Rainbow Hearts - Stampin' Up! Country Bouquet

 I have tons of paper to cut for an upcoming class as well as prepping a big personal project that I'll share whenever I get it finished but I wanted to share this quick Valentine's Day card that I made the other day.  I think this one is perfect for a guy without a lot of fussiness and a nice bright color palette.

  This is really easy to put together!  Basic White thick card base, layer of Starry Sky, then a layer of Basic White embossed with the Brick & Mortar embossing folder.

  Then using 5 ink colors I stamped the 2 hearts from the Country Bouquet stamp set and added them to the card front with dimensionals in a circle.  The smaller hearts were added with a dab of glue and then the sentiment is stamped in Memento Black and added with more dimensionals.

  So easy!  You could swap out the ink colors for 5 pastels or all shades of pinks, favorite team colors; lots of possibilities.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Country Bouquet

Ink: Sweet Sorbet, Mango Melody, Mint Macaron, Balmy Blue, Starry Sky, Memento Black

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Starry Sky

Accessories: Brick & Mortar embossing folder, Country Bouquet punch, dimensionals

Wow Geese - Stampin' Up! Silly Goose

   After several attempts to create a card for the current Global Design Project sketch I finally came up with a design that stuck to the layout.  A few others that I tried just ended up morphing into something not terribly close. 

  I ended up with a Well done! Congrats! Wow! kind of card by combining the fist bump geese from the Silly Goose set with the "wow" sentiment from Conversation Bubbles set.  Pulled the bright colors straight from the strip of Dandy Designs DSP.

  

  The geese are stamped in Memento Black, colored in with Blends markers and then fussy cut.  I popped them on dimensionals onto a Stitched Rectangle.  I had drew the little fist bump lines as the ones made with the stamp were trimmed off during fussy cutting for a cleaner edge.

  

  The sentiment is embossed in white on Fresh Freesia card stock then cut with the coordinating die.  I cut a Coastal Cabana banner and trimmed it down a bit to better fit the word bubbles.

  I found some very old Pool Party baker's twine (remember when it used to come on the cardboard?? thats how old it is!!) and added a large bow underneath the sentiment.

  I stamped 2 small stars in Coastal Cabana and then added a few Opaque Adhesive-backed gems to finish the details on this card.

  I'm glad I was patient and kept trying this sketch even though the first few tries weren't so hot!  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Silly Goose, Conversation Bubbles

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Memento Black, Versamark

Blends: Daffodil Delight dark, Gray Granite light

Paper: Granny Apple Green, Basic White, Fresh Freesia, Coastal Cabana, Dandy Designs DSP

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Conversation Bubbles dies, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, baker's twine, white embossing powder, Opaque Adhesive-Backed Gems

Zesty Birthday - Stampin' Up! Sweet Citrus

  I made a bright birthday card today to play along with the TGIF Challenge.  I haven't used the Sweet Citrus bundle much and wanted to get a few more samples made to show my local stampers next week at class.  I love this color combo which I had jotted down in my notebook a few months back.  It seems like a great set of colors to shake up the dreary winter days!

  I first embossed a piece of Coastal Cabana with the Sweet Citrus hybrid embossing folder and added it to my card front.  Next comes a banner made from a piece of Regency Park DSP.  The label is made with the Sentimental Park dies and I stamped the sentiment in Night of Navy.

  The lemons (in this instance) are 2 step stamps and the peels are stamped in Daffodil Delight full strength ink.  The centers are stamped next in stamped off once Daffodil Delight ink.  I lined the images up on the hybrid embossing folder with the die so that I could cut and emboss the lemons at the same time.

  Next, I stamped the leaves in Parakeet Party and then added everything to the card front with dimensionals.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sweet Citrus

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy, Parakeet Party

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Basic White, Regency Park DSP

Accessories: Sweet Citrus Hybrid Embossing folder/dies, dimensionals, Sentimental Park dies

Love a la Mode - Stampin' Up! Alphabet A La Mode Dies

   I've finished all my boring Monday chores so now it's time to 'work' in the stamp room!  My card today actually has no stamping on it!  Hard to believe but yes, you can make a card without ink or stamps!  I don't do it very often but my card today is an example of letting punches, dies and paper do the work!

  I used the Color Hues challenge to create this love themed card.  I love the red and pink combo and it's the perfect time of year for those sweet colors in preparation for Valentine's day.

  I started with a Sweet Sorbet base topped with a piece of Basic White panel embossed with the retired Subtle embossing folder. Using the Heart Punch pack I punched 2 hearts from Country Floral Lane DSP and one from Country Gingham DSP and then backed them with either a Sweet Sorbet or Blushing Bride scalloped heart.  

  Once i had the hearts adhered to my card front I went to work with the Alphabet a la Mode dies which I hadn't used yet even though I received them way back in the beginning of December.  I really like the style of these dies as they are tall but skinny so you can still fit a good amount on a regular A2 card so you can spell quite a few things.  

  So I did learn a few things using these dies for the first time which will make it easier for me (and maybe you!) in the future.  First, they are very skinny so getting them out of the die if they stick you need to be careful not to rip them.  Definitely use your die brush or a toothpick/paper piercer to help you out.  

  Second, I used Basic White for my letters and I think the next time I will use Basic White thick just to have them be a little bit sturdier.  

  Third, since I wanted the letters to stand out from the hearts I backed the die cut letters with a second letter die cut with the the dimensional adhesive sheets.  In the past it hasn't been a problem to line up letters or other shapes onto the adhesive sheet die cuts.  Let me tell you, with these super skinny letters I had quite the time and had to do a bit of trimming around the edges as I wasn't quite as exact as I'd like to be.  So next time I'll suck it up and attach my card stock to the dimensional adhesive sheet first and then just cut with the dies so the letters come out with the dimensional piece already attached.  I think wasting a bit of the dimensional sheet will be worth the aggravation of trying to line up the letters.

  After I lined my letters up and adhered them I cut a few hearts out of red glimmer paper using the Conversation Bubbles dies and added those to the card front.

  I think this card will end up being for one of my boys for Valentine's day so I didn't want to add any ribbon or extra fluff because that might be seen by a teen boy as sappy or some such thing lol! So a bit clean and simple is where it ended up.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: none

Ink: none

Paper: Sweet Sorbet, Basic White, Country Floral Lane DSP, Country Gingham DSP, Blushing Bride, Red Glimmer paper

Accessories: Alphabet a la Mode dies, Conversation Bubbles dies, Heart Punch pack, dimensional adhesive sheets, Subtle embossing folder (retired)

Petal Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Petal Park

   I realized the other day that my stash of sympathy cards was getting pretty skimpy so I had that in the back of my mind when I saw the colors over at The Color Throwdown.  At first I thought they would be great colors for a guy card and they are, don't get me wrong, but to make it a true challenge I decided to go with a floral sympathy card instead.  What do you think?

  I think they background ended up being a bit busier than I had planned so I might have to re-create this one in the future and spread the background to have more white space.

  I started with a Night of Navy base then using a piece of Basic White I stamped the leaves in Basic Gray then filled them in with the 2 step stamp in Smoky Slate.  Then I stamped the open flower images in Basic Gray and filled them in with stamped off once Night of Navy ink.  Using the Petal Park Builder punch I punched out my flowers and adhered them to the panel.  I trimmed off the ones that were hanging off the edges and then added it to the card base.

  Using the coordinating Sentimental Park dies I cut one label in Night of Navy and topped it with another cut out of Basic White and stamped with the sentiment.

  I looped two layers of the Night of Navy Bordered ribbon to the side of the label and then added one of the punched flowers.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Petal Park, Inspired Thoughts

Ink: Basic Gray, Night of Navy, Smoky Slate

Paper: Night of Navy, Basic White

Accessories: Sentimental Park dies, Night of Navy Bordered ribbon, dimensionals, Petal Park Builder punch

Guacamole Birthday - Stampin' Up! Taco Fiesta

  I used the fantastic clean and simple sketch over at CAS Colours & Sketches to make this fun birthday card!  The Taco Fiesta set continues to delight me!

   I loved the sketch with 3 images down at the bottom of the card front and I thought that the smaller images in the Taco Fiesta set would be perfect.  As it is a clean and simple challenge I went with a limited color palette and didn't add any ribbon or baker's twine....which was hard but I resisted lol!

  The base is Basic White thick cardstock, then I added a strip of the 2022-2024 In Color DSP in a Parakeet Party polka dot pattern.  

  The images are all stamped in Memento black and then colored in with Stampin' Blends markers then cut out with a Stylish Shapes die circle.  I popped the images on dimensionals onto the DSP.  

  For the tortilla chips I stamped them on a small piece of scrap paper then colored and fussy cut them.  I added them to edge of the guacamole bowl with the top on popped on trimmed dimensional.

  Finally the sentiment was added while holding my breath that I wouldn't goof up right at the end.  The ink is a little darker on one end of the sentiment but that can't be changed now!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Taco Fiesta

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Basic Black light & dark, SU400, Old Olive light, Parakeet Party light & dark, So Saffron dark, Daffodil Delight light

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, 2022-2024 In Color DSP

Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals

Purple Park - Stampin' Up! Sentimental Park

   I'm squeaking in just under the wire for the Paper Players challenge today with these fun colors.  I love purple but definitely think it can be hard to create with sometimes.  And this color challenge has 2 different shades of purple!  I like the end result though and it's a good use of the Sentimental Park bundle.  I just love those floral labels!

  The Tea Boutique DSP is the first stop for creating a nice background for the stamping elements.  I used 2 patterns from this pack for my card front.  I wrapped 2 lengths of crinkle seam binding ribbon around the panels before adhering them to the card base.

  I stamped the flower outline in Orchid Oasis and then filled it in with Highland Heather.  The stem is stamped in Parakeet Party and then filled in with the same color but stamped off once.  I die cut the stem, flowers and 2 of the label shapes from Sentimental Park dies.  I layered the plain label over the detailed floral one and then popped the flower pieces on dimensionals.

  The sentiment is from Flowering Tulips and is embossed in white onto Orchid Oasis cardstock and then die cut with a Stylish Shapes circle die.  I popped that up on dimensionals as well and then added a little cluster of flowers stamped in the same colors as the larger flower.  This little flower cluster is found in the coordinating set Petal Park.  I got the whole Regency Park Suite and it is well worth it!  See it all on pages 30-33 in the mini catalog.

  The final details for this card are the mini adhesive pearls in the center of the flowers and then a double fork bow in crinkled seam binding ribbon to the side of the label.

  Thanks to the Paper Players DT for these fun colors to use on these dreary winter days!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sentimental Park, Petal Park, Flowering Tulips

Ink: Orchid Oasis, Highland Heather, Parakeet Party

Paper: Tea Boutique DSP, Basic White, Orchid Oasis

Accessories: Sentimental Park dies, Stylish Shapes dies, crinkled seam binding ribbon, adhesive pearls, white embossing powder, dimensionals

Winged Birthday Wishes - Stampin' Up! Adorable Owls

   My card today was made to play along with the Seize the Birthday challenge to use "Winged Things" on a birthday card.  I couldn't resist making another card with the Adorable Owls set.  You can get this set free with a $50 purchase (before tax/shipping) during Sale-a-Bration.  Check out my online store to see this set as well as other rewards you can earn!  

  I paired the owl with the new Conversation Bubble dies for a fun card for all ages.

  The Tahitian Tide card base is a great background for other bold colors.  I used a piece of the retired All Together DSP (which is in the clearance rack currently for $4.60!!  That's a bargain for sure!) for a nice bold contrast to the bright colors.  I topped that with a Stitched Rectangle in Basic White on which to add the rest of my elements.

  I stamped the owl in Soft Suede and colored him/her in with Stampin' Blends markers then fussy cut it.  I popped it on the edge of the Basic White panel then added die cut stars in Daffodil Delight, Tahitian Tide and Sweet Sorbet.  The little stars die is in the Conversation Bubbles die set and is perfect for a little something extra.

  The sentiment from Best Day stamp set is stamped in Memento Black and the word bubble frame in Basic Black cut with the new Conversation Bubble dies is popped on dimensionals around it. The last touch is a tiny baker's twine bow on one of the lower stars.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Adorable Owls (SAB), Best Day

Ink: Soft Suede, Memento Black

Blends: SU500, Ivory, Daffodil Delight dark, Tahitian Tide dark

Paper: Tahitian Tide, Basic White, Basic Black, All Together DSP (retired), Daffodil Delight, Sweet Sorbet

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Conversation Bubbles dies, dimensionals, baker's twine