Blooming Blendabilities

I had to make a sympathy card for a family we knew growing up.  I decided to use the Freshly Made Sketches #146 to help inspire the design.

I don't have many sympathy stamps so I specifically used some hostess dollars to buy the Hostess Stamp Set from Stampin' Up! entitled Bloom with Hope.  The floral images are great for coloring with the Blendabilities markers.

The color scheme is Coral Calypso and Whisper White.  I used Old Olive blendabilities for the stems. Washi tape,  Epic Day and Watercolor Wonder, peaks out from behind the flower label.  I used the Labels Collection and Project Life Cards and Labels Framelits to diecut the flowers and greeting, respectively.  This was the first time I used the Stampin' Up! Blendabilities to full force.  I blended the 3 shades of the Calypso Coral markers together and even lightened the petals a little using the color lifter.  The effect is subtle but I could totally tell the difference as I colored!  I am glad I started with a small floral image to learn on!  They are really easy  to use and I didn't feel overwhelmed at all.

I also used the paper piercing tool and the Festive templates to add a little effect to the coral label mat.  I wasn't happy with such a large mat behind the flowers and the paper piercing really helped to break up the large space.

Hooray for Triangles

A quick post today to show another card we made st stamp camp last week.  This set used the Geometrical stamp set.  I was very proud that I was able to design a card using only one stamp set.  It's nice to see how flexible this stamp set can be!

The color combination is Lost Lagoon, Coastal Cabana and So Saffron with a Whisper White background.  I saw a similar color combination on Pinterest (another one of my finds during my hours spent on the site :0)) and couldn't wait to try it on a card.  I really like how the colors go together. Very bright! Great summer card.

Enjoy your day!

Watercolor Thank You

I hosted a stamp camp this past Friday and was so glad to be able to design the cards during time off from work after the 4th.  It really helped relieve some stress!  Unfortunately, I didn't have much in the way of creativity mojo so I cased a few cards I saw on-line.  One of the cards was I saw was designed by Shelli Gardner!

I liked how she used the watercolor swashes from A Work of Art stamp set so I knew I wanted to mimic this effect for one of the cards for stamp camp.   

I changed up the colors and used Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride and Calypso Coral on Very Vanilla card stock. The greeting, Watercolor Thank You, was stamped using Early Espresso.

For the button I colored it using the Calypso Coral Blendabilities marker and then added some Early Espresso bakers twine.

This card was fast and easy to make!

Amazing Birthday

I am really dreading how fast this summer is going.  I have a few August birthdays so I decided it was time to try to stay ahead of the game before the back-to-school frenzy starts!  Less than 4 weeks to go!

I saw the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches #145 and decided to use it to make a birthday card for my Dad.

I also incorporated some elements I saw during my countless hours on Pinterest this summer!  I was beginning to feel that I spent more time looking at crafty things rather than making them so I was glad to be able to incorporate something I saw!

For this card I used the Flashback DSP as my background and pulled the color scheme into the card, Smoky Slate, Real Red, Pool Party and Crushed Curry.  The greeting is from the Amazing Birthday stamp set.  I stamped it in Pool Party, Crushed Curry and Real Red.  The Real Red and Crushed Curry elements of the greeting were just fussy cut and glued on top of the Pool Party stamped image.  I could have used markers but I thought this would provide a crisper image.

The gray background is Basic Gray cardstock embossed with the triangle embossing folder.  I wanted to use a darker gray than the smoky slate to bring out the greeting.

The candle is just rolled up DSP (this was something I saw on Pinterest and wanted to try!).  The flame of the candle is the wing from the Builder Bird Punch.  I added Crushed Curry chevron ribbon and Real Red 1/8" taffeta ribbon for accent.

I hope the candle doesn't get crushed in the mail.  I may have to add a little foam when I mail it to prevent the crushing!

Have a great day!

Hello Sketch Challenge

Time for the Stampin Celebration Sketch Challenge #83.  This was a fun sketch to play with!  While I had a scrap label piece itching to be used on a card laying on my desk, I decided to go a different route. 

I took inspiration from the Lullaby Designer Series Paper and decided on hexagons for the main piece.

I have grown to love the Lullaby DSP.  Such great colors and very versatile.  I wasn't considering purchasing this paper since I don't really know of too many people having babies.  But after looking at the paper in the catalog (obsessively) I decided that the color combination was too sweet to pass up! Baked Brown Sugar, Hello Honey, Coastal Cabana and Pistachio Pudding! There is also Crisp Cantaloupe but that color is not so prominent in my card. 

The "hello" greeting is from a Dozen Thoughts stamp set, a perfect go to stamp set for greetings!

For the rick rack I decided to use the satin striped ribbon in Hello Honey and ripple the ribbon across the card.  I topped the card off with a fork bow.  I used sticky strip to hold down the rippled ribbon.

I liked how the card turned out!  Too bad most of the ribbon is under the hexagons, but that part peeking out is really nice and adds a soft touch to all the lines on the card.

The projects by the other designers are great, hope you take a peak at what they created!  Such gorgeous ways to express this sketch!

Mosaic Birthday

I was on a bit of a staycation from work this week so I decided to play around with a sketch challenge here and there.  One of the sketches I liked was from Clean & Simple Stamping #298.

  

I have been wanting to play around with the mosaic punch and decided to use the 2014-2016 In Colors from Stamping Up!  Just love, love, love these colors! I was thinking, if I was ever stranded on an island and only had 5 colors to chose, it may just have to be these 5 colors!

The greeting is from Remembering Your Birthday.  Another versatile must have greeting set for ones collection!

Have a great day!

Social Graduation

Welcome back!  I am excited to show you the second graduation card I made this past weekend.  I ended up using Clean & Simple Sketch challenge # 297 as the basis for the card layout.

I was looking at my new stamps trying to figure out which stamps to use. Since this was for a high school graduate, I thought the @Sosocial stamp set would be perfect!

Since I purchased this stamp set in clear mount, I used a bigger acrylic block and lined up the 3 greetings on the block so I could stamp them all it once. One less step in stamping the Garden Green greetings!

For the stars I used the Be The Star stamp set and the Star Framelit dies in Garden Green, Crushed Curry and Whisper.  The smaller stars were punched using the star from the Itty Bitty accents punch pack.  I adhered the larger star to the card using dimensionals and rest I glued directly to the card front.

His graduating school colors were green and white while the college he will attend is green and gold so I thought it was a nice mix of colors for him, old with the new.  The Crushed Curry star also helped add a little color accent to the card.  If I would have used all green and white I think the card would have looked more bland.

Hope you enjoyed the card!

Hello Sequins!

I finally got my swag back for making cards.  Even with the beautiful weather outside, I find myself yearning to be in my workroom.  If I am not in my workroom, I am on pinterest or perusing challenge blogs to see what fits my fancy.

Today I was perusing challenge blogs and found the Friday Mashup challenge #166.  I haven't participated in this challenge yet so I thought I would give it a try.  I liked the idea of playing with the new in-color sequins and Stampin Up has so many different "hello" stamps!

I decided to use a layout I used recently (see this post).  I really love the simplicity of the design and the versatility as well. 

For this card I used washi tape for the background.  Since I wanted to use the new 2013-15 In Color sequins, I had to stick with washi tape that matched the colors.  Retro Fresh (Coastal Cabana arrows) and Sweet Sadie (Pistachio Pudding hearts and Crisp Cantaloupe stripes) Designer Washi tape both have tape using the 2013-15 In Colors.  Since there were only 3 colors of wash tape I could use I added a 1/4" strip of Baked Brown Sugar cardstock to add a little more color.

The greeting is from the Four You Stamp Set, stamped in Baked Brown Sugar. I used the Project Life corner rounder to smooth the edges of the greeting and try to soften the lines on the card.

If I cut a full sheet of cardstock to make a card base I usually go ahead and make 2 cards.  Since I had 2 bases I decided to change up the tape order and sequin shape on the second card.  A subtle change but you can see it made a difference.

I am taking some time off next week from work and I am excited to spend some time in my craft room!  I spent a little time designing a few ideas and making notes!  Very excited! 

Eclectic Kindness

I so can't believe it is July already.  Wow.  Where did 6 months go??  I am going to enjoy the summer because I know it is going to fly by!  

This months Stampin Celebration Inspiration Challenge was really fun!  So many ideas, so little time.

This challenge came just as I received a new stamp set in the mail from Stampin' Up, Kinda Eclectic.  Such great images!  As for color, the first color I wanted to use was the new kraft paper as well as the In Colors, especially Mossy Meadow!  I am still loving the new In Colors!

Here is what I ended up designing!

I used Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow and Blackberry Bliss for this card and treat container.  I was only going to make the card, but when I cut the kraft paper, I had a 4x6 piece of paper and decided to make the treat container too.  What better than to give a coordinated treat along with a card?!  I even got to use the new Fast Fuse for the treat container.  I recommend watching the video Stampin Up produced about the Fast Fuse tape runner.  It's on YouTube and a much watch to learn the simple trick to getting a clean break to the fast fuse adhesive ;0).  My first attempt was a bit messy because I didn't watch the video.

For the leaves on the card I stamped the image twice before reinking to get the lighter shade of green.  For the treat container, I stamped the leaves onto the kraft paper (before adhering the container together mind you).  Then I stamped the leaves onto Mossy Meadow cardstock and fussy cut them out (very carefully).  I glued the leaves on the treat container (after it was adhered together so I could better place them and so some of the leaves could stick out a little).

The butterfly (for both the treat container and the card) was stamped using Blackberry Bliss onto kraft paper and then punched out using the small butterfly punch.

For the greeting on the card I added some of the new Venetian Crochet Trim at the bottom along with a strip of Hello Honey cardstock.  The treat container greeting is trimmed with the Hello Honey Satin Stitched Ribbon and Linen Thread.

The receiver of these will be sure to enjoy the gratitude!  Hope you enjoy this month's Inspiration Challenge!  The projects from the Design Team are just gorgeous.