Fern Love - Stampin' Up!® Fern & Flora

   I'm back today with a great new challenge from CAS Colours & Sketches!  This time it's a great sketch with a fun diagonal element!  I can't wait to see how you all use this layout!  I'm continuing my obsession with the Fern & Flora bundle and used to make a sweet sending love card.

  It's simple but shows off the large fern stamp really well!

    I started with a piece of Soft Sea Foam and embossed it with the Fern & Flora embossing folder and added to the card front.  Next I cut a piece of Basic White on the diagonal and then trimmed it down to leave a gap between the pieces so that you can see the embossing.

  Using the retired Deckled Rectangle dies I cut a Pool Party panel and a smaller Basic White panel.  The fern is stamped in Lost Lagoon ink and then some Soft Sea Foam ink is lightly blended over it with a blending brush.  I popped this panel on the card front with dimensionals.

  The sentiment from the Prayers & Promises stamp set is stamped in Gray Granite ink.  A few Pressed Flower Motifs embellishments are added to the corner for a finishing touch.

  I hope you'll join in on using this great sketch for a clean and simple card of your own and share it with us in our CAS Colours & Sketches gallery!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Fern & Flora, Prayers & Promises

Ink: Soft Sea Foam, Lost Lagoon, Gray Granite

Paper: Basic White, Soft Sea Foam, Pool Party

Accessories: Fern & Flora embossing folder, dimensionals, Pressed Flower Motifs embellishments, Deckled Rectangle dies (retired)

Happy Birthday Balloons - Stampin' Up!® Balloon Festoon

   I hope you all had a nice weekend!  Here in the US it was Mother's Day yesterday and I had a lovely relaxing day which included warm sunny weather, finishing a book, several meals that I didn't have to prepare and a pedicure.  So no complaints on my end lol!  I could have stamped but I decided it was too nice to be inside so I'm pulling out a card I made a few weeks back to share today.

  I had pulled out this color combo and forgot what it was for when I made this card and then after I realized it was for a design team challenge for a clean and simple card lol!  Obviously I made a different card for that (see it HERE)!  But I still love the fun bright feel of this birthday card.  Lots of pattern really makes it pop!

  The card base is Flirty Flamingo with the streamers also stamped in Flirty Flamingo ink.  The balloons are cut from Basic White and then stamped with the stars in 3 different colors.  The same color ink is sponged along the edges and matching die cut "strings" are added before the cluster is popped on dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped in Versamark then embossed in white onto Lemon Lime Twist card stock.  It is then cut into a banner with the Stylish Shapes dies.  A few retired Adhesive-Backed Sequins give a bit of sparkle for the final touch.

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Balloon Festoon

Ink: Flirty Flamingo, Lemon Lime Twist, Pumpkin Pie, Versamark

Paper: Flirty Flamingo, Lemon Lime Twist, Pumpkin Pie, Basic White

Accessories: Balloon Festoon dies, dimensionals, Stylish Shapes dies, white embossing powder, Adhesive-Backed Sequins (retired)

Simply Feminine - Stampin' Up!® Simply Beautiful

   The current Paper Players challenge caught my eye as I was designing the other day as I don't necessarily intend to design for "feminine" but that's the way a lot of my cards end up but this time I wanted to be intentional so I created this card with soft colors, gold and floral accents and a scripty font for the sentiment.

  I'm featuring two of the new In Colors on this card.  Barely Blush and Peaceful Pine look great with gold accents.  I used a Barely Blush card base, then I pulled out 3 different papers: the new Sunset Shimmer vellum in Barely Blush, a piece of Lovely & Beautiful DSP and a piece of Basic White embossed with the embossing folder (it's on the Last Chance list so don't wait!).  These panels are adhered to a piece of Basic White and are added to the card front.

  The leaves and flowers are from the Simply Beautiful set which is sold out in English but you can still order the French version if you want the images and aren't particular about the sentiments.  I embossed them in gold on Basic White then added a light layer of color using sponge daubers.  

  The flowers and leaves are popped up around the sentiment which is from the new Sending Salutations stamp set.  It's stamped in Peaceful Pine and the label is from the retired Unbounded Love dies.

  A few Barely Blush In Color Dots finish off this sweet design.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Simply Beautiful (retired), Sending Salutations

Ink: Peaceful Pine, Barely Blush, Versamark

Paper: Barely Blush, Basic White, Sunset Shimmer vellum, Lovely & Beautiful DSP, Peaceful Pine

Accessories: Simply Beautiful dies, Eyelet embossing folder, gold embossing powder, Unbounded Love dies (retired), dimensionals, 2026-2028 In Color Dots

Flora Birthday - Stampin' Up!® Fern & Flora

 Now that the May - August 2026 Stampin' Up!® catalog is now available I hope that Fern & Flora was in your first order!  I've really enjoy creating with this bundle and I think it works for so many occasions.  I'm always trying to keep my birthday card stock up so used this bundle to add one more!

I decided to do a split embossed background using Soft Sea Foam and the new Peaceful Pine.  The Fern & Flora embossing folder gives a wonderful all over texture that is easy to line up.  I embossed the pieces of cardstock individually being sure to line them both up in the folder in the same spot.  Then I cut them both on the diagonal and matched up the panels on a Basic White card base.  Getting a second background is a nice bonus!

  Next I used the Perennial Postage dies to cut a piece of Basic White to build up my collage style element.  The lines are in stamped off Berry Burst and a Soft Sea Foam die cut fern is added for texture.  The label shape is stamped and die cut in Peaceful Pine.  The label is a nice spot to anchor the flower sprig and sentiment which are both popped on dimensionals.

    I colored in the flowers with the ink pads and a blender pen being sure to not over work the cardstock.  The flowers are small so it doesn't take a lot of ink to give them color.  The moths are stamped and die cut and are added around the flowers.

   Some retired sequins finish off this nature inspired birthday card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Fern & Flora, Banner Sayings (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Berry Burst, Peaceful Pine

Paper: Soft Sea Foam, Peaceful Pine, Basic White thick, Basic White

Accessories: Fern & Flora dies, Fern & Flora embossing folder, Perennial Postage dies, dimensionals, Adhesive-Backed Sequins (retired)

Simple Birthday - Stampin' Up!® Simple Alphabet

  If you don't have an alphabet stamp set in your collection then I highly recommend the Simple Alphabet set!  I've used it for a number of cards and I am always pleased with the results.  I find it easy to line up, quick to fussy cut if that's your thing and super cute if you want to use the letters in a less structured way.  I used the Simple Alphabet set to create my own birthday greeting in a bright color palette for the Addicted to CAS challenge prompt of 'birthday'.  It would be great for scrapbook titles, personalized cards and whatever else you could use an alphabet stamp set for!

  The card base is Basic White thick and then a layer of Azure Afternoon.  All the fun happens on the top panel of Basic White.  I spelled out 'happy birthday' with the Simple Alphabet set and in a fun group of colors.  I didn't line up the letters perfectly straight and overlapped some edges for a less formal look.  This playful look goes nicely with the bright colors.  And yes, my first go at this I didn't give myself enough room for all of the letters in birthday.  But making mistakes is all part of creating!

  I used the Addressed to You stamp set to stamp the little bunch of balloons in Memento black and then colored them with Blends markers.  I added small highlights using a white gel pen.  The whole panel is popped on the card front with dimensionals.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Simple Alphabet (Online Exclusive), Addressed to You (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Memento Black, Poppy Parade, Darling Duckling, Pool Party, Balmy Blue, Azure Afternoon

Blends: Darling Duckling, Poppy Parade, Azure Afternoon

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Azure Afternoon

Accessories: white gel pen, dimensionals

Retirement Sailing - Stampin' Up!® Sunset Coast

   I am trying to stock up on some cards for occasions besides the main ones like birthday, thank you and thinking of you so I pulled out the new Sunset Coast bundle and made a retirement card.  The front sentiment could be for a new job, graduation, moving/goodbye card or other occasion but my inside sentiment is a happy retirement one.  The blue and yellow prompt over at The Color Hues Challenge gave me the color combo. 

  I haven't done any ink techniques lately so I thought it would be fun to use some watercolor paper and a water painter to make my own background using blues and yellows.  I started at the top with Darling Duckling then Azure Afternoon and finally Night of Navy on the bottom.  I wet my water color paper first by spritzing it and then used the wide water painter and drops of reinker to spread the color all the way down. After I dried it with my heat tool I added it to a Basic White thick card base.

  Using the very cool Sunset Coast dies I cut the sailboat scene out of a panel of Night of Navy.  I wanted to jazz up the waves beneath the sailboat so I cut just that section out of some Peaceful Garden Glimmer paper (currently on the Last Chance list at a discount!) and inlaid the shimmer pieces to the openings in the big panel.  And to add a bit more shimmer the sails are covered with Wink of Stella.  The Sunset Coast bundle is available tomorrow when the Stampin' Up!® May-August 2026 catalog goes live.  

  A Darling Duckling band anchors the sentiment label and a few die cut shells out of more Peaceful Garden Glimmer paper are nice accents to the side.  

  I pulled out some retired Adhesive-Backed Milky Dots in Night of Navy to add to the 4 corners.

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with a * will be available on May 5, 2026.

Stamps: Sunset Coast*

Ink: Darling Duckling, Azure Afternoon, Night of Navy

Paper: Basic White thick, watercolor paper, Night of Navy, Darling Duckling, Peaceful Garden Glimmer Paper

Accessories: Sunset Coast dies*, dimensionals, Wink of Stella, Adhesive-Backed Milky Dots(retired), Tasteful Label dies (retired)

Moonlit Thanks - Stampin' Up!® Fern & Flora

 As I've been waiting for the May-August 2026 catalog to go live I've enjoyed making samples using the new Fern & Flora bundle.  I loved the sketch over at Just Add Ink and thought the ferns would work well for the smaller circle elements.  This is what I came up with.

  For the background I used a piece of Moonlit Flora DSP. I liked this paper when I first saw it and have come to like it even more as I've gotten to use it.  I love the moody colors and nature vibe and it works so well for all kinds of cards.

  The Spotlight on Nature dies were perfect for the large circle.  I thought the cut outs look like little leaves and they are kind of the same shape as the light green fern in the DSP.

  For the 3 smaller circles in the sketch I used 3 of the different fern die cuts in 3 colors and arranged them along the side of the circle.  The tag border is stamped in Secret Sea and the sentiment in Peaceful Pine.  The label is die cut then ribbon is added to the back and it's popped on dimensionals.

  The finishing touch are a few Dewdrop embellishments.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with a * will be available May 5, 2026.

Stamps: Fern & Flora*

Ink: Secret Sea, Peaceful Pine*

 

Paper: Moonlit Flora DSP*, Basic White, Mossy Meadow, Soft Sea Foam, Peaceful Pine*

Accessories: Fern & Flora dies*, Spotlight on Nature dies, dimensionals, Peaceful Pine Bordered Ribbon*, Dewdrop Embellishments*

Bright Balloons - Stampin' Up!® Balloon Festoon

   I don't know where the last 2 weeks have gone but it seems they have flown by and we are back again for the next CAS Colours & Sketches challenge!  We have a fun and bright color combo this time around.  You can use neutrals on your design but make sure that the challenge colors are the most prominent and you keep it clean and simple!

I decided to do a celebratory card with these fun colors and used the new Balloon Festoon bundle (coming May 5!) for a birthday card.

   This card couldn't be more simple and is a perfect way to use up some DSP scraps!  It starts with a piece of Basic White in which 3 of the smallest balloon shapes are cut out of it using the Balloon Festoon dies.  Then I dug through my stash of DSP to find a pattern in each of the 3 colors and adhered them on the backside of the Basic White panel.  That panel is adhered to a Flirty Flamingo card base which you can't see.

  The sentiment is stamped in Memento black and some retired sequins are added as the final touch.

  I told you it was a simple card!  I hope to see your card in the CAS Colours & Sketches challenge gallery.  You have until May 11 to try out these fun colors!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE. Items marked with a * will ba available on May 5, 2026.

Stamps: Balloon Festoon*

Ink: Memento Black

Paper: Basic White, Made With Love DSP, Friends of the Ocean DSP (retired), Gingham Gala DSP (retired)

Accessories: Balloon Festoon dies*, Adhesive-backed Sparkle Sequins (retired)