Tie it Up for Cute Card Thursday!

Have you been playing along with Cute Card Thursday?  I have been having a blast as guest designer this month with them and this week we have a great challenge for you:

Tie It Up!

I had a lot of ideas for this theme and I really wanted to do one that involved lacing.  Somehow, though, my lacing turned into a few stitches.  But I really did get my needle out and was sewing through my card!

I tried adding a bow to the card but I just couldn’t make it work without it feeling too over the top.  So I reminded myself that keeping it sweet and simple can be exactly the right way to go sometimes.

For those of you who are Stampin’ Up! fans, this is your chance to get a peek at all 5 of the new In Colors that will be coming out in June.  I finally started playing with my new papers and love how pretty they look when you mix them together.  Almost a pastel without being too faded or “baby”.

I have to admit, I’m kind of digging the Crisp Canteloupe (orange) and Pistachio Pudding (green) the most right now… though a lot of people are big fans of the Strawberry Slush (pink).  And then there is the Coastal Cabana and Baked Brown Sugar.

So, get inspired and try out something new!  If you have an idea for the “Tie it up!” theme – head on over to Cute Card Thursday and submit your fabulous creations for their challenge!

Get You Copy of the NEW Stampin’ Up! Catalog – Request yours here!

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

See the Latest Availability & PDFs of all the retiring stamps and accessories here

Stampin’ Up! Supples Used
Stamps – Pennant Parade
Paper – Very Vanilla, Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, Pistachio Pudding, Coastal Cabana
Ink – Baked Brown Sugar, Strawberry Slush
Accessories – Paper Piercer, Paper Piercing Mat, Early Espresso Baker’s Twine, Sponges, Blender Pen

Bye Bye Button Buddies–more class samples

I really need to do this more often… hold a class (or just challenge myself) to create a set of cards using each of the stamps in a stamp set.  When I did this for my All Occasions card class focusing on Button Buddies, I was stumped on one or two stamp sets but loved the challenge of trying to do something different with each of the images (especially with trying to not do a Halloween or Thanksgiving card using the pumpkin stamp!)

This was the card most people picked as their favorite from the class:

I had fun with the bright colors and I pulled out the Striped Organdy ribbon from the spring catalog to add a little extra in the middle.

And then there was the pumpkin card…  I was a bit stuck on fall and Thanksgiving and so I kept it in theme and made it a thank you card!

We colored in the pumpkin image with markers and then stamped 3 times without reinking.  So:

1. Color your image and stamp the center pumpkin
2. Immediately stamp the pumpkin to the left of your center pumpkin
3. Immediately stamp the pumpkin to the right of your center pumpkin
4. Clean the stamp

That gives you the stamped images but slightly faded for the main image.  Then add a matching button and you get that extra pop!

So if you decide to go for the stamp set…. don’t forget to grab the matching buttons too!  They are even 40% off!

See them online:  Button Buddies stamp set  |  Brights Designer Buttons

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

See the Latest Availability & PDFs of all the retiring stamps and accessories here

Stampin’ Up! Supples Used
Stamps – Button Buddies, Delightful Dozen
Paper – Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Early Espresso, River Rock, Crumb Cake
Ink – Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Primrose Petals, Tangerine Tango marker, Gumball Green marker
Accessories – 1 3/4” Scallop Circle punch, Brights Designer Buttons, Glue Dots, Old Olive Striped organdy ribbon

Who Doesn’t Love a Whale on a Card?

I don’t normally have a thing for whales; but when I saw the Oh, Whale stamp set, I thought it was pretty darn adorable.  Sadly, this is one of those stamp sets that I got early on, used a couple times, and then got distracted and didn’t use it nearly as much as I planned.  So, to start showing it some love I started out making a card using scraps from around my craft table -

I also thought I’d share some cute swap cards I received using this stamp set too.  That way you can see some other ideas for this guy too!

card designed by Rose Marie Coleman

card designed by Kim Allen

I guess we all were also inspired by the coordinating Sunshine & Sprinkles designer series paper.  Which, I have to say, is a paper that when I opened the package, I didn’t know whether I liked it or not, but after using it some (like on this sunburst scrapbook layout) I really have been having fun with it!

So, what do you think?  Are you on board with the whale?

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

See the Latest Availability & PDFs of all the retiring stamps and accessories here

Stampin’ Up! Supples Used
Stamps – Oh, Whale
Paper – Whisper White, Marina Mist, Sunshine & Sprinkles designer paper
Ink – Melon Mambo, Marina Mist
Accessories – Big Shot, Cloud Embossing Folder, Pinwheel sizzlit, Silver mini brads, rhinestones, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Scrapbooking Sunday: This Paper is not just for Valentine’s Day!

When I first saw the More Amore Designer Paper and the Hearts a Flutter stamp set I had Valentine’s Day on the brain.  And in fact I originally got both for a Valentine’s Day treat class I was holding earlier this year.

But as I started going through pictures and wanting to scrap this picture from Leadership convention with my mom, I saw the quote printed on the paper and thought it would be just right.

The quote is

A loving heart is the truest wisdom – Charles Dickens

Perfect for a picture of my mom who flew out to Orlando, FL with me from Seattle, WA to share the learning and excitement of Leadership and my first time being eligible to attend Manager’s Reception.

So with my base paper chosen, I started adding embellishments and it turned out the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and framelits fit my mood just right.

I grabbed some scrap fabric from the retired Springtime Vintage collection to add textured borders instead of my usual paper layering.  Then I tucked in some banners I cut out using the coordinating framelits.

For the journaling block, I just created an extended photo mat with Very Vanilla paper to give me space for my writing and then added some stamping and a little bit of ribbon to separate the journaling from the picture.

It turned out to be a fairly quick layout but one that I love for the great memories it captures!

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

See the Latest Availability & PDFs of all the retiring stamps and accessories here

Supples Used
Stamps – Hearts a Flutter
Paper – More Amore designer paper, Very Vanilla
Ink – Real Red, Basic Black marker
Accessories – Big Shot, Hearts a Flutter framelit, Springtime Vintage fabric, Crochet Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals

A Quinceanera Dancing Queen for CuteCardThursday!

Oops! I’ve totally fallen behind on my blog posting this week.  I’ll let you in on a secret – I’m working on a design refresh for my blog – and I’ve gotten so caught up with that and my monthly Stampin’ Up! team meeting this week, that I completely got behind on blog posts.

But, today is another challenge day at Cute Card Thursday, and so I have a fun card to share with you:

The theme for the week is  Dancing Queen and when I saw the theme, I immediately thought of the Quinceanera stamp set.  Sure, the image is for a coming out party technically, but doesn’t that usually entail some kind of dancing at the party?  

The other thing that I thought of was disco balls and so all that Silver Glimmer paper I received during Sale-a-Bration this year got put to good use as a sparkly trim to my card.  Plus, with all that sparkle, I had to add some glitter to her crown too.  I couldn’t quite figure out how to make a disco ball for her to be dancing to… but now I feel the challenge coming on to come up with something!

The one other detail that I just had to do was to add a Vellum overlay to the stamped image.  It gave her dress some dimension and softened the Strawberry Slush color that I used to color in the dress.  I used a dot of the Tombow liquid glue at the waist to help hold it in place and then let the rest of it float freely.

Now, it you were paying attention and looking closely, you may have noticed some new Sneak Peek items in this card. 

• The card base and pink cardstock used in the card are from the new 2013-2015 In Color collection.  I used Baked Brown Sugar (this may be displacing Soft Suede as a go-to medium brown) and Strawberry Slush.  Everyone has been raving about this pink color and just looking at the sheet of paper I didn’t think it was all that special.  But once I started pairing it with other colors, I’m feeling the love.  Definitely not too bright while still being a rosy pink.
• The sentiment is from a fun new stamp set called Really Good Greetings.  I think this will be a stamp set that is great for scrapbooking titles and accents as well as card making.  At least that is why I convinced myself I had to get it now.  hee hee .

So, speaking of new products – I am getting ready to mail out the new 2013-2014 Annual Catalogs (you know, that 200+ page book of products and project ideas) and want to make sure everyone who wants a copy will get one!

*** If you would like a copy of the new catalog mailed to you, shoot me a message at jennifer@nwstamper.com or fill out my catalog request form.

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to visit Cute Card Thursday to enter your take on the Dancing Queen theme for the week.  I promise it is a fun one!

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

See the Latest Availability & PDFs of all the retiring stamps and accessories here

Supples Used
Stamps – Quinceanera, Really Good Greetings
Paper – Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar, Silver Glimmer Paper, Strawberry Slush, Tea for Two designer paper**
Ink – Cardstock Vellum, Early Espresso, Strawberry Slush, Blush Blossom marker**, Gumball Green marker
Accessories – Tombow multipurpose liquid glue, 2-way glue pen, Dazzling Details glitter, Stampin’ Dimensionals
**Retiring item