Artful Birthday

Welcome back!  Freshly Made Sketches had a great card layout this week with lots of possibilities that I decided to use for a masculine birthday card.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

I started with a Whisper White card based layered with a piece of I Am Me designer paper that I hadn't really appreciated for it's great potential when making a masculine card.

Next, I popped up a rectangle of Basic Gray card stock embossed with the Chevron embossing folder.  I put it in the embossing folder askew to get a fun slanted pattern. Four 5/16" Neutrals Brads embellish each corner.  These brads have been retired for some time but I have kept them around just for these types of cards.

The tag graphics under the sentiment were created using stamps from Work of Art.  Pool Party Twine and Calypso Coral Baker's Twine topped off the tag.

The sentiment is a mix of the new photopolymer set Endless Birthday Wishes ("awesome") and words I chose using the Alphabet Rotary Stamp.  Ooh, I am in love with this new toy, with the potential to personalize sentiments.  I didn't have time today to do something more creative, but I am looking forward to playing around with it.  

Thanks for taking a look today!  Be sure to click on the link and head over to the FMS blog to see amazing inspiration!

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Endless Birthday Wishes, Work of Art

Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Gray, I Am Me designer paper

Ink:  So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Basic Gray

Other:  Alphabet Rotary Stamp, Scallop Tag Topper and Word Window punches, Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, Pool Party Twine, Chevron embossing folder, 5/16" Neutrals brads

It's Your Birthday!

A quick post for Mojo Monday using Endless Birthday Wishes, a new Photopolymer set. It's so cute with a tremendous choice of sentiment combinations in various fonts.  I know I'll be using this set a lot.

I pulled out a blender pen and Aquapainter to color the cake image that was stamped in Jet Black Stazon.  Some Dazzling Details tops the candles to add a bit of sparkle.

The challenge at Mojo Monday this week includes making a Tall and Skinny card.  Mine measures 3.5" x 5.5", so it can still fit into a standard envelope.

Here's the sketch and link to Mojo Monday.

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

Thanks for dropping by!  As always, I'd love to hear from you if you have time to leave a comment.  Have a great Friday!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Endless Birthday Wishes
Paper:  Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Pistachio Pudding, Pool Party, Crisp Cantaloupe, Sweet Sorbet designer paper
Ink:  Jet Black Stazon, Pool Party, Crisp Cantaloupe
Other:  Delicate Doilies Sizzlet L, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle and Scallop Border punches, Distress Dots embossing folder, Pool Party Twine, Neutrals Button, Blender Pen, Aquapainter, Dazzling Details

Calypso Anniversary

Hi there and Happy Memorial Day to everyone!  I spent part of the day in my craft room, making an anniversary card among other things.  The sketch from this week's challenge at Paper Players was used for the card design.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

The gorgeous designer paper is from the retiring Etcetera, which has a variety of eclectic, but very versatile designs.

The flower image from Blooming With Kindness was inked up in Calypso Coral, stamped off once, then stamped on a square of Confetti Cream.  The sentiment from a retired Hostess set, Something to Celebrate, was inked up in Early Espresso and stamped across the middle using a Stampamajig.

All in all a pretty simple card to make.  That's all for tonight.  Please be sure to use the link above to visit Paper Players; there is still plenty of time to join the challenge!  And if you have a moment, I'd love to hear from you as well!  Have a great week!

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Blooming With Kindness, Something to Celebrate

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Confetti Cream, Early Espresso, Etcetera designer series paper

Ink:  Calypso Coral, Early Espresso

Other:  Very Vanilla Seam Binding ribbon, Subtles button, Linen Thread, Stampamajig, Stripes embossing folder

Get Well

Welcome back on Sunday evening.  I've made another get well card, this time using the sketch from Pals Paper Arts.

http://www.palspaperarts.com/

I was looking through my single stamps and realized that I probably have never used this Young Vermilion (retired).  I thought it would work well on a gender neutral get well card. Embellishments were kept to a minimum to keep it easy to mail.

I thought the designer paper would go well with this sweet bird image, with the leaves and berries on the base, and bees on the three rectangles.  The sentiment is from Express Yourself, a retiring Hostess stamp set from the 2013-2014 Stampin' Up! catalogue.

I did some light sponging with Crumb Cake ink to give it just a touch of an aged look without heavy distressing.

Thanks for taking a look tonight.  If you have time to leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.  Be sure to swing by the PPA blog for great inspiration, plus there is still a bit of time to play along.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Express Yourself, Young Vermilion
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations, Botanical Gazette designer series paper
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Other:  Circle and Window Frames Collections framelits, Small and Large Oval punches, Linen Thread, Neutrals Candy Dots, Stampin' Sanding Block

Feel Better

Yup, a second post today!  This one is for the challenges at Friday Mashup and Paper Players.

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

I decided to mash it up for Friday Mashup and make my card a get well card as well as use the sketch.  I used one of the lovely silhouette stamps from Serene Silhouettes for the Paper Players challenge.

I pulled out some retired designer papers that had not seen the light of day for a loooonng time.  While there are plenty of layers, I kept the card clean and simple.  Only a bit of ribbon was used for embellishment, as I intend to mail it.  Otherwise I would probably step it up with a button and maybe even jewels of some sort.

Well, I'm done for tonight!  Phew!  This last card came together so quickly this afternoon that I wanted to get it posted before heading back to work tomorrow.  Thanks for taking a look, and I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment!  Have a great week ahead!

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Four Frames, Serene Silhouettes, Express Yourself

Paper:  Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Elegant Soiree designer series paper

Ink:  Baja Breeze, Basic Gray

Other:  Decorative Label punch, Envelope Punch Board, Basic Gray taffeta ribbon

Soho Wetlands

Hi there and welcome back!  The card I'm sharing today was made using the sketch challenge at Pals Paper Arts.

http://www.palspaperarts.com/

I needed a thank you card with a more masculine feel.  Using the Woodgrain embossing folder with some Early Espresso Core'dinations paper helped give that feel, along with a Crumb Cake card base that was stamped with the retired Canvas background stamp.

The birds, stamped in Versamark and Early Espresso, were heat embossed with Stampin' Emboss clear embossing powder.  After I used my Aquapainter to brush on a bit of Crumb Cake, Soft Sky and Pool Party, I went over the birds extremely lightly with a Sahara Sand marker.

The water colored scene was framed by two pieces of Island Indigo card stock punched out with the Petite Curly Label punch, which were each topped with an Early Espresso candy dot.  The sentiment is from Peaceful Petals.  The offset placement gave room for another candy dot, this time in Crumb Cake.  

Be sure to head over the the PPA blog and check out all the inspiration (link above). Thanks for coming by and taking a look!  

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Wetlands, Peaceful Petals, Canvas

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Island Indigo, Early Espresso Core'dinations, Watercolor

Ink:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Soft Sky, Pool Party, Versamark

Other:  Petite Curly Label, Small Oval and Large Oval punches, Stampin' Emboss clear embossing powder, Linen Thread, Neutrals Candy Dots

Moonlight Bloom

I have a few sneak peeks to share tonight - a new stamp and new designer paper that will be available on June 2 when the new Stampin' Up! catalogue goes live, along with cardstock and ink from the new 2014-2016 In Colors.


The stamp is the new Blended Bloom and it is gorgeous! While I think the intent was for stampers to use it with the new Blendabilities alcohol markers, I'm still getting my technique down, and being the impatient person I am, decided to instead watercolor this amazing flower!


I stamped it in Jet Black Stazon and used Blackberry Bliss ink for the flower petals and Hello Honey for the stamen.  I think Stampin' Up! has another home run with this new group of In Colors.



I decided to use this week's sketch challenge at Splitcoast Stampers, as it had a nice large spot for this sizable bloom.

See the designer series on the card?  It's one of the several designs of the new Moonlight designer series paper stack.

After the flower was watercolored, it was fussy cut with paper snips, then popped up with SU dimensionals on top of an embossed panel of Whisper White.  I sponged it lightly with Sahara Sand ink to give the words some contrast.  The leaves behind the flower were cut from Mossy Meadow.

A snippet of the new Hello Honey, cut with the Decorative Label punch, pops out from the side of the main image panel.

Thanks for dropping by!  I'd love it if you'd leave a comment and let me know what you think of the new In Colors!

Bye for now!

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Blended Bloom, Chalk Talk
Paper:  Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow, Whisper White, Moonlight designer series paper stack
Ink:  Hello Honey, Blackberry Bliss, Sahara Sand, Jet Black Stazon
Other:  Banners & Secret Garden framelits, Decorative Label punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, Pretty Print embossing folder, Aquapainter, Blender pen, White Taffeta ribbon, Basic Pearls

Butterfly in Blue

Hello again!  My second post for this lovely Mother's Day.  As I type my dear husband is making a special, Mother's Day dinner; what a thoughtful guy!

My card today uses this week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and the colors of Black, White and Pool Party for the Splitcoast Stampers weekly Color Challenge.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/

Here is what I came up with:

Ah, spring is here and therefore it's time for butterflies, which were created with the retiring Beautiful Butterflies BigZ die.  The Sweet Sorbet designer paper from Sale-A-Bration in the background was perfect for the color challenge.

The oval under the butterfly was looking rather plain, so I paper pierced around the inside.  I was somewhat at a loss as to where to put a sentiment, or whether I should even include one, but decided to fit in the birthday sentiment from Petite Pairs on layered, punched ovals.

Time to run; dinner is nearly ready.  Thanks again for taking time out of your day to visit. If you have a moment, I'd love to hear from you!  Have a great week ahead!

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Petite Pairs

Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Pool Party Core'dinations card stock, Sweet Sorbet and 2011-2013 In Color Designer Series Patterns Stack

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Other:  Scallop Border Punch, Woodgrain embossing folder, Basic Rhinestones, Basic Black Satin Ribbon, Beautiful Butterflies BigZ die, Occasions Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercing Tool, Small and Large Oval punches

Later, Gator!

Hi there and welcome back!  Happy Mother's Day to all!

A quick post with a card for this week's challenge at Color Throwdown.  Check out this beautiful color combo:

http://colorthrowdown.blogspot.com/

My card today is for a co-worker who is leaving to take a new job.  I used a sketch from an older Friday Mashup challenge (http://www.fridaymashup.com/2013/07/fm119-heidis-loving-her-new-stamp-sets.html)

While the sentiment from See Ya Later had an alligator image, I so love this cutie from Wild About You (retired) that I decided to use him instead.  The challenge at Color Throwdown is to use Lucky Limeade, but I never bought an ink pad for that In Color and my marker is essentially dry (!), so I stamped little gator in Gumball Green, which was the closest color I had on hand.

Thanks for taking the time to visit!  I'll be back later with a second post, so be sure to come back by and take a look.

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Wild About You, See Ya Later

Paper:  Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Night of Navy, 2011-2013 In Color Designer Series Patterns Stack

Ink:  Gumball Green, Night of Navy

Other:  Chevron Border Punch, Silver Mini Brads, Paper Snips

Bitty Baby

The Catalogue Premier on April 30th was my lucky night; not only did all attendees receive the Work of Art stamp set, but the Prize Patrol gave away several stamp sets.  I won the uber cute Something for Baby!  Woot woot!  Time for a couple of sneak peeks!

That cute little duck image stole my heart the minute I laid eyes on it!  The yellow in the designer paper (sneak peek of the new Lullaby dsp) is the new Hello Honey, a very warm, lovely yellow but reminiscent of More Mustard, so when I initially used it to stamp the duck, it just did not look right.  I ended up using So Saffron to create the little rubber ducky.  I cut it with the new matching Baby's First framelit and popped it up on a banner from Hearts A Flutter.  The sentiment got lost by itself against the designer paper, so a piece of Baked Brown Sugar was cut with the same framelit and layered underneath.  Next I made a feminine version.

A Crisp Cantaloupe base was covered with the same new Lullaby designer paper.  The ring toy was colored with various markers and fussy cut.  I have to confess, I forgot I bought the matching framelits until I was done cutting out the ring toy.  Fortunately I made this card first so I could use the framelits for the duck!! Pistachio Pudding card stock was cut with an Apothecary Accent framelit, which was cut down in size to fit under the toy image. An In Color Boutique Detail button along with twine and gold fibers from stripped from the Gold Baker's Twine anchor the sentiment.

I'm entering the above card in this week's CAS(E) this Sketch challenge.  Be sure to follow the link and check out all the great inspiration!

http://casethissketch.blogspot.com/

Thanks for dropping by and taking a look!  I'd love to hear from you if you have time to leave a comment.  Have a great evening!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Something for Baby, Itty Bitty Banners
Paper:  Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Baked Brown Sugar, Lullaby designer series paper
Ink:  Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, So Saffron, Tangelo Twist, Hello Honey, Baked Brown Sugar
Other:  Bitty Banners, Hearts A Flutter, and Apothecary Accents framelits, Neutral Button, Coastal Cabana Twine, Crisp Cantaloupe Twine, Gold Baker's Twine, In Color Boutique Details

Simply Fab!

I finally broke out the new stamp set Work of Art that we received at the Catalogue Premier last week for a "sneak peek".  The stamp set will be available when the catalogue goes live on June 2.  

I am tickled pink, it was a lot of fun to play with.  Love the font in that sentiment!  It was stamped in Jet Black Stazon over the top of one of the four stamps that look like brushed paint in the set.  The polka dots stamped on the Pool Party horizontal pieces is also from the set.

I used this week's fun Deconstructing Sketch for the layout.  Head over and check out all the great inspiration!

http://deconstructingjen.com/deconstructed-sketch-149/

Thanks for taking a look!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Work of Art
Paper:  Whisper White, Pool Party, Sahara Sand, Summer Starfruit, Crisp Cantaloupe, Sweet Sorbet designer paper
Ink:  Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party, Jet Black Stazon
Other:  Chalk Talk framelit, Crisp Cantaloupe Twine, In Color Boutique Details, Basic Rhinestones, Paper Snips

Mother's Day Wishes

Here is the second card for the party next week, using softer colors than the first card and one of the lovely flourishes from Flowering Flourishes.

Mother's Day falls on the day following the party next weekend, so it seemed appropriate to make one of the cards for that holiday. The great thing about using Teeny Tiny Wishes is that there are lots of options if a Mother's Day card is not needed.

The partial circle was cut from So Saffron and I was going to use that color as well for the flowers in the stamp, but it wasn't vibrant enough.  I opted for Daffodil Delight, which gave the result I was looking for.

As always, I appreciate your visit and would love to hear from you if you have time to leave a comment!  Have a great week!

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Flowering Flourishes, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper:  Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, So Saffron

Ink:  Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight

Other:  Basic Pearls, Coastal Cabana Ruffle Trim Ribbon, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon, Polka Dot embossing folder, Scallop Tag Topper punch, Circle Collection framelit.

Gumball Big Day

My friend decided to host a Stampin' Up party, and wanted one of the cards to be very clean and simple.  We settled on using the Chalk Talk stamp set and decided to CASE one of the cards in the soon-to-retire catalogue.

The card stock, twine and ink differ from the original, plus I added rhinestones in the background.  A super simple but fun card for a workshop. While the designer paper and Gumball Green ink are retiring, they are still available to purchase.

The card size is 4 1/2" x 4 1/4", so it can fit into a normal A2 envelope and certainly flat enough for mailing without additional postage.

Thanks for dropping by!  I hope the rest of your weekend is great!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Chalk Talk
Paper:  Whisper White, Island Indigo, Bermuda Bay, Birthday Basics designer paper
Ink:  Gumball Green
Other:  Chalk Talk framelits, Island Indigo Baker's Twine, Basic Rhinestones