Happy Birthday Basket Card

One of the things that I love most about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is the wonderful people I meet.  Recently, I celebrated my team member Lisa's birthday with this card.

In addition to being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator herself, she makes the most beautiful baskets (and teaches basket making)!  I combined my Easter Basket dies with the Balloon Festoon bundle and Valley in Bloom DSP to make this card for her.  I tucked flowers die cut with the Forever Floral dies on Beautiful Ordinary Life (Pool Party) DSP and then colored the leaves with a Garden Green marker.

A quick sentiment on the inside and strip of DSP finished it off!  Normally I don't glue paper to my envelopes, but I was planning on hand delivering so she got a balloon instead of a postage stamp!  The rest of the floral spray went on the envelope flap.

Happy {belated} birthday, Lisa!

A Quick & Easy Thinking of You Card

Sometimes it's fun to spend a lot of time on a project, and other times it's fun to create something quickly!

This card came together quickly on last Thursday's Facebook Live (each Thursday at 7:30 PM) with six rectangles (four are Beautiful Ordinary Life DSP), three Array of Dots embellishments, two stamps (Extraordinary Life and Scalloped Blooms stamp set), and one die cut (Extraordinary Life).

Get inky, friends!  Catch me Thursday for my next Facebook Live at 7:30 PM!
 

Thank You Card

If you saw yesterday's scrapbook layout, then you'll know that this thank you card is for someone in the wedding party who went above and beyond to help make the day extra special for the bridesmaids (and everyone else involved).

I used the same color palette (Basic White, Cloud Clover, Balmy Blue, Azure Afternoon, and Blueberry Bushel) and mostly leftover pieces from creating the scrapbook layout.  I used my damask embossing folder on the front panel and the faux dry embossing (with die cuts) on the Azure Afternoon strip.

I couldn't resist adding Wink of Stella to the flowers on the right and on the same stamped image on the coordinating envelope.

I hope the art of writing handmade thank you cards never goes out of style!
 

Scrapbook Saturday: Always & Forever Layout

If you've followed me for a bit, then you'll know that our family attended the gorgeous wedding of dear friends recently.  I was so inspired to scrapbook our photos and memories from this special event!

You can see how the photos and wedding decor absolutely drove the colors and design of this scrapbook layout!  I used the palette of Basic White, Cloud Clover, Balmy Blue, Azure Afternoon, and Blueberry Bushel with touches of Old Olive.

The bridge & groom, the venue, and the flowers were absolutely breathtaking!

Now that you've seen the pages, I want to get technical about how this spread came together.  Sometimes I am able to find a sketch that fits my photos, but that was not the case this time.  When I'm not using a sketch, I grab two pieces of 12"x12" white cardstock and lay them on my workspace.  Then, I place (and rearrange) my photos until I have a design that I like.

I started adding the different die cut elements to see how they might work together.  Then, I snapped a quick picture so that I wouldn't lose my ideas.

The next step was to die cut a bunch of the Forever Florals dies in Basic White & Azure Afternoon.  (I ended up using 13 of the large floral cluster die cuts!)  I colored the leaves with my Old Olive Stamp & Write marker (retired), but of course a Stampin' Blend would work.  I new that I wanted a green background for the bottom row of flowers, so I used a blending brush to blend Old Olive and a little Mossy Meadow ink.

Here is the left page's border.  Once everything was secured, I cut off the edges hanging off and then completed the process on the right page.  

If you look closely, you can see that I also blended Cloud Cover and Balmy Blue ink on some of the die cuts to try to mimic the hydrangeas in the aisle flowers and arch.

When I created the monogram frame, I didn't like the look of solid Cloud Cover cardstock and wanted more of the glimmer paper to show, so I layered the white frame on the Cloud Cover cardstock and lightly traced the "oval" foliage and then cut out the center.  

It took several trims to get it just right, but I love how it turned out!  I colored the leaves and then added a few extra die cuts.

The G is a retired CTMH/Cricut cut.

Thank you for letting me share this special event and layout with you!  Please let me know if you'd like help scrapbooking your photos and stories!  It's what I LOVE to do!

Supplies used:

• Basic White, Cloud Cover, Azure Afternoon, Blueberry Bushel cardstock
• Blueberry Bushel glimmer specialty paper
• Forever Florals bundle (stamp set & dies)
• Fern & Floral bundle
• Basic Gray, Cloud Cover, Balmy Blue, & Blueberry Bushel inks
• Old Olive marker
• Watercolor pencils (Balmy Blue and Old Olive)
• blending brushes
• Cricut

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! 

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!

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!

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!

Moonlit Flora Stamped Card (May Card Crafternoon #3)

The third card of May's card Crafternoon focused on stamping and coloring (with some die cuts added to the mix too).

This card was modeled after this year's On Stage After Hours stamping event but with an Inky Scrapper twist.

We stamped the ferns onto the Basic White background with Peaceful Pine and Old Olive and adhered to an Old Olive card base.  The ferns were die cut from Mossy Meadow, Old Olive, and Peaceful Pine.  The stamped die cuts were colored with Hydrangea Hue and Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends and Golden Glow shimmer brush.

How do you like the Hydrangea Hue stamped butterfly with Wink of Stella shimmer?  This card sparkles in real life!

Save the date for June's card Crafternoon on 6/14!

Moonlit Flora DSP Card (May Card Crafternoon #2)

The DSP in the Moonlit Flora suite is absolutely gorgeous, so I designed the second card of my May Card Crafternoon class to feature the DSP.

I love how my ladies took the pieces and made the cards their own: some centered the rectangles in the middle of the card and others used different sides of the DSP.  We used all of the pieces of the suite except for the embossing folder, and added a little Wink of Stella to the butterfly.  The die cuts are cut from Mossy Meadow, Secret Sea, and Basic White.

Save the date!  June's Crafternoon will be 6/14!

Moonlit Flora Note Card (May Card Crafternoon #1)

Stampin' Up! offers a set of twenty 3 1/2" x 5" white note cards and envelopes that are a great value and canvas to work on.

Let pretty DSP do all the work like it does on this note card featuring the Moonlit Flora suite (DSP, stamp set, and dies).

By the way, this was the first card we made at my May monthly Crafternoon card class.

Who would you send this to?

Fern & Flora 3D Embossing Folder Card

When I received my Moonlit Flora suite, I had to try out the included Fern & Flora 3D embossing folder.  After running it through my Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine with Basic White cardstock, I rubbed Old Olive ink across the cardstock to create this card background.

I mounted the panel onto an Old Olive card base and added both Old Olive & Mossy Meadow die cuts.  I stamped the frame in Old Olive and the sentiment and butterfly in Secret Sea.  I finished the card with a few Dewdrops embellishments.

You Deserve a Treat Card

Our daughters have both recently finished their first year of their respective graduate school programs, so I sent this to our faraway girl (our Pooh Bear) since she can't come home very often.  It was actually the very first card that I made with the new Silly Old Bear suite.

On the Very Vanilla cardstock base, I added a Golden Glow panel, embossed with the Hundred Acre Woods 3D embossing folder that I swiped in Golden Glow ink.  I die cut the focal image from the coordinating DSP and the Sweet Words and Labels dies.  The honey pot and stamped sentiment are from the Sweet Old Friends bundle.

Did you know that when products are unavailable (but not retired/discontinued), you can click a box on the product page to be notified via email when it is back in stock?  Try it HERE for the Silly Old Bear suite!

In Color Fern & Flora Card

If you were able to catch my May Catalog Launch Facebook Live series, then you've seen this new In Color Fern & Flora card (and if you'd like, you can watch the replay HERE on YouTube).

I used the Fern & Flora bundle and all five of the new In Colors.  Can you name them all?  

(They are Barely Blush, Crisp Cantaloupe, Peaceful Pine, and Hydrangea Hue.)

Two-Tone cardstock gives you two shades of each color, so I had fun playing with the darker and lighter sides.  Next time, I will use a lighter color for the stamped stripes (NOT Peaceful Pine).  A Basic Beige cardstock base is a nice neutral as is the Basic Gray ink.

 

April Crafternoon Card Class Card #4

The Cute As a Bug suite is back in stock!  I forgot to post this card from last month's Crafternoon!  For this card, we stamped the large flower cluster from the Virtual Cardmaking Retreat exclusive stamp set in Basic Gray and then paired it with Darling Duckling, Lemon Lolly, and Basic Gray Cute As a Bug bundle dies and stamped sentiment.

A little Darling Duckling DSP grounded the cluster along with some matching embellishments and white twine.

What do you think of the gray and yellow color combo?  What other colors do you like to pair with gray?

Happy Administrative Professionals Day (AKA One Card Three Ways)

Yesterday, we celebrated our three lovely administrative professionals, and I had the honor of making cards for each of them.  I decided to use the Garden Poetry DSP and a card sketch that I love.  They all use the stamp set from the Happy Happenings kit and the (coming 5/5) Sweet Words & Labels dies from the Silly Old Bear suite, with die cut accents from the Forever Floral dies.

The first card uses Calypso Coral ink and cardstock.

The second card features Blueberry Bushel and the Garden Textures Specialty DSP.

Berry Burst is the ink and Garden Specialty DSP color.

Which one do you prefer?  Let me know in the comments!

I think the ladies know how much we love them!

April Crafternoon Card Class Card #1

This month's card Crafternoon was this past Sunday, and my ladies and I had a blast creating four cards!  I'm grateful for the 2026 Virtual Card Making Retreat and all of the generous Stampin' Up! demonstrators who freely share ideas.  (You can find the original card HERE if you're interested.)

This first card uses the Garden Poetry DSP & Garden Textures specialty paper along with the 2026 Virtual Card Making Retreat stamp set and Forever Florals bundle.  We used Blackberry Bliss, Fresh Freesia, Shy Shamrock, Lemon Lolly, and Black ink along with Bubble Bath and Basic White cardstock.

Instead of using rectangles, consider angling one edge of your DSP for a fun effect!

Cute As a Bug Stamp Camp: Card #4

The fourth card was a bonus that I added on from the original Stamp Camp because we had so many supplies left.  (I can't wait to see what everyone makes with their leftovers!)

(I've featured this fun DSP fold here before.).  I added a Mossy Meadow and Basic White die cut mushroom.  

For my 4/12 Card Making Crafternoon, I will be combining the Forever Florals stamp set with the Cute As a Bug dies.  Be sure to RSVP by 4/10!  Also, let me know if you'd like instructions for the Cute As a Bug Stamp Camp!

Cute As a Bug Stamp Camp: Card #3

The third card highlights using the dies available in the Sweet Bug dies or stamp set/dies bundle.   

We added some shading on the die cuts and colored the stamped images with Stampin' Blends.  I did add some Wink of Stella on the little bell flowers, but it doesn't show well in the photo.

As I mentioned in previous posts, please reach out if you'd like info on how you could get the stamp camp tutorial!