Door County Layout

This layout was a lot of fun to make to showcase highlights of our two-night stay in Door County, Wisconsin.  With so many photos, I find that a grid-style layout works well.

I love how well the Country Woods stamp set and dies coordinate so nicely with the Lake Life collection!  I used the negative of the Lake Life cattails die cut and a blending brush with Acorn ink to get the cattails and grass on the title.  I blended a little Seabrook ink to soften the stark white and then stamped my title with Pine ink.  Again, I love the die cut additions for interest and texture.

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Quick & Easy Card Buffet

Creating beautiful cards is so quick and easy with Stampin' Up!'s card kits!  Join me TOMORROW, 7/30 (drop in 4-6) to create one of these beauties, while supplies last.

For the Hello Hollyhocks kit, above, EVERYTHING I needed to create 9 cards (3 of each design) was in the box!  The only thing "extra" that I needed to complete the Painted Wishes kit, below, was a pair of scissors to cut the pretty gold cord.

The Saying Thanks kit also needed scissors to cut the white baker's twine, but everything else was in the box.

If you can't drop in tomorrow but are interested in one (or more) no stamping card kits (or kits with stamps, ink, and a block included), please let me know!

Sundays Are for Sketches: 9 of 22

 Unfortunately I got sick a few weeks ago  so this series got a bit waylaid (but am fine now).

This sketch is a really fun way to use up scraps.

I used my Labeled with Love stamp set (inked in Basic Gray) for the sentiment and the butterfly cut out.  (All papers are Unbounded Beauty + In Colors Glimmer paper in Petunia Pop).

Wink of Stella adds pretty shimmer to the stamped, cut out butterfly accent.

Milwaukee Layout

Here is the next day's layout from our Great Lakes adventure.  I added in some stickers from the Lake Life collection plus a Honey Butter circle to add more balanced yellow accents.

To make my two 4"x6" photos pop on this grid-style layout, I trimmed them down a quarter inch on two adjacent sides and then adhered to Pine photo mats.

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Chicago Layout

Earlier this summer, my husband and I took off to visit my cousin in Wisconsin and to drive around Lake Michigan.  (See the first layout of our adventure HERE.)  Beth & I spent our first full day together touring Chicago.

I had so much fun making this layout with the SU!/CTMH Lake Life collection.  I decided to add accents of silver to match The Bean and used a retired Cricut collection to create the skyline out of Pine and silver cardstock.

We had a great day, and I'm so glad I've already made this page to remember our fun time together in Chicago!

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Super Quick Take to the Sky Birthday Card

Recently, I needed a birthday card, fast, for a little fellow turning two.  I grabbed a pack of Stampin' Up! notecards and envelopes that I got, which measure 3 1/2“ x 5“, and come with envelopes to fit.  From my Take to the Sky DSP pack, I used one of the 3 x 4 cards and then added a strip of coordinating DSP to make the rectangle front. 

My new Labeled with Love stamp set and die bundle was the perfect sentiment and accents for this card.  (The presents are easily fussy cut.)  I did use Close To My Heart's Sapphire and Paprika inks, which are very similar to SU!'s Night of Navy and Copper Clay.

Creating meaningful cards doesn't have to be complicated!

Duck Decoy Cards

At my recent card class, we made these two cards using the Country Ducks stamps and die bundle paired with the SU/CTMH Lake Life collection.  (I am loving how well my "old" CTMH products are coordinating with my new Stampin' Up! goodies!)

For both cards, I also used my postage dies from CTMH.   

My second card went to my hubby yesterday for his birthday!

My next card class will be 8/19, so if you're local I'd love for you to join me!

Sundays Are for Sketches: 8 of 22

 Our 8th sketch features a fun checkerboard that fits nicely on a standard card front.

Once again, I've used Unbounded Beauty DSP paired with Summer Splash cardstock.  I stamped the birthday sentiment from the Country Ducks stamp set with Basic Gray ink and added a little white twine for fun.

If you give this card sketch a try, I hope you'll share it!  I can't wait to see what you create!

Pretty Fun Fold Birthday Card

Here’s a pretty and easy fun fold card that I made for my sister-in-law‘s recent birthday.

I started with a 6” x 5.25” piece of the pretty unbounded beauty DSP, Which I then cut into three 2”-wide vertical strips.

I turned the middle panel over. Then I found the halfway point on the long side of the other two pieces and folded the edges back as shown below. They aren’t perfect, and I am more than OK with that!

Then I adhered all three pieces to my card front. The pretty stamped label (Labeled with Love stamp & die bundle) covers the imperfections of the folds (which I did not glue down to the card front). I stamped and fussy cut the butterfly and added some sparkle with touches of Wink of Stella (which unfortunately did not photograph well).

If you create a similar card, please share!

Away We Go! Layout

My husband and I had the opportunity to go to Wisconsin to see my cousin and to travel around Lake Michigan this summer, so I am busy scrapbooking our adventures!  I am using the CTMH Lake Life collection, available to former CTMH customers through Stampin' Up!

This first layout uses a sketch from the final Make It From Your Heart sketchbook.  I added the states we traveled through on the left page with a retired stamp set.  I've also covered up most of the journaling and photos because we had a bit of an incident the first night of our vacation.  Everything is fine!  I didn't want to publicly share all the details, but I definitely wanted the story and photos in our scrapbook.

Don't be afraid to document the "bumps in the road" of your life in your scrapbooks!  You get to choose who views what you share.  (You can also write journaling to be pulled out of pockets or behind the pages so that the casual viewer doesn't read all the nitty gritty details.)

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Senior Sunday Layout

For my first Stampin' Up! scrapbooking class, we used the pretty Perennial Lavender DSP with the Painted Lavender stamp set and dies and a sketch from Close To My Heart's Make It From Your Heart sketchbook.

I love how this collection matches our daughter's outfit!  I am really loving how the Stampin' Up! dies coordinate with the stamp sets but also add extra elements!  The pretty paper butterfly is a wonderful accent.

It's fun to catch up on some older photos that were printed but not scrapbooked until now.

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Sundays Are for Sketches: 7 of 22

 Better late than never! Here’s my take on Sketch #7!

Once again, I am using the Unbounded Beauty DSP, this time paired with a sentiment from the Labeled with Love stamp set. 

Notice how I scissor distressed the pretty floral DSP. 

Give this sketch a try & share your creations! Happy stampin’ 

Happy Anniversary to Us!

In honor of our recent anniversary, I made this simple card for my husband using the Lake Life collection and the retired Let’s Go Anywhere cardmaking stamp set  

Don’t forget to stamp the inside of your cards!

Here’s to many many more years together!

Take to the Sky Anniversary Card

My parents, who are both pilots, just celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary, so I made this angled double gate fold card for them with the Take to the Sky DSP (paired with the retired CTMH Let's Go Anywhere Cardmaking stamp set/Thin Cuts).

You remove the "belly band" and then the open card looks like this:

 Here's our family who were able to get together for a wonderful dinner together to celebrate my parents.

Sundays Are for Sketches: 6 of 22

Are you ready for the 6th edition of our sketch series?

For both cards, I used the Unbounded Beauty DSP paired with In Color cardstock, the Sentimental Park stamp set and dies.  The first card uses Summer Splash and Petunia Pop (with Petunia Pop glitter paper die cut flowers.

For the second card, I trimmed the Pretty in Pink cardstock to mount on a standard A2 white card base.  The Peach Pie glimmer paper definitely pops on the card!  I added more of the Sentimental Park dies and the butterfly, plus some In Color glimmer gems.

I really like how they both turned out.  If you give this sketch a try, please let me know!  I always love seeing everyone's creativity.  Happy stamping and card making!

Lily Pond Lane Thank You Card

The Country Ducks bundle/Lily Pond Lane suite is an adorable collection!  I used the dies to cut the circle frame and then backed it with cute duck DSP from the collection.

I also die cut the extra cattails and then added a strip of DSP (that I also added to the envelope).  The "thanks" sentiment is from Sentimental Park.

Don't worry if this suite is low inventory or unavailable; it will be back in stock in the future.

July Specials

Hold on to your craft mats, because Stampin' Up! is dropping all kinds of amazing products tomorrow at midnight (7/3)!  The final installment of Close To My Heart products will launch along with two suites plus two more new bundles.  BONUS DAYS also start, where you will earn a $5 coupon for every $50 you spend through July 31.

Search for:

• Close To My Heart July Products

• Seasons of Green and Gold suite
• Iconic Celebration suite

• Changing Leaves bundle

• Spells & Potions bundle

Class Cards, Set 2: Painted Lavender

Here are the final two cards we made at my June card class (and my July class will be held 7/14, so let me know if you need an invite or more info).  We used the Painted Lavender stamp set and dies with Perennial Lavender DSP.  (Sentiments from the Sentimental Park stamp set.)

Isn't the die cut white butterfly beautiful?  They can easily be colored to match any project.  (The postage die is from CTMH but Stampin' Up! offers a beautiful set.)

The second card has a fun half card front with an overlapping panel.

(The inside shows the card design better.)  After looking at the picture, I am going to stamp a butterfly on the inside white panel where the message will go also. 

If you're interested in any paper crafting products, BONUS DAYS start 7/3!  (Learn more/shop HERE.)  Thank you!