Love in the Clouds

  Have you seen how cute this Sent with Love stamp set and matching DSP is??  Well if you haven't you should check it out, it's only available until April 30 and it's perfect for travel themed projects or for sending your love long distance.

  This was one of the cards we made at my stamp club at the end of March.  I wanted to show off the Sent with Love bundle (Stamp set, DSP and matching Calypso Coral baker's twine) and teach my ladies how fun it is to emboss vellum.

  The base is Island Indigo.  How cool is it that Island Indigo will be sticking around as regular color?  We used the Cloudy Days embossing folder to emboss the sheet of vellum.  If your Big Shot tends to be tight you might want to open up your platform and use no tabs to make sure that the vellum doesn't tear.  Also, you can see adhesive through the vellum so make sure your card layout will account for hiding the adhesive behind another layer.  On this card we attached our strip of DSP to the front of the vellum and then used it to hide a strip of adhesive on the backside to attach the vellum to the card base.

  To make the cute little airplane tag we used the single stamp Basic Label (Item #132669).  Stampin' Up! also just announced that the current offerings of single stamps will stay available until July 31!  So if you forgot to add some of them to your last order you're still in luck!  We stamped the Basic Label with Island Indigo and then cut it out with the matching Label Framelit.

  Next, the airplane and contrail stamp from Sent with Love was inked up with markers and lined up inside of the label.  A punched heart in Red Glimmer paper was added to the contrail heart….not a perfect match but close enough!

  Next we added a ribbon tie on one side using the now retired Sycamore Street Sale-a-bration ribbon.  To balance the other side a small scalloped circle was punched out of Pool Party Core'dinations cardstock.  Pool Party is another color that is being added to the regular collection!  Woo-Hoo!  The whole tag piece is popped up on dimensionals.

  Don't wait to get this cute set, it will be gone before you know it.  It is also available for MDS for those digital scrapbookers out there.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Basic Label (single stamp),  Sent with Love

Ink: Island Indigo, Pool Party

Paper: Island Indigo, vellum, Sent with Love DSP, Whisper White, Pool Party Core'dinations, red Glimmer paper

Accessories: Apothecary accents framelits, Sycamore Street ribbon (SAB- retired), scallop circle punch, Cloudy Days e.f.

Punch Art Bunny Treat

  Easter break has completely thrown me for a loop.  This is the first regular day I've had in almost 2 weeks so I'm trying to play some catch up!  This adorable project was made by one of my stamping ladies Denise C.  She was one of our hostesses last month for stamp club and she made these cute little Easter treats to share with the ladies.  She told me she found her inspiration on Pinterest and combined several different punch art bunnies to make this one.

  So I know it's too late for this year but definitely pin this baby for next year!

Created by Denise C.

I love those spring colors!  And do you see the ornament punch??

  Don't forget about FREE shipping from Stampin' Up! today!  What a deal!  Place your order sooner rather than later to take advantage of this special!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stampin' Up! News & Promotions!

A lot of new things happening at Stampin' Up!  Check out this whole post for details on retiring colors, new colors and exciting new products!

FREE SHIPPING FOR ORDERS PLACED April 6-8.   Check out the below specials and new products and see if you'd like to take advantage of the free shipping offer from Stampin' Up!.  Remember it's only good until Monday April 8 at 11:50 (mountain time).  Let me know if you have questions about anything!

It's a Color Refresh!

Stampin' Up! has announced a color refresh for the upcoming 2013-2014 annual catalog.  Some colors will be retiring, some colors will change color collections and new colors will be added…some of our favorites from past In Color Collections!

Check out the list and check your supplies to make sure you have your favorites!

The one new color is called Smoky Slate. The nine returning In Colors as core colors are Bermuda Bay, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Soft Sky, and Wisteria Wonder. Check out these colors displayed in their new collections!

Next up is the new This and That collection!

This and That is a wonderful set of products to make capturing memories so easy.  This collection of five new products (with more to come!) includes a journal, Designer Series Paper, stickers, washi tape, and a rotary stamp.  This is also a great gift for the pre-teen/teen set!

These products will be available in the new 2013-2014 annual catalog but are available only until April 30 at a discount for the bundle of 5 products.

Check out these products up close at my online store HERE.

Next is the Best of April Stamp set….Butterflies!

 These sweet butterfly images are the April stamp set in the "Best of" series to celebrate Stampin' Up!'s 25th anniversary.

  Item # 133345  $14.95 clearmount

  Check it out at my online store HERE.

Only a few days left to sign up for the April mailing for My Paper Pumpkin Kit!

Sign up by April 10th to get your Welcome Kit which includes products to make 4 cards, 2 cute stamps and the clear block needed for future kits.  Have some fun creating cards and other paper crafting projects.  Get some girl friends together and a have a night "in" of crafting and fun.  Or sign up for an excuse for some me time!

  To sign up head over to My Paper Pumpkin.  I would love it if you chose me, Amanda Mertz (Glen Allen, VA) as your demonstrator!

As always, if you have any questions don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an e-mail.  I'm happy to help in any way I can!

Fab Dino Birthday!

  It's another Fab Friday challenge, just in time for the Easter holiday.  Maybe you'll have a few days off to get some stamping done?  Maybe you'll join us over at Fab Friday?  You know you want to!  =)

  Check out this fun sketch!  What can you do with it?

  The possibilities are endless as you can see from the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team!  I was in need of a birthday card for a 5 year old boy so that's the direction I went in.  I took my color combination from the recently retired Sale-a-bration Sycamore Street DSP.  I know I'm not the only one out there with a lot of this paper left; and not because I didn't use a lot of it during Sale-a-bration but because I liked it so much I got a lot of it so I wouldn't run out!  Someone who wasn't a stamper would look at my stamp room and call me that "Crazy Paper Lady".  Seriously!

  Success or no?  I like it for a boy card for sure.  The bold colors, the wacky dinosaurs, the fun dots pattern, what crazy little boy wouldn't like it?

  I stamped the 2 dinos in Stazon on Whisper White and then used my blender pen and ink pads to color them in.  Pool Party and Summer Starfruit (a great dinosaur color if you ask me!).  Then I cut out the winged dude and popped him up with dimensionals.  I also added a bit of Crystal Effects to the underside of the Pool Party dino and the beak of the flying guy.

Check out that shine!

  I made my banner out of Tangerine Tango and heat embossed the sentiment in black embossing powder.  Then I added 2 rows of piercing and one of the awesome Sale-a-Bration Sycamore Street buttons.  I flipped it over to the smooth side because it seemed more "boy" to me that way.  A baker's twine knot keeps the button from looking naked.  The banner is also popped up on dimensionals.

Popped up elements because I can't say no to dimensionals!

One last little element on my card is the little bit of Island Indigo rick rack cut with the Tasteful Trim die at the bottom of the dinosaur panel.  It totally reminded me of sharp little dinosaur teeth and again it was more "boy" than scallops!  It kind of gets lost amongst the dots but it's there.

  I hope I'll see your awesome creation added to our gallery for this sketch challenge.  Don't be shy, show off your hard work!  Remember you have almost 2 full weeks to enter your card at Fab Friday so no excuses!  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Dinoroar

Ink: Stazon, Versamark, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit, Sahara Sand

Paper: Island Indigo, Sahara Sand, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB retired)

Accessories: Crystal Effects, blender pen, Tasteful Trim die, Sycamore Street button (SAB retired), baker's twine, paper piercer, dimensionals

Color Block Anniversary - Fab Friday 14

  TGIF!!   And what makes it even better is that it is a new challenge at Fab Friday!  Hooray!  I hope you all have a full weekend of fun stuff planned!  Our family is super busy this weekend.  It's our first ever Cub Scout Pinewood Derby tomorrow!  I think Matt is a little nervous but Ryan can't wait to see his car, which he named "No Slow", race down the track.  I have to try to remember the camera so I can get some photos to make a My Digital Studio page.  Then on Sunday we have a bunch of activities at church that will take up a good part of the day.  And last but not least I have to finish preparing for stamp club on Tuesday.  Phew!  I'm tired just typing that out!

  Now on to the challenge and a challenge it was!  I really, truly, like this color combination but it just wasn't pulling together for me.  I have one completed hot mess (don't you love that phrase?  I learned it when we moved to Virginia and it comes in handy in all kinds of situations!) of a card and a pile of card guts to prove it.  Once I talked myself out of some crazy ideas and went with kind of a CAS (clean and simple) design it all started to come together.

  Here are our lovely colors:

 Pretty right?  Makes you want to start stamping Easter and spring birthday cards.

  Here is my card which I am pleased with especially after the "hot mess" of my first attempt!

  This is for my grandparents 65th wedding anniversary which falls on Easter Sunday.  Holy cow right?  And here I was patting myself on the back for my 10 year anniversary coming this summer.  We've got nothing on my grandparents that's for sure!  My aunt is trying to arrange a card shower so they receive tons and tons of card congratulating them on their big milestone anniversary (if you have any anniversary cards laying around that you'd like to send off just let me know! *wink!*).  Since my "job" is making cards this was certainly right up my alley!  And before my grandma's eyesight worsened she was even a stamper herself so I know she will appreciate my effort.

  So I used our Fabulous Friday colors, the idea of color blocking from another challenge site (CAS-ual Fridays) and my grandparents anniversary and here we are.

  I started off with a Sahara Sand base, then a layer of Whisper White and another slightly smaller layer of Sahara Sand.  Next I made my color blocks and embossed them with the Chevron embossing folder and adhered them to the Sahara Sand layer.

 I stamped the Blue Ribbon stamp set scallop circle in Sahara Sand and then the "Congratulations" flags in Calypso Coral onto Calypso Coral cardstock.  It's hard to see the words in the photo but they are there.

  The circle in the center of the scallop circle looked a little stark so I added a punched circle of Sent with Love DSP.  Next I made my own chipboard numbers with thin cardboard (the kind that backs Stampin' Up! DSP packs is perfect!) and Lucky Limeade cardstock.  They are adhered to the ribbon with Tombow Mono glue.  They aren't going anywhere….hence the kind of crooked 5!  The final touch for the ribbon is what I think is a Blushing Bride button (??) but is totally close enough to Pink Pirouette for me.  And a Lucky Limeaid baker's twine bow.  If course all this is popped up with dimensionals on the card front.

  You know you want to play along with us!  Head over to the Fab Friday site and check out all the fabulous talent we've got on our team.  And we have a new member joining us this week as well.  Welcome to Justin Krieger!  Make sure to visit Justin's blog and say hi.  He's a great addition to Fab Friday!

  Thanks for looking (and reading this giant novel of a post)!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Blue Ribbon

Ink: Sahara Sand, Calypso Coral

Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Lucky Limeaid, Calypso Coral, Pink Pirouette, Sent with Love DSP

Accessories: Chevron embossing folder, 2 3/8" scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Typeset Alphabet dies, button, baker's twine, dimensionals

Sunshine Sunburst

  I saw this adorable card on my buddy Mindy's blog using the sunburst technique and I had been meaning to try it out myself and seeing her lovely card gave me a giant kick in the pants to get started!  It was way easier than I thought….a few tips, 1) cut both side of your DSP at an angle.  I didn't at first and I think my rays didn't line up as nicely.  2) when adhering your rays if you want them to be somewhat centered put one in the center first and then work your way out.  Other than that just adhere angles cuts of DSP to a piece of cardstock, cut the ends/edges off and use it on your card!  Easy!

  I made these 2 cards for my boys.  My oldest was pretty upset when he didn't get a Valentine's card from me….in my defense he got a bag of candy with a handstamped tag but I guess that wasn't enough.  Last year I made cards that just got thrown aside so this year I thought I would save myself some cardstock and go straight for the bag of candy….oh well, that backfired!  I felt really bad after I saw how much getting a card meant to him so I wanted to give him a special "just because" card.  And the little one got one too because lately everything has to be even and fair or it's a giant fuss.  Seriously…I have to count blueberries in yogurt…

Ryan's Card

Stamps: Sunshine

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight

Paper: Not Quite Navy, Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, assorted DSP

Accessories: Label Framelits, Itty Bitty punch pack, brads, dimensionals, Dazzline Details, Heart edge embossing folder

Alex's Card

Stamps: Sunshine

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, White, assorted DSP

Accessories: Label Framelits, Itty Bitty punch pack, brads, dimensionals, Dazzline Details, Heart edge embossing folder

  I used the new Sunshine single stamp and inked it up with markers.  I got the color combinations straight from the color coach (love that thing!).  I made Ryan's first and definitely started to get the hang of the rays by Alex's card.

  I should have quit while I was ahead but I went and added Dazzling Details to the cut out and popped sun and it kind of made the sun turn a bit cloudy….oh well!

I used various packs of DSP to get my all Daffodil Delight and Tangerine Tango scheme.  If you want to know about a particular one leave a comment and I'll figure it out.  Some of the packs are retired.


Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Postage in Guy Colors

  I told you all I would share a card with a different color combo than my last few cards.  Well here it is.  Check out these cool masculine colors!  I got the color combination from the last ColourQ Challenge which closed last night.  And another challenge that I used as inspiration is the CAS-ual Friday challenge which is to make your own background paper on your Clean and Simple card.

   Brilliant Blue and Cool Caribbean are old colors and retired a while ago and I didn't have any on hand to use so I substituted Pacific Point and Pool Party.

  I still had the Sent with Love set along with some other supplies used on my last card out on my stamping desk so I used it again for this card.

  I used the cool little postmark/barcode/hash mark stamp and just inked it up in my four colors and alternated stamping down the side of the Whisper White panel.  I just eyeballed it and varied how much of the image to stamp.  I rounded the corners and added 2 Night of Navy brads (they are pretty close in color to the Midnight Muse) to the corners.

  I stamped the heart stamp in Midnight Muse, punched it out with the postage stamp punch and layered it with a Pool Party square.  The new firm foam pads work wonderfully with solid images like this postage stamp.  Just tap tap tap!  I pulled the Summer Starfruit to that side of the card by punching out a little heart with the Owl punch and adding a rhinestone to it.  The stamp panel is popped up with dimensionals over the Pool Party baker's twine that was wrapped around 3 times.

  The Whisper White layer is popped with more dimensionals onto a Midnight Muse card base.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sent with Love

Ink: Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Pool Party, Pacific Point

Paper: Midnight Muse, Whisper White, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit

Accessories: corner rounder, brads, dimensionals, Owl punch, Postage Stamp punch, Baker's Twine, rhinestone

 

Sent With Love Postage

  I am digging this color combination lately!  I think this is my 3rd card with similar colors.  It must be this dreary weather we've been having here lately.  I need something bright and cheerful I guess.

  I used the sketch from Sketch Frenzy Friday for this one.  It's a great one if you have smaller images  that might otherwise get lost on their own if used singly.  Just group them like this sketch!

  I wanted to get my new set Sent With Love inky so I went with the literal translation of the sketch and used the heart postage stamp along with the matching punch to get this one started!

  First I embossed the heart stamp image 3 times using Whisper White embossing powder and just used my 3 colors of cardstock.  Once they were set I punched them out.  I layered them on a piece of the coordinating DSP (which has some great patterns for all occasions!) and popped them with dimensionals.  The sentiment was inked in Island Indigo and then stamped right onto Whisper White and layered on an Island Indigo postage stamp punch.

  I used more embossing for the airplane contrail and just inked it up carefully with Versamark.  After it was dry I inked up the plane with my Island Indigo marker and stamped it directly onto the DSP.

  I rounded the corners and added some white brads for detail.  My final embellshment is the Calypso Coral heart I punched and added a rhinestone to.  It's not quite a perfect match for the heart in the contrail but close enough for me!

  Dont' wait to get the Sent With Love bundle…it's only available until April 30th.  And you get a deal on the whole bundle…savings are always good!

   Maybe tomorrow I'll share a card with a different color combination!  We'll see!  =)

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sent With Love

Ink: Versamark  Marker: Island Indigo

Paper: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Sent With Love DSP

Accessories: white e.p., postage stamp punch, brads, corner rounder, dimensionals, heart punch, rhinestone