Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Across the miles...

This is a CASE from the latest issue of Stampin' Success. I made a stack of cards to send to a friend who is undergoing chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer. We are separated by a couple of states so cards are the perfect way to remind her that she's in my prayers.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Congratulations!

This is CASE of card in the June Stampin' Success published by SU! for demonstrators. It's a magazine full of ideas and information about the products. I used an old stamp set (Looks Like Spring) for the argle stamping on this acrd. This one also uses Gumball Green Midnight Muse and Summer Starfruit.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

New In Colors

Stampin' Up! Demonstrators have the opportunity to preorder the new In Colors. My preorder shipment arrived this week. This card uses three of the 5 new colors, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, and Gumball Green.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Triple Flower

The Triple Flower stamp is being retired. It comes as a single stamp and you can use three punches with it. So nice! The 5 petal punch is also retiring. Sad to see so many favorites retire but I know I'll find new favorites. Stampin' Up! always comes up with fun new products.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Go Confidently in the Direction or Your Dreams

I love this expression and thought it was a good sentiment for graduates. I paired Concord Crush with Basic Gray on this card that was a CASE from Pink Buckaroo Designs.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Graduation has past...

Sunday was graduation day for the seminary. The weather was beautiful so the graduates got to process from the seminary to the neighboring church for the service. This is a photo of Brian and me after the ceremony. Woohoo! Four years of study done; now we move on to the next adventure.

About midweek last week I realized I still was short graduation cards. So, I'll be sharing a few more of those. This trifold card is made using the Movers and Shapers Big Shot die that is retiring at the end of May. It is such a neat die... glad I already have it or I'd be ordering it. Using up some Concord Crush paper, DSP and glitter brads. All retiring! Get it while you can!!!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Elegant Trio Decor Stencil


Realized I would need more graduation cards. This is a CASE from a card swap from some time ago. I think I got it at the Milwaukee Regional 2 or 3 years ago. It uses one Stampin' Up!'s Elegant Trio Decor Stencils. The Decor Stencils are only available until May 31. I used part of the stencil again on the inside of the card. I used sponge daubers to apply the color. On the outside I first stamped over the stencil with Chocolate Chip ink on the En Francais background stamp. They image just applied in random places. Then I daubed with more mustard and chocolate chip ink. For the inside image I used chocolate chip ink.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Love Framelits!

Framelits make it so easy to add dimesion to your cards! I've used them on the front and then again inside this special "pop out" card. The top photo shows the card front. The bottom is the "pop out" interior. I got the idea for this layout from Linda Heller's Stamping School. It's a subscription online service that is chock full of ideas in video format. And each video project has accompanying PDF files with measurements and product used. Every week there are new videos added. It is worth every penny of the subscription price. I've used retired stamp set and DSP on this card but you could easily swap it for current products.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Live in the Sunshine!

Here's a fun, simple card. Grab some Designer Series Paper... look at the colors in it to pick a ribbon, card stock and ink colors and you're almost done!  I used a stamp set that coordinates with a punch. Then I used the Bojo Blossoms punch to add some smaller flowers. They looked so plain; so added the pearls... just what was needed. Rainy days here lately... so the sentiment was a reminder to not let the weather get me down. We do need the rain! April didn't have many showers here.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Nostalgic

I was feeling nostalgic, so I made these cards. "Hello Doily" brings back memories of  two very special ladies... my mom and my husband's paternal grandmother, "Granny" as she wanted to be called after she became a great grandmother. Granny crocheted, mostly afghans after I met her. But she gave me some doilies she had made when she was younger. My mom was a knitter. She knitted doilies. They were absolutely beautiful and their patterns were much more intricate than any crocheted doilies I've ever seen.  I have several doilies she made. They are treasured items! I feel so lucky to have had these wonderful ladies in my life. Thanks be to God!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Thanks a Lot!

These were the other pieces of Designer Series Paper from that same nearly exhausted package mentioned in yesterday's post. Don't they look different! That's one of the reasons I like SU!'s DSP. Because it is double sided you get so many patterns to choose from and there is always a few colors that repeat so the papers can be used alone or together. These scraps are left overs from a travel scrapbook I made. The stamped images are from Just Believe stamp set. Colors used here are Cameo Coral (retired), Baja Breeze and Basic Gray. You could easily substitute Calypso Coral with those two colors. Not a trio I would have thought of on my own. DSP is also great inspiration for color combos. Sometimes I just look at the colors listed for the DSP in the Idea Book and Catalog for inspiration. Thanks a lot SU! for all the great products!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

 So, I was cleaning up some clutter and came across a little stack of odds and ends to be filed in my stamping area. Amidst the things to be filed was a few remnants from a retired package of Designer Series Paper. These three cards went together pretty quickly - I just thought about some of the cards I've seen on other persons blogs and used the images in my head to create them. I can't decide which one I like best. The colors used are Basic Gray, Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss (a retired In Color from several years ago).
Stampin' Up! demonstrators get to preorder the new In Colors for 2012 beginning today. They are pretty! Placing my order in about a week. Once I get the new colors I'll make some cards and post them.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Colorful Masculine Birthday Card

This is a fun card I made using a retired Stampin' Up! set that a friend just gave to me. I needed some masculine birthday cards. The stamp had the skewed border; so I "fussy" cut the 8 stamped cakes but the black background for each was punched with a square punch. Very quick!
I love the expression: "birthdays are good for you - the more you have, the longer you live!"  Sounds like something my dad would have said.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Goodbye!

We'll soon be retiring Blushing Bride, Concord Crush, Pear Pizazz, Peach Parfait and Poppy Parade In Colors. They are so pretty! Now is the time to stock up on ink or paper or ribbon while it's still available. I've used all of them on this card. It also uses the Vintage Vogue stamp set which is also retiring. I'm looking forward to the new catalog and seeing the new In Colors!