Ribbon that Ties Like a Dream

Today at SSI we are sharing our favorite accessory from the Annual Catalog.  I wasn't sure what I would pick at first.  And it took me actually using this accessory to realize how great it is.  I am showing ff the stitched satin ribbon, in Pool Party today.

Here is the card I made with it:

First of all, how great is Pool Party with Sweet Sugarplum, right?  They look so yummy together!  I thought this was a perfect color combo to use the new Cupcake Bundle.  I also love the Festive Embossing Folder, the pattern adds such great texture.  When I was tying the ribbon, I realized how great it was.  My knot was so pretty and the satin has just the right amount of shine.  

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Be sure to head back to SSI where our designers are sharing their favorite accessories.  

Custom Made DSP

Stampin' Up! has so many great Designer Series Papers.  But maybe one doesn't exist with the right colors or patterns.  Well with all of our great stamps, you can great your own background paper.  I chose an obvious stamp set to do this with, called Playful Backgrounds.  Here is my card:

This could also be considered a Quick and Easy card as well.  I love Sweet Sugarplum and Basic Gray together with a hint of silver.  I am really loving this color, it's not quite pink and not quite purple.  This would be a cute card to accompany a little gift.  

Head over to SSI to see more ways to stamp your own DSP.  

July Technique Challenge

It's Monday already and we have a new challenge for you.  The 4th Monday of each month will be our Technique Challenge, created by Tobe.  She does a great job picking out awesome techniques to try out.  Check out this month's:

I had never done this before.  This might be very obvious when you see my card:

I had gotten this stamp set awhile ago and was happy to finally get some ink on it.  I decided to make a masculine card.  My color palette was Delightful Dijon, Cajun Craze and Dapper Denim.  I love the background stamping, I can't wait to try another technique with this stamp set (Triple Time Stamping).  All I needed was a little bit of linen thread to finish off this card.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Head over to SSI for more projects using this technique and then create and upload yours!

Going for the Gold

My husband has said that I am like a crow, attracted to anything sparkly or shiny.  This is definitely true with my paper crafting as well.  And today at SSI we are talking about the shiny stuff; gold, silver and copper accents.  I have a fun card with some gold accents to share with you:

I feel like the picture does not do this card justice.  In person it looks so much better.  I heat embossed the pineapple with versa mark and gold embossing powder.  I also heat embossed the sentiment with Basic Black archival ink and clear embossing powder onto some vellum.  I added another gold element with the bow clip.  And the Pop of Pink DSP was a perfectly fun background.  

Thanks so much for checking out my card today!  Head over to SSI for more shiny projects!  

Christmas In July

Have you started your Christmas Shopping yet?  The way this summer is flying by, I feel like we will be decking the halls before we know it.  I am sure some of the craft stores are starting to get their Holiday Decor out already.  I was happy to see some really awesome Christmas DSP in the Annual Catalog.  Here is a quick and easy card:

I love Emerald Envy and thought it would pair nicely with Cherry Cobbler.  The This Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper actually has Garden Green in it, but I chose to just use the Cherry Cobbler sheet along with the very fun music paper.  The other DSP is from the Playful Palette stack.  I love using all sorts of DSP because its no use just hanging out in my craft room.  It needs to be cut and put on projects and shared for all to see!  The sentiment comes from the Ronald McDonald House Charities Stamp Set called My Hero.  You might have missed this one, its on the last page of the catalog.  Lots of occasions to create for in this set and $3 of your purchase got towards the charity.  I added a hint of gold glimmer paper and an Emerald Envy epoxy heart to finish off this card.

Thanks so much for looking!  Head back over to SSI for more Christmas in July projects!

July Inkspiration Challenge

It is Monday already, can you believe it?  The summer is certainly flying by and we have a perfect summery Inkspiration Challenge for you over at Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration.  Check it out:

This picture has so many things to draw inspiration from; the colors, the beach items (love the flip flops!), even the layout can give you a great start to a card.  Here is mine:

I decided to used the colors and some of the items for my card.  The background is from the Serene Scenery DSP stack...it is almost a perfect match with the image.  I heat embossed the starfish with the Copper Embossing powder.  I added some flowers with some copper thread and sequins as well.  Confession here, when I stamped the sentiment, I had a little extra ink along the edge.  So I decided to outline the sentiment.  Every mistake is an opportunity for an embellishment.  

Below you can find a complete supply list.  Now it's your turn to create a project and upload it over at SSI.

A Quick and Easy Badge

There are so many great stamps in the New Annual Catalog.  The Badges and Banners bundle have a two great products that work together to make great Quick and Easy cards, the best kind, right?  Here is the bundle:

Honestly, I wasn't too impressed with this bundle at first.  But of course I saw a lot of great cards by some fellow demonstrators and I started to see the light!  Here is one card I put together super fast:

I really love that Enjoy Your Day sentiment...it is so fun!  I decided to go with some Pool Party along with Crumb Cake and Silver accents.  The background paper is from the Serene Scenery DSP stack, which also inspired the color palette.  The strip of Island Indigo came when I cute the patterned paper to fit my card front.  I realized it would make a great accent.  I love using all the scraps!  

Be sure to head back to SSI for more Quick and Easy cards.  

A Flying Fairy

One of my first purchases in the new catalog included both the spinner/slider card framelits and the Fairy Celebration stamp set.  I knew that I had to make a card where we could have a little flying fairy.  I found a perfect opportunity with two online challenges; Just Add Ink and The Paper Players.

Here is my card:

The Blooms and Bliss DSP was perfect since this sheet has both Mint Macaron and Island Indigo in it.  I added touches of Sweet Sugarplum on the sentiment, fairy and a bow.  Can I just say that this Ruched Ribbon ties like a dream?  I love it so much!  It is hard to see in the photo, but the slider track is coated with the Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen, kind of like fairy dust.  I also coated the fairy's wings with some glitter as well.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Below is a supply list.  

Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration July Blog Hop

Hello and thank you for stopping by!  Today is our monthly blog hop with the fabulous gals over at Stylin' Stampin; Inkspiration.  Our theme for July is perfect for this of the year; SUMMER VACATION!  As you hop along, please be sure to comment and show some love on every blog! We are always excited to hear from our followers! You should have just left stop number 1 on the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration Blog Hop - Tobe at The Craft Sea. If so, you are in the right spot. If a link doesn't work or you get off track, you will find the full blog hop lineup below.

I am so excited!  Soon I will be heading down to the Outer Banks, North Carolina for a week with my whole family.  This includes my family (myself, husband and two kids), both of my brothers and their families (four more adults and four more kids) and my parents.  It is going to be so fun!  It is a much needed happy occasion since the last time we were all together it was to say goodbye to my grandmother who is so very important to us all.  We know that she will be with us, laughing at the grandkids and all the mischief that the older kids get into!  To prepare for this occasions I decided to make some special photo albums for each family. 

These albums were so fun to make.  I used the By The Shore Designer Series Paper and the corresponding colors along with some Top Top Taupe.  Here is a peek inside:

That might not look like much, but each side opens up not just once...

But twice:

The albums are 6" x 6" and each page is a 5" x 5".  I can't wait to fill these albums up with great pictures from this vacation!  Thanks so much for checking out my project.  Below is a complete supply list.  

Up next is Cheryl from Create with Cheryl.  She is new to our design team, but you wouldn't know it based on her fabulous work!  I can't wait to see what she has to show us!

Blog Hop Participant List:

1. Tobe at The Craft Sea
2. Jennifer at Jenny G Paper Stamps
3. Cheryl at Create with Cheryl
4. Darcy at Dj's Stampin' Place
5. Diana at Stampin' Fun with Diana
6. Pamela at Stinky Tofu
7. Jen at Faith. Grace. Stamp.

July Card Sketch

Happy Monday to you and yours!  We have a super fun sketch for you this week!  I can't wait to see what you can do with it:

A big thanks to Diana over at SSI for a great sketch.  Here is my take on it:

I kept mine quick and easy, which is very difficult for me!  I tend to over embellish.  I love the Festive Birthday paper and I seem to be on a Melon Mambo kick.  But I didn't want to use the Birthday Fiesta stamp set.  I wanted to make a card for one of my fellow Stampin' Up! demos who says that she always sends handstamped cards but never receives them.  I thought that was awful, so I made this with her in mind!  The sentiment comes from Scenic Sayings and this stamp set is going to be a go to one for me!  

Thanks so much for looking at my card.  Now its your turn to see what you can make with this great sketch.  Upload your creation over at SSI.

A Fancy Fold with Seaside Shore

I love paper crafting.  It is so amazing all the wonderful things you can come up with using paper.  I am always looking for a new way to make a card.  Today at SSI, we are looking at Fancy Fold for cards.  I found a fun one by checking out another demo's You Tube Page (France Martin).  She called it a flip card, I have also seen it called a swing card.  Here is mine:

Here it is open:

Here is a tip...be sure to stamp the inside BEFORE you adhere it to the base.  I was able to make it work but it was touch and go there for a bit.  This was a fun card to make and it would be a cute card to send to my nieces...they would love all the fish and would probably try to figure out how I made it!  

For a complete supply list, check out below.  Be sure to head back over to SSI where we got Fancy with our Folds on Friday!

    

Oh Happy Beach Day!

I am so excited to go to the beach this summer.  My little boy is approaching my favorite age (3-5) and my daughter is a super big sister helping out with him.  And we are renting a beach house in the Outer Banks, North Carolina with my extended family.  There will be six parents, six kids and 2 grandparents.  It is going to be awesome!  So I made this quick and easy beach card to celebrate this occasion:

All I did here was start with a Crumb Cake base and add a layer of Bermuda Bay card stock.  Then I took that beautiful beach scene paper from the Serene Scenery DSP stack.  I stamped the sentiment from Scenic Saying in Island Indigo and coated it with some Clear Wink of Stella glitter.  I added some Bermuda Bay stitched ribbon and a Pool Party enamel heart.  Don't you just want to be sitting on the sand there?

Below is the shopping list.  Head over to SSI for more beach themed cards! 

July Color Challenge

Happy 4th of July to you!  We have a perfectly patriotic color combo for you today over at SSI:

When Dapper Denim came out, I knew it would pair well with Real Red and it does.  Check out my Anniversary card for my husband.  We were married on July 4th:

I think that the Sunburst Die has a patriotic vibe to it.  I used the Number of Years stamp set (and dies) here but I had to alter the sentiment which is stamped on vellum and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  I changed it to "the number of years my world has been a better place because you're in it.  I added the MY from a stamp in Suite Sentiments.  I added some of the beautiful ruched ribbon.  Here is a peek at the inside: 

Just a Happy Anniversary and a Dapper Denim enamel heart.  I have to leave room for a personal message to my amazing husband!

Let's see what you come up with now!  Use these three fabulous colors together and upload your creation at SSI today!

Seeing Stars?

The Fourth of July is almost here so we are seeing stars over at SSI!  I decided to go a different route and use the fun slider card bundle.  Check it out:

This slider card was so easy to make.  The dies make is it so easy!  I did get some washers to help hold the star into the track.  It is hard to see in the picture but the Smoky Slate stars and the moon are coated in the Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen.  I added some of the Gold Wink of Stella Glitter Pen on the shooting star.  The sentiment was small enough to fit on the Duet Banner Punch.  

Thanks so much for looking.  Enjoy the BBQs, fireworks and perhaps the beach this weekend.  On Monday I celebrate 12 years with my darling husband!  Head back to SSI for more star projects.