Sneak Peek!

Today I have a little sneak peek for you! This cute stamp set is from the brand new catalog which starts June 1st. But, if you love it, you can order it early- starting tomorrow!! There are actually several products that will be available for a pre-order, and they all coordinate with this sweet stamp set!

For my card, I used the current Freshly Made Sketch, and the TGIF Challenges tic-tac-toe board. I picked the top row- pink, pearls and flowers! It was super quick to put together and I love how it turned out.

Supplies:
Stamps: Love What You Do
Ink: Memento Black, Powder Pink
Paper: Powder Pink, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Pearls

I am pretty sure I'll be using this card in my May class too!

Magical Mermaid!

I knew I was getting this stamp set and DP as soon as I saw the Occasions Mini. I just didn't know it was retiring the same time it would arrive at my house! So, I finally took some time to play with it, and since the paper is still available, you should hurry up and order it!!
*stamps are guaranteed thru May 25.

I used the previous Freshly Made Sketch for this card. Annnd note to self- classic ink smears on Shimmery Paper...rats. I also loved how Christy did a tiny black ink outline to define her layers in a recent card, so I used the same idea here.

Supplies:
Stamps: Magical Day (retiring!)
Ink: Memento Black, Rich Razzleberry, Rich Razzleberry marker, Bermuda Bay marker, Blushing Bride marker, Calypso Coral marker, Coastal Cabana marker (returning!)
Paper: Soft Sky card stock (retiring), Shimmery White card stock, Myths and Magic DP (retiring!)
Accessories: Silver 1/8 inch ribbon (retiring), Wink of Stella

You can't see it, but there is Wink of Stella on the mermaid's tail, scales and in her hair... I promise. haha. I have other ideas for this set, but this is all I got to play with that time. Maybe another day...!

Cards In the Mail

One last Card In the Mail swap came to my house, about a month ago. It is beautiful AND the stamp is retiring, so this is the only chance I get to share it!
I believe it is colored with Stampin' Blends, and I love the detail on the flowers!

Paper Pumpkin: New & Old!

I know, I know, lately, when I stamp, I've been sticking to Paper Pumpkin kits. And that's okay! :) Nothing wrong with something that's already prepped for you!

This past week we needed some masculine birthday cards and I gotta say- the latest Paper Pumpkin kit, from April, is fantastic!! I am a huge fan of lighthouses especially, and nautical everything. I'm not actually the hugest fan of the projects in the kit but I do love the stamps and the supplies- so here's a cute variation using some of my favorite pieces!

I needed more than one masculine card so I busted out this kit from last year, which I only first opened last month, and haven't had a chance to blog yet! I made my own design again this time. The newest card is shown first..

 And here is last month's card from the same kit, almost following the kit's instructions.

This is what I love- super easy cards to put together and send out almost as soon as they're done! Even when the kit may not be my favorite. Also okay. These cards are perfect for anybody- men included, and I know a lot of people struggle to make cards for men.

The light house kit refill just became available to subscribers HERE. The candle kit is still available to subscribers right HERE, both as the original kit, or just the refill. And as I said in the last post, there's a 50% off opportunity to first-time subscribers- but only til May 10!

March Paper Pumpkin!

The other day I had one of those days. You know- where everything just gets more frustrating as the day goes on? The kids were in bed a tiny bit earlier than usual (because that's what happens when Mom is done with the day) and I pulled out this gorgeous Paper Pumpkin kit I hadn't really had a chance to even look at! I absolutely love it!

The March kit was the 5 year anniversary kit and was all hyped up, and it really is beautiful. The only thing is- I'm not going to hand-deliver that many cards. Really. I think getting something in the mail is much more exciting, so unless the person lives on my street, it's going to arrive in the mailbox. So. The kit was designed to make four little note cards, to be put into four beautiful, and decidedly not-mailable envelopes. Instead, I turned those envelopes into card fronts!

Here are the two original card designs. I also used the exact stamps shown in the samples, for this first round.

and the two mostly-original envelopes:
The first mounted on to a Powder Pink card base...

 and the second mounted on an Early Espresso card base.

And then, I had all the regular left overs, plus the free gift AND the parts of the envelopes I had cut off! So now I have lots of other fun ideas swimming in my brain, I just need the hours in the day to get them done!

If you have never signed up to be a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, and you sign up by May 10, you can get 50% off the cost of your first two months by using the code above. As a subscriber, you can also purchase any available past kit or refill, which you can view HERE. To sign up, just click the Pumpkin button on my side bar!

We Create Last-Chance Blog Hop

I missed the April blog hop, so I'm excited we're having a little bonus blog hop! This is because we don't want you to miss out on all the soon-to-be-gone-for-good great stuff!

For my post, I am sharing the much-loved Butterfly Basics stamp set (and coordinating dies!) and two colors I have used a ton over the past few years- Always Artichoke and Elegant Eggplant. In fact, when I went looking for how I've used the butterflies in the past, there are a lot of purple cards! I also threw on some retiring Silver ribbon. Yep, that means everything you see here is on the Retiring List, which you can view HERE.
I also used last week's Clean & Simple sketch for the card layout.

Supplies:
Stamps: Butterfly Basics
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke
Paper: Always Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Silver Ribbon, Big Shot, Butterflies dies

I "stamped off" once to get the lighter shade of Always Artichoke for the ferns, and the full strength for the greeting.  It has been such a great green- so pretty for Christmas, autumn, and even summer! I am going to miss this shade! I have a lot of family and friends who really love purple so I'm glad we have some new purple shades coming to replace all the ones going away!

Don't forget to place your order quickly if you need to stock up on card stocks or ink refills for the retiring colors you own, and if you need some new-old colors for your inventory too!

Keep hopping through to see more stamps and colors we're about to say goodbye to! It's not a long hop, but it is a great one!

Celebrate!

March was a bust for stamping and blogging and April seems on track to be the same. I HAVE created some, (not much...) I just haven't blogged it. Today's card is another mix of old and new, but I like it, and it uses my newest (tho now retired, HA) Sale-A-Bration stamp set! Which, is another problem, when I use retired supplies I am less inclined to blog it. Soooo here I am again, hahaha.....

I wanted to play along with the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches. The Razzleberry word was stamped off once to have a lighter shade. I tried layering the words but I like them side-by-side best. I also tried several flowers but nothing was quite right... til I used this one from a free Paper Pumpkin gift a few years ago. And I am happy with how it turned out!

Supplies:
Stamps: Amazing You (words- Sale-A-Bration 2018, now retired), Happy Everything? (flowers, Paper Pumpkin, no longer available)
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Memento Black
Paper: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black card stocks, Stacked With Love DP (retired)

Obviously I'm still on a birthday card streak, but maybe I'll break that soon...haha!