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

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

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

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

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

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: For the Books

Ink: Versamark, Summer Splash, Basic Gray

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

Paper: Lemon Lime Twist, Summer Splash, Basic White

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

Cap Thank You - Stampin' Up! Cap & Gown

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

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

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

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

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

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cap & Gown, My Small Business

Ink: Memento Black

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

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

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

Thank You Cap - Stampin' Up! Cap & Gown

   I used the Global Design Project to get this card started.  They have a CASE the designer challenge and I took the layout to use to make a set of thank you cards for my son to use.  He has quite a few thank you cards to write after graduating high school last week.  

  I pulled together some retired, current and new supplies to make this card.  I made a set of 10 using different black and white papers from the retired All Together DSP.  The black is a great complement to the Summer Splash which is the main color of his high school.

  I used the Cap & Gown stamp set which carried over to the online store from the Jan.-April mini catalog.  I just stamped the cap and colored it in with Blends then fussy cut it.

  The sentiment is from the new stamp set My Small Business and I stamped it on one of the Unbounded Love dies labels.  The cap and label are popped up on dimensionals over some retired twine.

  I dug through my retired embellishments and pulled out a whole assortment of colors that kind of match the Summer Splash.  Some were Bermuda Bay and some are Pool Party and I think a few are even Lost Lagoon.  I'm always happy to use up odds and ends of supplies!

 All of the current supplies can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cap & Gown, My Small Business

Ink: Memento Black

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

Paper: Basic White thick, Summer Splash, All Together DSP (retired), Basic White

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

Throw That Cap - Stampin' Up! Cap & Gown

   Each spring I find that I need one or 2 graduation cards but this year I'm definitely stocking up as my oldest is graduating from high school.  That means we have a whole slew of kids we know that are also graduating.  So it was with a double purpose that I designed today's card which we made at my last class.  I cut extra supplies so that after the class I could have a design all ready to just put together and customize a bit as needed.

  I was so happy that the Cap & Gown stamp set that was in the Stampin' Up! January-April mini catalog is being carried over.  You can now find it on the online store only if you need a solid graduation set for the next few years.  There are no matching dies for this one but I think the images would be really easy to fussy cut if you wanted to. 

  This one starts with a Basic White thick card base, then a layer of the Zoo Crew DSP which has now retired. To re-create this design you can substitute any black and white patterned DSP and it will keep the same feel.

  Next the hands, cap and sentiment are all stamped in Memento Black onto a piece of Basic White.  The hands are colored with the Natural Tones Blends markers and the sleeves and cap are colored with the color of choice.  This sample uses Blueberry Bushel but Black is a good choice if you don't know the school colors or want to make it and have it on hand without a recipient in mind.  The tassel is colored with Daffodil Delight.

  To add some bling to the card we added 2 flags cut from the new retired More Dazzle specialty paper but again you can swap out any glimmer paper that you have on hand for a similar effect.  The top flag is popped on dimensionals.  See how to make perfect flagged ends in this quick video:

  Once everything on this panel is finished it's popped on dimensionals.  In class we added a quick DSP sleeve to hold a gift card or some cash on the inside and that can be coordinated with the DSP that is used on the outside of the card.

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  I'd love to earn your business!

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cap & Gown

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Natural Tones, Blueberry Bushel light & dark, Daffodil Delight light & dark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Zoo Crew DSP (retired), More Dazzle specialty paper (retired)

Accessories: dimensionals

Adventuring Balloon - Stampin' Up! Hot Air Balloon

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

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

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

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

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

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hot Air Balloon

Ink: Misty Moonlight, Lost Lagoon

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

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

Jaguar Graduation - Stampin' Up! Cap & Gown

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

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

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

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

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cap & Gown*

Ink: Memento Black, Bermuda Bay (retired)

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

Accessories: dimensionals, Alphabet a la Mode dies

Congrats Class of 2023 - Stampin' Up! Beautiful Balloons

   It was the last day of school for my kids today!  It seems like it all went quickly looking back on the year but it seemed to go so slow while were were in the middle of it!  How does that work right???  While we don't have a graduate ourselves this year we have celebrated with other families on their child's achievement.  I made this card in the school colors for a recent Class of 2023 grad.

  You can't go wrong with the school colors and some sparkle!

   Looking at this card now I think I need to dig through my bin of retired supplies and pull out my Bermuda Bay ink pad because I'm going to need this color for more graduation cards in the coming years!

  I started with a black card base, then a layer of Basic White.  I used the Patchwork Pieces die to cut 2 sets of panels to mix and match the background.  I used some retired Black Shimmer paper and some retired Bubbles & Fizz DSP in a fun star pattern.  Fun fact: the Bubbles & Fizz DSP was a Sale-a-Bration reward in 2018!  Who else has some of this paper stashed away??  The stars seemed like a perfect theme to use on a card like this.

  Once I had my panels lined up and adhered I stamped a large balloon from the Beautiful Balloons stamp set and die cut it.  It's popped on dimensionals with a baker's twine bow.  See the little stars on the balloon that tie in with the stars on the DSP??  It was meant to be!

  Using some scraps of the glimmer paper, the Alphabet a la Mode dies and foam adhesive sheets I cut a '23' to pop up on the balloon.  A banner with the sentiment is added to the bottom of the twine.  Some adhesive gems are used to bling out the tag as well as the apostrophe on the class year.

  You can purchase current merchandise used to make this card to in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Beautiful Balloons

Ink: Memento Black, Bermuda Bay (retired)

Paper: Basic Black, Basic White, Black Shimmer paper (retired), Bubbles & Fizz DSP (SAB-retired)

Accessories: Patchwork Pieces dies, Beautiful Balloons dies, Alphabet a la Mode dies, dimensionals, baker's twine, adhesive gems (retired)