Back to School - Stampin' Up! Well Said

   Our very, very, very long break from school is winding down here as the boys start school on Tuesday.  It's all virtual so they aren't really going any where but they still need to get up and be ready to learn first thing for a full school day.  It might be a rough morning here...wish us luck.

  I made this back to school card to give to my boys as a little bit of encouragement as they start this crazy new school year.  It was fun to do a bit of "die art" to create this big pencil.

  I started with a Whisper White thick card base topped with a lovely plaid paper from the Plaid Tidings 6x6 DSP. 

  The next layer is a hand made piece of notebook paper.  I used my dark Pool Party and light Cajun Craze Blends markers and a ruler to make the lines.  I was pleased with how well it came out.  I used my Stampin' Up! grid paper as a guide for the line spacing so that was helpful in keeping even spacing as well as straight lines.

  The tip of the pencil is a tiny Stitched Triangle in Basic Black and the the 'wood' part is a larger Stitched Triangle in Crumb Cake.  The barrel of the pencil is cut with one of the Stitched Rectangle dies in Bumblebee.  I used my Simply Scored to add some score lines down the barrel to mimic the ridges of a real pencil.  The eraser is just a square of Blushing Bride and I hand trimmed the corners to make them slightly rounded. The metallic band is just a hand trimmed scrap of the retired Galvanized Metal paper.  I think any metallic could be substituted easily though if you wanted to recreate this one.

  Once I had my pencil popped up on dimensionals on the notebook paper I added a quick sentiment from Well Said in Pretty Peacock.  I wanted a 'good luck' sentiment but believe it or not I didn't have anything like that in all my sets, even the retired ones.  The virtual school start will certainly be an adventure so I guess it's fitting!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Well Said

Ink: Pretty Peacock

Blends: Pool Party dark, Cajun Craze light

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Plaid Tidings DSP, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Bumblebee, Blushing Bride, Galvanized Metal (retired)

Accessories: Stitched Triangle dies, Stitched Rectangle dies, dimensionals

Garden Bouquet - Stampin' Up! Jar of Flowers

   I'm glad I had some stamping time over the weekend to stock up on a few projects to share this week because so far I haven't made it into the stamp room at all!  I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms I think!

  For my card today I was inspired by the Daring Cardmakers challenge which is "In the Garden".  I have some small patches of flowers as well as some big pots planted with flowers so I've got some color in my yard.  I actually cut some the other day to enjoy inside in a vase so I thought a nice floral bouquet would be a good starting point for a card for this challenge.

  I scrolled through Pinterest for some color inspiration and I hit upon a paint swatch that translated into Stampin' Up! colors is Gray Granite, Pretty Peacock, Old Olive and Blackberry Bliss.  I loved these rich hues and thought they were a great combo for going into autumn.  

  The card starts with a Gray Granite base and then a layer of the awesome In Good Taste DSP.  I love the mix of the hard tile in the geometric pattern mixed with the more soft floral images.

  I stamped the flower bunch on watercolor paper and watercolored it with an aquapainter and inks and then fussy cut.  The jar is punched in Gray Granite and then I sponged Versamark around the edge and embossed with gold embossing powder.  The jar/flower combo is popped on dimensionals.

  The sentiment from Itty Bitty Birthdays is embossed in gold as well on Pretty Peacock cardstock and then layered on the diagonal.

  I added some more gold accents with a gold twine bow and some gold faceted sequins.  I was very proud of myself for using up these 3 sequins which I've had for a while and I was able to toss the tiny little bag they were in! Baby steps in using up the stash right??

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Jar of Flowers, Itty Bitty Birthdays

Ink: Stazon, Gray Granite, Pretty Peacock, Old Olive, Blackberry Bliss, Versamark

Paper: Gray Granite, In Good Tatste DSP, watercolor paper, Pretty Peacock

Accessories: Jar punch, gold embossing powder, gold twine (retired), gold sequins (retired)

Big Deal Whale - Stampin' Up! Whale Done

   I'm a bit late getting my card shared today.  I've found myself dealing with a lot more emails and prep for my kids going back to school next week so I've been spending a lot more time on the computer trying to figure out the virtual learning stuff and new schedules and filling out forms and all that kind of stuff.  It's definitely a whole new world for "back to school"!

  My card today is one I made for the Just Add Ink challenge which is to make a guy card.  What a good challenge as I sometimes struggle to get a masculine design that I'm happy with. 

  I went with the Whale Done stamp set and Whale of a Time DSP for my design. 

 

 

  I had a few partial sheets that I cut down to be able to use to make a blocked background.  I embossed a Pool Party circle with the Seabed embossing folder and built my card parts up from there.  The whale is stamped in Blackberry Bliss and punched out and popped on dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped in Pacific Point and punched out and popped also.  I stamped 2 seahorses in Pretty Peacock and one in Just Jade.  After fussy cutting them they are popped on dimensionals around the whale.

  And since it's a guy card I kept the embellishments to a minimum and just used 3 In Color enamel dots in Just Jade.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Whale Done

Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Pacific Point, Just Jade, Pretty Peacock

Paper: Whale of a Time DSP, Pool Party, Whisper White

Accessories: circle punches, Seabed embossing folder, In Color enamel dots, dimensionals

Merry Snowflakes - Stampin' Up! Snowflake Wishes

   The whole Snowflake Splendor suite in the mini catalog is beautiful and I'm enjoying creating with the products.  I have a simple layout using it today inspired by the CAS(e) This Sketch challenge. 

 Since this is CAS (clean and simple) challenge I don't have a lot of extras on this card.  I let the pretty images and Balmy Blue Glimmer paper speak for themselves.  You can tell in the photo but the sentiment tag is Shimmery White cardstock.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snowflake Wishes, Banner Year

Ink: Highland Heather, Misty Moonlight

Paper: Whisper White thick, Misty Moonlight, Snowflake Splendor DSP, Balmy Blue Glimmer paper, Highland Heather, Shimmery white

Accessories: So Many Snowflakes dies, Stitched Rectangle dies, Tasteful Labels dies, dimensionals, From My Heart faceted gems (retired)

Bitty Halloween - Stampin' Up! Banner Year

   I'm sneaking into the Freshly Made Sketches challenge at the last minute here today.  I had a lot of stamping time over the weekend and was able to go back to some challenges posted earlier last week.  I don't send many Halloween cards generally but I usually make a few for challenges during fall and I thought this sketch was perfect for some of the smaller images in the Banner Year stamp set.  It was also a good sketch to use some DSP.  I ordered way too much (not really, there's never too much!) DSP from the Aug.-Dec. mini catalog and since I'm not doing any classes right now I really need to make a BIG effort to use it up so you might be seeing more DSP than you usually would on my cards. 

  I started this card with a Basic Black base, then a smaller layer Basic Black embossed with with the Dainty Diamonds embossing folder.  Next is a piece of Plaid Tidings DSP.  What's great about the Plaid Tiding DSP is that it has colors for fall, winter and Valentine's Day.  Of course these colors and patterns can be used any time of the year but they really lend themselves to the next few months of events and holidays.  I liked this black, orange and yellow combo for a Halloween feel.  I tied a little black baker's twine bow around the panel before popping it up on dimensionals.

  All of the images and the 'boo!' are from the Banner Year stamp set.  The black parts of each circle are embossed with black embossing powder.  The pumpkin is Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive and the spider web is Smoky Slate. They are punched with a circle punch and then popped with dimensionals. 

  All in all a pretty quick design and a fantastic layout to show off some smaller images.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Banner Year

Ink: Versamark, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Smoky Slate

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Plaid Tidings DSP

Accessories: black embossing powder (retired), black baker's twine (retired), dimensionals, circle punch

Autumn Wreath - Stampin' Up! Arrange a Wreath - Fab Friday 196

    After taking a quick summer break the Fab Friday Challenge team is back with a brand new challenge for you.  If these challenge colors don't make you think of fall then I really want to see your project shared in the challenge gallery because that's all I could see with this palette!

    One of the reasons I love the Arrange a Wreath bundle is that is covers all seasons and events.  I thought a nice start on a few Thanksgiving cards were order.  I imagine I'll probably be sending out more Thanksgiving cards than normal as we most likely won't be seeing as much family as usual.

  The card base is Cajun Craze and under the wreath panel I've put a strip or torn Cinnamon Cider and a length of Very Vanilla scalloped lace trim.

  The wreath is stamped in Bumblebee ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock.  I stamped a few oak leaves in Cinnamon Cider and Cajun Craze ink onto the same color cardstock.  I cut them out along with a few little sprigs in the copper Brushed Metallic cardstock for a bit of an accent.  I layered them all along one side of the wreath and popped them on dimensionals.

  The sentiment is from the Banner Year stamp set and is stamped in Cinnamon Cider ink.  I flagged the end and slipped it under the edge of the leaves and adhered it with a dimensional.

  As a final touch I doubled up a length of linen thread and tied a bow for the edge of the sentiment banner.

  All in all a quick fall card with some beautiful fall colors.  Head over to see the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team samples and then play along!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Arrange a Wreath, Banner Year

Ink: Bumblebee, Cajun Craze, Cinnamon Cider

Paper: Cajun Crazy, Cinnamon Cider, Very Vanilla, Brushed Metallic Copper cardstock

Accessories: Wreath Builder dies, linen thread, Very Vanilla scalloped lace trim, dimensionals

Heartwarming Hugs Christmas - Stampin' Up! Tree Angle - VIDEO

  I was inspired by the Paper Players challenge to cut into some of my new Christmas DSP, Heartwarming Hugs.  I thought this was a fun layout for using multiple patterns and would create a nice background for a cute Christmas tree.  It's also a super easy design to make multiples with and I've shown in the video how to cut the DSP so the angles match up perfectly and you get parts to make 3 cards.

  The card base is Mossy Meadow and then the pieces of the 3 Heartwarming Hugs patterns.  The scalloped rectangle is from Stitched So Sweetly dies.  

  The Tree Angle set has a nice mix of different styles of Christmas trees.  This one was the right size and shape for this layout which I flipped. I stamped the tree trunk in Soft Suede and the tree is Pear Pizzazz cardstock with Mossy Meadow ink.  Once it was cut out with the coordinating Stitched Triangle dies I popped it up on dimensionals.  

  The star is made with the Stitched Stars dies and Brushed Metallic cardstock.  I'm not sure if the one I used here is bronze or gold.  Anyone know how to tell?  They both look gold to me!

  The sentiment from Itty Bitty Christmas is stamped in Real Red onto a narrow piece of Whisper White.  I trimmed the ends at an angle and then backed it with a slightly larger piece of of the gold/bronze?? Brushed Metallic cardstock and angled those ends too.

  For the finishing touch I added a Real Red sheer ribbon flag behind the rectangle panel before popping it up on dimensionals.

  I hope you find the video helpful!  It wasn't quite as long of a process as my first one so hopefully I'll have more in the future to share.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Tree Angle, Itty Bitty Christmas

Ink: Mossy Meadow, Real Red

Paper: Mossy Meadow, Heartwarming Hugs DSP, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Brushed Metallic cardstock

Accessories: Stitched So Sweetly dies, Stitched Triangle dies, Stitched Stars dies, dimensionals, Real Red Sheer ribbon, dimensionals

Autumn Leaves - Stampin' Up! Beautiful Autumn

  It is still solidly summer here in central VA but it's not too early to start on some autumn cards.  I used the Global Design Project challenge which is leaves and trees.  Definitely an easy challenge with fall right around the corner.

 

 

    The base layer of my card is a nice subtle pattern in the Gilded Autumn Specialty DSP.  It's not one of the metallic patterns but a nice light textured/speckled look.  Next is a Very Vanilla layer stamped with the Birch background in Early Espresso for my "tree" inspiration.

  I cut a Stitched Rectangle out of Cajun Craze and embossed it with the Tasteful Textile embossing folder.  Using up some more of my very retired stash of brads I added a few to the side opposite the images to balance the weight on the other side.  The sentiment from Beautiful Autumn is stamped in Early Espresso on Bumblee and is layered across the rectangle panel.  

  All the little images are stamped in Early Espresso.  The maple leaves are filled in with Bumblebee, the acorn with Soft Suede with the cap stamped off once and the oak leaves in Cajun Craze stamped off once. They are all punched out with the Autumn Punch pack and adhered along the rectangle panel.  

  And finally I added a little Very Vanilla baker's twine bow to the side of the sentiment.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Beautiful Autumn

Ink: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Bumblebee, Soft Suede

Paper: Gilded Autumn Specialty DSP, Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, Bumblebee

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Tasteful Textile embossing folder, Autumn Punch pack, dimensionals, metallic brads (retired), Very Vanilla bakers twine (retired)