World's Greatest Stampin' Celebration Sketch

Thanks for stopping by!  I am so happy you viewed my blog!  Busy summer with a summer class and travel for work.  Luckily I have figured out how to manage time and speak up when things got overwhelming!  It's amazing what people will do to support you!

I liked this month's sketch challenge at Stampin' Celebration! It is simple and could be used for so many different things!

I decided to make a card with a generic sentiment.  I thought my kids could use it for their Father for Father's Day, although if they don't I could always use it for a birthday, thank you or any other occasion!

I used a new paper pack, Playful Palette, from Stampin' Up! which showcases the new 2016-2018 In Color collection. This big banner is Emerald Envy designer series paper.  It's a really pretty darker green color.  I decided to mix it with Island Indigo and Crushed Curry.  The card base is Tip Top Taupe.  The greeeting is from the Greatest Greetings stamp set stamped in Early Espresso.  I added a little metallic thread behind the punched star to add a little shimmer.

I also stamped the starburst from the Kinda Eceltic stamp set to add a little color.  I like how the starburst is peeking out from behind the banners.

I can't wait to see what everyone else creates with this sketch!  Hope you find some time to play along.

Stampin Celebration Thank You!

Welcome back to Stampin' Celebration!  I certainly needed a little break.  I had a crazy spring between work, going back to school and other life events happening, I was overwhelmed and needed a bit of a break.  I have a problem in that it is hard for me to say "no".  I am finally learning to prioritize.  I still get caught up in trying not to let anyone down, I am sure I will continue to challenge myself on that front!

In any case, I am very happy to be able to craft, even if it's only here and there. It helps me relax and organize my thoughts.  I suspect it may be similar for others!  Of course, it is also one of the many things that keeps me up at night!

I was happy to have a little inspiration this month with the Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge (SC128)!

I was cleaning out my retired products since the new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog got released on June 1st and was happy that the Wonderous Wreath and matching framelit were still available!  While this is a holiday set, the wreath can be used for any occasion.

I loved the bright green and yellow colors so I decided to stick with those colors. I used Cucumber Crush, Garden Green and Crushed Curry.  A little vellum helped wash out the Cucumber Crush DSP background so that the wreath stuck out.  I also decided to use the Crushed Curry enamel dots since the stamped berries didn't show up as well.

The banner is from a new set in the Stampin' Up! 2016-2017 Annual Catalog called Thoughtful Banner which has a coordinating Duet Banner Punch!  I was so excited to see this!  I love the frameits, and punches are even better!

Hope you enjoy the card and that you are able to play along with us at Stampin' Celebration!

Birthday Celebration with Stampin Celebration

Nothing like my child's birthday makes me happy and yet so sad at the same time!  I love that they are growing up and that our interactions grow and mature.  I am trying not to think of the next stage in our lives, empty nest and all.  So today we will celebrate her day and not think about what will be.

Given that my creative time has been somewhat limited of late, it was great to be able to use inspiration already available from Stampin' Celebrations newest sketch challenge (SC127) to help me create a card for my daughter's birthday!

She is sweet 16 today!  Can' believe it.  Anyway, since she isn't really into cars, I decided to make her card more festive for the occasion.

For some reason the Big News stamp set (Stampin' Up! 2015-16 Annual Catalog) was on my desk and the birthday greeting was looking me in the face. Then, when I went to pick a paper for the background, the Schoolhouse Designer Series Paper was right in front.  I loved the polka dots and I couldn't believe how easy the card came together in my mind.

A festive card for my daughter's big day!  

My project is pretty true to the sketch, and I am glad the other designers provided additional interpretations to help provide further inspiration!  I am looking forward to seeing what inspires you from this sketch!

Dancing with Stampin' Celebration!

Wow, April here in Chicago came in like a lion!  I know it's supposed to be April showers, bring May flowers..., but the snow and wind this weekend made it feel more like early March rather than early April!!

Anyway, speaking of April, I am loving the April inspiration challenge by Stampin' Celebration (SC126).  The fun bright colors should help urge spring along!

I was drawn to the the raindrop effect in the lower right-hand image and decided to try to make this come to life.  I also liked the bright colors of the orange, yellow and green watercolored together so I also wanted to use this effect in my card!

For the rain drops I started with a base of whisper white cardstock and used my Versa Marker to create the circles and then heat embossed them with clear embossing powder.  Then I took some alcohol and a few drops of Daffodil Delight, Pumpkim Pie and Wild Wasabi reinkers and added them to alcohol. Then I used a medium sized paint brush to paint the colors on the card.  I started with yellow, then orange and finally green.

The sentiment is one from Tim Holtz (not Stampin' Up!).  I love this sentiment and it fit perfectly with the theme!  I heat embossed the sentiment with black embossing powder so I could watercolor over the sentiment.

For the raindrops I found a semi-raindrop shape in the Pyramid Pals framelits from the Stampin' Up! 2016 Occasions catalog (I think it is supposed to be an ear).  I just rounded the bottom and turned the ear into rain drops!

Well, that's my card!  Bright and cheery.  I don't think the raindrop effect worked out all that well.  I probably need some shading or something.  But, it was fun to try!

Can't wait to see what caught your eye!

Stampin' Celebration Flowering Retirement

Welcome back to the Stampin' Celebration Sketch challenge for March (SC125)!  

A friend at work is retiring so I had to make her a card.  Unfortunately I will be out of the office when they have her party so I wanted to be sure I created it in advance to give to her.  I found a color combination I wanted to use and decided to go with a floral theme.  The new Botanical Builder Framelit Dies from the Stampin' Up! 2016 Occasions catalog were perfect for this card!  Once I picked the colors, it was as simple as cutting and gluing.

The greeting is from the Wild About Flowers photopolymer stamp set from the Stampin' Up! 2015-2016 Annual Catalog.  I added some candy dots on the smaller flowers and white enamel dots on the bigger flower for added dimension.

I hope you have time to play along with our challenge!  I can't wait to see the you make this sketch your own!

Colors: Pacific Point, Blackberry Bliss, Tangerine Tango, Pool Party, Whisper White, Mossy Meadow.

Stampin' Celebration Handsome Fellow

Welcome to the March Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge.

Apparently the cute frog inspired a lot of us on the design team!  I decided to pull out the Playful Pals photopolymer stamp set from Stampin' Up! (2016 Occasions catalog) and make my first creature with the set.  I ended up fussy cutting the body parts out instead of using the die cuts.  It was therapeutic!

I thought he was perfect for the "Hello, Handsome" greeting from the Happy Happenings stamp set (Stampin' Up! 2015-2016 Annual Catalog) .  The color scheme I used was Wild Wasabi, Lost Lagoon and Night of Navy.  I added a few Night of Navy candy dots and some ink splatter from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set.

I can't wait to see what inspires you this month! 

A Birthday Celebration the Stampin' Way!

Welcome to the February Stampin' Celebration sketch challenge (SC123).  

My husband's birthday is today and so I knew I wanted to make him a birthday card!  This was a great sketch for his card!

For this card I pulled out the Big News Stamp Set from Stampin' Up (2015-2016 Annual Catalog)!  I embellished it with stamps from the 2016 Occasions Catalog from Stampin' Up, Balloon Celebration and Timeless Textures.  The color scheme is Pear Pizzazz, Island Indigo and Lost Lagoon.

A fun card and I hope he likes it!

Have a great day!