Follow Your Dreams

Happy...er...Tuesday? I know, I know, I missed posting yesterday, but I have a good reason. I was lost in tax prep purgatory all day on Monday...and this is after an extremely busy weekend hosting my Spring Fling Creative Escape. Feel sorry for me yet? ;)
Seriously, though, I don't know where the weekend went! It was a whirlwind with a few hours of family time thrown in on Easter Sunday. Whew! I did manage to squeeze in time on Monday evening to design the projects for this week's Live @ Five video and I have one to share with you. Check it out...

I am featuring the Follow Your Dreams bundle this week. It is one of those items that I ordered early on in the catalogue year, played with a little and then didn't give nearly enough love. And now it is retiring in June! Noooo! I truly love this bundle for so many reasons, not the least of which is the fabulous dream catcher die-cut! On this card I've layered an Early Espresso dream catcher over a Crushed Curry circle, reminiscent of the sun, peeking out from behind a Jack Pine tree. This card makes me long for lazy summer evenings at the lake! I can't wait for August!!

I used the Gallery Grunge stamp set in Soft Suede ink to add the textured background (thankfully that one is sticking around in the new catalogue!) and added the die-cut border with the Delicate Lace dies. I used the Tailored Tag punch to punched out the sentiment, which is stamped in Early Espresso ink.

On the inside I added a Very Vanilla card stock panel on which I stamped the Gallery Grunge background image again (stamped off in Soft Suede) and a pine tree in Early Espresso. I added another sentiment from the Follow Your Dreams stamp set.

I'll be demonstrating this card in today's Live @ Five video over on my Facebook page. I hope you'll stop by and check it out. I have two other lovelies in store as well! In the meantime, have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by.

Product List

Follow Your Dreams Clear-Mount Bundle [148370] $49.50	Rooted In Nature Clear-Mount Bundle [148353] $99.00	Gallery Grunge Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146538] $27.00	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [147115] $10.25
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [147114] $10.25	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad [147086] $10.25	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953] $11.50	Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101650] $13.25
Crushed Curry 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131199] $11.50	Big Shot [143263] $150.00	Delicate Lace Edgelits Dies [147053] $39.00	Tailored Tag Punch [145667] $24.00
3/16" (1 Cm) Braided Linen Trim [147808] $9.50	Metallics Sequin Assortment [144214] $6.75

Christmas in July Blog Hop

Happy Sunday! I hope you are having a good weekend. I held my quarterly team training event yesterday and it was SO much fun! I absolutely LOVE spending time with my Stamping Symphony family. One of the things we enjoy doing is swapping card ideas. This month our theme was Christmas in July to get us all in the mood as we await the release of the new Holiday Catalogue. There were some AMAZING designs and we decided that this month's blog hop should feature some of them. So, here is our monthly hop...

I have been playing with the Follow Your Dreams bundle recently and decided it would make a beautiful Christmas card...

Now, I actually used several different products on this card. I began by die-cutting the Whisper White background layer using the Chase Your Dreams Framelits. I love that I can cut a peek-through window in my card front with it. After die-cutting I embossed the panel using the Subtle TIEF...that one is fast becoming a favourite! I added a bit of gold foil behind my window and then added a die-cut gold circle using the same die, but this time adding the circle die to cut it out fully from the foil sheet. The result is a kinda cool reverse image of the window. The "poinsettia" is from the Eastern Beauty stamp set. I heat embossed the image in gold on Real Red card stock and then sponged  bit of Real Red ink in the centre of the flower for shadow. I also added some Wink of Stella to make it sparkle.

The sentiment is from the Christmas Pines stamp set and is heat embossing in gold. I used the label die from the Petals & More thinlits to die-cut the sentiment and then layered it on a gold foil filigree label, also cut with the same thinlits. The only embellishments on this card are some gold pearls and gold metallic thread. I love how delicate and subtle that stuff is!

 On the inside of the card I added another sentiment from the Christmas Pines stamp set and some little flourishes from the Eastern Beauty set stamped in Real Red and Soft Suede inks respectively.

I love thinking outside the box and coming up with uses for stamps and products beyond the obvious. It makes my products so much more versatile and helps me see them in a whole new light. For more Christmas in July inspiration, check out the projects on these blogs below. There are some super-talented stampers in the Stamping Symphony!

1. Leena (You are here)

2. Sandy

3. Barb

4. Jennifer

5. Steph

Product List

Eastern Beauty Photopolymer Stamp Set [143675] $27.00	Christmas Pines Photopolymer Stamp Set [142049] $44.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $13.25	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [140272] $10.50
Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [102482] $11.50	Gold Foil Sheets [132622] $5.50	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [147084] $10.25	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [147115] $10.25
Versamark Pad [102283] $11.25	Embossing Buddy [103083] $8.00	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder [109129] $6.75	Heat Tool [129053] $40.00
Big Shot [143263] $150.00	Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [143706] $14.00	Chase Your Dreams Framelits Dies [146826] $33.00	Eastern Medallions Thinlits Dies [143725] $45.00
Petals & More Thinlits Dies [145655] $46.00	Gold Metallic Thread [138401] $4.75	Metallic Pearls [146282] $9.50

Dream Big!

Well, here it is Tuesday already and I'm just getting to posting. I have been in the process of setting up and familiarizing myself with my new iMac and it has been a bit of a learning curve! My wonderful hubby got me a beautiful new computer for my birthday and the process of transferring files and getting used to the new platform has taken the better part of my first week of summer vacation. But it is going to be FANTASTIC once I get it all figured out.

Today I want to share a card I made with a new bundle that at first didn't appeal to me at all, but now that I've gotten my hands on it, I LOVE! Check it out...

Now, I'm not a big fan of dreamcatchers, nor do I own one; however the stamps and dies in this bundle are just too pretty to pass up. Here I started with a background image using the Gallery Grunge stamp set (THAT is one I couldn't WAIT to get my hands on!). I stamped the herringbone image using Sahara Sand ink and then stamped the dreamcatcher image over it in Crumb Cake. I die-cut the smaller dreamcatcher  from Crumb Cake card stock using the Chase Your Dreams thinlits. This die-cut is soooo detailed and intricate! LOVE it!

I stamped the feathers in Petal Pink, Soft Sea Foam and Pool Party inks and die-cut them, adhering them to the bottom of the dreamcatcher. The word "dream" is also part of the Chase Your Dreams thinlits set and here I die-cut it from Pool Party card stock and ran it through the Big Shot with the Subtle TIEF to add a hint of texture. I also glammed it up a little with some Wink of Stella before adhering it to my card. The final tough was a few basic self-adhesive sequins.

On the inside I added a sentiment from the Follow Your Dreams stamp set in Crumb Cake ink as well as a small flower image in Pool Party.

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget about the two AWESOME promotions happening this month!

Click the image to learn more.

Click the image to learn more about joining my Stamping Symphony

Have a great week!

Product List

Follow Your Dreams Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146620] $22.00	Gallery Grunge Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146538] $27.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $13.25	Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122924] $11.50
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953] $11.50	Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad [147117] $10.25	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [147116] $10.25	Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin' Pad [147102] $10.25
Petal Pink Classic Stampin' Pad [147108] $10.25	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [147107] $10.25	Big Shot [143263] $150.00	Chase Your Dreams Framelits Dies [146826] $33.00
Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [143706] $14.00	Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins [146933] $9.50	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897] $11.00