Thursday, April 29, 2010

Happy Graduation


Before you know it, graduation season will be upon us. And Stampin' Up! comes to the rescue with a new fabulous and inexpensive stamp in the Summer Mini Catalog, "Happy Grad." As in past catalogs, there is an "a la carte" page of single stamps with four fun new stamps. In addition to the graduation stamp, there are birthday, butterfly and motorcycle stamps as well.


Today's card only uses part of the Happy Grad stamp. It also includes text beneath the sentiment: Make a Difference - Live the Dream - Relish the Adventure - Conquer the Unknown - Make Your Mark - Stand Strong. If you're in need of graduation cards this year, you'll love the $8.95 price tag on this stamp!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~


Stamps: Happy Grad, Classic Star, jumbo wheel
Cardstock: Basic Black, Garden Green, Whisper White
Ink: Garden Green
Accessories: jumbo wheel handle, silver brad, embroidery floss, stampin' dimensionals

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

DSP Purse


Ok, how stinkin' cute is this?? As part of a group meeting, we made this adorable purse out of designer series paper. It's the perfect size to hold a set of handstamped cards or to even as a gift bag for a special present. I especially love the houndstooth pattern! The "buckles" are made with Brushed Silver cardstock and the rhinestone brads add the perfect amount of bling!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~


Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Brushed Silver
Accessories: Sweet Pea designer series paper, Pretties Kit, 1" square punch, 1-1/4" square punch

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Treat Cup Challenge


Today's card is one I made for a challenge from my upline to use a treat cup. I started by created a multi-colored focal image using the very popular Medallion stamp set and some sponge daubers. I started by inking up the entire image with So Saffron ink. Then I went back over the image with sponge daubers using Crushed Curry and Soft Suede inks to add some dimension. I punched a bunch of flowers out of Soft Suede cardstock with the Trio Flower punch to fit inside the treat cup. Last, I added a few layers of cardstock and DONE!

One of my fellow demonstrators, Rhonda Wilkinson, got super creative using her treat cups to fit poker chips, dog treats, and miniature dice (see below). Way too cute!!
Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~



Stamps
: Medallion, Watercolor Trio
Cardstock: Kraft (soon-to-be-called Crumb Cake), Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Ink: So Saffron, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede
Accessories: 1-3/4" circle punch, treat cup, sponge daubers, trio flower punch

Monday, April 26, 2010

More swaps to share

Yesterday I posted a card I made for a swap with a group of local demonstrators. Today I want to show you some of the great cards I received in exchange:




I love doing these swaps because I'm able to accumulate some card samples featuring stamp sets and/or accessories I don't own. Plus, they're always great for inspiration when I'm needing a little encouragement.

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Sunday, April 25, 2010

It's swap time!


Time for another swap with some local demonstrators!! This month's theme was Mother's Day or Father's Day cards. I chose to make a bright and cheerful Mother's Day card. The "o" was made with two different Big Shot dies and a punch. Tomorrow, I'll post pictures of some of the swap cards I received. Also coming soon is an adorable purse we made at the meeting today. Lots of goodies over the next few days so be sure to check back!!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~


Stamps: Elements of Style (available in the Summer Mini Catalog on May 1st!)
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo
Accessories: Big Shot, Bigz Simple Letters die, Birds & Blooms die, Trio Flower punch, scallop edge punch, stampin' dimensionals

Friday, April 23, 2010

Summer Preview

Very soon, the new Summer Mini Catalog will debut, fresh with lots of new stamps, punches, buttons, stencils, designer series papers and more! Today's card features a new stamp set called Watercolor Trio that includes three botanical images, three sentiments and a butterfly image. I inked up one of the images with Certainly Celery and then used an Always Artichoke marker to add some depth. What you can't see very well in the photo is the Shimmery White cardstock I used. This fabulous cardstock has such a nice, subtle sparkle! It adds elegance to any project.

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~


Stamps: Watercolor Trio
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Shimmery White
Ink: Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note die, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Lucky me!


As promised, I'm back with another card featuring the soon-to-be-gone Sweet Pea designer series paper! This time I'm using one of the sheets with a super fun circle pattern. I immediately thought of using the Circle Circus stamp set to repeat the circles on the cardbase. I used a simple watercoloring technique - stamp a line-art image with classic ink and then use an aquapainter to pull the ink in so you can color the image. Easy!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: Eight Great Greetings, Circle Circus
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Brown, Always Artichoke, Rose Red
Accessories: Sweet Pea designer series paper, aquapainter, stampin' dimensionals

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Goodbye Sweet Pea

Next week, the Occasions Mini Catalog will be gone and so will some fabulous products! One of my favorites is the Sweet Pea designer series paper pad. It's packed with so many fun patterns - there are 48 double-sided 12x12 sheets in this pad. From floral to funky to traditional, you'll find there are patterns for every taste! Don't miss your opportunity to purchase this paper pad! Just click here to place your order today!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check back to see more card samples featuring the Sweet Pea designer series paper pad.

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: Full of Life
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Sweet Pea designer series paper, scallop trim border punch, corner rounder, stampin' dimensionals

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

More color renovation

Continuing on yesterday's theme of the upcoming Color Renovation, today's card features old In Colors, Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette:


Lots of layering on this one...3 levels of dimensionals in fact! That makes up for the total lack of dimensionals in yesterday's project (did you notice?)! I punched with the small heart punch first, then centered the heart inside the 1-1/4"circle punch. The negative space of the heart is accented with the first level of dimensionals. I used a marker to only ink up a portion of the sentiment (the whole sentiment says "i love you, friend") and since the In Colors didn't come in markers in the past, I used an aquapainter and picked up the ink from the lid of the stamp pad to color in the heart. I'm so glad I held onto my retired In Color inks!! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: Picture This
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red,
Accessories: aquapainter, small heart punch, 1-1/4" circle punch, corner rounder, Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Monday, April 19, 2010

Welcome Back!

As I'm sure you've heard by now, Stampin' Up will be bringing some old In Colors out of retirement as part of the big Color Renovation taking place in July. They're mixing things up and turning the color families into color collections - 10 colors in each collection vs. 12 in the families. Some old In Colors are coming back: Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, River Rock, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze and Wild Wasabi. Plus some current In Colors will be sticking around: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, and Soft Suede. And there will be some brand new colors: Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, and Marina Mist. Get ready for these fresh and fabulous color collections!!

In honor of this renovation, I've pulled out Baja Breeze (old In Color) and paired it with Soft Suede (current In Color) for a nice, soothing color combination:

Today's card is a very clean and simple design, but the new impressions embossing folder (available May 1st in the Summer Mini Catalog) adds some significant texture. A simple sentiment, some ribbon, and done!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~



Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Soft Suede, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice impressions embossing folder, Soft Suede polka dot grosgrain ribbon

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Ways to Watercolor

Today's cards are stamp club projects featuring watercoloring techniques. My club members were excited to find out that you don't have to be artistic to pull off this technique! There are lots of ways to watercolor - using ink pads, reinkers, watercolor crayons and aquapainters or blender pens. The possibilities are endless! Enjoy...


Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~


{{friend}}
Stamps: One of a Kind, With All My Heart
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Soft Suede, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo, Soft Suede
Accessories: aquapainter, Soft Suede polka dot grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

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Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Thank You Kindly
Cardstock: Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla
Ink: Stazon Black, Old Olive, Garden Green, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice impressions embossing folder (available May 1st), aquapainter, watercolor crayons, wide oval punch, stampin' dimensionals

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Fun With Treat Cups

Well, I'm enjoying Spring Break in Chicago with my mom and stepdad. But I wanted to share some new projects that I made at my upline's house a few weeks ago using Stampin' Up!'s treat cups. The first one is used as the center of a sunflower with roasted sunflower seeds inside!


The next one is used to create a piggy bank - perfect for tucking in some money as a gift!



And the last one is used to make a baby rattle, filled with mints.

Hope you liked them! I'll post some more projects when I get back to town.

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Lots of stars


Today's card features a fun color combo - Soft Suede, Dusty Durango and Tempting Turquoise. I needed some simple thank you cards for all the ladies who helped with a group stamp camp and this certainly fit the bill. The sentiment is on a "flag" that's created by using a square punch at an angle on the end of the cardstock. Some simple layering and this is done. This color combo would be great for a masculine card as well. The turquoise really stands out against the earthy tones of the other colors.

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~


Stamps: Seeing Stars, Trendy Trees
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Tempting Turquoise, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: 1-1/4" square punch, stampin' dimensionals

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Thank You


Today's card features a cardstock color that I hardly ever use - Blush Blossom. I guess I went a little crazy with all the accessories on this one: 4 punches, the Big Shot, ribbon AND some bling! But funny enough, it still came together rather quickly. Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~



Stamps: With All My Heart
Cardstock: Blush Blossom, Mellow Moss, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots impressions folder, Extra Large Fancy Flower punch, Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon, large oval punch, scallop oval punch, scallop trim border punch, Pretties Kit, stampin' dimensionals

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