Thank You, Thank You & Thank You

Since I do not sketch things out before I make a card, this card came out totally different than what I first had in mind. I'm always amazed when that happens :-)

I knew I wanted to use the "Hello, Lovely" stamp set, the Banner Punch with pieces of card stock and/or designer series paper and some scraps of previously dry embossed card stock. Those scraps in Brushed Silver and Blushing Bride became my color palette. I added Smoky Slate Chevron ribbon and then began to design my card front.

I really like how it came out.  It didn't take much time at all. I machine-stitched down the center of the ribbon and then pulled to gather and tied each end in a knot. I adhered the ribbon with Sticky Strip. The buttons and banners were adhered with Small Glue Dots. The ampersand was popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals after I cut it out with Paper Snips and gave it a shimmer with Zig's Wink of Stella Brush Pen. (Photo does not do the shimmer justice!) The designer buttons were the last edition and adhered with Small Glue Dots.

What do you think? I'd love to read your comments. AND, a special SHOUT OUT TO LISA!! Thank you for making my day with a very special card. I love to put cards from others around my studio for inspiration! You are too sweet!!

When you shop for Stampin' Up!, please use my ONLINE STORE.

Triple Thank You Card Supplies:

Card Stock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Brushed Silver, Blushing Bride

Stamps: Hello, Lovely

Ink: Blushing Bride, Smoky Slate

Big Shot: Stripes and Fancy Fan Embossing Folders

Punch: Banner

Embellishments: Subtles Designer Buttons, Smoky Slate Chevron Ribbon, Zig Wink of Stella Brush Pen (non-SU)

Hello Lovely

$32.95

Banner Punch

$0.00
(free with any $50 purchase)

Smoky Slate 3/4" Chevron Ribbon

$8.95

Subtles Designer Buttons

$7.95

Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Die

$7.95

Fancy Fan Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$7.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Pals Paper Arts #182--Very Elegant Slate

A lot of people wonder if they've been Naughty or Nice this year, but everyone on MY list has been NICE!! No worries! I have a lot of family and friends that I am so thankful for!! They will be receiving some NICE cards, including the one above made for this week's Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge!

I couldn't help but begin this card using the retired Snowburst Embossing Folder. It just screams Christmas! I made it sparkle by using a sponge dauber to apply some Champagne Mist.

Also, the new Very Merry Tags is becoming a fast favorite stamp set of mine. So many punches match the cute stamps! Here I used the XL Decorative Label punch to punch out the Naughty/Nice image. I "checked" the 'nice' box by putting in a beautiful Basic Pearl. The knot to the left is Smoky Slate stitched grosgrain ribbon. The Elegant Eggplant stripes on the bottom of the card came from the Stripes Embossing Folder. 

Remember to have your Stampin' Up! supplies delivered right to your door by using my Online Store.

Very Elegant Slate Nice Card Supplies:

Card Stock: Smoky Slate, Very Vanilla, Elegant Eggplant

Stamps: Very Merry Tags

Ink: Elegant Eggplans

Big Shot: Stripes and (retired) Snowburst Embossing Folders

Punch: XL Decorative Label 

Embellishments: Smoky Slate Stitched grosgrain ribbon, Basic Pearl

Stars and Stripes Forever

Happy Weekend! I love weekends. There is usually some relaxing involved. I made this card to send overseas and say THANK YOU to a military member. There is always something you can do with a stars and stripes card!

I am going to the Stampin' Up! 25th Year Convention next week, so my posts will be few. I hope you can stick with me and I will tell you all about it when I return the following week! I am looking forward to meeting a lot of the Pretty Pals I haven't met yet, and seeing some that I have met before. It will be a great time and I'm sure we will all be excited, enriched and enthused about Stampin' Up! more than ever!! 

Thank you for visiting my blog whether this is your first visit, or you visit every post, I am truly thankful for a following of people who like to see what I have created. I hope you are inspired!

For all of your Stampin' Up! supplies, please visit my Online Store.

Stars and Stripes Card Supplies:

Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Very Vanilla

Stamps: Chalk Talk

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy

Big Shot: Stripes Embossing Folder

Punches: Small and Large Stars (retired), Large Oval

Extras: Brayer

Independence Day Celebration - PPA162 Color Challenge

Today is the day we celebrate a free America. I am so thankful for each person who has stepped up and defended our freedom for over 200 years! 

I don't want to neglect to thank those who serve today, so this card goes out to Maggie Mata, a military Stampin' Up! demonstrator and member of the Pretty Pals with us! She is serving oversees right now and I am proud to know her and call her a Pal.

I save all of my "patriotic" stamps, so this sentiment comes from a retired set called Service and Sacrifice -- it says it perfectly.

Thank you for visiting my blog today. Happy 4th of July! I hope you will find a way to play along with us at Pals Paper Arts!

Whatever you are doing to celebrate today, please be safe! I'm in Hawai'i enjoying my week-old granddaughter! I hear there are fireworks in store for us at night, so I'm pretty excited altogether! I will post baby pics tomorrow, so be sure and stop by again.

Independence Day Card Supplies:

Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Real Red, Pacific Point

Stamps: Service and Sacrifice, Six-Sided Sampler

Ink: Real Red, Pacific Point

Big Shot: Stripes Embossing Folder, Large Scallop Edgelit

Punches: Merry Minis (star), Hexagon

Embellishments: Pacific Point Candy Dot

For all of your Stampin' Up! supplies, order from my Online Store.

Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge

Happy Thursday! Welcome to the Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge. We'd love for YOU to play along by creating using our colors:

These colors were hard for me! Can you tell which color I love best? Pool Party! Even the name is great! I began with a Whisper White card base and a layer of Primrose Petals card stock. Over that I layered a Pool Party piece of card stock that was embossed in my Big Shot using the Stripes Embossing Folder. (I always want to call this the "lines" folder?) I layered another piece of Whisper White embossed card stock to "hold" my images, which are from the Spring Sampler stamp set in the Spring Catalog. They are framed using the Silver Soda Pop Tops! They are so shiny--I just love them. To add more texture to my Primrose Petals images (rainy cloud, rain boots and umbrella) I colored them with Dazzling Details and let them dry before punching them out with my 1" circle punch.

The tag that is added at the bottom of the card and tied on with Pool Party Baker's Twine is stamped in Craft White using the Pretty Petites Stamp Set and Primrose Petals card stock, then embossed with White Embossing Powder. I used the Petite Curly Label punch to punch it out perfectly. The stamp set and coordinating punch are from the Sale-A-Bration brochure. 

Where is the REAL RED, you ask? I colored the little heart on the tag with my Real Red Stampin' Write Marker! 

I hope you have a great day, and thanks for stopping by! To order your Stampin' Up! supplies, please use my website. Don't forget I have some gift cards for sale!

Real Pool Petal Rainy Day Card Supplies:

Card Stock: Whisper White, Primrose Petals, Pool Party

Stamps: Pretty Petites

Ink: Primrose Petals, White Craft

Big Shot: Stripes Embossing Folder

Punches: 1" Circle, Petite Curly Label

Embellishments: Pool Party Baker's Twine, Silver Soda Pop Tops, Dazzling Details

Simple or Step it Up!

simple

Hello! Today's cards began with one idea: that cute bow stamp from the Create a Cupcake stamp set! I thought it would be a great banner tie, either the way I stamped it above, or off the side so it would hold a "flag" rather than pennant. Then, to keep my card simple, I merely stamped my sentiment from Pennant Parade right onto the Whisper White card stock. Simple, right?

stepped up

...I got creative! I decided to ramp up each of the three elements on this card: the background, the banner and the sentiment. 

• For the background, I ran my card stock through the Big Shot using the Stripes Embossing Folder. 
• For the banner, I used Lucky Limeade Baker's twine for 3-D anchors rather than flat stamping. 
• For my sentiment, I punched out a 3/4" circle, then matted it with a 1" Basic Gray circle and a 1-1/4" Scallop Circle in Lucky Limeade. Voila!

I'd love to know which card YOU would prefer making - simple or stepped up? Please leave your vote and comment below! Thanks for visiting today!

Simple and Stepped Up Card Supplies: 

Card Stock: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Lucky Limeade
Designer Series Paper: Twitterpated
Stamps: Pennant Parade, Create a Cupcake
Ink: Basic Gray
Big Shot: Stripes Embossing Folder
Punches: 3/4", 1" circle and 1-1/4" Scalloped circle
Embellishments: Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine
Adhesives: Snail, Sticky Strip, Stampin' Dimensionals

As always, please visit my Demonstrator Business Website to order. Don't forget to take advantage of the $99 Starter Kit through August 31 and earn a *free* Howl-O-Ween Printer's Tray Kit! Details HERE.

PPA Happy Birthday Sketch

Sketch by Margaret Moody

I hope you will play along with the Pals Paper Arts this week! You have TWO weeks to use the above sketch as your inspiration. Maybe you will make more than one project using the sketch! Get ahead on your birthday card-making for later in the year.

The sketch had four long, thin strips, so I centered them over a Very Vanilla matte and then onto my Cherry Cobbler card. The strips are two prints from Festival of Prints Designer Series Pack in the Holiday Mini and two coordinating card stock colors-Island Indigo and Cherry Cobbler-which were run through my Big Shot using the Chevron and Stripes Embossing Folders.

I tied a Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding ribbon horizontally around the four strips (before mounting them to the card). I stamped three stars from Merry Minis and then punched them out using the Merry Mini Punch Pack star punch. I mounted them under the sentiment from Curly Cute which was stamped onto a Labels Collection Framelit.

Using my Big Shot really made this card pop! If you are considering the Big Shot, I hope you will order using my Website. The Big Shot is a go-to tool. I use it on almost every card and consider it a mandatory investment! 

Thank you for visiting today! Please leave your comments--I love to read them all!

Reminders:

Spooktacular Starter Kit Special

Retired Stamps for Sale

Birthday Sketch Supplies:

Card Stock: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Island Indigo

Designer Series Paper: Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Pack

Stamps: Merry Minis, Curly Cute

Ink: Island Indigo, Cherry Cobbler

Big Shot: Labels Collection Framelits, Chevron and Stripes Embossing Folders

Embellishments: Cherry Cobbler 5/8" Seam Binding Ribbon

Punches: Merry Minis Punch Pack

Inspiration - You Never Know When It Will Hit!

Hello Blog Friends! Thank you to all of you who inquired about my absence! I have been creating plenty, but have had no time to blog!

Here is a card I made just yesterday. The shopping bag was my inspiration! I have had this bag sitting on the dresser in my studio for at least six months. I just got around to making the card I had dreamed up! I hope you enjoy it.

The "gingham" was made by inking the logo side of the Stripes Embossing Folder with Pacific Point Classic Ink. I did this by just sliding the ink pad over the stripes until they were solidly covered. (You COULD use a brayer, but I could not find mine!) Then I lay my 4 x 5-1/2" piece of Whisper White card stock on the uninked side of the folder. Close it up, run it through the Big Shot and you have stripes. Do the whole operation over again, but lay the card stock the opposite way and you have gingham! I did trim my gingham down to a square size based on where the stripes fell. I did not measure it out specifically. Then I framed it with Whisper White card stock before mounting it on my folded 10" x 5" Melon Mambo card.

For the sentiment, I used a sentiment from the Happiest Birthday Wishes stamp set and inked it with Melon Mambo. The flowers are cut from the Floral Fusion Sizzlits Die, run through the Big Shot with Whisper White, Melon Mambo and Pacific Point card stock.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! See you soon. Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate each one!

PPA120 - Sketch

Good Thursday to you! Thanks for visiting. At Pals Paper Arts the challenge this week is this lovely sketch by Margaret Moody.

I began by knowing I would be using this CUTE pie idea! I saw it on Lorri's Stamping Addict blog.

Here is what I used to make my card:

Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Pumpkin PIe

Designer Series Paper: Spice Cake

Stamps: Day of Gratitude

Punches: Scallop Circle, 1-3/8" circle, 1/2" circle

Extras: Stampin' Write Markers in Pool Party and Early Espresso, In Color Printed Designer Brads, Big Shot, Stripes Embossing Folder

PPA 117 - Clean and Simple - Ribbon!

Pals Paper Arts challenge this week is Clean and Simple using ribbon. You can use any type of ribbon you like, or you can make your paper act/look like ribbon! How creative can you get?

I chose to use a ribbon I've had for months! I don't believe I have used it before. I wanted to make something really different, and I do believe I achieved that with this card. You will not believe how quick and easy it was!

Card Base: Whisper White card stock, standard finished size 4-1/2 x 5-1/2."

Inset: Crumb Cake card stock cut to 4-1/2 x 3-1/2" and embossed with Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder in the Big Shot.

Stem: Lucky Limeade card stock cut to from a piece embossed with Stripes embossing folder in the Big Shot.

Flower: Punch petals with 1-3/4" Scallop Circle punch from Peach Parfait card stock. For middle of flower, use a 1-1/4" circle punch (any color card stock). Cover with Sticky Strip. Pull off red backing from Sticky Strip. Start in the middle and use Blue Denim Jean ribbon to twirl and stick tape down, moving in a circular motion until your circle is covered.

Leaves: Tie a knot in a small piece of Blue Denim Jean ribbon. Adhere to stem using Mini Glue Dot.

Sentiment: Stamp sentiment from Party This Way stamp set using Night of Navy classic ink onto Whisper White card stock. Use Word Window punch to punch out sentiment. Adhere using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Wasn't that EASY? Clean and Simple, too!

If you need any supplies for you cards, please use my Website to order. I also love to read your comments, so I hope you leave one below.