Gray Textured Blossoms

Here's a different way to use the large flower from the Betsy's Blossoms set.  Instead of having it be its usual round flower, punch it out to give it some shape!  I used the blossom punch and it fits great!  The center of the flower was made from the smaller flower in the set, and I punched out the center with the 1/2" circle punch.  I mixed Pool Party with Raspberry Ripple--one of my new favorite color combos!  Once punched, I made them pop up a bit with some Stampin' Dimensionals.  The stems are just strips of gumball green card stock.  I stamped the greeting (from A Word for You) and punched it with the oval punch and layered it on the designer label punch.  The gray background was done with the petals-a-plenty textured impressions embossing folder in my big shot.  Finally, I added a bit of Pool Party seam binding ribbon around the bottom of the card.

Bold Patio Party Blossoms

I received a pack of the Patio Party Designer Series Paper as a demonstrator incentive and I am really liking it.  I don't know if I would have thought to put the colors together, but it has really inspired me and I'm loving the results.  Raspberry Ripple and Pool Party are so fresh and fun!  I also used Summer Starfruit and Lucky Limeade on this card.  I used Betsy's Blossoms (can you tell I am hooked on that set) and I actually made the stems with a stamp from the   The Top Note die for the big shot frames in the flowers and a bit of Pool Party seam binding ribbon finishes it off.  Have you tried the new firm foam ink pads yet?  They are great and give such nice ink coverage.  I only have them in the new In Colors, but I wouldn't be surprised if I pick some up along the way in the near future.

Sassy Thanks

Here's another card using the color combo from this week's color combo challenge on Splitcoast--Daffodil Delight, Certainly Celery, and Pool Party.  I just ordered this new Sassy Salutations stamp set and I think it is going to be my new "go to" word set (my old "go to" word sets were just retired).  I wanted the words to be the focus of my card, so the "thank you" is the only stamp I used on the card.  I made the flower with the blossom punch and the 3/4" circle punch all embossed with the petals-a-plenty textured impressions embossing folder (with a glimmer brad in the center).

Sailing Along

Each year Stampin' Up! comes out with a stamp set that benefits the Ronald McDonald House.  This year the set is called Moving Forward.  $3 from each set sold this year is donated to the Ronald McDonald House charities.  Years ago I had the opportunity to volunteer at the RMHC with other Stampin' Up! demonstrators and offer card making classes.  It was a great experience that taught me a little about their organization.  Then a few years later I learned a whole lot more.  My daughter was born 13 weeks premature and we spent months in the NICU.  During her stay, I got to know some of the other moms pretty well.  One mom was from Montana and was here in Utah, alone (with her baby in the NICU).  Her family came to visit occasionally, but they needed to be home and work and take care of life.  She was staying at the local Ronald McDonald House for months so that she could be nearby the hospital and spend time with her baby.  At that point I gained a greater appreciation for what they do--offer affordable housing for families during hard medical times.  It made me more grateful that I could live close to the hospital and have my family and friends surround me during the difficult time, but I was happy that this sweet mom could have a nice place to stay.  I'm glad that Stampin' Up! can help support a great cause.  Even better, we can buy stamps (which we all like to do anyway) and know that it helps someone else just a little bit.

This card is a simple nautical card using the sailboat stamp from the Moving Along set.  I decided to keep the colors simple and used two of the new In Colors--Midnight Muse and Raspberry Ripple.  The Midnight Muse card stock is textured with the polka dot textured impressions folder to match the dots along the top of the sailboat.  I love the patterns designer series paper stacks and just got my new stack for the In Colors, so I used a bit of the Raspberry Ripple and punched the edge with the scallop edge punch.  The greeting is from the same stamp set and is punched out with the word window punch.  Finally I tied a piece of the new white stitched grosgrain.  The layout for this card was inspired by Freshly Made Sketches #38 go here for the challenge.  This is the first time I've done one of these challenges and I'm excited to try out more.  I love how quickly I was able to put this card together with the sketch inspiration.  Go ahead, give a challenge a try!

Polka-dot Party Cake

New stamps are so much fun!  I saw yesterday's color combo challenge on Splitcoaststampers.com and decided that it would be a perfect combo for some of my new stamps.  This color combo is Daffodil Delight, Certainly Celery, and Pool Party.  I used the new Topsy-Turvy Celebration set to make this card.  To help some of the layers stand out more, I added a bit of Basic Gray card stock and some basic gray stitched grosgrain ribbon.  The polka-dot background is done with punches (it's a bit more tedious than most of my cards, but the end result was worth it)!  I was inspired to do the circles from the bottom layer of the birthday cake, so I used the 1/2", 3/4", and 1" circle punches. 

Embellished Cake

My new stamps came yesterday.  I couldn't wait to get busy stamping, so I took advantage of some nap time as well as a bit of time after dinner.  Is it bad that as soon as I get a new order, I'm already wishing for more new things?  I think it's because once I really get into stamping, I find things that I wish I had (like extra ribbons, etc.). 

I made this card with several of my new products.  The stamps are from the Embellished Events stamp set (I inked up the cake using my Stampin' Write markers for the multi-colored look).  The flower paper is a small strip from the Floral District DSP.  I used my old scalloped edge punch on the pool party card stock and my new Chevron embossing folder on the Daffodil Delight card stock for some texture.  The card base is the new Primrose Petals card stock.  The finishing touch is the Pool Party seam binding ribbon around the stamped image.  Stay tuned this week for more ideas with new stamps!

Cool Colored Blossoms

I've been stamping with the new In Colors quite a bit lately and I'm loving how well they work together.  This cool color combo is Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green, and Midnight Muse.  I used the new Betsy's Blossoms set along with the new Itty Bitty Banners set.  The banner is cut out with on of the Bitty Banners framelits dies for the Big Shot and the strip of textured card stock was made with the Petals-a-Plenty textured impressions embossing folder.

Tangerine Blossom Thanks

Here's another card with the new Betsy's Blossoms stamp set.  I've been having some fun creating with this set and I'm liking it more and more as I stamp with it!  The greeting comes from A Word for You, one of my newer go to word sets.  The printed paper comes from the new Floral District Designer Series Paper.  Do you like the ribbon?  It's the new 1/4" stitched grosgrain ribbon in Daffodil Delight--I just ordered more colors and am excited to get them on Monday!  In addition to Daffodil Delight, I've used Tangerine Tango and the new Primrose Petals for my color palate.

In Color Pinwheels

I love pinwheels.  I love them even more lately because my children love them.  It's fun to see my little guy light up when he is holding one and I have to be sure to have two out so that both kids can play together.  We participated for the fifth year in the March for Babies to celebrate my daughter and we passed out pinwheels to all of the kids who walked with our team.  I knew it was going to be a windy day so the pinwheels were perfect!  They became our little team trademark since they were on our Ambassador Avenue poster as well.  Now pinwheels hold an extra special place in my heart, so I couldn't resist ordering the Sweets for the Sweet stamp set so that I could stamp my own pinwheels.

Since I just received my new In Colors, I had to put them to use.  I love how all 5 rich colors work so well with each other.  The pinwheels on this card are stamped in Gumball Green, Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals with sticks in Summer Starfruit.  The card base is Primrose Petals and the yellow layer is Summer Starfruit.  The greeting comes from the set A Word for You and is stamped in Midnight Muse ink.  I finished off the card with some of my new favorite ribbon (I wish I would have ordered it in more colors) the 3/8" satin stitched ribbon.

Raspberry Bird

Today is the day!  You can order from the new Stampin' Up! catalog.  I placed my first order within minutes of it going live and I can't wait to get my new products.  While I wait (which thank goodness won't be too long--my order already shipped) I'm creating with a few of my sneak peek products.  I LOVE the new In Colors for 2012-2014.  I was so sad to say farewell to the retiring in colors, and while I will miss them, I have moved on. 

This card was made with the new colors Raspberry Ripple and Gumball Green.  I ran a strip of Raspberry Ripple card stock through my Big Shot in the polka dot Textured Impressions folder for the bottom of the card.  The argyle-style patterned paper comes from the new Patio Party Designer Series Paper pack.  The stamped images are from the new Betsy's Blossoms stamp set and the ribbon is the new satin 3/8" satin stitched ribbon in Gumball Green.  Everything (except the white card stock) is new to the Stampin' Up! catalog, how is that for the first day of the Stampin' Up! year!!!

Sweet Birthday Pinwheel

This new Patio Party designer series paper lends itself well to the Sweets for the Sweet stamp set (the pinwheels to be exact).  I used three of the new In Colors--Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, and Midnight Muse.  The greeting banner is from the new Itty Bitty Banners set and is punched out with one of the matching framelits dies (in the Big Shot).  I also used the Big Shot to make the striped Midnight Muse paper--gotta love those textured impressions embossing folders!  I used the designer label punch to punch out the pinwheel.  Pretty quick and simple card!

Raspberry Primrose Petals

Sometimes less is more.  CAS (Clean and Simple) cards are nice to make for a change and I find the white space refreshing.  Now, most of my cards are fairly simple because I like to make them easy to duplicate, but this seems more clean and simple than most.

I've been trying to use the new In Colors (that are in the catalog that starts on June 1st) and I am hooked on them!  This card uses Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, and Gumball Green.  Stampin' Up! is offering 3/8" satin stitched ribbon in all of the new In Colors.  So far I just have it in Gumball Green (pictured here) but it's on my wish list for my next order. 

Polka Dot Balloons

I find that almost all of my cards are more feminine, with flowers or ribbons or "girly" colors.  Even when the colors may be more masculine, I have a hard time not adding a bit of ribbon to a  card to finish it off.  I made this card as part of a color combination challenge.  The challenge was to use Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, and Night of Navy together.  I decided that this was a great color combo for a more masculine card, so I resisted the urge to dress it up or add any bling, and this is what I came up with.  In real life, the orange balloons do match the card stock, so it looks better in person.  I added a strip of my favorite paper--the patterns designer series paper in Night of Navy to the bottom of the card and then stamped the images and layered everything.  Pretty easy!  I think I'll have to try this same color combination in a girly card as well.

Tangerine Blossoms

Here's another card that uses the new Betsy's Blossoms stamp set.  I used Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, and Old Olive.  Stampin' Up! introduced a new stitched grosgrain ribbon, and I was able to preorder it in daffodil delight.  On June 1st we can order from the new catalog and you can bet I'll be ordering it in more colors!  The ribbon is a great way to add a little something to cards!  The greeting is from the set called A Word for You and is punched with the oval punch and layered on the scalloped oval punch.  This is a quick and simple layout that works for a lot of cards.

Birds and Blooms

The new Stampin' Up! catalog starts in less than a week!  I was able to pre-order a few new items and I had a little time to stamp with them this week.  This card uses the new Betsy's Blossoms stamp set.  I stamped the bird image in Basic Gray and the flowers in Pink Pirouette (sorry they didn't photograph very well).  I used the Petals-a-plenty textured impressions folder on the gray card stock and mounted everything on a Pretty in Pink card base.  The Basic Gray satin ribbon finishes off the card.  If you love this ribbon like I do, you'll want to hurry and order it by Thursday before it is retired!

Mixed Bunch Strips

It's fun to see how different a piece of designer series paper looks when it is cut into strips and then glued to a page with gaps between it.  I like the look of it :)

The center of the flower is stamped from the Mixed Bunch stamp set and then punched out with a circle punch and layered on the Melon Mambo blossom punch.  I gave it a little dimension by adding a Stampin' Dimensional to pop the flower up off the card.  The organza ribbon adds a bit of elegance to this simple card.  I also used DSP that is in a hostess pack right now and then the coordinating Concord Crush and Old Olive card stock.  Pretty quick and easy.

Razzleberry Wedding Wishes

The Easy Events stamp set is a great all-occasion set.  I used the birds from this set for a wedding card.  The card base is Rich Razzleberry and the images is mounted on Daffodil Delight.  I love those two colors together!  The greeting is from the set called A Word for You and is stamped with the white craft ink pad.  I tied a little piece of the 1/8" taffeta ribbon in Daffodil Delight around the card for a finishing touch.

Blushing Pear Mixed Bunch

Mixed Bunch was my #1 seller during the Occasions Mini Catalog.  If you have this set, here is another sample to give you inspiration.  If you don't have this set yet, don't worry, you can still order it :)

I used the Mixed Bunch set along with Sincere Salutations (my old go to for word sets, which is only available through May 31st).  I'll have to find some new favorite word sets to start using.  I stamped the blossom in Blushing Bride and punched it with the Blossom punch.  The center was stamped with Pear Pizazz and punched with the 3/4" circle punch.  The glimmer brad adds just a bit of bling to the card.  The textured impressions folder for the Big Shot added the textured flowers to the background. I'm going to miss the 2010-2012 In Colors and the ribbon to match.  Order while you can!

Mambo Crush Mixed Bunch

I am so excited about the new Stampin' Up! catalog that starts in just over a week!  I can't wait to order a few new products to play with.  I am pleased to announce that (my favorite) Mixed Bunch made it into the new catalog.  I've posted several cards on this blog using the Stampin' Up! Mixed Bunch stamp set and I will continue to share more cards with it since I use it a lot.  I love how versatile it is, and how easy it is to stamp and then punch out the image with the matching blossom punch.  This card uses Melon Mambo, Concord Crush, Blushing Bride, Wisteria wonder, and Pear Pizazz.  I used the Modern Label Punch, the Blossom Punch, and the 3/4" Circle Punch.  The DSP is from a pack of paper available as a hostess gift right now.  Finally, the Concord Crush textured card stock was made with a textured impressions folder for the Big Shot.

Patterned Party Presents

I don't know how people can blog daily.  I try.  I fail.  Life gets in the way.  This is supposed to be "a card a day" and in reality it is a card some days.  Oh well.  I won't give up.  It's better to get posts up when I can.  I've had four cards sitting on my kitchen counter for weeks, ready to be photographed and uploaded.  Why did they sit so long?  Kids, dishes, laundry, playtime, errands, cooking, etc.  Well, those were my excuses for a couple of weeks.  Then the piles came.  You know, those piles that show up on the kitchen counter and hide things at the bottom.  I uncovered that pile today and decided that now is the time to post the cards.  Stay tuned for the next few days for new blog posts.  Oh, and guess what!  I have the NEW CATALOG!  Maybe that is another excuse.  I love looking through the pages and imagining what I can create with the fabulous new products.  I've even been able to order a few sneak peek products.  Hopefully I'll manage to escape reality for a few and make some cards to post here.  June 1st is the day that I can order anything from the catalog, so I'll be sure to post some new cards in June.  Until then, I'll have to get creating!

Here's a card using the Patterned Party stamp set.  I'm always looking for birthday stamp sets, and while this set has been out for a year now, I still love coming up with new cards using it.  I colored the presents by coloring directly on the stamp with my Stampin' Write markers.  The greeting is from Curvy Verses.  The ribbon and patterned paper are Blushing Bride, which is retiring next week!  I'll miss that color. Other colors are Pear Pizazz (also retiring) and Wisteria Wonder.  I love the In Colors and am excited to start using the new in colors soon!