Mother’s Day

Lovely Mom

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms, moms-to-be, grands, and moms in the gap. What a privilege it is to love and care for another. There isn’t more truth than a child is a piece of your heart walking outside your chest.

This week we’re exploring all the ways we can use our crafty stash to make lovely things for our moms. And we’re finishing out our series with the Thankful Garden bundle.

This lovely gets started with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. The focal panel backdrop starts with a quarter panel of white cardstock that is machine embossed with the Dotted Circles embossing folder and is then matted with the Thoughtful Designs specialty paper. Our Thankful Garden bundle takes center stage here with the hydrangea bloom in the center. After stamping the image on white cardstock several times, I used the decorative masks to color the image. I chose to have the blooms be a combination of pink and purple — which was my grandmother’s favorite hues to aim for with her hydrangea (easier said than done). A layer of Wink of Stella over the blooms makes them shimmer in the light. The coordinating dies made quick work of cutting out the bloom and adding the life-like dimension. A combination of pink and purple regal dots serve as the floret centers. I cut some extra stems of leaves from a combination of the Lovely Garden patterned paper and a sheet of Shaded Spruce and laid the hydrangea bunch on top. The sentiment is created using a combination of Sweet Blooms dies and She’s the Greatest stamps. The lovely is cut from purple silver foil and Berry Burst glimmer paper. I adhered the two layers together with the glue pen before adhering over a bow of iridescent striped ribbon. I stamped Mom in Blackberry Bliss on white cardstock and used a heart punch to cut it out. It’s adhered with a dimensional. A few drusy embellishments finish things off with an extra sparkle.

We’re going to be honoring our teachers next week as prepare to wind down the last couple of weeks of school. I hope you’ll drop by for some cute ideas to thank the folks who work selflessly and tirelessly all year to impart knowledge into the next generation!

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Mother’s Day

love you MOM

This week is all about MOM as we pull out all the stops to create some super fun designs worthy of all of the love, care, and encouragement that moms give. Today’s card is a combination of products that might be akin to the kitchen sink. *haha* But our biggest stars of the show are the Country Woods bundle (hurry, it’s on Last Chance in the shop!) and the new Notes & Totes bundle, along with two new paper packs called Florals in Bloom and Flower Garden foils. Together, they build this cute little scene you might find on the front porch next to the porch swing.

I love this color palette of soft blue hues. We get started with a very neutral base of Basic White cardstock. We turn to the Florals in Bloom papers for our backdrop which we cut using the largest Textured Notes die. And then we follow it with a sheet of the Flower Garden foil and cut it with the next Textured Notes die. I love how the foil is just a tick darker than the striped pattern sheet underneath and how the cross-hatch pattern of the foil plays so well off the stripes below. I adhered the two layers together with dimensionals.

Next up, we work on our focal images. The stool and water jug are stamped onto sheets of the Country Woods woodgrain papers using the Country Flowers set and then diecut with their coordinating dies. The smaller flowers are cut from the Florals in Bloom paper using the coordinating Sweet Blooms die. I layered the stool and jug of flowers using varying layers of dimensionals on focal panel background. I used the scarf die from the Notes & Totes setto cut a gold accent ribbon for the water jug of flowers. I made a smaller handbag using the Notes & Totes bundle. I stamped the hibiscus pattern onto Pretty Peacock and then used the pocket die to cut it out. For the flap, I used the pocket die and cut just the top portion out of the Pretty Peacock Season of Elegance foiled paper. I fussy cut to clean it up and then adhered to the stamped layer. I cut the latch and handle from Crumb Cake cardstock, again using the Notes & Totes set, and adhered with glue dots. The purse is affixed next to the flowers with dimensionals.

The sentiment combines two stamps from the She’s the Greatest set and are stamped in Balmy Blue on white cardstock. I fussy cut the letters of MOM and then diecut a banner for love you using the Nested Essentials small banner die. I loved the look of them in the top corner and affixed them with dimensionals. I added adhesive hearts to finish of the sentiment and a few of the new In Color flat pearls around the flowers for a little touch of shine.

We’ll be closing out our series tomorrow with the last little bit of Mother’s Day inspiration. I hope you’ll drop by!

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Mother’s Day

So Grateful

Have you seen all of the new products that hit the online store yesterday? There are so many wonderful new suites and bundles that it’s a little hard to choose a favorite! But one of the new bundles that ranks at the top is the Notes & Totes bundle that we’re using today to make a cute little giftie to go with mom’s handmade card.

This might look a little overwhelming, but the dies make it super easy to create this cute little gift bag! I’ve filled this one with a gift card, some stickies, and chocolates. And there’s still room for a little tube of hand cream or lip gloss if you wanted to throw one in.

To get started, we cut the sides of the bag out of Timeless Plaid with the largest Notes & Totes die. Fold along the score lines and then adhere together with tear-n-tape. To give the look of leather, I cut the straps and accent pieces for the bag out of Crumb Cake cardstock. Adhere the vertical straps first and then the piece on the bottom of the bag with tear-n-tape. I used glue dots to adhere the handles and accent pieces on each side of the bag. I tied a small bow of Pretty in Pink bordered ribbon around one strap and then filled the bag with goodies. I cut a small notecard with the included die and then stamped the sentiment from Notes & Totes in Melon Mambo and tucked it in the bag amongst the goodies. Voila! A cute little something to leave next to mom’s coffee!

I’ll be back on Friday with some more inspiration for Mother’s Day. I hope you’ll pop in!

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Mother’s Day

The Best Mom

Welcome to a bright and shiny new week! I don’t know about you, but I can’t even believe that we’re starting the month of May. The end of school is going to be here in a flash!

This week, we get to welcome a whole host of brand new products to the store. Are you excited? I know I am! There’s so much good stuff coming. I hope last week’s sneak peeks have you interested in seeing more because there is SO much more to see, and I just know you’re going to love it.

We’re getting started with a new design theme for the week, and with Mother’s Day just a week away, I thought it would be the perfect theme for our designs. And speaking of sneak peeks, we’re getting a little better look at the Pretty Florals bundle, which will be part of the new release, in today’s card.

We get started with a base of Fresh Freesia cardstock. Using the Plaster Painting embossing folder, I embossed just the front panel of the card. I added a piece of the coordinating pastel ombre glimmer paper to the left side against the fold, and this particular piece has the perfect subtle shift from pink to purple. I used a strip of the Blackberry Bliss and gold trim to cover the edge of the glimmer paper and tie together with our focal elements. The sentiment from the She’s the Greatest stamp set is stamped in Blackberry Bliss on white cardstock and then diecut with the largest banner die from the Mixed Labels set. It’s adhered in the bottom corner of the card front with dimensionals. Using the Pretty Florals dies, I cut the flowers from a combination of Petunia Pop and Blackberry Bliss cardstock. The leaves are cut from the Old Olive Season of Elegance paper. I added some Wink of Stella to the blooms for a touch of subtle twinkle. The florals are all adhered to the card front around the sentiment panel at varying heights with a combination of glue dots and dimensionals. We finish things off with a scatter of Blackberry Bliss shimmer gems for the perfect touch of sparkle.

I hope you’ll pop back by tomorrow for another bit of Mother’s Day inspiration.

Products used in today’s card:
Fresh Freesia, Petunia Pop, Blackberry Bliss, Basic White cardstock
Pastel Ombre glimmer, Season of Elegance DSP
Plaster Painting embossing folder
Pretty Florals bundle (coming soon)
She’s the Greatest stamps
Mixed Labels dies
Blackberry Bliss & gold metallic ribbon (retired)
Purple fine shimmer gems
Wink of Stella
Dimensionals

Coming Soon · Sketchy Fridays

Sketchy Fridays: Smile!

This week, we’re getting some sneaky peeks at some of the brand new product that will be launching next week. And today we’re making another trip to the garden as we combine some new products with a sketch for Sketchy Fridays.

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 #3 from the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. Today’s design features the Florals in Bloom suite that will release next week. This week, I’m staying pretty true to the sketch. I simply flipped the side where the focal panel is affixed.

We get started with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. I used the Pattern of Friendship die on the front panel to add a little texture in the background. Our background panels are a combination of Florals in Bloom and Petunia Pop glimmer paper, and these are all adhered directly to the card front. I tied a piece of Fresh Freesia velvet ribbon around the card front before placing the focal panel. The focal panel base is a white circle cut using the Spotlight on Nature dies. Using the Pretty Florals dies, I cut some flowers from the Florals in Bloom paper and then affixed them to the circle using a combination of dimensionals and glue dots. The sentiment panel is cut from vellum using the Something Fancy dies. The sentiment from Sweet Blooms is stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder before being adhered to the focal panel with glue dots. We finish things off with two tone sparkle gems across the card front.

Tomorrow we’re going to have our sentiments take center stage. I hope you’ll drop by and check it out.

Products used in today’s card:
Blackberry Bliss, Basic White cardstock
Florals in Bloom (coming soon), In Color glimmer, vellum DSP
Sweet Blooms stamps (coming soon)
Pretty Florals (coming soon), Spotlight on Nature, Something Fancy, Pattern of Friendship dies
Clear embossing powder
Fresh Freesia velvet ribbon
Two tone sparkle gems
Dimensionals

Coming Soon

Amazing

This week, we’re exploring some of the new products that will be launching next week in the online store. Today we’re getting a look at the Notes & Totes bundle. This fabulous set not only makes super cute cards, but it also allows you to make cute little gift bags perfect for a tube of chapstick and a piece of chocolate! Today, I’m also using super fun technique that Sarah demonstrated several months ago — embossing over glimmer paper!

We get started with a base of Pool Party cardstock. I’m using a sheet of the Thoughtful Journey paper as the backdrop for this little beachy scene. To create the sand, we’re using a strip of Pecan Pie cardstock and then tearing it at the top to give it the look of beach sand. I stamped the sentiment from Scenic Adventure in Fresh Freesia in the top corner. Our beach bag is a combination of Floral Delight and Crumb Cake cardstock and diecut using the Notes & Totes dies. The cute sash is a small scrap of Wildflower Birthday with a starburst sequin serving as the decoration on the knot. The sunglasses are cut from Basic Black and Shy Shamrock glimmer paper and then affixed to the top edge of the bag with a dimensional. To add some beachy interest, we’re adding a conch shell and water bottle. The shell is cut from a sheet of Beautiful Bokeh. The water bottle is cut from a sheet of pastel ombre glimmer paper and silver foil and has a subtle raised pattern that is created by stamping the florals from the Notes & Totes set in versamark and then heat embossing with clear embossing powder. To help the pattern stand out and give a more decorative look to the bottle, I used a blending brush and Pretty Peacock ink to go over it and then added some wink of stella. It’s adhered next to the shell on some dimensionals. I added a few rainbow dots in the sand to finish everything off.

We’re going to be taking a stroll through the garden tomorrow. Pack your gloves and a cutting basket!

Products used in today’s card:
Pool Party, Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Basic Black cardstock
Thoughtful Journey, Wildflower Birthday, Floral Delight, Beautiful Bokeh, Silver foil, In Color shimmer, Pastel Ombre glimmer DSP
Notes & Totes bundle (coming soon)
Scenic Adventure stamps (coming soon)
Clear embossing powder
Wink of Stella
Rainbow dots, starburst sequins
Dimensionals

Coming Soon

The Best Dad

This week, we’re getting a sneak peek at some of the newest products that Stampin’ Up! is set to release next week. And today we’re once again pairing up some current products with what’s soon to come to create this super cool scene. I love the sunset mountain hues of blues and purples, and the Splendid Autumn paper pack has some terrific sheets to choose from to create our scene using the Scenic Adventure bundle.

We get started with a base of Misty Moonlight cardstock. A sheet of the Splendid Autumn paper serves as our sunset backdrop for the mountain scene and is matted with a sheet of the Thoughtful Designs specialty paper. I used the Scenic Adventure dies to cut mountains and trees from coordinating scraps of the Splendid Autumn papers. I also added the ripples of the lake in the foreground with the dies, along with the faint stars and moon in upper-right corner. And I stamped some clouds in the distance using the Scenic Adventure stamp and Pool Party ink. The mountains and trees are layered with dimensionals to give depth to the scene and Wink of Stella gives the perfect amount of subtle twinkle to the the tops of the trees and mountain, the ripples in the water, and the moon in the sky. The sentiment from She’s the Greatest and He’s the Greatest is stamped in Misty Moonlight on white cardstock and diecut with the smaller Sentimental Framing die. I added some blue linen thread behind the panel before adhering to the card front with dimensionals. We finish things off with two tone sparkle gems in opposing corners to ensure the eye passes over the whole design.

Next, we’ll be taking it to the beach. Pack your flip flops and come along!

Products used in today’s card:
Misty Moonlight, Basic White cardstock
Splendid Autumn, Thoughtful Designs DSP
Scenic Adventure bundle (coming soon)
She’s the Greatest, He’s the Greatest stamps
Sentimental Framing (coming soon) dies
Natural tones linen thread
Two tone sparkle gems
Wink of Stella
Dimensionals

Coming Soon

Thinking of You

Howdy, everyone! Welcome to another sneak peek of some of the new products that are set to release next week. Like yesterday, today we’re combining a little bit of old and some new to create a super clean and simple design that you can put together in less than 5 minutes. If you’re like me, you need one of those designs every once in a while.

Today, we’re combining the beautiful Splendid Autumn designer series paper with the new foiled paper called Flower Garden foils and a new stamp set called Sentimental Framing. This stamp set is 100% sentiments perfect for all sorts of occasions.

Let’s get started on our card. We’re going to begin with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. Our focal panel is a sheet of the Splendid Autumn paper that is cut with the largest Textured Notes die and then matted with a sheet of the pink-hued Flower Garden foil specialty paper. I heat embossed the sentiment from the Sentimental Framing stamp set directly onto the patterned paper using some white embossing powder. I tied some iridescent trim just above the sentiment. I really love how the ribbon pulls in the more subtle colors of the sunset in our scene. I added a few purple shimmer gems for just a touch of sparkle and to help guide the eye down and across our card design.

Next up, we’re going to be taking a look at a new set that builds some beautiful scenes and is perfect for more masculine designs!

Products used in this card:
Blackberry Bliss cardstock
Splendid Autumn, Flower Garden foils (coming soon!) DSP
Sentimental Framing stamps (coming soon!)
Textured Notes dies
Iridescent striped trim
Purple shimmer gems

Coming Soon

Just Breathe

Happy Monday, everyone. It was a busy weekend around here with all sorts of different activities. I feel like I need a weekend from my weekend!

This week, we’re getting some little sneak peeks at some upcoming releases. Did you know that next week Stampin’ Up! will be releasing new Online Exclusives and a new annual catalog?! Today’s design is the perfect combination between old and new as we pair the Thoughtful Journey designer series paper with the new Sentimental Framing dies and Scenic Adventure stamps in this very clean and simple design.

We get started with a base of Petunia Pop cardstock. The sheet of flowering thistle paper from the Thoughtful Journey paper pack is cut using the new Sentimental Framing dies. The decorative frame is adhered to the card base with dimensionals while the center section is adhered directly to the card base to give a layered effect. The sentiment from the new Scenic Adventure stamp set is stamped in Pretty Peacock on white cardstock and diecut with the frame from the Enduring Beauty set. A twist of Fresh Freesia seam binding ribbon is adhered behind the sentiment panel at the base of the focal panel. The smaller flowers and leaves are cut from Mossy Meadow and Fresh Freesia cardstock using the Enduring Beauty dies and adhered behind the corner of the sentiment panel. Some starburst sequins finish things off with a pop of color and a patterned twinkle.

Tune in tomorrow for another sneak peek of products coming next week!

Products used in today’s card:
Petunia Pop, Basic White, Mossy Meadow cardstock
Thoughtful Journey DSP
Scenic Adventure stamps (coming soon!)
Sentimental Framing (coming soon!), Enduring Beauty dies
Starburst sequins
Fresh Freesia seam binding ribbon
Dimensionals

florals

So Lucky

We’re rounding out our walk through the garden this week with a trip to the country. Today’s card design features the Country Flowers set by Stampin’ Up!, which is currently on the Last Chance list, and a card layout I spotted in a recent post shared over at Stampin’ Through the Catalog. I adapted the layout and color palette to fit the products I wanted to use.

We get started with a base of Gray Granite cardstock. I also cut a quarter panel and then ran it through the embossing machine with the Distressed Tiles embossing folder before cutting it down to a smaller size for the focal panel backdrop. This small embossed strip is matted with a piece of gold textured paper to help it stand out against the tone-on-tone card base. I layered a piece of the Nature’s Sweetness foiled paper on top. For the focal panel, I cut a piece of Misty Moonlight with one of the middle circles from the Spotlight on Nature die set and then heat embossed the sentiment from Country Flowers in white. The teapot from Country Flowers is stamped in Gray Granite onto the lighter woodgrain pattern from the Country Woods paper pack, while the flowers are stamped on white and then colored with a combination of Stampin’ Blends before cutting out the floral bunch with the coordinating Country Flowers die. The teapot and flowers adhered to the focal panel with dimensionals and the focal panel is then adhered to the center of card front with dimensionals, as well. I added some gold ribbon on the teapot and someiridescent faceted gems to the floral centers to finish off the arrangement. Some drusy embellishments finish things off with the perfect touch of sparkly goodness.

I hope you’ll tune in this week as we get a look at some of the new goodies that are set to launch in a little over a week!

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