Card of the Day - Waterfront Sandy Shores

Hello and welcome back! Here's another birthday card.

One of the challenges this week was an inspirational photo of a sandy beach, so this is my interpretation. The scene was stamped using the Waterfront set, then a square was die cut from the center of the scene, layered on a bit of Soft Sky and popped up over the opening. The linen thread adds another beachy element. 

 All of the background elements were stamped off before stamping on the card to give a softer look.

This design was inspired by the challenge at the Paper Craft Crew.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Waterfront, Best Year

Paper - Soft Suede, Soft Sky, Whisper White Cardstock

Ink - Balmy Blue, Crumb Cake, Soft Sky, Soft Suede, Garden Green, Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight

Accessories - Linen Thread

Tools - Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card of the Day - Art in Bloom

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

I recently received the Art in Bloom bundle so I thought it was time to ink it up and see what I could do with it. I embossed a panel of Misty Moonlight, then stamped the three flowers on Basic White and used the hybrid embossing folder with the die to cut them out. They are layered on the embossed card in the same spots they appear there. I stamped and die-cut a few leaves and tucked them in among the flowers. The sentiment die is from the same set but I shortened it a bit to fit. Added the bow in the center and the card is done!

This design was inspired by the color challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Art in Bloom, All Squared Away

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Misty Moonlight, Granny Apple Green, and Whisper White Cardstock

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Coastal Cabana, Misty Moonlight, Granny Apple Green

Accessories - White Ribbon from Flowers for Every Season Ribbon Combo Pack

Tools - Stamparatus, Big Shot, Bloom Dies, Bloom Hybrid Embossing Folder, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

Card of the Day - Birthday Delivery

Hello and welcome back! I've discovered a couple of new challenge blogs, so today's card was created for one of them.

I'm actually combining three challenges today - the "people" challenge at SUO Challenges, the "retro" challenge at Inkspirational, and the sketch/DSP challenge at Try Stampin' On Tuesday.

I had to dig back a couple of years to find this DSP and stamp set. I don't have much with people in it. There are three layers of DSP under the oval with the girl. She was on the DSP so all I had to do was die cut her out. I really wanted another oval under the cupcakes, but I needed the largest die to cut that out, so no more layers. :(

 

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Birthday Delivery

Paper - Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Whisper White cardstock; Birthday Memories DSP

Ink/Coloring Tools - Early Espresso, Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Blends: Pink Pirouette Dark, Seaside Spray Dark

Accessories - Sweet Sugarplum Ruched Ribbon

Tools - Big Shot, Birthday Friends Framelits, Layering Ovals Framelits, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card of the Day - Spice Cake Sympathy

 Hello and welcome back! For today's card, I went waaay back in my stash of Designer Series Paper.

I think Spice Cake was one of the first DSPs I bought when I became a demonstrator a little over 10 years ago. I just loved the patterns and colors! (I think I even have some of the fabric and coordinating giant buttons somewhere in my studio...) Like many of us, I tend to hoard DSP so I thought it was time to give it some love. Don't worry, I've got plenty left! Not so with the River Rock cardstock though. Just had about a half-sheet worth of scraps but enough for this card.

The sentiment from Inspired Thoughts is stamped in Soft Suede on a scrap of River Rock and die cut with one of the dies from Tailor Made Tags. I added a little die-cut reinforcement with Pool Party, then a flag of crochet trim and a linen thread bow to tie it together.

This design was inspired by the sketch challenge at Sunday Stamps.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Inspired Thoughts, Day of Gratitude (envelope)

Paper - Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock; Pool Party, More Mustard, Soft Suede, River Rock cardstock; Spice Cake DSP

Ink - Soft Suede, Pear Pizzazz

Accessories - Victoria Crochet Trim, Linen Thread

Tools - Big Shot, Tailor Made Tags Dies, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card of the Day - Shaded Summer Birthday

 Hello and welcome back! I'm finishing up September birthdays this week.

For this card's background, I did a watercolor wash with Pacific Point and Granny Apple Green on watercolor paper. I used the Magenta Madness and Granny Apple Green Stampin' Write Markers to color the stamp, then used the Summer Shadows Dies from Sale-A-Bration to cut it out. The sentiment label is from the Bloom Dies.

For embellishment I added Matte Black Dots to the flower centers and a Lemon Lime Twist bow. It matches the Granny Apple Green really well!

This design was inspired by the inspiration challenge at Just Add Ink and the Sale-A-Bration challenge at TGIF Challenges.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Shaded Summer

Paper - Pacific Point, Magenta Madness, and Whisper White Cardstock; Watercolor Paper

Ink/Coloring Tools - Granny Apple Green, Pacific Point; Stampin' Write Markers: Magenta Madness, Granny Apple Green

Accessories - Matte Black Dots, Lemon Lime Twist Gingham Gala Ribbon

Tools - Big Shot, Summer Shadows Dies, Bloom Dies, Water Painters, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

Card of the Day - Con-Grad-ulations!

Hello and welcome back! Today's card is to celebrate a cousin who just earned her SECOND Master's degree!

Her school's colors are maroon and gold, and she earned her degree in education, which in the world of academic regalia, is a light blue hood.

I've used this "congratulations" stamp set before but this time it really gave me some trouble. I started out by heat embossing the outline, then doing the first set of letters with full strength Merry Merlot. I used my Stamparatus to help line everything up but the stickiness of the stamp pulled my paper ever so slightly out of whack. So I tried again. The second time was better, but when I went to stamp the second set of letters (Merry Merlot stamped off once), I had forgotten to move the stamp on the plate from the first attempt. After I cleaned it with my shammy it was still wet so some of the wet ink transferred to the cardstock before I stamped it. It's most noticeable on the "g" and the second "n" but not enough for a third try. It just looks "artistic" now!

The blue ribbon was created with the Blue Ribbon stamp set, along with a retired die and punch. 

This slimline card was inspired by the challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Amazing Congratulations, Blue Ribbon, Here's A Card

Paper - Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock; Very Vanilla and Merry Merlot Cardstock; Gold Foil Paper

Ink - Versamark, Merry Merlot, Tempting Turquoise

Accessories - Gold Embossing Powder

Tools - Big Shot, Bitty Banners Framelits, Layering Circles Dies, 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Classic Label Punch, Heat Tool, Stamparatus, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card of the Day - Forever Fern wedding

 Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for a friend's daughter who recently got married.

The bridesmaids wore navy and there were purple flowers in the bouquets. Stamping on this paper was a little tricky, so I used some clear embossing powder and my heat gun to set the ink. I really like that the texture of the paper still shows through the stamping.

The design was inspired by this week's board at Tic Tac Toe Challenges. I used the left column (ribbon, die cuts, foliage).

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Forever Fern, Beautiful Bouquet (inside sentiment)

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock, Night of Navy Cardstock, Vellum Cardstock, Natural Touch Specialty Paper

Ink - Night of Navy, Rich Razzleberry, Blackberry Bliss

Accessories - Whisper White Crinkled Seam Binding, Night of Navy ribbon from Playing With Patterns Combo Pack, Elegant Faceted Gems, Clear Embossing Powder

Tools - Big Shot, Stitched Rectangles Dies, Forever Flourishing Dies, Mulitpurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card of the Day - Happy for You!

 Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for my sister who just moved from Arizona to Texas to a brand new home.

I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches but instead of squares, I die cut these cute little houses from the Home Together Dies. The linen thread bow stands in for the branch.

I used the label die from Give it a Whirl for the sentiment. To make it stand out a bit more I used my Night of Navy Stampin' Write Marker and ran it around the edge.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - In The City

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Cajun Craze, Night of Navy, Mossy Meadow, and Sahara Sand cardstock

Ink/Coloring Tools - Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie, Sahara Sand, Mango Melody; Stampin' Write Markers: Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy

Accessories - Linen Thread

Tools - Big Shot, Brick & Mortar 3D Embossing Folder, Give it a Whirl Dies, Home Together Dies, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Black Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

Card of the Day - So Grateful for You

 Hello and welcome back! Today I have another birthday card, but it doesn't say "Happy Birthday," at least not on the front. 😀

I used three different challenges as inspiration for this card, the autumn leaves challenge at Inkspirational Challenges, the color challenge at Sunday Stamps, and the sketch challenge at Retro Rubber Challenge Blog. The stamp set, Lighthearted Leaves, is from the 2015 Holiday Catalog.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Lighthearted Leaves, Here's a Card (inside sentiment)

Paper - Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock; Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Bumblebee, and Soft Succulent cardstock; Painted Autumn DSP

Ink/Coloring Tools - Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Bumblebee, Soft Succulent; Stampin' Write Marker: Tangerine Tango

Accessories - Artistry Blooms Adhesive-Backed Sequins

Tools - Big Shot, Leaflets Framelits, Basic Borders Dies, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card of the Day - Age Awareness Resist

 Hello and welcome back! Here's another birthday card today.

I created an ink blended background with some Irresistibly Floral DSP from a few years ago. 

To make the large sentiment easier to see, I stamped it with Rich Razzleberry on vellum and then heat embossed it with clear powder.

I added adhesive under the darkest parts of the sentiment so it wouldn't show through the vellum. Some rhinestones on the flower centers add a bit of bling, although the embossing is pretty shiny too!

The design was inspired by the color challenge at The Paper Players (my 4th color is Granny Apple Green), and this week's challenge at Tic Tac Toe Challenges (I used the diagonal from lower left to upper right and the right hand column).

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Age Awareness, Peaceful Moments (inside sentiment)

Paper - Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White cardstock; Vellum Cardstock; Irresistibly Floral DSP

Ink - Blackberry Bliss, Rich Razzleberry, Polished Pink, Granny Apple Green

Accessories - Rich Razzleberry Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones Jewels, Clear Embossing Powder

Tools - Heat Tool, Blending Brushes, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Mini Glue Dots

Card of the Day - Pansy Patch Birthday

 Hello and welcome back! Today I have another birthday card.

I used the theme challenge from Just Add Ink and the sketch challenge from TGIF Challenges to design today's card.  

I took a piece of Soft Succulent and added three strips of the striped DSP from the Pansy Petals assortment. This was embossed using the Tasteful Textile embossing folder. Another piece of flowered DSP was added on top, then the sentiment label with a bit of ribbon and a pansy bud were popped up with dimensionals. A little bling was added to the "i" in birthday.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Pansy Patch

Paper - Soft Sea Foam, Soft Succulent, and Whisper White cardstock; Pansy Petals DSP

Ink - Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen (inside sentiment), Polished Pink, Pale Papaya, Bumblebee (envelope)

Accessories - 2021-2023 In Color Jewels, Polished Pink Open Weave Ribbon

Tools - Big Shot, Pansy Dies, Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Tasteful Textile embossing folder, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card of the Day - Another Stellar Birthday!

Hello and welcome back! I've got another space themed birthday card today. I used this set a couple of weeks ago for a 5-year-old boy, but this card is for a 9-year-old girl who is fascinated with all things space-y!

This design is almost the same as the previous card but I did make a few changes. I have used Shimmery White Embossing Paste for a little more sparkle, and I made this one an interlocking circle fun fold card. I also let the dog keep her bone by coloring in the white cardstock with the Misty Moonlight Light Stampin' Blend marker to blend in with the background.

I also located my moon stamp this time so I didn't have to create a moon on my own! 

This fun fold card was created for the challenge at SUO Challenges and the Up In The Air challenge at As You See It.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Stellar Birthday, To The Moon

Paper - Misty Moonlight, Balmy Blue, Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight cardstock; Silver Glimmer Paper

Ink/Coloring Tools - Memento Tuxedo Black, Misty Moonlight, Daffodil Delight; Stampin' Blends: Basic Black Light, Call Me Clover Light, Cinnamon Cider Dark, Daffodil Delight Dark and Light, Misty Moonlight Light, Petal Pink Light, Poppy Parade Light, Pumpkin Pie Dark, Smoky Slate Light, So Saffron Light, Color Lifter

Accessories - Shimmery White Embossing Paste

Tools - Big Shot, Layering Circles Dies, Circles Collection Framelits, Star Stencil from Paper Pumpkin kit, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Card of the Day - Sitting Here

 Hello and welcome back! Sometimes I need to make cards that don't seem to fit any of the open challenges. That's what I've got today.

I've got a couple of anniversaries coming up for friends who have family members of the feline persuasion! I made the cards with different cats to match the individual couples.

The swing and flower pot were stamped directly onto the Whisper White layer and colored with Stampin' Blends, while the pillows and cats were fussy cut and added with dimensionals. After the first stamping I used a Blending Brush to add a little bit of Balmy Blue to create a sky over the swing. The sentiment was stamped onto a strip of Calypso Coral and cut in two before adhering to the card front.

And here's the other cat. 😺

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Sitting Here, Express Yourself (inside sentiment)

Paper - Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, and Whisper White Cardstock

Ink/Coloring Tools - Memento Tuxedo Black, Balmy Blue; Stampin' Blends: Calypso Coral Dark, Cinnamon Cider Light, Daffodil Delight Dark, Flirty Flamingo Light, Granny Apple Green Light, Highland Heather Light, Petal Pink Light, Polished Pink Light, Pool Party Dark, Smoky Slate Dark, Ivory

Accessories - Calypso Coral Organdy Ribbon

Tools - Big Shot, Brick & Mortar 3D Embossing Folder, Blending Brush, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

Card of the Day - Delicate Dahlias

Hello and welcome back! I made today's cards for birthdays, but I didn't put a sentiment on the front, so they could be used for anything.

 When looking through some upcoming challenges, there weren't any sketches, so I pulled up my PDF of old Operation Write Home sketches and used a random number generator to pick one. The winner (?) was # 118.

The challenges I used to design the card were from Just Add Ink and Paper Craft Crew.

As you can see from the photo above, once I created the focal piece for the card front, I couldn't decide which color card base to use, so I made one of each!

I didn't get too carried away with the "sparkle & shimmer," just adding a few rhinestones to the flower center and some Wink of Stella to the leaves. I have a love/hate relationship with Wink, as you may be able to notice in the photo below. It either comes out too fast and blotches, or too slow and you can't really see it. I also have trouble photographing it. 

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Delicate Dahlias, Best Year (inside sentiment)

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Whisper White, Night of Navy, and Coastal Cabana Cardstock

Ink - Night of Navy, Coastal Cabana

Accessories - Night of Navy Gingham Ribbon, Clear Wink of Stella, Basic Rhinestones

Tools - Big Shot, Basic Borders Dies, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

By the Numbers:

Whisper White stamped piece - 3 x 3

Night of Navy die cut layer - 3-1/8 x 4-1/4 (ends will be trimmed by die cutting)

Coastal Cabana layer - 3-1/4 x 4-1/4

Whisper White or Night of Navy - 3-1/2 x 4-1/2

Card base - 4-1/4 x 11, score at 5-1/2