This is another card from my monthly library class. I love challenging myself to find super cute cards that are quick and easy to make. My biggest challenge is making cards WITHOUT using my Big Shot!

I love dies and embossing folders, but as much as I LOVE my Big Shot, I really hate to lug that thing around! So, I try to design cards that use punches, because they are easy for beginners to use, and easy for me to carry.

I really like the A Good Day stamp set for quick and easy cards. It has cute stamps for different occasions and coordinates with our scallop circle punches.

Stamps: A Good Day

Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Melon Mambo

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Memento Tuxedo Black

Punches: 1 3/8” Scallop Circle, 1 1/2” Circle, Triple Banner

Other: Watercolor Pencils, Wink of Stella, Bermuda Bay Sequins (vintage)

Thanks for stopping by!

August 30, 2018

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A Good Day – Just For You

We made this card at the Hardin County Public Library this month. It’s a quick and easy one!

If you’re in our area, I’d love for you to join us for some simple stamping. I teach this class on the second Monday of each month. It’s for beginners and it’s also a great chance for me to use up some of my retired products.

Stamps: A Good Day

Cardstock: Blackberry Bliss, Bermuda Bay, Very Vanilla

Ink: Blackberry Bliss

Paper: Bohemian DSP (vintage)

Punches: Triple Banner, 1 3/8” Scallop Circle, 1 3/4” Circle

Other: Gold Metallic Bakers Twine (vintage)

Stay tuned for another simple card from the library class.

August 28, 2018

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Finding Inspiration

Do you ever feel like you’ve lost your mojo? You sit down to create and……nothing! Here are a few tips for finding inspiration.

1. Look at the catalog. There are hundreds of beautiful samples in the Stampin’ Up! catalog. Find one you love and switch up the colors and/or stamp set to make it your own.

2. Check out your own stash. Find a card you’ve already made that you really liked and recreate it using different stamps and colors.

3. Look at Pinterest. There are literally thousands of card samples on Pinterest. And, did you know you can search by stamp set name? Find something you like and tweak it to make it your own. If you do decide to copy a design exactly, and you’re posting it online, it’s always nice to give the original creator credit for the design.

4. Keep an inspiration journal. I have a book where I jot down ideas for projects, with a quick drawing of the layout for future use. Then, when I’m stumped, I can refer to that for ideas.

5. Keep a photo journal. Now that everyone has a camera on their phone, it’s so easy to snap a photo of something that inspires you.
When I was at IKEA last weekend, I took a photo of this framed print.

And, here’s the card it inspired.

Is it an exact copy? No! But, that’s the beauty; it doesn’t have to be. The photo was just for inspiration, so it did its job. I created something!

Stamps: Sheltering Tree

Cardstock: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red

Other: Real Red 3/8” Mixed Satin Ribbon (coming in the Holiday Catalog), Basic Black Solid Bakers Twine

The next time you’re stumped, I hope some of these ideas will help you find inspiration.

August 26, 2018

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Dandelion Wishes

In my last post, I told you how I like to challenge myself to not let anything go to waste.

If we cut pieces out of one card, I like to try to use them in another card. Or, if we have a layer on our card, I try to cut or punch something from the middle of the layer that gets covered up!

I’ve been doing this for so long, that my friends/customers comment if we have a layer that we use without cutting something from the center! I guess I’ve taught them well!

On this card, the Soft Sea Foam oval and oval “ring” were cut from a previous Follow Your Dream card. If you missed that, you can see it here.

Stamps: Dandelion Wishes, Marbled Background

Cardstock: Mint Macaron, Soft Sea Foam

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, VersaMark

Dies: Layering Ovals Framelits

Other: 5/8” Whisper White Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon, Mint Macaron Nature’s Twine, White Stampin’ Chalk Marker

Thanks for visiting! If you need any stampin supplies, I’d love to have your order.

August 24, 2018

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Follow Your Dreams

When I’m designing cards for Stamp Club, I like to challenge myself to use pieces leftover from one card in the design of another card. I don’t like to waste anything!

We layered the Soft Sea Foam on the black and cut the smaller oval in both layers. Then we took a slightly larger oval die and cut around the oval on the Soft Sea Foam panel to get the matted look. We then used the black oval “scrap” to cut out the word dream, and we saved the Soft Sea Foam smaller oval and larger oval “ring” for another card. (Stay tuned to see how we used those pieces.)

Stamps: Follow Your Dreams

Cardstock: Mint Macaron, Basic Black, Soft Sea Foam

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Soft Sea Foam, Mint Macaron

Dies: Chase Your Dreams Framelits Dies, Layering Ovals Dies

Other: Basic Black Bakers Twine

Be sure to check back to see how we used those leftover die cut pieces on another card!

August 22, 2018

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2018 Alaska Incentive Trip Swap

Thanks to my wonderful customers and team, I was able to cruise to Alaska with other Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators! With 400 demonstrators, plus their families and the corporate team, we had over 1000 cruisers on the ship!

When demonstrators get together, we almost always swap cards so that we can come home with lots of ideas. This was my swap card. We also made this card in Stamp Club last month.

The puzzle in the background is actually a die, but with our new Embossing Mats, you can use all your dies to emboss, and that’s what I did with this one.

Stamps: Love You To Pieces

Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Whisper White, Silver Foil

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party

Dies/Punches: Puzzle Pieces Thinlits Dies, 1 1/4” Circle Punch, 1 3/8” Scallop Circle Punch, Pearlized Doilies, Silver and Pool Party Bakers Twine, Basic Rhinestones

Would you like to have a job that takes you on fabulous trips and spoils you rotten? I’d love to have you join my team!

August 20, 2018

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Color Your Season Christmas

In this month’s Stamp Club, we used this limited edition bundle to make two different cards, a Thank You and a Christmas Card.

On this card, we adhered the outside piece directly to the card and popped up the label in the center. On the Thank you card, we did the opposite. If you missed the Thank You card, you can find it here.

It’s pretty hard to see, but we used the new Tufted TIEF on the background. And, can you see that the holly berries are shiny? That’s so easy to do by just adding some fine tip glue on top of them. But, be sure to let that dry completely.

Stamps: Blended Seasons

Cardstock: Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Old Olive

Paper: Under The Mistletoe DSP

Dies: Stitched Seasons

Other: Tufted Dynamic TIEF, Aquapainter, Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker, 1/8” real red ribbon, mini gold sequins.

If you’d like this bundle, order quickly, as it’s only available for a few more days and supplies are limited! If you’d like more information on this bundle, you can find it here.

August 18, 2018

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Color Your Season Thank You

The Blended Seasons Bundle is available ONLY during the month of August, so if you’d like this one, order soon!

We used the bundle in Stamp Club this month. It’s a lovely bundle, with something for all four seasons! If you missed my earlier post on this, you can find it here.

The dies are particularly pretty because they have 3 different sized labels with faux stitching on both the inside and the outside of the cut. It was just too pretty to discard either one, so we used both pieces on our cards in class.

On this card, the outside is popped up with dimensionals, while the inside stamped piece is adhered flat to the front of the card. This was my original sample.

Stamps: Blended Seasons

Cardstock: Granny Apple Green, Whisper White

Ink: StazOn Jet Black

Dies: Stitched Seasons

Other: Watercolor Pencils Assortment 1 and 2, Blender Pen, Basic Pearl, Stampin’ Blends, Subtle Dynamic TIEF, Basic Black Twine

After seeing some of the color choices of my club members, I had to make more of these!

We even colored the basic pearls using the Stampin’ Blends to match the flowers. So, what do you think? Which color do you like best?

August 16, 2018

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Let’s Get Spooky!

We don’t often get clues to what is going to be in a Paper Pumpkin kit, so I’m excited to know that next month’s will be a Halloween kit!

Now, the contents are still a surprise, but for those of you who LOVE Halloween (and I know that’s a LOT of you), be sure to sign up for Paper Pumpkin by September 10th to get this kit. I wouldn’t wait until the last minute, because there are a limited number available!

If you aren’t yet familiar with Paper Pumpkin, it’s a monthly kit that includes everything you need (except scissors) to complete the project, and is delivered directly to your door! It even includes ink and an exclusive stamp set for only $19 a month.

You can order Paper Pumpkin in two ways. You can do a monthly subscription, where your credit card is billed once a month, or you can order a pre-paid subscription of one month, three months, six months, or even twelve months (you’ll save money with some of these).

If you’d like to sign up for the monthly subscription, visit www.paperpumpkin.com and be sure to list me as your demonstrator. If you’d like to order a pre-paid subscription, contact me for details!

August 5, 2018

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Picture Perfect Celebration

I made this card for a challenge group that I am in. The challenge was to make a card based on a sketch. The sketch was a square card with triangles on the front. I decided to do something a little different, so made mine into a fancy fold, instead of just a square card.

I used the Picture Perfect Birthday stamp set, along with paper that retired with the last Occasions Catalog.

Stamps: Picture Perfect Birthday

Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Peekaboo Peach (retired), Whisper White

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Peekaboo Peach (retired)

Dies: Layering Circles Framelits

Other: Bermuda Bay Sequins (retired)

Even though some of these products are retired, the stamp set is still available in the Annual Catalog and would go beautifully with many of our other products! If you need any stamping supplies, I would sure appreciate your order.