SitLux "SIPandShine" March 2024

 I was enjoying playing around with the Latte Love set and quickly crafted up this card using the SIPandShine technique that I feature in my classes. (Sitlux is my Business Identity which means to "Let the Light Shine" which I believe is a beautiful summary for card crafting and memory keeping. Have you brightened someone's day with a cheerful card?  I got to break out 3 Thankyou cards from my stash this week to share with my support staff at work that helped keep me sane during an eventful week.

Stamps Ink and Paper= SIP add an embellishment and now it SHINES

Again using Stampin' Up! for the Latte Love DSP and Stamp set. Colors are Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Gray Granite, Calypso Coral, and Lost Lagoon. I used a skintown brown to create splatter effect in the background and wink of Stella to add some frost to the foamy parts.

Images (C) Stampin' Up!

#GDP434 LotsALatte

 

I'm back!  February was a rollercoaster month for me and I struggled to not only post but to be inspired to craft while I focused on some other wellness of life aspects.  I want to get back into a regular routine for crafting, posting, and sharing.  I love to see a basic set sketch or color combination and grab whatever stamp set is on top of my stack and get busy.

This week's challenge is a sketch challenge from Global Design Project, #434. 

Check out the Challenge and play along here http://www.global-design-project.com/.

I am notorious for sloshing coffee! So it was fun to embrace the coffee stains in this set as focal points on my card.  Here I used the Stampin' Up! Latte Love Stamp set and corresponding DSP.  I felt that the "splatters" embossing folder to create texture in the back ground and used a secondary mat layer with the splatters stamp.  The sentiment is stamped on a modified Perennial Postage die cut label. Colors were inspired form the DSP and include Lost Lagoon, and Pecan Pie though the splatters were done with Pretty Peacock to give a darker effect.

  Images are Copyright (c) Stampin' Up! (R)

 

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How do you like your coffee?  Mine takes a little cream, and if its a latte, I always add an extra shot of espresso!

Watercolormelon SIP&Shine

One of my monthly classes is the SIP&Shine Class.  SIP= Stamps,Inks,andPaper with the Shine representing sprinkle of embellishment (jewels, ribbons, embossing, etc)

I am always on the lookout for a great layout to add to my portfolio.  A couple weeks ago  Denise Cox at Birds Nest Designs posted this layout and I knew I wanted to participate in her challenge and keep this design in my rotation.  Her challenge invites people to play along by creating the card and posting on her facebook challenge post. BirdsnestDesigns Facebook page

See here  I created a Sweetest Cherries card.  I used a sponge dauber to add variations of pinks and res to the cherry stamps and variations of green to the stem and leaves.  I used the basket stamp as a background for the sentiment.  The background strip is from the Sale ABration Sunny Days DSP and the sweet sorbet ribbon ties it all together.

  Images are Copyright (c) Stampin' Up!

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#GDP430 Bucket list-->Basket list--->Balloon list

 I am so incredibly excited to share that I received an honorable mention last week from the Global Design Project!  Hop back through my blog to check out the #GDP429 challenge, entries, winners and special mentions! 

This week's challenge is a sketch challenge.  I had this idea in my head and took some artistic liberty to the sketch to make it happen. It is on my bucket list to ride in a hot air balloon, and not just one that is tethered to the ground at the fair or local festival.  I imagine it would be beautiful at sunset.  This week's challenge made me think about all of the things that are on the forever Want-To-Do list and to put actions in place to make it happen.  I have a desire to go to Napa Valley and they also offer Hot Air Balloon adventures, hopefully their recent weather uncertainties will resolve and I can feel confident in booking a trip for my 40th year of living the best life.

Check out the Challenge and play along here http://www.global-design-project.com/.

Here I wanted to create hot air balloons across a sunset sky.  I knew I wanted to make black hot air balloons and needed a background that visually supported a vivid sunset.   I was going to blend or watercolor a background but then I found the perfect DSP in the Annual Catalog, Masterfully Made. The hot air balloons were cut using black cardstock and adhesive sheets and then pieced together. The sentiment used a piece from the balloon and embossed with white.  I accented with Crushed Curry for the matted layer on a basic black card base.  I embellished with the glittered gold dots from  Glossy Dot Assortment. To tie it together I found retired glittered black ribbon from Stampin' Up! and tied it in a  simple knot to add to the sentiment strip.

  Images are Copyright (c) Stampin' Up!

 

I added Wink of Stella to add some shimmer to the balloons and 

used dimensions to create a floating effect

Stay tuned as I create another card a bit closer to the sketch's intent and another with the Hot Air Balloons across a soft morning sunrise sky.

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Untethered dreams drift away in the breeze- MeB (Don't send your dreams up in the balloon, but place them in the basket where they can be come grounded even if they do drift away for awhile)

I got an Honorable Mention from #GDP429

Honorable Mention!!!  Woohoo!! I was excited to see my name among the honorable mentions this past week at Global Design Project #429! Congratulations to the winner and great work to all who participated.  Check it out here #GDPspecialmention  #GDP429

 

 

Check out the Challenge and play along here http://www.global-design-project.com/.

Here I used the gray granite card base with a lost lagoon off set layer.  I used the Stamp-n-Write Markers to color in on the slurpee stamp from the Carnival Treats stamp set in Poppy Parade and Lost Lagoon, with the bubble top in Gray Granite.  When I pulled my So Cool stampset out there were leftover pieces from a previous project that reminded me of the Rays of Light stamp set and it looked perfect for this set.  I used the Stamp-N-Write markers again to color in the rays in an alternating pattern.  I added adhesive backed sparkle gems and some wink of stella to the slurpee. mmm, yummy  Images are Copyright (c) Stampin' Up!

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I hope you enjoy this simple in color, simple in stamping, but otherwise refreshing card that is perfect for all ages.

Catching up! GDP#428 as inspiration

 

While I was out of town visiting my 92 (almost 93!) years young Grannie, I missed out on participating in the the #GDP428 Case the Designer challenge where they featured using circle/round objects as a trio focal point.  However, one of the participants, Yvonne Spikmans, made the perfect card for me to use as a CASE (copy and selectively edit) for a birthday card for my brother who is a DiscJockey on RadioFreePensacola and I made a second card from this inspiration using the Carnival Treats Doughnut set. Check out the Challenge and play along here http://www.global-design-project.com/.

So on this 1st card I was creating with my older Brother in mind to let him know how proud I am of him and his dedication to his passion and hobby of spinning vinyl.  His radio show will only use vinyl records and he typically showcases songs from the good ole days (ie, before the 90s). 

 For his birthday card (Feb birthday) I took a little artistic license. 

 I used the Doughnut stamp with momento black ink, rotated and stamped again for a solid black circle with the white center.  I then decided to add texture (hard to see in the photo) by using a stamp in the sweet songbird set and embossed in clear to create a grooved record effect.  The Rock&Roll DSP is from the January to April Stampin' Up! Catalogue and the matted layer I used the Merry Melody embossing folder to add the music element.  The stamped music notes are from the Sweet Songbirds, the Happy Birthday is from the Circle Sayings, and You're so Hip (inside joke, if you will) is from the Happiest Hippos, a SAB set from years back.

 Hopefully he will find this card a-Rockin'.

 

  Images are Copyright (c) Stampin' Up!

 

 

On this second card inspired by the challenge, I decided to use the doughnuts as they were intended!  The lighter than air DSP from the January to April catalogue set the mood for this card. I made 3 tasty treats, Chocolate blueberry, Lavender Vanilla, and Strawberry lemonade.... deprived of sugar as it is the 3rd week of diet January...  Anyway, for these  I stamped the doughnuts 1st in the cake colors, Crumb Cake, Flirty Flamingo and Pecan Pie.  I stamped a second time using the frosting flavors, Azure Afternoon, Fresh Freesia, and Lemon Lolly. I cut out the icing and punched out the centers of both and layered them with dimenionals.  I ran Wink of Stella over the icing and added Rainbow adhesive backed dots for pizzazz. I used a small piece of vellum to soften the area behind the sentiment and chose to keep this as an all occasion card.  It sure did make me smile!

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I hope you enjoy this simple in color, simple in stamping, but otherwise yummy card that is perfect for all occasions.

#GDP429 So Hot, So Cool (in Florida, in January, its 80!)

 Oh my! Where has the time gone, I blinked and most of January had flown by.   I was out of town and missed GDP challenge #428, but I made up for with 2 cards, stay tuned for those.  Today's card is for this week's challenge #GDP429 which is a color challenge using Poppy Parade, Gray Granite, and Lost Lagoon.

Florida had a see-saw flip-flop in weather this week, after 3 days below 45 we had dramatic increase to 3 days with highs in the 80s... in January!  I think this warm weather helped me decide which stamp set to feature for this week's challenge, the Carnival Treats in the January to April Mini catalogue, its a Host Set so it is hidden in the back. It reminds me of the old ICEE shop and shopping at our local "small" wal-mart as a kid with my grandma (before Super-Walmart came to town).

Check out the Challenge and play along here http://www.global-design-project.com/.

Here I used the gray granite card base with a lost lagoon off set layer.  I used the Stamp-n-Write Markers to color in on the slurpee stamp from the Carnival Treats stamp set in Poppy Parade and Lost Lagoon, with the bubble top in Gray Granite.  When I pulled my So Cool stampset out there were leftover pieces from a previous project that reminded me of the Rays of Light stamp set and it looked perfect for this set.  I used the Stamp-N-Write markers again to color in the rays in an alternating pattern.  I added adhesive backed sparkle gems and some wink of stella to the slurpee. mmm, yummy  Images are Copyright (c) Stampin' Up!

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I hope you enjoy this simple in color, simple in stamping, but otherwise refreshing card that is perfect for all ages.

#GDP427 Hearts of Love

Whew! I've had a successfully busy week making cards and sharing them on my facebook page to share products from the Sale-A-Bration.  However, I wasn't quite together enough to also post to my blog.

In keeping with my goal to participate in Blog Challenges I decided to jump in on the Global Design Project #427 for the theme of Hearts. Check out the Challenge and play along here http://www.global-design-project.com/.  Updated to add, I missed the deadline! I thought it was 6pm, but it is 2pm on Tuesdays.  Will try again next time!

Today I took my inspiration from one of the 1st Quilts I ever made.  It is a Kwik Krazy Heart quilt featuring pinks and browns (think Chocolate covered cherries, yum!).  In the fabric world, it is very hard to find pinks and browns that coordinate together, I remember it took me quite a while to pull my color collection and visits to many quilt shops. I love pulling it out and featuring it on my sofa for Valentine's Day.  Luckily Stampin' Up! is an excellent provider of coordinating project supplies, so pulling this card together was much easier. 

 

 

Here I use the Online Exclusive Radiating Stitches Dies heart cutout.  Colors include Petal Pink, Copper Clay, and Rose Gold.  The Designer series paper for the background is the Petal Pink 6x6 InColor paper.  The polk-a-dot hearts are from paper in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue, Trusty Toolbox.  I believe it is intended to be a "corkboard" look, but it made the cutest hearts here.  I used a strip of Rose Gold specialty paper to off set the hearts.  The Sentiment is from the Super Cool stamp set.  The sentiment shape is retired, stitched shapes as is the Petal Pink cotton ribbon and the textured embossing folder.  I love a simple dry emboss texture to elevate a card layer.  I added an InColor dot to embellish the Petal Pink heart. Images are Copyright (c) Stampin' Up!

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I hope you enjoy this simple in color, simple in stamping, but otherwise gorgeous card inspired by the Hearts theme.

 

Happy New Year 2024!

 Have you heard the Buzz?   Stampin' Up! has released their January-April Mini Catalogue and it is Sale-A-Bration too!  This year they have the cutest Bee bundle that can be used for Valentine's Day and Spring time cards.  

I will spend some time this week featuring different sets from the new catalogue on my blog.  Most of the cards will be direct samples from the Catalogue with a few of my own twists sprinkled in.

Do you give out Valentines?  Sometimes I send one to my mom and my nieces.  I like to look through all of our available products to send "love you" cards to let them know I'm thinking about them.

Also, Easter is early this year!  March 31!  Lots of time still to order products now and get ahead for the Spring holidays.

Don't forget our Kits and Online Exclusives.  Stampin'Up! has released 2 new kits in December and 2 new kits just now as well.

And Paper Pumpkin is a great monthly subscription 

I forgot to add a photo and publish this post before.... Enjoy this photo of my secret retreat

#GDP426 Who is ready for a Picnic?

 What's better than a juicy watermelon over a red and white checkered table cloth to ring  in warmer weather and signs of summer.  When the days are longer than the nights and the heat and humidity are sinking in this juicy delight is sure to cheer up the day.

 I previously made myself a goal to attempt some Blog Challenges over the course of this Stampin' Up! year.  Since making this goal in October, this is only my 2nd entry. Today I am participating in the Global Design Project Challenge #426 which is a Sketch Challenge.  Check out the Challenge and play along here http://www.global-design-project.com/

 

Here I use the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration set Watercolor Melon.  I recently watched an older video from Erica Cerwin using a bar stamp to create gingham/checkerboard and noticed that there is a similar stamp in the SAB Detailed Dogwood.  I used the black and white paper from the Zoo Crew dsp to accent the card.  I dry embossed the sweet sorbet layer with the RainDrops Embossing Folder following a tip from Michelle Litweiller, doesn't it look just like watermelon seeds?!  I stamped the watermelons in Old Olive on textered White Center Specialty Paper in Granny Apple Green and clear embossed on top. I love the texture the specialty paper adds to the watermelons.  Isn't it great they have added so many stamps that coordinate with the modern oval punch!

 

 

 

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I hope you enjoy this simple in color, simple in stamping, but otherwise gorgeous card inspired by this sketch challenge.  Excited to participate for the second time.

 

For the Love of Strawberries! SAB 2024

 I adore all things Strawberry!  I get my love of these sweet fruits from my Grandma.  She loved strawberries so much she even had a kitchen ceramic jar set shaped like strawberries that I have inherited.  We spent most afternoons after school at my Grandma's house and she would always be sure to have a snack available for my brothers and me.  She would take icebox cold strawberries and top them with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, they were juicy and sweet everytime!  Now I can't pass up anything to do with strawberries, Strawberry wine, Strawberry jewelry, Strawberry quilting cottons... I love them all!  So when I saw that Stampin' Up! had a DSP that included strawberries in the SAB catalogue, I had to include this on my order.

 

 

I decided to use the Sweetest Cherries Sentiments to accompany the adorable strawberry DSP from the SAB Sunny Days set.   I embossed the poppy parade card base with the Cane Weave 3D embossing folder from the annual catalogue and used the Countryside Corners dies for the background shape.

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Wow! Time sure does fly by!

 Can you believe it has been a month since my last blog!  There has been so much going on, some good, some not so good.  I didn't want to make it to Christmas without posting some of my makes.  I'm sure I will be a bit behind throughout the remainder of 2023, but at least I have started something that I can carry forward into 2024!  The Joy of Christmas Designer Series paper from Stampin Up! was absolutely gorgeous and I just loved the scripted Merry Christmas from the Stars at Night set and from the Brightest Glow. (all images are copyright Stampin' Up! ).  This is a SIP card layout I am using for my Sip and Shine classes next year.  Its nice when Stampin' Up! makes everything so easy and coordinated.

I am going to leave you with this quote:

Enjoy Life Today because Yesterday is gone and Tomorrow is never Promised.  Live Love Laugh

Always Grateful, week 3

 It is the season of Thanksgiving.  What are you thankful for?  I'm happy to be spending time with friends and family this week and making special memories!

 Stampin' Up! really does design the most beautiful papers.  I am always impressed with their Autumn specialty designer papers.  This year will be hard to beat!  I wasn't able to hold the class that I planned but here are some examples of what would've been included.  Without using the embossing folder this design is perfect for my SIP and Shine classes.  Stamps Ink and Paper with a little something extra.

I got the design inspiration from Michelle from Owl Star Stampers.  I used crumb cake as the card base and mat layer and embossed with assortment of folders.  I just love the texture embossing folders add to a card! The dsp was cut to 3 inches square and then matted with a small border.  The sentiment is from the Autumn Leaves stamp set.  I think the book card can be given anytime of year!

 

All images and designer papers are copy right of Stampin' Up!

Giving Thanks! Autumn Leaves Bundle

 Every Autumn Stampin' Up! releases the most amazing stampsets for Autumn.  I believe I have collected every single leaf image they've released since I joined a few years ago.  I love the colors of fall and I love this years in color additions of copper clay, moody mauve, wild wheat, and pebbled path.  

I designed these cards for a workshop and used the wood grain embossing folder to add texture to the background and used DSP from O Holy Night!  I can't wait to design and play with the specialty dsp that is part of the All About Autumn bundle! Stay Tuned!

Stars at Night, Sketch Global Design Project Inspiration #418

 I made myself a goal to attempt some Blog Challenges over the course of this Stampin' Up! year.  Today I am participating in the Global Design Project Challenge #418 which is a Sketch Challenge.  Check out the Challenge and play along here http://www.global-design-project.com/

 

I decided to use the Stars at Night Dies and DSP.  My sentiment is from the Brightest Glow stampset that carried over from last year!  I embossed the background with the hatched embossing folder that is part of the basic set in the Online Exclusives, however I auditioned 4 other embossing folders before deciding on this one. The label shape is from Nested Essentials dies. Shop with me!

 To make the star I first used very vanilla but thought it would pop nicely with a hint of gold.  I tried to add the gilded leafing with heat and stick powder as a splattered look but once I added the gold it looked "freckled" instead of nicely splattered.  I tried again using a dobber and Tombow glue to add the leafing only to the middle star and the outermost edge but wasn't thrilled with this attempt either.  My 3rd attempt here shows my winning star.  I used an adhesive sheet adhered to very vanilla and then covered the entire section with gilded leafing. I ran the gilded leaf section through the Star at Night Embossing folder to end up with the result I have now.  (PS, the distressed gold paper would've probably also been ok, but looked a bit muted compared to the gold in the DSP)

I hope you enjoy this simple in color, simple in stamping, but otherwise gorgeous card inspired by this sketch challenge.  Excited to participate for the first time.  

 

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Happy Halloween!

 Last night I decided to make a list minute Gift Tag for some special trick or treat candy surprises for my nephews.  

I do not get any trick or treaters and mostly work alone so I did not purchase much of the cute halloween suites this year... but using the Tag from the Merriest Trees set and sentiment from Throughout the Year I whipped up these tags in just a few minutes.

Season of Thanksgiving

 October is coming to a close as we enter a Season of Thanksgiving I will share some cards that can be easily adapted for use year- around to show appreciation to your support network.

Here I show one card sketch design from Stampin on the Porch in 3 different color combination.  

Featuring Stampin' Up! Inked Botanicals DSP, Falling Leaves Embossing Folder, Chic Dies, Oxidized Copper specialty paper and Season of Chic Stamp Set.

https://www.stampinup.com/?demoid=2246954

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Autumn setting in

 I just love Autumn, but I live in Florida and don't get to see as much color change as elsewhere. I think Stampin' Up! nailed this stamp set and sentiment "Autumn teaches us that change can be beautiful" from the August Leaves Stamp set in the September to December Catalog 2023.  The DSP featured here is from the O Holy Night suite and compliments the colors of Fall.  I used the oxidized copper specialty papers to die cut the leaves and heat embossed copper veining.  The Copper Clay textured ribbon marries the two papers.

November 2023 Card Class

 

Kindness

 Welcome to my Blog. I hope to share with you my creations and inspire you to create with me! Card Classes will be posted as well as tutorials and project ideas. Stampin’ Up! Current promotions will be listed here. Join me in all the fun!