So Hoppy Valentine

I meant to post this card BEFORE Valentines day, but got busy with other things...sorry about that!  The little frogs in the So Hoppy Together set are just too cute, and just perfect for a Valentine or any occasion. This fun set can be yours for FREE during Sale-A-Bration!

The tiny hearts that the froggie is juggling and the "love you" sentiment are from the retired Bloomin' Love set. The DSP used here is also retired and is from the Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack. The stack is loaded with cute Valentine themed prints and I had a lot of scraps left. This card layout is perfect for using up those scraps!

A quick brag to share my favorite sweet Valentine shown here in a surprise photo session I did for her Mommy & Daddy. The pennant banner in the background was created using SU! products.

She's at such a fun age and she sure brings so much joy into all our lives! Have a wonderful day!

Bloomin' Love Pandas

Happy Valentines Day! The Sale-A-Bration Party Pandas make adorable Valentine cards...especially when paired up with the Bloomin Love set. I used all the same supplies for three different looks.

The Pink Pirouette background panels are stamped using the Blooming Love stamp set. I used my Layering Circles & Stitched Shape Framelits to die cut the circles and layered them onto a Delicate White Doily.  The first card uses the bear holding a letter...for this one I didn't alter the image in any way...just stamped in Black Archival ink and watercolored using my Aquapainter. The "love you" sentiment is included in the Party Pandas set.

The second card features the panda floating away with a big heart balloon. For this card I just replaced the regular shaped balloon with a heart one. The XOXO sentiment is from the Bloomin' Love set (as well as the "friend" sentiment shown above) I sent this adorable balloon version to my granddaughter.

The last card required a little more work to create. I masked the letter in the pandas paws and then stamped it twice...once on Whisper White and again onto a scrap of Pink Pirouette cardstock. I then die cut the heart and stamped using the 'love you" stamp. It's popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals so  he's hugging the big heart.

The scalloped circles, hearts and flagged sentiment strips are all created using Berry Burst cardstock. This In Color is quickly becoming one of my favorite colors!

Do you have your Party Panda set yet? If not, place your $50 order during Sale-A-Bration and select either wood or clear mount for FREE. Also...don't forget to select me as your demo! I will send a free card kit at the end of the moth to all who order with me in February.

Have a SWEET day!

Delightful Pretty Kitty

Today is a gloomy, stormy Monday here in Michigan. Good news is that it's supposed to be mid 40's which is basically a heatwave for this time of year! Bad news is that it looks like instead of the sun we will be seeing lots of rain. Wah, wah! It's melting all the snow to reveal the drab brown grass and muddy roads...blah! So, how do I beat the Winter blues...in my studio playing with bright colors and Springy, floral products, accompanied by good music!

I think you will agree that this cheerful card using one of the adorable images from Pretty Kitty along with Delightful Daisy DSP looks very happy and Spring-like!

I colored this kitty to look like my Mom's cat because this card is for her. I used my Aqua Painter along with colors of Classic Ink to coordinate with the DSP. I did use the black Watercolor Pencil as well to color the kitty. You cannot tell from the photo, but I used Wink of Stella to add some shimmer to the flowers.

I just love watercoloring the sweet kitty images in the Pretty Kitty stamp set! A while back, I even created a tutorial that takes you step by step watercoloring each image to create a set of cards...if you are interested you can purchase it here.

You can't give a card with a naked envelope, right?!

I used the flowers from the Bloomin' Love set to add a floral design to the envelope. Have a delightful day!

Blooming Love for Mr. & Mrs.

Some dear friends got married and we went to California to be at their wedding! It was my first time visiting there and we were so happy to be able to share in my friends special day!

I used the Blooming Love stamp set and coordinating Blooming Heart Thinlits. It looks so pretty cut from Shimmery White card stock! The Basic Pearls add just the right touch.

Thanks for visiting!

Honeycomb Happiness Easter Chick

I've been super busy the past couple weeks with home improvement projects...mainly painting the baseboard trim & door frames throughout our house. Wish I could say I was finished...sadly maybe about 2/3 of the way done. I did finish painting all the window trim though! It does look really good, but it is a killer on the knees & back! In the evening, by the time I finished cleaning up after dinner, I've been too tired to get busy in my studio...so that's why I haven't posted in a while.

However...I did take most of this week off of painting. Woo Hoo!  I had a class here on Wednesday, and some spare time yesterday, so I have some new creations to share with you! Today, I have a card using the adorable little chick from the Honeycomb Happiness stamp set.

I just love this little guy...or gal? When first seeing him, I envisioned him popping out of an egg for a cute Easter card. I figured I would use one of my oval framelits to die cut an egg shape. Then, I would have to freehand draw a jagged edge and cut off the top. Then I spotted this super cute card on Pinterest using the chevron border from the Work of Art stamp set, and it made my plan so much easier! Thanks for the inspiration Lisa!

I stamped the chevron 3 times...in Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder and Bermuda Bay onto scrap of Whisper White. Then I diecut using an oval framelit, and easily cut off top followed the line created by the cheveron edge. To complete the egg I used a black Project Life Journaling Pen to outline along the outer edge, so that it better matched the line art of the chick.

He was stamped in Black Stazon and watercolored using an Aquapainter. The little flower is from the Bloomin' Love stamp set. You cannot tell from the photo, but I used the Clear Wink of Stella Brush over the flower for a littler glimmer. The Basic Pearls are on sale this week as part of the weekly deals...for only $3.75.

If you don't already have the Honeycomb Happiness stamp set...time is running out! Less than one week left to pick out a FREE Sale-A-Bration item with every $50 ordered! Visit my online store to order yours today! Sale-A-Bration ends on March 31st.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Flashback Friday - Bloomin' Love & Laughter

It's Friday already!? This week flew by! A dear friend got engaged on Valentine's Day and this is the card I created for her and her husband to be.

I used the retired set Love & Laughter for the sentiment and one of my favorite wheels...Wedding Words to create the background. Does anyone else miss wheels? I especially love them for scrapbooking, and need to remember to use them more.

Of course, the beautiful heart was cut using the Bloomin' Heart Thinlit Die. Isn't it  simply gorgeous cut from the sparkling Black Glimmer Paper?  The little flowers, were first stamped in Crumb Cake using the Bloomin' Love stamp set and then die cut with the Bloomin' Heart Thinlit Dies as well. The larger flowers were cut from Red Glimmer Paper. The Bloomin' Heart Thinlits and the coordinating Bloomin' Love stamp set are still available in the current Occasions Catalog.

Have a bloomin' wonderful weekend!

Bloomin' Heart Canvas

Happy Valentines Day! This beautiful canvas went together in no time thanks to the gorgeous Bloomin' Heart Thinlit Dies!

I had all my pieces ready, and had originally intended to use a heart cut from Red Glimmer Paper, until I saw this gorgeous card on Pinterest created by Karen Barber. I thought the heart looked so dramatic & elegant cut from Black Glimmer Paper, so thanks to Karen for the inspiration!

It's funny that I already had my embossed piece ready using the Elegant Dots Embossing Folder even before seeing her card. I think it layers nicely with the intricate heart. Here's a closer look...

Along with layers of Glimmer paper, I used a print from the Love Blossoms DSP Stack. A bow made from Silver Satin Ribbon and some Basic Rhinestones finish off my canvas.

Just a reminder...tomorrow is the last day to choose several items as your freebie during Sale-a-Bration. After February 15th, these items will no longer be available:

• Sky is the Limit stamp set
• Hello stamp set
• Perfectly Artistic DSP

The good news is that three more great products will be taking their place!

Have a lovely day!

Flashback Friday: Bloomin' Love Banner

With Valentines approaching I knew I wanted to make a banner using the beautiful Love Blossoms Suite of products offered in the Occasions Catalog. While those products are new, I also used a few retired items as well, so I'm sharing as this weeks Flashback Friday post. Check it out...

The canvas banner pieces are part of the Build a Banner Simply Created Kit that was previously available in the  2014-15 catalog. I picked up some refill kits on the Clearance Rack a while back...there may still be some available there. If not, there is an updated version with different shaped canvas pieces and stencils on page 155 of the current catalog.

The die cut letters are cut from Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper using one of my favorite retired die sets - the Serif Essentials Bigz Dies which were last available in the 2011-12 Idea Book & Catalog. Each letter is layered onto a circle cut from Love Blossoms DSP...such super cute prints in that stack!

The stamped sentiments are included in the Bloomin' Love stamp set. As are the little flowers. The flowers also have coordinating dies to easily cut them out included in the Bloomin' Heart Thinlit Die set. However, the real showstopper in that set of dies has to be this gorgeous detailed heart...isn't it just beautiful cut from Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper?

Each canvas banner piece is stenciled using Sponge Daubers with Crumb Cake and Blushing Bride inks and Decorative Masks...it's really quite quick & easy!

On the jute twine between each canvas banner, I've attached a rose bud cut from Typeset Specialty Paper using the Spiral Flower Die. Before rolling the flower into shape I sponged with Crumb Cake and Blushing Bride inks and added some sparkle using the Wink of Stella Glitter Brush. Lots of Basic Rhinestones and Blushing Bride Sequin Trim add the finishing touches to this Valentine's Day banner. Here's a look at it hanging over my fireplace.

Have a lovely Valentine's weekend!

Bloomin' Love Fancy Fold Valentine

Here is a special Valentine card that uses many items in the Love Blossoms Suite of products available from Stampin' Up!'s Occasions Catalog.

 The Love Blossoms DSP stack has so many darling prints...I used three different prints here. The Bloomin' Love stamp set is also used along with the coordinating Bloomin' Heart Thinlit Dies. I hand cut the two large stamped hearts and the mats....too bad there was not a framelit for those.

The mats for the hearts are cut from Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper...it is so pretty & sparkly! The Clear Wink of Stella Brush also added some beautiful shimmer to the die cut flowers popped up on the hearts.

The card folds up flat to fit inside a standard sized envelope.

Flashback Friday: Honeycomb Cheep Talk

This week just flew by! Cannot believe it's already time to share another Flashback Friday project. I've been thinking that the adorable little bird from Honeycomb Happiness needed a little branch to sit on, so I dug out my retired Cheep Talk set...

Do you remember this set? So cute, right?! I love the sentiments that are curved to fit around the branch...which just happens to be the perfect perch for the Honeycomb Happiness bird.

Since the bird is an outline image that needs to be colored and the branch is a solid image, I outlined the branch after stamping it with the fine tip Project Life Journaling Pen. (I highly recommend these pens even if you don't scrapbook.) Outlining the branch makes it coordinate better with the line art image.

I also used the Bloomin' Love stamp set and Bloomin' Heart Thinlit Dies for the little flowers, which are popped up and added a Basic Rhinestone to the center.

I used 3 different prints from the Love Blossoms Paper Stack as well...this stack has such super cute patterns! I used one of my favorite retired punches...the Photo Corner Punch and Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon as well. Glad I have an extra roll of that in my stash!

Have a GREAT weekend! If you need a good laugh, go see the movie Sisters with Tina Fey & Amy Poehler! I laughed so hard in a few parts I was crying! Those two make such a great team...it truly was one of the funniest movies I've seen a long time.

Honeycomb Happiness Hello

If I had to pick just one favorite image from both the upcoming Sale-A-Bration and the Occasions catalogs, I think it would have to be this sweet little bird from the Honeycomb Happiness stamp set. Isn't he just darling?

Even sweeter than this little bird...is the fact that the Honeycomb Happiness stamp set is available for FREE as part of this years Sale-A-Bration!

I stamped him in Black Stazon and then water colored him in Crumb Cake ink using my Aqua Painter. The little die cut flower is part of the Bloomin' Love stamp set, which has a set of coordinating Thinlits. The DSP is part of the Love Blossoms Paper Stack...it has 24 different designs included in the 6x6" stack!

Sale-A-Bration starts tomorrow...January 5th!