Encre, papier, ciseaux

Magical Birthday Postage

This week's Cat's Pajamas challenge #315 to use bright colours was inspiring me to get out some fun and vibrant papers to make a colourful card. The Believe collection from Bo Bunny fit the bill and the Magical Friends stamp set seemed like a logical pairing with them. My design was inspired by the Stamp Ink Paper challenge #50. I first tried out circle dies, but then I stumbled unto the Square Stamp CutUp die and liked the edge it gave the design. I want to add a few English birthday cards to my basket of cards at work so I pulled out three different sentiment stamps to create the one I wanted, and I added the little wave postage stamp on top.

The pony was stamped on watercolor paper and colored with inks and an Aqua Painter brush. Again, I felt like My Little Pony needed a little something on its behind so the TCP stamp set I was using for the sentiment had a little heart that was just the right size to add there. A touch of Clear Wink of Stella was added to the pony's made to make it more magical.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Magical Friends (The Greeting Farm), Sending You (The Cat's Pajamas),
Sprinkles on Top, Four You (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, Green Galore, Watercolor Paper
Patterned Papers: Believe (Bo Bunny)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Opulent Orchid, Blackberry Bliss, Daffodil Delight,
Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Pool Party Glimmer Ribbon, Square Stamp CutUp Die,
Magical Friends Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals, Paper Brad, Robin's Eggs,
White Medium Envelope, Clear Wink of Stella Brush

 

Under the Sea

Sea Street is an assuming little stamp set that makes for the greatest card. My favorite image is definitely the octopus, with its intertwined tentacles. They take a little while to handcut, but they look so good when they are! Here, I though this retiring stamp set would look good with the Doodlebug papers from the Under the Sea collection. I looked through my cardstock scraps to find something that would work and I found some yellow shimmery cardstock from Bazzill that looks absolutely awesome and that add some extra pizzazz to the card. I had enough to make my card base with it (3-1/4" x 12" folded in half) and the tag, which was created using the Angled Tag Topper Punch (available at almost half its initial price in the Clearance Rack). The cord border stamp was embossed in copper powder on orange cardstock and the combo looks pretty awesome.

The fun Dymo sentiment is from the retiring hostess set called Silhouettes & Script. One last day to get those two sets from Stampin' Up! before they retire for good!

The design was inspired by the Mojo Monday sketch #450, which I particularly liked this week (but then again, Julee's sketches are always awesome to work with).

 

 

 

 

Card Size: 3-1/4" x 6"

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Sea Street, Silhouettes en script (Silhouettes & Script)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Bazzill shimmery yellow and orange
Patterned Papers: Under the Sea (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Lavendar Lace, VersaMark, So Saffron
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Green Sequin Trim, Sparkly Ribbon,
Embossing Powders (copper, clear), Long narrow white envelope,
Angled Tag Topper Punch, Stampin' Write Markers

 

You're a Classic

Let me start with this disclaimer: I didn't design this card. I CASEd it almost down to every single detail from Shannon Lane's awesome masculine creation. I can never have too many masculine cards on hand and with Father's Day coming up, the timing was perfect.

 

Retiring items featured:

• Typeset Specialty Designer Series Paper
• Chevron Border Punch
• Hello Honey Cardstock and Ink
• 2-1/2" Circle Punch
• Banner Punch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Guy Greetings, Tout en losange (All-around Argyle), Timeless Textures
Cardstock: Whisper White, Dapper Denim, Hello Honey
Designer Series Paper: Typeset, 2014-2016 In Color
Ink: Basic Black Archival, Dapper Denim, Hello Honey
Accessories: 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Envelope Punch Board, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Banner Punch, Chevron Border Punch, Linen Thread, Handheld Stapler

 

Konnichiwa

When Stampin' Up! offered the Starter Kit at half-off promotion, my mom signed up to give stamping a try. That was back when most of the supplies were selected for you and you could personalize them. The stamp set she chose was Kimono Kids. Stamping didn't stick with her, so the set ended up at my place. I think it's cute, but for some reason, I never inked it up until today. As I was playing with my paper stash, I found some papers from Little Yellow Bicycle with Japon-inspired designs with Brights colours that fitted the Cat's Pajamas challenge #315 nicely and the first set that came to mind to use them was Kimono Kids. One of the reasons I think I hadn't used this set yet is that there's an awful lot of detailing on all of the images, but they are incredibly small! I wasn't sure what kind of coloring medium to use to reach all of those litlte nooks. Because I had been reorgnizing some of my supplies, I had found my retired Blendabilities and it came to mind that I could use them, which I did. (On a side note, I decided to store them differently and when I transferred them, I decided to try them all to see if they were still working. Five of them were good for the bin, but the rest is still working fine, so it was a relief that most of them are still good. The fact that five of them were dried completely, though, proves that there was indeed a problem with the markers in the first place.)

The inspiration from the design came from a card from Laura Bassen on the Mama Elephant blog. I liked how she used the inward scallop frame, so I pulled a die that I have that's similar and framed my little girl with it. Laura had topped the frame with a bow, so I used the Bow Punch to make one, and added a Designer Button in a matching colour to it.

At the bottom. Laura had used a die-cut word. I looked at the word Framelits I have and nothing really worked, but then I remembered that I needed to make English birthday cards to replenish my stash and it happens that I have just received the Sending CutUp from TCP this week (it was the free gift with an order). I have been meaning to make a stacked die-cut for the longest time (where you die-cut the same image or word a few time and layer the die-cuts to give the word dimension. It requires a bit of extra time, but it does look fantastic. I made sure to use adhesive sheets on the back before die-cutting to make my job easier. The word was glued slightly off center so that the little girl could stand on the tallest letters. To finish my sentiment, I found "Birthday Wishes" in the Four You stamp set and embossed it in white so that it would stand out against the patterned background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Enfants kimonos (Kimono Kids), Four You
Cardstock: Old Olive, Early Espresso, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Oasis (Little Yellow Bicycle)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark
Accessories: Bow Punch, Brights Designer Buttons, Blendabilities Markers,
Cosmic Shimmer Watercolor Paints, Aqua Painters Brush, Striped Dots,
White Embossing Powder, Sending CutUp Die (The Cat's Pajamas),
Stampin' Dimensionals, Stitched Oval Scallop Frames (My Favorite Things)

 

Balloons for Your Fourtieth

I saw a friend for dinner last weekend and she mentioned her crafty sister was turning 40. She added for the occasion, she was thinking of making her a greeting card for a change. I offered for her to come over to my place so that we could stamp together. Since she has not stamped before and she mentioned she tends to be indecisive and have trouble making decisions, we agreed that I would put something together before she came over.

Since her sister is turning a "round number" this year, I knew I wanted to use the Large Numbers Framelits, so that was my starting point for the card. Then, I thought balloons stamped with the Balloon Celebration stamp set would look nice paired with it. Finally, I drew inspiration from Fab Friday challenge #88 for the colours and Mojo Monday #449 for the design. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out considering I was trying to keep in mind it had to be interesting while remaining simple enough for a new stamper. We'll see on Sunday how she liked it and how the stamping goes.

 

Retiring Items Featured:

• Brights Candy Dots
• Hello Honey Cardstock and Ink
• Decorative Dots Embossing Folder
• 2-1/2" Circle Punch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Bouquet de ballons (Balloon Celebration)
Cardstock: Hello Honey, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Moonlight
Ink: Hello Honey, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Brights Candy Dots, Large Numbers Dies, Gold Glimmer Paper,
2-1/2" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Hellp Honey Satin Ribbon,
Balloon Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, White Medium Envelope

 

Celebration

As I was leafing through magazines for inspiration, I found some great card sketches in a past issue of Scrapbook & Cards magazine (Spring 2013). The sketch had hexagons on it and I thought, let's put that Hexagon punch to use before it retires and make a dent in those paper scraps! I made two cards inspired by the design that are similar, but with a few differences. On one I used the Project Life Remember This stamp set and on the other, the Big News stamp set. The papers come from the Cherry on Top paper pack.

 

Retiring items featured:

• Metallic Baker's Twine
• Designer Buttons
• Cherry on Top Paper Stack
• Project Life Remember This Stamp Set
• Big News Stamp Set
• Hexagon Punch

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Grandes nouvelles (Big News), Project Life Je me souviens (Project Life Remember This)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Cool Cucumber
Designer Series Paper Stack: Cherry on Top
Ink: Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Stampin' Write Markers, Silver Baker's Twine,
White Medium Envelopes, Hexagon Punch,
Brights and Regals Designer Buttons, It's My Birthday Enamel Dots

 

A Gold Star Just For You

I was immediately inspired by the cQc colour combo #343. Since the Fancy Foil Designer Vellum is retired, I had made a mental note of using it again this week before it goes bye bye, so seeing the gold in the colour combo, I thought it was a good chance to get it out. When thinking about using the vellum, I had also thought earlier I could use the Mini Treat Bag Framelits to make an envelope with an insert in lieu of a card, so this is where I went with the inspiration piece. I didn't follow any sketch for the layout, I just pretty much went by what was available in the Framelits set for inspiration.

I added black washi tape (two stripes wide) to hide the seam since the tear 'n tape adhesive was showing through ever so slightly. It made for a cute embellishment anyway. (What did we ever do before washi tape got here? It's such an easy and quick embellishment for many projects, and available in every possible colour.) Then, I used the "Just for You" stamp for the main sentiment. I stamped and embossed it in gold twice, on Basic Black and Calypso Coral cardstock. I handcut the larger pennant and I die-cut the smaller one using the matching Framelits from the set. Another Framelits die was used for the big star, on Gold Glimmer Paper, and accented with a Calypso Coral Designer Button, threaded with black baker's twine. I die-cut the star border out of Gold paper and used the individual stars on top of the washi tape. Some additional black baker's twine was tied around the envelope, and finally, I stamped and punched "my friend" out of white cardstock.

The insert was also fun to make and embellish. I cut a piece of Calypso Coral cardstock, punched the corners with the Project Life Corner punch and, using the Stars decorative mask, I sponged some Calypso Coral ink at the bottom, making sure some stars were inked more than others to add depth. I then added my gold heart band from previously at the bottom, using the Handheld stapler to put it in place. I wanted a tab at the top and looking at my options, I decided to use the Chalk Talk Framelits.

TIP: To make a tab, score your cardstock in the middle, fold in half and place your Framelits where you want it. This will help you get a smaller tab than if you die-cut the whole piece and fold it in half afterwards. I also used the hole Framelits on the folded paper to get the two holes lined up and be able to tie my ribbon from front to back. A Gold basic metal button was added as well.

 

Finally, I used the Envelope Punch Board to make a matching envelope out of Calypso Coral Designer Series Paper. The gold-embossed frame I had left on my black cardstock was handcut and glued on the envelope and I die-cut the middle piece using the Framelits out of white cardstock. Two of the remaining gold stars were added to the envelope. This will give me a place to write the address when I send out this card.

 

Retiring items featured:

• Gold Basic Metal Buttons
• Chalk Talk Framelits
• Subtles Designer Series Buttons
• Gold Fancy Foil Designer Vellum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Juste comme ça
Cardstock: Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Basic Black, Gold Foil, Gold Glimmer Paper
Designer Vellum: Gold Fancy Foil
Designer Series Paper: Calypso Coral
Ink: VersaMark, Basic Black Archival, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Gold Metal Basic Buttons, Chalk Talk Framelits, Gold Satin Ribbon,
Mini Treat Bag Framelits, Designer Buttons, Black Baker's Twine, Designer Washi Tape,
Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Envelope Punch Board,
Sponge Dauber, Projet Life Corner Punch, Handheld Stapler, Stars Decorative Mask

 

Creating with Stampin' Up! Supplies

I love Stampin' Up'!s coordinating products. They allow me to create some of my best work. Here is a little walk down memory lane with some of my favorite projects done with their products.

 

1) Fright Night Basket

 

 

2) Sparkly Seasonal Container

 

 

3) Mini Treat Bag Pocket Card

 

 

 

4) You're On My Mind Card

 

 

5) Happy Retirement Card

 

 

6) Love Page

 

 

 

Merry Monday #206 Guest Designer: Good Tidings

I had the privilege of being invited to be Guest Designer for the Merry Monday challenge this week (#206). This week's theme is Nativity. I had to really think about this one because I don't own any religious-themed images or sentiments. I figured I could do something with the guiding star or a similar idea. My first try at a starry sky with a landscape was an epic fail, or at least not to my liking. But because I had the star stamp set out on my desk, I had this sudden bolt of inspiration to use the Sunburst Thinlits with some glimmer paper and make the star to focal point of the card.

When looking at my available sentiments, I had also spotted "Good Tidings of Comfort and Joy" in a Cat's Pajamas stamp set called Joy to the World, so I reused this sentiment, stamped in new colors, on my new card. I embossed it in gold powder, handcut it, then stamped it again in Dapper Denim (a new 2016-2018 In Color) and cut out part of the sentiments to glue on the first one and get the two tones.

To make my star stand out more, I die-cut a bigger star out of vellum cardstock and pierced the outline before matting my gold embossed star with it. I like that it looks like the light halo we see around stars.

To finish it off, I tied two ribbons (gold ribbon and Dapper Denim ruched ribbon) together at the bottom of the card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Bright & Beautiful (Stampin' Up!), Joy to the World (The Cat's Pajamas)
Cardstock: Denim Dapper, Whisper White, Vellum
Ink: Dapper Denim, VersaMark
Accessories: Gold Glimmer Paper, Paper Piercer, Piercing Template,
Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stars Framelits Dies, 3/8" Gold Ribbon,
Dapper Denim Ruched Ribbon, White Medium Envelope,
Starburst Thinlits Die, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Taking Flight

When I saw the Retro Sketch #215, I knew I had a few airplanes stamps and cloud dies I could use to make a card. I happened to stop at the post office to get a package that was waiting for me there with stamps I had ordered from The Cat's Pajamas. One of their latest releases called Sending You happens to include the bunny flying an helicopter. Perfect timing! I had also put aside the Rough & Tumble paper pad from Carta Bella aside in my "to use soon" pile and the masculine colors worked well with the card I wanted to make. As I was leafing through the pad, I saw there was actually a paper with little planes and clouds on it - a really happy coincidence!

I knew I wanted to use the He Said She Said CutUp die for the bottom cloud. It's actually meant to be a thought bubble but by placing the helicopter image over the thought part, it just looks like clouds. I also used the Clouds CutUp at the top, and handcut one of the clouds out to pop over the other ones with dimensionals to give depth to the card. The sentiment ("Happy Father's Day") is stamped in the biggest cloud in Navy ink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Sending You (The Cat's Pajamas), Voeux mignons (Teeny Tiny Wishes - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Rough & Tumble (Carta Bella)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Night of Navy
Accessories: Clouds CutUp Die, He Said She Said CutUp Die, Markers,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Gold Basic Metal Buttons,
Red Ribbon, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope

 

My Little Pony

I was a huge, HUGE fan of My Little Pony as a kid and played with mine quite a bit. As proof of that, when I visited my two cousins from British Columbia last March, we were reminiscing about one of their trips to Quebec when we were all kids. I only spoke French back then and they only spoke English so we weren't able to converse. Apparently, that didn't seem to faze me - I was six and unaware that they did not understand a word of what I was saying so apparently I kept telling them about all of my toys. Funnily enough, almost 30 years later, when I visted them, they still remembered that all they could understand was "ma petite pouliche" being repeated over and over again in the conversation (My Little Pony in French). I must have said it quite a bit for them to remember that detail years later even though they don't speak French! haha! We also recently shopped my mom's house for toys for my niece and the ponies are getting a new life at my sister's place. I had quite a blast discovering them all over again.

So with all that said, when The Greeting Farm's Magical Friends set came out, it was love at first sight and I knew I wanted to get my hands on that set. Unfortunately, I was apparently not the only one who loved it because that set was backordered everywhere forever. When I finally saw it come back in stock, I didn't even think twice and ordered it right away. It came in today and I sat down at my stamping desk the second I opened the package. The pony images are just so adorable!! I had also the Hello Summer papers from Echo Park sitting on my desk because they hadn't been used in a while (and I sometimes make a pile of stuff I want to use in the near future on my computer desk for inspiration). The bright colours were perfect for a My Little Pony themed card, and the May Viva la Verve Sketch #2 provided just the right inspiration.

The picture won't show it, but the pony's body and face were covered with Clear Wink of Stella for a nice magical gleam. I also used a marker to add little hearts on her body - just like My Little Pony had! (On a side note, I'm surprised the stamp set does not include a small enough image to do that, since all the ponies always had a design on their behind. Here, I used the marker to ink only two hearts in the heart clutter stamp used in the set, but they weren't very clear, so I had to go over them with the fine tip of the Stampin' Write marker again.)

Hope this card makes you as happy as it made me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Magical Day, Magical Friends (The Greeting Farm)
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Hello Summer (Echo Park)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark
Accessories: Silver Baker's Twine, Designer Buttons, Sequins, Clear Wink of Stella Brush,
Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss Powder, Nestabilities Dies, Project Life Corner Punch,
Chalk Talk Framelits Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers, White Medium Envelope

 

I Think Therefore I Create

This week's Stamping Bella challenge was a sketch from Julee Tilman so I was hoping I'd have time to give it a whirl. As I was trying to decide which Bella stamp to ink, I spotted Craftybella on my work table. Which I had left out in the hopes to use it because, prepare yourself - it had never seen ink yet. This is shameful because I got this stamp the last time I was in Toronto visiting Makeesha. That has to be a good five years ago, if not more. And it's a crafty bella, so there's really no logical reason why that would not have been used yet. But it had not and it was high time to reverse the situation.

Once the image was selected, it didn't take long to think of the right papers to get out. I had spotted some crafts-themed papers from My Little Shoebox the last time I was shopping my stash and they weren't hidden far, so I pulled them out and drew from there. Selecting the back paper, adding the washi tape and ribbon in a diagonal, coloring the image to match, deciding to change the circle into a heart (because I *heart* crafts) and selecting my sentiment didn't take long. Finding a way to add the sentiment to the card did, though. This must be the fifth option I tried. Nothing else was really working, but I finally found something I liked. By the way, the sentiment reads, "I think therefore I create." Don't ask me why, but this popped into my head about a week ago and I thought it would make for a good card or scrapbook page, so I wrote it down on a piece of paper, and when I got the Craftybella image out, they just seemed like the perfect pair.

Fun details about the card that the picture might not capture: I added glitter to the floor and to the Bella's hair. Because anyone who's ever crafted know that glitter gets everywhere and that it takes quite a few vacuuming sesssions to get most of it off of the floor. (Most of it.) I also have no idea what the right thing she's placing her hand on is - been wondering since buying the image. A table? A mini-fridge? A big hunking bottle of something? (Emilie, if you're reading this, please spill!) Either way, there's a little shine spot of the right of it, which made me think it looked like something shiny, so I got the Crystal Effects and covered the whole thing out.

And here's where tragedy almost struck. I changed the cap on my bottle of Crystal Effects with those new caps that have a top cap with a fine needle that you leave in when the bottle is not being used. When I added the new top on the bottle, I made sure to secure it in place, but not too tight so that I could twist the cap off to use on my next bottle once I'm done with this one. I was covering this big surface on my card through this little needle tip and once I was hald-way done, I saw a big drip fall off of the bottle - onto my scrap paper, half an inch from the card. I was a little puzzled as to where it was coming from so I looked at the side of the bottle and saw that Crystal Effects was oozing through the bottom of the cap. There was a huge amount there and it had started to drip. I can't believe how lucky it was that the drip fell on the side of the card and that I noticed what was happening and was able to wipe the bottle (and clean out the whole nozzle so it wouldn't stick in place when it dried) before ruining my finished card. Thanking my lucky stars on this one!

By the way, is anybody else missing the Bellas? I wish we could see a couple more get released, for old time's sake. They were so adorable with their ear-to-ear smile!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Craftybella (Stamping Bella), Remerciements (Stampin' Up!), alphabet (Studio G),
Tiny Strips Alphabet (Papertrey), Tidy Alphabet (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Whisper White, Taken with Teal, Soft Sky
Patterned Papers: Sew Cute (My Little Shoebox)
Ink: Regal Rose, Taken with Teal, Basic Black Archival
Accessories: Sequins, Linen Thread, Designer Buttons, Regal Rose Grosgrain Ribbon,
Crystal Effects, Dazzling Details, Markers, Layering Squares Framelits Dies,
Gold Foil Paper, Sweet & Sassy Framelits, White Medium Envelope

 

I'll Drink to That

Today's combo of cards was inspired by the My Favorite Things Sketch #281 and the retiring list. I wanted to make cards for my downline members.

I paired a stamp set which I have barely used (In This Together) with one that I absolutely love and am bummer is retiring (Dotty Angles). The gorgeous sentiment is from an hostess set called Happy Birthday, Everyone which is also retiring in a week. The papers used are from the 6" x 6" paper stack called Cherry on Top, which I have loved using throughout the year.

By the way, the 2-1/2" Circle Punch is retiring and I'm entirely perplexed about this one. It is personally one of my most used punch, because it's the perfect size for most focal points on a card. I assume it is retiring because we now have a Framelits die that cover that size, but as much as I like my Big Shot, I do prefer the quickness of using a punch. So if you are like me, you have one week left to place a last-minute order and make sure you have yours (or any other item you can't live without) on hand.

 

Retiring items featured:

• In This Together Stamp Set
• Happy Birthday, Everyone Hostess Stamp Set
• Cherry on Top Designer Series Paper Pack
• 2-1/2" Circle Punch
• Pool Party Glimmer Ribbon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: In This Together, À tout un chacun (Happy Birthday, Everyone), Dotty Angles
Cardstock: Cool Cucumber, Watermelon Wonder, Whisper White, Crushed Curry
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Cool Cucumber, Watermelon Wonder, Crushed Curry, Soft Sky, Bermuda Bay, Tip Top Taupe, Blush Blossom
Designer Series Paper Stack: Cherry on Top
Accessories: 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Circle Collection Framelits Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Fringe Scissors, Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, White Medium Envelopes,
Blending Pen, Pool Party Glimmer Ribbon

 

Memo: It's Time to Relax!

I sold my last retirement-themed card, so it was on my list of cards to replace. That was the starting point for this card, paired with the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge #238 and my favorite retiring stamp set, Tap Tap Tap (R.I.P.). I didn't want to colour the image, but I still wanted it to have some color to it, so I reached for the Work of Art stamp set to see if the brushstrokes could work, and the sizes were perfect to add color to the typing machine.

I created my own Polaroid frame using a Square Framelits die, and I used the Stars Framelits die for the little star at right. To create an ombre look on it, I applied Gold Wink of Stella on one side and Clear Wink of Stella on the rest of it. Although Wink of Stella will dry right away and can't really be blended, I liked the look I achieved. A Neutrals Candy Dot (R.I.P. on those as well!) was added in the center.

A vintage brad was added to my sentiment strip.

 

Retiring items featured:

• Tap Tap Tao stamp set
• Vintage Brads
• Neutrals Candy Dots

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Tap Tap Tap (Stampin' Up!), retraite (Simple à souhait)
Cardstock: Dusty Durango, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Cut & Paste (My Mind's Eye)Ink: Midnight Muse, Hello Honey, Bermuda Bay, Tip Top Taupe, Dusty Durango
Accessories: Square Collection and Stars Framelits Dies, Neutrals Candy Dots,
Gold and Clear Wink of Stella Brushes, Stampin' Dimensionals, Distressing Wheel,
Vintage Brads

 

Riding the Waves

This week's ColourQ combo (challenge #342) looked absolutely fabulous, so the first thing I did when I sat down to stamp was pull out the cardstock colours and look at my stamps to see what would suit it well. I spotted the new Swirly Bird stamp set and thought I could pair the cute boat with this colour combo. Father's Day is coming up, so that was the theme I had in mind for this card. There's a touch of pink but I thought by keeping it minimal and having the other masculine colours (deep orange and blue), that would still work. The design was inspired by Mojo Monday #448.

All of the supplies are from Stampin' Up!, except the cording trim that I had sitting on my desk and that I thought suited the nautical theme well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Fête de famille (Family Reunion), Watercolor Wash
Cardstock: Midnight Muse, Whisper White, Tango Tangerine, Coastal Cabana
Designer Series Paper: Midnight Muse (In Color Paper Stack)
Ink: Midnight Muse, Tango Tangerine, Coastal Cabana, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Arrows Embossing Folder, Duet Banner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Layering Squares Framelits Dies, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Melon/Black Baker's Twine,
Designer Series Buttons, White Cording Trim (non-SU!)

 

Sugar Shack Brunch 2016

It's a little strange to be making a page with snowflakes and cold elements when summer has finally arrived and it's warm and sunny outside, but that's usually how it goes with paper crafts. You prepare cards ahead of the season and you scrapbook your pictures after the fact.

This page came together really quickly thanks to the Snow Patrol Simple Stories set, that includes papers and matching stickers. The picture was taken at the sugar shack during the Easter weekend, when my parents were visiting from out of town. I was trying to take a family picture of everyone and my niece Megan simply refused to go with the rest of the family to get her picture taken. Knowing how she usually operates, I asked if she would join us if I was in the picture as well and sure enough, she complied. That of course implied that the picture then became a selfie. I'm not really great at selfie picture yet and my face is only hald half in it, but it doesn't matter because it captures the memory of the beautiful sunny day being all together. And Megan's grimace, which is recurring on many pictures. We have a 50/50 chance of getting an ear-to-ear grin or a grimace. We got the latter that day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Alphabets (Studio G)
Patterned Papers and Stickers: Snow Patrol (Simple Stories)
Ink: Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Heart Punch, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper,
Layering Squares Framelits Dies, White Knit Trim, Clear Wink of Stella Brush (all Stampin' Up!),
Snowflake Stickers (Doodlebug Designs), Wooden Snowflakes (Calico Studio), Journaling Pen

 

Halloween at the Office

While my Seasonal Snapshots Project Life cards were out and I was on a roll, I made a two-page layours showcasing pictures of my colleagues in costume at the office. Everyone went all out that year, decorating their offices, putting on costumes, wigs, makeup... I was definitely impressed!

As well as using the Seasonal Snapshots cards, I also used a couple of overlays from the Specialty Memories in the Making Project Life Cards pack that was available during Sale-a-A-Bration this year. One was added to my top picture on the left page, the other one I used to emboss a sentiment on with Tango Tangerine embossing powder, and I layered it over a piece of Core'dinations cardstock I embossed and sanded to make the little stars stand out. I then handcut the little monsters from the Seasonal Snapshots card and added them on top of the overlay. I also added a googly eye to one of the monsters.

I used White StazOn ink of add sentiments directly on pictures ("trick of treat" on the witches picture, "Howdy" on the cowboy picture and "Ahoy, matey" on the pirate picture). I mixed and match a bunch of various Halloween sets I've acquired through the years and accented my various PL cards. The tomb from Graveyard Gala was used to add the date, and I die-cut the numbers out of Black Glimmer Paper. I also pierced holes around the printed circle on one of the cards and handstitched around it using needlework floss, then I added three Designer Buttons. Lots of fun little details to make the whole layout more interesting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Monster Munchies, Cowboy Kid, Ahoy Matey, Bitty Boos Too, From the Crypt, Graveyard Gala,
Wicked Cool, Fête d'Halloween, Au fil des ans (Number of Years), Googly Ghouls,
Salutations effroyables (Ghoulish Greetings), Alphabet (Studio G)
Cardstock: Crushed Curry Core'dinations, Very Vanilla, Basic Grey
Project Life Cards: Seasonal Snapshots, Specialty Memories in the Making
Ink: VersaMark, Basic Grey, Basic Black, Tango Tangerine, Crushed Curry, White StazOn
Accessories: Circle Tab Punch, Tango Tangerine and Black Stampin' Emboss Powders, Googly Eyes, Sanding Block,
Stars Embossing Folder, Project Life Corner Punch, Sequins, Black Glimmer Paper,
Typeset Alphabet Dies, Designer Washi Tape, Ticket Duo Punch, Black Journaling Pen,
Neutrals Designer Buttons, Grey needlework floss (DMC), 3/4" Square Punch,
Seasonal Snapshots Accessories Pack

 

It's Not Christmas Without Chocolate

I had put aside a few picture options when trying to decide on which pictures to scrapbook for the Global Design Project Challenge #35 and once I was done with the first page, I was inspired to keep going with a second one. This time, I switched to the Project Life by Stampin' Up! cards from the Hello December 2015 collection. Those have been my absolute favorite for two years in a row, so it seems like Stampin' Up! is really hitting it out of the ballpark with this theme. I used both the cards and the matching accessories, and added a few extra items here and there to decorate the cards, including an hostess stamp set that has been retired for years. I wonder if some of you who have been stamping for a while will remember Holiday Blocks?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Hourra pour Noël (Oh, What Fun), Roi des forêts (Evergreen), Holiday Blocks,
Layered Letters Alphabet, Alphabet Rotary Stamp, Studio G Alphabet (non-SU!)
Project Life Cards and Accessories: Hello December 2015
Ink: Mint Macaron, Basic Grey Archival, Lost Lagoon
Accessories: Stampin' Write Markers, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Handheld Circle Punch, Gold Metallic Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Red Embossing Powder (non-SU!), Sequins

 

Our Best Gift is You

This week's Global Design Project challenge #35 is Project Life by Stampin' Up! This is right up my alley, so I was hoping to have time to take part in the challenge. I went through my pictures tonight and selected some Christmas ones from two years ago and paired them with the Seasonal Snapshots cards. A lot of the cards included in the kits are journaling cards, so I like to punch out or handcut the design elements from them and add them to other cards or to my pictures, which is what I did here to create borders and fill out the empty spaces.

The title reads, "Our best gift is you." My niece Megan is the first baby on our side of the family and as I say in the journaling, we are always fussing over her and she's showered with gifts and love. I just can't imagine not having her around anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Project Life Au jour le jour (Project Life Day to Day), ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet & Numbers
Project Life Cards: Seasonal Snapshots
Ink: Old Olive, Real Red
Accessories: Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sequins, Seasonal Snapshots Accessories Pack,
Silver Pen (non-SU!), Stampin' Write Marker, Real Red Cotton Ribbon

 

 

 

Good luck, Chuck!

On my list of needed cards, I had good luck cards. This week's TCP challenge (#314) is sentiments. Alma has some awesome sentiments in her stamp sets, but they are unfortunately all in English and I needed a French set. I was looking through my TCP stamps and spotted Lean on Me, which has PJ the bear leaning on something. I thought I could create my own "good luck" sentiment in french using the Layered Letters alphabet stamp set. The colors came from the cQc combo #341, and the layout was inspired by an older sketch from Mojo Monday (#435).

For the first word, I looked at my stamps to find one that had the word "bonne" already in it and I found a big "happy Father's Day" sentiment that was perfect. So I stamped the first word in VersaMark and embossed it with Calypso Coral Stampin' Emboss powder, and I layered the word over the new Affectionately Yours Designer Washi Tape.

See that background colour? It's the new Peekaboo Peach that's part of the 2016-2018 In Color family. It looks pretty cool paired with Calypso Coral, Melon Mambo and Crumb Cake.

 

Featured retiring items:

• Designer Buttons
• Arrows Embossing Folder
• Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Lean on Me (The Cat's Pajamas), Layered Letters (Stampin' Up!), Fêtes diverses (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Peekaboo Peach, Melon Mambo, Calypso Coral, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper Stack: Neutrals
Ink: VersaMark, Peekaboo Peach, Calypso Coral, Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Designer Buttons, Calypso Coral Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Affectionately Yours Designer Washi Tape, Silver Foil Smooch Spray, Envelope Punch Board,
Nestabilities Dies, Markers, Natural Chevron Ribbon,  Stampin' Dimensionals,
Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder, Arrows Embossing Folder

 

Congrats Swirls

Another bundle I was really happy made the preorder was the Swirly Bird stamp set and Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies. They are so much fun and there's a ton of different themes that can be covered with that set. I paired them with the Affectionately Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper that was also part of the preorder, and the matching Designer Tape. For the sentiment, I used the Duet Banners punch (also new). I wanted to use a photopolymer stamp set to stamp inside so that I could bend the image to follow the curve of the banner. I used a sentiment from the Tin of Cards stamp set. It's My Party Enamel Dots (Occasions Catalogue, p. 6) finish off the sentiment and op of the paper, and a piece of Mint Macaron Lace Trim adds a soft border. (The lace and enamel dots are both reitiring at the end of May, so get them while you can.)

The design of this card was inspired by the Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration Sketch #33.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Coffret de souhaits (Tin of Cards)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Watermelon Wonder, Mint Macaron, Daffodil Delight
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Affectionately Yours
Ink: Night of Navy, VersaMark
Accessories: It's My Party Enamel Dots, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies, Duet Banners Punch,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder, Mint Macaron Lace Trim,
Affectionately Yours Designer Washi Tape, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope

 

Our Friendship is a Work of Art

My preorder is here and I have items from the new 2016-2017 Stampin' Up! catalogue to show you! One of my favorite sets from the catalogue was part of the preorder: Painter's Palette. I was happy to see this one available in French. The matching Designer Paper, Playful Palette, was also available. It showcases three of the new In Color: Emerald Envy, Peekaboo Peach and Sweet Sugarplum. I'm really going to love the emerald green and the orchid purple. We haven't had anything like those two colours in a long time. The jury is still out on the peach color. It was the colour I was most excited when I saw the catalogue because I used Peach Passion a ton, both when we were carrying it and even after it retired and now the cardstock I have left is quickly dwindling down. Peekaboo peach is lighter but somehow it's still quite bright. I can't quite put my finger on it just yet but it reminds me of Pretty in Pink. It has that undertone that can make it a little harsh and hard to pair with other colours without it overtaking the project. That being said, that was my impression when I pulled it out of the box, but I need to play with it and find colour combinations before I make a final judgement on it. Experience has taught me that I've changed my mind about In Colors over the course of time in the past. Some instant favorites turn out hard to use, other colours that leave me indifferent initially become favorite. We'll see. Overall, this is ranking in my favorites In Color releases.

Back to the card, the design was based around Mojo Monday Sketch #447. The scallop square is part of a new Framelits collection called Layering Squares. It includes a ton of regular square dies and scalloped ones, with shapes close in sizes that allow for easy layering. We also carry circles and ovals, so I know those are going to be popular and useful. It's always nice to be able to easily mat an image.

For the easel, I stamped it in Emerald Envy first, then stamped it again in VersaMark, embossed it in Copper Stampin' Emboss powder (I can't even tell you how excited I am to have copper items coming back in the new catalogue - my favorite metallic!) and I cut out the frame, then popped it on Dimensionals on the first handcut image. I cut a square out of the patterned paper and stamped my sentiment in Basic Black Archival ink, then glued it on the frame at an angle, and stamped the pushpin to add to the sentiment square. A piece of Sweet Sugarplum ribbon was added. The In Color ribbons this year are 3/8" ruched ribbon and I love them. Great width and great texture. They are going to look wonderful on projects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Palette d'artiste (Painter's Palette)
Cardstock: Peekaboo Peach, Very Vanilla
Designer Series Paper: Playful Palette
Ink: Peekaboo Peach, Emerald Envy, Blushing Bride, Sweet Sugarplum, VersaMark, Basic Black Archival
Accessories: Layering Squares Framelits Dies, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder, Sweet  Sugarplum 3/8" Ruched Ribbon,
Stampin' Dimensionals, 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Vanilla Medium Envelope

 

Babysaurus

I'm short on baby cards - again! - and I found some Little Yellow Bicycle papers and stickers in my stash that inspired me a quick card based on the MFT Sketch #280.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Petits Plus (Little Additions)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue
Ink: Dapper Denim
Patterned Papers: Babysaurus (Little Yellow Bicycle)
Accessories: Designer Buttons, Toppers CutUp Dies (The Cat's Pajamas),
Stampin' Dimensionals, Babysayrus Stickers (Little Yellow Bicycle),
Envelope Punch Board, Layering Squares Framelits Dies (Stampin' Up!)

 

 

 

Woodgrain, Kraft and White

I really loved the inspiration picture from Merry Monday this week (#204). The challenge is to combine wood, kraft and white, which looks awesome together­.

My card actually started out with a card base from THIS project that didn't work out as I was hoping. I had stamped the clear block on my card and then decided to spray some Silver Smooch on the card to mirror the splatter from the sketch and despite keeping the spritzer a good distance from the card, I got way more spray on the card that I wanted. It was too dark for the look I was going for on the other card, but for a Christmas card, I thought I could make it work since it looked like frost. So, I simple overstamped the Hardwood background stamp on the card front and added the sentiment, which I embossed in white powder to make sure it stood out. I added snowflakes from the Flurry of Wishes stamp set in Whisper White Craft ink.

TIP: In this stamp set, the two smaller snowflakes are together as one stamp, placed to match the placement on the coordinating punch. It kept bugging me when creating backgrounds to have the two images so close together because I found it hard to fill out spaces where I would usually use the smaller snowflake. In this instance, I wanted a few loose flakes to frame my sentiments, so stamping the two together didn't work for me. So I finally took the plunge and cut the two images apart with my rubber scissors. I can still use the punch, just by stamping and punching the snowflakes one at a time, but if I do want to punch them both at the same time, what I did was cut the images apart in a V so I can easily piece the photopolymer back together on my clear block if I want to. Don't forget the stamps are yours to modify to your liking, depending the use you have for them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Tempête de souhaits (Flurry of Wishes), Hardwood, Brushstrokes
Cardstock: Crumb Cake
Ink: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, VersaMark
Acessories: Frosted Sequins, Clear Block, Rhinestone Basic Jewels,
White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope,
Iced Rhinestones, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sponge

 

To a Wonderful Woman

I really liked the CAS(E) This Sketch #171 so I squeezed in a simple card to play along before the deadline (times two because I need cards to send out to my downline members).

The background block on the sketch inspired me to stamp with a clear block. I inked my block with Crumb Cake ink and kissed the Brushstrokes background stamp before stamping the block on the card base to get a striped pattern on it. The wonderful sentiment was stamped with the Happy Birthday, Everyone hostess stamp set. The flower and the flourish both come from the Everything Eleanor stamp set. I rounded the card bottom corners using the Project Life Corner Punch.

The colour combo was inspired by the Color Throwdown #392.

 

Retiring items featured:

• Everything Eleanor Stamp Set
• Happy Birthday, Everyone Stamp Set
• Neutrals Candy Dots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Happy Birthday Everyone (hostess), Brushstrokes
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Pacific Point
Ink: VersaMark, Crumb Cake, Pacific Point
Accessories: Clear Block, Crumb Cake Medium Envelopes,
Neutrals Candy Dots, Project Life Corner Punch, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

New 2016-2017 Catalogue Inspiration!

I had something really nice surprise waiting on my doorstep yesterday: the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue! It actually got here before my preorder did. Because of a little problem with the addition of the complementary catalogue in the preorder during the first few days, Stampin' Up! was nice enough to ship the missing catalogues separately to those who had missed it. I hadn't expedited my preorder shipment, but the catalogue was and got to my door from the US to Canada in two days! I pourred over the catalogue, which always show the details of products and projects better than the PDF can. Then, I decided I would pick a few favorite samples and copy them! I picked the sample from page 49 because I loved the colours and the use of the die-cut. Since the sample includes the new peach In Color, I used the retiring Tangelo Twist instead.

As I was die-cutting the first rose out of Pool Party cardstock, I realized I could make a second card and fill out the rose with the inside piece from my first cut. So I cut another rose out of Silver Glimmer Paper and started paper piecing the rose as I was picking the pieces out of the first one, to make the assembling job easier. When picking out ribbon, I liked both the Pool Party Glitter Ribbon (from the Occasions catalogue) and the chevron ribbon, so I went with each one on a card. One card became a sympathy card; I left off the orange shade off the other and made it a wedding card. I used a Designer button on the first and a vintage faceted button on the second.

I think these two samples show how versatile the Rose Wonder stamp set and matching Framelits set are. Change the colors and embellishments a bit and you can cover quite a wide range of occasions.

 

Retiring items featured:

• Brights Designer Buttons
• Vintage Faceted Buttons
• Pool Party 3/8" Glitter Ribbon

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Essence de rose (Rose Wonder)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Pool Party
Ink: Night of Navy, Tangelo Twist, Pool Party
Accessories: Rose Garden Thinlits Dies, Vintage Faceted Buttons,
White Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals, Pool Party 3/8" Glitter Ribbon,
Natural Chevron Ribbon, Brights Designer Buttons, Linen Thread,
Stampin' Dimensionals, White Medium Envelopes

 

You're So Vintage

I saw THIS beautiful card online from Krista Frattin and really liked the softness and simpleness of her design. It inspired me this version of her design, using one of the retiring stamp set, That Thing You Did, and my favorite stamp set from the Occasions catalogue, Balloon Celebration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: That Thing You Did, Coffret de souhaits (Tin of Cards), Balloon Celebration
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White
Patterned Paper: Little Girl (Echo Park)
Ink: Basic Grey Archival, VersaMark, Soft Sky, Watermelon Wonder, Smoky Slate
Accessories: Project Life Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Balloon Punch, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Frosted Sequins,
Rhinestone Basic Jewels, White Medium Envelope

 

Three Leaves and a Big Bravo

This is another project that was inspired by a beautiful sample shown in the 2016-2017 Stampin' Up! catalogue. On their sample, they use new Thinlits dies that have not yet been released, but the leaf from the Rose Garden Thinlits dies was the perfect size and shape. When looking for a sentiment, I spotted the "A Big Bravo" in the French version of the Watercolor Wishes stamp set and thought it would be perfect for downline cards.

The card outline and the Crumb Cake cardstock were both stamped with images from the awesome Timeless Textures stamp set (which I already can't live - and stamp - without). A piece of Silver Metallic Baker's Twine was wrapped twice around the card. Simple but adorable!

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Pensées à l'aquarelle (Watercolor Wishes), Timeless Textures
Cardstock: Blackberry Bliss, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist
Ink: Crumb Cake, Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive, Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist
Accessories: Banner Triple Punch, Silver Metallic Baker's Twine, Vanilla Medium Envelopes,
Rose Garden Thinlits Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Waiting

Catching up on some older pictures (2011, taken at the Nashville Leadership). The big orange chairs in the picture were a nice fit with the colors of the You Are Here! papers by Simple Stories. My friend Maggie and I were waiting for her delayed luggage in the hotel lobby. It was the day we were invited to the Manager's Reception and we had been told the luggage should get to the hotel between 3 and 4 p.m. Maggie was really hoping to get her luggage in time so that she could change for the evening. Her bags got there at 4:50 p.m.! We were expected at the doors to take the bus at 5:30 p.m. and the Gaylord Opryland hotel is HUGE! We had to run across the whole convention centre and we got there with five minutes to spare. Stressful way to start the evening!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Studio G Alphabet, Mois de l'année courrier (Lime Citron)
Patterned Papers: You Are Here! (Simple Stories)
Ink: Island Indigo, Old Olive
Accessories: Simple Stories Die-Cuts and sn@p cards, Sequins, Simple Stories Wood Shapes,
Washi Tape, White Frost Glimmer Paint, Pearl Basic Jewels, Naturally Serif Alphabet Die,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Making Memories Rub-Ons, Vanilla Twine, Simple Stories Chipboard

 

Urban Flowers

As I was putting together my wine bottle tags, I looked at one of them and thought its design would translate really well to a 3-1/4" x 6-1/2" card, so while I had all of the supplies out on my desk, I made it happen. I only changed a few things to balance the card out and added the Designer buttons and the fine glitter, but the rest of pretty much the same.

 

Retiring items featured:

• Mini Silver Brads
• Washi Label Punch
• Regals Designer Buttons

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Ce que j'aime (What I Love)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Urban Garden, Walk in the Park
Ink: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss
Acessories: Envelope Punch Board, Banners Framelits Dies, Washi Label Punch,
Regals Designer Buttons, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Tear & Tape,
Kiwi Kiss Ribbon, Sequins, Mini Silver Brads, Project Life Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals