Gingham Garden Birthday - PPA157 Sketch Challenge

I am very pleased to share this project with you today, created with a wonderful sketch from the Pals Paper Arts design team:

The new catalog will be available on May 31st but as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator I am allowed a sneak peek at the exciting new products and I am thrilled to share some of those new products with you on my card today! So without further ado...(insert drumroll) here is my creation:

You may notice this new delicious Designer Series Paper which I honestly think is my all-time favorite ever! The colors showcased here are Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, and Pear Pizzazz. And I have managed to feature not one, but TWO new stamp sets for you today:

One is a collection of stars, which I am just thrilled with, and the other is a new collection of sentiments, I can't say "love" enough! I chose this sentiment because I think it has so many options...we could be celebrating a birthday, or a baby, or a graduation, or a...well, you get the idea!

Thank you for stopping by and look for other sneak peeks at new product in the days and weeks to come!

Soho Subway Birthday - Freshly Made Sketches #83

An awesome sketch by Allisa posted today over at Freshly Made Sketches, I couldn't wait to get home and create something!

Isn't it just fab? Lots of clean lines and lots of room for interpretation. I knew I wanted to use another line of new Designer Series Paper to create a masculine birthday card...how did I do?

Isn't this new Designer Series Papeer just absolutely amazing? It's called "Soho Subway" and I think Stampin' Up! knocked it OUT OF THE PARK with this one!! I have used three of the patterns here on this project, I couldn't fit anymore on the card but check back because this one will appear again in another project soon! We ALWAYS need masculine cards, right? 

Here's a closer look at the paper:

The coordinating colors for this paper series are Crisp Cataloupe, Early Expresso, Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, and Very Vanilla. At first I layered all of the pieces of DSP onto an Early Expresso Base but they seemed to be lost on top of that dark color so I tried layering each piece on Island Indigo. That just made everything look very busy so I stepped back and contemplated things. I tried Soft Suede as a base...still too dark. Very Vanilla was just too light. But Sahara Sand was just...yeah, you know where I'm going with that!

Sahara Sand it is...now how to add a bit of jazz without detracting from my "masculine" card?

• I sponged all of the edges with Early Expresso Ink
• I added subtle paper piercing to the right hand corners to visually balance out the weight of the busy pattern on the left
• I chose a 'scruffy' image to keep with the masculine theme
• I heat embossed the sentiment with Early Expresso embossing powder

Have you noticed the awesome new punch? It's called the "Artisan Label" punch and has a coordinating stamp set called "Label Love". Love, Love, Love! But on it's own on my card the punched sentiment seemed to get lost so I trimmed snippets of the Designer Series Paper into banners and attached them to my sentiment and popped the sentiment off the card with my trusty Stampin' Dimensionals!

Let's see...No ribbon? check. No buttons? check. I think my husband would approve! I would love to hear your thoughts on the new products or the card in general, so please if you have a moment won't you leave me a comment? 

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Label Love (coming soon)

Paper: Sahara Sand (121043) Cardstock; Soho Subway Designer Series Paper (coming soon)

Ink: Early Expresso (12974) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Artisan Label Punch (coming soon), Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack (126187), Stampin' Pierce Mat (126199), Paper-Piercing Tool (126189), Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Snail Adhesive (104332), Stampin' Sponges (101610)

Embellishments: None

Thanks for stopping by!

With Sympathy - FTL235

Today I have another sketch for your courtesy of Clean and Simple Stamping:

I really enjoy the lines of these sketches...I had fun with this one!

My card today is a tribute to these retiring colors: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, and Lucky Limeade. If you enjoy these colors, please don't wait to stock up on your supplies as they will only be available while supplies last!

I used the Tastful Trim Bigz Die to create my border layer in Riding Hood Red and then repeated the color in the stamped flower and the sentiment. I also sponged the edges of the border and the sentiment banner to give them both a bit more visual impact.

I made a bow with Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon (which is great to work with) and wrapped the prongs of a Antuque Brad around the center of the bow and then poked the prongs of the brad through a hole I punched in the sentiment banner and then flattened them out.

The prongs on the back of the banner give it a bit of depth so I attached the sentiment banner with Stampin' Dimensionals...and there you have it! A beautifully simple card that can be created in minutes!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Best of Flowers (133342), Loving Thoughts (125845)

Paper: Whisper White (100730), Riding Hood Red (111348), Baja Breeze (111352) Cardstock

Ink: Riding Hood Red (126968) Classic Stampin' Pad, Riding Hood Red (119701) and Lucky Limeade (123002) Stampin' Write Markers

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Tastful Trim Bigz XL Die (120893), Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (101049), Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Snail Adhesive (104332)

Embellishments: Baja Breeze 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon (122331), Antique Brads (117273)

Thanks for stopping by!

Words of Encouragement - FTL218

I came across this sketch over at Clean and Simple Stamping quite by accident and just fell in love with it:

The challenge is long since closed but you never know where your inspiration will come from so you have to go with it when you find it! Here is my interpretation of this sketch:

I just love this daisy which can be found in the 25th Anniversary Best of Flowers Stamp Set and have been itching to ink it up.

My color palette was inspired by the International Bazaar Designer Series Paper...the design work has already been done so why not take advantage of it?! I just pulled out one my favorite go-to tools, the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, and carefully stamped my daisies down the side of the card. EZPeasy! (Yep, I just went there!)

The daisies have been stamped in Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade and Rich Razzleberry. I purposely placed the two boldest colors at opposite ends and then emphasized the Rich Razzleberry by repeating it in the sentiment. I emphasized the Pacific Point as well by matting the sentiment with it. 

A simple bow in Pool Party Baker's Twine also ties in with the daisy peeking out above the sentiment. I chose the sentiment with a friend in mind...wouldn't you love to receive a card like this when you are having one of "those" weeks? I would!

I hope you have enjoyed my clean and simple card today and are inspired to pull out ink and paper!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Best of Flowers (133342), Pursuit of Happiness (121970)

Paper: Whisper White (100730), Pacific Point (111350) Cardstock

Ink: Pacific Point(126951), Tangerine Tango (126946), Pool Party (126982), Lucky Limeade (126984), Rich Razzleberry (126950) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (101049), Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Snail Adhesive (104332)

Embellishments: Pool Party Baker's Twine (125574)

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome Baby - PPA156 Color Challenge

Today's challenge comes to you courtesy of the Pals Paper Arts Design Team. They work hard to bring us great sketches and color combinations to stretch our creativity! 

Wow, these colors just shouted "BABY" to me:

And I meant "BABY" in the most literal sense! I kept the background simple and clean and used embossing folders on the punched pennants for visual interest. I stamped an embellishment from the Pennant Parade Stamp Set, snipped it out with my paper snips and then adhered it, along with a brad in Certainly Celery, to one of the pennants. Bows at the ends of the banner finish it off quite nicely.

I stamped the sentiment in Marina Mist using the Classic Stampin' Pad. I then quickly sifted a bit of Clear Embossing Powder over the top and tapped the excess off. I applied heat to the embossing powder with Stampin' Up!'s AWESOME heat tool and within seconds the sentiment went from "pretty" to "pretty awesome!" 

I can't wait to do more embossing!! Do you like it as well? If so, please give embossing a whirl...it is so easy and REALLY makes an impact!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: One in a Million (126382), Pennant Parade (122742)

Paper: Whisper White (100730), Bashful Blue (105120), Certainly Celery (105125), Marina Mist (119682) Cardstock; Subtles (117152) Designer Series Paper Stack

Ink: Marina Mist (126962) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Houndstooth (123134) Perfect Polka Dots (117335) Chevron (127749), and Argyle (127750) Embossing Folders, Petite Pennants Builder Punch (122361), Clear Embossing Powder (109130), Heat Tool (129053), Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Embellishments:  3/16" Subtles Brads (119738), Whisper White Baker's Twine (124262)

Thanks for stopping by!