Pumpkin Line Up - Stampin' Up! Banner Year

   I have gotten the most use out of the Banner Year stamp set this fall and I continue to find new designs to use it on.  My share today is for 2 challenges one is an Autumn/Fall theme at Stampin' Up! Only challenge and the other is a sketch challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches.  I'm trying to get all my Thanksgivng cards ready well before I need to send them out so I thought these 2 challenges together would be perfect!

  At first look this sketch challenge is a simple one with 9 images in a block pattern but it's actually a bit tough to get right if you want things lined up just so.  I pulled out my stamparatus to get my pumpkins lined up just so.  I  moved the plate across one notch each time and changed the ink color for each one then repeating the pattern for the next 2 rows.  I always hold my breath on the last few images because I'm afraid I'll goof up and have to start all over!  This one came out well on the first try.

  The colors are a fun autumn palette and being that the challenge is a clean and simple one I kept the rest of the embellishments to a minimum with only gold embossing for the sentiment and a double length of linen thread for the bow.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Banner Year

Ink: Bumblebee, Cinnamon Cider, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Versamark

Paper: Cinnamon Cider, Very Vanilla

Accessories: gold embossing powder, linen thread

Colorwash Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Forever Fern

   Sympathy cards are never fun to design and I feel like I've been making a lot of them lately (for myself to send out as well as some special orders).  Luckily I've relied on some wonderful challenges to get this one made.  I didn't have to do much other than choose a stamp set!

  My colors come from Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge, and the layout is actually the same for 2 different challenges; Global Design Project and The Paper Players.  Great minds think alike on those Design Teams!

   The Forever Fern leaves are stamped in Versamark on watercolor paper and then heat embossed in white.  I brushed the colors onto the paper with an aquapainter and dried them with my heat tool between each color to prevent the colors from mixing.

  The sentiment from the retired Petite Pairs is embossed in white and cut out with the Stitched Shapes dies and popped on dimensionals over a bit of retired Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon wrapped around the corner. 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Forever Fern, Petite Pairs (retired)

Ink: Versamark, Blackberry Bliss, Night of Navy, Bumblebee 

Paper: Night of Navy, Bumblebee, watercolor paper

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Stitched Shapes dies, white embossing powder, Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon (retired)

Gilded Autumn Thank You - Stampin' Up! Beautiful Autumn

   It's always nice to say thank you so I was busy last week making my monthly customer thank you cards.  The Gilded Autumn DSP is a great starting place and I wanted to show off a lot of it at once so I paired it up with the Rectangular Postage punch.

 My card fits into the Just Add Ink challenge which is a Just Choose Two; sequins, ribbon, metallic foil.  I went with ribbon and Metallic foil.

  I started with a Very Vanilla thick card base.  I used my Stamparatus to stamp the sentiment so it would be in the same place for all 15 cards.  I used Mint Macaron for this layer and after stamping embossed it with the Tasteful Textile embossing folder.  

  I punched out all the different Gilded Autumn DSP patterns with the postage punch and then layered them across the Mint Macaron panel.  I discovered I had an almost full roll of retired Early Espresso seam binding ribbon that worked perfectly across the postage punches.

  Finally, I used the Autumn Punch pack and the Brushed Metallic sheets to punch out the leaves and acorn.  I popped them up with mini dimensionals on the ribbon.

  So there might not be much stamping on this card but with the fun punches and classic foil accents I'm pleased with the final result.  And 15 of these came together very quickly so if you need a design for upcoming Thanksgiving cards it's a good option!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Beautiful Autumn

Ink: Early Espresso

Paper: Very Vanilla thick, Mint Macaron, Gilded Autumn DSP, Brushed Metallic cardstock

Accessories: Tasteful Textile embossing folder, Rectangular Postage punch, Autumn punch pack, dimensionals, seam binding ribbon (retired)

Winter Wreath - Stampin' Up! Snowflake Wishes

   This weekends weather was so wacky I didn't know if I should be getting my swim suits back out or hunkering down at home with long johns and wool sweaters!  Saturday was 80 and sunny and it was hot watching soccer games!  And then along comes Sunday and the temperature drops 30+ degrees and brought in rain and a bit of breeze.  Brrrrrr!  It was unpleasant watching soccer games on Sunday for sure.  It's still cool and damp this morning but luckily there are no soccer games to watch so I can stay inside and be warm!

  My card today combines 2 challenges; the layout is from CAS(e) This Sketch and I hope it's CAS enough for them...I feel like I restrained myself with the snowflakes and accessories but maybe not!  And the gorgeous colors come from the Color Throwdown Challenge.  

  The card base is Crumb Cake, then a layer of Cherry Cobbler and then an embossed layer of Very Vanilla.  The retired Winter Knit embossing folder is a nice cozy texture for winter cards.  I had a strip of 'Tis the Season DSP that was just the right width for the sketch so I used that next.

  To build up my wreath I first cut in Very Vanilla the wreath/medallion die cut from the Painted Labels dies.  The sentiment from Itty Bitty Christmas is stamped in the center with Cherry Cobbler ink.

  I stamped a few snowflakes in Crumb Cake and Cherry cobbler then fussy cut them out and layered them at the bottom of the wreath along with a few Crumb Cake sprigs cut with the Curvy dies.  I popped the Cherry Cobber snowflakes with dimensionals and added adhesive pearls to the centers to all three.   The last detail is a gold twine bow.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snowflake Wishes, Itty Bitty Christmas

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, 'Tis the Season DSP

Accessories: Painted Labels dies, Curvy dies, Winter Knit embossing folder (retired), dimensionals, adhesive pearls, gold twine

Halloween Sampler - Stampin' Up! Festive Post

 Happy Fab Friday Challenge day!  We're back at it again with a great color combination to help you stretch your stamping skills!  And it's a big day for us at Fab Friday; it's our 200th challenge!  Wow!  I've been on the Design Team from the beginning more than 8 years ago and have loved being a part of this talented group!  I hope you'll join in and help us celebrate by sharing your card to our challenge gallery!

  Now don't be intimidated by the 5 colors because really black is a neutral and so easy to incorporate into a card.  I definitely only saw Halloween when I got a look at these colors so that's what I went with.

  I mixed and matched images from the Festive Post and Banner Year stamp sets to make this spooky sampler using our challenge colors.  Each panel is stamped and then punched out with the Rectangular post stamp punch.  For the bat and spider web panels I punched them smaller to fit the space; it's so nice to have a punch that is versatile like that!

  After getting all the panels arranged and popped with dimensionals over the Old World Paper embossed black card front I added some sequins, rhinestones, enamel dots , candy dots (when will I ever finish them??) and black baker's twine.  The October 31 panel is covered with clear Wink of Stella instead of an embellishment as I didn't have any left that matched!

  I can't wait to see what you share in our gallery!  For more inspiration see what the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team created!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Banner Year, Festive Post

Ink: Versamark, Memento Black, Pumpkin Pie, Granny Apple Green, white craft

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Granny Apple Green, Garden Green, Highland Heather

Accessories: Old World Paper embossing folder, Rectangular Postage punch, dimensionals, Shimmer black embossing powder (retired) Wink of Stella, black bakers twine, sequins, rhinestones, enamel dots, candy dots (retired)

Curvy Birthday Bird - Stampin' Up! Quite Curvy

     It's a birthday card that I've got today and I'm going to share it with the SUO Challenge as they've got the birthday theme as their current challenge.  I made this one for one of my aunts birthdays and I thought the garden and bird theme fit her as she has a lovely yard that she works hard on.

  I am having quite a fun time using the new Stampin' Up! Curvy Celebrations suite that will soon be available for customers.  I had tucked this color combination away a while back and thought that it would work for this card.

  I started with a Just Jade card base.  I cut a piece of Whisper White with the Curvy dies and then embossed it with the Greenery embossing folder.  I added a length of black satin ribbon before adhering it to the card front.  

  The flower boughs and bird were stamped in Memento black and colored with Stampin' Blends (colors listed below).  I used the coordinating dies to cut them out and added them with dimensionals to the card front.  

  The sentiment is also stamped in Memento black and a few In Color enamel dots in Just Jade are sprinkled around.

  Not a complicated, detailed design but I love how the colors pop and those curves are a fun addition to my general square and straight layouts!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Quite Curvy

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Just Jade light & dark, Mango Melody light, Daffodil Delight light

Paper: Just Jade, Whisper White

Accessories: Curvy dies, dimensionals, enamel dots, black sating ribbon (retired)

Sweet Mug - Stampin' Up! Welcome to the Team

   I'm playing along with the Festive Friday challenge and their "National Cappuccino Day" theme.  They've got a fun list of elements to incorporate into your project.  I used the hot drinks theme, twine, die cut and brown.

   I was pretty proud of myself for using some retired DSP as well as a retired stamp set.  It's always satisfying for me to know that I have a particular DSP saved in my closet that would be perfect for a challenge theme.  It makes me feel better for hanging onto some retired items!

  I pulled all my colors directly from the retired Coffee Break DSP so the card base is Garden Green and then the layers of DSP.  The Stitched Shape circle is also Garden Green.  I stamped just the steam from the mug at the top.  

  The mug is from the retired set Welcome to the Team which I've hung onto as some of the images and sentiments are good for my husband for work related cards.  Since the mug image has words inside it I used my Early Espresso marker to just color the mug portion and then stamped it onto Whisper White paper.  I used the Balmy Blue Stampin' Blends to color it in and used the color lifter marker to pull up some color for a less uniform look.  Once it was all colored I fussy cut it and popped it on the circle with dimensionals.

  The sentiment strip is made with stamps from the Banner Year set and popped to the side with dimensionals.

  A Garden Green baker's twine bow and some retired candy dots finish the embellishments for this quick card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Banner Year, Welcome to the Team (retired)

Ink: Early Espresso, Garden Green

Blends: Balmy Blue light & dark, color lifter

Paper: Garden Green, Whisper White, Coffee Break DSP (retired)

Accessories: Stitched Shapes dies, dimensionals, Garden Green baker's twine (retired), candy dots (retired)

Rosebreasted Grosbeak Christmas - Stampin' Up! Birds & Branches

   Stampin' Up! has release quite a few stamp sets in the past year or 2 that feature some adorable birds and I have to admit that I can't resist.  Just looking quickly at my current sets I have 6 that have at least one bird image.  Good thing birds work for all seasons!

  When I saw the CAS Christmas Card challenge to use birds there was no way I was passing that up! 

  Since it's a clean and simple challenge I kept my layers and embellishments to a minimum.  The card base is Sahara Sand and before adhering the top layer I tied a bit of Cherry Cobbler bakers twine around the card front.  I found it in my ribbon scrap bin and I think it was left from a tag kit or Paper Pumpkin kit.

  I cut a Stitched Rectangle out of Whisper White and then lightly sponged a rectangle in Pool Party using a homemade stencil.  The branch is stamped across the sponged rectangle in Sahara Sand and the leaves are added in Shaded Spruce.  In my continuing quest to use up the hundreds of retired candy dots I have I added a few to the branches as berries but the more I look at it I think they may look more like apples or cherries instead of winter berries!  Oh well.  

  The sentiment from Itty Bitty Christmas is stamped in Memento black and the bird and bird legs are also stamped in the same ink.  I colored the breast of the bird to look like a Rosebreasted Grosbeak or as close as my poor coloring skills could make it.  Maybe one day I'll see one at my bird feeder but for now this guy on the card will have to do!  Once he was colored I cut him out and popped him on the branch with dimensionals.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Birds & Branches, Itty Bitty Christmas

Ink: Pool Party, Sahara Sand, Shaded Spruce, Memento Black

Blends: Cherry Cobbler light & dark

Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Birds & More dies, Cherry Cobbler baker's twine (retired), candy dots (retired), dimensionals