Sketch Frenzy Friday Sketch Challenge: Great Sport

Good morning and once again, Happy Friday!!!  We can start relaxing in just a few short hours and while we have another busy Saturday I told the guys that for Mother's Day I really want to just relax ad enjoy so I'm really looking forward to it.  Since it's Friday it's time for another Sketch Frenzy Friday Sketch Challenge and I have a fun baseball themed card since we've been really busy at the ballparks lately.  I really enjoyed this sketch but I decided to flip it on it's side so my stamped image would fit and used colors from Aidan's baseball team (thinking this would be a great end of season card).

 

The cardbase for this card is Crumb Cake Cardstock and I added a piece of Night of Navy cardstock that is embossed with the Big Shot and the Arrows Textured Embossing Folder.  I added a piece of Real Red DSP from the Polka Dot Parade Designer Series Paper that was matted with Whisper White cardstock.

 

The main stamped image is from the Great Sport stamp set (and is retired), and was stamped in Night of Navy ink and cut out with Paper Snips.  Next I stamped the baseball in Real Red and Punched it out with the 1 3/8" Circle Punch.  I used the Circle Collection Framelits to cut a piece of Champagne Glimmer Paper to cut a little mat for the ball.  Dimensionals were used to pop the ball up off the card.

 

The greeting is from the Delightful Dozen stamp set (also retiring) and was stamped in Real Red ink.  I used the Chalk Talk Framelits to cut the greeting out so it had rounded edges (I just kept moving the paper in the framelit until I got the paper cut down to the size I wanted).

 

This card is so cheery and bright, I love it!  I have to say if you have kids for friends in sports this Great Sport stamp set is a must have for all sorts of projects, I used it earlier this year to make custom cupcake toppers for a friends daughters baseball banquet (even personalized them with each of the girls names).  It's also great to give cards for unusual occasions, or just because, it really helps brighten someone's day, which is awesome.

 

I hope you enjoyed this card and come check out the rest of the designers cards and play along, sketch challenges are a great way to get you started when you're lacking a little mojo and I've included easy ordering links below for the products used on this card.

 

Have a fabulous weekend and Happy Mother's Day!

 

Diana

 
 

Great Sport

$26.95

Polka Dot Parade Designer Series Paper

$10.95

Champagne Glimmer Paper

$4.95

Arrows Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$7.95

Delightful Dozen

$32.95

Night Of Navy 8-1/2X11 Card Stock

$6.95

Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock

$8.50

Crumb Cake 8-1/2X11 Card Stock

$6.95

Paper Snips

$9.95

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine

$99.95

Chalk Talk Framelits Dies

$24.95

1-3/8 Inch Circle Punch

$15.95

Circles Collection Framelits Dies

$26.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Sketch Frenzy Friday Sketch Challenge: Happy Watercolor Mother's Day Greetings

Happy Friday!  What a crazy week, it started with the fabulous catalog premier event for the new Stampin' Up catalog (I'm going to tease you and let you know the new products are fabulous and you're are absolutely going to love it), then after several days of heavy rain we've finally seen the end and now we're enjoying nice weather (I love it!) and we're looking forward to a great weekend of baseball, softball, and hopefully a little relaxing crafting time.  Since it's Friday I'm here to share my design time card for the Sketch Frenzy Friday sketch challenge.  Jennifer created a really fun sketch that I enjoyed using as inspiration.  I decided to channel springtime flowers and the Watercolor Wonder products suite from the Occasions catalog for this bright and cheery card, perfect for Mother's Day.

The cardbase is Smoky Slate cardstock and I added a piece of Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper for the background.  Next I added a coordinating strip of DSP that was matted with Tangerine Tango Cardstock and I cut out the half oval with the Big Shot and Oval Collection Framelits.

For the main stamped image I used the Happy Watercolor stamp set (I'm going to give you a heads up, this stamp set is not carrying over to the new catalog so you only have until the end of the month to purchase this stamp set).  I love how you can use the splotch stamp to "color" in the flower for a really simple and fun look.  The flower was stamped in Island Indigo ink and the splotch is Daffodil Delight, that I stamped off first for a softer effect.  I used the Oval Collection Framelits to cut out the flower and dimensionals were used to help the oval pop off the page.

The greeting is from the Delightful Dozen stamp set (which is retiring this month and I believe is only available in wood mount at this time) and used Stampin' Write Markers to color in the greeting and then sponged around the edges with Gumball Green ink.  The final touch was to tie a pretty bow using Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon (this ribbon is also retiring and is currently on sale as one of the weekly deals and is a steal!)  I've included links for all the products used on this card for easy ordering, so have fun.

I'm still working on finishing up my Mother's Day gifts this weekend (nothing like waiting for the last minute, I know) but this card is definitely a contender.  What projects are you working on this weekend?  We would love for you to join us with this sketch challenge, I would love to see what you come up with.

Have a great weekend and happy crafting!

Diana

Happy Watercolor

$21.95

Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper

$10.95

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine

$99.95

Ovals Collection Framelits Dies

$26.95

Delightful Dozen

$32.95

Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

$4.95

Tangerine Tango 8-1/2X11 Card Stock

$6.95

Smoky Slate 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$6.95

Many Marvelous Markers

$109.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Stampin' Stylin' INKspiration Color Challenge: Blessed Easter

Happy Monday!  I've been so looking forward to spring that I've decided to start making spring cards that will help get me in the mood, along with our nicer weather.  Today I'm sharing my design card for this months Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration blog color challenge.  We're only a few weeks away for Easter so it's a time to start working on those cards and I love this color combination.  I started with a cardbase of Wisteria Wonder and then added a piece of Wisteria Wonder Designer Series Paper from the Subtles DSP Stack that was matted with Whisper White cardstock.  Next I took a piece of Gumball Green cardstock and embossed it with the Big Shot and then Beautifully Baroque Embossing Folder and then wrapped around some Whisper White Baker's Twine around the layers.

 

The main stamped image is from the Blessed Easter single stamp and I just inked the tulip part of the stamp and stamped it in Basic Black on Whisper White cardstock.  I used a blender pen and Pool Party Wisteria Wonder, and Gumball Green Classic Ink Pads to color in the flowers.  I used the Big Shot and the Ovals Collection Framelits to cut out the tulips and then paper pierced around the edge with the Occasions Paper Piercing Pack and the Paper Piercer to outline the oval.

 

The greeting is from the Delightful Dozen stamp set and was stamped in Wisteria Wonder ink, punched out with the Large Oval Punch and then matted with Wisteria Wonder cardstock and punched out with the Decorative Label Punch.  Dimensionals were used to attach the greeting to the cardfront and rhinestones were the final touch for a little bling.

 

 

I love how bright and fresh this card turned out, it's perfect for spring and Easter blessings.  Enjoy and we would love for you to play along with this color challenge, it's so much fun!

 



Occasions Paper-Piercing Pack

$7.95

Paper-Piercing Tool

$3.95

Blessed Easter

$11.95

White Baker's Twine

$2.95

Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack

$21.95

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine

$99.95

Beautifully Baroque Wood Bundle

$19.50

Ovals Collection Framelits Dies

$26.95

Wisteria Wonder 8-1/2 X 11 Card Stock

$6.95

Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock

$8.50

Gumball Green 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Monster Valentine Treats, Three Ways

Good morning!  It's almost Valentine's Day, do you have all your cards and projects finished?  I'm still wrapping up the last couple items but I wanted to share some fun and easy ideas to give you some inspiration.  One of the great kits that Stampin' Up! offered this year were the Monster Hugs Valentine Treats in both a Boy (Item 132162) and Girl (Item 132163) Version.  These kits are great because you got all the supplies you need to make 18 of these cute little monsters for only $5.95.  Here are three different ideas all using the kits which are super easy and cute.

These are the basic treats, all you need to do is write the names for the Valentine's attach the candy and wrap the monster's arms around and add the little eyeball and heart, so cute!

For the next version I needed to make some candy treat cards for my Mom and Grandma to give to some special kids so I took the exact same monster and attached it to the front of the card.  For this card I used the  Adorning Accents Embossing Folder for the Heart Embossed strip, the Delightful Dozen Stamp set, and a Rhinestone for the center of the stamped heart.

The final treat is a little valentine box that I found the template online by a fellow demonstrator, Julie Davison, you can find her template HERE.  I gave Aidan the option of how he wanted to use the monster valentine's for his class gifts and he quickly decided on the boxes, because "then I can give more candy", too funny!  Julie's little boxes were so perfect I didn't change a thing and I was able to fit four little pieces of candy inside for a nice little treat.  The "I Like You" stamp set is from the You're Lovely stamp set that you can year FREE this year during Sale-a-bration and it was cut out with the Big Shot and the Hearts a Flutter framelits.

 

I hope I've given you a few ideas on how you can use these cute little monster treats to make valentine's that any kid, young or old will be sure to enjoy!



Stylin' Stampin' Squad August Blog Hop: Holiday Catalog Preview, Toil and Trouble

Good morning friends!  It's that time of the month, the Stylin' Stampin' Squad blog hop starts today and we're so excited to share lots of fun ideas using the products in the newly release Holiday catalog.  There are so many fabulous products in this catalog for Halloween, Fall/Thanksgiving, and Christmas as well as so many kits and bundles to help you save time and money on projects there is really something for everyone.  If you've been moving along this hop you're joining me from Bree's site (I love all her projects), if you're just starting the hop from my site you can continue around the hop so you don't miss anything.

For my project I decided to make a halloween card (I love decorating for Halloween and giving cards and gifts it's a great way to kick off the full holiday season).  This card uses the new Toil and Trouble stamp set.  I started with a cardbase of Crumb Cake and used my Paper Piercer to pierce the design in the top and bottom right corners.  Next I took a piece of Basic Black cardstock and stamped the skeleton in Versamark and heat embossed with Whisper White embossing powder.  I also added strips of Witches Brew Designer Washi Tape (this tape is so fun and easy).  I matted this layer on a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock that I sponged around the edges with Basic Gray ink.

 

The main stamped image is also from the Toil and Trouble stamp set and was stamped with Smoky Slate ink on Very Vanilla cardstock.  I cut this element out with the Big Shot and the Apothecary Accents framelits before sponging around the edge (and all over) with Crumb Cake ink.  Next I selected random words on the image to highlight and stamped them again in different color in and/or paper and cut them out (sponged around all the edges) and attached them to the card with dimensionals so they pop up.  The final touch was to add a greeting from the Delightful Dozen stamp set that was stamped on Summer Starfuit cardstock (I used a Stampin' Write Marker to color in just the greeting since the stamp also has a pumpkin which I didn't want to use on this card and punched it out with the Word Window Punch (once again sponged round the edges) and popped it up with dimensionals as well. 

 

I played around with this card a lot but in the head I'm absolutely in love with how it turned out, it has a fun design without being either too scary or kiddish which I love.  With all the great coordinating Halloween projects in the Holiday catalog it's going to be so fun and simple to make fabulous projects, I can't wait.

 

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and I hope I've inspired you with fun ideas using products from the Halloween suite (I would love for you to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my project) and please take the time to follow along the hop, Annie is next up and you'll definitely want to see what she has to share. 

 

Thanks and happy stamping!

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Shellie G. of Craft Smashup
2. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!
3. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
4. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
5. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
6. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
7. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
8. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
9. Heidi B of Stuck on Stampin'
10. Jennifer B. of NW Stamper
11. Bree R. of Craft-somnia
12. Diana E. of Stampin' Fun with Diana
13. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
14. Jennifer C. of Happy 2 Scrap 4 Life

Create with Connie and Mary: Delightful Dozen

Good morning friends!  What started as a stormy week is turning really warm and pretty which I love!  We're also starting to wrap up the spring and school activities so we're starting to get some of our evenings back which is oh, so nice.  Today I wanted to share the card I made for this weeks Create with Connie and Mary sketch challenge.  I decided to mix some old and new elements to create a fun and easy card.  I started with a cardbase of Pear Pizzaz (so excited that this color returned to our color collection) and then added a piece of Melon Mambo cardstock that I embossed with the Big Shot and Chevron Embossing Folder.  The next layer is a piece of Gingham Garden designer series paper.

The greeting is from the Delightful Dozen stamp set and was stamped in Night of Navy ink before being punched out with the oval punch and then matted it with the scallop oval punch and Daffodil Delight cardstock.  I used dimensionals to attach the greeting to the card.  The final touch was to add a button that I made with the Simply Pressed Clay and the Buttons and Blossoms Clay Mold.  I made the button directly with the white clay and then used the Island Indigo Stampin' Write marker to color it in and added a White Baker's Twine bow to finish it off.

 

This is such a fresh and cheery card, sure to make someone feel better in no time.  What can you do with the fabulous new catalog items?  There's still time to participate in the challenge or get some fabulous inspiration from all the other sketch participants.

 

Make sure to stop by tomorrow.  This months Stylin' Stampin' Blog Hop is starting tomorrow and we'll be sharing some fabulous projects using items from the new 2013-2014 Annual Catalog, can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

 

Have a great day!

 

Diana

 

Bonus Post: Dapper Dad and Beyond Plaid Today's the Last Day to Get Them!

Good afternoon.  I'm back because I wanted to share a quick card idea that is perfect for Father's Day and uses two stamp sets, Dapper Dad, and Beyond Plaid that are in the Spring Catalog and today is the LAST day to order these stamp set so I want to make sure you have these great sets for your upcoming Father's Day (or birthday, retirement, etc) projects.  These cards came together really quickly I used the Big Shot and the Houndstooth Embossing folder and the greeting is from the Delightful Dozen stamp set.  I cut out the bow ties to and attached them with dimensionals so they pop and look like a men's dress shirt and tie.  The final touch was to add three Metallic brads down the center for buttons (I used my paper piercer and mat pack to get the holes lined up perfectly.

These cards and fresh and fun and have just the right touch of "guyness", love it.

I wanted to remind you that not only is today the last day to order from the Spring catalog but starting at 2:00 PM EST today you can start ordering from the new 2013-2014 Annual Catalog, which means that we have an overlap and for this afternoon only you can order from those catalogs as well as the 2012-2013 Annual Catalog.  You can order from the 2012-2013 Annual Catalog now through June 3 so this is the perfect time to not only stock up on all the fresh new products and colors but also grab all those retiring items that have been on your wish list.  Join me tomorrow from 1:30-3:30 as we say goodbye to the retiring products and hello to new items.  I'll have free gifts and a free Make and Take for all who attend, you can pick up your new catalog and take advantage of my BOGO sale so you can get twice the amount of product for your dollar, AWESOME!  This is also perfect to stock up on product to use for summer projects and craft kits for the kids while they're out of school.  Hope to see you there!

Thanks,

Diana

Paper Players Sketch Challenge: Dapper Dad

Good morning friends!  We got to spend the weekend in Chicago this past weekend and had a wonderful time exploring the city (Chris was there for a work show so Aidan and I tagged along), which means there was no stamping for me this weekend.  Thankfully the challenge offered by The Paper Players this week was a masculine card and I had made this clean and simple father's day card last month and I've been saving it to share with you (perfect!).  The cardbase is Cajun Craze and I added a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and I stamped the greeting (from the Delightful Dozen stamp set) in the bottom corner with Early Espresso ink.  Next I added three flag pieces made with the Parker's Patterns designer series paper.

 

The main stamped image is from the Dapper Dad stamp set (this is is in the spring catalog and didn't carry over so you only have a couple of weeks to get this fun stamp set).  The shoe is stamped in Not Quite Navy and is matted with Early Espresso cardstock.  The final touch was to add a Naturals Designer Button and I added a bow made with Whisper White Baker's Twine.

This card is so simple and fun, you could definitely change but the greeting for a guys birthday, retirement, etc. and you can definitely make these in not a lot of time.  Father's Day is less than a month away and you don't want to wait until the last minute so feel free to take this idea and make it your own for the special guy in your life.

Have a great week!

Diana