Watermelon Wildflowers

One of my favorite floral sets has got to be Wild About Flowers. I love that the stems and buds are separate stamps...and photopolymer so that it is super easy to ink in the appropriate colors and line up.

In this case, the colors I used for the flowers are Blushing Bride along with Watermelon Wonder. I inked the whole stamp with the lighter color, and then used a Sponge Dauber to add the darker color. I used the same method to ink the leaves. The colors I used are Wild Wasabi and Cucumber Crush. While I had everything out, I also added a stamped flower to the inside of my card and to an envelope as well.

I used the Hardwood stamp inked in Sahara Sand to lightly stamp over my floral scene. After layering the stamped diecut onto the next larger Soft Sky diecut using Lots of Labels Framelits, I pierced around the outside for extra interest.

The small butterfly from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and each of the flowers were colored using the Clear Wink of Stella Brush. I also used Dazzling Details on the center of each flower. I tried to capture this in my photo without much luck...but trust me, in real life its nice and sparkly!

Thank you for visiting today!

Hawaiian Botanical Blooms

This has been a busy week with not much spare time to stamp or post. I did however work a little here and there to complete a two page layout using all the awesome products included in my favorite bundle from the Occasions Catalog. Here's a look at the left page...

I was so excited when I saw this bundle offered because I have a TON of vacation photos to scrap. I've been having lots of fun layering the different die cut pieces using the Botanical Builder Framelits to create a variety of different flowers. Don't you just love the look of the leaf edgelit included in the set of framelits? I used it to cut a border along the bottom of both my pages. Then I layered on my diecut flowers.The leaves were stamped first using the Botanical Blooms stamp set.

The Botanical Gardens DSP has a real tropical feel to it. I chose my color scheme from the colors used in the papers...Cajun Craze, Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow & Old Olive. I also used some Cherry Cobbler to pull in the red from my photos and substituted the Mint Macaron in favor of Pool Party because I thought Pool Party coordinated better with my photos.

Each Friday I've been sharing a flashback post featuring a retired product. This weeks Flashback Friday is kind of subtle. You probably did not pay much attention to the background pages of my layout, but I used an old favorite wheel to add a textured pattern to my otherwise solid 12x12 cardstock. I had several sheets of 12x12 So Saffron, but I didn't have any 12x12 in Hello Honey (which is what I really needed) so I just used Hello Honey Ink along with the Rough Around the Edges wheel to add texture and darken the lighter cardstock.

The strip of So Saffron card stock to the left of the wheel shows how it looked if I just wheeled over it once. However, for my background I went over it several times to get the look I wanted. Wheels with random, textured patterns are great for this technique, and it is super quick & easy...even without an ink cartridge! Here's a look at both pages of my layout...

I love the way the items in this bundle work together to easily get great results when creating a variety of different projects. This bundle includes the Botanical Blooms stamp set,  Botanical Builder Framelits and the coordinating Botanical Gardens DSP.  All of these products can be found in my Online Store.

The weather may be part of the reason I've been enjoying working on these tropical scrapbook pages so much. This is what it looks like outside my window here in Michigan today...

Here I am with Spring on my mind, and we just got blasted with around 10 inches of snow! Looking at a beautiful tropical sunset and flowers was a nice little escape!

Have a GREAT 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!

Timeless Flower Shop Textures

I hadn't used the Flower Shop stamp set in a while. It's one of my favorite stamp sets with a coordinating punch. The flower I chose has a burlap type texture that works perfectly with the new Timeless Textures stamp set.

Isn't the Watermelon Wonder 1" Stitched Satin Ribbon luscious? It is so silky and pretty! The "Thank You Kindly" sentiment is from the Sale-A-Bration set Perfect Pairings. It's a great set which I highly recommend if you don't have it yet. I also made this card, and stepped it up a bit by adding a few more details.

As you can see, I used a different sentiment...the big "Hello" from the aptly named Hello stamp set. This set is a limited time stamp set available during Sale-a-Bration. I also added more ribbon by layering the thinner Bermuda Bay 1/8" Stitched Ribbon on top of the Watermelon Wonder Ribbon. I also did some piercing around the circle and along bottom edge. Here's a closer look...

I used the Botanical Builder Framelits to cut the center piece for the flowers on both cards.

Thanks for visiting...have a GREAT day!

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!

Honeycomb Happiness Party Chick

Every now and then a "great" stamping idea pops into my head when I'm doing something totally unrelated to stamping. Many times I ether forget to try the idea or it ends up not working out as good as it did in my head. I hate that! LOL In this case, not only did I remember to try my idea, it actually worked out as I had envisioned! So, now you are probably wondering what my idea was??? I wondered if the ice cream cone in the Honeycomb Happiness set could also work as a party hat for the adorable little chick?

I think she looks so cute all decked out and ready to party! I don't know if I'm the first to come up with this idea...but I hadn't seen it done yet, so I was pretty happy my idea worked out as planned. Here's a closer look at the little chick ...

I used the Clear Wink of Stella glitter brush to add a little shimmer to the balloon, hat and sentiment piece. Isn't the Watermelon Striped Satin Ribbon gorgeous? I just love that stuff! I also really love the Birthday Bouquet DSP! I used the confetti piece along with a striped piece of It's My Party DSP. The little poof on the top of the hat was made using one of the framelits from the Botanical Builders Dies. (one of the little flower centers) I just smushed it up and glittered it with the Wink of Stella to match.

It's so cold here this morning! Keep warm and ENJOY your day!

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.

Botanical Birthday Blossoms

This birthday card uses several items available from the Occasions Catalog and one freebie from the Sale-A-Bration catalog.

The adorable DSP is from the Love Blossoms paper stack. The prints are perfect for Valentines Day, or anytime you want cute, spring-like designs. It works well with the Botanical Builder Framelits too...which I absolutely LOVE! The die-cut leaves and the strip on the right edge are all stamped with the Timeless Textures stamp set...another favorite!

I used the Clear Wink of Stella Brush to add some shimmer to the die-cut flowers, and the center of the largest flower is cut from Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper for a real pop of glitter.  Here's a closer look...

The Happy Birthday sentiment is one of the stamps included in the FREE Sale-A-Bration set, Sky is the Limit...you know, the great set with the biplane. It's one of the "Limited Time" products only available through Feb 15th. So make sure to get it before it's gone!

Flashback Friday - Medallion to the Rescue

Sorry that I've been MIA all week. :-( I wish I could tell you that I was up to something fun, but truth is I had a migraine that lasted a few days, so no fun for sure! Today's share is something kind of different, but shows you how you can incorporate stamping into your decor.

Before the migraine took over, I had been giving my home office a little makeover. My Mom came over to help me hang some scarf valances on the window. I used two different colored scarves and it was kind of a pain to get it to look just right. When we finally got it looking pretty good, it still needed something at the center. My Mom said, "why couldn't you just use one of your stamps and card stock to make something to match?" I have to admit, at first I didn't like the idea, but then, I remembered my old favorite background stamp...Medallion. At that point I thought..."hmmm...she might actually be on to something!"

The window wall in the room is painted a shade similar to Stampin' Up!'s retired color Not Quite Navy. So I embossed the Medallion image in Silver on the Not Quite Navy cardstock. I did this twice and cut out with two different sized circle framelits. I also cut some chipboard the same size. I adhered the embossed circles onto the chipboard to give it more stability.

This is the best close-up photo I could get...it really isn't so shiny looking in real life, and actually matches the rod pretty well. The Antique Brad in the center and some Stampin' Dimensionals help give it some depth. I just attached it to the center of the scarf with a clip on the back.

Here's another view...

It looks like my furry friend Stevie, approves!  Have you used your stamps for any unusual projects? I'd love to hear...just leave me a comment. ENJOY your weekend!