TGIF Christmas Challenge

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Christmas in July? Well, I don't know about where you live but her in Southern California it does not feel like Christmas but I do love making Christmas cards. They are the most fun! I am looking forward to seeing the new Stampin' Up! holiday catalog. As a demonstrator I will get to see it tomorrow and I can't wait! (one of the great perks of being a demonstrator, preorder) Many lucky demonstrators who earned the Greece trip already have the catalog along with many of the stamps and other goodies. So I have seen lots of things online and they are all so cute, I know it will be a big preorder for me!

So for today I have made a Christmas card for the TGIF challenge. When I decided to join in on the challenge this week I realized I do not have any Christmas sets that are current and so I used my favorite punch, perennial flower punch to make my own poinsettia flower.

I punched out a few flowers in cherry cobbler and then sponged the edges to give it more dimension. Some of the flower petals I cut apart to make the flower look even fuller. I used the same punch for the leaves and scores them in half so that it would look like a vein. 

I added a little white chalk line for small reflection on the leaves and curled the flower with my bone folder. For the center I colored a few pearls with my daffodil delight dark stampin blend.

I used fine lines of wink of stella to add to the flower petals. It was really hard to get a picture of that but, it looks so pretty in person. This card was fun and a challenge to make something new with the punch. I admire all the people out there who are so creative with punches. I look forward to seeing the new holiday catalog and sharing the new sets when they arrive.  If you would like to join and receive the same benefit let me know. I would love to answer any questions you may have and now till the end of August is the best time to join! Check out the special pay only $99 and you can choose $155 worth of product from the catalog plus you will receive a coupon towards $10 to use next month! Give the TGIF a try and join them in the Christmas in July challenge. Enjoy!

All days are beautiful!

The card I have made today I finally got the chance to use the stitched die that I cut out the other day. I don't know about you but I keep all my scraps, some may say I keep too much! I love to use them in creative ways. Although today's way is not that creative, I think that it turned out really cute!  Below is the card that I cut the die out.

The bird ballad designer series paper is so pretty! I have such a hard time cutting it up! But then when I make a card with it, I am so happy that I did cut it.

I really wanted to keep this card simple because the paper is kind of busy.  The perennial essence stamp set has a simple flower that when stamped in the calypso coral looked great.

I stamped the greeting and the leaves before I ran the piece through the big shot with my subtle embossing folder. This folder is good for when you want to add texture but not to much busyness.  Keep your scraps and you will never know what you can create with them! Enjoy!

Purple Power

This card is a whole lot of purple!  I had colored the iris image and wanted to use the purple in the background. To make the background I took a piece of water color paper and after taping it down completely covered it with water. I then added highland heather and gorgeous grape alternating the rows of color. I also tilted the paper a little to try and get the colors to run into each other. 

The color was a little strong for me and I wanted to add some extra texture and so I decided to use the pinewood planks embossing folder. 

The stamps I used are from the inspiring iris stamp set. I decided to color the outline stamps with stampin blends. I hope you get some new ideas from this card and create a purple masterpiece of your own. Enjoy!

Paper pumpkin extras!

I hope you enjoyed this video! make sure to order your paper pumpkin by Aug 10th to get in on this fabulous kit! Just click on the website below and you can start the fun!

https://www.paperpumpkin.com/en-us/sign-up/?demoid=17603

Special Day

I love to make cards for special people in my life!  This card was made for a friend of mine who's birthday was last month. I also love a punch for my flowers because it makes the whole process so much quicker. 

I stamped the flower with calypso coral and then added dimension with my coral stampin blends and my white water color pencil. I used a few of the new dies: stitched nested labels and wild rose.

The sentiment is from the stitched all around stamp set and the designer paper is from the bird ballad DSP. I saved the negative portion to use on a future card. Check back and see what I did with that. Make someones day special and create a work of art for them! Enjoy!

Coloring on crumb cake card stock

A simple card with a little coloring is what I have for you today.  A one layer card that I stamped with momento black ink on crumb cake card stock and used colored pencils. I even kept the colors to a minimum.  I used white and yellow.  

I put the white in the areas that I thought would be highlighted and then a pop of color with the yellow. A card does not have to take you a long time. This card would be so easy to mass produce and have on hand. You could even wait to stamp the sentiment and stamp it for the occasion that you need.  Enjoy!

For every $50 spent in the month of July you will receive a code to cash in $10 free to use in the month of August!  Don't miss out and order by end of July! Let me know if you have any questions.

Want a discount on stamps?

Have you ever thought of becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator?  Now is a great time to join! So much free product and you will receive a discount on your orders plus get all the benefits of being a demonstrator.  You will receive catalogs early, be able to preorder and still get a discount. If you would like to join the fun let me know. Or if you have any questions let me know. I would love to spend time talking to you about any questions you may have.  Have a great day and give the thought of being part of a great company. You will enjoy it!

Enjoy coloring!

I recently took the 30 day coloring challenge and I have been enjoying all the time I have dedicated to coloring. I find it so relaxing and great way to do something for myself. You can check it out at https://www.thedailymarker.com/  Kathy is so incredibly talented and she has a wonderful group of followers. So I have been either coloring with pencils, blends or water coloring the past 26 days or so.

These are just the sweetest little birds around. I wanted to keep them nice and soft with a subtle background. The focus on the birds!  I used my stampin blends for this image.

For the greeting I was afraid that I would mess it up when I went to stamp it and so I stamped it on a separate piece of white card stock and cut around it. So many times I have worked on a piece and then ruined it with the greeting at the end. 

I invite you to check our Kathy's website and join in for the last few days of the challenge.  She offers it pretty often and so sign up to receive updates. It is a great way to take time for yourself each day. I also love that she says you don't have to finish your projects, take a few days to enjoy the process. Bonus is that her videos are wonderful with lots of great tips!  Enjoy!

Paper pumpkin and TGIF challenge

Hi Friends!  Today I have finally gotten it together and made a card for the TGIF Challenge. I have been wanted to do this for the longest time but always seem to just miss the deadline. I love to see what the design team comes up with every week!  They are truly talented and I am so inspired by there creations. The challenge this week is to use the new in colors, purple posy, rococo rose and seaside spray. These colors are soft and pretty together. Lately I have made a lot of cards with flowers and so I wanted to wanted to use something others than flowers. The first set that came to mind was the paper pumpkin stamp set.

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I think the beach images are so cute and so I wanted to use them all. I white heat embossed them on the 3 in colors card stock.  I used 3 strips of crumb cake to make a sandy beach. Using another stamp from the paper pumpkin set and then using the subtle embossing folder to add some texture.  It is kind of hard to see this from my photo.

I framed my sandy beach with the crumb cake designer series paper in the neutral colors. I really enjoyed the challenge this week and I am so glad that I gave it a try. Also, I have made my photos bigger than past posts.  What do you think? Is it too big?  I would love any comments you have. Have a beautiful rest of your week and enjoy!

Paper Pumpkin Alternative

Hi Everyone!  Today I want to share a card I made with this months paper pumpkin.  It is a lovely beach centered kit and I could wait to make a fun beach scene.  Keeping with my daily color challenge I did a quick watercolor beach wash.

I had envisioned a nice beach scene in a window type card and so that is what I set out to make.  This kit has so many extra little goodies even after making all the cards so I was really excited to play.  I used an extra palm tree to frame the scene and added the sentiment (stamp from the paper pumpkin kit) and a little linen thread to the back.  I did not want the background to be white and so I added a little texture by using the pinewood planks embossing folder.

I love how this card came out. I did decide that the sky needed a little something more so I added the birds from the hightide set, I just inked up 3 of the 5 birds. I think that added just the right amount of interest. What do you think? 

(sorry this photo came out so blurry)

This card was so simple and I love how sweet it turned out. If you are interested in paper pumpkin please let me know or if you would like give it a try for a month.  There is no obligation.

This kit looks like it will be another winner!  Let me know if you have any questions. Make sure to order before July 10th!  Have a great day! Enjoy summer!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope that you are having a great 4th of July! Today's card is not red, white or blue. Sorry I did not have time to make a card for the holiday.  But I did make this card and wanted to share it with you. It is a very simple card and like I have said before, sometimes I think simple looks best. Since I have been coloring in many different forms for the daily 30 day coloring challenge I have had lots of images to make into cards.

This image is from the inspiring iris stamp set. I colored it with stampin blends and it was so quick and easy. I used the new rococo rose color. I love this color! I love the color pink and this one is really nice, not too bright, not too light it is just right! 

The other thing that I say is a must buy in the new catalog is the new designer series paper. This card was made with the neutral pack but I think you can't go wrong with any of the color combos. I just used one side and the other to make this card. The designs are so pretty and simple that they do not over power your card but enhance it in just the right way!  So order a pack today! Have a beautiful and safe 4th of July! Enjoy!

Inspiring Iris

Wow is this set beautiful!  The possibilities are endless with it and I am so excited to share this card with you today. This card I CASED from the new Stampin' Up catalog page 124. It is an amazing resource for ideas and creative inspiration! I just changed the stamp set and colors and made it my own.

I started with a piece of watercolor paper and white heat embossed the outline of the iris's. I thought that rather than using the stamp to color them in I would watercolor them. (This set comes with stamps that fill in the colors for the stem, leaves and flowers) I did a quick watercolor on the entire panel with a messy look (not staying in the lines). I like the way that this came out. I am still trying to become better at my watercoloring and I know that it takes lots of practice!

                                         

I also looked up iris colors online to see what colors I wanted to use.  This is also a great resource for when coloring. It is fun to see all the color combinations and variety.  For this panel I decided to keep with the traditional iris colors. I stamped the solid stamp with versamark ink on the pear pizzazz card front. The new stitched nested label dies were calling my name. I have been wanting to give them a try and so I decided to use just the top half to frame my iris painting.

The card that I was looking at in the catalog had the sentiment in a straight line and so I stamped this greeting each line separate and carefully lining up using my grid paper. The piece of gingham paper is from the neutral designer series paper. I love the new designs! I also added a few of the new woven thread sequins for a little sparkle and some wink of stella on the iris flowers (however it is hard to see in the photos). Give this set a try and if you need a demonstrator (and don't have one) I would love to order this set for you! I think you will have lots of fun with it!

You are somebody!

Hello! I hope you are having a great day!  Summer is here and I could not help making a card with some nice bright colors. The colors I used were granny apple green,rich razzleberry and balmy blue. I really like this stamp from the inspiring iris stamp set, I thought that I could use it as a background and so I white heat embossed it several times. 

When I was making this card I realized it looked like Easter. 

To the sentiment I used the stitched shapes and I highlighted certain words with blender and ink,  I did not want the paper to get very wet since I had put it on regular white card stock and not watercolor paper. Try using one of the stamps from a set repeatedly and have fun!  I really had fun making this card and I hope you like it.  Enjoy!