Wetlands & Father's Day

Wetlands is one of my favorite stamp sets and I am happy that it will be around for at least another year.  Last night I made Father's Day cards (although my cards are birthday sentiments) using the set and a color combination of Basic Gray, Black, White and Smokey Slate.  For the card with four squares, I used the Off The Grid stamp (which sad to say is retiring) and a stamp from Gorgeous Grunge for the background layer.  For the card with the goose, I used the Hardwood background stamp (Occasions Mini) which is in the new annual catalog!  Speaking of the new catalog, I have not seen it yet, but I have read a few things about it.  And from what I have read, I see a nice big order in my very near future!  The new In-colors were announced:  Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Tangelo Twist, Hello Honey and Mossy Meadow.  As soon as I get my order, I will be sure to post the colors on my blog.  I am hearing about some really cute-sounding stamp sets that have my interest, especially the Ronald McDonald House set which includes a flamingo!!! Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time.

Pink Pirouette Card Version

I really thought about making another card in a box using Pink Pirouette in place of the Daffodil Delight, but then decided to create a card instead.  I used the same punches for the flowers, leaves and butterflies as I did for yesterday's card in a box. The Pink Pirouette against black is another beautiful color combination.  One product I used on this card is a non-Stampin' Up product, Zig Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Pens.  I received a few of the glitter brush pens as a gift and I like them.  I have Dazzling Details and Stickles, both more like a glitter glue and use them often.  I also have a number of glitter pens which I put to good use.  But what is different about the Wink of Stella Pens is that they are nylon brushes that paint on the glitter. I used Wink of Stella Pens on the black flower centers and it leaves a very soft shimmery finish. The Wink of Stella pens can also be used to draw or write letters.  With or without Wink of Stella glitter, in my opinion, this is a very pretty card.  Have a great day!

Love This Card In A Box!

I was looking at the jonquils that are in bloom in the backyard and was reminded of a black and yellow card in a box I had seen online.  At the time I thought it was pretty and as I looked at the jonquils, I decided to make a Daffodil Delight and Black card of my own.  All of the items in this box were made with punches, so no Cricut needed!!  The orange butterflies were created using the Beautiful Wings embosslit.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and temporarily adhered until such time as I know the occasion for which this card will be sent.  I sponged the edges of the flowers with Tangerine Tango, cut the scallop circles to mimic sunflowers and added pearls to the butterflies.  The Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch was used to decorate the edges of the three flaps while paper from the Brights DSP stack was used to cover the lower portions of the box.  The rain we are expecting today will bring even more flowers to bloom for my inspiration.  Wonder what color the next box will be?  Have a great day and keep dry!

Cricut Mother's Day card

For the last couple of days, many of you who are on my automatic mailing list, have not been getting my daily posts.  So I am trying to see if using my ipad instead of my desktop computer will change that somehow.  I created today's card using a "Create Now" project in the Cricut Design Space for my Explore.  It is a pretty card and took very little time to create.  Both the Pool Party card base and the white layer underneath were both cut on my Cricut Explore.  I wanted to add a little color, so I made a butterfly that was on the Explore Design Space and then added one from my "embosslit collection".  Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Flowers & Butterflies

Today's card is bright and cheerful and was made using my favorite products.  The background paper

is actually from the Watercolor Wonder DSP pack in the Mini Occasions.  I absolutely love the color combination of Tangerine Tango and Daffodil Delight.  In addition to the color combination, this particular pattern is soft and gentle.  (It doesn't look that way here!)  I was sorry when the Scallop Trim corner punch went away.  And now the Scallop Trim Border punch is going away, too!   I hope there will be something wonderful to replace.  But even if there is a great replacement,  you will continue to see it being used to add a little "pretty" to my cards.  Finally, my butterflies!  I breathed a sigh of relief when the Beautiful Wings Embosslit was not on the retired list!!  My butterflies live another year to cover my little mistakes! Have a great day!

Testing

I am writing this as a test.  I just received notice that the automatic emails with today's post, were unable to be delivered to a number of you.  I am wondering if I get the same notice for this post. 

AWesome

I saw this little favor on Pinterest, but the label on the Pinterest favor was more professional looking~~almost as though it was the real A&W logo on that label.  But, since I wanted to make these and didn't have that label, I made my own!  I opened the My Digital Studio software and spent a little while typing and centering, etc. Once it was looking pretty good, I printed it, used my Labels framelits to die cut the label and mat, sponged the edges, added stars and tied it on to a little bottle of A&W root beer using twine.  This is my Father's Day favor this year and we will make it in class.  For those attending card class, I made labels that say "You're an Awesome Dad" and others that say "You're Awesome".   This way, it is not limited to a father, but can be given to a brother, uncle, grandpa~~just about anyone actually!!  Have an awesome day!!
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Colorful Cheers

I went downstairs to see how many retired stamp sets I will be taking off the current shelves and there were a few~~and a few I am very sorry to see go.  But, a number of my favorite sets are still available, Happy Hour being one of the keepers!  So today's fun and colorful cards were made using the Happy Hour set. The drinks on the Tempting Turquoise card were first stamped using black ink on the Whisper White cardstock.  I then stamped the drinks again using different ink colors, cutting out the " drink" and adhering it over the stamped black "drink".    I used markers to ink the little drink embellishments surrounding the sentiment.  The Strawberry Slush card was less time-consuming.  I stamped each image in a solid color, used markers to color the drink embellishment and stamped the sentiment three times using the same colors I used for the drinks.  I now have two cards that can be used for a variety of occasions.  When I need one, I will hand write a little note inside.  Cheers to you and a great day!

Retired Lists

This morning the Retired Lists were released by Stampin' Up.  I have emailed a number of my ladies the lists and I would post them here~~if I knew how!  Since SU didn't give us a direct link to the actual lists, following is a direct link to my Stampin' Up website store section of the announced retiring items: 

www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=1894&dbwsdemoid=2031833

 

If you would like to see the actual list, please email me and I can send it to you.  I will be going down to my scraproom shortly to see what I will be losing!!

 

And don't forget!  Today is the first day of Free Shipping! Have a great day! 

Happy Easter!

The sun is shining, flowers are blooming and the birds are singing!  What a wonderful combination as we celebrate Easter!  Wishing you and yours a joyous Easter.

FREE Shipping!

So what did I say the other day about seldom posting twice in the same day?  Well here I am again!  Stampin' Up just announced that April 21st - 25th they will be offering FREE STANDARD SHIPPING!  And with free shipping there is no minimum, so it doesn't matter the amount of your order.  What makes the free shipping even better is the fact that it begins on the same day the Retired List will post.  To take advantage of this offer, beginning on April 21st, you can order from my website: www.stampintimesomewhere.stampinup.net  and have the order sent directly to you or have me place the order and I will have it sent to you. Now I think that will be the news for the day!

Just Because Morning Meadows

After sending the email of dates to remember, I was looking at my collection of Designer Series Paper and stamps and wondering which I would miss the most if they retire.  So today's card was created using a few  things I will truly miss if they are on the upcoming "Retired list".  At the top of my list is the Beautiful Wings embosslit.  If that goes, I am sunk!  What will I use to cover my little "oops"?  The sentiment from A Dozen Thoughts is one of my favorite.  It covers a multitude of reasons for sending a card to someone.  This  is only one of the  sentiments in the set that are designed with unique sayings and pretty fonts.  I really like the Hostess set, Morning Meadow which includes simple and elegant images and sentiments.  And finally, one of my favorite Designer Series Paper is the Modern Medley collection.  I like it so much that I am saving it for special projects and 10 months later, I am still saving it!!   So now that I have shown you some things I will miss if SU retires them, I wonder how many new things I will absolutely have to have when the new catalog is released?  Blessings to all on this Good Friday and have a great day.

Dates To Remember

Today's card was sent to us by my friend, Kathy Z.  The Scallop envelope die was one of my favorite dies and when I saw her card,  I thought "blog post".  Thank you, Kathy!   The card is just adorable.  Now for dates.  Everyone is talking about Project Life which will be available to all of you for purchase beginning May 1st.  Keep in mind that the items that will be available at that time are a portion of the product line that will be available in the Annual Catalog.  Speaking of the annual catalog, it goes live on June 2, 2014.  Between  now and June 2nd, you will definitely be seeing little sneak peeks of some of the new items SU will release with the new annual catalog.  With a new catalog soon, we also know there will be a number of items retiring.  The retired list will post on April 21st.  For sure the In Colors of 2012-2014 will be going away and we will get new In Colors to replace Raspberry Ripple, Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit and Primrose Petals. If you are attached to any of these colors, now is the time to order anything you might want.  Once the retired list posts, the retired items will be available only while "supplies last" or thru June 4th.  Not only will  I post the retired list or the link to it as soon as it is released, I will also email the list to my current customers.  I think that's about it for dates.  Have a great day!

Birthday Thinlet Cards

Today's cards came about during Cricut Sunday when one of the ladies was showing cards she made at a card swap.  Another really liked the cards that were created using the circle Thinlits card die.  Since she never saw this particular product, I pulled my die out and showed her how it worked. So yesterday I decided to make a couple of birthday cards using the die together with paper from the Fresh Prints stack in the Occasions mini.  On one card I used a stamp from the Sketched Birthday stamp set and cut the DSP so as to leave a little border around the DSP.  On the other I used the Cupcake builder punch and cut the DSP to match the card base.  I added a couple of our little adhesive dots to each card.  Now that I am looking at the photos, I think I need to add a balloon or two. Have a great day!

Project Life

I seldom add two posts in one day.  But, I just read about this new product that SU will be offering come May 1st!  It is truly a quicker way to organize and scrap your photos.  I have been looking at Project Life in the big box stores for a couple of years, but I tell myself I need to use up all the product I already have in my scraproom.  Well now that  Stampin' Up will be offering Project Life, I will try it out, even though I haven't used up one bit of the srapbooking supplies in my scraproom!!  Below is a list of the products that will be available to you on May 1st:




Here is a link to a little video and more info about Stampin' Up's Project Life:

http://stampinup.com/home/blog-post/corporate-blog/2014/04/15/project-life-by-stampin-up

I am really excited about this product and look forward to getting my hands on it.  Have a nice rest of the day!

Off The Grid Hello

Today's card is just something fun I created while combining one of my favorite old colors, Green Galore, with current colors of Melon Mambo and Black.  I stamped with black ink using the Off The Grid, Gorgeous Grunge and Four You stamp sets. The flower was punched using the Pansy Punch and the petals were formed by cutting and curling the flower. I used a little Petite Petals punch flower as a layer on the flower.  The card is definitely nicer in person, but I still need to wonder who would appreciate the style of this card?  Have a great day!

A Cricut Weekend

Most of my weekend was spent playing with my Cricut Explore.  Our niece had a little baby girl, so I made cards for her and Grandma and Grandpa.  Then I read that you can use your Explore to address an envelope.  Of course, I needed to try that out.  So, I went logged on to my computer and into Cricut Design Space, added text in the font I preferred and placed the envelope on the Cricut mat.  After arranging placement of the text on my envelope, I pressed go and watched my envelope get addressed!  I also read that the smooth barrel BIC pens, like those you get at a hotel, fit perfectly in the pen holder and print just like one of the Cricut pens I recently purchased.  You can add images to the envelope by changing the cut to print~~thus the little bunny on this envelope! This is only a sample of how an envelope can look.  Next envelope I make will have the letters connected--hopefully!!! And then to finish off the weekend, it was Cricut Sunday.  There were only four of us yesterday, but we certainly had a fun afternoon.  And guess what everyone worked on?  Cards in a box!!  Have a great day!

Core'dinations Cards

Today's cards have two things in common:  same stamp (Another Great Year) and Core'dinations cardstock.  Stampin' Up has a variety of Core'dinations cardstock but I will admit that I have not demonstrated it very often.  In case you haven't heard of Core'dinations cardstock, it is sandable cardstock, one color on the outside and a different shade or color on the inside.  I will start with the Early Espresso and Crumb Cake card.  I embossed Early Espresso Core'dinations cardstock using the Honeycomb embossing folder and then sanded it a little to bring out the interior color of the cardstock.  It just so happens that the interior color is a close match to our Crumb Cake so I stamped the image with Early Espresso ink on Crumb Cake cardstock and layered it on top of the honeycomb layer.  Quick and easy~~that's for sure!  The Pool Party Core'dinations seems to have an interior color similar to Soft Sky.  It is very pretty, as you can see.  After embossing the Pool Party cardstock using the Fancy Fan embossing folder, I sanded it and layered onto a white card base.  I added a little bling to the Pool Party stamped image and again~~another quick and easy card!  It seems like I go from cards in a box which have a few details to quick and easy!!!  Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Card In A Box For Mom

I do not know what I would do if I had a full time job!!  Since I made my first card in a box, I keep thinking of different themes/occasions for which to make another!  And then I get  sucked into the scraproom, leaving other things for tomorrow.  Today's post is a photo of my latest card in a box for Mother's Day.  I used my Explore for the birdhouse, little blue bird, sign post and a couple flowers. The rest of the items used for this card are from Stampin' Up: punches, cardstock, paper, stamps and embosslits.   I think my next card in a box will be of a more masculine nature.  Have a great day!

Father's Day By The Tide

I mentioned in Tuesday's post that I had gone down to my scraproom to make a Father's Day card.  As you know, I didn't--hahah!!  But last night I did attempt a Father's Day card using the By the Tide stamp set together with the Off The Grid stamp.  I used one of my favorite color combinations of Crumb Cake, White and Soft Sky.  Kind of reminds me of the sand and ocean which went along with the images I used.  I am hoping that Stampin' Up releases a photopolymer stamp or something new that we can use for a Father's Day card, but until then, the sentiment is from my trusty and well-used Teeny Tiny Wishes set. The linen thread completes my card although I do think I need to put something right in the center where the four squares meet.  But, haven't decided what that something might be!  Enjoy our Spring weather and have a great day!

Congrats Grad!

I went down to my scrap room last night thinking about what kind of card to make for Father's Day.  And then I realized that before you know it, May and college and high school graduations will be here.  I have a very limited selection of graduation stamps, so I went to my Stampin' Up digital software.  One of the stamp sets in MDS that I own is a You Go Grad.  So, I pulled it up on the MDS program, found the saying I wanted for my card front and sized it to fit.  I then did a test print to see how it looked and it was just right.  So, I put a piece of Whisper White cardstock into the printer, hit the print button and there you have it~~the sentiment for the front of my card.  I used Basic Black cardstock for the layer, inked images from Off The Grid and Gorgeous Grunge with Versamark and then heat embossed using white embossing powder. I added a few stars that I punched from our silver glimmer paper to finish it.  And when I looked at the card, the background kind of reminded of the night sky!  You can make this card in your graduate's school color or pretty close to it when using the My Digital Studio program, depending on your printer and ink.  Have a great day!

Silhouettes & Wisteria Wonder

Happy Monday!  Hope everyone had a nice weekend.  I certainly did.   Today's card includes embossing, sponging and stamping and it makes for a pretty and elegant card.  I used Wisteria Wonder and Elegant Eggplant and an image from the Serene Silhouettes stamp set.  After stamping and embossing the sentiment, I punched it with the Word Window punch and layered that on Elegant Eggplant cardstock punched with the Modern Label punch.  The tiny pearls are a perfect little embellishment that coordinate with the shape of the Modern Label punch.  We will be making this card at the May card classes. Have a great day!

Perfect Pennants

The Perfect Pennants Bigx die in the annual catalog has whispered my name as I flip through the catalog, but I told myself a number of times that I did not need it.  In playing with my Explore and SU's My Digital Studio, I noticed I had the Perfect Pennants in SVG form.  I cut a couple of them out and left them on my island.  Yesterday I decided I could put one of my test cuts to good use and created this card.  I truly like that the trim around the circle matches our scallop border trim punch.  The stamped image is from Serene Silhouettes and the sentiment from A Dozen Thoughts.  The tiny dotted paper is retired SU paper.  The butterflies look pretty and are not covering mistakes on this card!    The big mistake was I stamped the sentiment a little too high--oh well.  Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

From Cricut To Stampin' Up!

I continue to play with my Explore and I am enjoying it very much~~so much so that I am selling my Expression.  Yesterday I decided to let it make a card for me.  Actually, I chose a card image, the size I wanted and just cut the layers as directed.  When I did this I used inexpensive scrap paper as it was just to see how it worked.  There was no intention of posting it.   Well, once I assembled the pieces, I decided I would use SU products and recreate the Cricut card.  So, the orange card is the Cricut card and the yellow and white is the Stampin' Up card.  Guess where I am going to be looking for card layouts in the future?  My Cricut Explore design program.  Thank you Provocraft!  Have a great day!

Birthday Card In A Box

Today's post is photo of the birthday card in a box that will be made at the April card classes.  I used a variety of items for this project including:  circle punches, cupcake builder punch, Sketched Birthday stamp set, Simply Stars stamp set, the Cricut Explore and the Scan n Cut.  The majority of the DSP is from the Sale-a-bration Sweet Sorbet collection.  I am pretty happy with the way it turned out, but later today I will be down-sizing the too large Pool Party and black balloon.  It is a little out of proportion compared to the other items in the box!  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!  

Crumb Cake & White

This card is not my design, but I am not sure where I got it.  Usually when I like a card I sketch it out and then write down where I saw it.  As I was cleaning my desk after gathering my tax documents, I found a paper with this layout sketched on it, but no other information.  So yesterday, with sketch in hand, I headed down to my craft room where I put the sketch to use.  The card is a very simple but elegant design.  I am not quite sure what adds more elegance: the Crumb Cake cardstock embossed with the Fancy Fan folder or the triple layer of mats with dimensionals adhering one to the other?  Maybe it is the combination of both, but with the Serene Silhouettes image stamped in Crumb Cake, the card is a winner.  This is the third card we will be making at the April card classes.  There is no sentiment so it will be a good card to have on hand for whatever occasion arises.  To the sketch designer~~thank you much!  Have a great day!