Cheery, Cherry Birthday

#stampinup   Sometimes when I get new toys, I forget to play with the toys I've had for a while. I've been creating with stamp sets from the Occasions catalog and Sale-a-Bration brochure lately and I've left my older friends on the shelf for far too long. When I saw this week's sketch challenge at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge blog, I knew that the "Amazing Birthday" set and Cherry on Top Designer Series Paper would be a match made in heaven.



I used the color pallet from the Cherry on Top DSP and matching washi tape for my card. I started by stamping the focal image in Watermelon Wonder onto a Whisper White panel. Next, I stamped the same image in Bermuda Bay and again in Cucumber Crush. I cut out the "amazing" and "today ridiculously" pieces and adhered them to the focal image with Stampin' Dimensionals. I adhered the finished piece to a Watermelon Wonder mat.

Next, I adhered a Crushed Curry design from the Cherry on Top 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper stack to a Crushed Curry card base, cut lengthwise,  I added three pieces of Cherry on Top Designer Washi tape to the bottom third of the card, as in the sketch. I adhered the focal image to this with Stampin' Dimensionals. 

Finally, I stamped the birthday cake image from the same set in Crushed Curry onto a Whisper White scrap and punched it with the 1.5" Circle Punch. I adhered this to the card with a Stampin' Dimensional on the left and with Snail Adhesive on the right, so the circle wouldn't wobble.

I really like how bright and cheery this card turned out. It's certainly a bright card to send to cheer someone on a gloomy winter day.

tams# 5771

Product List

Amazing Birthday Clear-Mount Stamp Set [134228] $21.00	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [138323] $6.50	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad [131171] $6.50	Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad [138324] $6.50
Crushed Curry 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131199] $7.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $8.50	Cherry On Top Designer Series Paper Stack [138443] $8.00	Cherry On Top Designer Washi Tape [138384] $8.00
Paper Snips Scissors [103579] $10.00	1-1/4" Circle Punch [119861] $16.00	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00	SNAIL Permanent Adhesive [104332] $7.00

Happy Birthday Bro

#stampinup   My brother's birthday is coming up this weekend and, of course, I've waited until the last minute to make him a card. I'm sure I'm not the only procrastinator on the planet. Am I right? Besides, sometimes I create better under pressure.

This week's sketch at the Nacho Average Challenge blog is perfect for a quick, masculine birthday card. 



I'll let you in on my creative process. I check out the challenge blogs and decide which ones match up with my style. Once I accept a challenge (by which I mean that I've decided to enter the challenge), I take a look at the challenge before I leave for work. During the course of the work day, my mind wanders to the creation I'll be making in the evening and I plan out my card. Later, when I have time to sit down to put my idea to paper, I've already worked through the design process and I just have to pull the elements together.

This card for my brother was very quick and easy to pull together. I started with a 5/8" x 12" strip of Bohemian Designer Series paper--and that set my color scheme. I cut the strip in half and then fit it to my Soft Suede mat and snipped off the over-hanging ends. I flagged the left-side ends of the strips with the Banner Punch.

Next, I embossed the Soft Suede mat with the Lucky Stars embossing folder and adhered the DSP flags with Fast Fuse adhesive. I find this sticks better that Snail adhesive when one of the layers has been embossed. I adhered the Soft Suede assembly to a Night of Navy card base.

I stamped the "happy, happy, happy, happy birthday to you" sentiment in Island Indigo on a scrap of Very Vanilla and trimmed it just outside the image. I stamped another image in Blackberry Bliss and fussy cut the second and fourth "happys" and adhered them with a tiny piece of a Stampin' Dimensional to the Island Indigo image. I would normally mat a Very Vanilla piece, but I think the "naked" look makes this element pop on this card, so I left it alone.

Finally, I stamped the birthday cake in Blackberry Bliss onto a Very Vanilla scrap and punched it with the 1-1/4" Circle Punch. I mounted this on an Island Indigo piece that I punched with the 1-3/8" Circle Punch. I adhered this piece to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

This time I think I nailed the masculine feel!!

tams# 3753

Product List

Amazing Birthday Clear-Mount Stamp Set [134228] $21.00	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad [126986] $6.50	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [133642] $6.50	Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100867] $7.00
Soft Suede 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [115318] $7.00	Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101650] $8.50	Bohemian Designer Series Paper [138446] $11.00	Lucky Stars Textured Impressions Embossing Folders [135817] $7.50
Banner Punch [133519] $13.00	1-1/4" Circle Scallop Punch [127811] $16.00	1-3/8" Circle Punch [119860] $16.00	Fuse Fast Adhesive [129026] $10.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00	Paper Snips Scissors [103579] $10.00

Indigo Birthday

#stampinup  The sketch at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge blog is perfect for a quick and easy birthday card. I had some Bohemian Designer Series Paper on my desk from another project I was working on (check back later this week!), so I decided that Island Indigo would be the color for the card.



I started with an Island Indigo card base and added a Basic Gray mat. Next, I added a Whisper White panel onto which I stamped the sprinkles in Mint Macaron from the "Gorgeous Grunge" set. Next, I cut a 1.5 x 4" strip of Bohemian DSP and flagged the end with the Banner Triple Punch.

I stamped the "happy, happy, happy, happy..." sentiment onto a Whisper White scrap in Island Indigo. I stamped it again in Delightful Dijon and fussy cut two of the "happys." I attached them with a little snail adhesive. I mounted this onto a Delightful Dijon Mat.

I stamped the birthday cake in Mint Macaron onto a Whisper White scrap and punched it with the 1-1/4" Circle Punch and mounted it onto a circle that I punched from Mint Macaron card stock with the 1-3/8" Circle punch. The birthday cake and sentiment are mounted to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Finally, I added a length of Island Indigo 1/4" Cotton Ribbon to finish the card. I'm really pleased with how this card turned out!

tams# 3579

Product List

Amazing Birthday Clear-Mount Stamp Set [134228] $21.00	Gorgeous Grunge Clear Stamp Set [130517] $18.00	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad [126986] $6.50	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [138326] $6.50
Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin' Pad [138327] $6.50	Island Indigo 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122923] $7.00	Basic Gray 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121044] $7.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $8.50
Delightful Dijon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138338] $7.00	Bohemian Designer Series Paper [138446] $11.00	1-1/4" Circle Punch [119861] $16.00	1-3/8" Circle Punch [119860] $16.00
Banner Triple Punch [138292] $23.00	Island Indigo 1/4" Cotton Ribbon [134557] $6.00	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00	Paper Snips Scissors [103579] $10.00

Dotted Birthday

#stampinup

One of the first packs of designer series paper I ordered when the new (almost old) Stampin' Up! catalog came out last year was the Gold Soiree Specialty Series Paper. As usual, I loved it so much that I horded it and never used it...until recently. Now I want to use it all the time because the end of the Stampin' Up! catalog is near and this lovely paper will soon retire.

Using the sketch at this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge blog, I started with a strip of the dotted Gold Soiree paper and used that to choose my colors. I used a Pistachio Pudding card base and a Calypso Coral mat that I embossed with the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder. I added the strip of DSP and a length of Whisper White 1/4" Cotton Ribbon.

Next I stamped each of the circle elements from the "Amazing Birthday" stamp set--one in Crisp Cantaloupe, one in Calypso Coral, and one in Garden Green. I punched these with the 1-1/4" Circle Punch. I punched three circles from Garden Green card stock with the  1-3/8" Circle Punch. I attached the stamped circles to their Garden Green backing and attached all three to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

tams# 3170

Product List

Whisper White 1/4" Cotton Ribbon [134567] $5.95	Gold Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper [133697] $12.95	Garden Green 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [102584] $6.95	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $8.50
Pistachio Pudding 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131294] $6.95	Calypso Coral 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122925] $6.95	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad [126973] $5.95	Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad [131176] $5.95
Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [126983] $5.95	Amazing Birthday Clear-Mount Stamp Set [134228] $20.95	Whisper White 1/4" Cotton Ribbon [134567] $5.95	1-1/4" Circle Punch [119861] $15.95
1-3/8" Circle Punch [119860] $15.95	Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [133520] $7.95	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $3.95