ATCAS Birthday

It's time for another challenge at Addicted to Clean and Simple!

I used the challenges at CAS(E) this Sketch and Stampin' Royalty for this week's card.

 

I have been trying to decide if I am going to sell Carry On when it retires. I usually try to sell all of my retired stamp sets, but I really love this one, mostly because of my favorite fun. song, "Carry On." :)  In case I DO decide to sell it, I wanted to use it one last time. I'm silly like that.

This is kind of a non-traditional birthday card since it doesn't actually say "Happy Birthday," but I think of birthdays when I think cupcakes!  After I stamped the cupcakes I added the splotches in Calypso Coral and some Pool Party spritzer to kind of give the effect of confetti.  I then used Dazzling Details on the tops to add some sparkle to the cupcakes.

 

Stamp Sets: Carry On, Hey There

Cardstock: Island Indigo, Very Vanilla

Ink: Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Pool Party

Tools: Oval Framelits, Color Spritzer

Accessories: Dimensionals, Dazzling Details







One Layer

The challenge at Less is More this week is to make a one-layered card on a colored card base.  I thought this would be a great challenge to use the White Washing technique!  I used the colors from Color Throwdown. 

Aren't these great bright colors?!  I did replace Kiwi Kiss with Lucky Limeade, which is very similar. 

Unfortunately the color look so muted in the picture. They are nice and bright in real life!  I had a few smudges when I was finished so I "fixed" those with my Color Spritzer.  What on earth will I do when this retires at the end of the month? :)

 

Stamp Sets: Oh Hello, Swallowtail

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White Craft

Tools: Heat Tool, Blender Pen, Aqua Painter, Color Spritzer

Accessories: White Embossing Powder



Dahlia Fold

There is a great challenge going on at Technique Time Tuesday to make a project using the Dahlia Fold.  They have a great video with full instructions so make sure you check it out!   I chose to use Cherry Cobbler and Lucky Limeade for the color challenge at Dynamic Duos.  They are celebrating their one year anniversary and you can pick any of their previous color combinations this week. I dug through my Designer Series Paper and found some great paper from the Festival of Prints DSP Paper Stack that I wanted to use and it fit with DD#22.

While looking through my DSP, I discovered that it is very difficult to find any that only uses two colors!  Most of my DSP has one color on one side and 3 or more colors on the other side! 

 

I could not resist using the large swirl from Everything Eleanor for vines for my flower. I have a lot of trouble with this one particular stamp falling off of the block when I go to stamp it, even though I put a layer of  Tombow Multi glue on it! What I do instead is ink up the stamp without the block, place it where I want it on my cardstock and THEN put the block on top of the stamp and press down. This has saved me a lot of messed up cardstock from the stamp falling off of the block,which used to happen all of the time before I discovered this trick.  Hopefully that tip will save you some wasted cardstock too!

 

Stamp Sets: Curly Cute, Everything Eleanor

Cardstock: Very Vanilla

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeade

Tools: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Fancy Fan Embossing Folder, Scallop Circle Punch

Accessories: Summer Smooches Fabric Brad, Festival of Prints DSP Paper Stack



ATSM Photo Inspiration

It's time for another challenge at ATSM and this week it's a photo inspiration! 

I wish I had a window or a chair stamp but I don't :( so I opted to use the colors along with the flowers. I also used the sketch at retro sketches.

I love this sketch and as soon as I saw those blotchies I knew I had to pull out my blotchy stamp from my My Paper Pumpkin kit, Hey There.

I used our new Baked Brown Sugar cardstock for my card base and sponged Soft Suede ink on the woodgrain paper to darken it up a bit.  I bent the corner down on purpose just to add a little bit of character. When I showed it to Janae (8), I thought she would say something about it and she did!  She said "I love the bent corner!"  And her I figured she would think it was a mistake. :)

 

Stamp Set: Field Flowers, Hey There

Cardstock: Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Gumball Green, Soft Suede

Tools: Sponge

Accessories: Natural Composition DSP, Dimensionals



Gee, thanks

I was looking at our demonstrator website and I came across this amazing feather card made by Justin Krieger. I just love it!  I love the simplicity of it and the colors...just everything!  However, I had told myself that I didn't really like that feather stamp set and wasn't going to purchase it!  So when I commented on Justin's card, I told him I felt like I needed to make him a "Gee, thanks for enabling me to buy that stamp set I didn't need!" card. lol So that is where I got the inspiration for my card today, along with the colors at The Paper Players and the sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch.

Clockworks is one of my go-to masculine sets and I thought it would look great for this card.  It is great for layering elements.

Some of the elements are stamped full strength and some are stamped off onto scrap paper first.  I inked the biggest element in Gumball Green first and then Midnight Muse on the opposite side before stamping it off and then onto my card.  Easy peasy!

 

Stamp Sets: Clockworks, Really Good Greetings

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Gumball Green, Midnight Muse, Raspberry Ripple

Accessories: Rhinestones



Subtle Love

I am sooo in love with the rearrangement of the Stampin' Up! colors.  colourQ has a great subtle challenge that I couldn't wait to play along in. I don't have Sage Shadow but I thought the new Pistachio Pudding would be a great substitution.  I also had to substitute Blushing Bride for Blush Blossom. Those two are REALLY similar.  I used the sketch from Try Stampin on Tuesday.

For some reason this sketch was really difficult for me!  I thought and thought about what I wanted to do with that diagonal line. I decided to emboss the entire background and then just stamp on the diagonal line.  I am loving the new Mosaic Madness and it looks great with these colors!

I started stamping the Pistachio without the Stamp-a-ma-jig, but I really wasn't happy with how it was turning out so I used it for the rest of the background. Even then I managed to get some of them off center!  Go figure!  I still love the set with the embossing folder though and I am sure I will be getting plenty of practice with it.

 

Stamp Sets: Mosaic Madness, Really Good Greetings

Cardstock: Blushing Bride, So Saffron, Whisper White

Ink: Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Pistachio Pudding, So Saffron

Tools: Mosaic Punch, Mosaic Embossing Folder

Accessories: Rhinestones, Dimensionals



Aviary

When Aviary was first introduced a few years ago, it was my absolute favorite stamp set in the whole catalog.  Which is funny because I have hardly ever used it!  I never found a great way to utilize the images, although they are so very cute!  Since it was my favorite, I really wanted to use it one last time. I thought it would look cute with the colors at Hand Stamped Sentiments and the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. 

I just noticed that the blog header at HSS is Aviary, as well as the color sample, so that must be a sign that I chose the right stamp set to go with these colors! lol

I never would have chosen this color combination so I am glad I stumbled upon this challenge.  It's hard to believe that Bashful Blue is going to be retiring. It is what I consider a true baby blue color.  I guess times are changing though and it's on to more modern colors than pink and blue for babies!  Totally fine by me because I rarely use them anyways! lol  Anyway...this isn't even a baby card so I don't know why I'm talking about babies! 

 

Stamp Sets: Aviary, Kindness Matters

Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Whisper White

Ink: Black StazOn, Bashful Blue, Real Red, Summer Starfruit

Tools: Labels Collection Framelits, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder

Accessories: Sycamore Street DSP, Brights and Subtles DSP Stacks, Dimensionals





Bordering on Romance

Today I am continuing my tribute to retiring stamp sets with one of my favorite flower stamps for watercoloring, Bordering on Romance.  I used the colors at Color Throwdown and the sketch at Nacho Average Challenges.

I was looking at the cards I have made in the past couple of days, and this is the third one that has a similar layout. They all look totally different though and I actually used three completely different sketches. It really goes to show how things can be interpreted differently, even by the same person!  The possibilities for cardmaking really are endless, which is why I love this hobby so much.  There are so many different ways to be creative, and there is no right or wrong way to do it.  That's definitely a good thing for those of us who just like to have fun and aren't necessarily gifted in the creative department. :)

I used my blender pen and ink from the ink pad lids to color in the flowers. I am not great at blending or shading, but I tried to blend the Regal Rose and Elegant Eggplant to get different shades of colors. I also took my Crumb Cake marker and outlined the bottoms of the flowers to get a shadow effect. It kind of makes the flowers pop a little bit for some depth.  Some of the flowers also have tiny pearls in the centers.  I need to stock up on some more of those puppies...I ran out!

 

Stamp Sets: Bordering on Romance, Curly Cute

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Regal Rose, Watercolor Paper

Ink: Black StazOn, Crumb Cake, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Regal Rose

Tools: Blender Pen

Accessories: Pearls



Circle Circus

It's less than a month until some of my favorite stamp sets will be retiring, so you will see me featuring a lot of those these last few weeks of the month. Today I wanted to feature an oldie but goodie, Circle Circus. It is one of the few wood mount sets I have left in my stash!  Now that Stampin' Up! has introduced new boxes for our wood mount stamp sets, I will be purchasing more of them in the future. They stand up very nicely on my shelf and are packaged just like the clear mount sets with pictures on the side of the case, a MUST for organization!

I found the perfect sketch at clean&simple for Circle Circus, and paired it with the color challenge at Less is More.

For the color challenge, they wanted us to choose two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. I chose yellow and violet.

 

 

 

I started by just stamping the circles. It was a little bit too one-dimensional for me, so I stamped the two largest circles again and punched them out with the 1" Circle Punch, layering them with Dimensionals. I also used my paper piercing tool to poke holes around these circles.  I completed my card with some bling, which you all know I love and cannot resist putting on a card! :)

 

Stamp Sets: Circle Circus, Pursuit of Happiness

Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron, Very Vanilla

Ink: Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron, Wisteria Wonder

Tools: Paper Piercing Tool and Mat, 1" Circle Punch

Accessories: Rhinestones, Dimensionals



Bye Bye Baja Breeze

I really liked Baja Breeze when it was first introduced to the Stampin' Up! color pallet, but I really haven't used it all that much since the introduction of Pool Party, so I will not be too sad when it retires. I was glad to see it included in a challenge at Dynamic Duos though so I could say my final goodbye to it. I saw a quote today that said "The most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said and never explained."  I have had a few of those in my lifetime but I don't want that to happen with my beloved Stampin' Up! colors, so here is my official goodbye to Baja Breeze. :)  I have also used the challenge at CASology in my ode to Baja Breeze. lol

Don't you just love hexagons?  They are all the rage right now and I can't get enough of them myself. There is a great new hexagon stamp set and punch in the new catalog that I can't wait to get my hot little hands on. For now, all I have is the Hexagon Embossing Folder, which I think is fabulous by itself.  I cut out part of a sheet I had embossed, as well as some Designer Series Paper hexagons to fill in some of the white space.

I added the sentiment and a few little stamped-off blotchies from Hey There (My Paper Pumpkin), as well as the little bow for a little extra touch.  I love simple cards like this. They make my heart smile, and goodbyes much easier. :)

 

Stamp Sets: Hey There, Really Good Greetings

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Ink: Baja Breeze

Tools: Hexagon Embossing Folder

Accessories: Daffodil Delight Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Floral District DSP

Spring Layers

You know how much I like clean and simple cards but when I saw the color combination at Pals Paper Arts I knew I wanted to use some umbrellas with it and lots of layers. Well, lots of layers for me anyway. I know I can always find lots of layers at Mojo Monday!

I thought these were great spring umbrella colors and Pool Party just scream to be used with the Clouds Embossing Folder. :)  I stamped my own DSP with the umbrellas and raindrops since I didn't have any in those colors. I really enjoyed doing all of the layering for a change from what I usually do.  I didn't have a punch that satisfied me for the sentiment so I punched it with the Decorative Label Punch, inserted it and punched it again and then trimmed the ends to make it look uniform. I also didn't have a piece of Lucky Limeade big enough for the whole scallop circle so I punched two half circles and lined them up behind the sentiment.  That's a good way to use up scraps that you don't think are big enough for anything! :)

Stamp Set: Rain or Shine

Cardstock: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit

Tools: Woodgrain, Clouds and Houndstooth Embossing Folders, Decorative Label and Scallop Circle Punches, Paper Piercer

Accessories: Rhinestones, Dimensionals, Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon

Stamping Soreness

Does anyone else get a sore neck from bending over stamping and assembling cards?  Man, my neck is KILLING me tonight just from working on this one card. I stand most of the time too, so that may be part of my problem. My desk is counter top height though, so I would think it wouldn't be that bad.  It is hurting sitting here typing this so I am going to make this short and to the point and hit the heating pad! :) 

I made this card for the challenges at retro sketches and colourQ.

I just love these colors together. They seem so delicate and feminine to me.  I instantly knew I wanted to do some butterflies, which just reminded me that I can also add this to the butterfly challenge at SUO Challenges!  Phew!  Glad I remembered that one. :)

 

I cut a window in my card so it was difficult for me to get a picture of it without putting it in this cute little card holder!  Hopefully it doesn't distract too much from the card!  I had a lot of fun punching and die cutting the butterflies and assembling. Of course, you will notice the bling in the centers. What did I ever do before we sold rhinestones?!  Don't you just love this sentiment?  It's the from the sneak peek set Really Good Greetings, and one of my favorites.  I love coloring on it with different colors to add some interest to it!  I did a little bit more stamping on the inside too.

There's another little sneak peek down there at the bottom from Mosaic Madness. It's a little border strip and really adds a lot with just a little bit of coloring.  I have been getting better at decorating the inside of my cards. It's easier to remember to do when you cut a window out of the front!  I guess I am going to have to start doing that more often so I remember. lol

 

Stamp Sets: Papillon Potpourri, Really Good Greetings, Mosaic Madness, Distressed Dots Background

Cardstock: Marina Mist, Midnight Muse, Pretty in Pink, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White

Ink: Marina Mist, Midnight Muse, Pretty in Pink, Wisteria Wonder

Tools: Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Butterfly Punches, Stripes Embossing Folder

Accessories: Subtles DSP Stack, Rhinestones, Dimensionals 





Addicted to Stamps and More...Clean and Simple

It's time for another challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More and it's my absolute favorite challenge..Clean and Simple!  You know I love CAS cards. I love their simplicity and I love that they can be "thrown" together in no time at all. The sponsor this entire month is Whoopsi Daisy and they are offering a prize of 2 sheets of digis (8 images). 

For my card, I wanted to use some of my new sneak peek items so I pulled out my new Wildflower Meadow background stamp and coordinating embossing folder. These two items made for an amazingly quick and simple card!

Oh I am just LOVING this combination. I wasn't too sure about how the embossing folder when I first saw it, but all I had to do was ink up the stamp with my markers, then slid it into the embossing folder with the stamped image lined up in the grooves and WALLAH!  It was seriously that easy!  I, of course had to add a few little blingies and my sentiment at the top, Banner Greetings. It really doesn't get much easier than that!

 

Stamp Sets: Wildflower Meadow, Banner Greetings

Cardstock: Very Vanilla

Ink: Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Pear Pizazz, Summer Starfruit

Tools: Wildflower Meadow Embossing Folder

Accessories: Rhinestones, Dimensionals

 

 

Pop-Up Posies

I keep forgetting I have these cute little flowers that I received free from Stampin' Up!  It is such a cute kit and the colors worked great with the challenge at Create with Connie and Mary this week. I paired it with the sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch.

Aren't these colors fab?!  I just think they are so modern and fresh. Gray is such a great neutral.  I can't wait to start using the new gray that has been added to our collection of colors, Smoky Slate.  It's a nice light gray that will compliment Basic Gray very nicely, I think. I will try to make a card using the two later today so you can see how great they look.  For now, here is the card I came up with using these challenges.

  

I wanted my background to be shimmery so I sponged the embossed chevrons with Illuminate Glimmer Ink.  I had to get some new products in there too so I used my new favorite sentiment set, Really Good Greetings, as well as Mosaic Madness for the little shapes anchoring the flower. The flower is pretty amazing on its own, so I didn't want to take too much away from it.

Stamp Sets: Mosaic Madness, Really Good Greetings
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Very Vanilla
Ink: Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Basic Gray, Illuminate Glimmer
Tools: Chevron Embossing Folder, Sponge
Accessories: Pop-Up Posies Kit

Mother's Day

Wow, I saw the Mother's Day challenge at Stampin' Royalty and it hit me that Mother's Day is this coming Sunday!  I can't believe we are already in May. Where has this year gone?  School is almost out for the summer. That is when the craziness begins around here and I've got kids all over the place. lol I sure am glad I saw this challenge though or I would be behind on my cards!  I paired the theme with the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.

I'm trying to use up some scraps of Designer Series Paper before they retire and I found some Twitterpated in my scrap cupboard. This DSP feels like it has been around forever because it was in a Mini Catalog before it was added to the big catalog, which they rarely do.  I have used up almost the entire pack too, which is a rare feat for me! lol

This is the first time I got to try out the Buttons and Blossoms Simply Pressed Clay Molds that will be available to order on June 1st.  I made some up a few nights ago when I was bored and then just colored them with my markers. I first colored them with one solid color and then added a little bit of the darker color and blended it with my Blender Pen. I really like the way the turned out!  You can also add reinkers directly to the clay before shaping them in the molds, but then I would have to wait for them to dry and I am way too impatient for that so markers it is for me! 

 

Stamp Sets: Bordering on Romance, Delightful Dozen

Cardstock: Pear Pizazz

Ink: Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride, Island Indigo, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red

Tools: Blossoms Simply Pressed Clay Molds, Blender Pen

Accessories: Clay, Twitterpated DSP, Rhinestones, Doily



Purple, Purple, Purple!

My 1st Grade teacher LOVED purple. She wore it all the time and always talked about how it was her favorite color. I remember one day I said to her, "Purple, purple, purple!"  So when I saw the challenge at Nacho Average Challenges, I instantly thought of Miss Crooks.

This also reminded me of one of my favorite ladies in the whole wide world, my Mama Sheila!  I had just told her I was going to go home and make a purple and gray card because we were talking about her purple bathroom, and happened to stumble across the perfect challenge for it!  I decided to pair it with the challenge at Fab Friday so I could use this adorable tag stamp from my new Chalk Talk set.

 

There are also new framelits that coordinate with this set in the new catalog. Unfortunately, those weren't available to us on the preorder so I had to do some cutting this time. Bummer! :)

I am going to be sad to see the Designer Series Paper stacks retire. I know they are bringing out new ones that I will surely fall in love with, but I love THESE prints...especially the polka dot!  I stamped the tag twice, one in Elegant Eggplant on Whisper White and once in Basic Gray on Wisteria Wonder. I wish it would have shown up better in my picture!  The background is Brushed Silver cardstock, which is embossed with the Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder. I am in LOVE with this folder and it will be my new replacement for Lacy Brocade...sniff, sniff.

 

Stamp Set: Chalk Talk

Cardstock: Brushed Silver, Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder

Ink: Basic Gray, Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder

Tools: Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder

Accessories: Neutrals DSP Stack, In Color Brads 





Mixing the Old with the New

This is one of my favorite times of the Stampin' Up! catalog year because it is preorder time, so I can use some of my Sneak Peek products with products that will be retiring and not feel bad about it! :)  I started this challenge for the Anything Sizzix challenge at SUO Challenges, but being the smart one that I am, I forgot to post it in time!  I was really excited about this one too, because I wanted to make some pretty flowers. Oh well, maybe next time I will be smarter!  I also used he challenges at Just Add Ink and Color Throwdown, which I AM in time for, so I guess there is some good news. lol

 

Ballet Blue and Apricot Appeal left my house YEARS ago, so I substituted in Marina Mist and the yummy new Crisp Cantaloupe, one of my favorite BRAND NEW In Colors!

I love these little flowers from the Blossom Party Originals Die. I always forget I have them now that we have framelits. The nice thing about the die is that it cuts through multiple sheets of cardstock so I can do a whole little stack of flowers with only one run through the Big Shot.  I'm so glad Stampin' Up! didn't retire this die.  I need to get some more use out of it!  Do you recognize the sentiment?  It is another Sneak Peek from Chalk Talk, a stamp set I was able to earn for FREE!  One of the great perks of being a demonstrator is that we get lots of opportunities to earn FREE or discounted products!  If you have been considering signing up, now is a great time to do so because you get $155 worth of product for just $99 through the end of May!  It's so easy to sign up...you can do so just by going to my website at www.shanagaff.stampinup.net and clicking on the Join Now link.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

 

Stamp Set: Chalk Talk

Cardstock: Crisp Cantaloupe, Lucky Limeade, Marina Mist, Pool Party, Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder 

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Marina Mist, Wisteria Wonder

Tools: 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Blossom Party Originals Die,Square Lattice and Clouds Embossing Folders, blender pen, bone folder

Accessories: Dimensionals