411 Challenge

Today I used this week's Stamping 411 Sketch for this card, featuring Betsy's Blossoms. This little bird is just so stinkin' cute, and the flowers are pretty neat too. They stamp divinely with our newly reconfigured stamp pads - wait until you try one of these things, you'll want to buy all new stamp pads - they are that good!

I just love sneak peeks - it's kinda like Christmas!!

Keeping Calm Here!

Here is another Keep Calm card made with some new In Colors (June 2012) and Floral District DSP. I just love this stamp set, and isn't this new paper just the sweetest? The teeny banner is from the Bitty Banners Framelit Die - it's been a fun weekend playing with goodies from the soon to be released 2012 Catalog!

Happy Monday!

Mother's Day Tea

I made my Mom a card for Mother's Day using a sketch from A Sketch for You To Try. I thought that the Tea Shoppe stamps pair really well with the new Floral District DSP. And since this card had a tea shop theme, I thought what would go better with this kind of card, than a box to hold tea? So I brought out my Simply Scored and whipped up this little baby. This Simply Scored really makes creating your own boxes and 3-D items easy peasy!



I made a little belly band to wrap around it, and hid the ends with this 3-D flower, made with 5 flowers punched from the Blossom Punch, and sponged using Primrose Petals In Color Ink - gosh these new stamp pads are a dream to use - they even ink your sponges beautifully, giving you a much different look than the traditional ink pads! I think I'm in love...

Here's a close up of the rolled flowers on the front of my card. I simply punched a 1 3/4" Circle, cut a circular pattern from the outside in, held it together with a dab of hot glue. Next I smeared a little white craft paint onto the the edges and added a teeny pearl to the center when the paint dried!

And Stamp On

I love the bright cheerfulness of this card. I used the Distressed Dots Background Stamp and a CAS design to showcase the Stay Calm stamp set.

And since it's Mother's Day today ~ a wish for a happy day to all the Mommies out there!

Keep Calm

Finally - my Sneak Peek order has arrived! I couldn't wait to start using this set - so stinkin' cute! I stayed up all night stamping with these babies, and I can't wait to show you what I got! I just couldn't resist making this Clean and Simple Card and sharing it first here:



It's a CASE of course of the original war propaganda poster that was printed in 1939 by the British Government - explains the little crown often pictured with the variations of this slogan. Here is an image of the original poster:

The copyright has run out on the British Government's version, allowing a slew of Keep Calm products to be made and sold, but I did find out that there is a company now trying to trademark it globally. Some people never do learn to share! But for now you can have this stamp set for yourself by booking a Stampin' Up! Party with me - it's available only to hostesses beginning June 1st! If you don't have a demonstrator, I'd be happy to be yours! You can visit my Stampin' Up! Website here to sign up for my newsletter!

Beau Chateau Side Notes & A Hat Pin!

Here's a fun card I created using the soon to be retired Beau Chateau side notes and the now retired Hat Pins. Now those things were fun! Thanks for stopping by!

A Little Something Sweet

We have been a bit spoiled here in New England these past months with temperatures in the 80's when we're usually 80 feet deep in snow. I think I've become a little soft, because while I am grateful that we have finally had some rain this week it's gotten quite cold and damp!

So Dear May, I could use just a tad bit of sunshine today, and a little warmth to go along with it would be very welcome!

So in the hopes of some warmer days I am sharing this Ice Cream card with you today!

I used the recently retired (2 days ago!) Sweet Shop Designer Series Paper as a back drop for this tag. The banner from Perfect Pennants Stamp Set makes the cutest ice cream cone when stamped in Soft Suede, and it pairs perfectly with the top from the Cupcake Punch to make a yummy ice cream cone. This one is a combination of a couple of my personal favorites Strawberry (Pink Pirouette) and Mint Chocolate Chip (Lucky Limeade). The sprinkles were hand drawn, though personally I think that some sort of plastic or glass sprinkles would be a very fun thing for Stampin' Up! to add to their product line!

I have also embellished the center tag with White Waffle Paper ( sadly we might have seen the last of this fun stuff!)Calypso Coral Seam Binding - now on Stampin' Up!'s Carryover List, and a cute little heart from the Fashionable Hearts Embosslit Die - also a Carryover Item!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you were inspired to create something sweet!

Die of the Month Club

I recently joined a fabulous group of local stamp artists in a Die of the Month Club. Yesterday I saw firsthand some of their amazing projects (next time I'm bringing my camera!)and I'm excited about upcoming meetings! I felt inspired, so I decided to share them with you just in case you might be feeling inspired. I'm about to show a little bit of Contraband here, so if you're only in it for the Stampin' Up! it's your fair warning to look away! On the other hand, this is my Mostly Stampin' Up! blog, and these are mostly Stampin' Up! ATC's. This first sample features a teeny-tiny ice cream cone. Can't see it? Look closer at that little banner - it's the cone! I used SU's scallop border punch, then lobbed off the little ruffles from the ice cream scoops and tucked them under the punched border. Colors used on this project were: Early Espresso, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, and Very Vanilla:

On this second card I used Mambo Melon (and tried the ric-rac technique for a little border at the bottom, combined with Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine and a Daffodil Delight Designer Button, Lucky Limeade, Mambo Melon and Daffodil Delight ink, and an image from the Just Believe Stamp Set.

My final card was a case of another I found online but forgot where - if it's yours my apologies! I used a little Bright Red Acrylic Craft Paint for the background. I've been seeing a lot of paint included on people's projects and thought I'd give it a try here. Also used on this card is: Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Billboard Die, Dazzling Details, Early Espresso Ink, Just Add Cake DSP, Glimmer Brad, Boho Blossom punch and Log Cabin Smooch. The image is from the soon to be retired Best Friends Forever stamp set and the card stock is Early Espresso, Poppy Parade, Crumb Cake:
Thanks for stopping by. Come back tomorrow because I am going to show you the most adorable Ice Cream Cone card I made last weekend using ALL Stampin' Up! Products.

Farewell My Little Pony Friend!

Welcome to the Stampin' Addicts Retiring Set Blog Hop! I hope you enjoyed visiting Heidi's Running with Scissors Stamper and looking at the great ideas she had for the Nursery Times Stamp Set. I can't wait to make that amazing carousel!
I have created a Pony Party at my house! This set has been a very loved and much used favorite with the 8 and 4 year olds who often visit - next week I might just have to blog about the set and show you a picture of what a well loved stamp set looks like after two or three years of frequent use! But you're probably wanting to see the pictures of the most amazing party happening here, so without going on and on here is the whole ensemble:
I got this party started by making these fabulous treat boxes, they took about a day to complete the whole set, but aren't they darling?Then I moved on to a coordinating card:For now, the inside is empty, but they could be invitations or thank you cards. The plan is to donate this party set to an upcoming fundraiser, so maybe I'll include both and the lucky recipient can choose! And no birthday party is complete without a little cake right? These little buntings are so much fun to make - and I just had to sneak in another favorite retiree - the Broadsheet Alphabet - to spell out Happy, because let's face it, who wouldn't be happy with a Pony Party like this? And my final project included in this little party is my table runner, which could also double as a banner or backdrop to this party! These are all the pictures I'm allowed to share with you today. I hope you enjoyed my party. Now - on to your next stop on this blog hop which is Carmen's Stamping Addiction. This weekend Carmen is doing a little camping Under The Stars, and who doesn't like S'Mores?!

Steampunk Stepped Up!

I thought the Steampunk card I posted yesterday was missing something, so I stepped it up a bit! Enjoy!

Stamping in Steampunk Class Today

Awhile back I posted a couple of pictures for an upcoming Steampunk Class. Those are the cards we'll be making today - along with this final card:

It needs a little more in the background I think, so I'll probably play with it a bit more in class. I have enough supplies for a couple more to join in! There is room for two more attendees - call Tanya @ 413-283-4448 and tell her I sent you if you want to join today's class! We are starting at 1:00 - Life's Memories and More - School House Commons - 1085 Park St, Palmer, MA Class Fee: $12

Blossom Builders Designer Kit

Here's one of the two pages we'll be making at Carmen's party on Sunday:

I absolutely adore the teeny pink gems that come with this kit - along with a splash of color, they add just the right touch! I paired these up with some Flirtatious DSP and a splash from my Melon Mambo Reinker and my Aqua Painter. I am really trying to get as much use from two of my long time favorites - Smarty Pants and Full of Life - which have recently been announced on Stampin' Up's Last Chance List. Though I know I'll probably share some last creations with other sets that will be soon retiring, these are the one's I'll miss the most. If you love these as much as I do, you only have until May 31st to get yours before they are gone for good!

Step It Up Swap

Recently, my friends at Stampin Addicts swapped cards in a Step It Up Swap. We each created two cards from one design. One was to be a basic, easy to recreate card and the second was a Stepped Up version of the same design. You can see here that I made a fairly basic and easily made card using Nature Walk, my Framelit Labels dies, some ink and card stock:

For my Stepped Up version I added a little extra ribbon, some Illuminate Smooch Ink (inside the eggs),raised frames with the Framelits, and of course a few little butterflies.

So there you have it. One card that can be completed with a few basic supplies - for that stamper who is just starting her collection (and I would highly recommend this amazing stamp set to anyone!) and a Stepped Up version for the girl who has everything :D Thanks for stopping by today ~ have an amazing day!

A Few Retirees

Stampin' Up! announced the retiring stamp sets today, you can see them here. I decided that I needed to break out two of my best friends: Full of Life and Smarty Pants. For the past three years these stamp sets together have been my "go to" sets when I needed a lighthearted or whimsical card. For this card I used the 2010-2012 In Colors, all of which are expected to retire on May 31st. I think when they first came out Concord Crush was my favorite color, and Poppy Parade was my personal least favorite. Well a lot of time has passed since then, and the Poppy Parade has really grown on me! For this card I used blossoms from the Blossom Builders Designer Printed Kit in Poppy Parade. The banners are Poppy Parade, Concord Crush and Peach Parfait. I stamped the sentiments in Pear Pizzazz.

While the saying on this card front is from Smarty Pants, the coordinating verse on the inside comes from Full of Life. While I am a tad sad to see these leave, don't look for them on my For Sale lists soon - they're a "keeper"!

Last Chance List!

Stampin' Up! released this year's retiring stamp list today. Don't forget to go through your catalog and make sure you don't miss out on the chance to get that special stamp set you have been holding out for!

Happy Easter!

This is one of the two cards we made at Meghan's recent workshop. It was a case of a card by Sandi MacIver. If you have never visited Sandi's blog - you could spend hours there just looking at her beautiful projects! You can visit her at www.stamingwithsandi.com I tried to tie in the link to her blog, but Blogger is not cooperating with this today! While you are there, don't forget to look at the gorgeous 3-D items she is sharing on her blog this weekend - how I wish I had time to make all those before the festivities begin today!

While my Black Magic card isn't necessarily an Easter Card, I thought it might be bright and springy enough to share with you today. My ladies enjoyed making them last weekend. Some of them even taught me some new techniques, and showed me how to use my Watercolor Pencils in ways I've never tried before!

I would love to get together and stamp with you too - I have lots of dates open for May Scrapbooking. In case you weren't aware, May is National Scrapbooking Month. So there you have it, a perfect excuse to work away on those scrapbooks a few afternoons!

...for now enjoy your day with family and friends!

Happy Easter!