Twirly Whirly Birthday - PPA158 Color Challenge

I have a wonderful color combination to share today courtesy of the Pals Paper Arts design team:

Isn't this combination just delightful? Here is what I came up with:

I am in need of a few birthday cards and wanted to use the Pinwheel Sizzlit Die and the Wishes Your Way Stamp Set before they retire on June 3rd. I also loaded up on some beautiful Designer Series Paper that will be retiring as well...it's so sad to see these beautiful products retire but we must make room for beautiful NEW products!

Did you notice the Designer Series Paper I used for the pinwheel? I wanted to have one side be Pool Party and the other Summer Starfruit but I didn't have one Designer Series Paper that fit that bill so I created two pinwheels from the Sizzlits Die and attached them together before assembling the pinwheel...where there is a will there is a way!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Wishes Your Way (129156)

Paper: Pool Party (122924), Lucky Limeade (122926), Summer Starfruit (126839), Whisper White (100730) Cardstock; Comfort Cafe (126898), Birds of a Feather (126899), Patio Party (126916)Sunshine and Sprinkles (130670), 2011-2013 In Color (122384) Designer Series Paper

Ink: Lucky Limeade (126984) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Pinwheel Sizzlits S Die (129411)

Embellishments: 2012-2014 In Color Dahlias (127556), Pool Party Baker's Twine (125574)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Cheers to You! - Freshly Made Sketches #44

Today I am sharing a project that I created from a sketch I found over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I was feeling festive birthday last night so I pulled out a great stamp set called Happy Hour and paired it a wonderful piece of banner from the Patio Party DSP. 

I also pulled out a scallop punch and a delightful shape from the Perfect Pennants Bigz Die. The background felt flat to me so I scored a few horizontal lines just above the banners, it was very easy to do with my Simply Scored and added just that perfect touch to the card background! I stamped an extra cocktail, cut it out, and popped it up on a Dimensional to give it a bit more visual weight.

I have noticed that I have been using a lot of banners lately. I chose a banner for my background paper so what's a girl to do but go with the flow and use a banner for the sentiment?! I normally cut my banners freehand. What works for me is to cut a long strip of cardstock using my Tabletop Paper Cutter (it's great for really straight cuts) and then I just eyeball the placement of the stamp. If that makes you uncomfortable, stamp the image on your grid paper first using those lines to give you a feel for placement. Then I just use my Paper Snips to trim one or both ends into a banner shape. This card felt better with a banner on just one end:) I added a Vintage Faceted Designer Button on the other end for a bit of bling (these buttons are just beautiful!)

Once I had the button on there I felt I needed to add a bit of something on the other side and I felt that our new 3/8" stitched satin ribbon fit that bill perfectly! So fun and cheery!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Happy Hour

Paper: Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals, Whisper White CS; Patio Party DSP

Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Midnight Muse Classic Ink Pads

Tools: Big Shot, Perfect Pennants Bigz Die, 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Simply Scored

Embellishments:  Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Primrose Petals, Dimensionals

Thanks for Stopping By!

July Pals "Summer Sunshine" Blog Hop

It's time for some fun in the sun with the Pals! Glad you could join us for the Pals Summer Sunshine Blog Hop! You've probably hopped over from Susan Lankford at Stamp and Scrap with Susan, I'm stop number 7 on the Pals Hop and I'm glad you hopped in! I'll help you "hop along" from blog to blog where you'll find great ideas for summer themed Stampin' Up! projects from the Stampin' Pretty Pals! Should you hop off course, simply click on any of the links in the Pals Hop Line-up below and you'll be back on track.

 When I read the theme for this month's blog hop "Summer Sunshine" the new in-color Summer Starfruit and the stamp set Reason to Smile came right to mind. The card just seemed to build itself from there :)

I recently added the 2 1/2" circle punch to my stash and was eager to use it on this project. When I punched a circle out just to get an idea of size I realized that the negative space left behind would make a great template for stamping my images! I used Soft Suede to ink up my images and used my Stamp-a-ma-jig (love this tool!!) to place the flowers in just the right spots. The flower image faces left so I inked up my image and then cleaned away the ink on the stem and turned the flower until I was able to face it to the right. The I inked up the stem, turned it upside down to get it to go the other direction as well. I couldn't have done this without my trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig! I just realized that the Stamp-a-ma-jig was in my first order I ever made and for good reason! Definitely a go-to tool!

The scallop circle is from Perfect Pennants Bigz L Die and I just love how the scallops just barely peek out from behind. The punch of color is a DSP from the Patio Party DSP collection and the sentiment banner is handcut. A few flowers in coordinating colors with just a touch of bling and there you have it--ezpeasy!!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Reason to Smile, Curly Cute

Paper: Crumb Cake, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White CS; Patio Party and Comfort Cafe (envelope) DSP

Ink: Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit

Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Pennants Bigz L Die, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Itty bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Dimensionals

Now hop along for more inspiring ideas from Rae Harper At Wild West Paper Arts, stop number 8 on the Pals Summer Sunshine Blog Hop! Thanks for "hopping" by

BLOG HOP LINEUP:

1. Dawn Tidd at Tiddbits from Dawn
2. Barb Furlong at The Love of Stamping
3. Angie Blake at AngiesMusings
4. Diane Roberts at Score at Four and a Quarter
5. Marian Kay at All Aboard the Crafting Train
6. Susan Lankford at Stamp and Scrap With Susan
7. Shannon Jaramillo at ezpeasycards
8. Rae Harper at Wild West Paper Arts
9. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
10. Maggie Mata at Maggie Made Cards
11. Angela Curry at Kindred Stampers
12. Jen Takacs at Stamped in Full
13. Kimberly Deacon at Delightful Stampin
14. Nicole Watt at Impressions By Nicole
15. Mikki Sarkisyan at Mikki's Creative Corner
16. Nicole Picadura at Scraps & Stamps
17. Nina Dee at Deesigns by Nina Dee
18. Kim Luithle at Kims Stampin Stuff
19. Lori Martin at The Rejoicing PaperCrafter
20. Brian King at Stamp with Brian
21. Maxine Conrad at Stamp to the Max
22. Beth Beard at My Little Craft Blog
23. Kim Czenszak at Live Love Stamp

Love and Laughter - Freshly Made Sketches #40

Last night my husband and I were out fairly late and he could see when we got home that I was antsy. When he asked, I told him that I had really wanted to participate in a challenge but only had until Monday to do it. As I work during the day and it was 9:45pm on Sunday night, obviously this was a long shot for me. He asked "Can you do it in a half an hour?" Pregnant pause...then, "Yes I can!!" So I ran upstairs and put this card together. I had no idea what I was going to create when I sat down but I had the layout and that is often the hardest part!

Here is the sketch this week over at Freshly Made Sketches: (I love their clean and simple style!)

 In place of the oval shape (which I do not own) I chose to use the Labels Collection Framelits Die. Next, I picked an image from the Love and Laughter stamp set (one of my favorites) and then browsed through my Designer Series Paper for a wedding-y paper.

I selected a pattern in Summer Starfruit (mmm, yummy color!) from the Patio Party Designer Series Paper collection. Then I grabbed my trusty Color Coach and found that Baja Breeze would be a good compliment to Summer Starfruit. I chose a piece in Baja Breeze with a nice complimentary pattern from the Designer Series Paper Patterns Pack. I placed my Labels Framlit Die on a piece of Whisper White CS and ran it through the Big Shot.

Next I adhered my pieces of DSP to the die cut piece of Whisper White CS and using it as a guide, placed the die over my DSP and ran everything through the Big Shot again to create my frame. The CS on the back is what is holding everything together! Then I attached a bit of 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Baja Breeze to each side of the frame to cover up the seams. I then stamped my image in Basic Grey ink on another piece of Whisper White CS. I adhered Dimensionals to the underside of my frame and, after lining it up with my stamped image, adhered everything together so that the frame is elevated.

I chose to use Basic Gray as the background paper to compliment the ink used. I stamped the sentiment in Basic Grey ink and handcut the banner. For the cake topper, I used my Stampin' Write Markers to ink up the image in Summer Starfruit and Marina Mist (slightly brighter than Baja Breeze so it would stand out better). Added some Basic Pearls for a touch of bling and done!

I'm really pleased with how this card came together. It feels bright and cheery to me. Oh...and it only took 35 minutes to create!

Thanks SO MUCH for stopping by!

Mojo Monday #244 - Patio Party Happy Birthday

I was excited today to use products from the Patio Party Suite that I was able to earn for free during Sale-a-bration. Even the cardstock color is new! It is one of the new 2012-14 In Colors Raspberry Ripple and I have to say it is a truly stunning color! The blue on the card is another of the new In-Colors Midnight Muse. These new In Colors have such a deep vibrancy to them. So yummy!

When I put this card together I decided to follow the sketch exactly and my vision was for a crisp card that could be used for a masculine birthday. I also broke out the new Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and the new Bitty Banners Framelits. The image stamped perfectly with my new foam pads and the framelits were a dream to use. I was worried that the framelits might wiggle when going through the Big Shot and that my image would be askew, but I had no trouble at all. Easy Peasy! (Sorry, I couldn't restrain myself).

I had fun with this sketch and am pleased with how the card turned out...just gotta love all the coordinating products! Please pop over and see other cards created with this sketch at Mojo Monday - The Blog.

Thanks for stopping by!