Monday, June 30, 2014

Awesome Fringe!

One of my favorite stampers, Lyssa Zwolanek, made an ombre card using Stampin' Up's new fringe scissors. It's gorgeous and you can check it out on Lyssa's blog. Lyssa also gives instructions on making the card. In her blog post Lyssa admitted that the fringe scissors was "one product I was soooo sure I didn't need to buy." I totally thought the same--until I saw Lyssa's beautiful card and knew I wanted to recreate it myself!

Instead of using blues, I used shades of orange: Tangelo Twist, Calypso Coral, and Crisp Cantaloupe. I know my eyes were playing tricks on me, but as I layered each color, it looked like the fringes were dipped dyed, too!

(Stamp Set: Yippee-Skippee! Ink: Tangelo Twist; Card Stock: Tangelo Twist, Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray; Accessories: Fringe Scissors, Tangelo Twist Stitched Satin Ribbon, Decorative Label and Large Oval Punches)
 I added some Tangelo Twist Stitched Satin Ribbon and a sentiment from the "Yippee-Skippee!" stamp set.

Friday, June 27, 2014

You're My Type

I love this NEW "Tap, Tap, Tap" set. It's got a vintage feel, but it's cute--without being cutesie, KWIM? I must be in a vintage frame of mind because yesterday and today I used my go-to vintage colors: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Basic Black. I know I have vintage on my mind because I have to make a set of vintage cards for a swap during the Stampin' Up convention and I haven't got a CLUE as to what I'm going to do. (Vanna, I'd like to buy a clue, please.)

Anyway, I took a peek at this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge blog and loved it so I decided to play along. I wanted to use this set with the Typeset Specialty Paper, which is ultra-lightweight paper that look and feels like it came straight from a vintage book! I know I'm going to be using this paper on my vintage card swap--and maybe for an over-the-top tag swap, too--so I wanted to try it out. It's gorgeous! I love it!!

Here's the Freshly Made Sketch for this week:




And here's my card.

(Stamp Set: Tap, Tap, Tap; Ink: Early Espresso; Card Stock: Basic Black, Very Vanilla; Typeset Specialty Paper; Accessories: Oval Framelits Collection, Corner Rounder Punch, Real Red Candy Dots)
I fussy cut the typewriter and mounted it on a Basic Black oval cut with an Oval Framelit. Then I added three Real Red Candy Dots because, well, it just needed a pop of color!

Thursday, June 26, 2014

So Many Smiles

This week's Nacho Average Challenge sketch is a simple one--but those simple ones can be deceptively difficult to work with. The Nacho design team has made some gorgeous cards. Go check them out!

Here's the sketch--looks simple enough, right?



Here's the card I came up with, using the Traveler stamp set.


(Stamp Sets: Traveler, Petite Pairs; Ink: Early Espresso; Card Stock: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Basic Black; Accessories: Starburst and Circles Framelits Collections, 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder, Ticket Duo Punch)

I'm not sure I nailed it, but the elements of the sketch are there. I was tempted to do some sponging to make it a bit more vintage-y, but I left it clean and simple. I used the Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder to fill in some of the empty space so that the background is not so empty.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Patriotic Pumpkin

My, oh my, is the June 2014 Paper Pumpkin kit cute! It comes with enough supplies to make 24 patriotic pinwheels. You can make pinwheels on fun red striped straws or pinwheels on cello bags (included!) or pinwheels to....well, you're going to wait to see what I do with my pinwheels next week!

Here's everything you get in the kit.


© Stampin’ Up!

And here are three pinwheels on the striped straws. I put them in a mason jar filled with red and white shred and tied a bow in 1/4" Real Red Cotton Ribbon for a cute Fourth of July table decoration.



I keep saying that Stampin' Up has really stepped up their Paper Pumpkin kits. You get loads of supplies to make cute projects (a card one month, a 3Dproject the next), with loads of supplies left over to make other things, too. And it's such a deal! You can try Paper Pumpkin for one month for $19.95, including shipping. Just enter item number 137858 on my online store. A 3-month subscription (item 137859) is $59.85. Save $1 per month by signing up for a 6-month subscription (item number 137860) or save $2 per month by signing up for a 12-month subscription (item number 137861). You know you wanna!!


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Paper Crafting with the Crew

This week's Paper Craft Crew sketch challenge is a fun one this week. Here's the sketch:

Paper Craft Crew Card Sketch #98

I started with my pile of scraps and pulled out a cool piece of DSP from the Moonlight DSP paper stack. I love random blobs of color and I like the way they mimic the dots in the Decorative Dots Embossing folder. I went with Blue Lagoon and Basic Gray (again) as my main colors. I'm really liking this color combo!

(Stamp Set: Label Love; Ink: Hello Honey; Card Stock: Blue Lagoon, Basic Gray, Hello Honey, Whisper White; DSP: Moonlight Paper Stack; Accessories: Banners Framelits, Decorative Dots Embossing Folder, Artisan Label Punch, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Basic Rhinestones, Blue Lagoon Stitched Satin Ribbon)


It wasn't in the sketch, but I added a strip of ribbon across the top of the card. I thought it looked too plain without. I fussy cut the sentiment and then mounted it on a piece of Hello Honey that I'd punched with the Artisan Label Punch, so that just a tiny bit of Hello Honey peeks out from behind. I'm not much of a "heart" girl, but I'm really liking these little hearts punched with the Itty Bitty Accents punch set--especially when I've added a tiny rhinestone or pearl.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Hey You!

Stampin' Up's new photopolymer set "What's YourType?" is so versatile! I immediately fell in love with it when Shelly demonstrated it at the new catalog premier. I haven't had a chance to ink it up until today! I had an idea and it came together nicely, I think. I really like combining the new Blue Lagoon ink along with Basic Gray.

(Stamp Sets: What's Your Type?, Work of Art; Inks: Blue Lagoon, Basic Gray; Card Stock: Blue Lagoon, Basic Gray, Whisper White; Accessories: Blue Lagoon Stitched Satin Ribbon)

I first tried all capital letters and that overwhelmed the card. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. So I hopped on over to Pinterest and saw someone had made lower case letters! Doh! Why didn't I think of that?! So this set can make capital letters and lower case letters and all kinds of designs--that's actually what won me over--the versatility of the designs and textures that can be made with these simple shapes.

Speaking of simple, this card uses only stamps, ink, and card stock and only one embellishment: ribbon. How about that? I thought about adding basic rhinestones, but as one TV crafter once said, that would be "one baby's breath over the line."

I really like our photopolymer stamps. You can see right through them and (with a little practice) you can line letters up quite easily. And they're nice and sticky so they really stick to the acrylic blocks--even when the blocks are dirty, which mine often are. You've got to keep the acrylic blocks clean for our clear-mount stamps to stick. A little dish soap and they're good as new and the clear-mount stamps cling to them once again.

Friday, June 20, 2014

Clean & Simple Cheery Hello

I haven't played along with one of the Splitcoast Stampers challenges in a while, but when I saw Mary Brown's card that she made for this weeks CAS Featured Stamper challenge, I knew I wanted to play along, too! Mary's card is stunning and she CASE'd this card by Harriett Kelly. Aren't these cards wonderful?! I'm going to try something along these lines very soon!

Here's the card I made, based on this card by Harriett.

(Stamp Set: Six-Sided Sampler; Ink: Stazon Black; Card Stock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Tangerine Tango, Wild Wasabi, Daffodil Delight; Accessories: Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Window Frames Collection Framelits, Circle Card Framelit--flagged  banner, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Petite Petals Punch, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Subtles Candy Dots)
Here's a close-up so you can see the scoring, which make this simple layout so elegant, don't you think?

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back with more creations on Monday!

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Retro Sea Street

I used a variety of pieces of the Maritime DSP for this card that I created for this week's Retro Sketches challenge. When I started putting the pieces together, I realized that the sketch wasn't as straight-forward as I first thought. It was like making a quilt--a very patriotic quilt with all the red, white, and blue (with a little Coastal Cabana thrown in)!!

Here's this week's retro sketch:



And here's the card I made:

(Stamp Sets: Sea Street, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Inks: Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy; Card Stock: Real Red, Whisper White; DSP: Maritime; Accessories: Real Red 1/4" Cotton Ribbon, Modern Label and Word Window Punches)

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Clean & Simple Traveler

Well, I'm not so sure this card ended up being clean and simple, but it does match this week's Addicted to Clean and Simple theme: "Transport." I'm using the NEW Traveler stamp set again and inking up the ship because it matches one of the sheets in the NEW Maritime DSP and it fits in the Thinlits Circle Card Die.

Here's what I came up with:

(Stamp Set: Traveler; Ink: Night of Navy; Card Stock: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White; DSP: Maritime; Accessories: Thinlits Circle Card Die, Arrows Embossing Folder, Circles Framelits Collection, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Whisper White and Real Read 1/4" Cotton Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones)
This card turned out just like I envisioned it--how often does that happen? But when I finished it and stepped back to admire my handiwork, I thought, "Erp, it's not so clean and simple." Oh well. Here's the inside:

(Stamp Set: Traveler; Ink: Night of Navy; Card Stock: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White; DSP: Maritime; Accessories: Thinlits Circle Card Die, Arrows Embossing Folder, Circles Framelits Collection, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Whisper White and Real Read 1/4" Cotton Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones)


Tuesday, June 17, 2014

All About YOU!

I've had my eye on the "Really Good Greetings" set since it debuted in last year's Stampin' Up! catalog. I got a bunch of great swap cards using this set. But I procrastinated...and then I had to wait to make sure it came back in the new catalog. I was so happy that it did and it went on my first order!!

Today's card is made from a great sketch on the Create with Connie & Mary challenge blog.

CCMC307

I started with the "Finally A Day That Really Is All About You!" stamp and decided it would fit nicely in one of the Chalk Talk Framelits. I used Strawberry Slush and Wild Wasabi Stampin' Write Markers to color the stamp so that I could use two colors. I love this technique--so simple and such a satisfying result!

(Stamp Set: Really Good Greetings; Card Stock: Strawberry Slush, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White; DSP: 2013-2015 In Color Paper Stack; Accessories: Honeycomb Embossing Folder, Chalk Talk Framelits, Strawberry Slush and Wild Wasabi Stampin' Write Markers, Banners Framelits, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Whisper White Cotton Ribbon, Basic Pearls)

My DD says the card is in "watermelon colors"--one of her BFFs loves "watermelon colors" so this would make a great birthday card for her. I added the New 1/4" Cotton Ribbon...which I love... a Strawberry Slush dotted banner and three little hearts punch with the NEW Itty Bitty Punch Pack Collection. So cute! I added a little pearl to each heart because they just needed a little somethin'-somethin' and now they coordinate with the polka dotted banner!

Monday, June 16, 2014

Nacho Traveler

I haven't played along with the Nacho Average Challenge blog for a while. I can't seem to get my act together to get something posted on Monday nights. Fortunately, I had some time over the weekend to do some creating, so for the first time in a looong time, I'm actually ahead of the game a little bit. I need to get waaay ahead of the game because I have to have projects ready to queue up for you while I'm away at the Stampin' Up! convention in ONE MONTH!!!! Wooo-hooo! (Zoinks! I need to get my swap cards made, too.)

Anyway, this weeks Nacho challenge is a great sketch. You should check out the design team's creations. They're fab! Here's the sketch.



I had my NEW Traveler set and World Map background stamp out because I used them for one of my projects for yesterday's Creation Station blog hop, so I decided to use it for the Nacho challenge.

(Stamp Sets: Traveler, World Map, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Inks: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler; Card Stock: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories: Crumb Cake Seam Biding, Arrows Embossing Folder, Ticket Punch)

Jen Frost, one of the Creation Station design team members said how much she likes the "mocha and rouge" so I thought I'd go along with that color scheme. I fussy cut the passport and suitcase and adhered them with dimensionals. I used the Arrows Embossing folder on the Cherry Cobbler strip, but you have to look really closely to see it in this pic. I added a sentiment from Teeny Tiny wishes and punched it with the Ticket Duo builder punch. (Get it? Ticket? Travel?)

For the ruffly ribbon, I pulled a thread from the center of Crumb Cake Seam Binding and shirred it. It sounds easier than it is--either that, or I'm extremely impatient. Yeah, that's the ticket. 

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Creation Station Around the World!



Welcome to Creation Station!! If you're following the blog around, you've just come from Ilina Crouse's blog and seen her wonderful creations. If you're starting with me, no worries, because you can follow the blog hop all the way around by clicking on the "back" and "next" buttons below.


This time we're featuring wedding themed items, the World Map background stamp, and the super cool Gift Card enclosures.

Let's start with the Around the World theme and take a look at my first card, made with the World Map background stamp and the NEW Traveler stamp set.

(Stamp Sets: Traveler, Label Love; Inks: Mossy Meadow Early Espresso, Soft Suede (for sponging); Card Stock: Early Espresso, Mossy Meadow, Naturals Ivory; Accessories: Ovals Framelits Collection, Artisan Label Punch)

When I saw the Traveler stamp set, I knew I needed to get it right away! I was thrilled that it was on the pre-order for Stampin' Up demonstrators, but sadly, I haven't inked it up until today! I'll be using this set a lot because I love the vintage feel and I love how it can be used for masculine cards.  It pairs well with the World Map background stamp, don't ya think? I did some very light sponging in Soft Suede on the various elements. Can't wait to use this set some more!!

My next item uses the super cool Gift Card enclosures. They're super cool because you can decorate them any way you like for any occasion. They come 10 to a pack for a mere $5.95--so they're a bargain, too! They're pre-scored and have slits for a gift card. Since the Creation Station design team is featuring wedding items, I thought I'd make a wedding gift card. Here's the front, all tied up with Whisper White Organza Ribbon.
(Stamp Set: Label Love; Ink: Hello Honey; Card Stock: Hello Honey, Whisper White; DSP: Moonlight Paper Stack; Accessories: Deco Framelits Collection, Chalk Talk Framelits Collection (for the ribbon holes), Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Modern Label Punch, Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Gift Card Enclosure)
Here's the back, all folded up. You can see that the Gift Card enclosure itself is made of Crumb Cake (kraft) card stock.






And here's the inside with the gift card. I decorated the inside with the same Moonlight DSP and Hello Honey card stock that I used on the front of the card. I used the Circles Framelits collection to decorate the flaps. They fit perfectly!!

(Card Stock: Hello Honey; DSP: Moonlight Paper Stack; Accessories: Circles Framelits Collection, Gift Card Enclosures)


That's it for me this time. Next up is the fabulous Cindy Beach. I know you're going to LOVE what she's got in store for you!!!

http://ilinacrouse.blogspot.com/2014/06/creation-station-blog-hop-forever-always.html 
http://stampspaperandink.typepad.com/stamps_paper_and_ink/2014/06/creation-station-blog-hop-.html

Friday, June 13, 2014

Summertime Seize the Birthday

I love playing along with the Seize the Birthday challenge blog--because the challenge is so simple: make a birthday card! They always throw in a topping, though, which makes it interesting. But you don't have to add a topping if you don't want to. This week's topping is SUMMERTIME. For my card, I choose summery colors to make it a summertime card.

 
(Stamp Set: Label Love; Ink: Coastal Cabana; Card Stock: Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Pistachio Pudding; DSP: Lullaby; Accessories: Coastal Cabana Thick Baker's Twine, Honeycomb Embossing Folder, Artisan Label Punch)

I love the Lullaby DSP because it's sweet, but not babyish, and it can be used for any type of card. I matched the honeycombs on the DSP with the Honeycomb Embossing folder. I pulled the Coastal Cabana and Pistachio Pudding colors from the DSP for my color scheme. Do you love the new THICK Baker's Twine?! I surely do!!

Have a great weekend and don't forget to stop back here on Sunday morning so you can follow the Creation Station design team blog hop!!

Thursday, June 12, 2014

It's Your Fabulous Day!

Sometimes I look at a sketch and think, "That should be pretty easy." And I pick out a DSP and have my color scheme. And I start putting together my card so that it (somewhat) resembles the sketch. And then. And then. And then, I'm stuck. "Hmm," I think, "this isn't working out like I thought it was going to work out. Oh well. It's not at all like the sketch, but it's a nice card and I can put in on my blog." And then when I start assembling, I realize that the card needs a little somethin'-somethin' 'cause it's not quite finished. And then I get a flash of brilliance and realize, "Oh, if I add a row of buttons here, that gets me back to the sketch."

So here's the fabulous Fab Friday sketch.



And here's my card.

(Stamp Set: Hip Hip Hooray (from the Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit); Ink: Baked Brown Sugar; Card Stock: Crisp Cantaloupe, Baked Brown Sugar, Very Vanilla; DSP: Lullaby; Accessories: Window Frames Collection Framelits, Festive Piercing Template, Crumb Cake Designer Buttons, Linen Thread)
I couldn't figure out how to add washi tape, but I think the card is close enough (for government work) to the sketch!

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Yippee-Skippee! Little Crabbies!

If you've been reading my blog, you know that I got the Sea Street stamp set because of the key-oot little crabs. I had a chance to play  with the crabs today, using the fabulous sketch at the Retro Sketches challenge blog.



Since the matching Maritime DSP uses Real Red, Night of Navy, and Whisper White (along with Coastal Cabana), I stuck with the red, white, and blue theme for my card. I've never actually used the "yippee-skippee!" stamp from this set, though  I've used several other sentiments. I think the little crabbies are happy little crabs and I think they look they're shouting, "Yippee-Skippee!"

(Stamp Sets: Sea Street, Yippee-Skippee!; Inks: Night of Navy, Real Red; Card Stock: Real Red, Whisper White; DSP: Maritime; Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 3/4" and 1" Circle Punches, Banner Framelit from Circle Card Framelit Set, Whisper White 1/4" Cotton Ribbon)

The "Yippee-Skippee!" sentiment fits perfectly in the banner framelit from the Circle Card Framelit set. I curled the edges a bit to give it some dimension. I added a strip of our NEW Whisper White 1/4" Cotton Ribbon--I'm loving this new ribbon! I may have to buy all the colors. The crab circles are each popped up with a Stampin' Dimensional, as is the sentiment.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Mr. Brown Brought Me New Toys!!!

We Stampin' Up demonstrators refer to our UPS drivers affectionately as "Mr. Brown." What a joy it is when Mr. Brown brings us a package from Stampin' Up. I ordered a bunch of stuff from the NEW catalog as soon as it went "live" and it just arrived this evening! Yay! (But boo 'cause I simply could not order everything I want need and I already have a wish list a mile long!)

Am I going to show you something new? Well, sort of new...new to me anyway. I've been wanting the "Really Good Greetings" set for a while. It came out in last year's catalog. But I wanted to wait until I was sure it would be in the new catalog before I ordered it--and it's here!! I do have a bit of new DSP and I'm using the new in-colors, so, yeah, this card shows some NEW product, right!!

I'm playing along in this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge which is a sketch challenge. Here's the sketch:

Paper Craft Crew Card Sketch #96

And here's the card I made with (mostly) new stuff from the new catalog.

(Stamp Sets: Really Good Greetings, Gorgeous Grunge; Inks: Hello Honey, Blackberry Bliss; Card Stock: Hello Honey, Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White; DSP: Moonlight Paper Stack; Accessories: Angled Top Tag Punch, Circle Card Framelits (for the stars), Hello Honey Stitched Satin Ribbon)
I cut the stars from Blackberry Bliss card stock using the star framelit in the Circle Card Framelit pack and popped them up on 1/2 a dimensional for some depth. The tag is also popped up on dimensionals.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Sea Street Birthday

One of the many new stamp sets in the new Stampin' Up Idea Book and catalog is the "Sea Street" set. It's such a cute set and, being from Maryland, I had to buy it because of the cute little crab. This set would be great for any occasion and for any age. There are 8 seriously cute and versatile stamps in the set (item number 133988 clear-mount $16.95; item number 133985 wood-mount $22.95)

Sea Street Clear Stamp Set by Stampin' Up!
©2001-2014 Stampin’ Up!
Even though I love the crab, I thought I'd start with the octopus--he's totes adorbs, too! I fussy cut the nautical flags and draped them across the card. I used the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder to mimic sea bubbles. I stuck to the colors in the coordinating Maritime DSP--Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Night of Navy, and Whisper White--even though I ended up not using DSP.

(Stamp Sets: Sea Street, Label Love; Inks: Night of Navy, Real Red; Card Stock: Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Night of Navy; Accessories: Decorative Dots Embossing Folder, Artisan Label Punch)




Friday, June 6, 2014

Awesome Fresh Thanks

Today's card is based on a sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. I love the clean and simple sketches the design team inspires us with every week. This week's sketch is no exception--take a look!



I figured I could use a few scraps of Lullaby DSP that I had around from some other projects for the banners. I liked the banners, but then my color mojo went all cattywampus.  What color to use for the card base? Do I need another color panel? What color should my tag be? Oy. I tried so many combos. I finally settled on a Baked Brown Sugar base with a Crisp Cantaloupe panel and a Whisper White tag. I added some blobs from Gorgeous Grunge in Baked Brown Sugar and a few sprinkles in Pistachio Pudding.

My supply of ribbon is in a sorry state since so much of my stock has retired. I've got an order in for loads of NEW ribbon, but until that arrives, I had to make do with what I had on hand. I made a tassel from Whisper White Bakers Twine and tied it with a Linen Thread Bow.

(Stamp Sets: Yippee-Skippee! Gorgeous Grunge; Inks: Crisp Cantaloupe, Baked Brown Sugar, Pistachio Pudding; Card Stock: Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White; DSP: Lullaby; Accessories: Angled Tag Topper Punch, Hexagon Punch, Whisper White Bakers Twine, Linen Thread)




Thursday, June 5, 2014

Retro Thank You

I started with a piece of Moonlight DSP for this week's Retro Sketches challenge. That gave me my color scheme: Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, and Sahara Sand. These new colors are so yummy! seriously, every time I use this color combo I wonder whether blackberries would taste good dipped I honey.

Here's the Retro Sketch:



And here's my card:

(Stamp Set: Work of Art; Ink: Blackberry Bliss; Card Stock: Blackberry Bliss, Sahara Sand; DSP: Moonlight Paper Stack; Accessories: Boho Blossoms Punch, Hello Honey Stitched Satin Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Envelope Punch Board--to round corners)
I really like the sketch and I almost left off the Boho Blossom punched elements because it was so clean without theme, but being the firstborn, I had to add them to my creation because, we'll, that's what the instructions say!