Starry Birthday

Ever feel like a patterned paper needs something more? Sometimes I do, and there is no rule saying you can't change it up!

I stamped a bunch of stars on a piece of polka dot paper that just was not speaking to me, and went to town! On the DSP, the red is Raspberry Ripple. It fades quite a bit on the DSP, so when I matched it up to the cardstock, it matched better with Riding Hood Red. I had forgotten how much I like that color, so I am happy it worked out this way :)

This came out feeling more Western than I intended. I was going for more of a rugged masculine card without the cowboy feel. Oh, well. It is still a nice card. I also learned that you cannot run the new longer embossing folders through the Big Shot sideways.... so my Woodgrain embossing didn't quite go to the end. So I added the Baker's Twine. That is where the Western feeling comes in I think. I made a few of these for OWH, but embossed the other direction and skipped the twine. Looks good that way too, but I never did take a picture of that version..

• Stamps: Words of Courage (star), Memorable Moments
• Ink: Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red, Raspberry Ripple
• Paper: Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla, Print Poetry DSP pack
• Other: Big Shot with Woodgrain EF and Labels framelits, Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Festive Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercer and Mat, Signo white gel pen, dimensionals

 I used the Riding Hood Red ink on the inside of the card, since the DSP wouldn't be changing the color.

Sunny Smiles

I found some bright yellow embossing powder and have been having a lot of fun with it. I am really hoping for yellow embossing powder from Stampin' Up! as it is much better, but until then I will use this :) I made three versions of this card which were inspired by Jessica Witty here.

This one uses Hello, Doily and is fine and delicate.

• Stamps: Hello, Doily and Petite Pairs
• Ink: Illuminate, Pool Party marker, Early Espresso
• Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake
• Other: Embossing Buddy, Heat Gun, non-SU yellow embossing powder, Pool Party embossing powder, 1¾" and 1" Circle punches, Signo white gel pen, dimensionals

I made the Medallion on first, then the doily one. They both look like sunshine, but the Medallion one is much more bold.

• Stamps: Medallion, non-SU sentiment
• Ink: Illuminate, Early Espresso
• Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake
• Other: Embossing Buddy, Heat Gun, non-SU yellow embossing powder, Pool Party embossing powder, 2½" and 1¾" Circle punches, Signo white gel pen, dimensionals

 As I was typing this post up, I was struck with the idea to make this card with this set too. Then I had to dig around for a sentiment to use that fit the scale of the other images and the feeling of the card. Can you guess which set the sentiment is from?

• Stamps: Daydream Medallions, Best Dad Ever
• Ink: Illuminate, Early Espresso
• Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake
• Other: Embossing Buddy, Heat Gun, non-SU yellow embossing powder, Pool Party embossing powder, Big Shot with Floral Frames framelits, Signo white gel pen, dimensional, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercer and Mat

So, which one do you like best? I can't decide myself!

Umbrellas and Dots

I just can't stop using these cheery umbrellas! Or are they parasols? I will let you decide! No regrets for getting this set here :) This was a "just for the fun of it" card. Yellow was apparently the color to play with for me that day because I made 2 more cards with lots of yellow that day too :)

The dots feel rain-like on this card, and are just plain fun. I did color the flower with the Daffodil Delight ink lightly too.

• Stamps: Rain or Shine, Distressed Dots
• Ink: Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist, Lucky Limeade, Basic Gray, Craft White
• Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake
• Other: Big Shot with Large Scallop edgelit, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercer with Mat, Daffodil Delight ¼" Stitched Grosgrain, Vanilla 5/8" Flower Trim, Signo White gel pen 

I say, bring on the rain! Of course, it may still be a month or more before rain is a real possibility without it being freezing rain.... 

Flower Shower

Pinterest was at it again, back in January when I made this card. I was inspired by a card with watercolored flowers. This is my take. I am not sure why it has taken me so long to post this, but here it is at last! I guess it does suit March better than January though.

I used a blender pen to color all of these lovely flowers. Now I am thinking this would have worked better with Watercolor Wonder Crayons!

• Stamps: Fabulous Florets, Lovely Little Labels
• Ink: Pacific Point, Raspberry Ripple, Calypso Coral, Illuminate
• Paper: Naturals White, Raspberry Ripple, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
• Other: Jewelry Tag punch, White embossing powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Gun, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Whisper White Seam Binding ribbon (dyed with Raspberry Ripple inkpad), Blender Pen, Sticky Strip

 More flower showers inside! Now if I could just find this card again. I want to send it to my daughter :)

Embossed Polka Dots

Embossing powder is my new thing this month. I had gotten away from embossing as one of my past club ladies really hated embossing after she almost burned herself with the heat gun. Stampin' Up has a ton of great colors of embossing powders now, and I finally got all of them.

I pulled out the good old Distressed Dots background stamp and inked in  up with the Illuminate ink. I like it better that the Versamark because I can see it better and it seems to clean off the stamps easier. Then I put 3 different colors of embossing powder, one at a time on it. LOVE it!

• Stamps: Best of Birthdays, Distressed Dots
• Ink: Illuminate, Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango, Wild Wasabi, Pool Party
• Paper: Tangerine Tango, Wild Wasabi, Core'dinations and plain Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
• Other: Big Shot with Ovals framelits , Adorning Accents Edgelit and Embossing Folder, Sanding Block, Essentials and Occasions Paper Piercing Packs, Paper Piercer and Mat, Blender Pen, Vanilla 5/8" Flower Trim, Tangerine Tango Sycamore Street 1/4" Satin ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels, Signo white gel pen, dimensionals

This is the last day to get any of the Sale-A-Bration goodies, don't forget to get yours!

Sent with Love

Have you had a chance to get the limited time stamp set, Sent with Love? It is pretty cute! The bundle is pretty fun, with lots of great stuff in it. And it is only available thru April 30,2013!

I got mine a few weeks before this post goes live, and this is the first thing I made with it. I may or may not have stamped a couple of manilla envelopes with it too ;)

• Sent with Love
• Ink: Pool Party, Raspberry Ripple
• Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Raspberry Ripple, Sent With Love DSP
• Other: Big Shot with Chevrons EF and Apothecary Accents framelits, Raspberry Ripple Stitched Satin ribbon, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercer and Mat, Signo white gel pen, dimensionals, Postage Stamp punch

 The design from the card front is brought inside with the Pool Party and Raspberry Ripple stamping along the bottom. I think my lovely daughter is going to get a little care package with this card included :)

Only 2 days left for Sale-A-Bration! Do you have all the freebies you wanted? Better make sure! And if you are interested in becoming a demonstrator, now is the best time of year with extras and a reduced price on the Starter Kit! Contact me if you have any questions or visit my demo site to become a member of my team, or to place an order anytime :)

Orange Umbrella

Embossing, embossing, why can't I stop embossing?! I just love it lately! This little card took no time at all to develop. I knew I wanted to feature the umbrella and a general greeting. Then I dug through my scraps of DSP I had printed off MDS and found something that coordinated with the embossing powders I have.

I know that raindrops should not land under an umbrella, but they add some balance to the focal image. As for the ribbon, aren't you glad you got some of it before SAB ended?  Well, if you didn't there is still time. SAB runs until March 22, you have 4 days left. The DSP is from SAB too :)

• Stamps: Rain or Shine and Oh, Hello
• Ink: Illuminate, Basic Gray, Pool Party
• Paper: Sahara Sand, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP
• Other: Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercer, Tangerine Tango Sycamore Street ¼" Satin ribbon, Neutrals Designer button, White Baker's Twine, Embossing Buddy, Heat Gun, Tangerine Tango embossing powder, Rhinestones Basic Jewels