"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Today's MISM project features a stamp set that's an oldie but a goodie.  I don't remember where it was purchased or where I first saw the images, but it's so cute!  I'm glad that I still have it because I wanted to make a humorous card for my great-aunt.  Now that the card is finished (and I'm pleased with how it turned out), I want to make one for my grandmother.  Stampin' Up! products used in the making of this card include Shimmery White, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, and Basic Black card stock, Aqua Painter and ink pads to color the image, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Crystal Effects (on the stinger), and black StazOn ink.  Have a happy Monday, a wonderful week, and visit me again soon!

"HAVE A SEAT" . . . SMOOCHED & PEARL'D

This afternoon, I decided to make another card following Craft Project Central's Creating Pretty Cards - Challenge #10.  The sketch this month is really easy, and you might want to give it a try!  I used My Digital Studio to create the scallop square filled with one of the patterns from the new "Summer Smooches" designer paper collection, and I used another of the patterns and the digital Flag punch to lay on top of the Tempting Turquoise strip.  After the design was complete, which took all of 30 seconds, I printed it, cut it to size, and layered it onto my Lucky Limeade card.  Other Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include:

Card Stock:  Calypso Coral, Early Espresso, Tempting Turquoise, Crumb Cake

Stamp Sets:  Have a Seat, Occasions Alphabet

Punches:  Itty Bitty Shapes, 1-3/8" Square, 3/4" Square

Accessories:  Pearl jewels, Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon, Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade markers to create the stitches and squiggles

"HAVE A SEAT"

I am so disappointed that "Have a Seat" is on Stampin' Up!'s list of retiring stamp sets because I love this one!  It took a while for me to decide to add this stamp set to my collection, but I don't plan to stop using it just because it's soon to be retired.  The plan for this card was to use My Digital Studio to create a shaped card, and I began by adding two Labels Collection digital punch shapes, connected at the top, and filled with one of the "Attic Boutique" digital paper patterns.  After printing the design, I would fold the card stock in half and use the coordinating Framelits dies to cut the card.  This worked nicely; however, the card was smaller than what I wanted, so I ended up adhering the folded card to a piece of Pool Party card stock.  Stampin' Up! products featured on this card include:

Card Stock:  Pool Party, Very Vanilla

Stamp Set:  Have a Seat

Punches:  1-3/8" Circle, Scallop Circle, Boho Blossoms, Heart to Heart

Sizzix:  Labels Collection Framelits dies

Accessories:  Pool Party seam binding, linen thread, Stampin' Sponge, Neutrals designer button, rhinestone jewel, My Digital Studio

If you'd like to see the list of retiring products and/or place an order, just click the "Retired List" picture in the right sidebar or click HERE.

JULIE'S "FREESTYLE FRIDAYS" BEAUTY

 

It's hard to believe that it's time already for another Freestyle Fridays project, and it's Julie's turn to inspire us with a clever creation this week.  She sent this sneak peek photo to me, and it looks so pretty!  I can hardly wait to hop over to her blog to see the whole project!  It looks like she has another interesting technique to share that involves an embossing folder, so be sure to visit her blog and don't forget to leave her some comment love.

"SUMMER SMOOCHES" PYRAMID CARD

One of my April class projects was this bright pyramid card, inspired by the colors in Stampin' Up!'s "Summer Smooches" collection and featuring Daffodil Delight seam binding and digital stamp images from the "Bright Blossoms" set.  Other Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include:

Card Stock:  Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, and Wild Wasabi

Stamp Sets:  Short & Sweet, Friendly Phrases, Bright Blossoms (digital), Sprinkled Expressions (digital)

Punches:  1-1/4" Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, Large Oval, Scallop Oval, Scallop Circle, Decorative Label

Sizzix:  Finial Press embossing folder, Little Leaves Sizzlits

Accessories:  Simply Scored and Diagonal Plate, My Digital Studio, rhinestone jewels, Baker's twine, Stampin' Dimensionals, Brights designer button.

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Today's MISM project is a treat holder that was one of my class projects on Friday, and everyone loved it!  Using Stampin' Up!'s Simply Scored scoring tool and diagonal plate made this a very quick and easy project to make.  Besides being a perfect little treat holder or party favor, it's also a good way to use leftover designer paper because all you need is one 6" x 6" square.  As you can tell from the pictures, this treat holder has two pockets, and I placed a teabag in one pocket and a little note card in the other pocket.  There's enough space in the center to include a mini candy bar, chapstick, lipstick or, as my sister suggested, a cinnamon stick to complement the tea!  This little project can be decorated as simply or as elaborately as desired, and wouldn't it look nice dressed up with a monogram?  This project features the following Stampin' Up! products:  Naturals Ivory and Lucky Limeade card stock, "Artistic Etchings" and "Friendly Phrases" stamp sets, "Everyday Enchantment" designer paper and ribbon, linen thread, Stampin' Dimensionals, and the following punches - Full Heart, Large Oval, Scallop Oval, and 1/8" Circle.

"SUMMER SMOOCHES" BLOG BANNER

What do you think about the new blog banner?  I designed it, of course, with My Digital Studio using Stampin' Up!'s "Summer Smooches" digital kit.  My very favorite thing about this banner happens to be my very favorite sentiment from the "Fantabulous You" digital stamp set, "Joy . . . jump for it!"  Isn't that a great sentiment???? 

WAXY BUTTERFLIES FOR "FREESTYLE FRIDAYS"

It wasn't easy to follow Julie's mission from last week after she posted such an awesome waxed paper technique, so I decided to go with a regular waxed paper resist by using punched butterflies instead of an entire resist background.  To begin, I folded a piece of waxed paper in half, laid it on a piece of card stock, and punched twice to get four butterflies.  I crumpled the butterflies, uncrumpled them, and then placed them between two pieces of glossy card stock, which I covered with a piece of scrap paper and pressed with an iron.  This gave me two pieces of card stock with waxy butterflies--two chances to create something worthwhile.  I'm glad I had two chances because my other one didn't make me happy.  With the one pictured in this post, I used Stampin' Sponges to apply Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist, Concord Crush, and Rich Razzleberry ink to the glossy card stock and then wiped the ink from the butterflies with a tissue.  I tried to lightly apply black ink to the Elegant Lines embossing, but you know it's just not easy to lightly apply any ink to such thin lines.  Once again, I swiped the butterflies with a tissue to clean off excess ink and then placed the rhinestone jewels on the butterflies.  For the sentiment, I used My Digital Studio and the following digital content:  Fantabulous You and Elementary Elegance stamp brush sets and the Flag punch.  Once the design was printed, I cut it out with scissors and tied it onto the Pool Party seam binding with white Baker's twine.  Easy peasy!  Thank you, Julie, for another fun mission!

DECORATIVE PAILS FOR MY BRUSHES

Aren't these pails adorable????  When I saw them recently at a craft store, I tried to leave them there . . . but I decided they were needed.  On the way home, I began to have second thoughts and chided myself for the impulsive purchase and that's when I decided that they could hold my brushes!  I didn't want to clutter my countertop with products that I don't use each day, so I decided the pails would be functional and decorative hanging on the side of this Expedit storage unit, not to mention how handy they'll be when I make mixed media messes.  I used Command clear hooks to hold the pails and then covered the hooks with punched flowers using Stampin' Up!'s Blossom punch.  

DIGITAL DESIGN - GO NAUTICAL!

I'm still loving Stampin' Up!'s new digital download release, "Decorative Overlays" stamp brush set, which was used to create the wood-grain background on my card.  The sentiment is from another recent stamp brush set that I downloaded--and LOVE--"Fantabulous You" and, of course, the nautical images are from the digital "Nautical Expedition" designer paper collection.  After printing the digital images for this card, I used the following products (all from Stampin' Up!) to complete it:  Not Quite Navy and Crumb Cake card stock, Baker's twine (sponged with Early Espresso ink), Stampin' Dimensionals, and the following punches:  1-1/4" Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, Postage Stamp, and Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border.  The layout for this card was totally inspired by Craft Project Central's Creating Pretty Cards - Card Challenge #10. 

In this photo, you can see the dimension on this hybrid design.

DON'T WORRY . . . BE HAPPY

Stampin' Up! released new digital downloads for My Digital Studio today, and I purchased a few of them.  One of them, "Decorative Overlays", was used to adorn the corners of this card.  This is a really neat stamp brush set of overlays, which add just a little something perfect to any project.  The other digital content that I used includes "Twitterpated" and "Fantabulous You" stamp brush sets, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border, and "Summer Smooches" designer paper.  As you can plainly see, my printer is running low on ink and created stripes on my card stock, but I chose to work with the unexpected stripes--or let them work for me.  The colors used on this card are Island Indigo, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, and Calypso Coral.  If you are still wondering about My Digital Studio, you can try it FREE for 30 days!!! 

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

A few weeks ago, I received notification that I had a new downline member so I made this neat birdhouse card to congratulate her decision to begin a brand new venture and association with Stampin' Up!--and for choosing to sign up with me!  Products used to create this card include "Up in the Air" stamp set, 3/4" Circle and Large Oval punches, Simply Scored, Diagonal Plate, Sizzix Little Leaves die, and ribbon from the recent Sale-a-Bration promotion.  This card is scored just below the "roof", and I adhered the scored and folded triangle top to itself so that the card would open and close with ease.  The picture is a bit dark, but my card stock colors are Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, and Lucky Limeade.

"BRIGHT BLOSSOMS" HYBRID CARD

One of my favorite new digital downloads from Stampin' Up! is the "Fantabulous You" stamp brush set because it has some really great sentiments that venture from the norm.  I think the person who receives this card will feel "crazy awesome"--moreso than if I stamped "thinking of you" or a simple "hello".  So let me give you a few details about this hybrid card.  Using My Digital Studio, I opened 

an 8.5" x 11" individual page.  (Pictured to the right is the set-up of the digital design in My Digital Studio)  I selected two Labels Collection 1 shapes, which are the same as the Framelits dies.  I filled the larger shape with a paper design from the "Summer Smooches" collection, and the smaller shape was filled with white.  I adjusted the opacity so that it would mimic a shaped vellum overlay.  The flower and leaves images that I added are from the "Bright Blossoms" stamp brush set, which is also part of the "Summer Smooches" collection.  After printing the design, I used a marker to color the word "crazy" in the punched sentiment, and I used one of the Framelits dies to die-cut the printed design and a larger die to cut the Island Indigo frame, which was embossed with the Snow Burst embossing folder.  Other Stampin' Up! products used to complete this card include the Pinking Hearts border punch, taffeta ribbon, rhinestone jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals, Boho Blossoms punch, Circle punches, and Baker's twine.

JULIE'S "FREESTYLE FRIDAYS" PROJECT

It's Julie's turn to share a Freestyle Fridays project today, and this is the sneak peek that she shared with me.  I don't have details, but I know that Julie will tell us all about her pretty project on her blog.  Be sure to check it out, and don't forget to leave a little love for her.  Have a happy Friday, a terrific weekend, and visit me again soon! 

RING ME

I recently purchased this adorable telephone die and coordinating stamp set--just couldn't resist!  I thought they would make cute and simple "hello" cards to send every now and then, although I'm still holding on to these two.  As I was creating these cards, I was reminded of the sounds made by rotary phones--place your finger in the hole over the number, give the dial a spin (swoosh), and then click, click, click as the dial returned to its position so the next number could be dialed.  You had to wait for the dial to make its round before dialing the next number but, fortunately, we didn't have to dial an area code for local calls and sometimes didn't even have to dial but one number of the three-number prefix.  My, oh my, the telephone has come a long way--thankfully!  Remember how the cord would always become a tangled mess?  Sometimes you'd nearly hurt yourself trying to get farther from the phone than the tangled cord would allow or you'd pull the phone off the table or desk.  I would imagine many work days and mornings began with some kind soul dangling the receiver, trying to get the kinks out of that stinkin' cord.  I can remember stretching the cord of my phone at work around my desk to try to keep it from becoming a coiled nightmare.  This worked okay until I had to walk to the file cabinet while on a call.  It sounded like a slingshot when it broke free!  Today I celebrate the invention of cordless, push-button, and cellular phones.  I think of the times when I was a teenager and our telephone was on the wall in the dining room.  There was no walking around for privacy--there was no privacy unless you closed the dining room door (or took one step into the kitchen and folded yourself into the oven), and daddy only thought that the dining room door needed to be closed when mother was playing the piano and he was trying to hear TV.  Of course, I could have been chit chatting on a much-coveted push-button, slimline princess phone in my bedroom, but it was declared that the house only needed one telephone.  Can you imagine a home today with only one telephone?  There's a phone in every room--every pocket in every room might have a phone today, and I guarantee you that there's a box in many closets, basements, or storage buildings full of phones, batteries, and chargers that got tossed to the wayside when the latest and greatest came along, which is about every 12.7 seconds. 

"ADVENTURE AWAITS" DIGITAL DESIGN

One of Stampin' Up!'s newest digital downloads for My Digital Studio is the "Adventure Awaits" stamp brush set, and I decided to make a quick card with it today.  Everything on this card, except for the sentiment layers, Pool Party mat, and Island Indigo card, were designed in My Digital Studio and printed onto Very Vanilla card stock.  Listed below are the digital images and other content that I used:

Stamp Brush Sets:  Adventure Awaits, Sprinkled Expressions

Embellishments:  Staples & Stitching, Brads, Lucky Limeade Grosgrain ribbon bow, Jewelry Tag punch, Labels Collection 1 punch, and Summer Smooches fabric brad

Digital Kit:  Book of Birthdays (striped designer paper)

The stamped sentiment is from the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" stamp set.  It was stamped with Island Indigo ink onto Very Vanilla card stock, punched with the Word Window punch, and layered onto a Modern Label punched shape from Early Espresso card stock.  I forgot to turn the overhead light on before taking this picture, so the colors are a bit off; still, it's not hard to see how My Digital Studio is the "go to" tool for creating quick cards!

DADDY'S BIRTHDAY

Today is daddy's birthday, and I'm sharing the card that I made for him.  I had a lot of fun making this card and used an assortment of products.  The "time is a companion . . ." sentiment is one of my favorite Tim Holtz stamps because the message is so true -- we should cherish each moment because it will never come again; we should enjoy life's journey!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!  Enjoy your day and cherish each moment!

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Today's MISM project is an easy-to-make basket, and my favorite thing about it, besides it's cute shape, is the generous size and the fact that it can be made just about any size that you want.  Since my basket was inspired by Nancy Dawson's picnic basket, which you can see HERE, I used the same size card stock that she used . . .9" x 9".  The card stock was scored at 3" and 6" on two sides.  The four corners were cut into 1" strips (up to the intersecting scored line), and two of the center sections were cut into a triangular shape, which is the piece to which the strips get adhered.  Glue dots can be used to adhere the strips, but I just ran a line of adhesive straight across the ends.  Nancy was kind enough to provide a pattern, which I've attached at the bottom of this post.  Stampin' Up! products used to decorate the basket include Eyelet Border punch, Blossom Petals Builder punch, Blossom punch, designer button, antique brads, linen thread, and In Color Patterns designer series paper stack.  For the tag, I used My Digital Studio and "Summer Smooches" digital kit and "Sprinkled Expressions" digital stamp brush set.  This project may not look like a "snappy" one, but . . . trust me . . . give it a try and see for yourself just how quickly it comes together!

"FREESTYLE FRIDAYS"

It's time for Freestyle Fridays . . . HAPPY FRIDAY TO YOU!!!  With her pretty project last week and its splashes of "look at me" red, Julie issued a mission for me to use "several" of my favorite dies and create a landscape-oriented card.  I got busy right away and enjoyed going through my selection of dies, trying to make decisions on what to use.  I was having a lot of fun and was pleased with how this card was coming together--and so quickly.  As I was adhering the second butterfly, which would complete my card, I literally jumped in my chair as I remembered that my card was not supposed to be square.  Yikes-a-riffic!!  Staring at the completed card that strayed from the mission as set and described by Julie, it occurred to me to rip the card in half and adhere the pretty front to a landscape card.  Problem solved!  The torn edge that you see near the ribbon isn't just a pretty style--it literally was torn away from its other half.  I know I didn't have to divulge my little design secret, but there's an important lesson here . . . when you think you've screwed up, don't just toss your hard work.  Try to find another way to use it.  Stampin'  Up! products used to create my card include "Friendly Phrases" and "Bordering on Romance" stamp sets, markers (Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, and Lucky Limeade), rhinestone jewel, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Sizzix Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, Square Lattice embossing folder, and card stock (Bashful Blue, Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White).  Spellbinders dies featured on this card include Long Classic Scallop Rectangles, Lattice Borderabilities, and Fancy Tags.  Why don't you challenge yourself to create a project according to Julie's mission?  Thank you, Julie, for another great mission!
ETA:  I failed to mention that I used the Marker Layering technique to color the stamped floral image.  I first colored the flowers with Bashful Blue, added a little Marina Mist to each flower, and just a touch of Pacific Point.  I then used the Bashful Blue marker to blend the three colors.  I {heart} this technique!  Besides the fact that I can use Stampin' Up! markers which coordinate with my card stock and such, the end result is a beautiful image that looks as though someone spent a lot of time and effort to watercolor it.  Having worked with Copic markers in the past, I find this technique much easier and quicker than working and re-working the alcohol inks.  Granted, I'm not highly skilled with any markers . . . just saying.

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Today's MISM card is dressed up with strips of "Sweet Shop" designer paper, a punched eyelet border, and finished with seam binding.  What's really nice about this card design is that it can be pretty much assembled with leftovers and scraps.  All products used to create this card are from Stampin' Up!