Country Floral!

I got a few new things to play with this past week, and finally had a chance to give it a try! The embossing folder I'm featuring today was actually a Sale-A-Bration item I didn't even like when I first saw it, but then I saw what people were doing with it and I really wanted it after all! I wasn't able to earn it before March ended, and with the new catalog some of the carrying over embossing folders weren't (and aren't) available for purchase, but this one is now so here it is!

This first card is the one we made at my class this week. Super sweet, and so easy to make! You just add ink (literally tap the ink pad) to the embossing folder (on the side that says the brand name) and run it thru the Big Shot! (yes, I know, Stampin' Up! isn't carrying the Big Shot anymore, but soon they'll have a new machine out to use. In the meantime, if you have a Big Shot, you can absolutely use it!) Anyway, in this case, I used Petal Pink ink on Petal Pink card stock and I love the result!! So pretty! I added a bit of the new lace ribbon, and a quick thank you and it's done!

Supplies:
Stamps: Love What You Do
Ink: Petal Pink, Early Espresso
Paper: Petal Pink card stock
Accessories: Lace Trim, Big Shot, Country Floral embossing folder, Dimensionals

This next one is exactly the same, but I dyed the ribbon using my Dark Night of Navy Stampin' Blend! The yellow and the flowers just needed some blue to go with it, haha. And good to know- the Blend marker didn't bleed thru the ribbon, and it dried instantly too! I love this in yellow too, it just has an extra step.

Supplies:
Stamps: Love What You Do
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy, Dark Night of Navy Stampin' Blends
Paper: Daffodil Delight card stock
Accessories: Lace Trim, Big Shot, Country Floral embossing folder, Dimensionals

And this final card is the reason I fell in love with this folder. Run it thru the Big Shot on white card stock, then color the flowers and leaves with Stampin' Blends and you've got yourself a field of wildflowers! SO fun!! It obviously takes more time to make this card, but I love the result!

Supplies:
Stamps: Love What You Do
Ink: Night of Navy
Stampin' Blends: Light Cherry Cobbler, Light Night of Navy, Light Old Olive, Light Pumpkin Pie, Dark Daffodil Delight
Paper: Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Lace Trim, Big Shot, Country Floral embossing folder, Dimensionals

Which one is YOUR favorite? Expect to see this one a lot more! I can't wait to play with more colors!

Simple Stamping

I realized all of the cards for my upcoming class have a lot of layers and a lot of things. That can be overwhelming for new crafters and that is exactly why Stampin' Up! has a focus right now on #simplestamping. Funny that I learned to use lots of supplies on a project right about the time they come up with this emphasis, haha....

For this card, I let the DP do the talking, haha. It is stunning so it's easy to let it shine. Plus, this couple is so fabulous. I put them on Shimmery card stock to give it a little bit of something. Anyway, I picked this particular pattern because it looked like a stormy sky, which is why they need an umbrella.

Supplies:
Stamps: Silhouette Scenes
Ink: Memento Black
Paper: Mossy Meadow & Shimmery White card stocks, Perennial Essence DP

You could easily add some ribbon or some kind of drops or other embellishment, but it's pretty without it too!

Come Sail Away Suite!

So, demonstrators get to buy some things to prepare samples and have them ready as soon as the catalog comes out. One of those things was the Come Sail Away suite. I became a little bit...obsessed? with lighthouses when I was about 12, and I'm kind of a sucker for boats, anchors, compasses, etc. Obviously this was something I was going to have to get, haha. But I've been seeing all kinds of gorgeous samples since early May and that just made me feel a little overwhelmed. Every time I pulled out this stamp set and die I just started at it, completely unable to pick a project and go. Rude...

But the other day, when I was trying to prep for my upcoming class and was browsing sketches, I realized it could fit the SUO Challenge sketch perfectly! And I am super in love with how it turned out! I don't yet have everything in the suite but don't you worry- I'll get it all soon, haha!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sailing Home
Ink: Soft Suede, Night of Navy, Balmy Blue
Paper: Whisper White & Balmy Blue card stocks, Come Sail Away DP
Accessories: Baker's Twine, Big Shot, Smooth Sailing dies, Dimensionals

Paper Pumpkin Birthdays

Hello again! Today happens to be a birthday in our house, but most of today's cards are not for that person. These were already mailed off!

I used the March 2019 Paper Pumpkin kit for all three cards, but you can't completely tell, haha. First, I wanted to use the latest Inspire. Create. sketch. I had the idea in my head and then I got carried away and stamped the greeting elsewhere! So I got to make a second one, hahaha so that I could follow the sketch! Here's the sketch card:

Supplies: 

Stamps: Poppin' Birthday Paper Pumpkin March 2019, Counting The Years free gift stamps

Ink: Calypso Coral, Balmy Blue, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight

Paper: Daffodil Delight & Whisper White card stock

Accessories: Big Shot, Layering Circle Dies, Dimensionals, black sharpie 

and here's the one that missed, but it's still a great little birthday card!

Supplies: 

Stamps: Poppin' Birthday Paper Pumpkin March 2019, Counting The Years free gift stamps

Ink: Calypso Coral, Balmy Blue, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight

Paper: Granny Apple Green & Whisper White card stock

Accessories: black sharpie 

And, this card uses the same kit, and the striped sheet, the candle layer and the greeting layer all came from the kit. Oh, the Poppy Parade ink does too!

Supplies:
Stamps: Poppin' Birthday Paper Pumpkin March 2019, Counting The Years free gift stamps

Ink: Poppy Parade, Seaside Spray, Pineapple Punch marker

Paper: Poppy Parade card stock, Poppin' Birthday Paper Pumpkin March 2019

Accessories: Dimensionals

But the design came from the insert with the free bonus stamp set since it was the Paper Pumpkin birthday. See in the top left corner? I just made it my own.

And there's three new cards!
which have already been sent!

Summer birthday!

Happy Monday! I am in need of several birthday cards right now, so I made four on this day, haha. Today I'm just sharing one.

This is actually my second attempt at this card. I totally hated the first card. I kept it for an hour or so thinking that since it wasn't for ME it was fine, and maybe someone would like it but wow, I really couldn't stand it. So I pried the tree off and added the white layer and sponged on some ground and sky and I like it SO much better now! Now I can send this off. Phew. haha....

It also qualifies for the Just Add Ink challenge to use a season. This is distinctly summer.

Supplies:
Stamps: Silhouette Scenes, Well Said
Ink: Call Me Clover marker, Granny Apple Green, Balmy Blue
Paper: Whisper White, Call Me Clover & Pineapple Punch card stocks
Accessories: Big Shot, Sweet Silhouettes Dies, Glue Dots, Sponges

Washi Tape Flower!

Have you seen the new Washi Tape?? There isn't a whole lot in the new catalog, but there is this awesome flower petal roll that makes flowers!

It's only $7.50 for these two rolls, and I seriously love them both. I used both on today's card, combined with the latest sketch from the TGIF Challenge blog. I was also inspired by THIS card, tho obviously it's not quite the same.

Supplies:
Stamps: Well Said
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Paper: Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Pressed Petals Washi Tape, Clear Faceted Gems, Copper Trim, Pearlized Doilies, Big Shot, Tin Tile Embossing Folder, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

It's a little hard to see the Copper Trim. If I make this design again, I'll use a longer strip of Washi Tape to go over the edge of the doily, and I'll use a longer piece of the Copper Trim so it sticks out a bit further. I've wanted it since it came out in last years catalog, I just hadn't ever gotten it. The Washi, the Copper and the gems are all new-to-me, even tho two of them were in the last catalog.
And as a side note, the flower petals coordinate with Merry Merlot, but I don't have that ink, and noticed that Rich Razzleberry works pretty well too.

This will definitely be a card in my upcoming class! Are you coming?
And don't forget about Bonus Days and the chance to earn free money for August!

For every $50 you spend in July (before tax & shipping) you'll earn a $5 coupon to spend in August!

Very Versailles

It has been a jam-packed week but I need to send out some cards and I need to prep for a card class, so today I had to get some stamping done. This is the first project I finished, so I'm sharing it now! I've had a few ideas spinning with this set, and this is just what I did first. Hoping to get more done very soon!

Supplies:
Stamps: Very Versailles
Ink: Crumb Cake, Rococo Rose
Paper: Very Vanilla & Crumb Cake card stock
Accessories: Rococo Rose scalloped linen ribbon, Big Shot, Tin Tile embossing folder, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

I am really enjoying this stamp set for a set I hadn't planned to buy, haha. It's so easy to make something lovely with it! I also really love this new Rococo Rose color and this new ribbon!

We Create Red, White and Blue Blog Hop

Annnd now it's July!! The year is half over! I am so not prepared to realize that, but! here we are! And a new month always means a new blog hop to inspire your own creativity!

This month, since it's the 4th of July in the United States, and hot summer months elsewhere, we're going with the bold combination of red, white and blue! I wanted to stick with this set I am loving, so I put together a quick beach scene with this relaxing guy for a birthday card. I am in serious need of masculine birthday cards at the moment...!
I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches, and it also works for the current SUO challenge to make a birthday card! Helpful!

Supplies:
Stamps: A Good Man, Well Said
Ink: Memento Black, Pacific Point, So Saffron, Crumb Cake
Stampin' Blends: Dark Cherry Cobbler, Dark Night of Navy, Ivory, Color Lifter
Paper: Balmy Blue, Whisper White & Pacific Point card stocks
Accessories: Stamping Sponges, Big Shot, Well Written dies, In the Woods dies

Mostly I stuck to red, white and blue, but I did sponge on some sand using So Saffron and Crumb Cake. It just needed something between the guy sitting and the water...

Any special plans for the 4th? Any special plans for July? We have a birthday and a little getaway planned but I am hoping for a little down time, since June was PACKED.... Maybe even a day that looks like this card! haha... Here's hoping!

Hop on over to see what Cheryl has made for you using the button below, then hop on thru everyone else's projects too! It's a short hop this month, but you'll find something to get your own wheels turning!

New Favorites

I rarely post on Saturdays, but I am excited about this one!!
As soon as I thumbed thru the new catalog (okay, okay, I browsed it online first...) I knew I had to have this great Silhouette Scenes stamp set! My mom actually purchased it first but that is perfectly fine with me! I love, love, love this couple with the umbrella!
And then I saw this stunning card by Corinne (it's a facebook link, but that's all I've got. If you know how to pin from fb, please let me know!!) and had to get the Very Versailles stamp to go with it!!
So when my order arrived, I assembled the stamp sets and made this!

Supplies:
Stamps: Silhouette Scenes, Very Versailles
Ink: Memento Black, Daffodil Delight, Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo, Rococo Rose
Paper: Whisper White, Blushing Bride card stocks

I didn't do her method at all actually- she has a video of how she made it on her fb page. But I had an idea in my head when I saw the card, which was before the video, so I tried my way and it worked great too!
I stamped the couple, stamped the leaves, stamped off once for the scripty words to be a bit more subtle. Then I sponged on Daffodil Delight, then the three shades of pink. Then I remembered I wanted a "moon" behind them, so I die cut a circle out of a post-it note and added more sponging, haha... Then I tore another post-it for the ground. Finally I edged it all in black ink and stuck it on a card base! BAM.

This is not a simple card, and this is really a messy card, but wow, I love it.
What do you think??

Floral Birthday

This one is probably my favorite card from my latest class. This is also a re-creation of a card I made a in March, and I had to update it for this class using brand new paper, which, by the way, is stunning.

This card really is so simple. I cut the beautiful DP to a card front size, and then cut the strips from the "left overs", it's just the reverse side. I die-cut the circle a head of time, and let them choose the word they wanted to die cut. That's all!

Supplies:
Stamps: Well Said
Ink: Blackberry Bliss
Paper: Whisper White & Blackberry Bliss card stock, Perennial Essence DP
Accessories: Big Shot, Well Written Dies, Circle Dies, Fine Tip Glue Pen

And here is a better picture of all the beautiful paper in this pack!

What do you think?? I think I'll probably have to buy more! 

And finally, here is the first design, and the second. Goodness I love the paper Stampin' Up! has been making lately!!

Valentine Page!

Today I'm switching gears to a scrapbook page! Everything on this page is long retired, (except the die cuts) but that's what scrapbooking is for. The pictures are a year and a half old too, haha...

I got the layout idea from the Sketch Saturday blog, but since it was square I thought "page" instead of "card". Hooray for that! I need to scrap all the pictures that have already been printed!

Supplies:
Ink: Melon Mambo marker
Paper: Whisper White, Melon Mambo and Basic Black card stock, Pop of Pink DP (retired!)
Accessories: Big Shot, Well Written dies, Glue Dots, Artisan Embellishment Kit (sparkle button from 2015), Silver Metallic Cord (from 2004)

Northern Lights

I had a plan...and it so did not work, haha. So I tried this instead. This was my second try at the "galaxy background". Both tries were on Monday, haha. The first time I was hoping for fireworks, but I'll show you at the end why it didn't work out.

I still wanted to use the idea in my head, so I went with a starry sky instead. I used the sketch from The Paper Players for the layout. And I love this cute father and daughter image, watching the night sky.

Supplies:
Stamps: A Good Man, Little Twinkle
Ink: Real Red, Pacific Point, Flirty Flamingo, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Memento Black, Versamark, Crumb Cake
Stampin' Blends: Light Basic Black, Light Pumpkin Pie, Dark Night of Navy, Bronze, Ivory, Color Lifter
Paper: Mint Macaron & Whisper White card stocks

I even stamped the inside to go with the outside!!

So, for my first attempt...
Since I was trying to do fireworks, I kept the colors bold- Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Pacific Point, Night of Navy. You just sponge it on your card stock, then sponge black ink around it for the "night sky". I then added these little flower centers from Colorful Seasons, embossed in white. But this is what I got....

I don't often throw something away but I sure don't know how else to use that, haha... what do you think? Have you tried any new techniques lately?