Encre, papier, ciseaux

Welcome Frame

After putting together my latest Bella card, I spotted a cute little house image in the Spring Garden paper pad and thought it would work great for a "welcome" card (which was on my list of card themes I needed to add to my finished cards pile). As I don't have a welcome sentiment, I created my own with some snap stamps from Karen Foster I've had in my supplies for a while. I die-cut a scallop rectangle die-cut to mat the image, added eyelets in the corner and hung it from a decorative brad using white cotton twine.

The card was was also die-cut using the same Dotted Scallop Rectangle dies set. The design was inspired by the Try Stamping on sketch #311.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Snap Alphabet (Karen Foster)
Cardstock: Bazzill, Going Grey
Patterned Papers: Spring Garden (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Dotted Scallop Rectangles (Elizabeth Craft Designs),
Stampin' Dimensionals, Cotton Twine, Eyelets, Designer Brad, Satin Ribbon, White Medium Envelope

 

Tonight We Dance

I'm still catching up on really old pictures. Those were taken in 2006 and they're from the same Christmas party I've recently made pages for.  The pictures are not great, but the memories are, so I really wanted to add those to my album. So many pictures were hard to include in a traditional album, but pocket scrapbooking is the perfect solution.

That fun red sentiment that was cut into strips was actually the bottom part of a 12 x 12 patterned paper (the part with the company name). On the back of the company info was this sentence – a clever way for the company to use the available space on their paper.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Alphabet Rotary Stamp (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers and Stickers: Christmas Cheer (Paper House)
Cardstock: Corrugated cardstock
Alphabet Stickers: Cosmo Cricket, American Craft
Accessories: Brads, Ribbons, Project Life Card and Labels Framelits,
Curvy Corner Trio Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Pearl Basic Jewels, Project Life Corner Punch,
Project Life Paper Clips Framelits Dies, Lawn Fawn Pins, Subtles Enamel Shapes

Arabian Nights Costumes

I don't scrapbook chronologically. I add pictures to my scrapbook album when inspiration strikes or when I find the perfect papers to go with some pictures. My latest layout includes pictures taken at our Christmas office party... in 2007. Back then, I was still doing conventional layouts and since I had quite a few pictures, it would have been hard to cram them all on a layout. Project Life certainly helped me solve that problem. I was also working with Basic Grey papers for my latest card and I spotted some other Basic Grey papers that had a Middle Eastern feel to them, and I remembered the Christmas pictures that had yet to be scrapped. The irony is that I've had those Basic Grey papers for years, which means that I could have used them with those pictures way before I thought to do so. It's never too late to catch up, I guess. Thankfully, I've also moved on from post-binded albums to three-rings album over the years, which allow me to move page protectors around and rearrange my layouts in chronological order easily, even though I jump from one year to another when I create.

Once I was done cutting up my pictures and sliding them in pockets, I realized I really didn't have much left to embellish: only three inserts needed to be created. That was a fun party we had, and certainly a colorful one with the Arabian-inspired costumes. Some people went all out, with full-body makeup and even prostetic noses! It was pretty awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers: Urban Couture (Basic Grey)
Cardstock: Midnight Muse
Accessories: Months Dies (Echo Park), Gel Pen, Pink Sequin Trim,
Algerian Font (printed Text), Alphabet Stickers (American Crafts, Basic Grey),
Project Life Cards and Labels Framelits Dies, Project Life Corner Punch, Green Metallic Washi Tape

 

 

Sending Hugs Across the Miles

This week's Stamping Bella challenge and Wednesday Simon Says Stamp challenge are "Anything Goes" so I pulled out the Huggy Squidgies and paired them with the Mojo Monday Sketch #485. I had put aside the Sweet Things papers from Doodlebug Design in my "to use soon" pile and since the colored image on the stamp packaging matched the paper colors so nicely, they just seemed like a natural match. I looked up Elaine Hugues' coloring video on YouTube for inspiration and basically tried to reproduce what she's doing to try and improve on my coloring skills. I'm really happy with most of the image, but I think the faces could be better. Practice, practice!

The stamps come with a sentiment, but I wanted something in French so I went hunting for something that would match nicely and found "A little hug from across the miles" in the Lift Me Up stamp set (2017 Occasions Catalogue). I embossed it in white powder on red patterned paper and added a cute enamel heart from the Subtles Enamel Shapes set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Huggy Squidgies (Stamping Bella), Gentil remontant (Lift Me Up - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Papers: Sweet Things (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: VersaMark, Tuxedo Black Memento, Real Red
Accessories: White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Mint Macaron/Basic Black Baker's Twine,
White Medium Envelope, Button, Washi Tape Punch, Large Oval Punch, Markers,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Subtles Enamel Shapes, Basic Stitch Lines Die-namics Dies (My Favorite Things)

 

Celebrate in Style

I was looking at what I could pair the Metropolitan Girl papers with and thought the Beautiful You stamp set (2017 Occasions Catalogue) would work well. I based the design on the Try Stampin' on Tuesday challenge #310 and on Stampin' Royalty challenge #363 (Dies).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Resplendissante (Wonderful You)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Calypso Coral, Very Vanilla
Patterned Papers: Metropolitan Girl (carta Bella)
Ink: Basic Black, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits, Layering Ovals Framelits,
Dotted Scallop Rectangles Dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs), Stampin' Dimensionals,
Polka Dot In Color Brads, Blushing Bride Stitched Satin Ribbon

 

In My Stocking

This week's Merry Monday #236 challenge was to include a stocking and Stampin' Royalty challenge #363 was to include dies, so it was a great opportunity to use my Christmas Stockings Thinlits again. I looked through old ColourQ combos for inspiration and found #273 would make a fun and fresh Christmas combo. I used a bunch of dies from that set to make that card: one stocking for the card, one for inside and a third one on the envelope; the snowflake from one of the stockings as an embellishment, the various stocking embellishments (hook, rickrach border, cuff, bow), the little star, the Noel sentiment. I wanted the two dots on the E and found the perfect circles when I took out the polka dot pattern from the stocking glued on the envelope!

I looked silver cord trim through the hook of the stocking and I was planning on "hanging" my stocking from the top of the card with the cord, but because the cord came from a spool, it kept this cool loop shape on its own and I decided to just go with it and use it as a design element. It adds a bit of movement and makes the card more dynamic, so I like how this turned out.

The design of the card came from a Page Map April 2016 card sketch.

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Bas de Noël (Hang Your Stocking)
Cardstock: Calypso Coral, Old Olive, Hello Honey, Poppy Parade, Silver Foil, Silver Glimmer Paper
Designer Series Paper: Moonlight, 2010-2011 In Color, Sweet Pea, 2011-2012 In Color
Ink: Poppy Parade, Old Olive
Accessories: Christmas Stockings Thinlits, Chalk Talk Framelits, Silver Cord Trim,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Metallics Enamel Shapes, White Medium Envelope,
Dotted Scallop Rectangles Dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

 

A Perfect Day

Inspiration: Inspired by All the Little Things #44, Paper Players #332 and Sunday Stamps #146

The second I saw the inspiration picture from the challenge, it made me think of the Summer Dream papers which have a paper with a very similar big wheel pattern. The Paper Players challenge called for a sentiment-focused card, which was a great way to use the full big wheel paper and not hide it too much. I looked for an appropriate sentiment and found "May Your Day Be Perfect" from the ever-so-practical Suite Sentiments stamp set. I also discovered that my newly-acquired Cupcakes & Carousels Embellishment Kit fit very nicely with my papers (vanilla background, Pool Party accents) so I used the baker's twine, the little paper bow, the sequins and the gold-foil die-cut. Those gold-foil die-cuts were what I was totally in love with, but the rest of the kit is pretty dope as well. I wish we would have full spool of that yellow and turquoise baker's twine - it is awesome!

I added a little touch of Sale-A-Bration in there with a Delicate Details stamped border and two little bows on each side of the sentiment, that come from the Any Occasion stamp set.

This card is pretty huge. Because I didn't want to take away from the patterned paper, the card measures 6" x 6". I had to look into my 12" x 12" scrapbooking cardstock to find a cardstock piece of cut my card base out of. And my trusty Envelope Punch Board came in handy to create a matching envelope. Because the paper pad I was using was 6" x 6", I simply found a random piece of patterned paper that matched (and that I suspect came from my very first scrapbook supplies order over 12 years ago!! 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Mots coordonnés (Suite Sentiments), Occasions pour tout (Any Occasion), Delicate Details
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Papers: Summer Dream (Craft Smith), Unknown (Polka Dots)
Ink: Sweet Sugarplum, Coastal Cabana
Accessories: Cupcakes & Carousels Embellishment Kit, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Envelope Punch Board, Sweet Sugarplum Ruffled Ribbon, Pearl Basic Jewels

 

Showers of Happiness

During the fall challenge week on Splitcoast Stampers, I had tried the stenciled shaving cream technique and I made a few sheets using the shaving cream, trying to get the most out of it. I had a page left with stars on it and thought it would work well with the Moon Baby stamp set. This week's Stamp Ink Paper challenge #68 also had colour that could work well with the sheet so it was the starting point for my card. I used the sketch from Global Design Project #74 as well.

That cute tag come from the Cheerful Tags Thinlits die set. It's meant to be a bottle tag, but I only used the bottom part and wove ribbon in the two holes to decorate it a bit. A heart die-cut out of shimmer paper was added to it, and my handcut baby, colored with a blending pen and ink on Shimmery White cardstock. The sentiment was embossed with Copper Stampin' Emboss powder, and I added a couple of enamel shaoes to the heart and sentiment.

The top felt a little bare, so I stamped a lace border from the Delicate Details stamp set (Sale-A-Bration free gift). You might have noticed I keep using it on a lot of project. It's one of those sets that you can get a lot of mileage out of because you keep sneaking it into many projects.

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Combo: Bermuda Bay + So Saffron + Peekaboo Peach + White

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Moon Baby, Delicate Details (SAB)
Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, So Saffron, Shimmery White, Bermuda Bay Glimmer Paper
Ink: Basic Black Archival, Peekaboo Peach, So Saffron, Blush Blossom, Bermuda Bay, VersaMark
Accessories: Cheerful Tags Thinlits, Sweet & Sassy Framelits, Blending Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Enamel Shapes (2016-2018 In Color, Brights), White Medium Envelope, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Welcome In and Take a Seat

The inspiration for this card came together really quickly. I was about to put away my reference document with past ColourQ challenges I want to catch up on and I caught #305. The bright colours appeal to me and I've been wanting to put them to use soon, but when I saw the inspiration image that contains a sofa, I thought I could use the On My Couch stamp set and pair it with the current Mojo Monday challenge. I looked at the list of "themes" I need to add to my card pile and spotted "welcome," which seemed appropriate to go with the homey feel of the sofa. Come to think of it, I didn't even cross my mind to look at stamp sets to see if I could find the word somewhere. I simply reached for my alphabet stamps and added it to the card. I used the Layering Squares Framelits to mat the sofa images - I am now realizing I've used those dies a lot since buying them! I wouldn't necessarily have expected to considering that squares are the easiest shapes to cut out yourself with a paper cutter, but the scallop squares are awesome and to have a grid pattern line perfectly like on this card, there's really nothing like dies to make sure everything is the same size.

 

 

 

   

 

Colour Combo: Taken with Teal (bermuda Bay) + Lovely Lilac (Wisteria Wonder) + Tango Tangerine + So Saffron + White

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: On My Couch (Papertrey Ink), Alphabet Stamps (Studio G)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Thick Whisper White, So Saffron, Tango Tangerine, Lovely Lilac, Taken with Teal
Ink: So Saffron, Tango Tangerine, Wisteria Wonder, Taken with Teal, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Tango Tangerine Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Dots Embossing Folder, Envelope Punch Board,
Subtles Enamel Shapes, Stampin' Dimensionals, Layering Squares Framelits Dies, On My Couch Dies (Papertrey Ink)

 

Some Days, It Just Feels Like You've Hit a Wall

Some people have sports as a way to feel better. I have crafts. I have been meaning to pair brick stencil and grit paste (if I could ever find where I had put it away) with the brick wall image from the Chicks who "couldn't even" stamp set. I finally found the paste in a drawer about a week ago and it was sitting on my desk so when I sat down to stamp tonight, I decided to put my idea to paper. It just happened that the chick image is the perfect reflection of how I feel today. Somebody well-loved from the office is no longer with us and the news has made waves around the office this week. I came back home emotionally spent, and, well, I couldn't even. The sentiments included in the stamp set are pretty great, but I was looking for something in French, so I used a sentiment that says, "Hang on."

I'm not sure how I feel about the finished card. I really liked the stenciled bricks in white, but sponged some red ink on them and I think it detracted from the look rather than enhance it. I tried playing with dimension by adding some Dusty Durango and Basic Grey ink here and there, and shabby chic'ing my card to match, but in the end, I wonder if I might have enjoyed my initial cleaner look better. We'll never know, but it doesn't really matter because the card served its function tonight – therapy. I managed to take my mind off of things for a couple of hours, so I call that a win.

The card was inspired by this week's Stamping Bella challenge (use die-cuts) and an older Mojo Monday Sketch (#392) and ColourQ combo (#89).

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Combo: Cherry Cobbler + Dusty Durango + Bordering Blue + Basic Grey

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: The Chicks Who Couldn't Even (Stamping Bella), Là pour toi (Stampin' Up!), Timeless Textures (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Bordering Blue, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Grey, Dusty Durango, Whisper White
Ink: Bordering Blue, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Grey, Dusty Durango
Accessories: Distress Grit-Paste (Ranger), Bricked Layering Stencil (Tim Holtz), Nestabilities Dies,
Urban Underground Embellishments, Markers, Hodgepodge Hardware, Grosgrain Ribbon, Burlap Ribbon,
Sponges, Sponge Daubers, Stampin' Dimensionals, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope

 

Food for Thoughts

The food truck set is my very favorite item from Sale-A-Bration this year. It's so cute and unique! I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. On my list of cards I need to add to my stash was a "you'll be missed" card. It happens that I don't have any English stamp that says just that, so I used an alphabet stamp set to make my own sentiment, and I paired it with the cute truck. The colours from the Global Project challenge #73 gave just the right, fun tone, and I drew inspiration from Mojo Monday #483 for the design.

 

 

 

 

  

 

Colour Combo: Daffodil Delight + Watermelon Wonder + Emerald Envy

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Resto sur roulettes (Tasty Trucks), alphabet
Cardstock: Emerald Envy, Watermelon Wonder, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Smoky Slate
Papers: 2015-2017 In Color Designer Paper Stack, 2016-2018 Envelope Paper
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Smoky Slate, Emerald Envy, Watermelon Wonder, Daffodil Delight, Black Archival
Accessories: Baker's Twine (Basic Black, Emerald Envy), Enamel Shapes (2016-2018 In Color, Brights),
Envelope Punch Board, Circle Layering Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Urban Underground Embellishments,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Blending Pen, Festive Embossing Folder

 

Happy Mother's Day

I had put aside a die-cut I had leftover from a retired Artisan Embellishments kit from two years ago. I knew I wanted to use it for something delicate, like a mother's day card. When I saw the CAS(E) This Sketch #208 challenge, I thought it would work nicely. I also received this week the Any Occasion stamp set from Sale-A-Bration, so it was a nice chance to ink it. Despite my extensive (!) stamp collection, I don't have a whole lot of "Happy Mother's Day" options available so I opted to take the first two words from the Any Occasion stamp set and create the rest using dies.

Funny thing about the word "des"... It comes from a die set that I found recently at a local store. It includes only French "filler words" - de, du, des, le, la, les, un, une. My first thought was that it was quite useless. But that thought only lasted a second, because then I thought of all the times when I'm scrapbooking and creating a title for my page and I need a bunch of those filler words. When I'm using alphabet stickers, it annoys me to spend all of my precious vowels on filler words, and if I'm using die-cuts, it takes forever because of the repeating letters. After thinking about that, the die set went straight into my basket! And it serves beautifully here. I added a Falling in Love embellishment (2017 Occasions Catalogue) to the card, with a touch of Silver Metallic thread as well.

The card base seemed a little bare so I went hunting in my background stamp collection and found Teahouse (long retired), which was just delicate enough to add a little something without overwhelming the focal point.

The lovely colour combo was inspired by ColourQ #290.

 

 

 

 

    

 

Colour Combo: Blushing Bride + Poppy Parade + Mint Macaron + Watermelon Wonder + Very Vanilla

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Occasions pour tout (Any Occasion - SAB), Teahouse Background
Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Poppy Parade, Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder, Very Vanilla
Designer Series Paper: Carried Away (SAB)
Ink: Crumb Cake, Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Falling in Love Embellishments, Very Vanilla Medium Envelope,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Alisha Alphabet Dies (Echo Park), Réf. Articles Dies (Kesi'art),
Silver Metallic Thread

 

I Elfing Love You

I was inspired to pair the Merry Monday challenge #234 with the Freshly Made Sketch #274. I stamped the shelf, the globe and the stocking (twice) on my main piece of cardstock, and the little girl efl on a separate piece of cardstock. After coloring everything, I handcut the little elf and added it to the shelf, so that way, her hat would be poking out of the rectangle. I liked having her feet stick up a bit to give the scene dimension, but using Stampin' Dimensionals behind the whole image made it appear as is she was floating above the shelf. I split the difference and used Snail behind her hat and body, and cut-up Dimensionals behind her legs. It gives a nice effect, making her legs appear bended and closer.

I used one of the sentiments from the same set, which is very tongue in cheek, I used black embossing powder to make sure it popped up well against the stamped images. Since the sentiment talks about love, I found a chipboard heart in my stash, covered it with Platinum paint and stamped the heart from the same stamp set in Jet Black StazOn ink over the dried paint. A second heart was added, using Metallic Enamel Shapes. This is fairly simple compared to my usual mutli-layers designs, but I really like how it turned out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Elfs and Their Shelf (Neat & Tangled)
Cardstock: Glorious Green, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Winter Wonderland (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Jet Black StazOn, VersaMark
Accessories: Metallic Enamel Shapes, Chipboard Heart, Platinum Glimmer Paint,
White Medium Envelope, Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

As I was putting together another Holidays card, I spotted in the paper pad I was using a sheet of paper with a cute little house scene in the bottom corner. Since the Merry Monday challenge #234 is to make a clean & simple card, I thought I could come up with something along those lines using the sheet of paper.

I went hunting for a big Holiday sentiment that would fill up the space nicely and found what I was looking for in the Wonderful Year stamp set (2016 Holidays Catalogue). I stamped it with Dapper Denim and stamped over it with VersaMark to emboss with clear powder. Little snowflakes and silver sequins and some rhinestones were added, and then a mat and I was pretty much done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Joyeuse année (Wonderful Year)
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Winter Wonderland (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Dapper Denim, VersaMark
Accessories: Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Envelope Punch Board, Frosted Sequins, Rhinestone Basic Jewels

 

The Right Tools

I drew inspiration from the Fab Friday sketch #105 to make a new Father's Day card to add to the pile. I absolutely love the Urban Underground collection - it includes a lot of fun and awesome stuff that makes creating masculine projects (and more) easy.

Here's a fun trick I discovered while die-cutting the screw and bolt out of Silver Foil Paper. You'll wind up with a circle piece from the center of the bolt die-cut. Instead of throwing it away, you can simply use a stylus and a ruler to add a line in the center - and turn the circle into a screw! if you leave it untouched, it could also be a nail. the die sort of leaves an impressed border on the cardstock, making it more interesting than a regular punched circle would be.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Les bons outils (Nailed It)
Cardstock: Delightful Dijon, Basic Grey, Smoky Slate, Silver Foil
Patterned Paper: Urban Underground
Ink: Delightful Dijon, Basic Grey, VersaMark
Accessories: Build It Framelits Dies, Circle Framelits Dies, Urban Underground Designer Washi Tape,
Vanilla Medium Envelope, Urban Underground Embellishments, 5/8" Burlap Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Ronald the Chick

This card was inspired by Create with Connie and Mary #443 and Can You Case It #146. As I was coloring the chick from Sale-A-Bration's Hey, Chick stamp set using watercolor pencils, I decided I would be naming this chick Ronald because he looks just like Ronald McDonald with his big mop of red hair! (I promise you, you won't be able to unsee it now.)

I used the new Hexagons Dynamic Embossing Folder from the Occasions Catalogue and I wanted to highlight the outer section to make it look like chicken wire. For my first try, I added ink to the embossing folder, but the result was a little messy, with ink on more than the embossed outline. So I felipped the embossed cardstock around and added Tip Top Taupe to my embossed pattern using a brayer and a really light touch. This step worked way better, although the edges of the cardstock had curled up a bit due to the fact that I had sprayed the cardstock with water (as suggested when using the Dynamic folders) and picked up a bit of extra ink. But overall, it worked well.

The sentiment reads, "Welcome among us!" and is from the Baby Bear stamp set. (The English version says "Welcome to the world," but the French translation is more general, which works well for me here because I'll use this card to welcome new recruits to the team.) A few enamel shapes were added to the circle and sentiment strip. Speaking of which, I used a narrow strip of cardstock, embossed my sentiment in white and then die-cut the edges using the pointy-end frame from the Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits Dies. A little trick to get the pointy ends on a narrower shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Hey, Chick (SAB), Bébé ourson (Baby Bear)
Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry, Watercolor Paper
Ink: VersaMark, Jet Black StazOn, Tip Top Taupe
Accessories: Hexagons Dynamic Embossing Folder, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Enamel Shapes (Metallics, Regals, Brights),
Watercolor Pencils, Delightful Dijon 5/8" Mini Striped Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Brayer,
White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits Dies, White Medium Envelope

 

Good Luck On Your Next Adventure

The latest Fusion challenge sketch inspired me to pull out the Up & Away Thinlits dies (2017 Occasions Catalogue). I wanted to make a retirement card using the hot air balloon, which I thought was appropriate for the theme (liberty, flying away, a new adventure). I remembered the Wild About Flowers stamp set (from the Annual Catalogue) had some retirement sentiments in it, so I pulled it out and I went for "Good luck in your new adventure."

The card background was stamped with the Brushstrokes background stamp. I picked the paper from the Carried Away Designer Series Paper (offered as a free gift with purchase during Sale-A-Bration) that shows the ground from above, because it just makes me smile - really cute and a great idea to go with the hot air balloons! I matted the paper with Night of Navy cardstock first, and then vellum second. I added Enamel Shapes to the four corners, and on the hot air balloon as well. Plus a little bit of Silver metallic thread for added interest, and two little clouds die-cut out of Whisper White cardstock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Brushstrokes, Fleur de l'âge (Wild About Flowers)
Cardstock: Peekaboo Peach, Watermelon Wonder, Night of Navy, Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Mint Macaron, Vellum
Designer Series Paper: Carried Away
Ink: Night of Navy, Peekaboo Peach, Watermelon Wonder, Mint Macaron
Accessories: Enamel Shapes (2016-2018 In Color, Regals, Subtles), Up & Away Thinlits Dies,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Silver Metallic Thread, White Medium Envelope

 

You're the Pina to my Colada

This image from Stamping Bella just cracks me up. How can you not smile just looking at those two quirky gals? I drew inspiration from the Stamping Bella Sketch #26 and paired the gals with the Beach Day paper from Carta Bella because I remembered it included a pineapple pattern. I couldn't resist using a dab of Crystal Effects on the glasses to make them shiny and make the image come alive even more.

The sentiment, which reads "I miss you," comes from the Label Love French from Altenew. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this American company made a French stamp set. There's always the occasional "merci," "bonjour," or "ooh la la" that pops up when a company wants to do something Parisian-inspired, but this one is a full-on French sentiment set with 16 (!) sentiments. I also love the block sentiment, label-type sentiments because I find them easy to include on cards. It just happened to also work wonderfully with the sketch, which happened to include a little rectangle at the bottom. Perfect!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Tropical Squidgies (Stamping Bella), Label Love French (Altenew)
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Beach Day (Carta Bella)
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Circle Punch, Gold Metallic Baker's Twine,
Markers, Dotted Scallop Rectangles Dies, Envelope Punch Board, Ticket corner Punch,
Crystal Effects

 

Birthday Wishes Blast

When I saw the Tuesday Morning Sketch #388, I thought it would work well with the Star Blast Edgelits from the Occasions Catalogue, and the matching Birthday Blast stamp set. I looked at past ColourQ combos for inspiration and selected #366, which was perfect seems I always need more masculine cards.

The sentiment was embossed with Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder (so glad to have that colour back!) and I added a Urban Underground star embellishment to the big star in the die-cut.

 

 

 

  

Colour Combo: Island Indigo + Cajun Craze + Bermuda Bay + Crushed Curry + White

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Fête endiablée (Birthday Blast)
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Island Indigo, Cajun Craze
Accessories: Star Blast Edgelits Dies, Urban Underground Embellishments,
Baker's Twine, Regals Designer Buttons, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder, White Medium Envelope

 

Cupid Taking Aim

The Mojo Monday sketch #482 seemed perfect to use the Cupid Chicks, since I knew I could fit one of the images in a Sweet & Sassy Framelits die. I looked at Valentine-themed papers to pair with it and found Yes, Please from My Mind's Eye, which was perfect. I spotted the big XO XO patterned paper, which reminded me of the inspiration picture from the Curtain Call challenge. I also drew inspiration from the Stamp Ink Paper challenge #84 and selected the Sequins + Red + Ribbon line.

The chick image was colored with Prismacolor pencils. The background circle was stitched using needlework floss and the Stitchable Dot Circles dies to make the holes. A bow made out of Gold Satin Ribbon (Annual Catalogue) was also added. The sentiment reads "With all of my love". Sequins were sprinkled on the card, and I finished it off with an Falling in Love embellishment from the Occasions Catalogue (p. 51), which was perfect to pair with the vanilla patterned papers.

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Label Love French (Altenew), Cupid Chicks (Stamping Bella)
Cardstock: Raspberry Ripple, Very Vanilla
Patterned Papers: Yes, Please (My Mind's Eye
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Sequins, Needlework Floss (DMC), Vanilla Square Envelope, Dazzling Details,
Designer Washi Tape, Gold Satin Ribbon, Falling in Love Embellishments, Heart Punch,
Prismacolor Pencils, Stitchable Dot Circles Die-namics (My Favorite Things), Stampin' Dimensionals