Sympathy Flowers

Last week was a hard one. It seemed everywhere I turned I was in need of a sympathy card. I managed to find time to make two {almost} matching cards, and stuck them in the mail too.

I used the current Freshly Made Sketch, retired DP, and the colors all came from the DP. Apparently it is tricky for me to make a bouquet of flowers, but these work okay.

I even stamped on the inside of this one. You can hardly tell, but I used a good one from the Here For You stamp set. The picture I took of the inside came out really blurry, but here you at least see how I stamped inside.

Supplies:
Stamps: Jar of Love, Here For You
Ink: Soft Suede, Delightful Dijon, Rich Razzleberry, Mint Macaron, Cajun Craze
Paper: Petals and Paisleys DP, Soft Suede, Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Big Shot, Brick Wall embossing folder, Dimensionals

Birthday Tacos!

My mom is an Arizona girl. I was born there too, and so was my brother, but we moved away when I was 5. But growing up, if we were on vacation anywhere like Yellowstone or some very touristy place, if a conversation came up with anyone that asked "Where are you from?" without fail, she'd always say "Well, I'm from Arizona. They're from Utah." hahaha....

On page 10 of the current catalog, there is a whole bundle that looks like she would love it. However, the only thing we'd really use is her beloved saguaro cactus stamp and die. Hmmmmm..... Well, knowing her birthday was coming up, I decided to get the Festive Birthday DP to use the cactus paper on her card. Like this:

My mother also LOVES Mexican food. I cannot even tell you how much. She would honestly eat it every day, lunch, dinner, snacks... And! It's also Sale-A-Bration season! And we have a cute stamp set for making food trucks. Including a taco!!! So of course I had to get that too!

So this card is made with 100% new-to-me products, using things from the Occasions Mini (top DP, sequins), things from Sale-A-Bration (stamps, Glimmer DP) and something fun from the main catalog! So much fun! Also, I used a Freshly Made Sketch from a couple weeks ago.

And here is her complete birthday card- which went out in the mail on time!!! (that's kinda huge for me, even without a baby to distract me, haha!)

Supplies:
Stamps: Tasty Trucks (Sale-A-Bration only!)
Ink: Memento Black
Paper: Festive Birthday DP, Cupcakes & Carousels DP, Glimmer Paper Assortment (Sale-A-Bration only!), Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Cupcakes & Carousels Embellishment Kit, Watercolor Pencils, Aquapainter, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Big Shot, Banners Framelit Die

Cards In The Mail!

As I sit down to decide what MY swap will be, I realize I need to share the ones I've gotten with you! Let me know if you have any questions! I sure love getting these beautiful creations in the mail!

 

Paper Pumpkin Valentines!

January's Paper Pumpkin kit was a cute treat bag, perfectly designed for Valentines (but perfectly usable for any occasion!). In organizing the house, I had pulled out all of my Paper Pumpkin boxes once more, and realized I had a few options for my daughter's last year in grade school- which is the last year they exchange valentines with classmates. I showed her the options and she loved the newest kit, and that gave me pictures for a blog post! haha...

One of the nights she did the stamping and assembled the arrows...

 another night she put together the bags, added a few "Fave-Red Starbursts" to each, and was done!

Full disclosure: To make all 24, this kit definitely took more than 30 minutes. But unless you're doing it for a class, I don't know when you would need all 24 in one shot. For past treat kits I have put together a few at a time as needed.

Chase Your Dreams!

An unsettling-ly long time ago, haha, I went to Germany for five weeks, with a small exchange group at my school. The instant I saw the Chase Your Dreams stamp set in the Occasions Mini, I knew I had to have it! I actually am still in contact with the girl who stayed with my family, and then I stayed with her family. She just sent us a box of treats and a baby gift for Christmas! I also met one of my very best friends as part of this group. So for sure I could use the stamp set for them. But there are images for France, England, Australia and the United States too! And I know people who want to or have gone to visit each! :) I am excited to put this set to use.

I had an idea to watercolor the scenery around Neuschwanstein (the name of this castle). I don't love how it turned out, but here's attempt #1:

Then I tried a different angle... watercoloring around the castle!

And then I decided it really needed to be its own layer! Fussy cutting is not my favorite, but the castle really has to be white! So it was this, or masking.

But you know what? Experimenting is fun! It's been so long since I've really created- I didn't mind at all!

Supplies:
Stamps: Chase Your Dreams
Ink: Archival Basic Gray
Paper: Watercolor Paper, Dapper Denim card stock
Accessories: Dapper Denim Ruched Ribbon, Watercolor Pencils (temporarily unavailable), Aquapainter, Dimensionals

Blog Hop: Stepped Up Sale-A-Bration Birthday!

And it's February now! A new month always means a new Blog Hop and today is no different!

Today I kept it pretty simple... the last time I created something fresh was last month's blog hop, so I'm a little rusty! I also have a teething baby, which definitely limits my time.

So first up, a very basic, but still sweet, birthday card. I used one of the FREE Sale-A-Bration stamp sets, which you can earn until March 31! This set is designed to go with the cute t-shirt stamp set found in the Occasions Mini, but I thought the set would work well on its own! And I think this little birthday sentiment is pretty funny.

Then I stepped it up! I used a technique I learned at the first Stampin' Up! workshop I ever attended- to stamp the greeting repeatedly to create a quick and simple background.

Finally I added a touch of Wink of Stella to the frosting! This is super hard to photograph, but I think you can see it in the photo below...

And there's a nice little birthday card, that I am sticking in the mail this week! ha! 

Supplies:

Stamps: Designer Tee

Ink: Sweet Sugarplum, Early Espresso

Paper: Sweet Sugarplum, Whisper White card stocks

Accessories: Succulent Garden Ribbon, Wink of Stella, Glue Dots

Now click below to hop on to Cheryl's blog and see what she has to share. Then hop on thru, and leave us your thoughts! And happy February!!