IB56 Your Special Day

Happy Thursday, peeps!  Hope your week is going by nicely!  It's time for another Inspired By challenge, and I chose to make one with some eclectic elements in unusual colors, for me, at least:

And here is Laurel's prompt:

So I would say this is more of a masculine-themed prompt, but I turned it into more a feminine creation!  I focused on the blackboard image for my sentiment; in trying to use all my current SU stamps backwards from the end of the alphabet, this is from Stitched All Around.  I stamped it on SU's (retired) blackboard paper in craft white ink, added some banners, hearts, twine, another sentiment from the same set and a "wooden" blackboard frame

It was fun adding all the little elements here and there...I jazzed it up with a silver glimmer heart and a few little epoxy dots as well:

Since there was a little greenery in the photo, I mounted it all on a Pear Pizzazz card, added a sentiment on the inside, and this will go in my birthday card stash!

The design team has some interesting takes on this challenge...be sure to check them out at the Inspired By blog, then share your creation with us as well!  Can't wait to see it!

Cassidy had been bugging me to make a backpack for her Ethan doll; my sewing area was buried under stamping stuff but I finally found a few minutes to clear off a space and dig out my sewing machine.  Originally she wanted one with a zipper, but I found a pattern that was a little simpler, so I went with that, using a pair of Grampy's old jeans for fabric:

I used the hem of the pant leg to make a pocket and some retired SU ribbon for the straps!  She quickly went to get a teddy bear on which to try it (Ethan was at home):

And it fit!  She told me she even put some sticks of gum in the pocket, LOL!  If you'd like to see the pattern, you can find it HERE!

Thanks for popping in today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Stitched All Around
Card stock & Papers	Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Woodgrain DSP, Silver Glimmer, Blackboard (ret), Festive Farmhouse DSP (ret), Warmth & Cheer DSP (ret)
Ink	Memento Black, Craft White
Accessories	Santa's Workshop Enamel Shapes (ret), Misc Twine,, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Labels Dies, Be Mine Dies, Tree Punch (ret), Rectangle Stitched Dies, Envelope Punch Board (to round edges of frame)

Fab Friday 151

Happy Tuesday, peeps!  I have a couple of cards today using the Fab Friday sketch:

They always have such great sketches, don't they?  I originally had embossed this Merry Merlot card base to make a Christmas card, but I needed a birthday card for my niece, so I changed gears and stamped the flower from Flourishing Phrases in Berry Burst, added some embossed stitched lines and a pretty sentiment from Stitched All Around:

I added a scallop of some retired Sweet Sugar Plum glimmer paper and a glimmer enamel dot for some sparkle:

and finished it off with some glimmer ribbon as well:

My second card is a thinking of you/get well card for a friend who's going through a rough patch with some health issues!  This went together quickly with some Bo Bunny Petal Lane papers and a heart die from the Sweetly Stitched Framelits:

 

The sentiments inside and out are from Treat Time; I did a little fussy cutting for the inside one:

Thanks for popping in today!

Yesterday was my dad's 89th birthday; he is still battling some health issues but he did have dinner with us! He also told me there wasn't room for all 89 candles on his cake, LOL!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

First Card Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Flourishing Phrases, Stitched All Around
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Merry Merlot, Sweet Sugar Plum Glimmer (ret)
Ink	Berry Burst
Accessories	Sweet Sugar Plum Glimmer Ribbon (ret), Glimmer Enamel Dot (ret)
Tools	Big Shot, Quilt Top EF, Sweetly Stitched Framelits

Second Card Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Treat Time
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Petal Lane DSP (Bo Bunny)
Ink	Memento Black, Blushing Bride
Accessories	Enamel Heart (ret)
Tools	Big SHot, Sweetly Stitched Framelits

PP411 Two Easy Card for Jaydee's Sketch

Happy Sunday, peeps!  Hope your weekend is going well!  Jaydee is our Paper Players hostess today and she has a fabulous sketch that is fun and easy:

I actually made two cards with this sketch, and I used the gorgeous Petal Promenade DSP for them; these papers are so pretty, it's easy as pie to make a card in a snap.  And I'll give you a little hint to help you with matching up those angled pieces!  So here we go:

I used both sides of one selection of DSP; you can see the sketch looks great going either way!  To get perfect cuts, cut two pieces of DSP (mine were 4" x 5 1/4"), then flip one over and stack them together.  So you'll have two pieces but different sides will be facing up.  Cut them at the angle you choose; I didn't use any mathematical calculations, I just stuck them in my cutter and went for it!  Just make sure your pieces are stacked evenly!  When you take them apart, you'll see how they match nicely....tada!  Each card will have the same sketch but the patterns will be reversed.  For both cards, I used a sentiment from Stitched All Around, stamped in Blushing Bride and diecut with the Stitched Shapes Framelits:

I cut a narrow strip of Sweet Sugar Plum glimmer paper to put behind the "seam" for a little glam!  On the next card, I turned the sketch, and I also trimmed a wee bit off of each short edge of the DSP so that the glimmer paper would show through a little more:

These are so pretty, I didn't add a single thing more as an embellishment!  I finished it by stamping the other large sentiment from the set on the inside!  

The DT has come up with a fun array of samples to get your creative juices flowing!  Please be sure to share yours with us as well at the Paper Players!  You can check the DT samples out here:

·        Claire

·        Jaydee

·        Joanne

·        Laurie

·        Nance

·        Anne Marie

·        Sandy

·        Elizabeth

·        Annie

·        Jan

·        Ann

Do any of you craft like this?!!!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Stitched All Around
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Petal Promenade DSP, Sweet Sugar Plum Glimmer Paper (ret)
Ink	Blushing Bride
Accessories
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits

AYSI180 A Garden Birthday Sketch

Hi everyone!  Happy Friday...and it's time for another As You See It challenge, this time it's a nice little sketch:

The DSPs from Garden Impressions  have so many pretty patterns, it's hard to choose which ones to choose!  For today's card, I finally decided on this abstract pattern in cool blues and greens:

I added layers in Soft Sky (I know it's retired, but it looked good with it!), Blueberry Bushel and Very Vanilla as well as a banner cut from a different DSP in the same set.  The Soft Sky oval was embossed with the little stitched design from Stitched Labels, and the horizontal sentiment panel uses the same set of dies:

I stamped a sentiment from Stitched All Around in Tranquil Tide, then stamped a little floral from Perennial Birthday in Blueberry Bushel, colored it with Blends and fussy-cut it out.  A bit of baker's twine finishes the embellishments!  And I combined both sets for the inside sentiment as well:

I hope you'll play along with our pretty sketch...lots and lots of possibilities for creativity with it!  Be sure to share it with us at As You See It!

Speaking of gardens, I thought I would share just a couple of our zucchinis....most of them I have managed to pick before they got to this size!  I could use these as weights and get some bodybuilding in!!  So happy you stopped by....enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Stitched All Around, Perennial Birthday
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Blueberry Bushel, Soft Sky (ret), Garden Impressions DSP
Ink	Tranquil Tide, Blueberry Bushel, Mint Macaron
Accessories	Thick Very Vanilla Baker's Twine (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Layering Ovals Framelits, Stitched Labels Framelits

Fabulous Darling

Hello, peeps!  No challenges today; I spent the weekend with my dad and two other siblings; he's 88 years old, and you never know how much more time you'll have with a loved one!  I wish we had gotten a picture of us all but we totally forgot! Anyway, not much stamping time, so I am sharing a card I made a couple weeks ago highlighting the Garden Expressions DSP, Stitched All Around stamp set and the Stitched Labels dies:

Although this sentiment is fun, I am not quite sure to whom I would send it!!  But I loved this bold rose print in Melon Mambo and it seemed to fit!!!  I diecut the sentiment with the Stitched Shapes oval framelit, added a scalloped border from Seasonal Layers Framelits and tacked on a little stitched heart:

You can also see that amazing embossed "stitching" behind the sentiment, which is also from a die in the Stitched Labels set!  I love that thing!

My sister and I were hanging out on our porch and she snapped a picture of Sunday evening's sunset:

As usual, the picture doesn't do it justice!  It was a picture-perfect weekend, weather-wise, and today is gearing up to be hot and humid, so I am glad we were able to enjoy some nice temps before the heat hits!  John is always sad because he says the days are getting longer, but as soon as the first day of summer hits, they start to get shorter!!  I say, enjoy every hour we can!!  Be blessed!

Sketchy Saturday Sunshine

Happy Monday, peeps!  A quick post today as I have some stamping friends coming over..... to stamp, of course!  I wanted to make a few samples for them to check out, since we have new product in the house and they always like to see new goodies!  I used some Garden Impression DSP and Laurel's Sketchy Saturday sketch:

These two patterns are my favorite in the whole pack!  I admit that I am not usually drawn to bright colors and random designs like this, but these papers are growing on me!  I simply cut them to fit the front of a standard card, then added the sentiment from Stitched All Around and used the Stitched Labels Framelits to cut it out:

I then added another layer of So Saffron, diecut with the Layering Circles Framelits, and a third layer of a new color, Mango Melody, diecut with the Stitched Shapes Framelits:

For a little interest, I added a simple strip of Whisper White that was embossed with the cross-stitch die, also from the Stitched Labels set!  Such a fun set of dies!!  Very easy and went together quickly!

Cassidy got her ears pierced this weekend!  Dana said she did very well and only made a little face when the technician put the needle in her ear!

She is growing up too fast!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

CTD496 and CTS275

Happy Saturday, peeps!  I missed posting yesterday, so I have two cards today!  The first is for the Color Throwdown:

Isn't that a pretty scene?  I wanted to use the beautiful new Graceful Glass vellum that SU has, especially this bird paper; I know that these birds probably are NOT blue in real life (I am pretty sure the one on the left is a cardinal, but I am going to pretend he is a bluejay!), but I am exercising creative license today, LOL!  So here we go:

I used Blends to color behind the birds, then added a panel of Balmy Blue behind the bottom portion.  I mounted it on a piece of white cardstock, then on a Basic Black card:

The vellum gives it such a soft look, I can't wait to play with it some more!  The final touches were an embossed sentiment from Stitched All Around at the bottom and some retired narrow grosgrain ribbon!

The next card is for CAS(E) this Sketch; no matter what I did, I couldn't get this to photograph as well as I would have liked!  You'll have to use your imagination!  So here's the sketch:

There were lots of ideas floating around in my head, but in the end, I used Rooted in Nature, which is a pricey bundle, but I think it is going to be worth every penny!  Such great images and dies!  And it's perfect for masculine cards, like this Father's Day card:

I used a piece of Wood Textures DSP and used the Layering Circles to cut out the circle.  The stamp was inked with Garden Green ink and the trunk was colored with an Early Espresso marker, then cut out with the matching die:

The sentiment is from Itty Bitty Greetings, cut out with the retired Bitty Banner die.  Quick and EASY!  

We spent yesterday yard-saling and got some fun little bargains, a few yard games for Cassidy, which she tried to teach my great-nieces Emma and Lucy (sorry the photo is hazy, I took the picture through a screen!!):

And while we were yard-saling, we saw lots of these:

Everybody likes bargains!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

A New Catalog!!

How exciting!! The new 2018-2019 Stampin' Up! catalog goes live today!  You can peruse it HERE, (and there is a link on the right sidebar as well), and shop this afternoon!!  I am always happy to send you a catalog as well!  Contact me at my email (shown on the right sidebar)!!

Here's a sample made using the new In Color of Grapefruit Grove, the new stamp set Stitched All Around, the new Stitched Labels dies, the new In Color DSP, and the new Faceted Dots embellishments:

The sentiment is from Happy Birthday Gorgeous...don't they all go together so nicely?

CASology 302 and SIP152 Smile

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  I have a bright, happy CAS creation for you today using the colors from Stamp Ink Paper and the cue of "squiggle" from CASology:

When I checked the samples from the CASology blog, the term "squiggle" looked like it was used pretty loosely, LOL, so I thought it would be okay to use some new MFT dies that I just got.  So here we go:

My "squiggle" is the wonky stitching around the edge of the center panel; I added elements in the challenge colors with some flowers in Highland Heather, a pretty new SU color, Lemon Lime Twist and Coastal Cabana, which is returning (YAY!):

The "smile" die was a free gift, so I put that to good use, embellishing it with a little flower too!

On the inside, I stamped a greeting from Stitched All Around:

I resisted putting any other embellishments on, as it is supposed to be CAS!  Thanks for popping in today!

A few more pictures from the Apron Strings;  this little cutie is Piper, and she is my friends' Robyn and Claudia's granddaughter...yes, we have lots of families whose children grew up in church and went on to get married to each other!  Anyway, Piper was proud to show off her "Chef Piper" apron:

After Piper showed us her apron, Mom Mom Robyn showed us an apron that her grandmother made for her when Robyn was three years old:

When Piper saw the little apron, she piped up, "MomMom, you should give that apron to ME!"  We cracked up!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Stitched All Around
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Lemon Lime Twist, Coastal Cabana, Highland Heather
Ink	Highland Heather
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Wonky Rectangle Die, Stitched Flowers Die, Smile Die (all My Favorite Things)