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

Otter Love - Stampin' Up! Hey Love

  So the crocodile from yesterdays card can't get all the love!  Today is the otter's day in the spotlight! How cute is this little guy??

  Don't you just want to scratch his little belly?  Or just say aaawwwww?  I kept the color combo on this one fairly  masculine so I can give it to one of my kids for Valentine's Day.  They get a kick out of puns so the Hey Love stamp set is perfect!

  The card base is Night of Navy with a strip of Balmy Blue Gingham Gala DSP with a Night of Navy baker's twine bow wrapped around.  The sentiment is stamped on Balmy Blue cardstock in Night of Navy ink and then flagged.

  The heart is a die that I don't use nearly enough but it's a perfect background element. You can find it in the Sunshine Wishes Thinlet set.  I used Poppy Parade cardstock because I love the bright red-orange shade against the blues.

  The otter is stamped in Memento black and colored with regular Stampin' Write markers; Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Balmy Blue and Poppy Parade.  He's then cut with the Stitched Shapes oval and popped up with dimensionals.

  A simple but sweet Valentine's day card for a boy or a guy!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hey Love

Ink: Night of Navy, Memento Black

Paper: Night of Navy, Balmy Blue, Whisper White, Poppy Parade, Gingham Gala DSP

Accessories: Sunshine Wishes thinlets, baker's twine, markers, Stitched Shapes framelits, dimensionals

Crocodile Love - Stampin' Up! Hey Love

 I didn't make it into the stamp room this weekend but luckily I have a whole pile of projects I haven't shared yet.  And I think it's high time that I share some Valentine's day cards since the day is right around the corner.

  The Hey Love set has such cute little critters that can be used for all occasions but I think they shine for Valentine's day.  And a bonus: they are a great size for coloring with Stampin' Blends.  They aren't too small that the little bits are hard to color and not too big that it will take forever to color!

  The card base is Whisper White thick and then covered with a piece Tropical Escape DSP.  I layered a piece of Whisper White cut with the new Rectangle Stitched framelits.  The 2 strips are Shaded Spruce and Petal Pink.  I did a little line of paper piercing on the Petal Pink strip.

  Flirty Flamingo makes a great background for the crocodile (alligator??).  I cut a stitched circle and then embossed it with the Subtle embossing folder.

  The crocodile is stamped in Memento black and then colored in with Granny Apple Green and Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends.  After I had him/her all colored in I used the Stampin' Blends Color Lifter to add the light texture along the back.  I just lightly tapped the bullet tip to the Granny Apple Green.  It's a nice way to add a little extra to a project.

 A little bit of fussy cutting and then I popped the crocodile up onto the Flirty Flamingo circle.  I added a tiny baker's twine bow with an adhesive rhinestone in the center.

  The sentiment is stamped onto the rectangle in Shaded Spruce ink and I used the retired owl punch to punch a Petal Pink heart to add next to the sentiment.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hey Love

Ink: Memento Black, Shaded Spruce

Blends: Granny Apple Green light & dark, Flirty Flamingo light & dark, Color Lifter

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Tropical Escape DSP, Petal Pink, Shaded Spruce, Flirty Flamingo

Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, Stitched Rectangle framelits, Stitched Shapes framelits, dimensionals, baker's twine, adhesive rhinestone, Owl Punch (retired)

Butterfly Love - Butterfly Gala - Fab Friday 156

  Butterfly love might be an understatement with the Butterfly Duet punch being unavailable only a month into the Occasions catalog!  It might be better termed as Butterfly Obsession!  It's great to see the Butterfly Gala set be so popular and we know now the punch will carry over so that's a relief because I was so sad not to get to use this bundle at my last class.  I'm looking forward to showing off more projects with it and fingers crossed Stampin' Up! will get more in stock sooner rather than later!

  Today is a Fab Friday challenge day so I paired up the sweet butterflies with this fun color combo!  I think these colors work perfectly for a Valentine's Day card.

    And what about the Grapefruit Grove foil paper that's a Sale-a-Bration reward (paired with Lovely Lipstick)?  It's such a fun pop of shiny color that I used it twice on this card.  Once on the layer behind the Subtle embossed Whisper White panel and then as the strip behind the butterflies.

  Each butterfly is the same pattern stamped with Memento and then colored with Stampin' Write markers in different combinations.  Once they were all colored I punched them out and popped them on the card front with dimensionals.  I added punched hearts in each of the challenge colors, colored them with Wink of Stella and topped with a black faceted dot in the center of each.

  The 'love' was die cut and stacked 3 times to make a sturdier element.  This die can be found in the Sunshine Wishes thinlet set that coordinates with the Sunshine Saying stamp set which is where the 'you' came from.

  Check out the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team samples and then play along.  You have almost 2 weeks to join in so there aren't any excuses!  I can't wait to see your card in our gallery!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Butterfly Gala, Sunshine Sayings

Ink: Memento black

Paper: Lovely Lipstick, Blushing Bride, Grapefruit Grove, Whisper White, Grapefruit Grove foil (SAB), Basic Black

Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, Butterfly Duet punch, heart punch, Wink of Stella, black faceted dots, markers

Bright Congratulations - Stampin' Up! Birthday Cheer

 It's really cold here in central Virginia and the schools are on a 2 hour delay.  And before all of you in the north tell me how cold it is in your area I hear you!  But 13 degrees for this area is really cold.  I'm a hearty New Englander so I just think this is winter and throw on my long johns and get on with things.  But my kids are enjoying a relaxing start to their morning.

  Today's card is using the Birthday Cheer stamp set from the Occasions catalog that I like for birthdays but can also be used as a congratulations.  My husband actually used this card last week for someone on his team who was promoted.

  The sketch is roughly based on the current Fab Friday challenge which is closing tomorrow. I changed the banner part to a circle to accommodate the sentiment.

  I stamped the party hat across the center alternating between Blueberry Bushel and Lemon Lime Twist.  My Stampin' Write markers in the same colors filled in alternating stripes.  Since this is a photopolymer set it was really easy to line up the hats.

  The sentiment is stamped in Blueberry Bushel and cut out with a Stitched Shapes circle framelit.  I popped it with dimensionals and added a smattering of adhesive sequins and 1/8" grosgrain ribbon.

  Stay warm!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Birthday Cheer

Ink: Blueberry Bushel, Lemon Lime Twist

Paper: Blueberry Bushel, Lemon Lime Twist, Whisper White

Accessories: markers, Stitched Shapes framelits, adhesive sequins, 1/8" grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals