Extraordinary Congrats - Stampin' Up!® Extraordinary Flora

 Last week I finally got my May customer thank you cards designed, stamped and mailed out.  I send a card to every customer who orders during the month and I leave the card blank so that they can add it to their stash for use and inspiration. Who doesn't love some happy mail right?  The Extraordinary Flora bundle and coordinating washi tape are so fun to create with.  I've never been a big washi user but this roll is so cool in that it's super wide (3 1/4"!) and you can use it like regular washi but also use the die to cut out a whole length of the flower/leaf designs!  So cool!

  The design alternates between a section of pink and then purple flowers so every 5 1/2 inches or so the colors change.  I used both colors for my cards.  I used the sketch challenge from As You See It for the layout.  The 3 panels are the perfect elements to add the washi die cuts to!

  I started with a Soft Sea Foam base then a slightly smaller layer of Soft Sea Foam embossed with the Damask Designs embossing folder.  3 narrow Basic White rectangles are cut using the Textured Notes dies.  A white baker's twine bow goes across the middle of the card.

  I used the really skinny Textured Notes die for the colored sentiment bar.  I used Strawberry Slush and Petunia Pop to coordinate with the colors in the washi tape.

  To make the washi tape elements I rolled out a length of the washi tape and adhered it to a piece of Basic White making sure to smooth out any bumps or pockets of air.  I found that by using my bone folder and working from the center to the edges worked really well.  The white cardstock really makes the designs pop. Then I ran the washi panel and die through my die cutter and came away with a neat little pile of flowers and leaves.  Be sure to tape the die down with a sticky note or painters tape even if you're using a magnetic platform as the washi is very smooth and I found that the die slide around a bit more than normal and you don't want to mis-cut and waste any of the washi.

  I added some flowers to the card front with dimensionals and glued some down to the inside of the card.  The washi pulls away nicely from the cardstock so if you wanted to use an extra flower to decorate an envelope or wanted to use the washi die cuts on their own as straight tape you can.

  Finally I added a gold Low Profile dot on the sentiment strip to finish this card off.

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: Extraordinary Flora

Ink: Strawberry Slush, Petunia Pop

Paper: Soft Sea Foam, Basic White, Strawberry Slush, Petunia Pop

Accessories: Damask Designs embossing folder, Textured Notes Dies, Extraordinary Flora Washi Tape, Extraordinary Flora die, dimensionals, white baker's twine, Low Profile dots (Online Exclusive)

Valentine's Day Stripes - Stampin' Up!® Bee My Valentine

  With the longest day of year just yesterday isn't it time to start looking ahead to Valentine's Day??!!  Just kidding, well not really but I saw the Tic Tac Toe challenge board yesterday and got inspired to design for Valentine's Day.  I was asked to make 75 Valentine's Day cards for one of the women's circles at my church for next February.  My friends who is in charge of this project asked me a month ago if I could do this many cards and she wanted to make sure I had plenty of time.  I had started to pull some supplies together to play around a few weeks ago but I just wasn't feeling it then.  Knowing I had plenty of time I set the project aside until I saw the challenge yesterday and it seemed like the right time!  I'm using the center across line (CAS, heart, stripes) for my very early Valentine's day design.

  I told my friend that to keep costs down for her and to make it manageable for my time that the cards would be fairly simple whatever design I came up with.  I pulled out all of my retired Valentine's Day themed DSP and definitely have enough to mix and match these half inch wide strips of DSP along with some Real Red strips.

  2 retired heart punches come in handy for the layered heart element that's popped on dimensionals.  I embossed the sentiment from Bee My Valentine stamp set in white and then added a baker's twine bow.

 I'm sure that after making 75 of these I might think that they weren't simple enough but if I work on them a bit at a time over the next little bit I think I won't end up hating them!

  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: Bee My Valentine

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Real Red, Basic White, Snail Mail DSP (retired)

Accessories: white embossing powder, dimensionals, real red bakers twine, Heart punch pack (retired)

Along the Water - Stampin' Up!® Along These Lines

   I've been busy designing projects for my next class but I took a break the other afternoon to make a 'for fun' card for a pair of challenges both of which have "water" as the theme.  Addicted to CAS and Inspire.Create. Challenge prompts are pretty timely as we've had sweltering weather which makes me want to head to some water to cool off!

  This fun dolphin pair was inspired by my recent time at the beach.  Every year we see loads of dolphins cruising up and down the coastline.  I love spotting a tiny fin popping up among the adult dolphins and saying "aaaawwww it's a baby!"

  I started with a Secret Sea card base.  A layer of Basic White is covered with shades of blue using a blending brush.  I started with Secret Sea at the bottom then Blue Berry Bushel and then Azure Afternoon.  Once the ink blending was done I tore off the very top of the panel to mimic a bit of wave action.

  The dolphins from the Along These Lines stamp set are stamped in Versamark onto Basic Gray and Smoky Slate then embossed in white.  The sentiment from The Right Words is also stamped and embossed at the bottom of the card front. I definitely made sure to use my embossing buddy to make sure no stray flecks of white messed up my ocean depths! I fussy cut the images and then popped them up on the 'water' on dimensionals.

  A few Cloud Cover Flat Pearls are added around the sentiment.  I think they kind of look like bubbles!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Along These Lines, The Right Words (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Secret Sea, Blueberry Bushel, Azure Afternoon, Versamark

Paper: Secret Sea, Basic White, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate

Accessories: white embossing powder, blending brush, dimensionals, 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls

Beautiful Father's Day - Stampin' Up!® Beautiful Motifs

   I've been using the Beautiful Gallery Suite a lot lately because it works for so many kinds of cards.  I made this card for one of my father-in-laws for Father's Day.  I was going for a peaceful nature-y/outdoors/plant kind of card since that's his vibe.  I think it turned out just right! What do you think?

I started with a piece of Beautiful Gallery DSP adhered to the card base.  The paper is so beautiful I didn't wanted to cover it all up so I made an open frame with the Textured Notes dies as I could make it thinner than the frames in the coordinating Gallery Blooms die set.  I used Basic Beige for a nice neutral cardstock.

Next I brushed some Mossy Meadow ink onto a piece of Basic White and cut out the fern.  Then the flower stalk is die cut in Crumb Cake cardstock.  I blended a little bit of Peach Pie ink onto the flower.  I adhered these along the side of the frame.

A Spotlight on Nature die circle in Mossy Meadow is stamped with the damask stamp and is then popped on dimensionals over a bit of Basic Beige Classic ribbon.

The retired sentiment is stamped in Mossy Meadow and trimmed to fit on the circle. A few adhesive backed texture dots are the perfect embellishment to finish this design.  Swap out the sentiment for anything you need as this works as an all occasion card too!

 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: Beautiful Motifs, Something to Celebrate (retired)

Ink: Mossy Meadow, Peach Pie

Paper: Beautiful Gallery DSP, Basic Beige, Crumb Cake, Mossy Meadow, Basic White

Accessories: Textured Notes Dies (Online Exclusive), Gallery Blooms dies, Spotlight on Nature dies, Basic Beige Classic Ribbon, Adhesive-backed Texture Dots

New at SU! - Beautiful Gallery Blooms

   The New at SU! blog hop is back this month sharing projects with New Suites and/or Bundles!  We've got inspiration from Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world so hop around with us and see what's new!

  I'm showcasing the Beautiful Gallery Suite today with 2 cards that use many products from this suite.  They all coordinate beautifully and the Beautiful Gallery DSP is a personal favorite!

 The gorgeous Beautiful Gallery DSP is too gorgeous to cover up so I decided to show off one of the scenes using the Gallery Blooms frame die.  I used a second frame cut from Pecan Pie to make the little photo corner accent for the one corner. The Beautiful Motifs stamp set is used for the sentiment and the stamping on the circle.  

  The Pressed Flower Motifs embellishments are the are the perfect accent to the frame detail.  I colored a bit of white baker's twine with a Pecan Pie Stampin' Blends marker to coordinate for the opposite corner.

  My second project uses both the Beautiful Gallery DSP and the frame die again but this time the DSP is used as the background and the frame is accented with florals.  The flowers from the Gallery Blooms stamp set are stamped in Crumb Cake ink onto Basic Beige cardstock then they are colored in with Blends markers.  A few die cuts are added to finish the grouping.

  To help the neutral frame stand out I embossed it with the Damask Design embossing folder, popped it up on dimensionals and used more of the Pressed Flower Motifs embellishments for accents.

  Check out the rest of the New at SU! team and their fabulous projects!  Just follow the links below.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

  All of the products used on these projects can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Beautiful Motifs, Gallery Blooms

Ink: Secret Sea, Crumb Cake

Blends: Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake light, Calypso Coral light & dark

Paper: Beautiful Gallery DSP, Secret Sea, Basic Beige, Pecan Pie, Cloud Cover, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral

Accessories: Gallery Blooms dies, dimensionals, Pressed Flower Motifs, Damask Designs embossing folder, Spotlight on Nature dies

  

Poppin' Father's Day - Stampin' Up!® Poppin' By

   After preparing for my my last 2 events I realized that I had A LOT of new floral stamp sets and not a whole lot else.  Stampin' Up! carries quite a variety when it comes to styles and themes but not much of that variety made it's way into my shopping cart recently so I had to do what any good Stampin' Up! demonstrator does for the good of her customers (wink wink) and buy some more stamping supplies!!  I got the new Poppin' By bundle for something very much non-floral!  Father's Day was the perfect time to get it inky especially with the dad joke puns!

 I used a bit of retired Pattern Party DSP for the fun background and then added a band of Real Red embossed with the Glass & Garden embossing folder.

 Next I stamped the popcorn box twice, once in Real Red and a second time in Daffodil Delight and fussy cut the top and bottom and put them together on a Stitched Shape circle adhering them with dimensionals.  Some fun die cut glasses are added.

  I die cut a few pieces of popcorn in Basic White then lightly brushed the edges with Daffodil Delight ink to make them buttery.  They are adhered to the card front with dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped in Memento Black and die cut with the smallest Party Banners dies.  A black baker's twine bow is the final touch for the front of this card.  On the inside I stamped a Father's Day greeting.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Poppin' By (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Memento Black

Paper: Real Red, Basic White, Basic Black, Flowers and More DSP (retired)

Accessories: Poppin' By dies (Online Exclusive), Garden & Glass embossing folders, dimensionals, black baker's twine

Encircled Birthday Banner - Stampin' Up!® Encircled With Love

     It sure is nice to go away for vacation but there is always a period of pay back once we get home!  I still haven't gotten back into a routine in the stamp room.  I'm having a hard time focusing and deciding what I need to get done next.  So to check one thing off of my to do list I'm sharing the final card we made at May's class.  It's pretty much the same as the banner card I shared at the end of May.  I switched up the colors and used a few more new products.  I like these colors for a guy card and those are always nice to have in the stash!

  Just like on this banner card I used the new Party Banners dies to shape the card base for this fun flag/banner shape.  Just make sure your fold is inside the die when you line it up!  For this base I used Smoky Slate.  And I have an over-abundance of Pool Party scraps so I took 2 different widths and embossed them with the new Glass & Garden Embossing folder for a great texture across the banner.

  The sentiment is from the new Encircled with Love stamp set and is embossed in white on Poppy Parade cardstock.  It's punched out and then backed with a slightly larger Basic White punched circle.  It's then popped on dimensionals.

  Using one of the other stamps in the set I stamped the gift box in Smoky Slate then fussy cut it, colored in the ribbon with Stampin' Blends and then popped it up to the side of the sentiment.  A few Rainbow-Backed Adhesive Dots embellish the corner of the banner.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Encircled With Love

Ink: Versamark, Smoky Slate

Blends: Pool Party

Paper: Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Basic White

Accessories: Party Banners dies, Glass & Garden embossing folder, circle punches, white embossing powder, dimensionals, Rainbow-backed Adhesive Dots

Beachy Vibes Gift Card Holder - Stampin' Up!® Notes & Totes

   It's been a hot minute since I've been in my stamp room!  I held my May class the last week of May then immediately jumped into preparing for vacation mode and spent this past week at the beach with family enjoying the sun and ocean.  Now I'm trying to get organized so I can get back to stamping.  Luckily I do still have a project to share that we made at my last class.  I had beach on the brain so the new Notes & Totes bundle was the perfect thing to use for one of the projects.

  This was also the first time some of my stampers were seeing the new In Colors in person so I incorporated all 5 into the design.  It starts with a Secret Sea card base, then a layer of Cloud Cover stamped with the sentiment in Secret Sea.

  Next using a lot of the dies from the Notes & Totes die set we just made a 4 square layout with each square highlighting one of the dies as well as the In Colors.  The sunglasses have the lenses colored with Wink of Stella for some added pizzazz. And the sun stamp is added to the sunscreen tube In Darling Duckling ink. A few Iridescent Faceted Gems are added for embellishments.

  The outside of this card is fun and playful but I carried over that feeling to the inside of the card too!!

  We used the tote die to create a little gift card pocket on the inside!  Isn't that so cute? Carrying on the theme of new In Colors my stampers got to choose which color/pattern of In Color 6x6 DSP they wanted to use for their tote.  They all used Secret Sea for the accent pieces and they all were adorable no matter which color was chosen.  The sentiment is from the Online Exclusive set The Right Words and was just the right size for the open corner.

 Hopefully I'll get back to creating this week if I can remember how lol!  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Notes & Totes, The Right Words (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Secret Sea, Darling Duckling

Paper: Secret Sea, Cloud Cover, Darling Duckling, Timid Tiger, Strawberry Slush

Accessories: Notes & Totes dies, dimensionals, Iridescent Faceted Gems

  

Appreciation Window - Stampin' Up! Impressions Abloom

   My stampers got to use the Impressions Abloom bundle firsthand at class the other day.  I designed this card to show off the large squoval die that comes in the set along with some of the flower dies.  The stamping was minimal but the die cut flowers are so cute they can definitely stand on their own!

  If you're a regular follower of my blog you might think these colors look familiar and you're correct!  I used them on this card earlier this week.  I just love them together!

  This one starts with a Pool Party base with the squoval cut out.  Using the opening to see where the sentiment goes the words are stamped on the insert in Shy Shamrock ink.  A small flower is also stamped on the insert in Petunia Pop and Darling Duckling.

  The flowers and leaves are die cut then arranged around the edge of the opening.  You have to be sure that your adhesive doesn't extend to a piece that hangs over the opening...you definitely want the recipient to be able to open the card.  The Petunia Pop flower has some of the same color ink blended into the center to highlight the fun details.  A few dimensionals elevate 2 of the flowers for a bit of height.

  A few Strawberry Slush and Pretty in Pink Gems (in the clear/gold combo) are added to the side opposite the flowers for a final touch.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Impressions Abloom (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Shy Shamrock, Petunia Pop, Darling Duckling

Paper: Pool Party, Basic White, Shy Shamrock, Petunia Pop, Darling Duckling

Accessories: Impressions Abloom dies (Online Exclusive), dimensionals, Strawberry Slush and Pretty in Pink Gems (Online Exclusive)

Tiger Birthday Banner - Stampin' Up!® Party Banner Dies

 You might have missed it in the Annual Catalog but on page 86 is a set of dies that I think are a great addition to any crafters supplies.  The Party Banners dies contains 14 banner dies and 6 dies for cutting the holes in the banner corners.  I don't make many banners but that's ok because 10 of the banner dies are sized to an A2 (5.5" x4.25") card or smaller.  I used one to cut out the card shape and the next smaller die to cut the insert for the inside.   Shaped cards can be really fun and I'm excited to be able to use this set to make more!  And now that I'm "scrap-curious" I think this set will work wonderfully for page accents!

 It's really easy to make this banner shaped card using the Party Banner dies.  I cut my base cardstock 11" x 4.25" and folded it in half.  Find the card front sized banner die and line it up so that the card fold is just below the top edge of the die. Use some painters tape or a post it to keep it lined up when you put it through your die cutting machine.  The cut might take a small bit from the sides along with making the banner detail at the bottom. The next smaller die is the one I used to cut a banner shaped insert for inside the card.

    For the card front I used the new In Colors Timid Tiger and Secret Sea and added in a pop of Coastal Cabana.  I heat embossed the image from the Encircled With Love stamp set in white onto Coastal Cabana and then punched it out and backed it with another slightly larger circle in Basic White.  I tucked a bit of the Secret Sea Faux Linen ribbon in between the layers for added detail.  Finally a few retired flat dots are added to the bottom of the card.

  

  I hope you'll ry out these dies and make some banner shaped cards!  

  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: Encircled With Love

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Timid Tiger, Secret Sea, Coastal Cabana, Basic White

Accessories: Party Banners dies, white embossing powder, circle punches, Secret Sea Faux Linen ribbon, Flat Dots (retired)

Tote Full of Blooms - Stampin' Up!® Impressions Abloom

  I was just playing around with some supplies the other day and came up with this tote with flowers popping out.  The Notes & Totes bundle is so cute and I think it's really fun paired up with non-beachy type things like flowers.  You could really put whatever you want inside for a really personalized card.  The flowers from Impressions Abloom are so pretty in Petunia Pop and give a really cheerful look to this design.

  This color combo of Pool Party, Petunia Pop and Shy Shamrock just seems so summery to me!  I used Shy Shamrock for the card base, then stamped my flowers, stems, and leaves onto a piece of Basic White and added the texture details with the coordinating dies.  I lightly blended the edges of the Basic White with Pool Party ink to soften them just a bit.

 I used a piece of Floral Impressions DSP and Pool Party cardstock for the tote bag.  A Petunia Pop bag scarf is added to help tie in the flower color.  The sentiment is part of a larger one and I just trimmed off the bit I wanted and added it with dimensionals to the edge of the bag.

  If my kids were still of the age where I was sending in end of the year teacher gifts this would have been a perfect card I think.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Impressions Abloom (Online Exclusive), Notes & Totes

Ink: Petunia Pop, Shy Shamrock, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight

Paper: Shy Shamrock, Basic White, Pool Party, Floral Impressions DSP (Online Exclusive)

Accessories: Impressions Abloom dies (Online Exclusive), Notes & Totes dies, dimensionals

Floral Bee - Stampin' Up!® Bee My Valentine

   I'm busy designing for an upcoming class but I squeezed in some extra stamping yesterday to play along with the Time Out Challenge which has us using our 'favorite winged thing' on our projects.  I decided to pair up a carryover stamp set with brand new Designer Series Paper.  The Bee My Valentine stamp set gets heavy use in February but doesn't see much ink this time of year but it looks cute with the new Floral Impressions DSP.

 I pulled my colors straight from the DSP using Garden Green, Darling Duckling and Timid Tiger.  The card base is Garden Green, then a layer of Darling Duckling then the DSP cut on a diagonal to show off a floral as well as a small octagon print.

  The bee is stamped in Darling Duckling and Memento Black and is popped on dimensionals.  I stamped a few flowers in various degrees of stamped off Timid Tiger ink for a light look to match the orange flowers in the DSP.  You can find the flower image and matching dies in the Impressions Abloom bundle which is an Online Exclusive.

  The small but sweet sentiment is in a new set called The Right Words and is also an Online Exclusive.  I stamped it in Memento Black then fussy cut it and popped it on dimensionals under the bee.  Finally I added a few Earth Tones Shimmer Gems which as of this posting are in the Last Chance category on discount.  they add just a bit of sparkle!

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: Bee My Valentine, Impressions Abloom (Online Exclusive), The Right Words (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Timid Tiger, Pecan Pie, Darling Ducking, Memento Black

Paper: Garden Green, Darling Duckling, Basic White, Floral Impressions DSP (Online Exclusive)

Accessories: Bee Builder punch, Impressions Abloom dies (Online Exclusive), dimensionals, Earth Tones Shimmer Gems

Birds In Color - Stampin' Up!® Along These Lines

   I'm back with another project using some of the new In Colors.  Today I've put together Timid Tiger, Darling Duckling and Strawberry Slush to make some sweet colored birds with the Along These Lines stamp set.

  I made a large stack of this design and just worked assembly line style to put them together once all the pieces were ready.  I used all 3 colors for the bases just so I wouldn't completely deplete all of one color but the photo uses Strawberry Slush.  I used the new Glass & Garden embossing folder for the center panel.  I thought the flower design worked well with the birds.

  The birds are stamped in Memento black and then colored in using Stampin' Blends in the 3 colors changing up each one to look different.  I used a circle punch to quickly punch them out and then popped them with dimensionals. 

  The sentiment is from the new Beautiful Motifs stamp set and is just a narrow strip with the end flagged.  Since I used all 3 colors for the card bases I alternated the colors of Flat Pearls and this one ended up getting Darling Duckling for a nice pop.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Along These Lines, Beautiful Motifs

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Darling Duckling light, Strawberry Slush light, Timid Tiger light

Paper: Strawberry Slush, Basic White

Accessories: Glass & Garden embossing folders, dimensionals, 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls, circle punch

  

New at SU! - Encircled In Colors

 

I'm back with the the New at SU! blog hop crew today to show off the beautiful new 2025-2027 In Colors from Stampin' Up! This blog hop features Stampin' Up! demonstrators from all over the world sharing creative projects to inspire you in your own crafting.  I'm using the new stamp set Encircled With Love for my projects.

The Encircled With Love stamp set is one of those all around sets that covers just about any occasion and looks great with any color!

 I used the 2025-2027 In Colors products for each of the card designs; cardstock, DSP, flat pearls and Faux Linen ribbon.

For the Secret Sea (gift) and Strawberry Slush (small heart) designs I added a little extra with stamping and cutting out an element to pop up with dimensionals.  

  And while you can't see it in the photos I highlighted a bit of each image with Clear Wink of Stella for a bit of in person sparkle.

  The mix and match possibilities with this set and the new In Colors is really great!  You could make a whole month of birthday cards just changing the DSP and layouts.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

 Check out the whole hop by just following the links at the bottom of each post!  

Stamps: Encircled With Love

Ink: Secret Sea, Cloud Cover, Strawberry Slush, Darling Duckling, Timid Tiger

Paper: Basic White, Secret Sea, Cloud Cover, Strawberry Slush, Darling Duckling, Timid Tiger, 2025-2027 In Color DSP

Accessories: 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls, In Color Faux Linen ribbon, dimensionals, 1 3/4" circle punch, 2" circle punch

To the Beach & Back Scrapbook Pages - Stampin' Up!® Ocean Friends

   I started working on this scrapbook layout a while back before the Ocean Friends bundle ended up on the Last Chance List and I set it aside before it was complete and just the other day got around to finishing it.  I had to ask my mother in law about the dates as the photos were from 20+ years ago! We were babies!!  I'm sure I'm going about scrapbooking all willy nilly just grabbing pictures without a care for chronological order and whatnot but I figure that starting to do it at all is the most important part.  Next I need to learn to photograph the layouts better....they are so big lol!

  I used a layout that was used in one of the classes at the demonstrator OnStage event so I just mirrored it to have 2 pages. I pulled the colors from the still available Friends of the Ocean DSP and mixed cardstock panels that are embossed with different embossing folders, DSP and one panel stamped with the crab images.

  Clearly I need to work on my letter spacing as I ended up adhering the '& back' a bit too far to the right.  There was too much already adhered to adjust so I decided to just go with it rather than start completely over.  Keeps it from being mistaken for AI generated content right? lol!  I loved adding some of the stamped and die cut crabs around the layout as I thought it was perfect being that the trip was to Ocean City, MD.

  I'm learning something new with each page I create from scratch or from a kit and I am definitely starting to see the appeal even if it's a HUGE canvas to fill!  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Ocean Friends (retired)

Ink: Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie

Paper: White Willow 12x12, Two-Toned Pool Party, melong Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Lemon Lime Twist, Summer Splash

Accessories: Ocean Friends dies, Dotted Circles embossing folder, Soft Waves embossing folder, Forever Plaid embossing folder, Playful Alphabet dies (retired)

Layered Birthday - Stampin' Up!® Layered Thoughts

   I've got a super simple birthday card to share today.  It used 3 of the 5 new In Colors and can easily be switched up to use any color combo you'd like.  Think of it in blues and greens for some nice masculine birthday cards.  We all need those right?

  This was another of the make and takes from my new catalog open house and shows off how well Timid Tiger, Darling Duckling and Strawberry Slush work together.

  It starts with a Strawberry Slush base then a layer of Darling Duckling.  The nice large happy birthday sentiment from the Layered Thoughts stamp set is stamped in Memento black.  Using the 2025-2027 In Color Stampin' Write markers each letter is just colored over alternating between the 3 colors all the way through.

 The 'to you' is stamped on a narrow strip of Timid Tiger and is popped on dimensionals over a twist of white baker's twine.  A few Strawberry Slush & Pretty in Pink Gems are added for a pop of sparkle.

  Didn't I tell you this one was simple?  If you wanted to step this one up you could heat emboss the stamping in black for a nice shiny raided look.  The Happy Birthday layer could also be cut out with dies like the Perennial Postage die set or the Textured Notes dies.  Some Faux Linen ribbon could replace the baker's twine too.  If a simple layout is not your style there are so many ways to step it up!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Layered Thoughts

Ink: Memento Black, 2025-2027 In Color Markers

Paper: Strawberry Slush, Darling Duckling, Basic White, Timid Tiger

Accessories: white baker's twine, dimensionals, Strawberry Slush & Pretty in Pink Gems (Online Exclusives)

Gallery in the Clouds - Stampin' Up! Gallery Blooms

   As soon as I saw the Beautiful Gallery suite collection at Stampin' Up!'s OnStage demonstrator event this past March I knew it would be making it's way into my stamp room.  I loved the vintage, moody feel of the DSP and the stamps and dies are perfect for making all kinds of cards.  I showed it off last week at my new catalog open house event with this soft thinking of you card highlighting the new In Color Cloud Cover.

This card starts with a Cloud Cover base and then a second piece of Cloud Cover embossed with the Damask Design embossing folder.  A piece of Beautiful Gallery DSP is added along the left side in a soft print in Cloud Cover.

 I stamped the flower image from Gallery Blooms in Basic Beige onto Basic Beige card stock then die cut.  It's popped on dimensionals.  The sentiment is from the other stamp set in this suite collection, Beautiful Motifs and is also stamped in Basic Beige on Very Vanilla.  I used a label die from the Unbounded Love die set to cut it out and then backed it with a bit of Cloud Cover Faux Linen ribbon.

 The card is finished up with some of the gorgeous Pressed Flower Motifs embellishments. 

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Gallery Blooms, Beautiful Motifs

Ink: Basic Beige

Paper: Cloud Cover, Very Vanilla, Basic Beige, Beautiful Gallery DSP

Accessories: Gallery Blooms dies, Unbounded Love dies, dimensionals, Damask Designs embossing folder, Pressed Flower Motifs embellishments

In Color Motifs - Stampin' Up!® Beautiful Motifs

  Last Saturday I held my new Annual Catalog Open House and got to show my stampers tons of samples and gave them a good look at the new In Colors as well as a ton of new products.  It's always a fun event to design make and takes for because I have so much new product to choose from and I always highlight the new In Colors as well.  For one of the 3 make and takes I combined all 5 new In Colors along with a simple sentiment and large die cut from the Beautiful Motifs bundle.

  I CASED this card by Kim Singdahlsen from 2023 as I loved the strips of colored cardstock that give a nice focal area to show off a die cut.  What a perfect way to show off all 5 new In Colors.  And how cute do they look in a bit of a rainbow order?

  To show off as much new stuff as I could I added a ribbon knot in the new Faux Linen ribbon in the color Secret Sea.  And a mix and match look with a variety of the colors of the 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls are scattered around the die cut.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Beautiful Motifs

Ink: Secret Sea

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Secret Sea, Cloud Cover, Darling Duckling, Timid Tiger, Strawberry Slush

Accessories: Beautiful Motifs dies, Faux Linen ribbon, 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls

Mother's Day Impressions - Stampin' Up!® Impressions Abloom

  I'm pretty sure my mom has gotten her Mother's Day card so I'm sharing it today.  If not then we can blame the USPS and hopefully it will show up eventually!  I used 2 of the new In Colors for it and I thought they paired beautifully with Fresh Freesia!  What do you think?

  I started with a Secret Sea card base then embossed another piece of it with the Eyelet embossing folder.  I created a tag using the To the Point label punch and Cloud Cover cardstock to form the focal point for the card.  Using the Elements of Text stamp set and my Cloud Cover Stampin' Write Marker I added some text to the tag for some depth and a bit of vintage feel.  I've had some square vellum doilies hanging about for years and thought it might be a cool detail to add to the edge of the tag.  Some seam binding ribbon in Fresh Freesia and bakers twine were added before popping the whole tag up on dimensionals.

  I'm continuing to enjoy using the Impressions Abloom stamp set and I think these flowers turned out fabulous using Fresh Freesia and Lemon Lolly ink.  

  The sentiment is from the long retired set Something to Celebrate and is stamped in Secret Sea ink and then flagged.

  The final detail are a few Brushed Brass Butterflies for a bit of shine.

  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: Impressions Abloom (Online Exclusive), Elements of Text (Online Exclusive), Something to Celebrate (retired)

Ink: Secret Sea, Fresh Freesia, Lemon Lolly, Cloud Cover (marker)

Paper: Secret Sea, Cloud Cover, Basic White, Lemon Lolly

Accessories: Impressions Abloom dies (Online Exclusive), To the Point Label punch, dimensionals, white bakers twine, Brushed Brass Butterflies, Eyelet Embossing folder, Fresh Freesia Seam Binding Ribbon (SAB- retired), vellum square (retired)

  

Labrador Lines - Stampin' Up!® Along These Lines

 I haven't used the Along These Lines very many times since I won it during prize patrol at OnStage in March so it was high time it saw some ink.  I wanted to have at least one sample with it at my new catalog open house so I decided to see what I could make with the adorable dog stamp.  I think it turned out cute and now I want to try out some other dog colors.  

 I started with a piece of Beautiful Gallery DSP in a neutral paint texture pattern for the background. Then I embossed the dog in white onto Pecan Pie card stock extending the lines across the panel.  A bit of fussy cutting makes the pup stand out nicely but I really wanted him to show up even darker so I used Early Espresso ink and a blender pen to color him for more contrast.

  I added a length of linen thread following the embossed line and then stamped the sentiment underneath in Early Espresso.  A few Pecan Pie ribboned dots add a bit of sparkle to finish this card. These gems are on the Last Chance list right now so make sure you give them a look before they're gone!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Along These Lines, Simply Said

Ink: Versamark, Early Espresso

Paper: Beautiful Gallery DSP, Pecan Pie

Accessories: white embossing powder, linen thread, Pecan Pie Adhesive-Backed Ribbon Gems

Day at the Beach - Stampin' Up!® Notes & Totes

   I'm back with another project using the Notes & Totes bundle.  I made this one for Matt's stepmother for Mother's Day as she loves the beach and being out on the boat.  I pulled much of my inspiration for the card from one of the samples on page 81 of the annual catalog.  I loved the idea of using DSP for the background so I pulled out a piece of Thoughtful Journey DSP and got to work.

  Once I chose my DSP I used those colors for the tote bag accessories.  The tote itself is made with Very Vanilla and Pecan Pie.  I stamped and fussy cut the flower so I could add it to the pocket and coordinated the scarf to match.

  The picket fence dies are a great extra in this set because it makes creating a scene really easy and can definitely be used paired with other sets.  I think I see a card with a pretty fence covered with lots of flowers in my future!

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Notes & Totes

Ink: Balmy Blue, Fresh Freesia, Calypso Coral, Basic Gray

Paper: Thoughtful Journey DSP, Basic White, Very Vanilla, Pecan Pie, Balmy Blue, Fresh Freesia, Calypso Coral, Petal Pink

Accessories: Notes & Totes dies, dimensionals

Sunglasses Note - Stampin' Up!® Notes & Totes

   I've been a bit MIA lately and while I have been stamping I just haven't been finding the time to blog!  I had my New Catalog Open House over the weekend so I was very busy getting ready for that but hopefully things will quiet down and I can try to get projects posted more often because I have a lot of new products that I want to share with you all!  My card today was my customer thank you card from April and uses the new Notes & Totes bundle which is adorable!

  I got inspiration from page 82 of the new Annual Catalog for my layout.  I decided that I wanted to make a card that used just the sunglasses from the Notes & Totes die set.  Sometimes it can be hard to use a smaller image or die cut and keep it highlighted but not have the card feel empty. I used texture and layering to achieve it here.

  The color combo is from a now closed challenge; Time Out Challenges that just seemed so happy and cheerful.  I started with a Petunia Pop base and stamped some of the speckles across the card front.  Next I added a strip of Floral Delight DSP (always trying to use up small scraps!).  I die cut a rectangle with the Textured Notes dies and then embossed it with the Soft Waves embossing folder and then trimmed a bit of the edge off and adhered it.  

  Using the Spotlight on Nature dies I cut a circle from Beautiful Bokeh DSP which gives a nice place to highlight the sunglasses.  Daffodil Delight and black glimmer paper are used to cut out the sunglasses and they are popped on dimensionals on the circle.

  The sentiment is stamped in Petunia Pop ink on Basic White and is also popped on dimensionals.  A few adhesive backed Dots for Days finish off the details on this one.

  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: Notes & Totes

Ink: Petunia Pop

Paper: Petunia Pop, Basic White, Beautiful Bokeh DSP, Floral Delight DSP, Daffodil Delight, Black Glimmer (retired)

Accessories: Notes & Totes dies, Textured Notes dies (Online Exclusive), Soft Waves embossing folder, Spotlight on Nature dies, dimensionals, Adhesive-Backed Dots for Days

Bunny Friends - Stampin' Up! Storybook Friends

  At my last class we used the carryover set Storybook Friends to make a sweet spring card with an all purpose sentiment.  It's great to have a few of these kinds of cards tucked away for those "just in case" moments when a card has to go out in the mail right away and there just isn't time to sit down and create something new.

  

  This one starts with a Basic Beige card base.  The cute rock wall stamp is stamped along the bottom in Basic Beige ink.  The 2 blocks of DSP was inspired by a past Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  I loved the idea of showing off 2 smaller pieces of DSP of which I always end of with.  It makes a nice little background for the bunnies.  The Storybook Moments DSP is also carrying over and you can find it and the stamps and dies in the online store under the Online Exclusives category.  The DSP is backed with a panel of Mossy Meadow.

  The bunnies are stamped in Memento black and are colored with Blender pens and colored pencils.  Once they were die cut I popped them up on dimensionals around the sentiment strip which is die cut with the Textured Notes dies.  The sentiment is in the brand new Beautiful Motifs stamp set.

  A retired Boho Blue Textured Ribbon knot is added for the final detail to finish this design.

  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 Friends (online), Beautiful Motifs

Ink: Memento Black, Basic Beige

Paper: Basic Beige, Mossy Meadow, Storybook Moments DSP (online)

Accessories: Storybook Friends dies (online), Textured Notes dies (Online Exclusive), dimensionals, Boho Blue ribbon (retired), colored pencils, blender pen

Floral Delight Fault Line - Stampin' Up! Delightful Wishes

 Using the beautiful Delightful Wishes bundle and coordinating Floral Delight DSP (which are all carryover products) I designed this card for my last class to show how to make a Fault Line card.  Once you know the measurements and where to tear, this is a fantastic design to show off your Designer Series Papers.

 

  I'll start with the measurements:

 

  Card base- 4 1/4" x 9 1/2" - scored at 5 1/2"

  Old Olive cardstock - 4 1/4" x 3 1/2"

  Designer Series Paper - 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

  First fold the short flap of your card base and tear across the flap on an angle.  I tore mine from the right side of the card to the left but if you go the other way your 'fault line' will just be angled the other way. Save the torn off piece for later.

  Next tear the Old Olive piece the same way on an angle.  Match up one of the Old Olive piece on the back of the card base torn edge with just a little of the green sticking out and adhere it.  Using a bone folder or your finger roll back the torn edges on both pieces giving some dimension.

  Using the saved torn Basic White edge stamp your sentiment and add the other torn Old Olive piece lining up the edge just sticking out like with the first piece.  Roll back the edges again.  Set aside.

  Decide which side of the DSP you want to show through the fault line and then adhere your DSP panel to the back of the the top flap.  Add adhesive to the back of the cardstock flap and not your DSP so as not to get glue where it will show (or on the back of the DSP where it will glue your card shut!).  After adhering you may need to trim off a sliver of the DSP so it lines up with the bottom edge of the card.

  Next add adhesive to the back of the stamped cardstock piece and line it up with the bottom edge of the DSP.  If any of the cardstock or DSP edges stick out beyond the card base just trim them off to get everything lined up.

  Embellish as desired and finish the card.  This design uses some of the flower dies in the Delightful Wishes die set to add a blossom and a little Tiny Bee Trinket for an understated accent.

  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

Ink: Old Olive

Paper: Basic White thick, Old Olive, Floral Delight DSP, Lemon Lolly, Peach Pie, Pecan Pie

Accessories: Delightful Wishes dies, dimensionals, Tiny Bee Trinkets

Crab Birthday Fold Over - Stampin' Up!® Ocean Friends

   I had a good time last week hosting my monthly stamp club class and I was able to feature one last time the Ocean Friends bundle.  I just checked the online store and the dies are still available but the English version of the stamp set looks to be sold out.  If you don't care about the sentiments and just want to get your hands on the crab and lobster images then the French language stamp set is available.  After hoarding the Friends of the Ocean DSP (also still available) to make sure I didn't run out I ended up with quite a bit of it left so I decided to use a large panel to show off a super easy DSP technique and technique is used loosely here lol!

  I started this card with a Melon Mambo base, then a layer of Summer Splash cardstock with the sentiment embossed in white across the corner.  The DSP layer comes next and following the angle of the sentiment I just folded down the corner to show off the B side of the paper.  Before adhering the flap with a dimensional I tucked the Lemon Lime Twist seaweed/coral die cut underneath.

  The crab is 2 step stamped in Melon Mambo and Bubble Bath, is die cut then popped on dimensionals.

  The final touches are a scattering of retired Sunny Days Iridescent Dots.

  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 (retired), With You In Mind

Ink: Versamark, Melon Mambo, Bubble Bath

Paper: Melon Mambo, Summer Splash, Lemon Lime Twist, Basic White, Friends of the Ocean DSP

Accessories: Ocean Friends dies, dimensionals, white embossing powder, Sunny Days Iridescent Dots (retired)

2x Stampin' Rewards - May 2 & 3 Only!

Double Stampin' Rewards

on orders placed May 2 & 3!!

Orders of $20 or more will receive double rewards to be redeemed on a future order. Be sure to opt in to the new rewards when you login to your customer account.

• Stock up on cardstock before prices increase on May 6

• Get those Last Chance products you've been eyeing

• Celebrate National Scrapbooking Day and treat yourself to some new supplies!

Place your order in my ONLINE STORE

Framed Freesia - Stampin' Up!® Impressions Abloom

   Spring is always a great time to use flowers on a card so I've paired the upcoming Impressions Abloom bundle with the colors at the The Color Hues challenge; Lilac and Aqua which I've translated into Stampin' Up! colors Fresh Freesia and Coastal Cabana.

  I started with a Fresh Freesia card base then cut a panel of Basic White with the Textured Notes dies.  I used copy paper to cut a squoval shape with the Impressions Abloom dies and used that to mask off the center of the Basic White panel.  Using a blending Brush and Coastal Cabana ink I added color to the outside edges of the card stock leaving a nice white space to frame out the flower (but not another layer which keeps the card a bit lighter if that's a concern).

  The flowers are cut from Fresh Freesia card stock and the stem and leaf from Coastal Cabana.  I used a small blending brush and a sponge dauber to add Fresh Freesia ink to the centers of the flowers to give them a bit more definition.  The larger flower and leaf are adhered with dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped in Coastal Cabana and I added a piece of Beautiful Bokeh DSP behind it and popped it on dimensionals.  Some polka dot tulle ribbon is used to make a fork bow to accent the side of the sentiment and a few Riverside Irregular Pearls are added for some shine.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with a * will be available starting May 6, 2025.

Stamps: Impressions Abloom*

Ink: Fresh Freesia, Coastal Cabana

Paper: Fresh Freesia, Coastal Cabana, Basic White, Beautiful Bokeh DSP

Accessories: Impressions Abloom dies*, Textured Notes dies (Online Exclusive), dimensionals, Riverside Irregular Pearls (Online Exclusive), polka dot tulle ribbon (retired)