Mojo294: End of Year Teacher Gift

Today started out with just a card sketch challenge from Mojo Monday (#294) and turned into a little bit more.

The sketch has some elements that I omitted or changed.  The square panel was made a little bigger to fit the dress and the trim was eliminated to keep it cleaner.

The embellishment was switched out for the sentiment.  I went with "just for you" since I wanted to use this for a teacher gift for my son's teacher.

For the card, I used both dresses from the Dress Up Framelit.  The strapless dress was done with DSP and the other dress was used to make the jacket. 

Once I started the card, I just could not stop.  Since I have been thinking about end of year gifts, I altered a container to hold some treats.  Since having surgery I have been on a liquid diet, so I have been using a lot of protein powder.  This container is the can that held the powder.

I used the same oval and dress to dress up the can.  The brads and paper were a matched set, so I thought it would be nice touch to dress this one up with a fancy belt.

Since the paper had butterflies on it I just had to add a few to the top.  I kept it simple since it may be man handled if the container is opened and closed often.

Overall, I am very happy with the set.  Sometimes it is surprising to me how a small project can lead to even greater inspiration.  A card sketch can lead to a full gift set.  Where do you find inspiration for your projects?

Papers: Very Vanilla (#101650), Pool Party (#122924), Everyday Elegance DSP (retired)
Inks: Pool Party (#126982), Calypso Coral (#126983)
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes (#115370), Itty Bitty Banners (#126257)
Other Supplies: Very Vanilla Seam Binding (#120999), Very Vanilla 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon (#119960, retiring), Dress Up Framelits (#130101), Bitty Banner Framelits (#129267), Word Window Punch (#119857), Modern Label Punch (#119849), Elegance Brads (retired), Beautiful Wings Embosslit (#118138)

STAMPIN' UP! COLOR REFRESH!   

Announcing the Color Refresh! I love all the different colors that SU! offers, but it is also important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends. I am thrilled to share the updated line of colors, and hope you will be as excited by the new possibilities as I am!

The upcoming 2013-2014 annual catalog will include 10 new colors (most of which are returning In Colors from previous years)! They are welcoming back some of your favorites, moving some colors around, and introducing one brand-new color, so take a look!  Also, starting April 4th, all retiring and discontinued color products will be sold while supplies last.  So, stock up now on your favorites before they are gone.

See the Color Refresh Flyer

See the Stampin' Up! Color Refresh Video

Our Day Anniversary Card

I am spending my morning sitting at my son's school selling yearbooks.  I can not get to my craft room today, so I decided to do a little MDS while I was between sales.

This card was inspired by two challenges.  The sketch came from Deconstructing Jen (#101).  I love the layers main image of this sketch.

I also used the color challenge from Fab Friday (#18).  The colors are fun to work with and I love that there are two neutrals in the group.

I could not find any DSP that I wanted to use that went with the colors of the challenge, so I made my own patterns.  The Soft Suede side strip was decorated with the splatter tool, the Raspberry Ripple was stamped with a border stamp (three times), and the Primrose Petal banner was "stitched."

To keep the inside consistent I used the splatter pattern again.  A beautiful anniversary card in a non-traditional pattern.  I even signed my card. :)  Well, back to the yearbooks!

Supplies: Circle Punch, Flag Punch, Creative Elements Stamp Brush Set, Wedding Words Stamp Brush Set, Simple Stitching, Splatter Tool

Show & Tell: New Photopolymer Sets and a NEW Online Class!

If you haven't tried our photopolymer stamp sets yet, now is the time! We've got two more for you: Show & Tell 1 and 2. Together these sets feature more than 60 versatile images that you can mix and match to create personalized backgrounds, patterns, layers, and dimensions to make any project stand out.

And even better, these sets are featured in our new Seeing the Possibilities Class! Take this class to discover how quickly and easily you can line up the stamped images for precision placement, achieve just the right ink coverage, combine images together exactly where you want them... well you get the idea. The possibilities are endless!

See the flyer by clicking here.

PPA159: Love Life Card

The card today took some work for me to get just the way I wanted.  I tried several color schemes and various DSP combinations before settling on what you see above.

The card front was inspired by the Pals Paper Arts Challenge (#159).  This is a multi-layered sketch that offers a chance to get very creative.

As I am prone to do, I created my own background paper to coordinate with the card.  All of the stamps and DSP came from the Cottage Garden Kit.  I love the saying and just had to find a way to use it.  I used the coloring tool to coordinate the colors of the saying with the rest of the card.

For the inside of the card I repeated the background of the front and added a simple sentiment.  The banner design of the "celebrate" stamp is why I put a banner on the front of the card, as well.  Celebrations are a great way to show our love of life. I can't wait to share this card and show what I love.

Supplies: Cottage Garden Stamp Brush Set, Cottage Wall DSP, Simple Stitches #5, Cake & Ice Cream Stamp Brush Set, Flag Punch, Square Punch

STAMPIN' UP! COLOR REFRESH!   

Announcing the Color Refresh! I love all the different colors that SU! offers, but it is also important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends. I am thrilled to share the updated line of colors, and hope you will be as excited by the new possibilities as I am!

The upcoming 2013-2014 annual catalog will include 10 new colors (most of which are returning In Colors from previous years)! They are welcoming back some of your favorites, moving some colors around, and introducing one brand-new color, so take a look!  Also, starting April 4th, all retiring and discontinued color products will be sold while supplies last.  So, stock up now on your favorites before they are gone.

See the Color Refresh Flyer

See the Stampin' Up! Color Refresh Video

FMS86: Sunshine Summer Card

 This card was inspired by the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge (#86).  The sketch was very simple and I decided to keep it simple to focus on the sentiment.

When I saw the sketch I knew that I wanted to use the Feel Goods Stamp Set on the main panel of the sketch.

I simply love all the sentiments in this stamp set.  I decided to use the Sunshine one, so I went with green and yellow for the colors.  Makes me think of the upcoming summer.

The bright colors give a happy feel and make this card great to give to anyone who needs a little pick up, which made this fun to make since it is rainy here today.  The small green dahlia helps bring the green onto the panel and adds dimension.

Since I move the sentiment from the original sketch, I added a few brown rhinestones to the bottom edge of the card.  I love that I can make my rhinestones any color by simply coloring them with a Sharpie marker.  I have a very large set of multiple colored pens for just this purpose.  What is your favorite technique to dress up a card?

Papers: Whisper White (#100730), Gumball Green (#126840), Patio Party DSP (#126916, retiring)
Inks: Chocolate Chip (#126979)
Stamps: Feel Goods (#129684)
Other Supplies: Summer Starfruit Stitched Ribbon (#126846), Rhinestones (#119246), In Color Dahlias (#127556), Big Shot (#113439), Stripes Folder (#123128)

Show & Tell: New Photopolymer Sets and a NEW Online Class!

If you haven't tried our photopolymer stamp sets yet, now is the time! We've got two more for you: Show & Tell 1 and 2. Together these sets feature more than 60 versatile images that you can mix and

match to create personalized backgrounds, patterns, layers, and dimensions to make any project stand out.

And even better, these sets are featured in our new Seeing the Possibilities Class! Take this class to discover how quickly and easily you can line up the stamped images for precision placement, achieve just the right
ink coverage, combine images together exactly where you want them. . .well you get the idea. The possibilities are endless!

See the flyer by clicking here.

Technique Tuesday: Faux Cloisonne

I have always loved the look of Cloisonne.  I saw this technique for Faux Cloisonne many years ago, but never got around to trying it until now.  I LOVE IT!  So much so, that I made not one card, but three.

For the first card, I used a magazine page of a flower cake.  I love the monochromatic color scheme.  Simply use your VersaMark ink and gold embossing powder to emboss your image over the magazine page.

Once the image is embossed and cut out you can not tell what the original image is, but you have a wonderful spectrum of colors.

For the second card I wanted to make something simple that would really show off the Faux Cloisonne technique.  The Secret Garden bundle is great for this because you do not have to "fussy cut" the embossed image.  The matching framelits make cutting multiple images very simple.

The page is used for this card was a magazine photo of a strawberry shortcake (yes, most of my magazines have to do with baking).  You can see above where I cut one of the flowers out of the page.

The red and gold remind me of traditional Cloisonne and make for beautiful flowers.  The strawberries are somewhat noticeable if you look very closely, but if you did not know it was a magazine page it would be hard to guess.

This final card is my absolute favorite and I will be using the Swallowtail stamp for this many times in the future.  The original magazine page was (of course) another cake.  This one had rainbow icing which makes a wonderful color scheme for the butterfly.

The photo does not do justice to how wonderful this turned out.  I know we all have a few magazine sitting around.  Instead of just recycling them, try upcycling them into a beautiful Faux Cloisonne card.

Papers: Whisper White (#100730), Real Red (#102482), Pumpkin Pie (#105117), Bashful Blue (#105120, retiring), Wild Wasabi (#108641)
Inks: VersaMark (#102283), Real Red (#126949), Daffodil Yellow (#126944), Pumpkin Pie (#126945), Midnight Muse (#126860)
Stamps: Lacy & Lovely (#122887), Curly Cute (#120510, retiring), Secret Garden (#129144), Swallowtail (#129216)
Other Supplies: Gold Embossing Powder (#109129), Neutral Brads (#119736, retiring), Secret Garden Framelits (#129372)

Paper Pumpkin - SU! Monthly Craft Kit

Paper Pumpkin is your very own paper fairy godmother (without the white hair).   It's the total package:

• Each kit includes all the stamps, ink, paper, and accessories (everything except adhesive) to create projects like cards, journals, décor, and more!
• The kit comes with all you need for your project cut, measured, and ready—with instructions included. 
• The kit will ship on or around the 15th of the month.   You need to sign up for a kit by the 10th of the month to get that month's kit.  If you sign up on the 11th of the month, your first kit will come the next month. 
• And a free gift in your very first kit!  The Welcome Kit is the very first Paper Pumpkin you will receive in your first month of membership, and it includes a free gift - a clear acrylic block!
• Please list me as your demonstrator, so I know you are getting your goodies.

MDSM14: Travel Card

MDS Monday has started doing weekly sketches, including some card sketches.  This means we can use more features of MDS and really get into what the software can do.

This sketch is simple and fun.  I thought it would be fun to make a generic card that I could use for any occasion. This could easily be customized for a child's birthday party or a new baby card.

Most of the card was designed with the On The Go kit.  I love the coloring tool in MDS.  It allows you to color different parts of the stamp different colors.  I love the way the boat adds some color and brightness to the card.

I also colored the sentiment on the inside to give it a little more interest and continue the color theme inside.  I think that the boat and the adventure definition would be wonderful to give to my kids before our upcoming vacation.  Something special to make them smile!

Supplies: On the Go Designer Kit, Square Punch, Scallop Circle Punch , Circle Punch, Flag Punch, Travel Log Stamp Brush Set

Show & Tell: New Photopolymer Sets and a NEW Online Class!

If you haven't tried our photopolymer stamp sets yet, now is the time! We've got two more for you: Show & Tell 1 and 2. Together these sets feature more than 60 versatile images that you can mix and

match to create personalized backgrounds, patterns, layers, and dimensions to make any project stand out.

And even better, these sets are featured in our new Seeing the Possibilities Class! Take this class to discover how quickly and easily you can line up the stamped images for precision placement, achieve just the right
ink coverage, combine images together exactly where you want them. . .well you get the idea. The possibilities are endless!

See the flyer by clicking here.

Friday Focus: Flowering Flourishes Stamp Set

Today's focus is on the Flowering Flourishes Stamp Set.  I have been looking at this stamp set for quite a while and finally bought it.  I love the spirals and floral pattern of this set.

There are three stamps in this set (small, medium, and large) that have flowers and spirals.  Those of you who have been following along know how much I love to make my own DSP, and that is exactly what I thought of when I saw this set.

Using the largest stamp it was very easy to cover the cardstock quickly.  This card is a CASE from a card I saw in SplitcoastStampers (by gails).  I jazzed mine up a little with some pearls to give it some dimension.

The second card uses the In Color Markers to color the smallest stamp.  I love coloring stamps because it makes the image more interesting and makes people ask, "How did you do that?"  This card was left clean and simple and could be used for any occassion.

This third card uses the very popular Ombre coloring.  Ombre is the gradual lightening of a single color.  The largest stamp was then embossed on top of all three layers.  A few rhinestones and a small twine bow keep this card simple but add interest.  This card was inspired by snowmanqueen on SplitcoastStampers.

The last card uses both the medium and large stamps.  The medium pattern was stamped in black first and then the large stamp was embossed in white on top.  The super cute dahlias add just the right touch of color and really stand out.  I love the graphic look of this card which was inspired by Itsapassion on SplitcoastStampers.

Papers: Whisper White (#100730), Certainly Celery (#105125, retiring), Summer Starfruit (#126839), Pink Pirouette (#111351), Regal Rose (#105130, retiring), Rose Red (#102544), Primrose Petals (#126841), Baja Breeze (#111352, retiring)
Inks: Certainly Celery (#126958, retiring), 2012-2014 In Color Markers (#126856), Basic Black (#126980), StazOn (#101406), VersaMark (#102283)
Stamps: Flowering Flourishes (#126367), Sweet Essentials (#126457), Lovely Little Labels (#126262), Teeny Tiny Wishes (#115370)
Other Supplies: Elegant Butterfly Punch (#127526), Large Oval Punch (#119855), Extra-Large Oval Punch (#119859), Modern Label Punch (#119849), Word Window (#119857), Corner Rounder (#119871), Adorning Accents Edgelits (#125595), White Embossing Powder (#109132), Pearls (#119247), Rhinestones (#119246), Whisper White Baker's Twine (#124262), In Color Dahlias (#127556)

Show & Tell: New Photopolymer Sets and a NEW Online Class!

If you haven't tried our photopolymer stamp sets yet, now is the time! We've got two more for you: Show & Tell 1 and 2. Together these sets feature more than 60 versatile images that you can mix and

match to create personalized backgrounds, patterns, layers, and dimensions to make any project stand out.

And even better, these sets are featured in our new Seeing the Possibilities Class! Take this class to discover how quickly and easily you can line up the stamped images for precision placement, achieve just the right
ink coverage, combine images together exactly where you want them. . .well you get the idea. The possibilities are endless!

See the flyer by clicking here.