CAS Happy Birthday Lanterns

I've got another Clean and Simple (CAS) card for you tonight.  My Crushed Curry ink pad stayed on my desk today and I was able to use it again for this week's Paper Players colour challenge - Marina Mist, Crushed Curry and Smoky Slate.

I really like the "Happy Congratulations" stamp set from this year's Occasions Catalogue.  It's got a really fun vibe and makes me think of the summer patio season.....which will be here soon....right?  I love winter but I know that spring is coming....sometime....maybe : )  So I pulled it out for this super simple birthday card.

This card is based on a sketch from Sketch Frenzy Friday

There are SO many possibilities for cards from this sketch!  I was looking my collection and so many possibilities came to mind...stay tuned for more cards using this sketch.

Here's what you need to make tonight's card:

Stamps:  Happy Congratulations, Remembering Your Birthday

Ink and Paper:  Smoky Slate, Marina Mist, Crushed Curry, Whisper White

Other: White Baker's Twine, 3/4" circle punch.

Thanks for reading!  Happy Stamping!

New Year, New Stamps!

Happy (belated) New Year everyone!  Now that the craziness (and illness) of the holiday season is over and my desk is clean again it's time to break out the new stamps.  YAY!!!!!!   Before Christmas I ordered a whole bunch of new stamps from Stampin' Up's annual catalogue and the new "Occasions Catalogue".  There's nothing quite like putting 10+ stamp sets together at one time!

I had a moment of quiet this afternoon during which I was able to sit down and focus for a bit on stamping.   I feel a little bit adrift without an anchor at this time of year in terms of crafting.  I find making Christmas cards so all-consuming that when faced with a blank slate I'm really at a loss.  To get my brain back into crafting mode I took a look through the most recent issue of "Stampin' Success" (our demonstrator magazine) and found inspiration with the "Happy Congratulations" stamp set.  It is a new set out of the Occasions Catalogue and is super simple to use to make a pretty little card.

Simple stamp with a black ink.  I used Basic Black and then used the lower setting on my embossing tool to dry the ink.  Then I stamped the individual lanterns using Bermuda Bay, Crisp Cantaloupe and Crushed Curry inks.  I've been itching to use my Banners Framelits and wasn't disappointed (yes, perfect banners in one easy step!).

Finally, here's a shot of my stamping space....any bets on how long it will stay like this?  Those that really know me know it won't be long....lol : )

Happy Stamping!