Amazing Birdhouse - Stampin' Up! Country Birdhouse

   I didn't get this one shared before the challenge closed but I used the Color Throwdown challenge of Navy, Red, and gold for my colors.   I thought this one came out pretty cute; a bit country and a little bit elegant with the gold!

  Check out that new embossing folder Eyelet in the background.  It's such a pretty pattern and perfect for sweet background for these birds.

  I stamped the birdhouse in Early Espresso onto the new Country Woods DSP pattern in a nice blue.  I die cut it and then added the all the trims.  The Early Espresso trim pieces are stamped with the tiny woodgrain stamp.  The scallops are stamped in gold.  

  All of the gold accents are die cut from the soon to be retired Distressed Gold specialty paper.  Get yours now before it's all gone!  I love this paper and will hold on to the scraps that I still have left!

  And before you think that the catalog photos of Country Birdhouse are wrong or that you have a set that's missing a stamp this set only comes with one bird stamp.  I really wanted to have a pair  but I wanted them to look in different directions for balance.  I know I ask a lot lol!  So to solve the problem of only one bird stamp I used my silicone craft mat to make a mirror image!  It's so easy!  All you do is stamp the image directly onto the craft mat and then press your cardstock into the image.  Done.  Seriously it's that easy!  To get it die cut I simply held the image up to a bright window to better see the image and lined the die up and taped it with painters tape to stay in place.  The birds are then colored with Stampin' Blends.

  I had cut out the birdhouse opening earlier so I tucked one of the bird peeking out of the hole and then backed it with a piece of Early Espresso cardstock.  The other bird is perched on the edge of the house by some of the gold leaves.

  The whole birdhouse is popped on dimensionals.  I added a Night of Navy baker's twine bow and some gold sequins.  I wanted to use a smaller sentiment so I used the Sentimental Park stamp set and cut it apart and popped them on tiny pieces of dimensionals.

 Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Country Birdhouse*, Sentimental Park

Ink: Early Espresso, Night of Navy, gold (retired)

Blends: Real Red light & dark, Crumb Cake light & dark, Daffodil Delight dark

Paper: Basic White, Early Espresso, Distressed Gold Specialty paper (retiring 4/30/24), Country Woods DSP*

Accessories: Eyelet embossing folder*, Country Birdhouse dies*, dimensionals, gold sequins, bakers twine

New Demo Welcome - Stampin' Up! Attention Shoppers

   It's always an exciting event when a someone joins my team as a new demonstrator and of course I have to welcome them with a card!  I used the upcoming new Attention Shoppers bundle as I thought the shopping bags were a perfect way to celebrate that awesome 20% demonstrator discount that Margaret now gets to take advantage of!  

  This one starts with a Basic White thick card base and then I topped it with a layer of Flirty Flamingo and a piece of the soon to be retired Bee Mine DSP cut with one of the larger Perennial Postage dies.

  I stamped 3 of the shopping bags from the Attention Shopper set (coming May 1!) and colored the handles and tissue paper with Blends markers.  Then I stamped the bag again onto 3 different pieces of DSP and then fussy cut the body of the bag and paper pieced them to the bags that I stamped first.  Then the Attention Shoppers dies were used to cut the whole bag out.

  My favorite part of the this card are the little Stampin' Up! logos which I cut out from the old printed packing lists that we used to get in each order.  They were the perfect size for these shopping bags!

  The sentiment is from a retired demo only set called Stamping Your Way to the Top and I just fussy cut it and popped the pieces on dimensionals.  A few small rhinestones are scattered around for a little bit of sparkle.

  Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!  And get 20% off just like my new downline Margaret!!

 Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Attention Shoppers*, Stamping Your Way to the Top (retired demo set)

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Balmy Blue light, Calypso Coral light, Bubble Bath dark, Flirty Flamingo dark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Bee Mine DSP (retiring 4/30/24), Flirty Flamingo, Rain or Shine DSP (retired), Bright & Beautiful DSP, Garden Walk DSP (retired)

Accessories: Perennial Postage dies, dimensionals, Attention Shoppers dies*, rhinestones

Pastel Blooms - Stampin' Up! Country Birdhouse Dies

 My card today is one that is totally inspired by a challenge and quite literally followed the colors and the exact suggested layout.  I love the inspiration photo from the Inspired By challenge.  Beautifully decorated cake pops, check out the photos at the end of this post!  The layout is a great one for using up some tiny scraps as well!

  I loved the soft pastels in the inspiration photo and they so reminded me of the Lighter Than Air DSP which is soon retiring so if you love these spring-y colors don't wait to order the paper.  I pulled my color palette directly from the DSP colors (listed below).

  A Crumb Cake card base is a nice neutral background for a card with this many colors on it.  When I pulled out my dies to begin cutting the circles I mistakenly grabbed the retired Stitched Shapes dies instead of the current Stylish Shapes dies and I think the latter would have been the better choice as I think the size of circle is just a tad smaller and would have kept it from looking so crowded.  But I didn't notice until I was adhering them and I wasn't going to go back and re-do them.  12 circles barely fit but I squashed them on with dimensionals as adhesive.

  The flowers are cut from all the card stock colors using one of the flower accents dies from the new Country Birdhouse die set.  I love the simple look of the unembellished flowers

  Finally I stamped the sentiment from the new Simply Said stamp set and cut the banner with the new Hearts & Hugs die set and added it to the center of the card.

  This design is by no means a hard card to make just a bit tedious with the die cutting and lining up...BUT it was nice to pull out some of my smallest scraps and get them used up.

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits! 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Simply Said*

Ink: Memento Black

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White, Lemon Lolly, Balmy Blue, Petal Pink, Fresh Freesia, Flirty Flamingo, Pool Party, Bubble Bath

Accessories: Stitched Shapes dies (retired, Stylish Shapes dies are a great alternative!), Country Birdhouse dies*, Heats & Hugs dies*

Leafy Birthday - Stampin' Up! Leaf Collection

  My card today is inspired by 2 different challenges. Just Us Girls has a fabulous mood board with gorgeous colors and Just Add Ink's choose two...leaves, flowers, pots.  I went with leaves and flowers!

  Look at that dramatic background!!  This one came out better than what I thought it would look like in my head!  It starts with a Basic Black card base and then all the magic (not really) happens on a piece of Basic White. I used colors from the mood board and blended them in a diagonal across the panel with blending brushes.  Then I stamped the new Leaf Collection background stamp in Versamark right over the top the of the ink blending and embossed it in black.  The leaves are so shiny in person and are really quite a cool look.

  After making the background panel it took me a bit of playing around to come up with something that didn't cover too much of the leaf pattern.  I decided on just embellishing a sentiment with some flowers and leaves.

  The two circles are cut with the Stylish Shapes dies and the new Simply Said stamp set is used to emboss the 'birthday wishes' in black to coordinate with the background.  Also it just pops off that Basic White.  I sandwiched a piece of retired Pool Party ribbon between the circles before adhering it all to the card front.

   The little flowers and leaves are part of the Country Birdhouse die set and I just cut a variety and then adhered them around the sentiment.  The two center flowers are popped on dimensionals and embellished with gems.

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team today and get preorder benefits!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Leaf Collection*, Simply Said*

Ink: Versamark, Petal Pink, Peach Pie*, Pumpkin Pie, Pool Party, Lost Lagoon

Paper: Basic Black, Basic White, Petal Pink, Peach Pie*, Lost Lagoon, Pool Party

Accessories: black embossing powder, Stylish Shapes dies, Country Birdhouse dies*, dimensionals, blending brushes, gems, Pool Party ribbon (retired)

Thoughtful Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Heartfelt Hexagon

 My husband unfortunately had to send out a few sympathy cards last week so I wanted to restock my supply so I wouldn't be caught short.  I've said it before but making made to order sympathy cards is my least favorite reason to stamp so I always like to have some on hand already made to just send out without having to summon some creative energy on a sad occasion. 

  The new Thoughtful Journey DSP, available to customers starting on May 1, is beautiful paper to base a card around.  The soft watercolor scenes and restful colors are suited for so many kinds of cards but especially sympathy in my mind.

  

  I decided to use one of the scenes and frame it out because it's too pretty to cover it up.  The card base is Lost Lagoon, then a layer of Mossy Meadow and then the Thoughtful Journey DSP scene.  

  The frame is created with Mossy Meadow cardstock and the Deckled Rectangle dies.  The die cut is popped on dimensionals.  The sentiment from Heartfelt Hexagons is stamped in Mossy Meadow.  I promise that this punch and stamp set bundle will be available eventually!  I'm disappointed that the available date keeps getting pushed back because I want to show it off to my stampers in classes but so glad that it is carrying over to the new catalog.  I didn't use the punch this time but paired the sentiment with the new die set Unbounded Love coming May 1.  This set has 16 dies with 12 label/tag shapes and some leaves and flower stem accent shapes.  It will be perfect to highlight so many sentiments!

  I embellished the label with a Wild Wheat leaf and some Petunia Pop sprigs and a linen twine bow.  Sweet and simple!  I might have to use this same layout with a few more of the DSP scenes to finish the sympathy card restocking.

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Heartfelt Hexagon

Ink: Mossy Meadow

Paper: Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Thoughtful Journey DSP*, Basic White, Wild Wheat, Petunia Pop*

Accessories: Deckled Rectangle dies, dimensionals, linen thread, Unbounded Love dies*

Sweet & Simple Birthday - Stampin' Up! Lovely & Sweet

   I don't make many square cards and I don't really have a reason other than I'm just so used to doing the A2 size that it's my default.  So it's good when a challenge has a square layout because it gets me out of the A2 box a little!  The Freshly Made Sketches layout this week is square and I made myself stick to it and not turn it into a rectangle!

  To go along with the sketch and the "fresh" standard of the challenge I kept this one very straightforward and used some gold and shimmer to make it pop along with the colors.

  I started with a Basic White thick base cut to 4 1/4" x 4 1/4", next I added a piece of the soon to be retired Textured Shimmer paper in Balmy Blue.  Apparently I loved this paper so much I hoarded it and hardly used it! No idea why as it's lovely and you get white and Shaded Spruce along with the Balmy Blue.  What's not to love?  And it's currently on sale for only $6 until April 30 or until it sells out!

  I stamped the large almond branch in Versamark and embossed it in gold.  Then I used colored pencils and a blender pen to color it in; Garden Green, Granny Apple Green, Balmy Blue and Pecan Pie.  I added that panel to the card front with dimensionals.

  The sentiment is from the a new set that will be in the upcoming annual catalog, Simply Said.  This set is perfect for beginner stampers as well as avid crafters who need an all purpose set.  The embossing looks funky in the photo but it's gold on Azure Afternoon cardstock.

  Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lovely & Sweet, Simply Said*

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Azure Afternoon, Textured Shimmer Paper (retiring 4/30/24)

Accessories: colored pencils, gold embossing powder, dimensionals

Pretty Pink Hugs - Stampin' Up! Hearts & Hugs

 After checking my calendar I realized that I need to get my butt in gear to design projects for 2 upcoming events as well as making more samples to show at my new catalog open house at the beginning of May!  I really need to just say no to house work and cooking for a few weeks right??  Since that won't happen I'll have to be efficient when I'm in the stamp room.  So without further ado here is my card that was prompted by the Color Hues challenge to use yellow and pink.

  I thought the new In Color Pretty in Pink would be perfect paired up with Lemon Lolly for this challenge and I think I was right!  As a side note Pretty in Pink seems like an exact match for the retired Pretty in Pink from back in the day.  Not sure if Stampin' Up! did that on purpose or what but if you have product in that color I think they will be interchangeable.

  For this card I used a Lemon Lolly base and then embossed a full panel in the same color with the Dotted Circles embossing folder.

  The mouse from the upcoming new set Hearts & Hugs is stamped in Early Espresso and then colored in with Blends markers.  Once it was die cut I popped it on dimensionals over a strip of retired Iridescent ribbon.

  I punched a heart out of Pretty in Pink cardstock and stamped the sentiment then tucked that behind the mouse. Using the little hearts dies in the Hearts & Hugs die set I added a few more smaller hearts to the card front. A few Iridescent adhesive backed discs are also added for some shine.

 Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hearts & Hugs

Ink: Early Espresso

Blends: Pretty in Pink light & dark*, Crumb Cake light & dark, Petal Pink dark

Paper: Lemon Lolly, Basic White, Pretty in Pink*

Accessories: Hearts & Hugs dies*, Dotted Circles embossing folder*, dimensionals, Iridescent adhesive-backed discs, heart punch (retired), Iridescent ribbon (retired)

Boho Birdhouse Birthday - Stampin' Up! Country Birdhouse

   I finally got some ink on the Country Birdhouse stamp set!  This bundle caught my eye right away during the demo pre pre-order but I just hadn't used it yet.  It's so cute and the mix and match possibilities with the different birdhouse parts can make endless designs with different combos.  I used so many new products on this card; customer will be able to order the new products starting on May 1st.

    I used some of the new Thoughtful Journey DSP for the background.  It looked like a nice morning sky to me and I pulled some of the colors from the paper to use in the rest of the design.

  I stamped the the birdhouse in Early Espresso ink onto Boho Blue cardstock and then die cut it with the coordinating Country Birdhouse dies.  I used some more new paper for the die cut roof, base and stand.  Country Woods DSP has beautiful woodgrain and flaky wood paint textures and colors and is perfect for some shabby chic designs.  I also die cut the little scalloped roof detail and stamped the scallops with Boho Blue ink.

  I used my Pebbled Path Blends marker to color in the birdhouse opening and little perch peg as the stamped image has them open.  Then I stamped the flowers and bird and colored them in with Blends as well.  I stamped the flowers in Pebbled Path and the bird in Early Espresso.  I couldn't decide if I liked one better than the other for the images so I just ended up leaving them different.

  After the coloring and die cutting I put all the pieces together for the house and then arranged the flowers and bird on the front.  The final thing is the stamped sentiment in Petunia Pop.  I left this one embellishment free which is very rare for me but I just think it didn't need anything else.

  Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Country Birdhouse

Ink: Petunia Pop*, Early Espresso, Pebble Path, Boho Blue

Blends: Pool Party light & dark, Pretty Peacock light, Petunia Pop light & dark*, Fresh Freesia light & dark, Crumb Cake light & dark, Pebbled Path dark

Paper: Thoughtful Journey DSP*, Country Woods DSP*, Basic White, Boho Blue

Accessories: Country Birdhouse dies*, dimensionals

Leafy Birthday - Stampin' Up! Leaf Collection

   I finally got some ink on the all attendee giveaway prize that I got at the Houston OnStage event; Leaf Collection background stamp.  It's a beautiful stamp and I came across the Seize the Birthday challenge which is to use green and any other color to create a birthday card.  The perfect time to use a stamp that's all leaves!

   I was going for a lighter to darker kind of look with the green shades on the background stamp.  I used a brayer to ink up the stamp on a diagonal using (top to bottom) Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green and Old Olive.  At first I was a bit disappointed at the result with the uneven look (could have been the inking method or user error lol!) but then I kind of ended up liking that the image isn't perfect.  I cut the leaf panel with the Deckled Rectangle dies and then added it to the Basic White thick card front.

  And my whole reason for choosing purple as my other colors is that I mistakenly stamped some envelopes with the big flower from Hooray for Surprises a while back that I didn't end up needing so I wanted to make a card design to go with the envelope.  A little bit backwards from my usual design strategy.

  I added a strip of Gorgeous Grape with the ends angled.  Then a Stylish Shapes circle that I had in my orphaned card parts bin is stamped with Gorgeous Grape ink with a new sentiment set that is coming out on May 1 called Simply Said.  

  The flower from Hooray for Surprises is stamped in Highland Heather and die cut along with a leaf in Granny Apple Green.  I cut 3 tiny flowers and used my scoring stylus and a foam mat to press the centers causing the petal to curl in then added them to the center of the flower with glue dots.  The whole thing is then added to the edge of the circle with dimensionals.

  I accented the edge of the circle and the tiny flower centers with retired gems for a little bit of sparkle for the last touch.

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Leaf Collection*, Hooray for Surprises

Ink: Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Old Olive, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green

Accessories: Hooray for Surprises dies, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, Opaque adhesive-backed gems

Petunia Hug - Stampin' Up! Hearts & Hugs

   Sometimes card designs come about from a burst of inspiration and other times just because you want to use up some pieces from your orphaned card parts bin.  My card to day is definitely the second  type of card.  When I was making yesterday's card I ended up with a lot of parts that just didn't work for that design but that I didn't want to just throw away.  I had a few of the die cut flowers from the Hearts & Hugs bundle that I though deserved a proper home on a card front.

  The flowers were cut from the 2024-2026 In Color DSP in Petunia Pop and I thought they would pair nicely with another In Color Shy Shamrock.  Look at how cute this simple design came out!

  I started with a Basic White card base, then stamped the little hearts all over a panel of Shy Shamrock in the same color ink.  I eyeballed where I wanted the sentiment and then embossed it with white embossing power.  Next, I wrapped a bit of baker's twine around the middle and tied it off before adhering the whole panel to the card base.

  The flower stem trio are die cut out of Shy Shamrock and added it to a Stitched Shape square die cut.  Next were the the flowers that started this whole card accented in the centers with In Color Shimmer Gems. 

  I love how this one turned out and it's such a great layout to show off the smaller die cut flowers/stems in the Hearts & Hugs die set.  Remember you don't always have to design a card around the bigger images in a set, look at how some of the smaller images or dies can be used as a focal point.

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hearts & Hugs*

Ink: Shy Shamrock*, Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Shy Shamrock*, 2024-2026 In Color DSP*, Basic White

Accessories: white bakers twine, dimensionals, Stylish Shapes dies, Hearts & Hugs dies*, In Color Shimmer Gems*

Hamster Hug - Stampin' Up! Hearts & Hugs

   I'm finally getting around to playing with some of my new supplies from my preorder.  One thing after another kept popping up that kept me from stamping.  The current Freshly Made Sketches layout looked like a good one to start with today so I got to work with the upcoming Hearts & Hugs bundle and one of the new In Colors; Petunia Pop.

  The weather here is gray and dreary so I apologize for the photo!  The Hearts & Hugs bundle was one that we got a preview of at the OnStage event last month.  I love the cute animal sets so of course it made it's way into my preorder!

  To stick with the 'fresh' challenge mandate I kept this one very simple.  The base is Basic White thick, then a layer of Basic White embossed with the new Eyelet embossing folder.

  I stamped the hamster (though some might say it's a gerbil if we can't see the tail!) in Pecan Pie and then colored it in with a combo of Blends markers and then die cut it.  It is adhered onto a Stylish Shape circle die cut.  

  I used some of the fabulous new In Color Glimmer paper in Petunia Pop to cut out the arch of hearts and adhered them around the hamster.  The circle is then popped on the card front with dimensionals.  The sentiment strip is added to the side.

  The part of the sketch that gave me fits were the 2 leaf details to the side of the circle.  I knew I didn't have to use leaves exactly but I just could not make anything work.  And when I mean anything I had all sorts of punches and die cuts in different shapes scattered around so I finally decided on a single Petunia Pop bordered ribbon knot on that side.  I know it's not exactly the sketch but it's as close as I could get it while still liking the result!  I hope you can see the sketch in my design regardless.

  Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! and get preorder benefits!

Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hearts & Hugs*

Ink: Pecan Pie, Petunia Pop*

Blends: Pecan Pie light, Medium Deep Natural Tones, Petal Pink dark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, 2024-2026 In Color Glimmer paper*

Accessories: Eyelet embossing folder*, Stylish Shapes dies, Hearts & Hugs dies*, dimensionals, Petunia Pop bordered ribbon*

  

Lavender Thank You - Stampin' Up! Painted Lavender

   I'm looking forward to the Heartfelt Hexagon punch being back in stock in the next 2 weeks so I've been trying to use it a little more in anticipation.  I thought it would make a nice shape for a bit of background interest so I paired it up with the Perennial Lavender DSP which is carrying over to the next catalog!  My inspiration for this card comes from the Just Add Ink challenge.  They have a great inspiration photo and I pulled the purple tones, the green and the purple flowers from the photo for my card.

    The base is Highland Heather and then I used one of the upcoming new embossing folders called Dotted Circles to emboss a piece of Basic White for the background.  The bumps kind of reminds me of the blackberries from the inspiration photo as well.

  Next I used the Heartfelt Hexagon punch and the DSP to cut 3 shapes and then added them to the card front.

  The flowers are inked up with Highland Heather and then a sponge dauber was used to add a bit of Gorgeous Grape ink randomly for some color variation. The stems are stamped in Lost Lagoon.  Both pieces are die cut and I added a fee extra Gorgeous Grape sprigs behind the flowers before popping it all up on dimensionals.

  The little thank you sentiment is a partial sentiment from the soon to be retired Perennial Postage stamp set.

  I'm trying to be better about using retired embellishments and ribbons so I pulled out some white seam binding ribbon to add to the stems and then a few retired Gorgeous Grape faceted gems to add a tiny bit of shine.

  All of the current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with a * will be available starting May 1.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Painted Lavender, Perennial Postage (retiring 4/30/24)

Ink: Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Lost Lagoon

Paper: Highland Heather, Basic White, Perennial Lavender DSP, Gorgeous Grape

Accessories: Painted Lavender dies, dimensionals, Dotted Circles embossing folder*, seam binding ribbon (retired), faceted gems (retired)

Country Flower Box- Stampin' Up! Country Birdhouse

   My first card with 2024-2025 Annual catalog products and I didn't even use the main image from the set!  I was determined to use the challenge colors from TGIF Challenges which are Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist and Blueberry Bushel and they just worked so well with the little accent flowers from the Country Birdhouse set that I decided to forego the big birdhouse and design the card with just the flowers.

  These colors are so vibrant and make for a cheerful hello card.  I started with a Blueberry Bushel base and then embossed a piece of Basic White with the new Eyelet embossing folder.  

  Using the narrow angled Country Birdhouse die that is supposed to cut accent pieces for the base of the birdhouse I die cut a "window box" and filled it with stamped, colored and die cut flowers along with some Lemon Lime Twist die cut leaves.  I used Blends markers in the challenge colors and just tucked them into the box and adhered it to the card front.  The flower in the center is adhered with dimensionals.

  The little bow is die cut and trimmed down and accented with a rhinestone.  The final things is the 'hello' sentiment which is cut down from a larger sentiment and is also popped on dimensionals.

  It's always good to see the smaller stamps in a set in action to really see all the creative possibilities.  I love how this one turned out.

  Current products used to make this card can be ordered in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with a * will be available starting May 1 or join my demonstrator team and and get these items now!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Country Birdhouse*

Ink: Memento Black, Blueberry Bushel

Blends: Berry Burst light & dark, Lemon Lime Twist light & dark, Blueberry Bushel light & dark

Paper: Blueberry Bushel, Basic White, Lemon Lime Twist, Berry Burst

Accessories: Country Birdhouse dies*, Eyelet embossing folder*, dimensionals, rhinestone

Adventuring Balloon - Stampin' Up! Hot Air Balloon

   I've not had a lot of time lately to play along with challenges so I thought yesterday it was time to get to doing some creating "just because".  After cleaning out my blog reader of all the challenges that had already closed The Alphabet Challenge looked like a good one to start with.  They have come back around to the letter A (starting round 14!!!!) and the A stands for Adventure this week.  I did have to think a bit about this one but then remembered I had some retired DSP from last year that I never got around to using very much and I thought it would be perfect for this prompt.

  I don't think you can get anymore adventurous than flying a hot air balloon over a mountain range...is it even possible??  Anyway I used a Garden Green card base along with a panel of Basic White to show off a piece of the retired Enjoy the Journey DSP scene.  

  The balloon is stamped in Misty Moonlight and stamped off once Lost Lagoon.  I popped the die cut pieces with dimensionals (and one of the clouds) up in the sky and accented it with a Garden Green baker's twine bow.  If you've been holding off on getting the Hot Air Balloon bundle don't wait!  The bundle pricing saving you 10% will be ending April 30.  You'll still be able to get the stamp set and die set but who wants to pay full price??

  The sentiment is stamped in Misty Moonlight and fussy cut.  It was the most 'adventure' sentiment that I could find and could be used to wishing big on dreams or for a birthday.  Could also be a happy graduation card now that I think about it!

 A few tinsel gems from the Tinsel Gems 3 pack finish off the details for this card.

  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: Hot Air Balloon

Ink: Misty Moonlight, Lost Lagoon

Paper: Garden Green, Basic White, Enjoy the Journey DSP (retired)

Accessories: Hot Air Balloon dies, dimensionals, Tinsel Gems 3 pack, Garden Green baker's twine (retired)

Starry Sky Balloon - Stampin' Up! Hot Air Balloon

  I was so happy to see that the Hot Air Balloon stamp set and dies will not be retiring (bundle pricing will end on April 30)!  I've used these products for so many different kinds of cards and my stampers used it again last week for a masculine birthday card with what I think is a fantastic color combination!  Coastal Cabana, Parakeet Party and Starry Sky!  No boring neutrals on this guy card!

  If you've been holding off on buying any of the In Color Starry Sky items don't wait!!  This color (along with other 2022-2024 In Colors Sweet Sorbet, Parakeet Party, Orchid Oasis and Tahitian Tide) is retiring for good on April 30 and some of the products may sell out before that.  I love this rich blue and it makes a great backdrop for a bright hot air balloon!

  This design starts with a Starry Sky card base, then a layer of Parakeet Party and then another layer of Starry Sky.  The top layer of Starry Sky has the same color ink blended around the edges with a blending brush to add a kind of shaded frame.  Next my stampers used white craft paint (non-Stampin' Up!) and a water painter brush to flick drops of the paint onto the cardstock (do this before adhering the panel to the card front!).  Once the drops dried (we used a heat tool to speed things along but you can also let it air dry) we added the other elements.

  The balloon is stamped in Coastal Cabana and Parakeet Party and the basket is also Parakeet Party.  After the balloon was die cut it's popped on dimensionals over a punched cloud (this punch is also retiring).

  The balloon is embellished with a Starry Sky die cut banner and a baker's twine bow.  The final touch is the stamped sentiment in white craft ink.  The sentiment comes from the retiring Beautiful Balloons stamp set.

  All of the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked retiring will not be available after April 30 and are while supplies last.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hot Air Balloon*, Beautiful Balloons (retiring)

Ink: Starry Sky (retiring), Parakeet Party (retiring), Coastal Cabana, White craft

Paper: Starry Sky (retiring), Parakeet Party (retiring), Basic White

Accessories: Hot Air Balloon Dies*, dimensionals, In Color Baker's twine (retiring), Cloud punch (retiring), white craft paint

*The Hot Air Balloon bundle will no longer be offered at a 10% off discount price after April 30

Thoughtful Lavender Hello - Stampin' Up! Thoughtful Moment Hybrid Embossing Folder

     I held my monthly class last week and we combined the Thoughtful Moment Hybrid embossing folder with some Perennial Lavender suite products for this card.

  We started with a Basic White thick base and then topped it with a panel of Highland Heather cardstock embossed with the Twisted Rope embossing folder which is retiring soon.

  Then a piece of Perennial Lavender DSP is backed by a panel of Lost Lagoon.  A length of stitched burlap ribbon is a nice anchor for the sentiment which we made with the Thoughtful Moments hybrid embossing folder and Lost Lagoon ink and cardstock.  

  We used the brayer to ink up the logo side of the embossing folder and then added the die then the cardstock and ran it through the die cutter.  My stampers had the option to keep the inked outline open or fill it in with the Lost Lagoon blends marker.  In my sample here I filled it in.  Either way is a nice look!  the sentiment is then popped on dimensionals.

  A little flower sprig is stamped in Gorgeous Grape ink and then die cut and tucked behind the sentiment.  We finished this card off with a few adhesive cork rounds.

  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: Painted Lavender

Ink: Gorgeous Grape, Lost Lagoon

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Lost Lagoon, Highland Heather, Perennial Lavender DSP

Accessories: Twisted Rope embossing folder (retiring soon), Thoughtful Moments hybrid embossing folder/dies, dimensionals, brayer, adhesive cork rounds, Real Red & Burlap ribbon combo (retiring soon), Painted Lavender dies

Pre Pre-Order Unboxing Video 2024-25 Annual Catalog

   I wanted to do a Facebook live the other night and open up my pre pre-order for everyone to watch along but Facebook has restricted my business page for some reason and won't let me start a live.  So instead I just recorded the unboxing for you to watch!

  This is only the first set of new products I'll be getting so check back in a week or two after I get my regular demonstrator preorder!

  Thanks for watching!  Leave a comment if you liked what you saw so far and let me know if you have any questions!

Easter Birds - Stampin' Up! Heartfelt Hexagons

   I am trying to be much better about using up some of the Designer Series Paper that I accumulate and I'm making good progress on the Flight & Airy pack that was Sale-a-Bration reward.  The whole pack is just so pretty and absolutely perfect for spring cards.  I decided to use up a bit more of it and make some Easter cards.

  I played around a little bit and came up with a basic design and then did all the fussy cutting while watching/listening to March Madness basketball last weekend.  I started with a Basic White thick card base then used one of the Flight & Airy patterns in the blue watercolor wash and edged it with a piece of Garden Green that was just slightly larger.

  The frame stamp is in the Heartfelt Hexagon stamp set in the Jan.-Apr. 2024 mini catalog.  Unfortunately this bundle has been backordered for quite some time but fingers crossed it will be available soon.  But good news that it is carrying over so you'll have a lot of time to order it even when the mini catalog sales period is over.  I stamped the frame in Boho Blue then the sentiment from the Heartfelt Hellos Sale-a-Bration (SAB) set in Fresh Freesia and then punched it out with the Heartfelt Hexagon punch.  A quick swap of another sentiment and this could be a thoughtful sympathy card or spring Happy Birthday card.

  Using all my fussy cut birds and extra flowers I arranged them on the card fronts with the flowers tucked behind the label and the birds popped up with dimensionals over the opposite edge.  Look how cute they are!!  I think I ended up with 12 or 13 different designs once I had everything put together.

  Each card was different but I used the same embellishments.  I used some retired white seam binding to make fork bow (Tutorial Here) and then sprinkled some retired pink sequins around.  See tryin to use up what I already have!  Just use what you have on hand if you don't have these exact items in your stash.

  To order any of the current supplies used to make this card please visit my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Heartfelt Hexagons, Heartfelt Hellos (retired SAB)

Ink: Boho Blue, Fresh Freesia

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Garden Green, Flight & Airy DSP (retired SAB)

Accessories: Heartfelt Hexagon punch, dimensionals, seam binding ribbon (retired), sequins (retired)

Jaguar Graduation - Stampin' Up! Cap & Gown

   The sketch challenge over at Global Design Project inspired me to ink up the Cap & Gown stamp set for the first time!  I bought this stamp set back in the demonstrator preorder for the Jan.-April mini catalog and it's just been sitting on my desk ever since just waiting for springtime and graduation season!  I probably should have played around with it before now seeing as I have a high school senior with a graduation fast approaching but better late than never!

  My kids high school colors are black and teal (and the mascot is the Jaguar) so I couldn't get rid of all my retired Bermuda Bay supplies since I knew I would need them for a few years at least! My card base is Coastal Cabana and I stamped the larger of the caps all over in Bermuda Bay ink.  I liked the longer rectangle panel on the sketch as it seemed like a good place to start with the longer gown stamp so I stamped that in Memento black along with the smaller cap image.  

  Under the cap and gown I added a strip of retired (see a pattern?? lol!) Bermuda Bay glimmer paper.  On the lower corner I added the sentiment on dimensionals and then embellished that area with the '24 cut with the Alphabet a la Mode dies and a stamped and fussy cut diploma.

  I'll probably end up sending this to one of my sons' guy friends so I left off any ribbon or extra sparkle.

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased from my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with a * will be retiring on April 30, 2024.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cap & Gown*

Ink: Memento Black, Bermuda Bay (retired)

Paper: Basic White, Coastal Cabana, Basic Black, Bermuda Bay Glimmer paper (retired)

Accessories: dimensionals, Alphabet a la Mode dies

CAS Hooray for Blooms - Stampin' Up! Hooray for Surprises

   To get my stamping mojo going the other day I wanted to try out a few challenges but I only had enough time to work on one card but I had 2 challenges that piqued my interest.  What to do, what to do?  I ended up being able to combine both challenges into one card.  Sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn't.  I'm pleased with how this one turned out though.

  I used the colors from Global Design Project and the theme of 'bloom' from Addicted to CAS.  CAS is clean and simple so I had to keep my focus or I'd end up with 17 layers, more bling than the diamond exchange and 4 techniques!  How'd I do??

  I started with a Basic White thick card base, then used a slightly smaller piece of Basic White to mount my flowers.

  I cut out 2 flowers in Highland Heather and one in Coastal Cabana using the small flower die in the Hooray for Surprises bundle. I also cut one leaf in Shaded Spruce and used just the ends for the 2 Highland Heather flowers.  The full leaf die cut was just too big for the smaller scale of the flowers so I made it work for my design.

  The flowers are adhered with mini dimensionals and then I stamped the sentiment from the the bundle in Highland Heather ink.

  Since I was sticking with the clean and simple theme I only added 1 Highland Heather gem to the center of the Coastal Cabana flower.  Normally I have a lot more so that is CAS for me!

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

  If you'd like to learn how to get a discount on this bundle and other Stampin' Up! products please leave a comment and I'd be happy to tell you all about it!!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hooray for Surprises

Ink: Highland Heather

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Highland Heather, Coastal Cabana, Shaded Spruce

Accessories: Hooray for Surprises dies, dimensionals, Purple Fine Shimmer Gems

Stampin' Up! OnStage Houston Demonstrator Event

   I'm going to share a few photos (ok a lot!!) from my time in Houston at the Stampin' Up! demonstrator event called OnStage.  It was a multi-day event just for demonstrators with stamping demonstrations, previews of upcoming products, business updates/trainings, lots of connections with other demonstrators, giveaways and more and just so much fun overall!  

  It was the first time one of my downline and I got to meet in person so it made the event even better.  If you don't already follow her on social media I urge you to do so and if you're in the Dallas, TX area she also does classes so check out Kimberly Hile aka Scatter Some Joy on Instagram and Facebook.

Kimberly and I on Thursday afternoon in front of the convention center.  It was so windy and I never know where to look!  lol!

   We had presentations on Thursday afternoon, all day Friday and all day Saturday.  It was chock full of information and we even got the new annual catalog which will go live on May 1.  It was so cool to be among so many other people just as excited about stamping as I am.  I always knew these were my people but to get to be with them in person was very inspiring!

The cover of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! annual catalog!  I can't show you the inside yet but trust me it's great!!!

Stampin' Up! also uses these events to recognize demonstrator achievements so we got to clap and cheer for so many people and all the great things they accomplished in the last year.  I had a few "stand and wave" achievements and also found my name on the recognition boards.  It's really inspiring and makes me want to work harder to get to the next level!

Not too shabby though!

  Kimberly hit the ground running after she join as a demonstrator last year and she made both the Quick Start 3 month and 6 month goals (these are sales milestones for new demos and they get some great perks when they reach it!).  I was so proud to cheer for her! Out of 18,000+ new demonstrators last year only a small percentage reach these goals so all her hard work definitely paid off!

We got to see lots of stamping demonstrations from other demos as well as home office staff.  They showed off lots of new products that are coming soon and gave so many creative ideas of how to use stamps and dies and papers.  They all did such a great job being up on the stage in front of so many people!

There were great big screens everywhere so you could easily see the stamping demonstrations no matter where you were sitting.

As with any Stampin' Up! gathering there was stamping and swapping!  We got to do make and takes at lunchtime with some fun new products.  We also got to meet a lot of people and enjoy all that the Product Playground had to offer.  I only brought a few swaps but it's always a fun way to meet people.  The swap boards are also a great way to get new ideas and see just how creative a bunch demonstrators are!

I met so many people during the 4 days I was there.  I met some friends who I only "knew" from online and now we're in real life friends!  The lady on the right in the above picture I had "met" on instagram and we had been mutuals and she was in Houston on her own so we made up a nice little trio for the weekend.  Her name is Teresa Wearmouth and you can find her on Instagram as Stonesthrowstampin.  She's in Maryland for anyone looking for a demo!  We had a ton of fun posing in front of all the great displays and also meeting "famous" demos!

 Jaimie was so sweet to stop and say hi and let me get a photo with her!  I fangirled quite a bit getting to meet her as I so enjoy her Instagram!

  We got some fun giveaways during the weekend and I was worried it wouldn't all fit in my suitcase.  Thank goodness for free bag check with Southwest because there is no way I could have gone to this event with 'just' a carryon sized bag!  

  It was such a fantastic time I'm kind of kicking myself that I didn't try to go to a multi-day event sooner!  Thankfully they've changed the timing of this event so it makes it a little more doable for my schedule.  I'm so glad that I got to spend the time with Kimberly and Teresa and 2000 other demos who are all my friends even if we haven't met yet!

  If you're a demo and haven't attended OnStage yet I would highly recommend it!  If you're a stamper thinking about being a part of the Stampin' Up! family as a demo I would love to give you more information on how you can join me for this event next year!  There are so many great things about being a demo and I'm thrilled to have been able to finally get to do this one!

  Thanks for reading about my awesome OnStage experience!