CAS Baby Label Card

I have a feeling that this new Label Love set is going to get a lot of use!  I love the fact that there is a matching punch (the Artisan Label punch) to go along with the set.  There are also other punches that fit the greetings on the stamps.  This particular stamp also coordinates with the new 7/8" scallop circle punch, which makes it super easy to have a two toned stamped image without a lot of work!

I wanted this card to have a clean and simple feel, so I used a white card base and kept my lines clean and straight.  I stamped my label image in the NEW Smoky Slate ink as well as in Marina Mist.  I kept the Smoky Slate image as my base and punched the greeting out of the Marina Mist image and layered it on the base with a Stampin' Dimensional.  I mounted the stamped image on some Marina Mist, Whisper White, and Smoky Slate card stock.  I cut a 1-1/2" wide strip of Marina Mist polka dot paper from the Polka Dot Parade DSP and layered that on some Smoky Slate card stock.  Finally, I stamped the "congratulations" from Sweet Essentials in Marina Mist to finish the card.  Keep checking back for more sneak peeks!

Label Love Birthday Candles

NEW STAMPS!!!  It's so fun to get new stamps.  I haven't had a lot of stamping time lately, but I had to try out some of my new stamps and colors.  One of the perks of being a demonstrator is having the opportunity to get some new products before the new catalog goes live on May 31.  I got the new In Colors, the Label Love stamp set, and the coordinating Artisan Label punch and had to try them out!

This card uses the new Coastal Cabana color (the candles are cut from that card stock and the stamp is inked with Coastal Cabana).  The background is Bermuda Bay, one of the new core colors (used to be an In Color and I'm so glad to have it back).  I ran that card base through my Big Shot with the polka dot embossing folder to give it a little pattern and texture.  I cut the candle flames with the Bird Builder punch in Daffodil Delight card stock.  The card needed a little ribbon to tie it all together, so I used my trusty white stitched grosgrain.  Hope you enjoy this sneak peek.  I can't wait to try out more new products (and I especially can't wait until May 31st when I can order ANY of the new items in the catalog)!

A Quick Shout Out for Charity

I'm going to stray a little from my typical card topic and give a quick shout out for charity.  Each year I support the March of Dimes during the March for Babies event in celebration of my daughter who was born 13 weeks early.  She benefited from research and treatments funded by the March of Dimes so this is one way I like to give back.  If you'd like to help me support this cause, you can donate to my team, you can do so by going to my fundraising page at http://marchforbabies.org/stampinshauna
I've also added a badge in my sidebar that will link to my page.  If you are local and want to come walk with us on May 18th, you can sign up through my page as well.  Thank you! 

Soft Secret Garden

I sure hope the Secret Garden stamp set from the Spring Catalog makes it into the next big Stampin' Up! catalog.  I love how there is a mix of outline stamps with bold stamps so you have two completely different looks (or you can combine them for a fun combo look). 

For this card, I just chose one of the outlined flowers and stamped it in Wisteria Wonder so that it wasn't bold or overpowering at all.  I mounted that on some Wisteria Wonder card stock that I punched with the scallop trim border punch.  To keep the soft look, I paired Wisteria Wonder with Pool Party.  Aren't you excited that these two In Colors are going to become permanent colors?!  I am!  I textured the Pool Party card stock with the Elegan Lines embossing folder and then layered it onto some white to help it stand out from the Wisteria Wonder card base.  I stamped my greeting from Sassy Salutations on white and then punched it with the decorative label punch and layered that onto a Wisteria Wonder piece cut with the same punch.  I tied some Wisteria Wonder ruffled ribbon around the card and then layered my greeting onto it.  Hope you enjoy!

Sunny Garden

Here's a card that we made at my last stamp-a-stack class.  I wanted it to feel bright and sunny, so I paired Daffodil Delight with Gumball green to achieve that feel.

I stamped the bold flower and leaves from the Secret Garden stamp set (which can be found in the Spring Catalog).  I layered that onto my Gumball Green card base along with some Daffodil card stock that I textured with the Honeycomb embossing folder.  I stamped the "oh happy day" from the Bloomin' Marvelous Sale-a-Bration set--I just love that greeting.  I punched it out with the oval punch and layered it onto the scallop oval punch before layering it onto my card.  This was a perfect card for a stamp-a-stack, it is quick and fun to make!

Sympathy in Green

When I was making some sets of cards for a friend, she asked me to make some Sympathy cards as well.  I wanted to keep the design simple and clean, so I decided to use just one color along with white (which goes along with the SUO Challenge this week).  I knew I wanted to use the Just Believe stamp set and decided that green was the perfect color to pair with the set.  I stamped my main image in Wild Wasabi and then did some layering to frame the image--on Certainly Celery, white, and Wild Wasabi card stock.  I tied a bit of Wild Wasabi grosgrain ribbon around all of the layers and then adhered it to my card base (which is white card stock textured with the Elegant Lines embossing folder).  Finally, I added my sentiment (from a very old stamp set called More Great Greetings) and punched it with the decorative label punch.

 

Curly Label Hello

Here's a fun little tag/note card that I made with some Sale-a-Bration items.  I used the Pretty Petites set for the "hello" stamped image and cut it with the coordinating Petite Curly Label punch.  I mounted that on some Sycamore Street designer series paper, totaling 3 free Sale-a-Bration products!  My colors are Pool Party and Island Indigo--both 2011-2013 In Colors.  I ran the Island Indigo card stock through the Honeycomb embossing folder and then punched a window with the Curly Label Punch so the DSP would show through.  I love how the two curly label punches coordinate so well!  I typically make regular cards, but it is nice to have some 3x3 cards on hand.  Sometimes I just don't know what to say or don't have much to say and these tags are a fun little addition to a treat or gift!

Petite Black Mambo

At first when I saw the Pretty Petites stamp set, I thought the images were too small for the focal point on cards.  However, when paired with the regular curly label punch, I think they really stand out!  I've stamped my image in Melon Mambo, punched it with the petite curly label punch, and framed it with some black patterns DSP and the curly label punch. I didn't want the Melon Mambo frame to just be plain card stock, so I textured it with the Polka Dot embossing folder before layering it onto my black card stock.  I wanted this card to be clean and simple, so I used a plain white card stamped with a simple greeting (from Sweet Essentials) and then layered my strip and frame onto it to finish it off.  Hope you enjoy!

Owl Birthday

A couple days ago I told you to keep an eye out for more owl cards--well, here's one of those cards.  I need to get busy stamping and make 20 of these for a friend of mine.  I got started during naptime today but it ended too soon.

I used the Punch Bunch set (a Sale-a-Bration set from a couple years ago) for the owl.  I used Marina Mist, Certainly Celery, and Perfect Plum for my color palette.  The polka dot moon is made with the 2-1/2" circle punch and some Patterns DSP.  I used the pennant banner punch to make the party hat and added the little heart that is part of the owl punch.  The branch is from the bird builder punch and the owl is punched (after stamping it) with the owl punch.  I textured the white card stock with the Honeycomb embossing folder and separated that panel from the striped Patterns DSP with a celery 5/8" ribbon.  The "Happy Birthday" comes from the hostess set called Happiest Birthday Wishes.

Daffodil Garden Trio

Today's card is inspired by the sketch at Stampin' Royalty.  I love the colors over at Dynamic Duos this week--Daffodil Delight and Garden Green, so I combined the two challenges together.  The color combo is bright and springy and just screamed flowers to me, so I reached for my Secret Garden stamp set and went to work.

I stamped one of the outlined flowers in Basic Black on white card stock and cut it out with the coordinating framelit (I'm SO glad I didn't have to hand cut all of those--thank you Stampin' Up!).  I colored the center of the flowers with my Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write Marker and then added some leaves (made with Garden Green card stock and the Blossom Petals punch).  I layered the flowers onto some Daffodil polka dot paper from the Polka Dot Parade DSP pack.  That is layered on some Garden Green card stock punched with the Scallop Trim Border Punch, layered onto some white that is textured with the Honeycomb embossing folder, and finally layered onto the Daffodil Delight card base.  The "thank you" stamp comes from the Made for You stamp set and is stamped on a hand-cut banner.  Thanks Stampin' Royalty and Dynamic Duos for the great inspiration!

Fresh Owl Thanks

I've been asked to make some cards with owls on them for a friend of mine.  I decided to use the current sketch from  Freshly Made Sketches to help get my creative juices flowing.  The sun came out this weekend and helped melt some of the 3 feet of snow in my front yard, so I chose a color palette to go along with the Spring fever I'm getting--so I used Melon Mambo, Garden Green, and Daffodil Delight.

I couldn't think of any current Stampin' Up! Owl stamps in my collection, but I did remember this great owl from the Punch Bunch set (from a previous Sale-a-Bration).  I love the bold owl and I especially like that he fits in the owl punch!  I punched a 2-1/2" daffodil circle and adhered it to my white card stock and ran those through the square lattice embossing folder in the Big Shot.  It's fun how embossing a couple of layers together makes them appear like a seamless panel.  I cut the leaves with the leaves sizzlit die and snipped off a few leaves to make more room for the owl.  I added some Garden Green polka dot Patterns DSP to the side and then layered that and the white panel onto Daffodil Delight and then onto the Melon Mambo card base.  My greeting pennant is stamped with the Made for You stamp set and is hand-cut and layered onto Garden Green.  Stay tuned for a few more owl cards in the next few days!

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!

Raspberry Textured Butterflies

After making yesterday's neutral butterfly card, I left out the Papillon Potpourri set.  So, today when I wanted to make a card for the Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge, I decided to use Papillon Potpourri again.  After all, you can't go wrong with butterflies!  I picked a simple color palette--Raspberry Ripple, Basic Black and White and then I started creating.

I textured some Raspberry Ripple card stock with the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder and used that for half of my background and for my circles that the butterflies sit on.  I also used some striped Patterns DSP for the other half of my background.  I stamped the floral butterflies from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and punched them out and layered them on Raspberry textured circles and on black scalloped circles.  I don't have the smaller butterfly punch yet, so I cut that by hand--that punch will be on my next order!  I stamped the "friends" stamp from the Sweet Essentials stamp set and then cut it with the larger banner from the Bitty Banners framelits.  I then layered everything on some white, black, and finally the Raspberry Ripple card base.

Nature's Butterfly Duo

Wow, I actually made a card that doesn't use Sale-a-Bration or Spring Catalog items.  When I saw the Dynamic Duo combo, I knew I wanted to try it out with something from nature.  I've been stamping with flowers a lot lately, so I decided it was time to pull out my trusty Papillon Potpourri set and make a butterfly card again.  I have been neglecting my stamp sets from the "regular" catalog the past couple of months but I do love a lot of the sets in there.  This week's Dynamic Duo colors are Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.  I have to admit, I didn't always like Soft Suede, but this past year I have fallen in love with it.  It works so well with a lot of great colors.  I especially like the soft natural look it gives when paired with Crumb Cake like in this card.

I started this card by stamping a panel full of butterflies in both Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.  I glued that along with some Crumb Cake Striped Patterns DSP onto a layer of Soft Suede and White.  I mounted those layers on my Crumb Cake card base that is textured with the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder.  I have found that I love combining Patterns DSP along with embossing folders--there's just something about the combination of patterns and texture that I love.  I stamped an extra butterfly and punched it with the coordinating Elegant Butterfly punch and layered it onto a 1-3/8" circle (also textured like the card base) and then onto a Soft Suede scalloped circle.  I made my word banner with the Sweet Essentials stamp set and hand-cut the pennant shape in both white and Soft Suede.  I think I have found yet another favorite color combo!

Midnight Daffodil Garden Sketch

I love the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches right now, it lends itself so well to my favorite designer series paper--the Patterns Stacks!  I wanted to keep up with my "brighter" cards to offset the cold and snow, so I chose a palette with Daffodil Delight.  That color can add some brightness and sunshine to anything!  I shouldn't complain too much about the weather though.  We had 3 weeks of cold, smog, and inversion and today I can actually see the sun!  As far as snowstorms go, I can tolerate them (a little) when the next day it is clean, white, and bright outside.  Here's hoping a lot of it will melt :)

I combined Daffodil Delight with Midnight Muse and Gumball Green (both 2012 In Colors) for this card.  I stamped a couple of the bolder flowers from the new Secret Garden stamp set and raised them to different heights with Stampin' Dimensionals.  I wanted some bold leaves so I used the leaf sizzlit die to cut some from the Gumball Green card stock.  Sweet Essentials is the set where I got the "thinking of you" stamp and I hand-cut the banner for it.  My background is made up of Midnight Muse Patterns DSP and Daffodil Delight card stock that I textured with the Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder as well as a bit of white card stock for layering.  I haven't used this color combo before, I generally use Summer Starfruit with this blue and green, but I think I'll be coming back to this again and again--I really like the brightness that the Daffodil adds.  Here's to warm and sunny thoughts everywhere!