You're the Best!

Another simple card that only took a few minutes to make. Sometimes it's fun to challenge yourself to see what you can create without much in the way of supplies. Plus, I got to use up some products that have just been sitting around on my craftroom shelves gathering dust. The card looks much better IRL - it's hard to appreciate the effect of the textured cardstock in this photo. It looks a little washed out here, but it's actually very crisp.



I really need to prep for Saturday's Stamp Camp, so back to work.....

Stamps: So Very, A Little Birdie Told Me
Cardstock: textured Groovy Guava
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: hodgepodge hardware, small oval punch, die-cut blooms, stampin' dimensionals

Simple is good

Hello fellow stampers! Ready for a quick and easy, minimal supplies type of card? Inspired by the tremendously talented Dawn McVey, I sat down and cranked out this baby in less than 5 minutes! This card layout would be perfect for so many occasions, I'm thinking about making a bunch with a variety of designer series papers minus the sentiment, so I can add that on when I'm reaching for a card last minute (like I seem to do so much recentlly!) Enjoy! :)

Stamps: Fabulous Flowers

Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise

Ink: Real Red

Accessories: East Coast Prep, Wild Wasabi striped grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Big News!

Stampin' Up! just announced a brand new product line that will be available on July 1st. It's called Decor Elements and it's self-adhesive, vinyl wall decorations. Think "rub ons" but BIGGER! Exclusive Stampin' Up! images and alphabets in a variety of sizes can be added to any decor - walls, windows, frames, etc. Available in two colors - white and chocolate - Decor Elements will stay up as long as you like them to, but they remove very easily so you can change the look whenever inspiration hits! Stay tuned for more information coming soon... :-)

June club projects

Hello stampers! I finished my second stamp club of the month, so I'm ready to share my projects with you. This month, we did two projects since they were both fairly simple. The first one was a double-pocket card. There are tutorials for this project all over the internet including one by Claudia Rosa on Splitcoaststampers, but a fellow demonstrator showed me how to make one (thanks Rhonda!). Each card uses one sheet of designer series paper, cut to 8-1/2" x 11" and some scraps of coordinating cardstock. The two pockets are perfect for including a pull-out tag with a handwritten note and filling the second with a gift card, a tea bag, a chocolate square, whatever your little heart desires.

The second project is a simple window card with a slit closure. Such a simple project, but my stamp clubbers loved it! To create the scallop frame around the window, simply punch into your cardstock with the 1-3/8" circle punch and then center your scallop circle punch around the space left in the cardstock.

Pocket Card
Stamps: none
Cardstock: Very Vanilla
Ink: none
Accessories: Ginger Blossom designer series paper, paper piercer, silver brads, round tab punch, Boho Blossom punch

Slit Closure Card
Stamps: Seeing Spots
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: 1-1/4" circle punch, 1-3/8" circle punch, scallop circle punch, slit punch, stampin' dimensional

Bye Bye Stamps!

Yes, it's that time again! In preparation for the new Fall-Winter Idea Book & Catalog (and all those fabulous new stamp sets and accessories), Stampin' Up! has released its list of stamp sets retiring with the Spring-Summer Collection. You can view the list alphabetically by stamp set name or numerically by page number. Stampin' Up! will keep these sets in stock up until August 10th, but after that date, they will no longer be available for purchase. Check your wish list and see if any stamp sets you've had your eyes on are getting ready to retire, and be sure to order them before they're gone for good.

The list of retiring accessories will be available on July 21st, and if history is any indication, they sell out quickly!

Happy Father's Day

Hello stampers! Hope everyone is enjoying a nice Father's Day with a father, brother, uncle, nephew, grandson, etc. It's been a full weekend here with a big celebration for my husband's 40th birthday and Father's Day. I found this adorable card idea on Nitestampers's blog, Me, My Stamps and I, and made some minor adjustments. Instead of making the entire card into a pair of boxer shorts, I made it a little smaller and used it as an embellishment on the front of the card. This was what I made for my wonderful husband...

Stamps: Happy Father's Day (Hero Arts)

Cardstock: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Basic Gray

Ink: Blue Bayou, Night of Navy marker

Accessories: 1/2" circle punch, paper crimper, stampin' dimensionals, word window punch

Father's Day

Yikes! Once again, Father's Day has crept up on me and I'm unprepared! Needing to prepare several cards (husband, dad, step-dad, dad-in-law), I wanted a very simple design. I have been obsessed with my star punches, as you might have noticed, and seeing how well they work for masculine cards, I pulled them out once again. I layered the stars so the first one was flat on the card, the second one was attached with a dimensional and then the third one was attached with 2 dimensionals layered together. I also love the Spring Break designer series paper (I'll be very sad when it retires with the current in-colors). I must admit that I do not own a Stampin' Up! set with a Father's Day sentiment so I had to find a Hero Arts stamp I had stashed away to come to my rescue. Ready for the final product?

Stamps: Father's Day Message (Hero Arts)

Cardstock: Old Olive, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky

Ink: Blue Bayou

Accessories: Spring Break DSP, large star punch, stampin' dimensionals

Fun with Chipboard

Hiddy ho neighbor! Sorry for my lack of posting, but I had a house full of out-of-town family last week and I'm still recovering! :) I had planned a class around the Book Basics chipboard last month but it bombed (no one signed up) so I had some chipboard sitting around just waiting for me to play. I've seen some terribly fantastic wall hangings from some other demonstrators so I tried my hand at it. I opted to only do one panel though - to keep it quick and easy. Sorry for the poor picture, but I had the option of a bright flash bouncing off the photo or this one where you can see the project even if it's a little on the blurry side. Hope you like it!

Stamps: Wonderful Favorites, Absolutely Fabulous

Cardstock: Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie

Ink: Blue Bayou

Accessories: Spring Break designer series paper, Book Basics chipboard, large star punch, small star punch, stampin' dimensionals, cropadile, Blue Bayou stitched grosgrain

You Rock!

Warning and disclaimer: this project contains mostly non-SU product. Sorry, but I had a very specific need and had to turn to the "dark side" for some supplies! ;) Tomorrow is my son's last day of third grade and he is a little sad about not seeing his teacher anymore. Mr. Williams has been a wonderful teacher, even giving my son some extra attention after school. The room moms are coordinating a class gift for him, but I also wanted to do something a little extra special. He plays guitar so we bought him a gift card from Guitar Center. Well, I couldn't just give him a gift card in a plain, boring card, so here's what I came up with:

We found this super cool black and silver guitar paper at Archivers and knew it was perfect for Mr. Williams. I simply folded it in half and then cut a smaller piece to place inside to hold the gift card. I typed the sentiment on my computer, cut it out and layered it with some black cardstock and vellum cardstock. It's attached with stampin' dimensionals (yeah, I know, I'm addicted to those fabulous little foam dots!). I hope he likes it! :)

Thank You Berry Much

Just a quick and easy card today...





I started with some Close to Cocoa cardstock for the cardbase and added 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon with a bit of 1/4" Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon for the knot. I used the Three For You punch on Berry Bliss designer series paper and backed it with some Pretty in Pink cardstock. Then I stamped the sentiment from the Spring Solitude bundle, punched with the word window punch and attached with stampin' dimensionals. I added silver brads in the center of the flowers, layered the panel onto some Chocolate Chip cardstock and then onto the cardbase using stampin' dimensionals again. I hope you like it! :)