Million Dollar Moments Hello - Freshly Made Sketches #80

Happy Monday to You! Have you visited Freshly Made Sketches this week and checked out the awesome sketch by Linda C.? No? Well, let me share it with you!

This sketch leaves a lot of room for interpretation which worked out well for me...I pondered this sketch all week and then suddenly, there it was!! So without further ado, here it is :)

Do you just LOVE it? The featured stamp set here is Million Dollar Moments, a hostess set from the Spring Catalog. I have loved this set from the minute I laid eyes on it but I have struggled with how to use it...

After trying many color combinations I settled on Sahara Sand and Wild Wasabi. I stamped the image on the card in Sahara Sand and then again in Wild Wasabi (on a separate sheet of cardstock), then snipped the boots and umbrella out and added them to the card with a bit of 2-Way Glue. I just LOVE how they pop! 

I added the sentiment and the raining flowers in Wild Wasabi and then paper-pierced an oval around all the images using the Occasions Paper-Piercing Pack available in the Spring Catalog. The finishing touch was some 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon in Wild Wasabi. After the card was done I decided it needed something in the upper left hand corner to balance out all I had going on over on the lower right hand corner and two 3/8" Brights Glimmer Brads fit the bill perfectly! Of course, they are actually Old Olive rather than Wild Wasabi, but if you won't tell, I won't either!

Here's a close up of all the little details...hope you have enjoyed this little card!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Million-Dollar Moments (125137) Hostess

Paper: Sahara Sand (121043), Wild Wasabi (108641) Cardstock; Subtles (117152) Designer Series Paper Stack

Ink: Wild Wasabi (126959) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Occasions Paper-Piercing Pack (129387), Paper-Piercing Tool (126189), Stampin' Pierce Mat (126199), Papr Snips (103579), Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Embellishments:  3/8" Brights Glimmer Brads (121006), 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon in Wild Wasabi (126873)

Thanks for stopping by!

Free Shipping Apr 6-8 AND Color Changes!!!

THAT'S RIGHT!! Any size order is eligible for FREE shipping on EVERYTHING (expedited orders excluded) this Friday, April 6 through Monday April 8, 2013. This is a fantastic offer so don't miss this out! Start shopping now!

The second bit of news is a color renovation! Trends and styles change and Stampin' Up! is on top of that with a few exciting "tweaks" to our color palettes. We say good bye to a few good friends but welcome some new ones who have been here before but are back to stay. Yay!

Smoky Slate is a BRAND NEW color to Stampin' Up! and I can't wait to see it...

Island Indigo, Pool Party, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Wisteria Wonder and Calypso Coral have all been In-Colors but are here to stay! I am just tickled with each and everyone of these additions and I hope you are as well.

Soft Sky, Crushed Curry and Bermuda Bay are being re-introduced and I am looking forward to trying them out!

Please check the list for any of your favorite colors that will be retiring and take advantage of the free shipping to stock up now because they are only available until the current available supplies are depleted.

I Dig You! - Freshly Made Sketches #79

Whoo Hoo! I am back today with another fabulous sketch by Rita Wright over at Freshly Made Sketches. I just love their sketches and am so inspired to create! I haven't played in a few weeks but I was thrilled to be chosen by Jen B. as a "Perfect Princess" for my last entry in Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #75!! Please click here if you would like to see my entry!

Here is this week's wonderful sketch:

and here is my I Dig You birthday card!

I am so tickled with how it turned out! Of course all the coordinating products that Stampin' Up! sells makes this soooo easy! Hmmm, have I said that before?

My starting point for this project was the paper. It seemed so bright and cheerful to me that it was practically screaming "choose me, choose me!", so I did! The color tones suggested little boy birthday to me and I immediately thought of my neglected but well loved stamp set, I Dig You so I pulled it out and got busy.

You may notice a trend with my cards to trim a piece of cardstock to just slightly smaller than the base size and pop it up on Stampin' Dimensionals. I find that it adds a bit of "wow" factor as well as giving me a wonderful place to tuck the ribbon...I prefer not to have the ribbon visible on the inside of the card, just a personal preference. You could skip this step and just tuck the ends of the ribbon under the circle on the front and make a card with a lower profile for mailing. Just a thought!

I just love, love, love this little dump truck but I wanted it to color coordinate with my Designer Series Paper so I stamped each part individually and then fussy cut each piece out and adhered them to my circle base with Stampin' Dimensionals. I used the 1" circle punch for the back tire and I tried to use our 3/4" circle punch for the front tire but it was just a bit too small. I was not about to attempt to hand cut that circle so I pulled out one of the few non-Stampin' Up! tools I own (I know, gasp) to make a circle just the right size. I am hoping that Circle Framelits will be available in the new catalog so I can retire my contraband supply! Hope!

I added a 3/16" Metallic Brad to each tire with my Paper Piercing Tool and Stampin' Pierce Mat. I just poked the hole, slipped the brad in and folded the prongs flat. I usually lay the piece with the brad on it down on a hard flat surface and push GENTLY to flatten the brad out.

New stamps have a trace of film on them from the manufacturing process, simply sand the image GENTLY to remove the film and clean the image before inking up and you will have very clean images as demonstrated here in my dump truck. I think they turned out very nicely. I am not thrilled with the result of inking up the presents image with my Stampin' Markers. I tried and tried to get a crisp image but this was as good as they got. I don't believe it is the fault of my Stampin' Markers but rather operator error at fault here so I kept the images as is and use it is an example of why you want to sand GENTLY. Too much sanding could impact your final product! But life isn't perfect right? RIGHT?!? So I'm taking a deep breath and living with it! 

The final touch was some ribbon. I simply layered three different colors and textures together and decided to forgo a knot. I think the image is impact enough and in my husband's world ribbon is barely tolerated and bows or knots not at all, lol. I use his opinion in my guide to masculine cards!

I'm not sure a three year old boy would be that impressed with my efforts but I bet his mom would! Haha, it's the thought that counts anyway.

I hope you have enjoyed my post and are inspired to get those supplies out!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: I Dig You (122722)

Paper: Crumb Cake (120953), Midnight Muse (126843), Very Vanilla (101650) Cardstock; Print Poetry (129312) Designer Series Paper Stack

Ink: Jet Black StazOn Ink Pad (101406); Midnight Muse (126860), Summer Starfruit (126991) Classic Stampin' Pad; Midnight Muse (126853), Not Quite Navy (119701), Summer Starfruit (126853) Stampin' Write Markers (Please note that all of the markers are sold in sets only)

Tools: 2 1/2" Circle Punch (120906), 1" Circle Punch (119868), Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Paper Piercing Tool (126189), Stampin' Pierce Mat (126199)

Embellishments:  3/8" Denim Jean Ribbon (125053), 4/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Summer Starfruit (126846), Natural 7/16" Trim Ribbon (129287), 3/16" Mettalic Brads in Pewter (119741)

Thanks for stopping by!

Hoppy Easter!

I couldn't resist sharing this ADORABLE little bunny with you today. My bunny is inspired by a card I saw recently by Debbie Henderson. So cute! I CASEd the bunny exactly but changed up the layout to suit my taste.

Isn't that little tail the cutest ever?? This little guy comes together very quickly with the 1 3/4" Circle Punch and the Large Oval Punch. His paw pads are punched from the confetti in the Cupcake Builder Punch. Add just a bit of a cotton ball, mushed together into a ball and you have a delightful little cotton tail! And the Sunshine & Sprinkles Designer Series Paper is the finishing touch for a cheerful holiday greeting!

I hope you have enjoyed my little bunny and that you have a wonderful holiday!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Delightful Dozen (122652)

Paper: Whisper White (100730) Cardstock, Sunshine & Sprinkles Designer Series paper (126922)

Ink: Regal Rose (126947) Classic Stampin' Pad 

Tools: 1 3/4" Circle Punch (119850), Large Oval Punch (119855), Cupcake Builder Punch (121807), 2-Way Glue Pen (100425), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Stampin' Trimmer (126889)

Embellishments:  None

Thanks for stopping by! 

Easter Blessings

Good Morning and Happy Saturday to you! I am delighted to participate in an Pals Easter Parade going on today over at Mary Fish's Stampin' Pretty website!

What do you think? I have to admit that when I saw the Secret Garden bundle of Framelit Dies and coordinating stamp set I was underwhelmed. I just passed right over it but over time as I saw projects created with it, it started to grow on me until one day this Easter card popped into my head so I finally broke down and placed an order! I think the only way to get card out of my head was to create it (!) and now that I have, I can see many possibilities for this set so look for more projects to come!

Do you just LOVE the color combination I used here? I have to give a big shout out to a fellow "Pal" Kerry Willard Bray over at Stamp Goodness for her Five on Friday post listing some fab color combinations! If you would like to see the full post, please click here. The colors used are Pink Pirouette, Wisteria Wonder, and Midnight Muse. I would NEVER have come up with this combination on my own but I think the colors together are just divine!

 

I enjoy the clean look of the white background, I believe it really allows the other elements to take center stage and shine. I love that the lattice pattern in embossed Whisper White cardstock adds to the spring'y' (is that a word?) feel of the card...and just a few pearls for jewelry. So easy with all the coordinating products that Stampin' Up offers!

Just a note on the embossing...I have found that with my particular Big Shot (and every one is slightly different) when I emboss Whisper White or Very Vanilla that the tension is so tight, frequently the embossing will crack. Flipping the tab from Tab 2 to Tab 1 reduces the tension just enough to give me a perfect embossed image. Experiment with your own Big Shot!

Of course Easter wouldn't be complete without treats so here's a idea for a little treat holder...

I ran a piece of Pink Pirouette DSP and the Clear Oval Accent Bigz Die through my Big Shot and then scored at 2 2 1/4" from each outside edge to create a 1" base. I 'imagine' it filled with a chocolate bunny...please 'imagine' that with me as the store is OUT of chocolate bunnies! You could also add a little box in there as well with a few chocolate eggs (mmm)...

I think these little treats would sit perfectly on an Easter dinner table as well as being wonderful treats for co-workers. They come together perfectly with the Secret Garden Bundle as well as the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and coordinating Bitty Banners Framelits. And of course a pearl...

I hope you have enjoyed these projects and are inspired to pull out those supplies and get creative!

Please pop on over to Stampin' Pretty for more inspiration from the Pals!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Easter Blessings (129183), Secret Garden (129144), Itty Bitty Banners (126257)

Paper: Whisper White (100730) Cardstock, Pink Pirouette from the Subtles Designer Series Paper Pack (117152)

Ink: Midnight Muse (126860), Pink Pirouette (126956), Wsteria Wonder (126985) Classic Stampin' Pad 

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Ovals Collection (129381) Framelits Dies, Secret Garden Framelits Dies (129372), Square Lattice Embossing Folder (119976), Oval Accent Bigz Clear Die (127005), Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309),   Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309), Stampin' Trimmer (126889)

Embellishments:  Pearl Basic Jewels (119247), 5/8" Organza Ribbon (114319), Wisteria Wonder Baker's Twine (125576)

Thanks for stopping by!