Encre, papier, ciseaux

Bonjour and Happy Birthday

The Mojo Monday Sketch #432 inspired me to pull out the Specialty Project Life Cards offered as a freebie during SAB. I'm very excited about those because there's some gold-foil acetate cards in there, some embossed ones, some frames... They're all awesome! Whether you're a scrapbooker or not, you can see from my project here those cards can be used to make tags, cards, packaging, etc. so not scrapbooking shouldn't deter you from getting them as a free gift. On this card, I layered a clear-embossed star patterned Daffodil Delight card and a clear card with a gold foil circle frame in the center.

The stamp set I used is also a SAB freebie set called Salut. I stamped the big sentiment on white cardstock in Old Olive ink and fussy cut it. I added the "and happy birthday" stamp, die-cutting this part with the Bitty Banners Framelits Dies. The little party hat, from the same set, was inked with Stampin' Write markers, cut out and added to the gold circle. Two gold sequins (taken off of the gold sequin trim) were added in the top right corner and topped with Wisteria Wonder candy dots.

Strips of Wisteria Wonder and Old Olive patterned papers were punched with the Triple Banner punch, and a piece of narrow olive ribbon was tied in a bow at the bottom of the card.

The colour combo came from ColourQ #326 and the theme from the Nacho Average SAB Blog Hop.

 

TIP: To glue the clear Project Life card over the Daffodil Delight one, I started by glueing all my embellishments in place with mini glue dots on the clear card first, then I turned it over and applied the adhesive underneath my sentiment and embellishments, where it wouldn't show through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Salut (Hello)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Designer Series Paper: Polka Dot Parade, In Color DSP
Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Stampin' Write Markers, Memories in the Making Project LIfe Specialty Cards,
Subtles Candy Dots, Gold Sequin Trim, Triple Banner Punch,
Square White Envelope, Stampin' Dimensionals, Bitty Banners Framelits Dies,
Old Olive Narrow Organza Ribbon

 

 

 

North Pole Mail

For Christmas, I made a card "from Santa Claus" for my 3-year-old niece and hid it inside a wooden Christmas mailbox I bought before the Holidays. I wanted to make a page about this featuring the pictures my sister took with her phone, so I used the same patterned papers I had used on the card to match and used a Project Life pocket page to create my page. The top centre pocket contains the actual card.

I was unsure about how this page would turn out because it seems the ideas I had weren't turning out like I wanted them to, but in the end, I found some alternatives I liked and I am happy with the result. The top left card was created out of chevron-embossed patterned paper, on which I used the Wandering Words (minicatalogue set from years ago). It so happened that this set includes three images: fluttering leaves, a Santa sleigh and a mailbox with little hearts coming out. Two of those three images fit my theme perfectly! So I embossed the Santa sleigh in navy embossing powder, and the mailbox in pewter powder. I decided to add grass at the bottom and used my Fringe Scissors to cut the grass. The fringes were a little square, so I snipped the end of some of them at an angle to make it more interesting. The design was still a little flat, so I added texture stamped with the Timeless Textures stamp set (this one available in our current Occasions catalogue). The card really took life when I looked through my accessories and found a snowflake brad and the "ho ho ho" word bubble, which happened to be the perfect size and colour! (I love when things work out like that.)

The bottom left card was cut out of an ornement-patterned paper and I planned on using the ornament stamp set with matching Holiday Ornaments Framelits. Try as I may, I just couldn't find the matching stamp set anywhere. I promise you it'll pop up now that my page is done, but I looked through my stamps three times and just couldn't locate it so I finally gave up.  I had planned on leaving the card blank until I found them again, but then when looking at accessories, I found some Christmas chipboard pieces from Crate Paper and the ornament was PERFECT for the paper. right shape, right colours, right size... This helped me make peace with not finding my other stamps. I hung the ornament with clear tinsel trim (I'm going to shed a tear when I see the end of that roll, 'cos I love the stuff!) and to fill out the space at the bottom, I used the "Noel" Framelits from the Wonderful Wreath Framelits set to die-cut Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper.

The title block was created with various alphabet stickers and I thought finding a stamp image would fill in the space at the top nicely and then I remembered an old hostess set we carried that had postage images for various occasions, including Christmas. Perfect touch!

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Prioritaire, Color Me Christmas, Wandering Words,
Timeless Textures (SU!), Marquee Arrows (Recollections)
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink
Patterned Papers: Be Merry (Recollections)
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark
Accessories: Markers, Dazzling Details, Softly Falling Embossing Folder,
Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Red Polka Dot Ribbons (organza, grosgrain),
Sequins, Project Life Corner Punch, Arrow Clip, Curvy Corner Trio Punch,
Gel Pen, Journaling Tags (October Afternoon), Wonderful Wreath Framelits Dies,
Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, Make It Merry Designer Brads (October Afternoon),
Make It Merry Doo-Dads (October Afternoon), Snow Day Collection Layered Chipboard (Crate Paper),
Clear Tinsel Trim, Embossing Powders (Navy, Pewter), Fringe Scissors

 

Sympathy Silhouettes

So a former colleague of ours lost his mom and I was asked to provide a card that we could sign as a group. Even though I had made a few sympahy cards to keep on hand recently, it happened that the sentiments on them all had "me" or "I" somewhere, so it was not really working for a group card. I came home and looked through my Pinterest sympathy board to find something I could whip up together quickly. This card was adapted from a design from Lynn Weiss. Lynn's original card was nice and soft and had touches of soft blue on it. I gave the main image two tries, trying to achieve a similar look, and finally decided mine would be darker and that would be it. Those lovely flower silhouettes are from More Petal Prints, one of the first stamp sets I bought from a minicatalogue back when I started stamping and they are still one of my favorite flower sets after ten years (and heaven knows we've had our share of flowers since!!).

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Beauté de la Création, Dictionary, More Petal Prints, Sympathies (Simple à souhaits)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Mossy Meadow
Ink: Crumb Cake, VersaMark, Easly Espresso, Mossy Meadow, Soft Sky
Accessories: Mossy Meadow Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Sponges, Sponge Daubers, Triple Banner Punch, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope,
White Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Congrats, Graduate!

Stampin' Up! has only offered a handful of graduation stamp sets over the years and none of them has ever been translated. When I came across this stamp set, I thought it had enough images to make up for the fact that the sentiments are in English, and I thought it would be a great addition to my image collection. I  don't get asked for graduation cards all that often, but I think it would be wise to have one or two on hand. Inspired by the "Anything Goes" challenge theme from Simon Says Stamp, I made a graduation card, making sure to keep the colors as gender-neutral as possible on this card, since I don't know who it will be going to.

The set has been sitting on my desk, waiting to be used, for a little while, and today, when I came across some Doodlebug Designs paper with an office theme to them (Take Note collection), I thought the clipboard and paperclip designs could tie in nicely with the school/graduation theme. The "Congratulations" stamp was found in the Sky is the Limit stamp set (offered for a limited time as a SAB freebie - get yours before February 15th!).

The graduate was stamped in VersaMark on Basic Grey cardstock and embossed in Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, then punched out with a 2" Circle Punch. I wanted confetti around him, so I reached for the Party With Cake stamp set (from the current Occasions catalogue) and used Smoky Slate ink for a softer look on the Basic Grey cardstock.

The design was inspired by the January Reverse Confetti Sketch.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: You Did It (Impression Obsession Rubber Stamps), Dans les nuages (Sky is the Limit - Stampin' Up!),
Cardstock: Cool Cucumber, Basic Grey, Daffodil Delight
Patterned Papers: Take Note (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Island Indigo, VersaMark, Smoky Slate
Accessories: Brads, Corner Rounder Punch, Paperclips, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder,
2" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Yellow Baker's Twine, Handheld 1/8" Circle Punch,
Stamp Punch, White Envelope

 

Botanical Day

The Can You Case It Sketch #104 inspired me this creation. I paired the Botanicals Blooms stamp set with the matching Botanical Builder Framelits Dies. The sentiment comes from the Perfect Pairings stamp set offered as a free Sale-A-Bration gift. I will say I hesitated before getting this set. Printed in grey in the catalogue, it does not look like much, but I remembered spotting it on a few cards and thinking it looked better inked on a project. Making this card cemented this impression. The font looks really good and has a modern feel. Here, I embossed it in white on vellum cardstock.

Another fun tip to embellish your botanical blooms: add 2015-2017 In Color Blossom Accents! The Mint Macaron matches the colors in the Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper and the Delightful Dijon matches the Hello Honey hue from the paper as well. I think you could even get away with using Tip Top Taupe as well, since it's a neutral and it has a green tint that would work with the other colours. Adding an extra colour like that is a great way to get different looks out of a pack of Designer Series paper so that your projects do not feel like they all look the same.

I used the vine border Framelits and slipped a piece of Lucky Limeade cardstock I had sitting on my desk. This is not a colour that is part of the patterned paper, but it goes with it really well. Since Lucky Limeade is a retired colour, you could use Old Olive for a very similar look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Botanical Blooms, Les deux font la paire (Perfect Pairings)
Cardstock: Hello Honey, Mint Macaron, Mossy Meadow, Cajun Craze, Lucky Limeade, Vellum
Designer Series Paper: Botanical Gardens
Ink: Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, VersaMark, Hello Honey, Mint Macaron
Accessories: Botanical Builder Framelits Dies, Regals Candy Dots,
White Medium Envelope, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Circle Collection Framelits Dies,
2015-2017 In Color Blossom Accents, Pearl Basic Jewels , Linen Thread

 

To Heck with Calories!

These cards were inspired by INKSpired Sketch #33. I like how they are really simple but still fun and interesting. I also like how using different papers on each card made them different but equally cute.

The stamp set used is called Party with Cake. It's a little more streamlined than my usual style, but I knew I had to have this set when I saw the "to heck with calories" French sentiment! This one will look cute paired with other sets and images as well. The rest of the sentiments are going to be versatile as well, in various fonts and sizes. A great addition to my birthday options.

The adorable Designer Paper Series Paper is Cherry on Top (page 144 of Annual Catalogue). And the cute doodled border is from the Tin of Cards stamp set (AC, p. 110).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Faut fêter ça (Party with Cake), Coffret de souhaits (Tin of Cards)
Cardstock: Cool Cucumber, Crushed Curry, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper Stack: Cherry of Top
Ink: Tip Top Taupe, Cool Cucumber, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Stampin' Write Marker, Ticket Corner Punch, Baker's Twine (Pool Party, Crushed Curry),
Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig, White Medium Envelopes

 

29... Again

Due to backorders, my Large Numbers Framelits shipped separately from the Number of Years stamp set. I waited to receive the Framelits before getting my new set inked, but I was looking forward to playing with this set. There's something very fun and charming about this one - and practical for flagship birthdays. I knew I wanted it the second I saw the "et toutes ses dents" sentiment in the French set! Cracked me up!

The difficulty with making cards ahead of time with this set is that you never know the age of the person the card is going to go to. To go around that problem, I decided to make a "happy 29th - again" card. I used some patterned papers I had put aside to use recently - I liked the number background paired with this set. The Framelits really make this set easy to use. I know I'm going to use the tucked in banner image and Framelits with other stamp sets and designs as well. Good image to have for scrapbooking, amongst other uses!

The card design was inspired by the Paper Players challenge #279.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Au fil des ans (Number of Years)
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Basic Black
Patterned Papers: Beautiful Moments (Carta Bella)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black Archival, Summer Starfruit
Accessories: Home for Christmas Enamel Dots, Striped Satin Vanilla Ribbon,
Metallic Thread, Large Numbers Framelits Dies, Envelope Punch Board,
Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Best Mom in the the World

Leafing through old magazines, I found a box using a teapot image, and I thought I could draw inspiration from it make a card with the new A Nice Cuppa stamp set. I planned on using the teapot die-cut but had trouble fitting it on the card with the "Best Mom in the World" sentiment, which I really wanted to use, so I switched to the teacup instead.

That wooden heart added to it is a leftover from the Watercolor Wishes card kit. I colored the wood using the Gold Wink of Stella brush. It looks awesome!!! It darkens the wood slightly and makes it shimmery, for lovely results.

The steam coming out of the cup was die-cut out of vellum cardstock.

 

 

 

 

Color Combo: Primrose Petals + Lucky Limeade + Barely Banana + Wisteria Wonder + White

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Petite tasse (A Nice Cuppa)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, textured Lucky Limeade, Barely Banana, Primrose Petals, Vellum
Designer Series Paper: 2012-20014 In Color
Ink: Basic Grey Archival, VersaMark, Lucky Limeade, Barely Banana, Primrose Petals
Accessories: Wooden Element, Gold Wink of Stella Brush, White Taffeta Ribbon,
Cups & Kettle Framelits Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals, Pearl Basic Jewels,
Gold Pearl Embossing Powder (Rangers), White Medium Envelope

Flowers Just For You

I will admit that I sometimes feel like SU! carries just a little too many flowery stuff. As versatile as flowers are, just how many flower sets does a stamper really need? But then, once in a while there's a flower set that pops up that has a different feel to it, and that's how I feel about the Botanical Blooms series and the Botanicals For You stamp set offered during Sale-A-Bration. Those flowers have a wildforest feel to them that is different and that I really dig. And after making my first card with those items, I'm already liking them - a lot. I like that the Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper is dark and jungle-looking. I used the matching Framelits to create that awesome and unique border. And the brushstrokes look of that big sentiment looks amazing. The great part about this set being part of SAB is that it was available in French (on top of being free!).

One detail the picture probably does not pick up is the fact that I went over my stamped sentiment with the Gold Wink of Stella brush. In person, it gives the card an amazing shimmer that is revealed when you move the card around. I had initially added little gold dots in the center of the flowers as well, but with the card already being so dark, I felt like the flowers looked better with the light centers, so I went back and added little pearls instead, which I think looks better.

TIP: I stamped my sentiment with Cajun Craze directly on the Hello Honey Designer Series Paper from the Botanical Gardens paper pack. To get a deep, even coverage, I stamped the sentiment using the Stamp-a-ma-jig and left the plastic guide in place after stamping the sentiment so that I could reink the stamp and stamp it again on the paper, using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure I would be stamping perfectly on top. I did this a few times to darken the colour and it made the sentiment stand out more. Just a little trick when you find your stamped image is not as dark as you would have liked it to be.

The card design was inspired by Freshly Made Sketch #220.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Des fleurs pour toi (Botanicals for You)
Cardstock: Mossy Meadow, Mint Macaron, Very Vanilla
Designer Series Paper: Botanical Gardens
Ink: Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Mint Macaron
Accessories: Vanilla Medium Envelope, Pearl Basic Jewels,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Botanical Builder Framelits Dies

 

 

 

 

Always Time for Tea

The A Nice Cuppa stamp set was an instant love for me the second I saw it in the new Occasions catalogue (p. 35), and I was really excited to see it was available in French, with great sentiments in it. One of my best friends who's from London is a big tea drinker and this stamp set reminds me of her, so this card was made with her in mind.

The colours were inspired by Color Throwdown #376 and the design was centered around the Stamping Bella sketch #3. I wanted to use the Perfectly Artistic Designer Series Paper offered as a free gift option during Sale-A-Bration, because the design reminds me of foam on top of a coffee.

The card background, made with Tip Top Taupe cardstock, was stamped with the Brushstrokes background stamp. I first stamped it in Tip Top Taupe but it was too dark and stark, so I flipped my cardstock around and used Sahara Sand ink instead for a softer look.

The Watermelon Wonder cardstock strip was embossed with the retired Needlepoint border embossing folder at top and to embellish the bottom, I used the swirl Thinlits from the Cups & Kettle Framelits Dies set. I wanted the Watermelon Wonder swirls to be sparkly, so I covered a scrap of cardstock with VersaMark, pourred Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss on it, heat set and then die-cut the image twice.

A little tea bag was stamped and die-cut as well, and hung from baker's twine. A little spoon was die-cut out of Silver Foil Paper using the same Framelits collection and added in the top cup. I also added a second spoon beside my sentiment on the bottom strip.

The cardfront was mounted of Thick White Cardstock - love having the option of making sturdy white card bases now!  I'm going through a ton of this stuff already.

It should be noted that the Teacups & Kettle Framelits dies are an interesting set. It's meant to coordinate with the A Nice Cuppa stamp set, but a lot of the pieces don't have matching stamps: the fork, spoon and knife, the kettle, two of the cups, the milk container, the scallops, and even the steam. Basically, the only two pieces that cut actual stamped images are the round cup and the tea bag. I hadn't studied the whole set that closely before ordering so I hadn't noticed this, and I thought I'd point it out for other stampers. It's not a big deal, as if you look at the catalogue samples, you'll see how they worked the die-cuts and stamped images together on projects. It was just interesting to me that after buying a die set with so many pieces, I had to do a lot of handcutting on my project! The stacked cups you see on my cards are handcut, and I had first planned on adding steam coming out of the cups, but it wasn't working to my liking (making the whole design too vertical). But I was surprised to find out the steam die does not fit the steam stamp!! They are different. It'll be interesting to see the projects that pop up online using these two items.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: L'heure du thé (A Nice Cuppa), Brushstrokes
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe
Designer Series Paper: Perfectly Artistic (SAB)
Ink: Tip Top Taupe, Watermelon Wonder
Accessories: Teacups & Kettle Framelits Dies, Silver Foil Paper, Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker,
Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss Powder, White Medium Envelope,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, Needlepoint Embossing Folders

 

Balloons Bliss

Would you believe I almost passed up on getting the Balloon Celebration stamp set? I had a long wish list and kept going back and forth on what to get. It's finally the hostess benefits that decided me to get the bundle (which includes the matching punch). I've only done one card with the stamp set and I'm already in love! There is something so soft and sweet about the way those balloons are drawn that's very endearing.

Challenge CAS(E) This Sketch #156 inspired me this design, and I thought the sketch lent itself beautifully to a bouquet of balloons. Colors were inspired by Stampin' Royalty #313 and when came time to select a sentiment, I thought the card could work for various occasions, including welcoming a baby, so I picked "Congratulations." (Isn't that font so pretty?)

The Softly Falling embossing folder was used at the bottom of the Crumb Cake cardstock, and little stars were added with Whisper White Craft ink. A piece of Venetian Crochet Trim was added on top of the sentiment strip and I found some vanilla baker's twine on my desk, that I tied into bows and glued on the big balloons with mini glue dots. (That baker's twine comes from a Stampin' Up! kit, I just don't remember which one. I remember the pieces in the kit were white, so I thought it odd that they included vanilla baker's twine, which looked yellow next to the stark white cardstock.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Bouquet de ballons (Balloon Celebration)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron, Very Vanilla
Ink: Early Espresso, Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron, Whisper White
Accessories: Balloon Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Vanilla Baker's Twine, Subtles Candy Dots,
Venetian Crochet Trim, Vanilla Medium Envelope

 

May Millions Abound Like Snow

There's a funny story behind the creation of this card... Last summer, I made a retirement card, on which was stamped "a well-deserved retirement." One of my colleagues ended up buying the card for herself and putting it in her office as inspiration for her remaining years at work. That was a first for me, one of my cards being bought as an inspiration poster of sorts.

Now, that purchase happened on the week where the PowerBall draw in the States was crazy high, which had everyone dreaming about what they'd do if they won the lottery. The girls at the office started joking that if they visualized becoming multimilionnaires, they would - the way our colleague had the card to visualize her retirement. So my colleague (who jokingly calls herself my agent because she's been selling cards for me in Quebec City after I moved to Montreal) called me and asked if I could make a card mentioning something about becoming a multimillionnaire that she could buy for herself and put in her office. The story behind the request cracked me up, but I also found this to be an interesting challenge. I had no clue what I could possibly use from my stamp collection or stash with a link to money. I let the idea simmer for a while and one night, as I was working on something entirely unrelated, an idea came...

This started out with me using paper scraps after finishing a scrapbooking page (the page of my niece skating) to make a card. I wanted to give the molding paste I had just purchased a try, so I was looking for a paper that would work and selected the snowflakes one, along with the polka dot mask we carry in the annual catalogue. So I put the molding paste on, added clear chunky glitter on it and let it dry. While I was doing that, I pulled out my reference binder and started looking at stamps to find an appropriate sentiment. I wanted something big that would become the focal point of the card, and I wanted to work with the Mojo Monday sketch #431. (And also the Naughty or Nice challenge #23, as this card is a little silly.) As I was going over the Six Sayings page and about to skip it because I didn't want to make a Christmas or New Year card, something clicked - one of the stamps says "Happy Holidays and may blessings fall like snowflakes." That got the wheels turning... I figured I could take out the Holidays part and add a banner on top of the "blessings" word to replace it with "millions". "And may millions abound like snow" - that was my card for my colleague, right there! I got so excited about this idea, I got to working on the sentiment block to see if I could make it work. It took a few tries with alphabet sets to find one that was the right height and width, but I finally found something I was happy with. For the back part, I embossed the full sentiment in Silver on Basic Grey cardstock twice. The first one I kept intact, and rounded the corners with a punch. On the second one, I cut out the second line and I glued it right underneath the row of little snowflakes, so I could keep that decorative border on it without having the Happy Holidays part.

Then I had to wait to the next day to finish off the card because the molding paste had to dry. I then added a Metallic Doily, Mint Macaron Lace Trim, a piece of Silver Baker's Twine, two wooden snowflakes on which I put Crystal Effects and pourred Clear Chunky Glitter (can you tell I love that stuff?).

The best part? The second I sent my colleague the electronic file with the updated list of cards I was sending her (which includes pictures for reference), she emailed me to say she was really, really happy I had done a "million" card as she had suggested and to consider this one already sold because it was hers and hers only! I was hoping this card would bring a smile to her face when she saw it, and I think it got an even better reaction than I could have hoped for. This is another part of my hobby that I really enjoy - when the cards make somebody's day! This just doubles the pleasure of crafting for me - when I make the card and when I offer the card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Six souhaits (Six Sayings), Sweet Shoppe Alphabet Upper, Warmth & Wonder
Cardstock: Mint Macaron, Basic Grey
Patterned Papers: Snow Day (Bo Bunny)
Ink: VersaMark, Island Indigo, Mint Macaron
Accessories: Silver Baker's Twine, Metallic Doilies, Project Life Corner Punch,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Molding Paste,
Dots and Stripes Masks, Wooden Snowflakes, Clear Chunky Glitter,
Crystal Effects, Vanilla Medium Envelope, Mint Macaron Lace Trim, Stamp-a-ma-jig

 

Sympathy Rose

Years ago, Stampin' Up! launched its Big Shot line and part of that first offering included a beautiful embossing folder called Manhattan Rose. I remember thinking back then that the embossing folder was great, but that a die with an intricate hollowed out rose would be what I really wished I had. Fast forward years later and the 2016 Occasions catalogue (p. 18) introduces  Rose Garden Thinlits dies, with a matching stamp set (icing on the cake!). Exactly what I had been hoping for! This was one of the first item that went on my wish list. It helps that the stamp set includes a large variety of very useful sentiments (sympathy, wedding, thanks, birthday, comfort, happiness), in beautiful fonts.

It should be no surprise that this is the first item I reached for this week after receiving my catalogue order. I was also curious to see how close it was to the Manhattan Rose folder image, so I pulled it out and used it for my card background. The color combo is inspired by the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge #229 - Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand and Elegant Eggplant. Those understated colors were perfect for a sympathy card. By the way, I really like that frame from the samp set with the matching die. I foresee using this one a lot in the future, as it's a nice size that will surely house a lot of sentiments from other sets as well.

The card design was inspired by Try Stampin' on Tuesday #254.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Essence de rose (Rose Wonder)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Vanilla Medium Envelope, Spritzer Tool, Rose Garden Thinlits Dies,
Always Artichoke Seam Binding, Pearl Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Figure Skating

While working with my Bo Bunny papers, I had put aside the beautiful Snow Day collection. I've always loved this one, both the designs and colours, but I don't have a whole lot of snow day pictures on hand. I remembered my sister had proudly let me know that my niece had started to skate on her own the last time they were at the skating rink so I asked if she had pictures she could email me, and I printed those out and got to working on this Project Life page. (Gotta love technology!)

I made my own cards for the pockets using some die-cut images from the papers. One of the tag was not as wide as the pocket and instead of adding patterned paper underneath, I got the idea to turn it into a shaker by adding wooden snowflakes, sequins and glitter inside, then closing the pocket up using the Fuse Tool.

One fun element: I added a wooden heart on the little cup in the bottom left pocket, and I colored it using the Gold Wink of Stella brush (Occasions Catalogue, p. 24) Completely changes the look of it! I'm going to remember that trick for future use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers: Snow Day (Bo Bunny)
Accessories: Project Life Corner Punch, Wooden Embellishments, Gold Wink of Stella Brush,
Metallic Thread, Alphabet Stickers (Arctic Frog, Basic Grey), Sequins, Gold Fine Glitter,
Project Life Fuse Tool, Blue Gel Pen, 1/16 Circle Handheld Punch

 

Ali Baba's

My niece loves evertything girly, so when she visited and found my necklaces hanging behind the closet door and my shoes, she started trying some of them on. So when I found the princess papers in my supplies, I knew they'd make great pocket cards. I used one of the little insert pocket pages from Project Life, so this page is a little narrower than the usual ones.

 

 

 

 

Marquee Love

This card came about in a random matter. When I started making Valentine's Day cards during the Holidays downtime, I looked to find the heart laser-cut cards we used to carry years ago, as I was pretty sure I was down to a few left in the pack. Couldn't initially find them but yesterday when looking for something else, I found them, where they were supposed to be, but pushed behind another card kit. I pulled them out to use later, thinking I could maybe even use it in my scrapbook for a change.

So tonight, after finishing my scrapbook page, I had a Bo Bunny sheet left on my desk, with a pattern of wood logs with hearts on them. Thought, let's make a Valentine's Day card for the Paper Players challenge #278. Oh, and let's pair it with those laser-cut cards. As much as I wanted it to work, it didn't - the cards are Vanilla and the patterns in the paper were white and the clash bothered me. But then, I ended up flipping the paper around to see what was on the other side. Yellow polka dots. Not exactly Valentine's Day appropriate. Or was it? The vanilla cardstock looked nice paired with the yellow and I thought if I added a dash of dark blue-green, it could be a masculine twist on a love card.

Then I spotted the extra marquee arrow I had stamped but not used on my scrapbook page and I found it to work very nicely with the other two colours. And right there, an idea was born. I reached for the same stamp set I had used on my page, stamped the big marquee XOXO in Rich Razzleberry ink and handcut it. The heart laser-cut card was cut into a strip of cardstock, patterned paper was slipped underneath, Rhinestone Basic Jewels were added to the marquee arrow, Candy Dots embellished the top of the laser-cut strip and a piece of Rich Razzleberry Cotton Ribbon was tied around.

I wish all of my cards came together this easily! I'm happy with the modern twist the marquee stamp set brings to the traditional lacy heart. (On a side note, since those laser-cut cards are not sold anymore, I encourage you to check out the Bloomin' Heart Thinlits Dies (p. 16 of Occasions catalogue). It has a very similar shape and could be used to make a similar card.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Valentine's Day stamps (Recollections)
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla
Patterned Papers: Snow Day & Family Is collections (Bo Bunny)
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Vanilla Medium Envelope, Subtles Candy Dots,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Rich Razzleberry Cotton Ribbon,
Rhinestone Basic Jewels

 

Wanted: Heart Thief

You know that Bo Bunny wood log paper I didn't use on my last card? I found a way to use it in today's card. It was the starting point of the project. I had this clear vision of wanting to cut it into a wide pennant. Then, because of the log pattern, I kept thinking of the Love Bandit stamp set that has a tree and a tree trunk image in it, so I went hunting for it in my supplies.

I was down to very few paper scraps, but one of them was a love-theme word search image and when I looked closer, I saw that it included the words Love Bandit!! Just like the name of the stamp set. Lucky coincidence... So I used a Pool Party marker to highlight the words and circle them. I also highlighted heart at the bottom with a Blushing Bride marker, and added a heart eyelet that was purchased in one of my very first Stampin' Up! orders a decade ago.

For the main image, I stamped the ltitle racoon on top of the tree trunk, colored the image with markers and looked for a die-cut to cut the image out. When I spotted the "old picture" dies, I thought I could turn my image into a "Wanted" poster. So I pulled out small alphabet sets and added "Wanted: Heart Thief" at the top of the image.

The back panel was stamped using the Hardwood background stamp, to match the wood theme.

A matching envelope was made using the rest of the log paper. Since the inside of the envelope would have been yellow and clashed horribly with the project, I lined the inside of the envelope with a piece of Blushing Bride DSP. It makes the envelope a little thicker, but it solved my problem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Love Bandit, Hardwood (Stampin' Up!), Playful Alphabet Lower (Hero Arts), Antique Alphabet Upper (Image Tree)
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride
Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Envelope Punch Board, Ticket Corner Punch,
Markers, Nestabilities Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals, Love Message Brads,
Heart Eyelet, Jumbo Eyelet, Baked Brown Sugar Thick Baker's Twine

 

Photo Session

Hey, look at that - another traditional page! This one got inspired by a patterned paper from Bo Bunny I found in my stash (my papers are organized in folders by company - can you tell I've been digging through the Bo Bunny folder lately?). Anyway, it was a 12 x 12 page with the full-size trees on one side and the cute animals at the bottom. The cuteness and love theme inspired me to pull out pictures of myself with my niece. Those pictures were taken when we visited her grandparents in my hometown. I think Megan is used to me snapping pictures of her all the time, but this time, she went into my room, took the camera bag and said, "This is yours" while handing it to me and then she strutted out of the room, looking to see if I was following her. I took it as my cue that she was in the mood to have pictures taken so I jumped on the chance. I got some great pictures of her with her dad and with me.

It just happened that I had new Valentine stamps that worked perfectly with this page (didn't plan the page that way, but it was a neat coincidence). I stamped a few arrows and used the matching die-cut included in the set to cut them out. I planned to add them around the pictures, but then I spotted the trees and thought they could be direction arrows on them! I love how that detail worked out. Better yet, as I was looking through my embellishments, I found a "always" metal word from Making Memories that must have been in my stash for close to a decade. Added it to the trees as well and it added just the right touch.

The wooden die-cut frame is another thing I've had in my stash for a little while and that I was waiting on the right project to use it on. It was perfect here - both the wood texture to fit the theme and the size (and I had cut my pictures prior to finding the frame so the fact that it matches is serendipity right there). It helps highlights one of the picture and create a focal point amongst my cluster of pictures. A few matching enamel dots were added to the frame as well.

The "xoxoxo" around the page is another stamp from the same set I used to add a frame. In a second stamp set, I found the frame I used for the tag at the top of the page. I stamped it on a piece of patterned paper I had leftover from the same collection, making sure to include the hearts and scrolls from the paper inside the stamped frame. I used the Curvy Corner Trio Punch to add a slit and inserted Pear Pizzazz seam binding and tied it with cotton twine.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Marquee Arrows and Valentine's Day (Recollections)
Cardstock: Calypso Coral, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: A Gift of Love (Bo Bunny)
Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Raspberry Ripple, Pear Pizzazz, Mint Macaron
Accessories: Curvy Corner Trio Punch, Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding, Cotton Twine,
Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Enamel Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stampin' Write Markers,
Gelly Embellishment (Basic Grey), Alphabet Stickers (Basic Grey), Metal Word (Making Memories),
Die-Cut Frame (My Mind's Eye), Square Nestabilities Dies, Glimmer gel pen

 

Playing With Food

When I made my previous scrapbook page, I was looking for pictures and this one of Megan putting raspberries on her fingers caught my eye, as the colours worked well with the papers. Having a single picture did not fit the four 6" x 6" square layout I wanted to use on the previous page, so I put the picture aside, but once I was done with the other page, I thought I could do a small 6" X 8" layout with this picture. I had the 3" x 4" LOVE card, so I slipped that in a pocket, the picture in the other, and then I made the second card using scraps... and then realized I would be fast running out of room to add a title and journaling - so I decided to add a left page.

I used scraps to make the second page as well, and I inserted the cards on the back of a pocket page whose other side was already used. For the back page, I had used the Hello December 2014 collection and I found that the backside of one card (the handdrawn stars) worked pretty well with my current papers, so I simply used it and added the Hello die-cut (from the papers) on it, with a little silhouette punched out of the paper as well.

I am really digging all of the projects I've done with this paper collection! The lovely colours and designs really appeal to me.

The "#awesomeness" hashtag was stamped using the now retired @SoSocial stamp set (from last year's catalogue). This one was not available in French, which had me a little bummed, but I decided to invest in the English set anyway, thinking I could use it in my album over time. It hasn't seen a lot of ink yet, but I think I will get more use out of it over time, as I work on my albums.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: @SoSocial (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Modern Miss (Bo Bunny)
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: Circle Punches, Button, Journaling Pen, Subtles Candy Dots,
Alphabet Stickers (American Crafts Thickers, Jillibean Soup Alphabeans, My Mind's Eye Lime Twist),
Stampin' Dimensionals, Designer Washi Tape

 

Girl Time

I'll admit something: I don't really get Project Life's Design E layout. Here's why: it's the only protector page layout where no pocket is sized according to regular picture sizes or Project Life Cards sizes. That being said, with a lot of paper stack being 6" x 6" nowadays, this format makes sense to work with patterned papers. And I've managed to use those page protectors a few times in the past. But the strategy to use them is different from the other Project Life pages. I feel like I'm making four mini scrapbook pages instead of a Project Life layout. Have you used this format before yourself? What are your tips to make this format work?

This time, this page design sort of imposed itself because I was left with paper scraps from the beautiful Modern Miss collection by Bo Bunny and the backside of a page had four 6" x 6" squares, two of which I had left from a previous page and I decided to put them to good use. I looked through my pictures to find something that would work with those girly papers and when I found the pictures of my friend Saskia playing dress-up with my niece, I knew they would be perfect.

The numbers used for the date were actually cut out of one of the patterned papers using a circle die and popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals to make them stand out. The striped navy washi tape is Designer Washi Tape from a Project Life by Stampin' Up! Accessories Kit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Notable Alphabet (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Modern Miss (Bo Bunny)
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: Mint Macaron Lace Trim, Midnight Muse Satin Ribbon, Buttons,
Circle Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals, Corner Rounder Punch, Blue Pen,
Poolside Chipboard Stickers (Crate Paper), Circle Punches, Alphabet Rub-ons (Making Memories)

 

Sending Kisses

Working with paper scraps from a previous scrapbook page, I spotted some cute polaroid images on one of the patterned papers and thought I could use one as my main image for a card. I then looked at sketch challenges and decided Mojo Monday #430 would work well.

I knew I wanted to add the sentiment on the polaroid so I looked at my sentiment book (a reference book with images of my stamps to quickly find what I'm looking for) amd when I spotted the "Kisses" sentiment, I knew it would look lovely with the lipstick mark on the picture. The font also works nicely with the style of the papers.

I used a Silver Metallic Doily as the circle and a bit of Daffodil Delight Chevron Ribbon to separate the two papers. At top, I added a piece of Silver Sequin Trim and a Real Red Designer Button trimmed with a Silver Cording Trim bow. A couple of smaller red buttons were added to the card as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Quelques lignes (Petites Pairs)
Cardstock: Pool Party
Patterned Papers: Modern Miss (Bo Bunny)
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: Buttons, Stampin' Dimensionals, Daffodil Delight Chevron Ribbon,
Silver Sequin Trim, Silver Cording Trim, Metallic Doilies,
Rhinestone Basic Jewels

 

Temporary Shyness / Little Rascal

Some of Stampin' Up!'s past Project Life collections are now available in the Clearance section at a deeply discounted price, so I encourage you to check it out! My personal favorite, Everyday Adventure, is still available at more than half off (Card Collection and Accessories) so let me know if you'd like to order those for yourself.

Here's an example of layouts that were done with these Project Life items.

 

Size: 6" x 8"

 

Size: 12" x 12"

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Sweet Shoppe Lower Alphabet, Calendar Alphabet & Numbers, Skinny Mini Alphabet
Ink: Basic Grey Archival
Cardstock: Whisper White
project Life Cards and Accessories: Everyday Adventure
Accessories: Month Die-Cuts (Echo Park), Brights Designer Buttons, Candy Dots,
Project Life Corner Punch, Project Life Journaling Pens, Triple Banner Punch,
2013-2015 In Color Sequins, Black Baker's Twine, 1/16" Handheld Punch, Banner Punch

Volunteers

I was on a real scrapbooking kick last week and managed to make 12 layouts overall! I hope I keep up this year as I'd like to make at least on layout per week (well, 52 layouts throughout the year, so an average of one per week). That was also a goal I had last year, but I ended up a little short with 41 layouts. Not too far off, though, so I'm hoping that now that I've jumped on board of the Project Life train that I can get it done. I'm already up to a good start with the dozen layouts I've already completed.

This layout is one of the simpler ones I've put together, mostly just slipping Project Life cards into pockets, modifying some of them by cutting them apart and reassembling them together to make them a little more intricate.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Antique Alphabet (Image Tree)
Ink: Melon Mambo
Project Life Cards: Prismatic Collection
Accessories: Blue pen, Candy Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Halloween Decorations

My friend Maggie invited me over to her place for a night of scrapbooking. This is the first page I put together while we were crafting. I had one picture too many for a single-page layout, so I used a spare pocket and the fuse tool to add a picture to my page. You can see the picture with the flap closed in the first picture, and the flap opened in the second picture. I used the backside to add additional journaling. While I was at Maggie's, I used the opportunity to borrow some of her Halloween and alphabet stamps that I don't own myself.

The pictures show our Halloween decorations at the office a few years back. The accounting department had decided to decorate and do a friendly competition between the various teams. Timing wasn't good for the financial information team, since Halloween fell just a couple of weeks before the financial statements filing, so I found this neat idea on Pinterest of an abandoned house with planks in front of the windows, so I cut boxes apart and added nails with a Sharpie marker to put on the windows of our offices. Seems simple enough, but when you have seven offices to decorate, it really adds up! It looked really cool, though, so it was worth the time and effort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Epic Alphabet, Freaky Friends, Timeless Textures
Cardstock: Very Vanilla
Designer Series Papers: Scarringbone and Houndstooth
Project Life Cards and Accessories: Seasonal Snapshots 2014
Accessories: Project Life Corner Punch, Mini Stapler, Fuse Tool,
Stampin' Write Markers, 1/8" Gold Ribbon, Neutrals Candy Dots, Gold Wink of Stella Brush,
Gold Organza Ribbon, Neutrals Designer Buttons, Metallic Foil Doilies

Baby Train

I found some paper scraps that were perfect for a baby creation, so they inspired me the following card. I simply used a band from patterned paper, added an orange border to it and pearls to the scallop motif. Then, I stamped a little "welcome, baby" banner on white cardstock, wrapped it around a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock and I inserted it in a slit made in the paper using a craft knife, so that it would be on top of the train. I then punched little clouds of smoke out of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper (love that stuff!) and added those coming out of the engine. A die-cut was added as well, and the card background was embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Petits plus (Little Additions - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: ?
Ink: Bashful Blue
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, Punches, Die-Cut Stickers,
Ticket Corner Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder,
Medium White Envelope

 

Key to my Heart

This is another PInterest-inspired love creation. This card was originally designed by Wendy Weixler. It's really simple but super sweet. The sentiment reads, "The key to my heart."

 

Tip: When dry-embossing white cardstock, use our Thick Whisper White cardstock. There will be less crackling on the embossed design than when you use the regular Whisper White cardstock, which is not as thick and buckles more under the pressure applied by the Big Shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Mon trésor (You're a Gem)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Soft Suede
Designer Series Paper: Everyday Enchantment
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Small Heart Punch, Calypso Coral Narrow Organza Ribbon,
Pearl Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals, 3/4" Square Punch,
Large Oval Punch, White Medium Envelope

 

Straight to the Heart

Still on my mission to make love cards, I drew inspiration from the Freshly Made Sketch #218 and Colour Throwdown #374 challenges. I'll admit the color combo is unusual for a love card, but I've noticed in the past that women sometimes hesitate to choose frilly, pink and red cards for their spouses, so I thought this year I'd try to offer a wider variety of options. I also couldn't pass up the Color Throwdown combo, as I really love pale blue-green paired with orange. With the addition of the pale grey, the combo felt modern and fresh to me.

I first started with two panels that were the same width, but when I decided to switch cardstock for patterned paper and used a wider strip, I thought the uneven look made the card design more interesting so I stuck with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Love Owl-ways, C pour toi (Tags 4 You), En Français, Viola's Lace Wheel (unmounted)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Pumpkin Pie, Pool Party, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper Stack: Brights
Ink: VersaMark, Jet Black StazOn, Pool Party, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Smoky Slate
Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Aqua Painter Brush,
Label Bracket Punch, Sequins and beads, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, Owl Punch,
Smoky Slate Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Cupid's Dart

Valentine's Day will be coming around the bend soon, so I have to start thinking about making a few love cards to have ready on hand. Went through my stamps and pulled out a few stamp sets that could be appropriate for the occasion. I ended up using one of my favorites that I still pull out every year, P.S. I Love You. This time, I paired it with a set from last year called You Plus Me, which includes the word "Cupid" in a cute script font, that was perfect to pair with the Cupid image.

My starting point was the beautiful and appropriate colour combo from ColourQ #323, paired with the Mojo Monday Sketch #429. As I was pulling out items working on my card, I remembered the heart-shaped sequins from the In Color pack, which color matched my combo closely enough to work, so I decided to make a shaker card. The top part of the shaker gave me grief, as I tried a few combo and sizes before finding something I liked. I finally settled on Pool Party Core'dinations cardstock for a little texture and added little hearts stamped with the You Plus Me set.

The Large Polka Dot embossing folder (annual catalogue, p. 174) was used on the card background. A line of rhinestones from the Rhinestone Basic Jewels pack was used to add around the shaker frame. Having those lines really come in handy, as adding rhinestones one by one would be painfully long!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Combo: Pool Party + Melon Mambo + Blushing Bride + Crumb Cake

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: P.S. Je t'aime (P.S. I Love You), Toi plus moi (You Plus Me)
Cardstock: Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo
Patterned Papers: Sweet Shop
Ink: Soft Suede, Melon Mambo, Pool Party, VersaMark
Accessories: 1" Circle Punch, Circle Collection Framelits Dies,
Modern Label Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Shaker Frames,
Crumb Cake Medium Envelope, Rhinestone Basic Jewels,
Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Large Polka Dot Embossing Folder,
Blushing Bride Satin Ribbon

 

Deepest Sympathies

I unfortunately got some request for more sympathy cards at the office, so I went hunting for ideas on Pinterest. I found a beautiful card from Alison Barclay that I copied as is. I simply changed the ribbon to use what I had on hand. The card background was sprayed with a Stampin' Write Marker and the spritzing tool to cut the white a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Work of Art, Pensées empathiques (Love & Sympathy)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Ink: Pool Party, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Spritzing Tool, Stampin' Write Markers, Seam Binding (Rose Red, Soft Sky),
Stampin' Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers, Stamp-a-ma-jig

 

Wishing you a Sparkly Day

After finishing a scrapbook page, I proceeded to use the scraps to make a card. The colours were appropriate for a masculine card, so I made sure to select a main image that was neutral enough that this could be a masculine card once done. The design was inspired by the Create with Connie and Mary challenge #387. The deadline has already passed on this one, but I found the sketch interesting and knew I wanted to make something inspired by it. I used the Banner Triple Punch to create banners out of paper scraps, then used a bigger piece of paper for the card background.

The main image is a combination of three stamps: Bubble (the bear with sparklers), Fireworks (in Real Red) and a sentiment (in Island Indigo) from the On Your Birthday stamp set (from Stampin' Up! - long retired, but still a personal favorite). The sentiment reads, "It's Your Day - Enjoy It" and I thought it went well with the fireworks image. I added a bit of glimmer to the sparklers using a shimmery gel pen.

The only piece of patterned paper was a little bit smaller than the dimensions on the Envelope Punch Board called for, but I risked it anyway. It was between two other sizes, so I had to guess what I thought the measurement would be for the first punch and score line. It ended up working, even though the envelope is not a perfect square, but it's so close that I'm sure I'm the only one who knows. The paper I had leftover was such a tight dimension that I could not cut off the line with the company name and paper line name. It turned out that when I assembled the envelope, I only had the name Authentique show up, and it almost looks like it's might to be that way, to decorate the envelope! Couldn't have planned it like that if I had tried!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Bubbly, Fireworks (Purple Onion Designs), Pour ton anniversaire (On Your Birthday - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Going Grey, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Celebrate (Authentique)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Island Indigo, Real Red
Accessories: Basic Black Chevron Ribbon, Brights Glimmer Brads, Envelope Punch Board,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers, Gel pen (white, shimmery), Triple Banner Punch,
Nestabilities Dies