Happy 250th Birthday, America!

 Happy 250th Birthday, America!  God bless the USA, land that I love!

I'm "upcycling" a card that I made last year because I think it's still perfect for today.  (You can find the original post HERE!) 

250 Home Decor

A fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator shared this adorable "candle" decor and generously shared instructions with me.  Here is my version.

I think this will be a fun fall and holiday project!  What season would you like to create these for?
 

Wedding Gift Card Holder

Last week we were blessed as a family to attend the wedding of a dear friend (and our girls were bridal attendants).  I made this gift card holder because it was much easier to travel with a gift of this size.

This is a really fun fold!  I loved using the white and gold DSP from the Lovely & Beautiful DSP.

I used the Forever Florals bundle and heat embossed the sentiment in gold.

Here are a few pictures from the wedding:

The Four of Us

The gorgeous bride & groom (& venue)

July Stampin' Up! News

Today is an exciting day in the Stampin' Up! Universe!  A whole "mini catalog" of July online exclusives have launched, along with two new kits, and a really great JOIN offer.  You can find out more HERE!

Floral Spray Embossed Card

The third and final card for my recent Saturday card gathering had a bit of a WOW factor because I taught the ladies how to use an embossing folder with the Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine.

We used a Soft Sea Foam cardstock base and then embossed a Petal Pink panel.

As of writing this post, this embossing folder wasn't available, but did you know that you can opt to get a notification when it (or any unavailable items that will be returning) is available?  Just click the box to be notified!

Here are some details of the cards we made.

We highlighted some of the flowers with Wink of Stella.  The shimmer is so pretty in real life!

I look forward to card making with this great group of ladies again in the fall!
 

Cutest Crew Card Trio

For the Saturday card class that I mentioned recently, the second card actually had three choices with the Cutest Crew stamp set and colored pencils.

 Do you prefer the birds, dogs, or cats?

Happy Birthday Sunset Card

Happy birthday to my friend and longtime customer, Ann!  I hope you like the water vibes of this card!

I paired a pretty piece of Scenic Coast DSP with the Balloon Festoon bundle to celebrate her.  

Remember that it's not a mistake, but rather an opportunity to embellish like I did here because I scored my card base at the wrong measurement.  That pretty DSP strip covers up my booboo pretty well.  That's a sign of being handmade, right?

Happy birthday, Ann! 

Old + New = Birthday Cards

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of leading a card class to a lovely group of ladies!  This was my second event with them, and setting up card making stations was the way to go.  One station had these options:

The card uses a favorite (old) Close To My Heart sketch, retired (old) Floral Impressions DSP, and (new) Scalloped Blooms bundle (stamp set & dies).  

I have to give a huge shout out to my amazing helpers, Lynn and Ann!

Which card do you prefer?

Sip & Stamp June Cards

Last Friday, I held my monthly Sip & Stamp where we make 3 kit cards, sometimes exactly as is and other times with some upcycling.

I made the soft and subtle Brighten Your Day kit while others created the Lots to Love kit.

Our next Sip & Stamp is 7/31, so mark your calendar now!
 

Card Sketch + Cats

On last Thursday's Facebook Live (each Thursday at 7:30 PM), I created a sketch using strips of cardstock and a die cut of the cats from the Cutest Crew bundle.  (Not a cat fan?  There are dogs and birds in this adorable bundle, too!)

The sketch uses two 4" x 3/4" strips, two 4" x 1" strips (but the second one was replaced with the die cut cats), and one 4" x 1 1/4" strip.  I used Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, and Black Two-Tone cardstock along with Stampin' Blends.

My three kitties are featured in this card.

If you give this sketch a try, I'd love to see what you make!

Scalloped Blooms Birthday Card

The Scalloped Blooms birthday card was the last card we made at my June Card Crafternoon.  We used the Scalloped Blooms bundle (stamp set & dies) along with the Bloom Boutique DSP.  (I grabbed my Fern & Flora stamp set for that pretty little moth.) 

Can you see the In Color butterfly embellishments?  I love the gold foil accents of the Bloom Boutique DSP!  This angle also lets you see how pretty the Pearlized In-Color speciality paper is!

I think this is a cool card design.  Hope you like it too!

Shout out to Lisa on her birthday today!  As soon as I am able to give you your card, I will post it here. 

Also, thanks to Stamp with Peggy for this cool card sketch/design.

You're invited to my next Card Crafternoon on 7/12 for a birthday bash!

Happy Father's Day!

Yes, I realize that Sunday was Father's Day, but we celebrated our dad last night. 

I actually made this card before I made the Scenic Coast card (featured HERE) to try out the dropped tile card.  I cut a piece of Waterside Retreat DSP 4" x 3" and then cut that into twelve 1" tiles matted onto twelve 1" Peaceful Pine cardstock squares. 

I used a blending blush and Pool Party ink to tint the vellum prior to adhering the tiles. 

I love the effect of dry embossing the panel with the 3D Waves embossing folder! 

Give this technique a try and let me see what you create!

Scalloped Blooms Circle Birthday Card

The scalloped dies of the Scalloped Blooms bundle are so fun to create with!  At my June Crafternoon card class, we made this pretty birthday card featuring four of the scalloped dies plus the leaves.

We started with a 4 1/4" square card and carefully ran it through the Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine so that the top fold remained intact.  (Place at least three "petals" of the second largest die off the fold and then cut.)  We hid the card base with the full Hydrangea Hue scalloped circle and then nested the rest.

To make the little flowers, I first die cut them with the smallest die out of pearlized In Color specialty paper and then crumpled them up to give them the dimension you see here rather than the original look.

You can see the details I added with my Hydrangea Hue Stampin' Blends to offset the white on white scallops.

Mark your calendars for our next Crafternoon on July 12!

Which Is Your Favorite?

Which of these adorable critters is your favorite?  Are you team snail, cow (or is it coo?), penguin, or koala?  Please comment!

 Did you know that the product of the month is only $5 with a minimum $75 purchase?  You can find June's product of the month, the Wild Bunch stamp set, HERE.

Scenic Coast 6"x6" DSP = Two Cards (Card #2)

For the other half of the Scenic Coast 6"x6" DSP, we cut a 3"x4" rectangle into twelve 1" squares to create this dropped tile card.

(I forgot to emboss this entire panel with the 3D Waves embossing folder!  It would look even better if I had!)

It was really hard to photograph the shimmer of the Sunset Shimmer vellum!  If you look closely, you might be able to see how I blended Blueberry Bushel ink onto my card base and the back of the vellum to provide a little depth to the water background.  

Again, I left this one blank and will fill in a sentiment when I need it.

Remember that the Scenic Coast Craft Class is available on replay!   Learn more HERE!

Scenic Coast 6"x6" DSP = Two Cards (Card #1)

At my recent June Crafternoon, we made two cards using one Scenic Coast 6"x6" DSP.  The first card is a bookbinding card.

I love the addition of the 3D Waves embossing folder to the bookbinding edge!

I left this one blank (for now at least) since I don't have a recipient in mind at the moment.  It's nice to have a stash of cards just in case!

The Scenic Coast Craft Class is happening today (but also available as a recording)!  Learn more HERE!
 

Diagonal Accordion Birthday Card

Having our daughter home from the University of Illinois to celebrate her birthday was very special for our family!  I had a lot of fun creating this diagonal accordion birthday card for her on my recent Facebook Live (each Thursday at 7:30 PM).  You can also find YouTube instructions HERE if you're interested.  (Did you know that my customers get a tutorial for each of these projects?  Just place an order with me HERE!)

I love the soft color palette of the Beautiful Ordinary Life DSP paired with the Balloon Festoon bundle (stamp set & dies).  I used Petal Pink Two-Tone cardstock also.  

I love all of the pieces of this bundle!  We will have a "birthday party" at my July 12 Crafternoon to create all kinds of birthday projects.  (You're invited!)

Happy birthday to our firstborn!

Floral Spray 3D Embossing Folder Bridal Shower Card

The Floral Spray 3D Embossing Folder does all the heavy lifting when embossing Basic White cardstock for a 7” x 5” bridal shower card. 

I tied the ribbon around the front panel with a bow and added the sentiment to finish.

I love how elegant this card looks and how simple it was to make!

Easy DIY Wrapping Paper

Invest in some kraft or white paper (available on rolls) to be able to create your own wrapping paper!  I started with kraft paper cut to fit a board book for my cousin, whose wife is expecting their first baby.

I started by placing the appropriately-sized kraft paper on my work space, and then I "randomly" placed my stamps onto the center of the piece.

I placed a large block onto the stamps to pick them up and then stamp in Pecan Pie ink across the kraft paper.

It was easy to line up the stamps that they look random but are actually pretty intentional.

What do you think of the finished product?