Flower Patch of NEW In Colors

I'm excited to finally receive my pre-order for the upcoming new catalog! That means five brand new In Colors to play with! I LOVE color...but never quite know how I feel about the colors until I get them in my hands and try them in person. Flower Patch is a good set to use when experimenting with color...here's my first card I made while playing with the new colors...I used each and every new In Color on this card!

While I'm sad to see this years rich, beautiful colors go, I'm happy to say that there are a couple new colors that I just love and the rest I like quite a bit. Sometimes there is at least one that I don't care for and have a hard time using...but this time I can see using them all and I rather like how they work together. They are fun, happy colors!

The base of the card is Peekaboo Peach, the matting layer is Dapper Denim, the ribbon is Sweet Sugarplum Ruched Ribbon, the leaves are Emerald Envy (both stamped off, and full strength) and finally, Flirty Flamingo was used on the flower centers. Which of these new In Colors do you like the best?

I also used a new stamp set called Thoughtful Banners. This is a great set that contains 46 different words that can be combined to create your perfect sentiment plus several shapes. The BEST part is that there are two new coordinating punches that go with this stamp set as well! One is a label shape (shown above) which was not available to pre-order. (I had to hand cut for this card)  The other punch is called Duet Banner and I can already tell I'll be using it a LOT! I'll be getting the other one in June on my first new catalog order for sure.

Check back tomorrow when I will have a set of five cards using each of the new colors.

Picture Perfect Mother's Day Easel Card

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday! It was a picture perfect Spring day here in Michigan! I was blessed to have both my boys here along with my beautiful Mom. My wonderful husband made us dinner and and the boys cleaned up...couldn't ask for a more memorable day! Here's the card I made for my Mom...

I used the color combo of Mint Macaron, Perfect Plum, Rich Razzleberry & Blackberry Bliss. I just love the way Picture Perfect and the Timeless Textures stamp sets work together. I put out a couple tutorials recently featuring projects using both of these sets. You can see them here.

I used a retired set, Blessed Mother for the sentiment and the Botanical Blooms stamps and framelits to create the flowers on the base of the card. Here's a closer look...

Clear Wink of Stella was used on the flowers and the hummingbird for some shimmer. I also made an alternate, easy to pop in the mail, version of this card.

Thank you for visiting.

Arrivederci Eleanor!

Another favorite retiring set of mine is Everything Eleanor...especially the beautiful swirl image! I used it several times on this card, stamping both the die cut label and the Mint Macaron layer at the same time.

Lots of retiring favorites were used on this card. The Deco Label Framelits, the Venetian Crochet Trim and the Petite Pairs stamp set are all retiring as well.

Shop my Stampin' Store to get your favorites before they are gone.

Sayonara Serene Silhouettes

Serene Silhouettes...another favorite that is soon to be retired. We used it at my Retiring Favorites Class last week to create this card along with the beautiful retiring In Colors.

Swipe each of the five In Color Markers across a clear block and mist with water to create the background. Then just stamp your image with Black Stazon after it's dried. I shared this free tutorial a while back if you want more info.

The sentiment is from Petite Pairs...I use that set a lot, but it is retiring as well. A pretty bow tied with White Seam Binding Ribbon finishes off the card. I'm sad to see all the Seam Binding Ribbon retiring...it is so soft and easy to work with. The stamped Whisper White layer is adhered to a Blackberry Bliss base...which is my absolute favorite retiring In Color.

For this next card, I swapped the Seam Binding Ribbon for Gold Sequin Trim and stepped up the card a bit with a few extra details...

Dazzling Details in Gold Glitz to be exact! I used it on the flowers and the added butterfly from Papillon Potpourri. 

The third card uses retired Blackberry Bliss Striped Satin Ribbon and some Basic Rhinestone Jewels.

The "HELLO" sentiment is from the Crazy About You stamp set...that one will be sticking around for a while longer. Here's a look at all three of the cards...

Which one do you like best?

Flippin' Friday: Flippin' For World of Dreams

I used to try and do a Flippin' Friday post weekly, but it's been a while! I used the Circle Card Thinlits Dies at my recent Retiring Favorites Class earlier this week so I figured it was a good time to revive the series for a final farewell. This card sure uses a LOT of retiring items...can you spot them all?

I used one of my very favorite retiring stamp sets - World of Dreams for the main image on this card. I just love the sweet little nesting birds. After stamping, it was punched out using the 2-1/2" Circle Punch. The 2-1/2" circle layers nicely onto the circle of the flip card. I'm really bummed they are retiring this large circle punch...it is one of my most used punches.

The Hardwood background (don't worry...Hardwood isn't on the chopping block!) along with the leafy image from World of Dreams was used to stamp the Lost Lagoon card base. That leafy image is really great for randomly stamping the perfect background for any of the images in this set. Lost Lagoon is one of the five retiring In Colors. It's one of my favorites in the set, second only to Blackberry Bliss.

The Crumb Cake label was cut with one of the accessory dies in the Circle Card Thinlits Set. The sentiment is from my much used Petite Pairs stamp set. It was punched using the Large Oval Punch, which is also retiring.

The flip side has one of the verses from World of Dreams along with the leafy image stamped off for a lighter look.

If you don't already have these favorites in your collection, visit my Stampin' Store to get yours today! The Circle Card Thinlits Dies are on sale for the discounted price of only $23.10
Have a wonderful weekend!

Goodbye Corner Garden

I'm here today to share another favorite retiring item...the Corner Garden background stamp. This is a card we made at my Retiring Favorites Class here on Tuesday.

This stamp is just lovely and so much fun to color! I stamped the image twice...the first time on Wisteria Wonder using Rich Razzleberry ink. The second time with Black Stazon onto Whisper White. The flowers were all watercolored using my Aqua Painters and Classic Ink pooled in the ink pad lids. The birthday greeting is from Petite Pairs...which is also retiring...sniff, sniff. I use that set ALL the time!

To finish the card I just matted the colored piece onto Soft Sky, added a couple Basic Rhinestones and popped it up with Stampin' Dimensionals lining the image up with the one on the Wisteria Wonder layer.

If you don't already have the Corner Garden background stamp in your collection...GOOD NEWS...the Clear Mount version is discounted during it's retirement for only $12.75. Pick yours up today!

So Long Little Letters & Numbers

So many awesome dies and punches are retiring this time around! Today I have a birthday card to share that uses the Little Letters & Numbers Framelits. These little dies are the perfect size to use on both cards and scrapbook pages.

I used papers from the It's My Party Stack and some from the Cherry On Top 6x6 Stack to pull in the more "manly" colors of Cucumber Crush and Bermuda Bay. I created a fun balloon bouquet using what else...the Balloon Bouquet Punch!

For embellishments I used Bakers Twine Combo Pack, Bermuda Bay 1/8" Stitched Ribbon and some assorted sequins scattered among the confetti background. Yes, a lot going on here...but a fun card I think.

Check back again soon for more projects featuring my favorite retiring products. If you would like to add them to your collection...better do so before they are gone!

Hello Life, Goodbye Eleanor!

My title sounds like an indignant breakup, when actually I'm just featuring some favorite retiring items again today. The "do more of what makes you happy" stamp from Hello Life is awesome! When first seeing this set I had plans to use it on some scrapbook pages, but I still have yet to use it on a page. Need to put that on my "to do" list! Anyways...today I have used it on a card.

I have used our gorgeous set of five retiring In Colors to create my watercolor background. I'm really going to miss these rich colors...especially Blackberry Bliss! If you want to try this watercolor background technique I shared this free tutorial a while back. It's a really fun, easy way to achieve the watercolor look.

I used the same background technique on a small scrap as well. Then stamped a flower from the Everything Eleanor stamp set. This is another set I have really loved...especially the swirled flourish. I used that on the corner where I attached the flower.

When I stamped the "do more of what makes you happy" image I had a little boo boo with the ink smearing around the "p" & "y". I hate when that happens! To make it less noticeable...hopefully you didn't notice it?, I added a little texture using the little honeycomb stamp from Butterfly Basics.

The Tangelo Twist card base is stamped using the textured polka dots from Timeless Textures...love that set!

Have a wonderful weekend..."do more of what makes you happy!"

So Long World of Dreams

Over the next couple of weeks I will be highlighting some of my favorite products that will soon be retiring. (I actually thought this card posted the other day...guess I forgot to hit "publish"? DOH!) Anyways...this springlike card features the beautiful set World of Dreams. I remember getting this set on my first new catalog order when it was first available. I fell in love with the images...especially this bird nest one. It's a great set for techniques.

I used the leafy image stamped randomly all over the Mint Macaron background then I stamped the Hardwood background stamp (I'm glad that one is sticking around!) inked in White Craft ink over the top of it. Wink of Stella Glitter Pen added some sparkle to the bird nest image and the die cut flower. Here's a closer look...

Don't you LOVE the gorgeous papers in the Birthday Bouquet pack of DSP? I used one of my favorite prints here for a slightly different version. I used the Bird Builder Punch to create the leaves...that's one of the many punches that is retiring.

What are you sad to see on the retiring list?

Going, Going, Gone...

Have you checked out the retired list yet? Lots of great products are retiring...some are discounted up to 50%!

A few of my favorite items leaving are the stamp sets Serene Silhouettes, World of Dreams, Swallowtail and Everything Eleanor. Favorite accessory is the Seam Binding Ribbon...I LOVE that stuff! Too many awesome punches and dies to name...

better check out the list to make sure you do not miss out on your favorites!

Last Week of Deals

WOW! The Weekly Deals are going out with a bang! Lots of great items offered at a discount for the last week of Weekly Deals.

Shop my store for these deals.

Have a wonderful day!

Picture Perfect Botanical Canvas

On Friday I posted a little peek at an upcoming project I was working on that uses many of the same products used to create the Picture Perfect Card Set. Instead of a card this is a home decor item perfect for Spring & Summer decorating. I just love the way it turned out! You can mount the finished piece to a canvas as shown here or frame it using a shadowbox frame.

For everyone who has already purchased the Picture Perfect Card Set Tutorial, check your inbox because I'm sending you the Picture Perfect Botanical Tutorial for FREE! You can easily create the above project to coordinate with your decor by following the steps outlined in my 7 page tutorial which includes lots of clear photos.

Note: the opportunity to receive this latest tutorial for FREE ended last night at midnight. I am however offering the PDF available for purchase in two ways...

The Picture Perfect Botanical Tutorial 7 Page PDF can be purchased on it's own for only $3.99 by simply clicking on the Paypal button below.

Purchase both tutorials together and receive a discount :
The Picture Perfect Card Set & Picture Perfect Botanical Tutorials can be purchased together for only $8.99 by simply clicking on the Paypal button below.

The original 20 page PDF tutorial includes detailed step by step instructions along with more than 40 clear photos, lots of tips and color charts to take the guess work out of which colors to use with this multi layered two-step stamp set. All the details can be found in this post.

The Picture Perfect Card Set Tutorial can be purchased on it's own for only $6.99 by simply clicking on the Paypal button below.

If you have any questions regarding supplies needed to complete these projects please contact me. Thanks again for the great response! I hope you enjoy this companion project.