmas card today.

  I layered up some Shaded Spruce and Real Red to start the card off.  Then I embossed another layer of Shaded Spruce with the Winter Knit embossing folder.  It's a fun texture perfect for these winter themed cards.  It kind of makes me want to bust out my sweaters!

  Next I added a strip of Let it Snow specialty DSP pulling in my 2 main colors.  Next I stamped the cutest little snow baby in Smoky Slate onto Whisper White and punched with my tag punch.  I lightly colored in the little guy/girl with my Sampin' Blends. 

  I added some Snowfall Accents puff paint as well as some sequins to highlight the snow falling then I used a strand of Real Red curly ribbon to tie off the tag.  I popped it up with dimensionals. 

  The sentiment from Itty Bitty Christmas is stamped in Shaded Spruce and I added a rhinestone and a real red rhinestone.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snowman Season, Itty Bitty Christmas

Ink: Smoky Slate, Shaded Spruce

Blends: Pool Party light, Pumpkin Pie light, Flirty Flamingo light, Shaded Spruce dark

Paper: Shaded Spruce, Real Red, Whisper White, Let it Snow DSP

Accessories: tag punch, Snowfall Accents puff paint, Winter Knit embossing folder, sequins (retired), Real Red curly ribbon, red rhinestones, Stitched Shapes dies, dimensionals

Pumpkin Cluster - Stampin' Up! Gather Together

  What a difference a week makes!  It was just 90 degrees and so dry and today it is rainy and 60.  It would be nice for a bit of in between to ease into the fall weather.  But we do need the rain so I can get behind that and besides it's a great reason to stay inside and stamp today!

  Just another fall card to share today using the Gather Together stamp set.  I think it was for a color challenge a week or two back but of course I didn't get to it in time.  I pulled some pieces from my card parts pile to put this one together.

  This color combination is a nice take for a fall card but I'm not sure I pulled it off.  I do really like the wood background paper from the Come to Gather DSP. 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Gather Together

Ink: Pretty Peacock, Crumb Cake, Versamark

Paper: Terracotta Tile, Grapefruit Grove, Mint Macaron, Pretty Peacock, watercolor paper, Come to Gather DSP

Accessories: Gathered Leaves dies, linen twine, dimensionals, copper embossing powder, Seasonal Layers

Perfect Pumpkin - Stampin' Up! Gather Together

Did you pick out the perfect pumpkin this weekend?  Just right to carve that scary face on or just right for those front porch fall decorations?  I think this little pumpkin is just the cutest for a card!

  Sometimes with smaller images it can be hard to design a card where they don't get lost if you're just trying to use it on its own.  I like to build up some layers behind the smaller images so they stand out a bit as well as not to have too much else going on in the background.

 
This card has a Pretty Peacock card base and the front panel is a piece of the Come to Gather DSP in a nice checked pattern.

  I used a bit of burlap trim across the card front and then built up my layers from there.  A Very Vanilla Everyday Label is a nice base for my perfect little pumpkin colored in with Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive Stampin' Blends.  I cut a few little slivers of Old Olive and Pear Pizzazz cardstock for some vines then curled them a bit and adhered them behind the pumpkin which is popped on dimensionals. 

  After finishing with the above things the card still looked a bit bare so I tied a bit of lace trim on a long ago retired vintage trinket safety pin and attached that through the burlap.  Done!  I left off a sentiment on the inside and outside so I could add it later depending on the occasions.  Might end up being a Thanksgiving card!

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Come to Gather

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Pumpkin Pie light and dark, Old Olive light and dark

Paper: Pretty Peacock, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Come to Gather DSP, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz

Accessories: Burlap ribbon, Everyday Label punch, Gathered Leaves dies, dimensionals, scalloped lace trim, vintage trinket safety pin (retired)