The new Wildflower Birthdays paper bundle released in the latest Stampin’ Up! January Mini catalog is a fabulous addition to the crafting stash. This bundle includes double-sided foiled paper and coordinating diecut sheets. It’s a fabulous way to create beautiful cards on the fly. While this bundle doesn’t include sentiments, it affords you the opportunity to use the ones you have in your stamping stash. Or, as in the case of today’s card, perhaps you go the rebel route and create a design that doesn’t have a sentiment on the card front! *gasp*
We get started on our card with a base of Very Vanilla cardstock. The backdrop is a sheet of the lovely foiled Wildflower Birthdays paper in Pool Party. I wanted to create a party scene to impart the birthday theme, so I began with the gold banner and fringe draped at the top of our card front, which are adhered with dimensionals. To help the cake stand out and give the illusion of a tablecloth, I adhered a darker polka-dot rectangle from the Wildflower Birthdays diecut collection and then added the cake on top by adhering with a double layer of dimensionals. A few pink Party Dots finish things off.
What do you think of the rebel no-sentiment design? Fun, right? Tune in tomorrow for a birthday alternative that I just know you’re going to love!
Products used in today’s card: Very Vanilla cardstock Wildflower Birthday DSP Party Dots Dimensionals Adhesives
Happy Monday, crafty friends! Long weekends always go by quickly, don’t they? This week, we’re starting a brand new design series using the Wildflower Birthday paper and embellishment bundle from the new Stampin’ Up! January Mini catalog. As the name implies, this bundle is great for birthday designs, but I hope to show you just how versatile this can be with a little ingenuity.
Today’s card design does indeed begin with a birthday design. We’re pairing up the Wildflower Birthday bundle with a sketch from the new mini catalog and some glimmer paper for a sparkly birthday wish for that special someone with a sparkly personality.
Our card starts with a base of Pretty in Pink cardstock. The background panel is a sheet of the foiled paper from the Wildflower Birthday paper pack that is matted with the Summer Splash glimmer paper. Our focal panel begins with a base of Pretty in Pink glimmer paper that is diecut with the Spotlight on Nature dies. Our focal elements are all from the Wildflower Birthday bundle. We layer up the slice of cake with a few of the foiled leaf fronds and place them over and around our sentiment panel. The sentiment from Mixed Labels is stamped in Melon Mambo in the center. A few gold low profile dots adorn the sentiment on either side. The whole focal panel sits atop a bow of gold thread. A few pink shiny sequins on either side of our focal panel help draw the eye in and add that extra touch of pink sparkle.
I just love this card full of sparkly fun – perfect for that friend in your life who is the life of the party! I hope you’ll pop in tomorrow to see another fun birthday design.
Products used in today’s card: Pretty in Pink cardstock In Color glimmer paper, Wildflower Birthday DSP Mixed Labels stamps Spotlight on Nature dies Low profile dots, shiny sequins Gold thread Dimensionals Adhesives
We’re going to close out our week of working with the new Stampin’ Up! Hugs for Love bundle with today’s bonus card. I’m pairing it up once again with the Timeless Plaid paper, which is also a new release, and using Sketch #6 from the new January Mini catalog.
We get started with a base of Boho Blue cardstock. The background panel is a sheet of the Timeless Plaid in blue. I used the reverse side of the Pool Party plaid sheet from the same pack as the center background elements and punched the shapes using the To the Point Label punch. Although it’s difficult to see in the photo, there are very faint lines of Pool Party in the blue plaid sheet, making the Pool Party plaid sheet the perfect compliment to really draw out those subtle stripes. The sentiment panel is stamped on white using the Hugs for Life outline stamp and the sentiment from the Heart Shaped stamp set. The panel is punched with the To the Point Label punch. I tied some Night of Navy linen thread around the background panel and passed it underneath the sentiment panel. I added some rhinestone basic jewels and industrial trinkets to finish things off.
Next week is all about birthdays. I hope you’ll pop in!
Products used in this featured design: Boho Blue, Basic White cardstock Timeless Plaid DSP Hugs for Love bundle Heart Shaped stamps Natural Tones linen thread Industrial trinkets, rhinestone basic jewels Dimensionals Adhesives
If you’re wondering what happened to the Sketchy Fridays post, well, the best laid plans for yesterday certainly went awry. Our newest furry friend Chloe went in for a spay yesterday, and surgery ended up being later in the afternoon. That means, we had to bring a home a very groggy and very needy kitten. And she was not a fan of the cone of shame at ALL, so we spent our evening trying to keep the precocious 6-month old from chewing on her stitches after taking her out of said cone of shame. Whew – that was quite a job! Soooo…suffice it to say, my plan to make my card for Sketch Fridays yesterday evening did not come to pass.
But we managed to work out a tummy wrap that protects Chloe’s stitches and lets her move about more normally. And she feels much better today overall so she’s a lot less needy. So we’re back to our usual routine for the most part, which has given me a little bit of time in the craft room. So welcome to Sketchy Fridays on Saturday. *wink*
For those of you who are new here, Sketchy Fridays is a weekly series where we’re using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found in current Stampin’ Up! catalogs.
This week’s card is based on Sketch #19 from the Stampin’ Up! January Mini Catalog. If you haven’t seen all of the sketches from the new catalog, you can download a FREE copy of the sketches here. For any of the sketches with tags, I’ve shown you how it looks to use the tag sketch as a card front. I think one of my favorite things about today’s card is the embossed glimmer paper. I love how adding some texture to the shimmery paper gives it a whole new look and feel!
We get started with a neutral base of Smoky Slate cardstock. The background panel of pastel ombre glimmer paper is embossed with the Plaster Painting embossing folder and then adhered to the card base with dimensionals. The focal panel background is a sheet of the Timeless Plaid patterned paper and is adhered to the background panel with dimensionals. The sentiment panel is made with the new Hugs for Love bundle. I stamped the shape outline in Pretty Peacock and the sentiment and hearts in Lost Lagoon and then punched the panel with the coordinating To the Point Label punch. I added a few gold hearts to the sentiment panel for a little extra attention and adhered the panel with dimensionals over Lost Lagoon soft cording. I added a combination of riverside irregular pearls and Sunny Days iridescent dots for some sparkles of interest.
I’m hoping to bring you one more design to close out our series on Hugs for Love, assuming the rest of my Saturday goes as planned. Until then…
Products used in today’s card: Smoky Slate, Basic White cardstock Timeless Plaid, pastel ombre glimmer DSP Hugs for Love bundle Lost Lagoon soft cording Gold adhesive hearts, Sunny Days iridescent dots, Riverside irregular pearls Dimensionals Adhesives
This week we’re having fun with the Hugs for Love bundle that released in the Stampin’ Up! January Mini catalog. Today, we’re playing with patterns with a mixture of stamping, embossing, and patterned papers. And I really love this combination of our featured bundle with the new Timeless Plaid paper, the Distressed Tile embossing folder & the Nature’s Sweetness foiled paper.
Our design today gets started with a base of Boho Blue cardstock. I used the Distressed Tile embossing folder to make a partial impression of the plate on the card front. Using the Hugs for Love label stamp, I stamped a repeating pattern in Early Espresso directly on the sheet of Timeless Plaid paper. A strip of silver trim is tied at the top. The sentiment panel combines the label stamp and sentiment from the Hugs for Love stamp set and is punched with the coordinating To the Point label punch. I cut 2 panels of the Nature’s Sweetness foiled grid paper using the largest Mixed Labels dies and used them to reiterate our patterns and ground the sentiment panel for emphasis. Using the Mixed Labels die, I cut a small grid detail from white glimmer paper and tucked it behind the sentiment, tying our sentiment panel elements together nicely. A combination of silver and gold Drusy embellishments pull together all of the shimmery elements, giving a cohesive look to the entire design.
Tomorrow we’re going to play with a sketch from the new mini catalog. I hope you’ll stop by and check it out!
Products used in today’s design: Boho Blue, Basic White cardstock Timeless Plaid, Nature’s Sweetness, white glimmer DSP Hugs for Love bundle Silver trim Drusy embellishments Dimensionals Adhesives
When I was growing up in the country, I used to love to hunt for mushrooms and toadstools. I loved the *poof* of dust that would come from the toadstools. And I always found the different mushroom shapes fascinating and would think about what kind of Smurf might live in it based on the size and shape. I always loved a rainy spring because it meant that there would soon be oodles of fungi to find, and I was always excited when we had “fairy rings” — those are the mushrooms that grow in a circle. Anyone else call them that? My grandpa used to say that the circles of mushrooms were where the fairies played. To this day, I still smile every time I see a circle of mushrooms in a yard here in the ‘burbs.
And that’s the inspiration behind today’s card design using the Toadstool Gardens patterned paper. This week, we’re using the new Hugs for Love stamps & punch bundle to create our designs. And I thought the “you make me smile” sentiment was just perfect for today’s card with our cute mushrooms.
We get started on our card today with a base of Berry Burst cardstock. A sheet of the pink Beautiful Bokeh paper serves as the base for our focal panel with two patterns of the Toadstool Gardens designer paper. The sentiment from Hugs for Love is stamped in Blackberry Bliss on the woodgrain pattern from the Toadstool Gardens paper with a lovely heart from the same stamp set stamped in Flirty Flamingo. The sentiment panel is then punched with the coordinating Hugs for Love punch. I also punched two partial panels from Blackberry Bliss to create a full mat for the sentiment panel. The sentiment panel is adhered to the focal panel with dimensionals. The white diagonal trim breaks up the patterns and adds the perfect eye-catching backdrop for our sentiment panel. A scattering of purple sequins gives us the sparkle that makes this design feel magical.
Tomorrow we’re going to use our Hugs for Love bundle to play with patterns. I hope you’ll stop by.
Products used in today’s card: Berry Burst, Blackberry Bliss cardstock Toadstool Garden, Beautiful Bokeh DSP Hugs for Love bundle White diagonal trim Purple sequins Dimensionals Adhesives
This week we’re having some fun with the new bundle by Stampin’ Up! called Hugs for Love. This bundle includes a stamp set and coordinating label punch. And while you can certainly get a great start on Valetines with this bundle, it’s versatile enough to create designs for all sorts of occasions.
Today, we’re taking a more traditional approach with the design elements and color palette by making a card that feels very Valentine-y. For this card, we’re pairing our featured bundle with the Marbled Elegance pattern paper.
We get started today with a card base of Cherry Cobbler cardstock. Our Marbled Elegance paper is matted with gold mercury vellum, which really accentuates the lovely gold foiling in our patterned paper. The sentiment from Hugs for Love is stamped in Real Red, while the heart accents are stamped in Pretty in Pink and the decorative border is stamped in Cherry Cobbler. The sentiment panel is then cut with the coordinating punch and adhered over a bow of gold trim using dimensionals. We finish things off by scattering varying sizes of gold foil hearts on and around the sentiment panel.
This is such a simple design that can be replicated quickly. And a simple swap of the sentiment makes this is a great layout for all occasions.
Tomorrow we’re smiling with the fairies. I hope you’ll drop in!
Products used in today’s card: Cherry Cobbler, Basic White cardstock Marbled Elegance, Mercury vellum DSP Hugs for Love bundle Gold trim Gold hearts Dimensionals Adhesives
Here we are at the start of a brand new week. After a very chilly weekend in North Texas and the remnants of snow and ice still lingering in places even now, it seemed appropriate to start our new weekly series with today’s icey color palette.
This week, we’re going to be using the new Hugs for Love bundle that just released in the Stampin’ Up! January Mini catalog. This bundle comes with a stamp set and coordinating punch. And while it’s certainly going to fit the bill for your Valentines, this bundle is designed with versatility in mind. And I think today’s card is a great start at showing you just that.
Our card today begins with a base of Pretty Peacock, which pairs beautifully with the Timeless Plaid patterned paper that serves as our focal section background. A piece of the In Color glimmer paper is the perfect compliment to our plaid and really brings out the subtleties of the plaid pattern. Our Timeless Plaid panel is diecut using the Nested Essentials dies. The sentiment from the Hugs for Love set is stamped in Lost Lagoon, while the decorative portion of the panel is stamped in Pretty Peacock. A line of riverside irregular pearls catch the eye and compliment the pattern of our panel outline. The panel is then cut out using the coordinating punch and adhered over the Lost Lagoon & gold ribbon using dimensionals. A few Sunny Day iridescent dots bring the eye in to our sentiment.
Tune in tomorrow as we take a more traditional look at this bundle.
Products used in today’s card: Pretty Peacock, Basic White cardstock Timeless Plaid, In Color glimmer DSP Hugs for Love bundle Pretty Peacock & Gold ribbon Riverside irregular pearls, Sunny Day iridescent dots Dimensionals Adhesives
We’ve made it to the weekend. What does everyone have in store? We were supposed to be at a school basketball tournament today, but due to the kiddos missing school at the end of the week due to winter weather, that’s been postponed. So we’re off to bowl the weekend league tournament instead, assuming we can get out of the icy driveway, that is.
This week, we’ve been working with the Mixed Media Florals bundle of products. And today, we’re closing things out by combining this fabulous bundle with the Timeless Plaid designer series paper and a loose take on Sketch #5 from the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog.
We get started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock, which brings out all of the subtle shades of brown in our Timeless Plaid background panel. A flowers-only patterned sheet from the Mixed Media Florals paper pack serves as our focal backdrop. I love how the slight turn askew adds a bit of whimsy and interest to this patterned paper and really draws the eye to our focal image. The focal image is a bundle of flowers that is cut from one of the smaller notecards in the Mixed Media Florals Memories & More kit. I cut around the florals to give it the look of a diecut piece and mounted it on dimensionals to ensure it really catches your eye. I cut a partial panel from the pastel ombre glimmer paper using the smaller decorative banner from the Mixed Labels die set. The sentiment is also from the Memories & More kit and is also mounted on dimensionals so that it overlaps all 3 of the panels that comprise our focal layer. I added a bit of gold thread behind the sentiment to ensure that the eye falls and rests on the sentiment. A few shiny sequins in various colors across the card front add some extra sparkle.
Next week, we’re going to be working with the Hugs for Love bundle to show how it can work for you for so much more than Valentine designs. I hope you’ll come along for the ride!
Products used in today’s design: Early Espresso cardstock Mixed Media Florals, Timeless Plaid, Pastel ombre glimmer DSP Mixed Media Florals Memories & More kit Shiny sequins Gold thread Dimensionals Adhesives
We’re having SNOW much fun here in North Texas, where we’ve woken up to a layer of fresh snow. After a full day of sleet and snow yesterday, things were already well covered before it got dark and we all turned in. Not sure that it will hang around long this time, but it sure is pretty!
But on to the business that is happening in the warmth of my craft room. This week, we’re getting a look at the new suite of products called Mixed Media Florals. And today’s design is pairing the gorgeous paper with the coordinating Memories & More kit.
And it just so happens to be time for a new installment of Sketchy Fridays, where we’re using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found in current Stampin’ Up! catalogs.
This week’s card is based on Sketch #2 from the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini Catalog because I just couldn’t resist how perfectly it tied all of the fun, and very different, elements from the Mixed Media Florals together. What’s fun about today’s use of the sketch is that it serves more as a jumping off spot for the design, and I really love how this design evolved as I began working with all of the elements.
We get started with a base of Flirty Flamingo cardstock. A gorgeous sheet of paper from the Mixed Media Florals paper pack serves as the backdrop for the focal section of our design. I used a strip of the Beautiful Bokeh paper to serve as the anchor for the focal section. A partial cut of the Spotlight on Nature circle from a sheet of the new pastel ombre glimmer paper serves as the oversized mat for the focal image and sentiment and definitely add some interest as a partial shape. The focal image is a sticker from the Mixed Media Florals Memories & More kit and is adhered over the mat using dimensionals. The banner and sentiment are also from the Memories & More kit and are placed to overlap both sections of our full focal panel to tie the elements together visually. I added a ladybug and some foiled gems to catch the eye and add some whimsy.
Tomorrow we’ll be closing out our Mixed Media Floral series with a super fun and simple design.
Products used in today’s card: Calypso Coral cardstock Mixed Media Florals, Pastel ombre glimmer, Beautiful Bokeh DSP Mixed Media Florals Memories & More Petal Pink foiled gems Dimensionals Adhesives
Song Sparrow Papercrafts 