Tag: DSP

Retiring · Zany Zoo

Zany Celebration

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This week, we’re headed into the wild with the Zoo Crew. The Zany Zoo suite will be retiring with the current catalog, and I’m just a little sad about it. I love all of these fun critters and all of the many adventures they’ve had. So we’re tagging along for one last ride before the 2023-24 Annual Catalog retires.

What better way to celebrate a birthday than with a juggling koala?! Today’s fun fold card begins with a base of Granny Apple Green cardstock. The Zoo Crew designer paper provides our neutral black and white base panels, as well as our main character on the focal panel. The focal panel consists of a small panel of white cardstock, along with two circles punched from Bright & Beautiful and Hello Irresistible designer paper packs. The sentiment from Something Fancy is stamped on white cardstock and then cut with paper snips into a banner. A small strip of More Dazzle specialty paper adds some sparkle. The koala is elevated on dimensionals to ensure it stands above the scene and draws the eye to the action. The iridescent discs bring the eye to our focal panel and add some visual interest.

Tune in tomorrow to see what our zoo friends get up to!

Products used in today’s card:
Granny Apple Green, Basic White cardstock
Zoo Crew, More Dazzle, Hello Irresistible, Bright & Beautiful DSP
Something Fancy stamps
Circle punch
Iridescent discs
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

Unbounded Sympathy

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We’re wrapping up our week in the fields and flowers with a sneak peek of some product from the NEW 2024-25 Annual Catalog that Stampin’ Up! will release in May. The Unbounded Love suite includes gorgeous papers, stamps, dies, and embellishments.

No one really likes to have to send sympathy cards, but I do love knowing that I have designed a very personal card with the recipient in mind.

This design begins with a base of the NEW Pretty in Pink In Color cardstock. The focal panel is a sheet of the Unbounded Beauty floral paper pack. I really wanted this stunning paper to take center stage, so I kept the remainder of the card design very simple. A strip of the new Summer Splash In Color glimmer paper serves as the backdrop for the sentiment panel. The sentiment from the new Unbounded Love set is stamped in the new Petunia Pop ink on white cardstock and diecut with the coordinating Unbounded Love dies. The leaves are cut from the new Shy Shamrock In Color glimmer paper. A twist of the new Pretty in Pink bordered ribbon and silver trim and a few new In Color shimmer gems finish things off and really help draw the eye to the sentiment.

Next week, I’m planning to take things to the zoo — the Zoo Crew, that is. I hope you’ll come along as we bid farewell to one of my favorites from the 2023-24 Annual Catalog!

Products used in this card design:
Pretty in Pink (coming soon!), Basic White cardstock
Unbounded Beauty, 2024-26 In Color glimmer DSP
Unbounded Love stamps & dies
Pretty in Pink bordered ribbon, silver trim
2024-26 In Color shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

Sending Flowers

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We’re finishing off our frolic in the fields with a look at some brand NEW product that will be available in the 2024-25 Annual Catalog releasing in May.

The Thoughtful Journey 6×6 paper pack offers a whole array of watercolor images in soft tones. There are floral landscapes and beautiful abstract backgrounds. These papers will lend themselves to any number of occasions with ease.

Today’s card is a very clean and simple design. The base is white cardstock with a single strip of designer paper offset to the right side. I chose the lovely thistle pattern with soft tones of Petunia Pop and Pretty in Pink — two of the NEW In Colors. The sentiment from Simply Zinnia is stamped in Petunia Pop and heat embossed with clear embossing powder on a strip of vellum. A strip of white diagonal trim is tied around the bottom of the sentiment in a simple square knot. I finished things off with a small paper butterfly and shimmer gems in the new 2024-2026 In Colors.

Join me this afternoon as I give a quick preview of another NEW bundle of products from the upcoming 2024-25 Annual Catalog called Unbounded Beauty.

Products used in this card:
Basic White, vellum cardstock
Thoughtful Journey DSP (coming soon!)
Simply Zinnia stamps
White diagonal trim
Clear embossing powder
2024-26 In Color shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Botanicals · Mother’s Day

Lavender for You

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This week, we’re touring fields and flowers as we explore some of my favorite Stampin’ Up! products. And stopping to smell the lavender from yesterday’s lovely hillside was just too tempting. In fact, today we have a whole bouquet.

From top to bottom, the Perennial Lavender suite in the January Mini Catalog is one of my favorite releases to date. There is not one single element in the suite of products that leaves me wondering what I’ll do with it, which is honestly pretty rare for me. Portions of this suite of products will be fully retired when the new Annual Catalog releases. So if you’ve been on the fence about buying this suite, time is of the essence before portions of it are gone for good!

Being that Mother’s Day is just around the corner, it seemed fitting to design a card perfect for the occasion. Today’s card design begins with a base of Highland Heather cardstock. The focal panel base is a sheet of the Perennial Lavender designer series paper, and I have distressed the edges with my paper trimmers to give it a well-worn look. The lavender bunch is stamped on white cardstock using the Painted Lavender stamp set and then diecut using the coordinating die set. To give the fronds of lavender a more realistic look, I used three different shades of purple — Highland Heather, Gorgeous Grape, and Fresh Freesia. The flower bunch is tied together with linen thread. The sentiment from the Perennial Postage set is stamped on white cardstock and diecut using the Thoughtful Expressions dies. I cut a coordinating mat from white glimmer paper using the next die size up. I added a paper butterfly to further soften the feel of the card and finished things off with classic matte dots and purple shimmer gems.

Later today, we’ll be enjoying another fresh bouquet. I’ll hope you’ll pop back by to check it out!

Products used in today’s card:
Highland Heather, Basic White cardstock
Perennial Lavender, white glimmer DSP
Painted Lavender stamps & dies
Perennial Postage stamps
Thoughtful Expressions dies
Paper butterfly
Classic matte dots, purple shimmer gems
Linen thread
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Botanicals

Hello, Lavender Fields

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As promised, I’m back! Thanks for hanging with me as I worked to get my husband settled in back home for a few days before we head back to the hospital for the next big surgery. Hats off to all of the full-time caregivers out there — it’s definitely a big job!

I’m super excited to get back to scheduled programming and take a stroll through the hills and fields of flowers. I’m going to showcase some of my favorites from the current and soon-to-release Stampin’ Up! lineup. I hope you’ll plan to come along for the whole trip!

Today, we’re walking the Hills of Tuscany, using the stamp set by the same name. This lovely stamp set is on the Last Chance list, and I’m sad to see it go! But this is a set that will definitely be staying in my crafting stash for making beautiful landscape scenes.

Now, let’s take a closer look at how today’s card came together. I chose to have a lavender theme for this landscape. We get started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. The back panel of the focal section of this card is a quarter-sheet of Crumb Cake that has been diecut with the largest Deckled Rectangles die and then machine embossed with the Distressed Tile embossing folder. To help the beautiful embossed detailing stand out a bit more, I gave it an aged look by sponging Crumb Cake ink over the top. It’s also elevated with dimensionals to give depth to the design. The focal panel mat is Gorgeous Grape cardstock that has been diecut with the Deckled Rectangles dies, while the focal panel is a sheet of white cardstock diecut with the nesting rectangle from the same set of dies. The focal panel landscape scene is stamped using the Hills of Tuscany stamp set.

The sentiment panel is diecut from Crumb Cake cardstock using the soon-to-release Unbounded Love dies. The lavender bunch is diecut from Gorgeous Grape using the Painted Lavender dies and tied together using linen thread. The frame is adhered directly to the focal panel, while the sentiment portion is popped up on dimensionals to ensure the sentiment isn’t lost in the scene.

Two strips of the Perennial Lavender designer series paper behind the focal panel finish off this design. They serve to begin the eye’s journey across the card front. Notice how the purple elements form a visual triangle across the card front as your eye passes from this strip of DSP to the sentiment panel to the field of lavender in the landscape to the gems in the bottom-right corner.

TIP: when you overlap stamped images from this stamp set, it creates darker areas that add depth and shading. Notice the darker green path in the hill that was created in this fashion. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to this technique, but I have enjoyed experimenting with the layering. Should we make this an episode of Terrific Tuesdays? I would love to know your thoughts!

Products used in today’s card:
Crumb Cake, Gorgeous Grape, Basic White cardstock
Perennial Lavender DSP
Hills of Tuscany stamps
Deckled Rectangles, Unbounded Love (coming soon!) dies
Distressed Tile embossing folder
Purple fine shimmer gems
Linen thread
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Clean and Simple · Fun Folds

Picked for You

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This week, we’ll be frolicking in the meadows and stopping to smell a few flowers along the way. Stampin’ Up! has a whole host of papers and stamps that put us squarely in the middle of beautiful fields and fragrant flower patches. And we’re going to explore some of my favorites throughout this week.

We begin today with a new take on an old fun fold. I recently ran across the hidden barn fold design and knew I had to give it a try. Why is it called a hidden fold? When the card is completely closed, the two sections of the front panel meet, they make the center cut virtually disappear.

So our take on this card begins with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. The focal panel consists of a bottom mat of Lost Lagoon soft shimmer paper that is diecut using the largest Perennial Postage die, followed by a layer of Highland Heather cut just a tick smaller, and finally with our section of Meandering Meadow designer paper on top. To accomplish the two perfect sections, I cut the shimmery layer in half after I diecut it. I adhered the DSP and Highland Heather mat together first before also cutting them in half with the trimmer. Then these three layers were adhered together before carefully adhering them in place on the card front so that they meet together perfectly at the center. The sentiment from Charming Sentiments is stamped on white cardstock and diecut using the smallest Thoughtful Expressions die. The sentiment mat is cut from Lost Lagoon shimmer paper. A twist of silver & white sheer ribbon and Lost Lagoon bordered ribbon are adhered in between the two sentiment layers. Using dimensionals, the sentiment is adhered to the left flap of the card front. I added a few purple fine shimmer gems for sparkle and to move the eye diagonally across the card front.

This particular design is super easy to put together. And by changing the color palette and DSP, each card has a completely different look. This is going to be a go-to design for me if I need to make a whole host of simple yet beautiful cards!

Tune in tomorrow as we explore the rolling Hills of Tuscany!

Products used in today’s card:
Blackberry Bliss, Highland Heather, Basic White cardstock
Meandering Meadow, Lost Lagoon soft shimmer DSP
Charming Sentiments stamps
Thoughtful Expressions, Perennial Postage dies
Silver & white sheer trim, Lost Lagoon bordered ribbon
Purple fine shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

Lifting Me Higher

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Our journey through the skies comes to an end today as we round out our aviation-themed trek through the Stampin’ Up! lineup. And today’s card is a full sneak peek at the brand NEW suite of products called Take to the Sky. The full suite includes stamps, coordinating dies, designer series paper, and silver trinkets. This suite will have you soaring when it releases in May!

Our card today begins with a base of Balmy Blue cardstock. The backdrop for our focal panel is a sheet of the cloud pattern designer paper. On top is another sheet with a radar view pattern. I cut a hole towards the top of the radar sheet using the Everyday Details dies, which allows the cloud pattern to peek through. And I reinforced this peek-through look by diecutting clouds from vellum using the Bright Skies and Hot Air Balloon dies. I stamped the largest plane from the Adventurous Skies stamp set onto white cardstock, colored the body of the plane with Stampin’ Blends, and then diecut with the coordinating die. I drew further attention to the spinning propeller by diecutting the smallest circle from Everyday Details from vellum. I added an Industrial Trinket to give a realistic look to the center of the spinning propeller. The sentiment from Adventurous Sky is stamped directly on vellum and then diecut using the Bright Skies dies. I scattered a few additional trinkets and some translucent sequins to tie things together and help the eye move across the card.

There are so, so many more designs I would like to try with this super fun suite of products that I plan to highlight this suite for a full week once it releases with the brand new Annual Catalog in May. In the meantime, next week we’ll be romping through the grassy plains and fields of flowers. I hope you’ll come along!

Products used in today’s card:
Balmy Blue, Basic White, vellum cardstock
Take to the Sky DSP (coming soon!)
Adventurous Sky bundle (coming soon!)
Industrial trinkets (coming soon!)
Stampin’ Blends
Sequins trio
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Coming Soon

Speedy Recovery

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We’re continuing our aviation adventures this week by taking a closer look at the brand NEW Adventurous Sky bundle, which is set to release in May with the launch of the new 2024-25 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. This week’s chosen theme of flight is inspired by husband, who is a commercial pilot and aviation enthusiast.

And the theme of today’s card, in particular, is also inspired by my hubby, who has been having some serious health issues. When we’re making get well cards, we don’t often think of incorporating someone’s hobbies or interests when designing cards, but when you want something to feel very personalized for a recipient, I believe that’s the best way to do it!

Our card today is set on a base of Balmy Blue cardstock using the fold-back fun fold, which allows a portion of the inside panel to peek through when the card is fully closed. Before I adhered the fold-back portion of the card front, I used the Adventurous Sky cloud stamps to stamp a background on the entire inside-left panel. I also adhered the raindrop-embossed piece of vellum to the edge of the fold-back panel and then adhered it to the card front. On the exposed portion of the inside message panel, I chose the topography patterned sheet from the Take to the Sky designer series paper pack — the coordinating DSP to Adventurous Sky that will release in May.

The plane is cut from the Silver and Berry Burst sheets of Holographic specialty paper using the Adventurous Sky dies. But you might be thinking that it doesn’t look red. This particular sheet of paper looks blue when it’s cut into smaller pieces and from certain angles in larger pieces, and so by diecutting and then putting the plane on the diagonal, you see blue in this design. Neat, huh?! To give the illusion of a spinning prop, I cut a circle from vellum using the smallest die in the Everyday Details set. The center of the prop is made with the soon-to-be-released Industrial Trinkets piece.

The sentiments from Happy Little Things are stamped on white cardstock that is diecut from white cardstock using the Deckled Rectangles dies. A twist of silver & white sheer ribbon and the white sequins tie with the metallic elements of the plane and finish the visual triangle across the card design.

I hope you’ll fly by tomorrow to get a better look at the full Take to the Sky suite — paper, stamps, dies, and embellishments!

Products used in today’s design:
Balmy Blue, Basic White, vellum cardstock
Holographic Trio, Take to the Sky (coming soon!) DSP
Happy Little Things stamps
Deckled Rectangles, Adventurous Sky (coming soon!) dies
Raindrops embossing folder
Sequins trio, Industrial Trinkets (coming soon!)
Silver & white sheer ribbon
Dimensionals
Adhesives

January Mini Catalog

Wishes Up and Away

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This week, we’re flying high with Stampin’ Up! sets that feature vehicles of flight. Thus far, we’ve been soaring with the Hot Air Balloon bundle. And today’s design is (almost) directly inspired by fellow SU! demo Anne Granger. Just a few tweaks here & there with products I had on hand and *voila* a fantastic birthday card ready to hoist your well wishes.

This card design begins with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. The background panel consists of a mat of Pretty Peacock soft shimmer paper and the lovely rainbow pattern designer paper from the Sale-a-Bration pack called Sunny Days. The focal panel is also matted with the shimmer paper and the balloon is stamped directly on the white cardstock panel in coordinating colors of Lost Lagoon and Pretty Peacock. I dressed up the sentiment by diecutting it separately using the Autumn Leaves dies. This design is finished off with Pretty Peacock sequins from the Sequins Trio set and the Pretty Peacock & Gold metallic ribbon.

Tune in tomorrow to get a SNEAK PEEK at a brand new flight-related suite of products. I know you’re gonna love it as much as I do!

Products used in today’s card:
Lost Lagoon, Basic White cardstock
Pretty Peacock fine shimmer SP
Sequins trio
Pretty Peacock & Gold metallic ribbon
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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January Mini Catalog

A Note to Lift You

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I love a good play on words. And Stampin’ Up! never fails to deliver on them in their sentiments. I find that a good pun always makes me smile or even chuckle. And who doesn’t need a little bit of that in their life?!

Today’s card is all about the pun in the Hot Air Balloon set. We get started with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. The background panel consists of a mat of Lost Lagoon shimmer paper and a sheet of the Lighter Than Air designer series paper. Our focal images are diecut from another sheet of Lighter Than Air using the Hot Air Balloon dies. I added a few detail die strips to a few balloons and each balloon got a treatment of coordinating Rainbow Dots to really punch things up (see what I did there? *snicker*). The balloon baskets are a combination of Calypso Coral and Crumb Cake cardstock. I added dimensionals and a vellum cloud for a bit of realism to our scene. The sentiment from the Hot Air Balloon set is stamped on white cardstock and then cut with trimmers to resemble a banner. The sequins and ribbon add a bit of sparkle and help the eye move diagonally across the card design.

Sail in tomorrow to see what card is taking flight!

Products used in today’s design:
Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Pretty Peacock, Basic White, vellum cardstock
Lost Lagoon shimmer, Lighter Than Air DSP
Hot Air Balloon stamps
Silver & white sheer ribbon
Rainbow dots
Neutrals sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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