Polka Dot Puffin - Stampin' Up! Party Puffins

 Squeezing in a really quick post this afternoon between stamping classes and vet visits!  I made this one for the Seize the Birthday challenge which has "stencils" as the topping item this time.

  I used a retired stencil/mask from the Basic Pattern pack.  It's just all purpose polka dots in which I used a spray bottle with water and re-inker mixed together and did the stencil on the card front as well as the Basic White panels.  The white panels started out as one larger piece that I cut to size after it dried.

  I think Calypso Coral and Parakeet Party are a fun, festive match for a birthday card!  I also used a little bit of Butterfly Kisses DSP and some of the new Metallic Woven ribbon.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Party Puffins

Ink: Memento Black, Calypso Coral (reinker)

Blends: Mango Melody (retired), Parakeet Party light, Calypso Coral light, Daffodil Delight light

Paper: Calypso Coral, Basic White, Butterfly Kisses DSP, Parakeet Party

Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, Basic Patterns Decorative Masks (retired), dimensionals, Woven Metallic ribbon, Calypso Coral ribbon (retired)

Ocean Seashell - Stampin' Up! Friends Are Like Seashells

   After seeing the fun inspiration photo the Just Add Ink challenge has for their current challenge I had to play along.  I mulled ideas for a few days then decided to do the rubbing alcohol and Stampin' Blends background technique.  I thought it would be a good way to incorporate the beautiful water colors from the inspiration photo.

  To get the cool background I colored different Blends markers in a diagonal across a piece of vellum then used an empty water painter and some rubbing alcohol to lightly blend the colors together adding a bit more color where needed.  Once the vellum was dry I tore one edge and then adhered it to a slightly larger piece of Basic White and then tore that edge to match.  

  I layered the panel onto a Crumb Cake card base and then added my other elements.  The shell is stamped in Crumb Cake and die cut and embossed for extra texture.  The seaweed pulls in the green of the trees in the photo.  The sentiment is stamped and added across the bottom of the shell.  For the embellishment I sprinkled some Faux Sea Glass Shapes on the edge for more texture.

  This was such a fun challenge and I was definitely inspired by it.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Friends Are Like Seashells

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pretty Peacock (retired)

Blends: (from bottom to top) Pretty Peacock dark & light (retired), Bermuda Bay dark & light, Tahitian Tide dark & light, Pool Party dark

Paper: Crumb Cake, vellum, Basic White, Shaded Spruce

Accessories: Faux Sea Glass Shapes, dimensionals, Seaside Seashells dies, Seashells embossing folder, rubbing alcohol

Butterfly Hello - Stampin' Up! Amazing Silhouettes

  Just popping in to share this card using the Freshly Made Sketches layout before it's too late!  The angled layer was a fun element that I wanted to try out.

 I hadn't used the Amazing Silhouettes stamp set in a while and I thought that the butterfly stamp would work perfectly for the circle part of the sketch.

  I started with an Orchid Oasis card base, then cut a layer of Heart & Home DSP with the Basic Borders dies to create the angle.  I then backed it with a piece of Fresh Freesia and hand trimmed the edge to match the DSP.

  I stamped the butterfly and fussy cut it and then layered it over a Tea Boutique DSP banner, and some Granny Apple Green Forever Flourishing greens.  I added adhesive rhinestones for the butterfly body and then popped it all up on dimensionals.

  The sentiment from Full of Love is embossed in white along the short angle.  I should have lined up and embossed the sentiment before adhering all the other elements so I was just hoping that I didn't smudge or mess it up as the last thing.  I know better but sometimes I just get ahead of myself!  

  Thanks for the team over at Freshly Made Sketches for a fun layout!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Amazing Silhouettes, Full of Love

Ink: Fresh Freesia, Versamark

Paper: Orchid Oasis, Fresh Freesia, Granny Apple Green, Heart & Home DSP, Tea Boutique DSP, Basic White

Accessories: Basic Borders dies, Forever Flourishing dies, white embossing powder, dimensionals, adhesive rhinestones

Sweet Heart Hello - Stampin' Up! Sweet Conversations

   We are getting down to the final weeks of the Stampin' Up! Jan.-June Mini catalog so it's a good thing to re-visit some of the stamp sets that will be retiring!  Make sure you've checked your list and if there are any you still want now is the time to order.  All products that are retiring are while supplies last.  I thought I would pull out the Sweet Conversations set and try to make a non- Valentine's Day card with it!  I think I was successful and I love the colors which don't make me think of Valentine's day at all!

  I used the Global Design Project challenge for this one. They have us caseing the designer so I chose to use the layout with the focal points in the 2 opposite corners as well as the tripled sentiment in the center.

  I stamped and embossed a bunch of different hearts and then die cut them and arranged them in the 2 corners with a few being popped up for dimension.  

  The sentiment from Inspired Thoughts is embossed 3 times on Sahara Sand and then trimmed and also popped up with dimensionals.

  I added a Calypso Coral baker's twine bow to one large heart and then glued a few retired From My Heart faceted gems in each heart grouping for a bit of sparkle.

  I should have been using this Valentine themed stamp set all along!    

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sweet Conversations, Inspired Thoughts

Ink: Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Soft Sea Foam, Petal Pink, Versamark

Paper: Soft Sea Foam, Basic White, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Petal Pink, Sahara Sand

Accessories: Sweet Heart dies, white embossing powder, dimensionals, bakers twine, From My Heart faceted gems (retired)

Songbird for Dad - Stampin' Up! Sweet Songbirds

   I am definitely getting a lot of mileage out of the Sweet Songbirds bundle since I got it with my demonstrator preorder.  I paired it up today with the colors from Color Throwdown.  The inspiration photo is awesome and we loved Schitt's Creek so I had to play along.  I thought the colors worked well for a Father's Day card.  I don't have many (any!) masculine themed stamp sets at the moment but having a few bird watchers in the family it seemed like a good direction to go in!

  I scoured my DSP and found 3 different patterns in the challenge colors that were of a similar scale and layered them on a piece of Basic White and then layered that on a Basic Black card base.

  The bird is stamped in Real Red and punched out.  The beak is punched from So Saffron cardstock and the feet are stamped in the same on a Stylish Shape circle backed in Basic Black.  A few music notes fill in the space to the side.

  The sentiment is stamped in Memento black onto Pool Party cardstock then cut apart and popped on dimensionals.  The embellishments are retired Pool Party baker's twine and some black Classic Matte Dots.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sweet Songbirds, Something to Celebrate (retired)

Ink: Real Red, So Saffron, Memento Black

Paper: Basic Black, Basic White, So Saffron, Pattern Party DSP (retired), Berry Delightful DSP (retired), Hand-Penned DSP (retired), Pool Party

Accessories: Songbird Builder punch, Stylish Shapes dies, Circle dies (retired), dimensionals, baker's twine (retired), Classic Matte Dots

Get Well Flock - Stampin Up! Sweet Songbirds

   Just popping in to share this quick Clean & Simple card I made to play along with the CAS Colours & Sketches challenge this week.  I saw this color combo from Tammy Wilson and made of note of it because Pacific Point is hard for me to use as I feel that it just doesn't play nicely with other colors.  So when I see a good combo with it I want to remember it.  I thought the little birds in Sweet Songbirds would look fun in these colors to go along with the challenge sketch which I flipped so that the birds would fit better.

 Since it is a clean and simple challenge I kept it very minimal and only added the sentiment banner and small bow as embellishments.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sweet Songbirds, Through It Together

Ink: Pacific Point, Tahitian Tide, Parakeet Party, Mango Melody, Memento Black

Paper: Basic White, Pacific Point, Tahitian Tide

Accessories: Songbird builder punch, dimensionals, Parakeet Party baker's twine

Golden Pop-Up Birthday - Stampin' Up! Pretty Pop-Ups Dies

 I was just playing around with different ideas for the new Stampin' Up! Pretty Pop-Ups dies and this card is the result.  I'm not entirely sure I like it but maybe it will inspire someone out there to improve it!

  The gold was kind of hard to photograph, especially with the gray weather we've been having the last few days.  I started off with brushing ink (Melon Mambo and Tahitian Tide) onto watercolor paper and drying it with my heat tool and then running them through the die cutter with the Pretty Pop-Ups die as well as doing the same with a piece of the new Distressed Gold specialty paper.  

  Then I pushed out different parts of the pattern on each panel with my paper piercer and then mounted them with dimensionals onto a Basic White panel and then added that to a Tahitian Tide card base.

  I embossed the birthday greeting from Paradise Palms in gold and then cut it out with a Stylish Shapes circle.  I popped that up with dimensionals and a length of Tahitian Tide Metallic Woven ribbon.  A Brushed Brass Butterfly and 2 gold gems add just a bit more sparkle around the sentiment.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Paradise Palms

Ink: Melon Mambo, Tahitian Tide, Versamark

Paper: Tahitian Tide, Basic White, Melon Mambo, water color paper, Distressed Gold Specialty paper

Accessories: Pretty Pop-Ups dies, dimensionals, gold embossing powder, Brushed Brass Butterflies, gold gems, Metallic Woven ribbon

Sweet Freesia Songbird - Stampin' Up! Sweet Songbirds

   After having an extremely busy weekend I'm trying to figure out where my focus should be!  As usual card making wins out!  Or at least blogging about cards does.  This is another design we made at my last Quick & Easy card class and it's just so cute!  I just can't get enough of these adorable birds!

  Since this was my quick and easy class it's not a complicated design.  Taking advantage of the Songbird Builder punch and a Tailored Tag die cut this one comes together pretty easily.  The All Together DSP black designs make a great contrast to the pastel Fresh Freesia.

 Since I do this class away from home I need to keep the supplies I use to a reasonable amount (let me tell it's a struggle sometimes because I want my stampers to get to see/try so much!!).  If you're one to pack supplies to use away from home remember that using your Stampin' Write markers in lieu of an ink pad is a great space/weight saver.  Since I was only using Mango Melody for the legs and beak I decided to just use my marker instead of the ink pad.  The beak was punched out of Basic White along with the chest piece and the marker was used to color it and the little legs stamp was colored with the brush tip side of the marker.  See I can do hard things like use minimal supplies :)

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sweet Songbirds

Ink: Memento Black

Marker: Mango Melody

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Fresh Freesia, All Together DSP

Accessories: Songbird Builder punch, Tailored Tags dies, dimensionals, Fresh Freesia open weave ribbon, 2021-2023 In Color jewels (retired)

  

Forest Friends Thanks - Stampin' Up! Happier Than Happy

   I'm joining in the fun over at Freshly Made Sketches today with their fun layout using circles! I knew what I wanted to do with this sketch as soon as I saw it.  It took me longer to figure out what DSP to use in the background than anything!

  I kept the colors muted and neutral for the whole woodland theme. The card base is Pear Pizzazz, then a layer of Happy Forest Friends DSP, then the layer of Basic White with the holes die cut.

  I stamped the animals, die cut and trimmed the bear to fit then popped them up with dimensionals in the holes.  The sentiment is stamped on Mossy Meadow, embossed in white and then cut out with the sweet tag die in the Happy Forest dies. Some linen thread to finish off the tag as well as a few retired candy dots in Crumb Cake in the corners keeps the embellishments to minimum.  

  What a fun sketch!  Maybe if I have time I'll try it again with a totally different take.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happier Than Happy

Ink: Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Versamark

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Basic White, Happy Forest Friends DSP, Mossy Meadow

Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, Happy Forest dies, dimensionals, linen thread, white embossing powder, candy dots (retired)

Celebration Songbird - Stampin' Up! Sweet Songbirds

   I'm playing along with a great sketch today over at Hand Stamped Sentiments!  I love the big banner element; it's a great way to show off a larger piece of DSP.  I thought the Sweet Songbirds would be a fun set to use for this sketch.

  These are such fun, bright colors to work with.  I love how the In Colors this year work so well with each other.  I started with an Orchid Oasis base, then a piece of 2022-2024 In Colors DSP in Tahitian Tide for the banner.  I shared a quick reel on Instagram a week or so ago on how to get a perfect banner/flag end.  Check out the tip @didyoustamptoday I edged the banner with a little scalloped detail from the Penned Flowers dies.

  The bird and wing are stamped and punched out, the nest and branch stamped and fussy cut along with the sign and then they are all adhered to the card front either flat or with dimensionals.  I used a bit of the Orchid Oasis baker's twine to hang the sign so it would follow the sketch.

  I added 2 Decorative Matte Dots in Parakeet Party for a final touch.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sweet Songbirds

Ink: Orchid Oasis, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Parakeet Party

Marker: Mango Melody

Paper: Orchid Oasis, 2022-2024 In Color DSP, Basic White, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Songbird Builder punch, Penned Flowers dies, dimensionals, In Color baker's twine, Decorative Matte Dots

Envelope Love - Stampin' Up! Full of Love

   I can't resist a mini envelope whether in stamp or die form.  Every other year or so Stampin' Up! has a die set that has a mini envelope and every time I buy it because they are just so darn cute!  I'm feeling the same thing for the Full of Love stamp set with the 2 cute envelope images.  My card today features just the little addressed envelope without the floral surround.  It's super easy to stamp the envelope and cut it out to use without the flowers.  I love images that are versatile like this!

  I paired the cute envelopes with The Color Hues challenge.  My stamping friend Nanc' runs this challenge and the design team always has fabulous samples with great design ideas!  This time they are playing with Red & Aqua!  I almost went for a Christmas card with these fresh colors but my one current Christmas set wasn't doing it for me so I switched to the envies!

  Just a sweet little card sending someone a hug!  I started with a Basic White card base then added a piece of 2022-2024 In Color DSP in Sweet Sorbet in a nice polka dot pattern.  I think Sweet Sorbet is one of those in between colors; it can go to the pink side or the red side depending on how you use it.  

  I stamped 5 envelopes and cut them out and then colored in the little heart stamp in either Coastal Cabana or Sweet Sorbet.  I adhered them across the edge of the DSP.

  To bring a bit more Coastal Cabana to the card I added a narrow strip to anchor my sentiment and added a bit of Sweet Sorbet baker's twine.  The sentiment is from Through It Together and is die cut with a retired Tasteful Label die and matted with a Basic Black circle for contrast.

  To bring just a bit of sparkle to this card I carefully added some Dazzling Details to the hearts on the envelopes and one Iridescent Rhinestone to the sentiment.

  Don't forget to mail out all those cards you are making and send someone a paper hug!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Full of Love, Through It Together

Ink: Memento Black

Markers: Sweet Sorbet, Coastal Cabana

Paper: Basic White, Basic White thick, Coastal Cabana, 2022-2024 In Color DSP, Basic Black

Accessories: In Color bakers twine, Iridescent Rhinestones, dimensionals, Dazzling Details (retired), Tasteful Labels dies (retired)

Basket of Love - Stampin' Up! Cheerful Basket

   My card today is one that my stampers made at my last Quick & Easy card class.  The layout for this one is basic but so cute showing off the adorable basket and hearts from the new Cheerful Basket stamp set!  Using a bit of easy masking and quick coloring with watercolor pencils this is a fun card to re-create at home with minimal supplies.

  The card base is Crumb Cake, then a layer of Sweet Talk DSP in a fun Highland Heather striped pattern.  The basket is first stamped in Crumb Cake, then a mask made out of a stick note is used to cover the basket image and then the hearts are also stamped in Crumb Cake.  Using a mask makes it really easy to get your hearts lined up just right so they appear tucked inside the basket without any stray lines overlapping the basket image.

  Next the colors are added with watercolor pencils.  I lightly colored in just the sides of the basket and the left side of each heart.  I pulled the color across the image with a blender pen. Don't try to work the color too much with the blender pen as the Basic White cardstock will pill.  A light hand for this type of coloring is a must.  You can always add a bit more color with your pencil to fill in any open spots.  Be sure to clean off your blender pen tip between colors by just scribbling a bit on scrap paper until it runs clear.  For more blending options use watercolor paper for no pilling.

  A small hello sentiment from Go To Greetings and a bit of the new Metallic Woven ribbon in Sweet Sorbet (mine is a lot lighter than the ink and cardstock in the same color so it matched perfectly with the Flirty Flamingo watercolor pencil) finish off the details for this card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cheerful Basket

Ink: Crumb Cake, Highland Heather

Paper: Crumb Cake, Sweet Talk DSP, Bermuda Bay, Basic White

Accessories: watercolor pencils, small circle punch, Metallic Woven ribbon, dimensionals

Pop Up Birthday - Stampin' Up! Pretty Pop-Ups Dies

   The designers over at Global Design Project have a fun theme for their challenge this week; Beautiful Bugs.  Definitely can do that with my new Pretty Pop-Ups dies!  Don't sleep on this fun die set.  You might overlook it in the new catalog because it isn't paired with a stamp set in a bundle but these dies are really cute and different from other die sets we have right now.  Check them out on page 17 of the new catalog.

  I used the die along with a pretty color combo I had noted from a bedding catalog.  

  The delicate petals and wings all have a lovely dimension to to them when you fold them outwards.  I found the easiest way to do this is with my piercing tool and poke them out from the back.  After coloring the images with Blends I die cut the image I cut it out with a retired oval die set and then cut another for the backing.  I popped the top layer with dimensional for extra dimension.  Then added a larger oval in Calypso Coral for a matte.

  The sentiment layer is also cut and colored and popped across the card front.  I added a bit of Petal Pink ribbon and linen thread as well as some Iridescent rhinestones to some of the small flower.  Some details on the main image are highlighted with Wink of Stella but it doesn't show in the photo.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Go To Greetings, Stitchery

Ink: Soft Sea Foam, Calypso Coral

Blends: Daffodil Delight light & dark, Calypso Coral light & dark, Soft Sea Foam dark, Crumb Cake light, Petal Pink light & dark

Paper: Soft Sea Foam, Basic White, Calypso Coral

Accessories: Pretty Pop-Ups dies, Stripes & Splatters embossing folder, Iridescent rhinestones, oval dies, dimensionals, Petal Pink Cotton ribbon, linen thread

Windmill Thank You - Stampin' Up! Tulip Fields

   Just a very quick share today!  It's a Clean and Simple card (CAS) so there isn't a whole lot of technique to talk about!  I used the Paper Players clean and simple challenge which is to use a house on your card.  Before I decided to go with the windmill I did google to make sure people actually lived in them and it seems that they do so I went with it.  I guess a non-traditional house counts but if it doesn't it was a fun card to make anyway!

  I started with a piece of the 2022-2024 In Color DSP in one of the Starry Sky patterns.  Then added a hand torn Basic White panel with the windmill stamped and colored with Blends.  I love the pop of blue on the door!  The sentiment is also stamped in Starry Sky.

  I die cut a few clouds and added them the the sky above the windmill.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Tulip Fields, Beauty of Friendship (sentiment)

Ink: Soft Suede, Starry Sky

Blends: Crumb Cake light & dark, Starry Sky light & dark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, 2022-2024 In Color DSP

Accessories: Windmill dies

Stacked Tea Cups - Stampin' Up! Cup of Tea

   I am furiously working to get a lot of samples made before my next class.  It's always hard to show off all the ideas for one stamp set even over several classes so I like to have a lot of card made for my stampers to see all the possibilities even if we don't get to make the exact design in class.  I always have way more idea than time so it's great when challenges come up that make it easy to narrow down ideas.

  I paired the Color Throwdown colors with the TGIF Challenge layout and I thought some pastel tea cups would look cute stacked up for the top panel of the sketch.

  I must have stamped about 12 different tea cups before landing on the combination that was "just right".  I seriously felt like Goldilocks trying out all the choices and now I have a bunch of tea cups to try to use up on other projects!  It's a lot of pink and purple!!

  The DSP in the background is Butterfly Kisses 6x6 DSP and I used a Stitched with Whimsy die to add a bit of detail.  Next is a piece of Distressed Gold paper which is just so pretty in person.  It was hard to capture how nice it looks but it has a great sheen to it without being super glossy.  It's very light weight also so will not add bulk to your cards at all.

    For the long skinny element on the sketch I used a length of retired Blushing Bride Frayed Grosgrain ribbon.  Once the tea cup were stacked up and popped with dimensionals I added a few embellishments.  The top cup has a Brushed Brash Butterfly, the middle cup has a crinkled seam binding fork bow (click HERE for a tutorial on how to make a fork bow) and the bottom cup has the embossed sentiment with a little added flower.

  A fun little card with a bit of elegant gold because why not??

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cup of Tea, Go To Greetings

Ink: Blushing Bride, Fresh Freesia, Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Butterfly Kisses DSP, Distressed Gold Specialty paper, Fresh Freesia

Accessories: Tea Cups dies, Stitched With Whimsy, dimensionals, gold embossing powder, white embossing powder, Frayed Grosgrain ribbon (retired), Brushed Brass Butterflies, crinkled seam binding ribbon, In Color rhinestone (retired)

Coneflower Greeting - Stampin' Up! Go To Greetings

   The Festive Friday challenge is always a good one to check out for a great theme challenge.  I love the "celebration" days they choose to highlight and their inspiration lists always contain fun elements to use to create.  This time around they are celebrating World Bee Day and I was able to fit quite a few elements from the list onto my card but alas no bee!  I didn't think I had a bee image and of course realized I did after the card was already finished.  Oh well.  But that's the great things about these challenges is you don't have to theme your card for the day; as long as you use at least 3 of the items you're good to go!

  I used flowers, yellow, black, embossing (2 kinds!), silhouette, and twine from the list.  The fun DSP is the Tea Boutique 6x6 paper and while it has some nice pastel-y patterns there are also a few more bold choices.  I loved this floral one in Sweet Sorbet.  I cut a tag to put behind my big coneflower silhouette from the Harvest dies set.

  A little embossing with the retired Subtle embossing folder as well as a heat embossed sentiment from Go To Greetings brings some texture to the card. 

  Some little details like the scalloped edge, torn layers and dot embellishments bring this card together.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Go To Greetings

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Basic White, Tea Boutique DSP

Accessories: Harvest dies, Tailored Tag dies, black bakers twine, dimensionals, black embossing powder, Penned Flowers dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Matte Decorative Dots, candy dots (retired), Subtle embossing folder (retired)

Tea Cup Thanks - Stampin' Up! Cup of Tea

 My card today uses the new Cup of Tea stamp set and is just a cute little card to say thank you.  I used some of the non-tea cup stamps to create the background panel and adhered it on an angle for added interest.  We made this on at my last Quick & Easy card class.  If you're in the Richmond, VA area and would like to learn stamping or just meet up to stamp with others please let me know and I'll get you on my mailing list so you can join the fun!

  Once I had the leaves and flowers stamped I  wrapped some white baker's twine around the panel a few times then added a bow separately.  I popped it up on the card front with dimensionals.  Next I cut out a tea cup and added the thank you sentiment and then popped it up with dimensionals as well.

  The final detail is a few clear Polished Dots scattered on the stamped panel.

  This would be a great design if you had to make multiples as it's cute without being overly complicated or fussy and that's always a consideration when making a big batch of same cards.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cup of Tea

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Granny Apple Green

Paper: Sahara Sand, Basic White, Coastal Cabana

Accessories: Teacup Dies, dimensionals, white baker's twine, Polished Dots

Floral Envelope Thanks - Full of Love

   I'm playing along with 2 of my favorite challenges today!  The colors come from The Paper Players and the layout is from Freshly Made Sketches.  I had pulled these colors out to use earlier in the week and just hadn't gotten to them yet but today is the day!  They are nice and crisp together and work perfectly with the sketch!

  I am just having the best time with the Full of Love stamp set!  There is something about the clean, open images that just make me want to use them all the time.  And the fact that this is a new set is also probably part of it!  

  For this one I just colored the image with Blends and then fussy cut and popped it up over the flagged sentiment and stamped Night of Navy strip.  The background is the new Fern embossing folder.  A few iridescent rhinestone add just a hint of sparkle.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Full of Love, Happier Than Happy (sentiment)

Ink: Night of Navy

Blends: Fresh Freesia light & dark, Granny Apple Green light & dark, Night of Navy light

Paper: Fresh Freesia, Basic White, Night of Navy

Accessories: Fern embossing folder, dimensionals, Iridescent Rhinestones

Happy Hello Bear - Stampin' Up! Happier Than Happy

 I'm playing along with the CAS Colours & Sketches team again.  They have a fun layout which I'll be honest,  I had a hard time keeping myself from adding more details and embellishments!  But I stuck to the 'clean and simple' directive.

  I'm using the big bear from the Happier Than Happy set along with a narrow strip of the coordinating Happy Forest Friends DSP.

  I wanted to add the little stump and some mushrooms and gems but as you can see this is still a really cute card.

  I started with a Sahara Sand base and then added the layer of DSP on the edge.  I cut a square frame out of Mossy Meadow cardstock using the Stylish Shapes dies.

  The bear is stamped in Soft Suede onto Basic White and then I colored in his nose and mouth area with the light Crumb Cake Blends.  I popped him over the frame for dimension.  The 'hello' sentiment is also from this same set but I used my Mossy Meadow marker to ink up just the hello part leaving the 'baby' uninked. 

  The final detail is a little Calypso Coral baker's twine bow that I found in my scrap ribbon bin.  It retired long ago but baker's twine never goes out of style!  There is a ribbon combo back in Old Olive and Sahara Sand if you're interested in current ribbon that matches this suite.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happier Than Happy

Ink: Soft Suede, Mossy meadow (marker)

Blends: Crumb Cake light

Paper: Sahara Sand, Basic White, Mossy Meadow, Happy Forest Friends DSP 

Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, Happy Forest dies, dimensionals, baker's twine (retired)

In Color Hello - Stampin' Up! Full of Love

   Super quick post today!  I was so inspired by the cool layout the Global Design Project has right now I had to sit down and make this card!

  This was a fun card to make using the new In Colors and the In Color Glimmer paper!  I used up some 1/2" scraps of Basic White for the long strips down the one side adhering them to a Baisc White panel embossed with the retired Tasteful Texture embossing folder.  Then I cut 1/2" strips of the glimmer paper and layered them on a piece of Basic White and then used the Stylish Shapes circle to cut across the paper strips.  

  I popped the circle up on dimensionals lining it up with the white strips.  The sentiment from Full of Love is embossed in black and also popped with dimensionals.  A Matte Decorative dot in Starry Sky is the only embellishment.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Full of Love

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, In Color Glimmer Paper

Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, Black embossing powder, In Color Matte Decorative Dots, Tasteful Textile embossing folder (retired)

Pretty Butterfly Birthday - Stampin' Up! Pretty Pop-Ups Dies

  I'm continuing to create using new products from the 2022-2023 Stampin' Up! annual catalog.  Today's card features the new Pretty Pop-ups dies.  I almost passed these by in the catalog without really looking at them as they aren't bundled with a stamp set.  You can see the die set on page 173 and samples of them being used on page 17.  I thought it was a cool idea having the images cut just enough to pop out the petals, wings and leaves but not cut out the whole shape. 

  Seize the Birthday challenge is to use butterflies or hummingbirds on your card and the Tic Tac Toe challenge board where I'm using the center down column of ribbon/twine, flowers and leaves.

  I basically copied the sample in the catalog except I made it a whole card front and used nice bright, bold colors.

  Do you see my goof up?  I didn't see it myself until I had already colored everything and mounted it on the card front!  I didn't line up the die and so all my butterflies are tilted to the side!  Ooops!  I guess I'll just say that there is a stiff breeze blowing the butterflies sideways! Anyway, I think this die set is really cute and different and I urge you to line up your die better than I did!

  I just cut the die into a piece of water color paper and then using a water painter and ink pads I colored all the elements including the little swirl detail in between everything. All the colors are listed below.

  I used a paper piercer to poke from the back of the design to the front to get each little element popped out a bit and then folded some more on the front to make some of them stand out even more.

  I added a birthday greeting from Go To Greetings under the die cut and then accented it with an Orchid Oasis metallic woven ribbon bow.  Some In Color Matte Decorative Dots accent the center of some of the flowers.

 Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Go To Greetings

Ink: Orchid Oasis, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Mango Melody, Sweet Sorbet, Tahitian Tide, Pool Party

Paper: Orchid Oasis, watercolor paper

Accessories: Pretty Pop-ups dies, Matte Dots, Metallic Woven ribbon

Happier Hello Fox - Stampin' Up! Happier Than Happy

   My card today is one in which I combined two challenges and the end result might be a case of too much for it's own good!  lol! But I'll let you be the judge of that! I used the Global Design Project colors and the Just Add Ink choose two challenge.  

  The JAI challenge of just choose two the choices are heat embossing, stenciling and texture paste.  I chose stenciling with the colors stenciled on the edge of the Basic White panel and the sentiment is heat embossed.  Not sure if they were looking for more embossing but I tried a bunch of different things and none of them worked (see what I mean about maybe less is more??!).

  I used the new Happier Than Happy stamp set to create the little scene in the circle.  I stamped the mushroom along the bottom of a Pale Papaya Stylish Shapes circle in Pale Papaya, stamped one tree in Pool Party and then cut another out of the same cardstock.   The fox is stamped in Calypso Coral and popped up over the other elements.

  The circle is popped on the card front over a narrow strip of Butterfly Kisses DSP and I added a few retired sequins and retired candy dots to accent the sides.

  This card was definitely a challenge but one that I think I made harder on myself than it needed to be!  It just goes like that sometimes doesn't it?

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happier Than Happy, Go To Greetings

Ink: Pale Papaya, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Pale Papaya, Pool Party, Butterfly Kisses DSP

Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, Happy Forest dies, dimensionals, white embossing powder, blending brushes, Adorning Designs masks (retired), sequins (retired), candy dots (retired)

 

 

Hello There Letter - Stampin' Up! Full of Love

   After doing some business-y stamping stuff this morning I rewarded myself with some creative stamping time!  I'm using the new Full of Love stamp set again.  These little flowers and the sweet envelopes are just so cute.  When I showed this card to my husband he thought it must have taken a long time to color in.  Not at all!  The flowers are all kind of small so it takes no time at all with my Blends!  And since I used a limited color palette there iwasn't much dithering over what colors to use!

  The colors are from the TGIF Challenge which is to use Fresh Freesia, Pale Papaya and Soft Succulent.  These are all still current In Colors so definitely don't over look them because they are beautiful together and with other colors!

  This one starts with a Soft Succulent base, then a layer of Basic White embossed with the Gingham embossing folder.  Next I pulled three different DSPs (listed below) all in Fresh Freesia with like sized prints and used the Stitched Rectangle dies to cut one of each pattern.

  Next, the Stylish Shapes circles are used to give a base to the focal element with a larger circle in Soft Succulent and a smaller one in Basic White.  I added a Pale Papaya Open Weave ribbon in a fork bow as an embellishment.

  I stamped the floral envelope image in Basic Gray then colored in with Blends markers in the challenge colors.  I added clear Wink of Stella on the envelope but it doesn't show in the photo.  It's a pretty subtle shimmer just right for these colors.  Then I fussy cut the image and popped it up on dimensionals.

  Finally I stamped the 'hello there' sentiment in Fresh Freesia ink right on the DSP.

  I love how this turned out and I am having such a good time designing with new supplies.  Thanks to TGIF Challenge for the inspiration!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Full of Love

Ink: Basic Gray, Fresh Freesia

Paper: Soft Succulent, Basic White, Tea Boutique DSP, Butterfly Kisses DSP

Blends: Pale Papaya light & dark, Soft Succulent light & dark, Fresh Freesia light & dark

Accessories: Gingham embossing folder, Stitched Rectangle dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Open Weave ribbon, dimensionals

Crafty Basket Hello - Stampin' Up! Cheerful Basket

   I'm back with a project using more brand new products from the 2022-2023 Stampin' Up! Annual catalog!  I used the Cheerful Basket bundle along with some new embellishments!

  My layout came from the Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  The focal point to the one corner was perfect for the basket of crafty supplies!

  I cut out the basket in Soft Suede and Crumb Cake.  Then I stamped the image in Basic Gray and colored them with Blends.  They are both popped up on dimensionals over a watercolored Pool Party shadow.  The Basic White cardstock was first embossed with the retired Tasteful Textile embossing folder.

  The sentiment from Go To Greetings is stamped in Orchid Oasis and cut out with the smallest circle in the Stylish Shapes dies. 

  A few Matte Decorative dots in Orchid Oasis and a bit of Metallic Woven ribbon also in Orchid Oasis finish off the details.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cheerful Basket, Go To Greetings

Ink: Pool Party, Orchid Oasis, Basic Gray

Blends: Pool Party light & dark, Orchid Oasis light & dark, Highland Heather light & dark

Paper: Pool Party, Orchid Oasis, Basic White, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

Accessories: Full Basket dies, dimensionals, Matte Decorative dots, Metallic Woven ribbon, Stylish Shapes dies

Just a Note Envelope - Stampin' Up! Full of Love

   There are 100 other things I should be doing this afternoon but my 2022-2023 Stampin' Up! annual catalog order came earlier and after checking a few things off the 'to do' list I decided to reward myself and make a quick card with some of my brand new products!

  To make it even easier I used the Color Throwdown challenge for my color inspiration.

  I told you this one was quick and just to satisfy my itch to get some ink on brand new rubber!  I used the new Full of Love set and I just love the size of this image.  It's just enough to get some coloring in and then get it on a card front.

  I stamped the image in Memento and then colored it in with Stampin' Blends in the challenge colors (listed below).  I then cut it out with a Stylish Shape square.  I layered it over a strip of the 2022-2024 In Color 6x6 DSP in the Starry Sky plaid pattern.

  Using another new set, Go To Greetings, for the sentiment I used Starry Sky ink and then cut the end to a flag and popped it on dimensionals.  I added a little Sweet Sorbet baker's twine bow as a finishing touch.

  See I told you it was a quick one!  Now I have to get back to that darn 'to do' list!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Full of Love, Go To Greetings

Ink: Memento black, Starry Sky

Blends: Mint Macaron light & dark, Sweet Sorbet light & dark, Starry Sky light & dark, So Saffron light & dark, Gray Granite light

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, In Color 6x6 DSP

Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, In Color Baker's twine