Herringbone Christmas - Stampin' Up! Perfectly Plaid

  Yes, it's another Christmas card in April!  I have peonies blooming, hummingbirds zipping about, and grass that needs to be mowed twice a week and I am making Christmas cards.  Well one card anyway.  The 52 Christmas Card Throwdown challenge had an interesting technique to try out that I have seen in the past but couldn't remember if I had ever tried it (13+ years of cards is hard to remember sometimes).  So I figured why not...there aren't any rules anymore right?  Well besides to stay at home (I'm talking to you Mom!!).

  The herringbone technique is basically just layering your chosen piece of cardstock (I used Very Vanilla for my layer) with narrow strips of patterned paper in a certain way.  There is a good video in the challenge post showing how it's done.  I dug through my DSP scraps and came up with long retired This Christmas DSP to use for my card.

  After getting my background strips arranged and adhered I gave it some texture with the Tin Tile embossing folder.  Since the background is a bit busy I kept the stamping part of the card pretty clean and basic.

  The Perfectly Plaid stamp set from this past Holiday catalog is carrying over to the new catalog so you'll still be able to stamp these cute trees.  I choose the one with open branches and stamped it in Garden Green then colored it in with the dark Mint Macaron Blends.

  The Stitched So Sweetly dies made the layered labels for my tree, an already punched Glimmer paper star in my scrap folder works nicely on top of the tree and retired Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon ties off the center for a little detail.

  Overall this technique is not as fussy as it may first appear and it's a great way to use up those narrow strips that you can't bear to part with and I'm pleased with how my first attempt went.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Perfectly Plaid

Ink: Garden Green

Blends: Mint Macaron dark

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Verry Vanilla, This Christmas DSP (retired), Copper Glimmer paper (retired)

Accessories: Tin Tile e.f., Subtle e.f., Stitched So Sweetly dies, star punch, seam binding ribbon (retired), dimensionals

Graduate Congrats - Stampin' Up! Check You Out

  Nothing much happening around here...when you don't leave the neighborhood for weeks on end interesting personal current events to talk about are few and far between!

  I'm still stamping almost daily and trying to participate in a lot of challenges.  The challenges really give me a nice place to start for a card; sometimes when you have so many supplies in front of you it's a bit overwhelming if you don't narrow your focus a bit.  The CAS(E) This Sketch challenge is a fun one this week with all of the elements towards the bottom of the card.  It took me a bit of time to look through my DSPs and stamps to see what would work.  I dug through my pile of card parts and found a bunch of stamped and cut out books leftover from this card from a few weeks back.  I thought they might work well and so I got to work.  And I gave myself a little pat on the back for using something from "the pile".

  I feel bad for high school seniors who aren't getting all of the traditional end of the year events and recognition's that they've maybe looked forward to for years.  I'm hoping to be able to send out a few more cards for high school "graduation" than I normally would otherwise.  I know a card doesn't replace things like prom or a graduation ceremony but the graduates should know that they and their accomplishments are still being celebrated just not the usual way!

  Really nothing out of the ordinary to note on this card except that the sentiment and graduation cap are embossed in black for a little pop.  Everything is popped on dimensionals including each book.  I had lots of dimensional backings blowing all over my stamp room!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Check You Out

Ink: Versamark, Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green, Blueberry Bushel, Pineapple Punch

Paper: Blueberry Bushel, Pineapple Punch, Whisper White, Poppy Parade

Accessories: black embossing powder, Stitched Rectangles dies, Stitched Shapes dies, dimensionals

Daisy Garden - Stampin' Up! Daisy Delight

  An old friend got in touch the other day and asked if I had any Mother's Day cards she could buy since they were trying to not spend unnecessary extra time in the stores right now.  Of course I always have some cards in my stash but not as many as she needed so I got busy with some soft colors and soon to be retired items.

  I was inspired by the Library Challenge which is a fun challenge that picks a book cover for the inspiration for each challenge.  The book for the current challenge is a sweet cover of Robert Louis Stevenson's "A Child's Garden of Verses".  I liked the pretty flowers bordering the edge of the oval frame as well as the light blue color of the background.  So I did my version with Stampin' Up! products.

The base is Seaside Spray with a layer of the same color DSP on top.  I cut and embossed a frame with the Heirloom Frames & dies.  I'm disappointed these are retiring as they just came out in this catalog and they were backordered for quite a while when first released so we really haven't had that long to use them.  Anyway....I sponged a bit of Crumb Cake ink around the frame to make the pattern pop a bit more.

  The daisies are embossed with white embossing powder and then punched out.  I layered 2 punches for each flower and colored the center with the light Daffodil Delight Blend marker then over stamped the textured center stamp with Daffodil Delight ink for some depth.

  I stamped the leaves in Pear Pizzazz onto Pear Pizzazz cardstock and then fussy cut them.  All the pieces were layered around the edge of the frame and the bottom flower is popped on dimensionals.

  I embossed the sentiment onto Seaside Spray cardstock and die cut it with the Stitched So Sweetly dies.  I poppped it over a length of Scalloped Linen ribbon.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Daisy Delight, Itty Bitty Greetings

Ink: Versamark, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake

Blends: Daffodil Delight light

Paper: Seaside Spray, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, In Color 6x6 DSP

Accessories: Heirloom frames dies/embossing folder, Daisy punch, white embossing powder, Stitched So Sweetly dies, Scalloped Linen ribbon, dimensionals

Wise Owl Hello - Stampin' Up! Check You Out

  I'll definitely miss the Check You Out set once it's retired for good.  It's a cute little set and I've enjoyed it for making all kinds of cards in the last year and especially the last 2 months making a lot of hello and thinking of you cards to mail out to friends and family.

  I'm joining in on the Color Throwdown challenge at the last minute.  I saw these colors when they first posted but just didn't get to them until this weekend.

  Since Pineapple Punch is retiring too I'm trying to use it when I can.  I have a whole pack of cardstock that was going to be used in classes the last few months of this catalog year and now since those aren't happening I have a lot of bright cardstock to use!

  The base is Whisper White thick then a layer of Pineapple punch topped with a piece of long retired DSP called Floral Boutique.  Thank goodness for google!  I had to look up the name as all I had left from the pack is a few scraps.   I liked this polka dot pattern for a background for my sweet wise owl.

  For the green I used Granny Apple Green and cut a Stitched So Sweetly die scalloped rectangle and then embossed it with the Subtle embossing folder.

  I pulled out my stamparatus to stamp my hearts across the Pineapple Punch layer.  The owl is stamped in Crumb Cake with Night of Navy glasses and is fussy cut and popped up on dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped in Night of Navy and trimmed down and adhered with a little but of two way glue.  A Night of Navy bakers twine bow and a few sequins finish off this hello card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Check You Out

Ink: Night of Navy, Crumb Cake, Pineapple Punch

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Granny Apple Green, Pineapple Punch, Floral Boutique DSP (retired)

Accessories: Stitched So Sweetly dies, dimensionals, bakers twine, sequins, Subtle embossing folder

Best Wishes Bass - Stampin' Up! Best Catch

 A quick post today to share a masculine birthday card.  I'll be sorry to see Best Catch retire but until then I'll try to get a few more cards out of it!

 I used the Freshly Made Sketches challenge for this layout.  I was proud of myself for using some retired DSP as well as the Crumb Cake Stitched Nested Label I have had sitting in my card parts pile for a while.

  I actually have no idea if this fish is a bass or not but I thought the title alliteration sounded good so I went with it!  The bass is stamped in Early Espresso on Very Vanilla cardstock and colored with Blends.  I cut it and the cattails out with the coordinating Catch of the Day dies.

  Using a bit of burlap ribbon and a narrow strip of Soft Sea Foam for the sentiment I created the narrow divide shown in the sketch.  I popped all the other elements on various heights of dimensionals and finished with a few retired candy dots.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Best Catch, Itty Bitty Birthdays

Ink: Early Espresso, Mossy Meadow

Blends: Old Olive light, Soft Sea Foam dark, Pool Party dark, Petal Pink light

Paper: Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, Soft Sea Foam, Very Vanilla, Coffee Break DSP  (retired)

Accessories: Catch of the Day dies, burlap ribbon, dimensionals, candy dots (retired)

Relax and Celebrate - Stampin' Up! Colorful Seasons

Better late than never today!  We've had a nice full day already considering that we're in quarantine.  I'm just now getting around to blogging and thought my card today was fitting for a relaxing Saturday.  And also because the Colorful Seasons set is on the Stampin' Up! Last Chance List and I want to show it off at least a few more time before we need to say goodbye.

  I made this card for a challenge last week and didn't get it photographed in time.  Lately when I've had a moment to photograph my cards it's either super bright and sunny or really dark and dreary so I don't think that they have turned out very well.  It is what it is!

  I started with a Whisper White thick base with a layer of Whisper White embossed with the Subtle embossing folder.

  Next I pulled out narrow scraps of each of my colors and flagged the ends.  The sentiment is embossed in white on the Pineapple Punch strip and then the strips are adhered to the card front. 

  I stamped the chair using the stamparatus and then fussy cut it and the drink.  Both are popped on dimensionals onto a Stitched Shape circle diecut. 

  Hope you're having a great weekend so far too!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Colorful Seasons, Itty Bitty Birthdays

Ink: Versamark, Sahara Sand, Pineapple Punch, Pacific Point

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Pacific Point, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Pineapple Punch

Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, Stitched Shapes dies, white embossing powder, dimensionals

Dino Birthday - Stampin' Up! Dino Days - Fab Friday 188

  Here we are back with another Fab Friday challenge!  Why does it seem like the days are going so slowly but the weeks are flying by??  Here at my house we are on Day 42 of quarantine and still going strong!  We are all still talking to each other, laughing and getting along for the most part so I don't have anything to complain about!

  Check out these fun colors for this challenge!  They are soft but vibrant at the same time!

  I've been on a bit of a critter and birthday theme lately and I guess it carried over to my Design Team sample!

  Grapefruit dino? Balloons? Water color background? Yes please to all three!

  The watercolor background was fun to make.  I brushed some Bermuda Bay across watercolor paper with an Aquapainter and dried it with my heat tool.  Then I dripped water onto it and blotted it up with a paper towel to make the light spots.  Then I added some little starburst images in Pool Party ink over the top.

  The dino is stamped in Grapefruit Grove with Blushing Bride spikes and Bermuda Bay spots.  The spots are colored over with Wink of Stella.

  The balloons are in the challenge colors and also covered with Wink of Stella.  I gave the dino a fun sparkly party hat with a pom pom topper.

  I hope you'll join the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team in this color challenge!  I look forward to seeing your creation in our gallery!

   Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Dino Days, Bonanza Buddies

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Grapefruit Grove, Blushing Bride

Paper: Grapefruit Grove, Bermuda Bay, watercolor paper, Whisper White, Sparkle Glimmer paper

Accessories: Dino dies, Wink of Stella, pom poms, dimensionals

Basketball Birthday - Stampin' Up! For the Win

  Stampin' Up! released the Last Chance List aka The Retirement List yesterday.  It's a bittersweet day every year when it comes out and we see what favorites are saying good-bye.  On one hand we lose supplies but on the other we also get a look at the new catalog so we can be excited for new items.  It's kind of a messy day to be honest and a little overwhelming seeing page after page of retiring items from 2 catalogs.  I haven't even really looked at it that closely but I'll be heading to the stamp room later today to see what's what! 

  For today I've got a card I made a few weeks back for a sweet girl at our church who was really bummed not to be able celebrate her 11th birthday with her friends.  She's big into basketball so I went with that theme for my card.

 
  I started with a piece of Cajun Craze that I embossed with the Hammered Metal embossing folder which reminded me of the texture of a basketball.  Then I dug into my retired Wood Textures DSP and found a piece that looks like a gym floor; at least to me it does!  Then I added the center court line and circle (not sure if those are the real names or what-- I never played basketball!) using Whisper White cardstock and circle dies.

  I wanted to highlight the 11 for her birthday so I cut several ones in Basic Black using the really old Bigz number dies.  I glued 3 layers together for each one so they would be a bit sturdier.  Then I pressed each one into Versamark and embossed it with black shimmer embossing powder.  It was a good alternative to Black Shimmer paper which I thought I had some of but actually didn't! 

  I popped the numbers on dimensionals and then added some Cajun Craze embossed basketballs bouncing around the court.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: For the Win

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Whisper White, Wood Textures DSP (retired)

Accessories: Hammered Metal embossing folders, Layering Circles dies, black embossing powder, shimmer black embossing powder, Bigz Numbers dies (retired), dimensionals, circle punch

BBQ Picnic - Stampin' Up! Outdoor Barbecue

  It's never too early to start on some Father's Day cards is it?  And who doesn't like a good BBQ picnic?  I used the Cas(e) This Sketch challenge for this card.  I thought it was a great layout for the smaller food stamps in the Outdoor Barbecue set.  I did turn the card to landscape so I could fit 3 squares.

 Since the images are on the smaller side instead of coloring with Blends I decided to use colored pencils which I hardly ever think to use.  Since Stampin' Up! came out with the second set of colors in the pencils I find it easier since there are more choices.  I stamped each image in Stazon and then used the pencils and a blender pen.  Then the Stitched Shapes square die was used to cut them out.

  The red checked background is another piece from a long retired pack called Quilted Christmas DSP from 2017.  I had a sleeve of random scraps and I was lucky enough to find this red checked pattern as it reminded me of a fun picnic blanket or tablecloth for a casual bbq.

  I embossed the sentiment in white on black cardstock and added a black brad to each end.  The sentiment strip and the food panels are all popped on dimensionals.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Outdoor Barbecue

Ink: Stazon, Versamark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Basic Black, Quilted Christmas DSP (retired)

Accessories: colored pencils, Stitched Shapes dies, white embossing powder, dimensionals, black brads (retired)

Birthday Lion - Stampin' Up! Bonanza Buddies

  I'm just adding to my birthday card stash with my project today.  I'm playing along with the Just Add Ink challenge.  They have a nice inspiration photo and I pulled my color combination from it.  I thought the bright colors would be fun with the sweet lion from Birthday Bonanza.

  The card base is Whisper White thick then a layer of Whisper White embossed with the Tufted embossing folder.  Then I dug deep into my DSP scraps and came out with this Melon Mambo beauty from way, way, way back in the day.  I had to pull out some old catalogs to identify it because I didn't write the name on the sleeve.  The DSP is It's My Party and was a huge stack of papers and I still have quite a few scraps left though I think I sold any full sheets in my retirement sale.  I might need to do a real clean out of my closet if I keep finding stuff from like 2016!

  The lion is stamped in Mango Melody with the body being stamped off once and the mane in full strength ink.  I popped him up on a Stitched Shape circle and gave him a Melon Mambo gift to hold.  The lion and the streamers are die cut with the coordinating Bonanza dies and the gift is hand cut.

  The happy birthday sentiment is from Itty Bitty Greetings and I added a baker's twine bow to the side.  I also added a few adhesive sequins because why not?

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Bonanza Buddies, Itty Bitty Greetings

Ink: Mango Melody, Melon Mambo, Memento black

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Mango Melody, It's My Party DSP (retired)

Accessories: Bonanza dies, Stitched Shapes dies, dimensionals, adhesive sequins, baker's twine (retired)

 

Spring Roses - Stampin' Up! To A Wild Rose

Happy Monday!  Hope you had a lovely weekend and it was a nice change of pace from a regular weekday; if there is even a difference to you anymore!

I started this card on Friday and finished it up on Saturday. It's for The Card Concept challenge.  They have a lovely inspiration photo with gorgeous colors and textures.  After looking through my stamps I decided that To A Wild Rose would give me the look I was after for a nice floral card.

  I tried to match the colors as close I could from the inspiration photo and I think I came pretty close.  The background is the 2019-2021 In Color DSP collection.  I chose the Seaside Spray color in the scripty font pattern as there are some flowers in the vases that are a similar color.

  The oval Heirloom frame and embossing folder were used for the Very Vanilla embossed frame in which I layered my flowers around.  It kind of looks like the tray in the inspiration photo.

  The roses, leaves and sentiment were all stamped with the To A Wild Rose set.  I used the stamparatus to get my layers lined up just so.  I used only the 2nd and 3rd layers of the rose and left off the outline stamp so they would have softer edges.  The rose color combos are listed below in the supplies.

  Once I had my roses arranged I added a little bit of scalloped lace trim and the sentiment stamped in Seaside Spray and die cut with the Stitched So Sweetly dies.

 Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: To A Wild Rose

Ink: (flowers left to right) Blushing Bride/Rococo Rose, Pineapple Punch/Daffodil Delight, Petal Pink/Flirty Flamingo, flower centers: Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody sentiment: Seaside Spray leaves: Pear Pizzazz

Paper: In Color DSP: Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz

Accessories: Wild Rose dies, Heirloom Frames & embossing folders, scalloped lace trim, dimensionals

 

Chubby Chicken Hello - Stampin' Up! Walk This Way

  I'm joining in on the Freshly Made Sketches challenge today with another very old, very retired set; Walk This Way.  This is a set that I think was retired even before I started stamping back in the day and when I saw cards using it I just had to have it.  It was an eBay purchase that has continued to make the cut of being housed in my very small storage drawer for retired sets.  The animals always make me smile and I hope this chubby chicken does the same for whomever receives this card.

 

  How adorable is this little lady?  I had fun pulling together some bright cheerful colors and supplies that haven't seen much attention.

  The card base is Pool Party stamped with the All Wired Up background stamp.  Pretty fitting background for a farm animal.

  Next up is a piece of Bird Ballad DSP.  I've had trouble figuring out ways to use this pattern with the coordinating Free As A Bird stamp set.  The kind of goofy bird feet pattern and the more elegant images of the set just didn't seem to work together in my mind so I don't think I've used it at all in the almost year of owning the paper.  I think it works much better with this stamp.

  Next, I embossed the sentiment from Itty Bitty Greetings in black embossing on a strip of Poppy Parade.

  The chicken is stamped twice, once to colors with Blends and then cut out and the other directly onto the Stitched Shape circle die cut.  The fussy cut and colored image is popped right onto the circle with dimensionals.  I cut the feet off of the popped chicken so you can see the feet on the circle.  The interior of the circle has been colored in with Pool Party light Blends.  A little black baker's twine bow finishes off this bright, fresh farmyard hello card.

  I hope you all get some time to stamp over the weekend!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Walk This Way, (retired) All Wired Up, Itty Bitty Greetings

Ink: Memento Black, Pool Party, Versamark

Blends: Pool Party light, Ivory, Bronze, Poppy Parade light & dark

Paper: Pool Party, Whisper White, Poppy Parade, Bird Ballad DSP

Accessories: Stitched Shapes dies, black embossing powder, black baker's twine, dimensionals

Fire Up the Grill - Stampin' Up! Outdoor Barbecue

  The nice spring weather is perfect lately for grilling and enjoying being in the backyard.  But truth be told we grill all year round regardless of the temperature.  I have the uncanny ability to plan my grilled meals for just when it's about to rain or is unseasonably cold.  My husband is a good sport and fires up the grill to cook our dinner regardless of the elements.  He's a keeper for sure! I should look at the weather forecast before planning my menus I guess!

  The Outdoor Barbecue set is perfect for those spring and summer birthday cards and for father's day.  I would say it's great for those summer BBQ parties you're planning but well we all know how that's not happening right now.  Design a fabulous invitation and save it for later in the year or next year!

  I played along with Color Throwdown for the colors.  I thought they worked well for a guy birthday card.  Very manly and bold!

  To stamp the background panel I arranged all the stamps in a group on one clear block then filled the piece of cardstock.

  The grill is stamped in Memento black then colored with Poppy Parade and Smoky Slate Blends.  I fussy cut it and popped it up on dimensionals.  The sentiment is stamped with the little flame in the background.  It looks stamped off but in reality my Poppy Parade ink pad was getting dry so it's very light.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Outdoor Barbecue

Ink: Basic Gray, Memento Black, Poppy Parade

Blends: Poppy Parade light & dark, Smoky Slate light & dark

Paper: Basic Black, Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Smoky Slate

Accessories: Stitched Shapes dies, dimensionals, 

Seasonal Snowflakes - Stampin' Up! Colorful Seasons

  So Christmas in April?  Why not?  I follow a few Christmas card challenges but generally don't participate until later in the year when the season is more in my face with the release of the Stampin' Up! holiday catalog.  But in these crazy times I thought why the heck not get some Christmas cards made? I certainly have enough time!

  This card is for the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown April color challenge which is to use Red and White.  Easy enough right?

  I wanted to keep it clean and simple and let the snowflake shine.  Literally, the snowflakes are either stamped and embossed with shimmer embossing powder or die cut from Sparkle Glimmer paper.  The white and shimmer looks great against the red and a bit of white on white texture for the back ground.  

  I have a gut feeling that the Colorful Seasons set and Seasonal Layers dies might end up on the retirement list this year.  They've been around for a while but I still get a lot of mileage out them.  I have used 3 out of the 4 seasons on projects lately (summer one to be shared in the next few days).  This set might be my most versatile in terms of images and die cuts for any kind of card.  Fingers crossed that it doesn't retire because I am still finding new designs to use it for.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Seasonal Layers

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Real Red, Sparkle Glimmer paper

Accessories: Seasonal Layers dies, white shimmer embossing powder, Pinewood Planks embossing folder, dimensionals, red satin ribbon, sequins, rhinestones

Blue Birthday Daisy - Stampin' Up! Daisy Delight

  Stampin' Up! will be releasing the retirement list soon so it got me looking closely at my current sets and I started contemplating which ones I think will be retiring.  The Daisy Delight set has been out for a while and I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up on the list.  It still makes a cute card and I especially love layering 2 of the punches images for a fuller flower.

  I used the current Paper Players color challenge for this design.  So Saffron, Seaside Spray and Gray Granite.  This is a very pretty combination and I especially like the softness of the Gray Granite as the neutral.

  I started with a Whisper White thick card base, then a layer of So Saffron with piece of Whisper White cut with a Stitched Rectangle die and then embossed with the Parisian Flourish embossing folder.

  The words were die cut 3 times in Gray Granite then glued together for a more sturdier element.  I added a faceted gem for the dots on the i's.  The ribbon is the white crinkled seam binding ribbon colored with my dark Seaside Spray Blends marker.

  The daisy is stamped twice and colored with Blends then punched and layered and popped on a dimensional.  I colored the flower center with a bit of Wink of Stella that doesn't show in the photo very well.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Daisy Delight

Ink: Gray Granite

Blends: Seaside Spray light & dark, So Saffron light & dark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, So Saffron, Gray Granite

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Parisian Flourish embossing folder, Well Written dies, Daisy punch, faceted gems, dimensionals, crinkled seam binding ribbon

Peachy Rose Hello - Stampin' Up! To A Wild Rose

  I hope you all are safe and sound at home.  It seems there was some severe weather across parts of the country yesterday and I hope you weren't affected.  We had rain in the morning but then lots of wind throughout the rest of the day so while it was warmer it wasn't very nice to be outside.  I'm always afraid I'll get beaned on the head by a tree branch or something.

  The colors on my card today were inspired by some fabric I saw on a shopping trip with my mom back at Christmas.  The To A Wild Rose set seemed like a good choice to go with them.

  The big peachy rose looks so nice against the blues and the white embossed hello stands out on the Blueberry Bushel label.  I don't have any roses in my yard but this card kind of makes me want to plant some.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: To A Wild Rose

Ink: Seaside Spray, Blueberry Bushel, Call Me Clover, Grapefruit Grove, Versamark

Paper: Seaside Spray, Blueberry Bushel, Whisper White, vellum

Accessories: Wild Rose dies, Painted Labels dies, white embossing powder, sequin, rhinestone, dimensionals

Hello Vases - Stampin' Up! Little Hellos

  Happy Monday all!  In spite of the quarantine we had a lovely family Easter that included online church, a giant ham and video calls with most of our extended family.  Now back to the grind lol!

  When the lock down was getting going and I had to cancel my March stamping classes my friend suggested I start a private Facebook group for my local stampers to be able to share projects and just generally stay connected.  It's worked nicely so far and it's fun to see what everyone has been making while at home.  I gave them a challenge last week to find their first or oldest Stampin' Up! set and make a card with it.

  My first set was Little Hellos and I've held on to it all these years later even though I very rarely keep any retired sets.  I pulled it out and boy oh boy are those images tiny!  I was stumped at first because I was trying to figure out a layout where the tiny images wouldn't get lost.  My husband requested a card for his administrative assistant for admin day which is coming up.  I thought the flowers would be a good starting point.

    I decided that the Color Throwdown challenge colors were what I was going to use.  These are nice bright colors; Granny Apple Green, Lovely Lipstick, Pumpkin Pie and Pineapple Punch.

  This card started out with a Whisper White thick card base, then a layer of Granny Apple Green then another layer of Whisper White embossed with Layered Leaves embossing folder.

  The vases are stamped in Basic Gray and I colored them in with my Stampin' Blends.  I have to say that I had to do several takes as I kept getting a little heavy handed and my colors were bleeding a bit into the open spaces.  They are so tiny!!  I finally got all 3 finished.  The vases and the sentiment panel are cut out with the Stitched So Sweetly dies and popped with dimensionals.

  I added some pearls to the the sentiment and some Whisper White crinkled seam binding ribbon around the top panel.  There is also a bit of Clear Wink of Stella on the flowers which can't be seen in the photo.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Little Hellos (retired), Honey Bee

Ink: Basic Gray, Versamark

Blends: Lovey Lipstick light & dark, Pumpkin Pie light & dark, Pineapple Punch light & dark, Granny Apple Green light & dark

Paper: Granny Apple Green, Whisper White thick, Whisper White

Accessories: Layered Leaves e.f., corner rounder, Stitched So Sweetly dies, dimensionals, white embossing folder, Wink of Stella, adhesive pearls, white crinkled seam binding ribbon

Blooming Branch - Stampin' Up! Colorful Seasons

Happy Easter everyone.  I've written this post and pre-scheduled it so I could wish you a happy Easter without having to remember to actually write up a blog post on a Sunday morning.

My card today with the blooming tree branch reminds me of the hope and continuation of life even among all the darkness of this pandemic.  For every scary and sad story I see I also see just as many stories of light and hope and joy.  Even in the darkness of Christ's death there is also hope present in His rising from the tomb.  I hope you all see Jesus' love and light this Easter.

  The sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches and supplies are listed below.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Colorful Seasons

Ink: Petal Pink, Versamark

Blends: Pool Party dark (for coloring the pearls)

Paper: Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Pool Party, Whisper White, Soft Suede, Bird Ballad DSP

Accessories: Seasonal Layers dies, Layering Squares dies, white embossing powder, pearls, dimensionals, baker's twine

Holy Brightness Batman! - Stampin' Up! Check You Out

  Well I hope this card wakes up your eyes if you've been struggling to get going on this Saturday!  Once I started pulling colors together I couldn't stop with the bright, in your face colors!

  My start for this card is the Festive Friday Challenge which is to celebrate National Library Worker Day.  This one caught my eye not only because of the celebration but all the fun inspiration items on the list.  In my former "before kids" life I was a library worker and loved every minute of it.  Since my kids were born our local public library has played a big part of their lives and they are avid readers and it's all to having a wonderful facility and staff that welcomes families to the world of books.  Maybe someday I'll get back to being a library worker but for now I'm definitely celebrating them!

  Did someone say yellow??  Yes, that's one of the inspiration elements and I went with it.  Pineapple Punch will be retiring soon so I've been wanting to use it more so I don't feel so much regret when I have to put away the ink and cardstock.  I think I have more than the 3 required elements on my card to play along with this challenge.  I couldn't stop!

  I have yellow, books, bug/insect, alphabet stamps, pocket element and ribbon.  Whew!  I'm tired!  The yellow is pretty clear.  The books I stamped in all my colors then cut them out and stacked them in a very precarious pile along the side of my card front.  The little book worm was a no brainer.  I stamped him in Granny Apple Green then stamped his bowtie again in Poppy Parade and cut it out for some nice neckwear.  I gave him some retired googly eyes that I had left.  I used the ABC stamps from my retired Labeler Alphabet set to stamp the background.  The pocket element/checkout card is stamped in Blueberry Bushel (also soon to be retired) and is cut out and popped on dimensionals over the top of some grosgrain Pineapple Punch ribbon.

  This was a fantastic challenge and it was really fun to put all these elements together.  Now to find someone to send it to that won't be blinded when they open it!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Check You Out, Labeler Alphabet (retired)

Ink: Pineapple Punch, Granny Apple Green, Poppy Parade, Blueberry Bushel

Paper: Pineapple Punch, Whisper White, Poppy Parade

Accessories: Stitched Shapes dies, dimensionals, Pineapple Punch grosgrain ribbon, googly eyes (retired)

Birthday Rhino - Stampin' Up! Animal Outing - Fab Friday 187

  TGIF!  And I know it's Friday because it's a Fab Friday Challenge day.  So I'll get the day right at least once every 2 weeks!  We have a fun sketch for you this time!

 

  I definitely stuck to the sketch and used the same shapes!  I needed to up my guy birthday card game so I went with a masculine color combo and a handsome rhino!

 

  The background is made with punched pieces of Tailored Tag punch alternating between Gray Granite, Pretty Peacock, and Crushed Curry.  After I got the pieces (somewhat) lined up and adhered I ran the whole panel through the Big Shot with the Subtle embossing folder for some nice manly texture.

  The rhino is stamped in Basic Gray and colored in with my light and dark Gray Granite blends.  And here's an example of "You Know You Have Too Many Supplies When..." I fussy cut the whole image out and just as I was snipping the last bit of paper away I realized that there were dies that went with the Animal Outing stamp set....duh!  I could have die cut the rhino!  Oh well.  I needed some fine motor skill practice I guess!  Once my handsome guy was cut out I popped him on a Stitched Nested Label die.

  The banner is stamped in Pretty Peacock with a sentiment from Itty Bitty Birthdays and embellished with some retired Crushed Curry baker's twine and then popped.

  Sweet and simple! 

  Check out how the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team used the sketch and then join in the fun!  Remember you have almost 2 weeks so no excuses!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Animal Outing, Itty Bitty Birthdays

Ink: Basic Gray, Pretty Peacock

Blends: Gray Granite light & dark, Pretty Peacock light & dark, Daffodil Delight dark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Gray Granite, Crushed Curry, Pretty Peacock

Accessories: Tailored Tag punch, Subtle embossing folder, Stitched Nested Labels dies, dimensionals, Crushed Curry bakers twine (retired)

Delicate Poppies - Stampn' Up! Painted Poppies

  I just got off my first ever Zoom meeting and I just have to say I think I need to up my game with regards to what I look like lol!  Or put a post it note over my square!  Those poor people who had to look at me!  It's a good thing my stamping jobby doesn't require me to be on camera.  Small blessings in these crazy times I guess.

  I think my card today is much more pleasant to look at than me...at least I hope anyway.  I joined the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge this time for the lovely colors.  I actually made this one last week but since the challenge is 2 weeks long there wasn't a rush to share it and now I'm almost out of time.

 

  The colors to be used are Daffodil Delight, Pool Party and Poppy Parade.   I added in Basic Gray as a neutral for my image and sentiment.

  I stamped the poppies and then cut them out with the Stitched Nested Labels dies.  Also used the same dies for the sentiment and the layer in the back.  The poppies are colored with ink and an Aquapainter.  I then filled in all the background "sky" with my light Pool Party blends marker leaving the stitched border white for contrast.

  In continuing to try to use up retired products and scraps I put a paper doily behind the flowers as well as a strip of what I think is Crushed Curry ribbon but is close enough to Daffodil Delight for me.  Of course many of the layers are popped on dimensionals because why not?

  Finally the card base is Whisper White thick and the DSP is from the Peaceful Poppies DSP.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Painted Poppies, Here's a Card

Ink: Basic Gray, Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight

Blends: Pool Party light

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Peaceful Poppies DSP

Accessories: Stitched Nested Labels dies, paper doily (retired), Crushed Curry Mini Chevron ribbon (retired), dimensionals 

Basic in Greens - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature

 We have all kinds of green things sprouting up in our yard and at our parks.  We noticed just yesterday that our crepe myrtles have itty bitty leaves.  My card today is inspired by all these greens I'm seeing.

  I joined the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge for this card and stuck with a very basic design and layout.  It was also a good design to use up some of my Garden Lane DSP.

  I used a Mossy Meadow card base and went up in lightness from there.  After the Garden Lane DSP panel I stamped a piece of Pear Pizzazz with one of the leaf/branch images from Rooted in Nature.  I stamped off each time for a very light image.  Then I embossed it with the Subtle embossing folder.  Some retired candy dots in what I think are Always Artichoke are in the corners.  I seriously still have hundred of these things so you'll be seeing them a lot more!  I wrapped a length of linen thread around it and then tied a bow before popping it up with dimensionals.

  The sentiment panel is cut with the Stitched Shapes dies.  I stamped the same leaf/branch image also stamping off and then stamped the sentiment over the top in Mossy Meadow and popped it up with dimensionals.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow

Paper: Mossy Meadow, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Garden Lane DSP

Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, Stitched Shapes dies, dimensionals, linen thread, candy dots (retired)

Pastel Butterflies - Stampin' Up! Butterfly Gala

  Usually I can get my cards posted in the mornings but today I am running behind!  I decided today was the day to attempt our first big grocery shopping trip in nearly a month.  My husband had grabbed a few things when he had to be out for other reasons a few weeks ago but it's been a long time since I made a store run.  Usually I'm a once a week, or once every 10 days shopper.  We were all out of milk already for a few days and were either out of our quite low on a lot of other things so I figured it might as well be today.  I needed 2 carts to leave the store!  But I won't have to go back for a good long while so we can hunker down at home for at least a month.  I hope.

  My card to day is for the Just Add Ink challenge.  They have a pretty pastel combination for us this time.  I'm usually not a huge fan of baby pinks but for certain cards it works.

  For the background stamping I actually cut apart the 2 butterflies so I could stamp them where I wanted to much easier.  They are connected to make it easy to line up in the punch to punch both sizes at once but I found it worked just fine to line the edges back up for stamping in preparation to punch.  Don't be afraid to cut them apart if you find it works better for your stamping.  The punch works fine on one at a time as well.

  Only a few things to note on this project; the vellum leaves are cut with the Frosted Bouquet dies and tucked under the other elements.  The butterflies are colored with Blends (colors listed below), added a few candy dots and From My Heart faceted gems for a little bit of embellishment on the popped rectangle panel.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Butterfly Gala

Ink: Blushing Bride, Highland Heather, Balmy Blue

Blends: Highland Heather light & dark, Purple Posy light & dark

Paper: Blushing Bride, Whisper White, vellum, Gingham Gala DSP (retired)

Accessories: Butterfly Duet punch, Frosted Bouquet dies, Stitched Nested Label dies, lace ribbon, dimensionals, From My Heart faceted gems, candy dots (retired), dimensionals

Vintage Easter - Stampin' Up! Free As A Bird

    Only a few days left to share Easter projects.  I've got to get my cards in the mail so they can be delivered before Sunday.  Would it be wrong to mail them out with my Santa postage left from Christmas??  I ordered new postage stamps online and got them on Friday and I have to say the choices online are so much better than what the post office usually has.  I couldn't decide so I ended up buying $55 worth!  Normally that would last a really long time but I have been sending out several cards every day so we'll see when I have to restock!

  I made this project at the end of last week after seeing the challenge over at The Card Concept.  They have a nice inspiration photo to work with.  My card ended up being a Shabby Chic/Vintage style with the sponging and Tin Tile embossing folder.  My inspiration from the photo are the colors, cross, bird and flowers.

 

  One of my most favorite embossing folders ever is the Tin Tile e.f.  It just has such a nice detailed pattern and to my surprise, makes a lovely cross.  I didn't realize it until I started this card but if you emboss a 4" x 5.25" piece of cardstock you can line it up just so in the folder so that if you trim out the top right and left squares as well as the 2 bottom ones on each outside row you end up with a perfect cross!  I sponged my cross with Crumb Cake ink and adhered it with dimensionals to a panel of Crumb Cake that is embossed with the Subtle embossing folder and sponged around the edges.

  The bird is stamped in Soft Suede and them colored with Pretty Peacock blends.  I fussy cut him and tucked him behind my bouquet of flowers made with the Bouquet Bunch dies.  It's hard to see but the flower centers are lightly colored with light Pool Party Blends.

  I wrapped a bit of burlap ribbon around the stems and and finished it off with a Pretty Peacock faceted gem.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Free As A Bird

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

Blends: Pretty Peacock light & dark, Pool Party light

Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Mossy Meadow

Accessories: Subtle e.f., Tin Tile e.f., Bouquet Bunch dies, burlap ribbon, faceted gem, dimensionals

Blue Palms Thanks - Stampin' Up! Tropical Chic

  Happy Palm Sunday!  Even though we aren't able to worship with our church family we are saying our Hosannas and waving our palm branches at home.  We've been lucky to have our church be able to stream services on Facebook so we've done church from our couch the last few weeks.  It's definitely different (my singing is really subpar in a small group setting lol!!) but also similar enough to be comforting.

  My card today is a sketch challenge from Freshly Made Sketches and then the colors I saw in a home decorating catalog.  The catalog showed large prints of leaves in a beautiful rich blue and they were matted in gold frames.  It was so pretty and the blue was unexpected...you always seem to think of tropical leaves in greens but the blue was gorgeous.  I thought I could use the blue/gold combo for a card.

   I don't do square cards very often but since it's a challenge I thought why not.  It's a bit hard to adjust to a smaller area to work with lol!  I got all the elements crammed on the card front though!

  The card base is Whisper White thick, then a slightly smaller piece of Whisper White embossed with the Subtle embossing folder.  A strip of retired Brushed Gold cardstock is adhered to the edge as well as used for the center stitched circle die cut.

  All 3 leaves are stamped in soon to be retiring Blueberry Bushel ink and then die cut.  The center palm is popped on dimensionals with a little bit of gold twine tied around the stem.

  The "thanks" is from the Here's a Card stamp set and is embossed in gold.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Tropical Chic, Here's a Card

Ink: Blueberry Bushel, Versamark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Brushed Gold (retired)

Accessories: Tropical dies, Subtle embossing folder, Stitched Shapes dies, gold embossing powder, dimensionals, gold twine (retired)

Bunny Koala? - Stampin' Up! Bonanza Buddies

  Quarantine or not things always get started later for our family on Saturdays!  I usually don't blog on the weekends but with all that's happening and having so much extra time in my stamp room I have plenty of projects to share these days.  And since I've been doing mostly challenges I want to get them posted before the challenge ends. BC (Before Covid) I would do a lot of challenges but never was able to get them photographed and posted in time.  So I feel that I am doing ok on being consistent in these uncertain times!

  My card today is a color challenge over at Color Throwdown.  They use generic color shades so I used kraft, Blushing Bride, Petal Pink, Pear Pizzazz, Smoky Slate and Basic Gray for my project.

This is a variation of my Bunny Pig card from last week.  I was just so tickled at the little bunny ears with the daisy punch that when I saw the colors for this challenge I figured I could do a koala with bunny ears also.  I used a lot of different supplies for this card and really enjoyed using some older dies as well as the retired Kraft paper that SU carried a few years ago to complete my little Easter scene.

  First the background is the Breathtaking Bouquet stamp from the Mini catalog.  I stamped it in Versamark and then embossed it with clear embossing powder.  It's a really cool look and adds some nice subtle texture.

  The egg die cut is from the Dino dies.  I cut 2 halves and lightly sponged the edges with Smoky Slate for definition. A Pear Pizzazz shimmer ribbon knot decorates the side of the egg.  The flower stem and blossoms are cut with the Bouquet Bunch dies.  The flower centers all have a small adhesive pearl.

  The koala body is stamped in Smoky Slate and his face is Basic Gray.  The nose has a layer of Clear Wink of Stella for some shimmer.  The bunny ears are punched with the Daisy punch out of retired White Velvet paper and Blushing Bride ink and a blender pen are used to color the insides.

  The more I'm doing Easter cards with non-Easter stamp sets the more I think next year I'm going to have to get a real Easter set so as not to run out of ideas!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Bonanza Buddies, Breathtaking Bouquet

Ink: Versamark, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Blushing Bride

Paper: Kraft (retired), Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride, Petal Pink, White velvet (retired)

Accessories: Dino dies, Bonanza dies, Bouquet Bunch dies, clear embossing powder, dimensionals, adhesive pearls, Pear Pizzazz shimmer ribbon (retired)

Friendly Cat - Stampin' Up! Nine Lives

   We had a little kitty visit our yard a few days ago.  It was a friendly little thing and looked well cared for so I assume it's a neighborhood cat wandering about spreading some love.  She hung about our yard for quite some time while the boys were outside playing.  Aggie spotted her through the fence and was very excited to try to meet her; the cat wanted nothing at all to do with a meet and greet though.  Even though it was just a cat walking around it was enough of a novelty that it broke up some of the sameness of the day.  I guess we're at that point where little things like that are way more interesting than they normally would be.

  And it so happens that I was planning to make a cat card so it seems like good timing!  I used the challenge at Stampin' Up! Only Challenges for my sketch.  It's to case one of the card designs on page 42 of the Mini catalog.  I liked the layout of the long narrow card but those always seem impractical to mail so I just used a regular sized card base.

  Lately I've been using a lot of Pool Party so I thought a bit of a color change was in order so Balmy Blue takes the stage on this card.  It's a Balmy Blue base with another layer of Balmy Blue embossed with the Tufted embossing folder.

  The large main panel is watercolor paper and I used Colored Pencils in Balmy Blue and Granny Apple Green and an Aquapainter to do the background.  I stamped some open hearts in Balmy Blue onto the sky.

  The kitty cat is stamped in Smoky Slate then I added a little bit of lighter gray with the Basic Gray colored pencil.  After punching out I popped him/her? up on dimensionals.

  To pull in another spring-y cheerful color I used some retired Gingham Gall DSP in Daffodil Delight to stamp the sentiment banner and the ball of yarn which is then fussy cut.  A bakers twine bow embellishes the banner for the final detail.

  I'm continuing to send out a lot of cards otherwise I don't know what I would do with everything I'm making!  Maybe I'll have to start selling some to help make some cash to pay for all the postage!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Nine Lives

Ink: Smoky Slate, Balmy Blue

Paper: Balmy Blue, watercolor paper, Whisper White, Gingham Gala DSP (retired)

Accessories: Cat punch, Tufted embossing folder, dimensionals, Basic Gray baker's twine (retired), Colored Pencils

Tropical Hello - Stampin' Up! Tropical Chic

  About the only thing interesting happening around our house these days is that our bluebird pair just hatched 4 eggs so we've been watching them on the bird camera a lot.   It fun to see Rachel & Andy (those are the parents) come and go with bugs and other unidentifiable food things.  This is the first time we've had 4 eggs; in the past there have been 5 or 6 eggs so we're curious to see if this family grows more quickly or not.

  For my card today I'm playing along with the sketch over at Global Design Project.  I went bold with these colors and was originally inspired by a bedding print I saw in a catalog.

  First I stamped the background by using my bright colors and different leaves from the Tropical Chic stamp set.  My idea was to make custom DSP and then layer the banner and circle elements right on top.  Well once I finished the background it was super busy and bright and I felt that any other element would kind of get lost. 

  I decided to use a piece of vellum and emboss it with the Subtle embossing folder for a bit of texture and to also tone down the background stamping.  I think it worked!  I still can see my leaves and colors but it lets the banner and circle be the focal element.

  The banner is embossed with the Coastal Weave embossing folder and then I embossed in white the Hello from the Varied Vases set.  I added an enamel dot and a white baker's twine bow.

  On a Whisper White stitched circle I layered the die cut leaves and the stamped and die cut flowers using dimensionals for some of them.  I used markers to highlight the centers of the flowers.

   Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Tropical Chic, Varied Vases

Ink: Blueberry Bushel, Granny Apple Green, Poppy Parade, Bermuda Bay, Mango Melody, Versamark

Paper: Blueberry Bushel, Whisper White, Vellum, Granny Apple Green

Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, Coastal Weave embossing folder, Stitched Shapes dies, Tropical dies, dimensionals, enamel dots, bakers twine, white embossing powder