Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Springtime Sky Note - Stampin' Up! Hot Ai Balloon

 Just a quick share today without a lot of chat as I have so much to do before leaving for the Stampin' Up! demonstrator event in Houston at the end of this week.  I'm so excited!  But also pretty sure I'm going to forget to pack something essential!!

  Anyway I combined 2 challenges for this card; The Color Hues who wants us to use Turquoise and Green and Just Add Ink which has a nice diagonal layout.


  I chose Coastal Cabana and Granny Apple Green for my colors and used the Hot Air Balloon bundle to make a bit of a spring-ish sky scene. 

  I used a bit of retired DSP for the Granny Apple Green bit which I kind of thought of as the grass below the balloon.  I used Coastal Cabana ink for the balloon using stamping off to give me a lighter variation for the stripes.

  The Basic Borders cloud die once again comes in handy for creating the "sky" portion of the card.

  It's hard to see but I used a narrow strip of white Textured Shimmer paper to cover the seem between the Basic White and DSP panels.  It gives a nice but of sparkle.

  The sentiment is a partial bit of a longer one found in the Hot Air Balloon stamp set and is trimmed down and popped up next to the balloon.

  A strip of banners in Coastal Cabana and held down with some retired flat shimmer gems decorate the balloon and a few more of the same gems in Coastal Cabana are added to the "grass".

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hot Air Balloon

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Memento Black

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Basic White, Textured Shimmer paper, Dandy Designs DSP (retired)

Accessories: Hot Air Balloon dies, Basic Borders dies, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, flat shimmer gems (retired)




Friday, March 8, 2024

Hang in There Plants - Stampin' Up! Planted Paradise

   I had some fun with the challenge colors over at CAS Colours & Sketches.  I hope this one is CAS enough; I really tried to tone it down from my usual giant pile of supplies used to make it.  At first I wasn't going to do the embossed panel but it honestly was just kind of blah without it so it ends up being the extra layer.  

  I loved these colors and might go back and try them again for a masculine card; Old Olive, Balmy Blue, Azure Afternoon.


  This one starts with a Basic White thick card base, then a layer of Basic White embossed with the Twisted Rope embossing folder. Before adhering I added some Balmy Blue bakers twine from the Hot Air Balloon suite three color pack.

  I used the Planted Paradise stamp set and all 3 colors of ink to create the potted plants.  The two outside pots are in Azure Afternoon and the center is Balmy Blue.  For the leaves I stamped 3 different styles 3 times in either full strength ink or stamped off once ink.  I like the softness that the stamped off leaves have.

  After fussy cutting the leaves and pots they are assembled and popped on dimensionals just above the bakers twine.

  The sentiment is from the Hot Air Balloon stamp set and is stamped in Memento black and trimmed down and adhered to the pot.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Planted Paradise, Hot Air Balloon

Ink: Old Olive, Balmy Blue, Azure Afternoon

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White

Accessories: Twisted Rope embossing folder, dimensionals, Balmy Blue baker's twine



Thursday, March 7, 2024

Rainy Day Bunny - Stampin' Up! Playing in the Rain

    At the end of every catalog period I look back at some stamp sets that maybe haven't gotten as much love as when they were brand new and feel a bit guilty that I haven't made more of an effort to ink them up.  But then I have to remind myself there are only so many hours in a day and while I would love to spend even more time stamping than I already do sometimes it's just not possible to make as many cards as I had hoped.  We are getting to the end of the 2023-2024 Stampin' Up! Annual catalog as well as the Jan.-April mini catalog so I've got double the products that I want to use and what seems like less time to use them!  So I'm taking every chance I can to use some older sets for (maybe) one last hurrah!

  The Playing in the Rain stamp set and dies are still super cute as we start to look at spring and spring themed cards.  The current challenge at The Paper Players challenge has "Rainy Days" as the theme right now so it's a perfect time to use this stamp set.


  I used a bit of the retired DSP that coordinated with this set called Rain or Shine Specialty DSP to line the lefthand side of the card front.  The little rainy sky paired nicely with the larger sheet of cloud paper from the Sale-a-bration DSP Sunny Days.

  The bunny is stamped then colored with Stampin' Blends on a die cut circle.

  I added a few banners to one side in Shaded Spruce to frame the space for the sentiment from the Perennial Postage stamp set which I fussy cut and popped on dimensionals.

  A Pool Party puddle brings some balance to the left side of the circle.  Both puddles and the stamped rain drops around the bunny are colored over with clear Wink of Stella.

  A bit of retired Crushed Curry baker's twine and some retired milky dots finish off the details on this rainy day spring card.

  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: Playing in the Rain, Perennial Postage

Ink: Memento black, Pool Party

Blends: Daffodil Delight light & dark, Pool Party light & dark, Flirty Flamingo light, Crumb Cake light

Paper: Shaded Spruce, Basic White, Pool Party, Rain or Shine Specialty DSP, Sunny Days DSP (retired SAB)

Accessories: Playing in the Rain dies, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, Wink of Stella, Crushed Curry baker's twine (retired), Milky Dots (retired)




Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Surprise Birthday Wishes - Stampin' Up! Hooray for Surprises *VIDEO*

   The Hooray for Surprises bundle is one you might overlook in the Stampin' Up! Jan.-April mini catalog but take a closer look at it on page 13.  The dies have a fun surprise that makes it easy to create an interactive card with a pull away tab to reveal a hidden message or image.

  I used it to create this cheerful happy birthday card!


  The colors were inspired by a recent Stampin' Up! creative challenge (#SUCreativeChallenge) and are perfect for a spring or summer birthday!  Parakeet Party, Tahitian Tide, Highland Heather and Fresh Freesia just give those celebratory vibes (as the kids say!!) don't they?

  I created a video showing an easy way to use these dies to get perfect placement for your hidden message behind the pull tab.  You'll have to watch the video to see what it looks like behind the tab because I couldn't bring myself to tear it away because I wouldn't be able to send the card out then!!


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

Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hooray for Surprises

Ink: Tahitian Tide, Highland Heather

Paper: Parakeet Party, Basic White, copy paper (watch the video to find out why!), Fresh Freesia, Parakeet Party

Accessories: Hooray for Surprises dies, dimensionals, Tahitian Tide baker's twine, Purple Fine Shimmer Gems

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Lighter Than Air Z-Fold - Stampin' Up! Hot Air Balloon - *Video Tutorial*

   We made this adorable design last week in my class and everyone loved the really easy Z-fold layout.  It is only 2 score lines and has lots of panels to show off different papers and embossed pieces. So many possibilities to use with a variety colors and Designer Series Papers.


  I filmed a quick video showing how it all comes together so you can check it out and make a design of your own.  All the measurements and scoring details are in the video.  


     My stampers especially liked learning how to make their own cloud background using a die cut and blending brush!


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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hot Air Balloon

Ink: Balmy Blue, Azure Afternoon, Flirty Flamingo, Lemon Lolly

Paper: Balmy Blue, Basic White, Azure Afternoon, Lemon Lolly, Crumb Cake, Light Than Air DSP

Accessories: Hot Air Balloon dies, dimensionals, Baker's Twine Three color pack, Rainbow adhesive-backed dots, Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (retired-SAB), blending brush, Basic Borders dies

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Sweet Notes - Stampin' Up! Lovely & Sweet

  I held my monthly stamping class earlier this week and as always we had a blast!  I enjoy the design process each month to come up new ideas and ways to show off the products.  The Nature's Sweetness Suite of products has so much potential for different designs with the mix and match images and die cuts.  My stampers made THIS card last month in class using the same suite so I wanted to show another design using a different image and other papers for this month.


  While the other design was clean lined and elegant this one has more of natural distressed feel to it.  This one starts with a Pecan Pie base and then a layer of Crumb Cake which is stamped with the grid stamp from Notes of Nature in Crumb Cake ink and the "field notes" stamp from the same set in stamped off Pecan Pie ink.  Then I showed my stampers how to distress the panel by roughing up the edges with your fingernail or the blade of a scissors.  We folded edges, made little tears, peeled back corners and then used a blending brush and Crumb Cake ink to add more distressing.  I love this distressing and it's never the same twice so each one is truly unique.

  After adhering the Crumb Cake panel to the card front we added a length of gold faux leather trim with knots tied on the ends.  I suggest using a bit of Tear and Tape to hold down the cord so it doesn't pull away.  Next 2 pieces of Nature's Sweetness DSP are layered with the larger one having the edges torn and more distressing with the blending brush and Crumb Cake ink.

  The image is stamped in Pecan Pie and then colored in with Blends markers, die cut and popped on dimensionals over the DSP to the side where the cord is to help hit the little lump.

  Finally we embellished with some Petal Pink die cut flowers and a few of the fun cork rounds that are part of this suite of products.

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

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lovely & Sweet, Notes of Nature

Ink: Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake

Blends: Petal Pink dark, Old Olive light & dark, Pecan Pie light & dark

Paper: Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Basic White, Nature's Sweetness DSP, Petal Pink

Accessories: Lovely & Sweet dies, dimensionals, adheisve-backed cork rounds, gold faux leather trim

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Be Still Bookmarks - Stampin' Up! Petal Park

   I don't make many projects that aren't cards but I was asked if I would decorate some small bags for an all day women's retreat my church was hosting so I said of course!  After consulting with the organizer I decided to do tags that doubled as a bookmark for after the retreat.  


  The theme of the retreat was "Be Still" so the organizer had found a stamp online so I used that along with the color purple since it is Lent.

  Since I was making about 65 of the bookmarks I had to search through my retired DSP to find a pattern that I had enough of to make that many tags.  Luckily the Dandy Designs DSP that was a host reward a few years back had had enough sheets of this Fresh Freesia plaid left!  I used the retired tag punch to make the shape on both the DSP and a piece of Gorgeous Grape.  I adhered the Gorgeous Grape to the back of the DSP to make for a more sturdy bookmark.

  The Be Still was stamped in Gorgeous Grape ink and I used the smallest of the Perennial Postage dies to cut it out.  I was happy to use up a lot of small scraps of Basic White for this element!

 Next I stamped the trio of flowers from the Petal Park stamp set.  Gorgeous Grape is used for the outline and it's filled in with Fresh Freesia for the second of the 2 step stamps.  The Petal Park builder punch made quick work of the punching out the flowers.

  Before adhering the flowers I tied some white satin-y ribbon through the hole.  The ribbon was part of a leftover stash that I found in the church's arts and crafts supply closet so it was nice to be able to put something extra like this to use.


  The final step was to tie all the bookmarks to the handles of the little brown bags before they went off to be filled.

  This was a fun project for me to do with minimal supplies and cost but which I think added a nice little touch for the retreat.

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

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Petal Park, non-SU "Be Still"

Ink: Gorgeous Grape, Fresh Freesia

Paper: Basic White, Gorgeous Grape (back of the tag), Dandy Designs DSP (retired)

Accessories: Tag punch (retired), Perennial Postage dies, Petal Park builder punch, dimensionals, non-SU white ribbon


Sunday, February 25, 2024

Spring Quilt - Stampin' Up! Perennial Postage

   I'm busy getting ready for my class on Tuesday but wanted to pop in to share this quilt inspired card I made last week for the Inspired By challenge but I didn't have to time post it before the challenge closed.  I was inspired by the inspiration photo of the quilt and colors and used the suggested layout as well.


  It was satisfying to use up some smaller bits of card stock and DSP to create the little quilt blocks and the colors are nice and bright colors.  

  I started with a Basic White thick card base, then created the blocks with various retired DSPs, Basic White card stock and then the smallest square in cardstock to match the color of the DSP.  For reference the DSP squares are 1 1/8", the Basic White squares are 5/8" and the colored card stock squares are 1/2".

  Once the squares were adhered to the piece of Basic White I embossed just the blocks with the Softly Sophisticated embossing folder which you can still earn for free during the last few days of Sale-A-Bration.

  I left the lower portion of the top panel un-embossed so that I could have a nice flat surface to stamp my sentiment.  I chose the long sentiment from Perennial Postage to fill the space and used Melon Mambo ink.

  Some Coastal Cabana twine and adhesive-backed glitter sequins finish off the details.

  All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased (or earned for Sale-a-Bration) in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Perennial Postage

Ink: Melon Mambo

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Coastal Cabana, Sweet Sorbet, Melon Mambo, Tea Boutique DSP (retired), Sunshine & Rainbows DSP (retired), Dandy Designs DSP (retired)

Accessories: Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB), dimensionals, Coastal Cabana baker's twine, adhesive-backed glitter sequins (retired)