Summer Fun - Stampin' Up!® Summer Happiness

 I got my demonstrator pre-order for the July Online Exclusives and the rumors are true....I'm my own best customer lol!  Every release has things that I just need.  'Need' being used here loosely of course!  I ordered quite a bit from this preorder and the products span from summer themed all the way to Christmas so I'm well on my way to enjoying this summer season but also looking ahead to fall and winter.  The upcoming Summer Happiness bundle fills in a bit of a gap in my current products with the variety of images and dies that will work for cards as well as accents for scrap pages.

    I'm using the Freshly Made Sketches layout for this card and it's perfect to show off some the fun that this bundle contains!   I started with a Pool Party base topped with a full panel of Pool Party embossed with the recently retired Soft Waves embossing folder.  

  Next I die cut 3 Perennial Postage rectangles to follow the sketch and give my summer items a place to land.  The sun is stamped in Darling Duckling then die cut and is backed with a same shape die cut in just cardstock to give it a little off set layering.

  The sunglasses are die cut from Poppy Parade and the lenses are Black Glimmer paper because why not?  I added some small rhinestones to the edge to add even more sparkle.

  The flip flops are die cut from Balmy Blue and Azure Afternoon.  The straps are the perfect chance to use the Adhesive Sheets as they are very narrow and a bit tricky to glue up.  I wish I had thought of that before getting glue everywhere!  If I can't be a good example I'll just have to be a horrible warning!  All the die cuts are popped on dimensionals.

  The sentiment from Banner Sayings is stamped in Basic Black Hybrid ink on the center postage stamp.  If you like this color combo check out this other card that I made using the same one a while back.

  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 in the July 2026 Online Exclusive release.

Stamps: Summer Happiness*, Banner Sayings

Ink: Darling Duckling, Basic Black Hybrid

Paper: Pool Party, Basic White, Darling Duckling, Poppy Parade, Black Glimmer (retired), Balmy Blue, Azure Afternoon

Accessories: Perennial Postage dies, Soft Waves embossing folder (retired), rhinestones, Summer Happiness dies*, dimensionals

Thankful Shimmer Fern - Stampin' Up!® Fern & Flora

  The Moonlit Flora DSP is so pretty that I find myself not wanting to cover it up.  I designed this card to show off the DSP for my recent new catalog open house make and takes as well as to highlight Golden Glow and Peaceful Pine.

  The card starts with a Golden Glow card base, then a rectangle of Moonlit Flora DSP backed with a piece of Peaceful Pine cardstock.

  The fern die cuts pull colors from the DSP.  The smaller one is Soft Sea Foam and the larger is actually Basic White that has been colored with the Peaceful Pine shimmer brush.  The shimmer brushes are so fun with the color matching plus shimmer!

  The ferns are tucked behind the stamped sentiment label and a length of Golden Glow Bordered ribbon.  And it's hard to see in the photo but there are several Dewdrop embellishments above the sentiment for a last 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: Fern & Flora

Ink: Golden Glow, Peaceful Pine

Paper: Golden Glow, Peaceful Pine, Basic White, Moonlit Flora DSP

Accessories: Fern & Flora dies, dimensionals, Shimmer Brush, Bordered Ribbon, Dewdrop Embellishments

In Color Balloons - Stampin' Up!® Balloon Festoon

   Last weekend I hosted my annual New Catalog Open House and BOGO Retirement Sale and had a blast seeing so many of my customers.  Along with lots of sample cards, In Color swatches and new products I had several make and takes so that everyone could try out the new products for themselves.  I always try to highlight the new In Colors in these projects and I managed to use 3 of the 5 on this card.

  The Balloon Festoon bundle has been a fun one for me to design with and thought it would show off Hydrangea Hue, Crisp Cantaloupe and Barely Blush nicely.

  This one starts with a Basic White thick card base, then a wide band of Hydrangea Hue stamped in the same color in with the 'Happy Birthday' sentiment.

  The balloons are die cut from the In Color Painted Patterns DSP.  And a quick tip for this is that you can stack your pieces of DSP and cut all 3 balloons at the same time.  Saves a few steps! The Crisp Cantaloupe balloon is popped on dimensionals.  The sentiment is stamped and also popped with a length of Barely Blush Bordered Ribbon layered behind.

  Each balloon has a rhinestone that has been colored with the matching Blends marker as well as some highlights drawn on with a white gel pen.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Balloon Festoon

Ink: Hydrangea Hue

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Hydrangea Hue, 2026-2028 In Color Painted Patterns DSP

Accessories: Balloon Festoon dies, dimensionals, rhinestones, Blends, gel pen, Barely Blush Bordered ribbon 

Beautiful Country Z Fold - Stampin' Up! Beautiful Gallery DSP

 I'm trying to catch up with my stamping book club series of cards and currently I'm behind by 9 books! Yikes I better get to stamping lol!  So today I'm sharing 2 cards inspired by 2 books I've read this year.  I feel ok putting them together as they are books 2 and 3 of a series of 3.  

  The books that inspired these two cards are The Book of Etta and The Book of Flora by Meg Elison.  I read the first book in the series back in 2022 so I was a bit hazy on the details but the premise of books 2 and 3 are that the characters are navigating the world in the aftermath of a devastating illness that wipes out much of the population in book 1. Following the plague, childbirth becomes deadly for both women and infants turning any that do survive into a commodity to be bought and sold, hunted and enslaved and left with very few safe havens in which to live.  The way that different communities spring up and the varied ways in which they decide to treat women was an interesting aspect of these books; women as sacred vs. women as controlled resource.  Can a society function and ultimately thrive when women are treated in such different manners?  

  The desolate and sparsely populated landscapes of both books brought to mind the pretty scenes of the Beautiful Gallery DSP.  So while there were a lot of horrors in both books I wanted to focus on the open countryside that much of the books are set in.  Because no one needs a post-apocalyptic greeting card right?!  lol!

  This Z fold design is perfect for showing off almost a whole panel of DSP allowing you to showcase full scenes like the Beautiful Gallery DSP.

  A few die cuts and labels and stamping for the sentiments keeps these cards quick to make and a great way not to have to choose which part of DSP gets used or not!

  I originally got my measurements from Rachel Tessman.  The only addition that I did on these two cards was to add a piece of DSP on the left under the top flap.  For both of my cards I used a B side of the Beautiful Gallery DSP in a coordinating color/pattern.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Simply Said (retired), Sending Salutations, Prayers and Promises (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Old Olive

Paper: Cloud Cover, Old Olive, Basic White, Beautiful Gallery DSP

Accessories: Filled With Sweetness Dies, Nature's Symphony dies, dimensionals, metallic dots (retired), Tasteful Label dies (retired)

Purple Sunset - Stampin' Up!® Sunset Coast

     My card today is one I made a few weeks ago for my May customer thank you cards.  I love the Sunset Coast bundle because there are so many ways to use it; focus on the dies, just use the stamps or any number of gorgeous ways in between!  I kept my focus on the stamps and used the dies as accents this time around!

 I stamped the scene on Basic White, added the sentiment and then popped it up on a Crumb Cake base.  I used the seagull, net and shell dies to create accents for the scene.  A few sequins finish off the design. 

 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: Sunset Coast

Ink: Secret Sea, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Strawberry Slush, Crushed Curry

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White, Balmy Blue, Secret Sea, Strawberry Slush

Accessories: Sunset Coast dies, dimensionals, Sunset Sparkle Sequins

Two-Toned Inlaid Ferns - Stampin' Up!® Fern & Flora

   

  The New at SU blog hop is back with another great hop featuring Two-Toned cardstock!  This fantastic group of international Stampin' Up!® demonstrators is ready to inspire you with all kinds of fun projects ideas using this versatile product.  Hop through with us and let us know what you loved!  The blog hop list is at the end of this post!

  I pulled out my favorite new stamp set Fern & Flora and a whole stack of Two-Toned cardstock for this project!  I loved how these saturated colors look for summer cards and the Two-Toned cardstock gives a lot of bang for the buck as you get 2 colors in one sheet with the backside being a lighter version.  Think the "stamped off" version.

   I started with cutting two 5/8" x 4" strips of 5 colors of Two-Toned cardstock; Cajun Craze, Strawberry Slush, Timid Tiger and Daffodil Delight.  I adhered them to a piece of 4" x 5 1/4" Basic White cardstock using one on the darker side and the second on the lighter side and trimmed off any white areas.  Next I layered the Fern & Flora dies across the strips and die cut them out.

  Next I embossed the panel using the Fern & Flora embossing folder. Using some Old Olive Two-Toned cardstock I cut matching ferns one in the darker side and the other 2 in the lighter side.  The ferns were then adhered inside the openings for a nice inlaid look.  I finished off the card with some gold accents and a sentiment label also from the Fern & Flora bundle.

  This easy technique ends up giving you a second card if you use the original die cut ferns from the striped panel.  I added mine to the front of a Basic White card base embossed with the Fern & Flora embossing folder.  A simple sentiment and more gold accents finish off this 2 for 1 card!

  I hope you'll incorporate some Two Toned cardstock in your next project!  See more ideas by following the rest of the hop in the links below!

  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: Fern & Flora

Ink: Old Olive

Paper: Basic White thick, basic White, Two-Toned: Cajun Craze, Strawberry Slush, Timid Tiger, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive

Accessories: Fern & Flora dies, Fern & Flora embossing folder, Adhesive-Backed Metallic Gems, gold thread (retired)

Wild Party Animal - Stampin' Up!® Wild Bunch

   Now if cute animal stamps are your thing you don't to want to wait to place your next Stampin' Up!® order!  The Wild Bunch stamp set is this months Product of the Month and is available for just $5 with a $75 order while supplies last!  Let me tell you, this set is adorable and besides the 4 sweet animals there are sentiments and accent stamps too!  

  How cute is this little party koala??  I'm using colors that I gave to my customers for a color challenge; Peach Pie, Pretty Peacock and Petal Pink.

  I started with a piece of retired Country Lace DSP for the background then used strips in my colors for stamping and embossing.  The Peach Pie strip is embossed with an upcoming new embossing folder called Swirls of Magic.  The Pretty Peacock piece is stamped with the checkerboard pattern and the Petal Pink with the heart.

 I stamped the koala in Basic Gray then colored it in with Blends along with the party hat.  I fussy cut the images and then adhered them to a die cut label from the Filled With Sweetness die set.  The sentiment is stamped and tucked under the edge of the label.

Each colored strip is embellished with a gem in one of the colors and the pompom on the hat is highlighted with Wink of Stella.

  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: Wild Bunch (June 2026 POM)

Ink: Basic Gray, Petal Pink, Pretty Peacock

Blends: Smoky Slate light & dark, Barely Blush light, Petal Pink dark, Pretty Peacock light & dark

Paper: Basic White, Pretty Peacock, Petal Pink, Peach Pie (retired), Country Lace DSP (retired)

Accessories: Filled With Sweetness dies, dimensionals, Wink of Stella, Low Profile Dots (retired), 2024-2026 In Color Dots, Faceted Gems (retired)

Panther Graduation - Stampin' Up!® Cap & Gown

 It's still graduation season and I have another card from the giant stack that I have made lately.  When you have a kid graduating you tend to know a lot of other kids graduating and that requires a lot of cards lol!  I try to customize the colors for the school to change things up.  This red and blue was a nice change of pace from the teal of previous cards!

  I again used my trusty retired set Cap & Gown along with the current set Sending Salutations.  I started with a Blueberry Bushel base then a layer of Basic Black topped with a stamped panel of Real Red.  The graduation cap is stamped in a random pattern for the background.

  A Blueberry Bushel band added a but of detail behind the Basic White Spotlight on Nature die cut circle.

  The cap and gown are both stamped in Versamark on Basic White then embossed with black embossing powder.  I fussy cut them and popped them on the circle with dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped in Versamark and then embossed in gold.  The four corners are embellished with Gold Low Profile Dots.

  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: Sending Salutations, Cap & Gown (retired)

Ink: Real Red, Versamark

Paper: Blueberry Bushel, Real Red, Basic Black, Basic White

Accessories: Spotlight on Nature dies, dimensionals, black embossing powder, gold embossing powder, Low Profile Dots (retired)

All Star Father's Day - Stampin' Up!® Balloon Festoon

   There is a lot of great inspiration out there right now for masculine cards.  I'm playing along with several challenges today for another Father's Day card.  The colors are from TGIF Challenges, the layout is from Sketch-n-Scrap and the general theme of masculine is from The Paper Players.  

  You might be looking at the title of this post and wondering where the Balloon Festoon bundle comes in...not a balloon in sight right?!  The only stamping on this card besides the sentiment are the stars stamped on the Smoky Slate card base, those come from the Balloon Festoon bundle.  You don't have to use a traditionally masculine stamp set to make an effective guy card!   And a sentiment can be the focal image!

  On the other side of the stamping I used a panel of Nature Walk DSP in a distressed Night of Navy pattern.  To bring in a pop of the Granny Apple Green from the color palette I added a band of retired Dandy Designs DSP.

  The next elements are the skinny strips going horizontal.  I used a piece of retired Country Lace DSP in a subtle Smoky Slate striped pattern.  I topped it with a length of retired Denim ribbon with the end trimmed to match the DSP.

  The sentiment from a retired Paper Pumpkin set is stamped in Night of Navy and trimmed down.  I adhered the strips with dimensionals to a Stitched Shape die cut square and then backed it with a larger die cut square.

  Next, to jazz it up and add some sparkle I punched out 2 sizes of stars from Granny Apple Green glimmer paper and arranged them around the sentiment.

  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: Balloon Festoon, Many Manly Occasions (retired Paper Pumpkin)

Ink: Night of Navy, Smoky Slate

Paper: Smoky Slate, Basic White, Nature Walk DSP, Dandy Designs DSP (retired), Country Lace DSP (retired), Granny Apple Green Glimmer Paper

Accessories: Stitched Shapes dies, dimensionals, star punches (retired), Denim ribbon (retired)

Red & Blue Birthday - Stampin' Up!® Balloon Festoon

   My card today is another one in my stamping book club series where I make a card inspired by a book I've recently read.  I'm a bit behind as I finished this book in February!  I need more hours in the day to read all I want and to stamp all I want lol!  I'm using the book covers as inspiration but not necessarily the story so I won't be ending up with a stack of cards with "murder mystery" as the theme.  Because who do you send those too? lol!  

  This card is inspired by the book I Have Some Questions for You  by Rebecca Makkai.  It's a bit murder mystery meets revisit the past kind of book.  Bodie is a film professor and podcaster who has to confront events of her past when she is invited back to her high school to teach a class. Bodie at first feels that she has put the past behind her but being back on campus turns everything on it's head.  There are many unanswered questions surrounding the murder of her former roommate during their senior year.  Was the wrong man put in prison? Who else could have done it? What was Bodie's own role in the events that led up to the murder? 

  I really liked the shadowed letters of the title as well as the colors so that is what I used to build my card.  The background is blended ink using Poppy Parade, Tahitian Tide and Blueberry Bushel.  

  I used the retired Playful Alphabet die set and cut 2 sets of Happy Birthday, one in Basic White the other in Basic Black.  I adhered them together with the Black letter peeking out just a bit to create the shadow effect I liked from the book cover.  I played around with my placement and then decided where I wanted the balloon to go and then stamped the string in Memento Black.

  Next I trimmed down dimensionals to fit the letters and popped them up using a ruler and my grid paper to get a straight line.  The balloon is stamped in Tahitian Tide, die cut and popped up as well.

  I added the stamped sentiment at the bottom and then embellished with some retired sequins and one Wonderful Stars puffy sticker on the balloon.

   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: Balloon Festoon

Ink: Poppy Parade, Blueberry Bushel, Tahitian Tide (retired), Memento Black

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black

Accessories: Balloon Festoon dies, Playful Alphabet dies (retired), dimensionals, Wonderful Stars Puffy Stickers (Online Exclusive), sequins (retired)

Biggest Fan Father's Day - Stampin' Up!® Match Day

   The CAS Colours & Sketches team is back with a new challenge for you!  This time we are working with a sketch from Rachel that has so many possibilities with the fun tag element!  

 Since the World Cup is about to start and we are a soccer family and Father's Day is coming I decided to combine the two with this great sketch!

  So I originally had the elements right on a Basic White thick card base but I realized after I had adhered everything that the card opened the wrong way!  Duh!  So I cut the front off and trimmed it down a bit and added it back to a Basic White base that opened the correct way!  What can I say, sometimes my card base creases are just too good lol!

  For my tag elements I layered a Basic Black one behind the A Wonderful Match DSP tag.  Some black baker's twine is used for the string.

  The jersey and sentiment are both stamped in Memento black.  The jersey is colored with Blends then die cut and added to the card with dimensionals.  The sentiment is fussy cut and also popped on dimensionals.

  I couldn't resist using a few retired black Adhesive-Backed Sparkle Gems to add a little bit of shine.  

  I can't wait to see how you use this great layout for your CAS designs.  Remember to keep it clean and simple, minimal layers and patterns with a clean look and lots of white space.  

  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: Match Day (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Memento Black

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Basic Black, A Wonderful Match DSP

Accessories: Match Day dies, (Online Exclusive), dimensionals, baker's twine, tag punch (retired), Adhesive-Backed Sparkle Gems (retired)

Father's Day Fern - Stampin' Up!® Fern & Flora

   The Fern & Flora bundle is a great pick for making Father's Day card for those nature loving dads out there.  Grab a masculine color combo like this one and start layering elements!

  Crumb Cake is a great neutral base for these masculine colors; Cloud Cover, Night of Navy and Peaceful Pine.  I pulled out my pack of Florals in Bloom DSP for the subtly striped piece in the background.  I was kind of surprised this one hasn't hit the Last Chance list yet as it has a lot of the recently retired In Colors but it's perfect if you want a mix of florals and simple patterns on the B side.  

  I embossed a piece of Peaceful Pine with the Fern & Flora embossing folder and backed it with a Basic White panel.  It's popped on dimensionals and then the stamped and die cut ferns are layered on top.  The stamped fern uses Peaceful Pine ink and then is colored in with the Soft Sea Foam Blends markers.  The stamped fern is also popped on dimensionals.

  The sentiment is from the Balloon Festoon stamp set and is stamped in Night of Navy and then trimmed down.  It's adhered over a strip of retired ribbon.

  The final touch are some retired Boho Blue dots.

  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: Fern & Flora, Balloon Festoon

Ink: Night of Navy, Peaceful Pine

Blends: Soft Sea Foam light & dark

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White, Night of Navy, Peaceful Pine, Soft Sky, Florals in Bloom DSP

Accessories: Fern & Flora embossing folder, Fern & Flora dies, dimensionals, Night of Navy Bordered ribbon (retired), Boho Blue dots (retired)

Simple Sunset Scene - Stampin' Up!® Sunset Coast

   The weather in central Virginia is heating up so it's high time that all the summer themed stamps get some attention.  The Sunset Coast bundle is perfect for coastal scenes that will make you want to head straight for the beach.

  I pulled these colors from a challenge a few weeks ago and for the life of me I can't remember which one.  Maybe I follow too many challenges??!  Nah, that's a silly thought!  If you recognize the colors please let me know so I can give credit.

  I started with a Coastal Cabana base and then did all my stamping on a piece of Basic White.  The larger bit of water is stamped in Coastal Cabana, the inset water is Crisp Cantaloupe.  The sun is Pumpkin Pie and the clouds are Melon Mambo.

  The clouds are stamped and die cut with the 2 one the edges popped on dimensionals.  

  The sentiment is stamped in Memento Black and I added a few Sunset Sparkle Sequins.  Told you this was a super simple card!  Whip up a few of these so you're ready for some summer card sending occasions!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Sunset Coast

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Memento Black

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Basic White

Accessories: Sunset Coast dies, dimensionals, Sunset Sparkle sequins

Enjoy the Balloons - Stampin' Up!® Balloon Festoon

 The Balloon Festoon bundle is perfect for all kinds of celebration cards.  I've used it mainly for birthday cards lately as I have done on this card today.  The color combo is a pretty pastel one using two of the new In Colors; Hydrangea Hue and Crisp Cantaloupe along with Lemon Lolly.

  No crazy techniques or anything on this one.  I used the Forever Plaid embossing folder for texture on the background in Basic White so that the colors would really pop.

  The balloons are 3 different sizes with the 2 largest in cardstock and the smaller Crisp Cantaloupe one cut from 2026-2028 In Color Painted Pattern DSP.

  Dimensionals are used to pop the 2 top balloons and Basic Black cardstock is used for the string die cuts.

  The sentiment is stamped in Hydrangea Hue and backed with a bit of black and white polka dot Paper Medley DSP.

  A few Pearlized Faceted Circles bring a bit more of the Crisp Cantaloupe to the card as a finishing touch.

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

 Stamps: Balloon Festoon

Ink: Hydrangea Hue, Lemon Lolly

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Hydrangea Hue, Lemon Lolly, 2026-2028 In Color Painted Pattern DSP, Paper Medley DSP

Accessories: Balloon Festoon dies, dimensionals, Forever Plaid embossing folder, Pearlized Faceted Circles

Smiles for Father's Day - Stampin' Up!® Capturing Smiles

   This time of year is full of hand stamped card worthy events so I'm trying to keep up with them all and working ahead a bit for the ones I need.  Usually I'm a last minute stamper but I'm trying to be more organized by looking ahead on the calendar.  Up next for me is Father's Day and I thought the fun camera and film strip in the Capturing Smiles bundle would be a great masculine card.

 I started with some 2026-2028 In Color Painted Patterns DSP in a striped Peaceful Pine pattern.  I wanted to use some of the small nature scenes in the stamp set and the green was a good starting point.

 Next I cut 2 of the film strips and added stamped hearts, the sentiment and a beach scene and camping scene after coloring them with Blends markers.

  The camera is stamped on Balmy Blue cardstock with Memento black ink.  I used the Balmy Blue Blends dark marker to highlight a few areas of the camera image and then die cut it.  The lens and lens heart were stamped and die cut and added to the camera.

  I dug around in my retired sentiments to find one that that fit the vibe of the card and came up with Many Manly Occasions from the May 2016 Paper Pumpkin.  I stamped it in Timid Tiger and and trimmed it down to fit the space.  This could easily become a birthday card with a quick change of the sentiment too if you're stuck on a masculine birthday card idea!

  A few retired Faux Glass Dots are a nice simple embellishment to finish this card.

  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: Capturing Smiles (Online Exclusive), Many Manly Occasions (retired- Paper Pumpkin)

Ink: Memento Black, Timid Tiger, Peaceful Pine, Balmy Blue

Blends: Timid Tiger light & dark, Peaceful Pine light & dark, Balmy Blue light & dark

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Balmy Blue, 2026-2028 In Color Painted Patterns DSP

Accessories: Capturing Smiles dies (Online Exclusive), dimensionals, Faux Glass Dots (retired)

More Jaguar Graduation - Stampin' Up!® Cap & Gown

   The week of graduation activities has concluded and we have a high school graduate on our hands and summer has officially started!  I have to say I won't be sorry to delete all of the school related apps and notifications!  I ended up making several more graduation cards that I thought I would share all together instead of individually as you'd probably get sick of seeing them across multiple days!  I won't go into 'how to" details but the supplies are listed below each card.

Stamps: Cap & Gown (retired), Sending Salutations

Ink: Bermuda Bay (retired), Versamark

Paper: Basic Black, Basic White, Gold Glimmer (retired), 2024-2026 In Color DSP (retired), All Together DSP (retired)

Accessories: Party Banner dies, Forever Plaid embossing folder, dimensionals, gold embossing powder, star punches (retired)

Stamps: Cap & Gown (retired), Reason to Celebrate, Balloon Festoon

Ink: Memento Black, Bermuda Bay (retired), 

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Sunshine & Rainbows DSP (retired), Gold Glimmer paper (retired)

Accessories: dimensionals, star punches (retired)

Stamps: Cap & Gown (retired), Sending Salutations

Ink: Versamark, Memento Black, Bermuda Bay (retired), Summer Splash marker (retired)

Paper: Basic Black, Basic White, Sunshine & Rainbows DSP (retired), Bermuda Bay Glimmer paper (retired)

Accessories: Deckled Rectangle dies (retired), black embossing power, Sunny Day Iridescent Dots (retired)

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Masculine Balloons - Stampin' Up!® Balloon Festoon

   The CAS Colours & Sketches challenge team is back with a new challenge to get you inspired for clean and simple designs.  This time is color combo!  Rachel has given us Night of Navy, Gray Granite and Balmy Blue.  Perfect colors for a masculine card if you need a place to start for the men in your life!  As you can see that's how I used them!  

  I always need a little help getting a guy card started so that's what I went with so I could beef up my stash of birthday cards.  And the Balloon Festoon bundle was a great pairing!

  I simply cut a few balloons in graduated sizes in the challenge color, added a little bit of stamping to the blue ones and embossed the Gray Granite one with the Beautiful Pattern embossing folder.

  I adhered them to a Basic White panel with the top two being popped on dimensionals.  I trimmed off the over hang and then hand drew the string with a marker.

  The sentiment from the Banner Sayings stamp set is stamped in Night of Navy at the bottom.  The whole panel is then adhered to a Basic White thick card base.

  Head over to the see the CAS Colours & Sketches design team inspiration and add your creation using these colors to the gallery.  Make sure to keep it clean and simple with minimal layers and patterns and lots of open space.

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: Balloon Festoon, Banner Sayings

Ink: Balmy Blue, Night of Navy

Paper: Night of Navy, Gray Granite, Balmy Blue, Basic White, Basic White thick

Accessories: Balloon Festoon dies, dimensionals, Beautiful Pattern embossing folder

Jaguar Graduation - Stampin' Up!® Cap & Gown

   With a graduating high school senior in our house this year I'm going to be making my share of graduation cards and I'm glad I held on to the retired Cap & Gown set.  Not only did I hold onto the stamp set I held onto my retired Bermuda Bay ink pad because it's a perfect match for the school colors!  I ran out of Bermuda Bay cardstock when my oldest graduated a few years ago but the ink pad is going strong and the just retired Summer Splash is close enough if needed (and I have a few sheets left thankfully!).

  I started with a Basic White thick card base then dug around in my retired DSPs and pulled out a black and white pattern from All Together and a Bermuda Bay pattern from Sunshine & Rainbows.  I backed them with opposite colored cardstock and then added the fun stuff.

 The larger sentiment is from Reason to Celebrate and the smaller sentiments are from Banner Sayings.  I tucked a bit of Bermuda Bay glimmer paper under the layers to jazz it up.

  The cap and gown are both stamped in Versamark on Basic White and then embossed in black.  I fussy cut the images and popped them on dimensionals onto the rectangle.

  The 'congratulations' from Sending Salutations is stamped in Bermuda Bay and then fussy cut.  It's popped on dimensionals as well.

  Finally a few Adhesive-backed Sparkle Gems and Adhesive-backed Sequins Trio are added for the last detail.

  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: Reason to Celebrate, Banner Sayings, Sending Salutations, Cap & Gown (retired)

Ink: Memento Black, Versamark, Bermuda Bay (retired)

Paper: Basic White, Basic White, Basic Black, Summer Splash (retired), All Together DSP (retired), Sunshine & Rainbows DSP (retired), Bermuda Bay Glimmer Paper (retired)

Accessories: black embossing powder, dimensionals, Adhesive-backed Sparkle Gems (retired), Adhesive-backed Sequins Trio (retired)

Fern Congratulations - Stampin' Up!® Fern & Flora Dies

     I'm continuing to pull out the Fern & Flora bundle for a lot of my stamping lately and I whipped this one up this afternoon for the current Freshly Made Sketches.  It seemed like the perfect time to use a piece of paper that I had set aside back in March.

  I participated in the Stampin' Up! OnStage After Hours event back in March and as part of the supply packet for the projects there was this 12x12 sheet in the front of the packet and it had a wide panel of one of the Moonlit Flora DSP patterns and I thought it was too nice to recycle after I was finished with the projects.  I cut it off and it's been sitting on my stamping desk ever since so today was the day to get some of it on a card!

  I started with a Golden Glow card base, then a layer of Golden Glow embossed with the Fern & Flora embossing folder.  Next I backed a panel of the "DSP" with Basic Black and popped it on dimensionals.

  Then a Peaceful Pine die cut fern is added to a Basic White rectangle die cut.  I added some of the fussy flowers in Golden Glow to bring more of that color to the front.

  To follow the sketch I needed to find a skinny sentiment and the Congratulations from Sunset Coast was perfect.

  3 Gold Glow In Color Dots are the only embellishment to finish off this "scraps" card.

  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: Sunset Coast

Ink: Memento Black

Paper: Golden Glow, Basic Black, Basic White, Peaceful Pine

Accessories: Fern & Flora dies, Fern & Flora embossing folder, dimensionals, 2026-2028 In Color Dots, Stitched Rectangle dies (retired)

Mother's Day Flora - Stampin' Up!® Extraordinary Flora

   My card today is one I made for Mother's Day but it got buried down in the folder so I think it's high time to share it!  I used a bit of neglected product in the Extraordinary Flora bundle.  I still love this larger stamp with all the different flowers and leaves!

  I pulled together a bunch of different products for this softly colored floral beauty!  The card base and embossed background is Cloud Cover.  The embossing folder is Beautiful Pattern which is currently on the Last Chance list at a discount.  

  Next I stamped the Extraordinary Flora stamp onto a Basic White banner cut with the Party Banner dies.  I used Basic Gray for the stamping as that was a softer look than a black ink.  I used my Stampin' Blends to color the flowers, leaves and filled in the background.  That took a minute but I think the results are worth it.

  The Nature's Symphony dies were used to cut the Soft Sea Foam leaves which are tucked behind the sentiment label.  The sentiment is from the long retired Well Scripted stamp set.  The label is die cut using the retired Tasteful Label die set.

  I stamped an extra flower and colored it and die cut and popped it on dimensionals above the label.  I had a white seam binding fork bow in my stash of ribbon scraps and it fit perfectly in the corner.  A few Pool Party Opaque Faceted Gems match the Cloud Cover pretty closely for the 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: Extraordinary Flora, Well Scripted (retired)

Ink: Basic Gray, Blackberry Bliss

Blends: Cloud Cover light & dark, Soft Sea Foam light & dark, Blackberry Bliss light & dark

Paper: Cloud Cover, Basic White, Soft Sea Foam

Accessories: Beautiful Pattern embossing folder, Party Banner dies, Extraordinary Flora die, Nature's Symphony dies, Tasteful Label dies (retired), dimensionals, seam binding ribbon (retired), Opaque Faceted Gems (retired)

Soccer Field Birthday - Stampin' Up!® Match Day

  Hopping on quickly to share a fun birthday card using the Match Day bundle along with the Alphabet Challenge to use B for "balls".  This one could have quickly gone off the rails but I figure they are looking for sports related balls and not the other kind and really who wants a card like that anyway??!  

 

  I started with a Granny Apple Green card base, then a panel of the same but I cut some of the grass die cuts in Garden Green and adhered them in stripes.  A scrap of Basic Black highlights the edge of the 2 Granny Apple Green fields.

  

  The Match Day stamps and dies are so fun to use to make clusters of elements so I cut a few soccer balls, stamped and colored some flags and then added in a shiny gold trophy to group around the birthday sentiment.

 

  You could make endless versions of this by changing the colors around and mixing and matching the dies and stamp sets.

  A few gold Metallic Gems are added to play off the gold of the trophy.  

 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: Match Day (Online Exclusive), Reason to Celebrate

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Real Red light & dark

Paper: Granny Apple Green, Garden Green, Basic White, Gold Foil, Black Glimmer (retired)

Accessories: Match Day dies (Online Exclusive), Spotlight on Nature dies, dimensionals, Metallic Gems

So Many Balloons - Stampin' Up!® Balloon Festoon

 

  The new at SU blog hop team is back for our monthly showcase of projects from demonstrators around the world to inspire your creativity!  This month we are featuring the 2026-2028 In Colors!  As a long time demonstrator, getting new In Colors is always exciting and I can't wait to start using them to see what fun combinations I can come up with.  

  My project today features 3 of the new In Colors; Crisp Cantaloupe, Barely Blush and Hydrangea Hue and I've paired them with a new bundle, Balloon Festoon!

  This was a fun one to put together because I just kept die cutting 2 sizes of balloons in my 3 colors then stamping with the various inks and patterns and adding in some gold embossing until I had the whole background covered in balloons.

  I wanted the sentiment to stand out so I embossed it in gold onto Basic Black cardstock then used the balloon die to cut it out.  The sentiment can be found in another new set Sending Salutations.  It's popped on dimensionals, a die cut string is added, and some embellishments with ribbon and an In Color Dot.

  I hope you'll be inspired by our projects.  To make sure you don't miss a single one follow the links below to see the whole hop!  We love hearing from you so be sure to leave some love for everyone!

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Balloon Festoon, Sending Salutations

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Barely Blush, Hydrangea Hue, Versamark

Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, Barely Blush, Hydrangea Hue, Basic Black

Accessories: Balloon Festoon dies, dimensionals, gold embossing powder, Crisp Cantaloupe Bordered Ribbon, 2026-2028 In Color Dots

Simply Loved - Stampin' Up!® Simply Beautiful

  I'm not ready to let the Simply Beautiful bundle head to the retired products box just yet!  I've enjoyed creating with this fun floral set and if you still haven't gotten it you can still find it in the Last Chance section but only in the French version.  If you don't care about the sentiments being in French and only want the images and dies then order it soon before it sells out!  I used it to make a few of the Mother's Day cards that I needed this year.  I paired it up with some new products for a pretty spring card.

  I wanted to play around some more with the new In Color Hydrangea Hue so I pulled out my supplies and got to work.  I started with a Hydrangea Hue card base, then added a layer of Wood Textured Specialty paper which is also on the Last Chance list.  This paper gives a really great wood grain texture which doesn't show well in my photo but is a nice detail on a nature inspired card.  This paper is fun because you can blend it with ink to create any color wood texture that you would like!

  Next I added a panel of the new Paper Medley DSP which gives a sweet little background for the show stopping flower!  I stamped the flower in Versamark onto Hydrangea Hue cardstock then embossed it in gold.  I repeated the process with the leaf but used the new Peaceful Pine instead.  Using the same ink I blended a bit onto the center of the flower and the base of the leaf for depth.  Once they were die cut I popped them on the card front over a length of gold ribbon.  I used Gold Glimmer paper to die cut a flower center and popped that up on top of the embossing.

  The sentiment is from Banner Sayings and tucks in nicely next to the flower.  A gold bow and some retired Brushed Brass Butterflies are the perfect accent to finish this design.

  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 Beautiful (English version retired, French version still available), Banner Sayings (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Versamark, Hydrangea Hue, Peaceful Pine

Paper: Hydrangea Hue, Peaceful Pine, Wood Textured Specialty paper, Paper Medley DSP, Basic White, Gold Glimmer (retired)

Accessories: Simply Beautiful dies, gold embossing powder, gold trim (retired), dimensionals, Brushed Brass Butterflies (retired)

Good Things Ferns - Stampin' Up!® Fern & Flora

   Today's card is another one that features the Fern & Flora bundle.  If I haven't convinced you yet to add this bundle to your next order (if you don't already have it!) then keep stopping by to see what else I'm using it for because I think this versatile bundle should be in your stamp collection and I'm going to continue to show how I've been using it!

  This design came about after I saw the colors over at the Inspired By challenge and paired it up with some flowers and ferns!  I started with a Peaceful Pine card base, then a layer of Barely Blush.  On top of the Barely Blush I added a layer of Peaceful Pine embossed with the Fern & Flora embossing folder.  I added some Peaceful Pine ink along the edges using a blending brush.

  The sentiment from Banner Sayings is stamped on a band of Basic White in Secret Sea ink.  Next I cut out a fern in my 3 card colors and tucked them behind a Secret Sea die cut circle.

  The flower image from the Fern & Flora stamp set is stamped in Secret Sea ink and then colored in with Blends markers.  It's die cut then popped on dimensionals on the circle.

  A few 2026-2028 In Color Dots in Barely Blush are added 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: Fern & Flora, Banner Sayings

Ink: Secret Sea, Peaceful Pine

Blends: Peaceful Pine light, Barely Blush light & dark

Paper: Peaceful Pine, Barely Blush, Secret Sea, Basic White

Accessories: Fern & Flora embossing folder, Fern & Flora dies, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, 2026-2028 In Color Dots

Fern Love - Stampin' Up!® Fern & Flora

   I'm back today with a great new challenge from CAS Colours & Sketches!  This time it's a great sketch with a fun diagonal element!  I can't wait to see how you all use this layout!  I'm continuing my obsession with the Fern & Flora bundle and used to make a sweet sending love card.

  It's simple but shows off the large fern stamp really well!

    I started with a piece of Soft Sea Foam and embossed it with the Fern & Flora embossing folder and added to the card front.  Next I cut a piece of Basic White on the diagonal and then trimmed it down to leave a gap between the pieces so that you can see the embossing.

  Using the retired Deckled Rectangle dies I cut a Pool Party panel and a smaller Basic White panel.  The fern is stamped in Lost Lagoon ink and then some Soft Sea Foam ink is lightly blended over it with a blending brush.  I popped this panel on the card front with dimensionals.

  The sentiment from the Prayers & Promises stamp set is stamped in Gray Granite ink.  A few Pressed Flower Motifs embellishments are added to the corner for a finishing touch.

  I hope you'll join in on using this great sketch for a clean and simple card of your own and share it with us in our CAS Colours & Sketches gallery!

  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: Fern & Flora, Prayers & Promises

Ink: Soft Sea Foam, Lost Lagoon, Gray Granite

Paper: Basic White, Soft Sea Foam, Pool Party

Accessories: Fern & Flora embossing folder, dimensionals, Pressed Flower Motifs embellishments, Deckled Rectangle dies (retired)