GARDEN BIRDHOUSES

Winter is a great time to think ahead to Spring, and that's what I've been doing lately.  Unfortunately, in North Carolina, Spring turns much too quickly into Summer, but I still LOVE all things about that season (except pollen).  On a really cold day recently, with a little icy snow lingering in the cold shadows, I decided to make a handful of cards using Stampin' Up!'s "Garden Birdhouses" stamp set.  I colored the birdhouses (and birds) with Stampin' Blends, which are too fun and easy to use.

I've said it before, but my favorite thing about the Stampin' Blends markers is that you don't need any charts or education to know what blends with what--I love that!  To create the background for my birdhouses, I used Blending Brushes with Balmy Blue and Pear Pizzazz inks and then stamped the images.  On a scrap of paper, I used the brushes again before stamping the sentiment.  I thought that turned out to be a really nice touch!  Following are a couple more pictures of the cards I created:

I brushed the middle birdhouses with Wink of Stella.

I had fun using different colors for the birdhouses.

All in all, just sweet little "thinking of you" cards.

A LITTLE VEGGIE COUTURE

Quite a few years ago, I wasn't able to resist purchasing four veggie stamps that were designed by the Lockhart Stamp Company.  Three of those images are featured on this card.  Aren't they clever?  You can understand why I thought I had to have them, right?  I don't remember how many different designs Lockhart had, but I seem to recall that some of them featured flowers.  While rummaging through a basket of stamps the other night, I came across a little box with the veggie dresses and decided to do something with them.

The stamped images were colored with Stampin' Blends alcohol markers and, yes, some of the color landed outside the lines . . . these images are quite small.  The colored images were cut with a Postage Stamp punch and then adhered to a Basic Black mat.  I thought they looked nice against the wooden background, which is from Stampin' Up!'s "In Good Taste" designer paper collection.  The finishing touches that added a feminine flair were the doily, corrugated heart, twine bow, ladybug trinket, and the foliage trinket.  I forgot to add a sentiment, but that just means this card is ready for anything.

Up close detail of the doily, corrugated heart, foliage trinket, and twine bow.

Up close detail of the ladybug trinket and the "Broccoli and Bok Choy" dress.

"WELCOME BABY" CARD

Babies are exciting news, right?  I needed a special card to accompany a gift for an expectant mother, and this is what I created.  Since a baby girl is expected, I made sure the card had plenty of pink, bling, and sparkle.

I really didn't have a card design in mind when I sat down to make this one, so I started by choosing the cardstock and specialty papers.  The small die-cut heart features Stampin' Up!'s "Be Dazzling" paper, which I believe was a Sale-a-Bration product last year, and it has a truly dazzling sparkle about it!  One of my favorite things about this card is that all of the design elements are clustered neatly below center, and yet none of them are lost or hidden.  Is it just me or does that embossed background remind you of a luxurious Chanel handbag?  

Of course, the envelope needed a little decorating, and I reached for Stampin' Up!'s retired "Something for Baby" stamp set and coordinating "Baby Firsts" dies.  I'm so glad that I have kept this bundle for several years because it has come in handy quite a few times.  That little die-cut onesie looks precious on the metallic white envelope, doesn't it?   

So that's it for today . . . a little something for a precious little someone!

WILDFLOWER PATH

Today's card definitely looks too much like Spring, but I couldn't resist using Stampin' Up!'s new Wildflower Path stamp set.  It reminds me sooooooooo much of Wild About Flowers (retired), which I still keep close at hand and enjoy using.  If you enjoy two-step stamping with images that are just too hard to mess up, this is the stamp set for you!

It's just a sweet card, right?  It has just enough color and texture, and what about those adorable Brushed Brass Butterflies?  They are so cute and so fun to use, and did you know that they come with an adhesive back?  Oh yes, they are ready to be placed on your project!  My card features Balmy Breeze and Poppy Parade cardstock, and the embossed texture was created with the Ornate Floral 3D embossing folder.  Of course, the inside needed to be pretty, too:

Thanks for visiting my blog today!  Now you can return to your normally-scheduled Winter.  :-)

SUGAR COOKIE THANK YOU CARDS

One (or maybe I should say "several") of my Christmas gifts was a coordinating set of Sugar Cookie Alphabet stamps, Sugar Cookie Numbers stamps, coordinating dies, and Cookie Sheet dies.  The cards that I'm sharing today were created with the Cookie Sheet dies.  These products are so fun to work with, and there are soooooooo many ways to decorate the cookies!  I used Nuvo Crystal Drops and Glaze pens on the "cookies" that I'm sharing today.

The vellum paper with the silver hearts is retired from Stampin' Up!.  This card also features silver foil, cardstock, stamped sentiment, and punch from Stampin' Up!.  My second card was very similar to the first one:

The cookies look quite tasty, don't they?  There will be more cookies in my future, I'm sure!

These two cards were mailed earlier this week as a thank you for Christmas gifts.  I hope the recipients like the cookies as much as I do!

"CHRISTMAS SEASON" CHRISTMAS CARDS

 

I had every intention of sharing Christmas cards before now but . . . here I am on Christmas Eve.  The cards that I'm sharing in this post feature Stampin' Up!'s Christmas Season bundle.  This product bundle was actually a late one for me because I had sworn off the purchase of more pinecones, holly leaves, and Christmas greenery products.  I couldn't stop looking at this one, though, and I ended up using it a lot this season.  Not once did I feel a twinge of buyer's remorse--not once!  Other products featured on my cards include Tailor Made Tags (of course), Scalloped Contours dies, and Tidings of Christmas designer paper.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!  I wish you and yours a blessed Christmas and all the best in the new year!

"FREE AS A BIRD" BIRTHDAY CARD

My sister had a birthday last month, and I'm late sharing the card that I made for her.  My stamp set of choice was Stampin' Up!'s "Free as a Bird".  Aren't the birds so sweet?

I enjoyed coloring the stamped image and, if I remember correctly, I used watercolor pencils and a blender pen.  I know some people don't enjoy coloring, and that seems so strange to me.  Coloring, for me, is so relaxing!

Other Stampin' Up! products featured on this card include white flax ribbon, Blushing Bride frayed grosgrain ribbon, and one of the Wintry 3D embossing folders.  On a whim, I decided to use the Early Espresso marker to add (ink) stitching.

"HARVEST HELLOS" APPLE CRATE CARD

How cute is this "crate" of apples?  This card idea came straight from Pinterest, and I thought it would be perfect for the thank you card that I wanted to send to my parents for the delicious tart apples they'd just given to me.  I mostly followed Jennifer Merle-Hamscher's tutorial to create the card; however, I cut away some of the cardstock from the card interior to eliminate excess bulk. All of the punched apples were adhered in place, but not before I "brought them to life" by sponging the edges with ink.

If you're wondering about the products that I used, I'm sorry to say that the "Harvest Hellos" stamp set and coordinating Apple Builder punch are no longer available.  These are products that were on my radar for quite some time, but I think they were close to being retired before I purchased them.  No regrets, though!  I actually keep the stamp set by my desk with current stamp sets because I reach for it often.  Here's a tip for you . . . when you see builder punches offered by Stampin' Up!, carefully consider purchasing them because they are usually keepers.  ;-)  

When I opened the stamp case, I was lucky to find the apple slice already stamped, colored, and cut out--just ready to be added to my card!  If you don't do this already, make sure you always keep stamped and die-cut pieces that you end up not using.  I tend to keep these pieces in the stamp case, and they have often made card-making quick and easy.

ETA:  To create this card, start with a piece of 4-1/2" x 11" cardstock, and score diagonally (the length of the card) from one corner to the opposite corner.  Place the cardstock on your scoring board, and score at the center.  I created my layers by scoring a piece of 4-1/2" x 5-1/2" cardstock diagonally, and then I cut the layering pieces to fit my card front.  Be sure to emboss the layers (and sponge ink onto the embossed texture) before adhering them to the front of the card.

CLEAN AND SIMPLE "VERY VERSAILLES" SYMPATHY CARD

"Very Versailles" is one of those stamp sets that seemed (at first glance) like a perfect fit for me with its visually appealing sentiments and random mix of images that are fantastic for dressing up a background or creating stamped layers for a project.  As you can see on the card that I'm sharing today, the one leafy branch image is subtly stunning when used alone to carry the design on this sympathy card.

My ink color is Sahara Sand, which never disappoints on a white sympathy card.  I used one of the Scalloped Contours dies to cut the scalloped rectangle and then slightly folded up the edges.  Although I use Linen Thread (and assorted twine) all the time, I thought the thread was an especially good choice for this card.  Don't you think it lends the perfect earthy touch?

WHAT'S COOKIN'?

I needed to make a birthday card last week.  I tried and tried to talk myself into using a stamp set that might be a little more perfect for the occasion, but I couldn't resist using some of my newest products.  And maybe the most important thing is to receive a card in the mail, regardless of whether it has a whisk and cutting board on it.

I really liked the card and wish the photos had turned out better!  The card has its fair share of texture, dimension, and bling and features the following Stampin' Up! products:

Cardstock:  White, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, Soft Sea Foam

DSP/Specialty:  Red Velvet, Bloom Where You're Planted

Stamp Sets:  What's Cookin', Stitchery

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana

Sizzix:  Cookin' dies

Accessories:  Linen Thread, Stampin' Dimensionals

It's hard to tell from the photo, but the little red heart was punched from Red Velvet paper, and I thought it was a sweet finishing touch.  

As for the What's Cookin' bundle . . . it's been on my wish list since I first saw it, but I just wasn't sure that I'd use it very much.  When Stampin' Up! discounted the cling mount stamps recently, I took that to mean that fate was giving me a nudge, so I also purchased the dies and threw in the Stitchery stamp set for good measure.  

So what do you think?  Would you have sent this as a birthday card?