Autumn

Thankful for Autumn

I’m having a good time with this week’s design theme – we’re all about fall! And today’s card is inspired by the Luv 2 Stamp Group monthly team challenge where I had to create a Thanksgiving card. Being in the heart of Autumn, my mind immediately goes to beautiful foliage when I think of Thanksgiving and, of course, we all tend to focus on what we are thankful for. So being that fall happens to my favorite season of the year, it only made sense to tie all of that together!

I drew inspiration from a gorgeous card I saw over on Insta from @didyoustamptoday. I really wanted to bring out the thoughts of fall when I worked on my version of the card. And so I drew on all of my favorite fall hues when selecting the foliage elements. I also wanted to recreate that sunrise/sunset feel from the inspiration card, which translates into some beautifully colored mountains in the background. And, of course, Everyday Skies and Wink of Stella do all of the work with the twinkling of the sun over the mountains.

So although it’s not readily visible on the front panel, we get started with a base of Cajun Craze cardstock. Our mountain scene is built with a combination of the Scenic Adventure and Lights & Wonder dies. I chose Peach Pie and Flirty Flamingo for the tall mountain range in the back that is catching all of the sun’s rays and they’re cut with the larger mountain die in the Scenic Adventure set. A sheet of the Everyday Skies gives us the gorgeous sunrise, and some carefully placed Wink of Stella draws the eye in to the rising sun and its rays peeking up over the range. To give the look of division between mountain ridges, I added the tree line of Pretty Peacock pines next. The next ridge is cut using the largest mountain die in the Lights & Wonder set. And then we have our trees along the water’s edge. These trees are cut from Daffodil Delight using Lights & Wonder die, and then to give the look of changing leaf colors, I used my blending brushes to give touches of Old Olive and Timid Tiger. The lake is cut from a sheet of the blue pastel ombre glimmer paper with the Lights & Wonder die. Each of our layers of mountains and trees are separated by dimensionals to give a more realistic depth of field. The sentiment is a combination of the Words for the Season dies and Beautiful Pumpkin sentiment stamp. A few drusy embellishments on either side really let the Autumn pop.

While some scene cards take a bit of time to build, I find it fun to stretch the creative wings and see if I can bring life to the picture in my mind’s eye. Do you like to undertake designs that take a bit more time sometimes? Tomorrow we’re going to get started with a sketch and see where that takes us. I hope you’ll drop by and check it out!

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birthday

Celebrate Adventure

It’s hard to believe that we’re already starting a new week. I feel like we just started Friday! It was a nice weekend around here. The temps were cool and we had some rainy days – perfect for staying in and doing nothing.

We’re on to a new week and new design theme. For me, September is a very busy birthday month between family and close friends, and so I’m (a little selfishly) in birthday mode for this week’s projects. We’re going to be pulling out old and new sets from the crafty stash to create our designs. First up is this card for the nature lovers in your clan. Inspired by a lovely window scene created by Simple Stamper over in the Instaverse, we’re combining the Scenic Adventure and Light & Wonder die sets to create this beautiful mountain vista in our picture window.

We get started with a base of white cardstock. We build our scene on the front panel of the card base. I started by lightly sketching the smallest arch on the card front to ensure that I covered what would be visible through the picture window. We started by “painting” the sky with Cloud Cover and Pool Party inks blended using the small blending brushes. The mountain is cut from Cloud Cover cardstock using the Scenic Adventure die and then gave the mountain a bit more dimension by shading with Cloud Cover and blending brush. The mountain is adhered using dimensionals. I had a leftover piece of light blue pastel ombre glimmer paper that was embossed using the Soft Waves embossing folder that I adhered at the bottom of the mountain so that it would peek through the line of trees in the front of our scene. The trees are cut from Mossy Meadow cardstock using the large treeline die from the Light & Wonder die set, which is adhered with dimensionals. The clouds are cut from a small scrap of vellum using the Scenic Adventure dies and adhered in the sky using glue dots. They’re colored with Wink of Stella so they sparkle and then the mountain scene is splattered with Wink of Stella for some subtle twinkles across the scene. I cut nesting arches using the Everyday Arches dies from two additional quarter panels of white to create the window frame. The sentiment from Beautiful Butterflies is stamped in Secret Sea under the window of the outside panel. The window pane look is create by adhering the two arched panels together with dimensionals. A scattering of frosted iridescent dots add some additional ethereal sparkle across the card front.

We’re continuing our birthday theme tomorrow. I hope you’ll drop in and see what pairing we have tomorrow.

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Fun Folds · Gifting

Birthday Duo

We’re closing out our 3D design series this week with a fun combination of designs. Do you ever find yourself looking for a cute way to give a gift card? This combo is the perfect way to dress it up! Our gift box has the Timeless Plaid paper and up-and-coming Label Me Thankful set sitting front & center, while our card pairs the Everyday Arches and Scenic Adventure dies.

The card and gift box have coordinating bases of Misty Moonlight cardstock. The gift card box is covered with a sheet of the Timeless Plaid cardstock. The sentiment panel is cut from white cardstock using the Everyday Arches dies and then the sentiment from The Right Words stamp set is stamped in Early Espresso. I used one of the newest Online Exclusive die sets called Label Me Thankful (releasing Tuesday!) to cut the leaves and acorns and finished things off with a few of the Earth Tones shimmer gems.

I wanted the card to give the feeling of looking through an old window, so I used the Everyday Arches dies to cut a window shape out of the sheet of Country Woods patterned paper that serves as the focal panel. I set this panel aside to build the scene using the Scenic Adventure dies. The underlying scene panel starts with a sheet of white cardstock that I cut with the largest arch die to fit behind the focal panel that will ultimately sit on top. I started by filling in the top with Cloud Burst ink using a blending brush to create a soft sky. Next, we move to creating the water element at the bottom using the detail die in the Scene Adventure set. Moving the die around and passing through several times gives us the realist-looking shimmery water. To bring out the details of the water, I went over that section with Pool Party ink and a blending brush. The grass at the shore is cut from Mossy Meadow cardstock, while the small stand of flowers is cut from Granny Apple Green for a pop of contrast. The flowers are cut from pastel ombre glimmer paper and adhered to the floral stems with glue dots and then tucked behind the grass at the shore. The trees are a combination of Pecan Pie and Shaded Spruce cardstock and layered both behind and in front of the grass at the shore. The mountain in the distance is cut from Thoughtful Journey paper and adhered behind the grass and trees in the foreground. Dimensionals help give this scene a lot of depth and layers. The window pane layer is adhered on top using several layers of dimensionals to ensure that the scene looks as though it’s outside the window. We finish things off with the sentiment cut from Flower Garden Foil using the Wanted to Say dies. An assortment of riverside pearls, two tone gems, and In Color pearls add the finishing touches and help the eye pass across the design.

I hope you’ve found some inspiration in this week’s designs and have maybe even downloaded a tutorial or two to try out sometime soon! I hope you’ll stop in next week as we take a look at some new Online Exclusives!

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Product List for Gift Card Box
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

Amazing Dad

Woohoo, we’ve made it to Friday! It’s been a rainy week here in North Texas, so lots of the usual outside activities have been put on hold. So we’re hoping for a respite from the predicted weekend rain showers. And I’ve got lots of things on the to-do list for the weekend. What about you? I’m super excited to have a card class on my to-do list. And this time, I get the privilege of being the student. *grin*

This week, we’ve been digging in our crafty stash to create cards for the awesome dads in our lives. And today we’re taking it outside by pairing up the new Scenic Adventure bundle with a super fun (and easy!) faux watercolor technique I learned over at On Y Go to create a lovely sunset scene.

Our card gets started with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock and then I cut a window using the Textured Notes die. To create the sunset in the background, cover a clear block with a combination of Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, and Flirty Flamingo ink and then spritz with water before stamping on the quarter panel of Very Vanilla cardstock. For some extra interest and a touch of mystical sparkle, add some Wink of Stella to the panel before adhering to the back of the front panel so that it peeks through the window. The trees and grass are cut from a combination of Mossy Meadow, Shaded Spruce, and Crumb Cake using the Scenic Adventure dies. The grass is adhered directly to the front panel, while the trees are adhered with dimensionals to give some depth to the scene.

Our sentiment is in two parts. The top sentiment you’re amazing from Scenic Adventure is stamped in Versamark on Crumb Cake and then heat embossed with copper. I cut around this sentiment using paper snips. The sentiment panel is adhered to a sheet of pastel ombre glimmer paper and then cut to mat the sentiment. The full panel is adhered to the top of the sunset using dimensionals. We cut our bottom sentiment panel from Pretty Peacock glimmer paper using the Nested Essentials dies. The bottom DAD sentiment from He’s the Greatest is stamped directly in the center of the peacock panel in Versamark and then heat embossed with copper. This panel is mounted with dimensionals in the center of the card at the bottom of the front panel over some linen thread. We finish things off with some In Color flat pearls and riverside pearls.

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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

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