Hot Foil Silly Old Bear Card

Did you know that you can hot foil your regular dies?  I used three of the Sweet Words & Labels frame dies to make this Silly Old Bear card. 

I began by placing the smaller frame die (and the wood grain die for another project) on my hot foil machine following the instructions (except using a regular die cutting dies rather than specific hot foil dies).

They foiled beautifully (if I do say so myself)!

The die cuts are very thin, so you get very thin foiling.

I'm really looking forward to getting my reverse hot foil plate so that I can use the leftover pieces on other projects!

Being able to hot foil "regular" die cutting dies is going to add a lot more options to the hot foiling system!  Let me know if you'd like to learn more (and RSVP for my hot foiling Metallic Magic class this Sunday, 8/16 at 3 PM, by Friday).

Finally, I was inspired to play along with this week's Global Design Project challenge #GDP559 theme: Frames.

Floating Panel Sea Card

This floating panel AKA double vision card was made with the pretty new Scenic Coast 6"x6" DSP on a Balmy Blue cardstock base.  (You can watch the Facebook Live on YouTube HERE.)   

It's hard to capture the pretty shimmer and shine, but trust me when I say that you are going to love this paper!

The birthday wishes stamp is from the March Paper Pumpkin kit.  

You can see this same card design HERE.

I'm entering this card in the Global Design Project challenge #gdp547 with the theme: landscapes.

To a Great Guy Card

My great guy deserves a Valentine, so I made this card for him today using the #GDP534 sketch as my inspiration.

I started with my stack of Thoughtful Journey 6"x6" DSP and selected this wintry scene.  (Hurry!  Low inventory of this DSP so it's definitely only available while supplies last!) I grabbed my Nature's Walk bundle (stamp set and dies), Misty Moonlight and Basic White cardstock, plus Misty Moonlight and Blackberry Bliss ink.  Those beautiful watercolor leaves are just the gorgeous DSP!  I used Misty Moonlight & Silver ribbon behind my leaves cluster but you really couldn't see it so I added a quick little knot on top.

I crossed out the "like" in the sentiment and wrote in LOVE to fit today- and honestly every day!  My guy isn't a hearts and flowers kind of guy so hopefully he will love this card as much as I loved making it for him.

The Everyday Arches dies made this card sketch come together quickly.  
 

Tropical Birthday Card

When I saw the SUOC #392 Sketch Challenge, I knew it would be perfect for my attempt at using the Simply Beautiful dies to make a tropical card.  Here's what I made, using the Beach Boardwalk suite as my color inspiration:

Here's the sketch:

I started with a 4" x 5 1/4" White Willow panel and began blending Lemon Lolly ink near the bottom.

Next, I added some Peach Pie (since I don't have Timid Tiger).

Above and blending into the Lemon Lolly area, I added Pool Party and then blended the top with Petunia Pop.

The last thing that I did (but it didn't photograph well) was to flick water onto this panel with a water painter to splatter the blending.

I used Granny Apple Green and Pool Party Two-Tone cardstock, plus Petunia Pop and Lemon Lolly cardstock.  The sentiment, stamped with Secret Sea, is from the LAST CHANCE Beautiful Butterflies stamp set.

I would love to know what you think of my take on this sketch and/or the color comb!  Does it give you tropical vibes?  Thanks for stopping by!

Floral Impressions Happy Birthday

This card uses the Floral Impressions DSP and bundle (stamp set and coordinating dies) with Strawberry Slush, Pretty in Pink, Peach Pie, Crushed Curry, Daffodil Delight, Darling Duckling, and Old Olive.

Be sure to decorate the inside of your card and the outside of your envelope!  I added Pecan Pie for the flower centers.

The Happy sentiment is from the Layered Thoughts stamp set, and the birthday letters were die cut with the Alphabet a la Mode dies.

Impressions Abloom Flag Card

Happy Independence Day!  I made this flag card using Real Red, Night of Navy, and Basic White card stock and the Floral Impressions dies.

The six Real Red stripes measure 5 1/2"x3/4" and the Night of Navy rectangle is 2 1/2"x2".  I ended up using 28 of the die cut flowers (which fortunately the two dies each cut three flowers at a time).  I'm including this card in the Color Dare #659 challenge to use red and blue.

Wishing you the best today and always!

Thinking of You Red, White, & Blue Card

Who is ready to celebrate the Fourth of July?  I thought it would be fun to try a patriotic floral card with the Impressions Abloom dies paired with the new Layered Thoughts stamp set. 

At first I thought I was going to make a side-fold card but realized that I wanted to use the Layered Thoughts stamp set and a top-fold worked better.  I used the Real Red stripes from the new Regals 6"x6" DSP.  Everything else was cut with White Willow, Real Red, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight, and Garden Green card stock.  I stamped my sentiment in the oval frame with Night of Navy ink.  A few rhinestone gems finished off this card.  

BTW, you might see this on my socials with the #GDP503 for the Global Design Team's Flowers challenge.

Sundays Are for Sketches: #22 of 22

Here is the final installment of the twenty-two sketches found on p. 22 of the 2024-25 Annual Catalog.  I hope you've enjoyed this series as much as I have!

For my card, I decided to fussy cut two snow globes out of the Snowy Scenes paper.  I used the Snowy Wonder stamp set to stamp the snowflakes in Pool Party and then I stamped the sentiment with Garden Green.  A little green twine finished off the card.

I'm also sharing this card at the Christmas Crafts Year Round blog for their October Snowman challenge.  (You still have a few days to share there if you'd like.)

As always, I'd love to see what you make based on this sketch.  Feel free to leave a photo or a link in the comments!

Happy 18th Birthday Card

Time certainly flies, and it seems almost impossible that my nephew turned 18 yesterday!  (We had a lovely dinner together hosted by his parents.)  I made this gate-fold card for him based on Tuesday Morning Sketch #778.  (The sketch reminded me of making a similar card last month.)

I started with a Night of Navy cardstock base which I scored a 1.5" and again at 5.75".  I added pieces of Take to the Sky DSP that I stamped with images and sentiments from the August Paper Pumpkin kit.  I decided to add the "belly band" to keep the card closed (plus to have a little surprise underneath).  The band was pretty plain so I added the stamped candles to it.

When you remove the band, you see the 18 "candles"- just the numbers stamped with the candle flames added on them.

I continued the motif with more stamping on the White Willow panel on the inside.  I hope my sweet nephew likes his card (and the cash that came with it)!

Card CASE: Mini Catalog, P. 34

In the crafting world, CASE means "copy and share everything" or "copy and steal exactly" or basically copying an inspiration.  I recently found the Stampin' Up! Only Challenges blog, and their current challenge, SUOC #362 is to CASE the Holiday Mini Catalog using p. 34 as inspiration. 

I used the top left card as my inspiration to create these two cards from one piece of Wildly Flowering DSP, the Changing Leaves bundle, and the birthday sentiment from the Labeled with Love stamp set.

The first card used Wild Wheat and White Willow accent only.

For the second card, I used a combination of Crumb Cake, Wild Wheat, and White Willow stamped and die cut pieces.

I really can't decide which card I like better.  I love that I was able to make two cards from one pretty piece of DSP.

Sundays Are for Sketches: 4 of 22

How was your week?  I am loving all of your creations!  I hope you're enjoying this series as much as I'm enjoying sharing with you!  These sketches are all found on page 22 of the Stampin' Up annual catalog, and I'm sharing my take on each one for 22 weeks.

Hopefully you aren't tired of the Unbounded Beauty DSP or the In Color cardstock and glimmer paper!

I think next time I will use a mat on the large rectangular panel and some colored cardstock for the sentiment strip.  It's still a pretty card, though, in my opinion.  Don't you love how you can create something simple or something elaborate with the same sketch?  I can't wait to see what you make this week!  Share in the comments or on my Facebook page!

Sundays Are for Sketches: 3 of 22

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there and to all the men who have stepped up to be a father figure in someone's life!  (I'm really grateful for these two, my dad and my daughters' dad/my husband!)

Now it's time to share Sketch Challenge #3!  Thanks to all who shared their creations last week.  Here are my suggestions for Sketch 3:

Again, I used the beautiful Unbounded Beauty DSP, this time with a Summer Splash cardstock base.  (I really can't decide which new In Color is my favorite!  They are all so pretty!). Rather than use ribbon or twine, I added a strip of Pretty in Pink glimmer paper.

See those pretty glimmer gems on the sentiment?  One of them is covering up a booboo!  When I inked up the "happy" portion of the stamp (from the Sentimental Park stamp set), I accidentally got a little ink on the B.  Rather than flip the oval over and try again, I added the gem to cover it up (after inking and stamping the "birthday" portion of the stamp).  As my dear friends/longtime customers know, "it's not a mistake; it's an opportunity to embellish!"

I can't wait to see your take on this sketch!  I've had a lot of fun making these cards (and as you can tell, I am in need of birthday cards because I am committed to sending more birthday cards this year).  Share your creations in the comments or on my Facebook page.

Sundays Are for Sketches: 2 of 22

Can you believe another week has come and gone?  Thanks to everyone who participated in last week's fun sketch challenge.  I'm back with sketch 2!  (Again, these are my interpretations of the 22 card sketches found on page 22 of the Stampin' Up! annual catalog.)

Again, I used Petunia Pop cardstock, Unbounded Beauty DSP, and the Sentimental Park stamp set.  In addition, I added the die cut frame from the Sentimental Park dies.  The white thread was from my stash.  (It's always great to do some stash busting!)

I can't wait to see your take on this sketch this week (and beyond)!  Share in the comments or on my Facebook page.  Thanks for having a little crafty fun with me again this week!

Sundays Are for Sketches: 1 of 22

In the current Stampin' Up! annual catalog, page 22 highlights 22 different card sketches.  For the next 22 weeks, I am going to feature each one and encourage you to join me to create a card (or other project) with the sketch.

Here is the first sketch and my suggested measurements:

Here is the card that I made using Petunia Pop cardstock and glimmer paper with the Unbounded Beauty DSP.  My sentiment is from the Sentimental Park stamp set.

I added a few In Color glimmer gems for a little more pizazz.  

Please join me in creating something this week with this sketch!  Post in the comments or on my Facebook page.  Let me know if you need any help.  Happy crafting!

March Happy Birthday "Hue and Me" Layout

With this week being my spring break, I’m using some time off to get crafty.  I can’t believe that I was able to scrapbook my birthday within just a few days of it happening!  I decided to use the March Live Your Story "Hue and Me" color palette* since it went so well with my outfit.  (Please tell me you also buy clothes to match scrapbook paper and vice versa?)

From top to bottom, I used 1“ x 12“ strips of light Seabrook, Seabrook glitter paper, Glacier, light Jade, light Evergreen, and Evergreen glitter paper.  The balloons and sentiments are all from various retired birthday stamps in my stash.  (If you look closely at the balloons, I used coordinating shimmer brushes to color alternating stripes.) I’m really happy with how this layout turned out.  Don’t be afraid of using card stock and stamps instead of patterned paper. 

How did I do on using this color swatch?  

*Live Your Story is an amazing memory-keeping community hosted by Stacy Julian.  I really love being a part of this community in addition to my Close To My Heart community.  You can learn more HERE.  If you decide to join, tell Stacy that I sent you!  (No, I don't get any commission for recommending this group; it's just that wonderful!)

{Layout 13/52}

Dreaming of a White Christmas Cards

Do you normally have a white Christmas?  (We do not.)  Here are two versions of the same Christmas card.  I love the versatility of our two-sided patterned paper!

The Silver Bells collection is lovely with the December stamp of the month, Christmas Snow Globes.

I used very little color (just a little gray colored pencil) on the first card, and the clear shimmer adds a nice touch.

I added a little more color for the second card (but not much).

Which one do you prefer?

I'm linking my cards to the Color Dare #578 Three Neutrals challenge.

Floral Notes Thank You Card

Florals are still an option for fall with the right color palette!  This card uses the new color of the year, Journey, paired with Pumpkin.  The techniques used on this card make it so pretty (in my humble opinion!).

I stamped the focal image in Journey twice on the card front and multiple times on the 1/4"x4-1/4" White Daisy strip to create my own patterned paper.  I then used a blending brush to add Journey ink to the floral cluster on the card base.

I also stamped the floral cluster in Black on a coordinating Thin Cut (die cut) piece, then colored it in with our beautiful new Colorista by Spectrum Noir colored pencils.  I added a 1/8" piece of Journey cardstock and a 1" piece of Pumpkin cardstock and a few Journey glitter gems to finish off this thank you card.

I'm linking this card up to Double Trouble's Challenge 150, Fancy Floral(s) because of course I used florals and I didn't use patterned paper; instead stamped my own!

Mother’s Day Layout

When I saw the CSI Case File No. 414, it inspired me to scrapbook our Mother’s Day pictures from this year.  I used the Close To My Heart Flower Shoppe and Hello Darlin’ collections.  

Can you tell how the case file inspired me?

I loved the color scheme, the dresses, and the florals especially.  (Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to add a little bird to my layout.)

The white and sapphire floral paper is from the Flower Shoppe collection, and it added interest without overpowering my photos.  I absolutely love the Candy Apple, Periwinkle, Sage, and Sapphire floral from Hello Darlin', so I was able to use one of my last scraps on the left page.  All of the Sapphire and Candy Apple embellishments are from the retired Hello Darlin' embellishments (with the addition of clear sparkles).

The top and bottom Sapphire strips are also from Flower Shoppe.  To make the thin Candy Apple polka dot strips, I cut a zip strip carefully in half.

My journaling is pretty simple because this layout is part of our family album, and it would be obvious who is who based on the larger context.  I'm not yet ready to journal about how this was our first Mother's Day without BJ (and I may not ever be), but I have a few extra photos just in case I decide to do that.

Thanks for letting me share my Mother's Day layout and take on the CSI Case File No. 414!