Not A Day Older...

Good morning and Happy Friday to you!! For today's card I pulled out the new Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper from the new Occasions Catalog. The two patterns coordinate so well! I used the colors in the papers to pull out my card base (Tangerine Tango) and bottom layer (Baked Brown Sugar) colors.

Then I inked up the See Ya Later stamp set (coming soon with Sale-a-bration!) with Stampin' Write Markers. It's okay if the ink dries before you get done coloring the whole stamp, just 'huff' on the stamp a few times to moisten the ink again and stamp! This stamp works wonderfully wit the Stampin' Write Markers! I added a little knot with the Natural 5/8" Chevron Ribbon. I love that it adds interest while still being neutral and allowing the stamped image to maintain center stage :)

Once I was done I decided to add a bit of bling with some Gold Sequin Trim. The gold looked pretty but did not stand out well against the background so...Candy Dots to the rescue! I chose Candy Dots in Tangerine Tango, Bermuda Bay, and Daffodil Delight. The colors in the paper are Coastal Cabana and So Saffron but I chose colors just a bit deeper and richer to add a bit of 'pow'.

Then I cranked out a custom envelope in Baker Brown Sugar with a matching liner with the Envelope Punch Board! It's one of my favorite new tools, I use mine with almost every card now!

What's your favorite tool/product? I think my top three are the Big Shot, Envelope Punch Board and Candy Dots!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: See Ya Later (133533)

Paper: Tangerine Tango (111349), Baked Brown Sugar (131296), Very Vanilla (101650) Cardstock; Retro Fresh (132993) Designer Series Paper

Ink: Tangerine Tango, Baked Brown Sugar, Calypso Coral, So Saffron Stampin Write Markers

Tools:  Big Shot (113439); Ovals Collection Framelits Dies (129381); Envelope Punch Board (33774); Stampin' Trimmer (126889); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Embellishments: Natural 5/8" Chevron Ribbon (132982); Gold Sequin Trim (132983); Brights (130931) Candy Dots

Thanks for stopping by! 

Oh Happy Day! - Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge #188

This card was inspired by this week's Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge:

All of Stampin' Up!'s coordinating products make creating cards so much fun! The images on today's card are from the Starburst Sayings stamp set and coordinate perfectly with the Starburst Framelits Dies. You can even purchase the two products bundled together and save!

How about these cleanly stamped images! Stampin' Up!'s firm foam ink pads make make it so easy to achieve these results. And I'm wondering how I ever got by without framelits! One of the things I love about framelits is that worrying about placement is a thing of the past. Just place your stamped image on your magnetic platform, line the framelit die up on top, and run it through the Big Shot. EZ Peasy! The framelits don't move because of the magnetic base. It's worth every penny invested in it, in my opinion!

I found this sentiment in the Really Good Greetings stamp set and think it pairs perfectly with "Oh Happy Day". At first glance you might think birthday but really, this card is perfect for lots of occasions. Do you know someone who got a new job? How about a promotion or a great score on their SAT? Made the drill team? Passed the driver's license exam? Found out they are pregnant or approved for adoption? Truly, the choices are endless. Keep the layout and just change up the colors!

If you've followed my blog at all, I don't need to tell you how I feel about Candy Dots. If you haven't purchased them, please give them a try! They are the perfect accent! If you have purchased them, do you love them as much as I do? Have a funny story to share about how you've used them? Please leave me a comment and share, I would love to hear your thoughts!

I hope you've enjoyed today's post. Please take a moment to pop over to the Pals Paper Arts Challenge and see all the wonderful projects the design team has come up with for this challenge. They work very hard to give us fun and challenging projects every week!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Starburst Sayings (133185), Really Good Greetings (130333)

Paper: Whisper White (100730), Gumball Green (126840) Cardstock; Watercolor Wonder (132994) Designer Series Paper, 2012-2014 In Color (130137) Designer Series Paper Stacks (for envelope)

Ink: Gumball Green (126861), Summer Starfruit (126991), Pacific Point (126951) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools:  Big Shot (113439); Envelope Liners Framelits Dies (132172); Starburst Framelits Dies (132967); Stampin' Trimmer (126889); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Embellishments: Brights (130931), Regals (130932) Candy Dots

Thanks for stopping by!

FMS 118 Petal Parade Birthday

Do you love this envelope?!? The Punch Board Envelope Maker makes creating custom envelopes and envelope liners a snap. With this tool it's so easy to create a unique envelope guaranteed to bring a smile to the recipient's face!

It's Friday and I am ready to kick off the weekend with a sketch from Freshly Made Sketches (FMS 118).

 EZ Peasy Design Tips:

• The patterns and colors of the new Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper coming January 28th are fabulous and make card making easy!

• The Chalk Talk Bundle has wonderful dies and coordinating images for fast fun projects.
• Do you see the suble stamping in Crisp Cantaloupe on the tag? It's a sneak peek of one of the stamps in an exclusive, limited time stamp set coming January 28th called Petal Parade!

• Love twine? Here's a peek at Crisp Cantaloupe twine that will be available on January 28th!
• Don't have the right accessory in the right color? No problem! Here I used a Daffodil Delight Designer Button next to a tag stamped in Summer Starfruit. Looks great!

• See the chevron stamping done here in Sahara Sand? Yep, another sneak peek at the Petal Parade stamp set!
• The Finishing Touches Edgelits Dies add a subtle detail to cards and is on sale this week! Check it out!
• How about this awesome, awesome flower! The white flower has been stamped onto CORK and then pre-cut for you! Another delightful embellishment available on January 28th.
• A Candy Dot in a coordinating color is the icing on the cake!

•  Lastly, don't forget the inside of the card! The lovely blossom here has been stamped in Crisp Cantaloupe is yet another peek at the Petal Parade stamp set!

It's so hard to wait until January 28th when so many wonderful products will be available for purchase as part of the Sale-A-Bration celebration! All of the products are exclusive to the promotion and available for a limited time only, so stay tuned! If you subscribe now for my email blog updates, you will be sure not to miss a thing!

Whew! That's A LOT of sneak peeks! But believe it or not, I have more for you tomorrow so please be sure to stop by or better yet, sign up to have my posts delivered directly to your inbox! (wink)

Stampin Supplies: 

Stamps: Chalk Talk (130634), Petal Parade (available January 28th)

Paper: Whisper White (100730), Sahara Sand (121043), Crisp Cantaloupe (131298) Cardstock; Crisp Cantaloupe (129958) Co'ordinations Cardstock; Sweet Sorbet (available January 28th) Designer Series Paper

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe (131176), Sahara Sand (126976) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools:  Big Shot (113439); Chalk Talk Framelits Dies (129983); Envelope Punch Board (133774); Stampin' Trimmer (126889); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Snail Adhesive (104332)

Embellishments: Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack (avalable January 28th); Regals (130029) Designer Buttons; Regals (130932) Candy Dots

Thanks for stopping by! 

Big Birthday Wishes - The Paper Players #169

Happy Monday Stampers! Sorry to be so chipper about it...this is my short week at work so I am always happy about that!

Today's post was inspired by a Facebook posting of a delightful pillow...the colors really spoke to me and then I found a great sketch over at The Paper Players and away I went! lol

Aren't the colors in that pillow FANTASTIC?!? My Stampin' Up! mind immediately knew they were Smoky Slate, Real Red, Pool Party, and Midnight Muse...lol. I do that all the time, could that possibly be a sign of addiction?...nah...

Here's what these wonderful inspirations led me to create:

I kept true to my pillow inspiration in that the focus is the Whisper White and Smoky Slate with large pops of Real Red and little pops of Pool Party and Midnight Muse.

The Designer Papers used here are from several different lines...making this card a good example of how wonderful Stampin' Up!'s coordinating products are. I always know I can mix and match from across the entire product line and not worry that something won't match. Aren't those Candy Dots delish? The perfect accent!

This adorable sentiment can be found in the A Dozen Thoughts stamp set, I have found this set to be very useful...the fonts are very much on trend and with such a variety of sentiments you are bound to find something that will work on your card!

Please let me know if this pillow and/or my card have inspired you to creat something!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Make a Cake (126742), A Dozen Thoughts (131059)

Paper: Whisper White (100730), Smoky Slate (131202), Real Red (102482), Pool Party (122924) Cardstock; Subtle (130132) Designer Series Paper Stacks, I Am Me (130138), Polka Dot Parade (126902) Designer Series Paper

Ink: Midnight Muse (126860) Classic Stampin' Pad; 2012-2014 In Color (126856), Real Red (100052), Smoky Slate (131898), Subtles (131263) Stampin' Write Markers

Tools: Big Shot (113439), 53); Apothecary Accents Framelits (127003); Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (101049), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Embellishments: 3/4" Smoky Slate (131152) Chevron Ribbon; Brights (130931), Nuetrals (130934), Subtles (130933) Candy Dots 

Clean and Simple Saturday - Bright & Cheery Birthday Wishes

Hello there! It's been awhile since I last posted...my creative mojo took a back seat to some health issues but I'm feeling much better. I spent all of yesterday stamping, it felt wonderful!

A few weeks ago I posted a card that utilized the color scheme I saw on a package of napkins at the grocery store (that still cracks me up, never know when inspiration will strike!).

I fell in love with the layout that I created and thought it very flexible and easily modified to different occasions and recipients. The first one I create had a masculine tone to it so I decided to make a girly girl card:

Isn't it FUN!!! It's so bright and cheery! You'll laugh at my color inspiration this time...I knew I would need to emboss the cupcakes to make them stand out amongst all that white so I looked to see what color embossing powders I own. Tangerine Tango, check. Melon Mambo, check. Wild Wasabi, check. I'm glad they go together so well because those were the only bright colors I own, lol! Actually, I think it's probably Stampin' Up! doing it's job behind the scenes, quietly making it easier for stampers to be successful!

I kept the color order of the cupcakes and the banners the same to provide visual continuity and kept the green cardstock in the middle for the same reason. I put the Melon Mambo cardstock layer at the bottom as it is the visually stronger color and the card would be off balance if it were on top.

I added a bit of Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the cupcakes to give them some added pizzazz and two little Candy Dots...love, love, love them! Sooooo much easier than brads...if I don't get them placed perfectly I can quickly adjust their placement!

I've been working on some Halloween cards so please check back soon!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Best of Birthdays (132929)

Paper: Whisper White (100730), Melon Mambo (115320), Wild Wasabi (108641), Tangerine Tango (111349) Cardstock; Brights (130134), Subtles (130135) Designer Series Paper Stacks

Ink: Versamark (102283) Pad

Tools: Big Shot (113439); Chalk Talk Framelits Dies (129983); Heat Tool (129053); Melon Mambo (123223), Wild Wasabi (123224), Tangerine Tango (123106) Stampin' Emboss Powder; Stampin' Trimmer (126889); Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (101049); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Embellishments: Brights (130931), Subtles (130933) Candy Dots

Thanks for stopping by!