Encre, papier, ciseaux

Welcome

Inspiration: Fab Friday #145

I recently sold the last "welcome" card I had left in my offering, so I had it on my list to make a new one, and I knew I wanted to use the adorable Happy Village stamp set to make it. I was shocked to discover when I pulled it out that the die set had not been cut apart yet... which means that this set had yet to see ink! It was one of my favorite set when it got released, and I think it got forgotten because I used the Winter Village and Village Shops stamp sets for my cards instead.

I wanted my village to be colorful and I drew inspiration from the fabulous Knit Picky Fall paper pad. I used the green argyle paper for the grass and the turquoise leaves paper for the sky. I cut the Road Borders out of Basic Grey and Daffodil Delight cardstock and layered them to get the yellow line in the center. Lacy Borders were cut out of vellum and layered on each side for a subtle but delicate detail, and the white background was die-cut with the Quilted Backdrop die, then layered over a white card base for a tone on tone look. This time around, I played it smart and covered my whole sheet of cardstock with a piece of adhesive sheet before die-cutting to avoid having to apply glue all around those little holes. That made my job a whole lot easier! I still had to fiddle with getting all of those teeny paper pieces out of the die, though. I tried using my lint roller the last time around, but it didn't work out as well as I would have hoped. Maybe the next time I should sandwich a piece of wax paper between the die and the paper to see if the hole pieces fall out of the die more easily.

For the sentiment, I found a french "Welcome baby" stamp in the And Many More stamp set, so I used my stamp platform and a marker to ink only the word I wanted and stamp it a few times to darken the color. Then I punched the word out with the Classic Label punch. It was too long, so I slipped the word in the punch a second time to shorten it. I used my Banner punch to add a banner underneath, which I topped with a Pumpkin Pie enamel shape. I think this card is an instant mood-lifter!

 

 

Close up showing the Glossy Accents on the windows

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Du coq à l'âne (And Many More - Stampin' Up!); Happy Village (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Basic Grey, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Knit Picky Fall (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Rose Red, Granny Apply Green, Daffodil Delight (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Accessories: Basic Grey Stampin' Write Marker, Brights Enamel Shapes, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Banner Punch, White Medium Envelope, Classic Label Punch (Stampin' Up!); Markers (Copic);
Happy Village Lawn Cuts, Lacy Borders Lawn Cuts, Road Borders Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn); Glossy Accents (Ranger)

 

Antique Gold Flourishes

Inspiration: Global Design Project #153 + Paper Craft Crew #305

The starting point of this card was the color combo. I looked through stamps to find something to pair with it and decided to pull out Flourishing Phrases, which I hadn't stamped with in a while. I picked a sketch to go with it, from the Paper Craft Crew challenge. As I was stamping and hand cutting the flowers (same image, by the way, but I only kept the center to make one smaller), I had this idea that I could pull out the new Vegas Gold Shimmer Paint and stamp flourishes in the background with it. I've said it in a recent post, but I will say it again: I am really excited that Stampin' Up! brought back the shimmer paints! In even more colors than before. Here, I used them for two techniques: using a sponge dauber to apply paint on a stamp and stamp with it, and using the same sponge dauber to rub paint over the raised area of a dry-embossed design. This really made the card come to life. If I was to redo this design, I might only stamp flourishes coming out from under the flowers, and not on the left border - hindsight now that I've added the pink border.

Fun fact about the three little dots on the sentiment banner: they are enamel shapes from the Santa's Workshop collection. This is a little surprising considering that this card has nothing to do with Christmas, but white dots are white dots and they can work on a variety of things. That is why I prefer to store my supplies by type of supplies rather than by collections/suites. I was looking for a small embellishment to mimick the three dots from the sketch, and I noticed that the enamel shapes would work.

After I had glued everything in place, I still felt the card needed a little something more and I remembered this stamp set has some matching dies, the Flourish Thinlits, so I used a couple of the dies on vellum and added foliage around the flowers. By the way, that awesome pink border was created using the Tin Tile 3D embossing folder from the 2018 Holidays Catalogue. This one is not seasonal - it's just an awesome pattern that will work for various projects all-year around. I'm a little obsessed with it right now, and it looks particularly good when you distress it a bit since it brings out the tile texture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Éclosion de pensées (Flourishing Phrases)
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo, Soft Suede, Whisper White, Vellum
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo, Soft Suede
Accessories: Vegas Gold Shimmer Paint, Santa's Workshop Enamel Shapes, Flourish Thinlits Dies,
White Medium Envelope. Stampin' Dimensionals, Tin Tile 3D Embossing Folder

 

Three Birdies Singin' in a Tree

Inspiration: Clean & Simple #86 + Simon Says Stamp (Wednesday) + Little Red Wagon #457

The starting point of this card was the new Double Slider Surprise die from Lawn Fawn and a couple of items that I had left on my desk to include in a future project. Quite a while ago, I had tested out a newly acquired stencil from Echo Park called Knitted Sweater and tested it out with Pearl Lustre Gilding Polish on Crumb Cake cardstock. I had left it aside to use on a project at some point, but it had remained unused up until now. A few weeks ago, I realized that those test pieces could pair well with the Cozy patterned papers from Authentique. As I was starting to plan out what to use with the double slider die, I realized the test pieces could be used for the side panels and the patterned papers for the main card. I went looking through my Lawn Fawn stamps for something that could pair well with the patterned papers. While I had a few options, I wasn't sure what to add to the sliding panels that would add to the card. In the end, I settled on the Winter Sparrows set.

The Little Red Wagon challenge calls for old or new trends. It's funny, because Lawn Fawn is bringing back all kinds of interactive cards to the forefront with the dies it keeps issuing. Last year, we had the Magic card. This time, we had the double-slider card. Those are nothing new, though: I remember trying both of those techniques when I started stamping about 15 years ago, based off of tutorials that I found on Splitcoast Stampers. I specifically remember the double-slider card I had made - it had funky stars on it, and a purple-green-turquoise combo and I was so pleased with it! (Want to take a peek? Here it is.) I had also taught an interactive card at a local store and that was one of the techniques we tried together. So is this an old or new trend? I think it's an old trend that's gaining traction again.

For the side inserts, I capitalized on a Stampin' Up! stamp set called Animal Talk, which I have always really liked. The images have an animal sound with a translated sentiment separately. The original "translation" reads "So Sweet", but I used another Holidays sentiment instead and added my own asterisk with a white gel pen. That prompted me to add the little notes above the head of the sparrows to mimick chirping and it filled in the void nicely, making the card feel more complete.

I worked on this card over the course of two days so I lost count of time, but it required quite a bit of work! Those double sliders are not quick cards, as you need to decorate two panels plus your card front overall.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Push Here, Winter Sparrows (Lawn Fawn);
Paroles d'animaux (Animal Talk), Cousu avec joie (Stitched with Cheer - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Marina Mist (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Cozy (Authentique)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark; Soft Suede, Marina Mist Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Accessories: Stampin' Write Markers, Needlepoint Embossing Border Folders,
White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Clear Faceted Gems,
Cable Knit 3D Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up!); Knitted Sweater Stencil (Echo Park);
Stitched Snowflakes Lawn Cuts, Double Slider Surprise Lawn Cuts, Winter Sparrows Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn);
Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo); Jupiter Metallic A2 Envelopes (envelopes.com);
Pearl Lustre Gilding Polish (Cosmic Shimmer)

 

Something for Baby

Inspiration: Create with Connie and Mary #524 + SUO challenge #206 + Stamp Ink paper challenge #165

The starting point of this card was a color combo I found on Pinterest: Grey Granite + Balmy Blue + Fresh Fig + Blackberry Bliss. I liked that it brought in a lot of new hues (two new colors, one current In Color and one past In Color that just got brought back through the color revamp). I looked through current stamp sets to see what could work with that color scheme and when I saw Baby Bear, I thought that would pair well. Then, I remembered I had seen not one, but two baby-themed challenge online, so I got going.

I'm not sure how I feel about the end result. It's cute, but it's simple. I think I need to sleep on it and reevaluate tomorrow. The background was stamped with the new Buffalo Check background stamp that will be released this weekend when the 2018 Holidays Catalogue officially launches. While it's part of the Christmas offering, this background can certainly be used for more, as evidence by this baby card here.

On a side note, I did what a lot of stampers are afraid to do: I cut one of my photopolymer sentiment stamp apart. I wanted the "something for baby" to be stamped on two lines, as the one-line sentiment was too long and wouldn't have filled the space as nicely, so I snipped the sentiment in half and mounted it the way I wanted on my acrylic block. It will be really easy to piece the sentiment back together if I want it on one line on a future project, but it saved me a lot of masking and figuring out proper spacing by cutting it apart.

 

 

 Colour Combo: Fresh Fig + Blackberry Bliss + Balmy Blue + Grey Granite

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Bébé ourson (Baby Bear)
Cardstock: Balmy Blue, Grey Granite, Fresh Fig, Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White
Ink: Balmy Blue, Grey Granite, Fresh Fig, Blackberry Bliss
Accessories: Faceted Dots, Twinkle Adhesive-Backed Sequins, Stitched Shapes Framelits,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Silver Metallic Thread, Fresh Fig 1/8" Ribbon, Tufted 3D Embossing Folder,
White Medium Envelope

 

A Tale of Pumpkin Pie

Inspiration: Lawn Fawnatics #35 (coffee, tea and treats) + MFT Color Challenge #100 + Simon Says Stamp Monday (fall/autumn)

Confession: I went all out on this one and spent hours on it. Not only did I decorate the front of the card, but I also fully decorated the inside... and the back!

Me spending a lot of time on the card front is not than unexpected – I was inspired, the ideas kept coming so I rolled with it and created this little story of how the squirrels are picking their pumpkin, emptying them and making their own pumpkin pie! (The pumpkin pie, wood table and mushroom bench all come from the Forest Feast stamp set.) I knew I wanted to use a peekaboo die for the last square, in which I stamped and embossed "happy fall", and then I created a cute fall wreath out of champagne and orange glitter papers, topped with a cute blue bow. Little accorns were added on each side of the sentiment inside the peekaboo flap. I also put Liquid Appliqué on the whip cream topping the pie. I like how the Pick of the Patch stamp set can be easily used for fall and not only for Halloween (keep that in mind when deciding whether you "need" it or not).

Now, to make life simpler for myself when creating the various scenes, I die-cut the Peekaboo Backdrop four times: out of Marina Mist for the frame, Bashful Blue for the sky, Soft Suede for the ground, and Tango Tangerine for the flap section. That left me with a lot of leftover pieces, so when came time to decorate the inside of the card, I figured I could use a rectangle for an additional sentiment, and one for a little scene to match, then the two other squares would be room for adding a message. I already had half a table left from cutting off the excess in my third panel, and so I stamped and colored a couple more pieces and created a little scene. I included a jack-o-lantern because the inside sentiment reads, "I've carved out time to say have a very happy fall."

The last panel on the back was a bit of an overkill and I would not have added it had I not screwed up and mistakenly placed my card right in the little gob of Liquid Appliqué I had scribbled on my scrap paper to test it out before adding some to the card! And not only did I placed my card on it, but I did not notice I had placed my card on it, so it dried there and when I picked it up, I had a really hard time getting the paper off of the card, so it half ripped and half left glue behind on the card. It was not the prettiest result, and since it was at the top near the fold, it was hard to decorate there in an organic way, as I usually do my signature and stuff at the bottom. So I had a few more pieces left on the desk and adding the frame plus the two squares totally hid the boo-boo. Whoever will be receiving that card will think I'm overzealous with the decorating, but there were reasons. :)

I love the MFT color combo, I think those colors look really striking together. Adding the green leaves and vines around the pumpkin really helped break off the huge amount of blues and browns, though - there's just a smidge but it made a difference in the end result.

 

 

Front

Peekaboo Flap Opened

Inside of Card

Back of Card

 

 

Color Combo: Marina Mist + Bashful Blue + Soft Suede + Tango Tangerine

 

Supplies
Stamps: Pick of the Patch, Forest Feast (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Tango Tangerine, Soft Suede, Whisper White,
Champagne Glimmer Paper, Pumpkin Pie Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Knock on Wood (Lawn Fawn); Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Mini Wreath, Peekaboo Backdrop, Spooky Fence Border, Stitched Windy Backdrop, Forest Feast,
Pick of the Patch Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Envelope Punch Board, Early Espresso Stampin' Emboss Powder (Stampin' Up!);
Markers (Copic)

 

Best Mom in the Universe

Inspiration: Fusion challenge (Galaxy)

When I first experimented with my Nuvo shimmer powders, I ended up with a very nice background that looked like a starry sky, so I put it aside to pair with the Beam Me Up set from Lawn Fawn. When I saw the galaxy Fusion challenge, I decided to make this card happen.

I lost count of how many hours I spent on this card, but it was created over the span of two days! It took forever because I had too many ideas and I had a hard time deciding which one to go for. In the end, I made my own French sentiment, and it reads “Best Mom in the Universe.” I paired the small and tall aliens together and made sure to color them the same color so that they looked like family. As I was putting the card together, I decided that I really wanted to include one of my original ideas back in the project, which was to have the spaceship light up. So I pulled out my Chibitronics supplies and three lights from the Tropical set (green, orange, purple) to light up the front of the spaceship. I placed the battery under the word “mom” and I placed a little instructions strip inside the card, saying to press the word mom for a surprise.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Beam Me Up (Lawn Fawn); Dear Lizzy Stay Colorful Alphabet (American Crafts)
Cardstock: Watercolor Paper (Fabriano); Whisper White, Concord Crush, Pacific Point,
Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry (Stampin’ Up!)
Designer Series Paper Stack: Brights (Stampin’ Up!)
Ink: VersaMark; Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Markers (Copic); Atlantis Burst, Garden Paradem Storm Cloud, Violet Brocade, Blue Blitz and
Solar Flare Shimmer Powders (Nuvo); Black Enamel Accents, Glossy Accents (Ranger); Lawn Cut Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Adhesive Foam Strips (Stampin’ Up!); Tropical Lights, Battery, Copper Tape (Chibitronics); White Acrylic Paint

 

High Five!

Inspiration: Color Throwdown #507

I liked the pretty color combo from Color Throwdown and wanted to play with it, but I also wanted to use the new Lawn Fawn stuff, so I ended up turning this combo into an untraditional Holidays color combo. The two shades of greens were perfect for the elves, anyway, and I had this idea to use the new Reveal Wheel Square Add-On die: use the reveal wheel to show the toys that are inside the decorated box.

It also appeared to me that the elves had their hand up like they were about to high five, so I capitalized on that and made it as if they are pleased with a job well done. The Stampin' Up! 2018 Holidays Catalogue is introducing a really cool 3D embossing folder called Corrugated, which looks like a cardboard box, so needless to say, it worked perfectly with the boxing and packaging theme of this card!

For reference, the new square add-on measures 3-3*4" x 3-3/4". With the matting, I ended up with a card that measures 4-3/4" x 4-3/4". It's a cute, but still substantial size.

TIP: The lid is a separate stamp from the box, so you can choose to have it closed or open. And the die set includes a tiny line that follows the shape of the inside of the box, so you can die-cut a slit and place characters or toys inside. Very clever! Anyway, I used the dies to die-cut the lid and the bow, but that created a lot of white borders when stacking the two pieces on top of the box. I used my scissors to take off the bottom white border of the bow and the lid. I find that the finished piece looks much more cohesive that way and looks like one stamped image.

 

 

 

 

 

Color Combo: Granny Apple Green + Tranquil Tide + Gorgeous Grape + Pool Party

 

Supplies
Stamps: Holiday Helpers (Lawn Fawn); Polka Dot (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Pool Party, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper Stacks: Brights, 2017-2019 In Color (Stampin' Up!)
Inks: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Pool Party, Tranquil Tide ((Stampin' Up! Classic Inks)
Accessories: Corrugated 3D Embossing Folder, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Adhesive Foam Strips (Stampin' Up!);
Reveal Wheel Lawn Cuts, Reveal Wheel Square Add-On Lawn Cuts, Holiday Helpers Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn);
Markers (Copic); White Square Envelope (envelopes.com)

 

Treat Yourself... to A Caramel Apple

The new Lawn Fawn stuff has landed! It feels like they are coming fast and furious with new stuff, and it never fails to be just fabulous. Well, I'm all about cutesy when it comes to picking out scrapping supplies, so it should be no surprise that those have serious appeal for me.

The hardest part is always choosing where to start when I have a new haul. I let the online challenges lead me in my decision, and the fun and vivacious colour combo from Hand Stamped Sentiments #296 led me in the direction of the Caramel Apple stamp set, which also happened to work for the Lawn Fawnatics #35. For the design, I reverted to an old Mojo Monday sketch (#299). I went through my Lawn Fawn dies and pulled out some options that might work with the stamp set and I got going and I kept tweaking the design as I went. The green square frame was a spur of the moment addition. I was also keen on working the new Reverse Stitched Scalloped Circle Windows dies into the design for the circle shape, but I knew I wouldn't be making a window, so I had to improvise a bit. The die only cuts a negative space, but I used a Circle punch to punch the circle out of the Blueberry Bushel cardstock. I initially just wanted to frame my sentiment, but then I realized I was missing out an opportunity to add a fun shaker element to the card. The French sentiment, which reads, "Treat Yourself," was fussy cut and added on top of the shaker window.

The background behind the apple was inked with Distress Oxide inks in Mustard Seed and Squeezed Lemonade. The table was created with a scrap of Knock on Wood patterned paper. Since the sequins were already out for the shaker, I added a few around the apple to fill the background a bit. A little ribbon bow was added at the top to fill out the space. (It also completes a visual triangle between the main image, the shaker and the ribbon, making the card more appealing overall.)

The card base was a great find from my local store. I usually never buy pre-made cards. I have enough cardstock to go around in my craft room, but as you might remember from recently, I was out of square envelopes and looking for some, so I asked the store owner if she carried square envelopes. She did not, but she looked at what she could order for me and found a 10-pack of envelopes and 5-1/4" x 5-1/4" card bases that retails for $4.70 CAD. If you do the math, it comes to 24 cents a card and 24 cents an envelope. That is a hard bargain to beat. She had no clue what the quality of the cards and envelopes were but as she pointed out, I wouldn't be out too much if I didn't like them. Verdict? The quality is impressive and the card base is much thicker than I anticipated for that price (it says 300 gsm on the packaging). Both also took ink very well, so I'm pleased! They are from DoCrafts (Papermania - Square Card Blanks).

On a side note, Blueberry Bushel is officially joining Granny Apple Smith in my favorite new Stampin' Up! colors list. It's a gorgeous blue that is just saturated enough without being overpowering and it pairs nicely with so many other colors. I find it much easier to use than Pacific Point was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Anniversaire idéal (Picture Perfect Birthday - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Blueberry Bushel, Granny Apple Green, Thick Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Card Base and Envelopes: DoCrafts
Patterned Papers: Perfectly Plaid Chill, Knock on Wood, Knit Picky Fall (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Granny Apple Green (Stampin' Up!); Tuxedo Black (Mememto);
Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed (Distress Oxide - Ranger)
Dies: Caramel Apple, Reverse Stitched Scalloped Circle Windows, Stitched Scallop Rectangle Frames,
Stitched Square Frames Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Blending Tool, Distress Sprayer, Crystal Effects (Ranger); Markers (Copic);
Lemon Sherbet and Nautical Sparkle Sequins (Little Things from Lucy's Cards);
Sparkling Clear Confetti Mix (Pretty Pink Posh);
Fine-tip Glue Pen, Foam Adhesive Strips, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

 

Starry Christmas Sky

Inspiration: CAS(E) This Sketch #286 + ColourQ #298

Years ago, Stampin' Up! had a beautiful sentiment set called Hand-Penned Holidays, that I still love but that is not easy to include in designs because the sentiments are quite large. When I saw the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge, I knew this would be the perfect design to center around that stamp set. Because the sentiment includes "Merry Christmas" and I was eager to use the new Lawn Fawn release, the rest of the card design was based on the Winter Skies stamp set, which could easily be adapted to a one-layer card. By the way, this stamp set sold out at my local store on the day of the release, based on preorders alone! It was lucky that I had emailed the store owner with a list of items I wanted her to put aside for me ahead of time.

I used my Distress Oxide inks and masking to create a snow mound and the moon. I kept both the positive and negative sides of the masks to be able to fill in both sides with ink. The sky was done with Dusty Concord, Shaded Lilac and a touch of Black Soot. The moon was made with Squeezed Lemonade, Fossilized Amber and a touch of Tea Dye. The snow was created with Tumbled Glass. I also watercolored some yellow shading on the snow using Squeezed Lemonade and Fossilized Amber.The Distress Oxide inks work very nicely for watercoloring.

The Santa sleigh was embossed in Rose Gold powder. I spritzed my panel with water to oxide the inks, and I also used a very wet paintbrush and purple Iridescent Shimmering Watercolour paints from Cosmic Shimmer to add splatters. Once I was done, my brush was still loaded with paint, so I brushed it on the top sides of my panel to create a shimmery border. The little snowflakes from the same stamp set were overstamped using matching purple Distress Oxide inks, and I decided to use the star adhesive-backed sequins from Stampin' Up!'s annual catalogue at the top of the sky. I've mentioend in a previous post that the iridescent stars had a purple and turquoise tint to them, so they worked well with my coloring on this card.

 

 

 

  

 

Supplies
Stamps: Winter Skies (Lawn Fawn); Notes manuscrites (Hand-Penned Holidays - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Inks: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Concord Crush (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink);
Dusty Concord, Shaded Lilac, Black Soot, Fossilized Amber, Tea Dye,
Squeezed Lemonade, Tumbled Glass (Distress Oxide - Ranger)
Dies: Winter Skies, Stitched Rectangles Stackables, Simple Stitched Hillside Borders,
Stitched Snowflakes (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: 2" Circle Punch, Faceted Dots, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals,
Twinkle Adhesive-Backed Sequins (Stampin' Up!); Blending Tool, Distress Sprayer (Ranger);
Rose Gold Embossing Powder, Blue Violet A2 Envelope (Simon Says Stamp); Markers (Copic)

 

Say It With a Tag

Inspiration: Stamp Ink Paper #164 (Use Your Scraps)

I was eager to use the Say What& Gift Tags dies from the Lawn Fawn release, and the "Use Your Scraps" challenge was just perfect timing. Topping my list of favorite crafting supplies is patterned paper - bar none. I just love their pretty patterns and the flair it infuses in a project. Which means that I do have a ton of paper scraps. When working with 6" 6" paper pads, I use the 6" x 8" cello bags that Stampin' Up! sells and cut the top off to bring it down to a 6" x 6" size­. I slip the paper scraps in it, put the cello bag inside the cover of the paper pad, and store the paper pad with the binding down so that the scraps don't slip from it. It works well - and my paper pad last forever because it takes a long time before you are done with it all.

For the challenge, I tried to pick an older paper pad that has seen a lot of use over the years and have a lot of scraps left. I picked the Carta Bella Merry & Bright collection, as the whimsical colors and patterns worked well with the Lawn Fawn images. I had a blast working on those tags. I would say I probably ended up working close to 3 hours on those four tags. They're quite detail-oriented. For the first three tags, I decided to glue the window part directly on the bottom part. I did turn the fourth one in a shaker. I mean, it had the unicorn, so it needed to be whimsical!

I usually craft mostly in English, but I liked the fun puns and how they could be worked in the speech bubbles, so I just went where the creativity took me. By the way... I stamped and colored two speech bubbles using the stamp from the set with Copic markers when I stamped my critters. Why only two? Because I wasn't sure if I would be using bubbles four all four, and also because this is all the space I had on the white cardstock strip I was using. I waited and decided I would stamp two more if I needed. So I die-cut the first bubble using the die set with no problem. I had to go back a second time to cut the second bubble separately, and that's where things got confusing. I grabbed the bubble from the magnetic sheet I store my dies on - and it was not fitting over the bubble. It seemed smaller, covering the stamped outside of the bubble. I got very puzzled for a minute... until I realized that there's two speech bubble dies!! One in the Gift Card set and one in the Christmas Critters set. For a second, I thought I had lost my mind, but I had the first die-cut image to confirm that there was indeed a die that matched somewhere! Anyway, I thought I would share, as you will want to be careful when putting your dies back to keep the LARGE bubble with the Christmas Critters set so you don't run into the same problem I did. That being said, I took advantage of the double die situation and did the smaller bubbles on my last two tags (no stamped outlines on those).

The Gift Tags die set includes a cluster of tiny stars and a cluster of tiny hearts. I believe those are in part meant to make confetti for shaker tags, but if you have the patience and dexterity, they can also be glued as embellishments. That is what I did on the penguin tag, die-cutting fairy dust glitter paper and cutting stars sprinkled on the tag. I also used hearts on the deer bubble, and one more on the unicorn tag.

I really took the scrap challenge to heart and used the negative window pieces (the paper rectangle leftover from the front tag), stamped the to:_______ and <3:________ on it and glued to the back of thte tag, giving a place to write the recipient's name. And those leftover teeny tiny hearts? I glued them inside the stamped heart. Now, that's commitment! I also used some super small scraps to do the hole reinforcers. I love that Lawn Fawn included this piece, as it would be impossible to create otherwise. But when I talked about dexterity, that's exactly what I meant! You never realize how big your fingers are until you try to handle those small die-cut - and dies! I'm praying that I don't lose that die when handling it. It might be one of the tiniest die I own. The result is really cute, though.

To finish, I did a bit of jelly pen action: white polka dots on the scarf, lines on the hat, freckles on the fawn, silver on the unicorn hooves and glitter on its horn, and on the heart. Needless to say, when you make tags that take that much time, they are meant to go on the gift of someone who actually takes the time to enjoy the packaging! My niece would totally dig those. I will get the unicorn out again and make a cute French version for either her birthday or Christmas.

By the way, I'm really happy with those tag dies. They are the perfect size and a really cute shape, and I love the option of doing super fast shakers with them. Home run with that purchase. I also can't wait to play some more with the Christmas Critters. I would like to pair them with the bigger-sized animals (Winter Alpaca or Winter Unicorn, for example) and make mother-baby combos. The wheels are turning... This might be my new For You, Deer set (which was my most-used purchase in last year's release).

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Say What? Christmas Critters (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Solar White Neenah
Patterned Papers: Merry & Bright (Carta Bella)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Strawberry Slush, Call Me Clover (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Accessories: Say What? Christmas Critters Lawn Cuts, Say What? Gift Tags Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn);
Pearls and Sequins, Baker's Twine, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter Paper (Stampin' Up!); White and Glitter Gel Pen;
Markers (Copic); Sequins (Little Things from Lucy's Cards, Simon Says Stamp)

 

 

Happy Birthday, Old Branch

Inspiration: Clean & Simple #85 + CAS Colours and Sketches #286

I love how this card turned out. The pretty fall colours were speaking to me and I figured they would pair well with the Jump for Joy stamp set. After deciding to use those images, the Clean & Simple sketch (which I always love to play with) caught my attention, as I figured the corner images could be the pile of leaves. From there, the whole card came together really easily. I'm also happy I decided to use Crumb Cake for the card base, as it showcases the fall colors really well. Another favorite detail is the Tin Tile embossing folder pattern on the Merry Merlot cardstock. This 3D embossing folder is from the Stampin' Up! 2018 Holidays catalogue and it is truly gorgeous. I dry-brushed some Bright Copper Shimmer paint (also from the Holidays Catalogue) on the raised surface and it gave this antique finish to the pattern, which I really love.

As I was thinking of sentiments, I got the idea to write "Happy Birthday, Old Branch," which worked well with the tree leaves. I already had a cute die for the Happy Birthday I knew I could use, but I needed to hand stamp the other two words, so I pulled out my old Snap Stamp Alphabet from Karen Foster. Even though those were bought years ago, they still are my best options to quickly add personalized wording. They are quite small, so they won't really fill space on a card, but they are perfect when adding something longer, and the fact that they snap together makes lining and spacing very easy.

With the darker colour palette and the limited embellishing, I think this would work very well as a masculine card.

Card size is 6-1/2" x 3-1/4". I used the coin envelopes I found in my earlier envelope purchase to make a matching envelope. I did end up cutting a sliver off the end of the card (so it's not exactly 6-1/2" anymore) as it was too tight of a fit in the envelope when closing the flap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Jump for Joy (Lawn Fawn); Snap Stamp Alphabet (Karen Foster)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Merry Merlot, Mango Melody, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla
Ink: Early espresso, Merry Merlot, Mango Melody, Poppy Parade
Accessories: Tin Tile 3D Embossing Folder, Bright Copper Glimmer Paint,
Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Jump for Joy Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn); Markers (Copic);
Coin Envelope (www.envelopes.com); Bonne fête/Merci die (Dee's Distinctively); Ribbon (unknown)

 

Grateful Heart

This is a simple card that was inspired by the Global Design Project challenge #152. I drew inspiration from the featured project and changed the papers, colors and sentiment to make a spin-off of the sample card. Stampin' Up! has in its annual catalogue the Petal Promenade Designer Series Paper, which features pages with actual photographed flower arrangements. Even though I'm not usually a flowery kind of gal, I will admit to finding those floral papers really pretty. We'll see how easy they are to use, though, but luckily, the pack comes with marbled background to tame the busy flower patterns.

I used the Sprig punch (2018 Holidays Catalogue) to add foliage peeking out from under the stitched tag. The sentiment I used comes from the Falling in Leaves stamp set (2018 Holidays Catalogue) and it reads, "Thinking of you with a grateful heart." The sentiment was too wide for the stitched tag die-cut, so I did a banner overlay. The sentiment was embossed in Copper embossing powder on Grapefruit Grove cardstock. I have a persistent feeling that I will have a lot of cardstock and ribbon left in this colour when it retires... This color is not for the faint of heart. It has that orangey pink hue that a lot of Stampin' Up! pinks have had in the past, which I always find hard to match. If you've found some great colour combos that make this colour soar, please let me know!!

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Feuilles en fête (Falling for Leaves)
Cardstock: Petal Pink, Grapefruit Grove, Sahara Sand, Mossy Meadow
Designer Series Paper: Petal Promenade
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder, , Stitched Labels Framelits, Sprig Punch,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins,
Grapefruit Grove 1/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Medium White Envelope

 

Dirty Dozen - January Project #3

I received a couple of Distress crayons with an online order and I looked up a few YouTube videos for ideas on how to use this medium. One idea shared was to combine the crayons with stencils. I tested it out on regular cardstock and on Glossy cardstock. On Glossy cardstock, I was able to use a baby wipe to take out the orange pigment though the stencil and fill the empty space with my second crayon colour (teal). The crayon builds up against the sides of the stencil, giving the finished piece a nice texture.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: You're Vintage (Hampton Art), Puns from the Past (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Pumpkine Pie, Glossy White
Ink: Early Espresso (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink); Vintage Photo (Distress Oxide - Ranger)
Accessories: Distress Crayons (Ranger); Embossing Folder (Tim Hotz); Top Note Die, Circle Punch,
Early Espresso Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Pumpkin Pie Chevron Ribbon,
Envelope Punch Board (Stampin' Up!); Stitched Rectangles Dies (Lawn Fawn)

 

Dirty Dozen - January Project #2

This was one of the cards I made for the January Dirty Dozen gallery, but also part of my Uptown Girl Zodiac series (the fourth I made). The colour combo came from an old ColourQ challenge, and I used a few dies to decorate the card: a stitching border. a scallop rounded border, the folded banner and an alphabet, to create the French Zodiac sign. I kept switching between mediums for my card series, and this one was gold-embossed on watercolor paper and colored using reinkers and an Aqua Painter brush.

 

 

 

Suppllies
Stamps: Uptown Zodiac Girl Gemini (Stamping Bella)
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Opulent Orchid, Rich Razzleberry
Designer Series Paper Stack: Brights
Ink: VersaMark, Regal Rose, Opulent Orchid, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Soft Suede
Accessories: Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, 1/8" Rich Razzleberry Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals,
White Medium Envelope (Stampin' Up!); Basic Stitch Lines dies and Stitch Scallop Basic Edges Dies (My Favorite Things);
Fancy Folded Banners Dies (Lawn Fawn); Wet Paint Alphabet (Papertrey Ink)

 

Blush Bouquet

Inspiration: Clean & Simple Sketch #84 + Stamp Ink Paper #163

The lovely colour combo from Stamp Ink Paper allowed me to pull out the Twinkle Twinkle Designer Series Paper. I was looking at my stamps for inspiration, trying to think of something other than a baby card or a sky-themed card. When I saw the Beautiful Bouquet stamp set, I thought it could make for an interesting flower arrangement.

I had initially planned on cutting a Petal Pink rectangle out of cardstock, but I had recently spotted some old Love Notes die-cuts in my embellishment piles and I thought they might be the right size. I have been using those consistently ever since they came out many moons ago and I'm now down to two, after finishing this card. #goal = finish the pack already! I was looking at sentiments from the set and I really liked the "Mr. and Mrs." so I decided to stamp it in the corner of the main image rather than where it is on the sketch, and replace the place where the sentiment falls with a ribbon bow. I absolutely love that polka dot tulle ribbon, it's gorgeous and fluffy and makes very nice bows, although it is hard to tie because the tulle gets caught!

Because the Twinkle Twinkle suite includes some star sequins, I pulled those out. I hadn't opened the package yet and I was surprised to discover that the sequins are flat! The way they are packaged, the adhesive back was right-side up and the stars looked like they had a etched border, which would have been cool. My second surprise was that the iridescent stars have a purple/pink sheen to them. To me, that does not really go with the Petal Pink from the paper. While I'm sure I can work the iridescent stars into other design, I'm a little confused by them belonging to this suite. This is just a personal pet peeve of mine, but I prefer my iridescent embellishments to be white-based instead of having that pink/purplish tint that I find hard to work into designs. Maybe because purple is my least-used colour?

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Ravissant Bouquet (Beautiful Bouquet)
Cardstock: Petal Pink, Night of Navy, Soft Sea Foam, Sahara Sand, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Twinkle Twinkle
Ink: Petal Pink, Night of Navy, Soft Sea Foam, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Bouquet Bunch Framelits, Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies,
Twinkle Adhesive-Backed Sequins, Faceted Dots, White Square Envelope,
White Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Love Notes Die-cuts

 

Skating on the Pond

Inspiration: Stamping Bella August Challenge (Create a Scene) + Try Stampin' on Tuesday #376

The "create a scene" challenge was the perfect kick I needed to get my Skating Rink Backdrop stamp inked. I was a little surprised at the size, because it's much larger than the image on the front. I will fill out a whole card front. Since the majority of the scene is mostly snow, though, coloring it is not so bad. I decided to do a darker blue sky, as we usually don't get a lot of sun during the winter, and I like how it looks against the green trees. I've added a touch of Stickles to the snow on the trees to make it sparkle, and I added pearls to mimick falling snow. While this is a cool detail, it was born out of necessity because I had a small black fleck on the top of the cardstock that was bothering me, so I used a pearl to cover it up. The sentiment reads, "Best wishes," so the card could be used for a variety of occasions.

I like that Stamping Bella has recently been adding smaller images to its offering. While I enjoy coloring, I prefer small and medium images to larger ones, both because I run out of patience after a while and also because larger images don't leave room to embellishing the finished cards, and that's a part of the creative process which I enjoy. I generally don't buy the Stamping Bella dies as I tend to use the images as is, but I knew if I wanted to add the skaters to the rink without having to do a boatload of masking, dies would be the way to go. Isn't the little bear with the tuque just sassy? I really love that collection.

For the background, I picked a sheet of patterned paper from the Snow Day collection so that I could make the characters' outfits really colorful. I glued the three characters in the background directly on the cardstock, and I used Mini-Stampin' Dimensionals for the three characters in the foreground, and the North Pole sign. I like how having the sign outside of the image links the main image and the card.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Cousu avec soin (Stiched All Around - Stampin' Up!); Skating Rink Backdrop,
Little Bits Christmas Collection Skating Quartet, Little Bits Christmas Collection Figure Skaters (Stamping Bella)
Cardstock: Morning Marigold, Rose Red, Whisper White
Patterned Paper: Snow Day (Crate Paper)
Ink: Lovely Lipstick, Elegant Eggplant (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: White Square Envelope (envelopes.com); markers (Copic); Stickles (Ranger);
Little Bits Christmas Collection Skating Quartet Cut It Out Die, Little Bits Christmas Collection
Figure Skaters Cut It Out Die (Stamping Bella); Elegant Eggplant Baker's Twine, Mini-Stampin' Dimensionals.
Pearl Basic Jewels, Ticket Corner Punch (Stampin' Up!)

 

Happy School Year

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday + CAS(E) This Sketch #284

I was looking at the weekly challenges online and after reading that one of them was back to School, one of the new stamp sets sitting on my desk caught my eye. The Feathers & Frost stamp set from the 2018 Holidays Catalogue includes a "Happy New Year" sentiment (which in French is simple "Happy year.") I figured that this could apply to a new school year, if I paired it with some school-themed images. Talk about getting more use out of your stamps! (The generic sentiment could also work for a student going back to school or a teacher starting a new year with her class.) I also remembered than on a recent shopping trip, I had found the adorable Back to School 6" x 6" paper pad from Echo Park, so the wheels started spinning. I reached for an old-time favorite, the Greeting Card Kids stamp set. I've used it a ton over the years and I still love it as much as when it was brand new.

A lot of the stuff I used on this card is older (the wooden elements, the cotton twine, the red Designer button, the mini stapler), but I did get to break in a new item: my Vegas Gold shimmer paint! I wanted the starburst wood element to look like a gold crest, so I covered the wood with it. When looking at the new paint colours in the catalogue, the name - Vegas Gold - gave me pause. I was wondering what shade of gold the paint would have. Now that I've used it, I'm happy to report that it is a very nice shade of gold - nothing tacky!

The little apple at the bottom of the setiment strip was fussy cut out of a sheet of patterned paper. The Mirror A2 envelope is from my recent envelope order. I decorated it with a bit of patterned paper, making sure to add a place for the address, as I doubt we can write directly on the slick surface of the envelope (except maybe with a Sharpie? To be tested...).

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Greeting Card Kids, Plumes et givre (Feathers & Frost - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Back to School (Echo Park)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark; Tumbled Glass, Hickory Smoke (Distress Oxide)
Accessories: Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Stapler,
Wooden Elements, Vegas Gold Shimmer Paint, Binding Border Punch, Cotton Twine,
Designer Button (Stampin' Up!); Markers (Copic); Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Mirror A2 Envelope (envelopes.com); Embossing Mats, Nestabilities Dies (Spellbinder); Blending Tool (Ranger)

 

Tropical Thanks

This quick and easy card was inspired by the sketch from Create with Connie and Mary #522. The beautiful Tropical Escape Designer Series Paper allowed me to quickly put together a background for the foliage I added with the Tropical Chic and matching Thinlits dies. The sentiment reads, "With Love and Gratitude." Petal Pink rhinestone gems (AC, p. 197) were added on each side. This card will be going to one of my downline members to congratulate her on her sales.

TIP: The Rock 'n Roll technique used to work well back when Stampin' Up! had felt ink pad. With the new foam pads - not so much. It creates too much of a harsh line between the two colours. I find that using a sponge dauber produces better results and blending. You can see I blended Granny Apple Green and Spruce Shadow on one of the branches. I don't have a dauber per ink colour, but I have one for each shade: pale blue, dark blue, pale green, dark green, pink, red, yellow, orange, kraft, brown, black, etc. With about a dozen daubers, I have enough to not get my colours muddled. I use small Avery stickers on the black part of the dauber to identify the colour and add Scotch tape over it to keep it clean (which was my original system), but now that I have a label maker, that would work well, too.

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Chic tropical (Tropical Chic)
Cardstock: Shaded Spruce, Granny Apple Green, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Tropical Escape
Ink: Shaded Spruce, Granny Apple Green, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Tropical Thinlits, Mini-Stampin' Dimensionals, Petal Pink Rhinestone Gems,
White Medium Envelope, Sponge Dauber

 

Ice Cream Truck Route

Inspiration: Inspired By #32 + TGIF challenge #172

I initially passed over the Inspired By challenge because I wasn't feeling like doing a ice cream cone card, but I ended up coming back to it later after putting some order in my stamp sets and spotting The Scoop. The little characters in this stamp set always make me smile, and I decided I wanted to ink one of them again before the summer was over, so the set became the starting point for the card. I had some summer-themed papers in mind but when I went looking for them, I stumbled unto the Sweet Summer collection from Doodlebug and changed gears. I thought the bright colours would work well and finding the ice cream and frozen treats paper sealed the deal.

I quickly landed on the TGIF sketch for the design, but the idea on how to use it kept evolving. I first planned on adding the guy and little dog in a circle, but because I had a patterned paper with music on it, I thought the ice cream truck would go well with it. I thought I could do a circle showing part of the ice cream truck, then decided, what the heck, let's do the whole truck and turn the angle of the sketch into a road. That's where the fidgeting part started because even though I placed my pieces on my card to check height, I still ended up placing the road too high and in order for the wheels to be on the road, the truck had to be placed at a really steep angle, which looked weird. So I die-cut a second road border and placed it below (there are two sides to a road anyway, right?) to rectify. Instead of adding a banner like on the sketch, I also decided to capitalize on the fact that clear stamps can be bent and follow the curve of the road to add my sentiment. I picked something in a cute font from another set (Various Vases, from the Stampin' Up! 2018-2019 annual catalogue) and embossed it in yellow for a fun pop of colour. (Was undecided between pink, yellow and white for a while there, but I'm happy with the yellow!) My favorite part is the little music notes added around the truck, which were die-cut with the Little Music Notes dies from Lawn Fawn's latest release.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: The Scoop (Avery Elle); Vases divers (Various Vases - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Summer Sun, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Sweet Summer (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark
Accessories: Stitched Rectangles Stackables Dies, Little Music Notes Dies, Road Border Dies,
Lacy Borders Dies (Lawn Fawn); Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo); Markers (Copic);
Stampin' Dimensionals, Crushed Curry and Clear Stampin' Emboss Powders (Stampin' Up!);
Burnt Orange A2 Envelope (Simon Says Stamp); The Scoop Dies (Avery Elle)

 

Elegant New Year Wishes

Inspiration: Just Add Ink #421

The Joyous Noel suite is one of the most elegant in the catalogue and even though the samples are already eye-catching, I think the items from this suite are even more striking in person. Every single sheet of the Joyous Noel Specialty Designer Series Paper is gorgeous. And embellished with copper accents, which are scrumptious next to the Sahara Sand, Tranquil Tide and Merry Merlot.

I paired it with an adorable stamp set called Feathers & Frost. Since there was a lot to love in the 2018 Holidays Catalogue, I was trying really hard to narrow down my preorder list. I kept going back and forth with this stamp set (in parts because I initially thought it was only available in English), but I liked the images and the sentiments' font, so I used my hostess benefits to sneak it into my preorder. No regrets there - it's just adorable, and it looks great heat-embossed!

Thanks to the gorgeous paper and ribbon, this card is fairly simple while still packing a lot of punch. To mimick the sketch, I decided to punch out the foliage and omit part of the image. "Happy New Year" was embossed in copper powder on Merry Merlot cardstock  (a striking combo) and I added one of those awesome wire elements behind the image and sentiment strip. Those are beautiful, but I can tell they will be hard to work into cards because they don't like flat and you have nowhere to glue them down with! They'll need to be hung or tucked behind something else, like I did here. That ribbon is pretty fun, too. There's a slight difference between the two sides, but the copper is actually more of a sheen than an actual colour. For those who might be afraid it's really shiny, it's not - it's more on the shimmery side.

It's very rare that I don't mat my card and have the patterned paper directly on the card base, but I was liking the look and didn't want to distract from it.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Plumes et givres (Feathers & Frost)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Watercolor Paper
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Joyous Noel
Ink: VersaMark, Tranquil Tide, Merry Merlot, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Blending Pen,
Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins, Snowflake & Star Wire Elements, 2-1/2" Circle Punch,
Merry Merlot & Copper 5/8" Reversible Ribbon, White Medium Envelope

 

Extraordinary Snowflake

Inspiration: MFT Sketch #397 and Color Throwdown #505

The soft colours from the combo inspired me to pull out the Beautiful Blizzard bunble. You can never go wrong with a beautiful snowflake sets, as those are very versatile, and Stampin' Up! came up with a great one this year. I particularly like the Thinlits cover plate, which can be used to either create a snowflake-filled card layer, or to get multiple delicate snowflakes to use on your projects. Because I knew I would be able to use the leftover snowflakes on other projects, I switched from using the Smoky Slate cardstock as the layer to the Pool Party cardstock, figuring I might have an easier time working Pool Party into future projects (we'll see if I was right). I had initially pulled out Blushing Bride, but the pink was not as soft as I wanted, so I went back to my cardstock and tried out Powder Pink and Petal Pink as well, then decided I liked Powder Pink the best. (Lots of pale dusty pinks available with the color revamp.) There's something a little vintage about the feel of those three colours together.

I wanted a sentiment that could fill a circle and that is why I picked two sentiments that I paired together: "Snowflakes are unique in their own beautiful way and you are extraordinary." Because the French has a longer word, the first part of the sentiment falls on four lines and made it easier to balance out in the circle (if you look at the English version, it would be longer and narrower). I was trying out options to mat my circle with a scalloped circle - my initial idea was Silver Foil, and I also tried out Silver Glimmer Paper, but when I spotted and tried out the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, I liked the result much better as it was not distracting from the sentiment piece, but just framing it delicately.

One thing I was excited about seeing back in the Holidays catalogue are the shimmer paints! I majorly loved those when then came out years ago and I have been using them consistently since they retired. Champagne Mist has always been my favorite (and it's back!), but we're also getting two brand-new colors: Vegas Gold and Bright Copper, plus getting Frost White back. They are great for painting, but more importantly, to create your own shimmer mist with our Stampin' Spritzers bottles. The Pool Party layer felt a little bare, so I pulled out the mist I had made with the glimmer paint (you just add a few drops of paint to rubbing alcohol, shake gently and you are good to go) and I covered the cardstock with it.

The pink strip was embossed with the Swirls & Curls embossing folder, and I added matching ink to the front side of the folder before running it into the Big Shot. It gave the design definition and added interest to the overall design.

A corner rounder punch was used on two opposite corners of the snowflake-covered cardstock, to match the sketch, but also to soften the design a bit. Finally, pearls were added to the center of the snowflakes. The resulting card is pretty flat, so this will be easily mailable without extra postage.

 

 

 

 

Color Combo: Smoky Slate + Pool Party + Powder Pink

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Tourbillon de flocons (Beautiful Blizzard)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Powder Pink, Whisper White, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper
Ink: Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Powder Pink
Accessories: Swirls & Curls Embossing Folder, Blizzard Thinlits, Layering Circle Framelits,
Pearl Basic Jewels, White Frost Shimmer Paint, Stampin' Spritzer, Envelope Punch Board (Corner Rounder)

 

Deathly Takeout

I've wanted a takeout box die for a long time, and Stampin' Up! finally added one to its lineup in the 2018 Holidays catalogue. Like most dies meant to go in the regular Big Shot, the resulting box is quite small. But quite adorable. It was one of the first things from my preorder I was drawn to trying out so that I could judge by myself how big it was and how the dies from the set could be used. Here are a few things I noticed:

• The box is not square. The sides are narrower. This is important to know since the die set includes a piece meant to cut a layering piece to decorate the box. This layering piece can be centered on the front and back, but not on the sides. It would be the same width as the sides, but not the right height. That being said, it would help you get the right shape and you could certainly trim down the pieces by hand so they are the right size for the sides. I would have liked the side layering piece to be included in the set, though. This is where I feel Stampin' Up! something miss the boat in their sets. They include a lot of hearts and stars repeatedly, but not always all the core pieces a set could benefit from.
• The layering piece leaves a wider border than I expected. This is in part why I decided to stamp my boxes, because the box still felt bare even with the added patterned paper. Personally, I might have prefered a larger piece with a narrower border. Personal taste here, though.
• To me, a takeout box usually has a handle, and one that can swing up and down. The die set does not include anything handle-related, so I made my own with a decorative border and brads. It makes opening and closing the box a little harder if the handle is up, but that is not a problem when using brads since you can rotate the handle out of the way.
• The die cuts two slits on the top of the box to secure the box shut the same way you would a takeout box

The colour inspiration for those boxes was the MFT Color Challenge #99 (Crumb Cake + Tango Tangerine + Basic Black + Going Grey). Based on the sixe of the boxes and the colors, I think I could slip a small Reese's Cup inside as a treat. I wound up with two boxes because I hesitated between two cardstock colors and cut out two boxes before deciding on the grey one. I figured I would use the kraft one for a Christmas box but as I was working on the first box, ideas kept coming and I already knew what I could do to decorate the second one, so I kept going. I'd like to give candy boxes to colleagues at work again this year and I always prefer to work on it over a few months rather than do assembly-line work all at once (which takes all of the fun away from it for me, since I like creating and despise repeating). So two down and 2½ months to go to work on the rest.

To include the kraft colour on the first box, I stamped and colored my images on Crumb Cake cardstock using Prismacolor pencils. My pencil coloring keeps improving and the images turned out pretty cute. I didn't have the matching dies last year when I bought the stamp set since they were always selling out but I managed to put my hands on them since, so I was able to cut the small images out neatly. I hung the spider from a piece of black twine and glued the end of the twine inside the box using a piece of grey washi tape. The handle was made using the Mini Provincial Impresslits from Tim Holtz. I used the new Joyous Noel Glimmer paper from the Holidays catalogue but I spaced out on the fact that I had to be mindful of which side of the paper I was putting face down in the Impresslits. The embossing ended up on the white wide instead of the sparkly one. Not to worry, I used a blending tool and my Ripe Persimmon Distress Oxide ink to turn the white backside to orange. The sparkly side of the handle is still showing, so that's a fun little surprise. The same paper was used to add a punched star to the top of the second takeout box.

The Takeout die set includes a little banner with fold lines on it to give it dimension. (Going back to my previous comment, the just retired Popcorn Box die set had the exact same die in it, but I guess you have to repeat some pieces to replace the retired ones.) I had a look at which Halloween sentiments I had that could fit between the two lines and spotted what I needed in the Frightful Friends stamp set. The first one reads, "Love You to Death" and I paired it with the tombstone image. The second one reads "Happy Haunting" and it goes well with the cemetary theme, with all three other sides decorated with tombstones from the Grave Situation stamp set. When I made the second box, I was running a little low on coloring steam and I didn't feel like going back to my Prismacolor pencils again, so I stamped the images directly on grey cardstock and just did very simple shading using Smoky Slate and Basic Black Stampin' Blends. Sometimes, it doesn't have to be fancy to be cute.

 

 

 

 

 

You can see based on the size of my fingers how tiny the takeout box is!

 

Color Combo: Crumb Cake + Smoky Slate + Basic Grey + Tango Tangerine

 

Supplies
Stamps: Frightful Friends, Fab-BOO-lous Friends, Grave Situation (My Favorite Things)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Smoky Slate, Tango Tangerine
Designer Series Paper: Happy Haunting (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Basic Grey (Stampin' Up! Archival Ink);
Ripe Persimmon (Distress Oxide - Ranger)
Accessories: Basic Black and Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals, Black Baker's Twine,
Joyous Noel 6" x 6" Glimmer Paper, Mini Star Punch, Takeout Thinlits Dies, Black Rhinestone Basic Jewels (Stampin' Up!); 
Mini Provincial Impresslits (Tim Holtz); Tangerine Cord (Lawn Fawn); Blending Tool (Ranger); Pencils (Prismacolor)

 

Santa's List

Inspiration: Freshly Made Sketches #349

I figured I could use the panel from the Freshly Made sketch to create a little scene with the adorable characters from the Santa's Workshop suite. I was initially planning on stamping the characters from the set and coloring them myself, but when I pulled out the Designer Series Paper, I spotted some images that I figured probably fit the Framelits dies, as Stampin' Up! has been doing that in recent years. Sure enough, all of the Framelits fit the images on the DSP perfectly. Thanks to that, the card shaped up pretty quickly. I did borrow the border die from the Detailed Leaves Thinlits set to add a bit of pizzazz to my card, and I tied a little tag from the Santa's Workshop Framelits with Garden Green baker's twine (new in the Holidays catalogue). The French sentiment reads, "All Smiles This Christmas." I would have really liked to use the sentiment that says "I hope you get everything on your list this Christmas" but it was too large for the tag, so I selected design over saying. Little enamel dots and snowflakes were added to the red polka dot paper, and two red rhinestones to the top of the card.

What the picture does not show is that this Specialty DSP has white flocking on it! Such a fun detail. Stampin' Up! had a gorgeous white-flocking flourish paper many moons ago that I used all the way to the very last piece of the paper pack, so I'm happy to see white flocking again. This paper is entirely different, as we went from elegant to totally whimsical.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Panneaux de Noël (Signs of Santa)
Cardstock: Garden Green, Smoky Slate
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Santa's Workshop
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Santa's Signpost Framelits, Santa's Workshop Enamel Shapes, Garden Green Baker's Twine,
Detailed Leaves Thinlits, Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels, White Medium Envelope, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Harvest of Thanks

Inspiration: Clean & Simple #83 + CAS Colours & Sketches #284

The colour combo in the CAS challenge was a little darker than what we have seen floating around this summer, but with the Holidays stuff coming out, it was good timing to get some autumn leaves inked. I received my Stampin' Up! 2018 Holidays Catalogue order just as I was coming back from out of town, so the combo inspired me to use the Falling for Leaves bundle. The Thinlits set includes some amazing intricate leaves, but because I ordered the new assortment of watercolor pencils, I decided to stamp the images from the set and emboss them in Copper powder before watercoloring them. To mirror the sketch, I decided to use the large die from the Stitched Labels Framelits set as my mat and it pairs nicely with the other bundle. The French sentiment reads, "Harvest of Thanks." The little copper leaves peeking from the sentiment strip are Leaves Trinkets which can be found on page 198 of the Annual Catalogue. They complement the Falling for Leaves suite very well.

The jury is still out on the watercolor pencils. Even though I was working on watercolor paper, they still feel hard to blend for me. I've always liked watercoloring with inks, even though you can't move them around for long on the paper before it dies it. It took a bit of practice, but I quickly achieved resuts that I liked and could create great color contrast easily. I find it hard to achieve the same level of contrast with the watercolor pencils. (This does not speak to the quality of the Stampin' Up! pencils - I had some pencils from another company before and found their pigment hard to control as well.) I'll keep testing them out some more to see if I can improve the results I get, but at least they are inexpensive so it won't be as disappointing if they don't work out for me.

By the way, I want to point out that the sparkly bottom border was cut out of Joyous Noel 6" x 6" Glimmer Paper and I am happy to report that this latest glimmer paper from Stampin' Up! is no longer shedding glitter. That is excellent news, because the previous glimmer papers were shedding like crazy, which was driving me insane! I am grateful that the issue has been resolved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Feuilles en fête (Falling for Leaves)
Cardstock: Cajun Craze, Blueberry Bushel, Mossy Meadow
Glimmer Paper: Joyous Noel 6" x 6"
Ink: VersaMark, Cajun Craze, Blueberry Bushel, Mossy Meadow
Accessories: Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder, Vanilla Medium Envelope, Watercolor Pencils,
Metallic Pearls, Stampin' Dimensionals, Blueberry Bushel 1/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Leaves Trinkets,
Detailed Leaves Thinlits, Stitched Labels Framelits, Aqua Painter Brush

 

Buffalo Check Christmas

Inspiration: Global Design Project #150

Today's card shows a lot of the new Christmas stuff I'm really excited about from the 2018 Holidays Catalogue, particularly the gorgeous photo-realistic papers from the All is Bright Designer Series Paper pack and the gorgeous Merry Christmas Thinlits - which have been translated to French!! The font is absolutely gorgeous and has a retro, classic vibe to it. The paper is also midway between classic and modern, because of the pine boughs and white Christmas lights. Some of the designs on the back of the pages are more whimsical, though, so you can get two very different looks from one paper pack depending on which patterns you choose to use.

Two more items I was over the moon about were the Corrugated 3D embossing folder and the Buffalo Check background stamp. For this stamp, I jumped ship and decided to get the unmounted version for the first time. My background stamp collection started with wood-mount and I've stuck with that option even after the clear-mount became available. That being said, the last few times I used background stamps, especially the ones with a striped or geometric pattern, I found it hard to line it perfectly on my card base and also to get an even impression, so for the Buffalo Check I decided to try unmounted in order to be able to use a stamping platform with it. It goes without saying that it really shows if you stamp plaid crooked, and because the squares were the lines meet up are full images, it helps to ink the stamp twice and use a stamping platform to repeat the image. This was my first try at using it and the difference really showed when I overstamped a second time.

As for the Corrugated embossing folder, this is one of those patterns that, just like for the Subtle embossing folder I raved about all month, you wonder how come it took so long for us to have one. Of course, I know it's because those patterns would have been hard to produce before the 3D folders hit the market, but I think it's pretty ironic that the two folders I'm most excited about are the two with the most basic patterns to them: linen texture and corrugated texture. I was really excited to test out the Corrugated one and let me tell you, it does exactly what it promises and the resulting cardstock looks just like the real thing - especially when you pair it with Crumb Cake cardstock like I did here. It totally changed the look of my card, especially since the little die-cut tag (made with a die from the sentiment Thinlits set) seemed a little bare. I don't have the stamp set that goes with the dies. I kept going back and forth on it but I found the words to be big (and if I'm honest, I don't really like the mix and match sentiment sets all that much) so I didn't get it. The catalogue period is just starting out so we'll see if I regret it, but for now, I don't have the frame stamp that would go with the die-cut, and that's when I got the idea to dry-emboss the tag.

The cotton twine comes from another suite, the Festive Farm one, but the Cherry Cobbler twine matches those papers nicely. This is another item that kept getting on and off the order, and I finally used it to round out my hostess benefits. I still have the previous cotton twine from years ago (the one that included Soft Sky, Whisper White and Wild Wasabi in the pack) and at first view, it seems like this one is a little thinner, which I like better, so I'm happy with the purchase.

Of course, the lovely Joyous Noel Glimmer Paper made a comeback for the sentiments, and I used the Sprig Punch on the green glimmer paper to fill out around the little tag. This is another item I got individually (there is a bundle with a stamp set), as I like adding little sprigs peeking out from under layers or with flowers and a punch makes it easier to do repeats than a die does, as evidence by the three sprigs added here.

Quick tip: I've lined up the back of a sheet of glimmer paper in each color with a piece of Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet (Annual Catalogue, p. 213). Gluing those intricate words and twigs would be time-consuming otherwise with any kind of glue, so you just need to peel off the back and you're done with your piece. I also didn't bother adding adhesive only to the back of what I needed - I did the whole 6" x 6" page as I know I mostly use glimmer paper for embellishments. If I ever use a piece for something else, I'll simply cut into a second sheet, since the pack has multiple of every colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Buffalo Check
Cardstock: Shaded Spruce, Call Me Clover, Crumb Cake
Designer Series Paper: All is Bright
Ink: Shaded Spruce
Accessories: Joyeux Noël Thinlits Dies, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope, Sprig Punch,
Joyous Noel 6" x 6" Glimmer Paper, Stampin' Dimensionals, Festive Farm Cotton Twine,
Corrugated 3D Embossing Folder

 

60th Birthday

Inspiration: Fab Friday #143 + Global Design Project #149

When I opened the Broadway Bound Specialty Designer Series Paper and spotted the page with numbers, I figured I could handcut a couple to keep on making round number birthday cards. The Global Design Project challenge also happened to be a colour combo that included Lovely Lipstick, which is one of the colours from the paper pack, so these became the starting point of my card.

The card is all done with Stampin' Uo! supplies, but some have already retired. I really wanted the main shape to be a star and unfortunately we don't have any current star Framelits anymore (isn't that a shame). I layered a Bermuda Bay star over a vellum star, on which I pierced a border. The Gold Foil paper was embossed with the Ruffled embossing folder (which looks really cool on the metallic paper). I had this idea that I wanted to find a small happy birthday and repeat it on every side of the star. The one I found was still a little bigger than I had envisioned, but at this point, I decided I would rather modify my design slightly rather than hunt longer. A few gold sequins, gold button and glitter enamel dots were added to finish it off as well.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Du coq à l'âne
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Bermuda Bay, Vellum, Gold Foil Paper
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Broadway Bound
Ink: Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Night of Navy Velvet Ribbon, Ruffles 3D Embossing Folder,
Star Framelits, Paper Piercer and Piercing Template, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Gltiter Enamel Dots, Bermuda Bay Baker's Twine, Metallic Sequins,
Blonde Metallic A2 Envelope (envelopes.com)

 

No Probllama

This is the picture I had initially planned on pairing with the Mama Llama collection from Simple Stories, because the colors went really well with the picture. There's no big story behind this picture, I only think my niece is adorable on it. The design was inspired by a February 2018 Page Maps sketch, and the design came together very quickly since it was mostly assembling papers and die-cuts, The longest part was piercing the frame around the patterned paper and I also colored the inside part using my Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer brush. Once the page was assembled, I also decided to add Ivory Shell Crystal Drops in random spots on the pierced frame. This added a bit of whimsy to the page, which I like.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Primrose Petals Core'dinations
Patterned Papers and Stickers: Mama Llama (Simple Stories)
Accessories: Stampin' DImensionals, Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Paper Piercer (Stampin' Up!); ;
Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush, Oyster Shell Crystal Drops, Sea Breeze Jewel Drops (Nuvo)

 

Golden Dandelions

Inspiration: Create with Connie and Mary #521 + Inspiration Monday with Connie and Mary #31  + Paper Craft Crew Card #301 (metallic + designer's choice + ribbon) + Fusion sketch

The inspiration picture called for a watercolored background with silhouette flowers over it. This was made easy thanks to the Dandelion Wishes stamp set, which I keep reaching for lately. (Probably my favorite of the annual catalogue so far.) I used Lovely Lipstick and Blackberry Bliss to create my background with an Aqua Painter brush on watercolor paper, I dried the whole piece and then I added gold embossing over it for the flowers. The sentiment was stamped in Blackberry Bliss underneath.

I will admit to being surprised Blackberry Bliss made it back in the color revamp. It's never been a personal favorite and I think Rich Razzleberry (which I love) is a close enough hue that the palette could have been complete without it. I think aside from its color, the reason that I dislike this shade so much is how hard it is to work with because it is so pigmented. It dyes everything - stamps, paintbrushes, the Stampin' Scrub. I make sure to use baby wipes when working with this color, otherwise my Stampin' Scrub because grummy right away, but no matter how careful I am while handling the baby wipe, I still end up with dyed fingers nonetheless. The ink also does not dry as quickly on the cardstock as with other colors and I've had it smear many times on projects. It's not exception here - it was starting to leave marks in the corner of my card even though I had dried it with the heat gun before embossing. Luckily I noticed it was smearing before I put fingerprints elsewhere. Anyway, let this be a cautionary tale - if you purchase this color, be extra careful when you handle it and be ready to accept that it will dye your photopolymer stamps instantly, no matter how well you clean them afterwards. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Dandelion Wishes
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Lovely Lipstick, Blackberry Bliss, VersaMark
Accessories: Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Basic Adhesive-Backed Rhinestones, Aqua Painter Brush,
Lovely Lipstick 1/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, White Medium Envelop, Ruffled Embossing Folder

 

Mother's Day 2018

I initially pulled out the Mama Llama collection from Simple Stories because it fit perfectly with a picture of my niece. While looking at the stickers and die-cut from the set, though, I noticed the theme was more about motherhood and mother's day. I remembered that we had done a photo session at my sister's request on Mother's Day this year, one of which picture I had printed recently to scrapbook, so I pulled it out. It was clashing with the papers, though, because all three girls were wearing colorful clothes that day. So I went back to the original picture and made it monochromatic in Photoshop so that they could work the the papers, along with a second picture to go with the Page Maps sketch I had selected (February 2018).

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Juste comme ça (You're So Sweet - Stampin' Up!)
Ink: VersaMark
Cardstock: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, So Saffron
Patterned Papers: Mama Llama (Simple Stories); pink paper (unknown)
Accessories: Outside In Stitched Heart Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Seasonal Layers Thinlits, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, Stampin' Dimensionals, Corner Rounder Punch,
1/8" Early Espresso Grosgrain Ribbon, Early Espresso Stampin' Emboss powder, White Pompom Trim,
Pool Party Glimmer Ribbon, Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Curvy Corner Trio Punch (Stampin' Up!);
Cool Summer Decorative Brads (Carta Bella); Bon Bon Candy Shoppe Alphabet Stickers (Doodlebug Design);
Carpe Diem Bradz (Simple Stories); Petite Posies Yellow (Queen & Co.);
Say It in Crystal Tellow (Prima); Bundle of Joy Enamel Dots (Echo Park)

 

Sloth Gift Card Pocket

Inspiration: CAS(E) This Sketch #283

This card was born out of my leftover papers after finishing two layouts. I had been meaning to pair the Slow Down stamps with the Stitched Gift Card Pocket die for the longest time, and I finally decided to make something with those two elements. The sketch was perfect to work the pocket in the design. I made sure to create something that would be cute on its own, but that could also accomodate a gift card as well. (The pocket is perfectly sized for gift cards.) The sentiment reads "Thanks a Bunch." I used Black Enamel Accents on the eyes of the sloth to add dimension and shine.

For my matching envelope, I used a Seam Foam A2 envelope from my recent envelope purchase. It's a little more blue than the Pool Party cardstock, but it's close enough to work.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Slow Down (Lawn Fawn); Ravissant bouquet (Beautiful Bouquet - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party Core'dinations (Stampin' Up!); Yellow (Bazzill);
Solar White (Neenah)
Patterned Papers: Mama Llama (Simple Stories); pink paper (unknown)
Accessories: Early Espresso Baker's Twine (Stampin' Up!); Sea Foam A2 Envelope (envelopes.com);
Markers (Copic); Black Enamel Accents (Ranger); Slow Down Dies, Stitched Gift Card Pocket Dies,Lacy Borders Dies,
Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies, Mini Picture Frames Dies (Lawn Fawn)