Cards with Cool Moves

Hello all...last day of the month and I wanted to share the project I created for Ustamp with Dawn and Friends Cards with Cool Moves online event! 

What's cool about the projects in Cards with Cool Moves is that one of the 3 cards has some sort of dimension or "animation" to it.  Mine has a pop-up that you'll have to check out in the tutorial.  I was floored at all the super cool cards I saw from all the designers.  So inspiring!  Hope you like my little sneak.  If you'd like to check out UStamp with Dawn and Friends, feel free to hop on over here.  Enjoy!  You'll really be in for a treat!

Twitterpated Fabric Flower

Hi all!  Just wanted to pop in with a quick post.  I wanted to share the fabric flower pins I made out of the Twitterpated fabric from the Occasions Mini.  These are really so much fun to make!  The tutorial instructions for making these fabric flower pins are on this post here.  I used the Flower Folds Bigz XL die to cut the flowers..so easy and cute to make!

Here's a look at the Twitterpated  fabric swatches and product deets:

So whaddaya think? Hope you like it! Have a great one!  I'll catch up with you guys soon.  Bye for now.



Greetings from San Antonio!

Hello blog friends! How are you all? I am posting this morning from the Stampin'Up! Leadership Conference in San Antonio! I arrived yesterday and kicked off the session with picking up my cute little bag then it was off to Make and Takes. Here's a couple of pictures I took to share with you all:







I'll post more in a bit. In the meantime, have a fantastic day!!

{Heartstrings} Forever and Always

Pin It

Hello there dear blog friends!  Hope you had a nice weekend.  I'm just popping in with a quick post - a simple card I made from the extra hearts I had left over from my "you're just my type" card in my previous post.  I'm a big fan of clean and simple, and for this month's So Shelli Challenge, I think this card fits the bill!  What do you think?  I love using twine on my projects and am so thrilled that the new Occasions Mini has twine in the In Colors!  Here's the super simple recipe for this card for you...

{Forever and Always Heartstrings}
*Stamp Sets: Take It to Heart, Loving Thoughts
*Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Pool Party
*Inks: Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, and Pool Party Markers; Early Espresso Classic Ink Pad
*Accessories: Fashionable Hearts Embosslits, Calypso Coral and Pool Party Baker's Twine, Corner Rounder

Hope you like it!  Thanks for popping by today.   Have a fantastic week and I'll catch up with you guys soon.

you're just my type.

Hey there friends! I've got my first card for the year to share with you.  I am so excited that I got a chance to craft for a quick second!  I got to play with some of my fave new goodies from the Occasions Mini catty.  What do you think of the little sneaky peek above?  I love this new stamp set, called "You're My Type" and I'm also a big fan of this color scheme - Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Early Espresso, and Crumb Cake.  Yummy vintage retro Valentine with a splash of color.  Here's a look at the full card for you:

Pin It

I had so much fun playing with the new Labels Framelits and the pretty Doily sizzlit.  Don't they add a nice touch of texture to the card?  How about the sweet little hearts?  Those are a new embosslit called Fashionable Hearts..just too cute!

 .

Here's another angle of the card.  I love that Stampin'Up! now has twine in the In Colors!  How cool is that?  For this card, I used Pool Party and Calypso Coral and added a button embelly as well.  Hope you liked this Occasions card!  Here's the recipe for you:

{you're just my type!}

*Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Whisper White, and Sweet Shop DSP

*Inks: Early Espresso, Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake

*Stamp Sets: Just My Type

*Accessories: Paper Doily Sizzlit, Fashionable Hearts Embosslit, Labels Framelits, Pool Party and Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, Twitterpated Designer Button, Sponge Dauber, Corner Rounder

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  Have a great day!

The Occasions Mini Catalog is {HERE!}

Hello there bloggie friends!  Are you ready to check out the new Occasions Mini catalog?  It's chockfull of CUTENESS and has already burned a hole in my pocket {wink!}.  I'll let you check it out for yourself and you let me know what you think.  In addition to the must-have array of stamps, there are also cool new framelit dies that are absolutely to die for, plus of course, all the yummy accessories!  The cover alone gives you a pretty good sneak, don't you think?  Just in time to kick off the New Year with some stylish crafting.  Have fun perusing the catty!  And remember, if you get the itch to shop, you can order online anytime on my Demonstrator store.

Now that I've semi-reorganized my craft room, I am chomping at the bit to bust open my new goodies.  Hope to have some crafty samples ready for you soon!  Have a great week!

Easter Gifts Challenge for HSS63!

Hello blog friends!  How are you all?  I know it's been a few days since I've last posted and I really am still around...it's just a tad bit hectic.  You know that saying "when it rains, it pours"?  Well, I'm getting quite a dose of it at the moment, and alas, it has not left me with much time to stamp!  So, you'll have to forgive me if my postings are a bit sparse this upcoming month.  With lots of deadlines and moving parts on the work front, I'm having to make some sacrifices on my time posting to the bloggie blog.  Anywhooo.....how about some fun with this week's Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge?  The theme is Easter, so what a perfect time to finish up those cards and gifts for friends and family, AND play along in a challenge, too?!  Here's a look at the project I made...a couple of fun and easy Pillow Box favors with a bit of a vintage flair...

What do you think?  I really do love the pillow box die - so versatile!  I think the die works great on DSP as well as solid cardstock - you can whip up a quick little gift in a jiff with these.  I used the Springtime Vintage DSP and the pretty sentiment from the Easter Blooms stamp set.  Hope you like it!  Here's one more picture for you so you can see the upright and horizontal versions I made of these pillow boxes - either way, they make a pretty presentation!

Hope you like them.  I would love for you guys to play along with us!  Make like a bunny and "hop" over to the Hand Stamped Sentiments blog to check out more inspiration and get you psyched up to create your fun Easter Themed project!  Have a fab day!

Paper Crafters Sampler April Issue is available!

Hi all!  Just wanted to pop in with a quick announcement - the April Paper Crafters Sampler is now available here and the theme is Avian Art.  I am so proud to be working with these talented ladies - I think you'll enjoy everyone's AMAZING projects.  If you're one for the birds, then these will definitely knock your socks off!  Interested in subscribing to this issue?  You can go here and please be sure to reference code PCSRD! :)  Here's a sneak peek of my project:

I had fun playing with all kinds of elements.  Hope you like it!  As a subscriber to this issue, you'll get the detailed instructions for this project along with all the other avian projects, too!

Gotta get going for now.  Have a fantastic day, all and thanks for visiting!!

perfectly punched cupcakes!

Hi all!  Did you guys have a nice weekend?  I have to say we had a great weekend!  We had beautiful weather and we also got to hang out with my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and nieces for the weekend.  They came down for a visit and we had lots of fun.  We went down to see the tidepools by my house and then we even had some time for crafting, which is always a bonus.  I just wish we had an extra day!  Oh well...we did have fun.  Now it's time to kick off the new week.  Remember the other day when I mentioned I'd share the tip on how to to be more paper efficient with the new Build a Cupcake Punch (and can also be applied to the Blossom Petals Punch, too!).  Applying this handy technique ensures you make perfectly punched cupcakes!  Here's what you need to do:

Here's a picture of how the stamped images align with your punch:

Isn't that cool?  Now here's another look at the cards I created with my cupcakes.  I made a stepped up version with the ribbon, as well as a simpler, easy to mail version without ribbon...Either way, I don't think you can go wrong!:

What do you think?  Aren't these fun?  I love this sweet color palette - so girly and preppy, too!  Here's the recipe for you:

{Punchy Cupcakes!}

*Stamp Set: Something to Celebrate {Occasions Mini Catalog Hostess Level 2 Set}, Create a Cupcake

*Cardstock: Pretty In Pink, Filled With Love DSP Bundle, Whisper White

*Inks: Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz

*Accessories: Build a Cupcake Punch, Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die, Certainly Celery Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Springtime Vintage Buttons, Hemp Twine

It's your turn to give it a try!  I think you'll have fun making these perfect cupcakes - I know I did.  Hope you have a fantastic week.  Oh...don't forget...Sale-a-bration starts tomorrow!  WooHoo! 

sweet Butterfly Birthday

Hi there bloggie friends!  Yay - It's Friday!  Hope you had a good week.  As usual, time is just flying faster and faster for me.  Work has kicked it up a notch, but I've got so much crafting energy from last week's Leadership Conference that I had to squeeze this card in for the Cards Blog Challenge for the week!  As soon as I saw that the challenge was to use butterflies, I HAD to play!  I've been dying to use the Sweet Stitches paper so this was my chance.  Are you ready for the big reveal.....

I was so excited about how the card turned out - the color scheme, papers and pretty butterfly just make me smile.  I mean, this card practically made itself!  How do you like the fun embellies - from the fabric button to the pompom trim....so yummy!  I do love that Birthday font, too.  It's just so cute and shabby - perfect for the card.  Here's some more pics for ya...

Love the textured cardstock - it makes the stamped sentiment look aged and vintage-y.

One last look.  Are you in love with that paper?!  I know I am!  So, so fun!  Here's the card recipe for you:

{Sweet Butterfly Birthday}

All Supplies Stampin'Up! except where noted

*Stamp Set: Bring on the Cake {SU! Occasions Mini Catalog}

*Cardstock: Textured Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette, Sweet Stitches DSP

*Inks: Melon Mambo, Crumb Cake {sponged on the edges}

*Accessories: Sweet Stitches Fabric Designer Brads, Melon Mambo Pompom trim, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die; Boxy Banners Die {PTI}

Hope you like it!  Have a fantastic Friday! Ciao, for now.

Heart Strings

Hi all - hope you had a great weekend!  As usual, it felt like it flew by for me.  I'm still trying to get into a groove with being back to work and scheduling time to craft, plus it's a little bit tricky with so many things going on this month with my work projects and life in general, so I hope you bear with me. :)  Anyways, as for this project, I have to admit it took me a little while to come up with what to make.  I might be going through some creative block!   Hope you like the card though - this is simple, yet fun...and also requires no stamping!   Don't get me wrong, I wanted to stamp, but for this card, I didn't think it required it :)  Hope you like it!

The finished card measures 3"x6."  The paper pretty much dresses up the card, don't you think?  It's from the Love Impressions Specialty DSP in the Occasions Mini.  This particular piece of DSP is of a heavy weight cardstock, so it would also be great to use with a favor type of die cut too!  Back to the card - I added a little border of whisper white cardstock with the Pinking Hearts trim - so cute and dainty! I also added a smidge of real red taffeta ribbon and of course, the heart strings!  I used baker's twine and then the Heart Small punch for the glittery hearts.  Here's one last look for you:

Enjoy!  Hope you guys ave a great Monday and I'll catch up with you guys soon!  It's getting late for me so I'm gonna say ciao for now :)

Build a Blossom Bag

Hi bloggie friends!  Hope your week is going well so far.  I meant to post this yesterday, but after several attempts, the blogger app was not cooperating and wouldn't let me create a new post for some reason.  Anyone have that issue yesterday?  Well, in any case, I'm glad it resolved this morning so I can share this Blossom Bag!  What do you think?  It's chockfull of new goodies from the Occasions Mini!  I just love these happy spring colors, too.  I used Melon Mambo, for the flower and Old Olive for the leaves.  Here's a look at the bag side view:

This bag is super easy to make, too.  I started with a 10"x12" piece of Sweet Stitches DSP.  You'll want to score the 10" side at 1 3/4" and 9", then score the 12" side at 1/2", 4 1/2" 6 1/4", and 10 1/4".  For the 10" side, you're going to fold over the 1" crease for the top edge of the bag.  The 1 3/4" crease is for the bottoom of the bag.  Cut the scorelines on the 12" side up to this crease to create the flaps for the bottom of the bag.  Assemble the bag and use the Tombow Multi Purpose Glue to adhere the side seam and the bottom flaps.  For the ribbon holes at the top of the bag, I used the Crop-a-dile to punch the 2 holes.  You can also ceate handles instead of just securing the ribbon at the top - that would be cute, too!  The finished product measures 7 1/4" x 1 3/4".  Here's one last look of the finished bag:

Hope you like it!  It makes an adorable handmade gift bag, don't you think? AND isn't that Build a Blossom Stamp awesome?! I LOVE this bloom!!  Here's the bag recipe for you:

{Build a Blossom Bag}

All supplies Stampin'Up!

*Stamp Sets: Build a Blossom

*Cardstock: Sweet Stitches DSP, Whisper White, Old Olive

*Inks: Old Olive, Melon Mambo

*Accessories: Blossom Petals Punch, Sweet Stitches Designer Series Buttons, Basic Pearls, Melon Mambo Pompom Trim, Old Olive Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Crop-a-dile, dimensionals, Tombow Multi-Purpose Glue

Enjoy and have a fab day!  Thanks for peeking in! ;)

I {xoxo} the Occasions Mini!

Hi all!  The Occasions Mini is available today!  Yay!!  And, I'm sharing my first Valentine's card of the year with some of the fun goodies from this awesome mini catty.  For starters, how about those yummy glitter hearts?!  I punched them out from the pretty Glimmer Paper that comes in a 2 pack of 12" x12" paper.  I love the effect it has - it's even prettier in person, I think!  Here's a look at the full card for you.

Isn't the "Love You" image in the bottom right corner so cute?  That's from the Rub On sheets called "Love Impressions" which coordinates with the DSP {also called the same name}.  So fun.  As for the big heart, I punched and layered it on the Heart of Hearts Embosslit, which gives it that dainty little scalloped edge. Can you believe this card has no stamping?   Here's the recipe for you.

{xoxo Love You}

All supplies Stampin'Up!

*Cardstock: Real Red, Whisper White, Love Impressions, Glimmer Paper

*Accessories: Full Heart Punch, Heart Small Punch, Heart of Heart Embosslit, Love Impressions Rub Ons, Corner Rounder, dimensionals, Snail

Hope you like it!  You can also check out the Occasions Mini catalog here.

Have a great day!! Toodles for now.

Scallop Trim and Pinking Hearts borders and corners made {EASY!}

Hey there blog peeps!   I finally got around to punching out the basic square sizes for the Scallop Trim Border and Corner and the Pinking Hearts Border and Corner punches and wanted to share them with you so you'd have them as reference.  As you can imagine, as a result of this little exercise, I got A LOT of practice doing these!  Here's a look at the scallop squares:

Don't they look cool all stacked up?  Well, in order to do these, I've marked down the size of the starting piece of cardstock for the corresponding squares below:

Here are the sizes again for your reference.  Cut your starting squares to the following sizes:

1 15/16"

2 3/8"

2 7/8"

3 1/4"

3 13/16"

4 1/4"

4 3/4"

Here are the steps for you in order to make the square:

1.  Punch out all 4 corners first.  Here's how: take the Scallop Trim Corner punch and hold it upside down so that the bottom side of the punch is facing you.  Align the corner of the cardstock into the corner of the punch and punch out the corner.  Repeat for the remaining corners.

2.  Punch out the sides: Take the Scallop Trim Border punch and turn it upside down so the bottom is facing you.  Take the cardstock and align at least one of the scallops on the cardstock to one of the scallops on the punch.  You'll know it's aligned when the scallop on the cardstock is perfectly covered up by the scallop of the punch.  Now, punch it out and continue to align the carstock scallops with the punch until you complete the side. Continue till you finish all sides.

Now, here's a look at the Pinking Hearts square:

Just so you know, the measurements for the Pinking Hearts square are slightly different - so make sure to note them below:

Here are the sizes for the Pinking Hearts square:

2 7/8"

3 1/4"
3 5/8"
4"
4 3/8"
4 3/4"

If you click on any of the pictures above, it'll open up a larger photo, plus, it'll be easier to read the corresponding measurements!  To do the Pinking Hearts square, follow the same instructions as the Scallop Trim squares, but use the correct card stock sizes above!  Have fun practicing :)

TIP: To make rectangles, you can mix and match the square sizes for the scallop or the pinking hearts squares.  For example, you can make a scallop trim rectangle that's 2 3/8" x 3 1/4", or you can create a Pinking Hearts rectangle that's 2 7/8" x 4."  Feel free to experiment with the different rectangle shapes that'll suit your projects :)

Now, I have to give credit where credit is due - I got these measurements from Gretchen Barron's blog, and she does an awesome job showing you the steps, so if you need more visualization on how to do this, make sure to pay her a visit!  Hope that helps!

If you like the Scallop Trim Border punch, you can get that as a free Sale-a-bration item when you place an order of $50 or more!  But keep in mind that Wednesday, March 31st is the LAST DAY of Sale-a-bration, so you'll need to order today (for US customers)!  All you need to do is click Shop Now on my Demonstrator Website and you'll be all set.

As for the Pinking Hearts Border and Corner punch, those are items in the Occasions Mini which will be available until April 30th.

Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by.

simply adorned {necklace}

I have finally gotten around to making my simply adorned necklace charm! Sometimes, the best intentions can ge waylayed (is that a real word) by life and stuff in general, but I have to say that I'm so glad I carved out the time to do it because as I was doing it, I remembered how quick and easy - not to mention FUN - it is to stamp and create a unique locket insert! Now, isn't that pretty? Since the locket has glass on both sides, you create 2 pieces of art. Here's my other side
I used the Charming set and it really is just too cute (and simple!). If you look closely, you'll see that I added a little rhinestone bling to add a little extra sassyness. The charm measures 1" x 1 1/4" and the chain I used is 34" in length. Another nice feature of the charm is that it has its own clasp, so you can detach it from the necklace and put it on another necklace to easily change things up. As for the pretty chain, you can wear it long, or it can be wrapped around your neck 2x. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of me modeling it, but I will do that so you can see it and get a feel for the length and versatility. Hope you like it!

Have a great day!

More with all my heart

Hi there! Hope you're enjoying your Saturday so far. I've got more cards using the With All My Heart stamp set to share with you today. I am really digging this set a lot - along with the color palette! So 4 of the cards (the 2 from yesterday and 2 today) have 2 things in common - the Extra Large Fancy Flower punch as well as a 3"x4" piece of my home made "DSP" using the large and small flower center images in the stamp set. The fun thing is that you can change up the layout so easily with the same supplies. Here's a look at the 2 additional cards I made: In today's cards, I used the larger flower stamp for my flower center and I think it gives the punch a whole different look.
For this flower, I added a large pumpkin pie corduroy button in the middle. I thought the pop of orange reminded me of a hibiscus flower. The birthday sentiment I used is from the Well Scripted stamp set, which is also in the Occasions Mini.

I've got one more share using this stamp set and flower punch, but in a much more muted color scheme - it's a Sympathy card I made for a funeral I will be attending today. I'm not one that keeps Sympathy cards on hand, but sadly, death is a part of the cycle of life. I will be attending an uncle's funeral. He had a long battle with lung cancer which had come back, and suffice it to say that family and friends are thankful he is now at peace. It will be a day of remembering his warm and kind spirit and all the great memories we all shared over the years.

Now, just because I will be attending a funeral today doesn't mean that you all need to be sad and sorrowful, so I wish you all a wonderful day.

Thanks so much for coming by. :)

with all my {heart}

Hi there and Happy Friday to you all! I haven't had a whole lot of time to stamp lately, but early this morning, I got a chance to play with the With All My Heart stamp set, and I seriously had so much fun. The color palette I used reminds me of summer - such happy colors! Maybe it's because I've had Kauai on the brain, since we'll be going there this summer for our 10 year anniversary :) Don't these cards remind you of a tropical summer? Here's a close up of each of the cards for you.
I love the deep Melon Mambo color. I can't believe I was debating on getting the Extra Large Fancy Flower punch as well as this stamp set! I was thinking that I didn't need another flower punch, yet, now that I have it, I LOVE it. Turns out, you can't have too many flower punches afterall :) And as far as the stamp set goes, it's definitely more versatile than I thought. I created the background by stamping a pattern on an 8 1/2" x 11" Whisper White piece of cardstock and am really happy with how it came out. The 2 colors I used are Apricot Appeal and Melon Mambo. I got the gradient of pinks by stamping the image 3 times, so I have 3 shades of the Melon Mambo.
I think I definitely under utilize the Apricot Appeal color - it's so pretty and soft peachy-yellow. I love how this card turned out too!

Hope you like the cards today - here's the recipe for you:

{With All My Heart cards}
*Stamp Set: With All My Heart, Happy Moments
*Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White, Old Olive
*Inks: Melon Mambo, Apricot Appeal
*Accessories: Scallop Trim Punch, Scallop Oval, Small and Large Oval punches, Corner rounder, Extra Large Fancy Flower punch, 1" circle punch, Rose Red double stitched grosgrain ribbon, So Saffron Twill ribbon {retired}, Pretty In Pink corduroy buttons

Hope you have an excellent Friday and a fabulous weekend!

my March {SWAP} cards

Hi there blog peeps! How are you guys doing this week? I'm glad it's Thursday. Time really does seem to go by fast these days! Today I've got a couple cards to share with you - they are the 2 cards I created for my March SWAP team swaps. Here the are: This first card showcases the Emboss Resist technique, where you heat emboss your images, then go back and sponge or brayer ink over the image. The embossed images "resist" the ink, which results in a pretty cool effect. Here, I used the Upsy Daisy stamp set for my flowers. I used the Whisper White craft pad and embossed with clear embossing powder. Then, I went back over it by sponging Melon Mambo Classic Ink over the image. Viola! That's Emboss Resist.
My second card was a quick and easy card that requires minimal stamping! Just the tag is stamped. It's a 3"x6" card, which fits perfectly in the SU! Small Open-End envelopes. I also used a lot of goodies from the Occasions Mini and Sale-a-bration catalog. I used the Sweat Pea Designer Series Paper stack as my focal image, then I added more detail by using the Pinking Hearts and Scallop Trim border punches. Finally, I topped it off with the yummy satin ribbon in Old Olive and added a "Happy Birthday" tag. Here are the recipe's for you.

{Upsy Daisy Easter Card}
*Stamp Sets: Upsy Daisy, A Good Egg
*Cardstock: Whisper White, Barely Banana, Apricot Appeal,
*Ink: Whisper White Craft Pad, Melon Mambo Classic Pad
*Accessories: Top Note Bigz Die, Modern Label Punch, Melon Mambo polka dot ribbon, Sherbet button, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Pretties kit half pearl, Finial Press embossing folder, Linen Thread

{Sweet Pea Birthday}
*Stamp Set: Vintage Labels {Sale-a-bration set!}
*Cardstock: Taken With Teal, Whisper White, Old Olive, Sweet Pea DSP
*Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Taken With Teal
*Accessories: Pinking Hearts and Scallop Trim border punches, Small Oval punch, 1/8" circle punch, Linen Thread, Old Olive Satin Ribbon

Hope you like these! Thanks for stopping by today :) Toodles for now.