Fabulous Phrases

With spring upon us and my desk finally cleaned I feel as though a fresh breeze has blown through my brain and I can think, and therefore create, clearly again!  Isn't it amazing what an effect the change in season can have on us?!  Don't get me wrong, I love winter....and snow and cold....but come April 1st I sure am ready for it to warm up! 

Along with the change in season come new beginnings.  In the Stampin' Up family we've seen a "Colour Refresh" in the past couple of weeks and next week we'll get to see what's being "purged" in favour of new (and always exciting!) product. 

As we quickly approach the launch of Stampin' Up's new catalogue I find myself wanting/needing/desperate to use up some of my scraps and older supplies.  I am feeling the need to use Baja Breeze as much as I can now that it is being retired.  It has long been one of my favourite colours so I was thrilled to see it in this week's Paper Players Colour Challenge!  I paired the colours in this challenge with the "word" from this week's CASology challenge to create today's card.

Isn't that a great colour combination?!!  I have lots of bits and pieces of these colours from past Designer Series Paper packages and Sale-a-bration freebies that were put to good use on this card.

I have had the idea to make a "word collage" rolling around in my head for a few days now so the CASology challenge word ("word") was a perfect fit.  The "Fabulous Phrases" stamp set is so versatile and is really fun to use.  I picked out all of the words from it that made me think of a birthday and stamped them horizontally and vertically before punching out the Decorative Label. 

I took inspiration from a couple of cards that I saw on Pinterest (you can follow me there by clicking the link on the right of this page).  I had fun using my Paper Piercing Pack to pierce the circles in the backing white.

Happy Stamping!

CAS Love for the Paper Players

I love Clean and Simple (CAS) cards.  They are the easiest to make and often, in my opinion, the prettiest.  I don't know about you but I often find myself "planning" my cards in my head during the craziness of the day.  Yesterday was no exception, but this time I actually pulled myself off the couch and acted on my ideas : )

I wanted to make something with clean lines and monochromatic and I wanted to use some of my Sale-a-bration stuff.  With Valentine's Day quickly approaching I couldn't resist the little heart stamp in the "Pretty Petites" stamp set.

Pretty "Pretty Petites" monochromatic card

Then I realised that this card fits with this week's Paper Players challenge:

Sweet!  To create the "block" I used Primrose Petals and stamped the image four times before re-inking.  I used stamped images 1, 2 and 4.  I really like stamping off to create monochromatic cards because I know that the colours will match exactly.....because it's all the same palette....that made more sense in my head than in writing, sorry : )

Stampin' Up, of course, has made things even easier by having a coordinating punch, the Petite Curly Label punch, to go with the Pretty Petites stamp set.  The "love" from the "Fabulous Phrases" stamp set fit perfectly between the little brackets and I couldn't resist adding a little bling in the form of a Rhinestone Basic Jewel.

Remember, you can get the Pretty Petites or the Petite Curly Label Punch FREE with a $60 purchase...or get both when you spend $120!

Happy Stamping!