Grateful for Friends, Both New & Old

Hi Stampers,

I held my last class for the season in Bonita Springs last week and I'm just sitting here thinking about all the new friends I've made and what a wonderful time we've enjoyed together.  I love showing people how easy it is to create a beautiful project that they can be proud of.  Sometimes I even teach a thing or two to experienced stampers (or they teach me)!  Either way, it puts a smile on everyone's face.  I love my job!

If you've taken one of my winter classes and you're reading this today, know that I appreciate you and I'm so glad to call you my friend!  I hope we can get together again in the future.  If you've taken my summer classes in the past, I can't wait to see you again.  We're gonna have a good time!

Moving on to the reason you're visiting my blog today...

The stamp set is Beautiful You, with the addition of the flowers which are from Love and Affection.  I wanted Sweet Sugarplum as my main color so I could use my Sweet Sugarplum Glimmer Paper (a Sale-a-Bration freebie!).  I was trying to decide what to use as a secondary color and when I laid down a sheet of Pool Party cardstock next to Sweet Sugarplum, it just "popped".  Pool Party is one of my all-time favorite go-to colors...I will be very said if Stampin' Up ever discontinues it.  Are you listening, Sara?  Please don't take my Pool Party away!

This would be a good card for so many congratulations-worthy occasions.  I'm thinking about graduations, engagements, maybe a promotion at work, or the purchase of a new home. I'll be you can come up with a lot more ideas.

 The dancing girl is stamped in Basic Black Archival ink and colored with Sweet Sugarplum and Pool Party Stampin' Write Markers.  Stampin' Up's Archival ink is what you want to use with water-based markers or Watercolor Pencils - the ink will not smear when mixed with water.  The Stampin' Write markers are available as sets from each of the basic four color families - Brights, Regals, Subtles, or Neutrals, plus the two current In-Color collections.  Or you can splurge and purchase the whole set!  Pool Party is part of the Subtles family, and Sweet Sugarplum is included in the 2016-2018 In-Color markers.  The designer paper is 1-1/2" x 3-3/4" and is from the 2016-2018 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack.  

I use this paper a lot in my cardmaking because of all the lovely words on it.  I can see using it as a great background paper for scrapbooking, too, as the sheets are 12" x 12".

"Congrats" is cut using the Sunshine Wishes Thinlits.  The set also includes the words "Hope", "Love" and "Sunshine", plus a heart, flower, and a butterfly.  The Sunshine Sayings stamp set was designed to coordinate with these Thinlits.  I recently bought both and have a lot of ideas percolating in my brain using them...stay tuned!

Remember, we are nearing the end of 2017 Sale-a-Bration (March 31).  If there are any Sale-a-Bration items that you are still wanting, don't hesitate!  When they're gone, they're gone for good.  If you need a Sale-a-Bration flyer or any current catalog, send me an email, I will get one to you asap! Click here or on the Shop Now button on this page to visit my website today.

Happy stamping,

Pat

Flirty Flamingo Pocket Card

Hi Stampers!

I've been on a flamingo kick this week, I love the new Pop of Paradise stamps!  Today I wanted to show something a little different than the basic A2 sized card and this is what I came up with:

The pocket is die-cut using the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits and the 2016-2018 In-Color Designer Series Paper Stack.  The color is Flirty Flamingo, of course! The black & white banner with the lovely words is from the Neutrals Designer Paper Stack.  On the Whisper White insert I stamped a sentiment from Love & Affection "you are every lovely word I could possibly think of" - talk about coordination!

The leaves and flowers on the insert are stamped in Mint Macaron and Flirty Flamingo.  The sentiment on the Basic Black banner is embossed in gold, and the gold sequin trim really makes it "pop"!

The black and gold stripe along the bottom edge of the insert is washi tape from the Pop of Pink Suite.  There are so many things to love about this project!  One of my favorites is how the flip side of the designer paper peeks out from the top of the pocket.  Another is that the pocket is sized to fit perfectly inside an A2 envelope for easy mailing.  Still another is the versatility of the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits die - this little pocket could hold so many things - use your imagination!

Check out this video from Stampin' Up for more ways to use the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies:

Have a great day!

Pat

Congrats on your new Home Tweet Home

Hi Stampers,

Buying a first home is a milestone in life and a definite cause for celebration!  This week a lovely young couple that I know moved into their very own first home and I made this card for them.

Aren't those little birds sweet?  I started with a piece of Whisper White and sponged on a few clouds using a stencil I cut by hand and some Soft Sky on a Stampin' sponge. The branch, birds and flowers are from Swirly Bird.  The leaves are from a different stamp set called Love & Affection. Colors are Emerald Envy, Dapper Denim, Peekaboo Peach and Daffodil Delight.  "Congrats to You" comes from Tin of Cards.

Here's how I made the birdhouse - I think you're gonna like this!

I started by stamping a piece of Dapper Denim cardstock with Dapper Denim ink and the Hardwood background stamp.  Then I cut a strip 1 1/2" wide to fit into the middle slot of the Triple Banner Punch.  

This is how the back of the punch would normally appear when you slip the cardstock in it -

But, if you take the leading edge of the cardstock and pull it out of the punch like this-

You get a birdhouse as tall as you like!

The roofline is just as simple.  In this case, I cut a 2" wide strip of Crumb Cake cardstock and punched it with the Triple Banner Punch as you normally would.  Then without ever removing it from the punch, simply slide it forward and punch again: 

You end up with a roof that fits perfectly on your birdhouse.  The bottom of the birdhouse is another piece of Crumb Cake cardstock cut 2" x about 1/8" on your paper trimmer.  I stamped a simple design on both pieces from the Tin of Cards stamp set for a little extra interest.  I turned the birdhouse, roof & bottom over and used Tear & Tape adhesive to attach the 3 pieces together on the back.  The last step is to punch a small hole in the center and adhere a piece of Basic Black cardstock behind it. When you are ready to adhere the birdhouse simply take the backing off of the adhesive and mount it on your card front.  An enamel heart shape in Peekaboo Peach is the finishing touch.

These little birdhouses are fun and easy to make using the Triple Banner Punch because the pieces fit perfectly together.  I want to try another card like this with multiple birdhouses in different heights and widths.  Maybe these ones will be on posts in the ground with flowers growing up around them!

Thanks for looking!
Pat

Swirly Bird - I think I'm in love!

Hello Stampers,

It's the last day of May and that means today is the last chance to purchase any retiring Stampin' Up products you've been longing for!  If there have been any bundles on your Wish List that you haven't purchased yet, you should know that even if the stamp set and die-cuts are carrying over to the new catalogue, they won't be available at a 15% discount any longer!  Just sayin'...

Here's the link to view the retiring list one last time...

Enough of that...here is the first card I've made using my shiny new stamps...ta-da!

I've been playing with the Swirly Bird bundle I got with my catalog pre-order and I think I'm in love!  I have so many ideas swirling through my head for this stamp set, no wonder it's called Swirly Bird!

The blues on my card are the brand-new Dapper Denim and the good old Soft Sky.  I really like those two together.  The waves are made from one of the die-cuts included in the bundle.  I wanted to capture the way sunlight sparkles on the waves on a bright day on Lake Erie, so I used the "dotty" stamp from the set to stamp in Versamark, then I used Heat & Stick powder with Dazzling Diamonds glitter.  The sweet little sailboat is actually 4 separate stamps and fussy-cut, which is much easier than it sounds!  The colors on it are Dapper Denim, Daffodil Delight (stamped off once on the solid sail) and Calypso Coral.  I stamped the swirly sun 3 times, using Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral, and Peekaboo Peach.  Each image was stamped off once.  The center of the sun is stamped in Daffodil Delight, full strength.  The sentiment I've used here is from another new stamp set called Love & Affection.

Are you curious how I made the clouds in the sky?  It's done simply by sponging Soft Sky ink around the edge of a cloud shape cut from thick Whisper White cardstock. I cut my cloud shape out freehand, but the Tree Builder Punch cloud shape would work great, also.

 I'm going to add a Happy Birthday sentiment to the inside of this card and give it to my husband for his birthday next week...shhhhh...

This year's new In-Colors are Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy, Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach and Sweet Sugarplum. Starting tomorrow, you can order them or anything else that strikes your fancy from the new catalog!  If you need a catalog, please leave me a message and I will get you one.

Thanks for stopping by,
Pat