Curly Birthday Blues

I have a card to share today that utilizes this week's sketch from Retrosketches and is also for the color challenge at Dynamic Duos, where we are to use Bashful Blue and Midnight Muse.  I think this is a fabulous sketch and when I went looking for paper scraps to use, I saw the Comfort Cafe designer paper and decided to play along with both challenges.
 

It's hard to see due to the distressing but I put the designer paper on slightly larger panels of Bashful Blue.  All pieces were distressed and lightly sponged with Crumb Cake.  The sentiment was stamped in Midnight Muse directly on the Crumb Cake panel.  The twine secures a Bashful Blue button.

The flowers were made with Creped Filter paper punched from a 7/8" Scallop circle punch and the smallest flower of the Boho Blossoms punch.  I used a sponge dauber to push the pieces around a Bashful Blue stamp pad, and this was how dark the color turned out.  They were finished off with a Basic Pearl on top of the brad securing the many layers.

Head over to Retrosketches and Dynamic Duos, and play along!  Here are the links:

http://thedynamicduoschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/

http://retrosketches.blogspot.com/

Thanks for dropping by, I hope you have a great week!

Hugs,

Stef


All products from Stampin' Up:
Stamps:  Curly Cute
Paper:  Bashful Blue, Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake, Comfort Cafe designer paper
Ink:  Midnight Muse, Bashful Blue
Accessories:   7/8" Scallop Circle, Boho Blossom, and Corner Rounder punches, Mini Brads, Basic Pearls, Linen Thread, Bashful Blue button, Creped Filter paper, sponge dauber.

Stylish Tea

Hello, again!  My second post of the day, with a card using the sketch at Seize the Birthday (http://seizethebirthday.blogspot.com/).  It's also for the SU-Only Challenge to use your favorite retiring stamp set (http://suochallenges.com/).

I ended up using two retiring stamp sets, Elements of Style and Curly Cute.  Elements of Style is such a classy and classic floral image, and I love the flourished fonts in Curly Cute.

I decided to use Tea for Two designer paper and carry forward the colors used in the floral images onto my stamped image.  I used my Island Indigo reinker and a blender pen to color the roses, with a touch of So Saffron in the flower centers and Lucky Limeade for the stems and leaves.

Since I didn't have much room but for the small sentiment on the front of the card, the Happy Birthday sentiment was added to the interior:

Here's the STB sketch:

Well, it's time to take a break from blog posting and maybe go read a book (or make another card?).  Thanks again for visiting my blog and I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.

Hugs,

Stef


All products from Stampin' Up:
Stamps:  Elements of Style, Curly Cute
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Island Indigo, So Saffron, Tea For Two designer paper, SU watercolor paper.
Ink:  Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, So Saffron, Jet Black Stazon, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  White Baker's Twine, Vintage Faceted Buttons, Ovals and Windows Collections framelits, Eyelet Border, Corner Rounder and 1 1/4" Scallop circle punches, Artisan Embellishments Kit (lace), Basic Pearls, Occasions Paper Piercing Pack

A Garden of Thanks

Hello once again!  Today I have a card using the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  It's also for the this week's challenge at Crazy 4 Challenges to create a card with no patterned paper.  I stepped outside a couple of comfort zones with this card!

The first is the color combination.  Never in a million years would I have picked Rich Razzleberry with Tempting Turquoise and Pear Pizazz, but some smart person that created the Stampin' Up Color Coach came up with this combo...and I love it!  Next, the card is flat!  I know there are some layers but I mean it's a "No Extra Postage Required" card, which is pretty rare for me.

Finally, I love designer papers.  I really have to restrain myself when the new SU catalogues come out or when I go to a certain local stamp store...so much beauty, so many ideas...resulting in a large, large stash of paper that I have to work to use up.  So, since I generally never make a card without using it, this card, while not necessarily outside my comfort zone, was unusual for me because it has no designer paper.

Be sure to pop over to the Crazy 4 Challenges blog:  http://crazy4challenges.blogspot.com/ and Freshly Made Sketches:

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

Thanks for dropping by!  I hope the remainder of your weekend is very enjoyable.

Hugs,

Stef


All products from Stampin' Up:
Stamps:  Secret Garden, Itty Bitty Banners
Paper:  Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry
Ink:  Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizazz.  Marker: Daffodil Delight
Accessories:  Vine embossing folder, Secret Garden and Bitty Banners framelits, Rich Razzleberry 1/8" Taffeta ribbon, Basic Rhinestones

Presto Birthday

Hello again!  I'm back once again with a card for the biweekly sketch challenge at Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing (http://kgiron.blogspot.com/).

I love the paper crossing diagonally across the card and used 2 designer papers, Comfort Cafe and Designer Series Paper Stack, to create the look.  The color combination of Pool Party, Island Indigo and Calypso Coral was from last weeks challenge at Stampin' Royalty blog but I missed the deadline.  Oops!

More retired designer paper!  I pulled out some Presto Patterns dp that came pre-embossed, just waiting for some ink to be sponged over it.  After applying Calypso Coral ink, the butterfly was cut out with the Beautiful Wings Bigz die.  The picture above really captures how lovely the embossing is.

I really like this color combination and might have to make another card with the leftover scraps from this one.

Thanks for dropping by today!  I hope you have a great Friday and for those in the US, a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Hugs,

Stef


All products from Stampin' Up:
Stamps:  Itty Bitty Banners, Hearts A Flutter
Paper:  Whisper White, Island Indigo, Comfort Cafe, Designer Series In Color Paper Stack and Presto Patterns designer papers
Ink:  Calypso Coral and Island Indigo
Accessories:  Hearts A Flutter and Bitty Banners Framelits, Sycamore Street ribbon and button, Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, Basic Pearls, Delicate Doilies Sizzlet.

Birthday Star

Welcome back!  I hope you had a great Monday...well, as great as Mondays can be.   ; - )

The card I have to share today was made for the current color challenge at Dynamic Duos and for the challenge at Paper Players to make a CAS masculine card.

http://thedynamicduoschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

The sentiment is from Stylish Sentiments: Birthdays from Papertrey Ink.  A tag die, also from PTI, was used to create a tag in both Whisper White and Pacific Point.  I stamped the sentiment and the star images on the white tag then cut it down to fit on the blue tag.  A bit of black Saddle Stitch ribbon cinched up with some black floss finished it off.  It was then popped up on a piece of Whisper White embossed with a Stampin' Up chevron embossing folder.

Brads and the Woodgrain background stamp add subtle details to the Pacific Point panel.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you have a moment to leave me a comment - I'd love to hear from you!

Hugs,

Stef


All products from Stampin Up unless otherwise noted:
Stamps:  Woodgrain, Stylish Sentiments: Birthdays (PTI)
Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Pacific Point
Ink:  Palette Noir Hybrid Ink (PTI), Versamark, Pacific Point marker
Accessories:  Sew Easy Fancy Floss and Black Saddle Stitched grosgrain ribbon (both from LSS), Tag die (PTI), Chevron embossing folder, silver square brads (a gift)

 

Hello Old Friends

Welcome back!  I've got a new card to share with you today, with some old stamps I haven't used in a long time.  I was in an organizing mode yesterday, rearranging my card stock (to make way for the new Stampin' Up In Colors-yippee!) and cleaning out a file that had future card projects.  However, the future kept getting put off, so I decided to either make the card or put the papers away.  After looking through all the projects, I ended up with one card.

The card stock I used, aside from the Whisper White base, is So Saffron plus a couple of retired colors:  Cameo Coral and Soft Sky (soon to be returning in June!).  This is not a color combination I would immediately go with but I think it turned out to be a bright and warm grouping.

The main image is an old Hostess set from 2008 called A Little Bit of Happiness.  It was one that I thought I would use more but never did much with it, and I ended up giving it to my niece when she started making cards.  So this is the last image I had in my project stash.  

Isn't that cute?  I think that may be another reason why I never did much with the set. When I first started stamping in 2007, I was more into realistic floral images than line art "cute" ones.  Now, I like it all!!  ; - )  The polka dot piece, inked up in White Craft ink, is from a background stamp made by Cornish Heritage Farms, which has subsequently gone out of business.

The butterfly was punched out of some retired designer paper in Soft Sky, with Basic Rhinestones in the middle and on one of the flowers above.  

The design is from the new sketch challenge at Pals Paper Arts:

http://www.palspaperarts.com/ 

So glad you could drop by today, I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave me a comment.  

Have a great week!  

Hugs,

Stef

All products from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted:

Stamps:  A Little Bit of Happiness, Pindot (CHF)

Paper:  Whisper White, Cameo Coral, So Saffron, Soft Sky, watercolor paper, Afternoon Tea designer paper

Ink:  Jet Black Stazon, Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, So Saffron, Old Olive, Soft Sky, White Craft ink.

Accessories:  Honeycomb embossing folder, Scallop Border, Corner Rounder and Bitty Butterfly punch, Black Gingham ribbon (Offray), Basic Rhinestones, Aquapainter.

Primrose Sympathy

Hard to believe it's been almost a week since I posted a card!  The one I have today is a sympathy card for a friend who just lost her mother - especially difficult this time of year.

This week's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches seemed perfect for the stamp set I wanted to use, Inspired By Nature. The stamp was colored with Stampin' Up markers then misted with water before stamping the card stock.  It didn't get sprayed uniformly, so the watercolor look isn't even, but I love how it turned out anyway.

Here's the sketch:

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

The card size had to be increase to 5 x 7 to accommodate this large stamp.  The base is Early Espresso, which was then covered with a layer of Tea for Two designer paper.

The sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes was stamped in the upper left corner and a little butterfly from Papillon Potpourri popped up underneath it, with a larger one from the same set in the lower right corner.

Thanks for dropping by and taking a look!  I should have another card to post in the next couple of days.  Hope the rest of your weekend is great!

Hugs,

Stef

All products from Stampin; Up:

Stamps:  Inspired by Nature, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Papillon Potpourri

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Tea for Two designer paper

Ink:  Primrose Petals;  Markers:  Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, Lucky Limeade

Accessories:  Scallop Border, Elegant Butterfly and Bitty Butterfly punches, Primrose Petals Stitched Satin ribbon, Artisan Embellishment kit (lace), Basic Pearls

Medallion Birthday

Hi there once again!  Today I have a card made using this week's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  It's also for the weekly color challenge at Dynamic Duos, where they are celebrating the one year anniversary of the blog.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

http://thedynamicduoschallenge.blogspot.ca/

The Dynamic Duos challenge this week is to use any of the color challenges from the last year.  Here's the one I chose:

Baja Breeze was my choice to match with Crumb Cake.  I've always loved that color combination and fortunately I have some retired Parisian Breeze designer paper I have been hoarding saving with just those colors in it.

I stamped the Crumb Cake base with the En Francais background stamp in Versamark, then added the designer paper piece across the top after punching it with the Eyelet Border punch.

The Daydream Medallion layers were stamped on Whisper White and then cut out with the matching framelits.  Layers of solid card stock were also cut with the framelits and layered underneath, an idea I borrowed from the big Stampin' Up catalogue.  The stylus from the Simply Scored board was a handy tool to roll up the edges of the stamped layers.

Three little flags cut from Parisian Breeze  line up under the flower.  The sentiment was punched out with a 1 1/4" circle punch and popped up on dimensionals.  Crumb Cake Seam Tape ribbon and a button top off the card.

So glad you visited my blog today.  Be sure to leave me a comment if you have a moment. Until next time!

Hugs,

Stef

All products from Stampin' Up:
Stamps:  Daydream Medallion, Elementary Elegance, En Francais
Paper:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Parisian Breeze dp
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Versamark
Accessories:  Daydream Medallion Framelits, 1 1/4" Circle and Eyelet Border punches, Crumb Cake Seam Tape ribbon, Neutrals button, White Baker's Twine.

Little Things

Hello again!  Today's card was made for the weekly sketch at Mojo Monday.  I pulled out some pieces of retired designer paper and set about making this card:

The designer paper is Urban Garden.  The large piece I used was one of the bigger and brighter designs in the pack.  I love the colors in it, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss and Basic Gray.  Below is the sketch:

I really struggled with the tilted panels, or at least with the one of the right.  After many renditions, I finally settle on stamping the Woodgrain stamp in Kiwi Kiss on Very Vanilla with a lovely Papillon Potpourri butterfly on top.  It's sure a busy card (maybe too busy?).

The sentiments are from You're A Gem and Fabulous Phrases.  I've gotten a lot of use out of both sets.  They have been great fall backs when I can't decide on a sentiment.

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog.  Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there and I hope your day is lovely!

Hugs,

Stef



All products by Stampin' Up:
Stamps:  You're a Gem, Fabulous Phrases, Papillon Potpourri, Woodgrain
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Urban Garden designer paper
Ink:  Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze
Accessories:  7/8" Scallop Circle, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle, Corner Rounder, Elegant Butterfly, and Eyelet Border punches, Vine embossing folder, Kiwi Kiss Satin ribbon, Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon, Baja Breeze button, Linen Thread, Basic Pearls

Celebrate Mother!

A quick post today of a Mother's Day card I made with the sketch from Fab Friday.  I used one of my favorite color combos of pink and gray.  This card is also for this week's challenges with Mother's Day themes at Paper Players (http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/) and Stampin' Royalty (http://stampinroyalty.blogspot.com/).

Here's the sketch from Fab Friday

(http://fabfridaystampinchallenge.blogspot.com/)

A close up photo shows that cute Papillon Potpourri butterfly.  I stamped it on the tag first then punched out a second on to give it dimension.  I made the tag by just angling my piece of card stock on my paper cutter to cut the angles on the top, and then added an eyelet, which was threaded with 1/4" Pretty in Pink ribbon.

Sorry if that's a little on the over exposed side-I had a hard time getting enough contrast without totally wrecking the photo.

Thanks for coming by and taking a look!

Hugs,

Stef

All products from Stampin' Up:
Stamps:  Papillon Potpourri, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Flirtatious and Flower For You designer papers
Ink:  Pretty in Pink, Basic Gray, Regal Rose
Accessories:  Chevron embossing folder, Basic Gray satin ribbon, Pretty in Pink 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, White Baker's Twine, Elegant Butterfly and 7/8" Scallop Circle punches, Basic Silver Button, Basic Rhinestones, Scallop Border punch, Silver Eyelet

From the Bottom of My Heart

Hi there and welcome back!  I have a card to day that was inspired by the Tea for Two designer paper.  I had used the reverse side to create another card last week and when I went to put it in my scrap paper box, I started thinking about how the pink in the paper was so close in color to the Pink Two Tone ribbon.  Hmmm, use pink and my current favorite ribbon?  Done and done!

I just love this stamped image; such a sweet sentiment and all the flourishes and the heart are so lovely.  It was stamped in Versamark, then Early Espresso, and then heat embossed with clear  embossing powder.  I didn't remember until later that I have embossing powder in Early Espresso!  Oh well, the method I used worked just as well.  The Versamark won't harm your water based inks and adds the moisture necessary to get the embossing powder to stick to it.

I used a blender pen to add some Pink Pirouette ink to the heart.  It seems awfully light in the photo but in real life it is more noticeable.  Basic pearls add a nice accent on the stamped image and also in the upper right corner.

That gorgeous ribbon was tied on under the sentiment.  It is so lovely to work with, I hope Stampin' Up comes out with more with this weight and size.

Thanks for taking a look today.  I hope the upcoming week brings good things your way.  I am looking forward to my sister visiting next weekend, which will be lots of fun!

Hugs,

Stef


All products from Stampin' Up:
Stamps:  From My Heart
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Tea for Two designer paper
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Early Espresso, Versamark, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  2 1/2" Circle punch, Windows Collection framelit, Two Tone Pink ribbon, Cutter Kit, Corner Rounder punch, Blender pen, Basic Pearls, Clear Embossing Powder

In The Pink

Hi there, once again!  I have a card to share with you today that I made for a couple of challenges.  The first is Freshly Made Sketches, which if you visit my blog very often, I love to participate in, as they always have great designs that are easy to work with.  The other challenge is for Papercraft Star, where this week we are to use polka dots and lace.

I started with Very Vanilla and stamped upon it Distress Dots that had been inked up with Pink Pirouette.

The band of Basic Gray card stock across the middle of the card was embossed with the Finial Press embossing folder and then pink lace from the Artisan Embellishment kit was adhere to the bottom of it.  Two Tone Gray ribbon was gathered and then a paper flower was secured to the middle of it.

The sentiment from Bring on the Cake was stamped in Basic Gray on Very Vanilla and punched out with the Scallop Oval Punch, and then layered atop a piece of Primrose Petals Coordinations paper cut out with the smallest framelit from the Ovals Collection.

A very simple card and with that big pink flower, will definitely be one to hand deliver!!

Here is the FMS sketch and the Papercraft Star inspiration image:

Freshly Made Sketches

Papercraft Star

Thanks for dropping by today!  I hope the remainder of your weekend is wonderful.  We have some of the nicest weather thus far this year, but still quite mild in the mid-80's.  A visit to the local farmer's market this morning was so enjoyable in the sunny, warm weather.

And for those of you still struggling with winter like conditions, you are definitely in my thoughts and hopefully you're seeing the last of that weather for the year!

Until next time, take care!

Hugs,

Stef

All products from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted:
Stamps:  Distress Dots, Bring on the Cake
Paper, Very Vanilla, Basic Gray, Primrose Petals Coordination
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray
Accessories:  Finial Press embossing folder, Gray Two Tone ribbon, Scallop Oval  and Corner Rounder punches, Ovals Collection framelit, Artisans Embellishment kit, Basic Pearls, Paper Bloom (Kaisercraft)