Birthday Petites and Curly Labels

It's been so long since I participated in a challenge and it feels so good to be back!  Okay, "so long" is relative, but it's been over a month and I've missed the creative inspiration from blog challenges.  Life happens and things come up and unfortunately my stamping time has suffered.  That, and the little bit of stamping time that I've had has been used for specific projects so I couldn't play along with challenges for a while.  I decided to jump back into the fun and start with a Dynamic Duos color challenge--Pool Party and Island Indigo.  I combined these two 2011-2013 In Colors along with some Patterns DSP and Sale-a-Bration product to come up with this fun birthday card.

Before I get into the details, I just want to mention that the Island Indigo isn't quite as bright as the photo shows.  Sometimes the lighting or the camera just doesn't show the true color as well as I'd like.  I stamped the Happy Birthday stamp from the Pretty Petites stamp set in Island Indigo and then punched it out with the coordinating Petite Curly Label punch (both the punch and the stamp set are items that you can earn for FREE during Sale-a-Bration).  I mounted that with a Stampin' Dimensional onto a square of Pool Party polka dot paper from the Patterns DSP stack and framed it in with some Island Indigo card stock that is textured with the perfect polka dot embossing folder and punched with the Curly Label Punch.  I love how the Petite Curly Label Punch and the Curly Label Punch stack together so nicely.  I layered that onto a bit of white card stock to help it stand out more on the card.  My card base is Island Indigo and has a layer of white and a layer of Pool Party striped DSP (from the Patterns DSP stack) mounted on top.  I made the strip across the card with Island Indigo Patterns DSP layered on white and layered onto Island Indigo.  To finish off my card, I stamped the "make a wish" stamp from the Sweet Essentials stamp set in Island Indigo right onto the striped DSP.  While this card does use a fair amount of layeres, I like the clean lines and gender-neutral-ness of the card.  Sometimes I struggle to come up with a card that isn't too girly and doesn't use ribbons and bows.  I love the cool crisp colors that this Dynamic Duo shows off.  I'm really going to miss these two colors when they retire later this year--guess I'd better stock up on some card stock :)

Textured Heart Tri-fold

Today I have a fun new card design to show you.  I saw this fun idea at a group meeting with other demonstrators and I had to try it out for myself!  Instead of just taking a half sheet of card stock and folding it in half, I made a tri-fold card.  This card measures 4-1/4"x11" which is half a sheet of card stock the long way, and then is scored at 4-1/4" and 8-1/2".  I stamped some hearts from the new Hearts a Flutter set that is in the Spring 2013 Stampin' Up! Catalog and cut them out with the coordinating framelits.  I kept my colors simple--just Melon Mambo and White.  After folding the card, I took my 1-3/8" circle punch and punched on top of the fold.  I then used my new small scallop circle punch on white and glued it to the bottom of the card (see photo below) before layering some hearts on top.  That way the hearts pop up above the card when it is all folded.  I used my scallop edge punch along the edge and wanted to help it stand out so I added a small strip of white card stock that I also punched with the scallop edge punch.  I textured the top section of the card with the perfect polka-dots embossing folder and then tied some of the Melon Mambo striped grosgrain ribbon around it to finish it off.  Inside I added a 4" square of white for writing on.  I've had a request to do a card like this for my next stamp class, so stay tuned for another idea!

Madison Thanks

Here's one of the cards that we made at my Mystery Hostess Party the other night (oh, and check out that fun paper in the background--it's from the Sycamore Street DSP that you can get FREE during Sale-a-Bration).  We used the Madison Avenue Sale-a-Bration set and stamped it in Rich Razzleberry, Baja Breeze, and Lucky Limeade--a fun trio of colors!  The stamped panel is done somewhat randomly and then is mounted on some Rich Razzleberry card stock and tied with a bit of the new (Spring 2013 catalog) Old Olive striped organdy.  I LOVE that ribbon!  If I got to choose ribbon for inclusion in next year's catalog, I'd have some of the striped organdy in a dozen or so colors!  I stamped the "thank you" from the Made for You stamp set and punched it with the oval punch.  That is layered on some Baja Breeze card stock punched with the scalloped oval punch as well as on some Rich Razzleberry punched with the decorative label punch.  I love texturing my card bases lately, so I used the new Vine Street embossing folder (also a Sale-a-Bration item) to add the vine pattern to the Lucky Limeade card stock.  This is a fairly simple card to put together, I hope you enjoy!

Water Bottle Wrap

Last night I held my annual Mystery Hostess Party for my customers.  It's basically a fun customer appreciation night where they get to make FREE projects and win prizes.  I had some light refreshments available and decided to put out some little bottles of water.  They looked kind of boring with their label on them, so I dressed them up with some Stampin' Up! product.  Do you like my little Water Bottle Wrap?

I used some of the exclusive Sale-a-Bration paper (called Sycamore Street DSP) to wrap the bottle (about 1-5/8"x8") and then added a punched flower over the seam.  I used the Blossom punch in Rich Razzleberry and the 1" Circle punch in Baja Breeze.  After gluing them together, I ran them through my Big Shot with the Petals-a-Plenty folder to add a bit of texture.  I stuck the flowers onto the wrap with some Stampin' Dimensionals.  It was kind of fun (and pretty easy) to have fancy bottled water at the party :)

Mystery Hostess Party

Just a reminder...

 

You're Invited to a Mystery Hostess Party
THIS Thursday (February 21st)
6:30-8:30pm
Shauna's House

What is a Mystery Hostess Party?  It's a fun (and FREE) Customer Appreciation event at my home.  Come for a fun night of snacking, stamping, visiting, and winning!  One of my lucky guests will win the hostess benefits from all of the orders placed that night.  You earn tickets based on a variety of things (bringing a friend, coming on time, being one of the first 5 to RSVP, booking a workshop in your home, joining a stamp club, every $10 you spend, signing up to be a demonstrator, etc).  You'll stamp a few free projects, order some fun products, and everyone gets to go home with a prize.  Everyone is invited, so invite your friends and RSVP.  See you then!
Start planning how many tickets you want to earn:

1 ticket- just for attending
1 ticket - for arriving on time
1 ticket - for being one of the first 5 to RSVP
1 ticket - for every $10 you spend
1 ticket - for every $10 of orders that you bring from someone who couldn't attend
3 tickets - for bringing an adult friend that I didn't invite
1 ticket - for bringing a card for the card contest (must use Stampin' Up! stamps)
2 tickets - for winning the card contest
5 tickets - for signing up to host a workshop in your home
5 tickets - for signing up to host a catalog party (you get the hostess benefits without having a regular workshop)
15 tickets - for signing up to be a demonstrator

New this year--If you can't make it to the party, you can still order and qualify for entries into the drawing!  You'll also qualify for FREE Sale-a-Bration products if your order totals $50 or more.  Let me know if you'd like to order and I'll get you a hostess code so you can order online and have it count.

Bloomin' Sweet and Simple

A friend of mine came over the other day and was looking through some of my old cards.  She came across one that I had made several years ago and asked me to make more like that for her.  It was a simple card without too many layers or embellishments, but it was fun and colorful.  She liked the simplicity of the card as well as the fact that it didn't have too many layers.  I looked at the card and realized that it had been a long time since I had used that layout, so it was time to re-create the idea.  It's funny how I can get stuck in a style or a layout and then not use it again for such a long time.  Here's what I came up with.

The layout uses a 2" stamped panel along the side and then a square or rectangle panel mounted and layered on top.  Simple, colorful, fun, and flat (aka easy to mail).  I used the new Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set that is available for another month through Sale-a-Bration (free with a $50 order).  I stamped the images in bright colors--Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, and Tempting Turquoise.  I added a sublte background on the Tempting Turquoise card stock by stamping color-on-color butterflies all over it.  I'm sure I'll be coming back to this simple layout again soon!