Honey Bee & Hive - Stampin' Up! Honey Bee - Fab Friday 181

Who is doing the happy Friday dance?  We are definitely doing a little jig here at our house.  We don't have much planned and the weather looks like it's going to be rainy so it's a good time to stay home and relax!

  The Fab Friday team has a fun sketch for this challenge and we hope you have time to join us!

  I used this sketch as a base for designing a card for my stampers to make at my Sale-a-Bration kick off event the other day.  I thought the Honey Bee set would be perfect for this layout.  I simplified it a bit for class so everyone wasn't waiting in line to cut out 5 bees.  Of course to keep with the sketch I have 5 bees on my card!

  I took full advantage of the Honey Bee bundle as well as a piece of the Golden Honey DSP Sale-a-Bration reward.  I think this set is going to be my go to set for all occasion cards.  I think it works wonderfully for hello, birthday, thank you, thinking of you and even sympathy cards.  You'll definitely be seeing this card a lot here over the coming months.

  The bees are lightly colored with Stampin' Blends in So Saffron, Petal Pink and Soft Sea Foam and pull together the card base and bow at the top.  And it doesn't show up at all in the photo but the wings are all colored with clear Wink of Stella for a very delicate shimmer.

  The hive as well as all the bees are popped with dimensionals.

  Check out the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team samples and the stamp along with us.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Honey Bee

Ink: Memento Black, So Saffron

Blends: So Saffron, Soft Sea Foam, Petal Pink

Paper: Whisper White, Soft Sea Foam, Golden Honey DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Detailed Bees dies, Petal Pink organdy striped ribbon, dimensionals, Wink of Stella

Woodland Birthday Wishes - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature

  Back to the grind for our whole family today.  School for the boys and my husband went back to work and now it's time for me to gear up and get the house back to normal and get some stamping business taken care of.

  I didn't get a chance to take photos of the cards I made over the weekend so I'm sharing a card I made in November for a family birthday.  I pulled out an older set as well as some long retired cardstock that I forgot I had and forgot how much I liked!

  The cardstock is Naturals ivory (or maybe it's vanilla??) and just has such a nice texture and is perfect for nature inspired cards.

  I paired the Naturals cardstock with Mossy Meadow for the layers and one of the leaves and left the rest very neutral with Crumb Cake and Soft Suede ink. Rooted in Nature works perfectly with a nice mix of leaves and the wood cut for a background for the sentiment.

  I cut several layers of Mossy Meadow with the Well Written dies and glued them together for a more sturdy sentiment.  The candy dots are also long retired but are still a fun element to add to a card.  This color might be retired Always Artichoke but works ok with the the Mossy Meadow.

   The sentiment is adhered to the wood cut layer and then the whole piece is popped on dimensionals.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature

Ink: Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

Paper: Naturals Ivory/Vanilla (retired), Mossy Meadow

Accessories: Nature's Roots dies, Well Written dies, dimensionals, candy dots (retired)

Thoughtful Birthday - Stampin' Up! Thoughtful Blooms - Fab Friday 180

 Happy New Year Stampers!  It's been quiet around these stamping parts and I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things for 2020.  Not only do we have a new year to celebrate we have a new Fab Friday challenge to participate in!  Oh and not to mention the new Stampin' Up! Mini catalog and Sale-a-Bration starting today!  Woo-Hoo! So many things to get excited about this first week of a new decade!

 Do you see Valentine's Day or spring or Happy Birthday?  A lot can be done with these colors!  I decided to go with a birthday card as my stock is really pathetic right now.  Like in the single digits! Yikes!

 Since these colors were pretty bright I kept the majority of the card white with thick Whisper White card base and then a layer of Whisper White embossed with the new Parisian Flourish embossing folder.  Next up is a Highland Heather die cut using the new Stitched So Sweetly dies.  I embossed the sentiment from the new (do you catch the theme today??) So Sentimental stamp set.  And now that I'm looking at it I didn't do such a hot job of lining up the the die.  That's how you know it's handmade with love right? Crooked = Love.

  Next I stamped a variety of cute little flowers using the Sale-a-Bration reward Thoughtful Blooms and then punched them out with the new Small Blooms punch.  Some are popped on dimensionals and a few have gems from the new From My Heart faceted gem collection in the centers.

  I can't wait to continue creating and sharing with all the new products that are now available.  Definitely stop by Fab Friday to check out the rest of the Design Team ideas and then share your card with us in the gallery! 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Thoughtful Blooms, So Sentimental

Ink: Poppy Parade, Rococo Rose, Highland Heather, Versamark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Highland Heather, Rococo Rose, Poppy Parade

Accessories: Stitched Sweetly dies, white embossing powder, Parisian Flourish embossing folder, Small Blooms punch, From the Heart faceted gems, dimensionals

Birthday Lion - Stampin' Up! Bonanza Buddies - Fab Friday 179

  We're rolling into the last weekend before Christmas with a fun Fab Friday sketch challenge!  Forget about making those 17 dozen Christmas cookies and play along with our challenge instead!  Well, even if you can't shirk your Christmas duties play along after Christmas as your reward for making it through the very busy holiday season!  Our challenges run for 2 weeks so there's always time to catch up!

    This is fun sketch to play with because of the "framed" look as well as the large center panel which could be anything!  I enjoyed using some new Mini Catalog products on my project.  Look for these fun new items in the beginning of January!

  Isn't this lion adorable?  It was fun to create a little celebration scene complete with balloons.  The whole Bonanza Buddies set is adorable.

  The background is new DSP called Birthday Bonanza.  It's super cute with a nice mix of designs.  I topped that layer with a Coastal Cabana frame cut with the new Stitched So Sweetly dies that nest just so to create some nice frames.

  Next is the cute lion from Bonanza Buddies.  I stamped him with a combo of Daffodil Delight and Mango Melody and used the coordinating Bonanza dies to cut him out.  The face and the balloon strings were stamped with black ink.

  The balloon was stamped 3 times in different ink; Grapefruit Grove, Bermuda Bay and Terracotta Tile then cut out and popped up with dimensionals. 

  The Terracotta Tile banner sentiment was stamped with black ink and then the ends were flagged.  I popped the lion with dimensionals on the end of the banner. 

  One birthday card for the new year down, 83 more to go!  Just kidding.  I don't actually know how many birthday cards I need but I definitely know I need more than the 3 I have left right now!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Bonanza Buddies

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Black, Bermuda Bay, Grapefruit Grove, Terracotta Tile

Paper: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Birthday Bonanza DSP, Terracotta Tile

Accessories: Stitched So Sweetly dies, Bonanza dies, dimensionals

Cup of Warmth - Stampin' Up! Cup of Cheer

  This year I have really enjoyed the variety of Christmas Designer Series Paper in the Holiday catalog.  I committed heavily to the Wrapped in Plaid DSP and the Let it Snow Specialty paper.  I used it a ton, I used it a ton in classes and I still have some bits and pieces left which will probably be turned into Christmas thank you cards.  The Let it Snow paper is especially suited for use into the new year.  The little mittens and hats on some of the paper is perfect for the snowy cold months ahead of us.

  I used a bit of the mitten paper as a background for a nice cup of hot chocolate or tea or even coffee.  Really you can imagine your hot beverage of choice in the mug.  With a quick change of sentiment it easily turns into a Christmas thank you.

  The card base is Blueberry Bushel, then a layer of Shaded Spruce with the DSP up next.   A Shaded Spruce Stitched Shapes square and a Whisper White square make a nice background for a Real Red mug cut with the Cup of Cheer dies. 

  The sentiment from Itty Bitty Christmas and the snowflake from Colorful Seasons embossed with Shimmer White embossing powder gives a nice bit of sparkle.  The sentiment banner is hand trimmed and popped with dimensionals.

  A little baker's twine bow finishes off this quick and easy card.

  There's still time to make a few Christmas cards and get them mailed out!  I've had mine made for a while now and stamped and addressed them last week but I have been waiting on the photos I ordered of the boys before I could seal them up and send them off!  It will be nice to check this item off my to do list!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Itty Bitty Christmas, Colorful Seasons

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Blueberry Bushel, Shaded Spruce, Whisper White, Real Red, Let it Snow DSP

Accessories: Stitched Shapes dies, Cup of Cheer dies, White Shimmer embossing powder,  dimensionals, baker's twine

Classic Christmas Tree - Stampin' Up! Wrapped in Plaid

  I'm winding down with my Christmas cards and have just a few more to share.  I pulled out some of my new Mini catalog products to start a card to post later this week so check back for new stuff!  And I realized that I've been so focused on Christmas cards that I have only 3 birthday cards left.  Yikes!  Better lock myself in the stamp room for a few days to catch up.  That would be terrible wouldn't it?  :)

  We made this card at my last class.   It's got a very traditional vibe and I love the rich color combination,

 
  My stampers used a different Pretty Peacock DSP from the Woven Threads pack which I think looks even better than this one from the In Color 6x6 pack.

  The base is Very Vanilla thick, then a piece of Crumb Cake stamped with the itty bitty stars from So Many Stars.  It's hard to see but they are stamped in gold ink for a bit of shimmer.  A Merry Merlot band that is embossed with the Subtle embossing folder goes across the middle.

  A Stitched Nested Label die was used to cut the layer to anchor the tree as well as it has a nice spot at the top for one of the Itty Bitty Christmas sentiments. 

  The tree from Wrapped in Plaid is stamped onto watercolor paper.  To get the muted watercolor look you can do several different ways.  1) lightly spritz the watercolor paper with water and then stamp 2) ink up the stamp and spritz the water directly onto the stamp then stamp to paper or 3) ink up the stamp, stamp to paper and then spritz the image.  Each one will get you slightly different results as will using different amounts of water.  If you use too much you end up with an Old Olive blob and not a tree!  Don't be discouraged if you have to try more than one time!

  The tree is punched out with the Pine Tree punch and the trunk is added in Soft Suede.  It's then popped on dimensionals and a gold Glimmer paper star is added to the top. And finally the whole label is adhered to the card front with dimensionals.

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Wrapped in Plaid, Itty Bitty Christmas

Ink: Pretty Peacock, Old Olive, Soft Suede, Gold

Paper: Very Vanilla thick, Very Vanilla, watercolor paper, Merry Merlot, In Color 6x6 DSP, Gold Shimmer Paper

Accessories: Pine Tree punch, Subtle embossing folder, star punch (retired), Stitched Nested Label dies, dimensionals

Snowman Gift Card Holder - Stampin' Up! Snowman Season

  I had nothing on my calendar today so I was planning to knock out a quick blog post and get on with lots of little things that need doing around the house.  2 hours after sitting down to do it I've finally gotten to writing the blog post!  I had updated the operating system on my Macbook last night as it's been reminding me to do it for some time and then this morning when I went to edit the photos my little photo editing software didn't work anymore with the OS update.  Boo!  So me being the totally not-tech-savy person that I am I proceeded to figure out how to download an updated version of the editing software and how to do the watermark and then how to save it.  It was a process let me tell you!  I'm sure it took way longer than if I had let my husband or 13 year old do it for me but I wanted it NOW darnit!

  Now that I've shared my saga I feel better!  On to the regularly scheduled program; Gift Card Holders!  My last class of the year made 2 of these as one of my 3 projects.  They used different papers from the Let It Snow DSP than my sample and any papers and stamps can be used. 

  This is honestly one of the easiest gift card holders I've ever made.  I searched around and found some measurements and then altered the design to fit the stamp set that I wanted to use; Snowman Season.

  To start you need a 8.5" x 3.25" piece of cardstock.  You can get 3 gift card holders out of one sheet of regular 8.5 x 11 cardstock.  Then score at 2" and 6" and that's it!

  The sizes of the DSP and Whisper White insert are as follows:

Top Flap DSP - 3 x 1.75
Whisper White insert - 3 x 1.75
Inside DSP - 3 x 2.25

  The smaller sizes of DSP are perfect for using up lots of smaller scraps you've been hoarding this whole time!  Use them up!

  I rounded the edges of the top flap, and both the top flap DSP and insert for a more finished look.  Before you created the pocket for the gift card be sure to use a small circle punch to create the little thumb hole.  Once you adhere the outside edges of the flap down with tear tape to create the pocket you can't get the punch in place.

  The front decorated with a diecut oval to mount the snowman on.  I added some of the Sparkling Crystal Effects and Ice Stampin' Glitter to the bottom portion for some sparkle.  The snowman hat has a cluster of red rhinestones and a little baker's twine bow stands in for a scarf.

  To be able to easily reuse the gift card holder I used little velcro dots for the closure. The finished size is 3.25 x 4. 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snowman Season

Ink: Smoky Slate, Shaded Spruce

Blends: Flirty Flamingo light, Pumpkin Pie light, Pool Party light

Paper: Shaded Spruce, Whisper White, Basic Black, Let It Snow DSP

Accessories: Stitched Shapes dies, snowman punch, Shimmery Crystal Effects, Ice Stampin' Glitter, baker's twine, red rhinestones, dimensionals, small circle punch, corner rounder, velcro dots

Cup of Cocoa - Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Christmas

  Every year when it starts to get colder I think some hot chocolate will taste so good so I buy a package of the powder mix (yes I know!  But we make it with milk instead of water so it actually is decent!) and then I come home from the grocery store to put it away in the pantry and then I find the half used container from last year. And the one from the year before that. And the mason jar gift of cocoa mix. And the fancy flavored packets the boys got from somewhere.  So I'm on restriction from buying this treat for a while!!

  But I can still make cards with a mug of some hot chocolate!  This card has very little stamping; just the little tag but I think the neutral colors with the pop of the red Glimmer paper makes it pretty eye catching!  Some of the sweet sentiments from Itty Bitty Christmas are just the right size for the tag die in the Cup of Cheer die set.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Itty Bitty Christmas

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red Glimmer paper

Accessories: Pinewood Planks embossing folder, Oval dies, Cup of Cheer dies, dimensionals, white/silver bakers twine