Retro Hexagon Hive

  Good morning!  It's so nice to see the sun shining this morning!  We've had a few days in a row of yucky, wet, cold weather here in Richmond.   The boys first soccer games of the season were cancelled on Saturday and they were so disappointed.  With all the extra time at home and not being able to go outside you'd think I would have gotten a lot accomplished right?  Nope.  I was totally lazy all weekend.  I think the most that I did was a few loads of laundry.  Really.  Not even stamping.  Now I'm probably going to spend all day kicking myself thinking of all the things I should have done!

  But first things first, here is another one of the cards we made at stamp club last week.  This one is so easy it's not even funny!  The Hexagon Hive thinlet die does all the work!

  The card base is So Saffron and then we layered a piece of the Retro Fresh DSP on top.  The Hexagon Hive thinlet was used with a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock.  The trick to getting all the cuts to go through is to use a piece of waxed paper on top of the cardstock when making your sandwich for the Big Shot.  I also think running it through twice worked well for my machine.  That way you know all your hexagons are cut and will fall right out....no poking!

  We layered the die cut on top of the DSP with dimensionals.  To embellish the the die cut we took some other Retro Fresh DSP and cut out the hexagons with the thinlet die and adhered them randomly.

  Using the Baked Brown Sugar and Tangerine Tango we inked up the sentiment from the Just Sayin' set and then cut it out with the matching framelit.  A little mini brad was added for some easy detail and then the word bubble was also popped up with dimensionals.

  Off to start on my "should have done it over the weekend" list!  =)

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Just Sayin'

Ink: markers- Baked Brown Sugar, Tangerine Tango

Paper: So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Retro Fresh DSP

Accessories: silver mini brad, Word Bubble framelits, Hexagon Hive thinlet

Seahorse Banner Stepped Up - Fab Friday 38

Congratulations we've made it to another Friday!  Let's celebrate with another Fab Friday Challenge! Woo-Hoo!

  This time around we've got a fun color combo.  I think this one can go in so many directions...guy card, spring card, retro etc.  Let's see what you can come up with!  Here's our color palette!

And here is my card.  I got the layout inspiration from our demonstrator magazine; Stampin' Success page 19 in the Jan/Feb issue:

   I had fun with the Sale-a-Bration (SAB) Banner punch, Sweet Sorbet DSP also Sale-a-Bration and the By the Tide stamp set.

  This is a stepped up version of a card my stamping ladies made at class on Tuesday.  Sometimes you just need to simplify a card for a class.  For the challenge card I used a few extra elements like the gold sequins, the layer of Baked Brown Sugar behind the DSP and the cut down Baked Brown Sugar banner layered at the top of the seahorse.

  I wanted to teach or remind my ladies about something that's so simple to do but many of us who've been stamping a while tend to forget...Masking!

  The seahorse is stamped in Pistachio Pudding and then masked with a seahorse that was stamped onto a sticky note and cut out.  That way you can stamp the words right around the seahorse and get great coverage but not cover up the cute little guy.

  The words stamp is also stamped in the negative punch out of the banner on the card base.  To get this look use the Sale-a-Bration banner punch and just keep punching down the side of the DSP lining up the edges so you end up with an extended banner.  Adhere the DSP to the layer you want underneath and punch again in the same way using the DSP layer as your guide.   Next, layer your banner panel onto the card base without adhering and use a pencil to lightly mark the center of the banner punch out.  Use those pencil marks to judge where to stamp the word stamp all the way down.  Now adhere your DSP layer to the card base...

  The seahorse banner is only adhered at the top and we curled the bottom a bit using a bone folder to give it some more dimension.

  Here is my class version....see how easy it is to add a few extra touches to card!?

Check out the other Fab Friday Design Team creations!  They are always Fabulous!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: By the Tide

Ink: Pistachio Pudding, Sahara Sand

Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Sweet Sorbet DSP (SAB), Baked Brown Sugar (stepped up version)

Accessories:  Banner Punch (SAB), Gold baker's twine, gold sequins (stepped up)

Soft Spring Watercolor

  Here's the second project we made at my stamp club last month.  A nice spring color combo and a pretty flower image from the the Happy Watercolor set in the Occasions catalog.  Use this one for a spring birthday, Easter, thinking of you....just about anything.  I figure if I keep making spring cards maybe one of these days spring will actually show up!

  Some fun things to note on this card...check out how the stamped dots go so well with the Decorative Dots embossing (Free during Sale-a-bration!!) on the Soft Sky Core'dinations card stock!  Love it when details like this pull a card together!  A little sanding with the sanding block really bring the pattern out.

  You can't see in the photo but there is some Dazzling Details on the centers of the flowers...gives it a nice bit of sparkle in real life.

  The coloring of the flowers is layered starting with the lightest color first and then adding a little bit of the next darkest color and so on.  The colors we used from lightest to darkest is Pink Pirouette, Blushing Bride, and Calypso Coral.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Watercolor

Ink: Gumball Green, Soft Sky  Markers: Pink Pirouette, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Gumball Green (stem)

Paper: Gumball Green, Pink Pirouette, Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Soft Sky Core'dinations

Accessories: Decorative Dots e.f. (SAB), Scallop edgelit, Dazzling Details, dimensionals, linen thread

Banner Blast Hi!

  I always tell my stamping ladies that I will post our class projects on my blog so they can always refer to the supply list or any special instructions.  That way they can actually use the cards we make and not have to hoard them forever...some of them still do that I'm told but isn't it so much easier to have it right here on Did You Stamp Today?  Well, I've been a bad demonstrator lately and haven't posted our class projects yet from last month.  It seems I get just about caught up on all of my 'need to do' list items so I can start to tackle my 'really want to do' list and then 10 more things get added to the 'need to do' list.  As much as I would love to have blogging on the 'need to do' list it falls by the wayside sometimes!  To have a few more extra hours in the day would be fabulous wouldn't it??

  Since it's a snow day here in Glen Allen again I've decided that I'm going to forget about the 'need to do' list for right now and show one of the projects we made last month.

 How cute is this card?  I just love how simple and sweet this one is.  I finally got around to showing off the Hardwood background stamp to my stamping ladies...it's been a long time since I've used a background stamp but I love this one.  Quick tip for background stamps:  ink up your stamp by laying it rubber side up and tapping the ink pad onto the stamp.  Then lay your cardstock directly on top of the rubber and put a piece of scrap paper over to cover everything.  Use a bone folder or a brayer to rub/roll across the scrap paper.  After making sure that you've gotten all the corners and edges carefully lift away the scrap paper and then then the cardstock.  Trying to stamp the traditional way of pressing the stamp to the cardstock with a big background stamp will get you blotchy uneven images.

  For this card we used a Crumb Cake base and then a slightly smaller piece of Crumb Cake stamped with the Hardwood stamp.  To make the banner we used a piece of silver baker's twine.  To get our banner hanging just so we used a glue dot in the middle of the twine to position it on the Crumb Cake layer.  Then we tucked the ends behind and adhered it to the base.

  Each banner is popped up on dimensionals and positioned in place.  I always start with my middle banner and work my way out to the sides so the spacing is easier to judge.

  The final details are the punched flower with a small adhesive pearl on one of the banners and the silver baker's twine bows on each side of the finished banner.

  If you love this card don't wait to place your Sale-a-Bration (SAB) order to earn free products like this Banner Blast stamp set and the coordinating punch.  The punch will be available in a future catalog but you'll have to wait until the summer and who doesn't like to get something for free right?  I'd be more than happy to help you place an order or you can visit my online store and get shopping right now.  Remember for each $50 (before tax/shipping) you get to choose one of the free Sale-a-bration (SAB) rewards!  SAB only goes until March 31 so don't miss out.

  And just another something to think about if you're going to place an order...the In Colors used on this card are going to retire in May so don't wait to order them; you might miss out as these items tend to sell out quickly once the retirement list is announced.  The colors are Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Banner Blast (SAB), Hardwood (Occasions catalog)

Ink: Primrose Petals, Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake

Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Sweet Sorbet DSP (SAB), Primrose Petals Core'dinations (punched flower)

Accessories: Banner punch (SAB), silver baker's twine (Occasions catalog), punch pack, dimensionals, glue dots, pearls

Circles of Love - Fab Friday 37

  Maybe you've been wondering why I've been MIA lately...or maybe not!  Anyway we took the boys to Disney World last week and I only had time to schedule 2 posts for when I was gone and this week I've been playing catch up with some things and just generally trying to get my house back in order!  We had a great time at Disney and it was fun once we got there.  There was bad weather predicted on the East Coast the day we were supposed to leave so our flight for Monday morning was cancelled Saturday night!  We scrambled that night to book another flight so we could leave on Sunday before the snow hit.  Luckily there were a few seats left on a plane taking off Sunday evening.  Even before all that Ryan came down with a stomach bug early Saturday morning so we were nervous that he wouldn't be feeling better when it was time to leave or another member of the family would be ill.  All worked out and we made it to sunny Florida.  At least it was sunny for a few days.  It got pretty chilly and was probably colder than it was here in Virginia by the time we were leaving.

They were obsessed with hugging all the giant stuffed characters in the shops!

  To see a cool Mickey Mouse card that I made to tell the boys we were going to Florida see my post from last week HERE.

  Anyway I know most of you aren't here to chat about my vacation...you're here to see the latest challenge from Fab Friday!  We've got a challenging layout this time around.  When I first saw it I was like cool, I have lots of ideas for that!  But then when I sat down to stamp nothing seemed to work!  I guess that's why it's a challenge right?  I didn't want to go with the obvious choice of using the word bubble framelits but I think it might have gone smoother if I did!

  And here is my interpretation:

  Once I figured what shape I wanted to use it was kind of fun playing around and making each circle coordinate with the others using various stamp sets and embellishments.  I picked my color combination right from the Color Coach: Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral and Smoky Slate.

  A few features to note that are hard to see in the photo:  paper pierced heart around the sentiment on the top circle, Banner Blast 'love' banner punched out and adhered to the smallest circle and trimmed to match the shape of the circle and Dazzling Details on the small Smoky Slate heart.

  I hope you'll play along with us and show what you can do with this sketch!  For more inspiration and to share your own creation head over to Fab Friday.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Banner Blast (SAB), Love You to the Moon, Geometrical, Just Sayin'

Ink: Smoky Slate, Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Retro Fresh DSP, Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral Core'dinations, Smoky Slate

Accessories: Circle framelits, paper piercing guide, button, Coastal Cabana twine (SAB), Calypso Coral baker's twine, Banner punch (SAB), Owl punch (mini heart), small heart punch, candy dots, Dazzling Details, ruffle stretch ribbon

Soft Serene Sympathy

  I needed another sympathy card a few weeks ago and this is the one I came up with.  I thought the neutrals paired up with the blues nicely.

   I still have quite a bit of the First Edition Specialty and I used some panels here after sponging along the edges with Crumb Cake ink.  I layered a Label Framelit in Midnight Muse and then an Oval Framelit in Marina Mist.  The oval is paper pierced for some added detail.  The flower was stamped in Crumb Cake onto a Very Vanilla oval and sponged around the edge.  I punched a butterfly from Soft Sky and added pearls for its body and then a few to the top and bottom of the label.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Serene Silhouettes

Ink: Crumb Cake

Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Sky, Midnight Muse, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, First Edition Speicalty paper (retired)

Accessories: Label framelits, oval framelits, pearls, paper piercing templates

 

 

Rainbow Mickey Mouse

  Mickey Mouse always brings a smile right?  This is the way to start the new week off!

  This card is so easy is not even funny!  I just raided my scraps for strips in rainbow colors and adhered them to a Whisper White panel.  Then I used my Circle Framelits to make the Mickey head.  A big circle for the face and a smaller circle for the ears.

  After the Mickey head was cut I popped the panel up with dimensionals to a Basic Black card base.

 No stamping but still a fun card right?

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: none

Ink: none

Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: Circle framelits, dimensionals