Play Date

Play Date takes on a whole new meaning in the Stampin’ Up! world. Play Date is filled with bright, fun, and exciting papers. It’s in my top 5 favorite Designer Series Papers from the new Stampin’ Up! Idea Book & Catalog. It’s great for those summertime birthday cards or scrapbook pages. Do you have some beach or poolside pictures to scrap? Play Date will make those pictures pop with the vibrant red, turquoise, and yellow colors.

I played over at PPA in their color challenge this week. This card is even brighter in person. It’s a great summer color combination.

The Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini is coming out September 1st. My pre-order should arrive today. I’ll try to squeeze in a sneak peek next week of some of the upcoming products. You’re going to love it all!

Want to be able to pre-order Stampin’ Up! products before they hit the market and get your products at a discounted price? Stampin' Up! isn’t just for career demonstrators. I welcome hobby stampers to my downline group from across the U.S. E-mail me HERE for more info on joining my team!

Have a wonderful weekend and happy stamping!

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ON-LINE 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Recipe – All Supplies from Stampin’ Up!
Stamps: FYI (#114365)
Ink: Tempting Turquoise
Designer Series Paper: Play Date (#117168)
Card Stock: Basic Gray, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise
Tools: Word Window Punch (#119857), Floral Fusion Sizzlits Die (#115969)
Accessories: Melon Mambo Ribbon, Brights Brads

Artistic Etchings

Oh how I love the new vintage style stamps and supplies on page 124-125 of the new Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog!

I created my own patterned paper using the Stampin' Up! set Artistic Etchings. It's such a beautiful stamp set. I decided to keep the colors from the neutral collection utilizing Early Espresso (new color), Sahara Sand, and Whisper White. To make the card look a little distressed, I sponged Early Espresso randomly over the entire card. I rounded the Sahara Sand card stock corners with a corner punch.

Don't forget you can download a copy of the new catalog by clicking on the catalog image on my right side bar. Please be patient. The download takes a few minutes.

Happy stamping!


TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ON-LINE 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Recipe (all supplies from Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Artistic Etchings (#120573)
Ink: Early Espresso, Sahara Sand, Whisper White
Card Stock: Early Espresso, Sahara Sand
Tools: Corner Punch, Modern Label Extra-Large Punch, Word Window Large Punch, Stamping Sponges

Thanksgiving Card

I must admit, I LOVE making fall themed cards. I get to make a few Thanksgiving cards to send out to relatives that live out of town that we won't see. I like our family to know we're thinking about them even when we can't all be together during the holiday.

I knew I wanted to use the new Stampin' Up! Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper in the current catalog to create these cards. I couldn't decide which design because I love them all, so I narrowed it down to 5 of them. When you can't decide, use them all. Why not?!

The leaves nestled into the ribbon are from the Stampin' Up! set Falling Leaves. I stamped them on Very Vanilla card stock and carefully trimmed them with Paper Snips (who can live without these?) leaving a little border around them. Leaving a border pops the colors more. You can find a complete list of supplies at the bottom of this post.

My three (almost four) year old son told me last night he wanted to blog. I asked him what his site would be called? He said "Brandon's Cardtique". Sounds like a plan to me!

Have a great day and happy stamping!!!

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ON-LINE 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Recipe (all supplies from Stampin' Up!):

Stamps: Falling Leaves (#115368)

Ink: Soft Suede, Elegant Eggplant, Ruby Red, More Mustard

Card Stock: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Designer Series Paper: Autumn Traditions (#115668)

Accessories: Very Vanilla 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, brads

Tools: Modern Label Punch (#116630), Word Window Punch (#105090)

Patterned Pines

I have raved about Stampin' Up! Whisper White Craft Ink in the past and hopefully if you were on the fence about it before, you'll be on that fence no more! I just love how amazing these trees from the Stampin' Up! set, Patterned Pines, looks stamped in the Whisper White Craft Ink. It really pops the designs embedded in the trees. You could also emboss the trees using the same ink and embossing powder to give the trees a shiny raised impression.

Stampin' Up! Patterned Pines stamp set is a hostess level 1 set. What does that mean? Well, if you place an order of $150+, you can get this set for free along with $15 or more in free merchandise. It's not a bad deal! You can order items from both the idea book & catalog as well as the holiday mini catalog. Patterned Pines can be found on page 4 of the current holiday mini catalog.

It felt a little Christmas-like this evening. My son & I were at Kohls tonight and when we came out of the store, there were actually some snowflakes. His response was typical of a 3 year old, "I want to play in the snow!" Mine was typical of a 30 something year old "oh no, snow!" Thankfully it only lasted a few minutes and then went back to rain.

I plan to stay nice and toasty warm in my craft room this weekend making some more creations for the upcoming holidays. We will be shopping for boots this weekend too, unfortunately!

Stay warm and happy stamping!

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ON-LINE 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Recipe - All Supplies from Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Patterned Pines (#116525), Teeny Tiny Wishes (#115370)

Ink: Craft Whisper White (#101731)

Card Stock: Old Olive, Real Red

Designer Series Paper: Merry Moments (#115672)

Accessories: Ribbon Originals Mistletoe (#116792)

Tools: Modern Label Punch (#116630), Word Window Punch (#105090)

Hello Baby

When I was putting my basket of cards together this past week for the charity event, I found that my stash fell short of baby cards. Great excuse to make some! Since my little one was born, I haven't really bought any baby stamp sets. Although they are nice to have on hand, you can simply use any stamp set you have for a baby card and make it look soft and baby-like by the colors, embellishments, and design.

I used Stampin' Up! Circle Circus for today's creation. From the looks of this stamp set, it doesn't say "baby" to me at all. I stamped it in Pretty in Pink and Bashful Blue and whola . . . baby! I also didn't add a lot of color and added some pearls to make it soft looking. The majority of the card is Whisper White. I think that helped with the look of it too.

Here is the recipe (all supplies from Stampin Up):

Stamps: Circle Circus (#115778)

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, White Craft Ink
Card Stock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue

Accessories: Pretties Kit (#109114), Whisper White Organza Ribbon (#114319)

Tools: Scallop Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch

Speaking of babies, my little guy & I go meet the preschool teacher this morning! Time sure does fly. He is not a baby any more! He starts preschool officially next week. Boo hoo! I hope I can keep it together on his first day. I may have a tougher time than he does. Hee hee!

Enjoy your day and happy stamping!

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ON-LINE 24/7,

CLICK HERE!

Another Year Older, Another Year Wiser?

Is that how the saying goes? We only get better with age, correct? That is what I keep telling myself at least. I feel I'm getting smarter. Could it be? I do have days though where I feel like I'm losing my mind! Since having a child, I need to make lists and write things down. It angers me I have to do this because I never had to before! Is it because we are so busy and have 10 things going on at once, or do those babies really suck the brains out of you? I can't control it, so I guess I just have to deal with it.

I have a birthday coming up next month. I don't get overly excited about them. I truly enjoy being the gift giver but not the receiver. Even as a kid, I loved handing out cookies and goodie bags on my birthday to my friends.

So since I am tired of making Valentines at this point, it was a breath of fresh air to take out some different stamps from my stash! This one, Crazy for Cupcakes, will never go out of style!

I hope my cupcake photographed ok. I used Liquid Applique to make it look like it was really frosted. This was my first attempt with it, so if you have any tips or advice, let me know! The rest of the supplies I used are listed at the bottom of this post.

My son is still checking his Valentines Day mailbox daily. He is so cute. This morning he told me there will be something in there when he gets home tonight. Oh boy! Luckily I had a little bag of Jelly Belly's to stick in there. Whew!

Enjoy your day! God bless.


All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise:
Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, Fundamental Phrases
Designer Series Paper: Delicate Dots (free from Sale-A-Bration catalog and $50 order)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Bashful Blue, Black, Summer Sun, Close to Cocoa
Punches: Eyelet Border, Word Window
White brads
Liquid Applique (Marvy)
White and blue ribbon