Challenge accepted

Today's card is one that I made a week ago as part of a challenge my upline gave her group. We received a Top Note-cut piece of Travel Journal designer series paper (from the Summer Mini Catalog) and a build-a-brad. As I played around with the Top Note piece, it occurred to me that if I ran it through the Big Shot a second time to create a square piece, it kind of looked like a mortar board. So I ran with the idea to make a graduation card - now if I only knew someone graduating with blue and orange school colors! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~


Stamps: Happy Grad
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Night of Navy
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note die, Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon, build-a-brad, 3/4" circle punch, Travel Journal designer series paper, stampin' dimensionals

For a Mario Bros. fan

My son needed a card for a friend's birthday party this evening and mentioned that he liked Mario Bros. I remembered seeing the cutest punch art creation on fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator Jenn Dierck's blog and CASE'd it. It's a character named Yoshi, and my son thought it turned out fabulous. I hope his friend does too! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: On Your Birthday
Cardstock: Old Olive, Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: white gel pen, 1-3/8" circle punch, small oval punch, large oval punch, wide oval punch, 3/4" circle punch

Daisy Thank You

My blogging has been very sporadic this month because of a ton of personal and work commitments. I have really missed my stamping time and hope that my roller-coaster-month will ease up a bit soon! I'm currently working on card designs for my all-occasion stamp-a-stack classes next month.

Today's card is a thank you card that features retiring color, Sage Shadow. I love the simplicity of this card, and even though Sage Shadow has not been among my favorite colors, I love how pairing it with Very Vanilla created such a nice, subtle vibe.

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~


Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Trendy Trees
Cardstock: Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla
Ink: Sage Shadow
Accessories: Big Shot, square lattice impressions embossing folder, Very Vanilla satin ribbon

Adapted from needlepoint

Today's card features a technique called bargello. An embroidery term referring to flat stitches creating zigzag lines, bargello is now crossing over into papercrafting. Using strips of designer series paper and staggering them creates a similar effect to bargello. It's a great way to add some visual interest and texture to your projects, and it's fabulous for all those random scraps of paper that accumulate!

I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: Trendy Trees
Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede, Whisper White
Ink: Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Thoroughly Modern designer series paper, scallop trim border punch, wide oval punch, modern label punch, Big Shot, square lattice impressions embossing folder, stampin' dimensionals

Watercolor birthday

My favorite stamp set in the Summer Mini Catalog is Watercolor Trio. I'm a sucker for anything floral and I just love how the images look watercolored effortlessly!



I used two tones of yellow (So Saffron and Crushed Curry) to create depth on the flower. I also used textured cardstock with some extra dimension by using an embossing folder. Here's a close-up shot that shows the multi-color flower and double-textured cardstock:


I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

~Marilyn~

Stamps: Watercolor Trio
Cardstock: Whisper White, So Saffron, Garden Green
Ink: So Saffron, Crushed Curry, Garden Green
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots impressions embossing folder, scallop edge punch, organza ribbn, stampin' dimensionals

Tropical Birthday

I'm still here! Life has just been crazy busy lately and I haven't had much stamping time. But I have a new card to share today that features the fun Tropical Party stamp set from the new Summer Mini Catalog. It's a simple card, especially since I used some Island Oasis designer series paper for the background - this particular piece features a subtle tone-on-tone palm leaf that matches one of the stamp images. Using embossing powder on the sentiment really makes it stand out against the designer series paper. And lastly, I stamped three flowers, cut them out and mounted them at varying dimensions. The first flower is mounted directly onto the card, the second flower is raised with a stampin' dimensional and the third flower has a rhinestone brad in the center and is attached with two layers of dimensionals!

Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~


Stamps: Tropical Party, Full of Life
Cardstock: Summer Sun, Whisper White
Ink: Summer Sun, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Versamark
Accessories: white embossing powder, heat tool, rhinestone brad, stampin' dimensionals

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

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

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

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~~