Spring Hummingbird Note Cards for a Colour Me, Stampin' Royalty and Mojo Challenge

Welcome, Spring! It's been a gorgeous spring in the PNW (Pacific Northwest) so far and I've seen a lot of our sweet resident hummingbirds.  We've got one sweet fellow (a year-round Anna's Hummingbird I've written about before {HERE}) who dips at feeders both here and at my neighbor's house and is always fun to watch.  He came RIGHT. UP. TO. ME. the other day when I was working on the deck and had (next to me) my water bottle with the bright pink lid.  He thought it was a flower! I don't know who was more surprised that it wasn't...

This card was created for the Colour Me Card Challenge (#64).  We were to use Coastal Cabana (my base), Cherry Cobbler (circular frame), Early Espresso, Real Red (strips on right) and Bermuda Bay (ink color of sentiment).

The layout was also entered in and inspired by the Mojo Monday MOJO390 sketch. So fun to make!

You're not seeing double; I had almost the same colors with which to work for the Stampin' Royalty Challenge (#272), so I created the same card, but with fewer colors than the Colour Me entry. We were to use Coastal Cabana, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso and Crumb Cake.

Fun Fact:  This challenge is hosted by another Stampin' Up! demonstrator whom I met at my very first Stampin' Up! convention.  I went all by myself and she took me under her wing, introducing me to her friends and making me feel like we'd been old friends.  Super kind!

The only other notable difference between these two cards was the way in which I colored in the hummer.  In the first card, I used my Blender Pen with my ink pads (aforementioned colors) and in the second one, I used my Aqua Painter (which I prefer). Both images were first inked in Memento Ink to insure colorfastness.

Burlap Ribbon tied with Linen Thread finish out the layout. Burlap is on-trend and makes for an easy way to add real texture to your project!

This sweet hummer (available in the set, A Happy Thing,) is only available through tomorrow, as I received him for *FREE* with a $50 merchandise order during Sale-a-Bration.  Click {HERE} and {HERE} to read more.

Click {HERE} to shop!

So nice to see you here!

{Watercolor} Mother's Day Card

This card was created for Mother's Day and I entered it in a couple of challenges.  I *LOVE* to watercolor with my Aqua Painter and had a ton of fun putting this card together.  

First, I entered this card in The Shabby Tea Room Challenge #216.  We were given a Bingo card and asked to choose from each "winning" row.  I chose flowers, pennants and vintage trim.  I don't have vintage trim, so I used Crumb Cake Classic Ink to "tea stain" my Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon.

I also entered this card in the fun Seize the Sketch #19 challenge.  I love the sketches there!

My flower image comes from the retiring Hostess set, Simply Sketched.  Since I was going to watercolor, I inked the image in Jet Black StazOn.

By adhering a smaller layer of Calypso Coral on top of the Calypso Coral card body, I was able to hide the ends of my 1-1/4 inch Burlap Ribbon and Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon.

Don't forget to check the {Retiring Stamps} and {Retiring Accessories} Lists.  Items from both lists are only available as supplies last, so I'm checking daily to see what is running out.  If you've got something you've gotta have, please don't delay.

Stampin' Supplies:

Stamps:  Simply Sketched {Hostess} (C129672, W129669)

Papers:  Calypso Coral (122925), Watercolor (122959), Tea Lace Paper Doilies (129399)

Inks:  Jet Black StazOn (101406), Calypso Coral (126983), Crumb Cake (126975) and Wild Wasabi Classic (126959)

Accessories:  Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon (120999), 1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon (132140), Aqua Painter (103954), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

{12 Weeks of Christmas 2013}: Mosaic Madness Card

I'm seeing a lot of fun potential for holiday stamping in the Mosaic Madness loveliness.  Here's my first card using the Mosaic Madness set (W130246, C130249) and coordinating Modern Mosaic TIEF (129984).  What I didn't use in this project is the coordinating Mosaic Punch, which can be purchased with the set as a bundle with additional savings (W132734, C132733).  Saving that for the next project!

I used the Bird Builder (117191) punch to make the petals for my poinsettia and the a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246) to jazz up the card.  

Petite Pairs (W128706, C122497) offers the sentiment, which I inked in Classic Real Red and sponged with Old Olive.  The other color I'm using here (in card stock and seam binding ribbon) is Crumb Cake.  I also used it to sponge around the petals of the poinsettia.  Do you see the little jewel in the "C" of Christmas?

Have you checked out the Holiday Sale?  Click {HERE} to see what's up for grabs!

{12 Weeks of Christmas} Week 6 -- Easy Gift Bag

One quick way to make gift packaging for bulkier hostess gifts (that preclude you from using card stock or Designer Series Paper as the body of your project) is to adhere your artwork to the packaging.  I made this simple (card front!) panel and adhered it to a paper sack for a shabby chic presentation.

What's inside?  Mittens and a new whistle for our fabulous crossing guard at school.  She's an unsung hero and needs something toasty for her hands.

A length of the Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon (just like the one I tied around the More Mustard snowflake) ties the project together (both literally and figuratively; please forgive the pun).  I love that the Crumb Cake seam binding is just shimmery enough that it's golden!

The photo doesn't pick it up, but the Norther Flurry Embossing Folder leaves its impression on Shimmery White card stock.  Speaking of the Big Shot, I used the Snow Flurry Bigz Die for the fabulous snowflakes...

A Basic Jewel Rhinestone adds more sparkle.  

The Crumb Cake snowflake has been sponged with Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink to help it stand out against the Cajun Craze snowflake (and to also tie it together with the Elegant Eggplant snowflake on the left).

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Papers:  Shimmery White (101910), Cajun Craze (119684), Elegant Eggplant (105126), More Mustard (100946) and Crumb Cake (120953) card stocks

Inks:  Elegant Eggplant Classic (126969)

Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Northern Flurry EF (120902), Snow Flurry Bigz Die (2012 Holiday Catalog:  127813), Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon (122332), Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Hope you have a chance to enjoy this lovely season.

{12 Weeks of Christmas} Week 4 -- Easy Gift Idea

I'm always in need of an easy gift to make that I can give at Christmas time.  This little gem is perfect!

With a little muscle, I punched a folded piece of card stock with my Designer Label Punch (just make your fold come in a little bit so that you don't end up with two separate punches).  

Notice that I punched the Cherry Cobbler one with the fold along the long edge of the punch; with the Crumb Cake one, I placed the fold along one of the shorter sides.

I punched the Festival of Prints Designer Series paper with my Curvy Label Punch and then snipped it to make the layered look (save the snips for the next one!).

The cute coordinated stamp and punch are from the Merry Minis set, offered in the 2012 Holiday Catalog.  Access it here or email me (use the link on the left) to contact me for a hard copy.

With the Merry Minis set and coordinating punch, your project is a snap!  It's so easy to stamp and punch these sweet little images!

I took slips of the Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack to easily cover my little chocolates.  A sweet gift for people at school, church and in our neighborhood.  Can't wait to bring a smile with these easy gifts!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Merry Minis (2012 Holiday Catalog, W127916, C127919)

Papers:  Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack (126904), Crumb Cake (120953), Cherry Cobbler (119685) and Lucky Limeade (122926) card stocks

Inks:  Cherry Cobbler (126966) and Lucky Limeade (126984) Classics

Accessories:  Decorative Label (120907) and Curvy Label (119851) Punches, Merry Minis Punch Pack (2012 Holiday Catalog, 126882), Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine (123125), Linen Thread (104199), 4" x 6" Cellophane Bags (102757)

Have you missed my previous {12 Weeks of Christmas} posts?  You can find them here:  {1}, {2}, and {3}.

{12 Weeks of Christmas} Week 2 -- Diverting from the Traditional Color Palette

This card was created for a Color Scheme Challenge a while ago at 365 Cards: 

While I'm a big fan of the traditional color palette for Christmas, I like how fun and fresh this note is.  The colors we were to use were Old Olive, Bashful Blue, More Mustard and Crumb Cake (or something thereabout -- I assign Stampin' Up! colors to those challenges).

This is also a simple and versatile layout.  By crumpling the scraps of More Mustard and adding a dry embossed layer (and rhinestones!), texture abounds in this project...  The Labels Collection Framelits make the basis of the focal point easy to create.

In a second project, I was going for a bright and cheery look without the traditional colors.  Using Tags til Christmas and my ornament punch, I created the Melon Mambo ornament, tied off with a bit of white floss.

The texture in this card was created using the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder ("TIEF"), and turning the card base to show the opposite relief from the Elegant Eggplant layer.

This color scheme was brought to you by the Color Coach...

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Snow Swirled (W111690, C127799), Tags til Christmas (W120847, C121169)

Papers:  Crumb Cake (120953), Whisper White (100730), More Mustard (100946), Bashful Blue (105120), Old Olive (100702), and Elegant Eggplant (105126)

Inks:  Bashful Blue (126961), More Mustard (126964), and Melon Mambo (126948) Classics

Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Labels Colleciton Framelits (125598), Petals-A-Plenty TIEF (116824), Vintage Wallpaper TIEF (120175), Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246), 1/2-inch Circle Punch (119869), Ornament Punch (119847), Color Coach (120148), and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430).

Take Care and a Little MOJO

This card was created for the Mojo Monday 248 and 365 CardsColor Scheme challenges.  I used my 2012-2013 Annual Catalog for my inspiration (page 90). 

I used my Paper Trimmer to make skinny strands of card stock.  I crumpled them up and used Glue Dots to adhere them down (plus the piece with the eggs helps to hold it down).

I ran the pieces of Whisper White and Pink Pirouette through the Big Shot using my Labels Collection Framelits. 

My Stamp-A-Ma-Jig helps me to accurately place my nest upon the branch.  I also used a sticky note (cut roughly in the shape of the nest) to keep the branch from running through my image of the nest (AKA “masking”). 

A snippet of Linen Thread helps to finish off the branch.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Take Care set (W126310, C126312)

Papers: Pink Pirouette (111351), Soft Suede (115318), Crumb Cake (120953), Sahara Sand (121043) and Whisper White (100730) card stocks

Inks: Pink Pirouette (127956), Soft Suede (126978), Crumb Cake (126975), Sahara Sand (126976) 

Accessories: Whisper White 3/8-inch Taffeta Ribbon (109070), Linen Thread (104199), Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Scallop Edge Border punch (119882), paper snips (103579), Labels Collection Framelits (125598), Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (101049)

I'm so glad you came by!  Hope your summer is treating you well!  "Take care"!  :)

Not Quite {50} Shades of Blue -- Build a Blossom

Please forgive the title...  When I saw the 365 Cards Challenge, "A Little Shady," I was immediately reminded of that title.  No Grey here -- just shades of Pacific Point.  Since I stuck with just Crumb Cake and Pacific Point (Whisper White doesn't "count," in this case), I entered this card in last week's Dynamic Duos challenge, too.

This card is one of my favorites that I made last weekend.  I used the Build a Blossom set and the Blossom Petals Builder punch.  To make the different shades of the leaves, I simply "stamped off" (AKA stamped on scratch paper first) and then stamped on the Whisper White card stock.  Double (and even triple) your supplies!  The Pacific Point card stock (punched with the Blossom Petals Builder) gives another dimension of color).

The Pacific Point piece behind the blossom was run through my Big Shot using the Elegant Lines Textured Impressions embossing folder.

One of my *favorite* sets is the Petite Pairs sentiment set, which includes sentiments broken into two messages (many can be used separately, tho), so that one can add a second thought to the inside of the card.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Build a Blossom (W121923, C121994), Petite Pairs (W122495, C122497)

Papers:  Crumb Cake (120953), Pacific Point (111350) and Whisper White card stocks

Inks:  Pacific Point Classic (126951)

Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Elegant Lines folder (119277), Modern Label punch (119849), Word Window (119857), Blossom Petals Builder punch (121808), Large Pearl Basic Jewels (125577), Linen Thread (104199), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Misc. button

A Little Mojo and Some Birdsong

Today's project was an entry for the Mojo Monday MOJO246, 365 Cards "Word of the Week:  Music" (think birdsong), and Dynamic Duos (Always Artichoke and River Rock) Challenges.

I used my Language of Friendship set, because I love the little songbird (punched out with the Bird Builder punch) and I thought the three elements in the Mojo sketch would be fun with the blooms from that set, as well.  Notice that I stamped one of the flowers and punched it, using the Boho Blossoms punch, popping it up with a Stampin' Dimensional.

The Dynamic Duo challenge allows us to use a neutral in our project, so I chose Crumb Cake (aka "Kraft").  I also ran my piece of Always Artichoke through my Big Shot for some added texture. 

Stampin' Up! Supplies:


Stamps:  Language of Friendship (W122750, C122752)

Papers:  Always Artichoke (105119), River Rock (108640), Crumb Cake (120953) and Bashful Blue (105120) card stocks (*as I went to link this entry to the Dynamic Duos blog, I see that I was to only use the two colors highlighted -- I'll follow the directions better in the next challenge!)

Inks:  Always Artichoke (126972) and River Rock (126977) Classics


Accessories:  Boho Blossoms punch (119858), Bird Builder punch (117191), Big Shot (113439), Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (117335), Very Vanilla 1/8-inch Taffeta Ribbon (119960), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Father's Day Card: {Forever Young}

There's something very poetic about this stamp set's name and Father's Day...  I love the tree and thought it made a nice focal point for this masculine card.  

I entered this card in the 365 Cards Heavy Metal Challenge last week and also in the CardPatterns Sketch 169 challenge for this week.  The antique brad at the top adds heavy metal, but with a touch of panache.

The sentiment is crafted from a Decorative Label punch (which I had fun trimming) and the stamped image from Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched out with the Word Window punch.

The card stock colors are courtesy of my Color Coach:  Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Marina Mist and Bashful Blue.  I wanted to use the Marina Mist striped Designer Series Paper (from the Subtles Patterns Stack), and that drove the rest of the color choices. 

The Crumb Cake piece with the tree stamped upon it was fed through my Big Shot with the Labels Collection Framelit and the Crumb Cake piece beneath it was sueded.

The flagged end of the Marina Mist Designer Series Paper was achieved using my 1-1/4" Square punch.

Happy Father's Day to the men in my life!  We love you!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:


Stamps:  Forever Young (W122570, C122572), Teeny Tiny Wishes (W115370, C127802)

Paper:  Cajun Craze (119684), Crumb Cake (120953), Marina Mist (119682) and Bashful Blue (105120) Card Stocks and Subtles Collection Designer Series Paper Stack (117152)

Inks:  Cajun Craze  Classic (126965)

Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Labels Collection Framelits (125598), Decorative Label Punch (120907), Word Window Punch (119857), 1-1/4 inch Square Punch (119865), Antique Brads (117273), Linen Thread (104199), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Simple {Summer Afternoon} Card for Challenges

This card was created for the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #38 and the 365 Cards ABCs & 123s Challenge.  Summer Afternoon is a fun new Hostess Set.  I inked it in Early Espresso Classic Ink and then used my Crumb Cake, Perfect Plum and Cherry Cobbler inks and my Blender Pen to color in the design.

Tiny Tags provides quick and easy sentiments to personalize your projects.  I *LOVE* this set...  I punched the tag with the Jewelry Tag punch and sponged it with Cherry Cobbler Classic ink.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Summer Afternoon (W126425, C126427), Tiny Tags (W118901, C118592)

Papers:  Crumb Cake (120953), Cherry Cobbler (119685), and Very Vanilla (101650) card stocks

Inks:  Crumb Cake (126975), Cherry Cobbler (126966), Perfect Plum (126963) and Early Espresso (126974) Classic Inks

Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (119976), Jewelry Tag (117190) and 1/16-inch Handheld (101227) punches, Perfect Plum Taffeta Ribbon (122987), Linen Thread (104199), Blender Pen (102845), Stamping Sponges (101610) and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Feeling an Ode Coming On...

No, I'm not feeling snuffly; I really do feel an ode coming on!  This time, I'm pining away about the Stampin' Up! sets, Have a Seat and Sincere Salutations.  These beauties retire at the end of this month.

This project was created for a Color Scheme Challenge by the good folks at 365 Cards.  This was my color palette:

I chose to use Crumb Cake, Basic Gray, Chocolate Chip and More Mustard to approximate the palette.

Here, you can see that I used the soon-to-retire Paper Crimper (remember that accessories/tools are only available while supplies last).

I think my favorite thing to do with Have a Seat has been to create pillows from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.  I used Basic Gray card stock and added a knotted snippet of Linen Thread...

Interested in the new 2012-2013 Annual Catalog?  Click here to learn how to earn yours for *FREE*!




Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Have a Seat (W116696, C120447) and Sincere Salutations (W115068) **Both are retiring!**

Papers:  Crumb Cake (120953), Basic Gray (121044), More Mustard (100946) and Chocolate Chip (102128) card stocks

Inks:  Basic Gray (109120) and Chocolate Chip (100908) Classics

Accessories:  Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309), Crimper (101618 **Retiring**), Linen Thread (104199) and Natural Hemp Twine (100982)