Friday, February 16, 2018

Petal Passion Notecard

I fell in love with the Petal Passion Suite at On Stage in November and still find more ways to love it each day.  Here is a cute and simple notecard I made from the Petal Passion Suite.


I used the Whisper White Narrow Note Cards
from the Occasions Catalog
for the card base.  Then I used the
vine emboss folder from the Petal Pair
Embossing Folder on a 
4 1/2 x 1 piece of Whisper White.  I cut a
4 1/2 x 1 3/4 piece of the Petal Passion
DSP paper.  I lightly sponged Pool Party
on the DSP.  I adhered both of these pieces
together with the embossed piece on top of the DSP. 

I cut a 5" piece of the
Bermuda Bay Shimmer Ribbon from
the Sale-A-Bration Catalog and adhered it
with glue dots over the seam of the
two paper pieces.  Then I adhered this
piece to the front of the card. 

Using 1 3/8" Scallop punch found in
the Occasions Catalog,
I punched out the Pool Party back panel
for the bird.  I used the 1" circle punch
to create the white inner circle and glued
these two pieces together.

I stamped the bird in Basic Black, using Petal Palette
stamp set, on a piece of Whisper White.  I  die cut 
the bird using the Petals & More Thinlits.  Then I
lightly colored in the breast using the Light 
Pool Party SU Blend Pen.  I glued the bird
to the Pool Party & White Circle.  I added
this completed piece to the front
using SU Dimensionals for a little pop.
 
I lightly added some Wink of Stella to the
bird's breast for a little bling.  I didn't want to
add a sentiment to the front because I thought
it would make the front of the card too fussy.

I hope you enjoy this card and are inspired to 
create your own cards with your favorite
stamps, inks, dies, and paper.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Cool Treats Birthday Card

It was my niece's (Shelby) birthday last week.  For a year now, she has told me how much she loves the ice cream cards I've made.  The ice cream cards are made using the Cool Treats stamp set and the Frozen Treats Thinlits.  I also have been using up the retired DSP from the 2017 Occasions Catalog.  So, I decided it was time she received an ice cream card for her birthday.


I am so sad that my stash of the 2017 DSP is almost gone 
and you can create cute "Cool Treats" cards using
other DSP; like the Picture Perfect Party
and Tutti-frutti in the 2018 Occasions Catalog,
or many of the DSP's in the Annual Catalog (too many to list).

Don't you want an ice cream cone now?

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Paper Pumpkin Alternatives for December 2017 Kit

Here are my two alternative projects for the December 2017 Paper Pumpkin Kit.  I have been inspired by Stampin' Up's Red Box Challenge in January to use old Paper Pumpkin Kits and create alternative cards (See the card I made on my February 6th post). I had so much fun using two different kits to create a card I really like.  For the December 2017 alternative cards, I combined them with products from the Annual Catalog.


These are the two alternative cards I created.  I
used the basic card base for each card.  From
there I got creative.  You can see the original
cards posted on February 7th to my blog.


For the first card, I used a Crumb Cake card base;
5 1/2 x 4 1/4.  I used the front panel from the
original card. I added the "OOPS" leaves and
love the pop they give.  Be sure to use yours and
make alternative cards with them.  I adhered
the front panel to the top of the card base, leaving
about 1/4 border at the top.  Using the
Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, I punched out 3
butterflies using the Retired Butterfly punch.
I popped them up using SU Dimensionals.
I added a piece of the Berry Burst Baker's Twine
along the bottom edge of the front panel.  Then,
I stamped Congratulations in Berry Burst and 
layered it on top of the Berry Burst ribbon.

This is the inside of the card.  I added a piece of
5 1/4 x 4 Whisper White cardstock. 
Using Lemon-Lime Twist ink,I added
the leaf stamp three times, turning in different
directions.  Then, I added two Berry Burst butterflies.
The inside sentiment is from the July 2017 Paper
Pumpkin Kit, Positively Picturesque.


I used the kit card base for this card and didn't
add the Lemon-Lime Twist leaves.  I did add
the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper. 
Using the Eclectic Layers Thinlits, I die
cut three flowers from Tangerine Tango
cardstock and added them using mini glue dots. 
Then I simply stamped Thank You in Soft Suede
in the right bottom corner. This has a simple
elegance.  I thought about adding punched
leaves to the flowers and decided not to do that.
I think it would be pretty.  You could also add
enamel shapes to the bottom of the card in
a straight line by Thank You or a random
scattering to create more texture.


For the inside of the card, I stamped two flowers
from the Oh So Eclectic stamp set in Tangerine Tango.
The sentiment is from the Retired stamp set,
Thoughtful Branches using Soft Suede ink.

I hope these alternative cards have inspired you
to make some alternative cards from this kit.
Have fun and be creative.

Monday, February 12, 2018

Paper Pumpkin Alternatives for January 2018 Kit

As promised, I have the Paper Pumpkin Alternatives for both December 2017 (see December's in tomorrow's post) and January 2018.  I decided to post the January alternative first because Valentine's Day is so close.  I really love this kit and think there are many possibilities other than Valentine's for it.  Of course, I didn't stray from Valentine's in my alternatives.  Watch in the future for other ideas.


Here are the two alternatives I did for the January
Paper Pumpkin Kit.  I did one for each card; each
one very different from the other.  





This alternative was inspired by Patty Bennett.
She did a number of alternatives for this kit.  
What Patty inspired for this card was gluing
down the top flap of the card rather than opening 
it up.  See my post from February 8th to see the original
card.  Then you can tuck the note card in the
corner.  Tie the ribbon as an accent.


                                     

I used Rich Razzleberry to stamp the notecard.
The top hearts are from the Retired  Sealed with
Love stamp set from 2017 Occasions Catalog.
The Happy Valentine's Day is from the January
2018 kit.  The sentiment on the lower right is
from All Things Thanks Stamp Set in the
2017-18 Annual Catalog.  The heart on the
sentiment is Rich Razzleberry from the
Brights Enamel Shapes.


This is the second alternative I made.  I essentially
cut the card up and rearranged everything.  The
front heart panel is actually the back of the
original card trimmed down a little.  I love how the
vellum heart pops out on this card.  I used the 
Flirty Flamingo banner in the kit, and cut it in 
half and trimmed the ends to a point.  Then Stamped
Be Mine in Basic Black from the kit.  The accents 
are from the 2016-18 enamel shapes in Flirty 
Flamingo.  The card base is in Flirty Flamingo and 
is a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4.  The accent panel is Copper Foil
to pick up the copper in the hearts on the front panel.
I don't know how well you can see this part; I
stamped words of love in Flirty Flamingo to create
texture and a background.  You could change
this up for a birthday, thank you, friendship, congratulations,
or whatever if you want.  I like angling the paper
sometimes.  It gives a unique look to the card.


This is the inside of the card.  I took the front
bottom of the original card and put it in
the right corner of the inside.  Then instead of 
leaving the notecard loose or tucked in the 
pocket, I adhered it as the inside panel.  I did
use one of the stamps from the kit the stamp
the envelope with hearts coming out.  I like
using the notecard this way. 

I hope these alternative cards inspire you to use
your January Paper Pumpkin kit.  Or if you 
aren't a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, I encourage you to do so.
It is a kit that comes once a month with everything
included to make the projects inside.  This kit
had 16 cards to make and as usual, there are 
extra supplies with which to make other projects.
I would love to be your demonstrator and share
creative time together.  Until the end of March
if you sign up for Paper Pumpkin for three months, 
you will qualify for free items found in the 
Sale-A-Bration Catalog.

Enjoy and do something creative every day!

Friday, February 9, 2018

Birthday Cards

Well, I didn't get the alternative Paper Pumpkin cards done for my blog today.  Check back on Monday.  So instead, I decided to post the Perennial Birthday Kit and the cards that come with it.  It is an awesome kit with a box to hold all the birthday cards you make to give people throughout the year.

 Here is the box closed with the four cards you
can make.  You can also create alternative
cards with this kit as well.  Look for some
in future posts.


Here, the box is open so you can see there is a
card for each month.  Each card has the days
of the month and you can list who has a 
birthday on that date and make a card
ahead of time.  I love this box and the set so
much I am thinking of getting a second one.
Below are more pictures of the cards
so you can see what they look like closer up.






If you want one of the Perennial Birthday
card kits, go to Stampin' Up and select me
as your demonstrator to buy one.  They
are only available until the end of May.
I always need a birthday card, don't you.

Thursday, February 8, 2018

January Paper Pumpkin

In January, I was expecting a Valentine's Day kit in pinks and reds.  I was hoping for cards as some years it has been a banner.  Well, as you can see below it was a Valentine's Day kit, but not in the traditional colors.  I love these cards and think there is so much you can do with them.  I can't wait to create some alternative projects for you to see.  Check back on Friday or Monday to see them.


This is how the cards look when they are made and 
ready to give to someone.  They are in black, silver,
and Flirty Flamingo (okay, sort of pink).  I like
the two designs, one more feminine and one
more masculine.  The sentiments are great too.


The inside holds a note tucked away for you to
share your feelings and thoughts about the 
person who will receive this card.  I think
it would be great for your kids, grandkids, 
spouse, friend, teacher, etc.


This shows that you can decorate the note.  I think
this type of card would be great to send special
surprise notes to your kids in their lunch box,
or anyone else who you want to know
how special they are to you and the rest of the world.


If you are interested in knowing how you can receive these fun and creative Paper Pumpkin kits each month, contact me for details.  

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

December Paper Pumpkin Cards

When I opened my December Paper Pumpkin kit, I was pleasantly surprised.  Usually the December kit is about the New Year.  In the past that has included a journal and a calendar.  This year it was beautiful floral and butterfly cards, using one of my favorites, glimmer paper.  I love these cards and hope you enjoy them too.





I will be playing with these cards to create some alternative projects to share with you.  Check back on Friday or Monday to see them.  

Let me know if you want more information about Paper Pumpkin and how you can receive monthly kits like these to create your own cards and projects.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Paper Pumpkin Alternative Challenge

I have been a Paper Pumpkin subscriber for almost 3 years.  I love getting the box in the mail each month.  It's like getting a present every month with a great surprise inside with which I can create fun cards and projects in a short time because everything is included.  So, for the next three days I'm going to post things I've done with Paper Pumpkin.  Today, I'm going to highlight a card I submitted to a challenge Stampin' Up held in January .  Tomorrow, will be the cards from December's kit and Thursday will be the January kit.  I'm going to work on some alternative projects for both December and January and hope to post those on Friday.

In January, Stampin' Up challenged all Paper Pumpkin subscribers to dig out old Paper Pumpkin kits that they hadn't used and make an alternative card with those supplies.  What a great challenge.  I decided to use two kits to make my card; October 2015 and May 2016.  I really liked the sentiments and floral stamps in October 2015 and just plain didn't like the May 2016.  So, I thought what could I do to create something I liked from these two kits?  Here is what I did.




I used Calypso Coral cardstock for the card base.  On Whisper White I stamped two flowers from the October 2015 kit in Basic Black.  Then using the new Stampin' Blends I colored in one flower with Daffodil Delight and the second flower with Calypso Coral.  I added Glitter Enamel Dots to the center of the flowers.  Using the new Leaf Punch shown in the 2017 Holiday Catalog originally, I punched out two leaves using Pear Pizzazz.  The white card front is from the May 2016 kit which was had a back panel of corrugated bright orange cardstock which I didn't like.  So, I took the Daffodil Delight and Calypso Coral card front from the October 2015 kit and made that the back panel.  Along the center sentiment panel using the October 2015 stamp set I stamped the sentiment in Basic Black and small flowers randomly with Daffodil Delight and Calypso Coral.  I attached the leaves under the white panel, did the Calypso Coral flower flat, and popped up the Daffodil Delight with mini dimensionals.  I fell in love with this card and it helped me see options for using a kit I didn't originally like and one that I liked the stamp set and colors, but not the actual cards.  So, I plan to play more with other kits and create alternatives to share with you.

If you aren't a Paper Pumpkin subscriber and want to know more, please contact me for information.  It is a fun way to play and be creative at least once a month without buying anything else.  

Monday, February 5, 2018

Lots to Love Valentine Box and Cards Project

This is the last post from my January "Celebrate the New Year" Come Stamp With Me Class.  I try to have a small project for people to make and take home at the end of each class.  This time it was a cute Valentine's box to hold candy or cards for your loved ones, whoever they may be.  I did make alternative boxes and filled them with 4 Narrow Notecards/Envelopes for each person attending the class.


This is one of the option of the "Lots to Love" box
people in the class could make.  You can use
any Designer Series Paper (DSP) you like.
The tag in the front is from the 
Cake Soiree stamp set from the
2018 Occasions Catalog. You can
leave out the cutout heart window on the front
and have it be a closed box with a 
surprise inside.


This is the back of the "Lots to Love" box.  
You can leave plain or decorate however you like.


This was another "Lots to Love" box option 
filled with candy.  Yum...


This is the back of the box.


This shows 4 different "Lots to Love" box.
The 2 pink boxes are filled with the 
cards in the photo below.


These cards are made with the Narrow Note Cards
and Envelopes.  These are fun to make and are
great little note cards to put in your child's 
lunchbox, for your special sweetie, a
thank you for a friend, a co-worker, or 
employee, or whoever else you
want to know you care.


How to make the "Lots to Love" Box:

Supplies:
Lots to Love Box Framelits
Real Red or whatever color cardstock you want:  (2) 6 3/4 x 4 1/2 pieces to die cut box and cut-out heart
Clear Window Sheet: 2 ½ x 3 ¼ piece
Sealed With a Kiss DSP (retired) or whatever paper you have:  2 pieces of 4 7/8 x 3 and cut-out heart; 
Variety of different die-cuts or punched pieces, small circle punch plain or embossed, and clear & glitter epoxy dots, all to use for decorating your box.

Brief Instructions:
Steps to put the box together:

a.      Using bone folder, fold on the lines and burnish the folds;

b.      Using tear & tape, adhere the window sheet to the inside of the box over the cut-out heart;

c.       Adhere the DSP to the front panel first, then the back panel; remember the back panel is upside down, so the top of the DSP is the straight side, not the rounded side;

d.      Decorate the back panel;

e.       Put tear & tape on the back panels sides, then carefully put the front panel over one side at a time, remember the front panel sides go towards the back so no seam shows on the front;

f.        Fold in the bottom flap;

g.       Stamp and decorate your small circle, you choose whether you want the plain or embossed, and finish decorating your box;

h.       Now fill the box with candy and fold in the top flap, yum!

Steps to put the note cards together:

a.   Fold narrow note cards and burnish with bone folder;
     
b.   Cut front panel 4 1/4 x 2 1/4 out of DSP or cardstock that you want to use;

c.   Using the 2 1/2 circle punch, cut from DSP for the inside envelope flap;

d.   Decorate the front of the card however you choose; I used heart DSP and a popped up Love sentiment; watercolor with Flirty Flamingo, Melon Mambo, & Rich Razzleberry, love and hearts die cuts; Berry Burst DSP embossed with hearts; and Powder Pink cardstock with die cut hearts the right side and Glimmer paper for the front panel, sentiment and hearts stamped in Sweet Sugarplum.  Most of the supplies used for these cards are retired products from the 2017 Occasions Catalog.

Be creative and make you own beautiful cards.


Friday, February 2, 2018

Just Breathe Floral Card

This is the third card from my January "Come Stamp With Me" class.  The card is made using different techniques and the Stampin Blends Pens.  It combines products from the Occasions and Annual Catalog.  This card is a perfect card for those of you who like to color.  The card was inspired by Sandra Mastello, a SU Demonstrator from Australia.  I added and changed up a few things and it is her original design.




The card front is four layers:  1) the card base with the 
sentiment stamped & embossed on the top front,
Note: both sentiments are from the
Colorful Seasons stamp set in the Annual Catalog;
2) a silver foil panel that is adhered to the 
bottom of the card base;  3) a silver foil ribbon
that is attached to the back of the floral panel;
and 4) the embossed floral panel which is
adhered with stampin' dimensionals on top
of the silver foil on the bottom of the card.

The floral panel is embossed with the
 Petal Pair Embossing Folder
from the Petal Passion Suite in the Occasions Catalog
on Whisper White Thick cardstock,
using Memento Black ink to highlight the pattern. 
See photo below for what it looks like 
before it is colored and partially colored.





The bottom part of the embossed floral panel
is cut away either before or after you color 
in the flowers and leaves.




This is the inside of the card.  The flower is colored
and cut out of an extra embossed panel.
The envelope flap (shown below & hard to see)
is embossed (no ink) using the same
Petal Pair Embossing Folder.  It is an elegant look.



One of the embellishments that you can't see on
the card are Glitter Epoxy Shapes; dots and dew drops
on the front of the card by the sentiment and on
some of the flowers.  They add an extra pop on the card.

Supplies:

  • Whisper White Thick:  5 ½ x 4 ¼ for card base and Floral Embossed piece, 5 ½ x 2 ¼
  • Silver Foil:  5 ½ x 1, panel under the embossed flowers and 5 ½ x ½ ribbon piece to go behind the embossed flowers at the top
  • Whisper White envelope with embossed flap
  • Clear or Glitter epoxy dew drops
  • Decorative Ribbon Border Punch
  • Versamark Ink
  • Silver Embossing Powder
  • Colorful Seasons Stamp Set
Stampin’ Blends Pens:
  • Light & Dark Cherry Cobbler for the Roses
  • Light & Dark Calypso Coral for the large flowers and inside of pink flowers
  • Light & Dark Pink Pirouette for the daisy-like flowers
  • Light & Dark Daffodil Delight for the mums
  • Light & Dark Pool Party for smallest flowers
  • Light & Dark Old Olive for the leaves
You can use other colors when you color your flowers; some class participants used Rich Razzleberry and Bermuda Bay and did a darker, richer tone on the flowers.  They also discovered that when you flip the panel over there is a paler version of the panel.  Some of them used a couple of their reverse sides on their card.  They were beautiful.  Some used different flowers and colors for the inside flower.  Be creative and have fun making this card.


Thursday, February 1, 2018

Heartfelt Blooms Card

This is the second card from my January "Come Stamp With Me" class.  The photos of this card don't do it justice.  I give people the option to make more than one card with an additional cost.  Two participants in the class didn't think they would like this card from my photos.  When they saw it in person, they asked to make extras and thought of many occasions to be able to use this card.  I hope you like it too.


This is a simple card that makes an impression. For the 
front panel, using Sweet Sugarplum ink, stamp the
Heartfelt Blooms flower twice, 
slightly changing the direction of the stamp, on
the left side of panel.  The Thinking of You
is stamped on Vellum using Basic Black Archival
or Memento Black ink.  It is important to let 
the ink dry completely or it will smudge.
The silver foil frame is die cut using
SU Layering Ovals Framelits in the center
and SU Stitched Shapes Framelits for the frame.
The SU Shimmery Powder Pink ribbon is 
attached to the panel first, then pop-up
the sentiment frame using mini stampin' dimensionals.
The background panel is Retired from last year's
Sale-A-Bration catalog.  It was perfect for this card.
Another option would be SU Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper



For the inside panel, stamp the Heartfelt Blooms 
floral stamp in bottom right corner going off the page.
The sentiment stamp is from SU Perennial Birthday
stamp set found in the Occasions Catalog.  You can
use other stamps which people in my class did to 
make this a Sympathy, Anniversary, Friendship,
Thank You, or Happy Birthday card.  You can
also change up the colors.  For the envelope,
stamp the floral in whatever pattern you want.

The Heartfelt Blooms stamp is a new photogenic
technique for stamps.  This is the first from Stampin' Up
and there will be more in the future.  I think the photo
above shows the beauty of this stamp and how it looks.

Supply List:

  • SU Sweet Sugarplum cardstock -  5 ½ x 8 1/2  for the card base;
  • SU Glimmer Paper -  5 ¼ x 4 for front background panel;
  • SU Whisper White - 5 x 3 ¾ for front stamped panel and 5 ¼ x 4 for inside panel;
  • SU Vellum Paper -  4 x 3 for the inside oval front sentiment;
  • SU Silver Foil Paper -  5 x 4 for the outside oval frame on the front sentiment;
  • SU Sweet Sugarplum and Basic Black Archival or Memento Black inks;
  • SU Shimmery Powder Pink ribbon - 6 1/2''