Birthday Love - Stampin' Up! Simply Said

   I'm sharing a simple, bright birthday card today.  This one has great colors for a spring celebration and uses a fun layout that's great to show off smaller images.  I used the heart stamp from the Sale-a-Bration stamp set Documenting the Day.  They layout is one that I gave to my customers as a stamping challenge on our group facebook page.

  This one came together quickly with an Azure Afternoon card base and then a layer of Basic White embossed with the Forever Plaid embossing folder.  I had this embossed panel in my orphaned card parts bin because it had slipped going through the machine and ended up a bit crooked.  I thought it would work for this design and it helps hide if some of the hearts aren't exactly adhered straight lol!

  I stamped 2 or three hearts in each of the 5 colors then punched them out with a 1" circle punch.  A die would work great as well it just wouldn't be a quick.  They are adhered to the card front with dimensionals leaving a space in the center for the sentiment.

  The sentiment is from the Simply Said stamp set and is inked in Azure Afternoon.  2 retired Fine Sparkle Adhesive-Backed Gems are added on each side of the sentiment.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

  Stamps: Documenting the Day (SAB), Simply Said

  Ink: Azure Afternoon, Petal Pink, Flirty Flamingo, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green

  Paper: Azure Afternoon, Basic White

  Accessories: circle punch, Forever Plaid embossing folder, dimensionals, Fine Sparkle Adhesive-Backed Gems (retired)

Shabby Chic Birdhouse - Stampin' Up! Country Birdhouse Dies

 The Seize the Birthday challenge team is back with another fabulous challenge prompt to get you thinking about making those birthday cards!!  I get to guest design again for this challenge and let me tell you it was a real challenge for me!!  No stamping!  Yes, you read that right.  Make a birthday card without doing any stamping.  Listen people, stamps and ink are my bread and butter so I had give this one quite a think before starting!

  No stamping!!  Yikes!  I had to look through all of my supplies and see what I could work with.  My normal creative process is to grab a stamp set and start there and clearly that wasn't going to work this time.  Luckily I came up with a plan and it came out almost exactly what I had in mind!

  This one comes together with all dies and embossing folders!  Even the sentiment!  No rubber or ink pads in sight!  The card front is Basic White embossed with the Eyelet embossing folder.  Next I die cut all the birdhouse pieces in various patterns from the Country Woods DSP with the Country Birdhouse die set and put them together.

  Then I cut a bunch of flowers and leaves using the same die set and arranged them as if they were growing across and up the birdhouse.  I used Fresh Freesia, Highland Heather and Granny Apple Green for a nice vibrant look against the flaky paint and wood patterns of the birdhouse.  A few of the flowers are popped on dimensionals for extra interest.

  The sentiment is the one part that had me stumped.  Then I remembered the Thoughtful Moments hybrid embossing folder/die.  I embossed and cut out the small sentiment in Basic White then used my Highland Heather Blends marker to color the raised letters.  

  So in a pinch I can make a 'no stamping' card but it was hard!  I guess I'll have to do some shopping to remedy that hole in my card making supplies jus tin case the need ever arises again!

  I hope you enjoy trying out this challenge and enter your card in the Seize the Birthday gallery so we can oooohhh and aaaaahhh over it!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: None

Ink: None 

Blends: Highland Heather dark

Paper: Basic White, Country Woods DSP, Fresh Freesia, Highland Heather, Granny Apple Green

Accessories: Country Birdhouse dies, dimensionals, Eyelet embossing folder, Thoughtful Moments Hybrid embossing folder/die, Riverside Irregular Pearls

Delightful Spring Birthday - Stampin' Up! Delightful Wishes

   We're having a bit of spring-like weather today and whether it's a fake out or not the flowers and trees will start getting the hint and before we know it I'll have daffodils in bloom and grass to cut!  To stick with the spring theme my card today is a pretty spring card that uses the Delightful Wishes bundle.

  I started this one off with a clean Basic White thick card base.  The layer of Basic Beige is cut slightly smaller and the Elements of Text stamp set is used to create a background.  It's stamped in Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder.  The small scripty font makes a nice little circular area for my sprig of flowers to be shown against.

  The flowers are stamped in Petal Pink and Powder Pink.  The leaves are Granny Apple Green and the branch is die cut from Pecan Pie.

  Once all the pieces were die cut the blossoms are adhered with dimensionals and the branch and leaves are adhered with  glue.

  The sentiment is stamped in Basic Beige and backed with a length of Petal Pink Scalloped ribbon and also popped on dimensionals.

  The Antique Pearls are the perfect embellishment to play off the soft spring colors and give a bit of shine to catch your eye.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Delightful Wishes, Elements of Text (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Versamark, Petal Pink, Powder Pink, Granny Apple Green, Basic Beige

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Basic Beige, Pecan Pie

Accessories: Delightful Wishes dies, white embossing powder, dimensionals, Petal Pink Scalloped ribbon, Antique Pearls

Scraps & Stripes Birthday - Stampin' Up! Saying Hey

   Today is my monthly stamp class so I'm more pressed for time but still needed to make a card to share so I grabbed some more scraps from the Frames & Flowers DSP and paired them with the Inspire. Create. challenge layout.  This is the perfect layout for various widths of DSP.

  Nothing earth shaking here just used different widths of the DSP and alternated the pattern across the Pretty Peacock card front. 

  The sentiment is from the Saying Hey stamp set and I stamped it on a Spotlight on Nature die cut circle in Pretty Peacock ink.  

I stamped and punched a leafy branch and little flower sprig with the Layering Leaves stamp set and Bough punch and tucked them behind the sentiment banner which is stamped with Pretty in Pink ink onto Petal Pink card stock and die cut with the Stylish Shapes dies.  

  I added a little bling with a Pretty Peacock & Gold Metallic ribbon and some retired Opaque Faceted Gems in Calypso Coral.  

 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Saying Hey, Layering Leaves

Ink: Pretty Peacock, Pretty in Pink

Paper: Pretty Peacock, Frames & Flowers DSP, Basic White, Petal Pink, Lost Lagoon

Accessories: Spotlight on Nature dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Bough punch, dimensionals, Pretty Peacock & Gold Metallic ribbon, Opaque Faceted Gems (retired)

Textured Petal Thank You - Stampin' Up! Textured Floral

   I'm back again with the last of the Frames & Flowers DSP cards that I made last week!  I've been busy designing and preparing for my monthly class the last few days so I'll be able to share those projects soon but in the meantime I'm glad to have another idea to share with this fun DSP. I haven't finished the pack yet but I'm closer after all of these cards! The paper goes a long way!!

  I pulled in another of my favorite floral sets to make this one!  The Textured Floral stamp and die set has been around for a bit and I wouldn't be surprised at all if it retires at the end of this annual catalog in April so get it now while it's still available.  It makes lovely cards!

  I started with Petal Pink for the card base, then a larger layer of Frames & Flowers DSP from which I pulled the rest of the colors.

  The square panel is Basic White, backed with Pretty Peacock.  I stamped the 2 leaves onto the Basic White panel stamping each off once for a bit lighter look.

  The flowers are stamped in Petal Pink and Calypso Coral and are die cut and then clustered in the corner and adhered with dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped in Pretty Peacock and then is backed with a length of Pretty Peacock & Gold Metallic ribbon.

  To balance out the open corner (which I think I ended up cutting the square too large) I added some gold sequins.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Textured Floral, Simple Said

Ink: Pretty Peacock, Petal Pink, Calypso Coral

Paper: Petal Pink, Basic White, Pretty Peacock, Frames & Flowers DSP

Accessories: Textured Floral dies, dimensionals, Pretty Peacock & Gold Metallic ribbon, gold sequins

Storybook Badger Birthday - Stampin' Up! Storybook Moments DSP

   This is one of those cards that started out completely different and ended up not using much of any of the original elements!  I think maybe the card base and sentiment lol!  Sometimes it works out like that.  I took advantage of the great die cuts that come in the Storybook Moments DSP to create this little scene.

  This is a sweet little card in some soft nature-y colors.  I start with a Boho Blue card base for this one.  And just a quick note; the 2023-2025 In Colors of which Boho Blue is a part of will be retiring at the end of April so if this is a color you want but don't have or is a color that you love and use all the time you'll want to order/restock soon before the mad rush starts!

  I added an embossed strip of Mossy Meadow to the center.  The Eyelet embossing folder makes a nice sweet pattern for this style card. 

  Next I used one of the cute pre-designed panels that are part of this pack of DSP.  One side has a regular full page vine pattern but the opposite side has 11 individual panels that can be cut apart and used as layers on your card or scrapbook page.  I chose this one with the blues and greens and rounded the two top corners to soften it just a bit with all the other straight edges that were coming together already.

  I added my 3 die cut images to make a little scene and I popped the little butterfly on a mini dimensional.  I used the sentiment strip to make a base for the badger and plant to be adhered over so they wouldn't look like they were just floating.

  For embellishments I added a retired scalloped lace trim bow and now that I'm thinking this might be a good guy birthday card I may change it out to something a little more masculine like twine or linen thread.  And some Crushed Curry Faux Glass dots are added to highlight the sentiment strip.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Simply Said

Ink: Mossy Meadow

Paper: Boho Blue, Mossy Meadow, Storybook Moments DSP, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Eyelet embossing folder, dimensionals, Faux Glass Dots, Scalloped Lace Trim (retired)

Simple Stripes Birthday - Stampin' Up! Delightful Wishes

   Are you sick of seeing Frames & Flowers DSP or are you inspired by the many different designs you can make with some patterned paper?  Hopefully the later!  This design uses up some long skinny scraps for this seemingly never ending pack of paper!

  I've stuck with a similar color palette to the previous Frames & Flowers DSP that I've made using Lost Lagoon as a card base that complements the DSP strips that I wanted to use.  I had this embossed panel in my orphaned card parts bin and thought it would be a good background but it ended up mostly getting covered up but you can still see a little bit of the pattern along the edges.

  Next I added my DSP and then the sentiment stamped on a Around It All wonky circle in Pretty Peacock ink.  If you haven't check out the Simply Said stamp set in the Annual catalog take a look and see if this versatile sentiment set would be a good fit for your collection.

  I jazzed the circle up with a few flowers from the Delightful Wishes stamp set.  I used Petal Pink for the base and Calypso Coral for the detail.  A few stamped off Garden Green leaves are added to soften the flowers.

  I came up with some retired Pretty Peacock faceted gems to accent the circle as a final touch.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Delightful Wishes, Simply Said

Ink: Pretty Peacock, Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Garden Green

Paper: Lost Lagoon, Basic White, Frames & Flowers DSP

Accessories: Dotted Circles embossing folder, Around It All dies (Online Exclusive), Delightful Wishes dies, dimensionals, faceted gems (retired)

For the Books Congrats - Stampin' Up! For the Books

   Sometimes it works out that a color challenge and a sketch challenge are a perfect match for each other.  That's what happened with the Freshly Made Sketches challenge and the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge.  I had fun putting this card together with such fun elements. The For the Books stamp set is perfect to show off these colors as bright book bindings!

  I started with a Lemon Lime Twist card base.  Using the largest of the Around It All wonky circle dies I cut a half circle from a piece of Summer Splash. I stamped a few small hearts in Summer Splash ink and then embossed the sentiment in white.

  Both stacks of books are stamped in Basic Gray and then colored in with the challenge colors using Blends markers. It's fun to mix and match and try to get a balanced look with a limited color palette. The books are fussy cut and then adhered to the card front with the one in the foreground popped on dimensionals.

  On the inside I stamped and colored another stack of books and added a "let's Celebrate" sentiment.  This would be a great card to congratulate someone who has graduated or finished an advanced degree/training program.

 And I again hit up my retired embellishment stash and came up with these retired white sequins for the finishing touch.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: For the Books

Ink: Versamark, Summer Splash, Basic Gray

Blends: Calypso Coral light & dark, Lemon Lime Twist light & dark, Summer Splash light & dark

Paper: Lemon Lime Twist, Summer Splash, Basic White

Accessories: Around It All dies (Online Exclusive), white embossing powder, dimensionals, white sequins (retired)

Seagull Trio Birthday - Stampin' Up! Friendly Seagull

   I'm taking a break from showing yet another project using the Frames & Flowers DSP to join in on the Masculine Clean and Simple challenge that is over at the Paper Players this week!  I'm always in need of masculine birthday cards so it was a good prompt!  And also there are only 8 days left in Sale-a-Bration (SAB) and I haven't used the adorable Friendly Seagulls stamp set nearly enough!  If you love this set  now is the time to place your order of $60 or more and earn it as a free Sale-a-Bration reward!

  Like you can't get much more clean and simple than this!  I let these sassy birds speak for themselves and kept it all very minimalist! It is supposed to be CAS afterall!

  I started with a Basic White thick card base.  I stamped the seagulls across a panel of Basic White in Memento black and then colored them with Stampin' Blends markers.

  Since the birds are pretty neutral I wanted to add a pop of color and also something that would look good with the Daffodil Delight feet and beaks.  Blueberry Bushel was the winner so I tore 2 strips to back the bird panel which gave a nice texture but didn't make it overly fussy.

  For the sentiment I used the small scale 'happy birthday' from the Spring Corners stamp set and stamped it in black.  

As with my kick to try to use up DSP I organized my retired embellishments the other day so I looked there first to find a small gem or something that would go with this design and I had a few of these pretty yellow hearts left from the Adhesive-Backed Hearts & Flowers enamel embellishments.  Just right for this card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Friendly Seagulls (SAB), Spring Corners (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Daffodil Delight light & dark, Wild Wheat light, Smoky Slate light & dark, Basic Black light, Gray Granite light

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Blueberry Bushel

Accessories: Adhesive-Backed Hearts & Flowers (retired)

Spring Frames - Stampin' Up! Spring Corners

 Happy snow day in central Virginia!  We are predicted to get anywhere from 3-8ish" inches of snow depending on which weather app/man/station you pay attention to!  It's a good day to stay in the stamp room until it's time shovel!  I've got another card today using up my scraps of the Frames & Flowers DSP.  It's a nice basic layout that you could easily swap out patterns for a whole different look!

  The card base is Pretty Peacock and then a layer of Pretty Peacock embossed with the Soft Waves embossing folder.  I added my 2 pieces of Frames & Flowers DSP and I think I only trimmed the Petal Pink piece a tiny bit (I'm trying to use them as is so as not to create even more scraps!).

  I had a punched circle in my orphaned card parts bin so I stamped the sentiment from the Spring Corners stamp set in Pretty Peacock in and then popped the circle on dimensionals.

  I wanted to add some die cuts that echoed the patterns in the papers so I browsed through my die sets and found a few that were pretty close.  The leaf die cut is from the Textured Floral die set and is Lost Lagoon cardstock.  The 5 petaled flowers are in Petal Pink and cut with flower dies from the Country Birdhouse die set.

  The flower centers are highlighted with retired Calypso Coral sequins for a nice darker contrast to the the Petal Pink.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Spring Corners (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Pretty Peacock

Paper: Pretty Peacock, Basic White, Petal Pink, Lost Lagoon, Frames & Flowers DSP

Accessories: Soft Waves embossing folder, circle punch, dimensionals, Textured Floral dies, Country Birdhouse dies, sequins (retired)

Simple Flowers - Stampin' Up! With You In Mind

 It's really hard to finish up a whole pack of Designer Series Paper and I hardly ever do it.  But I'm really close to doing it with the Frames & Flowers DSP so I played around with some pieces to keep chipping away at it!

  The DSP panels on these 2 cards are probably the biggest scraps I had left in this pack so I kept it easy and just used them to cover the background on a Soft Sea Foam base.  The sentiments are from the With You In Mind stamp set and I used Lost Lagoon to stamp them on a panel of Basic White.

    A length of retired Petal Pink ribbon is added behind the sentiment before adhering.  The rest of the card comes together really quickly with Petal Pink stamped and punched flowers that are popped on dimensionals.  The flower centers are embellished with Pecan Pie Ribboned Adhesive-Backed Dots that echo the darker centers of the flowers in the DSP.

  I'll be sharing a few more designs with this DSP over the next few days so check back for some more inspiration for you to maybe finish a DSP pack of your own!  You need to use it up so you have room to buy more lol!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: With You In Mind

Ink: Lost Lagoon, Petal Pink

Paper: Soft Sea Foam, Basic White, Frames & Flowers DSP

Accessories: dimensionals, Pecan Pie Ribboned Adhesive-Backed Dot, Petal Pink ribbon (retired), small circle punch (retired)

Storybook Strawberries - Stampin' Up! Storybook Garden Patch

   With another winter storm coming toward us here in central Virginia I've got a sweet card looking ahead to warmer weather!  The Just Add Ink sketch is a perfect one to use to highlight smaller images so I pulled out the Storybook Garden Patch stamp set and showed off some strawberries!

  I started with a pretty background with this design from the Storybook Moments DSP.  Then I used the Perennial Postage dies to cut 3 squares of watercolor paper.

  I stamped the strawberries in Stazon then watercolored with Real Red and Mossy Meadow.  After they were adhered to the card front I cut a sentiment banner with the Unbounded Love dies.  The sentiment is stamped in Lost Lagoon and is from the Storybook Friends stamp set.

  The sentiment is popped on dimensionals with a loop of Lost Lagoon Soft Cording behind it.  They are hard to see but I added a few clear faceted gems around the card front for a tiny bit of sparkle.

  Thanks for looking.  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Storybook Garden Patch, Storybook Friends 

Ink: Stazon, Mossy Meadow, Real Red, Lost Lagoon

Paper: Storybook Moments DSP, watercolor paper

Accessories: Perennial Postage dies, Unbounded Love dies, dimensionals, Lost Lagoon soft cording, Elegant Faceted gems (retired)

Beautifully Simple Occasions - Stampin' Up! With You In Mind

 I was having a bit of stampers block the other afternoon so I decided to look through the January-April 2025 mini catalog for some inspiration and I landed on the Beautiful Bokeh suite layout.  I was drawn to the simple but sweet card on page 38 that just has the simple DSP background and a small square with the small butterfly die cut and sentiment.  I needed something easy to CASE (copy and share everything) and this was the one.  I only have the Beautiful Bokeh DSP so I decided to use some other stamp sets to put together a set of simple cards for 4 main occasions.

  I pulled out 4 pieces of the Beautiful Bokeh DSP to inspire my colors.  I chose the Fresh Freesia, Calypso Coral, Balmy Blue and Berry Burst patterns.

  I cut matching card bases and square mats slightly larger than the Stylish Shapes square die cuts I was going to stamp on.

  I stamped the sentiments from the Simply Said stamp set in each of my main colors and then added the image from the With You In Mind stamp set.  I popped up the finished squares over a piece of Iridescent Striped Trim.

  The final touch was adding one Iridescent Faceted Gem to each image panel.  I think this design could be perfect for a new stampers class or a stamp a stack event.  Just the right amount of detail but not a ton of supplies.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Simply Said, With You In Mind

Ink: Fresh Freesia, Calypso Coral, Balmy Blue, Berry Burst

Paper: Beautiful Bokeh DSP, Fresh Freesia, Calypso Coral, Balmy Blue, Berry Burst, Basic White

Accessories: Iridescent Striped Trim, dimensionals, Iridescent Faceted Gem, Stylish Shapes dies (retired)

Spring Birthday Balloons - Stampin' Up! Spring Corners

   Just a quick share today!  I designed this birthday card with fresh spring colors as my thank you card to customer who placed orders last month.  I love these little balloons and wanted to make them the focal point of the card but since they are on the smaller side I beefed up the grouping with a few more layers.

  I started with a Basic White card base, then a layer of Summer Splash then another layer of Basic White which was embossed with the Sale-a-Bration (SAB) reward Starstruck embossing folder.  I wrapped a length of Iridescent Striped trim around it for some subtle shimmer.

  Next I used the starburst die from the Spring Corners set to cut a Basic White sunburst.  The balloons are stamped in Memento black then colored in with Stampin' Blends.  The balloons are die cut and popped on dimensionals over the sunburst.

  The sentiment is stamped in Memento black on a narrow strip of Summer Splash and is adhered over the balloon strings.  

  Finally a few Sale-a-Bration reward Purple Adhesive-Backed Sequins are scattered around the balloons.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Spring Corners (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Fresh Freesia light & dark, Summer Splash light & dark, Granny Apple Green light & dark

Accessories: Spring Corners dies (Online Exclusive), Starstruck embossing folder (SAB), Iridescent Striped Trim, Purple Adhesive-Backed Sequins (SAB), dimensionals

Fresh Garden Birthday - Stampin' Up! Storybook Garden Patch

 While we might have had snow and freezing rain the last few days my flower bulbs are decidedly trying to tell me that it's almost spring.  I have daffodils and tulips poking up through the mulch and the maple trees have tiny buds already!  So taking my cue from (some parts of) nature I made a gardening themed birthday card using the most recent challenge colors that I gave my customers for inspiration.  I used the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge for the layout.

 I haven't used the Storybook Moments Suite products much at all so far and I really think it's mostly due to the cold wet winter we've been having so far this year.  I just haven't been inspired to make spring garden or adorable woodland animal cards.  And also to be honest, I think the coloring aspect of the line art images has been a bit of a mental block for me.  I'm not a natural color-er so it takes some self-motivation and the right mindset to keep at it until I get a result that I like!  

  I started with a Basic Beige card base and then cut a Very Vanilla Spotlight on Nature circle.  I strung a bit of linen thread through the holes in the circle and tied a bow before adhering it with dimensionals.  

 The 3 images from the Storybook Garden Patch stamp set are stamped in Stazon onto watercolor paper.  I used a water painter brush and just stamped a clear block into each color ink pad and picked up the color from there.  Like I said I played around for a bit trying to get the shading to my liking before die cutting.

  The images are popped on dimensionals on the edge of the circle to follow the sketch.  The sentiment from Saying Hey stamp set is stamped in black to the side.  And finally a few retired Adhesive-Backed Speckled Dots are added to the circle to echo the terracotta color of the pots.

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Storybook Garden Patch, Saying Hey

Ink: Stazon black, Cajun Craze, Garden Green, Blueberry Bushel

Paper: Basic Beige, Very Vanilla, watercolor paper

Accessories: Spotlight on Nature dies, Storybook Garden Patch dies, dimensionals, linen thread, Adhesive-Backed Speckled Dots (retired)

Birthday Hearts - Stampin' Up! Attention Shoppers

   I'm back today guest designing for Seize the Birthday challenge and they have a timely topping for us to incorporate into a birthday card.  Add a heart!  Check out what the Design Team has created then join in and share your card in the gallery!

  Hearts are especially perfect this week but they work for all year round if you're a card maker.  I shifted into birthday mode for this challenge and pulled out my Hearts of Elegance dies to get me started.  It's nice to be reminded that products that are Valentine's day themed can work for more than just one kind of card.

 My colors are from the Paper Players challenge and I think they are perfect for a bright birthday card!  The card base is Basic White thick, then a smaller layer of Basic White.  I had some off cuts of Floral Delight DSP in this pretty Daffodil Delight eyelet pattern that were the perfect size to make 3 panels for a background.

  I used the Hearts of Elegance dies to cut a Flirty Flamingo heart and a Summer Splash heart.  The Flirty Flamingo heart is embossed with the Eyelet embossing folder which echoes the pattern on the DSP.  Both hearts are popped on the card front with dimensionals.

  The sentiment and cake from the Attention Shoppers stamp set are stamped in Basic Gray.  I colored the cake with Stampin' Blends and after die cutting added it and the sentiment strip to the card front.  You can't tell from the photo but I colored the candle flames with clear Wink of Stella.

  For embellishments I added a baker's twine bow and a few Summer Splash In Color Shimmer Gems.

  Thanks again to the Seize the Birthday team for letting me join them.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Attention Shoppers

Ink: Basic Gray

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

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Floral Delight DSP, Flirty Flamingo, Summer Splash, 

Accessories: Hearts of Elegance dies, Eyelet embossing folder, dimensionals, Attention Shoppers dies, baker's twine, 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer Gems, Wink of Stella

Flamingo Flowers - Stampin' Up! Delightful Wishes

   Today is the worst kind of snow day and I feel for all those moms of little kids who are home from school today!  There's nothing worse than having a day off from school due to snow but you can't even go out and play in it!  The snow we got yesterday is wet and heavy and all slush and it has continued to rain on and off all day.  You'd need 50 pairs of mittens to be able to play in this snow!  Instead of being outside I'm all cozied up in the stamp room and have some lovely colors on this floral birthday card today!

  I used the just closed Just Add Ink challenge to get started on this card.  They had a nice summer looking inspiration photo and I pulled out the colors to use.  I decided on Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana and Crumb Cake.

  While my card yesterday was a clean and simple one this is the complete opposite with a lot of distressing and fussy layers and bling.

  The card front is a panel of Crumb Cake that is first stamped with the the round script stamp in the Elements of Text stamp set.  I used Crumb Cake ink and then heavily distressed the whole panel.  I crumpled it up and smoothed it out, then crumpled it again along different folds.  I used a sponge and some Crumb Cake ink to bring out some of the creases as well as sponged it along the edges.  Finally a few small tears finish up the distressing.

  Next I stamped 2 of the flower sprigs from the Delightful Wishes stamp set and then fussy cut them.  There is a die that cuts out just the flower portion but I wanted to have the leaves and stems included so I kept them together with fussy cutting.  I popped the flowers on dimensionals around the edge of the scripty circle.

  I cut a few leaves from Granny Apple Green and tucked them in behind the flowers.

  The sentiment is stamped in Coastal Cabana and then die cut.  The 2 sentiment pieces are also popped on dimensionals.

  Finally I blinged the card out with a bunch of Summer Splash In Color Shimmer gems.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Delightful Wishes, Elements of Text (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake 

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White, Granny Apple Green

Accessories: Delight Wishes dies, dimensionals, 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer Gems

Friendly Crab - Stampin' Up! Ocean Friends

   My card today is designed to play along with the Addicted to CAS challenge to make a 'friends' card.  I always seem to use Basic White for the card base in clean and simple challenges so I gave myself a personal challenge to try a different color base.  What do you think?

 I went with Azure Afternoon for the base and then embossed a wide band of the same color with the Soft Waves embossing folder.  I think since it's tone on tone that it feels more CAS than if it was a different color.

  Using a big Spotlight on Nature circle I stamped the friend sentiment from Ocean Friends stamp set in Azure Afternoon.  The crab was stamped next with the outline in Flirty Flamingo and the fill in with Petal Pink.

  The bubbles are added in stamped off Azure Afternoon going right off the edge of the circle.  Finally the finished circle is popped on dimensionals.  I left off any embellishments to keep with the CAS theme but I did color in the bubbles with Wink of Stella for a tiny bit of shimmer in real life.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Ocean Friends

Ink: Azure Afternoon, Flirty Flamingo, Petal Pink

Paper: Azure Afternoon, Basic White

Accessories: Spotlight on Nature dies, Soft Waves embossing folder, dimensionals, Wink of Stella

Brighten Your Skies - Stampin' Up! Sharing Loving Crafting

 Coming in late with my card today as I stayed up well past my bedtime celebrating last night and things were slow to get moving this morning!!  Go Birds!  We are Philly fans in this house and it was glorious watching the game last night.  I only had a stomach ache in the first half lol!  We all know how quick things can turn in a football game so I wasn't breathing completely easy until it was 40-6!  Anyhoo...I know we can all stay stamping friends regardless of who we rooted for in the Super Bowl!  And I have a fun card to share today using the colors from Inspire Create challenge; any pink, any yellow, any blue.

 I started with a gorgeous piece of Everyday Skies DSP for my card front.  That made it easy to pull Azure Afternoon for my blue and Bubble Bath for my pink as those are colors in the DSP.  I made a frame using the retired Stylish Shapes dies but any square dies would work for the same effect.

  I embossed the sentiment from Sharing Loving Crafting stamp set in white on Azure Afternoon DSP and punched it out.  It's popped on a Lemon Lolly circle with dimensionals.

  Using the Sale-a-Bration (SAB) stamp set Documenting the Day I stamped and punched out the sun and heart and added them around the sentiment.

  A few retired adhesive sequins in a blue that's close enough to Azure Afternoon are added for a bit of sparkle.  I think they may be Tahitian Tide but the packaging is long gone so don't hold me to it!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current items used on this card can be purchased or earned for free in my ONLINE STORE.  

Stamps: Sharing Loving Crafting (Online Exclusive), Documenting the Day (SAB)

Ink: Versamark, Bubble Bath, Daffodil Delight

Paper: Everyday Skies DSP (Online Exclusive), Azure Afternoon, Lemon Lolly, Basic White

Accessories: circle punches (or dies), dimensionals, white embossing powder, sequins (retired), Stylish Shapes dies (retired)

Crabby Birthday - Stampin' Up! Ocean Friends

   I had pulled these colors out the other day after seeing them on a challenge and then a few days went by where I was working on some other things and finally yesterday I got around to using them on a card.  Well, went I went back just now to make sure I give the right challenge the credit for the color inspiration and I realized that it's a clean and simple challenge and this card doesn't fit that at all!  Oh well! But the colors are from the CAS Colours & Sketches challenge; Poppy Parade, Melon Mambo & Summer Splash.  I'll have to try again and keep to a clean and simple card next time!

  Here is my crabby birthday card!  I started with a piece of the Friends of the Ocean DSP in a wavy Melon Mambo pattern (definitely not CAS!).  I cut out 2 Around It All dies circles out of Summer Splash then embossed them with the Soft Waves embossing folder.  

  The sentiment is stamped in Summer Splash onto a Deckled Rectangle die.  I tied a piece of White baker's twine around it before adhering it on dimensionals over the 2 embossed circles.

  The crabs from Ocean Friends are stamped in Poppy Parade and die cut and added to the card front.  Finally I added a few enamel dots in a color which I think is retired Magenta Madness but looks like Melon Mambo.  The embellishment bin is a bit of mess to say the least lol!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Ocean Friends, Simply Said

Ink: Summer Splash, Poppy Parade

Paper: Friends of the Ocean DSP, Basic White, Summer Splash

Accessories: Soft Waves embossing folder, Ocean Friends dies, Around It All dies, dimensionals, bakers twine, Magenta Madness enamel dots (retired)

Simple Corner Blooms - Stampin' Up! Spring Corners

   I was playing around with some supplies that haven't seen much action since I got them and with the warmer weather we've been having lately some spring flowers seemed to be calling out!  I combined the Sale-a-Bration (SAB) reward Bloom Impression DSP and the Online Exclusive Spring Corners bundle for this cheerful spring inspired card.

  This is what I would call a quick and easy card!  A limited number of supplies and it comes together quickly!  I started with a Basic White thick card base, then popped up a layer of Bloom Impression DSP on dimensionals.

  I used a smaller layer of Basic White and die cut the 2 corners with 2 of the dies from the Spring Corners die set.  The flower in the upper corner is enhanced a tiny bit by folding up the petals for a 3d effect.

  The sentiment from the Spring Corners stamp set is stamped in Blackberry Bliss .

  The little corner flower is accented with another Sale-a-Bration (SAB) reward; the Purple Adhesive-backed Sequins.  And finally a piece of Iridescent Striped trim is cut in half and tied in a knot and is added to the larger flower.  It's hard to see but it gives a nice shimmer and plays off the sequin shine.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

 All of the supplies used on this card can be purchased or earned for free in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Spring Corners (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Blackberry Bliss

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Bloom Impressions DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Spring Corners dies, dimensionals, Purple Adhesive-backed Sequins (SAB), Iridescent Striped trim

Daydream Friend - Stampin' Up! With You In Mind

   Last week I finished up making a set of 100 cards for an upcoming women's retreat at my church and they turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself.  Very basic but still cute...there were 100 afterall!  The theme for the retreat is friendship so the organizer wanted a card that reflected that theme so it was easy enough to go through my stamp sets and pull out some choices to see what would work.  I ended up with the retired sentiment from the old Sale-a-Bration set Friendly Hello and added in some images from the current With You In Mind stamp set.

  I designed the whole card around the retired Design a Daydream DSP that was a host reward a number of years ago.  Since I was making so many cards I wanted to have them be coordinated so I wouldn't have to switch up colors and be able to keep the stamping the same across all 100 cards.  I had a bunch of this DSP and the colors work well for the theme.

  I used blank notecards and envelopes from Amazon as that was the most cost effective and it took a few step off of my plate not having to cut and score so many card bases.  But I can say that Stampin' Up! Basic white is definitely superior for stamping on! And the color of Basic White is more clean in my opinion   The edge of the DSP is banded by a narrow strip of Pool Party cardstock which was fantastic to use up so many scraps that I had. 

  The 'hello friend' is stamped in Blackberry Bliss and then punched out.  The leaves are added in Old Olive ink and then the little flower is stamped in Daffodil Delight and also punched out.  The flower is popped on dimensionals.

  Hopefully the cards are well received and everyone at the retreats send one off to a friend that they are thankful to have in their lives.

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: With You In Mind, Friendly Hello (retired)

Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight

Paper: Basic White, Pool Party, Design a Daydream DSP (retired), Amazon blank notecards (non-SU)

Accessories: circle punches, dimensionals

Hexagon Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Heartfelt Hexagon

 Unfortunately I needed a few sympathy cards recently so decided to make 6 of them so I could send out the 3 I needed and then have some in my stash for the future.  Hopefully I don't have to send them any time soon. Sympathy cards are never fun to make but I still want to make them nice.  I decided on a monochromatic card with some layering for interest.

  I used the layout from the Paper Players from last week which is now closed. I started a Basic White thick card base then added a layer of Nests of Winter DSP in this pretty Pool Party pattern.  Pulling in more Pool Party I added a Deckled Rectangle die cut and a bough punch for each side.

  The frame and sentiment are from the retired Heartfelt Hexagon stamp set and are stamped in Pool Party ink.  It's punched out with the Heartfelt Hexagon punch and then popped on dimensionals on the card front.

  I stamped the little flower cluster from the Country Birdhouse stamp set in Pool Party, colored the leaves with Pool Party blends markers then die cut it and popped it on the edge of the label with a dimensional.  Finally I added a tiny adhesive pearl to the center of the flower.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Country Birdhouse, Heartfelt Hexagon (retired)

Ink: Pool Party

Blends: Pool Party light & dark

Paper: Basic White thick, Pool Party, Basic White, Nests of Winter DSP

Accessories: Heartfelt Hexagon punch, Bough punch, dimensionals, Deckled Rectangle dies (retired), adhesive pearl (retired)

Clean and Simple Wishes - Stampin' Up! With You In Mind

   I spent more time than I care to admit scrubbing the inside of my ovens today.  I should do it more often so it doesn't take so long but there are much better ways to spend my time...like stamping!!  My hands and arms are tired and I hope I'll be able to hold a stamp tomorrow lol!  Luckily I had this clean and simple card already made to share with you. 

  Just like yesterday's card this one is CAS and uses flowers.  I started with a Basic White thick card base then stamped the large 'thinking of you' from the With You In Mind stamp set in Pretty Peacock.

  These sweet little die cut flowers are made with the Delightful Wishes bundle.  I cut 3 flowers out of Calypso Coral and stamped and cut 2 leaves from Old Olive and arranged them around the sentiment.  2 of the 3 are popped on dimensionals for interest.  

  I added some retired Opaque Faceted Gems to the flower centers for a tiny bit of sparkle.  And that's it!  A really clean and simple card!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: With You In Mind, Delightful Wishes

Ink: Pretty Peacock, Old Olive

Paper: Basic White thick, Calypso Coral, Old Olive

Accessories: Delightful Wishes dies, dimensionals, Opaque Faceted gems (retired)

Delightful Petunia - Stampin' Up! Delightful Wishes

   I'm sharing a clean and simple creation today inspired by the CAS on Friday challenge of "flowers" which should be really easy for me since I have so many flower stamps but how am I to choose just one flower stamp to keep this card clean and simple??  I went with one of my newest stamp sets; Delightful Wishes.

  I started with a Basic White thick card base then I scored a slightly smaller layer of Basic White at 1/2" on all sides to create a frame without adding any more layers.

  Next I stamped the flowers with Petunia Pop ink; first layer is stamped off once and the second accent layer is full strength ink.  I added in the stem in Pecan Pie and the leaves in Shy Shamrock.  While the Delightful Wishes stamp set is shown with a lot yellow in the Jan.-Apr. mini catalog let me tell you that these flowers look great in any color!  Don't get stuck on having a flower only be the color it comes in in real life.  Don't limit yourself that way; use all the inks!

  I added the sentiment from Storybook Friends in Shy Shamrock ink and then sprinkled a few adhesive-backed sequins around the flowers.

  Isn't that a beautiful, crisp design to welcome in the spring season?

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Delightful Wishes, Storybook Friends

Ink: Petunia Pop, Shy Shamrock, Pecan Pie

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White

Accessories: score board, Adhesive-backed Sequin Trio

  

Seagull Love - Stampin' Up! Friendly Seagulls

  You know I love my animal stamps and bird stamps so the Sale-a-bration (SAB) set Friendly Seagulls was sure to find its way to my stamp room!  I decided to make a fun little Valentine's day card that I think I'm going to send to my son at college.  The inside says "I love you more than french fries"!  So cute!  A $60 order can get you these seagulls for free during Sale-a-bration!

  The layout is one that I gave to my customers last week for a stamping challenge on our group Facebook page.  It's a simple layout and the big circle could be changed out for another larger shape so you can really go in so many directions with it.

  I started with a Lost Lagoon card base, then another layer of Lost Lagoon embossed with the Sale-a-Bration Starstruck embossing folder.

  The Spotlight on Nature die set was used to cut the circle.  I used a blending brush and very lightly added some Pool Party ink to it for a bit of a sky effect. Country Woods DSP is used for the pilings and I gave them 2 different heights so the birds wouldn't be crowded.

  The seagulls are stamped in Memento Black and then colored with blends markers.  I fussy cut them and popped them up on the pilings with dimensionals.

  The little banner is cut with the Stylish Shapes dies and I stamped the 'hey' in black.  It seemed a bit empty so I punched a Poppy Parade heart with the house builder punch and added that to the side of the banner.  Behind the banner I looped a bit of baker's twine and then popped it all up on a dimensional.

  This is such a fun stamp set and I keep seeing more and more cute ways to use it!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Friendly Seagulls (SAB)

Ink: Memento Black, Pool Party

Blends: Basic Black light, Smoky Slate light & dark, Daffodil Delight dark

Paper: Lost Lagoon, Basic White, Poppy Parade, Country Woods DSP

Accessories: Starstruck embossing folder (SAB), Spotlight on Nature dies, dimensionals, Stylish Shapes dies, baker's twine, house builder punch

   

Delightful Calendar - Stampin' Up! Delightful Wishes Dies

   Every year I see people making these adorable calendars to start off the new year and every year I tell myself I'm going to remember to order the little calendars and make the project for a class.  Well it finally happened!  I remembered to order the calendars in December so I was all ready for my first class of the year.  The Floral Delight DSP was a perfect set of papers to use to make this cheerful project.

  This is a really simple fun fold and can easily be changed up to display a photo for a Christmas card or even a mini scrapbook page. 

  The card base is 4 1/4" x 11" scored at 5 1/2".  Then layer the card stock and DSP as you wish.  I used Old Olive, Pool Party and Floral Delight DSP.  The calendar is backed with a layer of Old Olive also.

 To make the stand to keep the calendar upright all you need is a piece of 4"x4" cardstock.  Score it at 1/2", 2" and 3 1/2". Fold on the 2 inch mark then fold the 2 smaller flaps up.  Add tear and tape to the flaps and adhere them to the inside of the base.  So easy!

  We embellished this version with a die cut flower using the Delight Wishes dies, Daffodil Delight 1/8" satin ribbon and a teeny tiny bee trinket!

  Such a cute project and an easy way to brighten up any working space!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the supplies (except the calendar) used to make this project can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

 Stamps: none

Ink: none

Paper: Old Olive, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Peach Pie, Pecan Pie

Accessories: Delightful Wishes dies, Tiny Bee Trinkets, 1/8" Daffodil Delight satin ribbon, tear and tape, dimensionals, calendar (Taylored Expressions)