Lift Me Up Balloon Glow

I'm so happy to see that one of my favorite stamp sets from the Occasions Catalog will be in the upcoming Annual Catalog! Every year the town I live in has a huge Balloon Festival where balloonists come from all over to compete. It really is a treat for the eyes to see all the gorgeous colors as dozens of balloons inflate and take launch! In the evening many of the balloons return to the launch site to do a balloon glow. It really is quite spectacular!

When I purchased the Lift Me Up stamp set and the Up & Away Thinlits, I knew that I was going to use them to scrap some of the photos I took at last years festival. Here's one of the pages.

I used the Cupcakes & Carousels DSP, which is still available in the Occasions Catalog. I love this paper, but it's 6x6 size presented a little bit of a challenge to use on this 12x12 page. I had to get a little creative to hide seams and also used a larger piece of retired DSP from the Best Year Ever paper pack (retired SAB paper) for the main background.

The title was cut using the retired Little Letters Thinlits. Here's a closer look at the die cut balloon detail of my page.

I used a mix of both patterned paper and coordinating card stock for my balloon. The little pennant banner was fussy cut from one of the patterns in the Cupcakes & Carousels stack.

Thanks for visiting today!

Cake Crazy Balloon Adventure Blues

Now that the retirement list is out, we know which stamp sets and accessories will not be carried over from the current Occasions Catalog  to the upcoming new Annual Catalog. Two such sets are used on the card I have to share with you today.

Funny thing...up until today I've had the name of this stamp set backwards! I've been calling it Crazy Cake when it's really named Cake Crazy! This card is for a guy, so I went with a masculine color combo and minimal embellishments. For added texture I popped up the banner and used the Confetti Embossing Folder on the main panel. This EF is one of the items that has been discounted on the Retirement list by 50%...so it's only $3.75!

Colors used: Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise, Bermuda Bay & Emerald Envy.

The outside is fun and festive, but the inside really pops...literally!

I used the Balloon Adventures stamp set and the coordinating Balloon Pop-Up Thinlits Dies. Those are also a real bargain right now at 1/2 off...thats only $16.50 for the set of 8 thinlits that both cut and score to create this unique pop up for the inside of your card. One of the dies in this set creates a slot, shown on the left panel of the card. It easily creates a pocket for a tag or in this case a gift card.

I love the sentiments and the fonts used in the Balloon Adventures set as well. I've had a lot of fun combining these two stamp sets  to make fun birthday cards. I have not used them on any scrapbook pages yet, but I hope to do that soon. If you have not yet ordered these items, I'd suggest to do that soon as well! Especially with them being on sale, they could be gone quickly at that price.
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Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Special Reason Thank You

Have you seen Stampin' Up!s Retiring List yet?  There are so many awesome things leaving *sniff, sniff* to make room for awesome new things. Sadly, one of my newest favorites is retiring...the Special Reason stamp set along with the Stylish Stems Framelits. If you don't already have these items, they are just a couple of the many products that are not only retiring, but retiring with a deep discount. I'd really recommend this set along with the coordinating framelits...especially if you are a scrapbooker.

This card also features DSP and ribbon in my favorite retiring In Color...Mint Macaron. Love, love LOVE the Blooms and Bliss DSP, wish is also retiring along with all the current DSP. So if you have a favorite pack of Designers Series Paper, better scoop it up now while its still available!

Shop Now before they are gone!

Special Reason Sweet Baby Girl Page

I've been busy doing a little scrapbooking this past week. Why is it that every time I get busy with a project (especially scrapbooking!) it looks like a tornado went through my studio!?

I swear....every flat surface is covered with a pile of supplies. Because I just have to pull out everything that could possibly work on my pages, and then decide nope, don't need that! I even had to drag in an extra table for my DSP!

Look at my messy desk...I end up with just enough space to barely work. Then I spend way too much of my precious stampin' time searching for things that I misplaced. It drives me nuts!  Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this! OK...rant over, and my space has been cleaned, so time to share my page.


I had a  "special reason" in mind when I purchased the Special Reason Bundle...creating some pages featuring our new grand daughter. I decided to use one of my favorite photos I took of her during our first official photo shoot for my first page. She was wearing a little purple headband...so I wanted to use purple on my layout...off to a good start!

I thought so...until I searched through stacks and stacks of beautiful paper (part of the reason for mess!) looking for the perfect print to use with the photo...only to realize I'm seriously lacking in DSP featuring a shade of purple anywhere near close to the headband! How could that be? Purple is one of my favorite colors, and I have enough pretty patterned paper to open a scrapbook store! (Don't tell my husband!) So I decided I needed to make my own Designer Series Paper.

Right now the closest shade that Stampin' Up! carries to the headband is Wisteria Wonder. I like the way it looks with Sahara Sand...which is featured in the lace printed paper from the Falling In Love pack, so I went with those two colors for this page.

In addition to the Special Reason stamp set I used Timeless Textures, Gorgous Grunge and Jar of Love (tiny flower and leaves) to create my own patterned paper. The tiny flower from Jar of Love is a smooth, solid image so I used the kissing technique with the burlap image in Timeless Textures to add some texture so they better coordinated with the flowers in the Special Reason stamp set. I die cut some of the leaves from the Mint Macaron Glimmer Paper that was available during SAB to add a little sparkle. I love that this set has a stamp and framelits to create layered labels, used here to record her name & age.

I used the retired Pennent Punch to create part of the title. I stamped the word "sweet" using the retired Occasions Alphabet set and punched them out with 1/2" Circle Punch. I made the bow using Wisteria Wonder Seam Binding Ribbon. I miss having the seam binding ribbon in the catalog...sure glad I stocked up on that before it retired.

Speaking of retiring...today is the day we find out which items in the current catalog will be retiring. Even after so many years as a SU! demo, I still have a hard time saying goodbye to my favorites. That's why I end up keeping most of my old sets!

Inside the Lines Dragonfly

I can't believe that Sale-A-Bration is already drawing to an end for another year! If you have not placed your orders...please do ASAP so you don't miss out. You could choose the Inside the Lines DSP as your FREE item. I used it here on this card.

The intricate dragonfly was cut using the Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits. The detailed layer was cut from Sweet Sugarplum Glimmer Paper (sold out) and the solid layer from Vellum Cardstock. I then sponged the vellum with colors used when coloring the Inside the Lines DSP on the bottom half of card. Here's a closer look...

The embossed background was created using the Hexagons Dynamic Textured EF...it's my new favorite embossing folder!

Remember...last chance to Sale-A-Brate! Place your order today!

Have a great weekend!

Inside the Lines Poppies

I sat down the other night and finally did some watercoloring using the Watercolor Pencils and Inside the Lines DSP. It's so relaxing to sit and color. My favorite sheet in the pack is this poppy patterned piece.

I used my Aqua Painter and Calypso Coral, Old Olive, Bermuda Bay & Daffodil Delight pencils. After I was done I used Wink of Stella on the bees wings and on the center of each flower. The sentiment, from Dragonfly Dreams, is embossed in Gold Embossing Powder on Vellum. The pretty lace trim along the edge is an image from the Delicate Details stamp set embossed with White Embossing Powder. Gold 1/8" Ribbon finishes off this card.

Don't miss out...

There's only a couple more days to place your Sale-A-Bration order and get the Inside the Lines DSP, Delicate Details stamp set or any of the other great products available through March 31st. Place your order with me and use the Hostess Code: 3HR4GYDR and I will send you out a card kit to create 3 beautiful cards as an extra bonus from me.

So don't delay...place your order today!

Special Reason Pair

Back in the early days SU! carried very little DSP. If you wanted background paper to compliment the main stamped image on your project you had to create it yourself.  So when stamping with my new Special Reason set, I decided to go "old school" and have some fun creating my own DSP.

I love that this set has smaller versions of the flower & leaf, so it really lends itself well to creating a smaller background like I did fr these cards. As you can see, I used two color combos. The first one uses Bermuda Bay & Island Indigo for the flowers and Mint Macaron with Wild Wasabi for the leaves.

The second card features Melon Mambo & Rich Razzleberry flowers. On each of the handstamped background papers I lightly inked over the design using the line image from Gorgeous Grunge inked in Sahara Sand, along with a few ink spotches thrown in for good measure.

For the solid color strip on the left of each card I used the great new Hexagons Dynamic Embossing Folder. I just love the deeply embossed pattern it leaves...don't you? If you don't have this one yet, I highly recommend it! 

Thanks for visiting..have a great weekend!

Special Reason Spring Flowers

Hello there! I've been away on vacation and now that I'm back home and back in the swing of things I finally had some time to stamp. Since the calendar says it's Spring (I wish Mother Nature got that memo!) I thought some Spring flowers were in order!

Since it had been a while since I had stamped, I needed a little inspiration. Before I started stamping I looked on Pinterest for a fun card using the Special Reason stamp set and the coordinating Stylish Stems Framelits. I came across this beautiful card created by Kris and loved the layout she used. I chose my colors...and got rolling...

Rock'n Rolling! I inked each image in the lightest color and rocked & rolled the edges in a darker color to give a shaded look. To blend the colors even more, I used a Sponge Dauber. The center of each flower was colored using the darker color. The colors I used are: 

• Peekaboo Peach & Calypso Coral
• Melon Mambo & Rich Razzleberry
• Bermuda Bay & Island Indigo
• Wild Wasabi & Cucumber Crisp

I love that the Stylish Stems Framelits have both intricate and sold shapes to mix and match. I placed a piece if Cupcakes & Carousels DSP behind the intricate cut flower.

Here's a look at this pair of cheery cards...

Thanks to Kris for the inspiration for these cards! With Pinterest and so many talented stampers out there who take the time to share on their blogs, it's easy to find inspiring ideas for any stamp set. You know what is also easy? Taking a minute to credit your source of inspiration. ;-) So if you find a project online that inspires you enough to re-create it and then share it on your own website, please take a minute to acknowlege the person who inspired you. Leaving them a nice message or linking back to their original creation (or both) is always a nice courtesy which can totally make someones day.

Stepped Up Lift Me Up

My last blog posting a shared a cute, fairly simple card using the Lift Me Up stamp set. Todays card is a stepped up version.

This time I used Rich Razzleberry for the main panel and embossed it using the Festive Embossing Folder. I matted my image and also added some popped up, die cut clouds as well as a couple more balloons. I finished off the card with some Bakers Twine and a die cut flower and Basic Rhinestone. Here's a look at the two cards together.

Everyone who places a Sale-A-Bration order of $50 with me during the month of March and uses the Hostess Code will recieve a card kit to make these two cards + one more...which will remain a surprise! It will contain complete instructions as well as envelopes. I will ship out all the kits at the end of the month. Visit my stampin' store to order the supplies today.

Lift Me Up on Cloud Nine

I love this simple, yet cute and cheery card created with the Lift Me Up stamp set.

The background was created using die cut cloud masks and then sponged using Pool Party ink. The "hill border" at the bottom is one of my favorite images from the Delicate Details stamp set. It is is a FREE choice during Sale-A-Bration.

Colors used: Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Wild Wasabi, Peekaboo Peach & Rich Razzleberry.

Thanks for visiting today...check back to see my next post which will feature a Step it Up version of this card.

Stained Glass Dragonfly Dreams

The intricate dragonfly die featured in the Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits is perfect for the stained glass technique.

I had the background panel using the Hardwood Background and Awesomely Artistic already created from a previous stampin' session, so all I needed to do was add the dragonfly and a sentiment for a quick card. (I shared another version of this card here)

The detailed dragonfly die cut was cut from Basic Black cardstock and the solid layer behind it was cut from Vellum Cardstock. I sponged some color onto the Vellum and adhered it behind the intricate die cut. Then I painted the entire piece with my Clear Wink of Stella Brush Pen for some beautiful shimmer. You can kind of see it in this close up photo, but it's so much prettier in person!

I added a few small rhinestones to the floral background and the card was complete. Thanks for stopping by today!

Super Crazy Cake

I made a super deluxe Cake Crazy card for a friends 50th birthday. It measures 9" tall and fits into a standard business sized envelope.

She loves pink, so I used Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink and Basic Black inks. I die cut the 50 and created a cake stand using Black Shimmer Paper. A few of the cake layers also are painted with Clear Wink of Stella for even more sparkle. To create the base of the cake plate I used the tag die from the Balloon Pop-Up Thinlets and just cut both ends of a small piece of the Black Shimmer Paper to create a pedestal. A small strip of the Black Shimmer Paper with ends rounded is the cake plate. To conceal the seam I used a strip of the small Basic Rhinestones. Cool right? But wait til she opens it!

The Balloon Pop-Up Thinlets Die measures 6" wide so I added an additional 1-1/2 wide strips of DSP to the top and bottom. I lined up the score marks on my Simply Scored Tool and carefully scored the DSP to match the lines on the die cut. That is one of the really cool things about this pop up feature...the die cuts and scores at the same time!

It's then super easy to stamp with the coordinating Balloon Adventures photopolymer stamp set. Combining the Cake Crazy set with the Balloon Adventures Bundle makes for endless combinations of fun birthday projects!

Lift Me Up Sugarplum

Here I've combined a favorite Occasions set, Lift Me Up, with a favorite Sale-a-Bration set, Delicate Details and used a favorite In Color...Sweet Sugarplum. The result is a super cute (if I do say so!) thank you card!

Since Delicate Details is a photopolymer set it is super easy to line up the images just where you want them to create a background like the one above which uses 4 of the 5 images in the set. To create the multi colored balloons, I first inked in the lightest color and then used a sponge dauber to add a darker color. I masked the balloons and then stamped the clouds.

Colors used: Sweet Sugarplum, Rich Razzleberry & Blushing Bride.

Thanks for visiting today!

Love is in the Air!

Valentine's Day is almost here...and the Lift Me Up Bundle was the perfect choice to make a cute card for my Valentine.

I just love the large, intricate die cut balloon and I was happy to see that after trimming away the top portion I could create a heart shaped balloon that is perfcet for Valentine's Day! I die cut Red, Silver & Gold Foil to paper piece the background of the balloon. I love that these dies has a die for each section of the balloon! Have I told you I LOVE these dies!???

I tried to keep this card more on the masculine side, but I couldn't resist adding a strand of the Gold Sequin Trim and some Red Glimmer Paper hearts. The large heart is included in the Up & Away Thinlit set and the tiny hearts are cut from a heart border die included in the Jar of Love Framelits.

The DSP along the bottom of the card is from This Christmas Specialty Paper.

Thnaks for visiting today...have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Birthday Balloon Adventures

Using the Balloon Adventures Bundle it is really easy to create a total WOW card in no time at all!

I die cut the 3 detailed balloon overlays using the balloon dies from the Balloon Pop-Up Thinlits. The Silver Glimmer Paper was punched out using the Balloon Bouquet Punch. These two tools work hand in hand to create some really fun projects! The DSP I used is from a retired stack called Cherry On Top. I think the ribbons and confetti coordinate wonderfully with these images, so I went with it. There is also a great new Designer Series Paper in the Occasions Catalog that coordinates with this suite of products called Party Animal...so the possibilities are limitless!

While the outside of my card is fun & festive, it's the inside of the card that really steals the show!

I just love this cool pop-up feature! Since the stamps in this set are photopolymer it is super easy to line up the stamps on the die cuts. I stamped the Cucumber Crush card base behind the balloons with the confetti image before adhering the die cut pop-up feature. Along with Cucumber Crush I also used Bermuda Bay & Crushed Curry to create this masculine birthday card.

Have a happy day!