Fifth Avenue Card #2

I'm a bit disappointed at the color of this photo. The Always Artichoke cardstock layers don't pop as they do in real life. I'm afraid the pic looks a bit drab and doesn't relate the elegance of the card. Unfortunately, I don't have the patience to fuss with either the camera or the imaging software. I'd rather be stamping or enjoying the beautiful weather here in Erie, PA.

In any event, card #2 in my Fifth Avenue trio is a simple sympathy card done in Always Artichoke and Sahara Sand Classic Inks and featuring the Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper. The focal image is tied off in Kraft Taffeta Ribbon which is finished with an ivory half-pearl from the Pretties Kit. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Please look for the card #3 tomorrow.

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Recipe:

Stamp Sets: Fifth Avenue Floral, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock: Kraft, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper

Inks: Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede Classic Inks

Other: Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Ivory half-pearl from Pretties Kit, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Hello Again & Fifth Avenue Card #1

Hi Stampers! I thought I would start off with a quick pic of myself & Ruby since you have not heard from me in three long months! There are many, many people I would like to thank for prayers, encouragement, cards & flowers; especially everyone at work, my stampin' friends, the Utah Divas, friends, family & neighbors. I do not have room here to post everyone's names, but please know you will be getting a card in the mail. I just started stamping this week. Did you know stamping is great physical therapy? ;-}

Enough about me. Let's get back to stamping. This is the first card in a set of three which I designed featuring Stampin' Up's! Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set which goes on sale for 20% off the catalog price now through April 30. Yes, Stampin' Up is sending us off into Spring with a sale on two-step stampin' sets. Today through April 30, you receive 20% off a selection of perfectly springy Two-Step Stampin' sets from our current catalog, including Fifth Avenue Floral, Greenhouse Garden, Flower Fancy, and Trendy Trees.

Click here to see all the stamp sets on sale & Shop Now!

As I mentioned above, my card share today is Card #1 in a set of three cards I designed featuring the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set and Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper.

The card base is Kraft cardstock and the accent matting is Bravo Burgundy. The larger rose image is stamped in Sahara Sand Classic Ink for a subtle background effect. Since we don't have Kraft ink, Sahara Sand goes nicely with Kraft cardstock. The smaller flower image is stamped in Bravo Burgundy and serves as the focal image for this card. It is blinged up with an ivory half-pearl from the Pretties Kit. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (my current #1 must have set) and stamped in Bravo Burgundy. It is popped up with a Stampin' Dimensional to add texture and interest. Kraft Taffeta Ribbon finishes this card.

Stop by tomorrow for Card #2 in my Fifth Avenue Floral trio.

Recipe:

Stamp Sets: Fifth Avenue Floral, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock: Kraft, Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla, Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper

Inks: Sahara Sand & Bravo Burgundy Classic Ink

Other: Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Ivory Half-Pearl from Pretties Kit, Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

Thank you for visiting my blog today & Happy Stampin'!

Utah Diva Inspiration Challenge #

How could this lovely winter scene not inspire you to pull out the Dasher stamp set? It's perfect.

For this week's Diva Inspiration Challenge, I wanted to highlight the red of the reindeer's bows so I used Real Red Textured cardstock for the card base trimmed with the Eyelet Border Punch.
The focal image is Dasher (p. 208 IB&C) stamped in Soft Suede on Shimmery White cardstock, paired with the sentiment from the Christmas Greetings stamp set (p. 175 IB&C) also stamped in Soft Suede.



The focal image is layered on squares of Real Red, Whisper White and Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper from the Holiday Mini Catalog and adhered to the card base using Stampin' Dimensionals. Finish this holiday card with a slip of 3/4" Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon.

Stampin' Supplies:

Stamp Sets: Dasher, Christmas Greetings

Cardstock: Real Red Textured Cardstock (108698), Shimmery White (101910), Whisper White (100730), Christmas Cocoa Specialty DSP (116770)

Ink: Soft Suede Classic Ink (115657)

Other: Eyelet Border Punch (113692), Real Red 3/4" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (115608), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

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Diva Inspiration Challenge

I couldn't wait to prepare for this week's challenge. When I saw the daisies in the challenge picture, I knew I would try out the Flower, Daisies #2 Sizzix die and Swirly Sizzlits Decorative Strip die with my Big Shot. I saw this card on Andrea Walford's blog sometime ago and always wanted to make it. It is so clever the way Andrea used the Swirly die for the flower stems and leaves. As you can see, this week's challenge inspired me to give it a try; and, I love the results.

For my version of this design, I used Rich Razzleberry Designer Series Paper to make the daisies. There are two layers of petals on each flower. I slightly offset the petals to fill the flower in; give it more texture and dimension. The buttons are from the Playground Designer Buttons collection. You receive 30 buttons to an order-five different designs and four different colors. This is a very fun embellishment for both cards and scrapbooks. I used Mini Glue Dots to adhere the buttons to the cardstock. They don't budge with a glue dot, so don't fear losing them. I paper-pierced a frame around my flowers using the Paper-Piercer Tool and Mat Pack and finished the card off with a greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes. See below for all the supplies I used for this card.

Click here to see what the other Divas designed for this challenge.

Supplies used for this project:

Stamp Set: Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370)

Ink: Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink (115658)

Paper: Rich Razzleberry Textured Cardstock (115719), More Mustard Cardstock (100946), Kraft Cardstock (102125), Rich Razzleberry Patterns Designer Series Paper (115685), Old Olive Patterns Designer Series Paper (112160)

Other: Big Shot Die-Cut Machine (113439), Flower, Daisies #2 Bigz Die (114520), Swirly Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die (113456), Decorative Strip Spacer Platform (113477), Decorative Strip Cutting Pads (113479), Playground Designer Buttons (116313), Paper-Piercing Tool (116631), Mat Pack (105826), Designer Label Punch (107590), Small Oval Punch (107304), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Mini Glue Dots (103683), Snail Adhesive (104332)

Click here to shop now on my Stampin' Up! website.

Thank you for stopping by my website. Oh, I almost forgot...the first person from my Sunday Hostess Club to email me about this blog post will win the Christmas Punch Level 2 Hostess Stamp set! *Happy Dance*

Happy Stampin'!

Delightful Decorations

This is a fun project using Stampin' Up products from the Holiday Mini Catalog incluidng the Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper (116770), the Delightful Decorations stamp set (116517) and the Ornament Punch (116794). See the complete list of supplies below.

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I saw this card design on several blogs and thought I would give it a try. It's fun because you punch a window with the Ornament punch and then decorate the inside of the card with a coordinating punched ornament. The card to the right is done in Real Red cardstock with a band of Whisper White and the pretty Real Red flocked paper from the Christmas Cocoa Specialty DSP pack. You can see an alternate version I did in Soft Suede below. I made very good use of this versatile pack of designer papers by making this same card design in different colors.

Consider picking up the Stampin' Up! Holiday Windows Magnetic Movers & Shapers (116821) to use with your SU Movers & Shapers Curly Label die and Big Shot machine too. If you haven't seen it yet, the Movers & Shapers die cuts the cardbase, scores the card fold and cuts a window shape of your choice wherever you want it placed. An added bonus to having this in your stampin' arsenal is that the die cuts remaining from the windows sometime layer other Stampin' Up punches. You will see that the Holiday Windows set has a slightly larger ornament that is great for layering with your new Ornament punch.

Click here to shop the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalog now!

Stampin' Supplies for Real Red card:

Stamp Set: Delightful Decorations (116517)

Ink: Versamark-for stamping background (102283), Real Red Classic Ink (103133)

Cardstock: Real Red (102482), Whisper White (100730), Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper (116770)

Other: Ornament Punch (116794), Whisper White 5/8" Satin Ribbon (114616), Clear Rhinestone Brad

To the right is a Soft Suede (115318) version of this design. I switched out the Designer Series paper piece and matted it on Real Red cardstock. I traded the Whisper White satin ribbon for a piece of Real Red 1" Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon. Instead of the Clear Rhinestone Brad in the middle of the ornament, I used a Gold Brad (104337). I like the way the Gold Brad looks with the Soft Suede.

Thank you for stopping by my blog and Happy Stampin'!

Diva Inspiration Challenge

Hi Stampers! My Diva Sisters invited me to play the Diva Inspiration Challenge (IC). I have to admit, I tried the IC before but didn't enjoy it. I stressed over trying to re-create the inspiration item instead of letting my own creativity take the lead. Once I became more comfortable stamping my own ideas, the challenge was FUN!

So, this card was inspired by this beautiful photograph of treetops and blue summer sky. I imagine the photographer was standing with her head way back, holding the camera up high to get this shot. She was likely inspired by the bright colors that remain at the end of summer and maybe a little dizzy too.

But, anyway, I wanted my card to reflect the feel of autumn in Erie, PA. The dominant autumn hues are the warm reds, oranges and golds which I translated to SU! colors: So Saffron, Dusty Durango and Soft Suede. For the focal image of my design, I chose the Medallion stamp set since it reminded me of the swirl pattern in the photograph. See the complete Supply List below:

Stamp Sets: Medallion (115223) and Grateful Greetings (Holiday Mini 116511)

Cardstock: So Saffron (105118), Soft Suede (115318), Very Vanilla (101650)

Inks: So Saffron Craft (105237), Dusty Durango Classic (115654)

Other: Soft Suede 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (115612), Gold Elastic Cord (Holiday Mini 109867), Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder (109130), Embossing Buddy (103083), Powder Pals (102197) Heat Tool (100005), Stamping Sponges (101610), Circle Fire Rhinestone Brads (109110), Stampin Dimensionals (104430)

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To make this card, ink the Medallion stamp with So Saffron Craft Ink and stamp on Very Vanilla CS. Quickly sprinkle the image with Clear Embossing Powder and then set with the Heat Gun. Ink a Stamping Sponge with Dusty Durango Classic Ink and rub over the entire area of the Very Vanilla CS from the middle out toward the edges. Sponging in that direction provides the deeper Dusty Durango in the middle of the image and lighter shades toward the edges. Once you've inked to your heart's content, remove the ink from the embossed image by gently wiping with a tissue. This is the Emboss Resist technique since the embossed image resists the classic dye ink.

The sentiment is from the Grateful Greetings stamp set which is a must have for your sentiment collection. I used Paper Snips (103579) to trim the sentiment into a banner which I embelished with a Rhinestone Brad and popped up using Stampin' Dimensionals.

I had fun making this card and playing along with the Diva Inspiration Challenge. Please post a link to your creation on the Diva page. Thank you for stopping by and Happy Stampin'!

Twick or Tweet!

Halloween is just next weekend! I can hardly wait although we don't yet have a costume for little Ruby. I just can't decide which look is best for her yet, Superhero? Scary Monster? or Cute Skunk? I'm leaning toward the skunk outfit since she IS so stinkin' cute!

And here is a cute Halloween card we did at my October Stamp Club meeting using the Twick or Tweet stamp set found in the Holiday Mini Catalog here. To make this card, stamp the cute pumpkin image in Jet Black StazOn and color him in using a Pumpkin Pie Watercolor Crayon and Blender Pen. To emphasize the highlighting black lines of the pumpkin, I traced them with a Dusty Durango Stampin' Write marker. It gives the image a little pop. Color the stars and band on the pumpkin's witch hat with a Crushed Curry marker. If you don't have the In Color marker set (116329), you can use a Blender Pen and ink from the ink pad. Adhere the focal image to layers of Basic Gray, Basic Black and Whisper White Cardstock and embellish with Silver Brads at each corner.

Adhere layers of Whisper White, Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie DSP cardstock and add a slip of Basic Black 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon around the middle. Mount the layers to the card base and then mount the focal pumpkin image using Stampin' Dimensionals. Finally tie off the Basic Black Grosgrain Ribbon with a slip of Silver Elastic Cord which you also find in the Holiday Mini Catalog. All Stampin' Supplies are listed below and you can shop now on my Stampin' Up website.

Stampin' Supplies:

Stamp Set: Twick or Tweet (116497)

Paper: Basic Gray Cardstock (108692), Whisper White Cardstock (100730) Basic Black Cardstock (102851), Pumpkin Pie Patterns designer Series Paper (112159)

Ink: Jet Black Stazon (101406), Earth Elements Watercolor Wonder Crayons (106696), In Color Stampin' Write Markers (116329)

Accessories: Basic Black 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon 115605, Silver Elastic Cord (109866), Silver Brads (104336), 1/16" Handheld Punch (101227), Blender Pens (102845), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)