Caring Leaves - Stampin' Up!® Elegant Leaves

   The design team at CAS Colours & Sketches is back with a new challenge this week!  I suggested the colors for this challenge and I can't wait to see how you all use them!  

  Misty Moonlight, Pecan Pie and Berry Burst seemed like a bit of a fall combo to me and seeing as how I recently got the Elegant Leaves bundle in my pre-order I didn't waste any time putting this card together!

  I started with a Basic White thick card base, then a slightly smaller layer of Basic White.  I used the fun wood grain die to cut the band in the middle of this panel.  The leaf is stamped in Berry Burst with a Pecan Pie overlay; such a great combo!!  It's die cut then popped on dimensionals.

  The sentiment is also in the Elegant Leaves stamp set and I embossed it in white on a Misty Moonlight banner that I trimmed to size.

  A few Pecan Pie faceted gems give just the tiniest bit of sparkle to finish off this clean and simple design.

  Check out the rest of the Design Team samples and then play along!  Remember to keep to the challenge colors plus neutrals as well as a clean and simple design.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with a * will be available Sept. 1 in the Stampin' Up!® Sept.-Dec. 2026 catalog.

Stamps: Elegant Leaves*

Ink: Berry Burst, Pecan Pie, Versamark

Paper: Basic White, Basic White thick, Misty Moonlight

Accessories: Elegant Leaves dies*, white embossing powder, dimensionals, Opaque Faceted Gems (SAB 2024 retired)

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)

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)

Nature's Prayers - Stampin' Up!® Prayers & Promises

   When the mood strikes to create a sympathy card I try to jump on it so my stash is always filled because making on demand 'sad cards' is not my favorite so when I saw the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge I thought the soft blue colors in the mood board would make for a good monochromatic sympathy card.

  I pulled out the Prayers & Promises and Nature's Symphony stamp sets and got to stamping.

  I started with a Cloud Cover card base and then stamped the large leafy branch stamp from Nature's Symphony in stamped off Secret Sea ink.  I stamped them again, also stamped off on a panel of Basic White.  The sentiment from Prayers & Promises is stamped in the center of the Basic White panel in full strength Secret Sea ink.  The panel is adhered to a Cloud Cover Textured Notes die cut frame.  The whole thing is then popped on dimensionals.  And the Textured Notes die set is currently on sale in the Last Chance category in my store (link below).

  A Cloud Cover faux linen fork bow is added to the top and an Antique Pearl is added to each corner of the stamped panel for a finishing 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: Prayers & Promises, Nature's Symphony

Ink: Secret Sea

Paper: Cloud Cover, Basic White

Accessories: Textured Notes dies, dimensionals, Cloud Cover Faux Linen ribbon, Antique Pearls

Nature's Peace - Stampin' Up!® Nature's Symphony

   Last year I came across some people on Instagram who were making crochet granny square blankets using the books that they read throughout the year as inspiration for each square.  They were using the covers as inspiration for the color combo and design of the squares.  As a reader I thought that it was such a cool idea to log all of your read books in a really tangible (and practical way) other than just checking things off on Goodreads.  I'm not a crocheter but I am a card maker and I thought I could try something along those lines in 2026 but using paper instead!  So I'm going to try to make a card using each book that I read as inspiration.  It will be my own little Stamping Book Club!  

  The first book I finished in 2026 was Exiles by Jane Harper.  It's the third in a trilogy that follows the story of protagonist Aaron Falk. I enjoyed this mystery set in Australia centered on old friends gathering together in their small hometown and all the secrets that have been kept over the years.  

  I thought the book cover was an excellent inspiration for a card with the way the sky was colored and then contrasted with the dark of the surrounding trees and vegetation.  

  I definitely wanted to try to re-create the sky with inkpads and blending brushes.  I used Lemon Lolly, Timid Tiger, Balmy Blue and a tiny bit of Blueberry Bushel to get the colors shown on the cover.  The branches are stamped over the ink blending in Memento Black using the Nature's Symphony stamp set.  If only I had the new Boardwalk Fun bundle I could have been very faithful to the cover!

  To create the vegetation in the foreground I used the large branch die and Basic Black to do a partial die cut so that the branch would still be attached to the band of cardstock.  I cut a second branch fully and then added that before popping up the partial die cut on dimensionals.

  Before adding the dimensionals I tied a length of Balmy Blue Sheer Ribbon around the panel.  I added another smaller branch which is tucked under the ribbon knot.

  I struggled on deciding what sentiment to use and finally landed on this one from the Prayers & Promises stamp set.  I embossed it in black for a but of shine and dimension.  No other embellishments were added for this one.

  Anyway I hope to keep up making a card for each book I've finished.  I think it could be fun to track my books in this way and maybe inspire some others to do the same!  If you give this a try please leave a comment or tag me on social media!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Prayers & Promises, Nature's Symphony

Ink: Memento Black, Lemon Lolly, Timid Tiger, Balmy Blue, Blueberry Bushel

Paper: Basic Black, Basic White

Accessories: Nature's Symphony dies, dimensionals, black embossing powder, Balmy Blue Sheer ribbon

 

Nature's Sympathy - Stampin' Up!® Prayers & Promises

   Unfortunately I needed to send a few sympathy cards over the last few weeks and my stock was extremely low so I sat down to make a big batch of them so I would have them just in case.  I hope they end up gathering dust in the storage bin even though I think they are a nice design.

  I didn't use up all of the Peaceful Garden DSP for Christmas cards so I pulled out this nice pattern in Secret Sea and used another scrap from the back for the side strip.

  I was cleaning up my stamp room closest and found a folder with some long retired cardstock called Confetti White.  It's got some really nice subtle specks and I thought it would look great with the big leaf die cut from the new Nature's Symphony die set.  

  The sentiment is from a new stamp set; Prayers & Promises and I stamped it on Basic White and die cut with with the Spotlight on Nature dies.  I popped it up on dimensionals over a Secret Sea die cut in a fun wood pattern (also in the Nature's Symphony dies).

  I sprinkled some retired Earth Tones Shimmer Gems for a final subtle touch.

  The second design is very similar with just a different Peaceful Garden DSP pattern and the layout switched from portrait to landscape.

  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: Prayers & Promises

Ink: Secret Sea

Paper: Peaceful Garden DSP, Basic White, Secret Sea, Confetti White (retired)

Accessories: Nature's Symphony dies, Spotlight on Nature dies, dimensionals, Earth Tones Shimmer Gems (retired)

Lagoon Sympathy - Stampin' Up!® Gathering Moments

  I've recently used up all of my sympathy card stash and it's time to restock before I need more.  Making sympathy cards on demand is not my favorite so I like to have a few on hand that I can just send out.  The Inspire. Create Challenge has a monochrome challenge this time around and I always think that's a nice way to keep sympathy cards simple and focused.

  I started with a piece of Peaceful Garden DSP in a Lost Lagoon pattern and then added a strip of Lost Lagoon card stock stamped with the crosshatch pattern stamp in the Gathering Moments stamp set.

  The sentiment is from the Right Words stamp set and is stamped in you guessed it, Lost Lagoon.  I used a Textured Notes die to cut the Basic White panel for some subtle detail around the edge.  I stamped some of the leaves and berries from the Gathering Moments set and added them at the top and bottom of the sentiment panel.

  I sprinkled a few small adhesive pearls around the leaves for a tiny bit of detail.

  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: The Right Words (Online Exclusive), Gathering Moments (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Lost Lagoon

Paper: Lost Lagoon, Basic White, Peaceful Garden DSP

Accessories: Textured Notes dies, Gathering Moments dies (Online Exclusives), dimensionals, adhesive pearls (retired)

Sympathy Motifs - Stampin' Up!® The Right Words

   I recently needed to send out a few sympathy cards and decided to make a few extra to add some to my stash.  I combined the Thoughtful Journey DSP with the beautiful die cuts from the Beautiful Motifs and Gallery Blooms dies.

  The layout comes from the Sunday Stamps challenge.  I had several panels that were already cut to 3 inches wide so trimmed them to 5 1/4 long to fit on the card front. Using a color that was in the DSP I added a one inch wide strip to fill in along the card fold.  It worked out perfect for this sketch!

  The Right Words stamp set was used in the middle of a large Stylish Shapes die cut circle in an ink color that matched the paper.  

  Using dies from the Beautiful Motifs and Gallery Blooms dies I cut a variety of flowers and leaves in the paper colors and tucked them behind the sentiment circles.

  The circles are popped on dimensionals and various retired gems in the card colors are added around the sentiment.

  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: The Right Words (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Misty Moonlight, Mossy Meadow

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Thoughtful Journey DSP, Misty Moonlight, Fresh Freesia, Boho Blue (retired), Mossy Meadow, Wild Wheat (retired), Pool Party

Accessories: Beautiful Motifs dies, Gallery Blooms dies, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, retired gems

New at SU! - Encircled In Colors

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Encircled With Love

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

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

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

Hexagon Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Heartfelt Hexagon

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

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

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

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Country Birdhouse, Heartfelt Hexagon (retired)

Ink: Pool Party

Blends: Pool Party light & dark

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

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

Best Friend Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Happy Tails

 The Happy Tails stamp set is one that I will never get rid of no mater how long it's been retired.  It's probably the most used of my few retired sets and the coordinating punch is an exact match to my dogs silhouettes.  Unfortunately I had to make a sympathy card recently for a friend who had to say good-bye to her sweet Labrador but Happy Tails was just the right stamp set to use to let her know how sorry I was.

  The Country Lace DSP gave me a good starting place for this card as the soft colors and subtle patterns in this pack are a nice tone-on-tone.  I used a Basic White thick card base and then chose one of the Basic Beige patterns for the next layer.

  I stamped the sentiment from Heartfelt Hexagons in Basic Beige on a strip of Basic White.  I die cut a large heart (with retired dies) in Petal Pink then embossed it with the Eyelet embossing folder.  The Eyelet embossing folder echoes the patterns on the DSP for some nice coordination.

  The pup is stamped in Versamark on Basic Black cardstock them embossed with clear embossing powder.  After he's punched out out I popped him up on the large heart and then added a smaller punched heart in Calypso Coral also popped up.

  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: Happy Tails (retired), Heartfelt Hexagons

Ink: Basic Beige, Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Basic Black, Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Country Lace DSP

Accessories: Dog builder punch (retired), Eyelet embossing folder, Heart dies (retired), dimensionals

Thoughtful Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Heartfelt Hexagon

 My husband unfortunately had to send out a few sympathy cards last week so I wanted to restock my supply so I wouldn't be caught short.  I've said it before but making made to order sympathy cards is my least favorite reason to stamp so I always like to have some on hand already made to just send out without having to summon some creative energy on a sad occasion. 

  The new Thoughtful Journey DSP, available to customers starting on May 1, is beautiful paper to base a card around.  The soft watercolor scenes and restful colors are suited for so many kinds of cards but especially sympathy in my mind.

  

  I decided to use one of the scenes and frame it out because it's too pretty to cover it up.  The card base is Lost Lagoon, then a layer of Mossy Meadow and then the Thoughtful Journey DSP scene.  

  The frame is created with Mossy Meadow cardstock and the Deckled Rectangle dies.  The die cut is popped on dimensionals.  The sentiment from Heartfelt Hexagons is stamped in Mossy Meadow.  I promise that this punch and stamp set bundle will be available eventually!  I'm disappointed that the available date keeps getting pushed back because I want to show it off to my stampers in classes but so glad that it is carrying over to the new catalog.  I didn't use the punch this time but paired the sentiment with the new die set Unbounded Love coming May 1.  This set has 16 dies with 12 label/tag shapes and some leaves and flower stem accent shapes.  It will be perfect to highlight so many sentiments!

  I embellished the label with a Wild Wheat leaf and some Petunia Pop sprigs and a linen twine bow.  Sweet and simple!  I might have to use this same layout with a few more of the DSP scenes to finish the sympathy card restocking.

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Heartfelt Hexagon

Ink: Mossy Meadow

Paper: Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Thoughtful Journey DSP*, Basic White, Wild Wheat, Petunia Pop*

Accessories: Deckled Rectangle dies, dimensionals, linen thread, Unbounded Love dies*

Sweet Doggie - Stampin' Up! Happy Tails

   A friend recently had to say good-bye to her sweet dog so I wanted to send her some love and tell her I was sorry for her loss.

  The retired Happy Tails stamp set and coordinating dog builder punch is a classic that I have kept since it retired years ago.  

  I used 2 now retired challenges; the layout is from Freshly Made Sketches and the red and crumb cake color combo is from Color Throwdown.  Time got away from me so I didn't get it shared in time to enter the 2 challenges.

  This one is pretty straightforward; I used a Basic White thick base and embossed a piece of Basic White cut on an angle with the Sale-A-Bration (SAB) Softly Sophisticated embossing folder. 

  I stamped the heart and paw print in Crumb Cake ink onto a narrow strip of Crumb Cake card stock and matched the angle of the embossed piece.  The large heart was die cut from the SAB Most Adored DSP.

  The sweet pup is embossed with Early Espresso embossing powder on Crumb Cake card stock and punched out. He's popped with dimensionals onto the heart.  I added a stamped heart and a baker's twine bow to dress him up a bit.

  Finally I stamped the sentiment onto a Stitched Shape circle and tucked it under the edge of the dog.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Tails (retired)

Ink: Versamark, Real Red, Crumb Cake

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Crumb Cake, Most Adored DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Dog builder punch (retired), Hearts dies (retired), dimensionals, baker's twine, Stitched Shapes dies, Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB), Early Espresso embossing powder (retired)

Heartfelt Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Heartfelt Hexagons

   I started out trying to make a birthday card using the Color Throwdown colors but they just didn't want to go in that direction so I went with it and made a sympathy card instead.  The dusty blue, blush and pink are such a pretty combo and felt like they should be used with some florals.

  I started this one with a Boho Blue base, then a layer of Basic White and then another layer of Boho Blue on which I stamped in the same color of ink the flower stamp in the Heartfelt Hexagons stamp set.

  I stamped the sentiment in Boho Blue on a wide band of Basic White.  To pull in the other challenge colors I used the Painted Lavender dies to cut 3 springs.  For the other two challenge colors I used Bubble Bath and Petal Pink.

  The only embellishment on this card is a tiny Petal Pink twill ribbon knot.

  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: Heartfelt Hexagons

Ink: Boho Blue

Paper: Boho Blue, Basic White, Petal Pink, Bubble Bath

Accessories: Painted Lavender dies, Petal Pink ribbon (retired)

Bird Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Flight & Airy DSP

  I'm not generally one that fussy cuts a lot of images directly from Designer Series Papers but the Sale-a-Bration offerings this year really give some great designs that are so easy to use even if you don't have a stamp set that coordinates with it.  I used the Trusty Toolbox DSP last Friday for a great masculine birthday card and today I'm used the Flight & Airy DSP for a sweet and simple sympathy card.  The Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge has a pretty mood board to draw inspiration from and I decided to focus on the the little bird on the branch for my card.

  

  It's always good to have sympathy cards on hand because I think it sucks having to make them on purpose.  I'd much rather just pull one out and send it off than to try to create something under sad circumstances.

  I used another piece of the Flight & Airy DSP for the background.  It's a nice Boho Blue watercolor look and pairs nicely with the rest of my color combo.  I backed a Basic White panel cut with the Perennial Postage dies with Fresh Freesia.

  

  The 2 leafy branches in Soft Sea Foam and Garden Green are die cut with the Notes of Nature dies and stacked and popped up with dimensionals.

  I fussy cut 2 of the birds and nestled them into the branches also using dimensionals. The sentiment is stamped in Boho Blue and can be found in the Lovely & Sweet stamp set. A bit of Garden Green baker's twine tied in a bow is added to the branch. I added a Fresh Freesia tinsel gem in each corner as a finishing detail.

  Don't forget you can earn the gorgeous Flight & Airy DSP with a $50 or more order during Sale-A-Bration (SAB).  All of the supplies used to make this card can be purchased or earned in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lovely & Sweet (SAB)

Ink: Boho Blue

Paper: Flight & Airy DSP (SAB), Basic White, Fresh Freesia, Soft Sea Foam, Garden Green

Accessories: Perennial Postage dies, Notes of Nature dies, dimensionals, Tinsel Gems, Garden Green baker's twine (retired)

Autumn Layers - Stampin' Up! Layering Leaves

   I made today's card for the Color Throwdown challenge.  When I saw these colors all I could think of was "autumn".  I even tried pulling a few Christmas sets to go in a different direction but autumn was cemented in my brain so I stopped fighting it and created a seasonal thinking of you card.

  I paired up Layering Leaves bundle with carryover products from last year; Ringed with Nature stamp set, dies and embossing folder.

  Since I re-discovered this nice Pecan Pie plaid from the Let's Go Fishing DSP last week I wanted to use it again as a nice neutral background for the other elements of the card.  We're to use Kraft (Crumb Cake), Brown, Yellow Gold, and Red for the challenge.  So I thought the browns would be the main colors with pops of the yellow and red.

  

  The Crumb Cake layer is embossed with the Ringed With Nature embossing folder.  The sentiment from Ringed With Nature is stamped on Very Vanilla with Pecan Pie ink and die cut with the Stylish Shapes dies.

  I stamped several of the Layering Leaves branches in Pecan Pie ink onto Crushed Curry and Poppy Parade and punched them out with the coordinating punch.  I layered the stamped branches with some die cut branches from the Ringed With Nature dies behind the sentiment and popped the whole thing on dimensionals.

 

  I added a linen twine bow to the side and some Crumb Cake adhesive-back speckled dots under the sentiment.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Ringed With Nature, Layering Leaves

Ink: Pecan Pie

Paper: Let's Go Fishing DSP, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Pecan Pie, Poppy Parade, Crushed Curry

Accessories: Ringed with Nature dies/embossing folder, Stylish Shapes dies, Bough punch, dimensionals, linen twine, adhesive-backed speckled dots

Layered Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Layered Leaves

   I needed a sympathy card recently and didn't have any in my stash so I had to make one.  Never at the top of my list of cards to make I usually make them when I don't need them so they are ready to pop in the mail without my having to to create on the fly for such a sad occasion.  I need to add "sympathy cards" to my stamping to do list so I'm not caught short again.

  I used a mix of supplies to put this one together in a soft color palette with nature elements.

  The base is Basic White thick with a smaller layer of retired Peaceful Prints DSP on top.  I love this birch tree pattern and the soft neutral tones were perfect as a background to my main element.

  The label die cut was in my orphaned card parts basket and I stamped the sentiment from the retired Sale-a-Bration set Delicate Dahlias.  I didn't have a single current sympathy sentiment so I was glad to find this one in my retired sets drawer.  I stamped it in Pebbled Path and then added all the leaves behind it.

  I used the Layered Leaves stamp set for the Soft Sea Foam stamped leaves and used the coordinating punch to punch them out as well as the little Pebbled Path sprigs.

  The Boho Blue stamped leaves are from the Timeless Arrangement set and they and the smaller Soft Sea Foam sprigs are die cut with the Timeless Arrangement dies.  Once the leaves were adhered to the back of the label I popped it all up on dimensionals.

 Two Boho Blue 2023-2025 In Color dots are added to the side of the sentiment for the only embellishment.

  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: Layering Leaves, Timeless Arrangements, Delicate Dahlias (retired- SAB)

Ink: Soft Sea Foam, Boho Blue, Pebbled Path

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Boho Blue, Pebbled Path, Soft Sea Foam, Peaceful Prints (retired- SAB)

Accessories: Bough punch, Timeless Arrangements dies, label die (unknown set), dimensionals, 2023-2025 In Color dots

Blue Ridge Mountain Scene - Stampin' Up! Picturesque

   It's busy times in the Stampin' Up! world!  We've got the Last Chance list with all the retiring items from 2 catalogs, demonstrator pre-order for the upcoming new annual catalog and a Color Collection Refresh!  So much to keep up with!  

  If you want to order retiring items before they are gone for good and get up to 60% off on some items check out my ONLINE STORE  

  Are you so excited to see the the new annual catalog and you can't wait to order all of the Color Refresh colors?  You can get early access to all of that by joining my team during the month of April.  Contact me for more information or go ahead and JOIN MY TEAM

  My card today features a few retiring items from both the annual catalog and January - March 2023 catalog.  My stampers used all of these products to make this card in class last week.

  We used Crumb Cake for the base then a layer of Starry Sky to back our image panel.

  To make the image we started with a piece of Basic White about 4" x 5.25" and the Picturesque stamp set which is on sale for 50% on the Last Chance list!!!  First we stamped the bottom edge with the one tall tree in Starry Sky leaving an edge of Basic White to create a frame.  Next comes the lower vegetation stamp in Orchid Oasis, then the valley/river in Pool Party and then the distant mountain range in Orchid Oasis.  To get the best result in lining up each stamp you might want to stand up to stamp and be able to look straight down.

  If you end up getting some white space between layers use Stampin' Blends markers to fill in the gaps.

  Once the scene was stamped we used a small blending brush and Pale Papaya ink (retiring soon!) and lightly blended the sky for a bit of a sunrise look.

  Then we used the Stitched Rectangle dies (retiring soon - 30% off in the Last Chance sale!) to cut out the scene leaving a nice white border around the edges.

  We added some In Color baker's twine, the sentiment stamped in Starry Sky ink and then punched out and popped on dimensionals.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Picturesque

Ink: Starry Sky, Orchid Oasis, Pool Party, Pale Papaya

Paper: Crumb Cake, Starry Sky, Basic White

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, dimensionals, small blending brush, baker's twine, circle punch/die

Get Well Journey - Stampin' Up! Greatest Journey

   Today's card is a really straightforward design using the Global Design Project challenge colors.  The Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake and Vanilla combo could be used for so many types of cards and I decided to go with a get well card.  My stampers made this one at my last Quick & Easy card class.  The limited supplies and and easy embellishments make this card a great one to reproduce with supplies you've got at home.

  This one starts with a Very Vanilla thick card base topped with a panel of Dandy Designs in a geometric Coastal Cabana pattern.  

  Using some Crumb Cake I cut a rectangle with the Stitched Rectangle dies.  The large flower stamp from the Greatest Journey stamp set is stamped to one side in Crumb Cake ink.  A few of the blossoms are colored in with a blender pen and Coastal Cabana colored pencil.

  A length of thick Frayed Ribbon is adhered to the side of the flower panel (I used a bit of Tear & Tape to make sure it stayed put!).

  The sentiment from Inspired Thoughts is stamped on Very Vanilla in Coastal Cabana ink and cut out with another Stitched Rectangle die.  It's then popped up on top of the ribbon.  I gave my stampers the choice of either a get well or sympathy sentiment as I think it a design that can go for either depending on what you need for your card stash.

  The last details added are some Classic Matte Dots in Very Vanilla.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Greatest Journey, Inspired Thoughts

Ink: Crumb Cake, Coastal Cabana

Paper: Very Vanilla thick, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Dandy Designs DSP

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Frayed Ribbon, Classic Matte Dots, dimensionals, colored pencils

Petal Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Petal Park

   I realized the other day that my stash of sympathy cards was getting pretty skimpy so I had that in the back of my mind when I saw the colors over at The Color Throwdown.  At first I thought they would be great colors for a guy card and they are, don't get me wrong, but to make it a true challenge I decided to go with a floral sympathy card instead.  What do you think?

  I think they background ended up being a bit busier than I had planned so I might have to re-create this one in the future and spread the background to have more white space.

  I started with a Night of Navy base then using a piece of Basic White I stamped the leaves in Basic Gray then filled them in with the 2 step stamp in Smoky Slate.  Then I stamped the open flower images in Basic Gray and filled them in with stamped off once Night of Navy ink.  Using the Petal Park Builder punch I punched out my flowers and adhered them to the panel.  I trimmed off the ones that were hanging off the edges and then added it to the card base.

  Using the coordinating Sentimental Park dies I cut one label in Night of Navy and topped it with another cut out of Basic White and stamped with the sentiment.

  I looped two layers of the Night of Navy Bordered ribbon to the side of the label and then added one of the punched flowers.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Petal Park, Inspired Thoughts

Ink: Basic Gray, Night of Navy, Smoky Slate

Paper: Night of Navy, Basic White

Accessories: Sentimental Park dies, Night of Navy Bordered ribbon, dimensionals, Petal Park Builder punch