Tag: Bright Skies

Retiring · Take to the Sky

Flying By

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

The Take to the Sky suite has officially hit the Last Chance list. If you’ve been eying this fantastic set, now is your chance to add it to the crafty stash before it’s gone! I know that I’ll be sad to see it go and fully intend to keep it in my stash even after it’s gone from the shelves.

The stamps and dies offer you a variety of plane sizes to use on your designs. Earlier today, I wanted a larger-scaled plane to take center stage, but for this card, I wanted to scale things back a little and so I chose the larger biplane stamp for this fun card.

We get started with a base of Basic Black cardstock. A sheet of the grey plaid paper from the Take to the Sky paper pack serves as our backdrop, and I decided to mat it with a sheet of textured silver specialty paper for just a hint of twinkle in the background. I wanted it to look as though our focal image is bursting through the clouds, so I began setting up the focal scene by cutting clouds from Azure Afternoon cardstock using the Bright Skies dies (also a set that is retiring!). I cut the map background panel with the Countryside Corners die and arranged the clouds and map so that our plane would sit front and center and look as though it’s mid-flight.

Our plane is stamped in black on Smoky Slate cardstock and then colored with the Night of Navy Stampin’ Blends. The propellers are cut from silver foil and an industrial trinket serves as the hub. Wink of Stella helps give our propeller the look of spinning. The sentiment from the Adventurous Sky stamp set is stamped on a smaller cloud cut with the Bright Skies dies. A few of the iridescent white sequins from the sequins trio pack further the illusion of being in the clouds and help draw the eye to the focal panel and sentiment.

The combination of products in the suite offer endless possibilities for so many fun designs — from super simple to detailed. It’s perfect for all the flight enthusiasts in your life.

Product List
Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 121045 ]
[121045]
$11.50
Azure Afternoon 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 161719 ]
[161719]
$11.50
Textured Metallic 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Paper [ 163772 ]
[163772]
$8.50
Silver 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Foil Sheets [ 163387 ]
[163387]
$5.00
Bright Skies Dies [ 162793 ]
[162793]
$34.00
Countryside Corners Dies [ 161471 ]
[161471]
$28.00
Take To The Sky Suite Collection (English) [ 163832 ]
[163832]
$74.00
Adhesive Backed Sequins Trio [ 161206 ]
[161206]
$8.00
Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [ 141897 ]
[141897]
$9.00
Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad [ 101406 ]
[101406]
$10.50
Night Of Navy Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154891 ]
[154891]
$11.00
Basic Black Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154843 ]
[154843]
$11.00
Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154904 ]
[154904]
$11.00
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Retiring

Brighter Skies on the Way

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Happy Saturday, crafty friends! It’s a rainy (and cold) day here in North Texas, and I’m playing catchup after a very busy end to the week. And with the weather as dreary as it is, I have my head in the clouds — the rain clouds, that is — and that works perfectly into this week’s design theme of all about nature.

This design is a combination of some of my favorite patterned paper — Everyday Skies — with two of my favorite pick-me-up stamp bundles — Playing in the Rain and Bright Skies. Both of these stamp bundles are on the current Last Chance list, so if you love them as much as I do, now is the time to swipe them for your stash! For today’s design, we’re keeping it pretty simple because these three products work super well together.

We get started with a base of Copper Clay cardstock. I really love how this pulled out the darker elements in the Everyday Skies paper but in a way that lends itself to our encouraging message. To add a touch of whimsy to the card to pair with our cute fox from the Playing in the Rain set, I chose to stamp the larger cloud from the Bright Skies stamp set onto black cardstock and then heat emboss in black before diecutting with the coordinating die. I add some rain in the area underneath where I intended to affix my cloud by heat embossing the stamped raindrops in clear powder and then affixed my cloud with dimensionals.

Next up, I worked on my focal character — the cute fox from the Playing in the Rain set. I stamped him in black onto Calypso Coral so that the space around the image would blend into the backdrop. I colored the fox with Stampin’ Blends before diecutting with the coordinating die. To ensure that the end of his tail had nice contrast, I used my Versamark pen to heat emboss the tip of the tail with white embossing powder. I used a couple of the ombre matte dots for buttons. I stamped the sentiment from Bright Skies in Blackberry Bliss ink and then affixed the fox to the right of the sentiment and used two layers of dimensionals so our character really stood front and center in the scene. I added a few two tone sparkle gems in the clouds for just a little added sparkly drama.

I really love the challenge of pairing products in my stash and I think this one turned out smashingly well. We’re going to continue our nature tour by using a sketch. I hope you’ll drop back by later to check it out.

Product List
Copper Clay 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 161721 ]
[161721]
$11.50
Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [ 121045 ]
[121045]
$11.50
Everyday Skies 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [ 164622 ]
[164622]
$12.50
Bright Skies Bundle (English) [ 162794 ]
[162794]
$48.50
Playing In The Rain Bundle (English) [ 160551 ]
[160551]
$54.75
Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad [ 101406 ]
[101406]
$10.50
Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [ 147092 ]
[147092]
$9.00
Versamark Pad [ 102283 ]
[102283]
$9.50
Basics Wow! Embossing Powder [ 165679 ]
[165679]
$21.00
Calypso Coral Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154881 ]
[154881]
$11.00
Night Of Navy Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154891 ]
[154891]
$11.00
Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154880 ]
[154880]
$11.00
Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154883 ]
[154883]
$11.00
Shaded Spruce Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [ 154903 ]
[154903]
$11.00
Pretty Peacock Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [ 161676 ]
[161676]
$11.00
Ombre Matte Decorative Dots [ 161448 ]
[161448]
$8.00
Two Tone Sparkle Gems [ 164633 ]
[164633]
$9.50
Stampin' Dimensionals [ 104430 ]
[104430]
$4.25
Add All to Cart
Fun Folds · L2S Group Instahop

Up & Away Birthday

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week, we’re working with the Everyday Skies designer series paper that is currently available as a Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusive. We’re pairing it up with the Hot Air Balloon bundle to make this super fun birthday fun fold. I’m using the Accordion Z-Fold by fellow demo Jackie Bolhuis.

Our card starts with a base of Azure Afternoon cardstock, which also serves as the z-fold base. I used several sheets of the blue skies sheets from the Everyday Skies paper pack to build the background. I made sure that all of my panels fit together to build the scene without any odd junctions between pieces and adhered them according to Jackie’s instructions. I cut a variety of balloons from several patterns from the Bright & Beautiful paper pack using the Hot Air Balloon dies. I outlined each balloon with a black marker to give some defined shape to each balloon. The balloon baskets are cut from several different paper scraps, including Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, and gold foil. The sentiment from the Hot Air Balloon stamp set is stamped in Night of Navy ink on white cardstock and then diecut with the banner die from the Hot Air Balloon set. The banner edges are pieces of silver foil for a little festive sparkle on the sentiment panel. The sentiment banner is adhered directly to the balloon. The balloons are all adhered to the card panel with dimensionals of varying heights and in such a way that when the card is closed they overlap so that only the small front panel scene is visible. The clouds are cut from the white spotted sheet of vellum from the Graceful Greenery vellum pack using both the Bright Skies and Hot Air Balloon dies. I used glue dots to affix the clouds in our scene. The largest cloud holds our inside sentiment which is from the Pattern of Friendship stamp set, which is set to release in the newest batch of Online Exclusives next week. This sentiment is heat embossed with white embossing powder. We finish things off with a scattering of white transparent dots.

It’s always fun to build scene cards, and this fun fold is a terrific way to combine this beautiful Everyday Skies paper with the Hot Air Balloon bundle. I love how you’ll be writing your message in the sky when leaving a note for the recipient!

Today’s card is a part of the Luv 2 Stamp Group Instagram Hop, which goes live at 9 AM Pacific Time (PST).  Click here to head over to my Instagram feed at 9 AM Pacific/11 AM Central and check out what the other demos in our L2S Group have created for you today! 

Product List
Azure Afternoon 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[161719]
$11.50
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[159276]
$13.00
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[120953]
$11.50
Early Espresso 12" X 12" Card Stock
[124276]
$5.95
Everyday Skies 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[164622]
$12.50
Bright & Beautiful 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[161449]
$12.50
Silver Foil Sheets
[132178]
$5.00
Gold Foil Sheets
[132622]
$5.00
Graceful Greenery Vellum 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper
[164118]
$10.00
Hot Air Balloon Bundle (English)
[162755]
$45.00
Bright Skies Dies
[162793]
$34.00
Versamark Pad
[102283]
$9.50
Basics Wow! Embossing Powder
[165679]
$21.00
Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker
[100082]
$3.00
Transparent Adhesive Backed Dots
[163432]
$8.00
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals
[144108]
$4.25
Mini Glue Dots
[103683]
$7.25
Add All to Cart
Everyday Skies

Brighter Skies

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week we’re highlighting the lovely Everyday Skies paper in our designs. Each of the skies featured in this paper pack is like a work of art all on its own. Today’s design is using one of the more ominous skies to create an encouragement card using the Bright Skies stamps and dies.

We begin with a base of Basic Black cardstock. The Everyday Skies pattern serves as the backdrop and main focal panel. I wrapped a combination of Blackberry Bliss & Gold ribbon and Petal Pink diagonal trim around the bottom of the panel before adhering to the card base. Using the Brighter Skies dies, I cut two smaller clouds from Blackberry Bliss and a larger cloud from black. I heat embossed the sentiment from Bright Skies in black. The clouds are adhered to the focal panel with varying layers of dimensionals to give lots of depth to our scene. I added some Blackberry Bliss foil dots and two tone sparkle gems to draw the eye to our sentiment.

When you have wonderful product at hand, it doesn’t take much to make a lovely card. And the Everyday Skies paper certainly does the heavy lifting in today’s design! Tune in tomorrow for a clean and simple design.

Product List
Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[121045]
$11.50
Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[133675]
$11.50
Everyday Skies 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
[164622]
$12.50
Bright Skies Bundle (English)
[162794]
$48.50
Versamark Pad
[102283]
$9.50
Basics Wow! Embossing Powder
[165679]
$21.00
Petal Pink & White 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Diagonal Trim Combo Pack
[163417]
$10.00
Blackberry Bliss & Gold 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Textured Ribbon
[164039]
$10.00
Regal Foiled Adhesive Backed Dots
[164038]
$8.50
Two Tone Sparkle Gems
[164633]
$9.50
Stampin' Dimensionals
[104430]
$4.25
Tear & Tape Adhesive
[154031]
$7.00
Add All to Cart
Fun Folds

Sprinkling of Love

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

The Bright Skies stamps and dies in the current Stampin’ Up! Mini catalog are some of my favorites because they allow you to make so many different cards for a variety of occasions. This is one of those sets that will remain in my stash even after the current mini catalog retires.

This card design uses a peek-through fun fold design to reveal the sentiment. And for me, the eye-catching twist on this fun fold is the use of the vellum.

This card is built on a base of Pretty Peacock. I removed 2 1/2-inches of the front panel to create the peek-through portion. A piece of the Sunny Days designer series paper serves as the base for the front panel. A sheet of vellum is diecut on each end using the Bright Skies cloud bank dies and then embossed with the Raindrops embossing folder. This vellum panel is adhered with dimensionals over the base. To create a variety of clouds, I stamped two of the four clouds on cardstock using the Bright Skies stamps and simply diecut two from colored cardstock. Dimensionals help create the cloud layers over the vellum.

The sentiment for this card is stamped in the inside message panel which is visible thanks to the peek-through panel we created with the front card panel. The little scene is created with the Bright Skies stamps and begins with the little hill of flowers. I used the back of one of the smaller clouds to stamp the hill and then filled in with the flower stems and tulips. And finished with the sentiment. A few foiled gems help the eye settle on the sentiment.

Peek-through designs are such a great way to dress the inside and outside of your cards at the same time.

Products used in today’s design:
Pretty Peacock, Shaded Spruce, Lost Lagoon, Smoky Slate, Basic White cardstock
Sunny Days DSP
Bright Skies stamps
Bright Skies dies
Gold foiled gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team · Terrific Tuesdays

Brighten My Days

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

The Bright Skies stamps and dies pair beautifully with so many of the current Stampin’ Up! lineup. Today, we’re pairing the bundle with Playing in the Rain. And I love how SU! has the coordinating Sunny Days designer series paper in the Sale-a-Bration catalog. Some paper, a stamp or two, and some dies and *VOILA* a cheery card!

Today’s card is built on a base of Basic Grey cardstock. The focal panel is comprised of two patterns of the Sunny Days designer paper matted with Lost Lagoon cardstock. I stamped the cloud and sun using the Bright Skies stamps and diecut them with the coordinating dies. The sentiment is stamped on white cardstock and diecut using the All That die. The adorable rabbit and rainy puddles are from the Playing in the Rain set, which also has the coordinating set of dies. I colored the rabbit’s raincoat with Stampin’ Blends to coordinate with the color palette of the card. The focal elements are all on dimensionals and the decorative dots and ribbon further help draw the eye diagonally across the design.

Missed this week’s episode of Terrific Tuesdays where we made 3 fun designs with the Bright Skies bundle? No problem, you can catch it here!

Products used in today’s design:
Basic Grey, Basic White, Crushed Curry cardstock
Sunny Days DSP
Bright Skies, Playing in the Rain stamps
Bright Skies, Playing in the Rain, All That dies
Pool Party crinkle ribbon
White baker’s twine
Decorative dots
Wink of Stella
Stampin’ Blends
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress.  Song Sparrow Papercrafts is not responsible for ad content.

Terrific Tuesdays

Cloudy Days Are Better With Friends

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

One of the many things I love about Stampin’ Up! products is that they’re made to go together. This week, we’ve been using the Bright Skies stamps and dies to create super cute cards. We’ve seen how well this set pairs with other sets. And today’s design is keeping it simple but with plenty of pizzazz.

Everyone needs a friend who makes a dreary day better. Someone who makes you want to throw down the umbrella and just jump in the puddles. And that’s the inspiration behind today’s design.

This super cute card sits on a base of Pool Party cardstock. The focal panel is also a sheet of Pool Party that has been diecut with the largest Deckled Rectangles die and then embossed using the Raindrops embossing folder. To give just a little definition to the panel without adding dimensionals, I chose to ink the three exposed edges with Pool Party ink. I fussy cut the three clouds from a sheet of the Sunny Days designer paper, taking advantage of the clouds that were on the corners of the sheet of paper. The bunny and fox are stamped on white cardstock and colored with Stampin’ Blends. After diecutting each of them, I did a little fussy cutting around each to narrow the white outlines. The puddles are stamped on Pool Party and diecut using the Playing in the Rain dies. I colored in the centers with Wink of Stella to mimic reflections. A few adhesive hearts finish everything off nicely.

Looking for more inspiration using the Bright Skies stamps and dies? Check out this week’s Terrific Tuesdays episode for some design inspiration.

Products used in today’s featured design:
Pool Party, Basic White cardstock
Sunny Days DSP
Bright Skies, Playing in the Rain stamps
Bright Skies, Playing in the Rain dies
Raindrops embossing folder
Wink of Stella
Adhesive hearts
Stampin’ Blends
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress.  Song Sparrow Papercrafts is not responsible for ad content.

Terrific Tuesdays

Enjoy Your Day

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

Today’s card features the designer series paper that coordinates with the Bright Skies stamps and dies. The Sunny Days paper pack allows you to create so many different styles of cards. This pack could be yours for FREE with a qualifying order between now and the end of February during Sale-a-Bration.

I really love this DSP Gate Fold fun fold by Jackie Bolhuis over at Klompen Stampers. It’s such a great way to showcase both sides of a lovely sheet of designer series paper. I felt like so many of the designs I’ve made with Bright Skies have been more doom and gloom than bright and cheery, and this is the most perfect card to send a cheerful vibe!

This card is built on a quarter-sheet of Real Red cardstock. The third-sheet of designer series paper is scored and folded to create an overlapping barn or gate fold. To punch up the hints of red, the sentiment panel is matted on Real Red cardstock. The sentiment panel is white cardstock diecut using the Everyday Essentials dies. Our cute little rabbit is from the Playing in the Rain bundle and is colored using Stampin’ Blends. Bunny is jumping for joy over some festive grass that is diecut from a sheet of Sunny Days DSP using the Sending Love dies. I added a few adhesive flowers to the grass for a punch of joyful color. A twist of red ribbon from the ribbon combo pack helps draw the eye to the sentiment panel. I let the cheerful Sunny Days paper stand on its own on the inside of the card and simply added white cardstock for the message panel.

Did you miss this week’s Terrific Tuesdays where we made some cute cards with the Bright Skies bundle? You can still check it out.

Products used in today’s featured design:
Real Red, Basic White cardstock
Sunny Days DSP
Playing in the Rain, Heartfelt Hellos stamps
Playing in the Rain, Everyday Essentials, Sending Love, Deckled Rectangles dies
Real Red ribbon combo
Adhesive hearts & flowers
Stampin’ Blends
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress.  Song Sparrow Papercrafts is not responsible for ad content.

Terrific Tuesdays

Better With You

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

What do you like to do on rainy days? For me, it depends, but there’s nothing better than being able to spend them with my loved ones! And that’s the inspiration behind today’s card.

A quick peek through the window tells this duo that their fun has to be indoors today. So mama llama and the turtle set about their favorite rainy day activities — knitting and singing.

This card is built on a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. The focal panel background is also Lost Lagoon. Using two nesting Deckled Rectangles dies, I fashioned the window and window frame. I used the smaller die to cut the interior of the window frame and the window panel to the card front where the raindrops are stamped and embossed with clear embossing powder for a more realistic watery shimmer. The clouds are fussy cut from the Sale-a-Bration Sunny Days designer series paper, and the lightning bolts are diecut from holographic specialty paper using the Bright Skies dies.

To make a more realistic-looking room in the foreground of our focal panel, I diecut the rug from the rainbow sheet of Sunny Days paper using the middle-sized cloud in the Bright Skies die set. Our two adorable characters are diecut directly from the Zoo Crew designer paper using the coordinating Zany Zoo dies. The table and lamp are made with a combination of the Zany Zoo and Bright Skies die sets. The lamp base is the vase from Zany Zoo, while the lampshade is the tulip from Bright Skies. And to give the lamp the look of being on, I diecut a second tulip from a sheet of vellum that I colored yellow using my Stampin’ Blends. To keep the sentiment from distracting from this adorable scene, I stamped on vellum.

Check out this week’s Terrific Tuesdays video for even more inspiration using the Bright Skies stamps and dies.

Products used in today’s featured design:
Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake, Basic White cardstock
Sunny Days, Holographic, Zoo Crew DSP
Vellum
Bright Skies, Zany Zoo, Autumn Leaves dies
Playing in the Rain, Zany Zoo stamps
Stampin’ Blends
Clear embossing powder
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress.  Song Sparrow Papercrafts is not responsible for ad content.

Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team · Terrific Tuesdays

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

When you’re browsing a new Stampin’ Up! catalog, do you ever think to yourself, “I know exactly what I’m going to pair with that!” As soon as I saw the Bright Skies stamps and dies, I just knew that I had to try it out with the Playing in the Rain bundle. To quote one of my favorite movies, “they’re M-F-E-O!” (MFEO = Made For Each Other … And bonus points if you can name that movie! *wink-wink*)

For today’s card, I built this adorable scene using the Bright Skies and Playing in the Rain bundles. The overall theme is “You brighten my cloudy days” and I decided to place the sentiment on the inside message panel rather than cluttering the scene on the front.

I began building the front panel scene with a base of Pool Party cardstock. Using the Playing in the Rain set, I stamped raindrops on most of the base in Versamark and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I fussy cut a variety of clouds from the Sunny Days designer paper and also stamped and diecut one cloud using the Bright Skies set. I wanted the clouds to look “rainy” but cheery too, so I balanced the grey clouds with the two Lost Lagoon. I gave them a more realistic layered feel by varying the heights of the clouds with dimensionals, which easily allowed the sun to pop out and shine in between.

I knew I wanted the cute fox to be strolling across a bridge over water, so I set about bringing that portion of this design to life. The grass and hills are cut from Old Olive cardstock. I freehanded the banks and diecut the grass strips using the Sending Love die. All of the grass elements are adhered to a strip of Lost Lagoon cardstock which is popped up on a layer of dimensionals. I added a few adhesive flowers on the grass banks for a bit of whimsy and fun. To give a more realistic shimmer to the water, I added Wink of Stella to the Lost Lagoon cardstock, and I also added water rings for the raindrops using the Pool Party Stampin’ Blends. The cute fox is stamped on white cardstock and colored with Stampin’ Blends. I diecut the fox with the coordinating Playing in the Rain die and then trimmed down the diecut image to further reduce the white edging all around. The bridge is diecut from Crumb Cake cardstock using the Playing in the Rain dies. I very lightly sponged the bridge with Crumb Cake ink to bring out the details in the bridge railing. The fox is adhered to the card base with dimensionals and the bridge is then layered on top in the same manner.

Don’t you just love it when an idea comes together even better than you imagined? I love, love, LOVE this card! It just makes me smile!

Want to see other design ideas using the Bright Skies bundle? Check out this week’s Terrific Tuesdays episode for more inspiration!

Products used in this design:
Pool Party, Crushed Curry, Lost Lagoon, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Basic White cardstock
Sunny Days DSP
Bright Skies, Playing in the Rain stamps
Bright Skies, Playing in the Rain, Sending Love dies
Clear embossing powder
Adhesive flowers
Stampin’ Blends
Wink of Stella
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress.  Song Sparrow Papercrafts is not responsible for ad content.