Down by the Bay.......

Well...technically, we're not anywhere near a bay, but we're not TOO far away from the Mediterranean as we vacation in Lyon, France this week - at least we're closer than when we're in Paris - LOL! Our theme over at the Paper Crafts Crew Blog this week is a tic-tac-toe board and I chose: water, staples and....seashells.

...which is why I wanted to stick with a water theme for my post title. :)

And, yes. I know those don't form a straight line...but I designed this card last week while I was preparing to go on vacation (I'm in Lyon, France) and my brain was not cooperating. Also...technically, they're not seashells, they're starfish, but I'm going with it. Indulge me.

Last week, one of my friends and former downline welcomed a little baby boy to the world and he is SO cute! I knew I wanted to make a card and this week's challenge seemed perfect...you know...until I couldn't make it work the way I wanted it to.

At any rate, here's the card:

I started off with a base of Very Vanilla and added layers of Dapper Denim and By The Shore DSP.

I cut waves using the Swirly Scribbles dies from Dapper Denim and Mint Macaron and added them to the front of the card - thank goodness for the Fine Tip Glue Pen!

Then I stamped and cut out the three pieces for the little sail boat - SO CUTE!!

This little sail boat just makes me smile every time I stamp/cut it out. You can stamp it in just about any colour and it will always be ADORABLE!

And the finishing touch was the sentiment "Hello Handsome" from the Happy Happenings Stamp Set, stamped in Dapper Denim.

And there's that staple - LOL!

This card is on its way to my friend Kristen and her husband who just had an adorable baby boy!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Swirly Bird, Happy Happenings
INK: Dapper Denim, Soft Sky, Calypso Coral
PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Dapper Denim and Mint Macaron Cardstock; By The Shore DSP
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Dies, Stapler, Stampin' Dimensionals, Fine Tip Glue Pen

Happy Stampin'!

Tin of Tags!

You're going to LOVE this little set!! And if you're coming to Boxes, Bags and Tags on November 12th, guess what?? It's part of your $45 class fee!



Happy Stampin'!

Just a Note...

Happy Monday! Today you get to see the last of my Craft Project Central Cards. If you're new to my blog and would like to see the rest of them, you can do that HERE, HERE and HERE.

I'm in Lyon, France celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary this week, but I've got all my posts scheduled, so you won't miss out on anything. In fact, while today is the last day of my special offer of a free card for every $50 you spend on my Stampin' UP! site, keep reading to the end to see what else I've got going on!

I know I said the "Amazing" card from August 22nd was my favourite, but I think I've changed my mind - LOL! I love all the "white" space on this one! The elements all gathered in the middle just look so pretty!

The card base is Smoky Slate and I stamped directly onto it using Smoky Slate and Dapper Denim Ink.

I cut out and punched the tag using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch - this punch is great because it does all the work for you. Just trim your paper to 2" wide and any length you'd like! Sometimes I like to round the bottom corners, but I left them plain for this one.

I tucked a piece of doily behind the tag and stamped the images on it with Versarmark Ink before embossing with Gold Embossing Powder. The sentiment was stamped onto a piece of Crushed Curry using Archival Black Ink. The butterfly, also stamped in Archival Black Ink was sponged with Crushed Curry and Pool Party Ink. His wings were bent up a bit and I attached him to the tag using Stampin' Dimensionals.

I tied on some Linen Thread and the whole tag was then attached to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

On the inside, I stamped the card base using the same Smokey Slate and Dapper Denim as I did on the front and added a piece of Whisper White Cardstock onto which I doodled some lines using my Dapper Denim Marker.


What do you think?

If you've read this far, I have a SUPER SPECIAL OFFER for you! I'm not home to take your orders, but if you place an online order on or before August 31st, 2016 at 11:55 p.m. EDT on MY Stampin' UP! site, AND use hostess code: C4SYKEKG before checking out, AND your order is OVER $100 before tax and shipping, I will REFUND your shipping costs via e-transfer upon my return from holiday. AND, your name will be entered into a draw to win the Craft Project Central set I've been showing you for the past couple of weeks.

How's that for awesome??

STAMPS: Gorgeous Grunge, Touches of Texture
INK: Dapper Denim, Smoky Slate, Archival Black and Versmark Ink
PAPERS: Whisper White, Smoky Slate and Crushed Curry
ACCESSORIES: Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Linen Thread, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

In my thoughts

We weren't exactly what you'd call friends in high school. I mean we knew each other, but that was about it. She hung with the cool crowd and I...well, I didn't.

Truth be told, I don't remember a whole lot about the two years I spent at St. Thomas, except for maybe a few crushes, the school play I was in (A Christmas Carol - I had a bit part) and the rugby/football teams. The most important things I remember of course...like how Mr. Bates told me that "they" (the cool crowd) were jealous and wanted to be like me and that's why they acted like they didn't like me. I don't know if it was true or not, but I believed him and it got me through Grade 11. And of course I remember prom - Gerry and Bobby doing Electric Avenue, dancing with my husband (I know, right???) and the father/daughter dance.

But now, she's fighting cancer. She's going to win. She's just that stubborn. She loves to garden and often posts pictures of the most BEAUTIFUL flowers on Facebook. A lot of her friends post pictures of beautiful flowers on her page to cheer her up. I like to garden too, but I'm not nearly as awesome as she is, so I did something else instead.

I stamped:

Stamping I can do...and I'm pretty good at it if I do say so myself. So I stamped. And I sent a card. I'll send some more too...as long as Canada Post cooperates.

Hopefully Joanne will find some comfort in knowing that friends new, old and reacquainted are all pulling for her.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Sheltering Tree
INK: Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party
PAPERS: Whisper White and Pool Party Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

For You

Can you stand any more cute puppies and birds? I sure hope so!

Bella & Skittles just make my heart happy! You can't help but smile when you see these two! :)

For this card, I added all the images to one big block and stamped them all at the same time - EASY!

This time, I coloured Bella in Crumb Cake and added a Real Red collar and heart. I've done Bella in a few colours now, and I'm pretty sure my favourite colour is Soft Suede.

I added some sponging in Soft Sky as the "background" and that's it!

Quick and Cute!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Bella & Friends
INK: Archival Black, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Wild Wasabi and Calypso Coral
PAPERS: Thick Whisper White and Soft Sky Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Aqua Painter

Happy Stampin'!

Thoughts...

I think I'll colour all my butterflies this way from now on...

I love, love, LOVE this card! Maybe it's even my new favourite! :) The base is Dapper Denim and it was stamped using Dapper Denim Ink both at full strength and stamped off.

The image panel is Whisper White layered on Basic Black. The Whisper White piece was stamped with Smoky Slate and then Versamark Ink which was embossed using Gold Embossing Powder. Both the sentiment and butterfly were stamped in Archival Black Ink and the butterfly was sponged using Soft Sky and Crushed Curry Ink. It was adhered to the front using Stampin' Dimensionals after swirling some Gold Metallic Thread behind it.

The inside was simply stamped with Smoky Slate Ink.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Gorgeous Grunge, Touches of Texture
INK: Archival Black, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky and Versarmrk
PAPERS: Whisper White, Basic Black and Dapper Denim
ACCESSORIES: Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Butterfly Punch, Gold Metallic Thread

Happy Stampin'!

For You 3-D Thursday!

It's not *exactly* 3-D since it's still kinda flat, but it's not a card, so that's something...right? :)

Check this out:

These came about because I misheard the directions in a video for something you'll see next week. I was merrily creating along and when I had made them all, I realized that they were too big for the project I was *actually* working on. Now you'll have to wait for next week to see it - LOL!

I started off with a 5 ½ x 5 ½" piece of Blooms & Bliss Designer Series Paper (I'm almost out of the blue/green papers - good thing I have another pack on standby!) and created a gift card size envie using my Envelope Punch Board. Then I went a little NUTS with the sponging...it's pretty much EVERYWHERE!

For the belly band, I stamped on Whisper White Cardstock using the splatter stamp from Touches of Texture and Mint Macaron Ink (which I stamped off first) and then stamped the large flower image in Island Indigo. The sentiment is from Thoughtful Branches (which is only available for a few more days!)

I added some Basic Rhinestones, because you can never have too much bling!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Touches of Texture, Thoughtful Branches
INK: Mint Macaron and Island Indigo
PAPERS: Whisper White Cardstock; Blooms & Bliss DSP
ACCESSORIES: Envelope Punch Board, Punches, Basic Rhinestones, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Product List

Touches Of Texture Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[143251]

Thoughtful Branches Photopolymer Bundle

[144328]

Blooms & Bliss Designer Series Paper

[141654]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad

[138326]

Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad

[126986]

Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments

[119246]

2" Circle Punch

[133782]

1-3/8" Circle Punch

[119860]

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

Stamping Sponges

[141337]

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Fire! FIRE!!!

Have you ever been to a birthday where there was more candles than cake? If you ever have to go to another one, this card would be perfect!

Check it out:

SO many candles! And SO much fun! The Birthday Banners stamp set was just perfect for this weeks Paper Crafts Crew Sketch (last week too, but I digress!). It took about a week for this idea to come together in my head, but I just LOVE the way it turned out!

The candles (there are 6, one is hiding) and flames (also 6, with one hiding) were fussy cut and adhered to the black panel using both SNAIL and Stampin' Dimensionals (depending on the layer). The sentiment was stamped in Archival Black Ink and Melon Mambo Ink and die cut using the Bunch of Banners Framelits. The Birthday Banners and Bunch of Banners Framelits are going to get LOTS of use this year I think! :)

Did you know that you can also get the Bunch of Banners Framelits as a BUNDLE? They'll come with Banners for You stamp set:

To finish off my card, I carried the candle theme to the inside:

What's one more candle, right??

What do you think?

STAMPS: Birthday Banners
INK: Archival Black, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry
PAPERS: Whisper White and Melon Mambo Cardstock; Pop of Pink DSP
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Bunch of Banners Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Slip Sliding Away!

Oh my word!!! These cards will slide their way right into your heart!

 

Happy Stampin' and Slidin'!

Just wanted to say...

LOVE YOU!

When I received my Paper Pumpkin last week, I knew it would be perfect for the Freshly Made Sketches sketch and I was right!

See? Told you it was perfect! This one is 100% going to my honey, but I think I'll take it with me on our upcoming vacation. I have his 25th anniversary card already, but what's one more, right? It's paper, it packs flat!

Details & Digits:

• Base: Island Indigo, 4 ¼" x 11" scored at 5 ½"
• Layer: Mint Macaron, 4" x 5 ¼"
• Layer: Whisper White, 3 ¾" x 5"
• Layer: Blooms and Bliss DSP, a bit I had leftover and cut
• Sentiments: Stamped in Island Indigo
• Love You: Punched using 2" circle punch and layered with the next size up in Thinlits
• Doodling: Island Indigo

Here's the inside:

What do you think:

STAMPS: My Pape Pumpkin - August Kit

INK: Island Indigo

PAPERS: Whisper White, Mint Macaron and Island Indigo Cardstock; Blooms & Bliss DSP

ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Circle Thinlits, Punch, Marker, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

AMAZING!

Today's card from the CPC series may well just be my favourite! You'll have to tell me which one is YOUR favourite once you've seen them all. :)

The card base and layer are both Soft Sky (or maybe Pool Party?) and I stamped all over the base and layer using the matching ink.

For the inside, I repeated the splatter on both the card base and the Whisper White layer - I like this effect!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Gorgeous Grunge, Touches of Texture
INK:
PAPERS:
ACCESSORIES: Butterfly Punch, Linen Thread,

Quick & Cute with a little OOMPH!

Today's Quick & Cute card is actually a whole Paper Pumpkin Kit! It's a little bit more involved than my regular Quick & Cute cards, but everything you need (except for adhesive and a clear block) is already in the box! And as an added bonus, it gets delivered right to your door.

This months Paper Pumpkin is just perfect when you need something Quick & Cute. You can make up the cards as you need them, or make them all at the same time and be ready to go. :)

Here's the bits in the kit:

Everything you need to create comes out of the box. If you're already a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, you received a block in your first kit and if you're just thinking about it, you'll get that block in your first kit. Other than that, all you need is adhesive (and if it's a specialty adhesive, like glue dots or Stampin' Dimensionals, that's in the box too!)

And the stamp set:

I love that corner image! It was stamped four times on the largest of the cards in the kit to form a beautiful frame! And once all your cards in the kit are complete, you'll get to use the stamps in other ways! Heads up! I'll be showing you a card on Monday that uses the stamp set with other Stampin' UP! supplies.

And, last but not least, the finished cards:

I love the way these turned out! There's three regular sized cards (4 ¼" x 5 ½"), three note card sized cards (3 ½" x 5") and three little pockets with a note inside that are sized to hold a gift card to someone's favourite store!

Did you know that as a Paper Pumpkin subscriber you can also order back kits from previous months? This privilege is only available to current Paper Pumpkin subscribers and I love that little perk! If I get a kit that I REALLY like, I can order another one (or two or three) when I place my next Stampin' UP! order. How cool is that??

You can sign up for Paper Pumpkin HERE and if you do so before the end of September, you'll only pay for one kit and your next one will be FREE!

What do you think?

SUPPLIES: August Paper Pumpkin Kit

Happy Stampin'!

Thanks!

Here's card #2 from the Celebrate Box you saw in yesterday's post.

This one started off with a base of Basic Black Cardstock, onto which was layered Soft Sky and Whisper White (stamped panel). It was stamped with Soft Sky, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate and Dapper Denim and then I embossed using Versamark for stamping and Gold Embossing Powder.

The Whisper White Cardstock was layered onto the Soft Sky and tied with a length of Linen Thread.

A piece of doily was adhered behind the the image panel and the whole thing was adhered to the Basic Black base.

The inside:

I think the inside is even MORE pretty than the front if that's at all possible! It was stamped in Soft Sky, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate and Dapper Denim. Embossing was done again to match the front using Versamark and Gold Embossing Powder.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Gorgeous Grunge, Touches of Texture, Watercolour Wishes
INK: Soft Sky, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate, Dapper Denim and Versarmark Ink
PAPERS: Whisper White, Soft Sky and Basic Black Cardstock
ACESSORIES: Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Linen Thread

Happy Stampin'!

SaveSave

Celebrate 3-D Thursday!

Have you heard of Craft Project Central? It's pretty awesome! It's a paid subscription, but TOTALLY worth it! You get 10 projects each month for just $10 and if you subscribe to at least two months in a row, you get a bonus project too! I don't buy the subscription *every* month, but when I do, I'm NEVER disappointed!

Today's project comes from July 2016 (yes, you can purchase back months) and I was SO thrilled with the way it turned out! Check it out:

It's a box set of five cards (but there's space in there for at least one more AND envelopes too! The box is created with two pieces of Dapper Denim and a piece of Smoky Slate Cardstock. And the stamped image panel is a belly band that comes off:

Of course, now that I'm looking at in an actual blog post, I'm wishing I'd stamped the lid/flap too. Not that you can see much of it when the belly band around it, but still. Does that ever happen to you? You create something, it's awesome, you take a picture and...you think of at least three different things you could have done to make it even MORE awesome! In the next version, I think I'll stamp the flap. :)

Would you like to see the cards on the inside??

I'll share one with you today and then you'll have to come back over the next week or so to see the rest. OK?

I love the way this card turned out! Unfortunately, the paper doily is retired (there's NEW ones that are even prettier, so don't despair!), but all the rest of the goodies I used can be ordered right HERE.

I started off with a base of Crushed Curry Cardstock cut to 5 ½ x 8 ½" and scored at 4 ¼". I stamped all over it using the flower from the Touches of Texture Stamp Set. Next, I attached the doily.

Then I got to work on the image panel. It was stamped & embossed with Gold Embossing Powder (you could use copper) and then stamped in Smoky Slate using the Gorgeous Grunge Stamp Set. I love using background/collage stamps because there's SO much you can create with all the images! Collage backgrounds are really "in" again this year, so these stamp sets should be on your must have lists.

The sentiment comes from the Watercolour Wishes Project Kit. This kit comes with EVERYTHING (except adhesive) to create 20 beautiful cards. Once you've created all the cards, you still have a beautiful stamp set that you can use over and over again!

The finishing touch was linen thread wrapped about the Whisper White Cardstock a couple of times and tied in a bow.

Here's the inside:

I stamped the long image from Touches of Texture and sponged the edges of the Whisper White Cardstock. And...like to box, I think it needs something "more". I think I'll doodle a design around the edge of the Whisper White panel.

What do you think??

STAMPS: Touches of Texture, Gorgeous Grunge, Watercolour Wishes

INK: Archival Black, Crushed Curry, Dapper Denim, Smoky Slate and Versamark Ink

PAPERS: Whisper White, Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Dapper Denim, Smoky Slate

ACCESSORIES: Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Linen Thread, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Let them eat cake!!

When I showed today's card to my son, he asked if any of my French relatives knew anyone named Marie (for Marie Antoinette) and so...that's how the title of the post came about - LOL!

Today's card is SERIOUSLY cute (if I do say so myself) though I may have gone a little bit crazy with my favourite colour - PINK!!

When I first saw the Pop of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper in the 2016-2017 annual catalogue, I was pretty sure Stampin' UP! was inside my head! How else could they know I would be that excited over paper?

Today's card is all about the pink...with a teeny tiny nod to Bermuda Bay.

I started off with a piece of Basic Black that was laying around from some other things I was working and added a layer from the Pop of Pink DSP. Then I stuck on some Pop of Pink Washi Tape and punched a hole to add the Whisper White Baker's Twine.

Next up was the focal point of the card - balloons and banner! I started off with the Basic Black piece of DSP and added a layer of Whisper White. I stamped and punched the balloons using Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay Ink and then punched a third balloon from one of the gold embossed pieces of DSP in the Pop of Pink Pack. The baker's twine was attached with a glue dot and then Stampin' Dimensionals were added to pop them up.

The sentiment was attached with Stampin' Dimensionals too and I tied the balloon strings with another piece of baker's twine.

On the inside, I repeated the washi tape and added some doodling with my Melon Mambo marker.

And that's it! If you'd like to order any of the products I used in this cards, click on the links below and they'll take you right to my online store. Be sure to use code: C4SYKEKG to be eligible for free product!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Birthday Banners
INK: Archival Black Ink, Melon Mambo Ink, Bermuda Ink
PAPERS: Melon Mambo, Basic Black and Whisper White Cardstock; Pop of Pink DSP
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Dies, Pop of Pink Washi, Marker, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Happy Stampin'!


Product List

Pop Of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper

[141648]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

Melon Mambo 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[115320]

Pop Of Pink Designer Washi Tape

[141649]

Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad

[126948]

Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad

[131171]

Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad

[140931]

Twine Baker's Whisper White

[124262]

Glue Dots

[103683]

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com