Crazy Cats - Stampin' Up! Nine Lives

  I'm late to the cat punch love fest but once I got the Nine Lives stamp set from the Occasions catalog I had to design a card for my last class to show off how cute this stamp set is along with the punch.

  While everyone can do the 'stamp your image then punch it out' thing I always like to show my stampers some other ways they can use their Stampin' Up! products that maybe they haven't thought of.  I decided to show them how to create a background using different colors of cardstock and the punch.  This is also a nice way to use up some smaller scraps.  If you can get even a small part of the cat punched you can use it to fill in some of the extra spaces.  Just punch all the cats and then arrange them on a piece of Whisper White cardstock.  I arrange them first then take a quick picture with my phone then adhere them referring back to picture to see how I had them 'just so'.  After you have the cats adhered just trim off the overhanging bits and use of those pieces to fill in space if needed.

  The cat background panel is adhered to a Gray Granite card base.  The stamped and punched cat is mounted on a stitched rectangle die cut with dimensionals.  The sentiment is stamped in Memento Black and the whole panel is popped with dimensionals.

  After this card was finished it reminded me of a favorite picture book of my boys when they were little.  It's called Cat Count by Betsy Lewin  The boys loved counting the cats on each page and the rhyming gives the story a nice pace.  Definitely check it out if you see this one at your library and have little ones.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

 Stamps: Nine Lives

Ink: Gray Granite, Sahara Sand, Memento Black

Paper: Gray Granite, Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

Accessories: Cat punch, Stitched Rectangles dies, dimensionals, Nature's twine

 

Beautiful Butterflies - Stampin' Up! Butterfly Gala - Fab Friday 162

Wow!  Mindy put the test to the Fab Friday design team this week!  It's a 5 color challenge this time around at Fab Friday!  I know you can all do it!  It's called a challenge for a reason and we want to see all of your creations in our gallery!

    They are lovely aren't they?  I couldn't decide on which colors I wanted to highlight so I made the same card twice to see what I liked better and I still can't decide!  I'm so glad the Butterfly Gala bundle is back because I really can't get enough of this fantastic stamp set and coordinating punch!

  For the first sample I used Blushing Bride, Pool Party and Coastal Cabana cardstock on the card front and stamped the butterflies in Poppy Parade and colored them in with my Petal Pink Blends.

 
The second sample is a bit more bold with Poppy Parade, Blushing Bride and Petal Pink as the cardstock on the front and the butterflies stamped in Coastal Cabana ink and colored in with Pool Party Blends.

  The butterfly bodies and sentiment are stamped with Basic Gray.  Some Polka Dot tulle ribbon tied in a knot and a sprinkling of rhinestones finishes off both cards.

  So which do you like better?  Let's see what you can come up with and share it with us at Fab Friday!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Butterfly Gala

Ink: Basic Gray, Poppy Parade, Coastal Cabana

Blends: Pool Party light & dark, Petal Pink light & dark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White thick, Blushing Bride, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Poppy Parade, Petal Pink

Accessories: Softly Falling embossing folder, Polka Dot tulle ribbon, rhinestones, Butterfly Duet punch, dimensionals

Cute Pup - Stampin' Up! Happy Tails

I have been MIA lately and haven't been stamping much.  We've been busy with the start of spring soccer, Easter and just general life stuff.  And pulling all of my retiring products off my shelves and out of my drawers was a bit depressing lol!  It took a while to make sure I had everything; the list is really long this year.  Once I had it all pulled I didn't quite know what to do with myself so I just looked at the large laundry basket full of stuff for a few days.

While I'm getting myself and my class next week sorted I thought I would share a fun card we made last month at class.  I know I've used the Happy Tails a lot but it's so cute I can't resist!  This card is a fun and easy fun fold.  Just a few scores to make the pieces.

  The base is Tranquil Tide which is retiring and really is a great green and will certainly be missed.  Cut the base to 8.5" x 4.25" and score at 5.5".  We put some Nature's Poem DSP on the front flap.

 Next are the pawprints across the Crumb Cake panel as well as the sentiment in Tranquil Tide.  For this panel just adhere the one side to the card front leaving it loose on the other so you can open it up.

  The Mint Macaron strip is 4.25" x 1.5" scored at 2.5".  Adhere the smaller end under the panel on the inside of the card.  Stamp and punch out the sweet pup and put him/her on this flap.

  It's hard to photograph fun folds and show the details so I hope you can see how the pieces fit together!

 

 And here it is with both flaps opened.  I love the little paw prints on the inside as well.  That little pup has been all over the place!

I hope to be back with some new designs soon!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Tails

Ink: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Tranquil Tide

Paper: Tranquil Tide, Crumb Cake, Mint Macaron, Whisper White, Petal Pink

Accessories: Dog Builder punch, white bakers twine, dimensionals

Blooms in Romance - Stampin' Up! All That You Are

  I ran out of time yesterday morning to post a project and just never found time to do it later in the day.  If I was really on the ball I would schedule my posts the day before but I'm really not that organized!

  Today's card is one we made in my February class.  I haven't shared it before now because each time I wanted to the photo was too horrible to put out in the universe.  I think I took 3 sets of pictures of it and each time I got them uploaded and went to edit them with my watermark I could see how poor the quality was.  So I would set it aside and do it again with the next group of cards I made.

  Finally a "good enough for government work" photo of it to share!

  My stampers really enjoyed getting to work with the Floral Romance Specialty paper from the Occasions catalog.  Not only are the colors and patterns beautiful you get 2 printed vellum patterns which are really fun to work with!  We used 2 of the regular patterns on this card and the Petal Pink design is the vellum.  It's a great mix with the leaves and lacy vellum.  The pieces are adhered to a Whisper White panel cut with the Stitched Rectangles die.

  A bit of Powder Pink ruffled ribbon (very close match to Petal Pink) wraps around the DSP panel.

 For the flowers I showed my stampers a fun way to use Stampin' Blends.  Instead of stamping the flowers in Mossy Meadow and then coloring in the flowers we scribbled the blends onto Whisper White blending the colors together and then stamped the flower image over the top and then cut them out with the Frosted Bouquets framelits.  We added a Mossy Meadow leafy branch and popped the flowers on dimensionals over the top.

  Add in a few adhesive sequins and this card is finished!  It's a great Mother's Day, Easter or all purpose spring card with those gorgeous pinks and greens!

  And now for some Stampin' Up! business; the Last Chance list has been released.  Head over to my Stampin' Up! site to see what's retiring so you don't miss out!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: All That You Are

Ink: Mossy Meadow

Blends: Flirty Flamingo light & dark, Petal Pink light & dark

Paper: Mossy Meadow, Whisper White, Floral Romance Specialty DSP

Accessories: Stitched Rectangles framelits, Frosted Bouquet framelits, adhesive sequins, ruffled ribbon, dimensionals

Out of Season Pup - Stampin' Up! Happy Tails - Fab Friday 161

  Sometimes you have a card in your mind and you just have to make it regardless of whether it's seasonally appropriate or not.  I've had this Christmas dog card in my head for a while.  Something about a black dog with a red plaid/checkered pattern was stuck in my head.  So, happy spring to you all!! I present a Christmas dog 9 months early!

  Oh and it's also a Fab Friday challenge day!  And we have this versatile sketch for you to work with!

  I know right??  It can be anything!  Even a Christmas dog in April!  Don't ever say the Fab Friday team doesn't give you choices!

 Oh and something about it being near the end of a catalog period always makes me re-evaluate all the stuff that I didn't get around to using or using completely up and it makes me feel a bit guilty but then I use some of it on a card and I feel better that I had "just the right thing" to make that card in my head.  So this card is a combination of retired and current and maybe soon to be retired...we'll know soon!

  I hope you'll check out the awesomely talented Fab Friday Design Team and play along with our challenge this time!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Tails, Christmas Pines

Ink: Versamark, Mossy Meadow

Paper: Very Vanilla thick, Very Vanilla, Mossy Meadow, Basic Black, Festive Farmhouse DSP (retired)

Accessories: Dog Builder punch, tinsel trim (retired), clear embossing powder, Stitched rectangle framelits, dimensionals, gold star stickers (Sincerely Santa tag kit, retired)

What a Good Pup! - Stampin' Up! Happy Tails

While the weather has been really pleasant the last few days it also means it's been time to get the yard into shape after winter and maybe a wee bit of neglect last fall.  We've been doing some landscaping and tidying as well a lot of mulching so my time in the stamp room has been non-existent.  But the yard is looking great and the mulch pile is dwindling so I hope to stamp some new projects soon!  Luckily I have a few cards that I made a while back to share in the mean time!

  Happy Tails was the sleeper stamp set for me in the Occasions catalog.  I just got it a few weeks ago after seeing so many cute things with.  Sometimes you just can't resist a stamp set when it catches your attention!

 
  This card started with just a dog punched with the dog builder punch and then colored it in with Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends.  I added the spots over the base color with Soft Suede ink.  A bit of Blueberry Bushel 1/8" grosgrain ribbon for the collar.

  I popped the 'Good Pup' up with dimensionals on a stitched circle, added another one with the sentiment in Blueberry Bushel and a heart in Mango Melody.

  The paw prints are embossed in white on a strip of Blueberry Bushel cardstock and everything is on top of a Mango Melody panel embossed with the Dot to Dot embossing folder.

  So I'm off to keep calm with my mulch pile and I hope I can hold a stamp after wrangling the wheelbarrow and pitchfork for 2 days straight!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Tails

Ink: Versamark, Blueberry Bushel, Mango Melody, Soft Suede

Blends: Crumb Cake light & dark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Mango Melody, Blueberry Bushel

Accessories: Dog Builder punch, white embossing powder, Dot to Dot embossing folder, Stitched Shapes framelits, Blueberry Bushel grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals

Butterfly Fix - Stampin' Up! Butterfly Gala

  The Butterfly Gala bundle is back!  This stamp set punch combo was on the top of my list to order when the Occasions catalog was released to demos in December.  I was so excited to show these products to my stampers.  The mix of butterfly styles paired with a punch that punches both the large and small butterfly at the same time is just a great combo of stamping goodness.  Unfortunately everyone else felt the same way and the products quickly sold out and Stampin' Up! couldn't replenish their stock fast enough so that the bundle became backordered for quite a while.

  I was only able to use the bundle as a class project once before it was backordered but now that it's back I will be for sure sharing this great bundle.  And just in time for the beautiful spring weather!  I made this card a few weeks back for a challenge using up some scraps of the Sale-a-Bration Botanical Butterfly DSP.  I added a tiny bit of the Gingham Gala paper also to round out the colors.

   The card base is Highland Heather then the DSP squares are mounted on Whisper White then a layer of Daffodil Delight.

  I stamped some butterflies on the card base with Highland Heather then embossed the sentiment in white under the DSP panel.

  The butterflies are stamped in Memento and then colored with Stampin' Blends pulling the colors straight from the DSP.  After they were colored I popped the butterflies with dimensionals and sprinkled some adhesive sequins and faceted gems across the front for a bit of sparkle.

  I hope you'll take a look at the Butterfly Gala bundle and see how you can use it for upcoming spring birthdays, Easter and Mother's Day.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Butterfly Gala

Ink: Highland Heather, Versamark, Memento black

Blends: Daffodil light & dark, Calypso Coral light, Highland Heather light & dark, Balmy Blue light & dark

Paper: Highland Heather, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Botanical Butterfly DSP (SAB), Gingham Gala DSP

Accessories: Butterfly Duet punch, dimensionals, adhesive sequins, faceted gems, white embossing powder

Masculine Birthday Cheer - Stampin' Up! Birthday Cheer

  Happy Monday!  Maybe I should start to do a Masculine Monday theme?  That would challenge me to to do more guy cards which can be hard sometimes!!  Having just spent our spring break away with all males maybe not!  We had a great trip to South Carolina and explored the Charleston area and while the weather was not the best we did enjoy it.  But now it's back to the grind and after updating about 37 things on my computer this morning I'm ready to get to checking things off of my to do list!

  First up is sharing this masculine birthday card that we made at my March stamp club.  I've not used the Stamparatus very much in class so I wanted to design a card where I could show off some of the features.  This card just kind of came together once I pulled out some colors to work with.

  The card base is Smoky Slate and using the Stamparatus we stamped the sentiments in Night of Navy and Basic Gray ink.  The sentiments in the Itty Bitty Birthdays set are perfect for this technique...not too big and not too small.  Each stamp is inked up only once and then stamped and the plate is moved down one notched and then stamped again and then repeated a third time. The process is repeated with the other color.  Since each stamp is mounted just right for spacing on the clear plate it doesn't matter which one you start with.

  The flags are created by embossing the Mango Melody flag with the Subtle embossing folder and the Balmy Blue is stamped with the confetti stamp from Birthday Cheer with Smoky Slate ink.  The flags are tied with a Night of Navy baker's twine bow.

  The party hat is embossed with white embossing powder on Night of Navy card stock then cut out and popped up with dimensionals over the flags.

  Sometimes it can be hard to design a masculine card since a lot of us stampers want to use so many accessories and 'stuff' and then it ends up looking fussy.  So try to pare down when you're designing guy cards and you might find that it becomes easier!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Birthday Cheer, Itty Bitty Birthdays

Ink: Night of Navy, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Versamark

Paper: Smoky Slate, Mango Melody, Balmy Blue, Night of Navy

Accessories: white embossing powder, Subtle embossing folder, Night of Navy baker's twine, dimensionals

Bright Spotlight - Stampin' Up! All That You Are

 It's been a busy week for me with preparing for Stamp Club so blogging has been pushed to the back burner but now I'm back to share one of my class projects.

  The All That You Are large flower image is beautiful but too big for a large group to color all the way in so I had them use it with the spotlight technique so they could color some but not have to do the whole thing.  I pulled my inspiration from this card from a while back and used some fun bright colors.  The colors come from the now closed Global Design Project challenge.

  Lemon Lime Twist, Grapefruit Grove and Daffodil Delight are fantastic against black accents. I think this color combo spoke to me on a gray rainy day when I was wishing for spring colors instead of the blah gray that we've been seeing a lot of.

 

  The spotlight panels are colored using reinkers and Blender pens.  And pro tip here for you: if you've had your blender pens for a while and the tips are a bit frayed and soft it might be time to replace them.  They will last a long time but will eventually dry out and the tips will break down.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today? 

Stamps: All That You Are

Ink: Memento black, Lemon Lime Twist, Grapefruit Grove, Daffodil Delight

Paper: Lemon Lime Twist, Basic Black, Whisper White

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle framelits, circle punches, dimensionals, 1/8" Grapefruit Grove grosgrain ribbon

  

Sweet Friend Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Happy Tails

 I'm late to the party with the dog builder punch and the Happy Tails stamp set but I kept seeing such cute projects made using them and then I looked at my supplies and I didn't really have anything like them so I went ahead and got them.  I can't wait to play some more but this card came about using some card parts that I had after playing around with the stamp set but not really trying to design a card.  I had been playing around with coloring the dog different ways so I didn't want to waste any pieces because this pup is just too cute.

 
  I decided to use the sympathy sentiment because it's always a good idea to have a few on hand just in case.  Losing a dear pet is a hard thing as our family knows from experience.  We had to say goodbye to our 15 year old Josie in November and you truly do feel a hole in the family.  We have no pets at the moment and the house does feel different especially coming home.

  The card base is Whisper White thick then a layer of Crumb Cake embossed with the Corrugated embossing folder.  Back in the day when the crimper was all the rage (remember that blue and orange contraption??) I struggled every. single. time. with it.  I could never get any of my cardstock to crimp straight.  Every piece veered off on an angle.  This embossing folder pretty much makes that problem go away as long as you put the paper in straight!

  Next is a layer of Pineapple Punch embossed with white embossing powder with the bone and paw print stamp.  The dog house is stamped in Blueberry Bushel and black, fussy cut then and layered behind the sentiment.

  The sweet pup is stamped in Soft Suede and then colored in with the Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends.   After he was punched out I gave him a little Blueberry Bushel grosgrain ribbon bow for a collar.

  I have a few more cards designed with this sweetie and I look forward to sharing those in the coming days.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Tails

Ink: Soft Suede, Blueberry Bushel, Versamark, black

Blends: Crumb Cake light & dark

Paper: Whisper White thick, Crumb Cake, Pineapple Punch, Whisper White

Accessories: Corrugated embossing folder, white embossing powder, Stitched Shapes framelits, Dog Builder punch, dimensionals, Blueberry Bushel 1/8" grosgrain ribbon

 

Masculine Wood Blocks - Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Birthdays

I missed sharing a project the last 2 days as I've been working hard designing the projects for my next class and I didn't have any other cards to show.  The "cards to upload" folder was woefully empty.  It was a struggle designing for a bit as everything I tried out just was not right.  I got into a groove finally yesterday and designed the class projects as well as a few others that I liked a lot but just wouldn't be good for class.

  I was loving the Freshly Made Sketches challenge with all those little square elements.  I was trying to come up with a masculine birthday card for class and thought that a clean and simple card using small pieces of the Wood Textures DSP might be just right. 

  This design is a fantastic way to use up some little scraps of paper but probably not something you'd want to do with a group of 20+ in a class setting.  It was a bit fussy lining up the squares and I see room for improvement but I like how it turned out overall even if it isn't good for a class project.

  The card base is Early Espresso; it's been a hot minute since I used this color but it's perfect for a masculine card.  The next layer is Very Vanilla embossed with the Subtle embossing folder which I'm obsessed with lately.  It gives just the right amount of 'something' without being over the top.  I embossed the sentiment from Itty Bitty Birthdays in copper embossing powder.  With a quick change of sentiment it can be any type of card as well.

  Next for the focal square piece with another layer of Early Espresso then a Stitched Shape die cut Very Vanilla square which I layered all the bits of Wood Textures DSP.

  I wanted to add just a little something to the square panel so I stamped a leaf from Rooted in Nature and cut it out and layered it on the edge.  A bit of retired thick Very Vanilla twine is knotted around the stem.

  This was a fun sketch to play with and I may even have another card that I designed using it to share another day.  That one didn't make the class project cut either but I think it came out cute anyway.

  Have a great weekend!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Itty Bitty Birthdays, Rooted in Nature

Ink: Crumb Cake, Versamark

Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Wood Textures DSP

Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, Stitched Shapes framelits, Nature's Roots framelits, dimensionals, copper embossing powder, thick Very Vanilla twine (retired)

Copper Thank You - Stampin' Up! All That You Are

  I've gotten a lot of mileage out of the All That You Are stamp set from the Occasions catalog.  It's a nice mix of flowers of different sizes and and some sentiments.  While I love creating with it myself and doing some coloring it's a challenge to translate that into a class for 30 people.  To have that many people do a "coloring" card would take forever so I've got to come up with ways to show the stamp set to it's fullest but still keep it class friendly.

  For class last month I wanted to use the large flower bunch stamp without needing to have it colored so I turned to copper embossing powder.  To bring in color I used multiple images of the single blossoms as well as some green leaves.

  This is another color combination that was inspired by fabric.  Here it is:

  Some of the flowers and the sentiment panel are popped up with dimensionals.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: All That You Are

Ink: Versamark, Fresh Fig, Balmy Blue

Paper: Fresh Fig, Very Vanilla, Balmy Blue, Lemon Lime Twist, Mossy Meadow

Accessories: copper embossing powder, Frosted Bouquet framelits, dimensionals

Easter Butterflies - Stampin' Up! Butterfly Gala

I am on a roll the last few days with participating in challenges and actually getting them posted during the challenge time frame!  It's a spring miracle!  And speaking of spring we have sunshine today!

  My card today is inspired by the CAS(e) This Sketch challenge.  It's a fun little off center layout which I flipped to the side just because I can!

 So I had a bunch of small pieces of the Gingham Gala DSP that I thought would be perfect for the polka dots in this sketch.  I cut out various sizes in all 5 colors and layered them on a piece of Whisper White that is embossed with the Subtle embossing folder and then cut with a Stitched Rectangle framelit.

  The butterflies are stamped in Memento and then colored with Highland Heather and Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends.  They are punched and popped on dimensionals over the top of the circles.

  I added some iridescent sequins that are long retired or leftover from a Paper Pumpkin kit...I really have no idea!

  The final thing is the Easter sentiment stamped in Memento black.  Looking at it now I should have stamped it before doing the embossing because it's a bit uneven. Oh well.

  When I showed this one to my husband he wanted to know why it is so empty on the other side of the card...*sigh*  Anyway I think it came out cute and I made a set of 6 to have on hand.  Now I just need to remember to send them out!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Butterfly Gala, Itty Bitty Greetings

Ink: Memento black

Blends: Highland Heather light & dark, Daffodil Delight light & dark

Paper: Grapefruit Grove, Whisper White, Gingham Gala DSP

Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, Stitched Rectangle framelits, Butterfly Duet punch, circle punches/dies, sequins (retired), dimensionals

Sweet Wishes - Stampin' Up! Hello Cupcake

A cupcake is always a sweet way to celebrate a birthday so I couldn't let Sale-a-Bration go by without using the Hello Cupcake stamp set.  I designed this card for my January class and that was before Stampin' Up! told us they were creating framelits to go with this set!  If you earned the Hello Cupcake set earlier in SAB take a look at the framelits you can buy to go along with them; they will give you even more idea of how to use this sweet set!

  This color combo was inspired but the fabric shopping trip with my mom in December.  I have a whole bunch of photos saved for inspiration.  I liked the 2 blues with the pink.  The closest Stampin' Up! colors are Berry Burst, Night of Navy and Balmy Blue.

  

  Fun things to note on this card; the Dot to Dot embossing folder is a great pattern for more whimsical cards.  The frosting of the cupcake is stamped on White Shimmer paper for a little bit of a pop.  It's fussy cut (but now you can buy the framelits!!) and popped on dimensionals.  A bit of the SAB Balmy Blue organdy ribbon goes across the corner to bring in more of that shade of blue.  The organdy ribbon is available again!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hello Cupcake (SAB)

Ink: Berry Burst, Night of Navy, Balmy Blue

Paper: Whisper White, Shimmer paper, Berry Burst, Night of Navy

Accessories: Dot to Dot embossing folder, SAB organdy ribbon, dimensionals

All the Thanks - Stampin' Up! All That You Are

   Has spring sprung in your neck of the woods yet?  The weather and temperature hasn't really been spring-like here in Central VA but the birds have started acting like spring has arrived!  We have bluebirds building their nest in the box with the camera so we've been watching them bringing in grasses and getting it just right.  They are so funny chirping back and forth and then rearranging what the other has just added to the nest.  We've named them James and Elizabeth after James and Elizabeth Monroe the 5th president and first lady.  We started our bluebird box with George and Martha Washington so we've just continued naming each successive pair after the next president and first lady.  Hopefully we'll see some eggs soon!

  While I don't have much growing in the yard yet except for a few brave crocus bulbs I have some nice bright blossoms on a card to share.

  I like the navy and gold color combo and added some brightly watercolored flowers.  The All That You Are set has beautiful flowers to color.  I embossed them all in gold onto watercolor paper and then played around with watercoloring in Lovely Lipstick and Melon Mambo.  I think I stamped about 9 or 10 flowers and just had fun coloring.  

  The sentiment is also embossed on gold and really pops on the Night of Navy cardstock.

  The texture is a bit hard to see but the Tufted embossing folder is a very elegant pattern in the background.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: All That You Are

Ink: Versamark, Lovely Lipstick, Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz

Paper: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Goil Foil, watercolor paper

Accessories: Frosted Bouquet framelits, Stitched Shapes framelits, gold embossing powder, dimensionals, Tufted embossing folder

  

Sweet Baby Birds - Stampin' Up! Hey Love

  Happy Monday everyone!  I hope that the weekend was good to you and you had some stamping time!  I stamped some extra card kits from my class last week and now I need to remember to take photos so I can share them.  I do have a card to share today though even if I did make it a few weeks ago.

  I don't need too many baby cards these days but it's always nice to have one or 2 in the card stash just in case.  The little bird in the Hey Love stamp set in the Occasions catalog is small but oh so sweet!  So if one bird is sweet then three is even better!  Don't overlook this set just because Valentines day is over.  It's a super set for all kinds of cards.

  I went with a baby boy color combo and used the Tailored Tag punch to created the background for the bird circles.  The birds are stamped with Gray Granite and colored in with light Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends and then the hearts are colored with the regular markers.

  The sentiment is in the Itty Bitty Greetings set and is stamped in Night of Navy.  The baker's twine bow across the middle is also Night of Navy.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hey Love, Itty Bitty Greetings

Ink: Gray Granite, Night of Navy

Blends: Daffodil Delight - light

Markers: Night of Navy, Call Me Clover, Coastal Cabana, Mango Melody

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Call Me Clover

Accessories: Tailored Tag Punch, Stitched Shapes framelits, dimensionals, baker's twine

Gorilla Love - Stampin' Up! Hey Love

If this dreary weather doesn't clear out soon I won't have any more projects to share with you for a while!  I have a stack of cards in my stamp room ready to be photographed but the dark rainy days we've been having are not conducive to taking card pics!  So fingers crossed for some sunshine or at least some brightening.

 I hope you're not sick of seeing the Hey Love stamp set because I am still loving these sweet animals!  Today's card is less of a Valentine's Day and more of a hello, thinking about you card.  It could even be a sweet baby card with a quick change of the sentiment on the tab.  Don't get trapped into thinking a stamp set is just for one purpose based on it's name or even the samples in the catalog.  Swap out some sentiments and you've got a whole new set of card ideas.

 

  The card base is Smoky Slate and another Smoky Slate panel embossed with the Dot to Dot embossing folder.

  The sweet gorilla is stamped in Memento black and colored with Smoky Slate and Petal Pink Stampin' Blends.  Once colored I cut him out with a Stitched Shapes square and layered it a panel of Petal Pink and Coastal Cabana.  

  The tab is punched with the circle tab punch and then topped with a stamped heart and hello sentiment with the Tabs for Everything set.  I added an adhesive sequin for a little something extra.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hey Love, Tabs for Everything

Ink: Memento, Petal Pink, Coastal Cabana

Blends: Smoky Slate, Petal Pink

Paper: Smoky Slate, Coastal Cabana, Petal Pink, Whisper White

Accessories: Dot to Dot embossing folder, Stitched Shapes framelits,  Circle Tab punch, circle punch, adhesive sequin

 

Gingham Butterflies - Stampin' Up! Butterfly Gala

Even though the Butterfly Duet punch is unavaiable at the moment you can still stockpile some cute card ideas for when it can be ordered.

This card was one that my stampers made at my SAB & Occasions catalog kickoff back at the beginning of January.  I had 3 colors they could choose from to make this design.  My sample shows it with Daffodil Delight but I also had Wisteria Wonder and Lemon Lime Twist.

  I love black and white with a pop of color cards!  They are usually crisp and clean and really lets you appreciate the stamp designs.

  The card base is Basic Black, then a layer of Whisper White.  I used a long rectangle of the SAB reward Botanical Butterfly DSP.  The Stitched Rectangle die works perfectly to cut out the sentiment.

  The butterflies are stamped on Daffodil Delight paper and then punched out with the Butterfly Duet punch. The butterflies are popped with dimentionals and the centers are highlighted with Gingham Gala adhesive sequins. The SAB organdy ribbon (currently unavailable) matched perfectly to add another pop of color.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Butterfly Gala

Ink: Memento Black

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Botanical Butterfly DSP

Accessories: Butterfly Duet punch, Stitched Rectangle dies, organdy ribbon, adhesive sequins, dimensionals

Bad Day Fishing - Stampin' Up! Best Catch

   Once in a while I get a card idea and it just sticks in my head until I get it out onto cardstock.  Once I got the Best Catch stamp set and coordinating Catch of the Day thinlets I began picturing a lot of different kinds of cards and one of them was a joking card using saying that I've heard from time to time.  I think a lot of fishermen would agree with this one!

  I started with a Crumb Cake card base and added the little bubbles/fish scales stamp in Crumb Cake to cover the whole front.

  I pulled my colors from a bit of the Tropical Escape DSP and then started adding my water scene.  The mat is in Shaded Spruce, then a layer of Whisper White stamped with the Labeler Alphabet stamp set to do the words.  A bit of Pool Party cardstock embossed with the Seaside embossing folder.  I trimmed the edge of the embossed piece and adhered it to the bottom of the Whisper White panel.  I cut 2 cattails in Lemon Lime Twist and one in Shaded Spruce.  I used Crumb Cake and Early Espresso markers to color the cattail tops.  I trimmed the edges to stagger the heights and adhered them in front of the water panel.

  On the inside I finished the saying again using the Labeler Alphabet.  Not my best alignment but I was so excited to pull this card together I did it just freehand and didn't use my Stamparatus.  I cut a number of fish in Shaded Spruce, Lemon Lime Twist and Cajun Craze, added a bit of detail with the bubbles/scales stamp in Crumb Cake ink and adhered them swimming in both directions.

  I have several family members that I could give this card to and they would definitely agree...not only to decide who is the lucky recipient!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?  Or maybe go fishing??

 Stamps: Best Catch, Labeler Alphabet

Ink: Crumb Cake, Memento Black

Paper: Crumb Cake, Lemon Lime Twist, Shaded Spruce, Cajun Craze, Pool Party, Whisper White, Tropical Escape DSP

Accessories: Catch of the Day thinlets, Seaside embossing folder, markers, dimensionals

Cheerful Lily - Stampin' Up! Lasting Lily

 Today's card just screams spring to me and with the sunny warm weather we are having the last few days it's nice to look ahead to things greening up and flowers budding.

  Lasting Lily is one of the free Sale-a-Bration rewards this year and it is a fantastic mix of beautiful images and sentiments.

I choose the Highland Heather and Daffodil Delight color combo for a bright, cheerful thinking of you card.  It's always nice to have a few cards like this on hand to pop in the mail when you're thinking of someone.

  While the lily is beautiful with a lot of fine detail I will say that when using a very juicy ink pad I didn't have such great results so if you're having a bit of the same kind of trouble try using a dryer ink pad or even stamping off to see if that helps.  I think extra ink can pool in some of the fine lines of the design and then they get lost when stamped to cardstock.

  The base of the card is Highland Heather, a layer of Whisper White topped with a piece of Gingham Gala DSP.

  The lily is stamped in Daffodil Delight, stem and leaf in Pear Pizzazz and the stamen lightly colored over with a Mango Melody marker.  I cut out the flower panel with the Stitched Rectangle framelits.

  The sentiment was stamped on strip of Highland Heather in the same color ink and layered across the bottom of the flower panel and adhered with dimensionals.

  I haven't used adhesive pearls in a really long time but I thought their understated elegance worked wonderfully with this card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lasting Lily (SAB)

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, Highland Heather

Paper: Highland Heather, Whisper White, Gingham Gala DSP

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle framelits, adhesive pearls, dimensionals