"BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP" AND EMBOSSING ON ADHESIVE STRIPS

Looking for a quick-to-make card that has pretty gold-embossed lines?  This is the one for you!  After using painter's tape to mask the center of the card, I stamped the Beautiful Friendship images using Petal Pink, Pear Pizzazz, Highland Heather, and Balmy Blue ink.  The tape was then removed, and I placed Tear & Tape strips along the edge of the stamping.  I used the (retired) embossing buddy around the area where the gold embossing powder would go, and then inked the sentiment with VersaMark and stamped the sentiment.  The liner was removed from the adhesive, gold embossing powder was sprinkled in place, and then set with the heat tool.

The finishing touch was the butterfly, which was die-cut from vellum cardstock.  I used the Highland Heather dark Stampin' Blends marker to color the four rhinestones, and then adhered them to the butterfly.  They are so pretty and sparkly in person!

Having the embossed lines gives the illusion of extra layers.  Aren't the stamped flowers and leaves so pretty?  I 💗 the Beautiful Friendship stamp set!

PURCHASE BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP STAMP SET

"FOREVER GREENERY" SYMPATHY CARD

"Forever Greenery" is a beautiful product suite from Stampin' Up!  Whether you combine several products (stamps, dies, embossing folders, DSP, gold hoops) or use any of them individually, they will not disappoint.  Everyone knows that any colors can be used with any craft products but, if you're like me, you often create by assumption (auto pilot) rather than ingenuity.  What I mean is that when you see leaves (for example), you think various shades of green.  As you can see from this card, two of my leafy stems are unexpected colors--Pool Party and Sahara Sand.  

The color of the card itself (Pretty Peacock) I found to be striking.  I wish I could take full credit for the awesomeness of this design, but I stole CASE'd it from Chandra Junck's gorgeous card that I saw on Instagram.  I may not have used the exact same colors that she used, and I definitely used a different (unusual) card base design.  My card base was approximately 4" x 4-1/2", and the longer decorated panel was adhered to the card front so that about 1/2" extended over the top and bottom edges of the card.  

Stampin' Up! products featured on this card include:

Pretty Peacock cardstock

Pool Party cardstock

Sahara Sand cardstock

Pear Pizzazz cardstock

Whisper White cardstock

Greenery embossing folder

Gold Hoop

REMINDER:  Earn a $5 coupon code for every $50 merchandise purchase until the end of this month, and redeem the coupon codes on an order next month!  When you shop with me and enter the current Hostess Code (found at the top of the left sidebar), I will send you a handmade thank you card.

SUMMER HAT CARD

How about a short and sweet post today?  There's not really a lot to say about this hat-shaped card that I sent to a family friend for her birthday.  I have made hat cards like this before, and I think they are just so sweet . . . and soooooooo easy to make!  The most difficult part was choosing the cardstock colors! The detailed hat image is from Cricut's "Kate's ABCs" cartridge, and I used Cricut Design Space to design and size the card.  I think JoAnn will be happy to receive it, don't you?

"BACK ON YOUR FEET"

Stampin' Up!'s Back on Your Feet stamp set has three cute animal images, but the sloth is my favorite.  I guess he's moving even slower with that injury.

Making this card began by lightly sponging Pool Party ink in the center of the cardstock.  The sloth image was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and then colored with markers.  The edges of the Basic Black cardstock mat were distressed, and then I adhered the stamped cardstock to it.  You can see a little of the embossing on the Pool Party cardstock layer.  I used the Woodland embossing for that.  The sentiment was stamped onto Magenta Madness cardstock and was cut with a retired punch.  Before the Pool Party layer was adhered to the front of the card, the (newly retired) Whisper White Baker's Twine was wrapped around it and tied in a bow.  Now I ask you . . . WHY did Stampin' Up! retire the Baker's Twine?  Did I use it so much that it was difficult for them to keep it in stock? 

I enjoyed making this card for a very sweet lady and hope that it put a smile on her face.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

A LITTLE CHRISTMAS IN JULY

My preorder from Stampin' Up!'s August - December 2020 Mini Catalog arrived on Monday, and I had every intention of playing on Tuesday.  While I got the stamp sets, dies, and embossing folders labeled and prepped on Tuesday, I didn't play until tonight.  I actually didn't plan to complete a card--I just wanted to see what the gorgeous Poinsettia dies could do.  Oh. My. Goodness!  I realize that it's hard to tell, but can you see a little of the embossing on the petals and leaves?  I love that the embossing happens at the same time the layers get cut, but you don't have to use the embossing dies if you don't want to.  

There are so many wonderful products in the upcoming mini catalog, and I really tried to talk myself out of purchasing the Poinsettia Petals bundle.  I'm so glad I bought it and even though I have only made this one card, I know that these products will work overtime on my Christmas cards this year.  Other new products featured on my card include Wrapped in Christmas stamp set (fantastic holiday sentiments!!!) and Heartwarming Hugs DSP.  My cardstock colors are Very Vanilla, Mossy Meadow, and (retired) red glimmer paper, and that lovely sentiment is heat-embossed with Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder.

What do you think?  You're falling in love with the poinsettia, aren't you?

PATRIOTIC CARDS FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY

It's Independence Day in the USA and, to celebrate the occasion, I have three patriotic cards to share.  BUT . . . before I do that, I have a special garden flag to share:

How cute is that flag???  My son and Ramsour (the Border Collie on the flag) share a birthday, and this was one of their gifts last month.  Choosing a photo for the flag was very difficult because we have so many excellent choices, but I thought this photo perfectly captured Ram's handsome face and his love for playing outdoors.  The fact that one of his all-time favorite toys was in the picture further sealed the deal!

As for the cards . . . I always enjoy making patriotic cards, but I didn't really have any great ideas this year.  Following are some of my creations:

It's hard to tell from the photo, but the white background was embossed with a woodgrain texture.  I loved the punched banners (from the retired Banner Blast stamp set) and glittery stars, but the card just seemed like it needed something else--even with the silver heat-embossed sentiment and twine.

The above card with the cute hanger was an idea I saw on Pinterest, and I loved the hanger.  However, I wasn't sure that the hanger would stay attached to the card since the bottom of it was just barely resting on Stampin' Dimensionals behind the punched banners.  So, I ditched the idea of using hangers and went with this one:

The final design (shown above) was my absolute favorite!  Can you see the star-embossed background?  I'll probably never let that embossing folder leave this house!  The retired Seaside embossing folder was used to give texture to the Whisper White layer, and I really like the way it mimics stripes that appear to be waving.  Again, the sentiment was heat-embossed with silver embossing powder, which paired nicely with the silver glittery stars.

Wherever you are and whatever you do today--especially if you live in the USA--I hope you find a way to celebrate Independence Day.  There have been a few times in my life when I thought our founding fathers would be so disappointed if they were alive today, and I especially feel this year that their heads would hang very low.  Perhaps the best thing we can do for our country is pray--pray very hard that we learn to live in harmony and just be kind.

A GREAT USE FOR PAPER & CARDSTOCK THAT'S TAKING UP SPACE

I needed to replenish my stack of scrap paper the other day, and it occurred to me that I may have never shared this wonderful tip on my blog.  

A few years ago as I was trying to downsize my hoarded overstock of designer paper, I was at that point in the process where I was tossing it into trash bags.  🤯 I know, I know . . . that's an outright blasphemous act.  Believe me, it was making me SICK to see all of that pretty paper getting ready for its journey to a landfill.  You've probably been in that same predicament where the voice of Greater Good is saying "atta girl . . . keep tossin'!" and yet your brain is thinking "What a waste! How can I put you to use?!?".  And that's when it came to me . . . I could cut the paper into 4x6 pieces to use for notes, scribbles, scrap, etc.  For a couple of days, I was a paper-cuttin' machine and felt great for having saved all of that paper for a new purpose.  Then I had a lot of paper that needed somewhere to stay, but it seemed to take a lot less space now.  I bundled a lot of it and shared with family members, but I still have some bundles scattered here and there in my stamp room.  For example, on top of my Ikea unit, I have this small supply:

For my daily use, I am still using the card holder that was part of this tutorial ensemble that I designed in 2015.  It fits perfectly on the cart that stays by my desk, and I use the pretty scrap paper ALL the time!  

When I break down kits/supplies, I put some of the paper components in my scrap stash.  If I'm cutting paper and end up with cuts that I don't think I'll use for crafting, I add them to the stash.  The only papers that I didn't save from the trash bag (or don't add to my stash today) were the ones that are too dark or too textured to write on.  

There have been times when I reached for one of my scraps and decided to use it as a layer on a card so . . . yes . . . that happens.  If you are getting lost among more paper or cardstock than you think you could ever use, thin it out by cutting and giving it a new purpose!  It's a new way to love your paper!

A LITTLE SASQUATCH-WEARING-A-MASK HUMOR

Photo by Brian Dyer

This picture was posted in a local Facebook group today, and it sparked a funny memory.  Obviously, it's a Sasquatch-look-a-like (silhouette) on a normal day, but he's sporting a mask--being considerate to not spread the virus should he have it.  I'm told that he gets dressed for occasions/holidays through the year, which must be entertaining for those who travel past him on a regular basis.

Seeing Sasquatch today reminded me of a time when our Border Collie, Ramsour, was younger.  Being a couple of years younger really has no bearing on this tale . . . Ram would still react the same today.  Anyway, we had stopped for gas across the road from this silhouette, although I had not yet noticed it.  Ramsour was looking out the window and started huffing, growling, and was obviously not happy about something.  When I turned around and saw what had Ram on high alert, I burst out laughing.  To him, it did look very much like an unsavory character exiting the woods, and he did NOT like it!

How about you?  Do you enjoy seeing wooden silhouettes like this?

WATERFALL FATHER'S DAY CARD

Today I'm sharing the Father's Day card that I made for my daddy this year.  I won't say that I always think about making a Waterfall card when I see a stamp set with several small images, but . . . it happens a lot.  Since daddy is a sharp-dressed man, I tend to hold onto stamp sets such as Truly Tailored and Well Dressed, which are the stamp sets featured on this card.  Of course, I had to decorate the envelope, too.  Since Waterfall cards have been around for a long time, I won't bore you with details . . . just photos.

I thought it was a good idea to use the "Lookin' sharp" stamp to decorate the back of each "falling" panel, as well as the background of the card front.

My cardstock colors are Soft Sea Foam, Whisper White, and Basic Black.

As you probably know, you don't have to have a traditional card base with a Waterfall card.  Instead, the moving mechanism can be adhered to a single piece of cardstock (that doesn't open like a regular card), and your message/signature can go on the last panel (the widest) of the waterfall.  I thought about doing that with this card, but I ended up using a traditional card base and put my written message and signature on the inside.

"WHISKEY BUSINESS"

Whiskey Business is one of the brand new stamp sets in Stampin' Up!'s catalog, and it was one of the first products that I added to my wish list.  When deciding what kind of card to make for my husband for Father's Day, it didn't take long before I reached for Whiskey Business.  I stamped the images onto watercolor paper and colored them with ink and a water brush.  The sentiment layer was a label that had already been cut with one of the Stitched So Sweetly dies, and I gave it a little texture by stamping the wood-looking image repeatedly--up, down, and across--with Early Espresso ink.  The sentiment was stamped with VersaMark ink, and then heat-embossed with Black embossing powder.

I thought the ice cubes needed a little something, so my finishing touch was brushing them with the Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush.

Masculine cards always seem to be the most tricky, but this one was a breeze!  In a couple of days, I'll post photos of the waterfall card that I made for my daddy.  ;-)