Pistachio Pudding Love - PPA165 Sketch Challenge

It is so nice to be back creating with the wonderful Pals Paper Arts Design Team! Nicole Watt has turned out a delightful sketch this week which made this card come together very easily...

And here is my interpretation of this sketch:

Do you like it? I really love how the colors and textures came together for a soft, feminine card. There are lots of details so let's start with paper (I just lovveee paper!)...

I love clean and simple but I also love, love layers of detail. Subtle detail. And that's what we have here. I layered Pistachio Pudding Core'dinations cardstock on top of a Very Vanilla base. The Core'dinations cardstock is white in the core so that it can be sanded down and the white core exposed, which makes for wonderful texture. But...for this card, I am very happy with just the texture of the cardstock itself.

Next I used the wonderful patterns of the Venetian Romance Designer Series Paper to add a bit of softness and visual interest. I wanted the pattern of the butterfly to be the focus so I kept the other papers muted. I used my bone folder to flip the edges of the banners up a bit for more interest. Next comes the butterfly...isn't it just adorable? I used the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die to die cut the butterfly out of this AMAZING patterned paper. Once the butterfly was die cut, I realized that just layering it on top of all that Pistachio Pudding cardstock would just wash the butterfly out so I sponged the edges with Baked Brown Sugar ink. Well, I actually sponged it with Pistachio Pudding but it was too...green, so then I sponged it with Soft Suede and it was too...brown, so I finally sponged it with Baked Brown Sugar...just right! Whew!

I layered the butterfly onto a circle punched out with my 2 1/2" circle punch and run through the Big Shot with the new Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder which will be available in the 2013 Holiday Catalog, available August 1st. I sponged the edges of the circle with Pistachio Pudding ink to add some contrast.

Next...the jewelry! One Very Vintage Designer button with a Linen Thread bow in the center is the perfect finishing touch...at least in my humble opinion.

I left the sentiment until the end. Once the card came together I decided it would be perfect to send to my mother to let her know I am thinking about her :)

I would love it if you left me a comment with your thoughts on my card today!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Express Yourself (130339-Hostess)

Paper: Very Vanilla (101650) Cardstock; Pistachio Pudding (130136) Core'dinations Cardstock; Venetian Romance (130144) Designer Series Paper

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar (131174) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die (114507), 2 1/2" Circle Punch (120906), Stampin' Trimmer (126889)

Embellishments: Very Vintage Designer Buttons (129327), Linen Thread (104199)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Clean and Simple Saturday

Saturdays should be fun, agreed? So let's keep it clean and simple today! 

What do you think? I'm not sure it can get more simple but I still think it has wonderful impact! This card is for a very special Pal serving us all far from home. I want her to know how wonderful I think she is :)

I've just come back from Convention and my creative juices are flowing! More about that next week...enjoy your weekend and I will be back on Monday!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Express Yourself (Hostess-130339), Flower Shop (130942), Summer Silhouettes (126447)

Paper: Whisper White (100730)

Ink: Pool Party (126982), So Saffron (126957), Smoky Slate (131179) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Pansy Punch (130698), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Embellishments: Designer Buttons-Subtles (130030)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Yippee-Skippee Birthday - Freshly Made Sketches #90

Carbs, Schmarbs is right! You only have a birthday once a year...so EAT THE CAKE! I love it! 

For this cheerful greeting card, I started with a wonderfully clean and simple layout created for the challenge this week by Linda C over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I built up the layers on this card using designer series paper and white space with a bit of paper-piercing to balance the two sides out, and then simply alternated the pattern with the next layer. I purposely chose bright and cheerful but fairly neutral patterns to compliment, rather than compete with, the stamped focal images.

This delightful birthday cake is courtesy of the Birthday Cake stamp set while the sentiment is part of the Yippee-Skippee! stamp set...how could you not like it with a name like that? I used markers to ink up both stamps. I like the combination of Delightful Daffodll and Melon Mambo with just a pop of Tempting Turquoise...along with the simple use of bright cardstock and Stampin' Dimensionals to define each layer. 

And of course, the jewelry! Pictures never do justice to the sparkle of the rhinestones, they just shimmer and catch the light and of course are the star of this card! The card just needed a little extra something and my handy dandy candy dots filled the bill perfectly!

Comments feed my creative soul, so if you are so moved, please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Birthday Cake (130390), Yippee-Skippee! (131344)

Paper: Whisper White (100730), Melon Mambo (115320), Daffodil Delight (119683) Cardstock; Quatrefancy Speciality (130141), Gingham Garden (129310) Designer Series Paper

Ink: Brights Collection (131259), Neutrals Collection (131261) Stampin' Write Markers (Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray)

Tools: Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack (126187), Stampin' Pierce Mat (126199), Paper-Piercing Tool (126189)

Embellishments: Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246), Brights Candy Dots (130931)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Happy Birthday Jacob Mockbee!

Today a fellow Pal shared a link on Facebook to a wonderful story about a local (to her) Tucson young man, Jacob Mockbee, who will be celebrating a sixteenth birthday that some doctors said he would never see. His family has started a campaign to collect 1600 birthday cards for Jacob for his birthday this Sunday. See the complete story here.

I was inspired to create a special card just for Jacob and used the Mojo Monday 297 sketch as my jumping off point:

The funny thing is, I tried VERY HARD to create a card using this sketch last night and my efforts ended up in the trash. I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason and now I know the reason I failed to create a card last night...I was meant to make THIS card, I just didn't know it yet! What a super feeling when you realize you are on the path that was meant to be in the moment!

Back to the card...I found this patterned paper in the Subway Soho Designer Series Paper pack and built the card around it. I pulled the color combination from My Digital Studio (MDS). It has a wonderful feature in the color palette that allows you to pick a color and request a color combination! How cool is that! I chose Island Indigo and the program suggested Sahara Sand, Basic Gray, and Summer Starfruit to compliment Island Indigo and I thought those colors would be "okay" for a sixteen year old young man!

How do you like the candles? I am very pleased with how they turned out! I used the wonderful new jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel, Birthday Candles. I knew I just HAD to have those candles...the possibilities are endless! So...I unmounted the stamp from the wheel and then, using our Clear-Mount Cling Foam, re-mounted the stamp onto the cling foam, essentially turning the wheel into a flat stamp. Why ever would I do that? I personally have a great deal of trouble rolling the Stampn' Wheel straight and I seem to rock it which results in poor image quality. I get much better results from a flat stamp and for this card I inked up just three candles using Basic Gray and Summer Starfruit Stampin' Markers. Isn't that just too fun? I sure thought so!

I used Stampin' Up!'s Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die to create the numbers for his big day and a cute little banner from one of our hostess sets, appropriately named Banner Greetings, to round this card off. Of course for this special card, I added a bit to the inside (which I don't normally do):

I am off to put this card in the mail to this remarkable young man...if you are so inclined, please drop one in the mail yourself, the address is here and I'm sure both Jacob and his family would appreciate the love!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Birthday Candles Stampin' Wheel (130111), Banner Greetings (Hostess), Remembering Your Birthday (131350)

Paper: Sahara Sand (121043), Basic Grey (121044), Summer Starfruit (126839), Very Vanilla (101650) Cardstock; Soho Subway Designer Series Paper (130140)

Ink: Summer Starfruit (126991) Classic Stampin' Pad; Basic Gray and Summer Starfruit Stampn' Writers (not sold individually)

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Finishing Touch Edgelits (127010), Typeset Alphabet Bigz Dies (127553), Chevron Embossing Folder (127749), Stampin' Trimmer (126889), 1-3/8" Circle Punch (119860), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Embellishments:  None

Thanks for stopping by!

June Pals Blog Hop - Stepping It Up with Gifts of Kindness

Wow! Isn't the Pals Blog Hop Badge darling? Thank you to Nicole Watt for creating both the badge and buttons for our blog hop as well as featuring a new My Digital Studio download called On Holiday and on sale as part of the 25% of MDS sale through June 15th!

Thank you for joining us for the June Pals Blog Hop and our kickoff to the new catalog! Are you ready to see wonderful creations featuring new products from the 2013-14 Stampin' Up! catalog? Get ready to update your wishlist! 

You should have just left stop number 8 on the Pals Hop - Angie Blake. If so, you are in the right spot.  If you get off track, the full blog lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you see all of the amazing creations.

Today I would like to show you how you can start to create beautiful projects with just a few basic supplies and then, as your supplies increase, you can step it up! The stamp set I will be showcasing today is Gifts of Kindness. This is a wonderful starter set because it comes with everything you will need to make the three most commonly created cards: birthday, thank you, and thinking of you.

This first card is a perfect clean and simple (CAS) card. The only products required to make it are:

• Whisper White cardstock - one sheet of 8 1/2" x 11", trimmed to 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and folded in half
• Melon Mambo Ink Pad
• Gifts of Kindness Stamp Set in wood mount

If you can afford it, I would suggest purchasing the Stamp-a-ma-jig to help you create stamped images that are straight, but it is not necessary. A Stampin' Trimmer is also helpful for creating clean straight cuts. If you have a bit of ribbon, a simple knot at them stem of the flower would be a nice optional additional touch.

Stepping it Up:

Here I have used the products listed above but added a few more:

• An additional layer of Whisper White card stock cut to 4" x 5 1/4" and layered it onto the card base using Stampin' Dimensionals, which are a wonderful addition to any stamper's collection!
• A 1 7/16" x 4" of Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper adhered with SNAIL
• A bit of 5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon - this ribbon is a great investment as white goes with everything but can also be dyed any color!
• I stamped the sentiment onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock and then punched it out using the Word Window Punch

I love the thought that goes into Stampin' Up! products, they create images and sentiments that are made specifically for their punches! I used the longest sentiment in this set to demonstrate that all the sentiments can be punched with the Word Window Punch.

If you don't own this particular punch, another option would be to stamp the sentiment onto a scrap piece of Whisper White card stock and create a banner to attach to the card. You could also use the Gingham Stampin' Wheel in place of Designer Series Paper.

My last sample for you is REALLY stepped up but just uses a few more supplies:

I have added the following steps to create this card:

• I added a layer of 4" x 5 1/4" Melon Mambo card stock for a POP of color
• I reduced the layer of Whisper White card stock to 3 3/4" x 5" and adhered it to the Melon Mambo layer
• I layered the sentiment onto an small piece of Melon Mambo card stock using the Modern Label Punch...yes, it was specifically designed to be used with the Word Window Punch!
• I added pearls to the center of the flowers. 

So there you have it...three wonderful options to show you how you can start creating with just a few basic supplies and then add bits to your cards as your confidence and supplies increase.

Just a side note here regarding the Word Window Punch is that it can be utilized with MANY of the stamps made by Stampin' Up!, making it a versatile tool and a great investment. All of the sentiments in the stamp set Teeny Tiny Wishes can be used with the Word Window Punch. In fact this stamp set was on my first Stampin' Up! order just over three years ago!

Please let me know if you like this post and would like to see more in the future! 

Stampin Supplies for Card One:

Stamps: Gifts of Kindness (130444)

Paper: Whisper White (100730) Cardstock

Ink: Melon Mambo (126948) Classic Stampin' Pad 

Tools: Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049)

Embellishments:  None

Stampin Supplies for Card Two:

Stamps: Gifts of Kindness (130444)

Paper: Whisper White (100730) Cardstock, Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper (130141)

Ink: Melon Mambo (126948) Classic Stampin' Pad 

Tools: Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049), Word Window Punch (119857), SNAIL Adhesive (104332)

Embellishments:  5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon (114319)

Stampin Supplies for Card Three:

Stamps: Gifts of Kindness (130444)

Paper: Whisper White (100730), Melon Mambo (115320) Cardstock, Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper (130141)

Ink: Melon Mambo (126948) Classic Stampin' Pad 

Tools: Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049), Word Window Punch (119857), Modern Label Punch (119849), SNAIL Adhesive (104332)

Embellishments:  5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon (114319), Peal Basic Jewels (119247), Large Pearl Basic Jewels (129324)

Thanks for stopping by!

The next stop is Debbie Crowley, stop number 10 on the Pals Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting – and I hope to see you next month!

1. Penny Nichols at Sierra Stampin!
2. Linda Callahan at Stampin' Seasons
3. Shannon Hokanson at Paper Works
4. Maggie Mata at Maggie Made Cards
5. Lynn Hoyt at cattaildesigns
6. Susan Itell at Simple Stampin'
7. Kerry Willard Bray at Stampgoodness
8. Angie Blake at Angie's Musings
9. Shannon Jaramillo at ezpeasycards.com
10. Debbie Crowley at expressivelydeb...
11. Nicole Watt at Pixel Maven's Retreat
12. Amy L. Lazzell at Just a Thought...Cards by Amy
13. Sherrie Gross at Stampin' Sunshine
14. Katy McGloin at Just Fun Stampin
15. Patti Macleith at Papercrafts by Patti
16. Nicole Picadura at Scraps & Stamps
17. Dawn Tidd at Tiddbits from Dawn
18. Brian King at Stamp with Brian
19. Diane Roberts at Score at Four and a Quarter
20. Martie Pollard at The Crafty Bandit
21. Rae Harper at Wild West Paper Arts
22. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
23. Barb Furlong at The Love of Stamping
24. Peggy Noe at Prettypapercards.com
25. Nancy Gleason at My Stampin Space