Class of 2018

In case your world is calm and relaxed, can I just say that May is a jam-packed month for school age kids, and their parents. Between the end of year concerts and end of year projects and making sure the GPA stays up these last couple weeks...! Add to that the end of year "party" activities, and spring fever, haha, and yard work and it's just way too busy around here!

So today it finally crossed my mind that I have three cards I have to make, for big events the next few weeks. And I put the first one together within an hour of realizing that, haha!

My nephew graduates from high school next week! We live about four hours away, so a card is perfect. I wanted to use his school colors, which are gold and black, and I wanted to use a sketch. I picked the latest from Freshly Made Sketches and then fiddled with how I wanted to place the layers I'd picked. I finally decided to cut the numbers out of black card stock and then realized I like the negative piece even better, and! it fit the sketch perfectly! Voila- here's the card!
(and that is why the numbers aren't as straight as I might have done if I planned it that way, haha)
And a lot of it is retiring, so if you like it, don't miss out!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Number of Years (retiring), Teeny Tiny Wishes (retiring)
Ink: Memento Black
Paper: Crushed Curry & Basic Black card stocks, Gold Glimmer DP (retiring)
Accessories: Large Numbers framelits (retiring), Big Shot, Glue Dots

Blog Hop: Pumpkin Style!

Wow, another month down...
Anyone else dragging today with post-Halloween-wipeout? I am just so utterly exhausted, lol... and maybe too much junk food...definitely not enough real food... annnyway, my Halloween can be summarized with these two frames:

Charlie Brown, a pumpkin and "Hermione from the third{Harry Potter} movie"...
annnd a Harry Potter themed party!

(inspiration & sources found all over Pinterest...I have a Harry Potter board...)

So today is November and temperatures are supposed to start dropping! Fortunately for you, a new month means a new blog hop, bursting with inspiration! Just in case you have enough energy to stamp today! Or later this week works too!

Today, I have a stepped up thank you card, which, of course everyone needs in November! I love the idea of sending a thank you card each day, tho I haven't ever pulled it off... If nothing else, you'll want a sweet way to thank whoever hosts your Thanksgiving dinner, or if you're hosting, then whoever helps your Thanksgiving dinner! This one is perfectly autumnal!

The inspiration came from HERE, and actually, I used the stamped version at my card class last month! 

Supplies:

Stamps: Swirly Bird, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Pear Pizazz

Paper: Pumpkin Pie & Whisper White card stock, Color Theory DP

Accessories: Old Olive Mini Chevron Ribbon

And for my stepped up version, I definitely stuck closer to the inspiration, and I used the same supplies except the dies instead of the stamps. Super easy!

(I just forgot to stamp a greeting on the front til I went to photo it, ha!)

Supplies:

Stamps: none

Ink: none

Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Pear Pizazz & Whisper White card stock, Color Theory DP

Accessories: Old Olive Mini Chevron Ribbon, Big Shot, Swirly Scribbles Dies, Fine Tip Glue Pen

Both are quick little cards you can whip up ahead of time! 

Now you can hop on over to Cheryl's blog and see what she's shared to get your creative juices flowing! Then continue thru the hop and be sure and leave all of us your thoughts! We all love comments on our work! 

A Birthday Card!

Long time no stamp...!
And I was really feeling it this time!
So today's card is really very simple.
But one of the biggest reasons I got this bundle was that my dad used to build this exact style of chair! I didn't get Father's Day cards made this year so I HAD to use it for his birthday card! Which is all the stamping time I manage to steal last week...!
I used the latest sketch from the Clean & Simple blog, and a handful of my dad's favorite things.

Supplies:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Soft Suede
Paper: Whisper White & Crushed Curry card stocks, Color Theory DP, Wood Textures DP
Accessories: Linen Thread, Big Shot, Woodland Textured embossing folder, Seasonal Layers thinlit dies, Glue Dots

I would love to say that now that school is back in session, I'll have more time to create but so far that is not even close to happening... As we have for the last year and a half, I'll just take it one day at a time and stamp and share when I can...! How's that for reality? haha!

Cards In The Mail!

Happy Monday to you! Yesterday was Mother's Day and this is who I spent it with:

*those cards were made entirely on their own, using my retired supplies!

Today I have a post FULL of inspiration to get you going this week! These fabulous cards are form my Cards In The Mail swap with other Stampin' Up! demonstrators. I love getting these in the mail! Credit has been given to each creator.

(and I'll tell you a little secret... I got something else delivered: a big box from UPS on Friday that I cannot wait to play with...!!!)

 Above is closed, and below is pulled open!

Blog Hop: Stepping over soon

When your tween comments how fast the year is going, you KNOW it is flying by... How in the world is it March of 2017?? I have no earthly idea, but I totally feel blindsided.
Well, the advantage of a new month is a new blog hop, chock full of stampy inspiration just for you! So here you go!

For my post, I wanted to do a couple of stepped over projects for you. However, thanks to this cutie...

...I only got one project done in time...and the lighting is not great, thanks to ten new inches of snow! But the card still turned out nice! And it feels like summer on my card, much unlike our "frozen tundra", as my husband calls it.

I used the current Mojo Monday sketch, a few brand new things from the Occasions Mini and put the Big Shot to good use, along with a hefty stack of Dimensionals! Nine, I think...

Supplies:

Stamps: Swirly Bird, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Early Espresso, Pear Pizazz, So Saffron

Paper: Very Vanilla, Pear Pizazz, Early Espresso card stocks, Cupcakes & Carousels DP

Accessories: Cupcakes & Carousels Embellishments, Scribbles & Swirls dies, Woodland Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Dimensionals

For now, hop on over to see what Cheryl has created for you. Hop on thru and see what everyone made! Leave us your thoughts- we all love comments! And later, come back and see what else I create using the same idea! 

Another Father's Day card...

It is a good thing I got so much stamping done the other day! I ended up going to the instacare this week and finding out I do have bronchitis! My husband has pneumonia so now the concern is how many others are we sharing with?! UGH... moving is too stressful!

Sometimes, like when I have way too much going on in my life, I am perfectly happy to use my stash of cards to find "the right one" to give someone. And sometimes, I really just have to create something new.
If you've read anything here in the last month or so, you know this was absolutely a stash kind of a season for me. hahaha... (see above!) However, I still needed one last (new!) Father's Day card while I was creating last Saturday. So this is the one I made. I also haven't played with Traveler in quite a while, and it stayed in the catalog, so that's a good time to use it!

Supplies:
Stamps: Traveler
Ink: Dapper Denim, Soft Sky, Tip Top Taupe
Paper: Tip Top Taupe, Dapper Denim, Whisper White card stocks

This card stayed quite simple, but I really like the color combo. And yes, I did use another new In Color for today's post, haha!
Also, if you're wondering, Father's Day was a good day for us. We managed to see a lot of family with a family event on my side and dinner with my husband's parents later. Love days like that! I also love days when my kids get to give three different cards to three different loved ones!

Autumn Trees!

Wow- I haven't stamped in about a week and a half! And I have upcoming events I am trying to get ready for and feature ahead of time, so that isn't so great.... But I'm stamping today!! And yeay for a break in the {much-needed-and-enjoyed} rain so I could snap a picture of my first creation!! 

This card uses the latest Nacho Average Challenge sketch, and I am pretty sure we'll be making this card in my upcoming Thank You Card Class! 

Supplies:

Stamps: Among the Branches, Teeny Tiny Wishes, 

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzelberry, Mossy Meadow, Tip Top Taupe, Early Espresso

Paper: Tip Top Taupe, Whisper White card stocks, Into the Woods DP

Accessories: Big Shot, Woodland embossing folder, Banners Dies, Hexagon punch

A Birthday Train!

In the coming weeks, we have a few family birthdays coming up for some guys so I needed to make some masculine cards. This is hard for a lot of stampers, but if you keep it simple, keep the sparkles and ruffles off, it comes pretty easily for me! The latest Retro Sketch worked perfectly!
I pulled out the Traveler stamp set for this one! I love this set, the images are fantastic and vintage and beautiful but I don't use it very often! I decided that needed to change! I also kept the colors simple and used a nice, vintage color scheme!

Supplies:
Stamps: Traveler, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Memento Black, Tip Top Taupe
Paper: Whisper White & Tip Top Taupe card stocks, In Color Envelope Paper
Accessories: Linen Thread, Neutral Buttons, Dimensionals

Sponged Butterfly!

Hello again! Yesterday I managed to find some stamp time and I was SO excited, haha! Since it's been so long since I pulled out my things, for the first project I used both a sketch and a color challenge, and kept it very simple. Easy way to get back to stamping!
So this pretty butterfly card uses the latest Freshly Made Sketch and the color combo from the Nacho Average Challenge blog!

Supplies:
Stamps: Swallowtail, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo, Memento Black
Paper: Whisper White, Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Stamping Sponges, Hexagon Punch (pennant end)

I have done a circle-sponging for this particular butterfly, where I stamp it first, then sponge on color. This time I did the colors in stripes, and stamped the butterfly over the stripes. Have you tried smearing your sponging since the ink pads changed a couple years ago? It doesn't give the same smooth color blending that you can see in the Melon Mambo (bottom) stripe. Instead, it works better to just dab the sponge on the paper, so that's what I did for the other two colors.

Anyway, I think it turned out pretty. And I'm excited to keep stamping again!!

Mother's Day!

...is Sunday! Did you know that? I barely did...! I whipped up a couple specifically-Mother's-Day cards and then laid out allll the flowery, butterfly-y cards I have in my stash (there are a LOT) and had my kids choose which ones to send their grandmothers, and my husband chose one for his mother. I know my husband likes cards that say right on them what they're for, so I needed to add a few that say "happy Mother's Day" on the front. So even tho my stash is pretty large, adding two cards to it, but mailing out 6 seems a fair trade, haha! And that is why retiring products are on today's cards!

Sketches are my favorite go-to to get me started with cards. This card uses the current Freshly Made Sketch, and is really quite a simple card, but I really love how it turned out!

Supplies:
Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Soft Suede, Coastal Cabana
Paper: Soft Sky, Crumb Cake & Coastal Cabana card stocks
Accessories: Big Shot, Butterflies Framelits, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals

For this card, I used the May 1 sketch from the Viva La Verve blog. A few weeks ago I received a couple cards, thru the Cards In The Mail swap I participate in, using this stamp set on white panels, stuck on a white card. I thought it was a very striking look. (You can see them at the end of THIS post.) I chose Very Vanilla to achieve the same idea. What do you think? I really like it, and the touch of pearls!

Supplies:
Stamps: Butterfly Basics, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Memento Black, Pear Pizazz (marker), Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride (marker)
Paper: Very Vanilla & Blushing Bride card stocks
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals

Hopefully these inspire you to create something pretty for the mothers in your life! And I need to get the Mother's Day cards out today!

What is retiring from today's projects?

• Coastal Cabana ink
• Coastal Cabana card stock
• Scallop Edge Punch

Blog Hop: May Flowers

Already we're to the 1st of May?!?!?!
The good thing about that is that we have another blog hop for you! This time we're following up with our April Showers theme, bringing May Flowers! Flowery cards are also perfect for Mother's Day which falls in May, so read on!

First up, I chose the Freshly Made Sketch for this sweet Mother's Day card....The greeting doesn't look crooked in real life....weird....

Supplies:
Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Paper: Wisteria Wonder & Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Neutral Buttons, Designer Label Punch, Glue Dot

Next up, I used the current Retro Sketch for this pretty tulip card, and you can see flowers work for pretty much any occasion! I used Watercolor paper for this card and was suprised the Memento black ink smudged into the pink petals. However, I also think that muddiness gives a realistic look to the flowers so that was a happy accident!

Supplies:
Stamps: Love Is Kindness
Ink: Memento Black, Old Olive, Melon Mambo, Crumb Cake
Paper: Pistachio Pudding card stock, Park Lane DP, Watercolor Paper
Accessories: Neutral Buttons, Linen Thread, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Glue Dots

Finally, I used the Nacho Average Challenge for this quick birthday card. It's not my favorite card but you can't win them all... haha! I do like the colors together tho...and it's hard to see but I stamped a different little flower on the white strip to look like leaves.

Supplies:
Stamps: Petite Petals, Itty Bitty Banners
Ink: Strawberry Slush, Wild Wasabi
Paper: Whisper White card stock, Maritime DP
Accessories: Petite Petals Punch, Regals Candy Dots, Dimensionals

Aren't flowers handy? haha! I know I own tons of flower stamps, current, retiring and long retired. They're so versatile and you can make them any color you can imagine, completely changing the feel of any card you could need. Awesome feature, haha!
Now hop on over to Cheryl and all the way thru to see how everyone else used May Flowers! And leave us some comments- we love to hear what you think!

What is retiring from today's projects?

• Itty Bitty Banners stamp set
• Pistachio Pudding card stock
• Park Lane DP 
• Maritime DP
• Essentials Paper Piercing Pack
• Strawberry Slush ink

Birthday Flowers

Today's card uses a sketch from Nacho Average Challenges, but I made it after the deadline. Instead of three circles, I did three different things. And once again, this is a card full of retiring products!

I used the Crushed Curry marker to scribble across the Naturals White card stock, then I stamped the large flower right over it, and cut it out. Cool and simple! The greeting piece was stamped in Crushed Curry, and punched out. I stapled the ribbon on, and layered things from there. The flower is on two layers of Dimensionals to sit above the greeting.

Supplies:
Stamps: Four Frames, Bloom with Hope (hostess only), Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Crushed Curry, Memento Black
Paper: Crushed Curry, Crumb Cake & Naturals White card stocks
Accessories: Natural Chevron Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, stapler

What is retiring from this card?

• Bloom with Hope stamp set  
• Four Frames stamp set 
• Natural Chevron ribbon 
• Naturals White card stocks! 

A Baby Card

Today I have the last card from the classes this week! Again, for this class, I wanted to focus on all new products. I have the Boys Will Be Boys stamp set, but I was stuck for a while as to how "everyone" can use it, since I like my classes to be as universally applicable as possible! And then I figured it out- a baby card with the blocks! Yeay! And the In Colors from last year work perfectly for this sweet card! What do you think?

Supplies:
Stamps: Boys Will Be Boys, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Baked Brown Sugar markers
Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Big Shot, Arrows Embossing Folder, Neutral Buttons, White Baker's Twine

Sympathetic Flowers

Here is another card from this month's class. This time I used a Viva La Verve sketch, and I kept to the newest In Colors. That's all that is "new" for the card, but I'm okay with that. *grin
I thought the rich colors and the flowers worked well for a sympathy card and its always a good idea to have those on hand, so that's the word I used.

 Supplies:
Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow
Paper: Whisper White & Blackberry Bliss card stock
Accessories: White Organza Ribbon

Butterfly Grunge

Back to the workshop last week...
Thursday's hostess has a bright, fun personality so I wanted the make & take to be something that suited her. I used last week's Clean & Simple sketch and this is what I came up with!

Supplies:
Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, Papillion Potpourri, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry & Melon Mambo
Paper: Melon Mambo & Whisper White card stocks, Sweet Taffy DP
Accessories: Bitty Butterfly Punch, Dimensionals, Brights Candy Dots

We started with the two splats in Daffodil Delight, but the smaller splat I stamped off once for a paler shade. The larger splat was stamped twice and the smaller three times. Then the little dots were stamped once in Old Olive. I punched out the detailed butterfly and popped him up on Dimensionals. Then we added two Bright Candy Dots of their choice. And there you have it!

A Nautical Card

for your Monday morning!

Today is the first of my fall classes, and I'm featuring products from the new catalog (since I haven't done any classes since it came out!). This card uses the Freshly Made Sketch, and the Maritime DP, and this sa-weet ship! As much as I love ships and nautical paper, I think my favorite is the three brads in the corner, haha!

Supplies:
Stamps: Traveler, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Night of Navy
Paper: Smoky Slate & Whisper White card stock, Maritime DP
Accessories: Silver Mini brads, Mat Pack

a friend's farewell...

Yeah, I too noticed that I was posting daily and now I'm not. haha...
I was also stamping more, and now I'm not.
What am I busy with? Well, on top of things like swimming lessons, babysitting, my son mowing my parents lawn every week, attempting to cram summertime fun into the days...and all the normal parts of being a wife and mother...our very good friends moved away this past week! The kind of friends where the dad's are movie buddies and the mom's are always chatting about this or that, and the kids are all friends too. Rats. We helped pack, load, unload and clean. Fortunately they are only about 30 minutes away, so we'll still be able to visit...it just won't be the same as having them right out the back gate.

Aside from helping with the move......
One of the little girls told my daughter that she hoped her friends would give her something to remember them by. aww...! My daughter and I decided that friend photos would be great! Another mom suggested that a little photo album full of pics of their friends would be even better! (of course I agreed 100%- have you seen my photo addiction/scrapbooking problem?! haha!) And another mom suggested a disk of all the photos we've taken together! Love it!
So! We took pictures of the groups of friends...
we put together small albums with photos and notes...
(I put together two of the kids' albums and the mom's)

and the disk of photos evolved to an MDS slideshow, including music, burned to a dvd that the kiddos can watch anytime they want, home-movie style! hahaha!
Most of my MDS "pages" were kept suuuuper simple! I just used the pre-designed photo layouts for almost every page.

Then I created a title and ending page, which are identical except for the text. (this is the end...)

And then! I even stamped on the disk sleeve! 

(note: Stampin' Up!'s ink does not stay on a disk. It never dried. Came off super easy with a clorox wipe!)

So! Plenty busy, using my stamp supplies, but very little to blog! haha...

*Slideshow Supplies: 
MDS, Lemonade Stand content disk, Sycamore Street embellishments, Font: Throw My Hands Up
*Disk Sleeve Supplies:
Stamps: Six Sided Sampler, Teeny Tiny Wishes 
Ink: Lost Lagoon, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Gray

Workshop Make & Take

To those still wanting to place an order with my workshop Friday, I'm holding it open until Thursday. You can get your check and order to me before then, or! You can place an order online, using me as your demonstrator, and the Hostess Code 29RUCAJG. That's a great option if you want to order any downloads for MDS, or simply live too far away from me and want it shipped directly to yourself. *grin

This sweet card is what we did for the Make & Take Friday.
I based the card on the Retro Sketch #118.
I don't usually use so many stamps in a Make & Take- I don't want new people to feel overwhelmed and like they "haaave to buy allll this stuff to make one card" because they definitely don't. But I wanted to feature a punch and stamp set that coordinates, and that meant I needed words. And I like how Gorgeous Grunge just adds personality to a card!
And, the people who I expected to come are familiar enough with my stamping style to know they don't haaave to use so many stamp sets on one card, haha...

Supplies:

Stamps: Petite Petals, Gorgeous Grunge, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Soft Sky, Lost Lagoon, Smoky Slate

Paper: Soft Sky & Whisper White card stocks

Accessories: Soft Sky seam binding, Pearls, Petite Petals punch, Dimensionals

Featuring: Traveler

For the Blog Hop last week, I featured the new Traveler stamp set and a few of the new In-Colors. Today's post continues on that theme, showing off another of the new colors!
I used last week's Mojo Monday sketch for the layout, and the card has a kind of masculine feel to it. I fit three of the stamp images onto this card, which is always fun!

Supplies:

Stamps: Traveler, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Tangelo Twist

Paper: Very Vanilla, Lost Lagoon & Hello Honey card stocks

Accessories: 1 3/8 inch circle punch, Hexagon punches, Dimensionals

Featuring Watercolor DP

As you likely know, the catalog, and the Occasions Mini catalog are both about to retire. You can only order from them until June 2. Well, I haven't got to play with this gorgeous paper very much yet and I really wanted to show it off a little more before it is no longer available! So the other night I had some time and made these three cards!

We had an occasion recently to need sympathy cards and I thought the soft flowers were perfect for restocking. This first card used the latest Viva La Verve sketch for May, and only one sheet of DP! The dotty print is the reverse of these pretty Island Indigo and Gumball Green flowers!

Supplies:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Island Indigo
Paper: Smoky Slate, Island Indigo card stocks, Watercolor Wonder DP
Accessories: Regals Candy Dots, White Baker's Twine, Petite Petals Punch, Dimensionals

This next card uses an older Freshly Made Sketch, but it was on my list and I like the sketch...and the doily went well with the roses, I thought. Once again, the green chevron and the roses are one sheet of DP, just the two sides. Love!

Supplies:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Calypso Coral
Paper: Whisper White card stock, Watercolor Wonder DP
Accessories: Tea Lace Doilies, Basic Pearls

The third card was based on an older Clean & Simple sketch. This one is not two sides of the same sheet, but the punched flowers were out of the top print. I just love this!! And since this one was brighter, I went with a Thank You instead of sympathy.

Supplies:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Tangerine Tango
Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe card stock, Watercolor Wonder DP
Accessories: Petite Petals punch, Brights Candy Dots, Dimensionals