Happy Birthday Sunshine!

I could not resist posting again today after I found this challenge at The Friday Mashup, it fit my mood too well for this past weekend. Yes, there is still a bunch of snow in my yard, but considerably less than on Friday.  And my driveway is 99% free of snow/ice. So yes, it kind of was like a birthday for the sunshine :)

The challenge was to create something showcasing sunshine. Instant love and inspiration!

I even like the Summer Starfruit on this card. And incidentally, the stamps I used are retiring also. I used sentiment stamps from two sets. The "sunshine" is from Pursuit of Happiness, the stamps that reads "Live in the sunshine-Ralph Waldo Emerson". I just used Scotch tape to mask up the words I didn't need while I inked up the stamp on the inkpad, then peeled the tape off before stamping. Slick trick I learned from one of my stampin' friends. Sorry, I don't remember which friend, but THANKS! It is an awesome trick :)

• Stamps: Best Dad Ever, Pursuit of Happiness
• Ink: Summer Starfruit
• Paper: Naturals White, Summer Starfruit, Pool Party Core'dinations
• Other: Big Shot with Cloudy Day embossing folder and Floral Frames and Labels framelits, Tea Lace Doily, Signo white gel pen, Sanding Block, dimensionals, 1¼" Square punch

How was your sunshine this weekend?

Mom's Flowers

Does this look a little familiar? Sorry, I just had to make another card with this color combo and pattern. Some things bear repeating.

 

 A few die cuts, layers, and some ribbon and this card is all dressed up with somewhere to go! My mother's favorite color used to be yellow. I don't know what it is anymore, and if she is anything like me, it changes fairly frequently! 

• Stamps: Secret Garden, Wonderful Mother
• Ink: Calypso Coral, Summer Starfruit, Early Espresso, Illuminate, Craft Whisper White
• Paper: Naturals White, Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake, Summer Starfruit, Early Espresso, Whisper White
• Other: Big Shot with Secret Garden and Apothecary Accents framelits, 1¼" Circle punch, Early Espresso ¼" Stitched Grosgrain ribbon, Embossing Buddy, Heat GUn, White embossing powder, Aquapainter, dimensionals

I hope I have inspired you all to create your own Mother's Day cards. Handmade is the best :)

Jar of Love

Here is another Mother's Day card! It would work for anyone really, but my intention was Mother's Day. Sadly, all of the stamps I used are retiring! Retiring stamp sets are available through June 3, 2013 though so you can still get these sets for a little while longer.

I stamped the jar, then uses a blender pen and Pool party ink to add some blue shading. The jar was cut out with the coordinating die. The hydrangea-like flower was punched out with the small oval punch and the blue flower has a coordinating die also. Don't ask me why I chose Pumpkin Pie ribbon..... I still don't know!

• Stamps: Perfectly Preserved, Friendly Phrases
• Ink: Basic Gray, Pool Party, Marina Mist, Perfect Plum, Gumball Green
• Paper: Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Whisper White
• Other: Big Shot with Cannery framelits, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercer and Mat, 1/8" Pumpkin Pie Taffeta ribbon, dimensionals, Small Oval, Corner Rounder, and 1¼" Square punches

I have at least 1 more Mother's Day card to show you, and some more Main Catalog Preview stuff in the days to come!

Preorder Madness!

So, one of the huge perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is the preorder period for any of the catalogs, and this week we got to get a smattering of things from the main catalog that will debut May 31, 2013. Such excitement, I had to next day air my order so I could get my copy of the new catalog AND play with the new In-Colors and a couple of new sets! I have a few days off before I go back to work again, and have the chance to play :)

This is actually the second of three cards I made on Thursday after my box of goodies arrived. I am over the moon about the new colors and this set! The main panel was so easy to stamp, I just started in the middle and worked my way out eye-balling it the whole time! And the whole card idea just popped into my head after looking at this sketch from Retro Sketches.

• Stamps: Mosaic Madness, Teeny Tiny Wishes
• Ink: Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar, Strawberry Slush, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
• Paper: Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar, Strawberry Slush, Early Espresso
• Other: Big Shot with Modern Mosaic embossing folder, Bitty Shapes punch pack, Signo white gel pen, Pearls Basic Jewels, dimensionals, sponges

 

And one more view because I just could not decide which on I liked better! That will teach me to take more than 2 pictures of a card. So, did you spy the names of some new stuff? Well, I will be posting more new stuff in days to come. I also have more Mother's Day stuff coming as promised!

Wishful Thinking

Here in the frozen tundra (that would be Northern Minnesota right now) we are wishing spring had sprung! I know that it will eventually. But I swear, if there is still snow on the ground in June, I am going to cry. I need some sunshine, and to play in the dirt. So in the meantime, instead of planting flowers, I will have to stamp them. I just finally broke down and ordered the Secret Garden bundle. I really like it. I hadn't seen too many cards I liked with it, but I knew I could do stuff with it that I would like.

This was the first thing I made with this set, and I love it, even though it is a nearly one-layer card. It has enough complexity to make me happy :) I used the Aquapainter and some Whisper White reinker to paint the line art flowers after embossing them in white.

• Stamps: Hey There, Friend and Secret Garden
• Ink: Illuminate, Calypso Coral, Summer Starfruit, Early Espresso, Whisper White Craft
• Paper: Crumb Cake, Summer Starfruit
• Other: Embossing Buddy, Heat Gun, White embossing powder, Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, Signo white gel pen, sticky strip

Paper Pumkin Trial Project

My Paper Pumpkin is a monthly subscription to a complete project in a box from Stampin' Up!. This is the trial package that you can get without subscribing and gives you an idea of what to expect before you commit. I just got mine last week and decides to play with it a bit.

ETA: I found a challenge this fit into perfectly! Check out the My Paper Pumpkin Challenge here.

The project is to little notebooks 3½"x5½" in size that comes with the 2 stamps shown, Daffodil Delight Baker's Twine, and a sheet of 12 cute little cardstock butterfly stickers! I couldn't resist using some of the supplies I had on hand (the doily and the pearls, and a scrap of Naturals White paper) and I stitched the doily down on one side. I love how this turned out, and I still have a bunch of butterflies, twine, and another notebook to decorate!

I hope you give this a try.

Click here to order the Try It kit. 

Click here to subscribe to My Paper Pumpkin.

And don't forget to choose me, Tanya Boser, as your demonstrator if you don't already have one!

Sahara Wisteria Plum

It is the season to make a pile of Mother's Day cards! At my house at least :) I need to take a bunch to sell at work. I needed a little inspiration, so I hopped over to MojoMonday and Friday Mashup! for a little help.

 I started with the color challenge from Friday Mashup, which was Sahara Sand, Wisteria Wonder, and Perfect Plum. A bit of a challenge, I must admit.

Then I looked at a couple sketch challenges and finally settled on this one. And away I went!

There are a lot of layers on this puppy! I like how it turned out though. I used a technique I learned from a swapping friend of mine, Debra Burgin. She called it Faux Bleach, and what you do is take an Aquapainter and pick up some Whisper White Craft reinker and paint it onto your images on colored paper. I don't think it looks like bleach on this card, but I really like the effect anyway :)

• Stamps: Secret Garden, Wonderful Mother
• Ink: Whisper White Craft, Illuminate (for embossing), Basic Gray, Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum
• Paper: Sahara Sand, Naturals White, Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum, In-Color DSP pack
• Other: Big Shot with Secret Garden framelit and Honeycomb embossing folder, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Wisteria Wonder Baker's Twine, Embossing Buddy, Heat Gun, White embossing powder, Aquapainter, dimensionals, 1¾" Circle punch, Signo white gel pen, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercer and Mat, sewing machine and thread

More Mother's Day cards to come, so stay tuned!