Birthday Door

Happy Friday! Got any fun plans for the weekend? We are working on the basement....and the yard....so we'll see how things end up. But for now I have a cute little card to share.

I have loved this set since the catalog was released, almost a year ago, but I only just got it. That is MY front door, and my door is red, just like the sample in the catalog shows! Of course I'm going to love it! But, the bundled price (with the dies) retires at the end of the month so I decided I'd better buy it with the discount! You can order it HERE.

For this card, I thought it worked with the latest Freshly Made Sketch. I don't own ovals, but the door is fairly centered. The Wood Textures DP, for this door is sticking around, which I am excited about. I pulled out some returning product too- that Mint Macaron is coming back with the new catalog! And, this will be part of my upcoming class.

Supplies:

Stamps: At Home With You, Hardwood

Ink: Memento Black, Mint Macaron, Melon Mambo marker

Paper: Very Vanilla, Mint Macaron, Crumb Cake, So Saffron card stocks, Wood Textures DP

Accessories: At Home dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals 

I even stamped on the inside which I almost NEVER do!

Purple Autumn Trees

Hello again!
Late post today but this one is short and sweet. Card #4 from my latest class was also short and sweet!
I am really loving Fresh Fig! I think it lent itself very well to this autumny card. I also discovered today how I'm going to incorporate Fresh Fig into Christmas cards, so that's exciting, haha!
This card was so simple- we stamped the background and the tree using Sahara Sand ink, then sponged the Fresh Fig leaves! Couldn't be quicker!
There absolutely are purple trees- I call them apartment cherry trees. I swear every apartment complex I have lived in has them. The cherries are no good, only good for staining everything they come in contact with... And the leaves are purple. That's what I thought of when I gave this a try. It is also not a 'thank you' card, the way I'd planned the class, but this phrase works so nicely on the card that everyone went ahead and used it too!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hardwood, Lovely As a Tree, Thoughts & Prayers
Ink: Sahara Sand, Fresh Fig
Paper: Sahara Sand, Fresh Fig, Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Fresh Fig ribbon, Stamping Sponges

Cards In The Mail

I do have a few other things ready to share with you, but today I'm going to show off the latest things I've gotten in the mail!

A flowery birthday

Happy Friday! I am so ready for the weekend...but I am pretty sure relaxing will be at a minimum... haha! We have a lot of things planned!

Today's card is one I designed for the customer who wanted birthday cards. I saw THIS on Pinterest recently and thought a card with soft spring colors would be a nice birthday card- so this is my version!
I started by stamping the Hardwood on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock, and then die-cutting out the circle. Then I stamped three flower designs in three different colors, and punched them out. The greeting came from a Paper Pumpkin kit from 2014, and it fits nicely in the Word Window Punch! And I added a bit of ribbon for a little something.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hardwood, Petite Petals, Aug 2014 Paper Pumpkin kit
Ink: Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride, Daffodil Delight, Wisteria Wonder
Paper: Pear Pizazz, Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Natural Chevron Ribbon, Word Window Punch, Petite Petals Punch, Circle Die, Big Shot

I hope YOU have a wonderful and relaxing weekend, and I will have more stamped inspiration for you next week!

Experimenting....

Yep, a Saturday post! My creating has been sporadic this week so you get a bonus post. I was playing around, trying to design cards to complete my Halloween card class (no date yet!) and I put this together. I liked the Basic Gray card stock for the base and window frame, sponged with white ink to make it look worn out and dusty. I used Smoky Slate for the outside scene, and I like that...

Supplies:
Stamps: Hardwood background, Happy Scenes
Ink: Memento Black, Whisper White, Tangelo Twist marker, Hello Honey marker
Paper: Basic Gray, Smoky Slate & Crushed Curry card stocks
Accessories: Big Shot, Hearth & Home die, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, Stamping Sponge

I liked the addition of the moon but maybe it should be white instead of yellow.....

Supplies:
Stamps: Hardwood background, Happy Scenes
Ink: Memento Black, Whisper White, Tangelo Twist marker, Hello Honey marker
Paper: Basic Gray, Smoky Slate & Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Big Shot, Hearth & Home die, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, Stamping Sponge

Still not sure if we'll use it for a class, but here's something to inspire your weekend anyway!

Choose Happiness

Remember I set a stamping goal yesterday? I totally reached it! Wahoo! *grin
This card helped me use up Dimensionals?? haha... Really, I'm featuring the new In Color Delightful Dijon. I'm not sure how much I love it, but it works together really nicely with Cajun Craze and makes for a great autumny color combination! And for the layout I used the latest Clean & Simple sketch.
I also used the Hardwood background stamp to add a bit of texture, but this time I used an old technique- to lay the card stock on top of the stamp, and "walk" your fingers across it to get a subtle touch of background stamp. I really like how it turned out!

Supplies:
Stamps: Petite Petals, Choose Happiness, Hardwood background
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Cajun Craze & Delightful Dijon
Paper: Delightful Dijon, Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Natural Chevron Ribbon, Neutral Candy Dots (chocolate chip), Regals Candy Dots (cajun craze)

And come back tomorrow for even more!

Other Flowers...

haha...I've used Lotus Blossom so many times lately, I thought I'd mix it up with a different flower! This is a birthday card I made a friend this week. I have a few February birthday's and it strikes me that most of them love purple...I wonder if there's a connection to their amethyst birthstone...? Anyway, here's the first purple birthday card this year, and I used the current Retro Sketch!

Supplies:
Stamps: Bloom with Hope (hostess), Hardwood
Ink: Soft Suede, Memento Black, Wisteria Wonder, Wisteria Blendabilities
Paper: Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Accessories: Old Olive Baker's Twine, White Organza ribbon, Rhinestones

...and I think I've only done this flower in shades of purple...I'll have to mix that up soon! *grin

Falling Leaves

Here is another card for next week's classes...this time using the Clean & Simple sketch, and featuring the Big Shot!
The three leaves were cut out of the Color Me Autumn DP. I loved the watercolory look of those "solid" sides. Also, can you see the brown shadowy spots on the card? I laid the peice of DP down, after the leaf was cut out, and sponged some Crumb Cake ink right onto the card for a little extra dimension!

Supplies:
Stamps: Good Greetings, Hardwood
Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Paper: Crumb Cake, Color Me Autumn DP
Accessories: Big Shot, Autumn Bigz Die, Old Olive baker's twine

Blog Hop: Bundle & Save!

Today is the 1st?! What?! I totally thought we had more time in June- where did it go??

Anyway! As always on the 1st of the month, we have a blog hop today and I hope you'll stop by everyone's awesome projects! This time we're featuring the products found in the NEW catalog, under the category of "Bundle & Save"! This means if you buy the stamp set, and the coordinating punch, die, or other product, you save money! And who doesn't love that?!

For my Bundle & Save selection, I'm using the stamp set Four Frames, along with the Designer Label Punch, which coordinates perfectly. I also used the recent Freshly Made Sketch for the card design.

I've had these two products for a while, and I do really love how our punches frame our stamps so well. This particular set makes a great focal point on any project I use it on! This bird also works really well for masculine cards, and I know a lot of people struggle with those! Not to mention, buying this set together saves you 15%! Yeay!!
Want to see other coordinating products that save you money? Look for this in the catalog...

or! just continue on to Cheryl, and the rest of the We Create Bloggers, and see what everyone is featuring today!

Project Supplies:
Stamps: Hardwood background, Gorgeous Grunge, Four Frames, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Pistachio Pudding, Baked Brown Sugar
Paper: Pistachio Pudding, Very Vanilla, Baked Brown Sugar
Accessories: Designer Label Punch, Corner Rounder punch, Neutral Buttons, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

*I don't usually use SO many stamp sets on one card- the Teeny Tiny Wishes was designed to coordinate with the Four Frames set, which is why it fits so nicely. And I think a panel of DP would work nicely in place of the Very Vanilla, but as I don't have any current DP, I stamped it myself! Also I really like the Hardwood background for added texture on the card!

CASE from the Catalog!

I'm still familiarizing myself with the brand new catalog, how about you? *grin 
The other day as I was perusing I decided I was in love with the card found in the lower corner on page 153. I have the stamp set they used, so I sat down and made it! My version is different, of course, and has lots more layers than my usual creations. But I really like how it turned out!

Supplies:
Stamps: Truly Grateful, Hardwood
Ink: Crumb Cake, Hello Honey, Early Espresso
Paper: Hello Honey, Very Vanilla & Mossy Meadow card stocks
Accessories: Natural Chevron Ribbon, Honeycomb embossing folder, Autumn Accents die, Big Shot, Neutral Buttons, Staple

So first I embossed the big bottom layer. Then I dragged my Crumb Cake ink pad over it to grunge it up and give it a little more definition. Next I used Early Espresso to stamp the Hardwood stamp on the strip of Hello Honey. I stamped the wood grain image from Truly Grateful, and die cut the oak leaf with it. I die cut the big maple leaf and crumpled it and scuffed it with Early Espresso too. The greeting is stamped in Crumb Cake, and I used a tiny strip of Hello Honey in the button. Fun huh?

Flowers & Hardwood

Two of my favorite carry-over items, from the Occasions Mini, are the Petite Petals stamps and punch, and the Hardwood background stamp! For this card, I combined them, along with a recent Freshly Made Sketch.

Supplies:
Stamps: Petite Petals, Hardwood
Ink: Crumb Cake, Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe
Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Natural Chevron Ribbon (the back side), Corner Rounder punch, Petite Petals Punch, Dimensionals, Staples

Flowers on wood

This is the last sample from last week's Occasions Mini  class, and this one {mostly} uses the latest Nacho Average Challenge. We stamped the blue flowers directly onto the wood background, and we punched out the pink flowers and two are popped up on Dimensionals. I thought about having the greeting popped up too, but I liked it better tucked in the flowers. I let class attendee's decide what they liked best. Funny enough, only the greeting (hostess only) and the shade of blue (Midnight Muse) are retiring from this one.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hardwood, Petite Petals, Banner Greetings
Ink: Soft Suede, Midnight Muse, Melon Mambo, Pear Pizazz
Paper: Pear Pizazz & Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Petite Petals Punch, Dimensionals

Switching Gears!

On Thursday I have a stamp class here at my house. I'm featuring the products I've purchased from the Occasions Mini before it too goes away. (which it will on June 1!)
Here's the first card from that class- perfect for Father's Day! I used the recent Retro Sketch, the soon to retire Gumball Green and Natural Buttons.

Supplies:
Stamps: Look Up To Father, Hardwood
Ink: Gumball Green marker, Chocolate Chip marker
Paper: Gumball Green Textured card stock, Chocolate Chip & Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Chevron Ribbon, Natural Buttons, Linen Thread, Glue Dots

I actually trimmed the words off from the bottom of the tree (hence the large gap) because I can see myself using the tree without the words or with different words, and that's the easiest way for me to make that work. Those coming to the class could use it as a birthday card or thinking of you, or pretty much anything else they want. But I love the sentiment, and the tree, for my own Father's Day cards. What do you think?

New Toys!

Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was enjoyable! We had a kind of lazy Saturday and then a fun date night! Sunday I had a migraine but I think I'm past it, so here I am stamping!
I just got a new stamp order and I was excited to have some play time! I used a brand new stamp and ribbon for this card, along with the Retro Sketch 101. I went for a spring look and it sure seems like a lovely spring day outside at my house! {that's not 100% good, we really need the snow that so many other states are getting too much of, but I'll take the clear blue skies any day!}

If you look really closely, you might notice the open part of the card behind...yeah, I made this card upside down or backwards, haha. The first time I stamped the hexagon and greeting, it got smudged AND it was too high to put the ribbon on...so I flipped it, haha!
But its okay, I have just the friend to send it to, who will completely understand the wackiness we sometimes find ourselves in, haha....

Supplies:
Stamps: Hardwood, Summer Silhouettes, Six Sided Sampler
Ink: Crumb Cake, Island Indigo, Midnight Muse, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi
Paper: Very Vanilla card stock
Accessories: Natural Chevron Ribbon, Dimensionals