Spring Trees Take Two...

Today's card is very similar to the last thing I posted, but this time I used a sketch (Freshly Made Sketches) and color challenge (Just Add Ink -I picked the pink and green and the gray sign) ...and it happens to fit two other challenges too! (SUO Challenges of anything made with Stampin' Up! products, and Global Design Project's "day at the park". Trees are definitely in our parks.)

I needed a sympathy card and I wanted it to brighten the day of the recipient instead of keep them feeling down... I really wanted to use these trees in the main panel of the sketch, and I wanted to use the gorgeous leafy print from the Occasions Mini. I also really love this sentiment that 'today a friend is thinking of you'...

Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Woods, Part of My Story (now retired)
Ink: Gray Granite, Pear Pizazz, Powder Pink
Paper: Pear Pizazz, Whisper White card stock, Floral Romance DP
Accessories: Stamping Sponge

And almost as soon as I photographed it, I sent it on its way to brighten someone's day!

Sale-A-Bration!!

is ending! Tomorrow (Sunday) is THE last day of Sale-A-Bration 2019! I definitely did not get to play with my Sale-A-Bration freebies enough! I really didn't- its been a busy, crazy few months a my house, haha! So yesterday I took some time and put together some new cards- which need mailed out SOON!

This one has been in my head for quite a while. I love this sentiment from the Part of My Story stamp set. It was the first thing I loved from this year's selection -this exact sentiment. Then they released this paper with the second round in February, and this sheet of paper looks straight out of a story book- they were meant to go together! I found a sketch that fit, at Global Design Project, annnd then I cut the DP the wrong direction... but I made it work anyway, ha!
What do you think? This one even qualifies for #simplestamping

Supplies:
Stamps: Part of My Story (SAB), Painted Seasons (SAB)
Ink: Early Espresso, Lemon Lime Twist, Call Me Clover marker (on the leaves on the sentiment panel)
Paper: Whisper White card stock, Painted Seasons DP (SAB)
Accessories: Dimensionals


Since I still had a little time, I really wanted to focus on the Painted Seasons stamp set. I tried a few inks on these pretty flowers. This stamp set is our new "DistINKtive" style, which means that it is cut in such a way to add depth and shadow to the image, which is really cool. But some inks don't show up very boldly, and for this, I wanted something bold. I loooved the way this Gorgeous Grape turned out and stopped there! Then I was trying to decide how to make the latest Inky Friends sketch work best...should I fussy cut the flowers..? But as I was looking over my DP choices, I remembered one of my favorite cards ever, from probably 10 years ago, back when our DP was one sided, haha. I had stamped some blue flowers on to some white washed, worn wood looking paper. Well look what I found in the Wood Textures DP pack?! YEAY! I like the purple flowers at least as much as those old blue ones!
Next I thought it would be cool to die cut the white greeting panel and let the Grape card stock show thru. Well it IS a good idea, but maybe not with a complicated, detailed word like this one, ha. And I didn't realize that til the bits were in the trash...and I work in the kitchen so there was no way I was even going to try to look for them. rats. Again, I made it work anyway. I stamped the rest of the greeting and decided I really love this card, even with its "birthday" flaw, haha.

Supplies:
Stamps: Painted Seasons (SAB), Well Said
Ink: Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green
Paper: Gorgeous Grape & Whisper White card stock, Wood Textures DP
Accessories: Big Shot, Well Written Framelits

*I stand corrected...the blue flowers on distressed wood was 12 years ago. yikes! haha!

March 2007

Rainbow!

So, this is how I store my current ink pads. I keep the box standing up just like that most of the time, but if I need to take my inks somewhere I just turn it on its side and stick it in the car! 

The other day, the box was knocked over, so I used my catalog to make sure all the inks I own were picked up, so some of them ended up in the exact color order shown in the catalog (as far as I own them...I don't have a complete collection). Later, I noticed this stack of colors 

and how happy and bright they all looked together. I know it's been very snowy and cold all over lately, and my house is definitely part of that winter dreariness. So of course I decided I had to make a background out of that exact color combination! 

Here's what I did- including my sweet Sale-A-Bration greeting set. 

Supplies:

Stamps: Wishing You Well, Part of My Story

Ink: Flirty Flamingo, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Pacific Point, Gorgeous Grape

Paper: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay

Accessories: Calypso Coral ombre ribbon, Circle Dies, Big Shot 

I even know exactly who to send this to! 

Don't you think this would really brighten someone's day? What are you crafting to send out? 

#simplestamping

This fall, with the 30th Anniversary of Stampin' Up! they issued a challenge to demonstrators, to encourage more "simple" stamping. Showing off the fact that we can still make something pretty without owning everything in the catalog (as fun as that would absolutely be, haha!). Well, my style has always been closer to simple stamping than it has to the more complicated, layered projects. I love them, I just struggle to make it work together well. I've had to learn to incorporate all the accessories and embellishments and beautiful papers on my cards, haha. Also, if you've been a long-time reader, you'll know that our monthly blog hop used to focus on a simple card and a stepped up version, so simple is usually pretty easy for me.

I haven't stamped much in the last several weeks, like early December, so I thought starting off very simple would be a good jumping-back-in point. Also, I need to mail out at least four cards...so I picked an easy stamp set, a variety of colors to vary the card (the In Colors that retire THIS summer!!) and went for a super mailable, easy design! What do you think? I did use multiple stamp sets for the greetings so that these cards fit who I needed to send them to, but it really is just stamps, ink and paper!

Powder Pink is tricky to see in a picture, haha,

so here's a close up.

Supplies:
Stamps: Love What You Do, Part of My Story
Ink: Powder Pink, Memento Black
Paper: Whisper White

Supplies:
Stamps: Love What You Do
Ink: Berry Burst , Memento Black
Paper: Whisper White

Supplies:
Stamps: Love What You Do
Ink: Fresh Fig, Memento Black
Paper: Whisper White

Supplies:
Stamps: Love What You Do, PS You're The Best
Ink: Tranquil Tide, Memento Black
Paper: Whisper White

Supplies:
Stamps: Love What You Do, Wishing You Well
Ink: Lemon Lime Twist, Memento Black
Paper: Whisper White

These are really very simple cards. Do you like simple stamping or do you prefer to add a little bit of everything? Or maybe somewhere in the middle, like I usually do? haha....
Anyway, the best part of this story is that two of these cards went out yesterday and I should get two more out tomorrow too!