The Holidays!

The holidays come early today for all Stampin' Up! fans... the holiday catalogue goes live!! It's always an exciting time for me and gotta love all the new products! Unfortunately, I was only able to put in a tiny pre-order and have not been able to play with what I got yet. :( BUT, I do have a holiday card for you today to celebrate. Check it out:

Now, you may be asking yourself "what Christmas set is that?". It's not! I used a few key pieces from the Flower Patch stamp set in the Annual Catalogue. As I wrote yesterday, it's a MUST-HAVE set, in my opinion. So much versatility, "bang for your buck" and the Photopolymer is so awesome for the layering effects you can achieve with this set!

For the inside, I stamped the same pattern and added a few more key sequins. I opted out of any inside text. I always decorate the inside to match the outside, but it's not often I add a stamped sentiment.

What do you like to do on the inside of your cards?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Soft Suede, Gold Foil, Whisper White
Ink: Pistacio Pudding, Old Olive, Real Red, Baked Brown Sugar
Stamps: Flower Patch, Petite Pairs
Tools: Big Shot, Stylish Stripes TIEF, Punches: Word Window & Modern Label
Accessories: Buttons (all retired), Sequins

Ink Fix

Earlier today I posted a picture on Instagram (find it here) about a completed project that landed on top of an open ink pad. Argh! That'll teach me to have a messy cluttered "working" desk because I have several projects on the go. ;) Although, this isn't the first time this has happened, so no lesson learned! ha.

Anyway, here is the fix:

In all honesty, the strip at the bottom really works. It's like it was meant to be! Although, if it were really meant to be there, I would've left more room to the right of the sentiment. :) I used the new (and in my opinion MUST-HAVE) stamp set Flower Patch. It's an awesome Photopolymer stamp set with tons of layering options AND coordinating Framelits!

The inspiration for the card came from some button-holed wood flower pots I had laying around. Having to pack up and move to a temporary space left me searching through my "must haves" of all my craft supplies... and all the stuff I've been hoarding saving for a rainy day. It came down to a "use them or lose them" sort thing.

I stamped the stem in Mossy Meadow and adhered some flower buttons (I'm trying to use more buttons!) to the top with a jewel in the middle of each that I coloured with my darkest Old Olive Blenabilities marker. Love those too!

Anyway, stay tuned tomorrow for something a little different that I've done with the Flower Patch stamp set. You won't want to miss it!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Summer Starfruit (retired), Mossy Meadow, Whisper White, Fresh Prints Paper Stack (retired)
Ink: Mossy Meadow
Stamps: Flower Patch
Accessories: Thick Baker's Twine (Summer Starfruit, retired SAB 2014), Buttons (retired), Jewels

Pretty Butterflies

I love butterflies... they're just so free and whimsical. I gravitated to them once again for this week's challenge over at Sunday Stamps. Melissa has a great sketch for us this week and I hope you'll play along with us!

Paper: Patio Party DSP, Whisper White, Watercolour Paper
Ink: Midnight Muse, Baja Breeze, Primerose Petals, Summer Starfruit
Stamps: Papillon Potpourri
Tools: Paper Piercing Pack, Mat & Piercer, Boho Blossom Punch, Aqua Painter
Accessories: Button, Whisper White Baker's Twine
Techniques: Watercolouring, Paper Piercing

I'm starting a series tomorrow on my Blog about scraps... and the DSP and watercolour paper I used happened to be in my "scrap" pile. When I saw the tiny butterflies in the Patio Party DSP, I knew I wanted to pair it with the Papillon Potpourri stamp set. I also hadn't used my Aqua Painter in a while, and thought to give that a try also.

I pulled all my colours right from the DSP and after colouring sections on my watercolour paper, I stamped one of the butterfly images, full strength, in each colour. I cut the strip into a banner and then opted to use some Baker's Twine, a flower punch and a button to keep with the softness of the card.

I didn't want to add much more, but thought a few pierced holes in the bottom right corner were in order. :)

Now check out what the rest of the team has done to help inspire you and play along with us. We always look forward to seeing what you create!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Button Ornaments

This card is a total CASE from one I found on Pinterest. Unfortunately, it wasn't linked the the creator of it, but just the website. I really wish people would pin correctly so that I can give the proper credit! :( It also happened to be a website that one needs access to. I do belong to the site, but will not spend what could be an hour or more and 100's or pages to find it.

Anyway, enough of a rant... here's my card:

Paper: Crumb Cake
Ink: Early Espresso, White
Stamps: Joyous Celebrations, Open Sleigh
Tools: Corner Rounder
Accessories: Buttons, Baker's Twine

The original card used many more buttons (smaller ones) and appeared to be actually sewn to the card with thread. I opted for larger more Christmas-y ones and Baker's Twine. I really love how it turned out.

I drew on some lines with my Stampin' Write Marker in Early Espresso and added a bow in the same colour from the stamp set Joyous Celebrations. I chose buttons that were pretty flat on one side so that they were easy to adhere with glue dots.

The sentiment is from the stamp set Open Sleigh and to finish things off, I used some white ink around the edges after I rounded the corners.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Old and New

Boy has time gone by fast! A few days ago I posted some cards I made using Simply Scrappin' kits and accents. I challenged myself and others to try creating some too! Today I'm showing you some cards I made with the retired Christmas Lane Simply Scrappin' kit. To bring some new elements in, I used the new Joyous Celebrations stamp set.

Paper: Christmas Lane Simply Scrappin' Kit, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede
Ink: Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi
Stamps: Joyous Celebrations
Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, Baker's Twine, Buttons, Dazzling Diamonds

As you can see, three very different cards, but all from the same line of products! I just love the possibilities. With a Simply Scrappin' kit, you can make up to 30+ cards depending on how you use the product.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Simply Scrappin' Kits Not Just for Scrappin'!

I have several Simply Scrappin' kits and coordinating accents sitting in my craft space - some retired and some current. Since I'm not much of a scrapbooker, I wanted to start using them for cards. Here are some of my first attempts using bits from the retired Nursery Nest suite:

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, WW, Blushing Bride, Marina Mist, Nursery Nest DSP
Ink: Soft Suede
Stamps: Baby Boutique, One in a Million
Accessories: Nursery Nest Accents, Baker's Twine, Buttons

I just realized that I didn't use my Big Shot!! It's not very often that that happens and as I've posted before, it's always hard for me to keep things simple. Well, I guess without consciously realizing it, I kept things simple. I guess i have Stampin' Up! kits to thank!

I'm really happy with how these turned out... the colours were pulled right from the Nursery Nest DSP and with "peel and stick" accents, what could be easier?! To accent, I played with different ribbons, but in the end chose my go-to Baker's Twine. I added some super cute buttons to each - two from the Twitterpated set that was in the last Occassions Mini (now retired) and one from the Brights Collection. They're not perfect matches to the other colours in the papers, but work just as well. After all, babies are "cute as a button", so I couldn't resist using some.

I urge you to give using your Simply Scrappin' and Accent kits too. You may be surprised what you come up with. I'm challenging myself this week to use some others too... so stay tuned!

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Battle of the Demos

Ok, not really. But our Demo group, lead by our fabulous leader, Leena Girsa of A La Cards had a "back to basics" challenge that I just loved! Here's what we were given:

• Two pieces of DSP:  4x6 and 2x6
• Whisper White CS 3 7/8" x 5 1/8"
• Rich Razzleberry 4 1/4 x 5 1/2
• Tempting Turquoise 4 1/4 x 5 1/2
• Daffodil Delight 4 x 5 1/4 and 2 x 5 1/4
• Island Indigo 4 x 51/4
• Real Red 2 1/2 x 5 1/2
• Tangerine Tango 2 1/2 x 5 1/2
• Card Bases in Real Red, Lucky Limeade and Whisper White
• 12" of Daffodil Delight stitched grosgrain ribbon
• 16" of Daffodil Delight seam binding ribbon
• 18" of Lucky Limeade baker's twine
• 5 brights buttons
• 2 glimmer brads

The goal was to create as many projects from the supplies - no BIG SHOT, but we could use any stamps and punches we had in our possession. I admit, I was stuck for a long while because I absolutely love using the Big Shot and just felt lost without it. I just didn't think I could create a "wow" factor without it. Finally, I told myself just to start cutting and it wasn't long before I got down to business.

Here's what I came up with:

What do you think? I'm sure you've noticed that humming bird again! :)

We had to make at least 2 full cards, and in addition to that, I made 2 bottle tags, 1 bookmark, 5 teeny tiny gift tags, 1 mini card, 2 mini tags and 1 "scrapling". That's 14 projects!

I urge you to give this a try. It's lots of fun and you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish when you go "back to the basics".

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph