Marsupial Cheers - Stampin' Up! Animal Outing

  It's been a while since I've been able to play along with some stamping challenges in real time.  Usually I save the sketch or color combo and by the time I get around to making a card the challenge is long over.  I had a bit of time yesterday afternoon to play around and I went right to a few of my favorite challenges and got started.  I was able to make 2 cards using 2 challenges each.  I thought that was pretty good and I hope to do some more today.  I actually missed the deadline for the sketch (Case This Sketch) that I used for this card but I only missed it by hours so I'll count that as playing along!

  The first challenge that I looked at for inspiration was the Color Throwdown challenge which calls for gray, purple, lavender and kraft.  To translate those into Stampin' Up! colors I used Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather and Crumb Cake.  The Crumb Cake and Smoky Slate gave me some pause because I wouldn't normally pull these colors together.  After browsing my stamps I pulled out the perfect set for these colors!  Animal Outing!  The kangaroo and koala stamp is just right!

  I stamped the image in Memento then colored it with Blends.  The flower and stem come from the Varied Vases set.  The flower is Highland Heather.  The whole image is cut out with Layering Squares framelits and backed by another square in Gorgeous Grape.

  I stamped the sentiment from Itty Bitty Birthdays in Basic Gray so it would show up a bit more than the Smoky Slate.

  Some added details are the tiny little bow on the flower stem and some adhesive rhinestones for some bling on the flower and around the sentiment.  I also rounded the corners of one side of the card to go along with the scallops of the main panel.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Animal Outing, Varied Vases, Itty Bitty Birthdays

Ink: Memento Black, Basic Gray, Highland Heather

Blends: Smoky Slate light, Basic Black light, Crumb Cake light & dark, Ivory

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Gorgeous Grape

Accessories: Layering Squares framelits, dimensionals, Smoky Slate ribbon (retired), rhinestones

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

Gingham Celebration - Stampin' Up! Birthday Cheer

  To go along with the sunshine today I've got a bright and cheerful card to share!  This color combo was out of my comfort zone at first but the more I played with the colors the more I liked how cheerful and sunny it was.

  We made this at my last stamp club and it shows off a variety of different products; the Birthday Cheer stamp set, the Gingham Gala DSP, Stampin' Blends and the Stitched Rectangle framelits.

  When there is a large sentiment in a stamp set I can sometimes just default to using it only on the inside of the card because it seems too big to use on the front but why not highlight it as a focal point and use the other images as the extras?  

  We stamped the large sentiment in Smoky Slate and cut it with the Stitched Rectangles framelits.  The gift is stamped in Highland Heather and then the bow and heart are colored with Stampin' Blends for that fun pop of color and then fussy cut.

  All the stamped images are popped up over a layer of Daffodil Delight Gingham Gala DSP on a Grapefruit Grove card base.  The little sprinkles stamp is stamped on the card front.

  Moral of the card?  Don't be afraid of bright colors and use those big sentiments on the card front!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Birthday Cheer

Ink: Smoky Slate, Highland Heather, Grapefruit Grove

Blends: Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral

Paper: Grapefruit Grove, Highland Heather, Whisper White, Gingham Gala DSP

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle framelits, adhesive sequins, 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

Thinking of You Blossoms - Stampin' Up! Varied Vases - Fab Friday 158

I can't seem to get my act together but once ever 2 weeks lately!  At least I'm getting my Fab Friday cards done!  This is such a beautiful color combination this time that it was very easy to design a card.  Sometimes it's much more of a struggle!

  Check out these lovely Fab Friday Challenge colors!  Can you say "spring", "flowers" and "Easter"?

  I'm not usually one for much pink but Petal Pink has really grown on me.  Maybe it's because it's got a tad bit of peach in it and it's not a straight up baby pink?

  I felt like doing a bit of coloring and the Varied Vases set hasn't seem much action since the Occasions catalog was released so I pulled it out and started stamping.  I like the simplicity of the orchid blossoms so that's where I started and built the clean and simple card around those beautiful blooms.

  All the stamping is in Memento ink and colored with Stampin' Blends.  I stamped one stem directly onto the strip of Whisper White so that it is in the vase.  I used a sticky note to mask the vase so the stem disappears.  I stamped a second stem and a leaf onto a scrap.  After everything was colored I fussy cut the second stem and leaf and I adhered them with dimensionals

  I hadn't decided on any embellishments until I noticed a teeny tiny smudge of memento ink next to the vase.  I didn't want to start over so I used some Old Olive linen thread (which goes well with Mossy Meadow and Pear Pizzazz just to let you know!) to cover over it.

  The card base is Petal Pink with a smaller layer of Petal Pink embossed with the Tin Tile embossing folder.

  I hope you'll check out the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team and then join in.  This color combination is too good to miss!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Varied Vases, Another Wonderful Year

Ink: Memento Black

Blends: Mossy Meadow, Calypso Coral, Petal Pink

Paper: Petal Pink, Mossy Meadow, Whisper White

Accessories: Tin Tile embossing folder, Old Olive linen thread, dimensionals

Jar Full of Hello - Stampin' Up! Jar of Love - Fab Friday 157

It's amazing how fast 2 weeks goes by isn't it?  I look at the calendar to plan ahead and see all the days stretched out and I think I have plenty of time and then BAM! the next thing I know all those days I thought I had are gone.  Well that's pretty much how it goes before every Fab Friday challenge!  I don't rush with my card (usually) but I feel if maybe I had started working a little bit sooner it might have been better.  Am I the only one who feels this way?

 Anyway, we have a beautiful sketch for this Fab Friday challenge and I'm lookign forward to seeing what you all come up with for those scattered hearts.  Remember you don't have to do hearts, it can be any shape.

  I wanted to have a nice cheerful card after several days of cold rainy weather.  My colors came from some fabric I saw back in December when I took my mom fabric shopping.  She does fabric, I do paper!  There are always so many patterns and colors to inspire me I took a bunch of pictures and have been using them to inspire some cards.

  My Jar of Love stamp set hadn't seen ink in quite a while so I thought it would be perfect for a cheerful Hello card to go with this sketch.

  Absolutely nothing fancy going on here but I must say I really like the Subtle embossing folder lately.  It gives a lovely light texture when you need 'something' but all the other patterns are just 'too much'.

  The Everyday Jars framelits were used to cut out all the shapes and the only embellishment I used was a tiny Night of Navy baker's twine bow.

  I hope you'll check out the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team's work and then join in with your own creation.  I can't wait to see it in the gallery!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Jar of Love

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy, Call Me Clover, Pineapple Punch, Gray Granite

Paper: Whisper White thick, Night of Navy, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White

Accessories: Everyday Jars framelits, Subtle embossing folder, baker's twine

You're My Best Catch - Stampin' Up! Best Catch

Happy Valentine's day!  I hope you get some sweet hugs and kisses from your main squeeze, your kids or your friends today.  Valentine's day is not a huge event in our family because I like to think we show each other our love throughout the year and not just on one day.  But nonetheless, I can't let the occasion go by without doing a card for my husband.

As he's a fisherman I thought using the Best Catch set would be appropriate and so I turned this solidly masculine stamp set in a bit of a schmoopy (yes that's a technical term!) love card.

 Check out that little heart on the end of the line!  The inside is fun too!

  Have a love filled day!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Best Catch, Hardwood,  P.S. You're the Best

Ink: Gray Granite, Blueberry Bushel, Granny Apple Green

Paper: Gray Granite, Whisper White, Granny Apple Green, Blueberry Bushel, Poppy Parade

Accessories: Catch of the Day thinlets, Everyday Jars (hearts), linen thread, dimensionals