Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Yee-Haw

This card is made using the Yee-Haw photopolymer set (138107). It's a special set from Stampin' Up! available while supplies last. I did some fussy cutting of the lasso, hat and star but otherwise it's a simple card to make. I love the way you can add an image or expression to the center of the lasso so quickly and easily with the photopolymer stamps! And this set has some cute expressions. Check it out! The Designer Series Paper used as a background comes from the Flowerpot pack. 

Monday, September 29, 2014

Birthday presents!

Here's a fun card to make with your Designer Series Paper scraps.

My squares for the packages measure 1-1/4" and 1-3/8". The bow on the presents is made using a retired punch but the 7/8" scallop circle punch (129404) could be used to top off the presents. (CASE: inkinginidaho.blogspot.com)

I think the sentiment from Remembering Your Birthday (131350 c, 131347 w) works perfectly with this card. The party hat inside is from a retired set but Birthday Surprise (134120 c, 134117 w) has a party hat and lots of other fun birthday images that could be used. Before I mail this card I'll probably add some little bows using 1/8" Taffeta ribbon (page 206) to one or two of the packages. The new Thick Baker's Twine (page 207)would also make fun bows.

Friday, September 26, 2014

What to Do with the Triangles?




These four cards were my biggest challenge. The directions from Linda Heller was to cut two 4x4 pieces from the Designer Series Paper. Then cut along the diagonal to make four rectangles. Three of her four cards were square cards. When you mail square envelopes you have to pay extra postage and USPS just doesn't like them. I know I could just put them in rectangular envelopes but I thought I'd just make the cards rectangular. You wouldn't believe how I struggled with what to do with that extra space in each card. But, I'm glad I did as I like the way they turned out.
The images are all from Stampin' Up!, although the one in the top card and the tree in the second card are retired. The" Hello Fall" is from For All Things in the Holiday Catalog. "Grateful for You" comes with the Merry Everything stamp set in the Holiday Catalog and the little heart in the bottom card is from the "Yee-Haw" Photopolymer Stamp Set (available while supplies last).
I used my Big Shot to emboss the paper on the top (Woodgrain embossing folder) and the bottom card (retired folder). Wouldn't the new Hearts Border punch be pretty along that edge instead... alas I do not have it yet! The third card was embossed "by hand" using the Simply Scored Scoring Tool and Simply Scored Borders Plate. It's another fun tool and technique that I like to create with.
The Big Shot was also used to cut the bottom Mossy Meadow tag (Chalk Talk Framelits) in the top card and the banners in the bottom card (Banners Framelits) and I used my retired Tasteful Trim Die to cut the zig zag pieces in the Hello Fall card.
The Scallop Edge Border punch was used in the first and third cards. I had to fussy cut the top tag in the the top card and the tree in the second card. Linen thread and the new In Color ribbon was used on the cards.
That's it for my 15 cards using just one sheet of Designer Series Paper!

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Three Quick Cards!



These three cards went together very quickly. The top card uses two pieces of the Color Me Autumn Designer Series Paper cut at 1x4 and 2x4 inches in the instructions. I cut them down to 1x3-3/4 and 2x3-3/4 inches since I wanted more layers on my card. The middle card uses a 3x4 inch piece of DSP that you score at 1/2 inch and then fold over. Quick and easy trim! The bottom card uses a 2-1/2x3 inch piece. The Banner Framelits makes for quick cutting of the banners in the top and bottom cards. 
The Give Thanks... expression and acorn come from the For All Things stamp set. The middle card's expression is from the Feel Goods stamp set. 
The top two cards are embellised with the Mossy Meadow ribbon and the bottom with a piece of Chevron ribbon. 
Stamp, cut, layer, add ribbon! You're done! I love Designer Series Paper because it gives you a color scheme to work with and adds lots of pizzazz to your cards!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Thanksgiving Cards


Here are two Thanksgiving cards from that same sheet of Color Me Autumn Designer Series Paper. The top piece measures 3x4 inches. The little scallop trim along the DSP edges is made using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch and layering the punched card stock under the DSP so that just the very edge of it shows. You can punch one strip the size you need, cut it in half and you have enough for both edges. The expression is from a retired stamp set. The Very Vanilla card stock is cut with the Chalk Talk Framelits. A little Hello Honey ribbon and Linen Thread and it's done!

The bottom card took a little longer because I stamped the image from one of last year's "Best Of..." stamp sets and then colored it with my Blendabilities markers. I'm really having fun with them. As a child I loved to color, and finding I love doing it as an adult, too! This DSP measures 3-3/4x 3-3/4 inches. (In the original instructions from Linda Heller it was a 4x4 piece, but I wanted to layer it so cut it down. The Give Thanks is also from that Best of Autumn stamp set. I used the Chalk Talk Framelit again to cut it out but then trimmed the straight edge a bit and rounded the corners so it would fit on my card when the ribbon was attached.  Mossy Meadow ribbon and Linen thread used on it.


Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Four More Cards for One Sheet Wonder




These four cards all use strips of Designer Series paper as a way of adding color to the cards. The strip in the top two cards measures 2x5-1/2 inches. The strip in the bottom two cards measures 1-1/2x 5-1/2 inches. The top card's expression comes from a retired stamp set as does the Happy Thanksgiving sentiment in the third card. The other expressions and images are from the For All Things stamp set in the Holiday Catalog.
And today we can truly say "Hello Fall!"  I hope the beautiful Autumn weather will stick around for a while as there is much exterior work we'd like to get done around our home.

Monday, September 22, 2014

One Sheet Wonder

This I'm sharing 15 cards I made using just one sheet of the Color Me Autumn Designer Series Paper. I got the template to cut the DSP from Linda Heller's Stamping School. Some of the cards are CASE from her site and some are my own design using the sizes of DSP from her template. Basically you cut a 2X12 strip, 4X12 strip and 2 strips that are 3X12 inches. Then those strips are cut into smaller pieces.

These two cards both use a piece of DSP that measures 1-1/2" by 4".
I've used some retired stamps on the Happy Thanksgiving card. The other card uses a stamp from the Mingle All the Way stamp set in the holiday catalog. Cute sentiment!



Friday, September 19, 2014


The final cards for this week also use the Mingle All The Way stamp set (135773 c, 135770 w). I stamped the Wishing You Holiday Cheer... twice so that I could fussy cut the "cheer" banner and popped it up with a dimensional. The expression is cut out using the Chalk Talk Framelits (129983).

Both cards are a CASE from projects in the Holiday catalog. I changed the color combo for the cheer card by using Baked Brown Sugar, Watercolor Wonder Designer Washi Tape (133000) and Champagne Glimmer Paper (127885). The stars are from the 2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment (133631). The background is made by stamping the expression multiple times using Baked Brown Sugar ink.

In the lower card I made the gift tag shown in the Holiday catalog and mounted it on All Is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper (135823) and Lost Lagoon card stock . I had to improvise using the supplies I have to make the tag. So, I stamped the imagine; colored it with Soft Sky, Lost Lagoon, Pear Pizzazz and Strawberry Slush markers. Then I added a band of Pear Pizzazz card stock to the bottom and ran it through the Big Shot using the Banners Framelits (132173). After that I used Fringe Scissors (133325) to cut the Pear Pizzazz card stock. Then layered a strip of All Is Calm Designer Washi Tape (135844) along the fringed card stock. The banner is adhered with some adhesive on the back and a torn piece of the same washi tape along the top.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Mingle All the Way

This is one of several cards I made using the Mingle All the Way stamp set (135773 c, 135770 w). I've already used this set a lot and still haven't used the cute Thanksgiving sentiment included. But that will happen. I just haven't gotten to making my Thanksgiving cards yet.
The Soft Sky card stock is embossed using my Big Shot and the Northern Flurry embossing folder (120902) and layered on Lost Lagoon card stock. Then I added some bling using the Frosted Sequins  (135835) and Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246) and 1/8" Silver Ribbon. The expression is stamped using the Silver Encore Metallic pad (132142)  and cut using the 2-1/2" Circle Punch (120906).
If you're looking for a quick and easy holiday card, this could be it!
More Mingle All the Way cards tomorrow!

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Bright & Beautiful

This card is a CASE from Jan Tink's Stamp, Paper,Scissors website. I changed it up a bit using the supplies I have in my inventory.
I used a piece of the All Is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper (135823) and mounted it on Pear Pizzazz and  Baked Brown Sugar card stock. The medium star from the Bright and Beautiful stamp set (135029 c, 135026 w) was stamped with Versamark (102283) and then heat embossed with Pewter (retired) embossing powder. The sentiment was also stamped and heat embossed. The star is layered on Baked Brown Sugar card stock that was paper pierced using the Eclectic templates (133778). I added some more shine with Rhinestones (119246).

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Seeing Stars


I used the new Lucky Stars embossing folder (135817) and Whisper White ink to make the background. I just inked the 'raised' side of the embossing folder with the Whisper White ink pad, placed the Night of Navy card stock in the folder and rolled my brayer (102395) over the top to get even pressure. The Silver Glimmer paper (135314) was cut with the Chalk Talk framelit (129983). The expression comes from the Merry Everything stamp set (135071 c, 135068 w) and punched with the coordinating Note Tag punch (135860). You can save 15% by buying them as a bundle. The ribbon is 1/8" silver ribbon (132137).
The second card uses the Confetti Stars punch (135861) with shimmer paper layered behind it. The Note Tag punch was used again. I stamped the expression using the Silver Metallic Encore stamp pad (132142). The Snowflake embellishments are from the Frosted Sequins (135835). I topped the snowflakes with Sequins (119246) and scattered a few others on the card.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Christmas Cards!

I decided it was time to play with a few of the stamp sets and new tools in the Holiday Catalog. What fun! Here's the first card design I wanted to share.  
I made this one with Pool Party and Basic Gray card stock first. I wanted to do some more sponging and used the same layout as my Halloween card from last week. But I also wanted to use the new Confetti Stars Punch (135861) with the Holiday Home stamp set (135095 photopolymer) and Homemade Holiday framelits (135857). Get the Holiday Home and Homemade Home bundle (137631) and save 15%. I wasn't happy with the stars punched through the sponged moon and I wanted to try the design in another color combo. 





So, on the second card I punched a circle for the moon instead of sponging around a sticky note circle. The colors in it are Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler and Daffodil Delight card stock. I used Blendabilities (Cherry Cobbler 130995, Old Olive 130999, Smoky Slate 131005 and Crumb Cake 131004) Assortments to color the house on both cards. Basic Gray ink pad was used to stamp the trees, sentiment and sleigh on the top card and Smoky Slate and Pool Party ink were used to sponge the background.  Garden Green was used for the trees on the bottom card. Soft Suede was used for the sleigh and Whisper White for the sentiment. The background sponging was done with Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Garden Green. 

Friday, September 12, 2014

 The first three cards today use the same basic layout. I just used different stamp sets, framelits, punches, embossing folders, layers to change them up a bit. Thanks a Ton card is made using a past Sale-a-Bration stamp set called Patterned Occasions, retired Comfort Cafe Designer Series Paper, Vine Street embossing folder (also a retired Sale-a-Bration item), retired Midnight Muse 3/8" stitched satin ribbon and Chalk Talk Framelits (129983).





More Comfort Cafe DSP with Summer Starfruit 3/8" stitched satin ribbon (retired). But in this card I used the Apothecary Accents framelits (127003) as the layer behind my expression and embossed both that layer and the Soft Suede card stock layer with the Fancy Fan embossing folder (127751). The expression comes from the Lots of Thanks stamp set (129690 c, 129687 w). The card below is essentially the same except I used the Curly Label (119851) and Petite Curly Label (129405) punches for the expression layer and used the Fancy Fan embossing folder but flipped the card stock to the opposite side. The expression comes from the Pretty Petites stamp set (another retired Sale-a-Bration set). 




 I was about to throw the rest of my scraps away when I realized a few pieces were big enough to use with the Petite Curly Label punch. I'm telling you it's not easy for me to throw these scraps away!
So, I layered the punched DSP on pieces of card stock punched with the Postage Label punch (122344). The little flower was punched with the Boho Blossoms punch (119858). The flower center is from the Neutrals Candy Dots (130934) If you look closely you will see I got out my Simply Scored tools (122334) and used the Borders Plate (126192) to add some embossed designs below the punched squares. The expression is from the retired Simply Sketched hostess set.



Thursday, September 11, 2014

Two cards, same layout.


This design layout is a CASE from Frenchie Stamps. The Designer Series Paper is layered on matching Pool Party card stock, which I did first before picking out my stamps. When I stamped the expressions I realized that they were going to look too small with the layered bands... so thought about what I might be able to add to make them fit. I like the way the stars and Candy Dots finished off this simple design. (Subtles 130933 and Neutrals 130934 Candy Dots used here.) The stars were punched using the star from the retired Merry Mini's Punch Pack but it is almost exactly the same size as the star in the new Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (133787). Little punches from the Punch Packs are great to have on hand for adding a little focal point. And the Candy Dots are so much easier to use when you don't need an actual brad to hold things together. The Thank You So Much expression comes from the Lots of Thanks stamp set. Mighty Kind of You is from the Yee-Haw photopolymer special stamp set (138107) being offered now. I'm having a lot of fun with that set! Yee-Haw!

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Zig Zag!

Finally I started to use the larger two inch scraps of Designer Series paper. I wanted to make some simpler, more masculine cards for my husband's 'stash'. So, I just tried to keep it simple. I still feel like I should have made at least a knot in the ribbon but sometimes you just have to walk away from a card and call it done!

As promised both of today's cards use the zig zag from the Finishing Touches edgelits (127010). I will admit when I use this edgelit I have a tendency to put it on the paper with the zig zag along the card stock edge. I've found it works better for me the opposite way; putting the "straight" edge along the edge of the paper. That way you don't get a groove in your card stock along with the zig zag cut and it seem to line it up straighter for some reason.

The ribbon in both cards is retired Summer Starfruit 3/8" Stitched Satin. The expression in the card above is from the Lots of Thanks stamp set (129690 c, 129687w). The Midnight Muse card stock was embossed with the Zig Zag embossing folder (133738).
In the card above I cut the Cajun Craze card stock about 1/2" wider than the DSP so that I could cut both edges with the zig zag edgelit. The stamped image is from Starburst Sayings set (133185 c, 133182 w) and was cut using the Starburst framelits (132967).

Still more cards from that packet of scraps to come in tomorrow's post!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

One Card Leads to Another!


This card was made using the last of the thin strips that were in my scraps of this Designer Series Paper (Comfort Cafe, retired). I just lined them up on a piece of Cajun Craze card stock that was sitting on my work space and glued them down. Then I designed the card around that piece of card stock. I made the flower using the Floral Frames framelits (127012) and snipped the petals using my scissors. The center is one of the retired Dahlia Adornments, a button would work, too. The "Thank You" comes from the Lots of Thanks stamp set (129690 c, 129687 w). The ribbon is retired Midnight Muse 3/8" Stitched Satin. I chose Crushed Curry card stock for my base. When I put all the elements together I decided I needed to add a layer of Midnight Muse card stock (retired). So, I had to cut off some of the Cajun Craze card stock. 

This created a scrap of card stock that I couldn't just throw in the trash and presented my next card design.

I layered my scrap on a piece of Crushed Curry Card stock, stamped the same expression on it and then punched the edge using the retired Scallop Trim Border punch. Some more retired Midnight Muse 3/8" stitched satin ribbon was used. Then I embossed a piece of Midnight Muse card stock using the Zig Zag embossing folder (133738).

If I had it to do over I would have used my Big Shot and the zig zag edgelit in the Finishing Touches Edgelits (127010) instead of the Scallop Trim Border punch. But I didn't think of that edgelit until later in the day. Check back tomorrow!

Monday, September 8, 2014

More Uses for Homemade Holiday Framelits!

This card is a CASE from Stampin' Success, Stampin' Up!'s magazine for demonstrators. the arrows are made using the tallest house from the Homemade Holiday framelits. You just have to cut off the chimney to make the arrow shape. The Designer Series Paper is Confetti Celebration collection. I also used the Arrows embossing folder on the Bermuda Bay card stock area. The fifth arrow is made with Crushed Curry card stock. The base is Smoky Slate card stock. "Awesome... Thanks!" comes from the Yippee-Skippee stamp set (131344 c, 131341 w). I have some DSP scraps that are going to be put to use making some more cards of this design. 

Which brings me to the theme for the rest of this week... What to do with all those little scraps of Designer Series Paper? I have such a hard time throwing away those little scraps. I put them back in the plastic sleeve as I use the paper sheets. Eventually I always end up with just a sleeve of little scraps. I lived too many years with my Aunt Nina to just throw them away. So, those sleeves reside next to my work area until I get inspired to tackle them or the stack gets too big and I'm forced to do something with them.

Being a Pastor of two congregations my husband sends out lots of "Thank You" cards and his 'stash' was getting low. So, I grabbed a packet of scraps and told myself I had to use them all up before working on anything else. I had about 11 scraps that were 2"x12" and the rest were all much smaller. Most of a day was devoted to turning those scraps into 31 cards!


Here's the first card I designed. These pieces of DSP were just a tad longer than shown here but all the same width. They just screamed to be woven together on the card front. The "Thank You" is from Lots of Thanks (129690 c, 129687 w) and after stamping it I cut it with my Big Shot using the Homemade Holiday framelit turning that house on its side to make the label shape. The ribbon is Night of Navy 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon. That color is now retired. I was really wanting to use the Crushed Curry 1/8" Taffetta that is a new color available this year but don't have that in my possession (yet!). The background here is Cajun Craze card stock and the base is Crumb Cake.

A hint on doing the weaving. Lay out your strips on your paper and decide the length you want them and cut to size. Then lay down three longest all running the same direction. In my card those are the horizontal pieces. Glue just the ends of these three to the card stock. Then weave the other three (vertical pieces here) under the three glued. Glue these pieces when you have them all woven into place.

I had enough pieces of these strips to make 2 cards like this. Check back tomorrow to see what I did with the remaining 4 strips of this width. And how that led to another scrap that I just couldn't throw away!!!

Friday, September 5, 2014

Brew Up Some Fun!

Another card using Confetti Celebration Designer Series Paper (133692) and the Tee-Hee-Hee stamp set (photopolymer 133125). Other supplies:  Tangelo Twist 3/8" Stitched Ribbon (133669), Bitty Banners framelits (129267), Small Oval punch (120908), Fringe Scissors (133325), Momento black ink pad (132708), Mossy Meadow and Whisper White card stock and Dimensionals (104430).
This card is a case from Debbie Henderson. When I saw how she used the Homemade Holiday framelits  (135857) and Holiday Home stamp set (135095 photopolymer) I just had to give it a try. (The Holiday Home + Homemade Holiday bundle saves you 15%, 137631.) And once I finished it I was so pleased I had to add it to this week's blog cards. The background is sponged (Sponges 101610) using Garden Green, Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight and Tangerine Tango ink pads. I used a circle cut out of a sticky note to use as a mask for the moon when sponging the Tangerine Tango ink. I used Blendabilities in Smoky Slate (131005), Cherry Cobbler (130995) and Calypso Coral (130996) Assortments to color the inked house. Don't forget you need the Momento ink pad (132708) to use with the Blendabilities. The sentiment on this card is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (127802 c, 128748 w). I used the Word Window punch (119857) for the sentiment. A little linen thread (104199) wrapped around the card and Basic Black, Whisper White and Tangerine Tango finish out the supply list. This card makes me want to do some more sponged background cards.  Maybe next week!  

Thursday, September 4, 2014

EEK!

Today's card is made using Confetti Celebration Designer Series Paper (133692), Whisper White, Basic Gray and Tangelo Twist card stock. The stamp set is Tee-Hee-Hee. I punched the Eek with the Artisan Label punch. The bat was fussy cut. The Basic Gray card stock was embossed with the Big Shot using the Arrows embossing folder. I use the Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755) when adhering dry embossed card stock. I find it doesn't flatten your embossed image and sticks better than using tape. The ribbon is Tangelo Twist 3/8" Stitched Satin (133669).
This layout is a great way to use up DSP scraps, in fact that is how the design came about in my little stamping studio last week.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Tee-Hee-Hee



I don't often buy sets that are specific to just one holiday. But the Tee-Hee-Hee set (photopolymner 135125) in the Holiday catalog had too many fun expressions in it for me to pass up. For this card I stamped the "laundry" on the Whisper White card stock and drew the clothes line free hand using my Smoky Slate marker.
I cut a strip of Mossy Meadow card stock and then used the Fringe Scissors (133325) to make the grass. There is a little trick to share when using the Fringe Scissors:  score a line on your card stock where you want the fringe to end and use the middle of the scissor blades instead of the point to cut to the score line. After I was done using the fringe scissors I cut the fringed edge to give it an uneven look. (Wish I had thought to make that cut over the trash can as I had lots of little Mossy Meadow pieces all over my desk top.)
The pot was stamped and fussy cut and adhered with dimensionals (104430). In fact, I use dimensionals on just about every card I make; the dimension you get takes your card to the next level.
The ribbon is Tangelo Twist 3/8" Stitched Ribbon (133669) and tied off with a little bow of Linen Thread (104199).
The inside of the card is just Momento black ink on Whisper White card stock, but don't you love the expression. Tee-Hee-Hee!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Vellum Ghosts

As promised, today's card has some vellum ghosts popping out of the expressions box. Again I've used the Mingle All the Way (135773 c, 135770 w) and Holiday Home (photopolymer 135095) stamp sets from the Holiday catalog. I'm really enjoying the Holiday Home photopolymer set. It's so easy to line up your images with these photopolymer stamps!
The background of the card was made with a Gold Foil Sheet (132622) embossed with the new Lucky Stars embossing folder (135817) also from the Holiday catalog. This year's Holiday catalog is packed with wonderful products!
The ribbon is some Raven 1/2 lace trim currently available in the Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack. Great price, check it out.
I used Daffodil Delight and Calypso Coral Blendabilities to color the embossed stars. For more on this technique click here .

Monday, September 1, 2014

Thinking ahead to Halloween!

This card is a CASE from Linda Heller at Stamping School. I changed it up just a bit by adding the stamped and punched Hello Honey moon. After I took the photo I realized I forgot to add the little ghost I stamped on vellum. Oh, well... I'll share some vellum ghosts in tomorrow's post.
The stamp sets here are  Mingle All the Way (135773 c, 135770 w) and Holiday Home (photopolymer 135095) from the Holiday catalog. I used the coordinating Homemade Holiday framelits (135857) and the 2-1/2" circle punch (120906). The house was colored using Blendabilities Daffodil Delight Assortment (130998) and Smokey Slate Assortment (131005). To stamp the pumpkin I used the Tangelo Twist and Mossy Meadow markers from the 2014-2016 set (133654). The card stock is Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, Basic Black and Whisper White.