May is National Scrapbooking Month!

Celebrate May
as
National Scrapbooking Month!

For many people, scrapbooking has played an important role in their lives. It may have started with something simple: the first time they placed a sticker on a piece of paper or picked up a camera. During the month of May, Stampin' Up is celebrating National Scrapbooking Month. Whether you are an avid scrapbooker or even brand-new to the hobby, Stampin' Up! can inspire your creativity. Throughout the month of May, you can buy three packs of Designer Series paper (including our Specialty Designer Series paper) or 12" x 12" textured card stock, and get one FREE! Mix and match -- buy 2 packs of Designer paper and 1 pack of textured card stock, get one free -- or vice versa. I reach for my Designer Paper time after time to provide colorful and easy backgrounds, frames, accents -- it's such an easy way to brighten up a scrapbook page or card, and now it's an even better value. Click on the 24/7 icon on the top left of my blog to place your order anytime that's convenient. Happy Stamping!

Love that Scallop Oval Punch!

This was for a recent card sketch on Splitcoast Stampers -- I altered the required rectangle to an oval so I could play with my new Scalloped Oval punch and Summer Love Rub-Ons that I got from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

Ran the blue diamond through my Cuttlebug to emboss, then popped it on the card and used my Paper piercer and Mat Pack to outline. Two Rhinestone brads from the Pretties Kit anchor each corner. I love the shimmery silver cardstock against the blue. A little silver cording wraps it all up sweetly.

Here's the sketch if you want to try your hand at it!

Just Playing Around...

Just playing with some of the latest and greatest products I've received from Stampin' Up! lately. The first card showcases the new Scalloped Oval punch available in the Occasions Mini Catalog. It fits perfectly on top of the Large Oval punch, and it's fun to add doodles, paper piercing, rub-ons, etc. For this card, I simply used my Cameo Coral marker to add dots along the edge, then cut out some flowers from the Raspberry Tart designer paper and popped them on with the SU! dimensionals.

My second card features the new "Scene in a Garden" stamp set, also in the mini catalog. I just love those little boots! All the boots, pots, potting bench, watering can and a vase with flowers are separate so easily added in any spot, using all or solo. I had fun doodling the edges of the card, the sentiment, and the bench with my Chocolate Chip marker.

Card #3 also uses the Scalloped Oval punch along with featuring cute designer paper that was free during Sale-a-Bration. It's hard to tell but I added Crystal Effects to the sentiment to give it a glossy 3-D effect. Thanks for looking, and have a great weekend!!

Weekend Sketch Challenge

Very cool sketch this weekend for the Weekend Sketch Challenge, Jenn Balcer made great use of the Big Note diecut. I used two stamp sets -- Eastern Influences and Bloomin' Beautiful --along with some Ski Slope designer paper and In Color Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red.

I stamped my rose with Stazon Timber Brown, outlined the petals and leaves with Watercolor Wonder crayons and used my Blender Pen to fill it all in. Then I decided the flower wasn't a deep enough shade so I picked up a little Ruby Red ink with my blender pen and added a bit more depth to the petals.

I love the Chocolate Chip felt flowers with vintage brads. Both my sentiments are stamped in Chocolate Chip so the colors all work together.

Here's the sketch if you want to try your hand at it:

Spring is in the Air

Even though it doesn't feel too spring-like outside this weekend, I thought this pastel card would work great for the SCS Going Green challenge -- It's not totally green but I figure using green in 5 different spots on the card must count for something, LOL.

The stamp set is called "A Good Egg" -- perfect for Easter -- and the cute little chick was colored in Barely Banana before placing the paper-pieced egg shell on top. A few doodles around the edge give it a fun little feel. My buttons are from the Soft Subtles button collection. The pinky velvet ribbon was a steal from an old baby shower gift -- I tell you ladies, never throw anything away, you can always find a use for it on a card. :-)

The second card uses the same Wild Wasabi square base but takes its cue from Bali Breeze designer paper (retired) for a brighter, more vibrant card. I printed the sentiment off my computer onto Whisper White paper, cut it with the Large Oval punch, and added some doodles with my Taken with Teal marker.

My 5-Petal punch made fast work of layering the bright pink flowers behind the oval, and the pre-cut blooms form the base.

Thanks for looking, hope you have a great weekend!!

Double Challenge Embossed Card

Our Creative Corner had an "add a doodle" challenge this week which I combined with the Stamp Simply challenge of using heat embossing to create an elegant image.

My flower is from the Botanical Blooms set. I stamped the outlined image in Versamark, added Gold Embossing powder, and zapped it with my Heat Tool, then went back and colored it in with my Cameo Coral marker.

A gold pen doodled around both frames. The background Designer Paper is from the "Raspberry Tart" collection -- isn't it wonderfully springy?

Now all I have to do is staple a little pack of M&Ms on the inside and it's a neat little pick-me-up for one of my coworkers.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping!

Thoughts & Prayers Cards

I had the sad task of creating sympathy cards for my two cousins who lost their father recently at much too young an age. I used the new "Thoughts & Prayers" stamp set with some bits of retired designer papers to come up with these two cards.

Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand and Eggplant are just the right elegant color touches. To create the first card's sentiment, I layered three large oval punches and then added some vintage brads for depth. I went over the trunk and branches of the tree with my Chocolate Chip marker to make it pop out a bit. For my second card, my Mat Pack and paper piercer helped me frame the tree out a bit more.

I have some more goodies arriving in the mail any day -- taking advantage of Sale-a-Bration, going on until March 31st -- and look forward to sharing some more spring-like creations with you soon. Let me know if I can place an order for you.

Thanks for looking, and have a great week!