birthday · Sentiments

Birthday Backgrounds

This week, we’re having fun with sentiments. Each of our designs has the sentiment take the stage in all new ways. And today’s card is devoted to text with the combination of the More Messages and Layered Thoughts stamp sets by Stampin’ Up!

I don’t know about you, but when I see card designs that use text in new or innovative ways, I always think, “why didn’t I think of that?!” I especially love designs that create a background panel from scratch. And when I realized that the new More Messages set is actually a single image rather than separate sentiments, I knew just what I wanted to do — create a fun background panel. For me, the whimsy and fun for this design comes from the angled stamping and festive color palette.

Our card begins with a base of Summer Splash cardstock. You could also use Coastal Cabana with equal flair! The focal panel is a piece of white cardstock diecut with the Textured Notes die and then stamped with the More Messages stamp. I used a combination of Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, and Crushed Curry. The background panel is matted with a sheet of orange and pink Beautiful Bokeh paper. I wrapped some Summer Splash, Daffodil Delight, and gold ribbons around the panel toward the bottom. The sentiment from Layered Thoughts is stamped in a combination of Versamark and Crushed Curry on yellow Beautiful Bokeh paper and then heat embossed with some glitter powder. I used paper snips to cut around the sentiment, leaving a nice border for that extra pop of yellow. The sentiment is mounted over the ribbon on the focal panel with dimensionals and then the focal panel is mounted to the card base with dimensionals, as well. I finished things off with a scattering of In Color shimmer gems across the background panel and some rhinestone basic gems.

Tomorrow we’ll try our hand at a sketch and a sentiment and see where we end up. Won’t that be fun?!

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birthday · Sentiments

Birthday Cake

Welcome to the midway point of the week. Why does it always seem like the summer goes by in a flash? We’ve had a busy week this week with junior police academy going on, but the kiddo seems to be enjoying it and is learning a lot about what goes in to being a law enforcement officer. I love that he’s finding a new respect for police officers and ALL that they do behind the scenes!

This week, we’re designing our cards around sentiments. And you might be wondering why I chose this particular design theme, and I must admit it’s because I couldn’t choose a bundle or suite to feature. Lol! Seriously though, I find it challenging sometimes to use my sentiments in new or exciting ways and I always find design themes a great way to think outside the box. Today, we’re pairing up the With You in Mind stamps with the Wildflower Birthday pieces and Beautiful Bokeh paper to create this easy z-fold.

We start our card with a base of Sea Foam Green cardstock and score as usual and then score one side in half again to create our Z fold. I chose a sheet of Beautiful Bokeh that has a lot of colors from the Soft Subtles palette as my background. This sheet is cut into 2-inch strips, leaving just a little edge on all sides, and adhered to each of our panels with the inside panel having a base layer of white to which we adhere the Bokeh strip so that it peeks through to the front when the card is closed. Next up, we cut a focal panel from the blue pastel ombre glimmer paper using the Textured Notes dies. I chose a large cake and a few balloons from the Wildflower Birthday paper pack (punched from the tag sheet) as the focal images. The cake is adhered to the focal panel with dimensionals in the center toward the top of the panel. The happy birthday sentiment from With You in Mind is stamped in Versamark and Coastal Cabana on a sheet of Coastal Cabana cardstock. It’s then heat embossed with some glitter embossing powder. I cut around the sentiment with paper snips leaving a nice shaped border on all sides. The sentiment is adhered over the cake stand at the bottom of the sentiment panel on a double layer of dimensionals. I tucked the balloon strings behind the sentiment, adhering the tails with glue dots, and then popped up the balloons themselves on either side of the cake on several layers of dimensionals. The focal panel is adhered to the left panel of the card (when the card is closed), leaving the right side free-floating so that the Z fold opens cleanly. We finish things off with some In Color shimmer gems.

Tomorrow we’re making our own patterned paper to help feature our sentiment. Stop in and check it out!

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Sentiments

Joy and Laughter

This week, our designs have the sentiment taking center stage. We’re going to be working with sentiments of all shapes and sizes to keep things interesting and to show how even a small sentiment can be eye-catching. Today, we’re using both ribbon and dimension to bring the eye to our intended focal point. We’re combining a medium-sized sentiment from the Pattern of Friendship stamp set and a very busy piece of patterned paper from the Perennial Lavender paper pack to create this fun friendship card.

We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. I wanted to keep this design super simple, so we’re combining two major elements – patterned paper and a sentiment. The Perennial Lavender sheet is cut to leave a very small border around all sides of the focal panel. I tied a strip of Fresh Freesia velvet ribbon around the front panel, which will help draw the eye to the sentiment panel we will mount on top. The sentiment panel is cut from Fresh Freesia cardstock with the Sentimental Framing dies using the extension method to ensure that the panel is long enough to fit the full sentiment. The sentiment is stamped onto the panel in Fresh Freesia and Versamark and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The panel is mounted over the velvet ribbon on the right. I colored the butterfly with Wink of Stella and added purple shimmer gems to add shimmer and draw the eye up to the sentiment panel.

Tomorrow we’re going to use a fun fold to make our sentiment the feature statement (pun intended) of the design. I hope you’ll drop by and check it out!

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Sentiments

What a Lovely Day

Happy Monday, crafty friends! We’re off to the start of a brand new week and a new design theme. This week, sentiments will be taking center stage in our designs. And today’s sentiment makes me hum a little song every time I see it. Does anyone else think of Secret Life of Pets when they hear “lovely day?” It’s a happy little earworm for me. *grin*

Today’s card combines the Splendid Autumn paper with the new Sweet Blooms dies and a recent Sale-a-Bration stamp set called Documenting the Day. I picked this set up at the tail end of SAB and hadn’t even opened it yet and decided it was perfect for the design I had in mind. I also found this to be the perfect opportunity to use one of the new In Colors that I’m having the hardest time using – Darling Duckling. This yellow-green tone goes perfectly with the Black-Eyed Susans in the paper I chose. Black-eyed Susans are some of my favorite wildflowers and never fail to make me smile when I see them. They’re just happy flowers. So when I was thinking about sentiments for this week, I thought of this paper and how perfectly it worked with the new Sweet Blooms set.

We start our card with a base of Darling Duckling. I chose the Black-Eyed Susan sheet from the Splendid Autumn paper pack as the backdrop for the sentiment. I wrapped Wild Wheat rustic striped ribbon around the bottom of the panel before adhering to the card base. I left a very small border of Darling Duckling so that it complements rather than competes with the shades of yellow in the patterned sheet. I used the Greetings of the Season banner die to create the panel for the first part of the sentiment. The sentiment from Documenting the Day is stamped in a combination of Versamark and Early Espresso inks and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The panel is adhered directly to the focal panel in the top left corner. I stamped the word DAY on white cardstock in Versamark and then heat embossed with copper and cut out each letter with paper snips. It’s adhered with dimensionals over the ribbon in the bottom right corner of the focal panel. The word lovely is diecut from gold foil and textured gold specialty papers using the Sweet Blooms dies and then adhered above DAY with dimensionals. I added an extra layer of dimensionals to be sure lovely stood above DAY. I finished things off with a scattering of drusy embellishments.

Tune in tomorrow to see what sentiment is up next.

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Father's Day · Fun Folds

Absolute Best Dad

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. For every big thing and small thing that you do for your family, you are loved and appreciated!

We’re wrapping up our special Father’s Day card series with a variation on one of my favorite fun folds – the step card. Today’s card is the side step fun fold that combines the lovely Thoughtful Journey patterned papers with the new Online Exclusive Scenic Adventure and More Messages bundles.

We get started with a base of Smoky Slate cardstock. The side step fun fold consists of a single cut and some scoring to create a tall panel on the left and smaller graduated panels on the right, which happens to be perfect for creating this mountain scene. I cut a sheet of the Thoughtful Journey patterned paper to fit the L-shaped front panel of the fun fold and then used the scrap to cut the grass and trees for the two smaller side steps using the Scenic Adventure dies. I happened to have several other scraps of Thoughtful Journey and chose one that coordinated with the primary sheet here in order to cut the mountain for the back side step panel. The trees are cut from a combination of Mossy Meadow and Pecan Pie and I chose to shade one of the larger trees with Wink of Stella for a little extra pizzazz. The small tree is adhered to the center side step panel with a dimensional. I layered the larger trees and had the pair in the foreground a wee bit higher and oriented to overlap the side step panels. The sentiment panels are stamped using the More Messages and He’s the Greatest sets and are diecut using the More Messages die. I finished things off with a few drusy embellishments for a bit of sparkle because even dad deserves some oo-la-la!

Isn’t this variation of the center step fun fold super fun? And I especially love it with the Scenic Adventure stamp & die bundle. You can download the tutorial for today’s fun fold here.

Next week is all about sentiments. I hope you’ll drop in a see what that’s all about!

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Father's Day

Simply Incredible

I hope you’re enjoying our design theme this week as we pull out our crafty stash to create some lovely cards to honor the special fellas in our lives. Today’s card is a combination of several products, including Trusty Tools and More Messages, to create this tribute to an incredible dad. This card uses a super fun color palette of Coastal Cabana, Peach Pie, and Strawberry Slush. Can you spot all of the colors?

We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. Our focal panel begins with a sheet of Country Woods woodgrain paper and is matted in Coastal Cabana. A strip of the newsprint from Nature’s Sweetness adds a nice eye relief in the center of the panel to add our focal elements. The paintbrush is created using the Trusty Tools stamps and dies. I stamped the brush handle on Country Woods woodgrain. The bristles are cut from Crumb Cake. The dripping paint on the end is stamped in Peach Pie and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder to give the look of being wet. To give the look of a freshly painted stripe of paint, I cut Peach Pie glimmer paper with the Friends for Life smudge strip. It’s adhered just above the newsprint to create a nice border in the center of the card. The paintbrush is adhered directly to the focal panel.

The sentiment is a combination of the new More Messages you’re simply incredible sentiment, cut out with the coordinating die, and the DAD sentiment from Trusty Tools stamped in Coastal Cabana on pastel ombre glimmer paper, heat embossed with clear embossing powder, and then cut out with paper snips. The sentiment is layered and adhered with dimensionals to the left of the paintbrush. I used a few leftover hearts diecut from Summer Splash glimmer paper with the Sending Love dies to add some nice sparkly accents on either side of our focal section. The Strawberry Slush gems add a nice pop of color that stands out against the rest of the color palette and draws the eye across the focal section perfectly.

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Father's Day

Greatest Dad Plaid

This week we’re honoring the fellas who answer to DAD. What big, special shoes they fill! And whether a real dad, a bonus dad, or someone who just stands in the gap for a dad, each and every one is worthy of a little something special to let them know they’re loved and appreciated for all they do.

Today, we’re paying homage to dad’s closet as we pull out the Timeless Plaid and tuck a note in the pocket of dad’s favorite shirt. This card comes together in minutes and is sure to bring a smile.

Everything gets started with a base of Misty Moonlight cardstock. I chose two different plaid patterns from the Timeless Plaid paper pack to make the shirt. I really like the contrasting patterns and perfect complimentary color schemes of these two plaids. This 6×6 paper is two-sided, and I chose to have the collar of the shirt match the pocket. So to start, I turned down the top corner of the shirt to create the collar and then cut a piece of the complimentary pattern to cover the pattern on the flap. I chose to adhere the collar directly to the shirt, but you could use a dimensional to give the collar a more realistic look against the shirt. I cut the pocket using the Countryside Corners dies and placed mini dimensionals on the back and set aside. Next up, using the Notes & Totes dies and Very Vanilla cardstock, cut the notecard to tuck in the pocket. The sentiment is a combination of He’s the Greatest and She’s the Greatest stamps and is stamped in Misty Moonlight. A few heart sequins are affixed on either side of DAD. To give some relief between the two contrasting plaid patterns, I added a strip of Misty Moonlight linen thread at the top of the pocket, tucked the sentiment between the dimensionals, and then adhered the pocket to the shirt. We finish things off with some decorative buttons on the pocket and down the shirt using silver faceted gems.

Tomorrow we’re painting the sky just for dad using a fun new technique. I hope you’ll pop by and check it out.

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Father's Day

Best Tool in the Chest

Happy Monday, everyone. I hope you enjoyed your weekend. It was a busy one for us with the start of the kiddo’s summer bowling league and then some other family obligations. But we enjoyed the time together and are now ready to hit the ground running for this brand new week.

This week, we’re going to be digging in our stash of crafty goodness to create Father’s Day cards. It’s hard to believe that we’re already on the doorstep of Father’s Day, but I’m here to help you be prepared to knock his socks off with a personalized tribute. When the new Stampin’ Up! catalog released in May, I was thrilled to see that the Trusty Tools bundle carried over. It’s especially perfect for the dads in our family as all of them excel at working with their hands!

We get started on today’s card design with a base of Poppy Parade cardstock. The front panel of the card is machine embossed using the Timber embossing folder. The focal panel is a quarter panel of Misty Moonlight cardstock that is diecut with the Textured Notes dies. I stamped the nuts and bolts from the Trusty Tools stamp set in Misty Moonlight on opposite corners before diecutting the panel. The sentiment panel is cut from white cardstock using the Trusty Tools dies and then the sentiment from the coordinating stamp set is stamped in the center in a combination of Misty Moonlight and black inks. I stamped the pencil, tape measure, and hammer images on white cardstock using black ink and then used a combination of the filler stamps and Stampin’ Blends to color each of the images before cutting them out with the coordinating dies. They’re all affixed to the focal panel with tear-n-tape. The focal panel is adhered to the front panel with dimensionals. A few industrial trinkets in opposing corners of the focal panel finish things off perfectly.

Tomorrow we’re headed to the pond. I hope you’ll pop in and see what we catch!

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Clean and Simple · Gifting

World of Difference

Welcome to another installment of teacher appreciation. As we wind down this last week of school, I know that students and teachers alike are counting down the days with gleeful excitement as their much-anticipated summer break is fast approaching.

We continue to use the new School Days stamp set to create our designs, and today we’re pairing it with the Timeless Plaid paper pack.

We get started with a sheet of Poppy Parade cardstock. I used a leftover strip of the blue plaid sheet from the Timeless Plaid pack to serve as the backdrop for our focal elements and then stamped the stars from School Days with Versamark on the card base on top. The book stamp was inked up in a variety of colors and then stamped onto white cardstock before being fussy cut in pairs. I stacked them up and adhered them to the backdrop with dimensionals. The apple is stamped in green onto Granny Apple Green cardstock and then fussy cut and set atop the tower of books. The sentiment from School Days is stamped in black and placed just next to the apple. A scattering of drusy embellishments adds a fun sparkly element.

I hope you’ll continue to follow along this week with all of the teacher appreciation designs.

Products used in this card:
Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green, Basic White cardstock
Timeless Plaid DSP
School Days stamps
Dimensionals
Drusy embellishments

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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