Lovely Amazing You

Sometimes one just wants to lift someone's spirit with a handmade card that lets them know how special they are.  Today's project is one that does just that.  It is another of the projects that will be available at my All-occasions buffet this weekend...

Encouragement card featuring the Flower Patch stamp set with sentiment from the Lovely Amazing You set.

I love the bright, happy colour scheme on this card!  I used Strawberry Slush, Daffodil Delight and Wild Wasabi...the perfect Springtime colour combo.  The background layer is embossed using the Decorative Dots TIEF.  I used DSP from Subtles Backgrounds DSP stack and ribbon from the Best Year Ever Sale-a-bration Accessory pack.  The flower images are from the Flower Patch stamp set and are stamped using Strawberry Slush, Melon Mambo, and Daffodil Delight inks.  The leaves are also from the Flower Patch set and are stamped using Wild Wasabi and Old Olive inks.

The sentiment is from the Lovely Amazing You photopolymer stamp set and is stamped in Strawberry Slush ink, punched with the 1-3/4" circle punch and layered on a 2" circle punched from Strawberry Slush card stock.  The entire card is built on a Wild Wasabi card base.

On the inside I stamped more flowers using the same colour combination I did on the front and stamped another of the sentiments from the Lovely Amazing You set in Strawberry Slush ink.  

A happy card to hopefully make somebody smile :)

Now for this week's Weekly Deals...as always, sale prices are good until Monday at midnight.

Artisan Label Punch Price: $21.95  Sale:  $16.46	Crushed Curry Baker's Twine Price: $3.95   Sale: $2.96	Epic Day Designer Washi Tape Price: $6.50  Sale:  $4.88
Fringe Scissors Price: $13.50   Sale: $10.13	Gold Fancy Designer Vellum Foil Price: $13.50   Sale: $10.13	Label Love Clear Stamp Set Price: $21.95   Sale: $16.46
Petite Petals Punch Price: $15.95   Sale: $11.96

Nobody Loves Like a Mom

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a great weekend.  I spent yesterday afternoon stamping with a fun group of ladies, so my weekend was pretty great!
This week I am hosting my All-occasions Card Buffet, and thought you might like to see some of the projects that will be on offer.  Here is a Mother's Day card...

Mother's Day card featuring the Mother's Love stamp set

I love the colours in the Best Year Ever Sale-a-bration DSP, so I decided to base my colour scheme on it.  I used two different patterns from that DSP package for my background layers.  Beneath those I used a piece of Pool Party Core'dinations card stock (yep, still have some of that kicking around...and you can get it for cheap on the Clearance Rack!) and embossed it using the Happy Heart TIEF.  I sanded it lightly to bring out the lighter coloured core in the paper.  I used half of a Tea Lace Doily to peek out from behind one of the DSP layers...a nice feminine touch for Mom!

The sentiment, from the Mother's Love stamp set, is heat embossed in Pool Party and die-cut using the Ovals Framelits.  I created a heart stencil by punching a scrap piece of card stock with the Sweetheart punch and then used it to create the heart behind the sentiment.  I simply sponged on Blushing Bride ink using the stencil as a guide.  I added one of the buttons from the Best Year Ever Accessory Pack and some (retired) stitched grosgrain ribbon in Blushing Bride.  The little silver glimmer hearts were punched using the Confetti Hearts border punch.

On the inside I heat embossed another of the sentiments from the Mother's Love set in Pool Party and used the same heart stencil from the front with Blushing Bride ink.  I added one more little silver glimmer heart.

I simply love this colour scheme...perfectly soft and feminine and fitting for any loving Mom!

Hello Baby!

Happy Monday!  It certainly is a busy one!  I have another inspiration project to share with you based on this week's sketch challenge over at Sunday Stamps.  I also am honoured to participate in the Creative Blog Hop...my Q & A and nominations are at the bottom of this post.  Finally, today is my dear Dad's 70th birthday!  Unfortunately I won't get to see him today, as he lives 4 hours away, but I'll be thinking of him all day and look forward to chatting with him tonight.  So, let's get things rolling!  Firstly, here is another project I designed using this week's sketch from Sunday Stamps:

Baby card featuring the Crazy About You and Something For Baby stamp sets and coordinating Hello You Thinlits.

I am holding an all-occasions card buffet in a few weeks and this is one of the projects that will be on offer.  I love that this card is relatively gender neutral...perfect to have on-hand just-in-case.  I used Best Year Ever DSP (available FREE with a $60 order until March 31st) for the background panel, drawing my colour scheme from it.  Building up from there, I used half a Tea Lace Doily and some Crushed Curry Chevron ribbon.  The rubber ducky is from the Something For Baby stamp set and is stamped in Crushed Curry ink and die-cut using the Baby's First Framelits.  The word "hello" is die cut from Coastal Cabana card stock using the Hello You Thinlits.  Both are adhered to a heart cut from Sahara Sand card stock using the Hearts Collection Framelits and embossed using the Argyle TIEF. 

The word "baby" is from the Crazy About You stamp set and is stamped in Coastal Cabana ink on a scrap of Whisper White card stock, which I trimmed into a banner using the Banner punch.  I added a wee silver glimmer heart, also cut with the Hearts Collection Framelits, and embellished it with a Coastal Cabana button from the Best Year Ever SAB accessory pack and a bit of Crushed Curry baker's twine.   The entire card is built on a Sahara Sand card base.

Inside view with sentiment from the Petite Pairs stamp set.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment from the Petite Pairs stamp set in Coastal Cabana ink.  I also stamped the little rubber ducky again along the bottom using Crushed Curry ink and added a wee silver glimmer heart punched with the Hearts Border punch.

Now for the Creative Blog Hop Q & A...each question is listed below along with my answers:

What are you working on now?  
At the moment I am designing the rest of the samples for my all-occasions card buffet, along with the invitations for my son's upcoming 8th birthday party.

How does your work differ from others in your genre?
I'm not sure my work is all that different!  I do use exclusively Stampin' Up! products because I love the quality and the ease with which my projects come together, thanks to the fantastic colour-coordination.  I have tried other companies' products, but always come back to Stampin' Up!

Why do you create what you do?
I love having a creative outlet that is different from what I do all day in my "real" job.  I am a high school music teacher by day, which, although an outlet for creative expression, is loud and exhausting.  I love that in the evening I get to spend time in my craft room, enjoying peace and quiet, being creative in other ways.  I also love making others happy by sending them a handmade card.

How does your creative process work?
I typically start with a purpose...usually to create samples for upcoming classes or events.  Sometimes I work from a sketch, whether it is one I create or one I find elsewhere, others times I just let the stamps, paper and ink lead me where they want. It is those times I find my final product ends up looking nothing like I had originally envisioned it!  I am also the queen of hiding my mistakes.  Many an embellishment has been used to hide design flaws and inky fingerprints...there, now my secret is out!  The next time you look at one of my projects you'll be wondering what sins those embellishmenst are hiding!

Thanks for stopping by!  I am nominating the following bloggers for the next stop in the Creative Blog Hop.  Their posts should go up next Monday, March 9th:

Jenna Hampshire at The Card Chronicles

and

Wendy Johnson at Pink and Dotty

Jenna is a new blogger from my team who does such cute projects and Wendy is someone I discovered on Pinterest who also does fantastic work.  Be sure to check out each of their blogs when you get a chance.  Have a fantastic week!!

Thank You Petals

Happy Friday...wahoo!  It's the weekend!  I am SO glad to see this week come to an end...it has been nuts!  On top of that I think my sinus infection is coming back :(  I'm starting to feel like I did before I started my antibiotics...and I just finished them three days ago!  Argh!

Today I have another project I made last weekend whilst playing with the Painted Petals stamp set.

Painted Petals Photopolymer stamp set (137146)  $29.95

Thank you card featuring the Painted Petals stamp set and coordinating Painted Blooms DSP.

I have always been partial to the combination of blue, white and yellow.  It is such a clean, crisp colour pallette.  My kitchen in my very first apartment was decorated in this colour scheme...I still love it!  For this card I took my inspiration from the gorgeous patterned paper in the Painted Blooms pack.  I used Pacific Point, Crushed Curry and Whisper White, with Wild Wasabi for the leaves and stems.  Using the Painted Petals stamp set, I stamped the leaves first and then stamped the flowers; I find it is much easier to line up the images that way. The sentiment is stamped in Pacific Point.  I punched the stamped images using the 2-1/2" circle punch and layered it on a Pacific Point circle die-cut using the Circles Collection framelits.  The background Whisper White panel is embossed using the Spring Flowers TIEF.  I used a 2" strip of DSP from the Painted Blooms pack and embellished it using some of the Sale-a-bration Best Year Ever Ribbon. The entire card is constructed on a Pacific Point card base.

This is a really quick and easy card...the perfect project for a weekend stamping session!  Enjoy!  Be sure to stop by on Sunday for a new sketch challenge from Sunday Stamps for even more inspiration!  Have a great weekend!!

Amazing You and Amazing News!

Happy Tuesday!  I hope your week is off to a good start.  Things here are still frigid...sure hope Spring makes an appearance soon!
Today I have a card that will turn your thoughts to Spring.  I played with my Painted Petals stamp set last weekend...

Any-occasion card featuring the Painted Petals stamp set

I absolutely LOVE the Painted Petals stamp set!  When I first saw it in the catalogue I thought "The last thing I need is another flower stamp set!"...boy, was I wrong!  This set is so versatile and yields gorgeous results with very little effort. It also doesn't hurt that I get images that look watercoloured...I love that look...so soft and pretty.  On this card I stamped the stems in Wild Wasabi ink and the blossoms in Rich Razzleberry ink.  Then I took a blender pen and added shading to the leaves and stems with Mossy Meadow ink and to the flowers with Blackberry Bliss.  I also added Crushed Curry centres to the flowers.

The sentiment is stamped in Rich Razzleberry ink and punched with the Decorative Label punch.  I layered it on two more Decorative Labels punched from Rich Razzleberry card stock.  I added a bit of Painted Blooms Cotton Twine in Wild Wasabi and mounted the whole thing on a Rich Razzleberry card base.

On the inside I stamped the stems and blossoms again, adding shading as I did on the front, and stamped the sentiment in Rich Razzleberry.  Such a soft, pretty card...perfect for Spring!

Now I have some exciting news!  Stampin' Up just announced four brand new product offerings that are being added to the Sale-a-bration line-up!  That's four fabulous new freebies you can earn!  Check out the flyer below to see the new products as well as some sample projects.  These new, exclusive items will be available from March 1st to 31st only and my only be earned by placing a Sale-a-bration-qualifying order.

Click the flyer to view.

Don't miss out on your chance to get your hands on these awesome new products! 

Now here are this week's Weekly Deals.  Prices are good until Monday at midnight :)

2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment Price: $6.50  Sale:  $4.88	Basic Black Baker's Twine Price: $3.95   Sale: $2.96	Celebrate Easter Ensemble - Digital Download Price: $13.95   Sale: $8.37	Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Baker's Twine Price: $4.95   Sale: $3.71
Night Of Navy 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon Price: $9.50  Sale:  $7.13	Simply Created Banner Price: $11.95  Sale:  $8.96	Tangerine Tango Baker's Twine Price: $3.95  Sale:  $2.96	Whisper White 5/8" Satin Ribbon Price: $9.50   Sale: $7.13

In my Thoughts

Today I have another of the make-n-takes from my team meeting last night.  We were all about the Irresistibly Yours Specialty paper from the Sale-a-bration brochure last night.

Thinking of You card featuring the Irresistibly Yours Specialty DSP with sentiment from Delightful Dozen.

I used the Simply Scored to score the Coastal Cabana card base.  I like the subtle texture that simple score lines provide...without requiring a Big Shot!  The Irresistibly Yours Specialty paper is sponged with Coastal Cabana ink.  I used the Essentials Paper Piercing Pack to pierce the border around the Whisper White mat.  The ribbon is from the Best Year Ever Accessories pack.

The sentiment, from the Delightful Dozen stamp set, is heat embossed in white.  I added a wee vellum butterfly, punched with the Bitty Butterfly punch, that I sponged lightly with Coastal Cabana ink and a few rhinestones that I coloured with the lightest shade of Bermuda Bay Blendabilities.

On the inside I wanted lots of room to write an encouraging note, so I simply added a narrow strip of sponge Irresistibly Yours Specialty paper along the bottom edge.
Have you earned your free package of this awesome paper yet?  The possibilities for this stuff are endless!

Now here are this week's Weekly Deals...as always, prices are good until Monday at midnight.

Chalkboard Banner Simply Created Kit Price: $24.95    Sale: $18.71	Darling Doily Thinlits Die Price: $30.95   Sale: $23.21	Floral Frames Framelits Die Price: $32.95   Sale: $24.71	Flower Frenzy Bigz L Die Price: $46.95   Sale: $35.21
From The Garden Photopolymer Bundle Price: $41.50   Sale: $37.35	Gold 1/8" Ribbon Price: $6.95  Sale:  $5.21	Label This Kitchen Designer Template - Digital Download Price: $8.95   Sale: $5.37	Venetian Crochet Trim Price: $9.50  Sale:  $7.13

Irresistibly Happy Birthday

Happy Monday!  Hard to believe it's come around again...I'm pretty sure it was just Friday an hour or so ago!
Today I have one of the projects I designed for my team to make at our meeting tonight.  I wanted to showcase the Irresistibly Yours Specialty paper from the Sale-a-bration catalogue:

Birthday card featuring the Celebrate Today and Crazy about You stamp sets

Now it is hard to tell from this photo, but the coloured strip down the length of the card is masked and sponged.  The rest of the white space has the embossed stars on it too!  I used Melon Mambo, Tangelo Twist and Crushed Curry as my colour scheme.  I masked a 1-1/4 section before sponging so that I would have the bold stripe highlighting the star pattern.  The balloon is from the Celebrate Today set and is stamped in Melon Mambo ink on vellum.  I then heat embossed the confetti stars in white on the reverse side...I love the way it looks like a real balloon that you can see through!  I die cut the balloon with the Balloon Framelits and added some Crushed Curry baker's twine.

The word "happy" is die cut using the Hello You Thinlits from Melon Mambo card stock.  The word "birthday", from the Crazy about You set, is stamped in Tangelo Twist ink.  I added one of the Best Year Ever Sale-a-bration buttons so that it looked like the balloon was tied to the button.  The front panel is matted on Melon Mambo card stock and mounted on a Tangelo Twist card base.

Inside view with sentiment from Big News.

On the inside I stamped the balloon again in Melon Mambo and then used a sentiment from the Big News stamp set in Tangelo Twist ink.

I hope my team likes this project tonight!

Party Animal

Happy Monday!  I thought we could all use a little something to smile about today, so I've got a fun little project that was part of this month's kit for my Blendabilities Club members.  They received the Crumb Cake set this month, so I pulled out the new From the Herd set...

Birthday card featuring the From the Herd stamp set.

Isn't that llama the best??  Here is a better look at him:

Teehee...I love it!  I coloured him using the medium shade for the inside of his ears and the lightest shade for the rest of his fur.  To colour his snout I used the Blush marker from the Skin Tone set (which is on sale till Midnight tonight, by the way!!)

The rest of the card is pretty straightforward.  I used the Decorative Dots TIEF to emboss the Whisper White background layer.  The DSP is from the Best Year Ever Sale-a-bration pack, and is trimmed with some Coastal Cabana ruffled ribbon (retired), which just happens to be the exact same texture as the ribbon in the Sale-a-bration Best Year Ever Accessory pack, which I used for the bow.  I stamped the sentiment, which are both in the From the Herd set, in Crushed Curry and Coastal Cabana inks

On the inside I stamped the sentiment from Really Good Greetings using Coastal Cabana ink and then the balloons from the From the Herd set using Crushed Curry, Coastal Cabana and Calypso Coral inks.

Inside view with sentiment from Really Good Greetings.

I hope this little project makes your Monday a little brighter...have a great week!

Made this just for you!

Happy Thursday....one more day till the weekend!  Yippee!!  Tonight marks the first of three consecutive days of birthday card buffets for me and I thought I'd show you a preview of one of the projects that will be on offer for my guests...

Birthday card featuring the Balloon Bash stamp set and Best Year Ever DSP.

This is a pretty quick and easy card...the toughest part is the fussy cutting of the banner, but more on that later!  I began with a Sahara Sand card base and added a background layer of Best Year Ever Sale-a-bration DSP...yep, you can get it for free!  I added some Coastal Cabana thick baker's twine as a subtle embellishment.  The label is die-cut using the Top Note Bigz die...can you believe that is the very first die I ever bought five years ago??  It seems like such a long time ago now!  I stamped the sentiment from the Ballon Bash set in Soft Suede ink...I love the cheekiness of the #you'rewelcome :)

The banner is stamped in Crushed Curry ink and fussy cut using paper snips.  Not difficult, but, as I said above, the hardest step in this very simple design.  I popped the label up with dimensionals to make it stand out even more.  The only other embellishments on the front of this card are the In-colour sequins that I added for a little bling.

On the inside I stamped another image and sentiment from the Ballon Bash set using Soft Suede ink.  Once again, I stamped a second image in Crushed Curry ink and fussy cut out the solid candles, layering them over the Soft Suede ones.

Before I go I want to share some exciting news with you!  My design for this week's Sunday Stamps challenge was chosen as a top pick over at PPA this week!  A big thank you to the Design Team for the shout out!

Have a thrilling Thursday!!