Serene Sunflower

While we're waiting for the revealing of the new Spring Mini Catalog on March 1st, I decided to pull out one of my favorite sets from the annual Idea Book & Catalog, Serene Sunflower. I think that little bee was just calling me!

I first stamped the large blossom on Whisper White with More Mustard ink twice, turning the stamp about half a turn in between. The background was first stamped with three leaves in Mellow Moss and the bee in Going Gray so they would retreat into the background. Small dots were sprinkled over all with the speckle stamp from the Itty Bitty Backgrounds set (this stamp has taken up permanent residence on my stamping table because I use it so frequently!).

Flannel Plaid background in Lovely Lilac over Lavendar Lace cardstock forms the background for the "Thanks" stamp from the Designer Label Punch Box which is Always Artichoke on More Mustard. Small holes were punched with the Rectangle hand punch to allow threading the Lilac and Moss grosgrain ribbons through the greeting. The ticket corner punch was used to finish off the corners and reflects the same corners found on the Designer Label punch.

Thanks for coming by! Feel free to leave a comment on any post.

Big Pieces and Friends

Good morning! Just one more day left of this Mini Catalog and all these wonderful sets and accessories! I've grown very fond of so many of these; it will be like saying good-bye to friends! Even though at first glance I might have thought these two sets weren't my "style," I have enjoyed stamping with them and appreciate them for their own uniqueness and the opportunity for me to branch out!

This card uses the Big Pieces and the "friends" stamp from Love Matters. I love to do the random stamping style and did that with "fresh greens": Certainly Celery, Mellow Moss and Sage Shadow, then accented with Pale Plum and a very small amount of Perfect Plum using a stamp from the Little Pieces set. (Isn't it great how Stampin' Up!© coordinates their sets so they can be used together?) This piece was layered over a Sage Shadow card. The "Friends" focal piece was stamped on Whisper White then quickly and easily colored directly with Stampin' Write© markers; the Ticket Corner punch gives interest to the corners. This piece is layered over Certainly Celery. The reverse flower from Big Pieces was stamped in Pale Plum then punched out with the 1 1/4" circle punch (which just fits it!) then layered on Mellow Moss which was punched out with the 1 3/8" circle punch. The center of the flower is highlighted with Dazzling Diamonds glitter applied with a Two-Way Glue pen and has just a touch of eggplant grosgrain to finish it off. A very easy card to make and the colors are so fresh and lovely after some dreary winter days. Makes me feel like Spring is right around the corner, and it is!

Tomorrow is the last day of the Winter Mini Catalog and Sell-A-Bration. I will miss both!

Big Pieces and Enchante' Paper

Today another card done with the Big Pieces set, this time with the striped paper from the beautiful Enchante' collection of designer papers. I picked up the colors in the papers by using the same palette of inks: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Mellow Moss and Sage Green. Isn't it so freeing to have inks the same colors as the papers so we don't have to fret and search everywhere to find something to, at best, coordinate? I love how the greens look with the variations in hue and design, then set off with the Pale Plum. The card itself is Mellow Moss. The Big Pieces are stamped on Very Vanilla, one stamp from the Little Pieces set is stamped in Perfect Plum then this is layered on Pale Plum. The accent flower is punched with the 1 1/4" circle punch, layered on Certainly Celery punched with the 1 3/8" circle and accented with a celery brad from the Soft Subtles assortment. It is set on Dimensional foam dots to give it height and prominence.

The greeting from the set Happy Everything (such a versatile set!) is embossed in Perfect Plum. Isn't this a sweet and soft look? ...maybe not what one would expect from this set, but it certainly works to make a feminine and lovely card!

Have a Happy Thursday everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

Big Pieces set and Playhouse Paper

I love this Big Pieces set but haven't gotten to play with it as much as I would like. Therefore my goal is to get a few more things made with it before the Winter Mini Catalog and Sell-A-Bration ends on February 28! It is great for cards, striking on scrapbook pages and fun for a wide assortment of 3-D projects such as gift bags and tags, boxes, book covers and tons of other things I haven't even thought of yet!

Sometimes we stampers look around for a versatile set which can also be used for cards and projects for males of all ages (as well as females). This set can fill that bill quite well when used with "masculine" colors.

This card today uses a strip of Playhouse designer paper. The colors in this paper lend itself to cards for either guys or gals. I used cardstock of Old Olive, Buckaroo Blue (great color I haven't used much of this year--I should have, it is a great one), Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White and a touch of Marigold Morning. I stamped the greeting with the White Craft pad, punched the corners with the ticket punch, then used the white pad to edge the piece and help to define the edges. I punched out the stamped Big Pieces and layers with the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches. The Buckaroo Blue background is stamped with VersaMark for a watermark look using one of the other Big Pieces stamps (there are eight in the set). The finishing touch was a bit of paper piercing using the piercing tool, piercing template and mat from my Crafter's Tool Kit. All products ©Stampin' Up!

Thanks for visiting my site. If you have comments on this card you may post them by clicking on "comments" below this post; if you wish to email me and don't have my email address handy, click on the "view my complete profile" found in the right column and you can find an email address there.

Have a great day! The weatherman said it would be beautiful!

DVD Tin Notebook

This project is made from an aluminum DVD tin which I decorated with cardstock and stamps. The Fine Lace background is stamped in Close to Cocoa on Cool Caribbean cardstock for the top portion. The Canvas background was stamped in Close to Cocoa on the lower portion then overstamped with the Fabulous Flourishes set in Chocolate Chip. A middle band of Chocolate Chip cardstock has flourishes from the same set embossed in Chocolate, then is layered on Cool Caribbean. The initial "L" is from the Letterpress Alphabet set.

Inside is a jr. legal pad (cut down to fit) on one side and cardstock with a pocket on the other. A ball-point pen will also fit inside.

These notebook tins are great to carry with you in the car or in your bag as you will always have paper and pen ready to scribble down notes or sudden inspirations! It will keep your scribing clean and un-mussed (is that a word?) and it also makes a great gift!

Sticky Strip© was used to adhere the cardstock to the tin and it works great!

All products ©Stampin' Up! except tin and jr. legal pad.

Enjoy this wonderful sunshine and weather today! Now back to work on income tax...no stamping for me today. : (

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Well, I had it all planned ... I would be posting several Valentine cards and wishing you a Happy Valentines Day! ..then all my cable, including my internet, went out! It is finally fixed so here is a belated but sincere Happy Valentine for you! Hope you had a great day!

Happy Harmony

This is such a great set!

I'm going to miss it when it's gone! Happy Harmony is one of the Sell-A-Bration sets we can get for FREE with any $50. order!

The image here was stamped in VersaMark™ then colored with ™Stampin' Pastels, high quality artists chalks. One of the several sayings from this set is stamped under the flowers. This is layered on a narrow slice of striped Enchante designer paper, then on Perfect Plum which has been rolled with the Rough Texture jumbo wheel and Perfect Plum ink. All this is then layered on a Sage Shadow card.

**Notice the little "divots" cut into the sides of the top layer which hold the ribbon in perfect place? This was done using the Horizontal Slot punch. Just slide the paper about half-way into the slot then punch it. Viola!! You have a new way to hold your ribbon in place and add interest to your design all at once!!

Pocket Notes!

These Pocket Notes © make communication easy! Whether for a short and sweet note, to enclose with a gift or for holding a little treat, they are just the thing! They can be used as is or decorated with fancy papers, punches, ribbons, stamps, buttons... whatever you have. I've decorated these with some small pieces of the Loves Me papers (good way to use up scraps we can't bear to throw away) and two stamps from the Sweet on You stamp set. The "sweet" stamped imaged was punched out with the 1 3/8" circle punch.

These Pocket Notes come in a "sweet" size, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" in pink, vanilla or chocolate and include envelopes. Their colors coordinate with both the Enchante and Loves Me double-sided designer papers, and to take it a step further, these papers coordinate with the designs of several stamp sets in the Winter Mini too, so it all works together! That's one of the many things about Stampin' Up!™ products I appreciate. They are designed from the "git-go" to coordinate: stamps, inks, papers, ribbons, buttons, brads, eyelets ...you get the idea, and it's a great one! This saves so much time and frazzle-ment (is that a word?) when putting projects together! : )

I added a Ghiradelli chocolate to one of my notes; the little flap on the top of the note slides into the slit on the bottom to keep it shut; it fits right into the envelope which comes with the notes. You could add a small trinket, piece of jewelry or other treasure for the recipient. Another cute idea is to decorate the front, punch a 1/4" hole on the center of the fold, insert the handle of a sucker, enclosing the sucker in the note. You have cute candy messages or Valentines!

All the products shown (except the 1 3/8" circle punch and chocolate) are in the Winter Mini Catalog and are only available until February 26.

Hmm, I just realized my last three posts have included chocolate!
I wonder what that means?? : )

Have a great weekend! Stamp on!

Valentine's gift box - Loves Me paper

Chocolate is one of the most popular gifts for Valentine's Day. Here's a wonderful way to present your gift of chocolate or anything else, for that matter, to someone special! This 4"x4" box containing, what else, but chocolate kisses (!) is made from heavy paperboard which started out as coasters but now are dressed up and ready to present your gift in style, covered with SU's Loves Me double-sided Designer Papers. On the front is a heart and square chipboard from the On Board collection again covered with designs from the Loves Me papers The tag is stamped with the Sweet on You set and the other three sides of the box are also accented with images stamped with this set. Holding it all together is turquoise grosgrain ribbon which looks lucious paired with all the pinks and cocoas. A medium Gusset Cellophane Bag (p. 218) holds the chocolate in a nest of iridescent shreds. Other embellishments include a small punched flower, brown button from the Earth Elements collection and both rose and cocoa grosgrain. What fun this would be to give (or receive) on a special day!

Click on any picture for a larger view.

All products ©Stampin' Up! (except shreds & coasters)

On left: back & right sides of box. On right: front and right sides

Valentine Candy Treat Bag

Do you need some cute little treats to give for Valentine's Day? Here is one made to hold CHOCOLATE! What's a better treat than that!!

The hearts and envelope from Festive Four was used for the main image and colored in with inks and Aquapainter. The words are from Everyday Flexible Phrases (that is such a useful set with 52 different words in it!). Cardstock is Pixie Pink and Pretty in Pink, as well as white. A Small Cellophane Bag (p. 218) is attached holding the goodies. A perky lil' red & white gingham ribbon finishes it off just right!

Actually, I didn't make this cute little bag; I received it in a swap from another demonstrator and friend, Gayle Enouen. Isn't it cute! Yumm, now where did I put my M&M's?!

All products ©Stampin' Up! (except M&Ms of course)

Chipboard Paper Clips!

Because it's been several days since I posted, I'm going to treat you to TWO items today (at least I hope you feel treated!) : )

I've been wanting to make these giant paperclips for a while so I'm excited to have these ready to share with you!

I covered chipboard flowers with Stampin' Up!© Loves Me Designer Paper and added the punched smaller flowers to each. Two flowers were then glued to the top of the paper clip, one on front and one on back. The paperclips are about 3 1/2" tall, 4" with flower. These will be so cute holding a batch of papers together or whatever might need a clip! Fun to make, give and use!

Enjoy!

Close as a Memory

These delicate little flowers are from the Close as a Memory set. I needed a nice sympathy set so I was happy to see this set when the new catalog came out! It fills the need quite well. It also has some very nice word stamps with it which I really like. The "for you" words on the little tag are from the All Year Cheer I set (which has 11 other word stamps too). I used four colors of markers, Lavendar Lace and Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive and Always Artichoke, to color my stamp, lightly misted it with water, then stamped. I used the Aqua Painter to very lightly add some pale Barely Banana behind the flowers. This is layered on Elegant Eggplant which has slits cut with the Simplicity Corner Slot Punch into which I inserted the top white layer. Narrow organdy ribbon is tied around.

The Floral background was stamped with Elegant Eggplant onto Almost Amethyst cardstock, then layered onto the Eggplant card to finish.

All products ©Stampin' Up!