Angled X's & O's - Stampin' Up!® Endless Love

   I'm back today with the CAS Colours & Sketches challenge team with a cool layout for you!  It's got a fun diagonal corner element and I can't wait to see what you do with it!  

  I'll be working hard the next few weeks to get all of my Valentine's Day cards made in plenty of time to get them mailed out so I took advantage of this layout to come up with another one using the Endless Love bundle.

    For the diagonal lines in the corner I decided to use the Endless Love "XO" dies and cut a bunch out of Coastal Cabana and Cloud Cover and alternated them and added some Pretty in Pink and Strawberry Slush hearts back to the O's.  I colored the mini hearts with some Wink of Stella for a subtle shimmer.

  For the rest of the layout I stamped the heart in Pretty in Pink onto the same color cardstock and popped it up then added the sentiment in Strawberry Slush along with a Summer Splash gem.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Endless Love

Ink: Strawberry Slush, Pretty in Pink

Paper: Strawberry Slush, Basic White, Pretty in Pink, Cloud Cover, Coastal Cabana

Accessories: Endless Love dies, dimensionals, Wink of Stella, faceted gem (retired)

  

Beautiful Birthday - Stampin'Up!® Simply Beautiful

 I'm enjoying the new Simply Beautiful bundle and have made a few cards with it but I've kept to the color palette of the coordinating Lovely & Beautiful DSP so I wanted to try some very different colors than what the samples show in the mini catalog.  My husband got me the Color Cubes for Christmas and I used them to pick out my palette for this card.  I used the Sunday Stamps Challenge for the layout; it was perfect to highlight the smaller flower and bud image in this bundle.

  I don't think I would have put these colors together but I love how they work!  The card base and next layer are both Secret Sea and the background layer is stamped with the flower bud image using Secret Sea ink for a nice tone on tone look.

  Next is a layer of Basic White embossed with the Beautiful Pattern embossing folder.  The top edge has a bit of Calypso Coral tucked behind it which has a bit of a roughed up edge for more texture.

  The images are all stamped in Secret Sea and then colored in with Stampin' Blends markers.  I love how vibrant these colors are and how they pop against the darker background.  After they were die cut the two buds are adhered flat against the card front and the bigger flower is popped on dimensionals.

  I didn't want to cover up any of the image so I stamped a small birthday sentiment on a scrap of Basic White and popped it up on the bottom corner and accented it with a gem.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Simply Beautiful, Banner Sayings

Ink: Secret Sea

Blends: Calypso Coral light & dark, Petunia Pop light and dark, Summer Splash light & dark

Paper: Secret Sea, Basic White, Calypso Coral

Accessories: Simply Beautiful dies, Beautiful Pattern embossing folder, dimensionals, faceted gem

Winter Thanks - Stampin' Up!® Snowy Delights

   I combined a Last Chance stamp set with a brand new set from the new Stampin' Up!® January - April mini catalog for my Christmas thank you cards.  I wanted to get more use out of the Snowy Delights stamp set as well as get the new Endless Love set inky.

  The large snowflake embossed on a piece of Pool Party is a nice centerpiece for adding the rest of the elements.  The heart is stamped in Melon Mambo ink onto Melon Mambo cardstock.

  The sentiment is a combination of the "sending you" stamped in Pumpkin Pie from the Endless Love stamp set and the "thanks" stamped in Melon Mambo from the Simply Said stamp set.  The thanks is on a partial die cut circle.  Both pieces are popped on dimensionals over a length of retired Iridescent Striped trim.  A few retired iridescent sequins add a bit more sparkle around the snowflake.

  If you have been eyeing the Snowy Delights large snowflake stamp and coordinating masks don't wait to add them to your cart as they are on the Last Chance list and there's no telling how many are left!

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snowy Delights, Simply Said, Endless Love

Ink: Versamark, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Melon Mambo, Pool Party

Accessories: white embossing powder, Endless Love dies, dimensionals, Stylish Shapes dies, Iridescent Striped trim (retired), Adhesive-Backed Sequins Trio (retired)

Nature's Sympathy - Stampin' Up!® Prayers & Promises

   Unfortunately I needed to send a few sympathy cards over the last few weeks and my stock was extremely low so I sat down to make a big batch of them so I would have them just in case.  I hope they end up gathering dust in the storage bin even though I think they are a nice design.

  I didn't use up all of the Peaceful Garden DSP for Christmas cards so I pulled out this nice pattern in Secret Sea and used another scrap from the back for the side strip.

  I was cleaning up my stamp room closest and found a folder with some long retired cardstock called Confetti White.  It's got some really nice subtle specks and I thought it would look great with the big leaf die cut from the new Nature's Symphony die set.  

  The sentiment is from a new stamp set; Prayers & Promises and I stamped it on Basic White and die cut with with the Spotlight on Nature dies.  I popped it up on dimensionals over a Secret Sea die cut in a fun wood pattern (also in the Nature's Symphony dies).

  I sprinkled some retired Earth Tones Shimmer Gems for a final subtle touch.

  The second design is very similar with just a different Peaceful Garden DSP pattern and the layout switched from portrait to landscape.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Prayers & Promises

Ink: Secret Sea

Paper: Peaceful Garden DSP, Basic White, Secret Sea, Confetti White (retired)

Accessories: Nature's Symphony dies, Spotlight on Nature dies, dimensionals, Earth Tones Shimmer Gems (retired)

Happy New Year 2026 - Stampin' Up!® Reason to Celebrate

   I usually don't wait until the new year to make a few New Years cards but I wasn't inspired until after Christmas this time around.  But the colors from Global Design Project from a few weeks back jumped out at me and I combined it with the layout challenge I recently gave to my stampers as well as the Time Out Challenge of "All that Glitters".  But I should have looked closer because I accidentally swapped some of the elements to the opposite sides from the sketch.  Oh well!

  The new Reason to Celebrate stamp set is a great one for covering some of the first half of the year occasions as well as birthday and anniversary.  The mix and match style is fun and really versatile and many of the stamps are big enough to work on a scrapbook page as well.

  I combined some old and new products to put this one together.  The background is retired Dandy Designs DSP in a Balmy Blue polka dot pattern.  Next is an Azure Afternoon Textured Notes die cut, a layer of Secret Sea and another Textured Notes die cut in Basic White.

  On the white die cut I stamped the "happy" in Secret Sea and "new year" in Azure Afternoon from the Reasons to Celebrate set.  I die cut the numbers out of Peaceful Garden Glimmer Paper using the retired Playful Alphabet dies.

  Now the stars in the corners should be in opposite corners if I was following the sketch as I should have been doing but they work where they ended up!  The stamped star is found in the Hope Love & Joy stamp set and I did the outline in Secret Sea then colored them in with Balmy Blue Blends.  I alternated with stamped and glimmer paper stars popping some on dimensionals. 

  The upper corner has a Night of Navy bakers twine bow for a final detail.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Reason to Celebrate, Hope Love & Joy

Ink: Secret Sea, Azure Afternoon

Blends: Balmy Blue light & dark

Paper: Basic White, Secret Sea, Azure Afternoon, Peaceful Garden Glimmer Paper, Dandy Designs DSP (retired)

Accessories: Textured Notes dies, dimensionals, Night of Navy baker's twine (retired), Playful Alphabet dies (retired)

Snowy Thank You - Stampin' Up!® Snowy Delights

  I needed some thank you cards the other day and when I pulled out my card bin I didn't have any winter themed thank yous; there were quite a few autumn themed ones so I'm thinking maybe I didn't show as much gratitude during that season as I should have!? I'll have to try to do better next year....I certainly have enough cards to do so!  But on to the winter season thank yous!

  I pulled together a seasonal card using some retired products along with Last Chance and brand new!  I've got a little of it all here!

  The card base is Balmy Blue and I covered it with a full panel of the retired Snowflake Specialty Vellum from a few years back.  I think I hoarded this one a little too hard and I still have quite a bit left!  It makes a nice texture in the background.

  Next I used the Snowy Delights stamp set and decorative masks to create a large snowflake using Balmy Blue and Highland Heather ink.   The Snowy Delights stamp set and masks are still available on the Last Chance list at a reduced price so don't wait!  

  Once the snowflake was colored I used the now retired dies to cut it and a few other snowflakes out.  I layered them across the card front and then added the sentiment.

  The sentiment comes from the brand new Sunshine & Tulips stamp set which was just released in the Stampin' Up!® January - April 2026 mini catalog.  I used white embossing powder and Smoky Slate cardstock.  I tied the end with Balmy Blue sheer ribbon.

  The small Highland Heather snowflakes have retired Iridescent Faceted gems in the centers for some sparkle.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  

Stamps: Snowy Delights, Sunshine & Tulips

Ink: Versamark, Highland Heather, Balmy Blue

Paper: Balmy Blue, Basic White, Highland Heather, Smoky Slate, Snowflake Specialty Vellum (retired)

Accessories: Snowy Delights dies (retired), dimensionals, white embossing powder, Balmy Blue sheer ribbon, Iridescent Faceted gems (retired)

Big Hugs & Kisses - Stampin' Up!® Endless Love

    I'm having a lot of fun with the great patterns in the Made With Love DSP. They are easy to mix and match and also look great on their own.  I'm using 3 on this card today and I think they make a nice background for this big Flirty Flamingo heart!

  The colors in the Made With Love DSP are perfect for playing along with the Color Dare challenge as their palette basically has all the colors in this pack and I've used Basic Gray for a neutral!  Perfect timing!

  The card base is Basic White thick and then I used 4 panels of the DSP cut to 4" x 1 3/4" each.

  Next I added the large heart die cut in Flirty Flamingo to have a good solid base for my other elements so they didn't get lost among the patterns. 

 

  The sentiments are stamped in Basic Gray and then trimmed down.  The X's and O's are stamped in Real Red and I fussy cut them and popped them on the card front with dimensionals.

  I dithered over adding some kind of ribbon but in the end decided to add some small heart die cuts that I colored with clear Wink of Stella.  The little red hearts were perfect for above the sentiment.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Endless Love

Ink: Basic Gray, Real Red

Paper: Basic White thick, Made With Love DSP, Flirty Flamingo, Basic White

Accessories: Endless Love dies, dimensionals, Wink of Stella

Bear Hug Valentine - Stampin Up!® Valentine Kisses

   Since I'm surrounded by guys at home I always need to make some masculine-ish cards for occasions throughout the year.  And Valentine's Day is no exception of course so for this Testosterone Tuesday I've got a sweet but subdued card to give to one of my sons which hopefully won't scare him with too much overt affection or sappiness.  IYKYK! lol!

  Can you see how restrained this card of love is?? I pulled my colors right from the current Inspired By challenge and while I don't have anything "knit" on my card I do have a warm and cuddly bear so that counts I think!

  The card base is Secret Sea and then a panel of Basic White which is embossed with the Hearts of Love embossing folder.  Next I added 3/4" strips of cardstock with the 2 pieces of Basic Gray edged with a bit of Secret Sea Bordered Open Weave ribbon.  I embossed the sentiment and a some tiny hearts on the strips to fill the space on the right.

 The bear is stamped in Memento black and then colored in with Pecan Pie Stampin' Blends.  I added a heart to his arms and then popped him on dimensionals on the left.

 Finally I added a few retired adhesive-backed sparkle gems for the finishing touch.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Valentine Kisses (Online Exclusive)

Ink: Memento Black, Versamark

Blends: Ivory, Pecan Pie light & dark

Paper: Secret Sea, Basic White, Basic Gray

Accessories: Hearts of Love embossing folder, Valentine Kisses dies (Online Exclusive), dimensionals, white embossing powder, Secret Sea Bordered Open Weave ribbon, adhesive-backed sparkle gems (retired)