Encre, papier, ciseaux

Farmhouse Christmas Ornaments

Inspiration: Mojo Monday #544 + Festive Friday (patterned paper + pearls + die cut)

Today's creation was inspired by the gorgeous Farmhouse Christmas papers from Carta Bella. All of their Farmhouse collections are been absolutely stunning and this one is no exception. I grabbed the 6" x 6" paper pad at my local store and it was the inspiration for this card.

I liked the cut-apart sheet and decided to use of the sentiments for my card. Because it was taking up a lot of room, I wasn't sure what to fill the circle with. I kept thinking I could do a hanging ornament. I have a pair of punches from last year's Holidays catalogue, so I pulled them out and saw that I could actually fit the two pretty nicely. They were punched out of plaid and were fading against the background so I decided to add red metallic stitching around the shape. And to punch the top out of Copper foil paper. And to add something in the middle. I ended up using one of the patterns and cutting the little frames out to add to the ornaments. Finally, I found some red tinsel trim leftover on my desk and decided to hang my ornaments from it. As I was grabbing the tinsel, I also spotted some white lace and decided it might look nice with the farmhouse look of the paper. This filled the space nicely on the card and lightened it up a bit. Finally, I added moss green, berry and vintage pearls to the lace and card. The papers were added to a Crumb Cake card base and I inked the edges with Crumb Cake ink to better match the farmhouse feel of the papers.

I repeated one of the ornaments inside the card. For the envelope, I grabbed a Oak Woodgrain envelope, added green polka dot paper at the bottom and copper Merry Christmas washi tape (from Crate Paper's Snowflake collection). I layered two punched ornaments again.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Copper Foil Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Farmhouse Christmas (Carta Bella)
Ink: Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Lace Trim (Unknown); Red Metallic Floss (DMC); A2 Oak Woodgrain Envelope (envelopes.com);
Vintage Shimmer, Moss Green and Berry Mix Pearls (Studio Katia);
Snowflake Washi Tape (Crate Paper); Gleaming Ornaments Punches, Sponge Dauber (Stampin' Up!);
Dotted Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn); Circle Double Stitched Dies (Art Impressions)

 

Christmas Wishes

Inspiration: Global Design Project #220 + TGIF #243 (Use Your Favorite)

My most favorite suite from the Holidays catalogue is the Brightly Gleaming suite. I rarely purchase every single item from a suite, but this time, I did use the collecton code and ordered it all. I love the colors, the copper accents, the elegant patterns. As for the stamps, I recently acquired the Greatest Part of Christmas hostess set and I love the variety of sentiments in there - various fonts, various sizes and great sentiment options. I'm having fun incorporating them in my projects.

The design was based on the inspiration project shared on the Global Design Project page. I picked the largest sentiment from the hostess stamp set and embossed it in Copper powder on one of the neutral sheets of patterned paper, then I used the Stitched Nested Labels dies to die-cut it out, and I decided to mat it with a size larger using Pretty Peacock cardstock. The metallic border at the bottom of the sample card was recreated with a piece of the printed ribbon from the same suite. 

The top of the tag felt very empty, so I pulled out the Brightly Gleaming foil elements and added a bauble. It was getting lost against the background, though, so I had the idea to punch a circle out of a piece of Night of Navy cardstock, which made it stand out more asnd allowed me a way to pop the bauble on dimensionals without it showing. I was trying to figure out how to glue the copper piece without glue oozing out and I realized I could completely fill the whole circle with the Shimmery Crystal Effects and then layering the copper element on top. This in turn added dimension, gloss and shimmer to my ornament and made it really pretty. The tag still felt too bare, so I remembered the copper stars and added a couple. 

I used the ornament punches from the suite to decorate my envelope, adding one of the copper twigs as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Ce que j'aime à Noël (Greatest Part of Christmas)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Pretty Peacock
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Brightly Gleaming
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements, Stitched Nested Labels Dies,
Very Vanilla Medium Envelope, Star Designer Elements, 1/2" Classic Weave Ribbon,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Shimmery Crystal Effects, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Perfection

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Monday (Stars & Stripes) + Freshly Made Sketch #394

I was initially planning on pulling some stencils for the Stars and Stripes challenge, but I found the Hello Baby paper pad and discovered I had both patterns in it, so that was the starting point for my design. I also found the Perfection die I had previously bought from Simon Says Stamp. I was really excited when I saw this word because the word is the same in French, spelling and all, so it was the first word and shadow die set I was able to get my hands on. The font is really cute and the size is perfect, too. Although I liked the sentiment layered over the stripes, it felt a little bare, so I went looking for baby stuff and ended up pulling the first set that had come into my mind, Something for Baby with the matching dies. The onesie was just the perfect size. I added a bow of yellow twine and one of the images from the back of the star paper at the top, stapled in place for added interest, and I was done. It's rare that I can make a CAS card, but this one makes me happy.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Something for Baby (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Hello Baby (Echo Park)
Classic Ink: Soft Sky, Night of Navy, So Saffron (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Baby's First Framelits Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals, Crushed Curry Baker's Twine,
White Medium Envelope, Mini Stapler (Stampin' Up!); Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn);
Perfection Die (Simon Says Stamp)

 

It's a Girl!

Inspiration: Simon Says Monday (Girly/Feminine) + Mojo Monday #511 + ColourQ #81

I wanted to make a baby card with shades of pink to add to my card stash. I looked at past ColourQ combos for inspiration and found something soft and beautiful from challenge #81, which I adapted to current colours. I wanted to use the Doily Builder Thinlits dies for the main circle and add the baby in a blanket over it. I can't get over using that blanket die with the folds - I think it's just adorable! Because we have the full doily die in the set, I was able to back my Vanilla doily with a layer of vellum, which tamed the patterns in the back and made the details not compete as much. I repeated the sentiments "It's a Girl" on the Blushing Bride cardstock to create a pattern. This allowed me to use the sentiment I wanted and still use the space since it would have felt a little bared stamped only once on the pink rectangle.

For the background, I used a piece of textured cardstock from many years ago, but now that we carry the Subtle 3D embossing folder, you could create your own textured cardstock with it. I stamped the safety pink randomly in So Saffron ink over the background. The little girl image was colored with Stampin' Blends markers. I used the dies to die-cut the baby, but handcut the hairband to avoid having a large border on it that would cover some of the hair.

Because I was trying out various design ideas, I had die-cut two bows, one in vanilla and one in green. I ended up layering them, slightly offset, to create a colored shadow and make the vanilla bow stand out more.

 

 

  

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Bébé mignon (Sweet Baby)
Cardstock: Old Olive, So Saffron, Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron, Very Vanilla, Vellum
Designer Series Paper Stack: Subtles
Ink: So Saffron, Blushing Bride, Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Doily Builder Thinlits Dies, Bouncing Baby Framelits Dies,
Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Stampin' Blends Markers, Neutrals Candy Dots,
Very Vanilla Medium Envelope, Pearl Basic Jewels, Old Olive Mini Chevron Ribbon

 

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

 

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

 

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!)

 

100% Perfect and Sweet Baby

This card was based on the Reverse Confetti Sketch #53 (October). I pulled out some soft colored papers from Doodlebug and made sure to select those that didn't have blues or pinks to keep the card gender-neutral. I paired them with the Special Delivery stamp set (one of my favorite baby sets).

The little ticket is from an older Stampin' Up! set and the text reads, "100% perfect sweet baby."

  

 

 

 

 Supplies
Stamps: Special Delivery (Avery Elle), T'as un ticket (That's the Ticket - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Crisp Cantalope, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Spring Things (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark
Accessories: Special Delivery Dies (Avery Elle), Dotted Scallop Rectangles Dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs),
White Medium Envelope, Copic Markers, Rose Gold Embossing Powder (Simon Says Stamp), Ticket Punch,
Subtles Candy Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Showers of Happiness

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

Fast Asleep

It was love at first sight with the Moon Baby stamp set from the Occasions catalogue. Too bad it's not translated to French, but the silver lining is that it allowed me to get this stamp set in wood-mount. I drew inspiration from the Hand Stamped Sentiments Sketch #256 and paired the stamp set with the Carried Away Designer Series Paper offered as a free item during Sale-A-Bration. The cloud pattern was perfect to go with the baby sleepingon the moon, and that image fit perfectly in the biggest stitched circle die from the Stitched Shapes Framelits.

For the colour combo, I started with Mint Macaron, which was the sky colour on the patterned paper I have selected. I looked at past ColourQ combos for inspiration and #331 caught my eye, so I picked current colours to create a similar look. The two bottom strips of cardstock were stamped with Delicate Details, a stamp set also offered during Sale-A-Bration (I expect I'll be using this one a lot).

I stamped the three stars image from the stamp set and colored them with Gold Wink of Stella, before cutting them out and adding them around the main image. The stamp set includes great sentiment, but I wanted something in French so I selected "Congratulations" from the Iconic Occasions hostess stamp set (2017 Occasions Catalogue). And that adorable frame? It's part of the Build It Framelits collection (the one with the tools). It cuts out a tag with a frame. It you handle the frame carefully, the outside will stay on the piece and you have a tag with an impressed border. But you can also tear the two pieces apart, so I was able to create an outer frame in Bermuda Bay cardstock and glue it over the first piece. The Mint Macaron cardstock was covered with Clear Wink of Stella to make it shimmery. Gold enamel shape stars were also added to the background.

 

 

 

 

 

   

Colour Combo: Smoky Slate + Dapper Denim + bermuda Bay + Mint Macaron + White

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Moon Baby, Expressions imagées (Iconic Occasions), Delicate Details
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Dapper Denim, Mint Macaron, Bermuda Bay, Watercolor Paper
Patterned Paper: Carried Away
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, So Saffron, Delightful Dijon, Bermuda Bay, Dapper Denim, Blush Blossom, Soft Suede
Accessories: Metallic Enamel Shapes, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Layering Circle Framelits,
Wink of Stella Brush (Gold, Clear), 1/8" Silver Ribbon, White Square Envelope, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Build It Framelits, Aqua Painter Brush

 

Baby Dragon

I needed to add baby cards to my stash and spotted a baby dragon in the Magical Dragons stamp set, so I got inspired to use this image for a non-traditional baby card. The design came from MFT Sketch #314 and the colors from Stampin' Royalty #360. Again, I had some MME papers put aside for a baby card, and one of the sheets had polaroid frames on it, so I handcut one and used it for my main image. I stamped the dragon and puff in Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored the image with my Prismacolor pencils.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Magical Dragons (My Favorite Things), Du coq à l'âne (And Many More - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Emerald Envy, Real Red
Patterned Papers: Follow Your Heart (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Emerald Envy, Basic Grey
Accessories: Metallic Enamel Shapes, Classy Designer Buttons, Silver Cord Trim,
Designer Washi Tape, Prismacolor Pencils, White Medium Envelope

 

And They Lived Happily Ever After

This is my final card for Falliday Fest - I'm done with all of the challenges! Since this one called for a special watercolour background, I kept the design simple to not hide it too much. I was skeptical of how the watercolour would look because the colours were bleeding into each other more than I was expecting when the glossy paper was still wet, but it dried into a really cool look that was perfect for a sky, which softer patches that look like clouds. It became the perfect background for the stork.

For the design, I drew inspiration from Sunday Stamps Sketch #137 (turned sideway) and only placed a long strip of cardstock at the bottom. I was looking for a bold sentiment that would work for a baby and found "And they lived happily ever after" in Big News, which I thought worked great. I embossed it in navy powder, and added little clusters of stars in Daffodil Delight ink around it. Balloons and baby booties from the same stamp set were added as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Grandes nouvelles (Big News - Stampin' Up!), Special Delivery (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy, Soft Sky (inside), Whisper White, Glossy White
Ink: VersaMark, Daffodil Delight, Tuxedo Black Memento, Marina Mist
Accessories: Special Delivery Dies (Avery Elle), Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers,
Navy Embossing Powder, Silver Glimmer Paper, White Medium Envelope, 1/8" Silver Ribbon

 

Baby Boy Announcement

This is another card that was inspired by a Falliday Fest challenge. I dusted off some older sets that have a special spot in my heart, but that had not been used in a while. The first one is Ann Egg-cellent Easter, which I masked while inking to omit the eggs he's juggling with and keeping only the bunny so that I could turn this sweet image into a baby card. Because he wears a best and bow tie, and because I stumbled unto some blue baby-themed papers while looking for stamps, this one naturally evolved into a baby boy card. I die-cut my own doily using the retired Darling Doily Thinlits die and thought to use the Bow punch to add a bow on top of my main image. As I was looking for a sentiment to finish off my creation, I found the baby announcement stamp in the Little Additions stamp set and decided to go with it. I was really surprised when I tried to punch it out with the Modern Label punch to discover it's too small! You can punch out the text, but it will not keep the frame, which I think it a lovely part of the design, so I bit the bullet and went old-school with fussy cutting!

The third stamp set I dusted off is All Scallops, a border set that I've always loved using and that retired way too fast for my liking back when it was in the catalogue. (Don't know that it lasted more than a year.) I wanted to watercolor my main image, so I inked the bunny with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and stamped the image on Shimmery White cardstock, which is a great alternative to watercolor paper, especially if you don't want to bother with StazOn ink.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: All Scallops, An Egg-cellent Easter, Petits plus (Little Additions)
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Shimmery White
Patterned Papers: Cute Baby Boy (Bella Blvd.)
Ink: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake, Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Midnight Muse Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Wonky Stitches Circles Die-namics, Darling Doily Thinlits Die, Bow Punch,
Sequins, Envelope Punch Board, Curvy Corner Trio Punch, Aqua Painter Brush

 

Welcome to the World

Baby cards always seem to sell well and it's not something I make a lot of. I had looked at the Special Delivery set before and passed on it, but finally decided to get it because I love the idea of the stork and felt I could use to add baby imagery to my collection. This week's ColourQ #356 challenge provided inspiration for the colours. It's not typical baby colours, but with the pink and blue, it does tie with the baby theme. I made sure to avoid pink or blue on the baby bundle itself to keep the card gender-neutral.

The Soft Sky cardstock was embossed with the Cloudy Day embossing folder from an old Occasions catalogue. Because the pattern is meant to be used on a portrait card, I could only emboss the top of the cardstock. I solved the problem by stamping clouds from the stamp set at the bottom in Soft Sky ink. The Melon Mambo piece was stamped with the A to Z stamp (long retired, but still a personal favorite). The little circles are Enamel Accents from Ranger. I got a few colours and tested them out on our Silicone craft sheet to make my own enamel shapes. I found the biggest challenge is to keep a steady hand to make perfect circles, but those didn't turn out so bad.

The card design was inspired by Try Stampin' on Tuesday #285. The optional challenge was embossing, and I used dry-embossing on my background piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Special Delivery (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Blackberry Bliss, Soft Sky, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Sky, Melon Mambo, Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Cloudy Day embossing folder, Enamel Accent (Ranger), Stampin' Dimensionals,
Blackberry Bliss Satin Ribbon, Markers, White Medium Envelope

 

Vintage Baby

The design of this card was inspired by Fab Friday #93 and the rest all came from paper scraps from my Dare to be Dirty challenge stamping bonanza. considering this card was all made from scratch, I think it turned out pretty decent! I wanted the watercoloring to match the vintage look of the Cosmo Cricket paper so I reached for Distress Inks I bought years ago before I started building my SU! ink collection and that had not seen the light of day in almost as long. I only have two colors - a tea dye brown and a pinkish gue and they both happened to match the paper perfectly. I watercolored on regular Very Vanilla cardstock instead of watercolor paper so it was a little harder to control the coloring, but again, not too bad. The sentiment is equally as old, as it's one of the first hostess sets SU! offered in the days when they first came to Quebec. The translations were still a little approximate back then so there's a few of those stamps that have never seen ink, but I needed a very small sentiment to fit in the corner of my image and the "totally adorable" stamp was just perfect.

The little row of heart holes was done with a die from the Everyday Jar Framelits collection, and the scribble heart came from the Sunshine Wishes Framelits set.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Jolis mots (Stampin' Up!), Shake Rattle and Roll (The Cat's Pajamas)
Cardstock: Moss, Blush, Pink (Bazzill), Very Vanilla (SU!)
Ink: Basic Grey and Close to Cocoa (SU!), Tattered Rose and Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger)
Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket
Accessories: Vanilla Medium Envelope, Brown Polka Dot Organza Ribbon,
Everyday Jars Framelits, Sunshine Wishes Framelits, Crystal Effects,
Aqua Painter Brush, Pinking Edge Square-Die-namics (MFT), Stampin' Dimensionals

 

A Teddy for Baby

Baby Bear immediately caught my eye in the annual catalogue and I knew that it would be a nice addition to my stash, for baby cards and because teddies make everyone go, "Awww!" To ink it up,I paired the Global Design Project challenge #41 (color combo) with the Retro Sketch #219. Because the colour combo called for Sweet Sugarplum colour, I wanted to use the Painter's Palette DSP stack, but the neutral in those papers is Very Vanilla, so I had to slightly change the colour combo. Considering I only changed the neutral, I'm hoping I can be forgiven?

The cute narrow washi tape is from the accessory kit of one of the new Project Life kits released in the catalogue as well. The larger washi tape came from another Project Life accessory kit (last Christmas' Hello December, I think?). My card background was embossed using the Lucky Stars embossing folder and I highlighted the stars with the Clear Wink of Stella brush.

I allowed myself to use the Very Vanilla Subtle Stripes Satin Ribbon since it is still available for a mere $4 (great deal!) in Stampin' Up!'s Clearance Rack section. I used a Very Vanilla Designer button from the Neutrals pack (now retired) on top. They're really similar to the Classic Designer Buttons, which we still carry, in case you're looking for an equivalent. Or if you're like me, you still have a bunch to get through anyway. wink

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Bébé ourson (Baby Bear)
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, Sweet Sugarplum
Ink: Night of Navy, Sweet Sugarplum
Designer Series Paper Stack: Painter's Palette
Accessories: Vanilla Medium Envelope, Clear Wink of Stella, Designer Washi Tape,
Triple Banner Punch, Elegant Tag Punch, Very Vanilla Subtle Stripes Satin Ribbon,
Neutrals Designer Buttons, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig

 

Little Girl Attire

I found this cute little girl's chipboard dress and flower and decided to make a little girl card. I was thinking a baby girl card but as I was putting the project together, I decided not to add any sentiment to it and let people decide what this card was meant to be for. We'll see if it sells - I've noticed customers tend to want cards with very specific sentiments on them. Nothing too vague (celebrate you, from the heart, a simple note, for you), nothing too out there (Have nice Holidays enveloped by a coat of warmth and joy, Do you hear the jingle bells?, May your heart burst with joy all year long). Those simply do not sell well. People will request a card that says what's it supposed to be for: Happy birthday, thank you, deepest sympathies, congratulations on your wedding. As a stamper, it's really restraining because when I create, I try to see which sentiment would best suit the card, size-wise, font-wise, style-wise, and I'm always torn between putting what looks the best and what will be best received. So I guess this card is cop out because I decided to leave it blank and see what happens...

The design was inspired by the Sugar Pea Designs #55.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Sage Shadow, Basic Grey
Patterned Papers: Lost & Found (My Mind's Eye)
Accessories: White Polka Dot Organza Ribbon, Lace Border Punch (Martha Stewart),
Chipboard Dress and Flower (K & Company), Stampin' Dimensionals, Vanilla Baker's Twine,
Vanilla Medium Envelope, Layering Squares Framelits Dies

 

Adorable Baby Boy

The Bella Blvd I had in my stash had some cute 3" x 4" die-cut images on them and one of them grabbed my attention as a great image to turn into a baby card. That made for an easy and fast card to put together, inspired by the Sunday Stamps #128 sketch. I had a chipboard heart that I found while cleaning supplies that had stayed on my desk and the shape was great to fit with the background paper so I embossed it with two coats of white embossing powder and added two matching brads on it.

The sentiment was created with a cute image from the Little Additions Stamp set, and then I stamped the word "baby" with an alphabet set to finish the sentiment.

The image was fitting a little too snuggly on a regular 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" card, so I changed my card size to a 4-1/2" x 5-1/4" size and use the Envelope Punch Board to make a matching envelope. I rearranged my stamp room closet a big and got my 12x12 plastic drawers out of the closet and directly into the room. I think it's be easier to rummage through my paper scraps when making projects and put them to better use. This is what I did for my envelope here, looked at my green scraps (they're arranged by colours) and found a piece big enough for punch the envelope out of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Petits plus (Little Additions - Stampin' Up!), Alphabet (Studio G)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Peekaboo Peach, Green Galore
Patterned Papers: Cute Baby Boy (Bella Blvd.)
Ink: Night of Navy, Whisper White
Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Bold and Brights Brads,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Bakers' Twine (Doodlebug Design), Chipboard Heart,
Envelope Punch Board, Stampin' Write Markers

 

Babysaurus

I'm short on baby cards - again! - and I found some Little Yellow Bicycle papers and stickers in my stash that inspired me a quick card based on the MFT Sketch #280.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Petits Plus (Little Additions)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue
Ink: Dapper Denim
Patterned Papers: Babysaurus (Little Yellow Bicycle)
Accessories: Designer Buttons, Toppers CutUp Dies (The Cat's Pajamas),
Stampin' Dimensionals, Babysayrus Stickers (Little Yellow Bicycle),
Envelope Punch Board, Layering Squares Framelits Dies (Stampin' Up!)

 

 

 

Baby Magic

This card was born out of discarded images. I had some new watercolor paints that I wanted to try, so I used scraps of watercolor paper, stamped random images and colored them to test out the watercolors. After I was done, I thought they might look good enough to actually make it on a card. I was in need of baby cards (but to be honest, not really in the mood for baby carriage and rattle images) so I thought a little fairy could work and be different. For the design, I drew inspiration from the Mojo Monday Sketch #443 and the colors came from Stampin' Royalty #323. I was also inspired by the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, to use polka dots. Their showcased products are also Lawn Fawn, and it just so happens that I have a paper pad called Let's Bokeh in the Snow from them that was perfect for the project. The bokeh paper has this magical fairy dust look that works well with the theme of the card. I sprinkled little sequins where the stars are on the sketch, and I used the Glimmer Tape that was offered during Sale-A-Bration to create the banner.

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Du coq à l'âne (And Many More), Fairy Friends (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder, Blushing Bride, Watercolor paper
Patterned Papers: Let's Bokeh in the Snow (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories: Cosmic Shimmer Watercolor Paints, Blending Pen, Clear Wink of Stella Brush,
Medium White Envelope, Stitched Oval Scallop Frames Die-namics (MFT), Glimmer Tape,
Sequins, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Baby Huggabugg

Here's another baby card for my collection. This one was inspired by the Tuesday Morning Sketch #347. I wanted to use my new Sweet Things Doodlebug Design papers and even though they're Valentine's Day inspired, I thought the heart patterns could work for a baby card, especially with the pink and mint shades in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Bedbugg Huggabugg (Stamping Bella), Tendres basiques (Sweet Essentials - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, watercolor paper
Patterned Papers: Sweet Things (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Real Red, Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate, Basic Grey Archival,
Soft Sky, Coastal Cabana, Blush Blossom
Accessories: Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, 1" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Clear Wink of Stella Brush,
Wonky Stitches Circles Die-namics (MFT), Blending Pen, Banner Triple Punch, White Medium Envelope

 

Cabbage Kid

We've been having a baby boom at the office, so I'm scrambling to keep up with the baby card demand. I'm trying to keep them as gender-neutral as possible since I never know ahead of time what's going to be needed. When I was looking at my paper stash, I came across the Fiddlesticks paper stack and thought it would look pretty on a baby card, so I paired it with the Mojo Monday sketch #436.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Quelle chance (Stampin' Up! - hostess), Belles tournures (Stampin' Up! - hostess), Timeless Textures
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Fiddlesticks (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Perfect Plum, Tuxedo Black Memento, Tea Dye (SU!)
Accessories: Wonky Stitched Circles Die-namics (My Favorite Things), Markers,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Button, Kraft Twine, Flowers, Brad, Daubers, 1-1/2" Circle Punch

 

Rattled

There's a baby boom at the office and I've been warned that there are six maternity leaves coming up at the office in the Communications department alone, so I have been asked to keep baby cards on hand. So I'm trying to squeeze one in every time I stamp these days. Leafing through old Paper Crafts publication, I found a card with little birds made with buttons. Reminded me of the Button Buddies stamp set, so I pulled out the Subtles Designer Buttons, selected colours that could work for a baby card, and then used scraps of Designer Series Paper at the bottom to match the buttons. As a last minute addition, I decided to add smaller buttons in similar colours on the paper scraps as well. A piece of White Cotton Ribbon was tied, a sentiment from the And Many More stamp set (Annual Catalogue, p. 105). Baker's twine in shades matching the buttons was used to thread them. Simple but cute and more importantly, gender-neutral with all the colours used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Du coq à l'âne (And Many More), Button Buddies
Cardstock: Crumb Cake
Designer Series Paper Stacks: In Color, Subtles
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: White Cotton Ribbon, Subtles Designer Buttons, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope,
Baker's Twine (White, Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral)

 

Baby Onesies

Looking through papers to find something that would work for a baby card, I found this old sheet of striped paper and liked how the soft colours could work well for a gender-neutral card. Then I remembered the Baby Tees jumbo wheel that I bought when it retired from the catalogue, planning on unmounting it using a cling sheet... which I never got around to it. I was racking my brain to think of a card I would have made with this wheel, but I'm fairly sure it had never been inked at all. What a shame! So I unmounted it and put it to good use, stamping it in Jet Black StazOn ink on watercolor paper and coloring the image with inks and a mix of Aqua Painter brushes (for larger areas) and blending pens (for smaller details). I also used the Clear Wink of Stella brush to watercolor the background, picking up a bit of Soft Sky ink with it. (A new tip I learned watching the Wink of Stella video from Stampin' Up! - you can use it to watercolor and the brush will add a touch of sparkle to your watercoloring. Brilliant!)

I found the "welcome baby" sentiment in the Little Additions stamp set and added it to a border cut out of another piece of patterned paper.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Baby Tees Wheel, Petits plus (Little Additions)
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Sky
Patterned paper: SEI
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Pear Pizzazz, Wisteria Wonder, So Saffron,
Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Basic Grey
Accessories: Envelope Punch Board, Ticket Corner Punch, Star Punches,
Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Clear Wink of Stella Brush, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Watercolor Paper

 

Balloons Bliss

Would you believe I almost passed up on getting the Balloon Celebration stamp set? I had a long wish list and kept going back and forth on what to get. It's finally the hostess benefits that decided me to get the bundle (which includes the matching punch). I've only done one card with the stamp set and I'm already in love! There is something so soft and sweet about the way those balloons are drawn that's very endearing.

Challenge CAS(E) This Sketch #156 inspired me this design, and I thought the sketch lent itself beautifully to a bouquet of balloons. Colors were inspired by Stampin' Royalty #313 and when came time to select a sentiment, I thought the card could work for various occasions, including welcoming a baby, so I picked "Congratulations." (Isn't that font so pretty?)

The Softly Falling embossing folder was used at the bottom of the Crumb Cake cardstock, and little stars were added with Whisper White Craft ink. A piece of Venetian Crochet Trim was added on top of the sentiment strip and I found some vanilla baker's twine on my desk, that I tied into bows and glued on the big balloons with mini glue dots. (That baker's twine comes from a Stampin' Up! kit, I just don't remember which one. I remember the pieces in the kit were white, so I thought it odd that they included vanilla baker's twine, which looked yellow next to the stark white cardstock.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Bouquet de ballons (Balloon Celebration)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron, Very Vanilla
Ink: Early Espresso, Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron, Whisper White
Accessories: Balloon Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Vanilla Baker's Twine, Subtles Candy Dots,
Venetian Crochet Trim, Vanilla Medium Envelope

 

Baby Train

I found some paper scraps that were perfect for a baby creation, so they inspired me the following card. I simply used a band from patterned paper, added an orange border to it and pearls to the scallop motif. Then, I stamped a little "welcome, baby" banner on white cardstock, wrapped it around a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock and I inserted it in a slit made in the paper using a craft knife, so that it would be on top of the train. I then punched little clouds of smoke out of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper (love that stuff!) and added those coming out of the engine. A die-cut was added as well, and the card background was embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Petits plus (Little Additions - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: ?
Ink: Bashful Blue
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, Punches, Die-Cut Stickers,
Ticket Corner Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder,
Medium White Envelope

 

Little Baby, Big News

One of the theme on my list of cards to add to my pile is baby cards, and I'm trying to make them neutrals because it appears that people are always in need of girl cards when all I have left is blue cards and vice versa.

This card came about after putting together a traditional scrapbooking page. I had cut off the "Havin' a good time" sentiment to use on the page and was left with the sunshine image. For some reason, I kept thinking it would work great on a baby card, so I put the idea to paper after being done with the page. I had first planned on stamping a sentiment in the white space in the top left corner, but when looking for appropriate sentiments, I stumbled unto one from the Big News stamp set that was absolutely perfect. (Even better is the fact that I hadn't managed to use this one yet due to his size, so it was a great chance to get it inked finally.) I embossed the sentiment in Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder to make sure it would be easy to read over the image.

At top, I used the Curvy Corner Trio Punch (I've already used this punch a ton) to add a bit of polka dot organza ribbon. A band of patterned paper from the same paper stack was added and embellished with three Regals Candy Dots.

My trusty Envelope Punch Board was used to make a matching envelope out of another paper from the same stack.

The design was drawn from the Sweet Sunday Sketch #300. (Sadly, those sketches have now come to an end and this was the last challenge.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Supplies
Stamps: Grandes nouvelles (Big News)
Cardstock: Gumball Green
Patterned Papers: Songbird (DCWV)
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Curvy Corner Trio Punch,
Red Polka Dot Organza Ribbon, Regals Candy Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Envelope Punch Board

 

Baby Blues

There's been a baby boom on our team at work and all of my baby cards on hand got given away, so I knew I had to make some more when I had the chance. I made a careful effort to make them gender-neutral because whatever gender I pick when making a baby card, it seems that what I need is the other one (Murphy's Law, I guess). I found remaining pieces of the Hello Baby collection from Simple Stories I had used for the baby album I shared not too long ago and based on the Retro Sketch #189, I made my first card in a flash.

As I was putting away the scraps, I noticed the polaroids on one of the piece of papers and thought I could handcut one and use it paired with the Paper Players Sketch #272. I wasn't planning on making a second card, but since my mojo was on, I decided to just roll with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Silhouettes en script (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Barely Banana, Soft Sky, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Hello Baby (Simple Stories)
Ink: Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Iced Rhinestones Embellishments, Crisp Cantaloup Thick Baker's Twine,
Designer Washi Tape, Sparkly Buttons, Stampin' Dimensionals, Medium Envelopes,
Silver Cord Trim, Baja Breeze Grosgrain Ribbon, So Saffron Taffeta Ribbon,
Lace Border Punch, Candy Dots, Curvy Corner Trio Punch, Hung Up Cute Clips,
Hello Baby Die-Cuts (Simple Stories), Kraft Woodgrain Frames (Jillibean Soup), Sparkly gel pen

 

Baby Card Envelope

I needed an envelope for my friend's baby card, so I decorated a vellum envelope and pinned it on my gift bag using mini clothespin on which I glued a thin strip of champagne glimmer paper.

My friend's sister had informed me that the theme of the baby's room was owls, so I pulled out my owl punch to do a little wink to that. The vellum envelope was run through the Big Shot using the Large Polka Dot Embossing Folder.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Cardstock: Vellum, Whisper White, Basic Grey, Calypso Coral, Gold Foil, Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories: Owl Punch, Envelope Punch Board, Large Polka Dot Embossing Folder,
Mini Clothespin, Champagne Glimmer Paper

 

Miracle

I received this beautiful picture of my friend's baby and I wanted to keep it, so I created a layout around it. The Cut & Paste papers from My Mind's Eye were the perfect colours to go with the picture. I had the pleasure to meet Maélie last week and she's such an adorable, easygoing, smiley baby. Can't help but be taken by her!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Cardstock: Crumb Cake
Patterned Papers: Cut & Paste (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Soft Sky, Whisper White White, Basic Black (Craft)
Accessories: On Board Alphabet, Typeset Alphabet Dies, On Board Chipboard,
Stampin' Emboss Powders (Clear, Pool Party), Silver Gel Pen, Photo spéciale Die (Florilèges),
Sequins, Frosted Finishes Embellishments, Mint Macaron Lace Trim, Banners Framelits Dies,
Silver Glimmer Heart Sticker