Sunflower Stamping!

I'm Crazy for Cupcakes!!!!

Oh, am I Crazy for Cupcakes!

Have you gotten any of the new cupcake sets yet? I have been waiting and waiting for good cupcake sets, and this year they're finally here!! So far, I've gotten Crazy for Cupcakes, with Simple Birthday Thanks on the way. Here's my card for a college friend's birthday:

I'm so happy that I finally got to make some glittered cupcakes. It's been a real dream of mine... I'm getting all verklempt... I'd like to thank my parents, without whom I would not have been possible... I'd like to thank Stampin' Up! for making this wonderful set... boohoohoo....

OK - I'm alright now. Anyway, I got to combine some of my favorite things on this card: pink with brown, Bella Rose Designer Series Paper, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Cuttlebug Dots, LITTLE CHERRIES, and GLITTER!! Oh - and even a little pink felt flower.

I have to confess that I made poor Vanessa wait until after her birthday to receive this, as I was waiting on my order to show up so I could use this stamp set!! Sorry, Vanessa, and hope it was a great birthday, and of course, that you like your card! :-)

Here's the cupcake recipe:

Stamp Sets: Crazy for cupcakes

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Bella Rose Designer Series Paper

Inks: Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Reiding Hood Red, Black Stazon

Accessories: 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Flower Fusion Too, Vintage Brads, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Dots, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

'Take Three' Stamp Set Triple Play!

OK, I know the stamp set 'Take Three' is not new to the 2008 Stampin; Up! Fall/Winter catalog, but I've always found it cute and very versatile... or should I say, useful. Well, I finally got it with my last order, and I'm loving it! I DEFINITELY recommend acquiring it for your collection! You can dress it up or down, and change it for each season just by changing the colors you use with it.

NOTE TO SELF: OMG!! I just remembered that my second big order from the new catalog is due to arrive TODAY!!! Now I'll be turning my head every minute to check for the UPS man. Too exciting! OK... back to normalcy...

So I thought I'd make a few cards using some of the different sentiments in the set and base them all on the 3 colors that match the new felt flowers in Flower Fusion Too. Have you seen them yet? They are too cute. I've got a closeup photo below which will really give you a feel for what they're like in person.

Here are my 3 cards:

Cute? I thought so! :-)

The first one I made uses just the Take Three set, and uses lots of embellishments. I was going to use a background stamp on the Chocolate Chip cardstock, but I wanted the felt flowers to take center stage, and not have to compete with the background.  

I borrowed the idea in the catalog of stamping the butterflies in different colors, then punching them out with the 1/2" circle punch. That way I could get both blue and pink butterflies in there. LOVE THAT BAJA BREEZE RIBBON!!

Here's a closeup so you can see the felt flowers better:

They really are pretty, and would be great for scrapbooks. And what pretty colors! I just randomly scattered the different shapes, sizes, and colors across the top of the card, and attached them with some vintage brads.

My next card is the pretty Pink Pirouette 'Miss You' card.

For this one, I built on the flower theme from the center of the 'miss you' stamp. For the pink flowers on either side of the stamped image, I used the Trio Flower punch that I'd gotten in my last order, and have wanted since it came out!!!  Of course I'm loving it!

A few Chocolate Chip and Pink Pirouette felt flowers with a brad for the center, attached with a mini glue dot, and that's it for this simple card! (Well, except for a few layers and some 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon.)

 

My third card is the Baja Breeze 'Friendship' card.

 

I stamped the tumbling flowers by using two stamps from the 'Live Your Dreams' stamp set, as well as by inking up only one of the flowers on the 'friendship' stamp, then stamping them as if they were falling down across the card.

I love, love, LOVE the new Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon! It's really pretty in person. I used it to mask the layer of white cardstock where I pierced the paper, dry embossed it, and then punched the edge with the new scallop edge punch. It gives it a nice lacey effect. I got to use the new wide paperclip from the clips assortment. I didn't even attach anything with it - just stuck it on there for looks!

I also stamped a blue butterfly and a pink butterfly on their coordinating cardstocks and cut them out. I attached them with one mini glue dot rolled up so that it was skinny or narrow.

I wanted to show you a closeup of the pink butterfly on the top of the card so you could see how I stamped its shadow in blue. It's hard to see in the photo above, but I thought the stamped image on the cardbase might look like a shadow, giving it - the pink butterfly - more depth. Kinda cute... it kinda worked I guess!

Almost forgot the recipes!

Stamp Sets: Take Three, Live Your Dream (flowers on Baja Breeze card)

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Inks: Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip

Accessories:  *NEW* Flower Fusion Too felt flowers, Vintage Brads, Striped grosgrain ribbon: Pink Pirouette & Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Flower Trio Punch, *NEW* Clips Assortment, *NEW* Scallop Edge Punch, Dots Classy Brass Template, Paper Piercing Tools, Paper snips, Dimensionals

New Carousel Notes II Paired with Live Your Dreams

I discovered that the new In Color, Baja Breeze, goes nicely with my bedroom wall color. And I noticed that the new Carousel round scalloped notes come in Baja Breeze. Well, when you combine the two, you have a nice decoration on you hands! I just need to find a cute plate holder on which to display it.

The first thing I did was to use my new Pick a Petal Classy Brass Template to dry emboss the dots in each scallop, which you don't see very well in the photo. Next, I stamped a background visual with the Baroque Motfis stamp set.

I colored in the "Dreams" stamp with a blender pen, cut out a Baja Breeze "Dream" and adhered it on top, then cut out an extra flower and mounted it above the original with a Dimensional. I also cut out a Baja Breeze butterfly to buzz the flowers. I love the new Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon, and it looked like it needed to go on the card somewhere, so I used some of my now retired Hodgepodge Hardware. I also added a couple of dots with the White Signo Pen.

Recipe:

Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs - pg 120 Item #109403 $25.95, Live Your Dreams - pg 103 Item # 111624 $18.95

Inks: Baja Breeze - pg 162 Item # 111833 $5.25, Kiwi Kiss - pg 162 Item # 111835 $5.25, Black Stazon - pg 193 Item # 101406 $7.95

Cardstock: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Carousel Notes II - pg 167 Item #112139 $11.95

Accessories: Pick a Petal Classy Brass Template - pg 191 Item #109542 $21.95, [RETIRED Hodgepodge Hardware], Blender Pen - pg 193 Item #102845 $9.95, White Signo Pen - pg 193 Item #105021 $3.95, Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain Ribbon - pg 186 Item #111375 $9.95, Paper Snips - pg 192 Item #103579 $9.95   

                 

Just something cute I was playing around with - hope you get inspired with your own ideas!

Beautiful New Eastern Influences Stamp Set from the New 2008 Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter Catalog

I GOT TO PLAY WITH MY NEW STUFF FROM THE NEW CATALOG TODAY - FINALLY!!

...and I didn't know where to start! I found myself trying to use all my new stuff at once, so I limited myself to making a few cards with the new Eastern Influences stamp set. My goal was to make at least 2 cards with the set that had completely different looks to them to show how versatile the set is. I think I succeeded!

I started with a soft, sweet style using Pink Pirouette and Mellow Moss, watercoloring the cherry blossom in the same colors.

I got to use the beautiful new striped grosgrain In Color ribbon in Pink Pirouette. It really matches the cardstock nicely! I wanted the card to be soft like the colors, so I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on Very Vanilla cardstock as a partial background. One of the Heard From the Heart sentiments would fit perfectly underneath, so I used the happiness stamp. It's embossed using Versamark ink and clear embossing powder. I took this picture under the lights at night, so there's a glare... Here's another shot, closer to the sentiment:

Oops - glare's still there. It reads, "wishing you happiness today and always."

Here's card #2. I went for the Japanese theme the set inspired. Well, probably because the Designer paper I had was Haiku! :-)  So, here's my Asian version of Eastern Influences:

Can I say I love it?? I used one of the delicious Chocolate Chip square envelopes that come with the new Carousel Notes, and made the card 5-1/2x5-1/2". The card base is Tangerine Tango, on which a piece of the Haiku DSP was layered. Then I stamped a piece of Kiwi Kiss cardstock with Kiwi Kiss ink.

The flower is stamped with StazOn Black ink onto watercolor paper, then painted with reinkers and Aqua Painters. To give it a little pizzazz, I used a sponge dauber to dab some VersaMark ink on top of the big flower, then used Glassy Glaze embossing powder to emboss it.

Behind the 'Beautiful' stamp on the layered circles is Tangerine Tango cardstock punched with the new large scallop punch. Looks great like this, I think!

Here are the recipes :

Card #1 (pink)

Stamp Sets: Eastern Influences, Heard from the Heart

Cardstock: Mellow Moss, Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla, watercolor paper

Inks: Mellow Moss, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Stazon Black, Versamark

Accessories: Cuttlebug embossing folder, 5/8" striped grosgrain ribbon - pink pirouette, Aqua Painters, Vintage Brads, Clear Embossing Powder, Dimensionals

Card #2 (Tangerine)

Stamp Sets: Eastern Influences

Cardstock: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, watercolor paper, Haiku Designer Series Paper

Inks: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Stazon Black, Versamark

Accessories: Aqua Painters, Vintage Brads, Clear Embossing Powder - Glassy Glaze, 5/8" grosgrain ribbon - Chocolate Chip, 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" circle punches, new large oval punch, Dimensionals

Keep stamping!

Beautiful Baby Card in Pink Pirouette!

Hello! Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I did have something cute to post, but I didn't take a picture of it before the sun set, so I just didn't post it. As it turns out, the same thing happened today, so I tried taking some photos under my Ott light, and it worked! So...

...today I'm going to show you the cute baby card I made for my friend Liz in Houston. I looked through the new catalog for the current baby stamp sets I could use, but it seems I don't have any current ones anymore! No problem; I just dipped into my old stash. I did, however, use the new pastel pink In Color, Pink Pirouette.

Cute, huh? I watercolored it with re-inkers on watercolor paper, then layered it on pastel cardstock. I love the words on the inside!

In case you can't read it, it says, "Congratulations to you and your somebunny new!"  Sorry if you think it's cute and want to make one of your own... the stamp set is no longer available. If you live in the North East Georgia area, you're welcome to come use mine! :-)

Tomorrow I'll post some cute stuff I've been working on for an upcoming class. Oh - and the project I made for my New Catalog Open House that I was supposed to photograph for yesterday's post.

Take care and keep stamping!

Stampin' Up! 'Always' & 'Heard From the Heart' Stamp Sets

I've got a simple & sweet card for you today, using the beautiful set, 'Always'. It's the set that's got the great bird with decorative markings on it, but I always seem to end up using the heart. I'd colored the heart a couple weeks ago, but never made a card for it to go on, so today I decided that would end. A big THANK YOU to whoever gave me the FANTASTIC idea of coloring in the heart with markers - I can't remember whose website featured this technique, but as you can see, it turns out beautifully.

At first I was going to mount it on a Handsome Hunter card base, but then I thought it might look clean and crisp on Whisper White with just a hint of color. I think it was the right decision. :)

I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but there is an embossed square around the heart, with rounded corners. Also, I embossed a circle around the only complete red flower inside the heart. I thought that would add a little more visual and textural interest.

Maybe you can tell in the closeup:

Hmm... no, not really!

Oh well, you get the idea! As you can see, I colored directly onto the stamp with 3 different markers: Handsome Hunter, Real Red, and So Saffron. And, with it being a closeup, you can see how tricky it is to color on such a detailed stamp! It looks better on the card than it does in the closeup, so that's all that matters! (Still think it looks OK? Click on the closeup and check out the really BIG closeup!)

I'll post the recipe below. I think it's pretty easy to tell how everything else is done, so I won't write down all the instructions. If you have questions, please ask!

Recipe -

Stamp Sets: Always, Heard From the Heart

Cardstock: Handsome Hunter, Whisper White

Inks: Handsome Hunter, Real Red, So Saffron (markers)    

Accessories: Dots Classy Brass Template, Bold Brights Brads, Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

Hope this inspires you! See you tomorrow with more!

New Stampin' Up! Fall Colors and Designer Series Paper!

Stay tuned... as soon as it's light enough Monday morning to take pictures, I'll post my latest creation. It uses Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, and Red/Pink Pirouette checked DSP from Bella Rose. It's cute cute cute!

See you then!

OK - I'm back with my photo... and here it is:

Cute, huh?
I L-O-V-E the pink and red checked paper in Bella Rose. It's a quick but cute card: a bit of stamping, a few cuts, some SNAILing, some paper piercing, a couple of brads, and it's done!

 I adhered the decorations to the cardfront with Dimensionals to give it some, uh, well, dimension.

Here's the recipe!

Stamp Sets: Live Your Dream

Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP

Inks: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red

Accessories: Old Olive and Rose Red brads, paper piercing template & tools, Dimensionals

Fabulous Photos From the New Fall/Winter 2008 Stampin' Up! Catalog!

Check out these views from the new catalog!!

First, I promised a card CASED from the new catalog. Problem is, I don't have the new accessories, so I improvised with what I've got.

Here's my card...

 

...and here's the version in the new catty:

Cute, huh? Now check this: here's an example of the Technique Tutorials found at the beginning of each section in the catalog:

 

And then they provide a beautiful example of what they've just taught, as in this gorgeous page spread:

 

WOW! So cool! And so great for new stampers. More later!

Another Stampin' Up! Sneak Peek: New Fall In-Color Baja Breeze!

'Mellow Baja'

Hope everyone is well today! I am starting to do a little better since my beautiful baby boy dog, Pippin, died last Saturday. What a sweetie... I miss him!

Today's card is a Mellow Baja thank-you: Mellow Moss mixed with a dash of Baja Breeze! I think it's a great color combination.

It's just a simple little card, but does not come across as plain. I think the grosgrain ribbon and the embossed background lend a touch of elegance, as does the swirly bird stamp.

Hope you enjoy!

Recipe -

Stamp sets: Always, Spring Solitude *Retiring Hostess set!

Cardstock: Mellow Moss, *NEW* Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla

Inks: Mellow Moss, *NEW* Baja Breeze

Accessories: Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Cuttlebug Birds & Swirls embossing folder, sponge

Fancy "Wallpapered" Pop-up Card!

I wanted to make something to showcase the new Fall/Winter Designer Series Paper, Bella Rose, but ended up using just 2 of the Chocolate Chip papers for a card, so you don't get to see the rest of the beautiful new colors, including Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, and Pink Pirouette. I did, however, use Pink Pirouette cardstock and ink, so you can at least see that!

I call this a "Wallpapered Pop-up Card", because I "wallpapered" the inside of the card to hide the pop-up mechanism! For wallpaper on this card, I used the tiny polka dot patterned NEW Bella Rose�DSP and ran a piece of Pink Pirouette through the Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots embossing folder.

Want to know how to make one of your own? Here are the instructions in ten (thousand!) words or less:

Let's start by constructing the pop-up part of the card, which I call the pop-up "mechanism". Cut a piece of cardstock approximately 3"x2", and score it crosswise down the middle.

Now use paper snips to�make 2 cuts�across the folded edge up to app. 1/2" from the end so that you end up with a small tab in the center.

Score the tab with your bone folder on both sides.�Pop out the tab so that it�folds in the opposite direction from the original fold you made. You will end up with something that looks like a stairstep, like this: �

To make the "wallpaper" for the insides to cover the pop-up mechanism, choose two papers or cardstock colors, and cut them to the size you'd like. Now you'll want to cut L-shaped cuts into each - in opposite directions for top and bottom. Refer to the photo here:

In my demo, I am using pink for the card bottom and the Chocolate Chip DSP for the top, hence the direction of the L cuts. To make the cuts accurately, fold your pop-up mechanism like you did in the above photo to score it with the bone folder, then draw an L in the desired direction on the front of your wallpaper. I cut mine with paper snips and shaped them up a bit with the Hobby Blade. You'll probably need to play around with the placement of the pop-up mechanism and the cuts for a bit - I know I did! - so that is why I have not attached the mechanism to the card yet.

Once you're satisfied with the way your wallpaper lays on the card, you're ready to attch the mechanism. I just use SNAIL, but your adhesive method of preference is fine. Run your adhesive around the tab on the back of your pop-up mechanism, WITHOUT getting any on the tab itself.

I've found the best way to get the pop-up piece aligned properly is to attach one side first, then partially close the card to allow th second side to attach itself.

Once your pop-up mechanism is attached, your ready to "wallpaper" the inside. Add your 2 wallpaper pieces with SNAIL by hooking the L-shaped cutouts under the tab and securing.

To add your pop-up cutout, it's best to place a Dimensional or 2 directly on the "stairstep" tab rather than on the cutout piece. This way, you can align the bottom of your pop-up cutout with the bottom of the stairstep so that the card closes easily.���

Now simply decorate your card front and insides as you'd like! I chose to decorate the inside bottom, but you can just as easily decorate the top instead, or both for that matter.

�

Hope you enjoy! Please leave any comments or email me with questions if I've confused you!