It's Been A While!

 Hello and welcome back! I can't believe this is only my third blog post this year! I haven't had much mojo and there's been some personal stuff going on so I just haven't been motivated. But my boss is celebrating a special birthday this week, so I had to make a card for her! And here it is:

This design was inspired by the following challenges: Just Add Ink, Tic Tac Toe Challenge (diagonal - metallic, free, floral), Double Trouble Challenge, and Festive Friday.

Cathy is a big Green Bay Packers fan, so I wanted to incorporate the team's colors into the card. Lucky for me that two challenges this week were looking for green and gold!

I used the Everyday Details stamp set and dies to create the focal piece, then layered it onto a base of Crushed Curry cardstock and Metallic & Shimmer DSP that was embossed with the Hammered Metal embossing folder. The texture reminds me a bit of a football. What do you think? :)

After coloring the focal piece with Stampin' Blends I added a few gold Festive Pearls to the flower centers and added a bow with gold Simply Elegant Trim. I decided to leave the front without a sentiment, and just added one inside the card.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Everyday Details

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Basic White and Crushed Curry Cardstock; Metallic & Shimmer Specialty Paper

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Blends: Evening Evergreen Dark and Light, Soft Succulent Dark and Light, Pumpkin Pie Light, Lemon Lolly Dark; Stampin' Write Marker: Crushed Curry

Accessories - Festive Pearls, Simply Elegant Trim

Tools - Big Shot, Everyday Details Dies, Hammered Metal Embossing Folder, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

Watermelon Pizza?

Hello and welcome back! Here's another card for today:

I used the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches as inspiration for this card. I'm also entering it in the Anything Goes challenge at Double Trouble and the monthly challenge at NBUS.

When I saw the Watercolor Melon stamp set in the Sale-A-Bration brochure, I wasn't sure I'd bother getting it. It just didn't speak to me. But then I saw someone use it to make pizza slices! Awesome! Since there are no dies it has to be fussy cut, but it's not a big deal. Then you can add your own toppings!

 Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

--Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Watercolor Melon, Itty Bitty Birthdays

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Basic White and Basic Black Cardstock; Brights Patterns DSP (from 2013)

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Crumb Cake, Crushed Curry; Stampin' Write Markers: Poppy Parade, Basic Black, Garden Green

Tools - Big Shot, Beautiful Shapes Dies, Basics (Dots) 3D Embossing Folder, Paper Snips, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Season of Chic

Hello and welcome back! I can't believe it's been over two months since my last post! If you want to know what I've been doing, check out the ACK!! page on this blog. It's been a fun project, but it has taken up all my spare time. Most of my friends with November birthdays and anniversaries didn't get cards this year; however, many of them did get a chicken. 🐔

Anyway, it's time to get back to making cards and entering challenges. Here's today's card:

For this card I was inspired by the challenges at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and Color Throwdown.

The sketch is a slimline card but I made mine a standard size. I used the Season of Chic stamp set along with the matching Chic Dies. I pulled out my Stamparatus so that I could stamp the flowers several times to bring out the color. This was a pretty simple card to make.

I've got a lot of birthdays in December so I need to get working on those and I haven't thought about Christmas cards yet! I may have to pull from my stash to get those out on time...

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Season of Chic

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Basic White, Balmy Blue, Old Olive, and Petal Pink Cardstock; Design a Daydream DSP

Ink - Balmy Blue, Old Olive, Petal Pink

Accessories - Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels

Tools - Big Shot, Stamparatus, Chic Dies, Layering Ovals Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Spec-Taco-Lar! Birthday

 Hello and welcome back! I was so inspired by a challenge sketch that I decided to make a second card! Here it is:

Like yesterday's card, this was inspired by the sketch at CAS Colours & Sketches.

I've had this stamp set for awhile but hadn't used it yet. I wish it had a coordinating die set, but the larger stamps aren't too difficult to fussy cut. And I love coloring with my Stampin' Blends!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Taco Fiesta

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Basic White, Tahitian Tide, and Poppy Parade Cardstock

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Tahitian Tide; Stampin' Blends: Crumb Cake Light and Dark, Daffodil Delight Light, Granny Apple Green Light and Dark, Poppy Parade Dark

Tools - Paper Snips, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Textures & Frames Birthday

 Hello and welcome back! It's been a while since I've posted a card because I've been preoccupied with another project - ACK!! You can read about that on the ACK! page on this blog. For today, though, here's a card:

I used the challenges at Color Throwdown and CAS Colours & Sketches for inspiration. The colors were perfect for a masculine card, which I have a need for this week.

For the solid circles, I stamped off once with Pecan Pie, then used it full strength for the outer frame. The bars in the center are stamped in Crumb Cake and the sentiment is stamped in Cajun Craze. This card was very quick to put together.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Textures & Frames, Artistically Inked

Paper - Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock; Mossy Meadow and Very Vanilla Cardstock

Ink - Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze

Tools - Big Shot, Basics 3D Embossing Folder (Cross Hatch), Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Painted Poppies Birthday

 Hello and welcome back! I'm working on getting my mojo back, so here's today's card:

This design is based on the challenge at Sketch Saturday.

Another friend who shares a birthday with my husband loves poppies, so this was the perfect set for her card. The die cut flowers were added onto a layer of DSP that has the leaves stamped on it, then a die cut circle with the sentiment was popped up on top. I added a few sequins for the theme twist from the challenge.

Easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Painted Poppies, Peaceful Moments

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Basic White, Basic Black, Calypso Coral, and Poppy Parade Cardstock; Peaceful Poppies DSP

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Mossy Meadow

Accessories - Artistry Blooms Adhesive-Backed Sequins

Tools - Big Shot, Poppy Moments Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Detailed Trio Punch, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Belated Happy Birthday

 Hello and welcome back! I've had a bit of a creative block lately so I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I decided to CASE a couple of cards that I pinned on Pinterest, just to try and catch up on my list. I'm a bit behind on that too. 😐 Anyway, here is today's challenge card:

This is perfect for the "anything goes" challenge at Double Trouble.

I needed a couple of masculine belated birthday cards and this black & white with a pop of color design fits the bill. I love the Azure Afternoon color accent!

The other cards I've made recently were for a batch of anniversary cards using the "stack, slice, and shuffle" technique.

And a birthday card for a young Star Wars fan at my church who shares a birthday with my husband. This one is CASEd directly from Wendy Cranford.

I'm not sure I'd want to make this one again, but it was fun to make once! 

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

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

Stamp sets - Biggest Wish, Well Said, Approaching Perfection (inside sentiment)

Paper - Basic Black, Basic White, Azure Afternoon cardstock; Plaid Tidings DSP

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Azure Afternoon

Tools - Big Shot, Stitched Triangles Dies, Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Supplies used for anniversary cards (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Beautiful Bouquet

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Basic White and Bermuda Bay cardstock; Dandy Designs DSP

Ink - Coastal Cabana

Accessories - Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels

Tools - Big Shot, Nested Essentials Dies, Detailed Trio Punch, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Supplies used for BB-8 card (all Stampin'  Up!):

Stamp set - Best Day

Paper - Basic White, Pumpkin Pie, Smoky Slate, and Basic Black Cardstock; Happy Haunting DSP

Ink - Pumpkin Pie; White Gel Pen

Tools - Big Shot, Layering Circles Dies, Large Numbers Dies, 1" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Cookie Cutter Builder Punch, Classic Label Punch, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

Fruit Stripe Birthday

 Hello and welcome back! Here's today's card:

This design was inspired by the challenges at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge (sketch), Cupcake Inspirations (add a bow/ribbon), the Paper Players (colors), and Tic Tac Toe Challenges (left column - stencil, blue, stripes).

In order to get the stencil and stripes for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge, I used the striped mask from the Adorning Designs Decorative Masks on Basic White and used Blending Brushes in the colors from the Paper Players challenge. I cut the stenciled cardstock into small rectangles to create the pattern from the sketch. The Blackberry Bliss piece was cut in the "wrong" direction so the stripes go the opposite way.

One thing that struck me after trimming was that these stripes reminded me of Fruit Stripe Gum! Does anyone else see that? I think I need to use those leftover strips with the Zany Zebras stamp set!

I added the rectangles to a Night of Navy layer wrapped with Denim ribbon before adding it to the card base. The sentiment is stamped with Night of Navy, layered on Daffodil Delight and popped up with dimensionals. A little bling was added with Blue Adhesive-Backed Gems.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Birthday Wit

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Basic White, Night of Navy, and Daffodil Delight Cardstock

Ink - Sweet Sorbet, Daffodil Delight, Blackberry Bliss, Calypso Coral, Night of Navy

Accessories - Denim Ribbon, Blue Adhesive-Backed Gems

Tools - Big Shot, Stitched Rectangles Dies, Adorning Designs Decorative Masks, Blending Brushes, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Decorative Borders Birthday

 Hello and welcome back! Here's today's card:

This design was inspired by the challenges at Color Throwdown, Freshly Made Sketches, Just Add Ink, and Paper Craft Crew.

Clean and simple cards are difficult for me - I'm a "how many layers is too many?" kind of stamper! I've had this set since last year's OnStage gathering and hadn't inked it up yet. I used my Stamparatus to line up the floral sprays in the corner so they'd be even, added the sentiment in the center, and then colored in the flowers and leaves using the color challenge colors. I had to add a little bling - even a CAS card needs bling! - and the little diamonds at the ends of the floral sprays were the perfect size for the epoxy shapes I had in my stash.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Decorative Borders, Go-To Greetings

Paper - Basic White and Garden Green Cardstock

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Blends: Daffodil Delight Dark, Granny Apple Green Light, Lemon Lolly Dark, Poppy Parade Dark

Accessories - Silver & Clear Epoxy Essentials

Tools - Stamparatus, Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Love You Gnome

 Hello and welcome back! Here's today's card:

This design was inspired by the challenges at Just Add Ink (just add two - flowers and gingham), the Paper Players tic tac toe challenge (left column - flowers, feminine, blue), Tic Tac Toe Challenges (left column - layers, ribbon or twine, patterned paper), and the sketch at Try Stampin on Tuesday.

I've had this stamp set since early this year and hadn't used it yet, but I have a friend with a birthday coming up who loves gnomes, so I figured it was time to ink it up! The pink patterned paper might be more of a plaid than a gingham, but it was from the Country Gingham DSP, so I think it works! The floral pattern is from the Regency Park DSP, and I added a layer of vellum over it so the gnome would stand out a bit more.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Friendly Gnomes

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Basic White, and Petal Pink Cardstock; Vellum Cardstock; Regency Park DSP, Country Gingham DSP

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Balmy Blue; Stampin' Blends: Balmy Blue Dark and Light, Smoky Slate Light, Calypso Coral Dark, Ivory, Natural Tones SU600

Accessories - Linen Thread, Blue Adhesive-Backed Gems

Tools - Big Shot, Gnomes Dies, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

Tap Tap Tap!

 Hello and welcome back! Here's today's card:

I was inspired by the tic tac toe challenge at Retro Rubber (left column - your choice, embossing, and ribbon/twine) and the sketch at Try Stampin on Tuesday.

I pulled lots of retired products from my stash for this card - again! The stamp set is from somewhere around 2014, as is the designer paper and the colored cardstock. I wanted to leave the typewriter kind of plain but felt it needed some shiny keys. I found my old gold Stampin' Dazzle Marker, but it didn't give me quite the look I wanted so I added some Clear Wink of Stella on top. I think you can see it in the photo below.

The DSP panel was dry embossed and I added some Early Espresso twine for that needed element. The gold metallic pearls in the corners were in the sketch.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Tap Tap Tap

Paper - Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Summer Starfruit, and Island Indigo Cardstock; Soho Subway DSP

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Summer Starfruit

Accessories - Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Clear Wink of Stella, Gold Stampin' Dazzle Marker, Gold Metallic Pearls

Tools - Big Shot, Layering Squares Framelits, Stamparatus, Pinewood Planks Dynamic Embossing Folder, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals