M is for Merry

I created this card so long ago that I don't even remember now where these scraps are from, but this card was created based on scraps! Check it out:

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, WW, Gumball Green
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Stamps: Occasions Alphabet
Tools: Big Shot, Elegant Lines TIEF, Labels Framelits, Merry Minis Punch Pack
Accessories: Gumball Green Stitched Satin Ribbon

This card came together really easily since everything was in my scrap pile, there wasn't a lot I had to do. The only thing really was to punch the trees in the label and then I put the punched trees inside my card. Can't forget about the inside!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Christmas in July Series - Post 2

Sorry for the delayed post today... dealing with house hunt craziness! If you missed my post yesterday (the first one in this series), you can find it here.

Today's card uses the hostess set, Simply Sketched. I fell in love with this set the moment I saw it! It's not a Christmas set. I comes with three images and three greetings, but none of them Christmas. I thought the branch could be used for Christmas with the right colouring. Check it out:

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive
Stamps: Simply Sketched Hostess, Wacky Wishes (retired Hostess)
Tools: Big Shot, Petals-a-Plenty TIEF, Labels Framelits, Decorative Label Punch
Accessories: Dazzling Details, Vintage Faceted Buttons, Baker's Twine

I stamped the image on watercolour paper, coloured with a Blender Pen and then added Dazzling Details to the red berries. I fussy cut these by the way. :) The sentiment is from an old hostess set (Wacky Wishes) but you can easily swap this out with something else.

I added a little texture with an embossing folder & Core'dinations card stock and some of the fab Glimmer Paper.

Check back tomorrow for another card in this series.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Better Late Than Never!

I know it's Tuesday... but here's my post from Sunday! It's my design for Sunday Stamps. I had a pretty crazy weekend, not to mention life with a toddler & newborn. ha. I'm lucky if I remember what I'm doing half the time... But, better late than never, right?!  :)

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Various Stampin' Write Markers
Stamps: Fabulous You, Bitty Banners, Stacks of Wishes
Tools: Big Shot, Labels Framelies, Lacy Brocade TIEF, Boho Blossom Punch, Heat Tool
Accessories: Jewels

This card started out looking like the sketch, I swear! But then it morphed into the card you see above. That's the beauty of sketch challenges... they're an inspiration point. Sometimes you keep it looking exact and sometimes it inspires you to create something completely different!

This was a card I made for my friend's bridal shower over the weekend. I just love the shoe from the Fabulous You stamp set. It's hard to see in the picture, but I stamped the sayings from the Stacks of Wishes hostess stamp set from the Spring Catalogue. I created a background image with them, stamping them randomly both inside and out. It's such a great set because you get so many greetings... plus, the beauty of clear mount allows you to cut them all apart so that you can use them individually, or all together by mounting them on a block again.

Hope you're inspired by Joan's sketch this week. Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team too!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Mmmmm... Cupcake!

I love cupcakes and the cupcake on this card looks so scrumptious! This card is pretty much a CASE off Pinterest from Kimberly VanDiepen.

Paper: Calypso Coral, Sweet Shop DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder
Stamp: Sweet Cake
Tools: Big Shot, Labels Framelits
Accessories: Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon, Sweet Shop Brads
Dazzling Details

I know this card uses all retired products, but I still wanted to share. This card just screams Birthday! I love the bright colours of this card... they just make me so happy. I didn't have to do much with this card. Stampin' Up!, for one thing, does the work for you when they create lines of products that all coordinate together - stamps, paper & accessories. Plus, part of the DSP pack that I used included a piece of embossed paper (the polka dots), so I didn't need to use a folder for the effect. :) Love SU!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

For the Mashup

It's been a loooooong time since I've played along with any online challenges. The Friday Mashup is one that I've enjoyed and I decided to play along this week...

Paper: Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB Sneak Peek)
Ink: Sahara Sand, Early Espresso, Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit
Stamps: Simply Soft (Retired Hostess), Perfect Punches, En Francais
Tools: Big Shot, Honeycomb TIEF, Labels Framelits, XL Oval
Accessories: Summer Starfruit Stitched Satin Ribbon

This card was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest by Kristin Moore. I went a little overboard on the patterns maybe, but I think it works. The challenge this week is to use at least three of the suggested colours (Early Espresso, Summer Starfruit, Tangerine Tango, Island Indigo, Sahara Sand) &/or to use patterns. I mashed it up by doing both.

I had a lot of fun making this card and I hope you like it!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Frosty Friends for Sketch Week at Sunday Stamps!

It's sketch week over at Sunday Stamps! Monica has prepared a good one this week...

Paper: Pool Party, Whisper White, Festival of Prints DSP
Ink: Island Indigo, Black, Stampin' Write Markers
Stamps: Frosty Friends, Merry Messages (retired)
Tools: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots TIEF, Layered Labels Framelits
Accessories: Whisper White Sweater Trim, Jewels

I veered slightly away from the sketch this week, but I think it still works! This is the first time I've gotten a chance to ink up Frosty Friends. Such an adorable Á la Carte stamp. It's hard to tell in the photo, but I stamped on a piece of printed vellum (with snowflakes on it), coloured the image and then puffed up the snowmen for a 3D look.

I added some texture with the Perfect Polka Dots TIEF and what better accent than Sweater Trim?!

Hope you'll play along with us this week!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Mini Bag of Candy

Today I have a super cute bag to share with you that requires no gluing... and is made from only one sheet of 8-1/2 x 11 cardstock! Oh, and you also don't need to cut anything. :)

Paper: Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, Early Espresso
Stamps: Layered Labels, Watercolor Winter
Tools: Big Shot, Labels Framelits, Scallop Oval Punch, Apothecary Framelits, Simply Scored
Accessories: Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), Pearls, Dimensionals

This bag is super easy thanks to Silvey's Tutorial. Instead of adding handles to mine, I simply closed it up with a nice bow and decorated the front with a label. The inside is filled with yummy Werther's candies (26 to be exact). I plan to sell these at my upcoming Craft Show.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

One Year for Freshly Made Sketches!

This week is the one-year anniversary for Freshly Made Sketches! I've enjoyed playing with the ladies over there a few times now and I just couldn't pass up celebrating their one-year.

The challenge this week is to use any of their previous sketches. How fun! Well, I ended up choosing the very last sketch since I didn't get a chance to play along last week. Here's the sketch:

It just so happened I was commissioned to create a special 25th birthday card and this sketch worked out well for what the client wanted. I flipped the sketch and came up with this:

Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Whisper White
Ink: Sahara Sand, Black
Stamps: Memorable Moments
Tools: Big Shot, Polka Dots TIEF, Paper Piercing Pack, Labels Framelits, Scallop Punch
Accessories: Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon, Pearls

The client wanted black, white/neutral, elegant and pearls. Memorable Moments is the perfect stamp set for such occasions. I find it to be very elegant... perfect for those special milestones and as the name suggests, memorable moments. :)

After some embossing, stamping and paper piercing (hard to see in the photos), I added a sleek bow and some pearls inside and out and the card was complete.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Feeling Girly

I made this card a while back... but I'm feeling girly tonight and thought that it was just too cute not to share with you! I got the idea for the little dress from a card I saw in our monthly Demonstrator magazine and had to make some. The original had three dresses on the front, I opted for one and wanted to have it "hanging" on a clothes line.

I used my favourite (but retired) pink, Blushing Bride, for the majority of the card. The little dress is actually the body from the Owl Builder Punch - how cute is that?! I also happened to have Pleated Ribbon (also retired) in Blushing Bride to add a little ruffle to the bottom of the dress. It also happened that I had a bunch of the Whisper White frames left over from another project (cut by layering two frames from the Labels Collection Framelits) and thought it would be super cute to use that as the "clothes line" anchor. I embossed it using the Square Lattice embossing folder to add some more texture to the card.

The sentiment is from the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and of course I just had to use the matching Framelits to cut them out! I accented with some jewels, and the heart embossing folder from the Adorning Accents Textured Impressions Embossing set.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Mash It!

I'm back today with another challenge creation. I just love playing over at The Friday Mashup! It's such a fun challenge because you always have several options. The ladies always give you two options and then a third one to "mash it up" and mix both together. I usually decide to "mash it up" because it's like combining two challenges in one. :) Here's this week's theme:

You could choose to: 1. Make a project with a "party theme", 2. Make a "box in a bag" - Amanda Corbet was grateful to provide a tutorial for this! or 3. "Mash it up" and make a project with both. Well, you already know that I decided to "mash it up"! Here's what I came up with:

I actually was in need of a wedding/shower card and thought this challenge was perfect because I can use the "box in a bag" for a gift card or money. Adds a little something extra to the gift, I think. As soon as I saw the Fan Fair DSP in the new catty, I thought the bicycle pattern would work well with the Wedding Wheels stamp brush set in MDS. This is certainly not your typical wedding card! It kind of has a county/vintage feel to it I think...

I used the Labels Collection framelits for the image cutout & border, and also for the closure on the bag (but it's hiding behind the ribbon). I used MDS for the image, so I guess this is a bit of a hybrid card. I also discovered that one of the cute new labels from the Little Labels punch pack fit the "Mr. & Mrs." stamp from the set Tiny Tags. I accented the Bride with tiny pearls and the card with Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon and some (retired) Hat Pins.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Mash It Up!

I love playing with the ladies over at Friday Mashup! so I had to post again today. Lucky you! This week's challenge was to use the sketch, incorporate birds in your design, or to "Mash It Up" and use the sketch AND birds. Again, I just had to mash it. :)

Here's the sketch:

 

And here's my creation:

 

What do you think?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I just recently inked up Elements of Style and I've been using it a lot! Since this stamp set has a humming bird in it, I thought it would work well for this challenge.

First, I stamped the floral image in Soft Suede ink on a piece of First Edition Specialty Paper - love that stuff! I created a frame by nesting two framelits from the Labels Collection to create kind of an abstract window. Seam Binding Ribbon in Daffodil Delight and Crumb Cake add some texture - the first I scrunched across the card and the latter was used to create a rosette. The white daisy and hat pins are retired SU! product, but thought they added something to the card. Lastly, I accented my flower with a lovely Vintage Brad and added my cut-out Cherry Cobbler humming bird in order to "Mash It Up".

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

For Elizabeth

Today's card is for my mother's birthday. Her name is Elizabeth, so it only seemed fitting to use the soon-to-be-retired À la Carte stamp called Elizabeth. Her (BIG) birthday isn't until May, but this card also showcases some product from the current Occasions Mini. So I felt it was important to show it off as some product you'll only be able to purchase until April 30th.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Supplies

Stamps:
- Elizabeth #117120 - retiring May 31st
- Teeny Tiny Wishes, #115370 - one of my go-to sets because you get 24 greetings! Plus every greeting coordinates perfectly with two punches (Word Window, #119857, Modern Label, #119849)

Paper:
- Beau Château Designer Series Paper (DSP), #122357
- Very Vanilla 81/2 x 11 Card Stock, #101650

Ink:
- Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad, #115657
- Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad, #119668
- Blushing Bride Stampin' Write Marker*
- Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write Marker*
* part of the 2010 - 2012 In Color marker set, #119801, these will be retiring colours

Accessories:
- Antique Brads, #117273 - love these!!
- Victoria Crochet 5/8" Trim, #118481
- Blushing Bride 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon, #125570 - Occasions Mini, available until April 30th.
- Big Shot, #113439
- Framelits Dies - Labels Collection, #125598 - Occasions Mini, available until April 30th.
- Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, #120175