Is there anything better to spark creativity than new stampin’ stuff??!! I certainly can’t think of it if there is! Yesterday, my box of new Stampin’ Up paper, stamps and accessories showed up and I got some time to break into it this morning. I have to say that no matter how beautiful I think the designer papers are going to be, the paper from Stampin’ Up always goes way beyond my expectations. I ordered the new Greenhouse Gala paper (p. 173) and the coordinating Friends Never Fade stamp set (p. 99). All I can say is WOW!! I thought the the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 76 would be perfect to highlight both the stamp set and the DSP.
The coordinating accessories are the new Brights Collection Designer Buttons (p. 186) and the new 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon in Daffodil Delight (p. 191). The latest addition to the buttons is this one with cool variations of color throughout. The skinny ribbon is going to be so fun to work with, too!! I used the words from the Silhouette Sentiments (Level 1 hostess, p. 11) to finish the card right off. I stamped a matching flower inside and the card is all ready for a friend who needs a lift right now.
I can’t tell you how excited I am about all the new offerings in the Stampin’ Up catalog. I hope this card brightened your day. Thanks for stopping by!
As I posted my baby cards last weekend, I told you that I had been working on a big (for me) project. Well, the secret is out and I can share now. A dear friend of mine is pregnant with twins and I was part of a group that made her matching scrapbooks. Her twins are actually one boy and one girl so the scrapbook use the same layouts (bacically) but with different papers. You may or may not know that I am not much of a scrapbooker. I have used My Digital Studio with some wonderful success but have never made entire traditional scrapbooks. Together with two of my friends, Christine and Simone, we committed to making these books. Let’s face it, the mom of twins isn’t going to have time to scrapbook for a while!!
We started by getting two of the adorable Olive Polka Dot 6″x6″ albums from the Summer Mini. Then, we chose the Petal Party and Happy B-day Simply Scrappin’ Kits as the base for each. It is amazing how stampers with totally different styles can create a unified project just by using the same papers!! The best part is that we had lots of paper and self-adhesives left over so that the mom can add finishing touches once the pictures are in.
To add to the fun, there is a challenge over at Stampin’ Royalty this week that is about “Seeing Doubles” – SR#26. It seemed like the perfect time to post some of these great pages.
To start, I have the two cover pages (created by me):
I really don’t have room for all the pages but I am going to show you a couple of my favorites! Take a look at the fabulous artwork on the “first tooth” pages created by Simone (on the left, each pairing). Her dear husband drew it for her…wonderful!
And the following pages were created by Christine as “Grandparent” pages:
We tried to leave lots of room for journaling and embellishment after the pictures are put in. We were so thrilled with the final result and, more importantly, the mom-to-be seemed to love it! So glad you stopped by and I hope to see you again soon!
It is official…I have survived the first week of summer break and I’m still able to be awake after the kids go to bed. We have had a lot going on and I have been sadly lacking in my posts. I’m definitely having to adjust to the new schedule!! That said, I have been busily creating but I can’t post it quite yet. I can tell you that I was working with some friends on a special gift for a special someone who is having a baby shower this weekend. I don’t want to spoil any surprises so I will say no more!
Because I was doing the “other” project, I just got around to cards yesterday. Now, this shower is for twins…how fun is that??!! Well, maybe not for Mommy late in the pregnancy but fun for the rest of us!! I did, however, come to the rapid conclusion that most baby stamps use the words “one”, “baby” and other singleton things like that. Not only that, I have virtually no baby stamps (a situation that will be fixed soon after July 1st!). I went to one of my Stampin’ friends and raided her stamp stash. Once home, Margaret Moody and the Pals Paper Arts team saved me once again. They have a sketch challenge this week (PPA48), thank heavens!! As usual, I can’t seem to load their sketch so you’ll have to drop on by and see it for yourself (and give it a try)!! Now that I have my new catalog, I have doubled my efforts to use up old papers. Because the twins are a boy and a girl, this left me room to use pink and blue (I know, pretty traditional but it works). I saw the onesie in A Little Love and knew what I wanted to do! The idea is in no way original but I have never used it and I’m so happy with this card!
I used retired DSP (Bella Birds) with the Bordering Blue and So Saffron strips. The onesies were paper pieced to add a little interest after I colored them with Pink Pirouette – my brand new marker – and Bordering Blue (popped up on Dimensionals). I used the “Welcome” part of “Welcome Baby” from the Short & Sweet set. Finally, I dyed some thread with my Chocolate Chip marker for the clothesline. I must say that this card makes me smile!!
I needed another card for the same shower and turned to the So Many Scallops set (ret, SAB). I love the little baby set in it other than it says “Sweet One”. I used my Pretty in Pink and Bordering Blue markers to fill in everything but the words on the stamp and stamped it first. I cleaned the stamp thoroughly and then inked up the “Sweet” word only. Using my handy-dandy Stamp-a-ma-jig, I put the word right where it belongs. I must say, I’m feeling pretty clever about these modifications (and very sympathetic to parents/friends of multiples when it comes to stamping)! I used last week’s Stamping 411 sketch, SSC156. Take a look at Lee Conrey’s card here and you’ll see my ribbon inspiration for this sketch.
The DSP on this one is from the Sweet Pea paper pack (ret). I used the beautiful White Organdy ribbon and cinched the bow together with a 5/16″ White Jumbo Brad.
Well, these are the cards and I can’t wait to share some of the gift pictures with you! Thanks for stopping in. I hope you have a great weekend!
Card 1:
Stamps: A Little Love (ret), Short & Sweet; Paper: Bella Birds DSP (ret), Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White; Ink: Pink Pirouette, Bordering Blue, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Dimensionals, thread
Card 2:
Stamp: So Many Scallops (ret); Paper: Bordering Blue, Whisper White, Sweet Pea DSP (ret); Ink: Pretty in Pink, Bordering Blue; Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, White Organdy ribbon, Jumbo brad, Dimensionals
While I posted a Father’s Day card a few back, my husband had seen that one (a club card). That, and I do like to make sure he gets his own original cards every now and then! Branch Out is the set I wanted to work with for this card. It is one of the few retired sets that I keep just for my very own stamping…mostly because it always makes me happy to work with it. I used a new to me challenge for the layout over at Clean&Simple Stamping. This is their Fall-to Layout #95:
I also used the colors from Stamping 411‘s Thursday color challenge…Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, and Certainly Celery. The Baja DSP is left over hostess paper from when Baja Breeze was an In Color. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to see it come back! Not much else to explain. See, doesn’t this tree just make you happy??
I hope that your family has a wonderful Father’s Day weekend! Give all those Dad’s big hugs for all they do (I know we will!)!!
One of my dear sons had a birthday a couple of weeks ago and I am woefully late in getting the thank you cards done for him. I turned to the Trendy Trees set because those trees are just perfect for a boy card!! I am still trying my best to use up my retiring colors and DSP’s so I wanted to use the Sweet Pea DSP (Occasions Mini). I found a great sketch over at the TechnoStamper Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge. Take a look at this one…love it!
I change it into a square to better fit the thank you card plan (less space to fill on the inside). I was also thrilled to see that the challenge over at Stampin’ Royalty this week is “Masculine Themed” cards. I felt like Taken with Teal (retiring) really has a boy look to it…hopefully that is masculine enough! The Sahara Sand cloud paper is part of the Sweet Pea DSP Pack. I simply used the part of the paper that didn’t include the birds. The Chocolate Chip poly-twill ribbon (ret) finishd the job. I am really trying to use up my Chocolate Chip ribbon and, trust me, that is a lot of ribbon!!! How else can I justify buying some of the lovely new ribbons from the upcoming catalog??!! Here is my card (and its friends).
I just cut out some Sahara Sand squares for the inside that my son will write on. I really like how the clouds add interest to the card without taking away from that cute tree!
Thanks for taking a look. Hope your day is fantastic!
Stamp: Trendy Trees; Paper: Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip, Sweet Pea DSP, Whisper White; Ink: Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Chocolate Poly-Twill ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig
Nine years ago today, I had the great privilege of marrying a wonderful man. Today, I celebrate the Willow/Pottery anniversary with him!! We try very hard to stick to the “yearly” gifts. And trust me…that can require some real creativity! At least the card was easy to come up with!! There is nothing truly original here but this is the first time I have used the set this way. I was inspired by Carol ‘Anne’s work over at Stampin’ Stressaway. I didn’t brayer but used sponges on Whisper White paper. I started with Blush Blossom, added River Rock and finally finished with Soft Suede. The base of the card is the new Early Espresso (GORGEOUS!!) and the ribbon is non-SU (I just can’t wait until Jul 1st to order the new SU Espresso Satin ribbon!). The little cattails are punched out of Espresso with a slot punch.
The sentiment is from Well Scripted and sums up exactly how I feel about my dear husband. Thanks for stopping by. I have some more cards to post so you can expect to see them tomorrow!
Happy Monday, everyone! For those of you returning after the blog hop…welcome back! I promised further details about the Ghirardelli candy box and here they are. I realized that the black paper used in my original box was difficult to photograph so I made a different box for simplicity. Since I was looking for lighter colors, it seemed like a great time to use the Stampin’ Celebration challenge for this week. Just look at this beautiful picture:
It fits with my project perfectly!! Now the original instructions for this box come from Splitcoaststampers and this tutorial. I have altered some of the dimensions slightly and used my available tools instead. You can click on any picture to see it larger.
Start with a 4 1/4″ by 7 1/8″ piece of Certainly Celery paper. Using my paper cutter, I scored 1″ away from both short sides.
Then I scored at 2″, 3″, 5″ and 6″, using my paper cutter again.
Now you have an end with a long rectangle and one with a short. Use your paper cutter to remove the outer two sections on the short rectangle side. The picture explains it better!
Cut the 1″ score lines and it will look like this:
Add Sticky Strip to the flaps as shown, attaching the little flaps first the then the rectangles so that the flaps folds towards the back.
Once the box is together, I used the corner rounder punch on the flap. Then use a 2″ by 7 1/2″ strip of DSP (I used Tea Party), attaching it around the box with Sticky Strip.
Where I used my Scallop Circle punch with the lady bug on my Blog Hop box, today I decided to use the puffy flower made with the Scallop Circle. Corie over at Creations by Corie has a great tutorial on the flower. I made sure that my bottom layer was not crumpled, however. Using scraps from the Tea Party DSP, I made the flower and secured it together with a 5/16″ white Jumbo Brad. Put dimensionals on the bottom of the Scallop Circle to attach it to the box (using those edge pieces is really useful here).
You can see that 4 pieces of the Ghirardelli chocolate fit in perfectly here. Just tuck the little flaps on the packaging toward the back.
Here are the finished box and the two boxes together.
Thanks for dropping by! Have fun with this little box…it is a cinch to put together!!
Welcome to the Stampin’ Addicts Retiring Sets Mega Hop!! If you joined me from The Stampin’ Bunny, I’m sure you were impressed by Rhonda’s projects with A Beautiful Thing. Her work always inspires me! If I am your first stop, you can find links to the entire hop over at Stampin’ Addicts. After the hop you can look around over there for all the “Positively Stampin’ Up” fun…it is a super site with lots of amazing artists!
I am so thrilled that you stopped by to see my projects with the retiring set Garden Whimsy. This has been a wonderful “go-to” set for me because the images always make me smile! It is that time of year here in VA…the long awaited last weeks of school. Since the kids have been counting, I’m not sure how it snuck up on me but my first project is a quick little treat box. Perfect for 4 pieces of Ghirardelli chocolate squares…and for a last minute teacher treat!! I will have more info available on Monday with the “how-to” on this box. It is such a great way to use up some of those last strips of DSP and it comes together in about 10 minutes. I used Basic Black card stock for the box and Lovely Flowers DSP (Hostess) to brighten it up. The little lady bug uses Melon Mambo, So Saffron and Basic Black Stampin’ Write Markers. I stamped her on Whisper White then punched her out with the 1 1/4″ circle punch. The So Saffron circle was punched with the 1 3/8″ circle punch and the Scallop Circle is Melon Mambo. I put the box together using Sticky Strip and then used dimensionals on the bottom of the Scallop Circle to attach it to the box. The Corner Rounder punch finished up the box perfectly. If you want to see any project closer, just click on the picture.
My next project uses the big butterfly from Garden Whimsy. This butterfly happens to be PERFECT for the Rock n’ Roll technique. If you aren’t familiar with this technique, you need to be! It is a super way to add dimension to large solid stamps. First you ink up your stamp with a lighter color. Then chose a complementary darker color and “roll” the stamp’s edges on the ink pad. Make sure that the darker color pad is dark enough to not be corrupted by the lighter color ink. I used my Black marker to finish off the butterfly’s antenna. The words are from the retiring hostess set Lovely Flowers, the DSP strips are from Lovely Flowers and Tea Party. I used the circle punches again to keep a continuity amongst the projects. The layout is courtesy of Karen Giron and her Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.
Finally, I wanted to use another technique and the “out of the box” look works really well with the flower in this set. I simply stamped the flower and the butterfly, then using my paper cutter I cut up to the edges of the flower. The rest was trimmed with scissors. I love how the black really pops the Melon Mambo on this card!
I hope that you have enjoyed your stop here at Stampin’ on the Fly! Here is a final look at all the projects together:
I’d love to hear what you think about my projects so don’t forget to leave a comment. Your next stop is to visit Joyce at Stampin’ Central. She is using the beautiful Le Jardin Botanique and you will love her work!! Your jaw will drop when you see her brayering!! Enjoy the hop and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
My club this week needs a Father’s Day card and I just love to use trees for those masculine projects! Trendy Trees is such a versatile set and I continue to love every project I see with it. In my search for the perfect layout, I went to Mary Jo Price-Williams’ blog, Technostamper, to see her Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge. Well, number 124 was just right for my card!! Take a look:
I turned it on the side to accomodate the trees and off I went. I used the Old Olive paper from the Sweet Pea stack (ret, Occasions mini). I will be giving some of that away at my club meeting this week since it is our last get-together for this Stampin’ Up year. I love how the Chocolate Chip pops on the Kraft (soon to be Crumb Cake) paper. I tied the Chocolate wide grosgrain with the linen thread to finish the look.
This just feels like a “Dad” card to me. I used some of the matching DSP inside along with the “Dear Father” stamp from Well Scripted.
Just a reminder, I am participating in a Stampin’ Addicts “Retiring Sets Mega Hop” that runs from Friday, Jun 11th through Sunday, Jun 13th. Please plan to stop by and see my projects using Garden Whimsy!! Have a great day!
Stamps: Trendy Trees, Well Scripted (inside); Paper: Sweet Pea DSP, Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Whisper White; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive; Accessories: Chocolate wide grosgrain, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig
The challenge over at Stampin’ Royalty today is to “Jazz it up” and what a fun thing to do. I knew I wanted to join in as soon as I saw the cool projects the Goddesses had made! You start with a basic card or other project and then create a jazzed up version. I didn’t have anything around that worked so I created a new basic card using the Splitcoast sketch challenge, SC283. Here is my basic card:
I used the soon to be retiring DSP, Lovely Flowers (hostess) and cut out a flower panel and then used the other patterns to add to the layout. I have really loved using this paper when I need a quick card that still has a wow factor! At first I thought that I might even like the basic card better but then…
Well, I added some ribbon (SAB’09 Ret), cut out a flower and popped it up with a dimensional, and put on a sentiment (to match the scallop trim), and here is the jazzed up version:
Ok, I’m convinced…jazzing up was the right thing to do! I just love this color combination and I am so happy that ALL of these colors will still be available as part of the Color Renovation. While this DSP will be gone, I can tell you that I have seen a sneak peek of a DSP that has similar qualities. The new catalog launch is just around the corner!! Can’t wait!!
Thanks for stopping in! Here is one more picture of the two cards together. Have a great day!
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