Coming Soon · Product of the Month

Sunshine on the Porch

Welcome to the weekend, friends! I’ve started out my day in the craft room but have lots more on the to-do list since it’s a beautiful, sunny day here in North Texas. What about you? What are you getting up to today?

This week, we’ve been playing with some of my new crafty goodies. And we’ve started with the new On Display stamp & die bundle. The latter part of the week, we’ve paired this bundle with the new Gliding Garden Swing bundle that will release next week. And let me tell you, these two sets go together like peas & carrots! (And I don’t even like peas & carrots! *snicker*). Today, I’m also adding a little peek at a new ribbon and a new die set. Let’s take a closer look!

We get started with a base of Night of Navy cardstock, which works together perfectly with the current Product of the Month (leaving next week!) True Blue Florals patterned paper that gives us our background panel and grounding strip of white patterned paper. Adding to our grounding background is a circle pattern lattice from the new Lovely Arrangements die set. These pops of white provide the perfect lift from the dark background so that our scene really pops.

Speaking of our scene, we’re combining the new On Display bundle with the Gliding Garden Swing bundle to create our cozy porch scene. The swing set includes dies that allow you to create a bench rather than a swing, which is what we’ve done here using the Country Woods woodgrain paper. Our sweet kitty, stamped and cut with the On Display set, is cozied up next to the throw pillow, cut with the swing set. The little side table, cut with the swing dies, holds a little picture frame, cut with the On Display dies. We finish our scene with a few potted plants, which use both of our bundles. The sentiment from the Gliding Garden Swing set is stamped in Secret Sea on white cardstock and cut with the Stylish Shapes banner die and sits on top of a circle of Secret Sea glimmer paper cut with the Spotlight on Nature dies and a twist of the brand new gold & white ribbon. Some Secret Sea charming shimmer faceted dots finish things off with a dash of sparkle across the card front.

We’ll take some time in January to look at both of these bundles a little more closely. But next week, we’re going to be playing with some more goodies that will be available in the store on January 6th! So tune in for some more peeks at new product!

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Coming Soon

Great Friend

Happy Friday, everybody! What’s on your weekend to-do list? For us, a lot is going to depend on the weather. But we definitely have some outside work to do while we’re having more springlike weather. And it’s time to swap out the holiday decor, which means making some trips to & from the storage unit.

This week, I’m having fun getting some of my new crafty goodies out. We’ve been working closely with the new On Display bundle. And now we’re weaving in the Gliding Garden Swing bundle, as well. These two sets pair beautifully thanks to similar scaling with the images, which allows easy scene-building cards. Today we’re also getting a sneak peek at the new Lovely Stripes embossing folder. Both the swing bundle and embossing folder will launch in my online store on January 6th.

Today, we’re having some tea on grandma’s porch. I used my Granny’s porch as inspiration for the setup. So we get started with a base of white cardstock and emboss half of it with the new Lovely Stripes embossing folder. The focal panel starts with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock cut with the largest Textured Notes die. I used the fence die from the Notes & Totes die set to build the porch. We start with the floor, which is planks of Crumb Cake cardstock. Then we cut white cardstock planks to build the porch railing. Both the flooring and railing are adhered directly to the focal panel so they are clearly at the back of our scene. Next up, we build our swing by stamping the swing image on white cardstock with Gray Granite ink and then diecut with the coordinating die from the Gliding Garden Swing set. I also cut just the seat portion from white woodgrain paper from the Country Woods paper pack. The swing is adhered with dimensionals. We add some pillows and our comfy cat to our swing. The pillows are cut from Pretty Peacock, Lost Lagoon, and Cloud Cover cardstock using a combination of dies from the On Display and Gliding Garden Swing die sets. The center pillow uses the upside-down cookie jar from the On Display set to add some variety to our pillow collection. Our kitty is stamped in Gray Granite and Crumb Cake and cut with the coordinating On Display die. These are all adhered onto our swing using a variety of heights of dimensionals to give lots of depth here. Our little garden table is cut from silver foil and we add a pitcher and glass of tea on top which are cut from vellum to give a more realistic see-through look. And no porch is complete without some potted plants. The pots are cut from Cajun Craze using the swing dies and then filled with foliage cut using a combination of the leaf bunches and purple flowers from the swing die set and the large-leaf plant from On Display. I used the smallest rectangle from the Textured Notes dies to cut the sentiment panel and stamped the sentiment from the Words of Beauty set in Blackberry Bliss ink. I used a leftover flower to the end to tie things together. And we finish things off with a dab of shimmer with the frosted iridescent gems.

Do you want to sit a spell on this porch and enjoy a nice cup of sweet tea? I know I sure do! Brings back fond memories, for sure! We’re going to be wrapping things up tomorrow in our little On Display-Gliding Garden Swing mini series. I hope you’ll drop by and see what images appear together next.

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Coming Soon · On Display

Swinging Smiles

Happy New Year, everyone! Did you stay up until midnight? These days, I don’t ever make it to the new year in my own time zone, but I always make it for Europe. *snicker* We enjoyed a day full of family fun yesterday and I was just plain tired. But it was a great day and the perfect way to finish off the year. We’ve done much the same today, so I would call that winning as far as a fresh start!

This week, we’re playing around with some new crafty goodies that arrived in my studio over the last couple of weeks that I hadn’t had time (or felt well enough) to play with. We’ve been taking a close look at the new On Display stamp & die set and today I’m starting a little mini series to show you how well this bundle pairs with the *brand new* Gliding Garden Swing stamp & die bundle. In fact, today’s card gives you a sneak peek at the new swing set, some new ribbon, and another new stamp set! All of these goodies will drop on January 6th!

When all was said and done, I decided to make this a monochromatic backdrop rather than mixing in some patterned paper because, quite frankly, I didn’t find a small enough pattern that I liked well enough to pair up with the focal panel. That is, until I remembered the gorgeous new Beautiful Pattern embossing folder had just the pattern I had pictured and realized I could just make my own patterned paper by embossing!

So we get started with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock and emboss just the card front with the Beautiful Pattern embossing folder. To help the pattern pop a bit more, I went over it lightly with a blending brush and Cloud Cover ink to give the pattern a bit more definition. The focal panel background is also Cloud Cover cardstock and we start building our scene right on top. The tree trunk is cut from Country Woods woodgrain using the new Gliding Garden Swing dies and adhered to the focal panel with a glue pen. I cut it to size by removing the overlapping portions with my paper snips. The leaves are stamped in Garden Green on Garden Green cardstock and then cut with the coordinating Gliding Garden Swing die. I cut apart the larger foliage piece to allow layering that looked more realistic. Dimensionals are just the ticket to give good depth of scene. The bits of branches are filled in with a Light Crumb Cake Stampin’ Blend. The swing is stamped on Crumb Cake cardstock with Gray Granite ink and then filled in with a Light Crumb Cake blend. I also cut the coordinating swing from Country Woods and used the coordinating die for the swing seat for a more realistic look. The seat is adhered with a glue pen directly to the diecut swing. The pillows are cut from Peaceful Garden and adhered to the swing seat with dimensionals. The sweet grey kitty is stamped in Smoky Slate on Smoky Slate cardstock and then cut with the coordinating On Display die. The sentiment from the new Lovely Arrangements stamp set is stamped on vellum that has been cut with the Stylish Shapes banner die and adhered with glue dots so it looks like it’s just floating at the top of our scene. Our focal panel is then adhered to the card front with dimensionals and then we tie a beautiful twist of brand new Cloud Cover linen ribbon right over the far-left side. We finish off with a touch of sparkle using the Cloud Cover flat pearls.

Today’s card keeps the pairing uber simple with just a single image from On Display, but I’ll show you tomorrow how you can really put both sets together to build beautiful scenes. Because tomorrow we’re going to have some tea on Granny’s porch! I hope you’ll drop in and sit a spell.

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On Display

Display of Appreciation

Happy New Year’s Eve! It’s hard to believe that we are already looking at a new year. Time sure flies. We’ve enjoyed a fun day spending time together as a family and plan to close out this year with a movie in our pjs.

This week we’re exploring a few of the new Stampin’ Up! goodies that I got over the last week or so. And in particular, we’ve been taking a look at the new On Display stamp & die set. Today we’re taking a peek inside grandma’s curio cabinet as we put a whole bunch of the little images in this set on full display. The curio itself pretty much occupies the full front of an A2 card, so I had to get a little creative after I had my curio all put together.

I chose a base of Balmy Blue as the base for this card — mostly because I had intended to use a panel of the True Blue Florals paper as a backdrop and then decided against it. But I did mimic one of the patterns by creating a pattern down the side of the card with the Hues of Blue flowers. The curio cabinet itself is a combination of Crumb Cake and Early Espresso cardstocks. And then I worked to fill the cabinet with a bunch of things that you might find in your grandma’s cabinet. I tried to make all of the little images look realistic and was careful in choosing papers and textures to bring the images to life. To help the sentiment stand out in the scene, I decided to stamp it on vellum and adhere it atop a small twist of the new gold & white woven ribbon (releasing next week).

Isn’t this a fun little scene? I’m pretty stoked about the plan for tomorrow’s card. We’re going to be taking a sneak peek at a coordinating stamp & die set that releases next week. I hope you’ll drop in & see how it comes together!

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Clean and Simple · On Display

Just for You

Happy Tuesday, everybody. I still find it hard to figure out what day of the week it is after being home sick and just the holidays generally. Anybody else? Slowly but surely we’ll get back in the groove. But not before another holiday interrupts our week!

This week we’re playing with some of my new crafty goodies that arrived. And we’re keeping it simple again today with the new On Display stamp & die bundle. All of the little images in this set make it easy to make quick, clean & simple cards, which is super helpful when you’re short on time but don’t want your card to show short on thoughtfulness. Today we’re pairing up On Display with the current Product of the Month True Blue Florals paper to create this cutie.

We get started with a base of Balmy Blue cardstock and we’re using the floral pattern (that reminds me of my grandmother’s wallpaper) from the True Blue Florals paper pack as our backdrop. I wrapped this panel with some Misty Moonlight linen thread to tie all of our hues of blue together. The focal panel is cut from white cardstock with the smallest die in the Branching Out set and then matted with Misty Moonlight glimmer paper from the Peaceful Garden glimmer pack that’s diecut with the next size up. I stamped the sentiment from the On Display set directly onto the focal panel in the top-right corner. Our potted plants are cut with the On Display dies with a combination of Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Oxidized Copper, and Shaded Spruce. They’re adhered onto our focal panel with dimensionals and then the full panel is adhered to our card front with dimensionals, as well. We finish things off with some Misty Moonlight flowers from the Hues of Blue flower set, along with some Secret Sea charming shimmer dots.

Doesn’t this feel like a picture in a picture? I just love that effect. And I love how the backdrop feels calm and familiar, just like my Granny’s house. This card would be perfect to welcome someone into a new home or simply to just say hello.

Tune in tomorrow as we take a peek in Granny’s curio cabinet. It will be fun to see what we find!

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On Display · Product of the Month

You’re on my Mind

Happy Monday, everyone! Did anyone else feel weird going back to work? It was especially weird for me since I had basically been out for 2 weeks. But I always enjoy the week between Christmas and New Year’s because traffic is light and so my commute is much shorter.

I got some new stampin’ goodies while I was down the flu, and I’ve been thinking about getting into them the whole time I was recovering. So this week, we’re going to be getting a few new things inky. Today we’re pairing the Product of the Month paper called True Blue Florals with the new On Display stamp & die bundle. There are so many ways to use this super adorable bundle. And today we’re starting with a simple scene.

We get started with a base of Balmy Blue cardstock. I chose the leaf frond pattern from the True Blue Florals paper pack to serve as the backdrop for our focal panel. Our focal panel starts with a circle of white cardstock cut with the largest Spotlight on Nature die. I used the large rose pattern from True Blue Florals to break up the white space and serve as an anchor for our scene — specifically to form our area rug. I used the On Display dies to cut all of the scene elements, including the orange tabby cat, the plant and small decorative table, and the cage of red finches. The sentiment is also from the On Display set and is stamped on a banner of white cardstock cut with paper snips. Dimensionals help give layer and depth to our scene. The full panel sits atop a twist of the new Cloud Cover linen ribbon. And we flank our panel with some Cloud Cover flat pearls.

Is this just not the cutest little pick-me-up card? What scenes can you see yourself building with this stamp set?

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Peaceful Garden · Words of Beauty

Because You’re on my Mind

Howdy, friends. It’s another balmy day here in N. Texas. We’re so confused that we think we’re in the Southern Hemisphere about now! But winter is supposedly on the way as the next cold front is due to arrive sometime tomorrow. I really hope so because shorts in December is pretty crazy!

Today I’m bringing you another floral design in our ode to this Texas faux spring. And we’re pairing up the Words of Beauty stamps & die bundle with the oh-so lovely Peaceful Garden suite. And I’m giving you a little sneak peek of an upcoming release of the beautiful laser cut Covered in Flowers Accents.

This card comes together super quickly. We get started with a base of Secret Sea cardstock. Our background panel consists of the vine patterned sheet from the Peaceful Garden pack with the silver glimmer paper from the coordinating glimmer pack. Our focal panel consists of the sentiment and an overlapping image. We get started by cutting a circle from white cardstock with the middle size of Spotlight on Nature dies. I stamped a portion of the sentiment in Cloud Burst ink directly on this panel. The rose diecut is from the up-and-coming Covered in Flowers accents pack and overlaps the set of leaves from the Peaceful Garden sticker sheet. I covered the rose with Wink of Stella for some extra shimmer on our focal panel. The remainder of the sentiment is diecut from Secret Sea and Misty Moonlight glimmer paper from the Peaceful Garden glimmer pack using the Words of Beauty dies. This full panel is adhered to our card front on a single layer of dimensionals just above a bow of Misty Moonlight & silver edged ribbon. We finish things off with some Hues of Blue Flowers.

To me, this card feels like a warm hug and I know just who needs it right about now. This lovely will be headed out in the post next week to bring a little snail mail love to some family.

Next week, we’re going to be exploring two new sets and I can’t wait to show you how well they work together! I hope you’ll drop in.

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Online Exclusives · Words of Beauty

Because I Appreciate You

Hello, crafty friends! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas. We enjoyed time together and time with family. My voice managed to hold together well enough to do an okay job for Christmas Eve services and we’ve enjoyed just loafing around since.

While I have the time off, I’ve also been enjoying time in the craft room. I’ve had several boxes of new goodies arrive. So I’ve taken the time to put away the Christmas mess and get somewhat reorganized. I’m really looking forward to playing with all the new crafty goodness that has arrived.

For the remainder of this week, I thought it would be appropriate to tiptoe back through the garden florals since it’s in the 80s here in North Texas. And today we’re pairing up the ever-lovely Perennial Lavender patterned paper with the Words of Beauty stamp and die bundle.

We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. I love how this light neutral really pulls forward the lighter colors in our patterned papers. I chose two complimentary sheets from the Perennial Lavender paper pack. The larger fronds of lavender serve as the backdrop for our focal panel, which is a combination of summer wildflowers. To help the busier, smaller pattern stand out against the background panel, I decided to use some retired Highland Heather glimmer paper. The sentiment is a combination of dies and stamps from the Words of Beauty set. just because is cut from Petunia Pop glimmer paper and adhered directly to the focal panel with a glue pen. The remainder of the sentiment is stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink on white cardstock and cut with the larger sentiment panel from the Words of Beauty die set and then adhered between the two glittery words. We finish off the focal panel with Petunia Pop iridescent ribbon tied in a bow and a combination of shimmery gems.

Tomorrow we’re going to pair up Words of Beauty with some more florals from the crafty stash. I hope you’ll pop in and check it out.

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Christmas · No Stamp Design

Joy of Christmas

Happy Saturday, everyone! Who all is frantically trying to get all of those last-minute Christmas list items done this weekend? *raising hand* It’s been a busy one today as we’ve squeezed in all sorts of things, including (finally) getting our outdoor decor set up. And now I’m frantically working in the craft room working on gifties for friends, coworkers, and loved ones and still whittling away at the Christmas card stash in hopes that I might at least get them in the mail by Christmas Eve……

So this week we’re working through the crafty stash to put together some (mostly) simple holiday cards. Today’s design is by far the most detailed design so far, but I would still say it only took about 15 min to put together once I got everything situated. We’re pairing up the new Beautiful Pattern embossing folder with the Delicate Pines dies to create this lovely card full of joy!

I was inspired by a card I saw over at Stampin’ Fancy Friday, and I just ran with it from there. We get started with a base of Real Red cardstock. Our focal panel is a quarter sheet of red that is machine embossed with the Beautiful Pattern embossing folder. I went over the embossed panel lightly with some metallic ink to really make the embossing pop. You could easily use paper with a white core, but I like the sheen & sparkle from the metallic ink rub myself. Our sentiment panel takes center stage here with lots of detailed elements and pops of holiday color. The joy sentiment is from the Greetings for You ephemera pack and is mounted on a panel of Traditions of Christmas plaid paper diecut with one of the smaller Traditional Labels dies. We mount the sentiment panel with dimensionals on top of a bow of Real Red shiny ribbon, along with winter evergreens cut from Shaded Spruce and Mossy Meadow cardstock and pinecones cut from Crumb Cake and Pecan Pie cardstock using the Delicate Pines dies. We finish it all off with a scattering of gold glitter dots.

With the template done, this card will come together much more quickly each time since you can cut lots of greenery pieces, pinecones, and sentiment panels all at once. I really love how this turned out and can already think of some variations that I plan to do for my personal stash.

I hope you’ll join me next week. I’ll still be in full-on Christmas mode as I work to finish the card stash and continue making gifts and gift tags.

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Christmas · No Stamp Design

Tree of Cheer

Welcome back, friends! I’m sure glad you’re here. Christmas is right around the corner and I’m trying to catch up up on my holiday card-making. One of the funny things about papercrafters is that we often spend a lot of time making holiday goodies but rarely is it for ourselves. Such is the case particularly when you make the holiday craft fair circuit. But I’m making some progress this week and you get to tag along.

This week, we’re making some clean & simple cards that are easy to reproduce. Today we’re pulling out the Joyful Days Memories & More card pack and pairing it with the Christmas Tags & More paper to create another festive holiday design.

We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. The lovely holiday plaid paper from the Christmas Tags & More pack serves as our background panel. The small tree card from the Joyful Days Memories & More pack is our focal panel, which is matted in Real Red to help it stand out against the plaid backdrop. I pulled out one of my favorite retired die sets — Autumn Leaves — to cut the sentiment from another of the Joyful Days cards. I find that these days are ones I turn to a lot when I’m need the perfect rectangle panel. And today we use the extension method to get it to the perfect size to cut out the sentiment from the center of the small card. The focal panel and sentiment are mounted together and adhered to the card front with dimensionals. Using a combination of Shaded Spruce & Sea Foam ribbon and gold trim, I create a festive bow to hang at the top of the tree. We finish things off with some bits of festive sparkle with a scattering of gold and red glitter sequins.

I hope you’ll drop back in tomorrow to see what else we can create with our holiday crafty stash!

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