Bold Bright Birthday

I find that I am always wanting more birthday card ideas.  I love the cake in the Topsy-Turvy Celebration set.  I wanted to make this card bright, so I used Daffodil Delight and Tangerine Tango.  The bottom daffodil layer has a chevron pattern on it (sorry, it doesn't show up well in the photo, but I textured it with the new chevron textured embossing folder.  The greeting comes is punched with the word window punch and is layered on the modern label punch.  The ribbon is the new stitched grosgrain in daffodil delight. 

Sassy Colored Birthday

Can you tell that I've found a new favorite word set?  Sassy Salutations is so much fun!  It works great for an added stamp on a card, or as the main stamp.  For this card, I stamped the Happy Birthday greeting in Pool Party, Island Indigo, Wisteria Wonder, Pink Piroutte, and Melon Mambo.  I added a bit of Pool Party patterns dsp that I punched the scallop edge punch along and tied a bit of white stitched grosgrain ribbon around.  All of this is mounted on a Pool Party card base.  Now that I've made a few cards just using Sassy Salutations, I find myself wanting to use it as the focal stamp most of the time!

Flower Stripe Strips

Do you ever find that you are working on a card and you can't find just the right pattern paper to match?  Well, try making your own!  That's what I did on this card.  Most of the time I would just go to my patterns designer series paper stacks and find a single colored pattern, but I wanted a little more color on this card.  The stripes at the bottom of the card are actually strips of card stock.  I just cut up some scraps in various sizes and then glued them onto a sheet of card stock and then cut it to size for my card.  Pretty easy, and it gives you an original pattern paper to use.  I chose a color palate of Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Pool Party, and Midnight Muse.  I used the new Embellished Events set for the image (and colored it with my Stampin' Write markers for the multi-colored look).  The greeting is also from Embellished Events, and it is punched out with the word window punch.  To finish off the card, I tied a piece of gumball green satin stitched ribbon around the card. 

Bold Black Bicycle

I love Melon Mambo and Basic Black together!  I knew I'd love this week's Dynamic Duos challenge when I found out that these were the colors.   I looked at my stack of new Stampin' Up! sets to pick the right one to go along with the challenge, and I decided on the Moving Forward set (this year's Ronald McDonald House set).  I stamped the bicycle in black and then I added just a little splash of color by stamping the flowers in the basket.  I mounted some of the Melon Mambo Patterns DSP below my stamped image and then stamped the "thank you" from the Sassy Salutations set.  I finished that layer off with a bit of 1/8" black taffeta ribbon.  Once I layered that onto black and Melon Mambo card stock, I knew I wanted a white background.  I ran the card base through my Big Shot with the petals-a-plenty textured impressions folder to coordinate with the flowers in the stamped image.  I love that color challenges introduce me to new combinations, or in this case, remind me of old favorites!

Daffodil Party Flowers

As you have seen, I've been using the new Betsy's Blossoms set a lot lately.  Well, it was time to go back to another recent favorite--Mixed Bunch!  Mixed Bunch was in the Occasions Mini Catalog that ended in April.  I was so happy to see that it returned in the new Stampin' Up! Catalog this month.  This is another card that I made for a splitcoast color challenge a couple of weeks ago (using Daffodil Delight, Certainly Celery, and Pool Party).  The celery gives this combination a bit more of a cool and springy feel and it is a little tricky to combine, but it totally works on this card.  I actually couldn't stop using this combo and ended up making four cards with it (you've seen one and there are more to come).  The daffodil delight card stock is textured with the petals-a-plenty embossing folder to give the card a little dimension.  Then, as usual, I tied a bit of ribbon around it to finish off the card (daffodil stitched grosgrain). 

Make a Cake

Here's another card using the same card layout from yesterday's sketch challenge post.  This time, I just turned the layout on its side.  This card combines a couple of designer series papers: the 2012-2014 In Color Patterns DSP stack (in Primrose Petals) and the Patio Party DSP.  I stamped the cake image in Midnight Muse and added the Primrose Petals butterflies and flags on the cake.  The Happy Birthday greeting is stamped with the sassy salutations set.  I punched the large circle with my 2-1/2" circle punch and layered it onto another circle of the same size.

Melon Lime Blossom

Freshly Made Sketches (click here) has another fun sketch out this week.  I like the simplicity of the layout.  I decided to use the Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade, Basic Gray color combo again--I think that combo is going into my list of favorites!  This card uses minimal stamping, in fact it only uses the Thank You stamp from Sassy Salutations.  I started putting together the layers of the card and knew I wanted to add the embossed flower (punched with the blossom punch and run through the Big Shot with the petals-a-plenty embossing folder).  Once I completed the basic layers, I realized that the card really didn't need any extra stamping besides the greeting.  I used the square lattice textured impressions folder on the gray card stock and I cut the large circle with the 2-1/2" circle punch.  The brad is one of the In Colors printed brads (in lucky limeade).  I love the patterns designer series paper stacks and I used the paper in Lucky Limeade and Melon Mambo (from the In Color and Brights stacks) and layered them on the coordinating card stock.  To finish off the card, I tied a piece of the new basic gray stitched grosgrain ribbon around the melon strip of paper.  Check back next week for another Freshly Made Sketch :)

Bold Blossom Thanks

I thought I had a lot of cards with the Mixed Bunch set, and now I'm realizing that I'm doing the same thing with Betsy's Blossoms.  Both are fabulous floral sets!  I used the blossom punch to punch out the large circle flower from the Betsy's Blossoms set.  The center of the flower was made with the smaller blossom in the stamp set and I just punched out the center with the 1/2" circle punch.  The colors on this card are Lucky Limeade and Melon Mambo (with the greeting in Basic Gray)--what fun, bold colors together!  The colors are this week's color challenge for The Paper Players (see here).  The thank you stamp comes from Sassy Salutations (another new favorite of mine).  I used the patterns designer series paper stack (the 2011-2013 In Color stack to be exact) for the green polka-dot background.  The layout for this card was inspired by this week's sketch challenge on splitcoast.  I'm really getting into the challenges lately, they help give just enough inspiration that I can quickly put together a new card.  I also love to share what I come up with.  Hope you enjoy!

 

Dynamic Duo Cake

I came across a fun new challenge that I'm looking forward to participating in over the next few weeks.  I love fun color combinations and it is fun to be given a few colors and make myself use them.  This challenge is the Dynamic Duos challenge that can be found here.  This week's challenge was to use Regal Rose and Basic Gray on a card.  These two colors really pop together and I'm sure I'll be combining them a little more often now. 

I made this card with the new Topsy Turvy Celebrations set.  I just love the cake in this set (and I seem to like it as a 3-layered cake as that is all I've done so far).  I used the Sassy Salutations set for the greeting and punched the edges with the designer label punch (you have to cut a 1-1/4" strip and then insert it in the back of the punch to just punch one side at a time, that way you can use the punch for even bigger images than the punch normally allows).  I used the Chevron embossing folder for the gray background, the scallop edge punch on the rose card stock under the cake, and the brights patterns dsp stack for the polka dot paper. 

Sassy Candles

It's a new week and that means there is a new color challenge over on splitcoaststampers.com.  This week's challenge was to use Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze, and maybe a hint of Lucky Limeade.  I have to admit I wasn't crazy about this combo at first but it is really growing on me (I've made 3 cards with it today).  The colors are rich and definitely got me out of my comfort zone (I admit it's the first time I've opened Cajun Craze card stock) but I love a good challenge.  I actually made the background layers on this card first and then decided what stamp set I wanted to use.  The scalloped edge is made with the scallop trim border punch.  The greeting is from Sassy Salutations and is punched out with the Decorative Label Punch, but I had to modify it to make it be a larger label. They way I did it was I stamped it on a 1-1/4" piece of card stock and then I inserted one side of it through the bottom of the punch and punched, then I inserted the other side through the bottom. The candle flame is punched from the blossom petals punch (and then I cut it down a bit for the inner layer.  So this card has very little stamping, but it's a great use of punches and my favorite patterns designer series paper stacks.

Baby Boy Ducks

The new Sassy Salutations set is so much fun.  I love the style of writing and the size of the font.  The Congratulations stamp was the perfect size to fill in the white space on this baby boy ducks card that uses the Embellished Events stamp set.  I stamped the duck image twice with Pool Party and then layered it onto Island Indigo card stock.  I layered that on a strip of Pool Party patterns DSP (my fav paper) and layered that onto a strip of Island Indigo that I had punched with the scallop trim border punch.  If you look back to cards from last Christmas, you might just recognize this card layout...with different colors of course. 

Betsy's Solo Blossom

Can you tell that I really like this little blossom from the Betsy's Blossoms stamp set?  I like how bold it is and it seems to be the perfect size.  I combined the stamped image with the Floral District designer series paper to make this card.  The colors are Tangerine Tango and Lucky Limeade.  The ribbon is the new stitched grosgrain ribbon (it's a little hard to tell on the white), but I'm loving this new ribbon.  I have several more colors of it on my wish list :)

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.