Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Catching up on cards!

Hello and welcome back! Today's post is not for a blog challenge, but a personal one. I started off the year pretty motivated to continue sending birthday and anniversary cards, and was successful in January, mailing 20 cards. Unfortunately, I fell off the wagon in February and March, and went totally dark in April and most of May. So, I'm recommitting myself to get back into the swing. I mailed 9 cards today to finish off May and start June, and I'm planning to send cards to everyone I've missed since the beginning of the year. They won't be birthday or anniversary cards, just a note to remind them that I'm thinking of them.

The cards I mailed today were not original creations, but designs I CASEd from Pinterest. 


My son and daughter-in-law have their first wedding anniversary coming up, so I found this design on Pinterest and tweaked it just a bit. I have so much of this Summer Smooches DSP in my stash, I could make thousands of these cards! 


This card is for several of my friends and family who have wedding anniversaries coming up. I found this design here


I also created a stash of birthday cards which should get me at least halfway through June. Several versions of this card are on Pinterest, but I got my inspiration from Erica Cerwin's blog.

I also pulled a get well card from my Paper Pumpkin stash to send to a friend who recently had hip replacement surgery.

I love sending "happy mail" and hope that this burst of energy is enough to inspire me to keep going for the rest of the year. And to everyone who waited for the card that never came the last few months, they're on their way - eventually!




Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!
--Cindi



Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):
Card #1 --Stamp set - Milestone Moments
Paper - Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, and Real Red Cardstock, Summer Smooches DSP (retired)
Ink - Real Red, Daffodil Delight
Accessories - Real Red and Daffodil Delight 1/2" cotton ribbon (retired), Pearl Basic Jewels
Tools - Big Shot, Lots of Labels Framelits, Perfect Polka Dots TIEF (retired), SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots


Card #2 --Stamp set - Teeny Tiny Wishes, Flourishing Phrases (inside card)
Paper - Watermelon Wonder, Whisper White, and Flirty Flamingo Cardstock, Affectionately Yours Specialty DSP
Ink - Dapper Denim
Accessories - Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Bakers Twine (retired)
Tools - Big Shot, Stylish Stems Framelits, Petal Burst TIEF, Modern Label punch (retired), Tombow Multi Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals


Card #3 --Stamp set - Birthday Blast
Paper - Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Flirty Flamingo, and Sweet Sugarplum Cardstock, 2016-2018 In Color DSP Stack, Brights DSP Stack
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Tempting Turquoise, Flirty Flamingo, Sweet Sugarplum
Accessories - Whisper White Bakers Twine, Silver Sequin Trim
Tools - Banner Triple Punch, Handheld Stapler and Mini Staples (retired), SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals 

Sunday, May 21, 2017

A Special Baby Shower Card

Hello and welcome back! Today's card is not for any challenge - it is for my niece's baby shower. Baby J is due in July, and unfortunately, I can't make it to the shower this weekend, but I've sent a gift and this card to my sister to pass along. The card was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest by Australian demonstrator Bussakorn Mpelasoka. You can see her beautiful creations here.


I absolutely love this stamp set! :) I think I'll probably end up making a framed art piece for the nursery with the other big stamp, but this one is perfect for the shower. The nursery colors are blue, gray, and white, but Baby J is a girl, so I had to add a touch of pink as well. I stamped all of the images, except for the clouds, with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored them in using a blender pen. The lamb is fussy cut and popped up with dimensionals, and there is a touch of Clear Wink of Stella on the stars. Someday I'll figure out how to photograph that so it shows! The clouds are from the Lift Me Up stamp set, stamped off with Marina Mist and cut out with the Up & Away Thinlits. I pulled out a package of an old Sale-A-Bration DSP to make the envelope liner. I don't often line my envelopes, but with the large stash of DSP in my craft room, I should start!

I'm looking forward to meeting Baby J later this summer, and I hope my niece likes the card. I know she appreciates my work - I made her wedding invitations just a few years ago.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi


Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Moon Baby, Lift Me Up
Paper - Whisper White Thick Cardstock, Smoky Slate and Whisper White Cardstock, Best Year Ever DSP (retired)
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Marina Mist, Basic Gray Archival, Smoky Slate, Blushing Bride, Daffodil Delight, So Saffron
Accessories - Clear Wink of Stella, Pink Pirouette Taffeta Ribbon (retired)
Tools - Lucky Stars embossing folder (retired), Layering Circles Framelits, Up & Away Thinlits, Big Shot, Blender Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals, SNAIL

Monday, May 15, 2017

CC&S#222 & PP#344 - Let us celebrate!

Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for the challenges at CAS Colours & Sketches and The Paper Players.

 

And here is my card:


The Paper Players color challenge provided lots of bright colors, so I decided a bright birthday card was the perfect match. I used the Balloon Celebration stamp set to stamp balloons on three colors of cardstock, and then backed the focal panel with the fourth color. A Real Red baker's twine bow ties it all together. (I'm so punny!) I've stamped the inside to make this a birthday card, but you could use it for any happy occasion.

Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Balloon Celebration
Paper - Whisper White Thick Cardstock; Whisper White, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Pear Pizzazz, and Tangerine Tango Cardstock
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories - Real Red Baker's Twine from the Candy Cane Lane assortment (retired)
Tools - Balloon Bouquet Punch, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots 

A Sympathy Combo Challenge

Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for the challenges at Freshly Made Sketches and TGIF

 Here's my card for the challenges:


I wanted to try one of the new In Colors on this card, so I pulled out the Tranquil Tide ink and cardstock. I used the large stamp from Flourishing Phrases to create the side panel, then added flowers cut from Emerald Envy and Calypso Coral with pearl accents. The sentiment was stamped and cut with the Stitched Shapes oval and backed with a scalloped Layering Oval. I even refrained from adding ribbon to this one, because I wanted to keep it really simple.

I hope you like it.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Flourishing Phrases
Paper - Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock (NEW); Very Vanilla, Tranquil Tide (NEW), Emerald Envy, and Calypso Coral cardstock
Ink - Tranquil Tide
Accessories - Pearl Basic Jewels
Tools - Flourish Thinlits, Layering Ovals Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Big Shot, Stampin' Dimensionals, SNAIL, Fine-Tip Glue Pen

Sunday, May 14, 2017

I'm back!!

Hello and welcome back! It's been nearly 4 months since I last posted - way too long! Gotta work on getting my mojo back, and what better way than with the challenges at Mojo Monday and Stamp Ink Paper. I've combined the sketch from Mojo Monday with the theme at SIP to create a cute kid's birthday card that would also be suitable for an adult.



Here's today's card:



I've had the Cool Treats stamp set since On Stage in November, but hadn't used it yet.  I stamped the ice cream scoops with Peekaboo Peach, Pool Party, and Watermelon Wonder, and used Chocolate Chip cardstock for the chocolate on top and the Tasty Treats DSP for the cone. The sentiment is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black on vellum and I added clear embossing powder to heat set the ink.

I hope you like this card - I think it's pretty cute! And our weather turned pretty warm today, so ice cream is a great idea!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi


Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamp set: Cool Treats
Paper: Whisper White Thick Cardstock; Chocolate Chip, Watermelon Wonder, Peekaboo Peach, Pool Party, and Whisper White Cardstock; Tasty Treats Specialty DSP; Vellum Cardstock
Ink: Peekaboo Peach, Pool Party, Watermelon Wonder, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Peekaboo Peach Ruched Ribbon, Clear Embossing Powder
Tools: Frozen Treats Framelits, Big Shot, Heat Tool, Triple Banner Punch, Tombow Multi Glue, Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals