Friendly Crab Hello - Stampin' Up! Ocean Friends

   These in between holiday days are so strange!  I wake up and think I have the whole day ahead of me to get things done in the stamp room and then before I know it it's 3pm and I've done a million things but not a single one that is stamping related!  Maybe tomorrow I can get my act together and get some ink to cardstock.  Thankfully I still have a few cards I made before Christmas to share.  The Ocean Friends bundle got quite the workout before the Christmas work stoppage lol!

 Summer Splash is prominent again with the it being used for the card base and the coral die cut.  It matches very closely to Coastal Cabana which is the color listed for this patterned paper which will be a Sale-a-Bration reward.  This pack of paper is called Fruit Salad and clearly I've used the reverse side for this non-fruit themed card!  I used the wavy die in the Ocean Friends die set to cut the fun edge.

  The crab from Ocean Friends is stamped in Pretty in pink and is then die cut and tucked in the coral die cut.  I added a few Peach Pie die cut starfish to balance the crab.

  The sentiment is stamped in Pretty Peacock and cut with the Stylish Shapes banner die.  I popped the banner up with dimensionals.

  A few silver Adhesive-Backed Sparkle Gems and added last to give a little shimmery effect against the pastel tones.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting January 7, 2025 with the release of the Jan.-Apr. 2025 Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog,  Sale-a-Bration (SAB) or the Online Exclusives January release . If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

Stamps: Ocean Friends*

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Pretty Peacock

Paper: Summer Splash, Peach Pie, Basic White, Fruit Salad DSP* (SAB)

Accessories: Ocean Friends dies*, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, Adhesive-Backed Sparkle Gems

Lobster Thanks - Stampin' Up! Ocean Friends

   Wouldn't this be a fun card to receive this winter when it's cold and dreary (or warm and dreary as the weather turned out to be here in Glen Allen today!). The upcoming Friends of the Ocean Suite Collection is sure to be popular with its fun images and bright colors.  Do you have it on your wish list??  It will be available January 7!

  I used a now closed challenge for the layout so thanks to the Inspire.Create.Challenge for the great sketch to show off my lobster!

  I pulled the colors for this card right from the coordinating Friends of the Ocean DSP panel and used Summer Splash for the card base as well as the Soft Waves embossed panel.  A narrow scrap of Lemon Lime Twist divides the 2 sides.

  The recently retired Deckled Rectangle dies was used to cut a Basic White panel and I stamped a few coral pieces in stamped off Lemon Lime Twist then added the sentiment in Summer Splash right over the top.  The panel is then popped on dimensionals.

  The lobster is definitely the star of this card!  I stamped it in Calypso Coral with the outline full strength and the fill stamped off once.  Once it was die cut I popped it on dimensionals also.

  Finally a few Sunny Days iridescent dots are added for a bit of ocean-y sparkle and shine to finish this design.

 Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting January 7, 2025 with the release of the Jan.-Apr. 2025 Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog,  Sale-a-Bration or the Online Exclusives January release . If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

Stamps: Ocean Friends*

Ink: Lemon Lime Twist, Summer Splash, Calypso Coral

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

Accessories: Soft Waves embossing folder*, Ocean Friends dies*, dimensionals, Sunny Days Iridescent Dots*

Barrel of Crabs - Stampin' Up! Ocean Friends

 The new Ocean Friends bundle is a fun one for looking ahead to warmer weather.   We love our blue crabs down here in Virginia and the lobster stamp is a great one for my New England heritage!  I paired the crab this time with some fun colors and the way I arranged them on the card front totally reminded me of that game Barrel of Monkeys that I had as a kid but this time it's crabs!

  I started off with a Pretty Peacock card base.  Then I embossed a piece of Basic White with the new Soft Waves embossing folder.  I used a blending brush and some Balmy Blue ink to lightly color the waves. 

  The crabs were stamped in 3 colors with the outline being full strength ink and the fill in with stamped off once of the same color.  I found it easiest to stamp the darker outline first. I used Pretty Peacock, Lemon Lime Twist and Flirty Flamingo inks.  After I die cut the crabs I added them to the card front using dimensionals to adhere.

  The sentiment is a stamped off once bit of the coral in Lemon Lime Twist then the sentiment from the Simply Said stamp set.  I used the Stylish Shapes dies to cut it out and then backed it with a Pretty Peacock punched circle.

  For embellishments I added a Flirty Flamingo baker's twine bow and some hard to see white sequins from the Adhesive-backed sequin trio pack. I arranged them so it looks like bubbles coming from the mouths of the crab.

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting January 7, 2025 with the release of the Jan.-Apr. 2025 Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog,  Sale-a-Bration or the Online Exclusives January release . If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

Stamps: Ocean Friends*, Simply Said

Ink: Pretty Peacock, Lemon Lime Twist, Flirty Flamingo, Balmy Blue

Paper: Pretty Peacock, Basic White

Accessories: Ocean Friends dies*, Soft Waves embossing folder*, Stylish Shapes dies, circle punch, dimensionals, Adhesive-backed sequin trio, Flirty Flamingo baker's twine

Smiles & Hugs - Stampin' Up! Hugs for Love

   My next few posts are going to be short and sweet as we've got family visiting from out of state and we've got all the Christmas activities going on but I always want to share some inspiration for you in case you find a few minutes to sneak away and stamp or maybe make your wish list for the upcoming new mini catalog!  The products used on this card today will be available January 7!

  I pulled this card together in no time at all using the soon to be released Hugs for Love punch bundle.  The base is Boho Blue and then I added a nice plaid pattern DSP from the new Timeless Plaid DSP.  I used a bit of the off cut and flipped it to opposite side for a band across the middle for contrast.

  A Basic White label is punch with the To The Point Label punch and I added a Cajun Craze fussy cut heart and the sentiment in BohoBlue.

  A few retired BoHo Blue enamel dots are added as well as a length of retired Boho Blue ribbon are the understated embellishments.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting January 7, 2025 with the release of the Jan.-Apr. 2025 Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog,  Sale-a-Bration or the Online Exclusives January release . If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

Stamps: Hugs for Love*

Ink: Cajun Craze, Boho Blue 

Paper: Boho Blue, Basic White, Timeless Plaid DSP*

Accessories: To The Point Label punch*, dimensionals, enamel dots (retired), Boho Blue ribbon (retired)

New Year Nests - Nests of Winter Designer Series Paper

   Recently I made a set of 10 cards to go with a community service out reach gift that my church was involved in.  We weren't sure when the gifts were being distributed so I went with a general Happy New Year/winter theme using the Nests of Winter DSP.  Fussy cutting some of the birds right from the paper a great way to show off how cute they were.

  All of the cards are the same with just the fussy cut birds changing.  Some of the birds didn't have much of an attached branch so I also cut out some of the separate branches and berries to fill them out a bit.  Each one has a Basic White thick card base.

  I used the Snowflake Sky embossing folder to emboss a Basic White panel for one side of the card front and then used a piece of the DSP in a nice birch wood pattern for the other side.

  The Spotlight on Nature dies were used to cut the the sentiment circles.  The sentiment is from a retired set from a few years ago called Joyful Flurry and seemed perfect for this project.  I stamped it in Garden Green and then popped the circle on dimensionals.

  Finally the different fussy cut birds were added using glue and dimensionals.  I added a Cherry Cobbler bakers twine bow as well as some small red gems that I found in my stash.  The Nests of Winter DSP is currently out of stock but Stampin' Up! hopes to have it restocked in the next few weeks so if you're looking for a great paper for some winter projects or cards for bird lovers definitely add this one to your list!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

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

Stamps: Joyful Flurry (retired)

Ink: Garden Green

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

Accessories: Spotlight on Nature dies, Snowflake Sky embossing folder, dimensionals, Cherry Cobbler baker's twine (retired), red faceted gems (retired)

Seagull Step Ups - Stampin' Up! Friendly Seagulls

   Last week I hosted my stampers for a little Christmas party to celebrate the season and no party would be complete for this group without at least a little stamping!  I had some card samples using upcoming products and designed a few make and takes so they could see some of those products in action.  One of my favorites is the adorable Friendly Seagulls stamp set which is a Sale-a-Bration reward starting January 7.  I designed these make and takes to be very quick and simple and after the party I had a few project packets leftover so I thought I could make a few of them and step up the design using some extra products.

  If you'd like to see how each of these cards comes together you can watch a replay of the live video that I recorded last week showing how I made these 3 different cards.

  For each card I kept the same basic layout and colors and added in layers, a more detailed circle die, more texture and extra stamping.

  I love the new Everyday Skies DSP and thought it was a good pairing to put it with the seagull!  On this version I added an Azure Afternoon mat to the pretty paper. The addition of the Spotlight on Nature circle die adds just a tiny bit of extra detail to step this second card up.

  On the final version of the seagull card I added a larger panel of Azure Afternoon and embossed it with the new Soft Waves embossing folder that will be in the Jan.-Apr. 2025 mini catalog starting on January 7.  I used the same circle die and added some stamped pebbles in Gray Granite ink to give the seagull some ground to stand on.  The embellishments are the same on all three cards but on this final one I did a bow instead of a knot with the new Daffodil Delight 1/8" satin ribbon.  The Purple Adhesive-backed sequins are also a Sale-a-Bration reward and while I didn't use any of the purples ones here the white ones work for perfectly.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting January 7, 2025 with the release of the Jan.-Apr. 2025 Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog,  Sale-a-Bration or the Online Exclusives January release . If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

Stamps: Friendly Seagulls* (SAB)

Ink: Memento Black, Gray Granite

Blends: Basic Black light, Smoky Slate light & dark, Daffodil Delight dark

Paper: Balmy Blue, Azure Afternoon, Basic White, Everyday Skies* (Online Exclusives)

Accessories: circle punch, Spotlight on Nature dies, dimensionals, Daffodil Delight 1/8" satin ribbon*, Soft Waves embossing folder*, Purple Adhesive-Backed Sequins* (SAB)

Delightful Birthday - Stampin' Up! Delightful Wishes

   One of the first signs of spring where I grew up was the forsythia bushes showing off their pretty yellow blossoms so it was fun seeing that the new stamp set Delightful Wishes has a beautiful 2 step stamp showing these spring beauties!  While I used the traditional yellows for my card today this stamp set has a lot of possibilities using many of the colors in the Stampin' Up! collections.

  The more I look at this card the more I feel the need to go back and re-do the sentiment and make it straight!  I didn't notice when I first took the photo but now it's all I see lol!

  I used Pool Party for the card base and created my flower branch to be adhered directly onto the card front.  I die cut the branch in Pecan Pie and then added the flowers.  The flowers are stamped first in Lemon Lolly and then the second layer is the slightly darker Daffodil Delight.  They are all popped on dimensionals.

  The leaves are stamped in Old Olive and then die cut.  I tucked them in around the flowers for added interest.

  The sentiment is stamped in Pool Party and the large 'wishing' is die cut and popped up and then the rest of the sentiment is die cut using the long label die.

  I had fun adding a variety of embellishment first using a bit of retired Pool Party ribbon tied in a knot for the base of the branch.  Next some of the adorable Tiny Bee Trinkets are scattered around.  These are so cute and I just used glue dots to adhere them.  Lastly I added 2 retired Pecan Pie Opaque Faceted Gems to balance the open space under the sentiment.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting January 7, 2025 with the release of the Jan.-Apr. 2025 Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog or Sale-a-Bration. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

Stamps: Delightful Wishes*

Ink: Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lolly, Old Olive

Paper: Pool Party, Pecan Pie, Basic White

Accessories: Delightful Wishes dies*, dimensionals, Tiny Bee Trinkets*, Pool Party ribbon (retired), Opaque Faceted Gems (retired)

Freesia Valentine's Day - Stampin' Up! Hugs for Love

 I'm getting together quite a nice stack of Valentine's Day cards so far.  It feels good to be a little bit ahead of the game for once though I fear it probably won't last long!  For now though I'm having fun creating with the Hugs for Love bundle that will be available soon for customers in the new mini coming January 7.  While there are hearts and a Valentine's day sentiment it's a nice all around thinking of you stamp set with a coordinating punch!

   I chose some colors from the Subtles collection and added the In Color Pretty in Pink for a pretty pastel card.

  The base is Fresh Freesia and then I made a large banner shape out of Pool Party.  I embossed it with the Forever Plaid embossing folder, flagged the end and added a Pretty in Pink bow at the top.

  The label shape is stamped in Fresh Freesia and punched out with the To the Point Label punch.  I added a heart stamped in Fresh Freesia ink onto the same color cardstock.  I used my dark Fresh Freesia Stampin' blends marker to color the outer band and then fussy cut it.  It's popped on a dimensional.

  2 more hearts in the other card colors flank the label and then the sentiment stamped in Basic Gray is added to the large heart.

 Several Pretty in Pink In Color Shimmer Gems add a tiny bit of sparkle and shine to this sweet card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting January 7, 2025 with the release of the Jan.-Apr. 2025 Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog or Sale-a-Bration. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

Stamps: Hugs for Love*

Ink: Fresh Freesia, Pretty in Pink, Pool Party

Paper: Fresh Freesia, Pretty in Pink, Basic White

Accessories: To the Point Label punch*, Forever Plaid embossing folder, dimensionals, Pretty in Pink Bordered ribbon, 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer gems