FF 126 & CTS 249 - It's Your Day!

Hello and welcome back! Today I've got a card that would be great for a teenager.

It's pretty simple - the scallops at the bottom were created with an old Bigz XL die called Tasteful Trim. Since we started carrying the framelits and thinlits, I rarely pull out the old steel-rule dies, but they are great for cutting multiple layers of cardstock. 

This card is for the following challenges:

The color challenge at Fab Friday

The sketch challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi 



Supplies used: 
Stamp set - Happy Birthday Gorgeous
Paper - Whisper White Thick Cardstock; Emerald Envy, Lemon Lime Twist, and Real Red Cardstock
Ink - Emerald Envy, Lemon Lime Twist
Tools - Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die (retired), Multipurpose Liquid Glue

PP 372, Ink 148 & SUO 188 - Hearts Come Home

Hello and welcome back! Today I've got another Christmas card. My son and DIL are coming home for Christmas this year - it will be the first time I've seen them since they got married a year and a half ago! - so the sentiment on this card really speaks to me!

The Inkspirational challenge this week was to create a Christmas card using only neutral colors. I could have gone with some others to be a bit more subtle, but I like the boldness of the black and vanilla. It would be easy to add some color just with some ribbon or colored mats.

I love the Hearts Come Home stamp set and coordinating thinlits and I'm so glad they are keeping them in the catalog! I added some retired DSP and ribbon, matted with black cardstock, to complete the card. Pretty easy! The hardest part was lining up the houses and the trees since this set is not photopolymer.

I also added some Clear Wink of Stella on the windows, but you really can't see it, even in the close-up photo. Someday I'll figure out how to photograph that better! :)

This card is entered in the following challenges:

The sketch challenge at The Paper Players

The designers choice challenge at Inkspirational Challenges

And the winter holiday challenge at SUO Challenges.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used:

Stamp set - Hearts Come Home
Paper - Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock, Basic Black and Very Vanilla Cardstock, Typeset Specialty DSP (retired)
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories - Very Vanilla 1/4" Satin Ribbon (retired), Clear Wink of Stella
Tools - Big Shot, Layering Ovals Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, SNAIL, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

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

PCC 265 & TTTC 021 - Sending Love & Hugs

Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for the challenges at the Paper Craft Crew and TicTacToe Challenge.

And here is today's card:

For the TicTacToe Challenge, this card uses the left column - butterfly, purple, die cut.

No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to get away from using some retired elements in my card making. I really miss the Washi Tape punch and the background DSPs. :(

The sentiment is from Sunshine Sayings. I stamped the individual words on a strip of Whisper White cardstock and used the Washi Tape punch on each end to trim them down. The vellum piece is embossed with the Fluttering TIEF to continue the butterfly theme.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi

UPDATE - I have also entered this card in the tic-tac-toe challenge at The Paper Players. I've used the center column in this challenge. Simply add a birthday sentiment inside the card - love and hugs are always good for birthdays! 

Supplies used:

Stamp set - Sunshine Sayings
Paper - Whisper White Thick Cardstock; Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder, and Elegant Eggplant Cardstock; Vellum Cardstock; 2011-2013 In Color Backgrounds DSP (retired)
Ink - Elegant Eggplant
Tools - Big Shot, Bold Butterfly Framelits, Butterflies Thinlits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Fluttering TIEF, Washi Tape Punch (retired), Multipurpose Liquid Glue, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

PP 367 - Happy Anniversary!

Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for the sketch challenge at The Paper Players.

And here is today's card:

I'm a little late for a couple of anniversaries in my family, so I made a few of these to send out tomorrow. Most of the products here are retired, but I have quite a stash, so I like to make use of it! The card background and die cut detail came from the Falling in Love DSP. I used the Multi-purpose Adhesive Sheets on the back of the paper before die cutting - it's so much easier than trying to glue those detailed die cuts. I used an old punch for the hearts, then stamped on them with one of the flower images from the Beautiful Bouquet stamp set, which also includes the sentiment. The label and one heart are just glued to the front, while the second heart is popped up for a little dimension. The rhinestones were added for just a little bling.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used:

Stamp set - Beautiful Bouquet
Paper - Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock, Sweet Sugarplum and Very Vanilla Cardstock, Falling in Love DSP (retired)
Ink - Sweet Sugarplum
Accessories - Basic Rhinestone Jewels
Tools - Big Shot, So Detailed Thinlits (retired), Full Heart Punch (retired), Everyday Label Punch, Multi-purpose Adhesive Sheets, SNAIL, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

An Unusual Birthday Bouquet!

Hello and welcome back! Today's post is not stamping related, but I thought you might enjoy seeing the project I created for a dear friend's 60th birthday. She is addicted to Post-It Notes, and I've had this idea in my head for several months to create some kind of arrangement that would include 60 note pads. I tried looking on Pinterest, because I was sure someone else must have done something like this, but alas, there was nothing. So I came up with this myself, with some thoughts thrown in by another friend who is a floral arranging genius!

Here's a picture of the finished product, with instructions to follow:

My original plan was a standard bouquet, but that quickly went out the window when I realized I'd need 30 flowers and they'd be really big! This arrangement has 21 "flowers" made with 2 note pads each; the other 18 pads are small ones arranged around the edge of the container.

I purchased the container at a local home and garden store, then hit up a big box craft store for the foam and floral picks, a warehouse store for the note pads, a dollar store for the moss, and my craft stash for the rubber bands, ribbon, and cardstock.

Here's the empty container:

I used some legal size printer paper to create a pattern of the bottom of the container, then traced it onto the foam and cut it out with a serrated knife. Once I got that one to fit, I made another pattern (since the container sides flare out) and cut out the second piece.

I ran some beads of hot glue on the bottom of the container to hold the first piece of foam, then added glue on top of that to hold the second piece.

Next, it was time to make the "flowers." I added a line of hot glue diagonally down the center of a note pad to hold the floral pick.

For the pad on the other side, I added the glue down the center, plus a dot on each of the opposing corners to hold the pads together.

And here's what it looked like after gluing.

I also discovered that while the colored super sticky pads stayed together, the plain yellow ones did not. As soon as I held up the stick, the pad came off. So, I pulled out my trusty rubber band ball and added the bands to hold the pads together. At least I had some colored ones that coordinated with the pads! 

Here's what the stems looked like all lined up and ready to become "flowers"!

I added the smaller pads around the edge of the container to form a border, but did not glue them in. I wanted my friend to be able to use them. They didn't quite reach all the way around, but that's okay.

To create the "flowers," I used my retired Stampin' Up! Floral Frames dies to cut flowers from my stash of cardstock. I stuck them onto the pads using removable Glue Dots, so they'll come off with no problem when it's time to use the note pads.

Before adding the stems to the container, I used several different green ribbons to tie bows onto the stems to look like leaves. 

The arranging was the tricky part. Because the pads are so large, I couldn't get them too close together, and my container was only 15 inches wide. The center row has 7 stems, and the pads are turned so they would all fit. There are 4 stems in each of the middle rows and 3 stems in each of the outer rows. I placed the center row first, then added a couple at a time on the sides, stuffing the moss as I went. The moss is not glued in, just placed on top of the foam and around the stems. You can see on the picture above that I had added some tulle around the outside of the container. I thought it might pretty it up, but once I got it on, I didn't really like the way it looked, so I took it off.

If I were to do this again, I'd probably use fewer note pads, and I think I'd add some weight to the bottom of the container. As it is, this is very top heavy, so I hope it doesn't get moved around too much. When it's time to use the note pads, my friend can just pull out a stem, remove the die cut flowers and rubber bands and pull the pads off the stick. Unfortunately, the backings will stay, but the pads are still usable.

And of course to go along with the gift, I had to add a card. Since this friend is also the music director at my church, I wanted something with a musical theme. For that, Pinterest was very helpful. I finally decided on this card:

It's virtually an exact copy of one I found here created by Jen Arkfeld. There are a couple of tweaks - instead of using an inked spritzer to create the dots, I used a stamp from the retired Gorgeous Grunge set, and instead of candy dots, I added some rhinestones. The large one on the sentiment piece covers up a blotch of Versamark ink (oops!), and the ones in the lower right corner cover up the Stampin' Up! copyright logo that used to appear on all our Designer Series Paper (that I did not notice when I was cutting it). As we like to say, "There are no mistakes, just opportunities for embellishment!"

Jen Arkfeld's blog post contains a video, so if you would like to make this card, you can go to her post here to watch the video. Thank you, Jen, for the inspiration!

My friend, who is also named Jen (what a coincidence!), was very excited to receive this gift! When she posted it on Facebook, she hinted that this was a week's supply of Post-It Notes - I hope they last longer than that! :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used for the card (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Another Great Year (retired), Gorgeous Grunge (retired), Number of Years
Paper - Melon Mambo and Very Vanilla cardstock; Brights Backgrounds and Modern Medley DSP (both retired)
Ink - Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black, Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo Stampin' Write marker
Accessories - Basic Rhinestones, Black Embossing Powder
Tools - Paper Snips, Heat Tool, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals