Up & Away - A Different Way

Inspiration found on Pinterest

Good morning!  Hope you had a good weekend.  Mine was busy with having the granddaughter here and celebrating her birthday yesterday.  Now it's time to buckle down and finish some projects that have been shoved aside.  But first, the above card was one that was previously showcased on my Card Buffet.  The Sweet Sugarplum In Color cardstock and Designer Series Paper (DSP) retired May 31, 2018.  However, the Up & Away Thinlits are still available in the 2018-19 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog.  The large, intricate design was layered over the solid Sweet Sugarplum cardstock piece that was fussy cut.  Dimensionals were used to attach to the card base.  The smaller black "bulb" piece was cut out with a Thinlit.  Black Baker's Twine connects the two pieces.  A strip of  Sweet Sugarplum cardstock replicates the dressing table top, while the "ruffled" DSP is the skirt.  The ruffles were made using the Ruffled 3D Dynamic embossing folder.  Unfortunately, you can't see the ruffles in the picture.  

It's time to dive into those projects.  Have a great day and thank you for stopping in for a look!

Swirly Bird

Hi there!  Thought I'd do a quick post while my grandson is napping.  Never know how long those will be.  Lol.

Today's card showcases a set from the 2016-17 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog called Swirly Bird.  It is a versatile set so I'm happy to have ordered the bundle.  Some of the new In Colors were used, too.  In fact, all but Dapper Denim was used.  The "splotch" image is included in the set.

Someone is awake - need to run.  Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great day!

Acorny Hi Card Buffet Sneak Peek

Hi there!  Thought I'd share one of the cards you can make at my Card Buffet.  Just in time for Fall, huh?  The stamp set, Acorny Thank You, can be found in the 2015-16 Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog.  There is a coordinating punch for the acorn images. (Purchase the stamp set and punch as a bundle to save an additional 15%.)  The Designer Series Paper, Into the Woods, carries out the acorn theme.

Must sign off - lots to do plus errands to run.  Thank you for stopping by for a visit!

Inspiration from Amy Koenders here.

Kind Koala

Hi there!  Hope your week is going well.  The card I'm sharing today was a popular Card Buffet selection.  This little koala image by Stampin' Up! is just so CA-ute!  How could you NOT love it?  The colors of Baked Brown Sugar and Blushing Bride look so good together, too.  Inspiration for my card came from the very talented Chat Wszelaki as seen HERE (posted July 23rd).  To make the card my own, different colors and supplies were used. 

That's it!  Thank you for visiting!  Your visits are always a welcomed pleasure!

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps: Kind Koala 

Paper: Blushing Bride, Baked Brown Sugar, 2013-15 In Color DSP Stack – Baked Brown Sugar Polka Dot pattern, White 

Ink: Memento Black, Blushing Bride marker 

Tools:  Lucky Stars EF, Finishing Touches Edgelits 

Other:  Blushing Bride Bakers Twine, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Braid Technique and New Weekly Deals

Hi there!  Have you ever seen the braid technique?  This technique has been around a long time.  In fact, I did it YEARS ago when I first got into stamping.  It may have been called something else back then.  It's an easy technique (even though it looks complicated) with a lot of WOW factor.  The Hostess Club girls tried their hand at this technique at our meeting this past Saturday.  Brandy Cox has a video (and a template you can download) showing how this technique is done.  If you're a visual learner like I am, the video will be helpful.  Click here to watch Brandy's You Tube video.  When you have time, watch all of her videos.  She has great ideas!  The Club card used the same layout but with different colors and stamps.  I dusted off my Gifts of Kindness set, which was paired with Blackberry Bliss cardstock and ink (Stampin' Up!s 2014-16 In Colors) - and used Brandy's unique ribbon embellishment.  Love that look!

Yesterday wasn't a very productive day due to the fact that the granddog wanted my undivided attention!  LOL  Oh my, what an attention HOG!  I miss him, though.  He was so excited to see his "mommy" and "daddy" when we picked them up at the airport last night. 
Must get busy.  Thank you so much for coming by for a visit today!

Weekly Deals Oct 28 - Nov 3  click here

Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps: Gifts of Kindness 

Paper: White, Blackberry Bliss 

Ink: Blackberry Bliss 

Tools:  Scissors, flower punch (from Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack) 

Other: Blackberry Bliss Stitched Satin Ribbon, glue dots, pearls (large), clear blocks

Non-SU:  Braid Template, paper clips

Awesome Flower Patch

Hi there and happy Friday!  Today I'm back with another Hostess Club card that the ladies made at our meeting on Tuesday.  I pretty much CASE'd Julie Pitta's card that was posted on her blog.  You can see a sample here.  (Scroll down to Aug 30th post.)   Love the color combination of Blackberry Bliss and Hello Honey!  They are two of the five new In Colors that Stampin' Up! came out with this year.  Love the ribbon, too.  It's so soft and pliable - makes bow making (or knots) a snap.

Before I sign off, remember the Stamp, Stock, and Save promotion here going on until Oct 6th.  Hurry - you only have until Monday to take advantage of discounted prices on select products!  Please contact me if you'd like to take advantage of this sale!  Thank you in advance and for coming by today!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Hey There!

Hi there and happy Monday morning!  Hope you had an enjoyable weekend.  Mine was busy but a fun one.  Saturday was our annual Christmas Card Workshop.  (Sure wasn't Christmas weather when you stepped outside, though. lol)   A huge "Thank You" to all who came!  We had such a good time!  Yesterday was spent with a friend who recently lost her husband.  She had invited some of her other good friends over for a little get together.  We had a great time!  The laughter was good for all of us. 
Lately my time has been spent preparing for our Christmas Card Workshop and other projects that will be revealed later.  So, the card today is one that I made at Jayne Singleton's Stamp Camp earlier this month.  The image is a single stamp by Stampin' Up! called Hey There Buds.  Three of our In Colors were applied to the stamp using our Stampin' Write Markers.  Those colors are Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, and Blackberry Bliss.  A bit of  Sweet Taffy Designer Series Paper and the Large Polka Dot embossed background peeks out from under the focal piece.  Some coordinating ribbon and button add the finishing touches.
OK, I'm off to tackle my to-do list.  Thank you so much for stopping by today!  Your visits are always appreciated!

Gifts of Kindness

Hi there!  Had quite a night last night due to the storm that hit our area!  You can read about it below if you're interested.  But for now, I'd like to share another card Mary Taylor displayed at our Card Buffet.  She used Gifts of Kindness (by Stampin' Up!) and one of the new In Colors, Lost Lagoon.  The butterfly from Papillon Potpourri was punched out with the coordinating Bitty Butterfly Punch.  It's a clean and simple card.  Love it!


OK, so here's the unabridged version of the story.  I was meeting Jayne Singleton to ride along with her to Arnold for our Christmas Card Workshop meeting with the rest of the team.  Well traffic came to a halt on the interstate, so I took a detour.  Just as I was getting out of my car to get into Jayne's, the sky broke loose and it downpoured!  We had to get back onto the jammed-up interstate to get to our destination, Applebee's in Arnold, to meet up with the girls.  There were a lot of phone calls and texting in that hour of transit while they waited for us.  The girls were enjoying drinks and chatting when all of a sudden, the power went out!  Management told them to finish their drinks (on the house since there was no power) then they had to leave.  We ended up meeting them just across the highway at another restaurant that did have power.  It was strange how the area was randomly affected by the outage.  Well, guess who had no power when they got home a few hours later?  Yep, yours truly!  AmerenMO was on our street when I pulled into the subdivision.  (That was a good sign - they were on the case!)  Hubby and Rocky (granddog) were just hanging out in the dark.  I took Rocky for his (our) nightly walk and noticed electric had been restored to some of the houses on our street.  What???  Then the Ameren trucks started rumbling past us and I'm silently praying for them not to leave yet because it was still dark in the cul-de-sac where we live.  One of the trucks stopped and the driver informed me that they thought the problem was fixed and our power should be restored soon.  (Certainly hope so was my thought!)  Well just as Rocky and I were finishing our walk and going up our driveway, the electric was restored!  Hallelujah!  What a night!

Thanks for hanging in there on this long post and for visiting today!  It's always a pleasure to share with you!

Work of Art

Hi there!  Mary Taylor and I had another great Card Buffet yesterday!  Thank you soooo much ladies!  You're the BEST!  Here is one of the selections displayed on our Buffet.  An e-cutter was used to cut out the palette, making this a super fast card.  All five of Stampin' Up!s new In Colors were used for the "paint" splotches, which were applied with sponge daubers.

Must sign off now to tackle some neglected household chores.  Thanks for visiting today!

Sketched Swallowtail

Hi there!  Today I have another birthday card to share with you.  It is similar to the one I made here but with a few changes.  A flower from Simply Sketched was substituted for the leaf image.  It was embossed with clear embossing powder and colored in with a brush and some ink from Crisp Cantaloupe, Tangerine Tango, and Old Olive.  (The flower looks much better in real life than it does here.)  An additional butterfly was added and the placement is different.  Next I want to try the new In Colors using this design.

Must go now to work on my to-do list.  Thank you for coming by!

Lollipop, Lollipop...

Hi there!  Today's post is a scheduled one while I get ready for the girls getaway retreat tomorrow.  And while I'm away having a stamping good time with my peeps this week, I've scheduled some blog posts for you!
Today's card is a swap card that I finished Sunday evening.  I messed up the paper piercing on the original card.  (See, even we Demos make mistakes!)  This was Deana Schultz's shoebox swap card from Sally Nusbaum's event back in June.  Don't those pastel 2013-15 In Colors look yummy? Great colors for a lollipop! 

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted
Stamps: None
Paper: Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Vanilla
Ink: None
Other: Piercing mat & tool, 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim

That's it for now.  Thanks for looking in today!

New Home

Hi there and happy Friday!  Hope you had a great week!  Mine sure ended up being a lot busier than planned, which is the reason I didn't get to blog for the last couple of days!  So without further ado, I'll get to the card for today. 
One of my customers requested a card for a new home.  So this is what I came up with.  The house is made from a square of the new 2013-15 In Color Baked Brown Sugar Designer Series Paper Stack and coordinating cardstock roof .  Love the new In Colors!  The sentiment is from the Sweet Essentials set.

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps: Sweet Essentials, One in a Million (Wishing you a lifetime of happiness - inside sentiment) 

Paper: DSP Stack-Baked Brown Sugar, Baked Brown Sugar, Cherry Cobbler, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz, White 

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party 

Tools:  Small heart punch, Finishing Touches Edgelits, bird punch, Cupcake Builder punch, Itty Bitty flower punch, stylus, foam mat 

Other:  glue dots, Dimensionals, sponges, Pearls

Must run now - taking a little day trip to pick up our son about 1-1/2 hrs away.  Saturday is our Card Buffet at DeLeo's in Florissant.  So it's still busy!  Hope you have a great weekend!  I appreciate you stopping by for a visit!

 

Customer Thank You Notes

Hi there!  Forgot to post the little 3x3 thank you notes that I enclose in each customer's order bag.   May orders got the above card.  It was made with the new Stampin' Up! Wildflower Meadow stamp and coordinating embossing folder - plus the new In Color, Crisp Cantaloupe.  Love the new In Colors!

Below is the note card that was included in the June orders.  The watermelon symbolizes Summer to me, so that was my inspiration.  The retired Pretty in Pink polka dot DSP was punched out with a circle punch, then cut in half.  Same idea with the Garden Green "rind" except a scallop circle punch was used.  The "seeds" were made by pressing the brush end of a Stampin' Write marker horizontally onto the paper, then lifting up.  The Boho punch worked for a "sun" and the "thank u" sentiment is from the new A Round Array set.

Must run for now - busy working on projects for our Card Buffet next month.  Have a great day and thank you for stopping in today!

Wildflower Meadow

Hi there!  I didn't get a chance to post on Wednesday since we ended up having our granddaughter all day.  More about that at the end of this post.  Now I'll tell you about the above 3x3 note card.  I like to slip a small token of thanks into my customers' bags.  This is the design that went into the order bags last month.  The stamp was inked up first, then lined up in the coordinating embossing folder before running through the Big Shot.  Love it!  Love the new 2013-15 In Colors, too!  Crisp Cantaloupe was used here.

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Wildflower Meadow
Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, White
Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe
Other: Wildflower Meadow embossing folder

Miss M and I both really enjoyed seeing Shrek at the Muny, which is an outdoor theater, Tuesday evening.  It was HOT, though!  Before the show we had dinner at Fitz's (as in root beer).  The food was delicious and it is a kid friendly place.  Miss M chose smiley fries for her side dish.  Yep, they were circular fries with smiley faces!  How could you not love them?  After dinner we shared a "Dreamboat" float made with Fitz's orange pop and vanilla ice cream.  Oh my - it was HUGE and YUMMY!  So it was good to burn some calories on our walk from our parking spot at the Muny.  We didn't get home and in bed until almost midnight.  So long story short, Miss M didn't go to daycare.  We just chilled all day Wednesday.  If you ever get a chance to see the musical production of Shrek, I highly recommend it!  It was as entertaining for adults as it was for the kiddos.

Another late night - time to get to bed.  Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Last of the Swaps!

Hi there!  Well, today I have the remaining shoebox swaps from our Demo weekend at Pam D'Urso's home May 30 - Jun 2.  What a great weekend it was!  The above card was our hostess with the mostess' swap.  Love the understated simplicity and elegance of Pam's cards.  The flower from the Love and Sympathy set was colored with Calypso Coral and Old Olive markers.  The sentiment is stamped in black.

Next up is Mary Ellen Cope's card using some new products from the 2013-14 Annual Stampin' Up! catalog. 

A strip of Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper (DSP) was layered on the strip of Strawberry Slush Core'dinations cardstock.  The Daffodil Delight butterflies were cut from the Beautiful Wings Embosslet die. The sentiment is a new set called Label Love, which was stamped in Island Indigo ink.  There is a coordinating punch for this set.

The final card is mine.

I chose the Summer Silhouettes and Label Love stamp sets for this card.  The ink colors are the new In Colors: Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, and Pistachio Pudding.  (Are you hungry yet?)  My embellishment was made with the new Artisan punch.

That completes the line-up of shoebox swaps from Pam's retreat.  She has already sent out the date for the next retreat in September!  Can't wait!  Love spending time with these girls!  And to think I never would have met these ladies had I not become a Stampin' Up! Deomonstrator! 

Tuesday evening our granddaughter spent the night.  It was a spur of the moment thing.  She brought along the scrapbook that her other grandma gave her and some photos that mom provided.  Miss M completed her scrapbook yesterday and did a really nice job for an almost 6 year old.  I was so busy helping her that I didn't even think about snapping some pics of the process.  Miss M also wanted to make Carla Spradling a gift, whom she never met.  We were meeting Carla later that afternoon at Lion's Choice for an early dinner.  (Carla and I meet there before her Card Buffets and my DIL was stopping in after work to pick up Miss M.)  I was busy pulling out supplies so that Miss M could make Carla's gift.  She's so sweet like that - always wanting to make people gifts.  But what a little task master!  lol   Unfortunately, Carla got stuck in traffic and didn't make it to the restaurant until after Miss M left.  Carla did receive her "gift" of a bunch of decorated hearts and graciously told me that she'll hang them on her board at home.  She's such a sweetie!  (I'll post photos later of the Buffet cards I made)

Time to tackle some chores.  Hope your day is going well and thank you so much for coming by today!

In Colors Papillon - Stamp Camp Card

Hi there and happy Monday to you!  Had a super busy weekend with Stamp Camps and spending time with my stamping peeps cutting card stock for our Christmas Card Workshop being held on Oct 6th. 

 

Stamps: Papillon Potpourri (W-123757, C-123759) 

Paper: Black, White, Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Midnight Muse 

Ink: Black, Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Midnight Muse 

Tools:  Fancy Fan Embossing Folder (127751), Elegant Butterfly Punch (127526), 1-1/2” Circle punch (non-SU!), 1-3/4” Circle punch (119850) 

Other:  Midnight Muse Satin Ribbon, glue dots, Dimensionals 

Inspiration: Pinterest  www.iembellish.blogspot.com 

 

Sorry for another short post.  Still have swaps to finish for a Demo event this Saturday and more to do for the Christmas Workshop.  Have a great day and thank you for stopping in today!

Open House

Hi there!  The Open House was a success thanks to the awesome group of ladies who came!  Thank you, ladies!  Here is the make n take project they did.  There was a little grumbling about cutting out the images .... but not too bad.  lol

Stamps: Betsy's Blossoms, Itty Bitty Banners
Paper: White, Raspberry Ripple
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit
Other: Bitty Banners Framelits, Dimensionals

Have a wonderful day.  Thank you for stopping by today!

Creative Elements

Hi there!  I'm back...  Sorry for my absence.  It's been crazy and not looking like things will let up until after the holidays.  Today I hung out with my stampin' peeps so I'll share a card with you.  Hopefully, that will make up for my neglected blog!  lol  This will be short and sweet so I can get to bed.

I used the flourish from the Creative Elements set and stamped the Very Vanilla Top Note piece in Early Espresso.  Added some color with Stampin' Write markers (Old Olive, Cajun Craze, and Calypso Coral).  Sponged in some Soft Suede and Calypso Coral. The flowers have some Cajun Craze daubed in the ceters and penwork, too.  The flowers were cut out and popped up with dimensionals. The leaves are from the Bird punch.  The focal piece is adhered to a distressed Calypso Coral panel and  the card base is Old Olive.  OK, I'm off to bed.  Thank you so much or stopping in today.  Have a great weekend.!

Gently Falling and Baby Wipe Technique

Good morning everyone!  It's another great Fall day!  So with that I'll show you a Fall card that was made at Stamp Camp this past Sunday.  The baby wipe technique was used to get the multicolored leaves.  A little more color and dimension was added with the Color Spritzer.  The Spice Cake fabric was included in the bundle available to us Demos.  I didn't know what I would do with the fabric since I am really lacking in the sewing skills department.  So, I ripped it into strips to make the bow!  I was quite pleased with the results.

Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted.

Stamps: Gently Falling (#123802 – W, #123804 – C), Teeny Tiny Wishes (#115370)

Paper: Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Spice Cake DSP

Ink: Re-inkers = Pool Party, More Mustard, Soft Suede, Pear Pizzazz; markers = Soft Suede, More Mustard (acorn & spritzing); ink pads = Soft Suede,So Saffron, River Rock (helicopter)

Tools: Color Spritzer, circle punches = 1” & 1-1/4”

Other:  Spice Cake fabric strips (#124003), baby wipes (or Cut n Dry), sponges, glue dots, dimensionals, spray bottle of water, gloves, powder (for hands before putting on gloves), acrylic blocks, containers for “ink pads”

Inspiration:  Barb Mullikin  www.barbstamps.com  3 Sep 11 post

Tonight is our monthly Demo dinner meeting.  Love these meetings because we have soooo much fun!  We have another challenge.... to alter a jumbo paper clip.  I haven't done mine yet so I need to get busy!  Have a great day and thanks for coming by today!

Gently Falling

Happy Friday!  Sure seems like my weeks zoom by.  How 'bout you?  They say the older you get, the faster time goes by.  Soooo true!

I love the stamp set "Gently Falling" but to tell you the truth I wasn't crazy about the Spice Cake DSP.  We Demos were offered a bundle so, of course, I bought it.  I am so glad I did because the DSP is wonderful!  Here is another card we made at Sarah Klasing's class on Tues using the stamps and the DSP. 

The new In Color, Pool Party, looks so rich paired with Soft Suede.  What a great Fall card.  I didn't put a sentiment inside - left it blank for a personal note.  The envelope has a leaf stamped on the front, too.  Adds a nice touch. 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.  I appreciate you stopping in today.  Thank you!