Encre, papier, ciseaux

Peaceful and Rustic

This week's Merry Monday challenge theme was "rustic" (#250). Based off of that and the Try Stamping on Tuesday #324 sketch, I put together the card below. I have recently purchased some Glitter Kiss from Cosmic Shimmer and I thought the Golden Sand color would look lovely sponged on the edges of the vellum circle and the background paper. I did the same thing on the envelope as well. The stag was die-cut out of Champagne glitter paper (I don't know why Stampin' Up! retired that one, it was my favorite). When came time to add the sentiment, I decided to use a peace die-cut (inspired by the inspiration picture from Merry Monday) and as I was looking for some blue paper, I spotted a piece of cardstock I had entirely covered with Periwinkle Glitter Kiss when I tested the product out, so I used that and it worked beautifully. Copper Nuvo Crystal Drops were added to the circle to fill it out a little. A Crumb Cake medium envelope was decorated to match.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Dapper Denim. Vellum
Patterned Paper: Sleigh Ride (Bo Bunny)
Accessories: Stag Trio Dies (W Plus 9), Circle Punches, Champagne Glimmer Paper,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Nuvo Crystal Drops (Copper), Voeux de Noël Thinlits dies,
Glitter Kiss (Periwinkle, Golden Sand), Crumb Cake Medium Envelope

 

Glittery Leaves

I was eager to take some new products out for a spin, including a bottle of Golden Sand Glitter Kiss. I had been told that we can stamp with the stuff and I was curious to test it out, so I looked through my stamps for something that could work well. I quickly spotted the Gently Falling stamp set, and because it is a two-step stamping set, I figured I could do the leaf base in colored ink and overstamp the leaf detailing with the glittery paste. It worked out really well! The shimmer in the paste is incredibly gorgeous. I couldn't stop there and decided to test the Glitter Kiss on an embossed surface.

I had done a couple of tests previously with embossed cardstock and this is what I found: you'll get better result with close-set patterns, if you really want the paste to show only on raised areas of the design. With designs that are further apart, the sponge included with the packaging tends to add product to the background of the cardstock a bit as well. Not a bad look necessarily, it really just depends how precise of an application you wish to get. Here, I decided to pick the Houndstooth embossing folder, because I felt it went well with the autumn leaves. (The color combo came from an old ColourQ challenge, #367.) The design was inspired by Freshly Made Sketch #289.

I used the Glitter Kiss to sponge the outside of the panel I glued in the card, and the edges of the envelope. Love the look!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Gently Falling (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Old Olive, Real Rust, Cool Caribbean, Very Vanilla, Brushed Gold
Ink: Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Cool Caribbean
Accessories: Delightful Dijon Mini Stripes Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sequins, Crystal Drops (Nuvo),
Vanilla Medium Envelope, Golden Sand Glitter Kiss (Cosmic Shimmer), Houndstooth Embossing Folder,
Voeux Thinlits Dies (SU!), Wonky Stitched Squares Die-namics (My Favorite Things),
Stitched Windy Backdrop (Lawn Fawn), Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn)

The Magic Hamper

This card will be going to my mom. I think she'll get a kick out of it before it refers to our "magic hamper" joke.

I've been meaning to pair up the Fairy Friends stamp set with the Loads of Fun one every since I bought them. Many years ago, when I moved out of my parents' house for my studies, my mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I jokingly said I wanted a magic hamper. She was a bit confused, so I explained that I wanted one just like we had at home, where you put in your dirty laundry and it comes back, washed and folded in your drawers. That totally cracked my mom up, and it's one of those stories that keep coming up in conversation once in a while. So, having those fairies do the laundry was a nice tongue-in-cheek reference to the Magic Hamper.

The sentiment comes from Stampin' Up!'s Love & Affection stamp set (retiring at the end of the month) and it reads, "If you did not exist, we'd have to invent you." Kind of like the magic hamper.

Inspiration: Stamp Ink Paper challenge #100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps; Fairy Friends, Loads of Fun (Lawn Fawn), Amour et affection (Love & Affection - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Sage Shadow, Vellum, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Enchanted Garden (Bo Bunny)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Wisteria Wonder, VersaMark
Accessories: Sequins, Clear Wink of Stella Brush, White Medium Envelope,
Scallop Square Nestabilities Dies, Markers, White Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Stitched Shapes Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, White Lace Trim

 

It's a Margarita Kind of Day

I was putting away some magazines and one of the covers' color combo caught my attention. I thought it would make a great inspiration piece for a project, so I grabbed my Distress Oxide inks and started creating a blended background in shades similar to the magazine cover. I also liked how the cover had a big bold turquoise block in the center, so I looked for a bold sentiment that I could emboss in white to mimick the look, and found what I was looking for in the retiring set Party with Cake.

I then went hunting through my other stamps to find what I could add to the design to finish the card off. I stumbled unto the Salud set from the Cat's Pajamas and decided it would work great with the design and colors. The magazine also had black fonts against the colorful background, so I embossed in black the border image at the top and bottom. I stamped the hat and penguin in black inks, colored them and handcut them out. I found a Calypso Coral Trim scrap on my desk that was perfect with the colors and fun look of the card, so I stapled it to the scallop rectangle sentiment, and popped the hat on Dimensionals over it.

When came time to add the penguin, I decided on a whim to use a Wobble spring. Maybe the penguin is dancing to the salsa beat. Maybe he's had one Hawaian punch too many. Who knows... As I was about to mount the card front to a card base, I still felt like something was missing, so I decided to stamp the confetti images from my Party with Cake set in VersaMark. I liked the look, but then I decided to go one step further and emboss the confetti in opalescent powder. I'm pretty happy with how the inspiration turned out as a card.

I will be linking this card to the Cat's Pajamas Blog Hop and to Stamp Ink Paper challenge #100. Cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

The inspiration:

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Salud (The Cat's Pajamas), Faut fêter ça (Party with cake - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Whisper White, Coastal Cabana
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark, Coastal Cabana,
Distress Oxide (Ranger - Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, Fossilized Amber)
Accessories: Embossing Powders (White, Black, Opalescent), Markers,
Wobbles Action Spring (Hampton Arts), White Medium Envelope, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Dotted Scallop Rectangles (Elizabeth Craft Designs), Calypso Coral Pompom Trim

 

I Love You With All of My Heart

 Technique used: Shaving Cream Stenciling

 

 

Pony Carriage

This card almost did not get finished. I started it by pairing the Color Throwdown combo #443 and the In[k]spire Me sketch #301. I found some Doodlebug papers from the Sunkissed collection that were perfect for the colour combo and initially, the scallop rectangle was directly behind my main image and little flags. I had colored my image to match and felt the colors were so overwhelming, I was about to give up on this card because I was stuck and didn't go how to make it better. As I was walking away, I realized I still wanted to give the pretty colour combo a go but figured I might be better served using more white so that the bright colours could pop against it. That made me turn right back towards my stamping table to try a white background instead. Adding the white panel made a huge difference and I was back working on my design! I decided to emboss the panel with the Mosaic embossing folder for a bit of texture, and from there, the rest came together pretty easily. I wasn't sure which sentiment I would use and I pulled out a few options, but in the end, the size and placement of "Just for You" from the Suite Sentiments stamp set just worked with my design perfectly, so it ended up being my final choice.

I'm really happy with the end result, so it goes to show that stepping away from a project sometimescan help provide the required insight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Mots coordonnées (Suite Sentiments - Stampin' Up!), Mini Pony Party (The Greeting Farm)
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Sunkissed (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn), Butterfly Punch,
Pearl Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers, Mini Pony Party Dies (The Greeting Farm),
Dotted Scallop Rectangles Dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs), White Medium Envelope

 

Bunny Snowglobe

This card was inspired by Merry Monday #248, Try Stampin' on Tuesday challenge #322 and the Cat's Pajamas Blog Hop. The color combo reminded me of some Bo Bunny papers I have (A Gift of Love collection), so it was the starting point for my design. I looked at Christmas sets that could work with those colours and settled on Bunny Snowglobe. I kept the rest of the design pretty simple and went for basic cuteness.

 

 

 

   

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Bunny Snowglobe
Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: A Gift of Love (Bo Bunny)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark
Accessories: 2-1/4" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Buttons, White Stampin' Emboss Powder,
White Baker's Twine, Envelope Punch Board, Stitched Shapes Framelits,
Markers, Halloween Night Enamel Dots, Rickrack, Project Life Corner Punch

 

Thanks for Poppin' By

Inspiration: Stamp Ink Paper #99 (Packaging) + Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (A Bit of Sparkle)

When I first saw the Cool Treats stamp set and was looking for out-of-the-box ideas on how to use it, I thought that the ice cream kind of looked like a popcorn image. Since we now have a popcorn box, I pulled it out and decided to go with it. I had some candied popcorn that I had found at my local Bulk Barn store, so I drew inspiration from the popcorn colour. I put the popcorn in a cello bag and sealed it with a piece of copper washi tape. (You'd think that this step would be straightforward, but it took a lot of fidgeting before I managed to line it up the way I wanted to and for the bag to sit at the right angle.)

A gold clip was added at the top and decorated with a bit of Peekaboo Peach ruffled ribbon. My sentiment was created by using the Brushwork Alphabet and Labeler Alphabet stamp sets.

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Combo: Pear Pizzazz + Wisteria Wonder + Peekaboo Peach

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Labeler Alphabet, Brushwork Alphabet, Cool Treats
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder, Pumpkin Pie Glimmer Paper
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Pear Pizzazz, Peekaboo Peach
Accessories: Affectionately Yours Designer Washi Tape, Gold Clip,
Peekaboo Peach Ruffled Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Halloween Night Baker's Twine,
Popcorn Box Thinlits Dies, Cellophane Bag

 

Succulant Celebration

I had pulled out the Succulent Garden Designer Series Paper for my previous project and I decided to keep going with them. The CAS(E) This Sketch #223 was perfect to showcase the paper and also to pull out the Botanical Builder Framelits before they retire. I was looking at stamp sets for a sentiment and found one with a banner that was perfect in the Birthday Bright stamp set.

I have to say, I was not originally planning on getting this DSP pack because I did not feel like I need more floral paper but I had the chance to get the pack for free during Sale-A-Bration and I must admit the colors and patterned are gorgeous.

 

 

 

Color Combo: Sweet Sugarplum + Old Olive + Tip Top Taupe + Calypso Coral + Mint Macaron

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Brillant anniversaire (Birthday Bright)
Cardstock: Sweet Sugarplum, Tip Top Taupe, Mint Macaron, Old Olive, Calypso Coral
Designer Series Paper: Succulent Garden
Ink: Old Olive, Tip Top Taupe
Accessories: Botanical Builder Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, Rhinestone Basic Jewels,
Envelope Punch Board, Lots of Tags Framelits

 

Life in Pieces

The color combo from Create with Connie and Mary #458 really jumped out at me, and I thought it would allow me to use the Floral Boutique Designer Series Paper before it retires. Looking at my stamps, I decided that Thankful Life (retiring hostess set) would work well with the colours and the Floral Boutique patterns. Looking at sketches, I spotted the one from Reverse Confetti #48 and it gave me the idea to split the big image in three scattered squares. This is also inspired by the Fusion challenge (Navy patterns).

 

Retiring items:

• Thankful Life hostess stamp set
• Iconic Expressions hostess stamp set (Occasions Catalogue)
• Watermelon Wonder cardstock and ink
• Mint Macaron cardstock and ink
• Mint Macaron 3/8" Sheer Linen Ribbon
• Star Blast Edgelits Dies (tag shape)
• Floral Boutique Designer Series Paper
• Succulent Garden Designer Series Paper (Occasions Catalogue)

 

 

 

   

Colour Combo: Watermelon Wonder + Mint Macaron + Night of Navy

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Thankful Life (hostess), Expressions imagées (Iconic Expressions - hostess), Love & Affection
Cardstock: Watermelon Wonder, Whisper White, Mint Macaron
Designer Series Paper: Floral Boutique, Succulent Garden
Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Night of Navy, Mint Macaron, VersaMark
Accessories: White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies,
Envelope Punch Board, Lots of Labels Framelits Dies, Stampin' DImensionals,
Subtles Enamel Shapes, Pearl Basic Jewels, Mint Macaron 3/8" Sheer Linen Ribbon,
Star Blast Edgelits Dies

 

Urban Gift Bag

I'm switching job and I wanted to thank my boss for everything he's done for me over the years we've worked together so I got him a little parting gift. I, of course, had to make personalized packaging for it, so I pulled out the Urban Underground Designer Series Paper and added his initials using the Big Letters Framelits and matching alphabet stamps.

I also went green and repurposed a shopping bag I had kept. A lot of stores only print their name in the center of the bag, so it is really easy to hide it with a strip of patterned paper. It's a great way to have gift bags on hand in a variety of size and colours without having to purchase anything new. Here, the black and white bag was perfect to go with my papers.

Inspiration: Stamp Ink Paper challenge #99 (Packaging)

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Letters for You
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Very Vanilla
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Urban Underground
Ink: Delightful Dijon
Accessories: Urban Underground Embellishments, Mini Stapler, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Urban Underground Designer Washi Tape, Stitched Shapes Framelits,
Delightful Dijon Mini Stripes Ribbon, White Gift Bag (recycled)

 

Playful Thanks

I wanted to use the Layered Letters Alphabet stamp set before it retired and since I had a thank you card to make, I thought it would be perfect since "Merci" does not count too many letters. I thought the colorful combo from Paper Players #344 would work great with the playful alphabet, and the Playful Backgrounds grabbed my attention when came time to select stamps to add patterns to the cardstock. I stamped five circles and my letters in black ink over it and measured the result: 6-1/2". Perfect width for a 6-1/2" x 3-1/4" card, so I looked for inspiration for the design and found the Inkspire Me sketch #300, which I tweaked slightly. Since the sketch had a second strip at the bottom, I added "from the bottom of my heart," using the Flourishing Phrases stamp set and my Basic Black Stampin' Writer marker to omit the "thanks" from what I was stamping and keeping only the last words.

Black baker's twine, black sequins from the Metallics sequins pack and a turquoise heart from the Brights Enamel Shapes pack were added to finish it off. I'm not usually super good at doing the clean and simple look, but I'm excited about how this one turned out.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Layered Letters Alphabet, Playful Backgrounds, Éclosion de pensées (Flourishing Phrases)
Cardstock: Real Red, Pear Pizzazz, Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Pear Pizzazz, Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise, Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Basic Black Baker's Twine, Metallics Sequins, Brights Enamel Shapes, Long White Envelope

 

Frozen Trio

This card was inspired by Create with Connie and Mary challenge #457 and Hand Stamped Sentiment challenge #264. The Cool Treats suite is my absolute favorite from the Occasions catalogue. Seeing the cute colours and adorable patterns just puts me in a good mood.

The sentiment comes from the Tin of Cards stamp set and it was embossed in Copper Stampin' Emboss powder (so grateful we have copper back!). And if you're wondering where I got orange and Pool Party sequins from, they're from the Hello Lovely Project Life Accessory Pack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Cool Treats, Coffret de souhaits (Tin of Cards)
Cardstock: Pool Party, Watermelon Wonder, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Tasty Treats
Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Peekaboo Peach, VersaMark
Accessories: Frozen Treats Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, Watermelon Wonder Ruched Ribbon,
Stitched Shapes Framelits, Layering Squares Framelits, White Medium Envelope,
Sequins (Metallics, Hello Lovely Project Life Accessory Pack)

 

Bun in the Oven

I was really excited when I found the Bun in the Oven stamp set at my local store because I knew it would work fabulously with the oven set. The play on words ("There's a bun in the oven") can't really be translated and does not work in French, but I loved the set enough to overlook that detail.

When I saw that this week's Global Design Project challenge #87 was Cooking, Baking and Making, it was my cue to get the oven set out for a new run. I based my design off of Mojo Monday sketch #497 and pulled out my retro-inspired, cooking-themed papers from Bo Bunny called Kiss the Cook. I'm really happy with the result. I particularly like the paper-pieced oven mitt with the quilt pattern - and the square-pattern paper for the floor and the strawberries/floral design for the "wallpaper"!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Sprinkled with Joy (Lawn Fawn), Bun in the Oven (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Mint Macaron, Daffodil Delight, Very Vanilla, Silver Foil Paper
Patterned Papers: Kiss the Cook (Bo Bunny)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Jet Black StazOn, Mint Macaron
Accessories: Baker's Twine, Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals, Home for Christmas Enamel Dots,
Vanilla Lace Trim, Vanilla Medium Envelope

 

May Your Day Be Magical

This card was inspired by Stamping Bella (Use Kraft) and Just Us Girls #393. I tried something different with my Distress Oxide inks this time: I smeared some ink on a non-porous surface, spritzed water on it and dipped a white cardstock in the pooling ink to create a background. I wanted to use the Wizard, the Witch and the Cauldron stamp set, but in a non-Halloween manner, so I created my own sentiment by inking part of a sentiment from the Suite Sentiments stamp set (one of my favorites from the Occasions catalogue, retiring on May 31st) and typing an additional word on a scrap of paper with my typewriter to finish it off. It reads, "May your day be magical."

The cute chick was colored with Prismacolor pencils on kraft cardstock. I made sure to use bright shades so that they would really pop against the darker cardstock. I added a few dots created with the Ranger Enamel Accents, as well as a few clear sequins, including a couple of star-shaped ones.

On the right side, I used a star stencil from Stampin' Up! with Silver embossing paste to add dimension.

 

Retiring items featured:

• Hearts and Stars Stencils
• Stars Framelits Dies

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: The Wizard, the Witch and the Cauldron (Stamping Bella), Mots coordonnés (Suite Sentiments - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Thick Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Patterned Papers: Boos & Brews (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Distress Oxide Inks (Ranger)
Accessories: Concord Crush Stampin' Write Marker, White Medium Envelope, Silver Embossing Paste,
Heart Stencil, Crushed Curry Ribbon, Brights Design Buttons, Halloween Night Baker's Twine,
Stars Framelits Dies, Stitched Domes Die-namics (My Favorite Things), Prismacolor Pencils,
Ranger Enamel Accents, Stampin' Dimensionals, Typewriter (We R Memory Makers), Sequins

 

Bicycle Ride

When I saw the inspiration image from the Inspired by All the Little Things challenge #56 with the bike with flowers in the basket, I knew it was a perfect occasion to get my Bicycle Built For You stamps inked. For the design, I drew inspiration from Sunday Stamps #152. I was looking for colour inspiration and nothing from the current challenges was tickling my fancy, so I reverted to older ColourQ combos for inspiration (I picked #7). The orange and teal reminded me of Lawn Fawn's Perfectly Plaid Fall papers, so I pulled those out to create my background.

It's hard to look at a Lawn Fawn creation without feeling happy, and this card is no exception. There's just happiness that oozes out of those smiley, adorable characters. I was looking for a French sentiment to finish off my card (although this set DOES include three French sentiments to add to the bike banner!) and I found something that was the perfect size in Stampin' Up!'s retired Amazing Birthday stamp set. By sheer coincidence, the otuside rim of the sentiment looks like a sun, so it complemented my little scene very nicely. The sentiment reads, "It For You."

I'm really digging the new road dies Lawn Fawn has added to its line as well. With the two overlapping die-cuts, it's really easy to add colour to the street line. I grabbed my dew drops and added a few "pebbles" on the side of the road for added dimension and detailing.

 

 

 

 

    

Colour Combo: Pumpkin Pie + Kiwi Kiss + Taken with Teal + Soft Suede

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Bicycle Built for You (Lawn Fawn), Super anniversaire (Amazing Birthday - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Taken with Teal, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede, Kiwi Kiss
Patterned Papers: Perfectly Plaid Fall (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark, Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Bicycle Built for You Dies, Road Border Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lawn Fawn), Circle Punches,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers, Dew Drops, Decorative Brad, White Medium Envelope

 

Razzleberry Bloom

Inspiration: Tuesday Morning Sketches #402 + Just Add Ink #359 + Fab Friday #112 + TGIF challenge #107

 

Retiring items showcased:

• Perpetual Birthday Calendar stamp set
• Large Dots Embossing Folder
• Sweet Sugarplum Ruched Ribbon
• Jet Black StazOn

 

To create the background, I inked the Hardwood background stamp in Calypso Coral ink, stamped it inside the Large Dots embossing folder before running it through the Big Shot with a piece of Calypso Coral cardstock. This way, I got the wood texture on the back of the cardstock and embossed dots with no texture on it. Made for a cool background!

When watercoloring my stem and leaves, I mixed Old Olive ink with Dapper Denim. This tied in my color with the rest of the design and created interesting shading on the leaves.

 

 

 

 

     

 

Color Combo: Calypso Coral + Dapper Denim + Rich Razzleberry

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Remarkable You, Perpentual Birthday Calendar, Hardwood, Là pour toi (Here For You)
Cardstock: Calypso Coral, Dapper Denim, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Calypso Coral, Dapper Denim, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, VersaMark, Jet Black StazOn
Accessories: Silver Thread, Lots of Tags Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals,
White Medium Envelope, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Large Dots Embossing Folder,
Sweet Sugarplum Ruched Ribbon, Aqua Painters Brush

 

Birthday Starburst

I drew inspiration from the current Fusion sketch challenge to play with some of the items retiring from the annual catalogue at the end of the month. To create the center piece, I thought I would use the Star Blast Edgelits die pointing up, then pointing down to create a fun starburst piece. I had some leftover Peekaboo Peach stars from using this same die previously, so I filled in some of the stars with star die-cuts.

I used the Stars Framelits on Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper for the center, and layered a banner stamped with the Time of Year hostess stamp set. I used the matching Framelits to die-cut it.

The Designer Series Paper I used is Playful Palette. I will admit that although I like the idea of the painted patterns, I've found the colours and patterns a little overwhelming once I received my paper stack (they looked a little more muted to me in the catalogue samples). Here, the paint splatter against the black background almost looks like a night sky, so it goes well with the starburst die-cut.

 

Retiring items:

• Time of Year Hostess Stamp Set
• Playful Palette Designer Series Paper Stack
• Playful Palette Designer Washi Tape
• Stars Framelits Dies
• Star Blast Edgelits Dies

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Plein de voeux (Time of Year - hostess)
Cardstock: Sweet Sugarplum, Very Vanilla, Peekaboo Peach
Designer Series Paper Stack: Playful Palette
Ink: Basic Black Archival, Sweet Sugarplum
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, Bunch of Banners Framelits,
Star Burst Edgelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stars Framelits,
Playful Palette Designer Washi Tape, Vanilla Medium Envelope

 

Another Perfect Day

This card was inspired by Sugar Pea Mix It Up #31 challemge. As I was putting together a layout using the All Year Long Project Life collection, I spotted a card with a lemon background and it reminded me of the inspiration picture, so I decided to make a card after I was done with the layout. As I was putting the card together, I also found a 3" x 4" card with a circle sentiment that was perfect to punch out with the 2-1/2" Circle punch and add directly to the card as my main sentiment, as per the sketch.

 

Retiring items featured:

• All Year Long Project Life Cards
• Mint Macaron Cardstock
• Delightful Dijon 5/8" Mini Striped Ribbon
• Woodgrain Embossing Folder
• Classy Designer Buttons

 

 

 

 

Color Combo: Mint Macaron + Delightful Dijon + Tip Top Taupe + Basic Black + Very Vanilla

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Cardstock: Mint Macaron, Basic Black
Project Life Cards: All Year Long
Accessories: Delightful Dijon 5/8" Mini Striped Ribbon, Vanilla Medium Envelope,
Classy Designer Buttons, 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Woodgrain Embossing Folder

 

Thoughts for My Lovely

The Hello Lovely Project Life collection is one of my favorites amongst all of the PL collections we've carried over the years, and I wanted to pull it out before it retires. I decided to use it on a card, and thought the gorgeous wreath would make a great frame for a big sentiment. I found the perfect size in a retiring hostess set called Time of Year. I stamped it in VersaMark and embossed it in Copper Stampin' Emboss powder, which matches the coral shades of the collection nicely. I used a circle Framelits to cut the wreath out of a 4" x 6" card and I decorated the bottom with a wood heart from the Hello Lovely Accessories Kit, and topped the wooden embellishment with a Calypso Coral enamel shape. The design was inspired by Mojo Monday sketch #496 and I used other card from the PL collection as background papers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Plein de voeux (Time of Year)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White
Project Life Cards and Accessories Kit: Hello Lovely
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Subtles Enamel Shapes, White Medium Envelope, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Circle Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Sleigh Ride

This card was inspired by Merry Monday #247 (non-black silhouettes). I used one of my favorite images from the In the Meadow stamp set and created a snowy scene with some Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper. I used two dies to frame the scene and a few sequins for snowflakes and ornements on the tree. The French sentiments reads, "Good Tidings."

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: In the Meadow (Papertrey Ink), Parfum de Noël (Christmas Messages - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Going Grey, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Silver Bells (Kaiser Crafts)
Ink: Smoky Slate, Soft Sky, Basic Grey
Accessories: Nestabilities Dies, White Medium Envelope, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Dazzling Diamonds Glitter Paper, Sequins, In the Meadow Silhouettes Dies

 

The Belly Test

Not sure how we wound up with a bunch of pictures of us comparing our bellies with my sister's when she was pregnant, but this seems to be a new test of some sort: making sure you have a flatter stomach than the pregnant lady! haha! Because those pictures are so silly, it was a good opportunity to pull out the Emoji Love collection from Simple Stories.

The design was inspired by a November 2016 Page Maps sketch. I used various square and rectangle dies to create my patchwork background, and my typewriter to add journaling to the tag. The tassel and twine used at the bottom came from the Cupcakes & Carousels Embellishment pack from the Occasions catalogue (retiring May 31st).

Tip: When I want to mat a picture or an image in white on a page, I pull out old one-sided patterned papers and use the backside as my mat. There's no need to reach for the quality cardstock when a paper scrap will do just fine and you really can't tell the difference.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Papers: Emoji Love (Simple Stories)
Dies: Chevron Stripes (My Favorite Things), Wonky Stitched Circle (MFT), Wonky Stitched Square (MFT),
Pinking Edge Square (MFT), Dotted Scallop Rectangles (Elizabeth Craft Designs),
Stitched 4 Bar Rectangles Stackables (Lawn Fawn), Ref. Articles (Kesi'art), Alisha Lowercase (Echo Park)
Accessories: Cupcakes & Carousels Embellishments Pack, Project Life Corner Punch,
Curvy Corner Trio Punch (slit), Aqua Mist Felt (Papertrey Ink), Yellow Petite Posies (Queen&Co),
Paint Sample, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

It's What We Do

We've collected quite a few pictures of my dad pulling faces over the year, and it looks like my sister is starting to do the same thing! This picture was taken over a decade ago, but I thought it'd work great with the All Year Long Project Life collection (another one that's retiring). It was a simple page that I put together quickly by cutting a few PL cards apart and reassembling some of them to combine various patterns. (For example, for the top left card, I used the geometric pattern as the background, then the leftover piece from the angled sentiment I had cut for the top right picture, and I added one of the silver foil sentiment, for which I cut the top and bottom part of the card.)

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Project Life Cards and Accessories: All Year Long
Accessories: Metallics Enamel Shapes, Project Life Journaling Pen

 

Sending Hugs From Afar

My Distress Inks were out and I was trying out different stuff. Since the inks are pigmented, I decided to try them out on black cardstock. While they were not popping out like I was expecting the colours to, I still liked the Milky Way look enough to decode and transform my piece of cardstock into a card. The astronaut from the Out of This World stamp set seemed like an obvious choice. I die-cut little stars in the background using the Starry Skies die and placed a piece of Silver Glimmer Paper underneath.

I worked my design around the Freshly Made Sketch #286. I was first planning on gluing the pieces in place , but then I got the idea to use the Slide On Over dies and hide a slider part underneath my sentiment title. (This is an idea that was shared by Jennifer McGuire on her blog and that I wanted to try out.)The little astronaut is floating around the Earth and it makes that card that much more fun.

I wanted a French sentiment and went looking at options to find something that would make sense with the space theme. I actually found what I needed in the Lift Me Up stamp set from Stampin' Up! (the one with hot air balloons from the Occasions catalogue). In English, you have a sentiment that says "Sending smiles across the miles," which in French became something like "Sending you a hug even though you are far."

For colours, I had a look at my past ColourQ combos cheat sheet and selected combo #73 for something masculine that could work well with the astronaut and little earth. A couple of silver enamels stars were added to the design as well, and Clear Wink of Stella was brushed on the stamped stars around the sentiment.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Colour Combo: Rich Razzleberry + Pear Pizzazz + Brocade Blue + Brilliant Blue

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Out of This World (Lawn Fawn), Gentil remontant (Lift Me Up - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz, Brocade Blue, Brilliant Blue, Basic Black, Watercolor Paper
Designer Series Paper: Polka Dot Parade
Ink: Basic Black Archival, Brocade Blue, Brilliant Blue, Pear Pizzazz, Blush Blossom, Smoky Slate, Soft Suede,
Distress Oxide
Accessories: Metallics Enamel Shapes, Envelope Punch Board, Lots of Labels Framelits,
Silver Cord Trim, Slide On Over Dies (Lawn Fawn), Stampin' Dimensionals, 7/8" Circle Punch,
Washi Designer Tape, Clear Wink of Stella Brush, Silver Glimmer Paper, Starry Skies Dies (Lawn Fawn),
Blending Pen, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Heredity

I'm a readhead that was born in a family of brunettes. Then, a decade ago, my sister met her spouse, Seb, who's a fellow redhead and who has a redheaded brother as well. When my sister got pregnant with my niece, she kept saying during her pregnancy she had a feeling her daughter would have red hair. I was dubious since red is a recessive gene, but when Seb called me from the hospital to let me know the baby was born, he told me in one breath that it was a girl, that she was healthy, how much she weighted and that she was a redhead! When I went to visit the new family, we had to take a picture of all three of us together. I'm finally not in the minority anymore!

This layout was made using the beautiful Hello Lovely Project Life card collection and accessories. It's retiring for good at the end of the month, so if you'd like to get your own set to make pages and cards with, make sure to get it while you can! The month was stamped on one of the cards using the Perpetual Birthday Calendar stamp set (also retiring).

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Perpetual Birthday Calendar
Ink: Soft Sky
Project Life Cards and Accessories: Hello Lovely
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Designer Washi Tape, Pearl Basic Jewels,
Project Life Journaling Pen

 

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Merry Monday challenge #246 was centered around the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas theme. Being a francophone, I have a vague notion of what this story is, but I had to go look up the exact wording of it to see which card it could inspire. I had quite a few ideas that came up, but the one that stuck was the idea of the window. I bought the Hearth & Home Framelits when they came out and have not used them nearly enough so far, and the idea of doing a starry Christmas sky also allowed for the possibility to pull out my Distress Oxide inks, another tool I want to play around with more.

The window seemed like a good opportunity to pair with the Brick Wall stencil and Grit Paste as well. The card background was stamped with the Snowfall Background from My Favorite Things and embossed with Opalescent embossing powder, which looks really great against the navy background.

I was almost disappointed that we didn't see more of the beautiful sky background I had created once it was cut to size for the window, so I got ambitious and decided to make my own matching envelope, using a piece of thin white cardstock and the Envelope Punch Board. It took a while to get it all inked (maybe because it was cheaper cardstock and the ink was not blending on it as well as it would have on nicer cardstock), but once I finally got a nice coverage and I spritzed it with water, it came to life in a lovely way. I'm thinking anyone would get excited to find such a pretty envelope amongst their mail. I used navy embossing powder for the Santa sleigh and the house to make the image stand out more against the inked background.

The design was inspired by past Mojo Monday sketch #384 and the colours by ColourQ challenge #49.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Combo:  Night of Navy + Pacific Point + Marine Mist + Soft Suede + White

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Noël bien au chaud (Cozy Christmas - Stampin' Up!), Snowfall Background (My Favorite Things)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Soft Suede, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper Stack: Subtles
Ink: VersaMark, Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Soft Suede,
Distress Oxide (Wilted Violet, Faded Jeans, Broken China)
Accessories: Embossing Powders (Opalescent, Navy, White), Winter Wonderland Embellishments,
Night of Navy Seam Binding, Hearth & Home Framelits Dies, Foam Strips, Grit Paste (Ranger),
Brick Wall Stencil (Ranger), Shaved Ice (Stampendous),  Sponge Daubers, Blending Tools, Scallop Edge Punch

 

Starry Celebration

Inspiration: Mojo Monday #495 and Global Design Project #85

 

Retiring items featured:

• Birthday Blast Stamp Set
• Writing Note Background Stamp
• Stars Framelits
• 2015-2017 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack
• 2015-2017 In Color Markers
• Cucumber Crush Cardstock and Ink
• Watermelon Wonder Cardstock and Ink
• Mint Macaron Cardstock and Ink

 

Mint Macaron in the retiring In Color I'll be missing the most. What is yours?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Fête endiablée (Birthday Blast), Writing Note Background
Cardstock: Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper Stack: 2015-2017 In Color
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: 2015-2017 In Color Markers, Clear Wink of Stella Brush, Envelope Punch Board,
Stars Framelits Dies, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Silver Glimmer Paper, Metallic Enamel Shapes

 

Shower of Thoughts

Today's card is unfortunately fitting with the current weather - and we're apparently expecting two weeks of rain. Urgh! I have to say, this little girl makes rainy weather looks cute, though! This card was inspired by quite a few current challenges: Retro Rubber challenge #61 (stamp set that I've had for a good six years and buttons), MFT Sketch #330, The Card Concept #72 (April Showers - drew inspiration from the cute rubber boots and colours), and Just Us Girls #391 (paper piecing - the umbrella, which I popped up on Dimensionals).

I found a fitting French sentiment in the Weather Together stamp set, which reads "Shower of thoughts." A great way to let someone they're in your thoughts, for any kind of occasion.

 

 

 

       

 

Supplies
Stamps: My Umbrella - Pure Innocence (My Favorite Things), Contre vents et marées (Weather Together - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Strawberry Slush, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Secrets of the Sea (Bella Blvd.)
Ink: Night of Navy, Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Corduroy Button and Brad, Button, Corner Rounder Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Markers, Sunny Skies Cute Clips (Doodlebug Design), Stitched Dome Die-namics (MFT),
Yellow Petite Posies (Queen & Co.), Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon, White Medium Envelope