Nailed It

I have been trying to pace myself with ordering all the amazing goodies from the Occasions Catalog.  Especially since I have been short on time recently, it is hard to find the time to use all the amazing products.  But what is great about Stampin' Up's perfectly coordinated stamps and accessories is that it doesn't take a long time to create with them.  Stampin' Up! takes all the guess work out of matching colors and fussy cutting things out.  I created this masculine card using the Urban Underground DSP along with the Nailed It bundle:

I decided to create a Father's Day card because this set really is perfect for my dad who amazes me with his wood working abilities.  I started off with a Basic Gray card base and took a piece of the Urban Underground DSP and embossed it with the Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  The picture here does not do it justice...the background literally pops off the base.  I took a skinny piece of the Delightful Dijon and cut and embossed it with the ruler die from the Build It Framelit dies.  I layered on some more of the DSP, those triangles looked pretty cool to me.  I then stamped some of the tools from the Nailed It stamp set on to some Delightful Dijon with the same color ink.  I stamped the sentiment with some Delightful Dijon, die cut it with the Build It Framelit Dies and then sponged around the edges.  

With the perfect sentiments and great colors  these supplies take all the guess work out of making masculine card.  Thanks so much for stopping by today,  For more masculine card, head over to SSI where that is what we are featuring today!

  

Avant Garden

Sale-A-Bration truly is the best time of the year.  I love that we get to earn free stamps and other goodies with a qualifying purchase.  And with the amazing Occasions Catalog, it is so easy to get that qualifying order.  Today I am showing off the Avant Garden stamp set:

The set doesn't look like too much, but there are so much collage stamping potential in this set.  I used some last year's new in colors (by the by, they will be retiring at the end of May, so get those ink refills now or you will be sad!).

If you have the Sale-A-Bration brochure handy, you will see that this card is loosely CASED from a sample in there.  I got different shades of the Cucumber Crush and Watermelon Wonder by stamping twice without reinking my stamp.  I really love these colors together...the bright colors with that fabulous neutral.  This card came together super quick.  Did you spot I still used the Stitched Shaped Framelits, I can't get enough of those!!!  Seriously my favorite framelits!  

We are talking all about our favorite Sale-A-Bration stamp set over at SSI, head there for more great INKspiration.  

A Bunch of Love

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and there are quite a few people that I should be sending cards too.  I am happy to share a pretty cute one that I made:

This was pretty easy to make.  I just started with a Crumb Cake card base and added a Whisper White background.  I then punched out a bunch of hearts using the Sweetheart punch.  I used some of the Sending Love DSP stack as well as some Red Glimmer Paper.  The sentiment comes from the Ronald McDonald House Charities stamp set, My Hero.  I decided to make my hearts into a bunch of balloons and tied on some Linen Thread.  

For more Valentine's Day/Love themed cards, head over to SSI.

January Technique Challenge

Can you believe it is Monday already?  I don't know what happened to the weekend, it seemed to fly by for sure!  It is going to be wet and rainy here in my neck of the woods today, so it would be the perfect day to stay inside and stamp!  If only I could get me 3 year old boy to stamp with me.  Today we have a great Technique Challenge for you over at SSI.  Here it is:

Here is my card:

I decided to go with a pink ombre effect with my background on a Blushing Bride card base.  I sponged some Rich Razzleberry, Sweet Sugarplum and Blushing Bride on some Whisper White.  Once that dried I took out my template, a piece of Window Sheet that already had some circles cut out of it.  With a sponge dauber, I sponged on a few circles in the Whisper White Craft.  I added some of the Sale-A-Bration metallic ribbon in the Whisper White and silver and a sentiment that was stamped with Rich Razzleberry ink and then sponged in Sweet Sugarplum around the edges.  Finally I finished the whole thing off with a die cut Dragonfly in the Silver Foil.

Thanks so much for checking out my project today.  If you haven't gotten a chance to try this technique, now is your chance!  It is pretty easy and creates pretty stunning results.  I can't wait to see what you upload over at SSI!    

Beautiful You and Watercolor Pencils

So the Beautiful You stamp set is...well Beautiful!  It has three lovely ladies and lots of great sentiments.  There are also little extra stamps to add some quick color to the stamped images of the ladies.  But of course I had to use the AMAZING NEW Watercolor pencils with this great stamp set.  

In fact, just to let you know how easy this was, I packed the Beautiful You stamp set and a clear block, the Basic Black Archival Ink along with the Watercolor Pencils and a pack of the Notecards in my son's swim bag.  See he recently graduated from his Parent Child Class to going to a group class.  This means I have 30 minutes to myself while he is swimming.  It is great!  So I stamped and colored while he had his class.  Here is what I made:

I also took a blender pen to blend the colors in a little bit more once I got home.  I actually had a little girl come up to me while I was coloring and we chatted about how we loved to color.  It really is a great stress relief!  The list of products I used is below.  I just realized that it costs a little bit over $50 (without the Blender Pens) which means you could buy all these products now and qualify for a Sale-A-Bration item.  And with these pencils, you should totally get the stamp set Hey Chick or the Inside the Lines DSP.  

For more projects using the Watercolor Pencils, head over to SSI!

CASE the Occasions Catalog - Swan Lake

Now the fabulous Occasions Catalog has been live for a few days now, you have had lots of time to pour over all the fabulous new products.  But have you really looked at all the amazing samples?  Aside from great products, Stampin' Up! has given us tons of inspiration in these catalogs.  The projects in there are super CASE-worthy (Copy And Share Everything)!  When you are CASEing you don't have to replicate a product...sometimes you just use the same colors or layout or technique.  

Today at SSI we are CASEing from the Occasions catalog.  Here is a picture of the sample I am CASEing first, it can be found on page 53 of the Occasions Catalog:

I received the Swan Lake stamp set at a Stampin' Up! I attended.  I was happy to win it since it was something I probably would not have bought myself.  I love so many things that they did with the little mini-treat bag so I decided to turn that into a card:

I took some Shimmery White and stamped the swan and the the other images with the Basic Black Archival Ink.  Then I grabbed my blender pens and watercolored.  I really liked the Pool Party with the Sweet Sugarplum in the catalog sample and added a Wild Wasabi card base.  I also loved the simple bow by the sentiment in the sample so I made sure to have one as well.  As you can see I didn't recreate the card in the catalog, but I definitely used it as a springboard to create my own card.  

Want to see more CASE'd cards from Occasions Catalog?  Head over to SSI!

January INKspiration Challenge

Happy Monday!  Today we have a great challenge for you over at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration.  It is time for our INKspiration Challenge where we give you a photo and you create anything you want given the picture.  You can draw inspiration from the colors, the subject, the layout, whatever you want!  Here is this month image:

So two things jump out to me with this image; the big heart and the ombre style coloring.  So I went with both of those when creating my card.  Here is my card:

Once I figured out what I wanted to do, this card came together so quickly.  I just used a Whisper White card base and took my color cues from the image.  I used Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo and Watermelon Wonder and cut that beautiful heart from the Bloomin' Heart thinlit dies in each color.  I stacked them up exactly on top of each other and cut the stack in thirds and rebuilt in on the card base.  I added some rhinestones for a bit of sparkle.  The sentiment comes from the Bloomin' Love stamp set and it is stamped in Watermelon Wonder.  I added a bit of striped washi tape in Watermelon Wonder and added a die cut heart from the Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper.  I finished the card off with the a little bow in Blushing Bride baker's twine.  

What stands out when you look at that image!  Now it's your turn to create something and upload it over at SSI.  

Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration January Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the January installment of the Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration Blog Hop.  Today we are talking all about birthdays!  Everyone has one and therefore we are always needing birthday cards.  I decided to create cards from the same suite of products; Tasty Treats!  I just love all the ice cream and popsicles along with the fun bright colors.  These cards would work for anyone with a sweet tooth; masculine, feminine of for the kids!    

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 6 on the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration Blog Hop - Cheryl H. at Create with Cheryl. 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.

Up first is an ice cream cone card that really shows off the DSP for this suite:

  

I used a Crumb Cake card base and layered the DSP on some Pear Pizzazz card stock.  I used the Layering Ovals framelits with some Watermelon Wonder and the sprinkles DSP to frame my custom made ice cream cone cut with the Cool Treats framelits.  I love how the cone is embossed as well as perfectly cut.  I finished up the cone with some of the adorable Sprinkles embellishments which has several different sized sequins and mini pearls.  The sentiment is stamped in Pear Pizzazz and layered on some Pool Party.  

I love this next card.  It is actually quite simple and and the use of washi tape was inspired by Bree's card from last week.  

I love how this turned out.  The washi tape background was so easy to do.  I was initially just going to make a gift tag but cut it too short and then decided it would be cute on a card.  I used the Layering Ovals again with Cool Treats framelits.  Again, check out how the framelit cut and emboss the ice cream cone.  I also was able to stamp the soft serve ice cream to give it a two toned effect.  I used the Scalloped Tag Topper punch along with some Pool Party ribbon tied with some Linen Thread.  

All  this love for the ice cream, I had to make a card with the popsicles.  

This card really just shows off a little bit of the DSP, so it would be a good way to make a lot of cards without using a lot of the DSP each time.  I used the Layering Squares along with the Stitched Shapes dies.  I stamped and die cut my popsicles in Peekaboo Peach and Watermelon Wonder (stamping off first for the first layer) and used a lighter shade of Crumb Cake for the sticks (stamped off first).  I places these on some Vellum with some Silver Thread looped below it.  

I just love this Suite of products and am looking forward to creating with it in the future.  It makes great birthday cards for all ages!  Speaking of Birthday Cards, that's what this Blog Hop is all about and next up is Nichole L at Scrappy Stamps & Ink.  

Blog Hop Participant List:

1. Jen G. at Faith.Grace.Stamp
2. Cathy A. at Maine Mountain Stamper
3. Diana E. at Stampin' Fun with Diana
4. Pamela W. at Stinky Tofu
5. Darcy J. at Dj's Stampin' Place
6. Cheryl H. at Create with Cheryl
7. Jennifer G. at Jenny G Paper Crafts
8. Nichole L. at Scrappy Stamps & Ink
9. Tobe B. at The Craft Sea
10. Darla R. at Stampin' with Darla
11. Donna S. at Geek Squad Crafting
12. Jen P. at By the Shore Stamping
13. Melissa S. at The Stamp Doc
14. Bree R. at Craft-somnia Momma
15. Tonya B. at Stampin' with Tonya
16. Kim R. at Stamping with Kim

A Bundle to Get Carried Away With

I love Sale-A-Bration!  I always feel like Stampin' Up! outdoes itself ever year with its offerings.  This year is no different.  There are so many fabulous products.  Today at SSI, our designers are creating their own $50 (or so) bundles and showing you what you can make with those products plus the free Sale-A-Bration item.  For my bundle, I am also assuming you already have some supplies, like a big shot and basic card stock colors and inks.    

So the color palette for the this DSP is so great.  The colors are fun and vibrant.  This sheet of the DSP is my favorite.  I thought it would be perfect along with the sentiment for sending someone a birthday card who you might not get the chance to see on their birthday.  I added a few fun In-Color Accessories (2015-2017 In Color Doilies for $6 and some Peekaboo Peach Ruched Ribbon for $8) to finish off this card, but the DSP does most of the work for me!  Plus the die cut for the balloon is super cute and some dimensionals make it pop off the page.  Here is a peek inside:  

Bundle:

Lift Me Up Bundle: $45.75 for Clear-mount/$53 for Wood-mount

2015-2017 In Color Doilies: $6

Peekaboo Peach Ruched Ribbon: $8

Carried Away DSP: FREE

Head over to SSI for more bundles showing off great ways to use the fabulous free products you can earn!  Check out below for a complete supply list!

January Card Sketch

I love a good card sketch.  It gives me a chance to create a project with a little head start.  And we have a great one from Diana this month over at SSI.  Check it out:

I decided to break out the Cupcakes and Carousels DSP along with the Carousel Birthday stamp set for this card.  Here is my creation:

I started with a Peekaboo Peach card base and added the carousel horse paper with hints of Calypso Coral, Peekaboo Peach and Early Espresso.  I used my Layering Circles framelits to cut the burst patterned paper in the same colors.  For my banner I cut some Copper Foil and embossed with the with Festive Embossing Folder.  If you haven't tried embossing the Foil Sheet, you need to!  It really adds a wow factor!  I layered my sentiment onto some more Peekaboo Peach and then added a Calypso Coral flower with a Classy Designer Button.  Here is the inside: 

I couldn't decide what color to stamp the horse on the inside so I made my own ink pad with a baby wipe and some re-inkers and used all the colors!  Such a fun and easy technique and I like how it looks like the DSP on the front.

  I have a complete supply list below.  Head back to SSI for more projects using this card sketch and take some time to yourself this week to create one and upload it!  

A Special Dragonfly Day

The 2017 Occasions Catalog from Stampin' Up! is chock full of stamps for just about occasion you might have coming up.  And one special occasion that happens year round is birthdays!  There are several birthday specific stamp sets in the occasions catalog, but today I am sharing a set that happens to have a birthday sentiment in it, Dragonfly Dreams:

I shared a project with you earlier this week using this set, but I have another one this time using some of the fabulous new Inside the Lines DSP from our Sale-A-Bration brochure.  Here is my card:

I just love the watercolor pencils...they color like a dream and then afterwards you can blend them together for an even better look with a blender pen!  This card was super easy  and I love how quick it came together!  For a complete supply list, look below.  Head back over to SSI, where are designers are sharing their favorite birthday stamp sets from the new Occasions Catalog.

Countdown to Occasions Catalog - Day 1

It's here, it's here!!!!!  The fabulous new 2017 Occasions Catalog is live for your viewing pleasure!  I have two projects to share with you using the gorgeous Falling In Love Suite.  I used some of these goodies yesterday for the birthday card I shared.  But I had some time to make some more:

This one uses the butterfly pattern of the DSP along with the pretty dandelion one.  I decided to emboss the background using the Fluttering Embossing Folder.  I also used the Sale-A-Bration Metallic Ribbon, which is so pretty in person, I feel like the pictures don't do it justice.  I actually had the sentiment stamped from a previous project, but it does come from the So In Love stamp set.  Of course I did the 1-2 punch of the Stitched Shapes Framelits along with the Layering Circles.  I finished the card off with a Bitty Butterfly punched from some Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper.  

Here is another card: 

For this one I used the pretty Soft Sky dandelion pattern paper.  I used the So Detailed thinlit dies to cut out that floral die cut.  With the new Big Shot Platform and the Precision Base Plate, this cut out perfectly.  I stamped a Happy Anniversary from the So In Love stamp set and added the Very Vanilla satin ribbon and tied on a Falling In Love Jeweled Embellishment.  This was a very quick but elegant card to make!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Did you get a chance to see all the great projects using the Falling In Love Suite from the other designers at SSI?   Happy shopping!

Lunchbox Notes

I really want to be that awesome mom whose kids get nutritional Pintrest worthy lunches complete with a sweet note, but most days the kids are lucky I remember to pack them a lunch at all.  And I actually forgot a drink for my daughter once.  Still I like to surprise my daughter with a note in her lunch every now and again.  And I think it might be cute to do for my son, even though I am usually in the next room when he eats lunch at Pre-School (I work in the office there).  So when I saw the cute stamp set Just Keep Swimming in the 2017 Occasions catalog, I knew it would be perfect.  Here are some quick and easy card I made with this fun stamp set along with the Brights Color collection:

These little stamps are just adorable and even though some are two and three step stamping, they were really easy to make.  I just took some card stock cut 3" by 6" and scored at 3".  The background paper is from the Brights Designer Series Paper Stack (and the Neutrals).  I also created matching envelopes with that DSP using the Envelope Punch Board.  Here is a look at each card:

I used the Watercolor Wash background stamp for this one and added some White Perfect Accents for bubbles.

These gummy bears are so adorable!

How yummy are these macarons?  

This monster might be my favorite.  I am definitely going to make some Valentines with this stamp!

For this one, I used the Gold sheet from the Neutrals Designer Series Paper Stack.  I stamped the gem in black and then added some Wink of Stella Clear Glitter to make it sparkle!

These cards we so easy to make!  I would even say that they were quick and easy just like the cards featured over at SSI.  Head over there for more quick and easy cards!

A Special Birthday Card

Of course I only send and give out my handmade cards.  But sometimes my cards are created special for a special someone.  I am sharing with you a birthday card I made for a very good friend of mine using some of the fabulous new products from the 2017 Occasions Catalog!  

So if you are wondering how I got that gorgeous Bokeh effect on the background paper, I didn't.  That is the paper!  And I predict it is going to be a major hit with this catalog.  I absolutely love the colors here, a Blushing Bride card base, the Falling In Love DSP, the Very Vanilla string of little dragonflies, the Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper large dragonfly and touches of Sweet Sugarplum and Copper.  The Blushing Bride Glittery dragonfly is layered over a vellum one with some copper metallic thread peeking out.  I added some pearls and Sweet Sugarplum enamel shapes as well. Here is a peek inside: 

I kept it simple with the sentiment and a extra dragonfly from the Awesomely Artistic stamp set.  Of course a card like this needs a special envelope: 

I love the Layered Letters Alphabet to stamp a name right on my custom-made envelop using the Sweet Sugarplum envelope paper.  I also added a dragonfly with some sparkly wings courtesy of the Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen. 

I decided to stamp the back with the large flower from Awesomely Artistic.  I love the double sided envelope paper.    

I also decorated the gift bag I gave her as well:

I used some old and new ribbon; the old being the Sweet Sugarplum Glitter Ribbon and the new being the Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon.  I just cut a little bit of the Falling In Love DSP, more of that amazing Bokeh effect, into a banner and added a cute little label:

Of course I had to use the Stitched Shapes framelits along with the Layering Circles framelits, they are just too perfect together!  I added the beautiful Falling In Love Flower embellishment for a final touch.  

So are you super excited about these new products?  They will soon be available to buy!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  My project is being featured over at Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration.  Be sure to keep checking back at SSI for more INKspiration as we countdown the days until the 2017 Occasions Catalog goes live!   

January Color Challenge

2017 is already underway and we have some new and familiar faces returning to the always INKspiring SSI Design Team.  We also have an awesome color challenge for you to start the new year with!  Maybe one of your resolutions is to use all of your Stampin' Supplies?  If so, then our weekly challenges can help with that.  Check out this month's set of colors:

Ok, so you had me at Mint Macaron.  I absolutely LOVE this color.  I had been thinking about this color challenge for awhile before I actually had the time to sit down and create with it.  I think what I had envisioned was actually more complicated than how it ended up, but I am still happy with the end result:  

I decided to bust out one of my favorite stamp sets, Kinda Eclectic.  It is the perfect set to have for quick and easy collage stamping.  I started the card off with a Crumb Cake card base and added the words sheet from the Neutrals Designer Series Patterned Pack.  I did all my stamping on some Whisper White and layered it on a bit of Mint Macaron.  The butterflies are stamped and punched from some scraps of Whisper White.  I love how simple this card is!  It would be perfect for a product based class showing off this fabulous stamp set.  

I can't wait to see what the other gals came up with using these colors.  Head over to SSI for more INKspiration and then create your project and upload it!  

  

Countdown to Occasions Catalog - Day 4

I hope that you are in the midst of a wonderful New Year.  I got a chance to spend New Year's Eve with great friends and family.  One of the fun things I got to do was craft with my nieces.  One of them is very creative and of course loved being in my studio with me.  If only we lived closer to each other and then we could create together more often.  I helped them create a birthday card for their cousin.  Then afterwards I played with some of the new Sending Love Suite perfect for our Countdown to the 2017 Occasions Catalog.  I only have DSP and the wooden embellishments and I created this quick and easy card:

I decided to use Pool Party to go with the Real Wed and Whisper White.  The "love words" background paper is definitely one of my favorite from this stack.  I just layered some Pool Party card stock under some Whisper White and stamped me sentiment, which is from the So In Love stamp set (you might be seeing this set again in our countdown).  I tied some of the Stitched Satin Ribbon in Pool Party.  That ribbon ties so nicely!  I added some wooden elements to the sentiment and then I tied a few other on using some of the Red Metallic Thread.  This would be a cute engagement or anniversary card or of course a Valentine's Day card.  

Aren't these new products so fun?  Head back over to SSI to see how the other designers used this LOVE-ly Suite!