From The Heart January Pals Blog Hop

Welcome to the Pals monthly blog hop. We're so glad you're here! January is all about making "Art From the Heart," featuring projects for Valentine's Day, Thinking of You, Get Well, or Sympathy. You may be starting the hop here or coming from a previous Pal's blog. Either way, you've come to the right place. You'll find the full line-up below to help you move, or "hop" along from Pal to Pal.

Create a belly band to close your gate fold cards.

I am in LOVE with the new Meant to Be cling stamp set (and the matching Be Mine Stitched Framelits even though I didn't use them on this card!) as well as the All My Love Designer Series Paper. Since this month's Pals Blog Hop theme is "From the Heart" it was the perfect opportunity to create using these two products.

I love that with this sentiment, you can send this card for a variety of occasions.

The belly band (2" x 11", decorated with 1-1/2" x 11" designer series paper) is decorated and wrapped around the card to secure the two sides closed for giving. The inside is decorated using one of the same stamps I used on the tag.

Here you can see the detail that I created using one of the stamps, VersaMark and white embossing powder. I used Soft Sea Foam and Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Write Markers to color the image.

This is what I have to clean up after my card is made! I always put everything away before I begin a new project. I think this space looks rather clean as it is, but usually I get a lot messier than this!

More inspiration awaits! Use the Blog Hop Line-up below to visit the rest of this month's Design Team. My fellow Pals are excited to show you what they've created. Don't forget to show some love by commenting on our creations. Mark your calendars for Wednesday, February 13, 2019 when our Hoppin' Pals share their "It's Time to Sale-A-Brate" projects. Don't miss the fun!

Pals Blog Hop Line-up:  

1. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
2. Denise Hoepfner at The Mountain Magpie
3. Jackie Beers at Blue Line Stamping
4. Terri George at Stamp Me Crafty
5. Linda Suarez at All Night Stamping
6. Sara Stuart at Sentiments by Sara
7. Leah O'Brien at Stamping by the Bay
8. Beth McCullough at Stamping Mom
9. Pamela Sadler at Stampin Pink Rose
10. Su Mohr at Aromas and Art
11. Rae Harper-Burnet at Wild West Paper Arts
12. Lisa Ann Bernard at Queen B Creations
13. Peggy Noe at Prettypapercards
14. Jeanie Stark at Just Stampin'
15. Katy McGloin at Just Fun Stamping
16. Debbie Mageed at Secrets to Stamping
17. Wendy Klein at Doggone Delightful Stampin'
18. Lori Pinto at LollyPop Paper and Ink
19. Tricia Chuba at ButterDish Designs
20. Mary Hanson at Up North Stampin'
21. Jennifer Michalski at Stamping Serenity
22. Stesha Bloodhart at Stampin' Hoot!
23. Patti MacLeith at Paper Crafts by Patti
24. Karen Hallam at Karen's Stamping Habit

Don't forget to use my Online Store to purchase your own Stampin' Up! products. During Sale-A-Bration, you earn free products of our choice for EACH $50 purchase!

Stampin' Success CASE of First Frost

One of the perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is that  we receive a magazine quarterly called "Stampin' Success." Inside the magazine are LOTS of ideas on how to use products, ways to improve techniques and a lot of encouragement for our love of paper crafting! Above I replicated one of the cards in the latest issue.

Springtime Impressions Birthday

Another great thing about this layout is you only need half a sheet of the 6" x 6" designer series paper. You can use up a lot of scraps this way!

This card was made in the image of one that I received in a swap this summer. I'm sorry I do not know who had the original idea. The thing I loved about this card were the colors and the fact that I could use my Stamparatus tool to make any color ink embossed.

By stamping the sentiment first in two colors of ink using the Stamparatus, I could then clean off the stamp, re-ink with VersaMark, then use Clear Embossing Powder to heat emboss. The colors now have a shine to them and look raised.  The Stamparatus helps you place the VersaMark over the ink colors in EXACTLY the same spot you had stamped them. Genius!

Thanks for coming by today! I hope your weekend is wonderful.

Please use my Online Store any time you want to purchase Stampin' Up! products.

BOO! Baker's Box

 With Halloween just a month away, it isn't too early to think about how I'm going to box or bag up my treats! I don't go the spooky route, nor do I usually buy a Halloween stamp set, but this greeting and skull from the Warm Hearted Hostess set lets me a create a treat wrap that definitely screams "HALLOWEEN!" :-)

The Blackberry Bliss print has a little shimmer, but you can't see it in the photo.

I chose my colors of purple, green and black, then set out to find some designer series paper to fit one of those colors. My choice was from the Frosted Floral Specialty Designer Series Paper in the 2018 Holiday Catalog. 

I stamped the "boo" sentiment (it's two layers) using Blackberry Bliss (matches the designer paper) and Highland Heather for an accent. Next, Blackberry Bliss card stock was die cut using the Stitched Labels Framelits. The middle layer is the Granny Apple Green Stitched Oval Shape and the bottom layer is a Basic Black Stitched Label Framelit.

The last part was the fun embellishments! I couldn't wait to use this Black Glittered Organdy Ribbon! It's sparkly and easy to tie. I added some Silver Sequins to match the sparkle in the ribbon and then Mr. Skull was stamped in black onto Pumpkin Pie card stock and fussy cut using my Paper Snips.

Now, what to put in the box??

The back of the lid would have shown my Stampin' Dimensionals, which I used to pop up my tag on the top. I didn't want that to show, so I cut another Stitched Labels Framelit in Granny Apple Green and stuck it to the inside of the lid. I added another little stamped tag (Stitched Labels Framelit) that I stamped with a sentiment from Creatively Yours.

Warm Hearted Photopolymer Stamp Set	147777
Price: $10.00 (Purchased with Host Stampin' Rewards Only)

Warm Hearted Photopolymer Stamp Set

147777

Price: $10.00 (Purchased with Host Stampin' Rewards Only)

Black 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Glittered Organdy Ribbon	147897
Price: $8.50

Black 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Glittered Organdy Ribbon

147897

Price: $8.50

Thanks for coming by today! Have a great day, and please take a moment to leave me a comment, won't you?

Use my Online Store any time you want quality Stampin' Up! products for your projects.

I Am Thankful For You Buffalo Check

Erica Cerwin over at Pink Buckaroo knocked it out of the park with this layered card featuring fall colors with a Buffalo Check background. I could not resist replicating this beauty. I did use a different stamp for my sentiment and for my flowers. 

I also used a different little bow on top and bottom of the Everyday Label punched basket of flowers. The flowers are stamped from At Home With You and colored using Stampin' Write Markers and Stampin' Blends. That lovely Crumb Cake layer was treated to the Big Shot with the Corrugated Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

I am thankful that you stopped by today! I hope you were inspired to create something today!

Let me know you were here by leaving a comment for me! Use my Online Store to purchase Stampin' Up! products any time.

Have a wonderful day!

What is a card swap?

When crafters put together a Card Swap, we each end up with a number of beautiful, hand made cards! An organizer takes signs ups and then distributes the cards sent in. In this case, we each made 10 cards and received 10 back. It's a great way to see the beloved Stampin' Up! products that we may not own (YET) and also to share them with others after we receive them.

I used Petal Pink and Crumb Cake card stock, the Special Occasions stamp set and Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series Paper. My embellishments are Gold Thread, Metallics Sequin Assortment and Pearlized Doilies. My sentiment was embossed using VersaMark and Copper Embossing Powder. Those Stitched elements were made using the Stitched Shapes and Stitched Labels Framelits and my Big Shot.

I'm glad you stopped by today. I hope you will leave me a comment so I can see what you think. Please use my Online Store any time to receive your own Stampin' Up! products.

Last Days of these Special Offers:

JOIN THE FUN

Is crafting a big part of your life? Do you want to earn money while doing something you love? How about the convenience of setting your own hours? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then Stampin' Up! is the perfect opportunity for you.

Being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator means sharing your passion for stamping with family and friends, meeting new people, and building a great business doing so-plus, you get to set your own schedule!

A Gift that Keeps Giving

Until 31 July, Stampin’ Up! is offering one FREE assortment of Classic Stampin' Pads of your choosing as part of your regular demonstrator Starter Kit. No matter which ink pad assortment you choose, it’s an incredible value. This promotion is the perfect opportunity to join my team—and the Stampin’ Up! family—and start your new business off with a huge haul of new products!

Even better, Stampin' Up!'s Demonstrator Starter Kit is completely customizable! Build your Starter Kit your way! For just $99, you get:

* Your choice of up to $125 worth of any current Stampin' Up! products!

* A business supply pack valued at $50!

That's a total value of $175! I would LOVE to have you join my team!

And:

Buy 3, Get 1 Free Designer Series Paper! Through July 31st only. See details here.

Wreath Cards with Stamparatus

Colors: Crushed Curry, Merry Merlot, Crumb Cake
Stamps: Colorful Seasons

I finally had a chance to learn how to create wreath cards using the Stamparatus. Once you get the general idea, it's so fun and easy. The possibilities are endless for creating wreaths! You can use words, leaves, flowers, pumpkins, ornaments, snowflakes, etc! Good for any holiday or occasion. 

Colors: Pineapple Punch, Granny Apple Green, Soft Suede
Stamp Set: Pop of Paradise

My experience is that the smaller the image, the smaller the square you can use. Here I placed the pineapples on the diamond instead of the square. 

If you are interested in learning how to create wreath cards using any stamp images, just go onto YouTube and do a search. There are many tutorials and I used a few to get the idea and the best hints to make it work. Most of all, don't forget to purchase a Stamparatus!

Stamparatus	146276
Price: $49.00

Stamparatus

146276

Price: $49.00

There's So Much To Love About You

This card was designed for my monthly Workshop this month. I love the colors in the Garden Impressions Designer Series Paper! There are so many different combinations and types of prints. Of course they coordinate perfectly with the Abstract Impressions stamp set. I added an Ovals Collection frame for my sentiment and flower that is cut using the Stitched Shapes Framelits. Some Night of Navy gingham ribbon tied in a bow and you have a very lovely card to give or send.

I adore these prints! What do you think? Don't forget to get your FREE Designer Series Paper pack by shopping my Online Store until July 31st.

Wood Patterns and Itty Bitty Greetings

I was browsing Pinterest and came across this lovely layout on a "wood" inspired card by my friend and mentor, Mary Fish of Stampin' Pretty. I knew it WOOD be perfect for my workshop this month and I was right. The ladies loved all the wood tones, the texture from the new Subtle Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and all the combined browns in this card.

Each lady chose which sentiment she wanted on her card from the Itty Bitty Greetings, a new stamp set that has gotten so much use from me already! I know it will remain in my collection for a long time.

Thanks for looking today! I hope you are inspired. Come back soon! Use my Shop Now button on the side bar for your purchases.

Simple Sympathy Card

When it comes to Sympathy Cards, simple is always a good thing. It makes it easy to have some of these on hand, as well. I know it's not fun to plan to use these cards, but they do need to be used sometimes. The card above has shimmer in the paper as well as sparkle in the ribbon.

Here you can see the shimmer on the Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series Paper. The rest of my card is more subtle, with Crumb Cake being the accent. 

What do you think? I'd love to read your comments. Thank you for coming by. Please think about subscribing to my blog by email if you want to get every update.

Use my Online Store any time you want to purchase Stamping' Up! products.

Father's Day Plaid

You can definitely tell that I am trying to use up retiring designer series paper! The wonderful prints in this True Gentleman Designer Series Paper are so fun to play with, mix and match. This year I didn't buy every designer paper in the catalog, and I STILL have a good supply left! 

If you are ever wondering if you will have enough when you buy a package, wonder no more! You can make dozens of cards from a single package.

My sentiment is from Guy Greetings (retiring oh, too soon for me!) and the little stamp on the left of the greeting is from the retiring Truly Tailored stamp set.  The Crushed Curry band across the middle is dry embossed using the Oh My Stars Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

Thanks for looking today! I hope you were inspired. I'd love to read your comments!

Use my Online Store to order your retiring products now!

Happy Belated Birthday Gorgeous

Time to replenish my belated birthday supply. Yes, I am late sometimes!

This card would be nice for any special occasion if you don't use the same stamp set. Imagine a Congratulations card or just "I'm Thinking of You" for the sentiment. Stamp that beautiful flower and stem and cut out in any shape you like.

Adding that gorgeous pearl makes the card more special and gives a finishing touch that is sure to make someone feel special, even if you are late with your card!

Thanks for looking today. I hope you will sign up to receive my blog updates.

Please use my Online Store when you need to order your own supplies for card-making.

Happy Belated Birthday, Gorgeous!

Once in awhile I don't have my act together and I am late sending birthday wishes! With that in mind, I now have a few of these "belated" birthday wish cards on hand. It seems to be happening more often?! The print was made using the Painted Harvest stamp set and two-step stamping using Smoky Slate and Basic Black inks. My sentiment comes from the Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set. This stamp set will continue in the new catalogs coming out June 1st.

I based my card off of an idea by JoAnne Hewins. Pair any black and white designer series print (here I used Whole Lot of Lovely) with any stamp design in Basic Black ink on Whisper White card stock. Then POP it with a bright color like Lemon Lime Twist for a card base. My embellishments are Lemon Lime Twist 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon, Tutti-frutti Adhesive Backed Sequins and Basic Rhinestone Jewels.

Thanks for looking today! Please use my Online Store any time you wish to purchase card-making supplies!