JAI 387, RRCB 76 & SSC 166 - Merry Wishes

Hello and welcome back! Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to start thinking about Christmas cards. Some people do them earlier, but I'm not one of them! :) Here's today's card:

This is a really clean and simple card, at least for me. It uses several retired products - the Jolly Bingo Bits stamp set, the Washi Label punch, and the Baker's Twine Trio pack. 

This card is for the following challenges:

The color challenge at Just Add Ink

The "anything goes" challenge at Retro Rubber (the Jolly Bingo Bits stamp set is from the 2012-2013 SU! annual catalog)

And the sketch challenge at Sunday Stamps

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used:

Stamp sets - Jolly Bingo Bits (retired), Oh What Fun
Paper - Whisper White Thick Cardstock; Whisper White, Garden Green, and Cherry Cobbler cardstock
Ink - Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Memento Tuxedo Black, Garden Green and Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write Markers
Accessories - Baker's Twine Trio Pack (retired)
Tools - Big Shot, Layering Squares Framelits, Washi Label Punch (retired), Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

PCC 268 & TTTC 024 - Hello Baby!

Hello and welcome back! Our extended family just welcomed a brand new baby girl so of course, I had to make a card. Aren't baby cards just the best?

The base is Whisper White Thick Cardstock, with layers of Powder Pink and Crumb Cake. I used the leaf motif from the Eclectic Layers Thinlits to add a bit of texture. The bow is just some Powder Pink Finely Woven Ribbon layered back and forth and then attached to the Burlap Ribbon with some glue dots. The burlap ribbon is taped to the back of the Crumb Cake layer and then attached to the card front.

This card is for the sketch challenge at Paper Craft Crew and the diagonal challenge (greeting, elegant, circle) at Tic Tac Toe Challenges.

Welcome to the world, Callie Ruth! (Isn't that a great name?)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used:

Stamp sets - Bookcase Builder, Baby Bear
Paper - Whisper White Thick Cardstock; Whisper White, Crumb Cake, and Powder Pink Cardstock
Ink - Powder Pink, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Crushed Curry
Accessories - Powder Pink 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon, 5/8" Burlap Ribbon
Tools - Big Shot, Eclectic Layers Thinlits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Layering Circles Framelits, Washi Tape Punch (retired), SNAIL, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

Swaps for On Stage Live!

Hello and welcome back! It's hard to believe that a week ago I was in Salt Lake City with over 2,000 of my closest friends at On Stage Live! This is the semiannual gathering of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from all over the world, and it's always fun and interesting.

I hadn't originally planned to make any swaps, but I was going through some supplies that I've had in my craft stash for a couple of years and thought it was time to use them up! So without further ado, here's what I brought to Salt Lake City:

This first card is actually a matchbook-style gift card holder. The inside contains two coin envelopes - one to hold the gift card and one to hold a small card you can write a greeting on.

I found this tutorial about 5 years ago and planned to do a class, so I ordered the coin envelopes on eBay. But I never held the class and the envelopes have been sitting on my shelf ever since, so I decided it was time to use them.

Supplies used:

Stamp set - Jar of Love
Paper - Perfect Plum, Lemon Lime Twist, Smoky Slate, and Whisper White Cardstock
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Perfect Plum, Versamark, Lemon Lime Twist Stampin' Write Marker
Accessories - Clear Wink of Stella, Gold Embossing Powder, coin envelopes, Lemon Lime Twist 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon
Tools - Simply Scored, Big Shot, Heat Tool, Everyday Jars Framelits, 1/8" Handheld Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, SNAIL, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

These are the card fronts I made for general swapping:

These cards have an identical layout, as you can see, but I used four different color combinations. 

Fresh Fig/Blushing Bride

Tranquil Tide/Calypso Coral

Lemon Lime Twist/Night of Navy

Berry Burst/Pool Party

I wouldn't have predicted it, but the most popular color combination was the Fresh Fig/Blushing Bride combo.

Supplies used:

Stamp set - All Things Thanks

Paper - Color Cardstock as noted above, Whisper White cardstock, Fresh Florals DSP

Ink - Fresh Fig, Tranquil Tide, Night of Navy, Berry Burst

Accessories - Finely Woven Ribbon in Fresh Fig, Tranquil Tide, Lemon Lime Twist, and Berry Burst

Tools - Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Starburst Punch, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

I also had some sticky note pads and mini gel pens left over from a church retreat craft project a couple of years ago, so I made a little something for some of my closer friends and roommates.

I had originally planned to do some die cutting with the Quilt Builder Framelits, but when I looked closer at the Christmas Quilt DSP, I realized it would be much easier to just use that! I don't remember where I found the original instructions, but here is a tutorial that is virtually identical.

Supplies used:

Paper - Garden Green, Real Red, Whisper White, and Lemon Lime Twist Cardstock, Christmas Quilt 6 x 6 DSP Stack

Accessories - 3 x 3 sticky note pads, mini gel pens (from Staples)

Tools - Big Shot, Quilt Top TIEF, Tear & Tape, Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Finally, I also included another item in my roommates' gift bags:

I got this idea from Kelea Nevis on the Demonstrator Planning Place page on Facebook. She made coasters for all the women in her church for Mothers' Day - what an undertaking! I had made a couple of these earlier in the summer and they seemed to work out fine, so I thought I'd do a couple for my roomies! The only problem I had with these was that the Sharpies didn't seem to last long when I was coloring. I'm not sure if they're old, or if it was just an issue with using them on the rough surface of the coaster.

Supplies used:

Stamp set - Crafting Forever

Ink - Basic Black Archival

Accessories - coasters (from Dollar Tree), Sharpie fine point markers

Well, that's it for now! I'm looking forward to next November's On Stage Live in Orlando, where Stampin' Up! will celebrate its 30th anniversary! That should be quite a party!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi

TGIFC 131 & INK 146 - Happy Birthday

Hello and welcome back! Today I have a very special birthday card made using the eclipse technique. These cards are all over Pinterest, but this is the first time I've tried it.

The card is an unusual size, because I needed to fit 5 of the large letters on it. Luckily, with the Envelope Punch Board, it's easy to make an envelope to fit any card! I love the look of the popped up letters that let you see a peek of the color underneath.

I wasn't sure how to add the "birthday," but then I thought the copper embossing would be perfect. What do you think?

This card is for the eclipse technique challenge at TGIFC and the autumn challenge at Inkspirational.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used:

Stamp sets - Lighthearted Leaves (retired), Milestone Moments, Suite Sentiments (retired)
Paper - Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock; Very Vanilla and Early Espresso Cardstock; Spooky Night DSP; Neutrals Envelope Paper (retired)
Ink - Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, Versamark
Accessories - Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon (retired), Copper Embossing Powder
Tools - Big Shot, Large Letters Framelits, Heat Tool, Foam Adhesive Strips, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Envelope Punch Board

JAI 383 & SUO 186 - Eat Cake!

Hello and welcome back! I've got a cute birthday card for you today.

As you can see, it's a gatefold card with a center medallion. The medallion is only attached on one side so that the card will open. Here's the inside.

Here's a close-up of the medallion. I used some Clear Wink of Stella on the candle flame and some Crystal Effects on the plate to give it some shine.

This card is entered in the theme challenge at Just Add Ink and the "treats" challenge at SU! Only Challenges.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used:

Stamp sets - Sketched Birthday (retired), Happy Birthday Gorgeous
Paper - Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Pool Party, and Whisper White Cardstock; Whole Lot of Lovely DSP
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Stampin' Blends Alcohol Markers (Light Crumb Cake, Dark Daffodil Delight, Light Daffodil Delight, Dark Pool Party, Dark Rich Razzleberry, Light Smoky Slate)
Accessories - Clear Wink of Stella, Crystal Effects (retired)
Tools - Big Shot, Bitty Banners Framelits (retired), Layering Ovals Framelits, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, SNAIL, Foam Adhesive Strips, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals