Marbled Hearts - Stampin' Up! Hugs for Love

 I've been mixing and matching different products lately to make my Valentine's day cards and today's card is more of the same.  I designed this one to use some of the Marbled Elegance DSP, Hearts of Elegance dies and the Hugs for Love stamp set.

  My local stampers made this design in my last class and everyone agreed that the Online Exclusive Marbled Elegance Designer Series Paper is gorgeous with it's swirls of color and gold foil.  This card isn't big on stamping but it's big on the gold "wow" factor!

  The card starts with a Real Red base, then a layer of Basic White embossed with the Forever Plaid embossing folder.  A piece of the Marbled Elegance DSP is added to the right side of the card.

  A bit of gold twisted thread is wrapped around the center and tied in a bow.  Next come 3 lovely die cut hearts using the Hearts of Elegance dies.  The red heart is stamped and embossed with the sentiment.  Both the red and pink patterned hearts are accentuated by using a scoring stylus on the backside of the die cuts.  This gives the die cut a beautiful "puffy" look and is so easy.  Just leave the die cut in the die and flip it over to the back side.  Use a foam mat and the scoring stylus to gently trace the shape on the inside of the die.  And that's it; you get a jazzed up die cut in seconds.

  All 3 hearts are popped up on dimensionals and a few Adhesive-Backed Heart Sequins are added for even more gold shine.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Al of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Hugs for Love

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Real Red, Basic White, Marbled Elegance Specialty DSP (Online Exclusive), Brushed Gold Foil Specialty paper (Online Exclusive)

Accessories: Forever Plaid embossing folder, white embossing powder, dimensionals, Gold Twisted Thread (Online Exclusive), Adhesive-Backed Heart Sequins (Online Exclusive)

Love Hearts - Stampin' Up! Hugs for Love

   Sometimes card designs just come about because you have an orphaned card part that is just begging to be used!  That's what happened with this colorful Valentine's Day card!

  I had this Basic White panel that was embossed with the Sale-a-Bration (SAB) Starstruck embossing folder just sitting around since it didn't make the cut for another project.  And of course I would never throw it out so this card all started with just that panel!

  I added it to a Blueberry Bushel card base then stamped a whole bunch of hearts in bright colors using the Hugs for Love stamp set.  I fussy cut the hearts (really didn't take long at all if you were wondering lol!) and then layered them in a band towards the bottom of the card front.

 The sentiment is from the Saying Hey stamp set and is stamped in Blueberry Bushel and then popped on dimensionals.  The finishing touch are a few retired Iridescent Rhinestones for a little bit of shine.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Hugs for Love, Saying Hey

Ink: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana, Blueberry Bushel, Azure Afternoon

Paper: Blueberry Bushel, Basic White

Accessories: dimensionals, Starstuck embossing folder (SAB), Iridescent Rhinestones (retired)

Spotted Background Birthday - Stampin' Up! With You In Mind

   While I haven't shared much the last few days I have been busy stamping!  I've been getting ready for my monthly class as well as working on a set of 100 cards for my church to use for an upcoming women's retreat.  You'll be seeing all the designs over the coming days so stay tuned!  But for today I've got a card I designed using the Color Hues challenge; Navy and Lime!  Such a cool combo!

  I guess this card would fit into the Testosterone Tuesday guy card category!  I kept it very simple and gave my new Around It All dies a good workout.

  The card base is Lemon Lime Twist, then I cut out the background circle in Night of Navy using 3 sizes of the circle-ish shapes from this big 12 die set.  Look for these die in the Online Exclusives section of my online store!

 Once I had the background arranged I used one of the larger dies to cut out the stamped sentiment from the With You In Mind stamp set.  I added a Lemon Lime Twist leaf and then popped it on dimensionals.

  A Natural Tones linen thread in Night of Navy bow was added to the leaf stem and 2 retired Enamel Dot Essentials are the finishing touch.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: With You In Mind

Ink: Night of Navy, Lemon Lime Twist

Paper: Night of Navy, Lemon Lime Twist, Basic White

Accessories: Around It All dies (Online Exclusive), dimensionals, Natural Tones linen thread, enamel dot essentials (retired)

Oh Crab! - Stampin' Up! Ocean Friends

     The fabulous team at Seize the Birthday challenge is back with some more birthday card inspiration for you and they are letting me continue to join in the fun for January and February as a guest designer!  This time we are to use Kraft and Red as the colors for our card!

  I have to admit that these colors had me stumped for a bit as all I could think about was Valentine's Day but after I got that out of my system and got to thinking all things birthday and looking at my new Ocean Friends bundle there was only one way to go!

  This one was so fun to put together and I kept chuckling to myself (I'm easily amused!) the whole time.

  I started with a Crumb Cake (kraft) card base, then I used 2 more panels of Crumb Cake and tore the top edge off. Using a sponge I added Crumb Cake ink to darken the torn edge to make it look like a sandy beach.  I added some little pebbles in Crumb Cake to break up the sandy expanse.

  Next I used Basic White cardstock, the Alphabet a la Mode dies and foam adhesive sheets to make my "Oh Crab!"  and adhered them to the top of the card.

  Using some creative marker work I inked up the stamps to make 'it's your' and then used an ink pad to ink up only part of a 'happy birthday' sentiment. More dimensionals are used for the sentiment pieces.

  Finally comes the red part of my card, the crab!  He's a 2 step stamp with the outline in full strength Real Red and the fill stamp in stamped off once Real Red.  He's die cut and then added to the card front with more dimensionals.

  Finally I added the red enamel stars from my retired embellishment stash as everything else red that I had was way too Christmas-y for a birthday card!

  This was such a fun challenge and really made me get creative to bring my idea to life!  I can't wait to see your project in the Seize the Birthday gallery!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased or earned for free in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Ocean Friends, With You In Mind, Friendly Seagulls (SAB), Amazing Phrasing (retired)

Ink: Real Red, Crumb Cake, Memento Black, Basic Black Stampin' Write marker

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White

Accessories: Ocean Friends dies, Alphabet a la Mode dies, dimensionals, foam adhesive sheets, enamel stars (retired)

Blue Crab Love - Stampin' Up! Ocean Friends

   I'm trying to get back in the stamping groove after a few days away from home so I thought I would start with a Clean and Simple (CAS) card inspired by the Addicted to CAS challenge which has a prompt of code word Blue.  What's better than a blue crab saying "love you"???  Not much!

  The trick with a CAS card is to make it balanced without overdoing anything as well as maintaining open space without it looking empty.  They are harder to make than the finished product would have you believe!

  For this one I started with a Basic White thick card base.  I'm always trying to use up narrow scraps as best as I can and I thought that embossing 3 Basic White strips with the Soft Waves embossing folder and adding them to the bottom of the card would be a nice way to use them up as well bring some textural interest to the card.

  The lovely blue crab is stamped in Blueberry Bushel and Azure Afternoon.  Once he was die cut I popped him up with dimensionals.  I used the Spring Corners die for the heart and tucked it into the claw.

  The sentiment from the Ocean Friends set is stamped just above the top embossed strip in Blueberry Bushel ink.

  I'm thinking this card might be a good Valentine's Day card for one of my boys.  Not too mushy and if I give it with enough candy I might even get a smile!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Ocean Friends

Ink: Blueberry Bushel, Azure Afternoon

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Blueberry Bushel

Accessories: Ocean Friends dies, Spring Corners dies (Online Exclusive), Soft Waves embossing folder, dimensionals

Wildflower Wish - Stampin' Up! Birthday Celebration

   January is always a great time to check your supply of birthday cards and make sure you have enough for your needs the first few months of the new year.  The Birthday Celebrations bundle and coordinating DSP are an easy way to make a stack of birthday cards so you're ready to pop them in the mail on time for all of your family and friends!

  

For a fast card, the die cuts that come as part of the Wildflower Birthday DSP can't be beat!  I used them

on this card and it took just a few minutes to pull together.

  I showed this card coming together in my Facebook Live last week (along with a few other projects).  You can watch the replay here if you like to see the visuals:

 I started with a Pool Party base and then added a strip of the Wildflower Birthday Celebrations in a gold and Pool Party pattern down one edge.

  Then I chose the bouquet of flowers from the die cuts.  The sentiment is stamped in Blueberry Bushel and punched out with the new To The Point Label punch and added that to the card front with dimensionals.

  I added a few smaller die cuts to the side of the label making sure to use one of the gold leaf die cuts to help tie in the gold from the DSP strip on the card front.

  A bit of Pretty in Pink stitched ribbon and an adhesive-backed heart sequin also help pull all the elements of the card together.

  If you're looking to be even more organized about sending birthday cards in 2025 then you need to check out the Perpetual Beauty Calendar Kit in the online store!  Such a handy and beautiful way to keep track of special dates each month and you only need to write them in once!  No need to transfer all the dates to a planner or paper calendar each year!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Birthday Celebration

Ink: Blueberry Bushel

Paper: Pool Party, Wildflower Birthday DSP, Basic White

Accessories: To The Point Label punch, dimensionals, Pretty in Pink Bordered ribbon, adhesive-backed heart sequin (Online Exclusive)

You're My Lobster - Stampin' Up! Ocean Friends

   If you're of a certain age like me and watched Friends back in the day (or reruns now!) you're sure to remember the line "She's your lobster" so I made a Valentine's Day card with a lobster.  If that doesn't make sense to you at all check out the YouTube link below to see a clip that will explain everything, well as much as Phoebe Buffet can be explained lol!

  I used a piece of retired Well Suited DSP for the card background because Night of Navy just makes the Calypso Coral lobster pop don't you think??  

  I wrapped some Night of Navy linen thread around a stitched rectangle that I had in my scraps and tied it in a bow.  The lobster is popped up on dimensionals over the thread.  And then a little punched heart is added to the bow with a glue dot.

  Finally I stamped the 'love you' sentiment from the Ocean Friends set and trimmed it down and adhered it to the lobster.  

   

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be ordered in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Ocean Friends

Ink: Calypso Coral, Night of Navy

Paper: Basic White, Well Suited DSP

Accessories: Ocean Friends dies, dimensionals, Natural Tones linen thread, House Builder punch (heart), Stitched Rectangle dies (retired)

Friend Season - Stampin' Up! Pick A Season

 Today's card started out for a color challenge for clean and simple challenge using these colors and after it was finished it wasn't CAS at all with the busy background so I didn't end up sharing it there but made another that was definitely more clean and simple.  This design uses the adorable Sale-A-Bration reward Pick a Season stamp set.  I love all the little images you can add to the tree for different seasons and occasions.  A very versatile stamp set.

  I started with an Old Olive card base and stamped the tree top stamp all over in Old Olive ink.  Using the smaller leaf stamp I filled in the open spaces for a more even look.

  A strip of Basic White has a score line at the top and bottom for detail then the sentiment is stamped in Early Espresso.  You can find the sentiment in another Sale-A-Bration (SAB) stamp set Friendly Seagulls. My Early Espresso might be past it's prime as it look very much like black and not really brown so a new one of those ink pads might be in my future.  I've had the original since Stampin' Up! made the switch from fabric ink pads to firm foam so definitely a hot minute!

  Next I used a piece of retired Pumpkin Pie cotton ribbon and tied it around the Basic White panel and then adhered it all to the card front with dimensionals.

  The tree truck is stamped in Early Espresso, the leaves in Old Olive and the flowers in Pumpkin Pie.  I fussy cut the 2 pieces and added them with dimensionals.  

  I added a few retired Adhesive-Backed Speckle Dots to finish the design.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

All of the current supplies used to make this card can be purchased or earned for free in my ONLINE STORE.

Stamps: Pick A Season (SAB), Friendly Seagulls (SAB)

Ink: Old Olive, Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie

Paper: Old Olive, Basic White

Accessories: dimensionals, cotton ribbon (retired), Adhesive-Backed Speckle Dots (retired)