Monday, December 12, 2022

Kindest Gnomes with Inspired Thoughts


I like gnomes.  They resemble my mixed feelings about
Christmas preparations.  Some of the efforts and activities 
make me grumpy, but I end up being inspired.

This gnome comes from the Kindest Gnomes bundle,
colored with Stampin' Blends.  The sentiment from 
Inspired Thoughts was cut out with a die from the 
Hippo and Friends collection.

Friday, December 9, 2022

Happy Forest with Inspired Thoughts


 The Happy Forest dies are wonderful because
they span several seasons.  The little Charlie Brown trees
provide a great backdrop, or focal point.

In this example, I added the sentiment from Inspired 
Thoughts, which is lovely for Christmas cards.   I like 
making bows out of embroidery floss, because it does
not add much bulk to a card.

Monday, December 5, 2022

Amazing Silhouettes


 Amazing Silhouettes is one of those sets that can be used
in a jam to created a quick elegant card.  For this card,
I just added several layers and some accessories.

Friday, December 2, 2022

Santa's Sleigh Christmas Cards


 I've been busy making Christmas cards, digging into my
stash of retired dies and papers. These two cards make use of the 
Santa's Sleigh Thinlits (R) from 2017-18.  I like products that
facilitate mass production, especially around Christmas time!


The sentiment for the reindeer card comes from the Sunshine
Wishes Thinlits (R).  I used some suede cardstock to
give it a nice texture.  Can you guess what cardstock that is?

If you said Mellow Moss, you would be correct!
 

Monday, November 28, 2022

Heron Habitat on Tailor Made Tags


 Heron Habitat keeps popping up on my posts, because
it is so darn easy to create a serene card.  In this example,
I simply layered it on some retired DSP.  I then added a tag
from the Tailor Made Tags dies, run through the 
Timeworn Type 3D Embossing Folder.

Monday, November 21, 2022

Word Wishes So Many Snowflakes Dies


 I'm always trying to put together Christmas cards that
allow for mass production.  Design takes time, so I want
to be able to bang out those cards once I've created a sample.

For this card, I used the following products.  R denotes
retired items.

Word Wishes Dies (R)
So Many Snowflakes Dies (R)
Timber Embossing Folder
Time Worn Type Embossing Folder (R)
Orchid Oasis cardstock
Starry Sky cardstock
Soft Succulent cardstock
Pearlized Effects Basics White


Friday, November 18, 2022

Always Deliver Four Feathers


 I love digging through my retired stash, to find cardmaking
products.  I went looking, knowing that I needed a "thinking
of you" card with a slightly different message, that would 
work for a guy or a gal.  This is what I came up with, 
and the list of products used.

You Always Deliver set
Four Feathers set
Feathers dies
Rectangle Stitched dies
This and That Epic Day DSP



Monday, November 14, 2022

Soft Seedling with Tailor Made Tags


 I think that the Soft Seedlings is a great fall set, 
but I wanted to try to create a card that doesn't look like fall. 
It's such an elegant set, that should be used year around.
For this card, I used the following products:
Soft Seedlings set
Quiet Meadow (for speckles)
Tailor Made Tags dies
Timber 3D Embossing folder
Neutrals Candy Dots (retired)
Foil Sheet (retired) 

Friday, November 11, 2022

Heron Sunflower Perfect Plants Thoughts


 I admit that my head is not in the Thanksgiving or Christmas
game right now.  I am still sending out a lot of "thinking of you"
types of cards.

I used this layout a while back and really liked it.  It uses up
some of my "excess" or retired DSP and has a pleasing appearance.
For this card, I used the following products:
Sunflower Dies for the stems
Perfect Plant Dies for the pot
Hippo Dies for the flower on the pot
Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies for the circles
Heron Habitat for the sentiment
Pearlized Enamel Effects White

Monday, November 7, 2022

Gnomes


 The Gnomes Dies, in the July-December 2022 are pretty
darn cute. This set of dies makes it really quick and easy to
create your little gnome. I used the sentiment from the
coordinating Kindest Gnomes stamp set, and added the
red bow from a retired set of dies.  The background layer
and sentiment were cut out with the Stitched Rectangles Dies.

Friday, November 4, 2022

Heron Habitat


 The Heron Habitat Bundle is so pretty.  It has coordinating
dies so that you can stamp images or cut them out to form
beautiful groupings.  I really like the elegance of these images.
The sentiment comes from Quiet Meadow and was cut out
with the Stitched Rectangles dies.

Monday, October 31, 2022

Amazing Silhouettes Tree


I guess I should post a Halloween card, but I haven't 
made too many of those this year.  You'll have to settle for
a not so scary tree!
 
I really enjoy Amazing Silhouettes, because I can
create this specific card layout.   It is so easy to stamp 
the images in coordinating colors, cut them in strips 
and layer them.  It creates an interesting backdrop, 
for pretty much any sentiment.

Friday, October 28, 2022

Happier Than Happy Christmas


 This card uses the Happier than Happy Bundle to create
a Christmas card.  The sentiment comes from North Pole
Mischief.  The pot comes from Perfect Plants.

Monday, October 24, 2022

North Pole Mischief


Last week, my friend Buffy posted a card, 
using the North Pole Mischief set.
 I love this set, but had kind of shoved it
aside on my desk,  a.k.a. it was buried.  I pulled the set out and 
stamped the cat by itself, masking out the fish tank.  
This image was then colored with Stampin' Blends.

I decided to make this a 3x6 card.  I grabbed a few
pieces of DSP, that were in the scraps laying by my 
trimmer.  I knew that I wanted two strips and lucked 
out with a color combo that I really liked.  All this is to say that
stamping seems to be a really random event at my house!
This is a really fast Christmas card, for your favorite cat lovers.

Friday, October 21, 2022

Celebrate Sunflowers


 Fall is upon us, so I thought that I had better post a
sunflower card, before the snow flies.  Celebrate Sunflowers
has lovely sentiments, in a pleasing font and great coordinating 
Sunflowers dies.  This product lets you make a fun card,
quickly.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Masking Hand Penned with Soft Seedlings


 This is another version of Monday's card concept.  I masked
part of the Whisper White layer and then used Blending Brushes
to add Blushing Bride, Highland Heather and Crushed Curry.
I then stamped the image from Hand Penned.  After removing
the masks, I ran this layer through the retired Subtles 3D
Embossing Folder.

I used a die from the retired Pierced Blooms set, to cut out the
sentiment from Soft Seedlings.  I added a strip of
Golden Garden Designer Acetate and some Brushed Brass
Butterflies (both retired) to finish it off.

Monday, October 17, 2022

Seasonal Layers Dies For a Guy



 My brother in law has had several surgeries, so I have been busy
making cards for him.  For this project, I used one of 
my favorite retired die sets, Seasonal Layers Dies.  I found another
product that would help me remind him to rest and relax
after his recent hospital stay.

I masked off approximately one third of the card layer and
used blending brushes to add colors.  I followed up by adding
a bit of pattern with a decorative mask.  Retired Genial Gems
finished off the look.

Friday, October 14, 2022

Happier Than Happy with Nuts About Squirrels




 The Happier Than Happy stamp set, with Happy Forest dies,
is another great product combination.  You can use a couple
of images, with dies, or create a collage of cute little forest
critters.  Somehow, they just attract your attention and 
entertain, at the same time.  I think that they are kind of
mistical or child-like (even for us adults).

I used the sentiment from Nuts About Squirrels.

Monday, October 10, 2022

Heron Habitat Bundle


 I've repeatedly posted samples using the Heron Habitat Bundle.  
I LOVE this product combination.  It offers both background
stamps, focal images and great sentiments.  This bundle gives
you elements that you can use to cover an entire card front,
or a smaller focal image as shown in this card.  I did use one
or two background images from the Oceanfront set, which
pairs extremely well back to Heron Habitat.

Happy Monday!

Friday, October 7, 2022

Potted Succulents Dies


 For this project, I made a mask out of the Potted Succulents
die, coloring it with Stampin Blends.  I cut out the sentiment with
another die from this set, and layered everything up.

Monday, October 3, 2022

Soft Seedlings


 This card features the Soft Seedlings set from the
July-December mini catalog.  This set is so pretty,
and features lovely sentiments that look hand penned.

Friday, September 30, 2022

Build a Butterfly


 This is a card that I made while stamping with good friends
Mary and Jo.  The butterflies come from the Build A Butterfly
dies.  I'm fond of calling them "bulky butterflies".  I used a 
layer of retired DSP, with the butterfly layer cut out with the
retired Stitched So Sweetly dies.  I liked the 90º positioning
of the background layers.

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

All the Good Things


 Every once in a while I have to bring back on old set.
This is All the Good Things, and also includes some
lovely Koi fish, which remind me of gardens I have seen.
I love the option to color components of these images
 with markers.

Monday, September 26, 2022

Heron Habitat Bundle


 I enjoy the Heron Habitat bundle because the set
has so many images and dies that are perfect together. 
Even the sentiments have beautiful shapes that go so well
with the animal and grassy components.  The other feature
is that you can use them together, or individually, as
your creative juices dictate!  I like to add some texture
to the background, to pull it all together.

Friday, September 23, 2022

Happier Than Happy Bundle


 This card features the Happier than Happy Bundle 
(Happier than Happy set with Happy Forest dies).  I love
all the cute images that help bring the forest to life.  The
bear looks like it is pointing, or holding up a sign, so it makes
it easy to set up the card elements.  For this card, I used
a retired Embossing Folder as the background.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Grassy Grove with Oceanfront


 For this card, I paired the Oceanfront set (background)
with images from the Grassy Grove set.  I love how easy
it is to stamp these images to create a realistic background.
This is also a card that allows you to leave the sentiment
off, so that you have the flexibility to send it for get well
or birthday situations.

Monday, September 19, 2022

Celebrate Sunflowers


 I think that sunflowers look good in almost any color scheme.
The Celebrate Sunflowers set with Sunflowers dies are
a wonderful combination.  My only concern is that after
adding some Fine Tip glue in the center of the flower
makes it look a bit like a fried egg.

Friday, September 16, 2022

Waves of Inspiration


 The Waves of Inspiration bundle consists of the 
Waves of Inspiration stamp set and Waves dies (page 167).
I like the unique sentiments and wonderful images.
They can be stamped and used as is, or highlighted with
coloring tools.  Either way, these images are beautiful.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Best Remedy Kit


 My Mom had another accident and is back in skilled nursing.
I wanted the Best Remedy kit, specifically for her.  Mom likes
funny cards, and my sister owns an ice cream/souvenir shop.
The images and sentiments are perfect.

I colored the skunk with Stampin Blends and then added
the little ice cream container.  When you open the card,
here is the sentiment.

Monday, September 12, 2022

Flowing Flowers


 Stampin' Up! has offered some fantastic flower sets.
This is a retired set, called Flowing Flowers, from the
January-June 2022 mini catalog.  It was such an elegant set!


You could ink the stamp up with one color, and then
use sponge daubers or blending brushes to add accent colors.

Friday, September 9, 2022

He's the Man


 He's the Man (page 132) is one of the best masculine
offerings in this catalog. The collection of papers, sentiments
and accessories make creating guy cards a pleasure.

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Perfect Plant with Beautiful Trees Dies


 Lately, I've been showing cards that use either the 
Perfect Plant Dies with Sunflower dies, OR 
the Beautiful Trees Dies.  Today, I decided to combine 
the two products into a single card.  I like the quiet peacefulness
of these items, assembled together.  I didn't feel that it needed
a sentiment, which enables me to send this card out for a
variety of occasions.  The "grass" beneath the tree was created
with the retired Hippo Dies.

Monday, September 5, 2022

Beautiful Trees


 I can't understand why the stunning Beautiful Trees dies
retired, but I sure enjoy using them.  I paired this tree,
made out of retired DSP, with the (current) Beauty of Friendship 
stamp set.  These two cards were made while I hung out with
my Mom in Skilled Nursing care.



Friday, September 2, 2022

Hippest Hippos with Dies


 SAB has ended but I had a couple more Hippest Hippo
cards to share.  Nothing like a Hippo Ballerina!
Have a happy Friday.



Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Sending Smiles Bundle


 The Sending Smiles stamp set, with coordinating
Sending dies, looks great on any background.  In this example,
I used a layer of retired New Horizons DSP.  The colors made
for an impressionistic kind of backdrop for the focal
image and sentiments.  

Monday, August 29, 2022

Hippest Hippo on New Horizons DSP


 SAB is almost over, so of course, Hippest Hippos are required.  
In this example, I added the hippo and boat on to a layer
of retired New Horizons DSP.  Finally, I attached the 
sentiment from Art Gallery.

Friday, August 26, 2022

Perfect Plants with Sending Smiles


 I have a number of circumstances where I need to send a
"Love and Big Hugs" (Sending Smiles Set) sentiment.  For this
card, I used the Perfect Plants pot, the flower from the Hippo 
Dies, and the stems from the Sunflower Dies.  I cut out all the
elements in White, and then used Blending Brushes to add
Daffodil Delight, Cajun Craze, Soft Succulent and 
Pool Party (to the Brick and Mortar 3D background).  
I will say that in person, this
card comes across as a bit softer than in the picture.
 I used a marker to round the pot from
the back and then Dimensionals to raise it up.
Finally, I added retired jewels to highlight the pot.
I debated adding a base for the pot, and decided that it
really didn't need anything else.

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Heron Habitat with Heron Dies


 The Heron Habitat stamp set, with coordinating Heron dies
comprise the Heron Habitat Bundle.  I love this bundle because it
is so elegant.  The sentiments are perfect for a range of 
adult cards.  In this example, I used some retired DSP to 
accessorize this card.

Monday, August 22, 2022

North Pole Mischief


 I have a number of relatives who are cat lovers (I think that cats are very entertaining, however am allergic).  The North Pole Mischief
set is a great option for creating cards for these friends
and family!

Friday, August 19, 2022

Country Wreath Dies with Kindest Gnomes


 This card features the Country Wreath Dies.  I layered the
wreath on to some retired DSP,  that was created to look like
a door.  The sentiment from Kindest Gnomes was cut out
with a die from the Meadow Dies set.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Penned Flowers with Inspired Thoughts


 I love the Penned Flowers dies on page 173, because there
are so many ways to use them.  I made this very simple card
while sitting in skilled nursing with my Mom.  I brought
along some elements cut out with dies and put them
together with the sentiment from Inspired Thoughts. 
I show my Mom all of the cards that I make while I am in
her room, and this one was her favorite.

Monday, August 15, 2022

Forest Dies with Kindest Gnomes


 
I enjoy the many combinations of products that can be
used together, to make an interesting card.  In this example,
I paired the Forest Dies,  Kindest Gnomes and added a 
sentiment from Inspired Thoughts.  I like the color combination
of Soft Succulent with Orchid Oasis, for the holidays.
The gnome was colored with Stampin' Blends.  I added a 
couple of dots of Pearlized Enamel Effects Basics to
accent the trees.

Friday, August 12, 2022

Paradise Palms with Waves and Oceanfront


 I love all of the beachy sets and bundles that we currently
have available.  They enable easy production of both
masculine and feminine cards, for many occasions.

This card features the Paradise Palms set, Waves of Inspiration
and Oceanfront.   It is a quick way to produce a beach scene
and add some 3-D elements.  I decided to feature the pelican
standing in the ocean, rather than on it's wood post.  I figure
that they have to fish once in a while!

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Sending Smiles


 This card was created with the Sending Smiles Bundle.
I has wonderful flowers, and a variety of sentiments that
are very flexible for card making.  I layered the flowers on
to a bit of velum, and then added some Genial Gems.
The card base was run through a retired Embossing Folder.

This is another similar version of this card and layout.
The card base is a new In Color Orchid Oasis.