Stamps, Paper, and Ink

File it Fun!

I've taken a bit of a vacation from blogging in May, and just got back from a week's vacation too! I had wonderful fun on our family trip to West Virginia, and feel relaxed and so rested. Ready to get in gear for new catalog time and lots of crafting!

One of the things I LOVE about My Digital Studio is being able to put together pages simply while you're away. I used the template provided with the File It Fun Designer Kit to make this one. It's as easy as uploading your photos and text into the spaces provided. The rest is already done for you! Hope you enjoy seeing the photo of my husband and beautiful daughter along with my chatter about favorites.

Just a reminder that Tuesday is the day you'll find new My Digital Studio downloads each week on the Stampin' Up! home page. You can bet I'll be checking out the new offerings later this morning.

I'm lining up a few posts for you this week so I hope you'll check back. I appreciate every one of you that visits. Your comments are important and make sharing so much fun. Please feel free to ask any questions about the projects and let me know what you think.

Apothecary Art from the heart

Ahh, relief.

Now that I've mailed off my Artisan projects, it feels so GOOD just sitting down to make a card for a special friend. What feels even better is typing away and doing photo edits like a blogger again! 

I'm caught up in the excitement of the new catalog and finally playing with my new supplies. I'm loving the new In Colors and experimenting with new color combinations. Couldn't pick a better stamp set to start with than Apothecary Art.

Shades of rose and pink are intriguing, especially this color with the lovely name of Primrose Petals. Although you may think it is like Regal Rose, it has a delicious warm smoky hue that's soft and romantic.

I paired it here with Very Vanilla and a bold dash of Daffodil Delight for the sentiment banner. The colors are really a bit brighter than my photo shows.

The Crumb Cake panel was stamped lightly with the Netting background stamp. 

Also new, is the Chocolate Chip firm foam ink pad. These are coming to you on June 1 in the new catalog, and you're going to love them for the strong detailed coverage you get with just a light tap to your stamp. I was delighted to see that I could heat set the ink with my Heating Tool and then watercolor using Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, and Primrose Petals. A light touch with my Blender Pen did the trick. 

The fabulous sketch at Mojo Monday inspired my layout. I just needed something in the corner to stay true to the sketch, and rolled paper flowers were so fun to make.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today. 

 

 

 

 

 

Bright Blossoms

Hi there! 

This has been a busy spring and I've gotten a bit slack about posting. I hope to fix that soon so you'll know you can expect to hear from me several times weekly. 

I've had lots of time to craft. As a matter of fact, I've been intensely involved in the fun of creating projects to submit for the Stampin' Up! Artisan challenge this year. It is such a stretching experience to make a variety of intensely detailed projects. I'll be mailing them in but not until I've taken photos to share with you another time.

I took a break to make a quick and easy card with the Bright Blossoms set which wil be available June 1 in the new catalog! Lots of new catty excitement for me today as I expect my pre-order in a couple of days.

I love the happy colors and coordinating Summer Smooches Designer paper. I used the Bigz Square die to make the card base. 

The sentiment is from the Short & Sweet set, which is retiring. This one is often a go-to for me.

Thanks for visiting! 

My First Video Tutorial

I know I'm a wayward blogger who's been distracted gone for way too long. Enough said.

The good news is - I'm back with the video tutorial I promised you! After two or three consultations with my Apple guy, and an hour long phone session for tech help with my son - I discovered that my old camera was NOT compatible with my new Mac. So I went to great lengths for you, sacrificing *wink* to buy a new camera and figure out how to use it. Please bear in mind that I have BARELY figured out how to use it after much trial and error.

The project I'll be showing you is from the post  A Gift of Love and features a box and matching pouch or gift bag using Box #2 Die. If you have any questions, please let me know in my comments box. I'd love to know what you think of my project and video too! If you'd like to see more videos, I'd love suggestions of what you'd like in the future. Thanks for joining me today!

 

 

Mouthwatering!

 Good morning! 

I'm sharing the other projects we made at my club last week using the Mouthwatering and Fruits and Flowers set.

 The card is a CASE from the Idea Book & Catalog on page 99. I changed it by using punched flowers and the Berry Blossoms Designer Series Paper instead of stamped images, but kept everything else the same. Making a mock up of the card with My Digital Studio helped me get the right dimensions and placement of the squares and rectangles for the layout. I printed it out on copy paper and then measured the shapes. What a help to take the guesswork out if it!

The water bottle topper has been around awhile but was fun to revisit with the Cherry Scented Embossing Powder. My Digital Studio enabled me to create a sheet of printed tags to be punched with the Curly Label punch. 

Hope you have a cheery day!

  All supplies by Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Mouthwatering, Fruits & Flowers, Petite Phrases

Paper: Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Berry Blossom DSP,

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Real Red Craft

Accessories: Stampin' Write Markers, 2-3/4" Circle punch, 1-1/4" Square punch, Scallop Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Wild Wisteria Ruffled Ribbon, Brads (silver), Lucky Limade Baker's Twine, Cherry Scented EP

Kiss 'em Goodbye!

Now that I've got your attention, I'll let you in on a secret. I'm talking about kissing goodbye those stamp sets that are retiring from the catalog. I am EXCITED as we prepare for what's just around the corner when Stampin' Up! unveils the new! 

Even so, it's time to reflect on some of those favorites that will never be 'old' in my opinion. One set I'll keep for a long time is the Christmas Collage Background stamp. Here's a flash back to one of my favorite cards that I've ever created. 

If you'd like to read more details, you'll find them on this post. 

Speaking of letting the old go, have you noticed I changed my blog header? I had fun creating a new one with My Digital Studio. I really loved the last one, but just couldn't resist going for a different look with the Attic Boutique Digital Kit. It was quite a change going from fresh and fun to vintage. Let me know what you think! 

PS. I've also been updating my side bar and you can check out the list of retired stamp sets there.

 

Posies To Brighten Your Day

I've missed being able to post but there's been quite a lot going on! 

Hope this bunch of posies will bring a smile to you today! 

Last night we had our club meeting at our house featuring products from the Berry Blossom Suite. Each person in the group made an individual flower using the Mixed Bunch set and enjoyed the mini Peanut Butter cups perched in the flower centers. 

I enjoyed creating this little bouquet for my hostess who is the sweetest {hugs}. You'll never guess what I used for the base - my favorite BOX #2. I punched holes in the box top with the Crop A Dile and stuck the cookie sticks in, but the flowers were a little tipsy that way. So I cut another box but an inch shorter, lined up the holes and stuck it inside to stabilize the "stems". My hostess liked it and I hope you'll give it a try. Really was fun to make. 

I haven't forgotten about my tutorial for last week's Box #2
project. I've made the VIDEO and now must figure out how to inbed it with the Mac. If anyone wants to share a 'how to' I'd love it!

I'll end with this photo of our beagle, Josie, all wrapped up in her comfy crate taking a nap. Like her, I'm kind of tired but content as we traveled 700 or more car miles over the weekend and then I had lots to do to be ready for club last night. Yesterday was the push, today is the catch up---- I'm glad to catch up with you! 

I'd love to hear from you today and appreciate everyone who stops by. 

Beau Château Sympathy

It's sad when you find yourself needing to send a sympathy card. I've always wondered why the word sympathy is used so I looked up the definition.

Sympathy: harmony of or agreement in feeling, as between persons or on the part of one person with respect to another; the fact 

or power of sharing the feelings  of another,  especially in sorrow or trouble; fellow feeling, compassion.

It makes so much sense to realize sympathy is not sorrow/pity FOR someone, but loving thoughts shared with them. 

My friend gave her friend a beautiful butterfly necklace as a gift, so I thought bright butterflies would be appropriate using Daffodil Delight card stock. I highlighted the butterfly details by painting on Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink to give a shimmery glow. 

I've been featuring the Beau Chateau Designer Papers on my projects this week, and the Paper Doily Die. The coordinating Side Notes are a ready-made focal point for any project! I chose the label and stamped the sentiment from the Loving Thoughts set in Soft Suede ink. 

Our son and precious new DIL spent the last couple of nights visiting us, and just got on the road home. All our household is quiet now, with everyone off for the day except for Josie (our beagle pup) and me. I'm settling in with a second cuppa my morning tea, so glad you could join me! Have a great day.

  All supplies by Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Loving Thoughts

Paper: Beau Chateau, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Daffodil Delight

Ink: Soft Suede

Accessories: Beau Chateau Side Notes, Marina Mist Taffeta Ribbon, Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die, Paper Doily Die, Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink (Midnight), Basic Jewels Pearls

A Gift of Love

Happy to see you today and welcome to my blog. 

Mother's Day is coming and with that in mind I spent a little extra time over the weekend creating a special gift box with all the trimmings. 

Using Box #2, I die cut the Marina Mist card stock, and then cut the top off the box. Box #2 is my absolute favorite to use for boxes that are so easy to assemble, only require 8 - 1/2 x 11" card stock, and are so much fun to decorate!

I used the Paper Doily die and Lace Ribbon Border punch, then made stamped and punched flowers for my embellishments. Lots of details that were fun to build using a scalloped oval punch as a base to layer on. It's tucked inside the front of the box out of sight.

The pouch inside the box can stand freely and is prettily tied up with the 1/8" ribbon that I threaded through the punched lace. 

I can't wait to bring you a **tutorial** in the next few days showing you how I die cut the pouch with the Box #2 die!

 

Summer's Coming!

Summer means two things to me - warm weather and the new Stampin' Up! catalog!

Stampin' Up!'s new Promotion for April will warm you up for sure, it's called Summer Smooches! Not kisses, but a wonderful line of new products from the upcoming catalog coming out in June. 

Check out this flyer for details. You'll find ordering information HERE.

These products are available during April and include the new Petite Purse die which you are going to love! 

I love the super bright bold colors of tempting turquoise, real red, and rich razzleberry.

Here's a card I designed using the My Digital Studio Summer Smooches Kit to show off these super cute patterns of the Summer Smooches Designer Series Papers. 

Hope you've enjoyed taking a look today! See you tomorrow.