Fresh Falling Leaves - Stampin' Up! Intricate Leaves Dies

   I was able to quickly finish up all of my stamping 'work' on Wednesday morning so I found myself with some time on my hands before I had to leave the house for an appointment.  I decided to get busy with 2 challenges that had just posted.  I'll be sharing this one on both CAS Colours & Sketches for their color challenge as well as Freshly Made Sketches for their layout.  The CAS Colours & Sketches team has put out a design team call for next year so I thought I would throw my hat in the ring and try out by submitting this card for consideration.  

  I found these colors fun to work with as they are older Stampin' Up! colors and have been around for a while.  I guess they would be some of the veterans in my color collection and deserve some love!

  Following the Freshly Made Sketches layout I started with a Basic White thick card base then embossed a piece of Rich Razzleberry with one of the Greenery embossing folders.

  Next is a layer of Night of Navy then a layer of Basic White embossed with the retired Subtle folder.  Using the 3 challenge colors I cut different leaves with the Intricate Leaves dies as well as one of each from foam sheets.  Once I had my leaves assembled and looking nice and popped up I adhered them to the Basic White panel.  

  I embossed the 'hello' from the Beauty of Friendship set and trimmed it and popped it up with dimensionals.  I added a length of Night of Navy twine to help anchor the smaller sentiment as well as adding a few Rich Razzleberry sequins around it.  The whole leaf panel is then popped on dimensionals on the card front.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Beauty of Friendship

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Night of Navy, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive

Accessories: Intricate Leaves dies, dimensional sheets, white embossing powder, Subtle embossing folder (retired), Greenery embossing folder, baker's twine, sequins

24 Hour Only Stamp Sale - Wednesday October 20

 

  All cling stamps in the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog (except for host stamps) will be 15% off!!!  Check those wish lists and order on Wednesday.  All sale stamps will be listed in the online store under 'Stamp Sale' for easy browsing.

  Use my monthly Host Code: C4NMB3J9 to be entered into the door prize drawing for a pack of the Gingerbread & Peppermint DSP.  Each $25 spent (before tax/shipping) gets you one entry.

 

Autumn Wreath - Stampin' Up! Sparkle of the Season

   I've been busy designing projects for my next class and I realized I haven't finished sharing all the projects we did last month!  I have one left and as it's seasonal I should probably get it shared before it's too late!

  I love the look of this somewhat neutral and soft fall card.  I wanted to show off some Sale-a-Bration products as well as the Sparkle of the Season bundle. Unfortunately by the time class rolled around the Be Dazzling paper was already sold out but a few of my customers were able to snag it before it was gone.  It was definitely it hit and fingers crossed that Stampin' Up! offers it again in the future.  I hope you got your favorites!

  This card also has a piece of the Peaceful Prints DSP which was also a Sale-a-Bration choice.  I love this birch wood pattern since it isn't overtly Christmas and can be used on all kinds of cards.

  The wreath is mostly die cutting with 2 layers of the wreath stacked and then the stamped leaves and pine cones along with the sentiment.  The pumpkins are cut from Pale Papaya cardstock and lightly inked along the edges with the same color ink using a blending brush. A bit of Soft Succulent open weave ribbon is tucked under the cluster for some added softness.

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sparkle of the Season

Ink: Soft Succulent, Crumb Cake, Pale Papaya

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White, Pale Papaya, Be Dazzling paper (SAB), Peaceful Prints DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Seasonal Swirl dies, dimensionals, open weave ribbon,

Big Birthday Wish - Stampin' Up! Party Puffins - Paper Players 563

   It just so happened that my specific card needs coincided with the newest Paper Players Challenge this week!  Jaydee has given us the fun challenge of a Clean and Simple birthday card!  I hope you'll be inspired by this new challenge this week and come play along with us!

 

  I needed a special birthday card for one of my childhood soccer coaches who was having a milestone birthday.  He was an enthusiastic coach who always believed in us and who showed up season after season in all sorts of weather to continue to teach 20 girls not only the fundamentals of the game but also how to be a team.  Happy birthday Mr. G!

   I do have some layers and bit of texture but I think the open space and limited color palette (our team always wore blue so I had to stick with the theme!) definitely put this card in the clean and simple category.  Nothing crazy here, no fancy techniques just some mixing and matching of stamp sets and a tiny bit of ink blending behind the sentiment.

  Check out the Paper Players Design Team for more inspiration!

Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Party Puffins, Biggest Wish, For the Win (retired)

Ink: Versamark, Memento Black, Misty Moonlight, Balmy Blue

Blends: Daffodil Delight dark, Pumpkin Pie dark

Paper: Basic White, Misty Moonlight

Accessories: black embossing powder, dimensionals, Stitched Rectangle dies, Subtle embossing folder (retired), black bakers twine, rhinestones, candy dots (retired), enamel dots (retired)

Fresh Christmas - Stampin' Up! Christmas Season

   I haven't had much time to play around with challenges lately but when I saw the CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge newest inspiration sketch I just had to try my hand at it.  It was a challenge for sure; it took me a while to get just the right balance of elements as well as colors for this clean and simple challenge.

 

  I'm trying to jump start some holiday card making with this one!  That fun angle really gives a unique look doesn't it?  I started with a Fresh Freesia base and then embossed another panel of the same with the retired Subtle embossing folder for my background.  I used my somewhat neglected Basic Borders dies to cut the angle out of Basic White cardstock.  I like the subtle accents of the stitch marks along the edge.

  The snowflakes are cut with the So Many Snowflakes dies out of the leftover piece from the Wonderful Snowflakes accents (in the July-Dec. catalog page 25) after using up all the snowflakes.  There's just enough room in the center of the panel to cut a few small elements and 2 of the snowflake dies fit perfectly!  The iridescent look is just right for a CAS design.

  The stamping is done with the Christmas Season stamp set and I stamped the holly leaves in Soft Sea Foam and the berries in Fresh Freesia.  Once I cut them out I adhered them with dimensionals.  The 'merry' is from the Christmas to Remember stamp set and is also stamped in Fresh Freesia.  I just hand trimmed it down to size and also popped it on dimensionals.  And while I wanted to add some more greenery and maybe even a bow, cooler heads prevailed and reminded me of the challenge guidelines and so I just added a few In Color rhinestones to finish off this clean and simple Christmas card.

   Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Christmas Season, Christmas to Remember

Ink: Fresh Freesia, Soft Sea Foam

Paper: Fresh Freesia, Basic White, scraps from the Wonderful Snowflake accent sheets

Accessories: So Many Snowflakes dies, Basic Borders dies, Seasonal Labels dies, In Color rhinestones, dimensionals, Subtle embossing folder (retired)

Pinecone Hello - Stampin' Up! Christmas Season Bundle - VIDEO

 I'm back with another video today.  This time I'm using the Christmas Season bundle to make a non-Christmas card.  It's nice to see some ways to use a Christmas set in other ways to get a bit more use out of.  Check out the video below to see how to put this one together.

   Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Christmas Season, Biggest Wish

Ink: Soft Suede, Blackberry Bliss, Soft Succulent

Paper: Soft Succulent, Very Vanilla, Cork Specialty paper, Harvest Meadow DSP

Accessories: Seasonal Labels dies, scalloped lace trim, dimensionals, adhesive pearls

'Tis the Season Wreath - Stampin' Up! Christmas Season

   It must be wreath stamping season!  When I checked my 'cards to upload' file almost all of them are wreath cards!  And my card yesterday had a wreath too.  I hope you aren't a wreath hater lol!  I might need to reign it in in the coming week or you'll think I'm a one trick pony!  Hopefully they are all different enough that you'll find some kind of inspiration from each one.

  Today it's a Christmas wreath that we made at my last class.  The Christmas Season stamp set in the July-Dec. mini catalog is a great set that has lovely seasonal foliage and coordinating dies. This card only uses one little die but it's nice to have some examples of just using the stamps on their own.

  This one starts with a Soft Sea Foam base which I used one of the Adorning Designs masks to lightly blend some Soft Sea Foam ink on the background.

  The wreath panel starts with a piece of Basic White.  I used my retired 1.25" circle punch (but you can use any size punch or circle die to get the same effect) to cut a mask out of scrap paper.  I used some re-positional adhesive to stick it to the center of the Basic White. 

  Now comes the stamping all around the mask with the different stamps and colors.  I did 4 of each element in (mostly) equal spacing around the circle (colors listed below). Once my wreath was filled in to my liking I removed the mask and put the rest of the card together.

  Using some narrow strips of Evening Evergreen I used my fingernail to distress one edge on each strip to give a bit of texture and layered it behind the wreath layer.  This is a quick way to add some interest and texture without going all out, it also is a great way to use some narrow strips of card stock and jazz them up a bit.

  The sentiment is stamped in Evening Evergreen and then die cut.  It's popped on dimensionals over a length of Real Red Mini Ruffled ribbon.  A few red jewels are the final touch to this seasonal beauty!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Christmas Season, Christmas to Remember

Ink: Real Red, Evening Evergreen, Garden Green, Soft Sea Foam

Paper: Soft Sea Foam, Basic White, Evening Evergreen

Accessories: Seasonal Labels dies, circle punch, red jewels, mini ruffled ribbon, dimensionals

Gorgeous Wreath - Stampin' Up! Gorgeous Leaves - Paper Players 562

   It's Sunday again and you know what that means?  It's a new Paper Players challenge!  Ann Marie has given us a color palette to work with this week.  We've got Pumpkin Pie, Pale Papaya, Early Espresso and a 4th color of your choice!

  I have to confess I struggled a bit to get this one started.  I liked the colors but none of my stamps sets seemed to be calling out to be used!  After a few stops and starts I ended up combining some elements from the Gorgeous Leaves stamp set and the Sparkle of the Season bundle.

  I added Crumb Cake as my 4th colors and embossed it with the Brick & Mortar embossing folder.  I brushed a bit of Crumb Cake ink onto the panel for a little detail.

  The two wreaths are cut out of Early Espresso and layered.  The leaves are inked in Pale Papaya with some Pumpkin Pie sponged on with a sponge dauber.  After cutting them out the leaves are layered around the wreath and then the whole wreath is popped on dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped on a strip of Crumb Cake and then I added a few retired candy dots for some extra detail.  For another detail I added a knot of twine and retired Early Espresso seam binding ribbon.  It's hard to see but I covered each little leaf on the wreath with a light layer of Wink of Stella for a bit of shine.

  I figure that this will be a good Thanksgiving card with these pretty fall colors.

  I can't wait to see the wonderful ideas you come up with for these colors.  Be sure to share them in the challenge gallery.  Also take a look at the Design Team projects and give them some love!

Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

 Stamps: Gorgeous Leaves, Sparkle of the Season

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Pale Papaya, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake

Paper: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Basic White

Accessories: Brick & Mortar embossing folder, Seasonal Swirls dies, Intricate Leaves dies, dimensionals, twine, Wink of Stella, Early Espresso seam binding ribbon (retired), candy dots (retired)