Perennial Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Perennial Petals Dies

   Sympathy cards are never the kind of card that I want to make so I was glad to have a bit of help from a challenge to get one made.  The creative ideas almost always fly right out of the window when I have to make a sympathy card but the Tic Tac Toe Challenge saved the day with their challenge board this week.

  My card used the center-down column which has ribbon/twine, CAS, and tag as the elements to incorporate on the card.

  I started this one with a Soft Sea Foam base then another layer of the same color embossed with the Old World Paper embossing folder.  I added a square vellum doily next.  It doesn't show well in the photo but in real life it's a nice delicate detail in the back.

  I dug through my ribbon scraps to see if anything worked and I came across this strip of what I think is Pear Pizzazz ribbon and some twine left from a years ago banner kit.  Both were just right; I added the ribbon around the middle and the twine was used at the top of the Crumb Cake tag.

  The Perennial Petals dies have this nice sized leaf sprig so I cut 2 of them.  The outline is Pear Pizzazz and then the inside is Soft Sea Foam.  I glued the outline to the tag and then glued the lighter color to the open leaf spaces.

  The sentiment is from the retired Petite Pairs set and is stamped in Pear Pizzazz and then cut out with the Tasteful Label dies and popped up with dimensionals.  The last thing added is a few small adhesive pearls.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Petite Pairs (retired)

Ink: Pear Pizzazz

Paper: Soft Sea Foam, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White

Accessories: Tag punch, Perennial Petals dies, Tasteful Label dies, Old World Paper embossing folder, pearls, dimensionals, ribbon (retired), twine (retired)

Hello Word Bubble - Stampin' Up! Snail Dies

    I had some fun with the current Just Add Ink challenge which is a nice layout by making something that didn't have flowers on it!  I liked the sassy feel of the word bubble pattern from the Snail Mail DSP and wanted to try something that didn't use the snails as the main focus of the card.  The 2 overlapping panels in the sketch were a good base for some smaller images.

  I carried the idea of the word bubbles from the background and made my own with the die cut and a bunch of 'hello' stamps from my current sets.  They are popped with dimensionals. The sets are listed below from top to bottom.

  The rectangle panels are Blushing Bride and Coastal Cabana and cut with the Stitched So Sweetly dies.  I added the stitched details to the centers with the Stitched With Whimsy dies.

  The ink colors are pulled directly from paper.

  Nothing fancy but this one will be sent out soon to say 'hello' to a friend!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

 Stamps: Many Messages, Snailed It, Sweet Strawberry, Many Messages (again), Well Said

Ink: Blushing Bride, Coastal Cabana, Real Red

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Coastal Cabana

Accessories: Stitched So Sweetly dies, Stitched With Whimsy dies, Snail dies, dimensionals

Blue Bird Birthday - Stampin Up! Birds & More Dies - The Paper Players 525

    Gosh we're already back to Sunday!  This past week went quickly didn't it?  Let's start the week off on the right foot with some stamping!  The Paper Players are back with a fun sketch challenge from Joanne.  This was a fun layout to work with (twice)!

  This card is an example of you never know when or where you'll get some inspiration.  Once I started working on this card I realized that a card I made last week shared some similar characteristics!  I must have been subconsciously using this sketch for this card here because I didn't even realize they were so similar until I took a closer look at the challenge icon and started work on this card!  I think I need to pay more attention.

  Here is the intended design for this challenge!

  This card starts with a Crumb Cake base that you can't see because of the lovely Old Olive pattern of Ice Cream Corner DSP covering the front.

  The only stamping on today's card is the black embossed sentiment at the top.  I love the big, basic birthday greeting from the Sweet Ice Cream stamp set.  And for those eagle eyes out there I did emboss the Whisper White panel with the Subtle folder before the heat embossing!

  While there is little stamping there is a bit of coloring on the die cut branch.  I used some Blends to give this leafy branch color with Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry and Crumb Cake .

  The bird is die cut in Misty Moonlight and then backed with a piece of Balmy Blue which is all trimmed off just leaving the bits you can see.  I at first left the eye Balmy Blue as well but honestly the bird looked a bit deranged so I cut a black eye with the die and glued it in.  Much better.  Finally this little guy was ready to be adhered with dimensionals.

  The final touch is the sheer striped Blackberry Bliss ribbon tied in a fork bow.

  Thanks to Joanne for her lovely layout that inspired 2 cards even if I didn't realize it at first.  I hope you'll play along with the team at The Paper Players and share your card in the gallery.  For more stamping goodness check out their sites!

Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sweet Ice Cream

Ink: Versamark

Blends: Crumb Cake light, Old Olive light, Rich Razzleberry dark

Paper: Whisper White, Misty Moonlight, Balmy Blue, Basic Black, Ice Cream Corner DSP

Accessories: Birds & More dies, Subtle embossing folder, black embossing powder, dimensionals, Blackberry Bliss striped ribbon

Perennial View - Stampin' Up! Pretty Perennials

   My card for today is inspired by 2 challenges; the layout is from Inspire Create Challenge and the colors and flowers theme is inspired by the Library Challenge which gives us a book cover for inspiration; Room With a View by E.M. Forester.

 

  I had this one looking different in my head but I think the final result is growing on me.  I took my colors directly from the book cover and used the Pretty Perennials stamp set to create the floral background.  I combined the stamping with a few of the coordinating die cuts.  

  Once the background panel was finished I layered 2 lengths of crinkled seam binding ribbon across before adhering my embossed sentiment panel with dimensionals.  A double layered fork bow (I'm obsessed with these lately it seems!) is added to the sentiment circle with a glue dot.

  I can't decide if the Mossy Meadow stitched circle should have been Soft Sea Foam instead...what do you think?

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Pretty Perennials, So Sentimental

Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, Soft Sea Foam, Melon Mambo, Versamark

Blends: Soft Sea Foam light (color in the open leaf sprig)

Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Mossy Meadow, Daffodil Delight

Accessories: Perennial Petals dies, Stitched Shapes dies, white embossing powder, dimensionals, crinkled seam binding ribbon

Snail Mail - Stampin' Up! Snailed It

 I've been busy making Valentine's to donate to the senior homes in our area but I didn't want to forget to make a few for my family.  I mean I can't just give them a pile of Valentine's candy and call it a day! The Snailed It set is perfect for some boy Valentine's...no froo-froo but still super cute.

  I used the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge to get me started on this card.  The colors are pulled right from the Snail Mail DSP.

  My favorite part of this card is the little snail in the mini envelope!  So cute right?  I colored the snail with Blends and then tucked him in the Bermuda Bay envie.  I added a Real Red heart filled in with the still fabulous but retired Dazzling Details.

  The sentiment is from Many Mates and is the perfect size to fit in to this space and an 'I love you' without being and 'I love you' if you know what I mean.  I added a few retired enamel shapes to keep the open space above the envelope for being too boring and because I am determined to use up some of these odds and ends I've had forever!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snailed It, Many Mates

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Real Red, Memento Black

Blends: Bermuda Bay dark, Pool Party light, Daffodil Delight light & dark, Real Red dark

Paper: Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Snail Mail DSP

Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, Snail dies, dimensionals, enamel shapes (retired), Dazzling Details (retired)

Weathered Seashells - Stampin' Up! Friends Are Like Seashells

    The beach is one of my favorite places and I always wish we lived a bit closer to be able to go more often.  I'm an avid beachcomber and look forward to seeing what all I can find every time I step on the sand.  Shells, seaglass, bones, and random human made items are the most common finds.  The Friends Are Like Seashells stamp set is perfect for me and I love all the details on the shell stamps.  They are so lifelike!

  For my card today I went with a bit of a weathered wood and shell combo for a thank you card.  The card base is Gray Granite, with another Gray Granite panel embossed with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder and the edges are lightly sponged.  

  I had a perfect sized scrap of woodgrain from the In Good Taste DSP pack.  I embossed the thank you in gold and then got started on my shells.  The largest shell is stamped in Crumb Cake on Very Vanilla, the sand dollar is also Crumb Cake but stamped off once onto the awesome Pearlescent Specialty paper.  The next shell is stamped in gold in on Very Vanilla.  I cut the shells out and then clustered them to the side with the topmost one popped on dimensionals.  

  I tucked a bit of braided linen trim in and frayed the edges a bit for a weathered look.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Friends Are Like Seashells

Ink: Gray Granite, Crumb Cake, Versamark, Gold

Paper: Gray Granite, Very Vanilla, In Good Taste DSP, Pearlescent Specialty Paper

Accessories: Pinewood Planks embossing folder, gold embossing powder, dimensionals, braided linen trim

Classic Valentine - Stampin' Up! Heartfelt

 Our county social services office recently requested Valentine's day cards be donated so they can be distributed to senior homes and nursing homes for their residents.  Many of these residents haven't been able to have many visitors since the pandemic started and they want to spread some cheer and happiness with the cards.  If a Stampin' Up! demo can't get some Valentine's day cards made for a good cause like this then I don't know what good I am!

  The Tic Tac Toe Challenge has a fun challenge board to get us started with some cards.  My stamping friend LeAnne is hostess for this one and always has lovely samples and of course I wanted to join in!  I ended up with a very basic, classic card using the top row; heart, doily/lace, 'love' sentiment.  I hope my generic sentiment works ok for this.  Since I don't know who will get these cards I wanted to keep it simple and not overly familiar.

 This assortment of supplies really gave me a chance to use some retired items like the Painted with Love DSP from 2018, the doily and ribbon.  And I've always like this combo of colors for Valentine's day.  Add a bit of gold for good measure and it's an easy layout to make multiples.  I got 6 of these out of my scraps without even having to trim the DSP.

  The Heartfelt stamp set is used for the gold embossed heart outline as well as the little Rich Razzleberry stamps on the card base.  The sentiment is from a long retired hostess set that I can't bear to part with; Good Greetings.

  If you're a local RVA stamper and would like to donate cards to this cause I am collecting cards and will deliver a whole batch at once.  If you could drop off the cards to me by Feb. 1 that would be wonderful!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Heartfelt, Good Greetings (retired)

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Versamark

Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Brushed Gold cardstock, Whisper White, Painted with Love DSP (retired)

Accessories: gold embossing powder, Heart punch pack, dimensionals, doily (retired), Rich Razzleberry cotton ribbon (retired)

Baby Girl 'Roo - Stampin' Up! Kangaroo & Company

   I'm joining in the Just Add Ink challenge which has a theme of family this time.  I have a family member who is getting ready to welcome another baby to the family so I wanted to get a head start on having a card ready to celebrate.  This was a perfectly timed challenge for me!

 

  Isn't that little baby 'roo in the mama's pouch just so cute??  This was a fun card to put together to make it a little girlie without being too over the top.

  I started with a Crumb Cake base then a layer of the Sale-a-Bration Paper Blooms DSP.  For a little bit of a different look I offset it to the upper right.  Next I added a strip of Rococo Rose Scalloped ribbon.

  A Night of Navy square anchors the focal panel. For the gingham panel I first used the Stitched with Whimsy dies on it and then trimmed the excess off from around the stitching.

 Next are the kangaroos.  I stamped both in Memento black and then colored them with Crumb Cake Blends.  Both ears are light Rococo Rose and the bellies are Ivory.  After die cutting them I added some little eyelashes to the baby with a Stampin' Write marker as well as a Blushing Bride (close match to the Rococo Rose) baker's twine bow.  They are then popped on dimensionals.

  For the sentiment I stamped off a Rococo Rose flower from Pretty Perennials and then added the sentiment from the Kangaroo & Company set in Night of Navy and die cut it with the Tasteful Labels dies.  It's popped with dimensionals and embellished with a faceted Rococo Rose gem.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Kangaroo & Company, Pretty Perennials 

Ink: Memento Black, Rococo Rose, Night of Navy

Blends: Crumb Cake light & dark, Rococ Rose light, Ivory

Paper: Crumb Cake, Paper Blooms DSP (SAB), 2019-2021 In Color DSP, Night of Navy, Whisper White

Accessories: Kangaroo dies, Stitched with Whimsy dies, Tasteful Label dies, dimensionals, scalloped ribbon, Blushing Bride baker's twine, faceted gem