Sweet & Simple Birthday - Stampin' Up! Lovely & Sweet

   I don't make many square cards and I don't really have a reason other than I'm just so used to doing the A2 size that it's my default.  So it's good when a challenge has a square layout because it gets me out of the A2 box a little!  The Freshly Made Sketches layout this week is square and I made myself stick to it and not turn it into a rectangle!

  To go along with the sketch and the "fresh" standard of the challenge I kept this one very straightforward and used some gold and shimmer to make it pop along with the colors.

  I started with a Basic White thick base cut to 4 1/4" x 4 1/4", next I added a piece of the soon to be retired Textured Shimmer paper in Balmy Blue.  Apparently I loved this paper so much I hoarded it and hardly used it! No idea why as it's lovely and you get white and Shaded Spruce along with the Balmy Blue.  What's not to love?  And it's currently on sale for only $6 until April 30 or until it sells out!

  I stamped the large almond branch in Versamark and embossed it in gold.  Then I used colored pencils and a blender pen to color it in; Garden Green, Granny Apple Green, Balmy Blue and Pecan Pie.  I added that panel to the card front with dimensionals.

  The sentiment is from the a new set that will be in the upcoming annual catalog, Simply Said.  This set is perfect for beginner stampers as well as avid crafters who need an all purpose set.  The embossing looks funky in the photo but it's gold on Azure Afternoon cardstock.

  Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lovely & Sweet, Simply Said*

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Azure Afternoon, Textured Shimmer Paper (retiring 4/30/24)

Accessories: colored pencils, gold embossing powder, dimensionals

Pretty Pink Hugs - Stampin' Up! Hearts & Hugs

 After checking my calendar I realized that I need to get my butt in gear to design projects for 2 upcoming events as well as making more samples to show at my new catalog open house at the beginning of May!  I really need to just say no to house work and cooking for a few weeks right??  Since that won't happen I'll have to be efficient when I'm in the stamp room.  So without further ado here is my card that was prompted by the Color Hues challenge to use yellow and pink.

  I thought the new In Color Pretty in Pink would be perfect paired up with Lemon Lolly for this challenge and I think I was right!  As a side note Pretty in Pink seems like an exact match for the retired Pretty in Pink from back in the day.  Not sure if Stampin' Up! did that on purpose or what but if you have product in that color I think they will be interchangeable.

  For this card I used a Lemon Lolly base and then embossed a full panel in the same color with the Dotted Circles embossing folder.

  The mouse from the upcoming new set Hearts & Hugs is stamped in Early Espresso and then colored in with Blends markers.  Once it was die cut I popped it on dimensionals over a strip of retired Iridescent ribbon.

  I punched a heart out of Pretty in Pink cardstock and stamped the sentiment then tucked that behind the mouse. Using the little hearts dies in the Hearts & Hugs die set I added a few more smaller hearts to the card front. A few Iridescent adhesive backed discs are also added for some shine.

 Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hearts & Hugs

Ink: Early Espresso

Blends: Pretty in Pink light & dark*, Crumb Cake light & dark, Petal Pink dark

Paper: Lemon Lolly, Basic White, Pretty in Pink*

Accessories: Hearts & Hugs dies*, Dotted Circles embossing folder*, dimensionals, Iridescent adhesive-backed discs, heart punch (retired), Iridescent ribbon (retired)

Boho Birdhouse Birthday - Stampin' Up! Country Birdhouse

   I finally got some ink on the Country Birdhouse stamp set!  This bundle caught my eye right away during the demo pre pre-order but I just hadn't used it yet.  It's so cute and the mix and match possibilities with the different birdhouse parts can make endless designs with different combos.  I used so many new products on this card; customer will be able to order the new products starting on May 1st.

    I used some of the new Thoughtful Journey DSP for the background.  It looked like a nice morning sky to me and I pulled some of the colors from the paper to use in the rest of the design.

  I stamped the the birdhouse in Early Espresso ink onto Boho Blue cardstock and then die cut it with the coordinating Country Birdhouse dies.  I used some more new paper for the die cut roof, base and stand.  Country Woods DSP has beautiful woodgrain and flaky wood paint textures and colors and is perfect for some shabby chic designs.  I also die cut the little scalloped roof detail and stamped the scallops with Boho Blue ink.

  I used my Pebbled Path Blends marker to color in the birdhouse opening and little perch peg as the stamped image has them open.  Then I stamped the flowers and bird and colored them in with Blends as well.  I stamped the flowers in Pebbled Path and the bird in Early Espresso.  I couldn't decide if I liked one better than the other for the images so I just ended up leaving them different.

  After the coloring and die cutting I put all the pieces together for the house and then arranged the flowers and bird on the front.  The final thing is the stamped sentiment in Petunia Pop.  I left this one embellishment free which is very rare for me but I just think it didn't need anything else.

  Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Country Birdhouse

Ink: Petunia Pop*, Early Espresso, Pebble Path, Boho Blue

Blends: Pool Party light & dark, Pretty Peacock light, Petunia Pop light & dark*, Fresh Freesia light & dark, Crumb Cake light & dark, Pebbled Path dark

Paper: Thoughtful Journey DSP*, Country Woods DSP*, Basic White, Boho Blue

Accessories: Country Birdhouse dies*, dimensionals

Leafy Birthday - Stampin' Up! Leaf Collection

   I finally got some ink on the all attendee giveaway prize that I got at the Houston OnStage event; Leaf Collection background stamp.  It's a beautiful stamp and I came across the Seize the Birthday challenge which is to use green and any other color to create a birthday card.  The perfect time to use a stamp that's all leaves!

   I was going for a lighter to darker kind of look with the green shades on the background stamp.  I used a brayer to ink up the stamp on a diagonal using (top to bottom) Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green and Old Olive.  At first I was a bit disappointed at the result with the uneven look (could have been the inking method or user error lol!) but then I kind of ended up liking that the image isn't perfect.  I cut the leaf panel with the Deckled Rectangle dies and then added it to the Basic White thick card front.

  And my whole reason for choosing purple as my other colors is that I mistakenly stamped some envelopes with the big flower from Hooray for Surprises a while back that I didn't end up needing so I wanted to make a card design to go with the envelope.  A little bit backwards from my usual design strategy.

  I added a strip of Gorgeous Grape with the ends angled.  Then a Stylish Shapes circle that I had in my orphaned card parts bin is stamped with Gorgeous Grape ink with a new sentiment set that is coming out on May 1 called Simply Said.  

  The flower from Hooray for Surprises is stamped in Highland Heather and die cut along with a leaf in Granny Apple Green.  I cut 3 tiny flowers and used my scoring stylus and a foam mat to press the centers causing the petal to curl in then added them to the center of the flower with glue dots.  The whole thing is then added to the edge of the circle with dimensionals.

  I accented the edge of the circle and the tiny flower centers with retired gems for a little bit of sparkle for the last touch.

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Leaf Collection*, Hooray for Surprises

Ink: Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Old Olive, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green

Accessories: Hooray for Surprises dies, Stylish Shapes dies, dimensionals, Opaque adhesive-backed gems

Petunia Hug - Stampin' Up! Hearts & Hugs

   Sometimes card designs come about from a burst of inspiration and other times just because you want to use up some pieces from your orphaned card parts bin.  My card to day is definitely the second  type of card.  When I was making yesterday's card I ended up with a lot of parts that just didn't work for that design but that I didn't want to just throw away.  I had a few of the die cut flowers from the Hearts & Hugs bundle that I though deserved a proper home on a card front.

  The flowers were cut from the 2024-2026 In Color DSP in Petunia Pop and I thought they would pair nicely with another In Color Shy Shamrock.  Look at how cute this simple design came out!

  I started with a Basic White card base, then stamped the little hearts all over a panel of Shy Shamrock in the same color ink.  I eyeballed where I wanted the sentiment and then embossed it with white embossing power.  Next, I wrapped a bit of baker's twine around the middle and tied it off before adhering the whole panel to the card base.

  The flower stem trio are die cut out of Shy Shamrock and added it to a Stitched Shape square die cut.  Next were the the flowers that started this whole card accented in the centers with In Color Shimmer Gems. 

  I love how this one turned out and it's such a great layout to show off the smaller die cut flowers/stems in the Hearts & Hugs die set.  Remember you don't always have to design a card around the bigger images in a set, look at how some of the smaller images or dies can be used as a focal point.

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hearts & Hugs*

Ink: Shy Shamrock*, Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Shy Shamrock*, 2024-2026 In Color DSP*, Basic White

Accessories: white bakers twine, dimensionals, Stylish Shapes dies, Hearts & Hugs dies*, In Color Shimmer Gems*

Hamster Hug - Stampin' Up! Hearts & Hugs

   I'm finally getting around to playing with some of my new supplies from my preorder.  One thing after another kept popping up that kept me from stamping.  The current Freshly Made Sketches layout looked like a good one to start with today so I got to work with the upcoming Hearts & Hugs bundle and one of the new In Colors; Petunia Pop.

  The weather here is gray and dreary so I apologize for the photo!  The Hearts & Hugs bundle was one that we got a preview of at the OnStage event last month.  I love the cute animal sets so of course it made it's way into my preorder!

  To stick with the 'fresh' challenge mandate I kept this one very simple.  The base is Basic White thick, then a layer of Basic White embossed with the new Eyelet embossing folder.

  I stamped the hamster (though some might say it's a gerbil if we can't see the tail!) in Pecan Pie and then colored it in with a combo of Blends markers and then die cut it.  It is adhered onto a Stylish Shape circle die cut.  

  I used some of the fabulous new In Color Glimmer paper in Petunia Pop to cut out the arch of hearts and adhered them around the hamster.  The circle is then popped on the card front with dimensionals.  The sentiment strip is added to the side.

  The part of the sketch that gave me fits were the 2 leaf details to the side of the circle.  I knew I didn't have to use leaves exactly but I just could not make anything work.  And when I mean anything I had all sorts of punches and die cuts in different shapes scattered around so I finally decided on a single Petunia Pop bordered ribbon knot on that side.  I know it's not exactly the sketch but it's as close as I could get it while still liking the result!  I hope you can see the sketch in my design regardless.

  Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! and get preorder benefits!

Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Hearts & Hugs*

Ink: Pecan Pie, Petunia Pop*

Blends: Pecan Pie light, Medium Deep Natural Tones, Petal Pink dark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, 2024-2026 In Color Glimmer paper*

Accessories: Eyelet embossing folder*, Stylish Shapes dies, Hearts & Hugs dies*, dimensionals, Petunia Pop bordered ribbon*

  

Lavender Thank You - Stampin' Up! Painted Lavender

   I'm looking forward to the Heartfelt Hexagon punch being back in stock in the next 2 weeks so I've been trying to use it a little more in anticipation.  I thought it would make a nice shape for a bit of background interest so I paired it up with the Perennial Lavender DSP which is carrying over to the next catalog!  My inspiration for this card comes from the Just Add Ink challenge.  They have a great inspiration photo and I pulled the purple tones, the green and the purple flowers from the photo for my card.

    The base is Highland Heather and then I used one of the upcoming new embossing folders called Dotted Circles to emboss a piece of Basic White for the background.  The bumps kind of reminds me of the blackberries from the inspiration photo as well.

  Next I used the Heartfelt Hexagon punch and the DSP to cut 3 shapes and then added them to the card front.

  The flowers are inked up with Highland Heather and then a sponge dauber was used to add a bit of Gorgeous Grape ink randomly for some color variation. The stems are stamped in Lost Lagoon.  Both pieces are die cut and I added a fee extra Gorgeous Grape sprigs behind the flowers before popping it all up on dimensionals.

  The little thank you sentiment is a partial sentiment from the soon to be retired Perennial Postage stamp set.

  I'm trying to be better about using retired embellishments and ribbons so I pulled out some white seam binding ribbon to add to the stems and then a few retired Gorgeous Grape faceted gems to add a tiny bit of shine.

  All of the current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with a * will be available starting May 1.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Painted Lavender, Perennial Postage (retiring 4/30/24)

Ink: Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Lost Lagoon

Paper: Highland Heather, Basic White, Perennial Lavender DSP, Gorgeous Grape

Accessories: Painted Lavender dies, dimensionals, Dotted Circles embossing folder*, seam binding ribbon (retired), faceted gems (retired)

Country Flower Box- Stampin' Up! Country Birdhouse

   My first card with 2024-2025 Annual catalog products and I didn't even use the main image from the set!  I was determined to use the challenge colors from TGIF Challenges which are Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist and Blueberry Bushel and they just worked so well with the little accent flowers from the Country Birdhouse set that I decided to forego the big birdhouse and design the card with just the flowers.

  These colors are so vibrant and make for a cheerful hello card.  I started with a Blueberry Bushel base and then embossed a piece of Basic White with the new Eyelet embossing folder.  

  Using the narrow angled Country Birdhouse die that is supposed to cut accent pieces for the base of the birdhouse I die cut a "window box" and filled it with stamped, colored and die cut flowers along with some Lemon Lime Twist die cut leaves.  I used Blends markers in the challenge colors and just tucked them into the box and adhered it to the card front.  The flower in the center is adhered with dimensionals.

  The little bow is die cut and trimmed down and accented with a rhinestone.  The final things is the 'hello' sentiment which is cut down from a larger sentiment and is also popped on dimensionals.

  It's always good to see the smaller stamps in a set in action to really see all the creative possibilities.  I love how this one turned out.

  Current products used to make this card can be ordered in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with a * will be available starting May 1 or join my demonstrator team and and get these items now!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Country Birdhouse*

Ink: Memento Black, Blueberry Bushel

Blends: Berry Burst light & dark, Lemon Lime Twist light & dark, Blueberry Bushel light & dark

Paper: Blueberry Bushel, Basic White, Lemon Lime Twist, Berry Burst

Accessories: Country Birdhouse dies*, Eyelet embossing folder*, dimensionals, rhinestone