Peachy Jar of Love

Flowers, not peaches, fill this little jar...but I did use Peekaboo Peach along with Flirty Flamingo for this cheery color combo.

The new Jar of Love stamp set is so much fun! It has so many little pieces that you can stamp and then easily die cut using the coordinating Everyday Jar Framelits. I love that these two items are available in a bundle at a 10% savings. Trust me...you will want them both!

In addition to the two new In Colors, Peekaboo Peach & Flirty Flamingo, mentioned above, I have also used Pool Party and Pear Pizzazz to round out my color combo. Pool Party is the perfect color if you want to create the look of a vintage Mason jar.

The cute Delicate White Doilies add another vintage touch to this card. They are a little bit smaller, with a little different pattern than the previous Tea Lace Paper Doilies SU! carried. I think they work well with the Lovely Lace Embossing Folder used on the Flirty Flamingo layer.

Peekaboo Peach Ruched Ribbon and a few Basic Pearls adhered to the center of each flower add the finishing touches to the card.

When working with many die cut pieces like on this card, sometimes it is difficult to re-create the original arrangement when you go to adhere each individual piece into place on your card front. I know I've ran into this problem on numerous occasions. Many times, I would take a quick photo to help me re-create the arrangement I had fiddled around with until I was happy, but that didn't always guarantee it would turn out as I had hoped. Recently, I saw a fantastic trick using Glad Press'n Seal Wrap that will change your life! Well, maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but this is seriously a GREAT tip!

When you are at the point in your project where you love the arrangement you have created and are ready to adhere it into place, tear off enough Press'n Seal Wrap to cover your project. Place the sticky side down on top of your arrangement and lightly rub over the top of it, as shown below. (don't mind my messy work surface!)

After you have applied light pressure to the die cuts you want to adhere (I was only concerned with the jar and the flower/leaf pieces not the background), you can lift up the wrap and all of the pieces should be stuck in place. Flip over the wrap and now you can easily apply your adhesive of choice to the backside of your die cut pieces all at once instead of each individual piece.

Ooops...as you can see, I made use of the other side of my cardstock to re-stamp the jar because I wasn't happy how I lined up the water image the first time! So just pretend that the backside is just plain Pool Party card stock, OK? ;-)

After I applied Tombo Multipurpose Glue to the back, I flipped the wrap over and carefully hovered over my background piece I had ready, lining up from top to bottom and side to side. The wrap makes this so easy! Once you have your arrangement centered, carefully lower onto background and then press die cuts into place. Allow to let set for a moment for the glue to adhere to your background. Then simply lift up gently on the wrap to remove.

One piece of wrap can be used multiple times, I just stick it inside the front of one of my drawers so it's handy until I need it again. Here is the link to the video where I first saw this tip.

Bella's Balloon

It's been another busy week here! I got sidetracked and couldn't post this card until today. I used this weeks sketch from Mojo Monday along with another adorable image from the Bella & Friends stamp set.

Watercoloring the sweet images in this set is so much fun!

I like the way this sketch allowed me to use scraps from the Blooms & Bliss DSP. I chose colors from the paper to color the image: Sahara Sand, Island Indigo & Mint Macaron. I popped up the balloon with Stampin' Dimensionals  and added some Wink of Stella for a little sparkle.

I guess you could say that balloons are the theme around here this weekend. The town I live in hosts an annual Balloon Festival. I had not been to it in quite some time, but we were able to go this weekend. The weather was perfect and we were lucky to see over 40 gorgeous balloons launch!

It's quite an exciting and colorful display as the balloons are filled with air and begin to take flight.

The sky was a gorgeous blue and calm as can be, allowing for the launch to go as planned. Unfortunately, the weather some years doesn't allow for this. Even too much of a breeze can deter the balloons from lift off.

Each balloon is as beautiful as the next. I especially loved the shape and the artwork painted on the carousel themed balloon. Isn't it a beauty?

Up, up and away...

The underwater scene painted on this balloon was another favorite!

At dusk many of the balloons came back to treat us all to a balloon glow.

Seeing all the balloons lighting up the night sky was really quite spectacular!

Christmas Flourish

I've been trying to make a few Christmas cards each week using my new Peace This Christmas stamp set and by playing along with the Merry Monday Challenge Blog I've been sticking to my goal. Last week my card was even chosen as an honorable mention!

It made my day when I checked to see the challenge for this week and saw my card mentioned! Hopefully you all will like the card I made this week, where the challenge is to use peace, joy and/or love on your card.

The Peace This Christmas set has the perfect stamp for this challenge! I embossed it in gold and used the new Flourish Thinlits to create this clean and simple card. I used my Simply Scored Board to create an embossed border 1/4" in around the Very Vanilla main panel, but it didn't show up too good in my photo.

Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green cardstock were used along with the pretty Gold Foil.

Thanks for visiting today!

Foxy Father's Day

I hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day weekend honoring those Dads in your life. I shared the card I created for my Dad in my last post, and today I'm sharing the card I created for my husband using the same stamp set, colors and technique.

Wilderness Awaits is a great set to create masculine cards, and this fox image is my favorite! He looks especially foxy with the copper embossing doesn't he!? This image also works well with the new Layering Oval Dies. I used the faux patina technique to create the background and love the look with Copper Embossing Powder.

I also used a couple other retired copper products...the Vintage Brads along the top as well as the Brushed Copper Cardstock I used for the mat on the fox image. I'm hoping for some new copper accessories in the Holiday catalog in time for Fall projects.

The "Happy Father's Day" label was created with the Thoughtful Banners stamp set and the Duet Banner Punch. The new 5/8" Burlap Ribbon works great for masculine cards. I really like it's loose weave as it allows the background to show through.

If you like this card, you may be interested in purchasing my Artistic Wilderness Card Set Tutorial. It  is a step by step 17 page tutorial with detailed instructions and lots of photos using the Wilderness Awaits stamp set along with the faux patina technique, lots of great tips on watercoloring and more.

Have a great day!

Wilderness Awaits Copper Patina

The Wilderness Awaits stamp set is the perfect choice to create masculine cards for nature lovers. Here is the card I created for my Dad for Father's Day.

I used the faux patina technique with Copper Embossing Powder for the background. I had this embossing powder left in my stash from when SU! used to sell several different copper products, so not sure if it's exactly the same as the new Copper EP. I also used some pretty Brushed Copper Cardstock we used to sell as well...I'm hoping they bring that back as well. I'm down to only two sheets!

I watercolored the elk using my Aqua Painter and then I lightly stamped over it using the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set. The "Happy Father's Day" label was created with the Thoughtful Banners stamp set and the Duet Banner Punch. In the below photo the light hits the copper embossing and shows the background clearer than in my first photo.

I really like the new 5/8" Burlap Ribbon. It's loose weave allows the background to show through. It works great for masculine cards.

If you like this card, you may be interested in purchasing my Artistic Wilderness Card Set Tutorial. It  is a step by step 17 page tutorial with detailed instructions and lots of photos using the Wilderness Awaits stamp set along with the faux patina technique, lots of great tips on watercoloring and more.

I hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow honoring the fathers in your life. My Dad lives out in Las Vegas, so unfortunately I won't get to see him. I do however have a nice dinner planned for my husband and our boys will be here to celebrate the day with him.

Blooms, Bliss, Bella & Friends

I've heard some say....the Pretty Kitty set is cute, but I'm a dog lover. I think the adorable images in the Bella & Friends stamp set is sure to please most any animal lover. Both of these sets were at the top of my "must have" list! Here's a card featuring my favorite image...Bella and her turtle friend.

The sweet line art images are so much fun to watercolor! I used my Aqua Painter and colors of ink picked from the Blooms & Bliss DSP...Sahara Sand, Island Indigo and Mint Macaron.

The intricate die cut flower and border is created using the beautiful new Flourish Thinlits. I'm happy to report that they cut beautifully using the Precision Base Plate. All the pieces popped right out with no need for wax paper or dryer sheets. I ran my Die Brush across once or twice and they were perfect. These dies are so pretty...I'm sure I'll be using them lots!

Thanks for visiting!

Merry Jar of Love

Yesterday I shared a card using the new Peace This Christmas stamp set. When writing my blog post I thought maybe I'd tag it using the phrase "Merry Monday" and then try and share a new Christmas card here each Monday. Good idea right!? Then I thought, I betcha I'm not the first one who had that idea...and sure enough! after googling the phrase I came upon the Merry Monday Challenge Blog. This week they have a super cute inspiration photo, shown below.

I don't have any tea cup images, but I immediately thought of creating a festive floral arrangement using my brand new Jar of Love & Peace This Christmas stamp sets. So of course I had to play along and this is what I came up with.

I used This Christmas DSP and the new Labeler Alphabet for the word MERRY. I think it turned out pretty cute. Speaking of cute...look what I saw while walking out back this morning. 

Isn't he sweet!? He was all curled up hiding near a pile of brush. I managed to get this photo before he bounded off into the woods.

Peace This Christmas

We sure do need a lot more Peace, Joy & Love in this world...not just at Christmas but all year through! My heart aches for all the victims and their families who were killed and injured in the terrible, senseless shooting in Florida over the weekend. My mind was on them as I created this card with the peace & love sentiment.

The new Peace This Christmas stamp set along with the coordinating This Christmas was used to create this card. I like that there are individual pine bough, berry and pine cone stamps to easily ink in the appropriate colors to create any design you wish. There are also stamps with these elements combined...like the one I used to create the stamped background on the Garden Green layer.

I used some other new products as well...

Copper Embossing Powder was used to emboss the sentiment and the ovals are cut using the new Oval Layering Dies. Copper Metallic Thread along with 5/8" Burlap Ribbon were used as embellishments.

The Peace This Christmas stamp set has a nice verse for the inside as well. Here's a look...

One down...a lot more to go! This year I hope to have a nice little stash of Christmas cards well before the holidays are upon us.

Blooms & Bliss Pretty Kitty

I received my first order from the new catalog yesterday! It's always so much fun getting any order...but the new catalog ones are the BEST! Maybe because it's close to my birthday and I always splurge a little bit...because hey, it's my birthday. right?!

After I unpacked my order, I shot a little video which I posted on my LW Designs Facebook Page. Go on over and check it out...and please like my page if you haven't already. Making videos isn't something I normally do, I'm not at all comfortable with it (which I'm sure you can tell! lol)  I thought I'd challenge myself and give it a try. It really is difficult! Speaking of challenges...here's a card I created with two challenges in mind.

The images in the Pretty Kitty set are just adorable so I had to play with it first. I've been waiting a very long time for a super cute cat or puppy set from Stampin' Up! This year we got both! I will have a card to share next time using Bella & Friends...so make sure to check back soon!

I used this weeks Mojo Monday Sketch for my card. Also, over at Global Design Project the theme this week is Get Well Soon.

I used Wink of Stella on the butterflies and flowers after watercoloring with my Aqua Painter. Here's a closer looks...

The Designer Series Paper is the new Blooms & Bliss. I love the soft watercolor feel and the colors used in these papers. I chose this pack of DSP and a Christmas themed one called This Christmas. Here's a little look at both of them...

Here's another look at all the goodies in my first new catalog order.

If you stop by my Facebook Page leave me a comment letting me know what you would like to see me use next. I LOVE them all...so it's hard to decide!

Have a great weekend!

Awesomely Artistic Crazy Cats

Back on Mother's Day I got a promotional email from an online scrapbook store I purchase from occasionally saying that all their Tim Holtz products were on sale! Only a few days prior I had watched a great demo by him at the Mega Meet Scrapbook Convention using his new Distress Crayons. Unfortunately for me at the time I had already spent my allotted cash so I didn't buy them that day...but on Mother's Day I decided to treat myself!

I got his Crazy Cat set with the coordinating framelits as well! I just love the expressions on all the cats faces in this set! To create the background I used the Distress Crayons and scribbled and then blended. I tried to create a batik looking background, because this card is going to my Mom...who is a quilter and loves batik fabric. Since the crayons react with water, a dampened sponge will remove color if you wish. I used a few of the Tim Holtz stencils and a dampened sponge to add pattern to the background.

After I had my background colored the way I wanted I did a little stamping using the Awesomely Artistic stamp set and the retired French Script background stamp.

My Mom's cat is solid black, so I colored this crazy cat to look like her crazy cat!  I messed with a few different embellishments at the top left of the card, but couldn't get anything to look quite right...and I had to get it out on the mail, so done & done! My husband is home this week on vacation and we've been working on projects around the house, so it's been difficult to sneak in any stampin' time. Hopefully tomorrow...because my first new catalog order arrives here!

Butterfly Basics #GDP038 Sketch

A great sketch challenge this week at Global Design Project. When I saw it I immediately thought of using one of my favorite techniques...the watercolor background technique. The long, narrow acrylic Block I was perfect to create the strip down the right side of the card.

I used Sweet Sugarplum, Bermuda Bay and Mint Macaron to ink up my block. Then after it was dry, I used Butterfly Basics and Awesomely Artistic to stamp over my strip of color to add more interest. I shared more on this technique a while back in a free tutorial posted here.

The little banner is created with the Thoughtful Banners stamp set and coordinating Duet Banner Punch. These two items are already getting a LOT of use in my stampin' studio! Here's a closer look...

There's still time to play along with the Sketch Challenge at Global Design Project.

Thanks for visiting...ENJOY your weekend!

Sitting Pretty Kitty

I shared about my New Catalog Pick Up Party in my last posting and since it was quite long I decided to share the final make & take in another posting...so here it is!

Big surprise! It uses the Sitting Here stamp set! Of course I couldn't let them get away without stamping this sweet kitty and pot of flowers, right? We then water-colored using some of the new In Colors and an Aqua Painter. Tip: If you have a group of people watercoloring with the same colors, easily create several palettes that can be shared by simply scribbling with markers onto a clear imaging sheet from your Stamp-a-Ma-Jig...or use your ink refills in the same manner.

Colors used are: Peekaboo Peach, Flirty Flamingo & Dapper Denim. The sentiment and frame is from the Thoughtful Banners stamp set. I am so mad at myself...I placed my new catalog order first thing on Wednesday morning and I totally forgot to put the new Classic Label punch on my order! It isn't all that difficult to hand cut, as I did here, but I love the quick & easy factor of a punch. I'm sure there will be another order for me in the near future...

Have a great weekend!

Find Your Inspiration

Happy New Catalog Day! It's June 1st and the awesome new and inspiring Stampin' Up! catalog is now live! Last week I had a "New Catalog Pick Up Party" where my local stampin' friends had the opportunity to stop by and pick up the new catalog and do some make & takes.

Everyone who attended received the above goodies created using the new In Colors. One make & take used all the new In Colors and the Thoughtful Banners & Flower Shop stamp sets. More info is here. The other make & take was created using the Sitting Here stamp set and I'll share more on that in my next blog posting.

This years In Color bookmark uses the Bitty Butterfly Punch and the Work of Art and Butterfly Basics stamp sets.

The bookmarks have magnets to keep them in place...I like to keep mine at the beginning of the Color Collection pages because I am always flipping to those pages the most.

To help mark favorite items in the catalog I made these post-it flag covers using the Thoughtful Banners set. The words Inspiring, Amazing & Fabulous describe so many of the new products found inside the pages if the new catalog!

I packaged up the bookmarks and post-it flags along with a 1/2 sheet each of the new In Color cardstock in a Large Cello Bag with toppers stamped using the Timelesss Textures stamp set.

No party is complete without treats and prizes! I made these Ghirardelli square covers using Flower Shop and Thoughtful Banners in the five new In Colors. I invited each of my guests to chose one in their favorite color. After everyone had picked one I brought out my prize basket. Each item in the basket had a butterfly punched out from the five different In Colors. Each person could choose from the items marked with the color they choose. Here's my friend Amy looking super excited about her prize and make & takes.

Here are some of the rest of the ladies at my first session. (sorry I did not get pictures of everyone)

I tried a new recipe I found on Pinterest for these Salted Caramel Buttery Crumb Bars. Oh my!...they were rich, ooey gooey buttery caramely goodness!

It was so great to see everyone and share the new catalog excitement with you all!  If you were not able to make it my event but would like a copy of the new catalog, please contact me and I'll make sure to get one to you.

Enjoy finding your inspiration as you flip through the new catalog!