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



Addicted to CAS Rainbow

Our challenge this week at Addicted to CAS is a bright and cheery one!

This week we are sponsored by

Clear Dollar Stamps

 

The wonderful Cassie is offering the winner of our challenge an amazing $15 gift voucher!!!

 

I had a lot of fun with this challenge. I used what I call a "free" stamp for my circles, which is actually just a piece of extra rubber that comes in the middle of one of the Daydream Medallions stamp set!  I noticed there is also a circle like that in one of the Sneak Peek sets I got today, Chalk Talk. Gotta love those freebies! lol

 

Have I said how much I LOVE getting my My Paper Pumpkin each month?!  I love being surprised with new goodies.  I used the Hey There stamp set here for sentiment, along with the arrows and banners from the Photopolymer stamp set Designer Typeset.  The tab along the side is just some random strips of scrap cardstock. I love using up scraps...I feel so bad about tossing them in the trash!

 

Stamp Sets: Daydream Medallions, Designer Typeset, Hey There

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Black StazOn

 

Bug Me

Today I wanted to make a simple card for my honey, whom I am missing SOOOO much.  Four more days til he returns from the DR.  Not that I'm counting or anything. :) I used the challenges from CASology and Dynamic Duos. 

At first I was a little perplexed as to how I was going to use this color combination, but then I came across this stamp set that I had never even assembled! I am glad that Bug Me is not retiring because it is so stinkin' cute and perfect for clean and simple cards.

 

Stamp Sets: Bug Me, Pennant Parade

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral

Tools: Hearts a Flutter Framelits, sponge, Adorning Accents Embossing Folder

Accessories: Baker's Twine, Rhinestone



It's a sunshine day!

Ahhh, I just LOVE the sun!  I am so glad it has finally arrived.  I am one of those people that is ALWAYS cold, so I am seriously feeling like I won the lottery. Seriously, if you know me you know that I take my blankie everywhere with me, including to church and restaurants. :)  A sunshine day called for a sunshine card!  The challenge at The Friday Mashup was to make one, so they must have KNOWN how thrilled I am with all this sun. :)

I wanted to do the starburst technique so I decided to keep the rest of the card simple to make it stand out. I could not find a tutorial for the starburst so I kind of made mine up as I went, cutting long strips of paper and then cutting them on the diagonal. I did this technique back in October but I have slept since then, so I forget exactly!  I sponged each piece of the starburst before adhering it to a piece of cardstock with our Permanent Adhesive Sheets and trimming the edges.  I then ran the whole thing through the Square Lattice Embossing Folder for some more texture. Do you spy the sneak peak stamp, Really Good Greetings? It is getting a lot of use already and I have had it less than a day! lol

Stamp Set: Really Good Greetings
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, VersaMark
Tools: 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Heat Tool, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Color Spritzer, sponges
Accessories: Tangerine Tango Embossing Powder, Dimensionals

Missin' my Honey!

Well, Brett has been in the DR for less than 12 hours and I already miss him so much!  It is crazy how different life is without him here. :( I had to make him a card with my new goodies to let him know I am thinking about him, even though he won't even get my messages until he gets back to the states. At least he will see I was missing him while he was gone!  I used the sketch from Create with Connie and Mary for my card.

I used to have such a hard time cutting into brand new sheets of DSP. Not anymore!  I dug right into this pack of Quatrefancy Specialty DSP. It is so yummy!

I stamped the sentiment from Really Good Greetings on the printed window sheet in Black StazOn ink. I then found out that Framelits do not cut through window sheets! lol It made a nice etch that I was able to cut out though.  I used some strategically-placed Tombow Multi Glue to adhere it to Daffodil Delight cardstock. The ink splatters on the back are supposed to represent my tears of loneliness from missing Brett. lol They are more likely to be Janae's though because she cried herself to sleep tonight wanting to talk to him. :( She is such a Daddy's girl! 

 

Edited to Add: As I was finishing up my post, Brett called!  I woke Janae up to talk to him but I am sure she won't even remember in the morning. :)  I was so glad to hear that they made is safely. Now I can go to bed with a peaceful heart.

 

Stamp Sets: Mosaic Madness, Really Good Greetings

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Whisper White

Ink: Black StazOn, Island Indigo, Pool Party, Pumpkin Pie

Tools: Oval Framelits, Mosaic Punch, Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder, Stamping Sponges

Accessories: Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon, Quatrefancy Specialty DSP, Dimensionals

 



New Goodies!!!

My new preorder goodies arrived today!  Yippee skippy!  I was babysitting all day though so I didn't get a chance to play until now.  I wanted to participate in the challenge at Black Tie Fridays because I have a good friend who is graduating from college with a 4.0 on Saturday!  Go Mandy!  I am so proud of you!  If you are checking out my blog you get to see your card here before you get it on Saturday at your PARTAAAAYYY!!! :)

I got a video from my 5th upline, Linda Bauwin, on how to make a kite card, which I thought would be perfect for a graduation card.  You can see her video here.

I made my kite card but then decided I wanted it to be anchored on something, so the base is just a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of Soft Sky cardstock that is embossed with the Clouds Embossing Folder. I had forgotten how light Soft Sky was! The stamp is a Sneak Peak from the new catalog, Really Good Greetings. I LOVE this set of sayings. There are a lot of greeting sets that are right up my alley in the new catalog. Go figure. lol

 

Stamp Sets: Really Good Greetings, Up Up & Away

Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Soft Sky, Whisper White

Ink: Black StazOn, Island Indigo, Melon Mambo

Tools: Window Frames Framelits, Paper Piercing Tool, Clouds Embossing Folder

Accessories: Summer Smooches DSP, Daffodil Delight Seam Binding and1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Brights Collection Brads, Dimensionals



Addicted to Colors

I was excited to see that we have a color challenge this week at Addicted to Stamps and More!  Color challenges are much easier for me than marker challenges...or anything goes...that one is a killer for me! lol Here are the colors that we were given and I paired them with the sketch at retrosketches. 

Our challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More! this week is sponsored by Whoopsi Daisy.

 

Prize 2 sheets of digis (8 images)

They will be sponsoring the whole month of May!  Cool!

 

When I first saw the colors I was unsure what I wanted to do. I don't use that many brights altogether, usually!  But my bestie Steph was here and I wanted to show her the White Wash technique so I thought I would give it a try with some flowers!

The Pacific Point cardstock changed the color of my Melon Mambo ink a little bit, but I think it still ended up looking really cool!  This is my absolute favorite new technique, if you couldn't tell. lol I think I have used it on three cards this week alone.  It is fun to experiment and see what the colors are going to look like.  This card looks so tropical to me with these bright colors.  Makes me want to take a trip to Hawaii!

 

Stamp Sets: Bring on the Cake, Secret Garden

Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Whisper White

Ink: Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White Craft Ink

Tools: Fancy Fan Embossing Folder, Aqua Painter, Blender Pen, Heat Tool

Accessories: Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Rhinestone, Dimensionals

Retiring Madness

Well, it is that time of year when the retiring madness starts. Things start selling out and people become frustrated that they didn't get the ink refills or cardstock that they wanted before it retired.  If you are one of those people who are like this, GET YOUR RETIRED items now before they are gone!  Some items are already sold out, so don't wait any longer!  I am one of those people who sells her retired items, so this doesn't apply to me.  The madness that I experience this time of the year is trying to use all of my retiring stamp sets, dies and accessories one last time. :) I did this with my card for CAS(E) this Sketch today.

I used retiring stamp sets, framelits AND DSP on this card.  These particular stamps have never even seen ink!  Others in each set were very frequently used, but these stamps were nice and clean. :)

I really like these pears and wish I had gotten around to using them sooner!  I'm also sad to see the Cannery Framelits go. I get so attached to my Big Shot items, even if I don't use them all that much. I am somewhat of a collector, you might say. :) 

 

Stamp Sets: Friendly Phrases, Friendship Preserves

Cardstock: Pear Pizazz, Whisper White

Ink: Early Espresso, Pear Pizazz, Summer Starfruit

Tools: Cannery Framelits

Accessories: Summer Smooches DSP



Con Amor, todo es posible.

Brett is leaving for the Dominican Republic tonight to lead another group from work, so I decided I would use the challenges at Freshly Made Sketches and Stampin' Royalty to make a card for the little girl we sponsor, Ana Raisa. 

When I opened up the Stampin' Up! demonstrator website I saw they were going to have a new flower kit available this afternoon, so I was inspired to make some similar flowers for my card!

I am so bad about pulling out my Bigz dies to use, even though I HAVE to have all of them. lol Fun Flowers was on the bottom of my stack of dies, so that shows you how much I use it! I enjoyed making these flowers though!  I used our Permanent Adhesive Sheets to hold all of the layers together. This was much faster than pulling out the hot glue gun. I am so impatient and hate waiting for that puppy to heat up! :) I hope Ana Raisa likes her card. I used Google Translate to write her a message on the inside. I can speak some Spanish, but mostly just words here and there, not full sentences. Hopefully it translates better than I do! lol

 

Stamp Sets: Betsy's Blossoms, Everything Eleanor, Paz y Amistad (retired)

Cardstock: Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Very Vanilla

Ink: Gumball Green, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit

Tools: Fun Flowers Bigz Die, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder

Accessories: Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, Print Poetry DSP Stack, Adhesive Sheets





A Night of Frustrations

We had a great day today, so I should have known that things wouldn't go my way tonight! First I sat down to watch my recorded finale episode of Project Runway. I had missed the first run and taped one later in the night. The recording caught the very end of the previous run, telling me who won. Ahhh!!! Of course, my luck. Then it turned out the Program Guide was wrong and it taped Dance Moms instead so I didn't even get to see the final episode yet. I know it will be on again, but I had time to watch it NOW!  To top things off, I realized I had lost my favorite earring and we have been so many places today that it could be anywhere AND my camera battery was dead when I tried to take a picture of my card I made tonight. Sigh. Hopefully it will charge enough while I work on my post so I can get it posted tonight!  Luckily, there are only 32 minutes left of today, so it can't get any worse, right?

So sorry for my rant. :) The card I made tonight is for the challenges at CASology and Less is More.

I love these two challenge sites because they allow for simple card designs, my favorite. I like making detailed cards sometimes, but clean and simple, stress free cards are what really relax me and make me love stamping.

 

Stamp Sets: Everything Eleanor, Feel Goods

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Island Indigo, Pool Party

Tools: Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Color Spritzer

Accessories: Rhinestones, Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon, Dimensionals



White Washing...for real this time!

So I went back and looked at the instructions for this technique and WOW, I completely messed up the steps. lol I'm kind of glad I did though because what I did yesterday is more like painting, and I like that technique too!  Today I decided to try the REAL white washing for the challenges at Nacho Average Challenges and colourQ and I LOVE the results. 

Here are the white washing steps that I used:

1. Emboss the image with white embossing powder.

2. Put a few drops of Whisper White Craft Ink Refill on a plastic plate.

3. Use the Aqua Painter to add a few drops of water to the craft ink to thin it out and paint it over the image.

4. Use the heat tool to dry the image.

5. Pick up ink from inside of the lid of the ink pad with a Blender Pen and color the image.

I initially had the butterfly embossed directly on the card base but I didn't want to cover it up with the banners. I showed it to Brett and he had the fabulous idea of cutting out the butterfly and putting the banners underneath it.  I loved that idea so I decided that since he helped me I would finish the card off for him. :)  I have such a wonderful hubby.  I love you honey! ;)

 

Stamp Sets: Seasonal Sayings, Swallowtail, Hey There

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White Craft

Tools: 3/4" Circle Punch, Aqua Painter, Blender Pen, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy

Accessories: Brights Collection DSP Stack, White Embossing Powder, Dimensionals



White Washing...kind of

I decided to give this technique that I have been seeing everywhere a try today for my one layer card I am entering at The Paper Players.

I wanted to use the set Countryside because it is one of my favorite masculine sets and will sadly be retiring at the end of this catalog.  It is a great set to watercolor, so I thought this white washing technique would be cool to try.  Every card I have seen has first been embossed with white, but I thought that might look funny with the truck so I embossed in Early Espresso instead. 

I cannot believe I did not try this technique sooner!  I don't know if my version is technically called white washing or not. lol  I did use Whisper White Craft ink with my Aqua Painters, so does that make it white washed?  I don't know!  Anyway, this is the next best thing to having paint available in Stampin' Up! colors as far as I am concerned.  I put drops of WW Craft ink on a plastic plate and then used reinkers to add color to each drop. I used Not Quite Navy, Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede and Basic Gray.  Then I just picked up the "paint" and colored on my embossed image. So easy and what a great way to add and blend color nicely on the cardstock!  I am just ecstatic over the final results and can't wait to try some of the beautiful white flowers I have been seeing everywhere!

 

Stamp Sets: Curly Cute, Countryside

Cardstock: Crumb Cake

Ink: Basic Gray, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Not Quite Navy, Soft Suede, Whisper White Craft

Tools: Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Aqua Painter, Simply Scored

Accessories: Early Espresso Embossing Powder



Post-Retirement List Anticipation

I got up very late last night/early this morning to see the Stampin' Up! Retirement list, so now that that anticipation is over I am exhausted!  Add to that my early morning trip to the dentist to have some teeth drilled and a pounding migraine...I just want to go to bed so this will be quick!  I made this card yesterday for the challenges at Create with Connie and Mary and retro sketches.

 

I decided to turn the sketch sideways to fit better with the images I wanted to use. I see now that the Lacy Brocade embossing folder will be retiring at the end of this catalog! I am so sad by that one. It is one of my favorites.  I know there will be other fabulous embossing folders to replace it though. ;) ;)

 



 

 

Stamp Sets: Feel Goods, Secret Garden

Cardstock: Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Very Vanilla

Ink: Gumball Green, Midnight Muse

Tools: Circle Punch, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder

Accessories: Gumball Green Stitched Satin Ribbon, Rhinestones, Print Poetry DSP Stack, Dimensionals

Traced Doodling

I was really excited to try a new technique for the challenge at Just Add ink, which is to try something you have never done before.  Since our challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More! is to use markers, I went searching for a marker technique and I found Traced Doodling. I have never even heard of this technique but it brought me out of my comfort zone and I had a lot of fun with it!

I started by stamping the flower from Mixed Bunch in Whisper White Craft Ink. I let that dry and then outlined the entire thing with the fine point tip of my Calypso Coral marker.  I went around that with lines and dots of Lucky Limeade.  The centers are each filled in with Pool Party.  This is a great way to be able to doodle if you aren't comfortable with your own doodling skills! lol  I did the same thing with the butterfly but used a different flower that I could color in more of.  I also did a little bit on the inside, keeping with my promise to myself to add a little something to the inside of each card. :) 

Stamp Sets: Itty Bitty Banners, Mixed Bunch
Cardstock: Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Whisper White
Ink: Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party
Tools: Finishing Touches Edgelits, Blossom Punch, Circle Punch, Fancy Fan Embossing Folder
Accessories: Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon, Rhinestone

Up in the Air over CAS

I have really been getting into making CAS cards lately!  I whipped up this card in about 10 minutes while I was waiting on Brett to get ready to go get ice cream. :)  We should be saving our pennies for Convention in Salt Lake City but ice cream at the Magic Wand has just been calling our names lately. lol  This card is for the challenges at colourQ and Try Stampin' On Tuesday.

I don't have any Bermuda Bay ink yet so I had to go with Tempting Turquoise.  I wasn't sure about this combination at first but I really ended up liking it!  I think the key to using such a variety of colors well is to use a lot of white, so that is what I chose to do.

Nothing too complicated to explain on this one!  I put the birds in the corners in place of the three circles for a little added accent.  I almost forgot to decorate the inside but remembered right before I took the pictures, but I kept it very simple.

 

Stamp Sets: Oh Hello, Up Up & Away

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Concord Crush, Melon Mambo, Poppy Parade, Tempting Turquoise

Tools: Scallop Circle Punch, Circle Punch

Accessories: Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals