Sugarplum Dragonfly Dreams

When I design the cards featured in my card classes I try to keep the cards fairly simple, yet still have pretty details to make them interesting. This card using the beautiful Dragonfly Dreams stamp set and it's coordinating Detailed Dragonfly Thinlets was one of the four cards created at my last All Occasions Card Class.

I just love the color combo of Sweet Sugarplum, Fresh Fig with a pop of Berry Burst. The detailed layer of the 2-step dragonfly image was stamped in Fresh Fig, and the solid image used to add color to the wings was sponged with color to give a blended look. You cannot tell from my photo, but the wings have beautiful shimmer from the Wink of Stella used over the top of the wings.

The sentiment was stamped in Basic Black and set off with a strand of Black Mini Sequin Trim...isn't this new trim fun? The dragonfly sits on a Whisper White background layer textured with the awesome Hexagon Embossing Folder.

Thanks for visiting today...enjoy your day!

Colorful Seasons Double Z Fold

Here's a fun Double Z Fold Card using some of my new favorite stamp sets and dies.

Those adorable birds in the Feathery Friends host stamp set make me smile...they are so darn cute! I knew when I first saw them that I wanted to use them with the branch in the Colorful Seasons stamp set. I watercolored the birds using my Aqua Painter and cut them out. The wings are cut out and popped up as well for extra dimension. The new Mini Stampin' Dimensionals are perfect for adhering tiny die cuts such as the wings.

I used several of the new In Colors for this creation...Lemon Lime Twist, Berry Burst & Fresh Fig along with Peekaboo Peach, Pool Party & Old Olive. The flowers on the tree branches are from the Colorful Seasons stamp set. They are stamped using the Rock n Roll Technique along with a sponge dauber to soften/blend the edges where the two colors meet. The branches are die cut using the coordinating Seasonal Layers Thinlits. This bundle really is a must have in my opinion!

The picket fence was created by stamping the Hardwood stamp inked in White Craft Ink onto Crumb Cake cardstock and then cutting apart along the planks. I trimmed the top of each picket and then sponged the edges. The flowers and stems were stamped using the Jar of Love stamp set and die cut with the Everyday Jars Framelits.

I started with a base of Pool Party cardstock measuring 4- 1/4 x 11" scored at 2- 3/4" and again at 5- 1/2" The Whisper White background layer was cut at 10- 3/4 x 4 and sponged with Pool Party ink and masks cut from post-it notes using the cloud dies included in the Up & Away Thinlets.  After sponging my cloudy background I cut 3 panels to fit just inside the scored folds of my card. The photo above shows the card opened flat.

The card folds up, as shown above to fit inside a standard envelope. This card was time consuming, but fun to make. It went to my dear Aunt on her birthday today. She is also a stamper, so I know she will love this card...otherwise I doubt I could part with it! LOL

Hope your day is a happy one!

Lift Me Up Masculine Birthday

Here's a quick and cheery card using the Lift Me Up Bundle that is perfect for a guy or girl for any occasion. This great stamp set and it's coordinating dies will be available in the upcoming annual catalog, but they will no longer be featured at a cost saving bundle.

I used the retired Sleigh Ride Edgelits to cut the hill and pine tree out of the soon to be retiring Cucumber Crush cardstock. This color wasn't really one of my favorites, but I've been trying to use up my stash and have grown to really like it. For some added interest I stamped it with the line stamp from Gorgeous Grunge...one of my most used sets. How will I resist grabbing it all the time now that it's retiring?

The background is stamped with balloons and some clouds and then sponged. The largest balloon was stamped, diecut and popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Have a beautiful day!

Lift Me Up on Cloud Nine

I love this simple, yet cute and cheery card created with the Lift Me Up stamp set.

The background was created using die cut cloud masks and then sponged using Pool Party ink. The "hill border" at the bottom is one of my favorite images from the Delicate Details stamp set. It is is a FREE choice during Sale-A-Bration.

Colors used: Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Wild Wasabi, Peekaboo Peach & Rich Razzleberry.

Thanks for visiting today...check back to see my next post which will feature a Step it Up version of this card.

Lift Me Up Z Fold Birthday

Recently when showing my husband some of my creations using items from the new Occasions Catalog, he remarked on a card using the Lift me Up Bundle, saying he hoped I made him a card using the hot air balloons for his upcoming birthday. His birthday was on Monday, so I came up with an extra special card for him.

Above is how it looks coming out of the envelope...but when it unfolds it looks pretty special.

The base of the card is Pacific Point cut to 4-1/4 x 1" and scored at: 2-3/4" & 5-1/2" The Whisper White layer measures 4 x 10- 3/4" It is sponged to create the cloudy sky background. I used cloud shapes die cut from post-it notes using the Up & Away Framelits. These are used as masks before I started to sponge on various shades of blue ink. I also sponged some Old Olive along the bottom to create a hillside.

The die cut hillside was created using 10-3/4 x 2-1/4" Old Olive cardstock and a retired set of dies called Sleighride Edgelits. I then stamped it with the nice cross hatch background stamp included in the You've Got This stamp set. It is then scored at 5-1/4" & 8".

Here's another look at the card from another angle.

As you can see, I cut down the sponged background layer so that it just fit inside each scored section of the card so that it will fold open and closed easily.

We celebrated his birthday a day early, on Sunday, when our family could be here. Besides the birthday boy, we had another guest of honor who stole the spotlight the entire evening...

our 5 day old granddaughter! Isn't she adorable all dressed up in her party dress for her very first party? As you can see, Grandpa didn't mind a bit sharing the spotlight! Our little sweetheart made his special day all the sweeter.

Thanks for visiting today!

Celebrate Today Birthday Balloons

Seeing a bunch of colorful balloons makes me happy. This is the perfect card that can be used for a guy or gal of any age...just change up the colors accordingly.  

I cut a stencil out of a transparency using my Balloon Framelits. Then I sponged on the colors:

• Crushed Curry
• Tangerine Tango
• Cucumber Crush
• Bermuda Bay

Sponging vs stamping made the balloons more transparent so that you could see the colors of the overlapping balloons. After I had my balloons sponged I added some stars to two of the balloons using the stamp from Celebrate Today stamp set inked in Bermuda Bay. Next I stamped my sentiment in a bold, masculine font using Black Archival Ink. The HB stamp is from the Perfect Pairings set which was from this years Sale-a-Bration. The cluster of three stars is from the Merry Mice stamp set. If you don't already have this set I recommend adding these adorable little mice to your collection this month while it's on sale.

Inspriation for this card came from this awesome card created by Maura. I just adapted it using the products I have on hand. Thanks for visiting today!

Spooky Fun Double Z Card

I've been seeing lots of double z fold cards on Pinterest recently and there was one in particular using the Santa's Sleigh stamp set and thinlits that blew me away. I don't have the Santa's Sleigh set, but after seeing that card I was inspired to use my Spooky Fun stamps and Halloween Scenes Edgelits to create a Halloween double z card.

I started off by sponging a spooky sunset skyline onto Whisper White cardstock using Elegant Eggplant, Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy, and Pumpkin Pie inks. I knew I wanted a full moon as a focal point, so before I began sponging I punched out a 1-1/4 circle from a post it note to use as a mask. After I was done with my background, I removed the circle and replaced it with the square post it note with the circle punched out, carefully lining the circles up. Then I sponged the inside of the circle with Crushed Curry.

It folds up nicely to fit inside a standard sized envelope which is nice.

Here's another look at the card opened up. The trio of ghosts are embossed in White Embossing Power.

All the supplies I used to create this card can be found in the Holiday Catalog, including:

• Spooky Fun stamp set (142236)*
• Halloween Scenes Edgelits (141842)* 
• Halloween Night Baker's Twine (142027)
• Halloween Night Enamel Dots (142025)

*Both the stamp set and edgelits can be purchased as a bundle (144337) to save 10%.

If you would like to see the Santa's Sleigh z fold card that inspired this card, you can see it here. Thank you for the inspiration Chloe!

Thanks for visiting today...have a wicked good weekend!

Merry Mice Singing in the Snow

The stamp set Merry Mice is just the cutest! I've paired up this adorable set with the This Christmas Specialty Paper for today's card.

The snowflake design sheet of DSP is black and whte, so I chose to add some color by sponging on Soft Sky, Marina Mist & Night of Navy. I did the same with the music sheet banner as well...only there I used Garden Green.

For a little added bling I die cut a banner and border from Silver Shimmer Paper using the Flourish Thinlits. I also added some Fancy Frost Sequins. The little mouse's song book was stamped twice, cut out and popped up for dimension.

Flourishing Butterfly

I've been wanting to try this simple mask and sponge technique using the Bold Butterfly Framelits for a while.

First, I cut a butterfly from a piece of copy paper a big enough to cover by background panel and used temp adhesive to hold it in place. Using Sponge Daubers I sponged Marina Mist over the entire butterfly. Then, using Elegant Eggplant I lightly sponged just the edges.

With the mask still in place, I stamped the pretty floral image from Thoughts and Prayers several times to fill in the inside of the butterfly. After removing the mask I stamped the sentiment from the new set Flourishing Phrases.I just love the font used on this set! I die cut the border using the Flourish Thinlits...my favorite new dies from this catalog! I think this adds a nice finishing touch without being too much...I try to keep sympathy cards more clean and simple.

Thanks for visiting today.

Lovely Cozy Christmas

Old stamps meet new and some sparkle adds a magical touch to this peaceful, monochromatic winter scene.

"The old"...is of course Lovely as a Tree and "the new" is Cozy Christmas which is available in this years Holiday Catalog. I just LOVE the Santa and reindeer image from that set, don't you? "The sparkle" is Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper for the snow drift and Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder used with the Gorgeous Grunge splatter image to create the falling snow. I embossed the wooden Snowflake Element with it as well.

Happy Friday (the 13th!) Have a GREAT weekend!

Witches' Night Candles

Most longtime readers of my blog probably know that I just love Halloween! Each year we have a big Halloween Party in our barn which we spend most of October decorating...which is why I have not posted much lately. Each year I try to add several new handcrafted items to my holiday decor, and today I have a pair of candle wraps I have created using the Witches' Night stamp set along with several other items which are available in the Holiday Catalog.

I try to make candle wraps to decorate my battery operated candles for each season. It really dresses up an otherwise plain candle, don't you think? The Spider Web Doilies really look spooky as they glow at night against the light background of the candle. Here's a look at the candles in better light to see all the detail...

The Halloween labels are attached to strips of the sparkly Black Glimmer Paper and wrapped around the candles. Here's a view of the side...

I also used Happy Haunting Washi Tape adhered to a strip of Tangelo Twist card stock. I colored the center of an Iced Rhinestone Embellishment orange for some extra bling...

If you like the idea of creating candle wraps for your candles, you may like my Golden Vintage Leaves Set. Included in this tutorial is an autumn leaf candle wrap. Anyone who purchases my tutorial during the month of October will also receive all the details on how to create this Halloween candle wrap as well.

Witches' Night Trick or Treat

This fun Halloween card uses several new items available from the Holiday Catalog. The Witches' Night stamp set along with Black Glimmer Paper and a Spider Web Doily.

The Black Glimmer Paper is just gorgeous...so much sparkle, I love it! The Spider Web Doilies are fun too! They were actually one of the things I was most excited about when I first looked through the Holiday catalog!

The Witches' Night stamp set is really nice too...I love that it coordinates with the Lots of Labels Framelits and that in addition to the 2 large images, it includes 3 background designs as well. I used the spider web and the zig-zag diamond patterned stamps on my card, but there is also one with bats.

The main image was sponged with Tangerine Tango and Rich Razzleberry. You cannot really tell from my photo, but the raven was cut out and embossed with clear for some extra shine.

Hope your day is filled with treats...and not tricks!

Watercolor Wings Anniversary

I've been busy enjoying the beautiful weather and good times of summer that I haven't been able to spend a whole lot of time stamping...my poor stamps and blog are so neglected! I needed to make an anniversary card last week so I'm here today to share that card. I used a pretty butterfly stamped using the Wonderful Wings set and combined with elements from the Butterfly Basics set.

A smaller butterfly die cut out of Gold Glimmer Paper and a Vintage Faceted Button help make this card extra special.

Have a beautiful day!

Irresistible Butterfly

My title about says it all...the Butterfly Basics stamp set and coordinating Butterfly Thinlets are pretty much irresistible to me! I have to restrain myself from using them so that my other stamps get a turn!

I sponged on some Pear Pizzazz & Coastal Cabana to reveal the pretty foliage design on the Irresistibly Yours DSP...which is available for FREE during SAB! The splattered Calypso Coral print is from the Best Year Ever DSP and that is FREE as well!

I hand cut a piece of Vellum Cardstock by tracing around the negative space left inside my card stock after die cutting the large butterfly. Then after adhering it to the back of my butterfly I colored the back of the vellum using my Blendabilities Markers for a stained glass effect.

The smaller butterfly was heat embossed using White Embossing Powder and then sponged the same as my background.

Have a nice weekend!

Springtime World of Dreams

During my last stamping session sponging the Irresistibly Yours DSP to reveal the lovely patterns made me think of one of my favorite techniques...emboss resist. So I pulled out one of my favorite stamp sets for this technique...World of Dreams.

The sponged on colors of Calypso Coral, Pistachio Pudding and Coastal Cabana along with the subject show that I am dreaming of spring.

I was inspired by the simple layout of a card on page 7 of the recent Stampin' Success magazine. They used a stamp set I don't have, so I swapped it out for another image that took about the same size.

Thanks for visiting.

Irresistible Painted Blossoms

The Irresistibly Yours DSP from the Sale-a-Bration catalog really is irresistible! I've been having so much fun sponging to reveal the beautiful patterns.

The pattern revealed on this piece works perfectly with the Painted Petals set I thought. I used Pear Pizzazz & Pool Party for the sponged on color and the flower is Calypso Coral.

Love Canvas

Here's a special little Valentine gift I made for my hubby. I started with an 8x8 canvas, but everything else I used (besides a paint brush) was Stampin' Up!

To color the canvas I used a wash of re-inkers blended into each other. After that dried I sponged some hearts onto the background using the Heart Decorative Mask and a Sponge Dauber. Then I stamped some swirls from Everything Eleanor using the Aquamarine Chalk Ink and "tried" to add some of the tiny honeycomb  designs from the Basic Butterfly set to the background as well. Most of those didn't turn out like I wanted, so I blended them in with a damp sponge as best as I could. The background got a little muddy at bottom due to this, but I didn't want to start over so I went with it.

I wanted to add Pool Party to the color combo and that was easy using the two DSP packs I chose...both Typeset and Stacked With Love DSP have black and white patterns that makes it easy to sponge to fit whatever color scheme you can dream of. See the little Calypso Coral colored banner at the top of the canvas...that was sponged to add a pop of color.

The various sized hearts, cut using the Heart Framelits, the Tea Lace Paper Doily, and paper rose created using the Spiral Flower Die all add a romantic touch which is perfect for Valentines Day. As is the pretty font used for the word "love" in the Hello Life set that I used on the banner to the right of our photo.

I printed the photo in a sepia tone and then added a little Pool Party sponging to the background behind the palm trees and a little Crisp Cantaloupe and Crumb Cake around the edges as well. The photo is popped up with layered dimensionals.

When painting the canvas, I continued the color to the sides as well. The ribbon and Bakers Twine from the banner are continued around sides and secured in the back. I colored the rhinestone in the center of the Something Borrowed Embellishment with my Coastal Cabana Blendabilites Marker to finish off my canvas with a little sparkle. I may also add a few rhinestones as well.

Have a nice weekend and a Happy Valentine's Day!