Sweet Pinwheels in the Grass

Just for fun... these pinwheels are spinning in some homemade grass and bright with the 2010-2012 In Colors of Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzaz, and Concord Crush.  Aren't they cute?!  These adorable images are from the stamp set Sweets for the Sweet.  I added the sentiment up in the corner in Daffodil Delight to give the impression of a sun shining down.  A little bling in the form of a basic rhinestone is in the center of each pinwheel, as if it is what is holding the pinwheel together.

Stamps:  Sweets for the Sweet

Ink:  Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzaz, Concord Crush

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Pear Pizzaz, Daffodil Delight

Accessories:  Basic Rhinestones, Curly Label Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Paper Snips

Up, Up, & Away

This card was inspired by Mindy's card here.  When I saw her card I knew that I just had to have the Up, Up, & Away stamp set!  I made this card to fit into a business-sized envelope so that the balloons would have plenty of sky to fly in.  I wanted to use bright colors so this would be a happy, cheerful card for the recipient.   I think it turned out pretty cute!

 

Stamps:  Up, Up, & Away, Pennant Parade

Ink:  Baja Breeze, Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black, Soft Suede

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise

Accessories:  Linen Thread, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, 1/16" Circle Punch, Stampin' Sponge, Signo White Gel Pen

 

Turtle & Co.

My cousin has been through a lot in the past two years.  She has valiantly been battling an aggressive type of cancer and most recently had an accident on her bicycle in which she fractured her pelvis.  I wanted to make her a card that would cheer her up despite all that she is going through right now and thought that this little fellow might do the trick. 

As you can see, I copied the basic idea for Mr. Turtle's predicament from the sample on page 16 in the new 2011-2012 Stampin' Up Idea Book and Catalog.  However, I didn't want a bunch of flowers on this card, so I made it more of a clean and simple layout.  I used bits of bright colors on top of the neutral Crumb Cake background which I had stamped using the Sandy Speckles standard wheel.  The  Scallop Edge Border Punch was used on layers of Tempting Turquoise and Tangerine Tango to mimic waves at the beach.

Just a reminder that the stamp set Turtle & Co. is an exclusive stamp set designed by Stampin' Up to help raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities?   For every Turtle & Co. stamp set purchased, Stampin' Up will donate $3 to RMHC!

Stamps:  Turtle & Co., Sandy Speckles Wheel

Ink:  Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Tangerine Tango, Crumb Cake

Cardstock:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise

Accessories:  1/4" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch, 1/8" Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Delightful Strength and Hope

Here is the first card I made with the Strength and Hope stamp set I just received from Stampin' Up.  There are only a few days left to get this exclusive stamp set for yourself as the  Strength and Hope promotion that Stampin' Up is sponsoring ends on August 31!   Remember that Stampin' Up will donate $2 from the purchase of each Strength and Hope stamp set and/or digital download to further breast cancer research. 

Since some of my loved ones are struggling with other types of cancer, I decided to make the butterfly image "yellow" on my card (more specifically Daffodil Delight).  I had seen a card  made by Shelley which inspired me.  As you can see, I changed up the design and colors a bit on my version, although I kept the "yellow" butterfly as the main focal point.  I love this color combination of Soft Suede and Daffodil Delight as it seems so warm and soothing.

Stamps:  Strength and Hope

Ink:  Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Soft Suede

Cardstock:  Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Accessories:  Daffodil Delight 1/8" Taffetta Ribbon, Neutrals Brads, Modern Label Punch, Scallop Trim Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Strength and Hope

Last night I purchased and downloaded some new goodies for My Digital Studio and started playing with them.  I thought I would share some of the new downloads with you in this reminder of the Strength and Hope promotion that Stampin' Up is sponsoring until the end of the month.  Stampin' Up will donate $2 from the purchase of each Strength and Hope stamp set and/or digital download to further breast cancer research.  I love how this company supports and promotes good causes!  To view the images included in the Strength and Hope sets click on the button to the right.

I love the Flag Punch digital download.  I'm hoping that Stampin' Up will make a flag punch to use with paper one of these days, too!

Back to School with MDS

I can't believe that August is here already!  August means it is almost time to go back to school.  My school starts August 15th.  Even though I am not ready for summer vacation to be over just yet, it will be good to see my students again.  I used Stampin' Up's My Digital Studio to create this layout using a "Back to School" theme.  I played around with trying to color in the stamped images for the first time (on the owl and crayons).  I used the punches to accomplish this feat.  This owl looks like he's wide awake and ready to go to school... something I'll be struggling with on the 15th when the alarm clock goes off at 5:30 am!

 

A Slice of Peach Parfait

This little card is approximately 4" square and is packed with lots of little elements!  The card base is Peach Parfait, embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder in the Big Shot.  At the bottom of the card front is a strip of Peach Parfait Patterns Deisgner Series Paper and a strip of Pear Pizzaz punched with the Lace Ribbon Border Punch adhered to a strip of Whisper White cardstock.  The focal image is from the A Slice of Life stamp set.  (It was a hostess set from the 2011 Occasions Mini Catalog which means that it is no longer available.)  I used the Blender Pen to color in the coffee cups and punched it out with the 1 3/4" Circle Punch.  I wanted a layer of Pear Pizzaz to mount this on but nothing I could get my hands on was fitting right so I improvised with an idea that I've seen on other card samples.  I punched a bunch of 1/2" circles and adhered them around the 1 3/4" circle.  The large punched Whisper White circle that is behind the focal image was an experiment I made earlier in the day.  It started as a 2 1/2" circle.  Then I took one of the Itty Bitty Shapes Punches and punched out a border around the large circle.  I used the 1/16" Circle Punch to punch between the Itty Bitty Shapes.  If you look closely you'll notice this specific shape is in the DSP and the Lace Ribbon Border Punch, also.  I think this card turned out really cute and light-hearted!

Stamps:  A Slice of Life

Ink:  Basic Black, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzaz, Daffodil Delight, Peach Parfait

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzaz, Peach Parfait Patterns Designer Series Paper

Accessories:  1/16" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Lace Ribbon Border Punch, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals

Birds En Francias

This is a 3" x 6" card, made by folding a 6" x 6" piece of Soft Suede cardstock in half.  I used the En Francias background stamp on the card base rather than using an embossing folder this time.  The background stamps really add a "PoP" to a card I think.  I wanted to use my new Postage Stamp Punch and these little chatty birds from the stamp set Clearly For You fit perfectly.  I layered them on a Marina Mist Scallop Square.  I love this color combination!  I also like how easy it is to do cross-stitch on the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch and I'm so happy that Stampin' Up now sells Baker's Twine to do that stitching with!  I mean I love the Linen Thread but sometimes I just want to use a different color.  Anyway, I used the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch twice, once in Whisper White (cut in half and adhered to the card base) and again in Marina Mist (the cross-stitched layer on top).  I used the same trick with the sentiment and the Small Oval Punch (i.e. - cut the Soft Suede punched piece in half and layered it behind the Whisper White punched piece). 

I think these little birds turned out so cute!!!

Stamps:  Clearly For You, En Francias

Ink:  Soft Suede, Marina Mist

Cardstock:  Soft Suede, Marina Mist, Whisper White

Accessories:  Small Oval Punch, Scallop Square Punch, Postage Stamp Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stampin' Sponge, White Baker's Twine, Needle

Pacific Etchings

I wanted to make a card using the Artistic Etchings stamp set and I had a scrap piece of Pacific Point that was already embossed using the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder .  So, I decided to use some shades of "blue" instead of "red" for this card.  I have found that I really like the monochromatic/dynamic duo look of Pacific Point paired with Baja Breeze.   I ruffled the Baja Breeze Seam Binding, a look that is so awesome.  I thought that the small butterfly image from the Clearly For You stamp set would make a nice accent without adding the bulk of a bow or knot.  Then I had to dress up the little fellow with some tiny Basic Pearls.  It's pretty cool how the embossing folder kind of mimiced the design in the medallion image that I stamped for the background on the Crumb Cake card base.  Don't you just love how Stampin' Up's products are so coordinated!?! 

Stamps:  Artistic Etchings, Clearly For You

Ink:  Pacific Poing, Basic Black, Garden Green

Cardstock:  Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Naturals White

Accessories:  Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Small Oval Punch, Basic Pearls, Baja Breeze Seam Binding, Glue Dots

Sympathy with Style

I needed to make a sympathy card for a friend this week.  Her grandmother passed away.  In my book, grandmas are very special people.  After 13 years I still miss my own grandma.  We spent a lot of special times together over the years.

For this card I chose the stamp set Elements of Style.  These roses remind me of a flower that a grandmother would like.  I colored the image using my Blender Pen with Rose Red and Old Olive.  The Rose Red cardstock base was embossed using the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and accented with a Rich Razzleberry strip that I punched using the Lace Ribbon Border Punch.  Afterall, the doily-look of this punch reminds me of "days gone by" and doilies were popular back when my own grandma was young.  I ruffled some Always Artichoke Seam Binding and layered it along the left side of the card.  The sentiment in the ovals came from the Thanks for Caring stamp set from a previous mini catalog (unfortunately that stamp set is no longer available).

Stamps:  Elements of Style, Thanks for Caring

Ink:  Rose Red, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Early Espresso

Cardstock:  Naturals Ivory, Rose Red, Rich Razzleberry

Accessories:  Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Lace Ribbon Border Punch, Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Always Artichoke Seam Binding, Brights (Old Olive) Brad, Blender Pen, Stampin' Sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dots