Stamps, Paper, and Ink

Mellow Mamba

You may have noticed how much I LOVE the new In Color Melon Mamba. (ETA: Except that I seem to have renamed it :D The REAL name is Melon MambO, I'll try to remember!)  I love it because it's bright! Today's card uses a color combo that I think is pretty - well, ....mellow, even for Mamba! Does this make any sense? Maybe seeing the card will help.

 
Soft Suede and Melon Mamba with Very Vanilla is the color combo which I actually saw on a skirt at the mall and snapped a photo for future reference. The ribbon from the Harvest Originals adds a touch of soft dignity to the mix.  I almost didn't post this card because it's not my favorite, but I decided to post it anyway. What do you think?

I'm off to prepare for my scrapbooking class, hope you enjoyed stopping in today!

Supplies~ 
Al supplies are Stampin' Up! unless noted
Stamps: Soft Summer
Paper: soft suede, melon mamba, very vanilla, creamy caramel
Ink: soft suede, melon mamba, creamy caramel
Accessories: Harvest Originals ribbon, corner rounder punch, Button Bouquet,

 

Do you need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator?  Order from me anytime by e-mailing me what you'd like or any questions you have. You may also order online HERE

Spring Song

Hi there! For those of you who have followed my week I guess you figured I was NOT stamping yesterday. I did actually take some of your suggestions to SHOP - thanks very much for your input and did I have fun!  Can't tell you what I got - every good shopper knows never to list her purchases in cyberspace - unless we're talking about stamps, of course. :D

I do have a card to share with you today that I made recently with the Spring Song set. I love this delicate and classic set and kept the same feeling for my card using a monochromatic color scheme.

The DSP is Flock Together from Stampin' Up!  and I used the wide so Saffron ribbon.  I colored the images using markers and an aquapainter. 

Spring is a past dream here in NC where I live, it is to be a sweltering hot weekend!  Stay cool - Thanks so much for coming by to visit and see what I've been up to!

Oh my, melon mambo...

I know the new In-Colors are still in the sneak peek stage, but I betcha you already know which one is my favorite!  Now I've even gotten the name right, it's Melon Mam-BO.  The Clean and Simple Cards challenge at SCS was to use a shade of pink or coral with kraft for a summery card.  I pulled out one of my favorite all time classic sets from Stampin' Up!'s Last Chance List: Heartfelt Thanks.

Click the photo to see the larger  {brighter} version. This card makes me smile, guaranteed!

Have you tried tying a bow with the dotted grosgrain (or any two-sided ribbon) yet? I did not like having the plain side show when I tied a regular bow with this ribbon, so here's what I did.  I made a loop and taped it together for the two sides of the bow. Then in the center I tied a separate piece looped once - just right over left to anchor.  I twisted the two cut pieces so the polka-dotted side showed and stuck them down with a glue dot. Maybe later I'll post pics. Just let me know if you have any questions!

My heartfelt thanks to you for visiting my blog today. Have a great day!

Supplies~

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks
Paper: melon mambo, kraft, whisper white, basic black
Ink: melon mambo, black
Accessories: SU! markers, keytag punch, dotted grosgrain, Circle Scissors Plus

To order from me online anytime 24/7 click HERE

 

I Sing for Joy

Now that I have completed my convention display work for SU! I can take part in challenges for a few days.Today it's the Inspiration Challenge at SCS.  Steph chose a great site (you'll find this French company at Bonjour Mon Coussin) where I chose this pillow to inspire my card. I love the chance it gave me to make something old-fashioned and romantic. The collage style lends itself very well to Mojo Monday sketch 85, which I used as well.

Here's my card! My dear friend Susan surprised me with the Sing to the Lord set from Our Daily Bread Designs. I just love it and am so grateful that this verse has become one of my favorites and given comfort and hope throughout my life.  The image panels and images are popped on multiple dimensionals for loads of depth and texture. I use so many of these that I am always having to order more!  I used markers directly to the images to color and shade. I scribbled a bit of pretty in pink marker onto a plastic lid and applied it with the aqua painter being careful not to touch or blend with the detailed areas, to add more color to the blossoms.

Supplies~
Stamps: Sing to the Lord (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Paper: regal rose textured, Parisian Breeze specialty paper, kraft, whisper white
Ink: Baja Breeze

Accessories:
lace (SU! retired) button bouquet, Texturz embossing plate, Big Shot, white taffeta ribbon

Something Sweet, Something Bittersweet, and Something FREE

Happy first day of May! Can't believe it's May already! Do you know what else I can't believe? It's been a year since I became part of the fabulous team at Stamp Something, and that means later this month it will be time for me to move on. It has been such a joy for me to work with Denise, Erin and the wonderful gals on the Design Team. I have enjoyed every minute! Fridays won't seem quite the same. I am grateful to all of you and I will really miss the challenges!  Now you know the bittersweet part of this post.

The sweet part is my card for Mother, made with the Eastern Blooms set and the Georgia Peach Designer Paper. The colors in these patterns are super sweet to me! Normally I would watercolor these, but stamping the flowers on DP made this a quicker card and I love the look too. I like detailed cutting almost as much as I like to watercolor - they both involve a process that takes some patience. The slower work relaxes me. Ah, back to the card. Adding glitter to the flowers makes them sparkle.

Now, about the challenge. You are supposed to Stamp Something for Mother and the second part is - CASE one of my cards! How fun is that?  One more thing - I am offering the blog candy for this Stamp Something Challenge - its a gift of $15 of Stampin' Up! merchandise. So, hop on over to the blog, and make a card for the challenge!

Supplies~
Stamps: Embrace Life, All Holidays
Paper: so saffron, whisper white, Georgia Peach Designer Paper
Ink: Old Olive, Basic black

Accessories: Top Note die, Satin ribbon, Button bouquet, Dazzling Diamonds glitter

Great day, great friend!

I've been having a great day all around today. It is a good day when I can get my card posted before lunch :D I also love being home in the morning and not having a zillion things and errands to do. Life has been so hectic for our family recently.

I got to finally use the Great Friend set for the first time with this card. I love butterflies, this stamp set is the latest of the series with these delightful winged creatures. I wanted to love my In Colors a bit before their time is up and Baja Breeze and Pink Pirouette are so soft together with the Baja Breeze Designer Prints. I cut the butterflies by hand. The Stampin' Up! Matchbox die cut has three tags, this one is a perfect fit for the images in the Great Friend stamp set. I used Basic Gray ink and taffeta ribbon.   Tip: I added a knot of silver elastic cord for the butterfly antlers.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I've shared. Make it a great day! My day will be even sweeter if you leave a comment :D  I'm glad to be back in the swing of things, I'll have three more posts for you this week.

Happy Thoughts of someone special....

Do you ever know someone who just makes you smile? This card is going to someone who has that special gift of making me smile just to think of her. :D  It is so precious that I have not one but a few friends that I think of that way. I wish I had bunches of cards for each one and the smiles they bring to me! 

 

I don't often combine challenges, but Dawn McVey had this terrific color combo challenge on her blog, and I used this week's Sketch for You to Try  SFYTT from Jen. I loved this sketch and would love to try it again with another image. The flowers in the Petal Pizzazz stamp set are fabulous for layering~I'm so glad I got to use my corduroy button as the flower center - it's so cute IRL. Hope you're ready for a great week! Thanks for visiting and letting me know what you think.

Cindy

Sale~A~Bration will soon come to an end. If you are interested in joining my team, or placing an order, send me an e-mail today!

Supplies~
Stamps: Petal Pizzazz, Goody-Goody Gumdrops
Paper: whisper white, pink passion, pumpkin pie, Delicate Dots DSP, chocolate chip designer prints series
Ink: chocolate chip, pink passion, pumpkin pie

Accessories: 1" circle punch, jumbo brads, eyelet border punch, so saffron ribbon from SAB Ribbon Bundle

Endless Spring

 

Spring is here and it's Friday too, time for a challenge! Think Spring is the theme for this week's challenge at the Stamp Something blog. Our sponsor this week is Roses on Paper, head on over to the blog and check out the fun! 

In my mind spring and butterflies always go together, although I love butterflies in any season! I used the Echoes of Kindness hostess set, and colored the images with Stampin' Up! markers. The circle card was a breeze with my Circle Scissor Plus cutter. I will share more about this new product in the next week. The two white layers are matted with celery card stock and they open (the hinge is at the top) so a note can be written inside.    

For the butterfly I used the Bigz Beautiful Butterflies die and cut it out with Sticky Pages* so that I could lavish the wings with glitter. Gotta have my bling!

Wishing you a day full of sunshine, soft breezes, and many kind words. Oh, and a little bling.

Supplies~
Stamps: Echoes of Kindness
Paper: whisper white, certainly celery
Ink: Black Staz-On

Accessories: white Organza Ribbon, Stampin' Up! Beautiful Butterflies die, Big Shot, Circle Scissors Plus and glass mat, Pretties' Kit, Fine Cosmo Stampin. Glitter, Sticky Pages (* Sticky strip material in full size sheets)

Parisian Breeze for Mom

I really love the specialty papers in the new Idea Book, and Parisian Breeze was the first to catch my eye. You may remember the hanging treat bag I made with it (see THIS post) in February. I made this card to send along with it for my Precious Mom. After I had the circle cut out, the rest of the card went together pretty easily. I sponged around the circle  and placed the image panel behind it.
Mom loved the card and the spring clothes that I sent - but I think those chocolates were what she loved best!
I think the circular image may have looked better than this square one - but I wanted the message to be the main thing, so I used the Love You stamp. Please, scroll down to see the inside! It is so easy to finish the inside while all the stuff is out on the table. :D

Supplies~
Stamps: Dreams du Jour, Fancy Flexible Phrases (ret)
Paper: Parisian Breeze specialty DP, whisper white, chocolate chip, baja breeze
Ink: Basic Brown, Creamy Caramel, chocolate Chip

Accessories: aqua painter and reinkers for coloring, ribbon pull, white taffeta ribbon, MS lace punch, circle and word window punches

My Manhattan Rose

I had so many thoughts when choosing the title for this post, because the names of the items used to create this card are so pretty in themselves, and full of delightful images for the mind. Walk in the Park Designer Series paper, Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Die, and Oval All stamp set. ALL NEW! The die is available now HERE, but the rest is a sneak peek from the upcoming Occasions mini. Hope you enjoy getting a taste of the good things to come.

Making the card was a delight! The flower does emboss an entire card front, but I decided on a different approach and cut it out of the Cameo Coral card stock.

Tip: Using sanding blocks to rough up the raised design really does make it stand out well and adds a shabby, provincial look.

 I love the elegance of the Oval All sentiment and the wonderful new Scalloped Oval punch.

Bottom line - this is the fastest wedding card that I have made in a long, long, time! I tied it up with Basic Gray taffeta ribbon, and may add a pearl from my Pretties Kit  in the bottom of the oval, centerd over the flower. You'll just have to imagine that part.
Best Wishes for a great day!