Thanks a Ton

I received a lovely handmade necklace and bracelet from a woman I was introduced to through a mutual friend.  She posted some samples of her work and I asked her to design something for me and she went above and beyond.  So I needed to make her something as a thank you in return.  I needed a little help getting started so I found a great sketch over at The Paper Players: 

I had just received a huge box of fabulous goodies, including the Whale of a Time Suite.  I knew that was exactly what I wanted to work with!   Here is my card:

I started with a Pretty Peacock card base and added a layer of Pool Party embosses with the Seabed embossing folder.  I added a strip of the Whale of a Time DSP.  Then I layered on some more DSP onto some Pretty Peacock.  I love the ocean floor scenery paper.  I stamped and punched out the whale and used dimensionals to adhere it on.  I stamped my sentiment onto some Whisper White and cut them out with a die from the Stitched So Sweetly dies.  I also added some of the Whale of a Time sequins on the bottom of the sea floor.  Here are some close ups: 

For the inside I cut a strip of the seaweed DSP and stamped a little seahorse.

I can't wait to make more with this suite!  The papers are so fun and colorful and the stamp set is super cute!  Stay tuned for more fishy fun!

You are a special color!

Ok, I am making it blog official.  I am in love with Magenta Madness.  Crafting with it makes me so happy, it is so fun and vibrant!  So when I saw the challenge over at Color Throwdown included a pink, I knew it was go time!  Here is the color challenge:

So I decided to play with the Tasteful Textures Bundle.  I was excited to use some gold to glitz it up a bit.  Here is my creation:

I started with a Magenta Madness card base and added some Coastal Cabana that was embossed with the Scripty 3D embossing folder.  I layered some Magenta Madness ribbon on some retired white burlap like ribbon.  For the stamping, I used Versa Mark and used my heat tool on gold embossing powder on the white tag I cut from the Tasteful Labels Dies.  I colored in the flower with my Magenta Madness Stampin' Blends.  I layered that on some gold foil and finished the card off with some gold metallic pearls and some retired Coastal Cabana Glitter Enamel dots.  

What a fabulous color combo, right?  I was so happy to get some time to create today on this beautiful day!  Thanks for checking out my project and I hope you have a fabulous day!

A Floral Thank You

I am back with another card to share with you.  Check it out:

This uses some old and new products from Stampin' Up!  The most obvious is that gorgeous floral paper from the Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper.  I matted that on some Blackberry Bliss and used the Delicate Lace Dies on some Champagne Foil for that final layer.  The card base is Petal Pink.  I used the some of the Magnolia Memory Dies to create the flower and leaves and finished it off with some of the Woven Threads sequins.  

The sentiment is from the Flourishing Phrases stamp set which is an oldie but goodie!  I used some Blackberry Bliss ink for that one.  Blackberry Bliss is definitely my favorite of the Regal Colors.  Here what I did with the inside of the card:

I just stamped another sentiment from the Flourishing Phrases stamp set along with some flowers in the corners.  

This card was inspired by the challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches:

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  

  

My Favorite New Ribbon and Fond Farewell

Today over at SSI the designers are sharing their favorite new accessory from the 2017-2018 Annual Catalog.  For me it has to be the Finely Woven Ribbon in the 2017-2019 In Colors.  I have a few projects showcasing each one of these fabulous colors and a different way to use the ribbon.  Some are projects you have seen before.  Up first is a card from my open house:

Here I just took the Berry Burst Finely Woven ribbon and used it to break up the pattern of the Fresh Florals Designer Series Paper.  I didn't tie a bow or anything, just kept it simple.  Also, how fabulous is this color combo?  I also used an awesome new bundle, Label Me Pretty which has a great new punch!  I added a bit of shine with half of a silver metallic doily.  

You have already seen this card, but here is the same ribbon in the Fresh Fig color where I just tied a simple knot.  

I had already shared this card as well, but wanted to show it off again!  How pretty is this bow?  

Now how about some projects that aren't card?  I gave away little goodie bags at my open house and used a lot of this fun ribbon!  Here is my bookmark:

This was simple, just cut a two inch piece of card stock and use the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch.  The punch already makes a space to thread your ribbon through.  I paired Fresh Pig with lemon Lime Twist here and didn't really fuss too much with ribbon.  The flower stamp is from the Blooms and Wishes set.    

Finally here is a little tea bag holder made with my favorite tool, the Envelope Punch Board!

The Fresh Florals DSP is definitely one of my favorite and it worked great to make a little envelope for a tea bag.  I also used some other favorite new products, listed below.  

Finally I have to finish off this post with a Fond Farewell to the fabulous ladies over at Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration!  I have truly enjoyed creating with you, but it is time for me to step down off the team to spend more time with my family and working on my stampin' business!  I hope to create along with your challenges and wish everyone the best.  Head over to SSI right now to see the other designers favorite accessories.  

Tickled PInk

I just got back from a week in Hilton Head with my family.  It was a wonderful vacation but I really did miss my stamp room.  Fortunately, I had a chance to create something when I got back for the INKspiration challenge over at SSI.  Check it out:

   

Cute right?  I love that flamingo and that chair so those were my key pieces to create my card:

I am using so many new goodies in this card; 2 new stamp sets, one new in color, new designer series paper, a new die, a new punch, and a new accessory!  My colors here are Lemon Lime Twist, Flirty Flamingo and Crumb Cake (with a little Black Memento Ink).  I used the Burlap background stamp for some tone on tine stamping.  Of course my flamingo and the sentiment come from the Fabulous Flamingo set.  I decided to cut out a Lemon Lime Twist Adirondack chair for a fun punch of color.  I also had a scrap of the Lemon Lime Twist Fresh Florals DSP punched with the Pretty Label Punch.  Did you spot the Flirty Flamingo Glitter Acrylic Arrow?  Here is a peek inside:   

I just stamped some leaves with out reinking to get the different shades of Lemon Lime Twist and stamped the sentiment in Flirty Flamingo.

This card was so fun to make!  Can you create a project based on the image?  Head over to SSI for more ideas and upload yours!

  

Eastern Palace Projects

Today over at SSI, our designers are sharing our favorite suite from the new catalog.  The catalog was released to everyone yesterday...and I placed a huge order.  I am so very excited about getting my goodies.  We were only allowed to pre-order a select few items.  So in selecting my favorite suite, I decided on going back to the Eastern Palace Suite.  There is just so much to do with these fabulous products and I have 5 projects to share with you!  First up is a thank you card highlighting some great DSP and the awesome thinlits:

The color combination here is so pretty, I just love Tranquil Tide with Dapper Denim.  And those thinlits make the COOLEST die-cuts.  I added a strip of the gold vinyl stickers for a touch of shine.

Up next is probably my favorite: 

So these thinlits really do create amazing things.  This card was so simple but I just love it.  I did cheat and use the Gold Faceted Gems which are amazing!  

Here is a card using a pop of the fun Lemon Lime Twist:

I love Lemon Lime Twist!  And I love it paired with Dapper Denim with the gold accents.  I let the DSP be the focus but did add some tone on tone stamping with the little fan element (which makes me think of mermaids).  I decided to use my layering circle framelits and added some of the gold vinyl stickers to finish it off!

Here is a gift tag or bookmark:

I just wanted to have fun way to use those tassels!  And again, those thinlits are so fun to play with!  

And finally this card is me trying to creatively stretch a bit:

I love these two colors together.  You will see me pair them up a lot I am sure!  I made my own background by randomly stamping all the circle in the stamp set on Lemon Lime Twist in Fresh Fig ink.  I used a scallop circle to cut out the intricate doily-like die cut.  I added some of the Fresh Fig 1/2 inch cotton ribbon.  

So have I convinced you to get these products yet?  I swear I could spend all day in my craft room and create so many different projects with this suite.  Right now I will say its my favorite.  However when I receive my first order, that will change.  Head over to SSI to see what the other designers picked for their favorite suite!  

  

Daisy Delight

One of the many perks about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is getting to play with the new products first.  We were able to pre-order from the new catalog at the beginning of May.  Unfortunately I have not had too much time to stamp but I did set aside some time to play with a fabulous new Suite of products, the Daisy Delight Suite, which includes a stamp and punch bundle, and gorgeous Designer Series Paper.  Here are my three cards, starting with my favorite:

This one is my favorite because it includes this beautiful watercolor inspired daisy paper.  And I would have never paired Tranquil Tide (new In-Color) with Calypso Coral, but I love them together.  This was also the easiest card I made from this set.  How pretty is that Thank You sentiment?  And I just added some Calypso Coral daisies on either side and finished it off with the Tranquil Tide cotton ribbon.

Up next is a card that shows off the punch: 

Here we get another look at some more of the patterns in the DSP pack.  For my daisy I stamped Calypso Coral in on Calypso Coral card stock and layered two punched pieces together for a fun full flower!  I added the new Clear Faceted Gems to the center of my flower.  I matted my Thank You sentiment on some Pool Party which really brings out that color in the DSP.  

Finally here I played with some of the other stamps in the set:

Again here are those colors I would have never paired together but love.  This card is an ink, card stock and scrap kinda card.  Definitely quick and easy but still very pretty.  

Hopefully you are getting excited about the new catalog.  The other designers over at SSI are also showing off their new catalog cards.  

Farewell Moroccan Designer Series Paper

Stampin' Up! really puts out fantastic Designer Series Paper.  I pretty much love most of them.  So when the time came for the designers to pick a favorite retiring DSP, I had a hard time selecting one.  I love so many of them.  At the end of the day I selected the Moroccan DSP because of the rich colors and fun patterns.  I made 5 cards using this DSP.  Check them out:

This uses one of my favorite sketches from our sketch challenge back in October.  It is a great sketch to show off DSP and I made it really easy by adding a Hello die cut.  

Next up is a Gate Fold card:

This was pretty easy although not what I initially intended to do.  I was going to use the large medallion from the stamp set but I ended up using the lanterns instead.  I do like how it turned out.  And a Gate-Fold card is so easy!

Here is some more Emerald Envy:

Although not a coordinating product, I thought the Boho Chic embossing folder went perfectly with this DSP.  I decided to make this a fun birthday card.  

This one is my favorite and it is by far the simplest:

I just love this fancy chair from the In This World stamp set.  I stamped it in Early Espresso and used Stampin' Write markers to color it in. Just a sheet of the kaleidoscope paper with coordinating colors in the background is all I needed for this card.   

And my final card, which was actually the first one I created:

I just did my best to place my circle framelit around the center of one of the color bursts and layered it over some of the more muted patterns in the Designer Series Paper.   

Hopefully you can see how universal the Moroccan Designer Series Paper is.  I created five very different cards for all sorts of different occasions.  To see some of the other favorite retiring Designer Series Papers, head over to SSI.

Mother's Day Mojo Monday 495

Mother's Day will be here before you know it.  I have four cards I try to send; my mother, mother-in-law and my children's two godmothers.  With so many special cards to make and so little time on my hand I decided to use the sketch over at Mojo Monday:

Here is my card:

I started with a Watermelon Wonder card base.  I truly love this color and will definitely miss it when its gone.  I feel like I didn't really appreciate it as much until the last few months.  I added several layers of the Affectionately Yours Specialty DSP.  I love the bright florals mixed with the copper.  I added an embossed strip of the Copper Foil and a Mint Macaron doily.  The sentiment is heat embossed with Copper embossing powder and layered on some Night of Navy.  I added some loops of the Copper Metallic thread for a little extra shine.  

I love how this card turned out.  I had started going in one direction and ended up somewhere totally different.  A lot of these goodies are retiring, the DSP, doilies, and stamps set.  Make sure you have gotten everything you want from the retirement list, because its going fast!  For more Mother's Day cards, head over to SSI.  

Eastern Palace Suite

So I have seen the 2017-2018 Annual Catalog from Stampin' Up!  And I can't wait to be able to order everything in it.  Being a demo has the perks of being able to see the new stuff first and we will get to pre-order a select few items next week.  Stampin' Up! is giving us all a first look at one of the amazing new suites called Eastern Palace.  Demonstrators got to pre-order items from this suite during the month of April and customers can start ordering it in May in two different bundles.  Of course I got the bigger bundle which includes some amazing thinlits.  I have a few cards to share with you:

Ok so we first need to talk about these colors...there are three new in colors in this suite; Fresh fig, Tranquil Teal and Lemon Lime Twist.  We combine that with some Dapper Denim, Very Vanilla and gold foil to get this fabulous Designer Series Paper.  The stamp set has all sorts of possibilities with the swirlies and diamonds and the mermaid tails.  And the font for the sentiments is so pretty!  This suite also has some gold vinyl stickers and some tassels, which I didn't get to use.  The thinlits have so many interesting dies that I really need an evening to just sit and play with them.  Some of them cut out a complete shape, other just part of one.  If you are going to order this suite, I would recommend all the gold accessories to go with as I listed below.  Also five exciting words for you; Very Vanilla Thick Card Stock!  

For more looks at this fabulous new suite, head over to SSI.

SSI April Blog Hop - Spring Has Sprung!

Hello and welcome to the April installment of the Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration Blog Hop.  This month's theme is Spring Fever.  I am so thankful for spring.  We didn't get too much snow through the course of winter here in the Lehigh Valley, but we got a pretty big storm way too late in the season for my taste.  I am ready for warmer weather; seeing the leaves on the trees and the flowers starting to bloom.  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 5 on the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration Blog Hop - Tobe B. @ 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.  

So for my spring projects I decided to use my favorite Designer Series Paper from the Occasions Catalog; Succulent Garden.  Now I know nothing about flowers or succulents, and they might be more of a summer time thing, but flowers = spring so that is my story and I am sticking to it.  I created three cards using this paper and various different stamp sets.  

You might recognize this basic sketch, it was our card sketch back in October.  I punched three 2 1/2" circles out of the DSP.  Before adhering them down I stamped some splatters from Gorgeous Grunge in Tip Top Taupe.  I stamped and punched an bitty butterfly from the Papillon Potpourri.  The sentiment is from the Flower Patch stamp set.  

Up next is another card using this fabulous paper.

I love this sheet of the Succulent Garden DSP.  I used it in each on of my cards.  I love this style of card when you get to show off both sides of our fun paper.  I tucked some of the Gingham Tip Top Taupe underneath to show that off as well.  I love the pop of Calypso Coral, I used it for my sentiment as well, from Greatest Greetings which is layered on the Mint Macaron striped ribbon.  I did not buy the Succulent Garden stamp set and framelits, so I used my Botanical Builders to make a flower and leaf.  I finished my card off with a silver foil dragonfly and a metal rimmed pearl.  

Here is my last creation:

See, I told you I loved that sheet of DSP.  This time I paired it up with the monochromatic version of itself in Mint Macaron on the bottom part of the card.  I added some Calypso Coral butterflies as well as some twine in the same color.  The sentiment is from Kinda Eclectic.  I added some pearls on the butterflies as well.  

So a majority of the goodies I used to make these projects are retiring, including Kinda Eclectic, my go to stamp set when I have a creative block.  The butterfly punches are retiring which is so very sad!  And we are also saying goodbye to Gorgeous Grunge as well.  Some of these items are on sale too, like the Succulent Garden DSP, the Greatest Greetings stamp set, Mint Macaron Striped ribbon, and the Botanical Builder Framelits.  But all tools and accessories are while supplies last, so you better hurry!    

Up next is Jen G. @ Faith.Grace.Stamp.  She has such a great style to her projects, I can't wait to see what she has for us!  

Blog Hop Participant List:

1. Cathy A. @ Maine Mountain Stamper
2. Diana E. @ Stampin' Fun with Diana
3. Cheryl H. @ Create with Cheryl
4. Nichole L. @ Scrappy Stamps & Ink
5. Tobe B. @ The Craft Sea
6. Jennifer G. @ Jenny G Paper Crafts
7. Jen G. @ Faith.Grace.Stamp
8. Kim R. @ Stampin' with Kim
9. Bree R. @ Craft-somnia Momma

10. Darla R. @ Stampin' with Darla

Make a Medallion meets the Moroccan DSP

There is just under one month left of Sale-A-Bration left and Stampin' Up! released a few more special Sale-A-Bration items that you can earn with a qualifying purchase.  One of those items is the amazing Make A Medallion stamp set.  It is photopolymer, so it makes it easy to make the medallions.  And I found a perfect suite to pair it with, the Moroccan Suite!  The Designer Series Paper and the Washi Tape work so well with this stamp set.  I made four cards using these products together.  Check them out:

This card was pretty basic, in fact I used it in my Sale-A-Bration Open House.  And I can tell you that that medallion was the first one I made.  It came out perfect.  I added some of the Emerald Envy taffeta ribbon for an extra pop of color.

For this one I use a Delightful Dijon card base and switched up the layout a bit and added some washi tape.  

I decided to go vertical and add a doily cut in half and spread out and used a strip of washi down the center.

For this last one I used a Cajun Craze card base and added some Very Vanilla embossed with the Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Folder.  

Over at SSI we are spotlighting all three of the new Sale-A-Bration additions.  Be sure to check out what the other designers created.  Thanks for stopping by!

February Technique Challenge

Happy Monday!  It has been a very busy weekend here.  I had a super fun stampin' party yesterday and got a chance to catch up with my friends while creating, pretty much a win-win!  Today we have a fabulous technique challenge for you over at SSI.  Check it out:

  

I love embossing.  So this technique was perfect for me.  I know I tried it before but I am not sure that I knew the name of it.  Here is my card:

I knew this rose would be perfect for this technique.  I went with a Melon Mambo card base.  I stamped the large image with versa mark and then heat embossed on vellum.  I flipped the vellum over and colored with some Stampin' Write markers.  I decided to go with a bright color and then a lighter complimenting color.  For the pinks I went with Melon Mambo and Flirty Flamingo.  For the the shades of green, I chose Cucumber Crush and Mint Macaron.  I stamped the sentiment with Flirty Flamingo and cut out a stitched oval and layered with with a scallop oval.  

This card was so fun to do.  Head over to SSI to see the other designer's creations and then upload yours!  

All About ME!

Today I am taking a moment to tell my readers a little bit about myself.  My blog here is full of all my creations as a Stampin' Up Demo, but there is more to learn about me.  I used to be a high school math teacher.  I met my husband at Penn State and we got married on July 4th, 2004.  I actually started scrapbooking after we got married.  I have an album for our wedding and honeymoon.  It is fun to look back at all these albums because I have truly come a long way:  

After having my daughter, Jessica in 2008, I definitely got even more into scrapbooking.  I quit my job teaching to stay home full time with her.  I have a lot of albums documenting the first few years of her life.  Here is one of my favorite layouts from her first birthday:  

As my daughter got older and busier I found less time to scrapbook.  It is this time I discovered stamping and card making and of course Stampin' Up!  After being a very good customer for a few years, I finally took the plunge in January of 2012 and signed up to be a demonstrator.  With my husband's busy job along with my daughter, I didn't have the time to make it a full fledged business, so I am mainly a hobby demonstrator.  I do love to share stamping with my friends and family so I will hold occasional open houses and classes when I can.

In July of 2013, we welcomed my son Tommy into our family.  He is absolutely adorable for good reason.  He can be so naughty sometimes.  Having two kids now, my time was even in shorter supply.  Fortunately for me Stampin' Up! joined with Project Life so I do have an album for my little guy first year:

Now my son is 3 and my daughter is 8 and I feel like I am always running around.  In addition to taking care of my family and home (sorta) I work at my son's preschool twice a week.  I love it there!  They are relocating to a brand new facility next year and I am so excited to be apart of it!   

Here is one of my favorite recent pictures of my family, taken selfie-style by my husband at the local fire company's carnival this past summer:

I would share a picture of my craft studio, but its a nightmare so I will just share a few recent projects.  Consider it a Thank You for reading all about me:

The So Very Much stamp directly on the Serene Scenery DSP.

I created my own DSP with the Delicate Details stamp and several shades of Sweet Sugarplum.

Here I heat embossed with some Copper embossing powder on the Falling In Love DSP.

And for this one I heat embossed with white embossing powder and ran the sponge brayers over it with Rich Razzleberry and Sweet Sugarplum.  I added some Bitty Buterflies cut from the Sweet Sugarplum Glimmer Paper which is a new SAB offering starting February 21st!    

Thanks so much for stopping by to learn about me!   I can't wait to see what we have in store at SSI tomorrow, check back and don't forget about the awesome Card Sketch Challenge!