MOJO Throwdown!

Spring is in the air! Or at least it was on Thursday when I was creating this card! We had such a beautiful day here in Southern Ontario that I was tempted to don a pair of shorts. I didn't...but I did wear flip flops and have my nails done. :)

What's the weather like where you are? Are you looking forward to spring? The groundhogs were divided on whether or not it was going to be an early spring this year, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

This card reminds me of spring, and I'm hoping it might bring a little colour to your computer too! :)

I started off with a base of Perfect Plum. I don't use this colour very often, but it seemed perfect for this card and the Colour Throwdown challenge, so I went for it!

I added a layer of the new (available right now in the Occasions Catalogue) Succulent Garden Designer Series Paper which was sponged using Sweet Sugarplum Ink. The banner uses the same DSP and a layer of Sweet Sugarplum Cardstock, both also sponged. This element is based on the Mojo Monday Sketch.

As usual, I took some liberties with the sketch, but it's pretty close, right? ;)

I just love the new (ish) stitched shapes! They add just the perfect touch to the die cuts. Don't you think?

Here's a look at the inside:

I sponged the DSP as well as the layer of Whisper White and added some doodles to the edges, because, why not?? Who doesn't love doodles?!

And here's a little close up:

The new succulent bundle is AMAZING!!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Oh So Succulent, That's the Tag
INK: Sweet Sugarplum, Mint Macaron, Cucumber Crush
PAPERS: Whisper White, Sweet Sugarplum and Perfect Plum Cardstock; Succulent Garden DSP
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Dies, Linen Thread, Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Glimmer Paper Assortment Pack

JUST ADDED!

Inside the Lines

Sale-A-Bration is in full swing and Stampin' UP! has even added THREE new items that you can get for FREE to the already great list of items that has been available since January 4th, 2017. How cool is THAT??

For this week's Paper Craft Crew Sketch, I decided to use the Inside The Lines Designer Series Paper which is just ONE of the MANY free items you can get during Sale-A-Bration.

A quick and easy way to earn the Between the Lines DSP is to purchase the Stampin' UP! Artist Kit:

In the Artist Kit, you'll receive: Watercolour Paper, Watercolour Pencils, Aqua Painters and Blender Pens. The pre-tax total of $63.75 means you can choose a free Sale-A-Bration item! You can choose the Inside the Lines DSP or any other free item from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure - YAY! You can order the artist kit HERE (each item must be ordered individually in order to create the kit) and be sure to use hostess code: JYXZZKDF at checkout.

This brings us to today's sketch:

I thought the large space would be PERFECT for showcasing the Between the Lines DSP, so I went to work!

Here's what it looked like with just the colours put down (before blending):

And here's what it looked like AFTER blending:

Last but not least, here's the completed card:

My base is Thick Whisper White Cardstock and I added a layer of Old Olive Cardstock under my coloured image panel. A couple of little banners on the top left corner balance the sentiment on the bottom right corner. I added the little white ribbon for just a little bit of contrast and the perfect finishing touch!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Designer Tee (SAB) and coordinates with the Custom Tee Bundle in the Occasions Catty
INK: Archival Black
PAPERS: Thick Whisper White and Old Olive Cardstock; Inside the Lines DSP
ACCESSORIES: Watercolour Pencils, Blender Pens, Punches, Ribbon, Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Happy Stamper!

Oh my goodness! When I first saw this set at OnStage in November, I KNEW I had to have it! The whole set is cute (of course!), but I totally fell in love with the "Happy Stamper" sentiment! Check it out:

Totally cute right?? And you don't even have to worry about fussy cutting all those bits because there's dies that go with it! And at $58.50 for the bundle, all you have to do is spend another $1.50 (for a total of $60) and you'll qualify for this:

An adorable little companion set to even further customize your t-shirts! You could, of course, choose any number of FREE Sale-A-Bration items...these just go together. :)

Anyway........all that to say, here's the card I created for Freshly Made Sketches:

Totally cute, right??

I started off with a base of Blushing Bride and added layers of Sahara Sand and Whisper White. I sponged some Rose Red Ink all over the Whisper White, because stampers get inky. Am I right?

Then I used the new Stitched Shapes Framelits - I love that they do all the work for you - run them through the big shot and they come out pre-decorated. :)

What do you think?

STAMPS: Custom Tee
INK: Rose Red
PAPERS: Whisper White, Blushing Bride and Sahara Sand Cardstock; Falling in Love DSP
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Dies, Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Love is in the Air

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! It kind of snuck up on me...I swear it was just Christmas yesterday! The beginning of this year has just flown by!

Our theme for this week was LOVE. We were encouraged to think outside the box and not create something specifically for Valentine's Day.

My hubby and I have been together for a LONG time (at least by some of the standards that my high school friends have set - many are divorced and some twice!).

I credit our long marriage to the fact that we still give each other little things for no reason (he buys me flowers just because and I often tuck a card in his briefcase or leave one on his desk here at home). That and we always remember to say "thank you" even for crazy stuff like doing the dishes or making the bed. Last August we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and on Feb. 28th this year, we'll have been together for 31 (!!!) years. Yep! We started dating in HIGH SCHOOL!

So...I made him this:

And I gave it to him "just because". I was going to save it for our Date-o-Versary on the 28th, but I couldn't wait to give it to him. :)

The little envy on the front opens up:

That little bow is a pain in the butt though - LOL!

And here's a look at the inside:

Cute right??

Details and Digits:

• Basic Black Cardstock: Cut @ 2" x 7 ½", score @ ¾", 4 ¼" and 4 ½:
• Whisper White Cardstock: 1 ¾" x 2 ¾"
• Sending Love DSP: 1 ¾" x 2 ¾" and ½" x 1 ¾"

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the crew have been up to HERE.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Sealed with Love

INK: Real Red

PAPERS: Whisper White and Basic Black Cardstock;  Sending Love DSP

ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Dies, Glue Dot, Staple (not SU!)

Happy Stampin'!

Ready, Set, STAMP!!!

Are you ready for some SPEED STAMPING??

You're going to LOVE this class! You'll be in and out in just under TWO hours and have TWENTY cards to show for it. Nope! That's NOT a typo. Twenty cards, two hours.

Check it out:

I can't decide which of the designs is my favourite, so for right now I'm choosing this one! :)

After class, you'll have to tell me which is YOUR favourite!

See you there!

Pretty Pocket Card Kit

Can you believe it?? It's FREE!

When you spend $60 on anything in either the Occasions Catalogue or the Annual Catalogue! Click HERE to go directly to my online store and be sure to use hostess code: 7EUW7ZBA at checkout.

Happy Stampin'!

Very Vintage

Where do you find your inspiration? Pinterest? Google? My blog? ;)

Recently, my friend Kim posted a vintage treatment she'd done on the cover of her Project Life Album, so I thought for this week's Paper Craft Crew, I'd give vintage a try!

To me, vintage means muted colours, sponging and I guess, "classic" - you know...like something that will never go out of style.

Here's what I came up with:

I started off with a base of Soft Sky (I know it looks like the old Bashful Blue, but I was down to the wire and dealing with minimal light - EEK!) and added layers of Very Vanilla and Sahara Sand. The Designer Series Paper is one that's now available in the Occasions Catalogue and may well replace my beloved Blooms & Bliss and favourite DSP for the remainder of the year!

My image (from Beautiful You) was stamped in Sahara Sand onto Very Vanilla Cardstock and cut out using the Circles Thinlits and my Big Shot.

I sponged EVERY layer (except the base), including the butterfly (which was cut from the same package of DSP) and assembled my card.

Then I finished the inside:

I used the sentiment from the Beautiful You stamp set here. I was going to use the sentiment on the front of the card, but it just didn't look right...so I made a quick change of plans and this is the result. I think it turned out great!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Beautiful You, Dragonfly Dreams
INK: Sahara Sand
PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Soft Sky and Sahara Sand Cardstock; Falling in Love DSP
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Dies, Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

I was SO jealous!

WAY back in November, I went to the Stampin' UP! On Stage event in Ottawa. At all the Stampin' UP! events, everyone usually gets to take *something* home...whether it be a stamp set, some embellishments, some paper...there's always something. And it's always something GOOD!

My friend Lindsay received the Beautiful You stamp set and I was SO jealous! Even before I saw the images stamped, I wanted that set more than any other out of the Occasions Catalogue!

I was THRILLED when I could order it and used it RIGHT AWAY! I've been keeping it under wraps, because I wanted to stamp several cards with it before showing it off. You forgive me, right??

Check it out:

I love the black background with the crisp white image panel - it just POPS! And guess what? It's NOT Blooms & Bliss DSP! I used Pop of Pink for this card. You can pick yourself up off the floor now - LOL!

My base is Basic Black with a layer of Pop of Pink. The image was stamped onto Whisper White using Archival Black Ink and coloured using the Watercolour Pencils and a Blender Pen. I then stamped the sentiment with Archival Black ink as well.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Beautiful You
INK: Archival Black
PAPERS: Whisper White and Basic Black Cardstock; Pop of Pink DSP
ACCESSORIES: Watercolour Pencils, Blender Pen

Happy Stampin'!

Inside the Lines Specialty Designer Series Paper

Get this fantastic paper for FREE with your $60 purchase during Sale-a-Bration! You're going to LOVE IT!!

Click HERE to go directly to my online store and be sure to use hostess code: 7EUW7ZBA at checkout!

Happy Stampin'!

Hey Chick - in PINK!

You may remember this card from way back in December...I had so much fun creating it and it was just a BASIC card. That Hey Chick set from Sale-a-Bration is just so darn cute!

For today's card, I decided to take it up a notch and here's the result:

I started off with a base of Blushing Bride and added a layer of Whisper White and then some Blooms and Bliss DSP (I was creating this one at the same time as the card you saw yesterday). Then I used some ovals that I'd cut while making this card for today's focal image.

I love that I can colour the chickens whichever way I feel like on any given day. Today's she's got bright pink hair that was coloured using the Watercolour Pencils (newly available in the Occasions Catalogue).

What do you think?

STAMPS: Hey Chick (Sale-a-Bration)
INK: Archival Black
PAPERS: Whisper White, Blushing Bride and Perfect Plum Cardstock; Blooms & Bliss DSP
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Dies, Stitched Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Take TWO!

You may remember this card from last week. Turns out it was a sneak peek of THIS weeks challenge. :)

This week, our challenge was colour themed:

So...I used my ideas from last week, changed up the layout a bit and came up with this:

In February each year, I do a love, marriage and baby class, so this will be one of the cards we create! How fun is that?

For this card, I reversed the colours and started with a base of Perfect Plum and then added the layer of Blushing Bride. A second layer was added (this time from the Blooms & Bliss DSP) before I attached the image panel with the same onesies and sentiment as last week. You can sort of see the pearls off to the top left of the card. Doodling around the Whisper White piece of cardstock was necessary...of course! :)

You can check out what the rest of the crew have been up to HERE.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Something for Baby, So In Love
INK: Blushing Bride, Perfect Plum
PAPERS: Whisper White, Blushing Bride and Perfect Plum Cardstock; Blooms & Bliss DSP
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Dies, Markers, Basic Pearls, Glue Dots, Fine Tip Glue Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Hey Chick!

I'm keeping it simple today. With just a layer of Rich Razzleberry on a Thick Whisper White Cardstock base.

I stamped the chick in Archival Black Ink and coloured her in using the Watercolour Pencils that Stampin' UP! introduced with the Occasions Catalogue. There are 13 colours in the package and I am SO hoping that more will be coming in the Annual Catalogue!

A little bit of doodling around the outside edge and that was it! I think it took less than 10 minutes to whip this one up. It would be perfect as a "just" because card.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Hey Chick (available ONLY during Sale-a-Bration)
INK: Archival Black
PAPERS: Whisper White and Rich Razzleberry Cardstock; Thick Whisper White Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Watercolour Pencils, Black Marker

Happy Stampin'!

Anatomy of a Swap - Final Product

Today's the day! It's time for the Canadian Business Conference and I can't WAIT to see all my Canadian Stampin' UP! friends, swap some cards and take part in some GREAT training!

But...I'm pretty sure you don't really care about all that...you just want to see the finished card! Right???

Well...here's one last step before I show you the final product:

This is the full card just waiting for the circle, dragonfly and sentiment.

And now.......TADA!!!

I added the circle and the dragonfly and then attached the sentiment (which was sponged) to the lower right of the circle. Then I also decided to add MORE in the form our Basic Pearls.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Dragonfly Dreams
INK: StazOn, Island Indigo (both for stamping) and Mint Macaron for sponging
PAPERS: Whisper White, Shimmer White and Mint Macaron Cardstock; Blooms & Bliss DSP
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Dies, Bakers Twine, Basic Pearls, Sponge Daubers, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Happy Stampin'!

SaveSave

You're the Sweetest!

Here's the last card this week from the Tasty Trucks Set.

This one started off with a base of Emerald Envy that I had laying around from another project. I don't use much Emerald Envy, because it's not my favourite of the In Colours. I mean it's not NEARLY as bad as Summer Starfruit (aka: baby sh!t yellow) from a few years ago. It's just not my favourite. Do you like it?

I was originally going to use the OTHER side of the Moroccan Designer Series Paper, but I put my adhesive on the wrong side, and...well...I'm sure we've all been there!

I punched a 2" circle and doodled around it. I then stamped the little truck and fussy cut it/coloured it in before attaching it to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

I wanted this one to be a thank you card, so that sentiment got stamped on the inside with a little bit of bunting added for good measure.

Next week? Chickens!!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Tasty Trucks
INK: Archival Black
PAPERS: Whisper White and Emerald Envy Cardstock; Moroccan DSP
ACCESSORIES: Watercolour Pencils, Blender Pens, Marker, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

It's a day to CELEBRATE!!

On Monday evening, my husband's co-worker's water broke! She's expecting TWINS!!!

When I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted to make a baby card, so the timing was just PERFECT!

Here's the sketch:

And here's what I did with it:

Adorable, right? My base is Blushing Bride and I added a layer of Perfect Plum and another layer of Whisper White Cardstock. I cut my ovals using the Layering Ovals Framelits and adhered them together. Then I stamped and die cut the cute little onesies and ADORABLE little hangers. They were attached to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

The sentiment was stamped onto Whisper White and ends were notched to create a tiny banner. A bit of ribbon makes it just that little bit extra girly. And the pearls don't hurt either. :)

I added "congratulations" to the inside:

It needed a little bit of doodling so I added that and safety pin for good measure!

You can check out what the rest of the crew have been up to HERE.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Something for Baby, So In Love (sentiments)
INK: Blushing Bride, Perfect Plum, Smoky Slate
PAPERS: Whisper White, Blushing Bride and Perfect Plum Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Dies, Satin Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Glue Dots, Fine Tip Glue Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Would you like some CHEEZE with that?

Today's card...it's totally cheezy! That's OK though, because it's also totally cute!

Check it out:

Let's TACO 'bout how awesome you are! Get it? LOL!!

I used my Watercolour Pencils again with my Blender Pens to colour the image. The sentiment was stamped in Rich Razzleberry. Easy Peasy! And it took me less than 10 minutes, since I didn't even have to cut a card base. I used the Crumb Cake Notecards and envelopes package as my base.

I'll be sending it out to a pretty awesome young lady I know. I hope she likes it!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Tasty Trucks
INK: Black Archival, Rich Razzleberry
PAPERS: Crumb Cake Notecard; Whisper White Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Night of Navy Baker's Twine; Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

It's time to Sale-A-Brate!

You DO know what that is, right?? No??

Sale-A-Bration is that glorious time of year when Stampin' UP! gives you stuff...for FREE...just for ordering stamps and other products you wanted to get anyway! How cool is THAT??

This week, I'm showing you some samples that I created using the Tasty Trucks set that is ONLY available while Sale-A-Bration is in effect when you spend $60 on Stampin' UP! products in either the Annual Catalogue or Occasions Catalogue.

Here's the first:

I started off with a base of Sahara Sand and a layer of - wait! What is that?? Is it Blooms & Bliss? LOL! I know...you're shocked and amazed - HA! Can't help it! :)

Anyway...then I took a piece of Whisper White Cardstock, drew some lines on it (which I erased later) and stamped the little ice cream cones from the set. They didn't end up quite as uniformly as I'd hoped, but that worked out at it gave me a few spaces to add a sentiment from the same set and some little pearls.

I used my blender pens and the new Watercolour Pencils to colour in the ice cream cones. Cute right?

The sentiment and pearls were added last. Thank goodness for Photopolymer stamps or there is NO WAY I would have been able to get that teeny sentiment just where I wanted it.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Tasty Trucks - available ONLY during Sale-A-Bration
INK: Archival Black
PAPERS: Whisper White and Sahara Sand Cardstock; Blooms & Bliss DSP
ACCESSORIES: Watercolour Pencils, Blender Pens, Basic Pearls

Happy Stampin'!

Anatomy of a Swap - Part 2

When we left off last week, I was about to tell you about my ROOKIE mistake!

Have you ever just been moving along, creating, thinking to yourself "This is going to look GREAT!" and then suddenly you realize...you missed a step. *sigh*

Yeah...that was me. And you would think I'd know by now. I was stamping before stamping was "cool" and LONG before Stampin' UP ever made it's way to Canada (think way back to 1985 or so). So, you would think that I'd be LONG past rookie mistakes...but no.

Here's what happened:

This is the layer for the front of the card. It already has the DSP strip at the top and the Baker's Twine wrapped around it. And that was fine. Then I thought I'd get another step done and attach all the Stampin' Dimensionals to the back of the layer...and that's where I went wrong.

You see (and I teach this in ALL my classes), you should NEVER attach adhesive before you're sure you're done with the piece that is getting the sticky stuff. And I thought I was...but I had planned to put the sentiment directly on the FRONT of the card! Now with the adhesive there, that wasn't going to happen...which meant - PLAN B!!

Sentiment strips that got stamped instead:

Not exactly what I was going for, but it all worked out in the end.

Next up was the dragonflies!

And a little bit of a StazOn high from stamping so many (21, in fact, so I could make sure that I had enough *perfect* ones for the swap).

Then I set about colouring them...which I did by inking them up in Soft Sky, using a sponge dauber to ink around the edges in Mint Macaron and finally spritzing them with water that was added to our Stampin' Spritzers. Lots of steps, but TOTALLY worth it!

After all my dragonflies were done, I set about attaching the circles from last week to a layer of Mint Macaron which was cut using the Layering Circles Dies and the Big Shot.

That's it for today! I'm handing these in at the Canadian Business Conference next Friday, so come back next week to see the finished product!

Happy Stampin'!

Thank You!

You may remember this card that I sent to my dad for his birthday (he loved it by the way!). As usual, I had some of the pieces sitting around on my desk and decided to play with them a bit more. I came up with this:

The base of the card is Cajun Craze and then I added a strip of the "DSP" I created using the Paisleys and Posies Stamp Set.

I added a square of Delightful Dijon and then an addition layer of Cajun Craze before adding the sentiment which was stamped onto Very Vanilla using Cajun Craze Ink. The finishing touch was squiggle border created with my Cajun Craze Marker.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Paisleys and Posies, Happy Happenings
INK: Cajun Craze
PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze and Delightful Dijon Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Marker, Stampin' Dimensional

Happy Stampin'!