Another Birthday Card

If you are a regular follower of mine you may be getting a little sick of all the birthday cards I've been posting....but there are I've got 4 birthday just in my immediate family within three weeks of eachother....and that does not include the extended family birthdays that occur within the same time frame : )

Here is a card that we sent to my husband's grandmother for her birthday last week.  I was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest.

Isn't it pretty?!  I used the "Mixed Bunch" stamp set, Blossom punch and 3/4' circle punch from Stampin' Up to create the Primrose Petals flower.  I paired the Primrose Petals with Baja Breeze and Whisper White to create a relatively simple, soft card.

The sentiment comes from the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" stamp set.  I used the "Bitty Banners" Framelits die to cut it out and matte it.

Here are all the details:

Stamp Sets:  Mixed Bunch, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Whisper White and Baja Breeze card stock

Ink:  Primrose Petals

Punches:  Blossom and 3/4" circle.

Accessories:  Perfect Polka Dots Textured Embossing Folder, Stripes Textured Embossing Folders, Bitty Banners Framelits dies, Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon, Silver Brad.

Happy Stamping!

Happy Birthday Dad for SSC 261!

My father's birthday is this week and I turned to Stamping 411's Saturday Sketch Challenge to help with a layout for a card for him.  I had fun creating a "manly" card using my brand new "Clockworks" stamp set from Stampin' Up's new catalogue!  Love it!  I admit that visualising what could be created with this set is a little difficult for me, it really does lend itself to some cool designs.  Check out what I came up with:

Manly "Clockworks" card

I was really pleased with the result.  I had fun with lots of new product to make this card.  As I mentioned, "Clockworks" is a great new Stampin' Up stamp set and includes a great "splat" stamp which I stamped in Crumb Cake first.  I then used the "seagull splat" stamp in Soft Suede and finally stamped the cogs in Cajun Craze and Midnight Muse.

One of the other new product "bundles" I used was the "Itty Bitty Banners" stamp set and matching "Bitty Banners" Framelits dies.  What a great combination.  The DSP is "Comfort Cafe"....love it!  This collection of Designer Series Paper contains such versatile patterns and I really like the colour combinations.

I finished off the card with Early Espresso Baker's Twine and Linen Thread.  I found that the Baker's Twine was a little too white against the Very Vanilla so I took a sponge inked with Soft Suede ink and ran it along the thread a few times to "antique" it a little.  I also distressed the edges of the cardstock.

I mailed it off almost as soon as I finished it.  I hope he likes it : )

Here is a more concise list of products used:

Stamp Sets:  Clockworks, Itty Bitty Banners
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Very Vanilla card stock.  Comfort Cafe DSP.

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Midnight Muse and Cajun Craze

Accessories:  Bitty Banners Framelits dies, Early Espresso Bakers Twine, Linen Thread.

Happy Stamping!

Elegant Butterflies

OMGosh....my new Stampin' Up! stuff came last Friday and I'm in love!!!!  Unfortunately, I've been really busy and am about to head away for a week so I haven't really got a chance to play too much with it but I did sit down last night to create a little.  I was inspired by a card my SIL made with her new Elegant Butterfly punch.  I set out to create a bunch of little 3x3 cards to thank my customers for their orders using limited supplies.

Here's what I came up with:

I had fun creating with limited supplies and trying not to have any waste.  Every time I punched out a butterfly I used the "hole" to create another card.  I'm pretty pleased with myself.  It was really nice to "de-complicate" things and really limit myself.  It was so much less overwhelming for me.  I didn't feel the pressure of having to create the "perfect" card with tons of different elements.  For my week away I've packed 2 pieces of DSP, 2 sheets each of about 6 colours, 4 stamp pads, 1 stamp set and 2 punches.....it's like how it was before I became a demonstrator : )

Here what I used:

Stamp Sets;  Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, International Bazaar DSP

Ink:  Rich Razzleberry

Punches and Tools:  Simply Scored, Simply Scored Diagonal Plate, Elegant Butterfly, Word Window, Stampin' Dimensionals.

Happy Stamping!

Mixed Bunch Simplicity

Here's the second card I did for my Annual Stampin' Up! Catalogue Launch Party.  Again, I wanted it to be simple enough for my guests to do without guidance and I wanted it to showcase the new 2012-2014 In-Colours.

I chose to use a plain white background with no embossing to showcase the gorgeous new in-colours.  The stamps come from the Mixed Bunch stamp set that has been carried into the new Stampin' Up catalogue.  I really like the simplicity of this card.  The only "embellishing" I did for this card was to pop up every other circle with a Stampin' Dimensional.  It could be "jazzed-up" with embossing, rhinestones, brads or ribbon but sometimes it's nice to just to focus on the stamps and the colour. 

This is a great way for someone who is new to stamping to start.  All that is needed is one basic stamp set, a small collection of colours and some Whisper White cardstock.  The great thing about the In-Colours is that they all coordinate with eachother and can be purchased as a set at a discount.  Check out my Stampin' Up! website to learn how you can get your hands on the new 2012-2014 In-Colours.

Details:

Stamp Sets:  Mixed Bunch, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper and Ink:  Whisper White, Midnight Muse, Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit, and Primrose Petals.

Happy Stamping!

Fun with a friend (PP99)

I had the opportunity to visit (and create) with a dear friend today.  Even though we hadn't seen each other in 3 years we were able to pick up right where we left off.  Don't you just love friendships like that?!  She suggested that we both create cards using the same stamp sets and colour scheme and see what we each could come up with.  So I headed onto The Paper Players website for some colour inspiration and pulled out my "Fabulous Florets" and "Friendly Phrases" stamp sets.

It was so great to sit and "play" with my stuff for once (you should have seen the mess we made on the floor of my office!).  I feel like I'm always creating on a deadline and I never want to waste my supplies to I very rarely just play around.  We reminisced about our high school days and chatted about our kids.....it was such a nice way to spend a morning.  To top it all off, my son played nicely by himself (a rarity) and my daughter napped for 2 hours!

Here's what I came up with:

Laura's Fabulous Florets creation

I had been wanting to use the Lattice Die and my Labels collection Framelits more extensively so I took this opportunity to do just that.

And here is her creation:

EH's Fabulous Florets creation

Personally, I like my friend's card better than my own.  She's always been much more artistic than me and I think it shows here.  I love her use of water colouring.  She stamped her images in Basic Gray first and then used Blender Pens to add colour.  So pretty!

Here are the details of the supplies we used:

Stamp Sets:  Fabulous Florets, Friendly Phrases

Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Gray, Melon Mambo and Lucky Limeade

Ink:  Basic Gray, Melon Mambo and Lucky Limeade

Big Shots Accessories:  Lattice Bigz Die, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Embossing Folder (Laura's card), Snowburst Textured Embossing Folder (EH's card),  Labels Collection Framelits Die (Laura's Card)

So, thanks, EH for spending the morning with me.....I loved every moment.  Everyone needs a friend like you!

Happy Stamping!

Another Father's Day Card

I created this card for my Stampin' Up! Catalogue launch party that I had last week.  I wanted to create a relatively simple card that could be created without much guidance and this one fit the bill. 

I turned to the Comfort Cafe Designer Series Paper again for this card.  I love the versatility of the colour combination that Stampin' Up! has put together in this paper.  I wanted to showcase a number of the designs in a relatively small space and I like how the strips of paper accomplish that.  I framed the sentiment using a Labels collections Framelits die and embossed it using the Stripes Textured Embossing Folder. 

To up the "wow" factor one could use a textured embossing folder to emboss the Very Vanilla matte and add embellishments such as ribbon, baker's twine, brads or buttons.

Here are some more of the details:

Stamp Sets: Best Dad Ever

Paper:  Soft Suede, Very Vanilla and Midnight Muse card stocks, Comfort Cafe DSP

Ink:  Cajun Craze

Other:  Labels collection Framelits die, Stripes Textured Embossing Folder.

Happy Stamping!

It's all about Dad for Monkey 112

With Father's Day fast approaching I used this week's A la Card Monkey challenge for my inspiration.  I must admit, I've had quite a creative block the past couple of weeks.  I don't know what it is....I find that I just can't get my brain in gear when I sit down in the evening to "work".  But I got a bit of my mojo back with this card.  Here's the sketch:

Here's my interpretation:

Best Dad Ever stamp set and Comfort Cafe DSP

I love the simplicity of this sketch.  Once I settled on a colour scheme (Pool Party, Midnight Muse, Soft Suede and Very Vanilla) it was actually really easy to put together.  My favourite part was creating the button.  I don't tend to purchase a lot of embellishments so I was intrigued by a recent "Techniques" article in the Stampin' Up! demonstrator magazine, "Stampin' Success".  It outlined how to create your own buttons using card stock and Designer Series Paper (DSP) along with Crystal Effects.  Really quite simple and I will be teaching this technique in the fall at one of my techniques classes.    Here is a close up of the button:

Do-it-yourself button....using card stock and Comfort Cafe DSP.

I really like this colour combo.  The new Stampin' Up! catalogue has got some great DSP and one of my favourites is "Comfort Cafe".  This collection of paper has both "masculine" and "feminine" paper which makes it very versatile.  The "Best Dad Ever" stamp set is great as well because it's got a nice collection of sentiments.

Here are the details:

Paper:  Pool Party, Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla card stocks, Comfort Cafe DSP

Ink:  Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip

Stamp Sets:  Best Dad Ever

Embellishments:  Pool Party Baker's Twine, Crystal Effects (on button).

Stayed tuned for another Father's Day card tomorrow.

Happy Stamping!!

It's here...

...the BRAND NEW 2012-2013 Stampin' Up! Catalogue!!!!  I always love this time of year when the new catalogue goes live.  I don't know what it is about new catalogues but there's always a sense of excitement surrounding them.   Like when I was a kid and the Sears WishBook came out.  I spent hours poring over the toy section every year.....now it's stamps and paper and ribbon.....you get the idea.

Be sure to check out the new catalogue (click on the link on the sidebar) and if you're in the KW area on Tuesday, June 5th come out to my Catalogue Launch Party.  Drop me a line to let me know if you're able to make it.

To whet your appetite here is another card made with 2012-2014 In Colours.....Midnight Muse, Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit and Primrose Petals:

Aren't they so pretty?!!   This is the first year that I've loved all the In Colours right away.  I like how the work so well together and with the other Stampin' Up colours.  I know I will be using all of them a lot.  If that wasn't enough, the new Firm Foam Stamp Pads are AMAZING!  I know I've said it before but you've got to check them out for yourself.

Again, if you haven't yet RSVP'd for Tuesday, June 5th, it's not too late yet.  Come out a get your new catalogue and make a couple of projects too. 

Happy Stamping!