"HAPPIER THAN HAPPY"

I tried so hard to talk myself out of buying the "Happier than Happy" bundle.  I was successful--for a while, but then I felt that I really needed these adorable animals.  Isn't this a sweet card?  I actually made several to send to the special ladies who enjoy receiving mail from me.

All of the cards weren't exactly alike--but very similar.  I had to play around with ink to see which color I liked best for the tree stump (Soft Suede--or maybe it was Crumb Cake) and which I liked best for the owl (Early Espresso).  It was so handy to have dies to cut each of the stamped images!

I think the animals in this bundle make such sweet cards, and I do not regret this purchase!  If you're like me, you often think of using animals on cards for children but they work just as well when you want to send a sweet hello to someone special.  Don't you agree?

SWEET SUNFLOWERS . . . AUGUST PAPER PUMPKIN KIT

 

This month's Paper Pumpkin kit from Stampin' Up! is so pretty, and I love the cards!  The kit components were gorgeous and, while I could have used them in a multitude of alternate ways, I decided to just make the cards as they were intended.  On one of the designs, I used "Hang in there" on the outside of the card and "even when you don't understand" on the inside.  These sentiments are in the "Wisteria Wishes" stamp set.  From the recently retired "Here's a Card" stamp set, I used "May your heart find the peace it needs" on one of the other cards.

I thought the cards in the above picture would be handy when a sympathy card is needed.  Thinking that they needed just a little something, it turned out that a neatly tied twine bow behind the sentiment was the perfect addition.

Aren't those tiny bees adorable????  There were actually a lot of extra bees in the kit, and I will enjoy adding them to other cards.

Another lovely design from the kit is pictured above.  It, too, needed a little something, so I tied more twine bows for them.

The cards pictured above were my favorite!  The subtle watercolored background and the gorgeous assorted flowers are just . . . well . . . sweet!  All that I added to these cards were the sparkly rhinestones because why not?

And that vellum die-cut honeycomb . . . just the perfect touch!  The sunflower and the pretty bouquet in the bottom left corner were adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals, as was the die-cut sentiment label.

The back of each card was also really pretty, and it occurred to me to cut the cards apart and make extra cards.  I decided to not do that because I figured it would be an extra treat for the recipient of these cards to discover that there was more to the card than just a pretty front.  😊  But wait . . . check out the envelopes:

Whoever designed the August kit for Stampin' Up! really went the extra mile!  Can you believe how gorgeous the envelopes are?!?!?!

After the nine cards were made, I used a couple of the extra components to make an extra card.  The scalloped rectangles were cut using Stitched So Sweetly (retired) and Scalloped Contours dies.  My cardstock colors are White, Early Espresso, and Soft Succulent.

Are you a Paper Pumpkin subscriber?  If you haven't tried the monthly kits lately, you really should!  I think Stampin' Up! is doing an excellent job of bringing creative designs that are as much fun to make as they are to mail.  Get your subscription started!!!

FLORAL SYMPATHY CARD

Last March, I enjoyed using Stampin' Blends markers to color flower images from the "True Love" designer paper collection (see that post HERE), and I recently had the opportunity to use some of those bouquets on a sympathy card.

I think the flowers are sooooo pretty, and it was very nice to have them already colored, cut out, and ready to use because I was really short on time when I needed to get the sympathy card in the mail.  The silver embossed sentiment was also left (unused) from another project, so all I really needed to do was put pieces together.  If you're like me, you sometimes question whether it's worth saving elements because you probably won't know where they are when you need them, but I knew exactly where these components were.  For the past 16 months, the ready-to-use flowers have been kept in a stamp case, which made it very easy to find the flowers because I can see in the case.

In the above photo, you see some of the shimmer from the Wink of Stella brush.  I didn't color the entire flowers--just a few areas.

This card is proof that when we store prepped-but-not-used card components in a see-through container, we might be more likely to actually use those items in the future.  :-)

A NON-WINTRY/HOLIDAY CARD FEATURING "GINGERBREAD HOUSE" DIES

 

So it finally happened . . . I was able to make the die-cut gingerbread house not look at all like a wintry/holiday gingerbread house, and I love this card!  This is a birthday card that I made for a really sweet lady that I used to work with, and I hope that it will make her special day a happy one.

I die-cut the house three times--twice from watercolor paper and once from white cardstock--and then adhered the three cuts together.  The heart was cut from Evening Evergreen cardstock, as was the decorative fence, and the distressed layer is Soft Succulent cardstock.

One of the leafy images from Art Impression's "Greenery Invites" stamp set was used to create a wreath (of sorts) using Early Espresso ink on the Soft Succulent cardstock, and then I added a few Soft Succulent berry sprig images here and there on the wreath.  I couldn't resist adding a die-cut bird to the bottom left corner of the house--isn't he adorable?!?!  

Indeed, some of the "Gingerbread House" dies are going to be used year-round!  I love the size of the die-cut house because it seems to be just perfect for just about any project . . . cards, tags, banners, gift packages, etc.  And that fence . . . it's just so pretty!

Product Information

"SWEET GINGERBREAD" THANK YOU CARD

 

The "Sweet Gingerbread" bundle in Stampin' Up!'s current mini catalog was one of those products that I really liked and wanted, but I just didn't think I'd use it all that much.  As a matter of fact, I'd already chosen another bundle that I would (most likely) use for my Christmas cards this year, so I couldn't justify purchasing this adorable set.  At least not right away.  But . . . it finally landed on one of my orders, and I was determined to create a non-Christmas/Winter card with the products.

Although I failed at making these cards not look Christmas-y, I still put them in the mail in July.  I shouldn't have used the die-cut trees and . . . really????? . . . what was I thinking when I used that pretty plaid paper with red and green???  What can I say . . . that paper is just too pretty to resist.  The little house is just adorable, isn't it?  And that fence is so pretty with its tiny detailing.  I'm pretty sure there will be no buyer's remorse for these products.

The sentiment is from the "Flowers of Friendship" stamp set, and I used one of the Tailor Made Tags dies to cut it after it was stamped.  I love those dies.  I actually love them a little more than before now that I know they can be used to add a little detail to a stamped sentiment when a tag isn't really needed for my project.

Happy stampin' until the next post!

BUBBLE BATH HIPPO | GATEFOLD CARD

Some of my favorite Sale-a-Bration products from Stampin' Up! are the "Hippest Hippo" stamp set and coordinating "Hippo" dies.  The images are so adorable!  As you can tell from the sneak peek photo above, the dies include a handy tub.  It makes quite a perfect place for my hippo to treat herself to a bubbly spa.  The bubbles, of course, are Iridescent Rhinestones.  

The above photo shows how this particular gatefold is designed.  The 4" x 11" cardstock is scored at 2", 3-3/4", 7-1/4", and 9", folded, decorated, and then adhered to the 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" panel.  I used another Sale-a-Bration product to decorate the side panels of the gatefold and the base cardstock . . . "Rings of Love" designer paper.  The stamped, colored, and die-cut image was adhered behind the tub to a piece of "New Horizons" designer paper (retired), which seemed perfect for the hippo's relaxing outdoor spa.  In the photo below, you can see that the decorative focal layer was only adhered to one side of the gatefold to allow the card to be fully opened.

The sentiment was printed from my computer and cut with circle punches.

Below is a better photo of the front of the card:

It's a fun little card, huh?

"SAILING HOME" NAUTICAL EASEL CARD

 

You know how sometimes you see something that inspires you, and it just doesn't need any changes?  That happened to me when I needed to make a thank you card but was a little short on time . . . and not feeling very creative.  I knew that I wanted to make something nautical, and a photo of a gorgeous card shared by Marja van Renswoude's was just the inspiration that I needed.

It's a pretty awesome design, huh?  I knew that aunt Betty would love this card--and it was one that I was proud to put in the mail to her.  Circle dies were used to create the card and layers, and I used images from Stampin' Up!'s "Sailing Home" (retired) stamp set to decorate the card.

And what do we always want from a card like this?  We want it to fold flat for mailing--and this one did!

It's impossible to tell from the photos, but I used a Wink of Stella glitter brush to add a little glimmer to the water.

That's all for today!  Thanks for visiting . . . have a stampin' good day!

"WISTERIA WISHES"

 

While scrolling through photos on my phone, I found a few projects that I haven't shared here on the blog.  Featured today is Stampin' Up!'s "Wisteria Wishes" stamp set and coordinating "Wisteria" dies.  I recently  made these cards to send to the elder ladies . . . you know . . . the ones who actually keep every card that I send.  I love that they consider mail from me to be that special, and that makes me want to send happy mail to them on a regular basis.

Cardstock colors featured on my card include:

Highland Heather

Gorgeous Grape

Mossy Meadow

Sahara Sand

White

The sentiment is from the (retired) Special Moments stamp set, which was a Sale-a-Bration product earlier this year, I think.  I used the Wink of Stella glitter brush to add a little sparkle to the wisteria as you can see in the photo below.  And just look at all of that pretty embossed detail on the die-cut leafy branch:

Decorating the inside of the card was really easy:

Looking for a stamp set (and dies) that are so quick and easy to use?  Consider "Wisteria Wishes"!!!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

MORE BLANK NOTE CARDS FOR MOTHER

 

In my previous blog post, I showed a couple of blank note cards that I made for my mother for Mother's Day, and today I'm sharing two more designs.  The first cards featured Stampin' Up!'s "Garden Birdhouses" stamp set, Forever Gold Laser-Cuts (retired), corrugated stars (retired), "Flowers of Friendship" stamp set and coordinating punch, and gold foil die-cut Whittle birds.  Once again, these cards feature no sentiment, making them useful for any occasion.

See how sparkly all of the gold is on this card?  This card also features the retired "French Foliage" stamp set, which was a favorite of mine several years ago.  I still enjoy this stamp set and am so glad that I kept it because it is so lovely.

The second card that I am sharing today features the "Waves of Inspiration" bundle.  This is such a simple card--but not boring.  I like that this design can appeal to men or women, making it more versatile than some of the other blank note cards that I gave to my mother.

The foil paper that Stampin' Up! included in this collection is so gorgeous--and so are the sparkly rhinestones!

I still have a few more blank note cards to share, so visit again later to see them.  Until then, happy stampin'!!!

BLANK NOTE CARDS FOR MOTHER

 

My mother casually mentioned recently that she could use some cards without sentiments, and that seemed like a great Mother's Day gift . . . and a fun card-making session for me.  I think I ended up making about 12 cards and will be sharing photos of them in the next few blog posts.  The cards that I'm sharing today feature an adorable birdhouse from Stampin' Up!'s "Garden Birdhouses" stamp set and a watercolored wreath from Art Impressions' "Greenery Invites" stamp set.  For a couple of years, I have enjoyed (and been "collecting") Art Impressions stamps designed for watercoloring, but making the cards that I'm sharing today was the first time that I have worked with images from "Greenery Invites".  Oh. My. Word!!!!  What took me so long?!?!  I cannot even find the words to describe how much I enjoyed coloring the stamped wreaths!  

Those little die-cut birds?  They're from Poppy Stamps (Whittle Birds), and I cut them from Stampin' Up!'s "Blue Foils" which were part of the "Waves of the Ocean" collection.  This may have also been the first time that I have used the Whittle Birds dies, and they seemed so perfect along with the birdhouse.

Above is another sample that's very similar to the first card.  Anyone who has visited my blog for years will know how much I 💗 gingham.  It never disappoints when my project needs just a little something--but not too much.  

On each of my wreaths, I added random splashes of glimmer with a Wink of Stella brush.  On the next card, which was actually the first wreath image that I watercolored, it's obvious that I stayed "safe" by not getting colors too dark.

I really liked the assorted colors on the leaves.  Gold foil seemed like a good choice for the die-cut birds on this card.

I was really pleased with these three cards and look forward to watercoloring the "Greenery Invites" wreaths again soon!