A Little Somethin' from the Big Shot

Okay - this is getting ridiculous - I can't get enough of the ideas in the catalogue! This one comes from page 201 although I used different colours, a different stamp set, and I added some sponging. I am really pleased with the result, although Soft Subtles aren't usually my thing! Love the panel of Bashful Blue with the little flower heads all over it - such a cute idea! I seem to use all of my large dies for the Big Shot, but these Sizzlits are adorable!

Stamps: A Little Somethin' (Level 1 Hostess Set)
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Barely Banana, Bashful Blue, Garden Green, Mello Moss, Kraft
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Apricot Appeal (shows up better than Barely Banana!), Bashful Blue, Garden Green
Tools: Big Shot, Birds & Blooms Sizzlits, Sponge Daubers, Crafter's Tool Kit
Accessories: Button Bouquet Button, Linen Thread, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

Old, New, Simple and Blue

I found a great, simple layout in this year's Sale-A-Bration mini catalogue (page 10) and wanted to tweak it - colours, accessories, stamps, etc. Here's how it turned out.

I am still so upset that Soft Sky is retired. It never fails that I fall in love with at least one of the In Colours - last year it was Soft Sky, this year it's Pacific Point. Doesn't help that our wedding colours were Soft Sky and Not Quite Navy! Anyway, I thought I'd bring the old and the new together on this card - Soft Sky and Baja Breeze. Love them with Chocolate Chip, especially those gorgeous corduroy buttons!

Stamps: God's Beauty (Level 1 Hostess Set), All Holidays
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky (retired), Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Tools: Crafter's Tool Kit, Corner Rounder Punch, Ruler
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Corduroy Buttons, Stampin' Dimensionals

Back in the Saddle

Perfect card to get back in the saddle - a thank you - for hanging in there and still reading!

I started this card wanting to use bright colours and a great layout from page 139 of the catalogue. I'm really pleased with the way that it turned out, although I wish the quality of this picture was much better - my apologies! :)

I can't get enough of Stampin' Up! punches these days and seem to use them any chance I get! I also seem to have moved away from layering and prefer a simpler look - often not even stamping the card base. Isn't it funny how you change your style over time? I wonder what my next stamping habit will be.....

Stamps: Love You Much, A Little Somethin' (Level 2 Hostess Set)
Paper: Pacific Point, Real Red, Glorious Green, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, Basic Black
Tools: Scallop Edge Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Trio Flower Punch, Crafter's Tool Kit, Signo White Gel Pen
Accessories: Rich Regals Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

Bright Birthday

It's not very often that I create a card using just one colour family - particularly Bold Brights, so this card was a nice change from the usual! I can't get enough of accessories these days and these cute clips from the Clips Assortment are so much fun to play with! You can use them on their own to accent a piece of cardstock, or add a piece of ribbon to them as I did here. I wrapped the ribbon around the whole top piece of the clip rather than feeding the ribbon through the centre and tying off on the side. You will want to do this after the clip has been put on the card though, as the ribbon may slide off while you are clipping it to the card.

Stamps: Sweet Celebrations, Cute & Curly
Paper: Only Orange, Real Red, Lovely Lilac, YoYo Yellow, Whisper White
Ink: Only Orange, Real Red, Basic Black, Lovely Lilac
Tools: Paper Snips, Small Star Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Sponge Daubers, Craft & Paper Scissors
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic Black Gingham Ribbon, Clips Assortment

Happy Easter!

Okay - a little late, but today's Easter Monday, right? :) I hope that you had a fantastic Easter with family and friends! It sure was a beautiful weekend!

Here's a quick Easter card that I made up last week - simple but elegant. This was inspired by the Spring/Summer Catalogue - p 107, although I used a different colour combination and stamp set. I love the way that ribbon is used on this card - I just swapped out the polka dotted ribbon for Wide Chocolate Grosgrain instead!




Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Baja Breeze Patters DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Tools: Wide Oval Punch, Crafter's Tool Kit, Boho Blossoms Punch, Craft & Paper Scissors
Accessories: Pretties Kit, Wide Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Need Anything?!

I will be putting an order in on Wednesday of this week. Please let me know if you would like me to place an order for you. Simply fill out the order form found here and e-mail it to me! Don't forget the great promotion in effect for the month of April! For every $50 in product you order from the new Occasions Mini Catalogue, you will receive a free item from page 208 of the Spring-Summer Idea Book & Catalogue! Haven't noticed this page before??? It's fabulous! Such cute, reasonably priced items for you, or for someone you love!

P.S. Have you checked out the awesome project videos on my demonstrator website lately? Some very talented, creative staff at Stampin' Up! have been filming some fantastic projects with some of the new products featured in the Spring-Summer Idea Book & Catalogue as well as the new Occasions Mini Catalogue. The videos are fabulous and definitely worth watching! They can be checked out here! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

An Old Standby Colour Combo

Oops! Sorry - there was no text here for a while. I had started this post on Thursday night and was planning on finishing it before it went live yesterday! What a crazy week!

When I first started stamping, this was one of my favourite colour combinations - Perfect Plum and Mellow Moss (I added in the Apricot Appeal and Elegant Eggplant). It has been a while since I have used these colours, so I thought I'd pull them out. I really like how it turned out. The Sweet Stems stamp set is so much fun to play with. They are all line images, so it leaves a lot of options open!

Stamps: Sweet Stems, Cute and Curly
Paper: Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Apricot Appeal. Mellow Moss, Whisper White
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Pale Plum, Apricot Appeal, Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke
Tools: Scallop Edge Punch, 1/4" Circle Punch (retired), Designer Label Punch, Crafter's Tool Kit, 2-Way Glue Pen
Accessories: Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware

From Mini Card to Full-Sized!

As you can tell, I have been drooling over my catalogue as of late. I have always appreciated the gorgeous samples in the Idea Book and Catalogues that Stampin' Up has released in the past, but this Spring/Summer catalogue just has me in awe. Such different layouts and some very creative ways for using different products! I liked the mini card that this full-sized card is based on (page 174), but was in need of something bigger, so I changed a few things. There are things that I like about each card, but all in all, the catalogue one looks much better. I think the proportions are much better on the catalogue card. Will have to give this card another try and see if I can improve on my first attempt!

Stamps: Define Your Life Alphabet

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Rockabilly Specialty DSP, Whisper White

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Tools: Tag Punch, 1/16" Circle Handheld Punch (retired), Heart to Heart Punch, Craft & Paper Scissors, 2-Way Glue Pen

Accessories: Blooms Die Cuts, Chunky Essentials Glitter, Stampin' Dimensionals, Hemp Twine, Mini Library Clips

Congratulations!

Here's another card inspired by the catalogue - page 134 this time. I have so many chipboard letters that I have been hoarding, so I figured that it was time to bring them out and start using them up. I have also been hoarding buttons, but my newfound love of "threading" them with a very thin strip of cardstock seems to be helping. I just can't get enough of threaded buttons!

Stamps: Hugs & Wishes
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Kraft, Riding Hood Red
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Whisper White Craft Ink
Tools: Flower Trio Punch, Sponge Daubers, Craft & Paper Scissors
Accessories: On Board Timeless Type, Silver Brad, Riding Hood Red Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Fresh Favourites I Buttons, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue-Dots