Lift Me Up On Cloud Nine

Happy Friday! Here we are...the last Friday of 2016! It seems unreal just how fast this year has flown by! It flew by almost as swiftly as a hot air balloon...like that segue?! ;-)

Well, that segue may not have been the best...but this bundle sure is! I think if I were told I could only select ONE (that would be awful hard to just pick one! lol) bundle from the entire Occasions Catalog it would be the Lift Me Up Bundle...but I LOVE hot air balloons! Luckily for me, nobody told me I only had to select one bundle because there is a LOT of great new product available in the Occasions Catalog starting on January 4th.

The Up & Away Thinlits Dies are really cool...I love that I can cut the super detailed balloon as well as sections of solid pieces to layer behind it. It sure makes paper piecing easy! The hardest thing was trying t decide on colors. I chose a couple of the colors used from the awesome Cupcakes and Carousels DSP Stack. The patterns in this stack are great, and have a vintage feel to them which I love.

This is more than likely the last post of the year for me. I hope 2016 was a good year for you and I hope 2017 is even better! I wish you much happiness, good health and lots of creativity in the New Year!

Baby's 1st Year Album

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! We had a lovely few days with family here in Michigan. I've been pretty busy the past few weeks working on Christmas projects and haven't had a chance to share anything here. One of the projects I had been working on is a 6x8 scrapbook to record the highlights of our grand daughters first year. (she's due to arrive very soon!)

I wanted a small leather album (in pink of course!) that will hold up to little hands flipping through the book over and over when she's old enough. (my boys always loved looking at their albums of baby pictures) Unfortunately SU! doesn't offer the album I had in mind so the one I used is from Simple Stories. Here's a look at some of the pages...

I used a combination of SU! products - current and retired mixed with Echo Park Bundle of Joy papers.

I used some photos from her gender reveal party...

as well as from the baby shower.

I used temporary adhesive to hold the embellishments in place until we have photos to add.

I did some paper piecing on the house and trees. I love the way they turned out. I also used the Flower Patch stamp set along with the coordinating Flower Fair Framelits.

Then for each month there is a spot for her monthly photo as well as other cute photos,

and cards to journal those highlights.

I used the Layering Circle Framelits, retired Little Number Framelits and the Labeler Alphabet to create the little badge for each month.

For the 8 month page I used a new Sale-a-Bration set called Delicate Details to create the border along the bottom. Here's a closer look.

The Echo Park Bundle of Joy papers have several colors that are a good match to SU! colors. So I used Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose & Sage Shadow throughout the album. Good thing I still had those retired colors in my  stash!

As you can imagine, we are very much looking forward to the arrival of our first grandchild! I'm sure I will be posting many scrapbook pages featuring her in the future!

Cake Crazy & Balloon Adventures

Oh my goodness! I've been so busy with Christmas festivities and preparations that I haven't had any spare time to blog or stamp! I'm sure you all can relate! I actually did really good this year on getting my cards finished and in the mail early (for me!). I took photos of the 4 cards I designed and mass produced (about a dozen of each) to share here....but then deleted them off my camera thinking I had already uploaded them! Three of the designs were ones I shared here previously, but the fourth was something new...and I sent them all!

Oh well...on to other fun stuff! I received my pre-order box of goodies from the upcoming Occasions and Sale-a-Bration Catalogs! MERRY Christmas to me! Other than looking at everything and putting it away I haven't had time to play. waaa waaa! However, I did take time to make one card for a dear friends birthday.

The Cake Crazy stamp set is going to be a lot of fun to create colorful cards for both guys and girls! I used the color combo of Watermelon Wonder, Bermuda Bay, Pear Pizzazz & Pool Party for this card. Because I didn't have much time, I was in a hurry and dropped a stamp...which of course landed on the Whisper White background with my finished cake...#@%!!! So to salvage the cake I had to fussy cut it all out, but it ended up looking super cute popped up on the embossed background. But...the really fun part of this card is on the inside...

I used the new Balloon Pop-Up Thinlits Dies and Balloon Adventures stamp set. How fun is this!? There are some really great pieces included in both the dies and stamp set. I love the "PARTY ON! saying...it reminds me of Wayne & Garth! LOL

Actually, while I thought both were cute, it didn't make my "must have list" until I saw this video...


I may not have time to get another post in before the holidays, so if that ends up being the case...HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!!!

Flippin' Flashback Friday: Joyous Snowflake Card

Happy Friday! Today's card is a double Flashback Friday! Before SU! retired all the flip card dies, I used to share flip cards on most Fridays and I called those posts Flippin' Friday. Recently I started sharing creations using some of my favorite retired items and I call it Flashback Friday...anyways...today's card uses retired items along with some current items as well!

Remember the Letterpress Winter stamp set with the coordinating Snowflake Card Thinlits? These great products were featured in the 2014 Holiday Catalog, but they are brand new to me! I purchased them last year (I think?) when they were either on Stampin' Up!'s Clearance Rack or another sale of some sort. They had been on my wish list, but I hadn't ended up getting them. Seeing them on such a great discount I just couldn't pass them up!

Yesterday Stampin' Up! released their Year End Closeout Sale...featuring many items at reduced prices! There are all sorts of items - some will be retiring from the current Holiday Catalog, some over-stock merchandise that is being offered at much reduced prices from the current annual catalog, as well as retired Clearance Rack merchandise. It is definitely worth a look to see if there is anything there you have been wanting! Check it out!

The flip side of the card uses a sentiment from the current Christmas Pines set. I masked over it before lightly stamping the large snowflake. It is stamped high enough to leave room to sign the card. I also used the tiny snowflake and dot image from the Christmas Pines set inked in Whisper White to stamp over the snowflakes on the left panel of the card. The right panel is embossed with a pretty snowflake and swirl embossing folder...it's not SU!, but it's so pretty I HAD to have it! (I believe I picked it up at Michaels.)

The gorgeous Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper along with the Fancy Frost Sequins make this card sparkle! Have a wonderful weekend!

Merry Mice Blessings

WOW!...today is already the last day of November! Which means it's also the last day of the Stitched from the Heart promo. Makes sure to purchase Merry Mice, Christmas Pines, or any of the several other great stamp sets while they are at a discount!

This card uses one of the three adorable Christmas mouse images included in the Christmas Mice stamp set along with Christmas Pines for the sentiment and Peace This Christmas for the border and the background.

I have been enjoying water coloring the cute little mice from this set using my Aqua Painter and Classic Inks pooled in the lids of my ink pads. The main colors used here are Pool Party & Garden Green.

Thanks for visiting today!

Joyous Christmas Pines

Here's a card I've had in my head since I first saw the Christmas Pines stamp set. I thought it would be fun to use the sentiment as a blackboard piece with the die cut pine pieces. It didn't turn out exactly as I originally planned, but I still like it.

The background is embossed with the Holly Embossing Folder...it's got a really pretty all over pattern. I die cut the greenery from Garden Green & Wild Wasabi cardstock. The pine cone is cut from Early Espresso and layered onto Copper Foil Paper.

The Christmas Pines stamp set is available for 25% off until the end of the month as part of the Stitched With Love promotion. However...we are counting down the final hours of the Online Extravaganza Sale which ends tonight.

Visit my online store to purchase the items used to create the card above along with all the other great sale items!

Christmas Baby Bear

This little Baby Bear is all ready for Christmas! (wish I could say the same!) I used two of the stamp sets that are on sale right now at a 25% discount during the Stitched From the Heart Sale!

Of course one of the stamp sets used is Baby Bear, the other is Christmas Pines. You can purchase both of these stamp sets at the discounted price until November 30th. The coordinating Pretty Pines Thinlit Dies were also used. Here is a closer look at the die cuts.

I layered the detailed Early Espresso die cut pine cone onto a solid one cut from the gorgeous Copper Foil Sheets. I also used Copper Thread on top of the Cherry Cobbler bow. The DSP used is from the This Christmas Specialty Pack.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you are up for a little holiday shopping, no need to rush out among the crowds...shop the Online Extravaganza!

Flourishing Autumn Thank You

Here's an Autumn take on a card using the Flourishing Phrases stamp set that I had shared here on my blog previously.

The gorgeous Copper Foil Paper die cut with the beautiful Flourish Thinlits Dies works well with the elegant feel of this stamp set.

I used the rock 'n roll technique to ink my flower and leaves. The flower was inked first in Cajun Craze and then I rolled the edges in Elegant Eggplant. A Sponge Dauber was also used to add Elegant Eggplant ink to the inside of the flower as well. The leaves were first inked in Always Artichoke and then in Cajun Craze.

I had a little boo-boo smearing a bit of ink on my finished floral stamped piece, so I went over the top of the stamped panel with a stamp from Gorgeous Grunge inked in Crumb Cake...and you thought I planned it that way! Sometimes little mistakes turn into opportunities to add more detail or embellishments! In this case I love the the finished card more with the added texture than having it plain. My stampers who made this card at my last All Occasions Class all prefered it this way as well, and added the texture to their cards vs leaving them plain.

Don't forget...today is the first day of the Online Extravaganza Sale!!!

Today starts the sale with discounts on some products for 24 hours only! (the rest will be available for an entire week...or until sold out) Visit my Stampin' Store 24/7.

Flashback Friday: Beautiful Beach Wedding Invitations

Two weeks ago today my husband and I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of some dear friends. They live out in California, and I have been wanting to visit my friend for the longest time...so their wedding was the perfect excuse to make that happen! They started their life as Mr. & Mrs. with a cliff side ceremony overlooking the gorgeous Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach. The ceremony was perfect and the views were breathtaking!

Back in August I designed their wedding invitations for them...and of course they wanted a beach theme! The bride had selected a teal blue for her accent color, so Bermuda Bay was the SU! color that was the best match.

I used the Seaside Embossing Folder on the Bermuda Bay layer. The bottom, Very Vanilla piece was printed with the bride & groom's names using my home printer and then stamped with a seashell border stamp in Crumb Cake ink, that was included in the long retired set Beautiful Beach. I love that set...so luckily I still had it in my collection!

The open weave 5/8" Burlap Ribbon added a nice texture that complimented the beach them of the invitation. The pretty gold starfish charms with rhinestone & pearl added the crowning touch. Those were tied on with Linen Thread.

The inside of the invitation had the seashell border stamped along the bottom again along with a seashell from another retired set...Stippled Shells. So you got a two-fer today for Flashback Friday!
These cards were done larger than the standard cards I usually make - the finished size was 5x7.

Here's a look at the cards in various stages of completion.

It was a small wedding, so I only had to make 3 dozen invitations.

We had such a great time during our week in California! After our weekend in Laguna Beach we took a drive along the coast up to San Francisco. So many gorgeous views along the way!

Have a beautiful weekend! Thanks for visiting today.

Christmas Pines & Merry Mice

Today's card features two of the great sets offered at a 25% discount this month during the Stitched From the Heart special from Stampin' Up!

These little mice from the Merry Mice set are just so cute and fun to watercolor...and so hard to resist at 25% off! The sentiment used is from another set also on sale...Christmas Pines.



Thanks for visiting!

Celebrate Today Birthday Balloons

Seeing a bunch of colorful balloons makes me happy. This is the perfect card that can be used for a guy or gal of any age...just change up the colors accordingly.  

I cut a stencil out of a transparency using my Balloon Framelits. Then I sponged on the colors:

• Crushed Curry
• Tangerine Tango
• Cucumber Crush
• Bermuda Bay

Sponging vs stamping made the balloons more transparent so that you could see the colors of the overlapping balloons. After I had my balloons sponged I added some stars to two of the balloons using the stamp from Celebrate Today stamp set inked in Bermuda Bay. Next I stamped my sentiment in a bold, masculine font using Black Archival Ink. The HB stamp is from the Perfect Pairings set which was from this years Sale-a-Bration. The cluster of three stars is from the Merry Mice stamp set. If you don't already have this set I recommend adding these adorable little mice to your collection this month while it's on sale.

Inspriation for this card came from this awesome card created by Maura. I just adapted it using the products I have on hand. Thanks for visiting today!