Encre, papier, ciseaux

Birthday Cheer

You know you're a real paper crafts nerd when you get excited about an envelope order! Stampin' Up! used to carry various envelope sizes before, including square envelopes that fit 5-1/4" x 5-1/4" cards. I discovered last week that I was finally down to my last one and that I'm also running really low on envelopes that house 3-1/4" x 6-1/2" cards (another favorite). So I went looking online for a place where I could order some more­.

I initially checked out Clear Bags, a Canadian provider where I had ordered Vanilla square envelopes before. I could only get the square envelopes from them and was a little surprised by shipping prices, so I went digging online some more. In the end, I stumbled onto Envelopes.com. The shipping prices to Canada were not necessarily better, but the selection was much larger, and I was able to find both sizes I was looking for - and then some more! They have a wide selection of A2 envelopes in various colours, including metallic finishes and even wood-textured ones! The smallest pack you can get is fifty, so you can't exactly go wild with getting many colours, but I let myself get tempted by some of the colours I was the most likely to use regularly. I picked the following:

• #7 coin envelopes in White (3-1/2" x 6-1/2")
• White Square Envelopes (5-1/2" x 5-1/2")
• A2 in Blonde Metallic, a gorgeous soft gold similar to the Brushed Gold cardstock Stampin' Up! used to carry (4-1/4" x 5-1/2")
• A2 in Oak Woodgrain, a Soft Suede color with wood texture (4-1/4" x 5-1/2")
• A2 in Jupiter Metallic, a Real Red colour with a silver shimmer to it, which will be great for Christmas (4-1/4" x 5-1/2")
• A2 in Seafoam, somewhere between Cool Caribbean and Pool Party (4-1/4" x 5-1/2")
• A2 in Mirror, a high-lustre silver (4-1/4" x 5-1/2") (this one is currently offered at half price)

 

 

I'm still waiting on the square envelopes, which will get here tomorrow, but the rest of the order shipped right away via UPS and got here in Canada in three days. I didn't expect to receive my shipment so quickly! Oh, and one more cool thing about the envelopes: the flaps already have an adhesive strip on them, so you can just peel off the backing and they are ready to glue in place. I am going to enjoy that detail! (And probably people I sell cards to, since they might not have an adhesive dispenser or washi tape handy.)

So it was those pretty colorful envelopes that inspired me to get stamping tonight after dinner. I liked the Paper Players #403 sketch and wanted to make something inspired by it before the challenge ran out (I wish we could have a couple more days after the challenge post to work on it). The color scheme was inspired by an old ColourQ combo (#319). Ironically, I picked it because it had wood in the combo and I thought I would use the Oak envelopes, but in the end, I decided the Blonde Metallic ones looked better paired with the card. I wasn't sure how the metallic finish would take to stamping, so I heat-embossed instead.(The white coin envelopes seem a nice quality, but I've yet to stamp on them to see if they smear. Fingers crossed they don't.)

By the way, the rickrack border was created with the pinking edge die from the Confetti Card Dies set. The rectangle was too wide for my design, so I placed my die-cut cardstock back in the die, a little bit more in, glued in place with temporary tape and ran through the Big Shot again to take a small piece out and make the piece narrower. The resulting piece created a really delicate rickrack piece, which I reused directly on the card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Et bonne année... (Making Spirits Bright - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Summer Starfruit, Melon Mambo, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper Stack: Wood Textures, 2014-2016 In Color (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Soft Suede (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink); VersaMark
Accessories: Blonde Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com); Confetti Card Dies (Concrd & 9th);
Early Espresso Stampin' Emboss Powder, Angle Tag Topper Punch, Circle Punches, Silver Metallic Thread,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Eyelet, Neutrals Candy Dots (Stampin' Up!); Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo); Baker's Twine (My Mind's Eye); Markers (Copic)

 

Happy 40th Birthday

The color combo from Create with Connie and Mary #517 lent itself well to a masculine card, and the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch #279 worked well for some recessed die-cuts. I have been meaning to make cards for round number birthdays, so I decided I would make one for a 40th birthday. I tried to find a Happy Birthday in a straightforward font, nothing too flourishy, to keep with the masculine theme, and I added a few champagne sparkly stars and matching sequins to fill out the space. I embossed the Smoky Slate cardstock with the Subtle embossing folder after stamping the sentiment, for a bit of extra texture (can't seem to leave this folder alone since buying it).

The numbers were die-cut out of Mango Melody cardstock (a new colour introduced by Stampin' Up! this year). I stacked three die-cuts to get a bit of height and give weight to the numbers, and I added Crystal Effects to make them shiny. The background colour is Blueberry Bushel, one of the new In Colors introduced this year (and my favorite of the five), with a bit of matching ribbon at the bottom. I didn't realize how thin the In Color grosgrain ribbons were when looking at the catalogue, but I like having some slim ribbons in my arsenal, they are great for tiny bows or for dividing sections on projects.

I pulled out the Number of Years stamp set for the envelope. It's now retired but I was too lazy to die-cut numbers again, so stamping was easier...

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Au fil des ans (Number of Years), Coffret de souhaits (Tin of Cards)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Blueberry Bushel, Mango Melody
Designer Series Paper Stack: 2018-2020 In Color
Ink: Basic Grey, Mango Melody
Accessories: Subtle 3D Embossing Folder, White Medium Envelope, Champagne Glimmer Paper,
Star Punches, 2013-2015 In Color Sequins, Corner Rounder Punch, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, 
Crystal Effects, Essential Wooden Accents, Circle Punch, Blueberry Bushel 1/8" Grosgrain Ribbon

 

Seventy

Inspiration: As You See It #181

This card shows a few things I'm obssessed with:

• The return of copper and rose gold - LOVE!
• Foiled patterned papers (patterned paper has always been my one true love when it comes to paper craft supplies, but now that the companies are adding foil, the love has grown even deeper!)
• My Stitched Rectangle Dies - when wafer dies first came out, I bought every single shape except for rectangles, figuring I didn't need them since they did the same thing my paper cutter did. I can't believe how much use I've ended up getting out of them, especially now that they come with stitching around the edges. They are by far my most used dies.
• French sentiment dies - it took a long time for French sentiment dies to hit the market. We are finally starting to see a wider selection and after lusting after all of the cool die-cut sentiments I was seeing on English cards everywhere, I'm really enjoying being able to create with some as well.

 

This card was also inspired by a colleague at work asking me if I could make a card for her mom who is turning 70 next month. The design was inspired by a cool sketch from Card Maps July 2018. I used the Large Numbers Framelits from Stampin' Up! for the main image, and a French die that reads "happy birthday" underneath.

This is another example where I tried out a few color combinations for the oval and the sentiment die so I was left with a few pieces unused on the cards that I was able to recycle to make a pretty matching envelope.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Cucumber Crush, Daffodil Delight, Watermelon Wonder, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Affectionately Yours (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Copper Foil Paper, Layering Ovals Framelits, Designer Washi Tape, Regals Enamel Shapes,
Subtle Embossing Folder, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope (Stampin' Up!); Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn);
bonne fête merci joyeux Noël dies (Simple à souhait); Flower Sequins (Queen & Co)

 

Cousins

Last year, my cousins from BC came for a visit in Montreal. As you can image, we don't see each other often because of the distance so it was a real treat to have them over for dinner and catch up on life. The starting point for this page was the Girl Cousin papers from Echo Park. I can't remember if the rest of the collection did not appeal to me or if my local store didn't carry the whole collection, but I only had the die-cut page in two copies (so that I could use the striped back as well). Because I was limited on how much paper I had, I decided to go for a pocket page layout. I cut some of the square die-cuts to a smaller size (3" x 4") to fit the protector, and I combined some die-cuts together (I handcut the gold heart which initially had a soft turquoise background and I glued it over the heart background piece). I also had a piece of Dots & Stripes paper from Echo Park (turquoise with silver dots) that matched nicely, so I used the front to punch my second heart, and I used the back to make my journaling card. The striped piece at the bottom is actually the bottom portion of the 12" x 12" papers where the company name is. I reused the striped part as an embellishment and I even handcut the small heart that served as the O in the collection name to make my little embellishment. I didn't have a whole lot of pieces, so I got creative!

 

 

 

 

 Supplies
Stamps: Mois de l'année Script (Lime Citron), Alphabet (Studio G)
Ink: Tip Top Taupe (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Patterned Paper: Girl Cousin (Echo Park)
Accessories: Washi Tape (unknown source); Aquamarine Cord (Lawn Fawn);
Stampin' DImensionals, Clear Faceted Gems, 2015-2017 In Color Blossom Accents, Handheld Punch,
In Color Boutique Details, Heart Punch, Project Life Corner Punch, Circle Punch (Stampin' Up!)

 

Shut the Front Door

Inspiration: Clean & Simple #79 + Little Red Wagon #452 + Fusion + Just Add Ink #419 (Add a Twist)

In the $2 bin at Michaels, I found a stamp combo that had a mini door image and "Shut the Front Door." I thought the sentiment would be perfect to go with the Shut the Front Door die from Lawn Fawn. I've been meaning to pair the two items together on a project since, and I finally got to it when I saw the door image from the Fusion challenge this week. Since fall will be coming soon (but not too soon, I hope!), I decided to do a fall wreath on the door. I was putting everythubg together quite fast, but I still had no idea what would be going inside the door. I figured I would simply put one of the Lawn Fawn characters. But when I went through my stamp, I got the idea to do an alien coming out of a beam, with the words "you are out of this world." The sentiment tied in nicely with Shut the Front Door, which would probably be for a congratulations card or something impressive being achieved.

I want to point out a detail: because the 6" x 6" papers from Lawn Fawn are single-sided, the inside of my door was white. I decided I wanted it to have the wood texture on the back as well, so I looked more closely at the door die and found that the window would be lining up if I die-cut the door a second time and glued it to the back. (In this case, because I sandwiched yellow cardstock between the two doors to hide what was inside, it does not matter much, but if you were leaving it empty or adding vellum or a transparency, it would line up nicely.)

The top left of the card felt a little bare, so I found a window in the Scalloped Treat Box Spring House Add-On set.

By the way, the link between this card and the Little Red Wagon challenge (inspiration from a movie or TV show) is the show What Not to Wear. Cohost Stacy London always used to say "Shut the Front Door" whenever she found an outfit fabulous. To this day, I still always think of her when I hear that expression. I must have seen most episodes, if not all of them. My sister and I used to watch it together all the time. One of my favorite tip from Clinton and Stacy was them explaining that "it doesn't match, it goes." That tip has been helpful in putting together outfits, but also in putting together craft projects, actually!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Shut the Front Door (Studio G); Out of This World, Beam Me Up (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Hello Honey,
Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Knock on Wood, Perfectly Plaid Fall (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink);
VersaMark; Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Accessories: Stampin' Emboss Powders (Copper, Early Espresso), Crumb Cake Medium Envelope,
Metallic Pearls, Sponge (Stampin' Up!); Tangerine Cord, Shut the Front Door Dies, Mini Wreath Dies,
Scalloped Treat Box Spring House Add-On Dies, Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables,
Beam Me Up Dies (Lawn Fawn); Markers (Copic)

 

Summer Garden

Inspiration: TGIF Friday #170 (Repetition) and Simon Says Stamp (Anything Goes)

For the "Repeat after me" challenge, I thought I would use the Stitched Garden Border dies and repeat the little veggies planted in the garden. The dirt and little veggies were all cut from white cardstock and sponged with Oxide inks to give them dimension.

The design was inspired by a Page Maps card sketch (July 2018) and the colour from an old ColourQ (#267). The little nametags were created with the Rooting for You stamp set and matching dies. I also use the stamp set to create my matching envelope. In order to get shading on the veggies, I used my blending tool to apply Distress Oxide ink to the stamp before stamping. This created a soft motled effect which is just lovely, so I have to make a mental note to try out that trick again on future projects.

I was looking at sentiment options and even though I initially thought I would fit something smaller, once I started testing out a couple of options on my Stamp-a-ma-jig sheet, I discovered that the bigger sentiment filled in the space nicely and looked quite good. I would have thought a plainer font would have worked better with the garden scene, but I liked the fancy font better, so I ran with it. I was first thinking of using orange embossing powder, but then I spotted the copper one and thought it would look cool on the Chocolate Chip cardstock. That inspired me to pull out some copper cord to wrap between the garden scene and sentiment. I remember this cord being one of the first embellishments I bought from Stampin' Up! when I became a demo (I celebrated my 13th birthday as a demo at the begining of the month). I used copper embossing powder and embellishments all the time back then and I was quite bummed when they were retired. I'm happy that copper is back in - it always look great with fall colours like the ones used on this card.

 

 

    

 

Supplies
Stamps: Rooting for You (Lawn Fawn); Canvas, Fête endiablée (Birthday Blast)
Cardstock: Dusty Durango, Peach Passion, Lucky Limeade, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Perflectly Plaid Fall (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tea Dye, Ground Espresso, Peeled Paint, Wilted Violet, Crushed Olive,
Ripe Persimmon, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo (Distress Oxide - Ranger);
Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink); VersaMark
Accessories: Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder, White Medium Envelope, Copper Cord,
Bitty Banners Framelits, Glitter Enamel Dots, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
Blending Tool (Ranger); Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies, Stitched Garden Border Dies,
Lacy Borders Dies, Rooting for You Dies (Lawn Fawn)

 

Tropical Square

Inspiration: Freshly Made Sketch #347 + ColourQ #324 (past challenge)

When I saw the Freshly Made sketch, I knew I could use my new Tropical Chic bundle for it. It's one of the first thing that caught my eye in the annual catalogue. There's a mix of retro and modern in there, and the paper is really great. It's going to pair well with a ton of flower sets, but also wild animals or vacation-themed project. The square filled with leaves is also an interesting die. I discovered it does not cut a square outside, so it's really just a floating window that you can insert in any paper size you wish. Here, I pulled out the Layering Square Framelits because I did want to have a square image, but you could do a window or shaker in the center of a cardfront. Lots of possibilities there.

To give my foliage square dimension, I die-cut it three times and layered the images. To make sure my square lined nicely, I only use the die on the first image, and I used my scissors to cut out the two other frames once they were layered in place. I also made sure to line the back of my cardstock with adhesive sheets before die-cutting to avoid fiddling with glue on all of those little parts. I could have gone with the green and pink combo of the patterned papers, but I wanted to try something different so I looked at past ColourQ combos and added Coastal Cabana to my green combo, as well as a touch of silver. So a piece of Silver Foil paper was added to the back of the foliage square, and I added a white scallop square die-cut at the bottom to make the main piece stand out more.

When mounting the pieces, I decided to add Granny Apple Green ribbon at the bottom and on a whim, I included two Leave Trinkets in the bow. The sentiments from the Tropical Chic stamp set were too big for my design, so I borrowed one from the Stitched All Around stamp set that reads Best Wishes, and I added a Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequin at left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Chic tropical (Tropical Chic), Cousu avec Soin (Stitched All Around)
Cardstock: Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Shaded Spruce, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper Stack: Tropical Escape
Ink: Coastal Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Shaded Spruce
Accessories: Leave Trinkets, Layering Square Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins, Granny Apple Green Ribbon, White Medium Envelope,
Tropical Thinlits

 

Cheers on Your Birthday

Inspiration: Card Maps July 2018 + ColourQ #282 + Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Anything Goes) + Little Red Wagon #456 (Ice, Ice, Baby!)

I really liked the drink dies from MFT with the matching shaker pouches. The little Frosty Ice Cube embellishments are just the icing on the cake for me - SO adorable! And perfect for the Ice, Ice, Baby! challenge over at Little Red Wagon!

I could have been a little more generous with the filling of the pouch but it was my first try at using the shaker pouches and I was testing it out. I used a remnant of cross stitch beads from a kit and some of the ice cubes. At least, by not filling it up too much, the ice cubes are still easily visible.

 

 

 

  

 

Supplies
Stamps: À ta santé (Happy Hour - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Blue Brocade, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla, Basic Black
Designer Series Paper: Newspaper, Presto Patterns (Stampin' Up!); unknown (black paper)
Ink: Blue Brocade, Soft Sky, VersaMark
Accessories: Medium Vanilla Envelope, Metallic Eyelets, Black Baker's Twine, Layering Ovals Framelits,
Smoky Slate Stampin' Emboss Powder, Sponge Daubers, Sponge, Modern Tag Topper Punch (Stampin' Up!);
Frosty Ice Cubes, Martini Shaker Pouches, Martini Shaker Window & Frame Dies (My Favorite Things);
Dotted Scallop Rectangles Dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs); Beads (Mill Hill)

 

Piling On the Wishes

Inspiration: MFT Color Challenge #98

I really liked the soft colour combo from MFT and once I realized I could make the peaches and violet shades work with the animals from Safari Friends, the idea for this card was formed very quickly.

Stampin' Up! has carried many clear-embossed patterned papers over the years and even though I've used them quite a  bit, they tend to get forgotten in my stash once they are retired. Lately, I've ben thinking it would be good to get them out and pair them with some of my new colour mediums, like Oxide inks or powder pigments. For this one, I pulled out the Distress Oxide ink to use on the Iressistibly Yours Specialty Designer Series Papers. I picked the one with the foliage pattern, which seemed appropriate for safari animals. To ground my furry pile, I also used Distress ink on a piece of polka dot paper, which I die-cut with the Grassy Border die from Lawn Fawn.

I found a Happy Birthday sentiment in Vertical Greetings, and I turned my design into a 3-1/4" x 6-1/2" card. I love those tall, long cards and I'm quickly burning through my envelopes left from when Stampin' Up! was selling this size. Here, this size allowed to stack the animals and still have room to breathe,

By the way, the colors I picked for the combo showcase three new Stampin' Up! hues: Petal Pink, Highland Heather and Gorgeous Grape. I added a touch of Calypso Coral as well. Isn't the result soft and pretty? This would work well for an unconventional baby card as well.

On a side note, I forgot to add Stampin' Dimensionals behind the animals and glued them flat on the card. I decided to do the same for the sentiment banner, which makes this card mailable with regular postage (a rare occurence for me).

 

 

 

 

Color Combo: Petal Pink + Calypso Coral + Highland Heather + Gorgeous Grape

 

Supplies
Stamps: Safari Friends (My Favorite Things); À la verticale (Vertical Greetings - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Calypso Coral, Highland Heather, Whisper White
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Iressistibly Yours (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Calypso Coral, Highland Heather, Gorgeous Grape, Petal Pink (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink);
Shaded Lilac, Tattered Rose (Distress Oxide Ink - Ranger)
Accessories: Blending Tool (Ranger); Grassy Border Die (Lawn Fawn); Markers (Copic);
White Tall Envelope, Subtles Enamel Shapes, Gorgeous Grape 1/4" Mini Striped Ribbon, Stampin' Blends Markers (Stampin' Up!)

 

Head Down in a Book

Inspiration: CAS Colours and Sketches #282 + ColourQ #15

I totally love the images from the Book Worm stamp set. This is totally me when I was a kid. I spent the first 18 years of my life (minus the years I couldn't read yet) with my head down in a book. I would read in the car during our long road trip (think the whole way from Quebec to Florida), at the restaurant and sometimes even when we were walking around when I was too excited about a new book and couldn't wait to start it. The amount of reading I did died down a little when I reached college. Not because I was out all of the time, but because I had so many mandatory books to read for my litterature classes (between 6 and 8 by trimester) that I needed a breather the rest of the time. In university, I again had a lot of reading for my classes, and I often used my transit time on the bus to do some of that reading. I remember one time sitting beside a guy that asked me why the heck I was reading a grammar book. Hahaha! Definitely for classes, and not as "fun, light reading!" Nowadays, I read about a dozen novels or so a year, which is not nearly as much as I once did, but I always have a pile of books on my nightstand, waiting to be read. I also still love to stop at bookstores once in a while to peruse through new books.

The sketch challenge was the starting point for this card, and I selected a past ColourQ combo as inspiration. Don't those colours look great together! There's something both soft and striking about that combo, and I think it could work for a baby theme or for a masculine theme as well. I tried to stay away from fluff as much a possible in order for this card to work for a gentleman. I has this idea to use the A to Z stamp to create a soft background on the Barely Banana cardstock and because I was using that colour, I just had to pull out the Gold Pearl embossing powder, which pairs tremendously well with this cardstock colour.

I was unsure what to add for the sentiment, so I decided to just go through stamp sets until inspiration struck. I found a few interesting options, but the one I liked the most was a little bigger than I would have liked. I still really liked how the idea tied with the theme, so I switched gears with my design to incorporate it in - and that's where the white banner comes in. The sentiment reads, "It's Your Birthday - Do what you please." And isn't curling up with a great book a great way to treat yourself on your special day?

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Book Worm (Mama Elephant); A to Z, Fais ce qui te plaît (Let Your Hair Down - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: So Saffron, Going Grey, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Going Grey (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento), VersaMark
Accessories: Banners Framelits, Subtles and Neutrals Candy Dots, White Medium Envelope (Stampin' Up!); Markers (Copic);
Stitched Scallop Basic Edges Die-namics, Chevron Stripes Die-namics (My Favorite Things);
Book Worm Dies (Mama Elephant); Tangerine Cord (Lawn Fawn); Gold Pearl Embossing Powder (Ranger)

 

Your Brighten Up My Life

Inspiration: CAS(E) This Sketch #282 + SUO challenge #204

The color combo for this card was inspired by a picture of colored enveloped I saw online this weekend. I liked the fun, vibrant colours and combined with the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge, they inspired this card. It showcases the new Stitched All Around bundle. The circle sentiment was embossed with Copper embossing powder.

 

 

 

Color Combo: Calypso Coral + Mango Melody + Island Indigo + Crumb cake

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Cousu avec soin (Stitched All Around)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Mango Melody
Designer Series Paper Stack: Brights, Subtles
Ink: VersaMark, Mango Melody, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Crumb Cake Medium Envelope, Calypso Coral Ombre Ribbon,
Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stitched Labels Framelits Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Party at the Pool

One of the July VSN challenge was "pool party." I pulled out my Beach Day stamp set and my Distress Oxide inks to make a pool backdrop, then I decided the Color Throwdown combo #502 would work well (since both the elephant and the rhino can be colored grey, and the pool was going to be using shades of blue). I also decided I wanted a circle card to mimick a pool. I recently purchased a set of layering circle dies from Tonic because the largest size goes up to 5-1/2". Despite having a few circle sets already, I noticed that a lot of sets don't include larger sizes, which is surprising considering that the Big Shot can accomodate dies that are up to 6" wide. It made creating circle cards frustrating because I ended up with cards that were too small for my liking. This one measures 5-1/4", which is more in line with regular card sizes.

The French sentiment reads, "Wishing you a day filled with love and happy moments." There's a tiny detail added to the right side of the sentiment that might not be showing up in the picture: I used the little clear raindrop enamel shapes Stampin' Up! was selling in the Occasions catalogue this Spring. If you look closely , the elephant is splashing water with its trunk, so I added the clear shapes to play on that detail. I also used Sea Breeze Jewel Drops from Nuvo to create a border all around the card.

As for the watery background, I smooshed some Distress Oxide inks (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean and Blueprint Sketch) on my non-stick mat, spritzed the ink with water and dipped a piece of watercolor paper on each color. drying the paper with my heat tool between layers. Using watercolor paper makes a huge difference - I absentmindedly started with thick white cardstock and when I saw the cardstock curl up do to water, I remembered that I usually use watercolor paper, so I went back to that option. It layers better and it makes for a less splotchy result.

 

 

 

  

 

Supplies
Stamps: Beach Day (Neat & Tangled); Ravissant bouquet (Beautiful Bouquet - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Blueberry Bushel, Balmy Breeze, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!);
Watercolor Paper (Fabriano)
Ink: Blueberry Bushel, Balmy Breeze (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento);
Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch (Distress Oxide - Ranger)
Accessories: Circle Layering Die Set (Tonic); Sea Breeze Jewel Drops (Nuvo);
White Square Envelope, Glitter & Clear Epoxy Shapes, Marina Mist Cotton Ribbon,
Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (Stampin' Up!);
Travel Stamp Platform, Non-Stick Mat, Glossy Accents, Tim Holtz Embossing Folder (Ranger);
Alcohol Markers (Copic)

 

Ducks in a Row

A while ago, I had this idea that the Rub-a-Dub-Dub stamp set could work with a sentiment about getting your ducks in a row. I was surprised that this was not one of the sentiments Lawn Fawn thought to include in the set, but I stuck a Post-It note with that idea on the stamp set for later. Today, when I saw the CAS(E) This Sketch #281, I thought I could make it work with this idea. I also drew inspiration from the Just Add Ink #418 for the colors.

My initial idea was to use an alphabet to spell out the sentiment, and put a row of ducks underneath. I grabbed the Riley's ABCs stamp set and started building my sentiment – and soon figured out that the overall sentiment would be much larger than I intiially thought. I switched gears and decided to have the row of ducks replace the word ducks. In the end, I think I like this idea even better, I found the word Congrats in the Bun in the Oven stamp set, and I stamped it on a little strip die-cut with the Sentiments die from Waffle Flower to make it stand out, but also to to cut up the sentiment a bit, and to add color.

Because my sentiment was longer than I had anticipated, the top of the card felt a little empty so I added a piece of white cotton twine at the top, and a few sequins (from the new Basic adhesive-backed sequins from Stampin' Up!). The outside edge of the Soft Sea Foam cardstock was inked with Distress Oxide ink to add soft dimension, and the piece was die-cut with the Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Riley's ABCs, Bun in the Oven, Rub-a-Dub-Dub (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Daffodil Delight, Soft Seam Foam, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Tranquil Tide (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink); Bundled Sage (Distress Oxide - Ranger)
Accessories: Blending Tool (Ranger); Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Sentiments Die (Waffle Flower); White Cotton Twine, Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins,
White Medium Envelope, Stampin' Blends Markers, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

 

You're Super

Inspiration: The Paper Players #401 + Freshly Made Sketch #346 + Simon Says Stamp Monday (Add a Little Sparkle)

I started this card last Sunday evening and didn't get to finish it right away, which means that I missed the posting deadline for the colour challenge. I did finish my card using the Freshly Made Sketch as inspiration for the design, though. The starting point of this card was the Halftone stencil from Altenew, which reminded me of comic strip backgrounds. I pulled out the old Calling All heroes stamp set from Stampin' Up! It was initially released when Stampin' Up! first tested out photopolymer stamps to see if they would work for their market. Most of the stamp sets from those first releases were either not to my taste or English-sentiments only, but this one really appealed to me with its retro comic strip look.

I found the "You Are Super" sentiment in the Epic Celebrations stamp set from this past Sale-A-bration offering. In the bottom bubble, I used the alphabet from the stamp set to spell out the French equivalent of "Wham!" as a little tribute to the Batman TV show. I also repeated that idea on the matching envelope.

By the way, the stenciled background was done with Frosty Sparkle Gltiter Kiss. I was planning on using my glitter paste from Nuvo but got a sad surprise when I opened the jar: it's completely dried out. Out of curiosty I checked out another jar and it's bone dry as well. This is disappointing as I only had the chance to use them a couple of times and they weren't that old (less than a year). I remember hearing that glitter paste dries more easily than regular paste, but still. I'm not sure what I should have done differently when storing them, but I'll have to research on what went wrong. In the meantime, I was bummed out that I couldn't make the card I had intended to make, until I thought I could pull out my Glitter Kiss instead. I initially started applying the Glitter Kiss with the sponge that comes in the packaging, but I was not getting the textured look I had envisioned with the paste, so on a whim, I took my palette knife directly to the jar and applied the Glitter Kiss the way I would have with regular paste. And you know what? It worked out perfectly! It goes without saying that it emptied the jar quicker than it would have with just the sponge but there is no point in holding on to products and not using them (as illustrated by my dried out glimmer pastes). When designing the rest of the card, I tried to hide the background as little as possible to be able to show it off.

One last thing: those fun, bright colours are three new shades from Stampin' Up! introduced with the color revamp. Aren't they pretty together? Granny Apple Green is quickly becoming a new personal favorite. I haven't even used all of the new colors yet, and still this shade of green has popped up in a number of my cards already. If you're slowly easing into the new colors, this would be one of my suggestions as a useful, versatile colour. That Highland Heather is really pretty too, and definitely fills a gap in our previous colour range.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Fête épique (Epic Celebrations), Calling All Heroes (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Lovely Lipstick, Highland Heather, Granny Apple Green, Smoky Slate, Whisper White
Classic Ink: Lovely Lipstick, Highland Heather, Granny Apple Green, Soft Suede, Basic Grey (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Glitter Enamel Dots, Stars Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, White Medium Envelope,
Palette Knife, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!); Halftone Stencil (Altenew);
Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn); Frosty Sparkle Glitter Kiss (Cosmic Shimmer)

 

Beach Selfies

Inspiration: July VSN challenge H + Mojo Monday #357 + CAS Colours & Sketch #281 + Tic Tac Tuesday #4 (Ocean + Yellow + Tearing) + Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Use a die or punch)

For such a cute, uncluttered card, you'll be surprised at how many different items I pulled out to put it together. I'm super happy with the result, though - it's clean and sunny and sort of puts you in a good mood just looking at it.

The starting point was a July VSN challenge based on a treasure hunt, where you had to put together various summer vacation-related items. I paired something "that reminds you of summer" (the beach, "that tastes good" (the pineapple) and "that is red, yellow or orange" (the pinapple). I had this idea that I wanted to make a little Polaroid frame with a summer picture. I decided the CAS Colours challenge had the perfect summery vibe (by the way, I'm très happy that Coastal Cabana is back in the current colour roaster!) and as I was looking for stamps that would work, I was torn between using the pineapple or the flamingo. I decided I wouldn't have to choose if I simply did two Polaroid pictures instead. I was looking for a sketch that could work and I found inspiration in an old Mojo Monday sketch. I then realized I could do a tic-tac-toe line for the Try Stampin' on Tuesday challenge since I already had Ocean and Yellow. I simple added tearing with my pink cardstock.

To make the picture background, I took the center square of the Selfie Frames die and cut the squares in half using a Simple Stitched Border on one for the beach, and a wave border on the other to make the ocean. I blended Distress Oxide inks on my various cardstock pieces, added fine glitter to the edge with a glue pen, and I used the Stitched Windy Backdrop on one sky piece and the Stitched Cloud Backdrop on the other. (See how the stamps and dies are starting to add up?)

When I had flipped through stamps, the hashtag stamps from Wild for You had caught my attention and I later decided to pull that set out again to add the #selfie underneath the flamingo picture. I kind of wanted something else for the pineappe but the other hashtags were not really what I was looking for, so I found a small "miss you" in the How You Bean? Conversation Heart Add-On set, which was perfect.

Finally, I used the Scripty Aloha die on teal glitter paper and I die-cut a piece of white foam to glue underneath it and give it dimension.

 

Tip: While using fun foam to quickly add dimension underneath a die is a quick way to raise it up, I have noticed that the foam gets squished when going through the die-cutting maching and often gets out flattened and therefore a little wider than the cardstock die-cut. Here, the white shows around my scripty word. I didn't mind and decided it's part of the look, but be mindful of that. I had tried the foam trick on a previous project using a triple window die and I decided against using it because the foam was way too apparent. In that case, your best bet is still to die-cut the same image a number of time out of regular cardstock and stack those cardstock die-cuts together to get the thickness you want.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Flamingo Together, Aloha, Wild for You, How You Bean? Conversation Heart Add-On (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Lemon Lime Twist, Powder Pink, Coastal Cabana (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Lemon Lime Twist, Powder Pink, Coastal Cabana (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink);
Tumbled Glass, Squeezed Lemonade, Peacock Feathers (Distress Oxide - Ranger)
Dies: Selfie Frames, Stitched Windy Backdrop, Stitched Cloud Backdrop: Portrait, Aloha, 
Flamingo Together, Scripty Aloha, Simple Stitched Hillside Borders, Shadow Box Card Ocean Add-On,
Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn); Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Two-way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, White Medium Envelope,
Powder Pink Glimmer Ribbon (Stampin' Up!); Glossy Accents, Blending Tool (Ranger);
Teal Glimmer Paper (unknown source); Alcohol Markers (Copic)

 

Be Brave

Inspiration: July VSN challenge B (Get well card) + Clean & Simple #80 sketch

The idea behind this card came from leftover pieces from a recent scrapbook page. I had one die-cut left from my sheet that reads "Be brave." I kept thinking it could make a great get well card, specifically for cancer, with a ribbon added to it. The die-cut was quite big (3" x 3", I believe) so I cut it down a little smaller and kept the rest of the design fairly streamlined. I love the colours of those papers (Girl Cousins from Echo Park), they're a beautiful, soft combo.I made a matching envelope out of Tip Top Taupe envelope paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Powder Pink (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Girl Cousins, Stripes & Dots (Echo Park)
Accessories: 1/8" Silver Ribbon, Blushing Bride Satin Ribbon, Envelope Punch Board, Heart Punches,
Subtles Enamel Shapes (Stampin' Up!); Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn)

 

Tiki Garden

Design inspired by Page Maps sketch from November 2017 and Lasting Memory Layout challenge #404 (scanned and printed a picture dating back to 1996 for a now and then layout).

When I bought the Fun in the Sun collection from Doodlebug Design, the totem pattern reminded me of the decor at a famous kitsch restaurant in Montreal called Jardin Tiki (Tiki Garden). The cuisine is nothing to write home about (it's a Chinese buffet), but the place was fully decked with big bamboo chairs, lanterns - the whole nine yards! They even had a little bridge going over a pond filled with live turtles! When I was a kid, we used to stop there for dinner when we were vacationing in Montreal. Sadly, the place closed down in March 2015. It was the end of an era, Coincidentally, we had eaten there the year prior, not knowing it would be our last meal there. I had not taken a whole lot of pictures, mainly because my niece was sick and in a foul mood. I picked the best picture in what I had, and I also scanned an old picture which I believe dates back to 1996 or us there, for a fun then and now layout.

The place also had an impressive cocktail menu, most of which were served in fancy thematic glasses, so the Doodlebug stickers and sprinkles fit the theme perfectly.

 

TIP: I used my computer to generate my journaling. To ensure that the font color would match the papers, I found an image of the Fun in the Sun collection on the Doodlebug Design website, opened it in Photoshop Element and used the Color Picker to find the exact RGB color code. Select the Color Picker tool, push on the Shift key on your keyboard and at the same time, click with your mouse on the color you wish to pick up. A box will open, showing you the RGB values. (My screen shot shows RVB, because I have a French software - rouge, vert, bleu!)

 

 

You can then go to your Word software, type in your journaling, select your text and click on the Font Color icon arrow to open the menu, and at the bottom, click on Other Colours.

 

 

This will open an additional box. Click on the Personnalized tab, and then enter the three RGB values that were showing in Photoshop previously. As you can see, I obtain the exact shading of green I was looking for, which I used to highlight the name of the restaurant and make it stand out in the journaling. My pink shade was found the same way.

 

 

See that little black arrow on the side of the color strip? You can move it up and down to get a lighter or darker shade of the same hue. This is great when doing journaling, because lighter colors can be very hard to read. I used that arrow to darken my pink. It remains in the same color palette, but prints a little darker.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Papers and Icons: Fun the in Sun (Doodlebug Design)
Cardstock: Bazzill
Shaoe Sprinkles: Tropical Punch (Doodlebug Design)
Alphabet and Number Stickers: Life of the Party Charmed Alphabet (Lime Twist);
Bonjour Thickers (American Crafts); Bon Bon Candy Shoppe (Doodlebug Design)
Font: Copperplate
Accessories: Glossy Accents (Ranger); Sparkly Enamel Dots, White Lace Doily (Stampin' Up!)

 

Lifetime of Love & Happiness

Inspiration: July VSN challenge M and Create with Connie and Mary #518 (turned 90 degrees clockwise) + TGIF #169

I have to say that while the clean and simple look is not usually playing to my strength, I'm quite happy with how this one turned out. The Dandelion Wishes might be one of my favorites from the 2018-2019 annual catalogue. Everything made with it just turns out so lovely. The only negative thing about this set is that it was not translated to French! I love the font and look of the sentiments.

A few details about this card: I included one of the new colors, Grey Granite, in my design. It's a lovely color but to be honest, it is so similar to Smoky Slate that I don't think it really was all that useful to add to the line. I'm okay with the color revamp, and my only hang-up about it (which links to this additional grey) is that the marker box is now not big enough to include all of the current markers (regular color and two current In Color families). Small details, but it just makes my organizational life trickier. Stampin' Up! has always been really good at offering their products with the organization required, but with this change, I think they're not entirely caught up yet (the caddy is not the exact size for the new ink pads and the marker box does not have the right number of slots). First-world problem, for sure, but now that my craft room is full, those details really matter. But back to the card, the Grey Granite does look really cool and modern paired with Crushed Curry, black and white. A few silver pearls (from the new Metallic Pearls pack) were added to the main image, and the black images were embossed with Clear powder for added shine. The grey background was embossed with the Subtle 3D embossing folder.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Dandelion Wishes
Cardstock: Basic Black, Thick Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Grey Granite
Ink: Basic Black Archival Ink
Accessories: Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Corner Rounder Punch,
White 5/8" Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon, Metallic Pearls, Subtle 3D Embossing Folder

 

Infused with Happiness

While I was putting away my Doodlebug scraps from my latest projects, I spotted the Cream & Sugar collection and decided to make a card with it for the tea or coffee-themed VSN challenge. The design was inspired by the Global Design Project sketch #146.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Teahouse, Petite tasse (A Nice Cuppa - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Pink Pirouette (Stampin' Up!); Cream & Sugar papers (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizzazz (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Bundle of Joy Enamel Dots (Echo Park); Layering Square Framelits,
White Medium Envelope, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, White 1/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (Stampin' Up!);
4Bar Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn); Cream & Sugar Icons Stickers (Doodlebug Design)

 

Wrapped in the Warmth of Christmas

Inspiration: July VSN challenge G + Try Stampin' on Tuesday #372 (with the sketch flipped 90 degrees) + ColourQ #12 + Stamp Ink Paper #158

When I saw the VSN challenge calling for a card with a holiday theme, I decided it was my chance to get my Holiday Hugs stamp set inked. I looked at past ColourQ challenge for quick inspiration and thought the combo #12 could work nicely. I sort of liked the combo, but I thought I could like it even better if I changed some of the colours to close equivalents, so in the end, I chose Call Me Clover, Real Red, Soft Sea Foam and Powder Pink. That allowed me to include some of the newly released colors in my card as well. I wasn't sure what I thought of Soft Sea Foam - it's really pale and it can look like the colour of scrubs depending on what you pair it with. In this combo, I think it works well, though.

I found in a past Christmas set and sentiment that translates to "Wrapped in the warmth of Christmss." It was perfect to go with my hug image, and the size worked well to fit the curve of the image. I hadn't initially thought to add the pink piece of cardstock to the tag, but the card suddenly became more vibrant and interesting when I did. I used the snowflake row from the same stamp set to add a bit of decoration at the top, to fill the empty space.

The main image was stamped and embossed with Copper embossing powder on watercolor paper and watercolored with inks. A piece of copper-patterned washi tape was added to the tag to tie with the copper embossing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Supplies
Stamps: Holiday Hugs (W Plus 9); Diagonal Stripe, Souhaits en rafales (Snowflake Sentiments - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Call Me Clover, Real Red, Soft Sea Foam, Powder Pink (Stampin' Up!);
Grana Satinata Hot Pressed Watercolour Paper (Fabriano)
Ink: Call Me Clover, Powder Pink, Soft Sea Foam, Real Red, Sahara Sand,
Soft Suede (Stampin' Up! Classic Inks); VersaMark
Accessories: Holiday Hugs Dies (W Plus 9); Confetti Card Dies (Concord & 9th);
Holiday Toppers CutUps, Toppers CutUps (The Cat's Pajamas); Button (Autumn Leaves);
White Medium Envelope, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Washi Tape, Softly Falling Embossing Folder,
Powder Pink 3/8" Shimmer Ribbon, Project Life Corner Punch, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Baker's Twine, Aqua Painter Brush (Stampin' Up!)

 

Wasaga Beach 2017

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Fun in the Sun)

When Carta Bella issued its Summer Splash collection, I thought it was so adorable, but I wasn't sure I could work the retro style into my crafting. Then I realized that the line would actually perfect to scrapbook my Wasaga Beach vacation pictures from last year. Wasaga Beach is the longest freshwater beach in the world and while the beaches are beautiful, because this is a seasonal touristic spot that becomes pretty deserted once high season is over, the accomodation in this town is pretty dated everywhere. Driving through the city feels like going back in time. Which is why those retro-inspired summer papers are actually perfect to go with our trip!

After finishing a sand creature (I think it was initially meant to be a snake) with my niece, my brother-in-law grabbed a shovel and wrote the place and date in the sand in front of it. That actually made for a pretty cool picture, so I decided to use my home printer and print a 8" x 10" version of it. When I initially bought my Photosmart printer, I bought photo paper to go with it, in 4" x 6" and also in 8½" x 11". I was so excited to finally be able to do prints of all sizes at home! Well... I'm fairly sure I hadn't used any of the wide-size paper yet (and it's been years now). Since I wanted this layout to be the front page of the vacation album, an oversize picture made sense.

I initially planned on having the picture take center stage and add only the patterned paper border, with a bit of twine and a couple of matching die-cuts, but while putting the page together, it got a little more involved. I added a few buttons to the die-cuts, and while looking for a piece of ribbon to extend underneath the right die-cut, I also found some fun orange rickrack that matched the papers, so I decided to add it as a border to the picture. This little added detail made a huge difference on the finished layout and made the picture stand out better. The polka dot background paper was also stamped at the bottom with the Burlap background stamp to add a bit of texture. And my favorite detail is the red Beach sign at the bottom. It's made with one of the Summer Splash Ephemera piece. I got the idea of cut a slim piece of Knock on Wood paper (from Lawn Fawn) to make a post for it and have a beach sign. Before gluing it down, it shifted on the page, and I found that I liked the crooked look ever better.

I was initially planning on working on my London album first since it took place before the Wasaga Beach vacation and since the pictures have all been printed, but maybe because it's summer and I'm surrounded with my seasonal supplies, but I'm more inspired to work on this album instead. Why fight inspiration when it strikes, I say?

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Burlap (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Granny Apple Green (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Summer Splash (Carta Bella); Kiwi Double Dot (Bo Bunny); Knock on Wood (Lawn Fawn)
Die-Cuts: Summer Splash Ephemera (Carta Bella)
Accessories: Sweetheart Cord (Lawn Fawn); Buttons, Stampin' Dimensionals, ribbon, rickrack (Stampin' Up!)

 

Backyard Barbecue Party

This card was inspired by Splitcoast Stampers' July VSN challenge A. It calls for a barbecue-inspired masculine card. I didn't want to go for the obvious and pull out the Let's Barbecue stamp set from Lawn Fawn, so I went digging further and found Beerafella, which to me looks like a guy enjoying a beer at a backyard barbecue. I paired him with the CAS Colours and Sketches #280, and with an old ColourQ combo, #6.

I decided I wanted to use color pencils on kraft cardstock as I like how it makes the colors pop. After I finished coloring my image, I spotted a piece of cardstock which has been floating around my craft room for a long time. Back when I bought my first jar of Glitter Kiss in Periwinkle, I tested out the product on a few pieces of cardstock, including using a dot stencil on Bordering Blue cardstock. I figured I could easily reuse this piece in an underwater scene project. It sadly never seemed to fit anything I was making... until I happened to make this card which actually includes Bordering Blue in the combo AND the glitter kiss is the same color as Blue Brocade. That was too good to be true, and it allowed me to save on time as well since the VSN challenges are times and supposed to be under an hour. I also think the dots looks like bubbles - beer bubbles!

I added a few clouds, which I added shading to with pencils as well, and I went hunting for a sentiment. I found it in one of the first sets I flipped through - Endless Birthday Wishes. It's an English set, but we use the word party in French as well, and it was short, so I didn't look any further.

For a one-hour card, I'm happy with the result. And happy to add a new masculine card to my pile. I certainly never have too many of those around.

 

 

 

  

 

Supplies
Stamps: Beerafella (Stamping Bella); Endless Birthday Wishes (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Bordering Blue, Brocade Blue,
Real Rust, More Mustard, Whisper White
Ink: Rch Cocoa (Memento); More Mustard, Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Pencils (Prismacolor); Candy Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stencil, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope (Stampin' Up!);
Periwinkle Glitter Kiss (Cosmic Shimmer); Puffy Clouds Die-namics, Stitched Dome Die-namics (MFT);
Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn)

 

Biking on the Beach

After I was done making my two layouts with the Fun in the Sun collection, I was left with just a few pieces of paper and stickers, and they inspired this card. The background is a 4" x 6" die-cut from one of the sheet that I cut down to a smaller size in order to be able to mount it on a card base made out of 12" x 12" cardstock cut to size. (The final card measures 4" x 6".) One of the VSN challenges called for a bike image, so the bike die-cut was perfect. I used a decorative clip to keep a little piece of patterned paper with a camera on it in place, like you would a ticket stub or ephemera from a trip. Glitter Gloss was added to the sun to make if sparkly, and enamel dots to the bike's wheels. A little piece of polka dot ribbon was also tied around the card, and I made my own envelope for the oversized card.

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Monday (Summer Sun)

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper and Icons Stickers: Fun in the Sun (Doodlebug Design); I Love Sunshine (Echo Park)
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, White 5/8" Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon, It's My Birthday Enamel Dots,
Envelope Punch Board, Layering Ovals Framelits, Essentials Hardware Clips (Stampin' Up!);
Decorative Scissors; Aqua Shimmer Glitter Gloss Brush (Nuvo); bonne retraite chance journée Dies (Simple à souhait)

 

Jelly Bean Shaker Jar

This card was inspired by the Stamp Ink Paper challenge #157. I really love Lawn Fawn stamps and Doodlebug Design papers, so my card combines both. I also love Stampin' Up! for sentiment stamps, because they offer an extensive offering in French, which not a lot of companies do. I pulled out On Your Birthday (the French version), an old favorite, to stamp "It's YOUR day - enjoy!" Seemed fitting with the jelly bean jar.

The design was inspired by a Page Maps card sketch from July 2018. To have the folder tab, I pulled out an old tool - a Coluzzle folder template! I've held on to some of my Coluzzle templates because they still are the only tools that I have which allow me to cut super large circles and folders of all sizes. In this age of die-cutting and electronic machines, it's a little funny to go back to the Coluzzle, but hey, don't knock it if it works! I adapted the square layer from the sketch to a tag layer instead because I didn't want to hide the pretty rickrack, and that layer really tied the layout together.

For the shaker, I stamped and colored the stack of jelly beans on my background piece, and then I stamped and colored nine individual beans, which I handcut and placed inside the shaker. I added sequins from various sequin packs and Iridescent Mini Star Confetti from Pretty Pink Posh. I kept debating on whether to add the jar tag or not - the jar felt bare without it, but I didn't want to hide the pretty content too much, so I finally white-embossed the tag on vellum and added "jelly beans" embossed in Melon Mambo powder. The vellum lets the colours peak through, so it was a good compromise.

A little die-cut flower topped with a flower button was added to the folder tab to embellish it a bit, and three dots of White Enamel Accents. Finally, a glitter enamel dot was added to the left side.

 

 

 

 

  

 

Supplies
Stamps: How You Bean? (Lawn Fawn); Pour ton anniverisare (On Your Birthday - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Summer Sun, Whisper White, Vellum Cardstock (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Sweet Summer, Booville Petite Print Assortment (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark; Island Indigo, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Accessories: Stitched Rectangles Stackables Dies, How You Bean? and How You Bean'? Add-On Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Sequins (Various); Iridescent Mini Star Confetti (Pretty Pink Posh); Folder Template (Coluzzle);
Clear Chunky Glitter, White Medium Envelope, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Foam Adhesive Strips, Glitter Enamel Dots,
Cannery Framelits [flower die], Melon Mambo Button, White, Clear and Melon Mambo Stampin' Emboss Powders (Stampin' Up!);
White Enamel Accents (Ranger); Turquoise Rickrack (American Crafts); Markers (Copic)

 

Jumping Baby

I love the soft combo of Hand Stamped Sentiments # and it inspired me a baby card, which had me reaching for the Sweet Baby stamps and matching dies. The design was inspired by Clean&Simple #78. I was initially planning on putting a circle shape behind the baby, but I decided I liked the design as is. This is cleaner and simpler than I usually do, but I'm still quite pleased with the result. I think the Tufted 3D embossing folder looks great with the baby card. I had forgotten to stamp a sentiment before dry embossing the Pool Party cardstock, so I had to add my sentiment to another piece of cardstock (I decided on vellum), but I think it was a good thing that I ended up breaking all of the vertical elements with that vellum strip. A little heart enamel shape was added and Basic Grey baker's twine, and I also layered that fun scallop edge die-cut over the same color of cardstock for a soft tone-on-tone detailing.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Bébé mignon (Sweet Baby)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Vellum
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Smoky Slate
Accessories: Tufted 3D Embossing Folder, Bouncing Baby Framelits Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals,
White Medium Envelope, Stampin' Blends Markers, Basic Grey Baker's Twine,
Envelope Punch Board (Corner Rounder Punch), White Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Leveling Up

This was a fun card to make! It started with the color combo from Lawn Fawnatics #32. I didn't use the beachy theme, but I thought the colours could be great for a masculine combo, and that lead me to pull out Screen Time. This is another that was at the top of my favorite list of the new release (although the new release was so fantastic that there really wasn't much at the bottom of the favorite list...). I like that this one is unique and yet so relevant. The fact that the game console is very much a Nintendo II just makes it that much sweeter. (Yup, I'm that old, and yes, this is the first game console my sister and I had. It's actually still in my closet and up until I moved to Montreal, I still had it plugged in my apartment and was playing it once in a while. Tetris II and Dr. Mario were my personal favorites, and Mario Cart was another popular one.)

So anyway, I totally love the sentiments in the set - love the bubbles and love the game fonts. But of course, they're all in English, so I used my Word software and a free font found online (ArcadeClassic) to print my text, which I die-cut using the Speech Bubbles dies from Lawn Fawn.

The card layout was inspired by a Page Maps card sketch from the July 2018 series. I tried to work in elements that went well with the game theme: embossed stars on the tag, a grid pattern on the green cardstock to keep it masculine, some silver hologram stars, and I turned my background piece into textured cardstock thanks to the awesome Subtle embossing folder from the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue. The stars were die-cut out of adhesive backed sheets of holographic film found at my local scrapbook store. I loved the look and new I could transform those into cool die-cut accents. The fact that they already have adhesive on the back just made my just that much easier. Pieces of washi were added to fill in the card a bit as well, and little enamel dots made with Ranger's Enamel Accents.

See that bit of sequin trim at the bottom of my yellow tag? It was Plan B to cover up something I tried out and didn't really like. I had seen a scrapbooker put some enamel dots close together, knowing that they would link, and creating a cool black and white border to her page. I decided to try that at the bottom of my tag, alternating the teal and blue enamel accents. Well, it looked... just wrong. The stripes were not the same width, the line was not straight, it looked like a weird snake at the bottom of the card and totally out of place. So I just added the sequin trim and was able to salvage my card and bring it back to something that I actually like.

 

 

 

 

 Supplies
Stamps: Off the Grid (Stampin' Up!); Screen Time (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Tango Tangerine, Blueberry Bushel, Lemon Lime Twist, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Lemon Lime Twist (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Accessories: Washi Tape, White Square Envelope, Stampin' Dimensionals, Lucky Stars Embossing Folder,
Circle Punch, Angle Tag Topper Punch, Subtle 3D Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up!);
Mini Silver Stars Adhesive Backed Sheets of Holographic Film (Funky Films); Enamel Accents (Ranger);
Markers (Copic); Speech Bubbles Dies, Stitched Star Frames Dies, Outside In Star Stackables Dies, Screen Time Dies,
Stitched Square Frames Dies, Orange Cord (Lawn Fawn)

 

Bundled Baby

I sold my last baby girl card at the office this week. so it was on my mind to create a new one to add to the pile. It was great timing since I received the Sweet Baby bundle at the same time. This bundle just grabbed my heart the second I saw it. I think the die with the little scalloped blankie to swaddle the baby in was the cherry on top of the sundae for me. So cute! There are some card themes that just come easy for me (Christmas, Halloween, birthdays) and some that don't (weddings, anniversaries, babies). This is why I am doubly excited when I find a stamp set that can inspire baby cards more easily.

I can't remember right now where I got the idea for the colors, but I paired Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride and Crisp Cantalope. I love the soft look! I used the "Cute and cuddly, soft and sweet - someone to make your life complete" sentiment and with the soft mix of blue and pink, this card is pretty gender neutral. Could work for a girl, but could definitely work for a boy too, or for a couple that chose not to know the baby's gender ahead of time.

The fun layout was inspired by an old Mojo Monday sketch (#350). The adorable scalloped border is a die that is part of that same kit. Lots to fall in love with in there!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention my favorite part of this whole design: the background piece embossed with the new Subtle embossing folder. This is probably the most unassuming item in the whole catalogue and you can't even really tell what the texture of the folder is supposed to be when you look at the picture on page 223 of the annual catalogue. Because of the name and the soft texture, I immediately thought, "Oh, I hope it's meant to mimick textured cardstock!" I swear I've been hoping and praying for an embossing folder to reproduce textured cardstock ever since Stampin' Up! retired that item years ago (which broke my heart, by the way). Textured cardstock made a huge impact on a design and helped create dimension when layering unstamped cardstock. Anyway, I was correct and this is exactly what this folder does! I warn you: you'll be seeing it a ton in my upcoming projects because, well, textured cardstock in every possible cardstock color! That crafter right here is quite happy. So many new amazing items and yet, this little embossing folder is what made my year.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Bébé mignon (Sweet Baby - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Soft Sky, Blushing Bride, Crisp Cantalope, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Soft Sky, Blushing Bride, Crisp Cantalope, Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Decorative Doily duo Die-namics (My Favorite Things); Buttons (Autumn Leaves);
Markers (Copic); Coton Twine, Subtle 3D Embossing Folder, Bouncing Baby Framelits,
Crumb Cake Medium Envelope (Stampin' Up!)

 

An Evening at the State Fair

The starting point for this card was the Border Strips patterned paper from Echo Park, from the Summer Dreams collection. I had it in 12" x 12" and I figured it would make a cool background for a card, possibly to pair with the Coaster Critters stamp set, which I bought when it was released but have not inked yet. (By the way, it was one of my top favorites and it ended up being one of the last I used. I think I was waiting for an idea that would do the set justice.)

So I figured I might be able to make a similar Bokeh-like background using the Distress Oxide inks. So I sponged Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade on a piece of white cardstock, and spritzed with water and dried. Then, I created circle masks by punching various circle sizes in a piece of paper and I sponged Squeezed Lemonade and Fossilized Amber to create light points. I also used white pigment ink for a few more circles at the top. I was happy with the result up until that point. Then, I pulled out the Radiating Rays stencil and added white ink, but I was not as happy with this part.

I decided to keep on going with the card and stamped all of the little pieces I thought I might be able to use. Because I was working with a square piece of cardstock to fill out a 5-1/4" x 5-1/4" card, the coaster was not filling up the space enough and the little stand is one of my favorite image from the set, so I figured I could repeat it three times to have a ticket booth, a food booth and a game booth, then have each character hold something that they got at that booth. I colored and die-cut everything, and once I placed everything on the cardstock to have an idea of how it would look, I started getting really excited.  I decided to add the Stitched Fireworks at the top, and cover them with Dazzling Diamonds fine glitter. I stayed away from liquid glue or Stickles because I have learned my lesson from previous cards: the liquids on those products make the Distress Oxide ink react! And you end up with a different color than intended where the glitter is. This time, I went with my two-way glue pen and loose glitter and it worked out much better.

I wanted to create a road, so I went looking for my Road Borders dies and while I was looking, I found the Stitched Square Frames dies. I didn't think the widest frame would be large enough, but when I tried it over my scene, while it was not as large as my paper, I decided I actually liked having the smaller frame around the scene and seeing the cool blended paper continue over the edge. Once I added the road and the frame, the scene really took form and the card had that little extra that takes a card from cute to wow. Little gems were added to the center of the fireworks, and a Night of Navy card base (which measures 5-1/8" x 5-1/8" because I didn't want a large mat under the scene).

I repeated the three booths idea in matching colors to decorate my envelope.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Coaster Critters (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!)
Inks: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers, Fossilized Amber,
Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade (Distress Oxide Inks from Ranger);
Crushed Curry, Strawberry Slush, Bermuda Bay, Night of Navy (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Accessories: Coaster Critters Dies, Road Borders Dies, Stitched Square Frames Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Markers (Copic); March Crystals (Studio Katia); Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Foam Adhesive Strips,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Two-Way Glue Pen, Precision Glue, White Square Envelope (Stampin' Up!);
Iridescent Mini Star Confetti (Pretty Pink Posh)