Hey Happy Summer - Stampin' Up! Choose Happy

   I designed this fun summer themed card for my last class.  I wanted to highlight the Choose Happy and Saying Hey stamp sets as they could easily be overlooked for some of the bundles and big suites that are in the Stampin' Up! annual catalog.  

  This one starts with an Azure Afternoon base, then a layer of Melon Mambo.  On the top layer I used Azure Afternoon again and stamped the big 'hey' from the Saying Hey stamp set in Azure Afternoon ink.  I love how this big sentiment looks as a background.

  Next the sun and sailboat from Choose Happy are stamped onto a Basic White Heartfelt Hexagon punch in Memento black.  The images are colored in with colored pencils and blended with a blender pen.  A second Heartfelt Hexagon is punched in Daffodil Delight and is cut in half and added to the back of the other hexagon giving it a nice bright frame.  The hexagon is then popped with dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped in Melon Mambo ink using more stamps from the Choose Happy set and then trimmed to fit to the side of the image.  

  A few Adhesive-backed Dots for Days are added as a final touch.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Saying Hey, Choose Happy

Ink: Azure Afternoon, Memento black

Paper: Azure Afternoon, Melon Mambo, Basic White, Daffodil Delight

Accessories: Heartfelt Hexagon punch, dimensionals, colored pencils, blender pen, Adhesive-backed Dots for Days

Bird & Flower Birthday - Stampin' Up! Country Birdhouse

   I had a bit of time after my morning stamping class and decided to tear myself away from watching the Olympics for a little while and make a card.  I had the Just Add Ink sketch in mind when I started so I looked through my DSP and found a few pieces that worked for the layout.  I used up most of the Frames & Flowers specialty paper back in June but there was still plenty to use for this card.

  I pulled my colors right from the DSP and went with a Lost Lagoon base, then layered the strips of DSP.

  The bird from Country Birdhouse stamp set is stamped in Pretty Peacock and then colored with Stampin' Blends.  The bird is mounted on an Unbounded Love label.  The leaves are also in the Unbounded Love die set so I cut 4 of them in Pretty Peacock and tucked them under the bird.

  The flowers are in the Country Birdhouse die set and I used 2 different dies and Petal Pink and Calypso Coral cardstock then layered  them at the feet of the bird.

  I stamped the sentiment in Pretty Peacock and tucked that in under the flower. An Iridescent Faceted gem is added to the center of the flower for some sparkle.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Country Birdhouse

Ink: Pretty Peacock

Blends: Lost Lagoon light & dark, Petal Pink dark

Paper: Lost Lagoon, Frames & Flowers Specialty DSP, Basic White, Calypso Coral, Petal Pink

Accessories: Country Birdhouse dies, Unbounded Love dies, dimensionals, Iridescent Faceted gem

Iconic Birthday Candles - Stampin' Up! Iconic Imagery

   So I put away the Christmas DSP (for now) but I wanted to use the Iconic Imagery bundle again to do a birthday card and not use any of the colors that are part of the suite.  I saw this color combo over on Instagram the other day and noted it down.  It was shared as part the Stampin' Fancy Friday group and the demo who used it is Ashley Van Camp over at Design With Ink.  She always has beautiful projects that catch my eye!  The colors are Coastal Cabana, Lemon Lime Twist and Peach Pie.  Ashley used Gray Granite in the original combo but I just couldn't make it work on my card.  I'll have to try again with it!

   I was also inspired by Verena Shapiro who is one of Artisan Designers for Stampin' Up! She recently used this bundle and highlighted some of the smaller stamps and dies on hr cards.  The cut out star element especially is CASEd from her.

  Now that I've given credit where credit is rightfully due on to the details of my card!  I used Coastal Cabana for the base and then a wide piece of Basic White embossed with the Dotted Circles embossing folder.

  The 'celebrate' is stamped in Coastal Cabana and is fussy cut.  I inked up and stamped the candles and flames multiple time so I would have enough to cover the whole length of the celebrate.   Die cutting all those pieces was a bit fussy but I think the results were worth it.  That being said I think this is a 'one and done' design lol!

  The fun little elements are all made with the stamps (heart) and dies (small and large star, heart, label and mini stars) from the Iconic Imagery bundle and I just added them around the 'celebrate' before adhering it with dimensionals.

  Some 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer Gems are added around the focal point for a bit of sparkle.  Pro tip- the In Color Summer Splash is a close match to Coastal Cabana so I think embellishments in those 2 colors are interchangeable.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Iconic Imagery

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Peach Pie, Lemon Lime Twist, Lemon Lolly

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Basic White, Peach Pie, Lemon Lime Twist

Accessories: Iconic Imagery dies, Dotted Circles embossing folder, dimensionals, bakers twine, 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer gems

Christmas Circles - Stampin' Up! Iconic Imagery

  Are you all sick of seeing Christmas cards?  I hope not as the Iconic Celebrations suite is still giving me a lot of inspiration!  I paired it up with the current Paper Players challenge.  And congrats to the Paper Players Design Team as they are celebrating their 700th challenge!!  Wow!  I had the honor of joining them as a guest designer a few years ago and they are just the nicest group of stampers and run a well oiled challenge machine.  They are chock full of great ideas every week so if you don't follow them yet I would highly recommend it!

  There really isn't anything fancy on this design and I followed the sketch exactly.  I used the circles as a nice way to highlight the smaller images and give them a nice solid background so they don't get lost against the busier DSP.  I added some retired Cherry Cobbler bakers twine before adhering the DSP to the Cherry Cobbler card base.

  I used the Perennial Postage dies to die cut the plaid Iconic Celebrations DSP to add a little bit of interest to the edges.  3 circles are die cut with the Stylish Shapes dies (still one of my top die sets!).

  The images are stamped and die cut and added to the circles with dimensionals.  The tree has a tiny star added to the top and the snowflake has a clear ribboned adhesive backed dot added to the center.

  Finally the 'joy' sentiment is stamped on the small label and that is added to the card to finish it off.

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  The Iconic Celebrations suite products can be found in the Online Exclusives section.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Iconic Imagery 

Ink: Mossy Meadow, Cherry Cobbler, Misty Moonlight

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Basic White, Iconic Celebrations DSP

Accessories: Iconic Imagery dies, Perennial Postage dies, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, clear ribboned adhesive backed dot, Cherry Cobbler baker's twine (retired)

Hey Birthday - Stampin' Up! Hats Off

  Going back in time a bit with my card today!  The Hats Off stamp set retired in 2022 but for some reason I thought it had been longer than that!  Stamping years go by faster or something?!?  I also used the current set, Sayin' Hey for the sentiment .  I thought they paired up nicely for a birthday card for my nephew.  The layout is inspired by the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge this week.

 Blueberry Bushel makes a nice card base and I used a larger panel of the retired Textured Shimmer paper in Balmy Blue and then a smaller panel of the retired Flowers & More DSP.  I'm trying to be better about using retired paper when I can one small piece at a time!  

  I stamped and cut out 2 hats, one in Azure Afternoon and one in Basic Beige using Azure Afternoon ink and fussy cut them so I could have a blue brim with a beige crown.

  The patch is inked up with Stampin' Write markers and stamped on Basic White.  Once it was cut out I popped the whole hat on dimensionals.

  The 'hey' is stamped in Azure Afternoon and fussy cut and popped.  The 'happy birthday' is stamped in Versamark onto Daffodil Delight and embossed in white.

  And since this card is for a teenage boy I kept the sparkly embellishments to a minimum and just added 2 very small gems above the 'hey'.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sayin' Hey, Hats Off (retired)

Ink: Azure Afternoon, Versamark

Paper: Balmy Blue, Basic White, Basic Beige, Textured Shimmer paper (retired), Flowers & More DSP (retired)

Accessories: Hats Off dies, dimensionals, Stampin' Write markers, gems, white embossing powder

Iconic Peace - Stampin' Up! Iconic Imagery

   My card today is my 4th and final card that I made with my limited supplies while on vacation.  I used just the Online Exclusives Iconic Celebrations suite and coordinating inks and cardstocks.  This one is another Christmas card because it's honestly never too early to start on those!  Stampin' Up! gave a wonderful tool in the 2024-2025 Annual catalog and that is the set of layouts on the bottom of page 22.  When you're feeling stuck for inspiration or just need to find a layout that will work with a stamp set you want to use check out page 22 and then get stamping.  I wanted to show off some more of the Iconic Celebrations DSP so I chose the layout that has the 4 panels as the background.

  To see the other cards I made with these supplies check them out HERE, HERE and HERE

  For today's card it's a pretty straightforward design though I must admit I fussed with the measurements probably more than I should have to get the margins to match.  Maybe I was just getting tired??  Anyway... I used the old retired Confetti White again and the mat layer is Cherry Cobbler.  The Iconic Celebrations DSP in this classic red and green are great for a simple background that won't be too busy behind the the minimalist label and small leaves and berry accents.

  This would be a great card to make multiples of (once you get the measurements worked out lol!) and you can change out the paper colors to keep things interesting without having to start from scratch each time.

  The final touch are Pecan Pie Ribboned Adhesive-backed Dots in each corner.  

 I hope you've enjoyed seeing my vacation projects and I hope that you've gotten some inspiration for your own stamping.  I did learn that I can create away from my stamp room and I really don't need to have everything at hand to make great cards.  It was a fun challenge and I look forward to making more with the Iconic Celebrations suite in the future!

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  The Iconic Celebrations suite (stamp set, dies, DSP, accessories) can be found in the Online Exclusives section of my store.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Iconic Imagery

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow, Iconic Celebrations DSP, Confetti White (retired)

Accessories: Iconic Imagery dies, dimensionals, Pecan Pie Ribboned Adhesive-backed Dots

Grateful Oak Leaves - Stampin' Up! Iconic Imagery

   Switching away from Christmas cards for a minute I've got an autumn card that I made using my limited supplies that I brought while on vacation.  I made this Christmas card and this Christmas card with the same supplies but the great thing about the Iconic Celebrations Suite is that it covers Christmas, winter, autumn and even birthdays so I had a lot of choices even though I only brought one stamp set and one die set with me.

  I used one of the great patterns in the Iconic Celebrations DSP to start this card.  The plaid pattern in Pecan Pie (say that 5 times fast!!) had a great autumn vibe so I covered the whole card front with it.  The label is cut from some more long hoarded retired cardstock called Naturals Ivory and I simply stamped the sentiment in the center in Pecan Pie ink.  A linen thread bow was tied around the card front before the label is popped on dimensionals.

  The fun fall colors come in with the little oak leaf image.  I stamped it a number of times in various colors (listed below) with full strength ink for the outline and stamped off once or twice ink for the fill in stamp so there was some variation in tones. Once they were all die cut I adhered them falling around the label on a diagonal.

  Finally a few Pecan Pie Ribboned adhesive-backed dots are scattered among the leaves for a tiny bit of shine.

  I'm really excited for all the creative possibilities the Iconic Imagery bundle has.  Throw in the DSP and dots for even more choice!

  All of the current supplies used to create this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  The Iconic Celebrations Suite can be found in the Online Exclusives section of the store.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Iconic Imagery

Ink: Pecan Pie, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze

Paper: Iconic Celebrations DSP, Naturals Ivory (retired)

Accessories: Iconic Imagery dies, dimensionals, linen thread, Pecan Pie Ribboned adhesive-backed dots

Peace, Love & Joy Christmas - Stampin' Up! Iconic Imagery

 I'm sharing another card I made while on vacation and bringing only the Iconic Celebrations suite and coordinating inks and card stock colors.  Today's card uses some non-traditional colors as Moody Mauve isn't necessarily a top pick as a Christmas color but I think it works here.

  Today, as with my card from yesterday, I'm using a long retired color for my card base.  This one is Confetti White which I found buried in my stamp room closet.  If you don't have any of this paper hoarded like I did you can use Basic White or Very Vanilla, either coordinates with the Iconic Celebrations DSP.  I used the Moody Mauve in a star pattern and then cut the label using the reverse side of the same sheet.  It's a confetti pattern which I guess is a theme here!

  The die set has 3 label shapes, the large one used here, a medium sized skinny one and then the second I used here which is the same shape as the medium one but smaller.  I stamped the words in Misty Moonlight and then the trees in Mossy Meadow.  The outline is full strength and the fill in is stamped off once.  

  I arranged the labels and trees across the card front and now looking back I should have spaced the 'peace' a bit more as it looks a bit crowded but lesson learned.  The trees are adhered with dimensionals and I used the Pecan Pie Ribbon adhesive-backed dots that are part of the suite to dot the top of each tree.

  So now I've got 2 Christmas card made, only about 78 left to go! 

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE. The Iconic Celebrations suite can be found in the Online Exclusives section of my store.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Iconic Imagery

Ink: Mossy Meadow, Misty Moonlight

Paper: Iconic Celebrations DSP, Confetti White (retired)

Accessories: Iconic Imagery dies, dimensionals, Pecan Pie Ribbon adhesive-backed dots

  

Christmas in July - Stampin' Up! Iconic Imagery

   I was out of town last week and I decided to pack some stamping supplies after looking at the weather forecast and seeing that a few days might be rainy.  I usually don't stamp when I travel as I just find it hard to decide what supplies to pack if I don't already have a particular project in mind.  There are just too many possibilities with all of the great Stampin' Up! products that are available! But I had recently received an order with some Online Exclusive products and I decided that if I just took those items plus coordinating card stocks and inks and some tools I might be able to design away from my stamp room and all my stuff!!  All week I'll be sharing what I created with the Iconic Celebrations suite.

  The first card is a Christmas card if you couldn't guess from the title!  I used the CAS Colours and Sketches layout for this one.  

  Not too bad...kind of gets me in the Christmas spirit even thought it's hot and humid here!  I used some very long retired cardstock for the base of this card as I had recently unearthed it in my stamp room closet after rearranging some things.  I always like it when it was current and can't think why I never finished it up.  Who else remembers Naturals Ivory?

  I used a bit of the Iconic Celebrations DSP in this Mossy Meadow striped pattern to die cut the tag.  The 'celebrate' is stamped in Cherry Cobbler, 'the season' is stamped in stamped off once Misty Moonlight.  I fussy cut the celebrate and popped it on dimensionals.

  The berries, leaves and snowflake at also images in the Iconic Imagery stamp set and are sized just right for this challenge layout.  The snowflake is also popped with the leaves/berries tucked underneath.  I did bring along my mini Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine so it made quick work of all the die cutting.  

A bit of linen thread is also added in a bow under the edge of the snowflake.  I thought it was a perfect 'natural' embellishment and not over the top for this clean and simple challenge.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be found in my Online Store.  Remember that the Iconic Celebrations suite can be found in the Online Exclusives section of the store.

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Iconic Imagery

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Misty Moonlight, Mossy Meadow

Paper: Iconic Celebrations DSP, Naturals Ivory (retired)

Accessories: Iconic Imagery dies, dimensionals, linen thread

TV Thank You - Stampin' Up! Tune In

  Every customer that orders from me gets a hand stamped card as a thank you.  I write my message on a piece of copy paper and leave the actual card blank so they can use it themselves after getting loads of inspiration from my design (wink)!  The theme of the card isn't always thank you; sometimes it's hello or thinking of you, sometimes a birthday card but this month I wanted to do a thank you.  I pulled out my Tune In bundle and got to work.

  Isn't this a fun, fresh color combo?  I just love how they all pop and are so cheerful.  We had used the Tune in bundle in my last class and it was a more masculine color palette so I wanted to pivot to something very different for this design!

  The card base is Lemon Lolly stamped with the stars in a random pattern in the same color ink.  Then a narrow strip of 2024-2026 In Color DSP in Summer Splash and a Lemon Lolly baker's twine bow.

  The TV and accents are die cut out of Petunia Pop and Summer Splash card stock.  The thank you "screen" is stamped with the stars and then over stamped with the sentiment from My Small Business in Summer Splash ink.

  The TV is popped on dimensionals over 2 Spotlight on Nature circle dies.  2 Summer Splash starbursts are added for more retro vibes and then finally the finishing touch are 2 2024-2026 In Color resin dots in Petunia Pop.

  All the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  

Stamps: Tune In, My Small Business

Ink: Summer Splash, Lemon Lolly

Paper: Lemon Lolly, Petunia Pop, Summer Splash, Basic White, 2024-2026 In Color DSP

Accessories: Tune In bundle, Spotlight on Nature dies, dimensionals, Lemon Lolly baker's twine, 2024-2026 In Color resin dots

Cap Thank You - Stampin' Up! Cap & Gown

   My oldest has still been receiving graduation gifts so I had to make a second batch of thank you cards for him to write out.  I used last weeks Freshly Made Sketches layout as it was an easy one to produce multiples of and use a variety of DSP patterns.  The Cap & Gown stamp set is still in the Online Store for anyone needing to make some graduation thank you cards or happy graduation cards.  Get it now and be ready for next year!!

  I used Summer Splash for the card base, the label and the coloring on the cap.  The strip of Glimmer paper is also Summer Splash and it comes in a 12x12 size in a 5 pack with one sheet of each of the 2024-2026 In Colors so you have tons of shimmer when you need it.

  I used the small cap stamp to stamp on a strip of Basic White.  The label is cut with the Unbounded Love dies and the sentiment is from the My Small Business set.  While at first glance this might seem like only a set for someone who sells things but there are really only 4 stamps in this 15 stamp set that are for business purposes.  The rest are perfect for all types of thank you cards.  Don't believe me?  Check out page 97 of the catalog or see it here in my online store.

  The DSP is a retired pack called All Together so I just grabbed a few different patterns and used them for the wide panel in the layout.

  The cap is colored with Blends then fussy cut and popped on dimensionals.  A few retired faceted gems are added by the cap for a hint of sparkle.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cap & Gown, My Small Business

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Summer Splash light & dark, Daffodil Delight light & dark

Paper: Summer Splash, 2024-2026 In Color Glimmer paper, Basic White, All Together DSP (retrired)

Accessories: Unbounded Love dies, dimensionals, faceted gems (retired)

Celebrate with Cake 2 - Stampin' Up! Attention Shoppers

  "Second verse same as the first...." or something along those lines!  My card today is the same as this one that I posted on Monday but with different prominent colors.  The same colors are used but I chose to highlight the pinks on this version.  Remember that I sold a bunch of my cards and that the birthday cards were hot items so while I had all the supplies out to make the birthday card for my son I figured I would make a second for the stash.

  I chose Berry Burst as the base for this design and added an embossed panel in the same color foe texture along the edges.  The Dashing Designs embossing folder is part of the Wildly Flowering suite and has a nice alternating emboss/deboss design that works well for many different styles.

  Next is a layer of Bright & Beautiful DSP in a bit of a rainbow diagonal stripe pattern.  The ink used for the sentiment and cake are Berry Burst.  The cake from Attention Shoppers stamp set is colored with Blends in colors pulled right from the DSP.  Again both panels are made with the Heartfelt Hexagon punch.  If you had this punch on your wish list from the spring mini but missed out when it was backordered for so long you definitely don't miss out on ordering it now that it's a carryover item.  It's perfect when a circle is not quite right but a plain square is too boring!!

  The stars are again punched out with a retired star punch (but use any star die/punch that you have to easily re-create your own version!) and sprinkled over the card front and adhered with dimensionals.

  The stars and bits of the cake are covered in clear Wink of Stella which is back in stock!!!  Yay!  This is a fantastic way to add a bit of sparkle to your designs.  It's so easy to use and doesn't add bulk like gems or ribbon.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Attention Shoppers, Heartfelt Hexagons

Ink: Berry Burst

Blends: Lemon Lime Twist light & dark, Bubble Bath light & dark, Lemon Lolly light & dark

Paper: Berry Burst, Basic White, Bright & Beautiful DSP, Bubble Bath, Lemon Lime Twist, Lemon Lolly 

Accessories: Dashing Designs embossing folder, Heartfelt Hexagon punch, dimensionals, Wink of Stella, star punch (retired)

Celebrate with Cake - Stampin' Up! Attention Shoppers

 This week is a week of birthdays at our house!  Both of my boys have birthdays in the span of 4 days so there is a lot of gifts, good food and cake in our house right now.  I used a combo of older and new supplies to make this star filled birthday card for my oldest.

  This panel of Bright & Beautiful DSP (which is a carryover from the last Annual Catalog that you can find in the Online Store) seemed like a fun inspiration to get this card started.  I pulled my base color, Blueberry Bushel, from it and then added a panel of the same color embossed with the Dotted Circles embossing folder so you can see some texture peeking out the sides.

  The sentiment is from Heartfelt Hexagons and is stamped in Blueberry Bushel ink and then punched with the Heartfelt Hexagon punch.  I punched a second hexagon to be a base for the cake.

  I used the cake from the Attention Shoppers stamp set and then colored it in with Blends markers adding a tiny little bit of gold Wink of Stella for the flames.  Once it was colored I fussy cut the cake (because I totally forgot there was a die for it!) and popped it on the the hexagon with dimensionals.

  A long retired star punch was used to punch out a few more stars in some of the DSP colors.  I colored them with clear Wink of Stella so they have a nice sparkle to them in real life.  The stars are all added to the card front with dimensionals too.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Heartfelt Hexagons, Attention Shoppers

Ink: Blueberry Bushel

Blends: Azure Afternoon light & dark, Lemon Lime Twist light & dark, Lemon Lolly light & dark

Paper: Blueberry Bushel, Basic White, Bright & Beautiful DSP, Azure Afternoon, Lemon Lolly, Lemon Lime Twist

Accessories: Dotted Circles embossing folder, Heartfelt Hexagon punch, dimensionals, Wink of Stella, small star punch (retired)

Retro Birthday Message - Stampin' Up! Tune In

   The Tune In bundle is for you if you need a stamp set that has fun vibes for birthday cards and that works well for those hard to create for guys in your life! And that wide open TV screen can accommodate so many other sentiments so you can make a variety of cards not just birthdays!

  This one starts with a neutral card base in Basic Beige, then a layer of Pretty Peacock embossed with the Dotted Circles embossing folder.

  2 narrow strips of Crushed Curry cardstock create and anchor for the TV placement as well as bring in another color to add to the retro palette.  The TV is stamped in Copper Clay onto Copper Clay cardstock and is then die cut.  

  The sentiment and antennae are stamped in Pretty Peacock on Basic Beige and the electricity bolts are stamped in Crushed Curry on Basic Beige as well.  All of these are die cut and added to the card front.  The antennae is colored in with a Copper Clay blends marker.  Various elements are popped up on dimensionals so no flat screen TVs here lol!

  The final detail are the 2 adhesive-backed texture dots that are added to the TV knobs.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Tune In

Ink: Pretty Peacock, Copper Clay, Crushed Curry

Blends: Copper Clay light

Paper: Basic Beige, Pretty Peacock, Crushed Curry, Copper Clay

Accessories: Tune In dies, dimensionals, Dotted Circles embossing folders, adhesive-backed texture dots

Best Friend Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Happy Tails

 The Happy Tails stamp set is one that I will never get rid of no mater how long it's been retired.  It's probably the most used of my few retired sets and the coordinating punch is an exact match to my dogs silhouettes.  Unfortunately I had to make a sympathy card recently for a friend who had to say good-bye to her sweet Labrador but Happy Tails was just the right stamp set to use to let her know how sorry I was.

  The Country Lace DSP gave me a good starting place for this card as the soft colors and subtle patterns in this pack are a nice tone-on-tone.  I used a Basic White thick card base and then chose one of the Basic Beige patterns for the next layer.

  I stamped the sentiment from Heartfelt Hexagons in Basic Beige on a strip of Basic White.  I die cut a large heart (with retired dies) in Petal Pink then embossed it with the Eyelet embossing folder.  The Eyelet embossing folder echoes the patterns on the DSP for some nice coordination.

  The pup is stamped in Versamark on Basic Black cardstock them embossed with clear embossing powder.  After he's punched out out I popped him up on the large heart and then added a smaller punched heart in Calypso Coral also popped up.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Tails (retired), Heartfelt Hexagons

Ink: Basic Beige, Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Basic Black, Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Country Lace DSP

Accessories: Dog builder punch (retired), Eyelet embossing folder, Heart dies (retired), dimensionals

Wildflower Spotlight - Stampin' Up! Wildflower Designs

   We made this design in my last class and I loved showing off the new Wildflower Designs bundle paired up with my new favorite circle dies: Spotlight on Nature dies.  The Spotlight on Nature dies are just lovely with 3 different designs along the edges of the 12 dies (so many!!) for great mix and match layering possibilities.

  The basis for the color combo is directly from the Wildly Flowering DSP that coordinates with the Wildflower Design bundle.  So pretty all around.  The card starts with a Crumb Cake base and then we took a panel of the DSP (my stampers could choose this blue design or a similar one with a Crumb Cake background depending on which they liked better) and added some scallops in Mossy Meadow along some of each side.  

  The scallops are cut from one of the frames that comes in the Wildly Flowering die set.  Just cut out a frame trim the long parts of the scallops and add them to the DSP.  Next the Spotlight on nature dies are used to cut 2 circles and the flower image is stamped on the Basic White one.

  Using blender pens and ink we lightly colored the image and then popped it on the Mossy Meadow circle.  The sentiment is stamped in Mossy Meadow onto a strip of Moody Mauve and is also popped on dimensionals.

  The embellishments are a floppy linen thread bow for some texture and 2 Adhesive-backed sparkle gems in the champagne color.

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

Stamps: Wild Flower Designs

Ink: Mossy Meadow, Moody Mauve

Paper: Crumb Cake, Mossy Meadow, Basic White, Wildly Flowering DSP

Accessories: Wildflower Designs dies, Spotlight on Nature dies, dimensionals, linen thread, blender pens, Adhesive-backed Sparkle Gems

Badger Birthday - Stampin' Up! Hearts & Hugs

   I recently sold a ton of my card stash to family members so now it's time to re-stock my bins and since birthday cards are always a need for me (and apparently my family members!) I decided to use the Hearts & Hugs bundle to make a sweet badger birthday card to get started.

  Don't have a lot of time for coloring or just don't feel like doing a lot of coloring with this set?  It's easy to just emboss or stamp the animal images onto neutral or colored cardstock and you're finished!  For these badgers I embossed them with white embossing powder onto black cardstock and did a tiny bit of coloring with just a white watercolor pencil around their eyes.  So easy!

  The card base is a Basic White thick, then a layer of Summer Splash and the top layer is also Basic White.  On the top layer I lightly blended some Summer splash ink with a blending brush to give the badgers a bit of a background.  I popped them up with dimensionals then added some stamped hearts to the side also in Summer Splash ink.

  The sentiment from Simply Said is stamped in Memento Black onto Summer Splash card stock and then die cut with the banner die in the Hearts & Hugs die set.  I tucked the banner under the badgers feet and adhered it with dimensionals.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hearts & Hugs, Simply Said

Ink: Versamark, Memento Black, Summer Splash

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Summer Splash, Basic Black

Accessories: Hearts & Hugs dies, dimensionals, blending brush, white water color pencil

Birdhouse Blues - Stampin' Up! Country Birdhouse

  Well it's been a hot minute since I've shared a project hasn't it?  And hot can be taken a few ways at least here in Central Virginia!  I was out of town last week and I even brought my computer to share a few projects but I just didn't make the time to do it and then once I got back home there was a bajillion (actual number!) things that needed my attention.  And I may or may not have spent several hours at the pool with my book because that was about the only way being outside was bearable!  But now I've finally grabbed a few minutes to try to get back in the swing of things stamping-wise!

  My stampers made this design a few weeks ago at class and it was the first time I've shown them the Country Birdhouse bundle and they all thought it was adorable!  How can you not love this sweet stamp set and the dies just make it even better!

  I used a lot of new product on this card because I don't want my stampers to miss out on anything!  I also showed them the quick trick of how to stamp mirror images using the silicone craft mat since this set only comes with one bird image and I wanted 2 birds towards each other!.

  We started with a Misty Moonlight card base, then a layer of Basic White is embossed with the sweet Eyelet embossing folder.

  Next the birdhouse is die cut using pieces of Country Woods DSP, Basic White and an Early Espresso punched circle for the opening and also for the hanging bow.

  The flowers and one bird are stamped in Misty Moonlight onto Basic White.  To make the mirror image stamp the bird onto the silicone craft mat and then carefully press a piece of Basic White over the image. Voila!  You've now got a bird facing the opposite direction! To die cut the mirror image simply hold the image up to a bright light or a bright window and line the die up on the back of the image and secure it with a piece of painters tape, masking paper or washi tape and then run it through your die cutter.  Below is a quick video showing how I did the stamping.

  

  After all of the images were stamped they are colored in with Stampin' Blends then die cut and added to the card front.  The birdhouse fills up pretty much all of the card front so it doesn't need much else to finish the card.  We added a few Pool Party adhesive-backed Dots for Days as a final touch.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

 Stamps: Country Birdhouse

Ink: Misty Moonlight

Blends: Pool Party light & dark, Petal Pink light & dark, Crumb Cake light, Lemon Lolly light

Paper: Misty Moonlight, Basic White, Country Woods DSP, Early Espresso

Accessories: Country Birdhouse dies, dimensionals, Adhesive-backed Dots for Days, circle punch, Eyelet embossing folder, silicone craft mat