Double dipping

Hi stampers...yet another challenge card here today...actually one card for TWO challenges.  I finally had some time to stamp last night but was having a hard time getting motivated and I knew there were a LOT of challenges I wanted to participate in this week so I decided to incorporate two into this one card, killing two birds with one stone....before I fell asleep because I knew I was tired and wasn't going to last long enough to make more than one card, lol!  So I used this week's sketch challenge over on the Inkspirations site and the color combo challenge over at Creat with Connie & Mary. 

I decided to use one of the sentiments from Word Play as I JUST got this set (it's on SALE right now until the end of May...the PERFECT time to get a rather pricey set for much less...see the May Scrapbooking special in my sidebar to the right for more info).  This card is actually for my best friend who just graduated with her Master's in reading! She's been working at it while working full time as a teach for a few year now and I'm so happy for her!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  The Open Sea, Word Play
Paper:  Sahara sand, poppy parade, not quite navy, whisper white
Ink:  Sahara sand, not quite navy, poppy parade (ink and markers)
Accessories:  Linen embossing folder, circle punches, brads, poppy ribbon

I also combined the Open Sea set with Word Play for the card because I thought the sea theme and the compass went together well.  I love how well SU sets go together with each other!  I used the log (stamped off once in not quite navy) stamp and the globe stamp and compass stamp (also stamped off) to make the background.  The poppy parade panel was embossed with the linen embossing folder and I also sprayed it with the log cabin smooch spray for a bit of "weathering".  I also sprayed the background with silver smooch but it turned out kind of subtle.  I thought it might look like it got "wet" but it just adds a bit of shimmer.  It was a pretty simple card other than that.  I hope my friend likes it and I hope you do too!  Happy stamping!

Royal pain....

Hi stampers!  I have another challenge card today!  I loved the Colour Q challenge this week when I saw it but man, I had the hardest time coming up with this card and that's why I'm calling it a royal pain!  When I make a card I usually work on it until it's finished but I finally gave up the other night and went to bed and then finished it last night.  Not sure why I struggled but the layout gave me fits!  And I'm still not sure I love it...but it's what I got!  Take a look at these colors:

And I want that pillow by the way:-)  So, this combo just screams "manly" doesn't it???  I wasn't sure exactly where I was going with the card BUT I do know that I wanted to include some color spritzing, the linen embossing folder and one of my all time favorite but sadly retired stamp sets Pedaling Past (I'm trying to pull out old sets more often)!  Those are all manly thing right? :-)  As I've said before, I love this set so much because my dad had a bicycle built for two and we used to ride it a lot when I was little.  Good memories!  So obviously this card quickly became a Father's day card for him!  I have been on a CAS kick lately too so I kept the layout fairly simple....and that's manly right?  My hubby would say so...he's a minimalist (so of course my jam packed stamp studio freaks him out, lol).

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Pedaling Past (retired), teeny tiny wishes
Paper:  Crumb cake, not quite navy, old olive, daffodil delight, whisper white
Ink:  Not quite navy (ink and marker), old olive
Accessories:  Linen embossing folder, decorative label punch, modern label punch, wide oval punch, vintage trinkets, silver smooch spray, color spritzer

One quick little note about the main panel...after I embossed it I used my color spritzer with my not quite navy marker and gave it a little spritz and then sprayed a bit with the silver smooch spray....I thought for a while it was too girly but I think it just looks like pearlized paint on a bicycle...just adds a little more interest to the card.  I also layered the punches....again....I know.  And the sentiment has some of the button brads from out Vintage Trinkets.  I hope my dad likes it and it brings him fond memories of all the fun we used to have!  Thanks to the CQ challenge for the great color combo as well...now go play along yourself!  Happy stamping!

Blushing saffron celery?

Hi stampers!  I'm here with a card for this week's color challenge over on Splitcoast.  It's VERY springy...which by the way I guess we just totally decided to skip here in the Midwest seeing as it went from being about 50 or 60 to over NINETY DEGREES yesterday!  I'm pretty sure it was up there today too!  I do hope we get some days in the 70's!  A good friend of mine is getting married on Saturday and of course it's supposed to be back in the 60's...so I'll be cold in my sleeveless dress of course, haha. 

So onto the card....like the title of this post says the colors for the challenge were blushing bride, certainly celery, and so saffron.  I have a bit of trouble with pastel colors so this was a push for me!  BUT something I did know was that I wanted to use the flower frame image from Four Frames.  And then I dug out my presto patterns DSP which I totally forget about and NEED to use more often.  It's so cool!  It's like emboss resist without all the work, all you need to do is either sponge or brayer ink onto it and wipe it down.  Then you have a pretty resisted image.  The toile pattern worked well with my stamp here!  Something else that I've been toying around with lately is layering punches as well....I get on a kick and can't seem to stop so you're warned there are going to be a lot of clean and simple cards with layered punches coming your way, lol!  So, wanna see it?

 Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Four frames, fabulous phrases
Paper:  Whisper white, so saffron, certainly celery CS and DSP, presto patterns DSP
Ink:  Blushing bride, certainly celery, so saffron, staz on
Accessories:  Decorative label punch, lots of tags sizzlits, wide oval punch, gold & vanilla smooch spray, beautiful wings embosslit

And sadly, the best part you probably can't see:-(  After I applied the color to the presto paper I sprayed it down with both the gold and vanilla smooch shimmer spray.  The gold looks super pretty with the saffron! If you click the picture you may be able to see it better, if not, trust me, it's fab!!!!  I also layered a label die cut from lots of tags with the wide oval punch and some celery DSP.  The finishing touch is my butterflies from the Beautiful Wings embosslit in both celery DSP and saffron card stock.  I do wish I had added some ribbon or something but it's too late now:-)  Thanks to SCS for a fun color challenge and thanks to you for stopping by!  I'll be back soon with yet another challenge card:-)  Happy stamping!

Fun flower!

Hey stampers!  Quick post tonight as I need to head to bed!  But I wanted to share a card I made the other day!  I haven't had much time to create lately and I'm STUCK on a challenge card at the moment.  So, I'm taking a break...I watched some TV with the hubby and now I'm going to bed so I'll come back to it tomorrow evening and see if any magic happens:-)  Don't you hate it when you get stuck????  And I LOVE the color combo too.....so frustrating!  I didn't LOVE the other challenge card I completed tonight so maybe I'm just having an off week:-).  Anyway, I had no problem putting THIS card together:

 Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Ornate blossom, Four frames, You're a gem
Paper:  Peach parfait, whisper white, Greenhouse gala DSP
Ink:  Pear pizazz, basic black, peach parfait
Accessories:  Peach ribbon, decorative label punch

Isn't it just FAB?????  It's modern and clean yet retro at the same time.  I got that stamp a long time ago when the new catalog came out to use with Friends never fade and I can count on one hand the number of times I've used it!  And then I had this color combo sitting on my desk for WEEKS because I thought it would look great with the big ornate blossom stamp!  And then add in my fave Four Frames and one of my other favorite sets, You're A Gem (so sad it's retired now...maybe it will come back) and there you have it!  It is a super simple card but I really liked how it turned out!  Peach parfait is a great orange, so funky and bright!  I'm still trying to use up my DSP too!  So, I hope you liked it...I'll try to be back soon with some challenge cards when I get un-stuck!!!  Happy stamping!

I'm a color queen

...well maybe not but I am playing in the Colour Q Challenge tonight!  It's my first go with this site and I was excited to play along with color challenge #83!  I LOVE the bright bright colors for this challenge! 

Isn't it just bright and retro and fun!  I thought the On the Grow set and scooter would be perfect for this challenge and who doesn't want a turquoise scooter...especially with these gas prices, haha!??!!  So, here's my entry (please excuse the not so great pic, I don't like doing my photos at night but I have a class bright and early tomorrow morning, yuck....and then we will be going out of town so tonight it is)!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps: On the grow
Paper: watercolor, tangerine tango, peach parfait & hostess DSP, daffodil delight, tempting turquoise, very vanilla
Ink:  staz on, various for watercoloring
Accessories:  Peach parfait ribbon, daffodil taffeta ribbon, in color glimmer brads, border punch

It's a pretty simple card but I think I like it!  I need to start layering ribbon more often I think.  And have I mentioned that I reeeeeaaaallllly hope the glimmer brads come back????  :-)  And now for just a tad of non-stamping chit chat:

Speaking of queens...my wonderful mother retired today after 39 (yeah, you read that right,  THIRTY NINE!!!!) years with the City of Decatur!  I'm so excited for her and so proud after seeing ALL of the people at her party today who are so sad to see their friend leave!  My mom is an amazing woman and that was just confirmed for me today!  I didn't get to spend much time with her before I had to go back to work but I watched for an HOUR as co-workers came to offer their congratulations!  I had the BEST time watching people light up when they talked to her!  I have to say I am a bit sad that she'll be moving away from me but I'm so happy for her to be moving back to her hometown and getting her dream house!  I may also be a tad bit jealous that she gets to sleep in every day now!  Too bad I don't think I'll ever get her to stamp in all of her "free time".  :-)  Thanks for stopping by today...I wish everyone a happy Mother's day and have a great weekend....love you momma!  (Here's a quick pic of me and her at her party today...we don't look a THING alike, I tell ya!)

Happy stamping!

Sunny Fun!

Hi stampers!  I'm not sure how the weather has been in your neck of the woods but it has been COLD here in mid-America!  Usually by this time of year, it's fairly nice here.  I feel like it's never going to warm up and spring is never going to get here!  And I'm FREEZING my tail off outside at work in the evenings!  Spring temperatures, where are you!!!????  Please come visit me SOON, preferably before the next game I have to work!!!  (Now, come the end of May, when I'm working baseball and softball regionals I'll probably be singing a different tune and dying of heatstroke like I was last year, lol).)  Anyway, maybe the bright and cheery card I have to show you will bring on the warm temperatures!

I've had this card done for some time but just realized I didn't take a pic of it or share it yet!  DUH!  Anyway, the stamp set I used is a new set from the Summer Mini catalog.  Some lucky demos earned it early and as soon as I saw a few of the sneak peeks, I knew I had to have it!  I mean, who doesn't love flip flops, the pool, and Popsicles and ice cream?  Speaking of Popsicles  anyone remember puddin' pops and jello pops?  Man do I miss those things, they were GOOD and not bad for you at all.  My granny always had them for me and I can't think of them without picturing summers at her farm! :-)  Ok, enough chit chat....here's the card:

Stampin Supplies:
Stamps: Sunny Fun
Paper:  Daffodil delight, rich razzleberry, tempting turquoise, watercolor, in color hostess patterns pack
Ink: Various for water coloring, staz on
Accessories: pear pizzazz ribbon, dotted scallop border punch, crystal effects, dazzling diamonds


Doesn't it just make you warmer already?  I just LOVE it!  The sentiment is just too cute!  And can you see what makes it extra special?  I used crystal effects to make the ice cream look frozen and dazzling diamonds on the snow cones (I HAD to make them grape, mmmmm) to make them sparkly and icy looking!  Here's a close up view:

Hope you liked it.  There is an image of flip flops in the set too, I can't wait to use that one as well...in honor of this card, Jon and I had a McDonald's ice cream cone tonight, hehe!  See ya soon and happy stamping!

Triple the fun!

Hey stampers!  I have a super cute card (I always say that, don't I?) AND a video!  I recently got the new triple layer punches from the Summer Mini (you can view the catalog over on the right in my sidebar) and they are so fun!  BUT they can be a bit intimidating/tricky....I was able to watch a video on our demo site so I thought I'd make my own to pass on the tips and tricks to you!  I was a bit chatty the day I made it (when am I not?) so bear with me as I was kind of all over the place...I must have had some caffeine that day:-)  And I didn't have a card (that I liked anyway) done when I made the video but I made one last night....so watch the video and then scroll down for the card!

Once you follow the tips here they are so easy and fun to use!  But my desk is covered in paper poo:-)  So here's the card I came up with!

 Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Tiny tags
Paper:  Whisper white, so saffron, concord crush, perfect plum and PP DSP, bashful blue
Ink:  concord crush
Accessories:  Triple layer punches - blossom and doily, bashful blue taffeta ribbon (retired), jewelry tag punch, basic pearls & rhinestones, crochet thread, circle punches

I think my favorite part is the glimmer brad!  I do hope those come back in the new catalog! I love those things!  And speaking of!  I get to see the sneak peeks and new catalog in less than a month now!  Ah the small joys of being a demo:-)  We will find out the retirement list on June 1 as well....I'm sure I'll cry for a few sets that retire....and speaking of retiring my MOM is retiring after over 35 years from the city TOMORROW!  I still don't have a card for her or her gift made....I better get to work on that!  Happy stamping!