"FOREVER GREENERY" SUITE . . . THANK YOU CARD

If you haven't caught glimpses of Stampin' Up!'s Forever Greenery suite, then you might need to peep out from under your rock more often.  This suite of products will be available (along with lots of other fantastic products) when the brand new catalog goes into effect next month.  There have been times when I just purchased the designer paper OR the stamp set OR the dies that were part of a suite, but with this one . . . you probably need more than just one component.

That beautiful gingham ribbon?  Well . . . it actually belongs to the Flowers for Every Season suite but, since the color coordinates, it works beautifully with the Forever Greenery designer paper.  And it's gingham, so I will use it wherever I can.  Raise your hand if, like me, you think we could always use more gingham.

Isn't that Whisper White leafy-embossed layer pretty?  I used one of the Greenery embossing folders (also from this product suite) to create that layer and then roughed up the edges.  There are two embossing folders in the pack but, so far, this is the only one I've used because I can't stop.  The size of the leaves are perfect, the depth of the embossing is crisp, and it adds beautiful texture to any project!  I'm sure the other embossing folder is just as beautiful, and I promise to use it soon.

So this card features the designer paper, stamps, dies, and (one of the) embossing folder(s) from the  gorgeous Forever Greenery suite, which will be available for purchase June 2020.  

"BIRDS & BRANCHES" . . . COMING SOON!

There's a beautiful product bundle in Stampin' Up!'s new catalog, and I had a chance to work with some of the stamps and dies the other day.  Oh my.  I am in love.  It's the Birds & Branches bundle, and it is just so sweet.  You want to see the whole card, I'm sure, so here you go:

To make this card, I began by cutting the leafy wreath from a piece of Whisper White cardstock that I had embossed with the Woodland embossing folder.  On the back of this layer, I adhered the stamped and die-cut nest (Crumb Cake cardstock) and the Pool Party die-cut eggs, which I sponged with Pool Party ink and then brushed with the Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush.  That adorable bird was die-cut from Whisper White cardstock, and then colored by sponging with Pool Party, Pacific Point, and Soft Suede ink.  I thought the Champagne Rhinestone Jewel was perfect for his eye!  On the backside of the die-cut leafy wreath, I placed Foam Adhesive Strips to hold the wood-looking designer paper, which is from the brand new In Good Taste DSP.  A scrap of this same DSP was used for the stamped sentiment, which was cut with the Classic Label punch.  I think everyone is going to need this DSP because there are soooooooo many beautiful images/textures!  

The finished Whisper White layer was adhered to Early Espresso cardstock.  Before adhering it to the Pool Party card, I wrapped a strip of Polka Dot Tulle ribbon around the layers.  The metal leaf is from Tropical Oasis Trinkets, and I tied it onto the tulle ribbon with a piece of Linen Thread.

So do you love this card as much as I do?

REMEMBER "POCKET SILHOUETTES"?

Do you ever look around at all of the stamp sets you've accumulated and ask yourself why you keep so many retired sets?  I do that all the time--especially when Stampin' Up! publishes a list of retiring products.  This is the time that I like to take a closer look at the retired sets I've been holding onto and re-evaluate whether it's time to let some of them go.  I never let enough of them go.

I needed to make a thank you card, and it was one of my retired sets that caught my eye . . . Pocket Silhouettes.  I just loved that stamp set back in the day, and it's one that I actually still keep by my desk.  

I used markers to ink the images and then used a retired punch and Cajun Craze cardstock to create the flower pots, which were adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals.  Doesn't the embossed Basket Weave background look nice?  I wish Stampin' Up! wasn't retiring that embossing folder, but it is one that I will keep.

And ta da . . . my thank you card was finished rather quickly.

"MOSAIC MOOD" + DAISY FUN FOLD

Sharing today another Mother's Day card design that looks like a regular A2 card, but 1" of the left (folded) edge is adhered to the interior of the card.  I could make these cards all day long--they are so quick and easy and a bit unique.

I used the Mosaic Mood designer paper, Leaf punch, Daisy Lane stamp set, and the Daisy punch.

You want to make one, don't you?  This is a really fun fold that you are sure to enjoy!

TYPEWRITER-SHAPED MOTHER'S DAY CARDS

I made a LOT of Mother's Day cards this year, and quite a few of them were shaped like a typewriter with a stylish hat propped on the left side.  I loved putting these cards together!

I let the Cricut Explore write the message on the "paper" in the typewriter, and it also drew the decorative swirls.  They look nice, huh?

The first two cards had a different message and no swirls, and they were also a bit smaller than the second set of cards I made. 

Did I really mail 10 of these cards????  Yes, I did!  In an upcoming post, I'll share the designer paper and daisy card that I made.  😉

#SHARESUNSHINE

I read about Stampin' Up!'s Share Sunshine sentiments and image pdf the other day, but I really looked closely at it today.  It is really perfect for the cards that we need to be sending during the COVID-19 restrictions that are keeping us apart from those near and dear to our heart.  

See that?  There are FIFTEEN pages of assorted images, word art, sentiments, etc.--something for whatever kind of card you want to send!

While I would love to take full credit for the idea of putting a mask on the piggy from This Little Piggy stamp set, I first saw this cuteness on a card that Susan Campfield had made.  Such a fun idea, huh?  I thought it would be a perfect card to send to my great-niece, and this is the card that I designed:

My card features Layering Circles dies, Stitched Rectangles dies, and Corrugated embossing folder (used on the tiny face mask).

Another Share Sunshine image was used on the inside of the card:

And this cute text was cut out and adhered to the flap of the envelope:

This was my first use of the printed images but certainly not my last!  All proceeds from the purchase of the downloadable pdf will be sent to your choice of The World Health Organization or United Way Worldwide's COVID-19 Community Response & Recovery Fund.  Just purchase the pdf HERE, print the pages, and use scissors, a trimmer, punches, dies, etc. to cut the images.  Create projects and share them online using #sharesunshine.

TALL LATTE FOR BRYSON

Today is my nephew's 25th birthday, and it seems strange that we haven't celebrated as a family--or that a celebration isn't planned due to the COVID-19 restrictions.  I am really missing the usual family gatherings, and I know that I'm not the only one!

Since my Cricut Explore is still on the countertop and ready to go, I designed a shaped latte card for Bryson.  He works at a trendy coffee house, so I thought he could appreciate a tall latte for his birthday.

When Bryson was born, I didn't realize just how grateful I would be that my sister had a son.  My son was 4 y/o at the time, and he instantly claimed Bryson as his brother.  He told EVERYONE that he had a baby brother and that his brother didn't live with us.  Think about that.  Can you imagine the kind of looks that strangers gave me when Chad would proudly tell them about his baby brother who didn't live with us?  People clearly didn't know whether to feel sad for both of us or if they should see about having Chad removed from my custody.  Chad's proclamation of having a baby brother wasn't a little phase that he went through for a short while.  I've probably written about this in a past blog post, but I had to explain to more than one elementary teacher that this "brother" they'd heard about was actually my nephew.  Even with explanation, some of the teachers still gave me that "yeah, sure" look.  Bryson and Chad were a lot like brothers during their growing years, and my sister and I enjoyed going on vacations and day trips with our boys.  Time passes too quickly!

Feel free to sing a little birthday jingle in honor of Bryson today!

"BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP" IN NEUTRAL

Last weekend, I enjoyed working on some note cards.  Of course, what's a card-making session without the Beautiful Friendship stamp set?  For these cards, I chose a very neutral palette with gorgeous embossed texture from Stampin' Up!'s Country Floral embossing folder.

The ink colors that I used were Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Smoky Slate, and Gray Granite.

My cardstock colors are Whisper White and Gray Granite.

The quality of the photos is quite bad and doesn't accurately show the subtle neutral tones, but these cards will be great for notes of sympathy.

How about you?  Are you finding some extra time for stamping these days?  If you're running low on supplies or just need something new, shop my web site!  

A TUB OF FRESH-CUT FLOWERS

Cousin Mildred's birthday is next week, and I have spent most of the month of April wondering what kind of card to make for her.  The idea for this card has been in my head for a while, and I even worked up the design in Cricut Design Space a while ago but didn't actually make the cuts until yesterday.

Oh how I 💗 this card!!!  It took a while for the machine to cut all of the small pieces and then putting them together took some time, but wasn't it worth it?!?!  I think I'm actually having a hard time letting this tub of flowers leave my house. 

Choosing the background for the flowers was something that I had not thought about, but I love gingham and decided it would be the perfect backdrop and not too busy.  I think Mildred is going to enjoy this card . . . for many days.  ;-)

A "DO GOOD, FEEL GOOD" PROJECT

One of my stampin' friends, Karen Culler, who is also a demonstrator, recently posted something on Facebook that got my attention.  She wrote:

"Ok Facebook friends and family, I need to get creative. The first 10 people who share their favorite quote or Scripture verse in the comments I will create something just for you. (I can only do about 5 sentences, so don’t make it a full poem, etc)”.

I loved this idea and told Karen that I was going to "steal" it.  Of course, I didn't know what I would make for whoever responded, and then Karen showed me the card-with-built-in-easel that she had made.  A perfect project needs no tweaking, and all I needed to do was the fun part . . . deciding how to decorate each card.  Following are the cards that I made:

They turned out great, didn't they?  The only problem I had was running out of postage, but a handful of stamps are waiting in the mailbox for the last two cards to get mailed.

I don't know of anyone who doesn't like to receive mail and, during this time when most of us are spending a lot more time at home, it's good to do something nice for someone else.  You don't even have to offer to personalize a project for someone . . . just put together a card or note and send it on its way.  It doesn't even have to be a card.  Whatever you enjoy making, share it with someone.

If this project has inspired you to make something or do a good deed, I'd love to hear about it!