Stampin' Clouds & Kites

Hi Stampers,

Here's another card we made at my last class using Swirly Bird.  Everyone had fun sponging clouds - it's so satisfying!

The kites are so much fun to stamp and cute on their own merits, but they really pop on the cloud background.  Check out my May 31 blog post to see how we made the clouds.  The colors on this card are Peekaboo Peach, Dapper Denim & Daffodil Delight.  The sentiment is from Suite Sayings (#140712).

Enjoy!
Pat

Baby Swirly Bird

Hi Stampers,

My obsession with the new Swirly Bird stamps continues!  A lovely young lady that I met in Florida last winter had a baby boy this week and I wanted to send her a special card.  So of course, I wanted to use Swirly Bird.  I'm seriously amazed at how versatile this stamp set is!  Here is my card:

Swirly Bird Bundle #142353

Isn't that little bird watching her eggs just precious?

To make this card, I laid my 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of Soft Sky cardstock on top of my Whisper White card base.  Then I die-cut the largest swirl from a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock and placed it where I wanted it on the Soft Sky piece.  I traced around the inside of the swirl with a pencil and cut that space out, revealing the card base beneath.  Without moving the Soft Sky piece, I traced the same shape onto the card base.  Now I could see exactly where to stamp my bird's nest.  The brown on the nest is Crumb Cake; the bird is Dapper Denim & the eggs are Soft Sky, brushed with clear Wink of Stella (#141897).  I lightly sponged the area above the nest with Soft Sky.

The next step was to stamp swirls randomly on the Soft Sky cardstock with Soft Sky ink.  I love this method of creating a tone-on-tone background.  I had some Soft Sky washi tape that I wanted to use on the card, so I attached a strip of it along the edge of the card base then trimmed 1/4" off the right side of the Soft Sky piece so that it would show.

"Peekaboo to someone new" is from Suite Sayings (#140712).  I stamped it on a banner & trimmed it with another banner cut from Dapper Denim cardstock, a cut doily, and some of the beautiful new ruched ribbon in Dapper Denim (#141424).  The tiny enamel hearts (#141410) are the perfect matching accent.

I hope you like this card.  To celebrate my first year as a Stampin' Up demonstrator, I'm sending a 3-pack of my handmade original cards to new customers with any online order!  Use host code DH3HKDV4 at checkout.  Who knows, this may be one of the cards you receive!

Thanks for stopping by,
Pat

Swirly Bird - Go Fly a Kite!

Hello Stampers,

The day I've been waiting for is here - the brand-new catalog is now available.  My wish list is long...how about yours?  I hope you'll find some inspiration with me!

I've been playing with my new Swirly Bird (141749) stamps again!  There are just so many possibilities with this set that I'll be showing you in the weeks to come.  Yesterday I was obsessed with stamping kites!

These kites are so much fun to stamp, I just might make one in every color of the rainbow! Such a sweet little card, I think that anyone would love seeing this in their mailbox.  My sentiment comes from Suite Sayings (140712 clear) and the striking black and white striped designer paper is from the Neutrals Collection Designer Paper Stack (138435).

Have a lovely day!
Pat

Pop-Up Gift Card Holder

Hi Stampers!

Today I want to share with you my version of the Pop-Up Gift Card Holder.  Mine is constructed most closely to Dawn Griffith's version on her You Tube video (I'll link to it at the end of this post). The difference in mine (besides the decorating) is that I used punched circles folded in half to secure the inner section that holds the gift card.  Most other versions use a strip of double-sided sticky tape to hold it together, but I found that no matter how close to the edge of the pocket I placed the tape, it still got in the way of the gift card and made the pocket too tight to function well.

This greeting is from Suite Sayings (140709), a stamp set which I've used over and over. I love the way this turned out - can't go wrong with gold embossing on black for a big impact!

 The cardstock colors are Hello Honey and Basic Black and the designer paper is called Going Places (140581).  The designer paper is retiring on May 31.

The designer paper on this one is called It's My Party (140552).  This paper comes in a 12 x 12 stack of 48 sheets with 4 each of 12 double-sided designs.   The colors on the balloons are Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry and Mint Macaron.  The greeting is another one from the Suite Sayings stamp set.  The Baker's Twine Combo Pack (140555) has 2 25-yard spools of two-tone twine in Basic Black with Melon Mambo and Mint Macaron.
The balloons were stamped using the Balloon Celebration (140675) stamp set.
The designer paper and Baker's Twine both retire on May 31.

The Envelope Punch Board is used to make the notches you see in this photo.  The tab that is formed between them tucks neatly into the bottom half of the card.

 In this photo you can see the folded circles that secure the inner section where the gift card is held.














Here is the link to Dawn Griffith's video that shows exactly how this card is constructed:

Thanks for looking!
Pat

It's a Bloomin' Heart Wedding Card!

Hello!

I've been on a roll this week!  Finished my taxes, washed my car, rode my bike (twice, no less!) and made cards, cards & more cards!

Here's a favorite to share with you.  I was inspired to make this when I received a "save the date" card in the mail for a wedding later this summer.  I thought it turned out so well that I decided to use it as a class project last week.  The Bloomin' Heart thinlits make it easy-peasy!  The base & front of the card is made from Stampin' Up's Shimmery White cardstock.  It doesn't photograph well, but there is a subtle shimmer all over that adds to the elegance of this card.  FYI, Shimmery White also holds up to watercoloring!

The color on this card is the lovely, minty Mint Macaron.  The flowers were cut from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper and topped with pearls. The sentiment is from Suite Sayings, popped up with Dimensionals on top of a piece of 5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon. The most difficult (and it's not too bad) aspect of this card is that you need to remember when you are die-cutting the heart that you will be using the heart and the piece that you cut it from.  So first of all, be sure to place it exactly where you want it on the card front before you run it through the Big Shot.  Secondly, and this is Very Important, be sure to adhere the piece of shimmery white that the heart was cut from Right Side UP.  By this I mean it should be attached to the card front in the same orientation that it was when you made the die-cut.  If you adhere it to the Mint Macaron piece upside down, then your heart will also have to be adhered upside down to match. Interesting fact, 50% of crafters making this card will do this.  Don't ask how I know, just take my word for it!

I would love it if you would pin this card.  Have a lovely day!

Pat

Welcoming Spring with Suite Sayings

Hello friends,

It feels like Spring is in the air and today's card captures that feeling for me.  I love the delicate look of the Petite Petals on this card and believe it or not, the colors I used are the (soon to be retired) 2014-2016 In Colors!  That's right, the petals are stamped with Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey and Tangelo Twist.  The secret to softening up the colors is that I stamped each color and then stamped off twice without re-inking the stamp.  I love that these colors can be made to look soft or bold, depending on how you stamp them.  The sentiment is from the Suite Sayings stamp set in the Occasions Catalog.  I can envision a beautiful Easter card using these same soft petals, can't you?  The Suite Sayings stamp set includes an Easter greeting, too.  Check it out, there are ten sentiments in the set all with different fonts.  The DSP on my card is Wildflower Fields available as a free Sale-A-Bration item with any $50 purchase.

Remember the three Sale-A-Bration items that were replaced in mid-February?  Well, good news!  There is excess inventory at the Stampin' Up warehouse, so if you wish you had grabbed up "Hello", "Sky is the Limit" or the Perfectly Artistic DSP, they are still available while supplies last!  Sky is the Limit is a great set for masculine cards, and the sentiments really work well for graduation cards.

If you like the 2014-2016 In Colors, now is the time to order (or reorder) your inks, re-inkers, cardstock and markers.  After May 31 they will be gone forever.  Sale-A-Bration continues through March 31, so why not stock up on your favorite colors now and claim your free item.  Contact me or visit my website for questions about any of your favorite products.