Encre, papier, ciseaux

My Soul Mate...

This card was inspired by Mojo Monday #490, Color Throwndown #436, Stamping Bella (Anything Goes) and APRVSN17A - punny, snarky card for a best friend. I got the sentiment idea from seeing the Emoji Love stickers from Simple Stories. Among the stickers, I spotted something that says, "I think my soul mates is carbs." It just cracked me up! When I saw that the Virtual Stamping Night challenge A on Splitcoast Stampers was calling for a punny, snarky card for a friend, I thought the sentiment would work perfectly with the Sweaty Chicks stamp set. I decided to just handwrite the sentiment to make life easy for myself. I did use the Labeler Alphabet to stamp the last word inside the card. I stamped it over the washi tape image from the Timeless Textures stamp set, which I also used to add texture on the card front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Sweaty Chicks (Stamping Bella), Timeless Textures, Labeler Alphabet (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Bazzill, Vellum
Patterned Paper: Make a Splash (Bo Bunny), Perfectly Artistic Designer Series Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight, Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Island Indigo Satin Ribbon, Handheld Stapler,
Black Pen, Envelope Punch Board, Urban Secret Embellishments, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Stitched Rectangles Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn), Ticker Corner Punch

 

Cascading Succulents

This card was inspired by Match the Sketch challenge #170 and Stamp Ink Paper challenge #92. I really liked the color combo from the inspiration picture, which I interpreted by pairing Rich Razzleberry, Soft Sky, Wisteria Wonder, Smoky Slate and Basic Grey. The sketch inspired me cascading flowers, stamped with the Oh So Succulent stamp set. I don't have the matching Framelits, so all of those flowers were handcut... The sentiment reads, "Everyone needs a friend like you," from the Suite Sentiments stamp set. I scored lines at the top and bottom of the sentiemnt stripe, and folded half of a metallic doily in the corner, then embellished with a Rich Razleberry heart enamel shape. A few pearls were added amongst the flowers as well.

 

 

 

 

Color Combo: Rich Razzleberry + Wisteria Wonder + Soft Sky + Smoky Slate + Basic Grey

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Si succulent (Oh So Succulent), Mots coordonnés (Suite Sentiments)
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Wisteria Wonder, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky, Basic Grey, VersaMark
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Pearl Basic Jewels, Brights Enamel Shapes, Metallic Doilies,
White Medium Envelope, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Simply Scored

 

Sympathy Folder

As I sometimes like to do when time permits, I made a card with the leftover papers from my latest scrapbooking page, inspired by the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge (Things with Wings). I was in need of sympathy cards and the soft neutrals of the papers were perfect for this. I also had my folder Coluzzle template out that I had used for the page, so it was great to make a shaped card. I didn't work off a sketch, I just basically started with the items I had leftover, like the second half of the frame I had fussy cut out of one of the papers. I glued it to the folder, stamped "all of our sympathies" at the bottom of it and added a little paper banner, layered flowers and little butterflies die-cut with the Beautiful Wings Embosslits we used to carry. A matching envelope was made with the Envelope Punch Board, accomodating the unusual card dimensions.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Éclosion de pensées (Flourishing Phrases)
Patterned Papers: Parisian Anthology (Pink Paislee)
Ink: Crumb Cake
Accessories: Folder Coluzzle Template, Project Life Corner Punch,
Lots of Tags Sizzlits, Beautiful Wings Embosslits, Flowers (Prima),
Large Oval Punch, Vintage Flowers, Envelope Punch Board

 

You are my Sunshine

This card was inspired by challenges APRVSN17M and Tuesday Morning Sketch #396. The Virtual Stamp Night challenge was to make a card with no stamping on it, so I used papers from the Spring Things pad and I punched a sun image with the sentiment You are my Sunshine around it out of one of the patterned papers.

The little stars were keftover die-cuts from the Star Blast Edgelits I used on another project. I painted the sunshine with the Clear Wink of Stella brush to give it a bit of shimmer, and I used the Stitched Shapes Framelits for the square behind the sun. I found out that the Sweet Stitches Designer brads I've had in my stash for a while were a good match for the colours of those papers, so I lined three up at the top of the card. I also added a white rub-on from an old Easter Egg kit Stampin' Up! used to sell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Barely Banana
Patterned Paper: Spring Things (Doodlebug Design)
Accessories: Sweet Stitches Designer Brads, 2" Circle Punch, White Medium Envelope,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Banner Punch, Stitched Shapes Framelits, White Polka Dot Organza Ribbon,
Star Blast Edgelits Dies

 

Candy Cane Painting

This card was inspired by APRVSN17C (Stripes and Gold), Merry Monday #241 (red + green + white) and Global Design Project #80 (Case the Designer - Louise Sharp). I embossed my main image on watercolor paper using Gold embossing powder and colored it with inks and an Aqua Painter brush. I used gold embossing powder for the sentiment as well, gold ribbon and gold foil paper to mat the striped patterned paper. No fancy techniques on this one - just cute stuff put together!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Merry Makers (SugarPea Designs
Cardstock: Bazzill, Gold Foild Paper, Watercolor Paper
Patterned Papers: I Love Christmas (Echo Park)
Ink: VersaMark, Garden Green, Old Olive, Real Red, Blush Blossom, Smoky Slate
Accessories: Enamel Dots (Home for Christmas, Halloween Night), 1/8" Gold Ribbon,
Tag Topper Punch, Circle Punches, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, White Medium Envelope,
Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Diddly Squats

The sentiments in the Exercise Grumplings stamp set just crack me up. The "my new exercise routine: diddly squats" sentiment might be my favorite. (Maybe because it's not that far from my personal reality?)

The card design was inspired by Can You Case It #151. I found the Cut & Paste papers from My Mind's Eye in my paper stack and thought the colours were great for an exercise card. Then I spotted the paper with the bikes on it, which reminds me of a spinning bike, so it thought it tied up nicely with the theme as well.

I stamped the sentiment in Night of Navy ink and then overstamped it in VersaMark so that I could emboss it with clear powder. It gives it a nice shine and dimension. I die-cut the sentiment with the Stitched rectangles Stackables dies, matted it with Going Grey cardstock and popped up my colored image (which I handcut). Summer Starfruit satin ribbon and Regals candy dots were added, and to mimick the sketch, I added two wooden arrows on the left side of the main panel.

The card base was stamped with the Timeless Textures stamp set (one of my personal must-have sets) to add texture.

 

 

 

 

 Supplies
Stamps: Exercise Grumplings (Taylored Expressions), Timeless Textures (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Real Rust, Going Grey, Night of Navy
Patterned Papers: Cut & Paste (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Night of Navy, Cajun Craze, VersaMark
Accessories: Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers,
Essentials Wooden Elements, Stitched Rectangles Stackables Dies, Regals Candy Dots,
White Square Envelope, Summer Starfruit Satin Ribbon

 

Get Better Soon

 One of the samples I made for the OnStage event in Ottawa in the fall featuring the Iconic Occasions hostess stamp set.

 

 

 

Thanks from All of Us

This is another project I made to send out to downline members, and the colors were inspired by the Color Throwdown challenge #435. Two of the colors were a match for the Pretty Pocket Card Kit (SAB freebie) so it was the starting point for my design. I paired it with two Sale-A-Bration stamp sets: So Very Much and Delicate Details. The Thank You sentiment was embossed with Copper Stampin' Emboss powder, which looks really good paired with the Peekaboo Peach cardstock.

TIP: I had some Peekaboo Peach washi Designer tape from the Tasty Treats pack, but it was too large to fit into the space between my sentiment and the doily. I took advantage from the fact that washi tape is tacky and can be pulled back up from a surface it's been adhered to. I placed a piece of washi tape on a scrap sheet of paper, cut it in two using my paper cutter and gently pulled the tape back up. That allowed me to get a thinner piece for the front of the card, and the second piece went on the insert, between the stamped sentiment box and the lines for the text.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Infiniment et plus (So Very Much). Delicate Details
Cardstock: Peekaboo Peach
Card Kit: Pretty Pocket (SAB)
Ink: VersaMark, Peekaboo Peach
Accessories: Project Life Corner Punch, Tasty Treats Designer Washi Tape,
Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder, Pearl Basic Jewels, 2016-2018 In Color and Subtles Enamel Shapes

 

Talking Chick

I need to make a few cards for downline members and I wanted to take advantage of the Sale-A-Bration sets while they are still available. The MFT sketch #325 seemed like it would work well with the Hey, Chick stamp set. The colors were inspired by an older ColourQ combo (#360), changed to current colours. I really wanted to keep the word bubble and a couple of years ago, we had the Word Bubbles Framelits, which I still have and would have been easy to pull out. I was trying to keep the supplies I was using current so that the resulting card can be more useful for team members, so I was looking at my current Framelits and Thinlits and the second I spotted the Frozen Treats Thinlits, I knew I could make my own word bubble with a Circle punch and the tip of the ice cream!

The background and layer were dry embossed with the Brick Wall and Hexagons embossing folders. The little red banner piece was stamped with Delicate Details, another SAB stamp set. The hen was colored with the Watercolor Pencils. I colored with the pencils directly on my stamped image (using the Basic Black Archival ink on Shimmery White cardstock) and then I spread the color around using an Aqua Painter brush. The colors used are red, orange, blue and green for the feathers, with a bit of grey shading on the rest of the bidy, and yellow for the legs and beak.

An enamel heart from the Regals Enamel Shapes pack was added to the bubble. (You'll notice I ordered the English stamp set for a change... I decided to forgo the French for the chance to have a wood-mount stamp set. Yup, I'm still not over those.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Combo: Soft Suede + Crushed Curry + Cherry Cobbler + Pumpkin Pie

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Hey Chick, Delicate Doilies
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Shimmery White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Basic Black Archival
Accessories: Brick Wall Embossing Folder, Hexagons Embossing Folder, 1-3/8" Circle Punch,
Frozen Treats Thinlits, Regals Enamels Shapes, Stampin' Dimensionals, Watercolor Pencils, White Medium Envelope

 

A Forever Kind of Love

The inspiration picture in Inspired by All the Little Things challenge #48 reminded me of an Halloween night ambiance. Because the white at the bottom looks like fog. Anyway, I happened to have two Halloween sets that I had put aside to play with and some new Distress oxide inks I was dying to play with, so the timing was perfect.

The background you're seeing on this card is my very first attempt at using them, and I was very pleased with how it turned out. I used sponges to dab ink on Shimmery White cardstock and I spritzed water on it, while using a heat gun to dry the cardstock in between colours and spritzing. I wanted bigger drops in some spots, so I squeezed water out of my Aqua Painter brush and flicked it above the cardstock. I also let big drops pool in some spots. After this first successful try, I'm now really curious to play with the ink some more.

By the way, I've finally invested in rectangle dies (as you can see by the stitched border). When I first got my Big Shot, the year it came out in the Stampin' Up! catalogue, I started building my die collection with shapes, knowing they would be what I would get the most mileage out of. For some reason, I figured that rectangles were a wasted purchase since I could make those with a regular paper cutter. Turns out lately I kept wanting to create certains looks on projects and kept thinking, If only I had rectangle dies handy. It took me a while because I kept going back and forth between various options. Because I CAN cut rectangles with a paper cutter, I finally landed on buying something with a stitched border to give extra value to the purchase. Just adding the stitched border to my scene instantly made the card look more put together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Frightful Friends, Grave Situation (My Favorite Things)
Cardstock: Tango Tangerine, More Mustard, Basic Black, Orchid Opulence, Shimmery White
Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento, Ranger Distress Oxide (Spiced Marmelade, Wilted Violet, Vintage Photo, Fossilized Amber)
Accessories: Halloween Night Enamel Dots, Stitched Rectangles Dies (Lawn Fawn), Sponges,
Grave Situation and Frightful Friends Die-namics (MFT), Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals, White Medium Envelope

 

You're How Old?!

One of my good friends is turning 30 and I wanted to make a special card for her for the occasion. As is often the case when I start out thinking I want a card to be "special," I was a little stumped as to where to start. I finally got this idea to create my own background by incasing colorful die-cut images in a dark background using die-cut numbers. I pulled out the Large Numbers Framelits and drew inspiration from ColourQ #359 for colours. The design came from Paper Craft Crew challenge #235.

I think this turned out better than I could have imagined. I kept having ideas for more details and they all ended up working together very well. Because I liked my background so much, I didn't want to cover it too much so to do the left border like on the sketch, I decided to use vellum, and I pulled a scrap from last year's SAB Botanical Gardens Vellum Pack. I punched the printed vellum with the Confetti Stars Border punch. A piece of Silver Glimmer Paper was die-cut with the Starburst Framelits and silver enamel shapes were added as well. (The bigger star is a leftover from the 2016 Hello December Project Life Accessory Kit.) I used Silver Metallic Baker's Twice for an extra touch of silver as well.

The main sentiment comes from the Just Sayin' stamp set and reads, "You're how old?" Inside the card, using the Numbers of Years stamp set, I stamped "29 again." That fun frame inside the card is my leftover piece from the card front. I had cut a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of black cardstock, which I then mounted on a second piece the same size after die-cutting the numbers out. I started piecing the colored numbers inside the rectangle, letting the numbers hang outside. Once I was done, I used a rectangle die to die-cut the piece a bit smaller. I kept looking at the leftover frame on my des, thinking that it looked really cool. My first thought was to take a mental note to create a similar frame on a future project, but when came time to decorate inside the card, I decided I had the perfect peice right there!!

The Large Letters Framelits were used to add my friend's name to my handmade envelope (Envelope Punch Board, of course!) in colorful letters. This fits into the Just Add Ink #351 challenge - Just add L = Large Letters and Retro Rubber Challenge #58, since Just Sayin' is a stamp set that has been retired for over a year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     
  

Colour Combo: Basic Black + Summer Starfruit + Primrose Petals + Soft Sky

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies (unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Au fil des ans (Number of Years), Ça bulle (Just Sayin')
Cardstock: Basic Black, Summer Starfruit, Soft Sky, Primrose Petals, Shimmery White, Botanical Gardens Vellum, Silver Glimmer Paper
Designer Series Paper: 2012-2014 In Color Stack
Ink: Soft Sky, Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Silver Metallic Baker's Twine, Neutrals Designer Buttons, Starburst Framelits,
Large Letters Framelits, Large Numbers Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, Confetti Stars Border,
Envelope Punch Board, Word Bubbles Framelits, Metallics Enamel Shapes, Black Journaling Pen,
Summer Starfruit Stitched Satin Ribbon, Dotted Lattice Embossing Folder (Taylored Expressions),
Stitched Rectangles Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn)

 

Ray of Light in a Gloomy Day

When I saw the inspiration piece from Fusion challenge called Paris Rain, I immediately saw the Beautiful You stamp set. I hadn't inked the lady with her umbrella stamp set so it was a perfect time to do so. I wanted a pop of colour against grey and black, so to pick colours, I went to my ColourQ combo list since I know they've done black + white + a pop of colour many times in the past. I found combo #250, which called for picking either all five colours or one of them. I thought the colors were lovely, so I used all five to watercolor my image. I also used one of the watercolor wash images from the stamp set to stamp behind the black sentiment. Both the sentiment and the image were embossed in black to make the contrast sharper. Because the inspiration image is in Paris with the Eiffel Tower, I used the En Français background stamp for the card base as a little reference to the original image. My sentiment is also in French and reads, "Wishing you brighter days ahead." I was asked for new sympathy cards, so this will be part of the bunch. I found a Calypso Coral ombre ribbon in the Cupcakes & Carousels Embellishment kit, and some sequins that I glued randomly to simulate rain. The main panel was created with Shimmery White cardstock, and I also splattered some Clear Wink of Stella over the image by tapping the brush on the side of my left hand. The splatters really look like falling rain. The panel was added to the card base using Stampin' Dimensionals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Combo: Basic Black + Whisper White + Calypso Coral + Pear Pizzazz +
Pool Party + So Saffron + Peekaboo Peach

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Resplendissante (Beautiful You), En Français
Cardstock: Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Shimmery White
Ink: VersaMark, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, So Saffron, Peekaboo Peach, Pear Pizzazz, Smoky Slate
Accessories: Cupcakes & Carousels Embellishment Kit, Black Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals,
White Medium Envelope, Clear Wink of Stella Brush

 

I Love You Very Much

This is a card I made with one of my backgrounds created with the Shaving Cream Stenciling technique. I also used the hostess set from the 2017 Occasions Catalogue, Iconic Occasions.

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Expressions imagées (Iconic Occasions)
Cardstock: Peekaboo Peach, Flirty Flamingo, Shimmery White, Vellum, Gold Foil
Ink: VersaMark, Peekaboo Peach Ombre
Accessories: Designer Washi Tape, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Layering Squares Framelits Dies, Sunshine Wishes Thinlits, Peekaboo Peach Ruched Ribbon,
Reinkers (Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach), Circle Punches, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Birthday Sprinkled with Everything Great

This week's Stamp Ink Paper challenge #90 calls for shaker cards. With the Cool Treats suite including Sprinkles Embellishments, it seemed like the perfect product suite to use for my card. I used the Cool Treats stamp set and the Frozen Treats Framelits dies to create my main image. The bowl was die-cut out of Silver Foil paper. I glued some Sprinkles Embellishments along the edge of the bowl to decorate it. The back of the shaker box was lined with Peekaboo Peach 2016-2018 In Color Envelope Paper (don't forget it can easily be used for projects, not just for envelopes), and the rest of the card was decorated with papers from the Fruit Stand Designer Series Paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Cool Treats
Cardstock: Flirty Flamingo, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Chocolate Chip, Silver Foil
Designer Series Paper: Fruit Stand, 2016-2018 In Color Envelope Paper
Ink: Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach, Chocolate Chip, VersaMark
Accessories: Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Sprinkle Embellishments, Project Life Corner Punch,
1/8" Silver Ribbon, Layering Circle Framelits, Foam Adhesive Strips

 

The Sky's the Limit

I wanted to make a graduation card, but decided to have it be a little different than the usual gown and mortar image. I have those characters floating away on a balloon string in the Carried Away stamp set from Mama Elephant and I found "The Sky's the limit" in Stampin' Up!'s Up, Up & Away stamp set (now retired), for a different option.

The design was inspired by Sunday Stamps sketch #148.My #foreveryoung paper pad included a blue sky baclground, which was perfect for my floating balloon. The finished card is a little bigger than the usual standard size: 4" x 6". I used some 12" x 12" cardstock so that I could have the fold at the top, which I always prefer with a vertical design.

I wasn't sure which of the characters I would like best for the card front, so I colored a couple and put the images I wasn't using inside the card.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Carried Away (Mama Elephant), Up Up & Away (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Orange, White
Patterned Papers: #foreveryoung (Bo Bunny)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Envelope Punch Board, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Designer Washi Tape,
Ticket Corner Punch, Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals, Nestabilies Dies, Black Baker's Twine,
Carried Away Dies (Mama Elephant), Banners Framelits, Sycamore Street Designer Buttons,
Tango Tangerine Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Sweet Birthday Pocket

I was picked to stamp samples for the Ottawa OnStage sample board last fall and was lucky enough to receive the Cool Treats suite, which happens to be my favorite suite of this catalogue. This is one of the samples I had put together, but had not shared on my blog yet. I used the Layering Squares Framelits to create a pocket, using the Foam Adhesive Strips to give it dimension, and I slid a tag inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Cool Treats
Cardstock: Flirty Flamingo, Tip Top Taupe, Denim Dandy, Whisper White
Designer Series Papers: 2015-2017 In Color Stack
Ink: Flirty Flamingo, Tip Top Taupe, Denim Dandy
Accessories: Pearl Basic Jewels, Scallop Tag Topper, Silver Glimmer Ribbon,
Ruched Dapper Denim Ribbon, Festive Embossing Folder, Foam Adhesive Strips,
Sprinkles Embellishments, Layering Squares Framelits

 

Mini Cool Treat

I wanted to put together a small 3" x 3" card to slide into a bag along with a catalogue. I spotted the Sugar Pea Mix It Up sketch #29 and thought the Cool Treats suite would work great for a small card. I found the colour combo inspiration in an old Colour Q challenge (#207).

The sentiment comes from the Vertical Greetings stamp set. Whether you like topiaries or not, I think this one is a must-have because it's the only set that includes vertical greetings, and those are practical! As shown here, with the "hi" greeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: À la verticale, Cool Treats
Cardstock: Watermelon Wonder, Night of Navy, Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
Designer Series Paper: Tasty Treats
ink: Watermelon Wonder, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Frozen Treats Framelits Dies, Tasty Treats Designer Washi Tape,
Envelope Punch Board, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder,
2-1/2" Circle Punch, Burlap Ribbon

 

Thanks Infinitely

This card was inspired by CAS(E) This Sketch #212. I wanted to keep the card simple and graphic, so I layered two pieces of paper from the Floral Boutique Designer Series Paper and cut them at an angle for the corner. I wanted to create a thin piece of paper to divide the two parts of the sentiment. What I discovered when I moved the piece up was that the two layered papers were not lining up anymore, so I had to create a new piece of polka dot paper and lined up the floral design separately.

I stamped "thanks" at the top and "infinitely" between the two pieces of paper using the Sale-A-Bration free set So Very Much. Emerald Envy baker's twine was tied around the bottom piece and a few matching enamel shapes were added. I founded the bottom corners using the Project Life Corner punch but the card still felt a little bare, so I taped my Clear Wink of Stella brush to add sparkly splotches.

A matching envelope was made out of DSP using the Envelope Punch Board and the Stitches Shapes Framelits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Infiniment et plus (So Very Much - SAB 2017)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Floral Boutique, 2016-2018 Envelope Paper
Ink: Emerald Envy
Accessories: Emerald Envy Baker's Twine, Project Life Corner Punch, Stitched Shapes Framelits,
Clear Wink of Stella Brush, 2016-2018 In Color Enamel Shapes, Envelope Punch Board

 

Hot Dogs on Wheels

I needed to make some cards for my downline members and I wanted to play with the awesome Tasty Trucks stamp set while Sale-A-Bration is still going. Based off of the Hand Stamped Sentiments sketch #259, I came up with this card. The sentiment banner was created by combining the Bunch of Banners Framelits dies with the Any Occasion stamp set (another Sale-A-Bration gift).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Resto sur roulettes (Tasty Trucks), Occasions pour tout (Any Occasions)
Cardstock: Watermelon Wonder, Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky, Basic Black Archival
Accessories: Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim, Silver 1/8" Ribbon, White Medium Envelopes,
Blending Pen, Large Dots Embossing Folder

 

Beary Special Surprise

I combined Tuesday Morning Sketch #393 and Color Throwdown #433. The color combo was somewhere between purple and blue to me. I thought it looked more purple, but saw some sample cards done with blue so I was hesitating and finally landed on blue because it gave me the chance to pull out a paper bundle I hadn't used in a long time and had put aside in my pile of stuff I wanted to use again. I found a nice green paper in the Let's Bokeh in the Snow paper pack from Lawn Fawn that went well with my blues.

This card came together surprisingly fast. Everything I tried worked right away and the ideas just kept coming. I like that the resulting card could work well for a man - can never have too many of those. On the plus side, "Surprise" is both an English and French word, so this card can work for either case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Beary Special Birthday (My Favorite Things)
Cardstock: Buckaroo Blue, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Subtles DSP Pack, Let's Bokeh in the Snow (Lawn Fawn), Original (Authentique)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Night of Navy, VersaMark
Accessories: Oval Nestabilities, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Buttons, Subtles Enamel Shapes,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers, Navy Embossing Powder, Square Punches, Designer Washi Tape,
Envelope Punch Board

 

Birthday Glamping

This card was inspired by Paper Craft Crew Sketch #234 (awesome sketch this week!). I wanted to make a camper birthday card because I know a few colleagues at the office are camping enthousiasts, which is why I knew getting the Glamper Greetings stamp set would be a wise addition to my stamps. I paired it with my Away We Go papers from My Mind's Eye. Perfect match, and would work great for a masculine card. I did a bit of paper piecing on the camper, using two patterned papers from the stack, and colored Very Vanilla pieces for the door, windows and details. Teeny tiny pieces to cut out and glue down! The result is pretty cool, though.

For the sentiment, I picked one from Tasty Trucks that reads, "It's always too soon for one more year..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Glamper Greetings (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Dusty Durango, Very Vanilla
Patterned Papers: Away We Go (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Rich Cocoa Memento, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Candy Dots, Ticket Duo Punch, Circle Punch, Baker's Twine,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers, Banners Framelits, Vanilla Medium Envelope

 

Saying Bonjour With Flowers

I stumbled unto a Papertrey Ink challenge calling to use a flower set, so it was a good opportunity to pull out the Fresh Floral Wrap Ups stamp set and matching does. I paired this challenge with Freshly Made Sketch #278 and In[k]spire Me #291. I like that this stamp set includes French sentiments, so I didn't have to look for other sets to make a French card. It's too bad they're not offering more French sets.

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Fresh Floral Wrap Ups (Papertrey Ink), Dot Dot Dot (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Basic Black, Rose Red, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: 2010-2011 Stack, Natural Composition
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz, VersaMark
Accessories: Black Stampin' Emboss Powder, Fresh Floral Wrap Ups Dies,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Big Designer Buttons, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Black Sharpie Marker,
Black Lace Trim, Linen Thread, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope, Black Square Rhinestones

 

I Like Big Cups and I Cannot Lie

Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge if to create our own background. Inspired by inspired by All the Little Things challenge #47, I I pulled out the Musical Background stamp from Taylored Expressions that I had been meaning to use and I decided to pair it with my Cosmic Shimmer Watercolor Paints. I stamped the image in VersaMark, embossed it with clear powder and then tested out my watercolors on a scrap piece of black cardstock to see what I liked best. I mixed a few shades of violet, red and blue to get the following result. As is often the case with shimmery mediums, the result is more striking in person than a picture can capture.

To keep going on the card, I looked at older ColourQ challenges to find something that included purple. Challenge #259 included Blackberry Bliss, so I decided to go with that one. At that point, I realized I was pretty stumped at what to pair with the music background. I didn't necessarily want to make a Christmas so I pulled out a few options and when I spotted the sentiment "I Like Big Cups and I Cannot Lie," I knew I had found my winner. I wanted the sentiment to take center stage, and add a penguin with a cup underneath it. I kept seeing the image of a fancy frame for the sentiment. The Flirty Frames from Lawn Fawn were not big enough, but then I remembered the Designer Frames embossing folders from Stampin' Up! so I pulled them out to test them and what do you know - the exact, perfect size I needed! Some nights, designing just comes more easily than other. Tonight, I was on the good end of things.

My design is based off of Stamp Ink Paper challenge #89. After I had assembled my card, it still felt a little bare to me and then I remembered the little cup trinkets that Stampin' Up! carried a few years ago. I pulled the pack out and found this adorable silver cup, which I tied to my ribbon with a piece of matching twine. It added that little ommph that I was looking for, and made me happy with the result.

Because the trinked is a little bulky, I made a matching envelope and used a bigger size to make room for it. Because I had played around with two frame colours before choosing Calypso Coral for the card, I had a leftover frame, which I used on the envelope. I also used a scrap from my watercolored background on the side of the envelope as well.

My choice of stamp is also perfect for the Cat's Pajamas challenge #333, which is water. Tea and coffee require water, so that works, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

Colour Combo: Blackerry Bliss + Summer Starfruit + Calypso Coral + Blushing Bride

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: I Like Big Cups (The Cat's Pajamas), Musical Background (Taylored Expressions)
Cardstock: Blackberry Bliss, Summer Starfruit, Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: 2012-2014 In Color Stack
Ink: Calypso Coral, Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark
Accessories: Stampin' Emboss Powders (Clear, Calypso Coral), Cosmic Shimmer Watercolor Paints,
Envelope Punch Board, Aqua Painter Brush, Designer Frames Embossing Folders, Tea Time Trinkets,
Halloween Night Enamel Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers, Blackberry Bliss Satin Ribbon, Baker's Twine

 

Skating on the Pond

I pulled out some Purple Onion Designs stamps I had put aside to use, and I paired the Pond background stamp with Cora & Thomas. The design was inspired by MFT Sketch #323 and Naughty or Nice #37 (Feature a Creature). Because the image shows was seems to be a mom with her kiddo, I decided to make this a Mother's Day card. Hopefully, it won't be skating season anymore once May and Mother's Day roll around, but I think we can disregard that fact just because the card is cute.

To make the pond image pop a little more, I watercolored the trees and back hill, and I added glue using my two-way glue pen on the front hill and covered it with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The Happy Mother's Day sentiment comes from the Oh So Succulent stamp set. So far, I haven't used the flower images but I've already used the sentiments numerous times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Cora & Thomas, Pond (Purple Onion Designs), Si succulent (Oh So Succulent - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla
Patterned Papers: Lost & Found (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Very Vanilla Medium Envelope, Markers,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Button, Linen Thread, Two-way Glue Pen, Project Life Corner Punch

 

Congratulations in Bloom

This card started out with the Global Design Project challenge #77. The colour combo includes Bermuda Bay, Peekaboo Peach and Early Espresso and we are invited to add a free choice of colour. I looked at my colour swatch and decided I liked how Watermelon Wonder made this a very dynamic combo. Inspired by the Mojo Monday sketch #487, I decided to pull out Flourishing Phrases. I found two patterned papers in the colours I needed in the Carried Away Designer Series Paper (offered as a free gift during Sale-A-Bration - get yours by placing an order with me before March 31st).

The Early Espresso cardstock stripe was embossed with the Hexagons Dynamic embossing folder (a new favorite). The flower was stamped in Watermelon Wonder ink twice so that I could fussy cut the center flower and layer it with Dimensionals. Then stamped a third time in Bermuda Bay ink to change the colour of the flower center.

The sentiment, from the same stamp set, was stamped on Peekaboo Peach in Early Espresso ink and punched with the Classic Label punch (Annual Catalogue, p. 186). I didn't think much of this stamp when the catalogue first came out, but after seeing it used on projects online, I decided it would probably become a go-to punch for sentiments. Enamel shapes from the 2015-2017 In Color pack were added to the half-circle, and I punched out a little butterfly using the Bitty Butterfly punch. I decorated it with rhinestones and colored the wings using the Clear Wink of Stella brush. That last detail really made the butterfly come alive and gave a little punch to the whole card.

I had a leftover piece of Early Espresso cardstock that was partly embossed and I decided to use it on the back of my card to add my signature. Use all of your little scraps to decorate the inside and back of your card and your matching envelope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Combo: Peekaboo Peach + Bermuda Bay + Early Espresso + Watermelon Wonder

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Éclosion de pensées (Flourishing Phrases)
Cardstock: Peekaboo Peach, Early Espresso, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Carried Away
Ink: Peekaboo Peach, Early Espresso, Bermuda Bay, Watermelon Wonder, VersaMark
Accessories: Clear Wink of Stella Brush, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Silver Glimmer Ribbon,
2-1/2" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Classic Label Punch,
White Medium Envelope, Hexagons Dynamic Embossing Folder

 

Succulent Basket

I was inspired by the Card Concept challenge #68 for this card. I paired green and turquoise and added flower in a container. In this case, I used the Basket Builder Framelits and added the flowers from the Oh So Succulent stamp set inside. The size is just perfect and it's a great way to get more mileage out of both products. (The Framelits are meant to be paired with an Easter set, but they can definitely be used for more than that. I don't own the Framelits that go with the Oh So Succulent stamp set, so all of those tiny elements have been handcut.

The pocket comes from the Pretty Pocket card kit offered as a free gift during Sale-A-Bration (until March 31st).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Si succulent (Oh So Succulent)
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Whisper White, Melon Mambo
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, So Saffron, Melon Mambo
Card Kit: Pretty Pocket (Sale-A-Bration)
Accessories: Tasty Treats Designer Washi Tape, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Basket Builder Framelits Dies

 

Favorite Technique: Clear Cards

I've been wanting to make a card with a clear section for a long time and the Cool Treats stamp set seemed like a good option. I've die-cut the ice cream twice, so that I could add the same shapes inside and hide the adhesive on the back of the ice cream cones (so it wouldn't show through the window sheet). The sentiment was stamped with the Occasions hostess set, Iconic Occasions. I think this one tends to go unnoticed because of the straightforward font, but it contains a lot of versatile sentiments, that are different from the usual thanks and give you a bit of variety. It's also a great size to fit anywhere on a card of any size.

This card was inspired by Stampin' Royalty challenge #364 (favorite technique).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Cool Treats, Expressions imagées (Iconic Occasions)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Flirty Flamingo, So Saffron
Designer Series Paper Stack: Neutrals
Ink: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Flirty Flamingo, So Saffron
Accessories: Designer Washi Tape, Pearl Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Large Dots Embossing Folder, Project Life Corner Punch, Window Sheet, Frozen Treats Framelits Dies

 

Merry Carolers

This week's Merry Monday challenge (#238) calls for lamp posts. This gave me pause because I wasn't sure I had any stamps with that image. But I had a vague recollection of maybe having something that would work in my Purple Onion stamps. Lo and behold, I actually found not one but two different stamps in my Purple Onion collection - one between two carolers (the one I was thinking might have it) and another one as part of the Stacey Yacula collection, to add as a scene element. (Which, I'll admit, has not seen ink yet...) Since the carolers was the image I had in mind and that this stamp had never been inked either, I thought now was the time.

I looked through my Holiday papers, found the Be of Good Cheer DSP pack, which I'm down to a few scraps of, and decided the colours and style could work nicely with the carolers image. I started coloring my image with Prismacolor pencils and was not sure how much I liked the result, initially. Not that the coloring was bad, it's just that I was afraid that the mix of the cartoon-like image paired with the pencils would be a little too childish. I'm glad I kept going, though, because once I die-cut the image with the scallop rectangle, added the embossed sentiment (Gumball Green powder), found the felt wreath to add underneath the image, peeking out the side, and added the button threaded with gold thread, it was a completely different card.

Because the stamped image is quite big to begin with, I looked at my Envelope Punch Board to see which other size of card I could make and went for an A6 format: 5" x 6-1/2". This size reminds me of a lot of the printed Christmas cards I receive during the Holidays. Fortunately, I had a full-size page left in the paper pack, which I used to make a matching envelope.

The design is inspired by an old Mojo Monday challenge (#374).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Carolers (Purple Onion Designs), Joyeuse Année (Wonderful Year - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Gumball Green, Very Vanilla
Designer Series Paper: Be of Good Cheer
ink: VersaMark, Tuxedo Black Memento, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Berry Bouquet Felt Embellishments, Button, Gold Thread,
Envelope Punch Board, Elegant Tag Topper Punch, Dotted Scallop Rectangles Dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs),
Prismacolor Pencils, Stampin' Dimensionals, Gumball Green Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Tinkerbell

My niece is finally old enough to go trick or treating and it makes me really happy to finally have some cute Halloween pictures to scrapbook! Beside Christmas, Halloween is probably the holiday/theme that inspires me the most when crafting. I love the fun, whimsical colors and characters, the funky treat holders, and everything else. I bought the Woo-ligans collection from Bo Bunny when it came out quite a few years ago and I held on to the chipboard stickers because I felt they were too "special" to put on a card and I figured if I waited, I'd find an opportunity to includes them in my scrapbook at some points. Megan's Tinkerbell pictures had the perfect mix of green, purple and orange to fit with them and because she's still young, the monster kiddo images seemed like a good fit.

It's been a while since I made a traditional scrapbook page, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. The design was inspired by a Page Maps October 2016 sketch and I paired it with one of the March VSBN challenge from Splitcoast Stampers. Challenge #3 was a Stashbuster and was perfect for the page I was putting together. The challenge called to select 8 items from a suggested list. Here's those I chose:

1. Brackets (each side of title)
2. Circles (punched owl)
3. Ribbons (rickrack)
4. Stickers (chipboard monsters and googly eyes)
5. Ckustered Items (bottom of left picture)
6. Stash items older than 8 months (Bo Bunny collection)
7. Stash items older than 16 months (bracket punch, alphabet rub-ons, glimmer brads)
8. Date (bottom left)

I've had the bracket punch for a long time but it's one of those staple tools that I don't use every time I craft, but that I keep pulling back out over the years. To dikve the brackets dimension, I layered four brackets punched out of cardstock plus one punched out of patterned paper on top. It made them stand out more against the patterned paper and look like chipboard pieces. The alphabet rub-ons are old. I'm pretty sure I bought those over a decade ago. They were the perfect size and shade of lime green, though, so they allowed me to add my title quickly to the page. The bubble on the right side and starburst on the left side are journaling blocks that were part of the collection. The little owl was actually printed at the bottom of the orange scallop square die-cut I used on the back of the pictures. I thought the owl was really cute and it was going to be hidden by the pictures so I punched it out with a circle punch before adhering the die-cut to the page. The google eyes came from the chipboard stickers from the Bo Bunny collection. I thought I could add them to the trees and the bottom border instantly came to life with that little added detail. White velvet rickrack was stapled at the top and green sequin trim was glued at the bottom. I took the sequins that had fallen off the end of the trim and glued them randomly on the page using mini glue dots. I used a black pen to add my journaling and put two glimmer brads on each side of it.

A lot of older supplies went into making this page, and yet the result does not look dates to me. It always feels good when I pull some older stuff out and use it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers, Chipboard Stickers, Journaling Die-Cuts: Whoo-ligans (Bo Bunny)
Alphabet Rub-Ons: Scrap Works
Punches: 2" Circle, Brackets
Accessories: White Velvet Rickrack, Green Sequin Trim, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Project Life Corner Punch, Black Pen, Glimmer Brads, Mini Stapler, Distressing Tool

 

 

 

I'll Be There Come What May

I was leafing through paper pads to find something for my next project and the Moments from My Mind's Eye pack caught my eye because there's a piece of patterned paper with big bold flowers on it, which I thought would work well with the Tuesday Morning Sketch #392.

I was looking at stamp sets to find a bigger sentiment that could fill up the main piece and found one in the High Tide stamp set (sold in current Occasions catalogue). It translates to, "In high tide or low tide, I'll be by your side." I added the waves and birds patterns at the top and bottom to fill out the tag a bit. The tag was inspired by the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (Tag You're It) and the fussy cut flower was inspired by the Paper Players challenge #334.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Marée haute (High Tide - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Midnight Muse, Baja Breeze
Patterned Papers: Moments (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Midnight Muse, Baja Breeze
Accessories: White Medium Envelope, Metallics Enamel Shapes, Buttons,
Vanilla Satin Ribbon, Gold Metallic Thread, Elegant Tag Topper Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals