BERRY BLOSSOMS FOR "FREESTYLE FRIDAYS"

It's time for Freestyle Fridays, and I am so excited to share this card!  The mission that Julie issued for me last week was to create a "thank you" card using several punches and Wisteria Wonder, one of Stampin' Up!'s newest "In Color" colors.  For some reason, this new color hasn't been one that's excited me, but I really like the color combination in the floral designer paper that I used ("Berry Blossoms" collection).  Truth be told, if you took away the designer paper, this card would lose its drama!  To complete my mission (and this card), I used the following Stampin' Up! products:

Stamp Sets:  Petite Pairs and Pennant Parade

Card Stock:  Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White

Ink:  Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade, Basic Black

Accessories: Stampin' Sponge, pearl jewels, ruffled ribbon, Baker's twine, button, "Berry Blossoms" designer paper

Punches: 5-Petal Flower, Lace Ribbon Border, Petite Pennants Builder, Round Tab, Spiral, which appears to have retired recently (big mistake, SU!), and Scallop Edge Border

Thank you, Julie, for presenting another fun mission!  Sometimes the missions are quite challenging but, at the same time, they set boundaries that help me focus on my options.  I would encourage anyone reading this post to try one of Julie's missions sometime--they're really a LOT of fun!  Have a great weekend, and visit me again on Monday for my "snappy Monday" project.

 

BABY, IT'S HOT OUTSIDE!!

It is sooooooooooo hot!!!!!!  How hot, you ask?  So hot that I saw a bird picking up a worm with a potholder!

One of my Facebook friends posted that a couple of days ago, and I thought it was quite amusing.  If a bird could find a potholder, I do believe I could be a witness.

I kept myself indoors today, despite an errand that I really need to run.  I just can't force myself to go!  While I tried to talk myself into going, I decided that I wanted to make a card and use a couple of buttons, and this little hybrid dilly was born.  I borrowed the rattle handles and sentiment from two digital stamp brush sets using My Digital Studio and printed them onto white card stock, which was embossed with Stampin' Up!'s brand new "Stripes" embossing folder.  The rattle handles are from the "Holiday Blitz" stamp brush set.  The image is actually a baby rattle, but I used a circle punch, color-filled with white, to hide the round top of the rattle so that it wouldn't show through my semi-transparent buttons.  The sentiment is from the "Best Wishes & More" digital stamp brush set.  Other Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, and So Saffron card stock, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Baker's twine, and ribbon.  I {heart} My Digital Studio!!!!  If you see a bird with a potholder, grab your camera!

"MY DIGITAL STUDIO" BABY CARD

During the wee hours this a.m. (at that threshold of time where you try to decide should I go to bed or spend an hour or more creating something), I decided to go digital.  I love to purchase new Stampin' Up! downloads for My Digital Studio, and listed below are the ones that I used to design this card:

Stamp Brush Set:  Nursery Necessities

Punches/Shapes:  Flag, Scallop Square, Top Note, Oval

Accessories:  "Nursery Nest Embellishment Kit" (blue bird, ribbon, blue frame), brads, "Nursery" digital designer paper

My finished digital design was adhered to a Marina Mist card, and the colors used on the design include Marina Mist, River Rock, and Very Vanilla.

MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY

Oops! I was preparing this post for Monday but, accidentally, pressed the wrong button. It looks like this week's MISM share will just be early!  Ha!


Today’s MISM project is one that I would have preferred to not need. It’s a sympathy card that I will be sending to a very sweet couple whose young daughter passed away over the weekend—unexpectedly and untimely. I wasn’t sure about the colors but—somehow—I feel that they must be “right” because everything about this card just sort of “evolved” into completion. Stampin’ Up! products used include Basic Gray, Whisper White, Basic Black, and Real Red card stock, Real Red grosgrain ribbon, Lace Ribbon Border punch, tag punches, rhinestone jewels, and “My Friend” and “Petite Pairs” stamp sets.

Hug your loved ones . . . every chance you get!

CHAD, MAMAW, AND THE QUILT

In my previous post, I wrote about the quilt that my sweet mamaw recently repaired with LOTS of patches.  When Chad and I visited today to pick up the quilt, I knew that I had to have a picture.  I had forgotten to bring my camera, so I had to use the camera on my phone.  I have placed white arrows on two of the fabric patches so you can more clearly see (from the fabric prints) just how much work was involved to save this quilt and . . . trust me . . . there are many others that you can’t see.  Just look at all of those shapes that mamaw had to cut to fit each problem area.  Knowing what a perfectionist she is, I can guarantee you that she found and fixed many more “problem areas” than Chad or I had even noticed.  The quilt is a treasure, but she is even more so.

MAMAW . . . ANOTHER WORD FOR LOVE

Several weeks ago, I asked my grandmother to “repair” a quilt that my son has been using for years.  Mamaw made the quilt (using her beautiful, evenly-spaced, tiny hand-stitches) more than 30 years ago and had given it to me when I got married.  Until the time that I gave it to Chad, I had used it on my bed.  To say that it has been well-loved is an understatement.  When Chad first told me that he needed for mamaw to “sew up some holes,” he indicated that there were "a few of them."  After mamaw had the quilt for a week, I asked about it and was told that there were a great many places that needed to be fixed and that just when she thought she had marked each of them, she’d find at least five more.  It was communicated very clearly to me that what the quilt really needed was a whole new top, but she knew that Chad wouldn’t want that.  She made a new quilt for him a few years ago, but he used it for less than a week and asked for his “blue quilt” because it was “already soft and perfect.”  Working on the repair process,  she actually found some of the original fabric in her stash to use for some of the patches and, when she had used all of it, had to find other fabric to finish the job.  Bless her 91-year-old heart, she has worked so hard on this quilt (probably harder than when she made it the first time) cutting strips and other odd shapes—each cut being customized for the areas that were falling apart.  When I visited a couple of weeks ago, she showed me all of the areas that had been patched and the others that were marked to be repaired, and I was embarrassingly surprised.  I had no idea that this job I had handed to her was quite so huge!  I so admire my mamaw . . . she is the sweetest, most loving, caring, talented woman that I know, and she is a hard worker!  When Chad was about 9 or 10 years old, he summed it up perfectly when he said that, “Mamaw never gets mad or yells at us” (“us” referring to the grandchildren).  If that isn’t a huge compliment, I don’t know what is!  I am visiting mamaw tomorrow to pick up the quilt, and I am taking a box of necessities/treats to her.  She would never accept money for all of the hours she has spent on the quilt (and I probably couldn’t afford it if she charged me), but I wanted to do something for her.  I’m also sharing in this post the card that I made to accompany the box of goodies.  The quilt-looking background was created using My Digital Studio.  I used scallop square punch shapes, filled them with “Beau Chateau” digital designer paper, added Chocolate Chip stitching, and then printed the design to use on my card.  Once printed, I cut it to size and embossed it with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  Other Stampin’ Up! products used include Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede, and Whisper White card stock, “Tiny Tags” stamp set, crochet flower (from the Clearance Rack), fabric-covered designer button (from the retired Sew Suite collection), vintage trinkets, Modern Label punch, and Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon.

JULIE'S "FREESTYE FRIDAYS" PROJECT

It seems to me that the weeks this month have been zoomng by, and it’s already time for another installment of Freestyle Fridays.  It’s Julie’s turn to inspire us this week, and the sneak peek that she sent has me wondering what the purple floral embellishment is.  It might not be a flower, but I’m intrigued and look forward to visiting Julie’s blog to see the whole project.  It looks like she used one of Stampin’ Up!’s new colors (Wisteria Wonder).  I hope you will take the time to hop over to Julie’s blog, check out her project, and leave a comment.  Have a great weekend, and visit me again on Monday for my snappy project.  I haven’t completed it yet, but it’s on my list of things to do.

SHIMMERY SEAM BINDING & VINTAGE RETIFORM

When I first laid eyes on this new stamp set (“Established Elegance”), I knew that I had to have it.  It seemed to have been designed for the Retiform technique, and it has been years since I made my first Retiform creation.  Since I haven’t had a lot of time to stamp lately, I treated myself today!  My first design looked really good . . . until I sprayed it with shimmer mist.  Before the glittery mist hit the card stock, I knew that the ink was going to run . . . and it did.  ACK!!!!!  So, this evening I had to start over, and this one actually looks better because I swiped Soft Suede ink onto the glossy card stock before I began stamping, which lends an even more vintage-y, antique-y feel to this design.  The shimmer on the Cherry Cobbler seam binding was accomplished with Champagne Mist shimmer paint, which was such an easy-to-do technique that gives an additional vintage flair to the overall card.  All products used to create this card are from Stampin’ Up! and include:  Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, and Glossy White card stock, Sizzix Lots of Tags die, Word Window punch, “Established Elegance” stamp set, antique brads, Fleurettes crochet flowers (from the Clearance Rack), linen thread, Champagne Mist shimmer paint, Stampin’ Dimensional, and Stampin’ Sponge.

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

I am so excited to share this week’s MISM project! I used a brand new My Digital Studio download (“House & Home” stamp brush set) and a fun MDS technique to create the focal point for this card. All of the images in the “House & Home” set are silhouettes, and I used digital punch shapes, filled with “Domestic Goddess” designer paper, to color the lamp and shade. How cool is that???? What makes this such a fun technique is that once you fill the punch shape with designer paper, you can reduce or enlarge the paper AND choose the portion of the design on the designer paper that you want to show on your paper-filled punch shape. Read that sentence again, and let it sink in.  Other digital images used on my card include Baker’s twine, In Color designer button, “Lots of Tags” shape (for the sentiment), silver Hodgepodge Hardware, and Pool Party colored bow. On my finished card, I used the brand new Lace Ribbon punch to create a Calypso Coral lacy border, “Domestic Goddess” designer paper (gingham design--the same design that I used to paper-fill the punched circles/ovals on the lamp base), mini clothespin topped with a Brights designer collection yellow button, Stampin' Dimensionals, and Pool Party card stock. I’m including a close-up photo of my finished design so you can clearly see how dimensional digital designs can appear when you use the "drop shadow" tool in MDS. While the design process for this card wasn’t exactly “snappy,” I’m considering this a snappy Monday project because multiples of a finished MDS design can be printed and used to create several cards . . . in a snap! I {heart} MDS!!!!

DIGITAL "HOUSE & HOME" CARD SET

While looking at the images in the “House & Home” digital stamp brush set, it occurred to me that they’d make a really cute set of cards with sentiment puns and quotes—cards that can be used at any time when you just want to let someone know you’re thinking of them.  I haven’t created a package for this set of cards yet, but here they are:

A closer look at one of the cards:



All products used to create these cards are from Stampin’ Up! and include My Digital Studio, “Domestic Goddess” designer paper, In Color printed designer brads, and In Color ruffled ribbon.  Be sure to visit my blog tomorrow to see my “Make-It-Snappy-Monday” project!

"FREESTYLE FRIDAYS"

With her awesome project post last week (baby gift), Julie issued a mission for me to create a baby project for this week's installment of Freestyle Fridays.  I would have loved to put forth more time and effort to create something really fabulous but, with the house "paint and purge" going on and the stamp room looking like a tornado blew through, I had to keep things quick and simple.  I think it was last week when SCS issued a tutorial for a box card, and I had tried the tutorial on scrap paper but hadn't actually gone much farther than getting the folds perfected.  Several years ago, I had tried making box cards and always ended up with a mess, so I was pleased to try a tutorial that was easy to follow and, better yet, end up with a box card!  I can't recall the name of the designer paper that I used, but it's one of my favorite designs from a retired Stampin' Up! collection.  Since this card opens to form a box, I decided to make mine a gift card holder because a box should have something in it, right?  Other Stampin' Up! products used to complete this project include Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, and Chocolate Chip card stock, seam binding, 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, pearl jewel, and the following punches:  Eyelet Border, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border, Jewelry Tag, Two-Step Bird, and Scallop Circle.  The sentiment ("congratulations") is from  "Swirls & Curls Verses," which is a hostess set available in the current Summer mini catalog, and the stamped images on the front of the card are from "Tiny Tags."  Have a stampin' good weekend, and be sure to visit me on Monday for my "Make-It-Snappy-Monday" post.

LOADS OF LOVE . . . BLAST FROM THE PAST

The overhaul of my home continues and, while progress is being made in the stamp room, I haven't reached the point where I can make a stampin' good mess while having a stampin' good time.  [heavy sigh]  While moving things around, I was placing this "Loads of Love" card back in its place.  This is one of my very favorite cards, and it stays on display year-round.  Each time I look at this card, I remember the night that my son helped me with it.  I wanted to create a scene, but I cannot draw anything!  Chad drew the winding road and the tree, as well as the hilly landscape, and helped me decide whether the dogs should go at the base of the tree or by the wooden sign and to use a little pulled cotton to create exhaust from the truck!  Mind you, he couldn't have cared less, but I had such a good time with him and appreciated his help so much.  I have an L-shaped countertop in my stamp room and, when Chad was younger, his computer station was at one end of the counter and mine at the other end.  He probably got very tired of me asking if I should use this color or that, what does this card need, is this proportionally correct, etc., but he never really seemed to mind my interruptions and we had so many good times in this room!  I suppose you could say that the title of this post is really two-fold:  Loads of Love . . . Blast from the Past.

"BEAU CHATEAU" BLOG BANNER

I suppose you could call this a "Beau Chateau" day!  In addition to my "snappy Monday" project posted earlier, I have designed a new blog banner using Stampin' Up!'s Beau Chateau digital embellishment kit.  I have also designed a new post signature to coordinate with the banner and hope that it has been sized appropriately.  It would be nice if the color of the blog could also be changed, but I'm not sure how to do that.  I hope you like the new banner, though!  ETA:  Thank you, Jodi Geers, for leaving a comment advising me how to change the colors!!!  Things look better now!

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

For today's MISM project, I used Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio software and the brand new "Beau Chateau Embellishments" digital kit.  I love vintage designs, and Beau Chateau was a perfect choice for this digital collage.  You should be able to click on the picture to open a larger view.  Even though the Pool Party card stock wasn't a perfect match, I think it works nicely.  Other digital elements used to create my collage include antique brads, vintage trinkets, and crochet trim.  After I printed the collage, I used a real pin from vintage trinkets in the top left corner, and layered the collage onto Pool Party card stock.  This layer was adhered to Crumb Cake card stock which was textured with the Square Lattice embossing folder, and all of the layers were adhered to a Soft Suede card. 

"BEYOND THE GARDEN" DIGITAL TAG

Some of my friends recently purchased some Scentsy "sampler" cubes from me, and I didn't want to hand them over in a plain white bag.  Well, I did put them in a plain white bag, but I used Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio software to create a pretty tag for each bag.  I absolutely LOVE My Digital Studio for quick projects such as this!  That gorgeous blue floral image is one of the designs from the "Beyond the Garden" designer paper collection, and I was really pleased with the appearance of dimension that the shaped label, button, and Baker's twine added to the tag.  The design process went like this:

1.  Choose tag shape from the punch options; size as desired.

2.  Fill the tag shape with designer paper.

3.  Add name label from punch options; color fill and add drop shadow.

4.  Add name to label.

5.  Add button and drop shadow (for dimension).

6.  Add Baker's twine to button.

7.  Copy and paste the completed tag. 

8.  Change the name on each copied and pasted tag. 

9.  Print a page filled with pretty name tags!

Did I already say that I love, love, love My Digital Studio?  Well . . . I do.

"FREESTYLE FRIDAYS" WITH JULIE

It's Julie's turn to inspire us with a Freestyle Fridays project this week, and I'm sharing a sneak peek with you in this post.  I'm sure you can tell from the picture that it's got some shimmery sparkle, but I hope you'll visit Julie's blog for more photos and details of her project, as well as the inspiration behind it.  There's really a lot more to see!  Check it out, and don't be too shy to leave a comment.  ;-)  Have a stampin' good weekend, and visit me on Monday for my "Make-It-Snappy-Monday" project!

BLAST FROM THE PAST - STAR BOOK

It is incredibly hard for me to stay away from my blog, but the ugly truth is that I don't have the time (or space) to do any stamping at the moment.  My stamp room is ATROCIOUS, and that might even be an understatement.  I have begun the process of purging this room, but I have also brought in a big new storage unit from Ikea, which means that I barely have enough room to walk in here.  At this exact point in time, I regret having started this process, but I know that I will be happy when it's all done and the dust has settled--the new dust, that

 is.  So while I was filling trash bags today, I came across this star book (with dangles).  I know the photos aren't too good, but I can't get to my usual photo spot and had to use an empty bookcase which is shadowy and dark.  It doesn't seem that long ago that I made this star book, but it's been a few years.  The designer paper and stamped images are all from Stampin' Up!.  I think this is such a neat project because who would expect to untie the ribbon and see such an explosion of visual interest?  I also think this would make an awesome scrap album and, one of these days, I just might have to re-visit this project if I can find the instructions.  My little blog break is over, but I'll probably find some other "blasts from the past" to share while my room is topsy turvy. 

"DOMESTIC GODDESS" GREETING CARD

I'm not quite ready to place my first order from Stampin' Up!'s new catalog but, while I was looking at the catalog tonight, it occurred to me that I could go ahead and purchase a few of the new digital downloads for My Digital Studio!  That's even better than waiting for new products to be shipped because I was able to download them ASAP and start creating!  Two of the downloads that I purchased are "Now You're Cookin'" stamp brush set and "Domestic Goddess" designer paper, which are featured on this card.  After creating my digital designs, I printed them, cut them out, and added them to my card.  That's one of my very favorite things about My Digital Studio . . . the ability to design, print, and immediately use my design on a project.  The dish towel is one of the designer paper patterns that I sized to fit my card.  I {heart} the retro colors in the "Domestic Goddess" designer paper!  Other Stampin' Up! products featured on my project include:  Pool Party, Calypso Coral, and Whisper White card stock, Lace Ribbon border punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, and pearl jewels.   This card would be a perfect companion for a gift of kitchen accessories/gadgets, small appliance, or baked goods.

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

What's one of the most fun things a stamper can do?  Create with brand new Stampin' Up! products, and that's exactly what I did for this snappy Monday project!  This little dilly features three new products . . . Pool Party card stock, "Pennant Parade" stamp set for the ice cream cone and sentiment, and Petite Pennants punch to cut the shape of the stamped "cone."  I am already loving the word images in this new stamp set.  They're an easy-to-read size, fit perfectly with several punches and, especially, they fit the Jewelry Tag punch, which is a favorite of mine.  Other Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include:  Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, and Chocolate Chip card stock, Square Lattice embossing folder, assorted circle punches, Cupcake Builder punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Vintage Trinkets (pin), white taffeta ribbon, Cherry Cobbler Baker's twine, and red Glimmer paper.

IT'S A LUCKY LIMEADE "FREESTYLE FRIDAYS"

Last week, Julie showed us some brand new Stampin' Up! products with her Freestyle Fridays post, and she challenged me to create a project this week with a Lucky Limeade focal point.  My new In Color kit from Stampin' Up! just arrived on Monday--in time for me to fulfill my mission from Julie.  I began by cutting strips of white card stock to form my faux picket fence, and I ran them through the Big Shot with the "Distressed" texturz plate to make them look more like wood.  I lightly sponged the pickets with Early Espresso ink to dirty them up a bit.  Before adhering them to the Crumb Cake card stock, I stamped the pennant images and sentiment from the brand new "Pennant Parade" stamp set.  I used the Petite Pennants and  Jewelry Tag punches to cut the stamped images, adhered the sentiment with a glimmer brad, and then tied this embellishment to one of the pickets with a piece of Linen Thread.  Other Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include Itty Bitty Shapes punch, Little Leaves Sizzlits die, white gel pen, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, and Daffodil Delight card stock.  Since I began a major "house purging" this week, I have been up to my eyeballs in junk that I wish could magically disappear, and it was so nice to know that I had a starting point for this project with the mission Julie issued last week.  I think sometimes that she can't possibly know how those missions save the day!  Thanks, Julie!  BTW, in case you don't already know, Lucky Limeade is one of the five new colors added to Stampin' Up!'s "In Color" collection.