This is a fun and quick card layout I CASEd from my niece. Just a little Designer Series Paper and an embossing folder give it the added details. I also used my Word Bubble framelits but you could just use a plain rectangle or another size banner.

I also wanted to share my Big Shot space.

This is my make lemonade out of lemons space. The parish has a really large floor safe that is kept here in the parsonage. It is in the little walk in closet in my craft room. Initially I wanted to move the safe out of that closet. My husband and son balked at that idea. I'm glad they did, because I discovered it was the perfect height for my Big Shot work zone. It's just taken me a while to figure out how to organize the space. 

I spent one afternoon last week getting it better organized. I used a dresser drawer that the previous family left in our basement to make a shelf at the back of my work space. I wanted it to sit off the work top just a tad to so I could slide some smaller items under the drawer shelf. So for now it rests on a couple of bricks If I find I like this arrangement (so far I do!) I'll attach the drawer to the wall. 

The drawer shelf is the perfect size for the extra large die cuts (right side of photo). Then for the large dies I turned a plastic photo box on end left side of photo). The top of the drawer makes another shelf for the smaller dies. I just turned the die storage boxes I had on their sides. I also removed the spacers that come with those boxes so that I could get more dies in each box. (The spacers were used on the lower shelf to help hold my extra large dies in place.) The baskets in front of the shelves hold my platforms, embossing folders and thinlits, etc. Everything is so easy to reach and pull out to use now! I should have taken a before picture. You can't imagine the difference!

Gift Card or Money Holder

This is another card made using an idea from the new annual catalog for the card front layout. Then I got the idea to cut a slit using the Word Window punch on the inside layer. When I adhered that piece of white card stock I just had to be careful not to use any adhesive near the bottom or sides of the word window slot. You will want some along the top edge. Then you can fold your bill or check to slide into the slot. If you are wanting to insert a gift card you will probably have to punch with the word window punch two times lengthwise.
The Pool Party tissue paper comes from my Paper Pumpkin kit. Each month there is a sheet of it wrapped around the contents of the kit. My May kit just arrived last week. More fun projects to make with it. Stay tuned!

Happy Graduation

I got the idea for this card from the new annual catalog that comes out in June. I have just about worn out the pages in my new copy. It's always exciting to see the new stamp sets, tools, and accessories but it's also fun to ge an idea for projects and card layouts.

Bookmarks

 I make bookmarks every year for the confirmands. Each bookmark has the student's confirmation verse printed on it. I use my computer and printer and a piece of heavy weight printer paper to get the verses on the paper. I find that even white card stock sometimes gets stuck in my printer. So, it's just less hassle to use some nice sturdy printer paper and then layer it with card stock. This year I used some retired colors; Raspberry Ripple, Perfect Plum (not retired) on the girls bookmarks and Midnight Muse and Summer Starfruit on the boys. I have plenty of coordinating ribbon left to use. Then I use those colors to stamp images over the printed verses. I stamp off (stamp on scrap paper one or two times without reinking) before stamping on the book mark.

Paper Pumpkin turned Graduation

I took up the offer for special pricing for a three month subscription to Paper Pumpkin that Stampin' Up! offered at the end of Sale-a-Bration. So my first box arrived in April and it was mostly ideas for Mom and Dad's day cards. I already had my Mother's Day card made so I set it on my shelf.
Last week I realized I needed to get busy on graduation cards because local grads have begun their open houses. So, here's what I came up with. The kit is perfect for grad cards because I can tuck the gift check in the little holder behind the card and they look like gifts. Luckily the stamps I wanted to use fit just perfectly on this size card.
Can't wait to see what May and June Paper Pumpkin kits will have.

Sahara Sand!

Sahara Sand has become my new favorite neutral. Well, who could resist with the lovely Lace Ribbon and the Something Borrowed DSP! These images are from another retired set in my sister's collection. Bold colors look great with Sahara Sand but then so do pastels. Give it a try!

Another idea for using up DSP scraps

This card uses several retired sets in my sister's inventory. I saw a similar card on Pinterest from Paper Princess blog. It's always fun to take someone else's design and put your own spin on it. I like the spots of DSP. I'll be using this idea some more because I've got about 5 packets of DSP that are just the little scraps left. Making room for all the fun new papers in the annual catalog that comes out in June!

Banner Banter

Banner Banter is a set I've had my eye on ever since it was introduced. So, when I saw my sister owned it I had to create with it. This card uses some more of those scraps of DSP and Sketched Birthday stamp set.
I had it all put together minus the chevron ribbon. When I pulled it out of my travel bag I decided that it needed something in the lower left and added the ribbon. Luckily I was able to slide it under the Rich Razzleberry circle.

Sketched Birthday meets Perfectly Penned

Perfectly Penned is another set I don't own and had fun using my sister's. The script is so pretty! The balloon image is from Sketched Birthday. This card was made using some of the scraps of DSP. It's always fun to discover new layouts. These layouts evolved from one I saw on Dawn Olchefske's blog.

More Sketched Birthday

The images in Sketched Birthday stamp set went so well with the DSP I had. It made it so easy to make the cards. Of course, I didn't have my ribbon with me and even though my sister was happy to share hers, I really wanted to use up some of mine. So, I just stamped and cut the pieces for the cards and glued as much as I could. Then I added the ribbon and finished up the cards when I got home.

Here's another card using a little stamp my sister had in her stash and the sentiment from Sketched Birthday.

Sketched Birthday

This card uses the Sketched Birthday stamp set. I don't own this one but my sister does and hadn't even used it yet. So I broke it in for her! It's such a fun set. You'll see some more cards I made using it.

Pop Up Cards

I got to use some of my sister's Big Shot Thinlits. She had two sets of pop up card thinlits that I used to make these cards. One thinlit made the square pop outs and the other set made the circle pop outs. When packing my bag I grabbed a couple packs of my Designer Series Paper that had just a few full sheets left in them. My goal was to use them up over the weekend. I came pretty close! There are no more full sheets left and just a few small scraps that I should be able to use up in the next few weeks. I've got to get ready for all those new products in the new Stampin' Up! catalog. My catalog arrived today and my wish list is so long!

Confirmation Cards

I used Designer Series Paper from the Something Borrowed pack in the Occasions catalog to make Confirmation cards this year. The top is the masculine version and the bottom is the feminine. I spent the weekend with my sister and was able to use some of her craft supplies. I don't own the Lovely Lace embossing folder so it was fun to get to use hers on the bottom card. 

We spent just about every free minute at her home crafting at her dining room table. She was busy scrapbooking and I was busy making cards. Such fun to sit and craft together and just get caught up on each others' lives.

 CASE: Freshly Made Sketches blog

More Hexagons with Honeycomb Hello

I was just sitting down to make a "job well done" sort of card for my daughter for completing her paralegal course with an A. (Yes I'm proud of her for always exploring new avenues of adventure!) My husband came in the room to ask if I'd received a text from our daughter. Sure enough, she was texting to tell us she accepted the position of Tasting Room Manager at the winery she works at... So, decided a "WOW!" card would cover both achievements.
Using the Confetti Celebration Designer Series Paper and the Hexagon punch makes this a really quick card. I figure I needed to get this one made and in the mail before she did something else!

Honeycomb Hello

 My son actually saw this stamp set at a booth at the County Fair this past summer. I have held off getting it until now; it has been on my wish list since the soon to be replaced catalog came out. I finally decided to order it with my demonstrator SAB dollars earned. The top card is almost an exact case of a card by Gloria Kremer I found on Pinterest. I rarely make a card exactly like one I see but this was just so cute; I just chose a different color for the flowers.
When using the Hexagon Hive Thinlit it really helps to layer a piece of wax paper between the card stock and the thinlit. That little layer make everything just pop out of the thinlit without tearing. It's a trick I use a lot with my Big Shot.
I made this more masculine card using the same idea.

TBT with Say It With Scallops

I've used the same layout as yesterday's cards and Sheer Perfection Vellum with a stamp from the long retired Say It With Scallops stamp set and the retired scallop square punch.
When working with vellum it can be fun to hide your adhesive. I've used two small punched circles to mimic the image on the stamp to hide the glue dot in the upper left corner. The other adhesive used on the vellum is hidden under the Garden Green and Daffodil Delight strips of card stock.

Great Layout

I had so much fun with this layout I found on Mary Fish's blog. Two totally different cards using the same layout.
If you look closely at my fox you'll see I used the fine tip of the marker to color him. I thought this was more in keeping with the line drawing image. Just another way to change up how you do things.

Grape Hyacinths

The pattern on this piece of Sheer Perfection Designer Vellum made me think of Grape Hyacinths. So, I used an idea from Dawn Olchefske's blog to make this card.
You color the reverse side of the vellum using markers, I've used Wisteria Wonder and Wild Wasabi. After the ink has dried use a stylus and paper piercing mat and gently rub the flowers in a circular motion on the wrong side of the vellum. This pops the flowers out on the right side of the vellum. So pretty. Wish I could get a better picture of it.

Vellum Fun

This week I'm going to show some fun cards made using the Sheer Perfection Deisgner Vellum that was an added Sale A Bration Product. If you didn't get the vellum you can still make these cards. You could just use the layouts with designer paper or you could stamp on vellum with Staz On Black ink and make similar cards.
I sure hope the new catalog has some similar printed vellum in it!
These two cards have a sheet of Designer Series Paper layerd behind the vellum to give more pizzazz.
CASE:  Kay Kalthoff

Amazing Birthday

I finally caved in and purchased the Amazing Birthday stamp set. And I have to say I do not regret it! So many fun ways to use this set. Here I've used a piece of matching Designer Series Paper I found in my stash and used markers to ink the expression stamp. I used my Banner Framelits for quick cutting of the banners. A quick masculine card!