Peekaboo Card - File Available

I was perusing through Facebook and came across this really cute card on the Unity Stamps page and the post asked if anyone had tried the layout for the card, which I had not, but I sure wanted to try it! Of course I didn't have the die set or stamp set used so I had to come up with my own and used Make The Cut to design the file and then saved as an SVG and imported to Design Space for cutting.

Supplies Used:

Peekaboo Card SVG File

Stampin Up - A Good Egg stamp set

Stampin Up - Delicate Dots paper

Stampin Up - Pale Plum Cardstock

Nuvo Crystal Drops

Twine

ProMarkers

Mounting Foam

The stripe paper is cut at 2.75 x 2.75 inches if you want to cut that manually but it is in the file. 

I curled the banner and glued on the left side, and middle so the banner would have a wavy look. 

The chick image was stamped on the stripe paper, on white cardstock and colored with ProMarkers and then on the blue pattern paper. I cut out the chick from the white cardstock after coloring and also the blue egg. The chick was then pop dotted over the image I stamped on the stripe paper. I used Nuvo Crystal drops on the eyes and then to dot on the blue egg.

It would be easy to use this card with a stamp or a cut out image and add a different sentiment. I really like how the openness of the top layer of cardstock shows off the beauty of the paper and I will probably use this again for a different card.

This file is being offered for free. If you download for use please leave a comment of acknowledgement. Remember if you are importing to Design Space you will need to resize the image, instructions are in the file (don't cut those) for resizing.

DOWNLOAD FILE

SVG FILE - Peekaboo Card

Fun Stampers Journey - Dahlia Burst

I am really liking the Fun Stampers Journey stamps and I think they are just as good as the Stampin Up stamps I have and actually they run a little cheaper. They do have some great stamp and die sets.

There are certain themes I am addicted to and flowers are some of my favorite stamps so when I saw this Dahlia Burst Stamp Bundle I knew I had to have it! Of course the coloring options are endless with this flower and I am still wanting to do some in reds...red is my favorite color after all!

Supplies Used:

Dahlia Burst Stamp Bundle

FSJ Cocoa Powder Cardstock

Various Cardstock

Graphic45 Time To Celebrate

ProMarkers

Stampin Up (sentiment)

Embossing folder 

Square Punch

For the sentiment banner I cut a strip of paper and then used a square punch to make the tail of the banner, a trick I use pretty often for banners on cards. The sentiment is from Stampin Up. I lightly bent the banner and then glued at the straight edge under the flower and then added some glue in the middle of the banner so the wave of the banner would maintain it's shape. 

I think the Dahlia Burst Stamp and Die set has endless possibilities and I am wanting to make some sympathy cards with it for my card stash.

Grand Madison Arch Window Card

I have seen the window dies used on quite a few projects when I do Google searches for ideas and I have always loved most everything I have seen but until now I didn't have any of the dies to make such things and when I saw window dies in one of the bags I was thrilled!

Supplies Used:

Memory Box Dies -

   Grand Madison Arched Window, Flower Mound, 

   Swirly Tree

Stampin Up Punches -

   Modern Label, Word Window

Clear Transparency Sheet

Various cardstock and paper

I usually see cards that it makes it look like you are looking into a window and I wanted to try something where it looks like you are looking out of the window and I came up with this card. I think I am going to have to step beyond my comfort zone of A2 size cards for some of these dies because of their size and it not leaving a lot of room for embellishing or sentiments. 

You can't tell in the picture but behind the window frame I cut some clear transparency so it would look like the window has glass and in person it looks pretty cool *okie hopes people's imaginations are good enough that they can vision what she is talking about*. The hardest part about this card was gluing the tree. I love the fine detail and flourish the dies can give but dang it that gluing down is a pain, but I guess worth it since I keep using them! I can't remember what the little bird is from but I know it is from a die and I'm too lazy to turn around and grab my dies and look for it right now. 

Tomorrow's card is my favorite of the die cards I have done so make sure to stay tuned!

MFT Homespun Birdhouse Card

It took me awhile to find the name of this die set because I kept searching in Memory Box but when I shortened my search to bird house die I was able to find the name!

I'm trying to make more generic type cards such as thinking of you and such so the cards can be used for any occasion and I thought this sentiment fit the card rather well.

Supplies used:

MFT Homespun Birdhouse die set

Memory Box Dies

  Tender Leaves & Grove Branch

Cuttlebug folders 

  Distressed Stripes, Birds & Swirls, Swiss Dots

Stampin Up Punches -

   Word Window, Modern Label, Itty Bitty Flower

Stampin Up sentiment

Viva Decor Pen - dark brown

K & Co paper

When I thought the card was done I felt like it was missing something and that is when I added the little punched flowers, made from something similar to vellum, and dotted centers with the Viva Decor Pen it seemed to be what the card  needed. I'm always amazed at what adding just a little extra can do!

Thinking of You Card

This was the first card I made after receiving all the dies from my friend and I actually did it first because I had already printed off the dogwood image and was using it to make some cards. 

I have printed images with my regular printed and tried coloring them but they never turned out very good because the ink smudged so I thought I would try my laser printer, which also was sent to me by the same friend who sent me all the dies, and it didn't smear quite as bad when coloring so I might try this method again in the future. 

Supplies Used:

Memory Box Woven Circle Die

MFT Stitched Circle Stax

Laser Printed Image

Stampin Up Oval Punch

Stampin Up Scallop Oval Punch

Stampin Up sentiment

Various cardstock and paper

I cut out two of the flowers from some extra images I used and used my flower shaping tools to give them some dimension and then pop dotted them onto the flat image I had colored. Doing that really added a lot more to the card. I was too lazy to get up and go to the craft closet and look for matching ribbon so I just cut a strip of paper that I had used for the pink stitched circle layer and added it at the bottom with the sentiment. 

I'm Switching Cardstocks

For years now I have sworn by Stampin Up's cardstock for my card bases and have been able to justify the price by reminding myself of the quality but now I will be switching cardstock.

Each year it seems SU raises the prices on their products and I know prices always go up but I am going to stop ordering the SU cardstock for my card bases and start using the Bazzill Smoothie cardstock. I placed an order the other day with Joann's because they had the Smoothie on sale for half price. I know it is a little thinner than the SU but I can live with it since the SU is now $8 for a pack of 24 and the Bazzill, when on sale which is often enough for me, is $3.75 for 25 sheets. I am talking the 8.5 x 11 by the way. The Smoothie cardstock comes in some great colors and you can check out the colors at BAZZILL BASICS.

I did find how to match the colors to what SU cardstock I already have by using the My Create Ink ColorMatch site. The cool thing about this site is that you can compare colors between Stampin Up, Close to My Heart, Bazzill, ProMarkers and Copic. Once I get my order I will compare the colors I got to the Stampin Up colors I have to see how well things match up and then I will also add them on the Excel sheet I talked about yesterday. 

Bazzill also has some cardstock called Card Shoppe and it is more comparabe to Stampin Up but is a bit pricier. I was able to get quite a few packages of the Peanut Cluster cardstock at Zipp for $1.50 and of course I snatched up every package I found. I even shared a few packages with Carmen and Linda. 

One of the main reasons for my switch is that I do a lot of cards with my groups at McCalls and it gets rather expensive using the Stampin Up cardstock and I have found that the Bazzill works just fine. 

I'll keep ya posted on the colors when I get my order and how well it compares to the Stampin Up.

Goodwill Find Caused Me To Organize

I ran into Goodwill the other day just to pass some time since I haven't been finding much of anything in the store as of the last few months and I walked to the back where they bring out the new racks that will be stocked by the workers and found a stack of paper in packages.

Of course when a crafter finds a stack of paper in packages we have to look and see what it is and when I saw, well I quickly put the whole stack in my buggy! Especially since they were marked 99 cents and with my discount card that would put the cost at 90 cents. I went through and checked all the packages and there was one that was open and only had a few sheets in it so it when back on the rack but the others went back in my buggy. 

Did I mention that the paper packs were Stampin Up? Yes you heard me right...Stampin Up! I ended up with the following lines -

Attic Boutique (2)

Beau Chateau

Berry Blossoms

Delicate Dots

Festive Finery

Holiday Thyme 

Letters to Santa

Nursery Nest

Parisian Summer

Pocketful of Posies

Woodland Park

Simply Scrappin Kit - Just Delightful

Simply Scrappin Kit - Island Blossoms

I was beyond thrilled with my find, because ya know I don't have enough paper *okie does a huge eye roll*, but I knew it was going to cause me some problems because the holders I have my Stampin Up papers in were full and I would have to reg-organize to get the new paper in the appropriate order. Luckily my friend Carmen and I have been on TV date nights watching Game of Thrones and I was able to sit and work on the paper organization while watching TV with her. Since she is in Houston and I am in Oklahoma our TV date nights are on the phone. I have been trying to get her to watch Game of Thrones for a few years now and she wouldn't do it but once she did she hasn't been able to stop watching. I have seen all the episodes at least twice so it is nice to be able to explain things to her during the show as they happen. Oops...got side tracked!

I got out my label maker and went to the closet and got some more paper dividers, which I am out of now and will have to find something else to divide collections in the future, and went to work. I like to keep some of my paper collections by alphabetical order. I will make a bit of confession here and tell you that I had a couple of collections in there that didn't have dividers so it had been awhile since I had worked on keeping my Stampin Up papers organized. I did know I had them, just didn't have them organized with dividers. 

Since each collection matches up with Stampin Up cardstock I thought it would be nice to know what colors match and instead of having to do a search each time I wrote them on post it notes and put them on the dividers so I have quick access. After doing a search and finding SCSDSP Color Chart it was easy to get the colors for the collections.  I don't normally buy the SU designer paper unless it is on clearance *okie figures everyone knows okie doesn't like paying full price* and luckily for me all the papers I had were in the list since it hasn't been updated since 2014. The asterisk next to the cardstock name means it is still available. 

While I was at it I made an Excel spreadsheet inventory of the Stampin Up Designer Paper I have, don't ask me why I did that because I have no idea other than I like making inventories of some of my crafting items. But I do plan on going in and marking which cardstocks I do own *okie honestly believes this need to organize is a curse at times*. Honestly though, it will make it easier to just open up the Excel file and quickly see if I have what matches instead of having to rummage through my papers. By rummage I mean pull out the folder with paper which is organized by color and check the name on the tab.

I really need to work on my 12x12 cardstock organization since I found some more things to use as paper holders at Goodwill last month (which I will post about when I use them) and if anyone would like to come help me do that I will allow you pool time and all the cold beer you can drink!! 

Thinking of You Cards - 4 of 4

For the last card I wanted something a bit more subdued or masculine and I think I was able to achieve both with the choice of colors and design. I wanted subdued so it could be used for a sympathy card if needed or masculine so it would be more gender specific for a male receiver. 

Supplies Used:

Stampin Up Thoughts & Prayers stamp set

K&Co. Paper

Stampin Up Ticket Punch (retired)

The males in the groups really liked the design and said they would like it if they received the card and all the group members thought the color choices were good if they wanted to use it as a Sympathy card and sadly they have had 3 deaths of fellow residents in the last month or and were able to use the cards. The wonderful thing about the ICF/IID population is that the handle the death of others so well because as they always tell me "they are in a better place". 

It doesn't seem like we made these cards that long ago but it was back in April when they did the cards and here it is June and they are doing birthday cards already! We got 2 made last week and they will make 2 more next week and I'll post those when they get them all done. 

Thinking Of You Cards - 2 of 4

For the second card my groups did one of the members had asked for something with a flower and said "that way we can use it for a birthday card if we want" and I thought that was a good idea.

Supplies Used:

Stampin Up patterned paper (retired)
Stampin Up Fun Flower Punch (retired)

Stampin Up Blossom Bunch Punch

3/8" Grosgrain Ribbon

Brad

I will be honest and tell y'all I got the idea for the layout of the cards through searches on Google as I was just not feeling creative when I was making the kits. The group members were thrilled, like they always are with each card. I would actually like to make a few more of these in the future because they were easy ad I liked the end product, of course for my own liking I would need to do some inking on them.

I had the holes poked for the brad but it was difficult for a few of them to put the brad in to put the flowers together so I had to do most of them. Also one of them didn't like doing it because they were afraid they were going to get hurt "because it's sharp". 

Thinking of You Cards - 1 of 4

One of the ladies in one of my groups at the ICF/IID asked if we could make get well cards and after we discussed it we decided "thinking of you" would be better since they could be used for a variety of occasions. The two groups that I do out there did 4 different thinking of you cards which was a total of 48 card kits I did for the groups and then I made a few of each because I needed a sample card for them to look at and I couldn't do just one because that would be an odd number...I can't do odd numbers.

This is the first of the thinking of you cards they did.

Supplies Used:

Die-Namics Stitched Circle Dies

Stampin Up Bird Punch (retired)

Graphic 45 papers

I always have all the elements cut out for the groups since I have limited time and there are 6 people to a group but each person put their card together and they also did their stamping. I did have them stamp the "thinking of you" on the card first so they would have a better idea of where to put their circle.

I tore the bottom of the front of the card off and inked it a bit and the stripe paper is taped to the inside base of the card.

I always gripe about how much work it is to do the card kits but to see the looks on their faces and the comments they make about completing a card always makes it worth the effort. Yesterday we started the birthday cards they make every summer and they get to make 4 of those as well and I'll post them when they get done. 

Webster's Pages Clean and Simple - Altered Box

I got another one of the boxes covered and this one was a bit harder but I think only because I didn't have all the little extras to choose from with the Webster's Pages paper like I did with the Graphic 45. I might have overdone it with the flowers but I really like how they turned out and wanted to use as many as I could. I did end up with some extra white daisies that I can use some other time. 

Supplies Used:

-White Paperboard Box

-Webster's Pages Clean and Simple

-Daisies Cutting File (available below)

-Cuttlebug Daisy Quillng Kit

-Sizzix Dies Label, Ornate #2

-EK Success Medallion Border Punch

-Stampin Up "Define Your Life" Journey

-McGill Paper Blossom Tool Kit

-Colorbox Chalk Ink

-Glimmer Mist

-Smooch Spritz Tea Party

Here is a straight on view of the top of the box. The white flowers are the daisies that there is a cutting file for at the bottom of the post. The pink flowers were made using the Cuttlebug Daisy Quilling Kit. The center papers were cut using then Sizzix dies. I stamped the "journey" definintion and then adhered the yellow paper on some orange and used the Stampin Up Decorative Label punch to punch it out. 

On the close up side view you can see the ribbon on the side of the box a little better. I found some Sobe glue at Zipp Outlet and I have to say I love this stuff! It was great to put the ribbon on the box and also for the little dangling "Spirit" embellishment that I used as a open/close apparatus. 

You might be able to tell from the photo but in case you can't...I used mounting foam and a lot of it! That is one thing I love about altering items is that I can add a lot more dimension than I can on cards or scrapbook pages. 

I think you can see the "shimmer" on these flowers better than you can on the last box I did. I used Glimmer mist on the white daisies and Smooch Spritz on the pink daisies. For the centers of the white daisies I ran some yellow circles I had cut, that are included in the cutting file, upside down through my Xyron and then covered with flock. 

The quilling kit has a plate that cuts some straight strips that I used in the center of the pink daisies but then it looked a little plain to me so I popped in some pearls to jazz it up a bit. 

When the last box posted on Facebook someone asked if I had covered the inside as well and asked for me to post pictures if I did indeed cover the inside. I don't know why I didn't think about posting pictures of the inside then and I thought I should go ahead and post a picture of the inside of the box so you can see how the inside is covered as well. 

  

Graphic 45 Come Away With Me - Altered Box

I've been busy working on converting a bunch of files in Make The Cut the last 2 weeks or so and haven't done any crafting. This weekend I got tired of working on those files and decided to get busy on a project. I had found these bare boxes at Zipp Outlet a few weeks ago and I think I paid a whopping $2 for 3 of them. I love boxes around this size not only because they are fun to decorate but also because they will hold A2 size cards or those small Bath and Body Works items which makes them convenient for gift giving. 

Supplies Used:

- White Paperboard Box

- Graphic 45 Come Away With Me

- Stampin Up Flower Punches

- Ranger Memory Slide and Frame

- Various Embellishments

- Basic Grey Magnet Closure

- McGill Paper Blossom Tool Kit

- Colorbox Chalk Inks

I think I improved my flower making skills a little since my last attempt. I was pleased with these flowers and will be working on some more this week for another box. 

It's probably a little hard to see in the first picture but if you look at the bottom of the picture you can see a small metal square that is a Basic Grey Magnet Closure *okie bows her head and has a moment of silence in remembrance of Basic Grey's wonderful run in the papercrafting world*. The closures came with some small magnets and I placed one on the side of the box and then to attach the metal piece I looped ribbon in the "hanger" of the metal piece and then attached the ribbon between the box and the piece of paper that I used to cover the inside of the lid.

I used a small picture of a ship from one of the sheets of paper from the Come Away With Me collection and put it in a Ranger Memory Slide. The ribbon is from Stampin Up. The little white flowers are earring jackets and the pearls in the middle are earrings. I got a ton of these years ago and use them for everything but earrings. I used Sobo glue to hold the "pearl" in place. The little gold roses are buttons and since they were plastic I was able to snip off the shank of the button. 

For the little stamps, hot air balloon, the woman and ticket I just found scraps from sheets I used and fussy cut them to add to the box. 

I took a close up hoping you could see where I used Glimmer Mist *okie wonders why some people don't like that stuff* on the flowers. It actually served a dual purpose, one being to add some shimmer and the other was to add wetness to the flowers to help me shape them and then when they dry they hold their shape better. 

I have some Webster's Pages paper picked out for my next box that I will be doing this week and of course I will be trying out my flower making skills for this one as well...at least that is the plan. Sometimes I have great plans but then they get changed as a project goes along so I guess we will just have to see!

Stampin Up Sky Is the Limit Card

I love the time of year for Stampin Up's Sale-A-Bration because as long as you make a $50 order you get a free product and they are always nice products! In the order I made a few weeks ago I chose Sky Is the Limit stamp set. 

Don't forget I am having an online party and if you would like to make an order just go > HERE< to make your order and use Hostess Code  UBZCDCFA when you check out, you should see my name as the hostess once you enter the code. 

Supplies Used:
Stampin Up Sky Is the Limit stamp set
Various cardstock
Stampin Up Inks
Memento Inks
ProMarkers
Cricut Explore (sun and clouds)

I stamped the front part of the stamp a second time so I could cut out the propeller and pop dot it onto the plane. Since I didn't want to try and cut out the paper between the lines between the wings I just used my Promarkers to try and match the colors of the sky and sun ray as best I could so it wouldn't just be white. 

The heart jet trail is part of the stamp set, as is the sentiment. There is also a few other stamps that make this a very versatile set. One of the things I like about this set is that it can be masculine or feminine just depending on what colors you choose ad that is always good to have in your stamp stash. 

If you are not familiar with Stampin Up Sale-A-Bration here is the information how it works...

For Every $50.00 you spend you get a FREE exclusive Sale-A-Bration item! These free items are selected from the exclusive Sale-A-Bration catalog.

• Choose ONE free Sale-A-Bration item when you spend $50 (before ship/tax)
• Choose TWO free Sale-A-Bration items when you spend $100 (before ship/tax)
• Choose THREE free Sale-A-Bration items when you spend $150 (AND qualify for the usual hostess rewards of $25)
• Once your order reaches $250 (before ship/tax)  you get a BONUS $25.00 in hostess rewards
• There is No Limit to the number of  Sale-A-Bration Rewards you can earn.

Stampin Up Birthday Blooms Card

Another stamp set I ordered a few weeks ago was the Birthday Blooms out of the Occasions Catalog. I wanted to challenge myself with trying watercoloring a stamped image with my Stampin Up Inks and I thought this would be a good set to try the process. 

Don't forget I am having an online party and if you would like to make an order just go > HERE< to make your order and use Hostess Code  UBZCDCFA when you check out, you should see my name as the hostess once you enter the code. 

I wasn't sure how I liked this process when I started doing the watercoloring process and I wasn't sure how well my image was turning out and thought about trashing them. I did post it on Facebook and I got some good feedback so I decided to go ahead and finish the images and make some cards. 

I have to admit that I totally lifted the idea for the card from Stampin With Kristi although I had to change a few things since I didn't have the supplies she did. The image had to be "fussy cut" and I ended up cutting off some of the leaf bunches because I am lazy. 

Supplies used:

Stampin Up Birthday Blooms Stamp set

Stampin Up Inks

Watercolor Brush
Watercolor Paper

Stampin Up Label Collection Dies (retired)

Various Paper

Cuttlebug Distress Stripe embossing folder

Transparent paper

Linen Ribbon

Square Punch

Martha Stewart pearls

I tied the bow using the Double Bow method and the tutorial linked was the easiest and shortest I found. For the little banner I just used a square punch to make the end forked. 

It's hard to see but I did add a few little flowers with one of the stamps in the set and I guess I should have used a darker color since they are hard to see but it was too late after I got them stamped. 

This set came from the Occasions Catalog and you can order from the link at the beginning of this post and don't forget if you order $50 of product you get a free item from the Sale-A-Bration catalog.

If you are not familiar with Stampin Up Sale-A-Bration here is the information how it works...

For Every $50.00 you spend you get a FREE exclusive Sale-A-Bration item! These free items are selected from the exclusive Sale-A-Bration catalog.

• Choose ONE free Sale-A-Bration item when you spend $50 (before ship/tax)
• Choose TWO free Sale-A-Bration items when you spend $100 (before ship/tax)
• Choose THREE free Sale-A-Bration items when you spend $150 (AND qualify for the usual hostess rewards of $25)
• Once your order reaches $250 (before ship/tax)  you get a BONUS $25.00 in hostess rewards
• There is No Limit to the number of  Sale-A-Bration Rewards you can earn.

Stampin Up Grateful Bunch Card

The Stampin Up Occasions Catalag came out recently as did the annual Sale-A-Bration catalog and I couldn't wait to order a few goodies! This card is made with the Grateful Bunch Bundle. I love bundles like this because I am a sucker for punches and when there are stamps that go with it then it's a win win situation! 

I am also having an online party and if you would like to make an order just go > HERE< to make your order and use Hostess Code  UBZCDCFA when you check out, you should see my name as the hostess once you enter the code. 

Supplies Used:

Stampin Up Grateful Bunch stamp set

Stampin Up Blossom Bunch Punch

Die-namics Stitch Circle Stax

Various cardstock and papers

ProMarkers

Sheer Ribbon

Queen & Co. Pearls

Memento Inks

The stamp for the 3 flowers line up on the punch so it makes it easy to punch them all out once. I used the Promarkers for all the coloring of the flowers and leaves. I can't tell you how much I am in love with the Die-namics stitched dies! I love the stitched look and there are 9 in the set so here are plenty of sizes from which you can choose. 

I generally like to decorate the inside of my cards with strips of paper that are left over from the front because it adds a little  more interest. The butterfly and sentiment are included in the stamp set as are all the stamped images on this card.

If you are not familiar with Stampin Up Sale-A-Bration here is the information how it works...

For Every $50.00 you spend you get a FREE exclusive Sale-A-Bration item! These free items are selected from the exclusive Sale-A-Bration catalog.

• Choose ONE free Sale-A-Bration item when you spend $50 (before ship/tax)
• Choose TWO free Sale-A-Bration items when you spend $100 (before ship/tax)
• Choose THREE free Sale-A-Bration items when you spend $150 (AND qualify for the usual hostess rewards of $25)
• Once your order reaches $250 (before ship/tax)  you get a BONUS $25.00 in hostess rewards
• There is No Limit to the number of  Sale-A-Bration Rewards you can earn.

Stampin Up Big Day Tag Card

I decided to get another card done with this stamp set since I had stamped off quite a few images. I had a bit of hard time trying to decide what to do and the card ended up pretty simple but the tag is definitely the focus.

Supplies Used:

Stampin Up Products -

  Big Day stamp set

  Scallop Tag Topper Punch 

  Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie inks

  Old Olive cardstock

Basic Grey Cupcake pattern paper

Memento Ink

Paper Studio brads

1" square punch

Bakers twine

Stardust Pen

Mounting Foam

The Stampin Up tag topper punches make it super fast to make tags. The width is limited to 2" wide but the length can be anything you want. I'm not sure how long the tags are since I just cut them to fit the stamped image.

The image was stamped on white cardstock and I inked around the edges with the Pumpkin Pie ink. After coloring the "birthday" I went over it with a Stardust pen to give it just a bit of glimmer. 

I stamped the "celebrate" on old olive cardstock, fussy cut it and then used mounting foam to make it more dimensional. The "cake" was stamped on a piece of the Basic Grey Cupcake paper, trimmed down and a 1" square punch was used for the ends to make a banner. 

Stampin Up Big Day Birthday Card

I'm gonna be honest and say I wasn't sure about this stamp set when I ordered it but I am always looking for new birthday stamps and now that I have used it I have to say I am lovin the Big Day stamp set! I'm glad I got it when I did since it is no longer available. It was one of the items from Sale-A-Bration catalog back in the spring.

Supplies Used:

Stampin Up - Big Day stamp set (retired), Oval and 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punches

ProMarkers - Crimson, Marsh Green, Moss, Coral, Amethyst, Apricot,  Blue Pearl, Caramel, Cocoa, Blender Pen

Memento Black Ink 

1/4" Grosgrain ribbon

Paper Studio brads

Karen Foster Happy Birthday

Various cardstock

I didn't take a picture of the inside but the sentiment says "and perhaps a little ice cream!" The stamps actually have a lot of versatility to them and I have some images to make another set of 6 cards. When I was stamping the images I texted BFF Carmen and asked if she wanted me to stamp some off for her and of course she said yes.

I used my ProMarkers to do the coloring on the images and I do find that Memento Ink seems to work best. I have tried Stazon in the past and it seems to smear while Memento stays nice and crisp. I used the blender pen to take away some of the color for a highlighted look on the banner, letters and the cake image. 

I guess I'll take a break from making cards for a bit after I use up the other images I have stamped since I have to work on some giftbags for my stepgrandaughter's softball team. I'm still not sure what I am going to do to decorate them but I guess it better be good!

Stampin Up Amazing Birthday Card

I know I make more birthday cards than any other type of card and I think it is because as a general rule people send more birthday cards than any other card. Like I said a few posts ago, my card stash is running low and I am working to restock. Another reason I need to restock is because BFF Carmen is coming to visit soon and I will have to trade cards for the awesome Graphic 45 paper she sent me recently. She will never take money, even if I beg, instead she always wants to be paid in cards or other creations. 

The Amazing Birthday stamp set was another one I ordered in the spring and my groups used over the summer when making birthday cards.

Supplies Used:

Stampin Up

  Amazing Birthday Stamp Set

  Everyday Enchantment paper

  Soft Suede cardstock

  Soft Suede, Cameo Coral Ink

  Lucky Limeade, Coastal Cabana Ink

  Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral Ribbon

  7/8" Scallop Circle Punch

3/4" Circle Punch

Button Hole Punch

Paper Studio brads

Mounting Foam

I actually found the idea for this card in a Google search and really fell in love with it. I did have to stamp off the "TODAY" and "AMAZING" and cut them out by hand but it was worth the time and effort, and then used mounting foam to layer them on top of the original stamped image. I used a button hole punch to thread the ribbon through and tie off. The little "IT'S FOR YOU" was stamped and then punched out with the 3/4" circle punch and then I layered it on a 7/8" scallop circle I punched out. 

I left the inside of the card blank because I am thinking the card can be used for a variety of occasions even though birthday is what I had in mind when I made it. 

Stampin Up Celebrate Today Birthday Card

I ordered this stamp set back in the spring because I wanted to use it for when my groups at McCalls would make birthday cards and I haven't used it for myself until now and I know I'm going to use it again because there are a lot of different things you can do with the stamps and  matching framelits.

Supplies Used:

Stampin Up products -

  Celebrate Today stamp set

  Balloon Framelits

  Itty Bitty Banner stamps(retired)

  Bitty Banners Framelits

  Baked Brown Sugar Ink

  Cherry Cobbler Ink 

  Cherry Cobbler Cardstock

Scenic Route - Sonoma paper

Paper Studio - Cloud Paper

Mounting Foam

The Celebrate Today stamp set has a couple of balloon stamps you can use but for this card I just used the framelits and cut out patterned paper for the balloons but I did use a stamp from the set for the basket. I did have to fussy cut the basket but it was worth it to get the great effect on the card. The sentiment that says "Happy Day" is from the Itty Bitty Banner stamp set that is now retired. The banner is from the Bitty Banner framelit set.

The bottom two balloons are attached directly to the card mat and the top balloon was pop dotted. I crinkled the banners a little so they would look more like they were waving in the wind.  I do wish I would have cut out more of the banners to add to the balloons but maybe next time because I'm not getting the back out of my box to redo them now.

Stampin Up Birthday Blossoms Card

My card stash is running really low right now and I need to work on getting it stocked back up *okie wonders why since she rarely sends out any cards and just ends up giving most of them away to her friends so they can send them out* so I've been trying to think of cards to make. Since BFF Carmen sent me the Graphic 45 Mother Goose paper line I wanted to use it on a card.

Supplies Used:

• Graphic 45 Mother Goose 
• Stampin Up Birthday Blossoms stamp set
• Stampin Up Labels Collection framelits (retired) 
• Stampin Up Pansy Punch
• Stampin Up Inks
• Perfect Pearls
• Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tool
• Paper Studio Brads
• Mounting Foam

I wasn't sure how I would like the sentiment stamped on top of the flowers I had stamped but once I got done I thought it looked okay. I always have a hard time stamping on top of another stamped image unless the set is made that way so this was out of my comfort zone a bit. If you look at the flower at the top of the page you can see a little bit of glimmer where I added the Perfect Pearls. The grayish on the petals of the flowers is actually Perfect Pearls, some things are just difficult to photograph and it seems anything shimmery is difficult.

The flowers were stamped on the patterned paper with More Mustard and the green on the leaves with Garden Green. The Pacific Point cardstock and ink went perfect with the blue in the Mother Goose collection and I got really lucky there and then even more lucky was the brads I had match almost perfectly. I added a bit of Perfect Pearls to the middle of the flowers since they looked a little too plain otherwise. And yes...I am getting addicted to Perfect Pearls, thank you for noticing *okie cracks up laughing*.

Now I gotta figure out what kind of card to make next!