Laughter Mosaic Card

Happy Thursday!  I had a wonderful time this afternoon helping a dear friend with a special card- making project!  It's been a while since we've gotten to stamp together, and I sure have missed that!  Always more fun to stamp with friends!!!

In fact, part of what makes stamping with friends so fun is because there's usually some laughter involved.  And, that's part of the reason I love the sentiment on this card:

The sentiment is from the Feel Goods stamp set.  I inked it up using Stampin' Write Markers (Strawberry Slush and Island Indigo).  The sentiment is die cut using the Labels Collection Framelits, and layered onto a die cut piece of Night of Navy.  I added a couple of rhinestone jewels for a bit of sparkle, and used the Hexagon Punch to shape a strip of Pool Party into the banners under the sentiment.

To create the mosaic background piece, I started with a piece of Whisper White and embossed that using the Modern Mosaic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  Then, I stamped images from the Modern Mosaic stamp set inside the embossed areas.  The images are stamped in Melon Mambo, Island Indigo and Night of Navy.

Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

Merry Mosaic Christmas Tree Card

Happy Tuesday!  I actually have a Christmas in July post for you today!  I recently participated in a Christmas swap, and decided to get a little creative and use a not-necessarily-intended for Christmas set --the Mosaic Madness stamp set and coordinating Mosaic Punch -- to create a tree!  Here is how that turned out:  

The tree above is made using Pistachio Pudding-stamped and punched pieces, but I also experimented with Wild Wasabi, and a combination of Pistachio and Wasabi:

I think my favorite is the Pistachio Pudding tree.  Which do you like best?

The tree's ornaments are images stamped from the Mosaic Madness stamp set as well.  I fussy cut some, and others I punched with the four petal flower from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack.

The tree's base is also punched with the Mosaic Punch -- I just cut piece in half.  

I used Illuminate ink to stamp the background images on the Bashful Blue Card Stock, and painted the ink on some of the ornaments and the star atop the tree, for a little extra sparkle.

"Merry" is from the Pennant Parade Stamp Set.  I stamped it on a piece of Crumb Cake card stock cut using the Bitty Banners Framelits.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets:  Mosaic Madness, Pennant Parade
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush, Crushed Curry, Illuminate
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Pistachio Pudding, Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue
Accessories:  Mosaic Punch, Bitty Banners Framelits, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, 3/16" Corner Rounder Punch, Needlepoint Border Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Basic Rhinestone Jewels, Dazzling Details


And, don't forget it's digital download day -- click here to check out the latest and greatest downloads for My Digital Studio (and more!)

Thanks for visiting!
- Michelle

Coffee and Friends are the Perfect Blend Card

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!  It was a relatively quiet one for us -- still trying to catch up on everything post-vacation but did manage to sneak in a fun hike at a local lake with my guys (they were trying to fish, but didn't get any bites . . . just as well as far as I'm concerned!)  

Today's card is one I created for a recent new catalog card swap -- received some beautiful cards back from that, which will soon be added to my display boards for those of you who are local to see!  (If you are not local and would like to see photos of those, please leave me a comment or send me an email, and I'll see what I can do for you!)  Anyway, here's the card, made using the new Perfect Blend stamp set from the new Idea Book:

This is a Double Dutch fold card (there's an excellent tutorial for how to create this style of card here).  The base of it is Pool Party Card Stock, and the doors on the right side are created out of Baked Brown Sugar Card Stock.   I also used Baked Brown Sugar Classic Ink for the stamping, Baked Brown Sugar card stock for the Artisan Label punched-piece behind the greeting, and there's a piece of the new Baked Brown Sugar Ruffle Stretch Trim peeking out from behind the greeting as well.  (Can you tell I'm loving this new In Color!?)

Along with the Ruffle Trim, I used some This and That Epic Day Washi Tape and a Vintage Faceted Designer Button with some Linen Thread tied through it to dress up the card.

For the coffee, I stamped the image several times on Very Vanilla as well as a couple different patterns of the Epic Day This and That Designer Series Paper (be sure to stock up on it during the buy 3 get 1 free sale from now through July 31st!) before fussy cutting and paper piecing it.

For the color behind the coffee, the Circle Collection framelits came in handy to cut a mask one size smaller than the framelit I used to die cut the Vanilla layer.  Then, I sponged inside the mask, first with Daffodil Delight, followed by Crisp Cantaloupe, and finally Calypso Coral.

This card makes me want to call up some friends and head out for some coffee!  How about you?

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Happy Big Day!

Here's another card that was inspired by some samples Stampin' Up! created as part of the demonstrator sneak peek for new products in the new Idea Book.  This one seemed quite appropriate as Stampin' Up! celebrates its 25th Anniversary at Convention, going on right now, as well as exciting accomplishments such as making the Guiness World Record for most cards sent from a single location at one time right after the opening session of Convention (which I enjoyed watching live via streaming broadcast!!  One of these days I hope to be there in person!!!)

Anyway, in CASing this card, I changed the greeting on this one (from Really Good Greetings to Chalk Talk).  I also used a different design from the designer series paper pack, which lead me to use a slightly different color scheme.  And, I couldn't resist adding a few more elements to my card -- specifically one extra mosaic punch, plus the little flowers punched with the four petal flower punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.


Supplies used:

Stamp Sets:  Chalk Talk; Mosaic Madness
Ink:  Strawberry Slush, Daffodil Delight, and Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pads
Paper:  Whisper White Card Stock; Quatrefancy Designer Series Paper
Accessories:  Chalk Talk Framelits, Mosaic Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Modern Mosaic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Big Shot, and Subtles Candy Dots (love these!!!!)

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Grateful There's You CASEd Card

Today I have another card to share with you that I "CASEd" from some samples Stampin' Up! created for demonstrators during the sneak peek for the new Idea Book.  

Again, I made some slight changes to the original design.  I used a different greeting set -- Stampin' Up!'s artist used the Really Good Greetings stamp set, which I don't have yet -- so I substituted a greeting from Chalk Talk set and punched it with a coordinating oval punch.  Because of the different shape of the greeting, I added some Gingham Garden Washi Tape in a different spot than on the sample I liked.  I also used two clay flowers on my card, compared to one on the Stampin' Up! version.

Supplies Used:

Stamp Sets:  Chalk Talk, Wildflower Meadow Greeting Stamp

Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo and Island Indigo Classic Stamp Pads; Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo Ink Refill (for the clay flowers)

Paper:  Pear Pizzazz, Melon Mambo, and Whisper White card stock; Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper

Accessories:  Gingham Garden Designer Washi Tape; White Simply Pressed Clay; Buttons & Blossoms Simply Pressed Clay Molds; 3/16" Corner Punch; Wildflower Meadow Textured Impressions Embossing Folder; Big Shot; Extra-Large Oval Punch

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Epic CASE'd Birthday Card

Aloha!  I'm just getting back in the swing of things after returning from a week vacationing on the beautiful island paradise of Kaua'i!  Tough, I know!!!

Anyway, wanted to pop in and share a card today!  I CASE'd this one from a sample Stampin' Up! created during the demonstrator sneak peek for the new Idea Book back in May.  This is a 4-1/4" x 4-1/4" card.  I changed the designer paper used from the Soho Subway in their sample to This and That Epic Day Designer Series Paper, but otherwise, the rest of the card is the same:

Recipe:

Stamps:  Label Love Stamp Set
Ink:  Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad
Paper:  Crumb Cake Card Stock; This and That Epic Day Designer Series Paper
Accessories:  Linen Thread, Very Vintage Buttons, Artisan Label Punch, Bitty Banner Framelits Dies, and circle punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack


Thanks for visiting!
Michelle

By the way, if you haven't checked out this week's digital downloads yet, be sure to pop over to my online store to see them!

Motoe's SUper Thanks a Ton Whale Card

Here is another of the wonderful cards I received during our recent SUper Friends' swap!   This fun card is created by Motoe Tada:

Motoe's card features the adorable Oh, Whale set from the Spring Catalog -- if you missed out on getting it, no worries, you can still get the images digitally!  Here's the link to the digital brush stamp set (plus, it is an svg set, so you can be cut out with certain digital cutting systems!!!).   The cute rainbow flag at the bottom and the yellow chevron design in the oval behind the whale are from the Sunshine and Sprinkles Designer Series Paper -- again, if you missed out on that from the Spring Catalog, it's not too late -- you can still find that digitally here, and don't miss out on the wonderful Sunshine & Sprinkles ensemble -- perfect for a baby shower, bridal shower, or so much more!!!

Thanks, Motoe, for sharing your beautiful artwork with us!

And, thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Nancy's SUper Butterfly Thank You Card

Here is another one of the beautiful cards I received in my most recent swap with my SUper Friends!  This one is by Nancy Poon and is a creative CASE of the Congratulations card on page 142 of the 2012-2013 Stampin' Up! annual catalog.  Nancy changed the colors, punches and stamps used on the card.  

Nancy used Raspberry Ripple and Whisper White card stock, with the Itty Bitty Banners and Express Yourself stamp sets.   One of the Itty Bitty Banners is die cut with the coordinating Framelits and popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals.  Nancy added some butterflies punched with the Bitty Butterfly Punch, and some of the Raspberry Ripple Ribbon.  One side of the Whisper White is die cut with the Finishing Touches Edgelits, which is so much easier to keep straight during cutting when you use the Magnetic Platform for the Big Shot!

Thanks so much for the wonderful card, Nancy!!!

And, thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

SUper Gift Box From Agnes -- All Dressed Up in Modern Medley

At our last SUper Friends (my amazing team of demonstrators!) gathering, during our swap, I received this gorgeous goodie box created by Agnes Lang:

Agnes started with one of Stampin' Up!'s Kraft Gift Boxes, and punched or die cut a hole in the top of the box and three of the sides.  Agnes decorated the top of the box and lined the inside of the box with coordinating patterns from the Modern Medley Designer Series Paper (part of Stampin' Up!'s buy 3 get 1 free special on designer series paper for July!).   The flowers around the outside of the box are created out of Crisp Cantaloupe, stamped using an image from Mixed Bunch, punched with the coordinating Blossom Punch, and then fussy cut to create even more petals.

 Agnes added a treat of some cookies all wrapped up in a cello bag tied with Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon.  And, she topped that with a fun Pool Party tag created using the Chalk Talk Bundle.

Such a great way to dress up a gift!  Thanks, Agnes!

Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

SUper Friends Triple Time Stamping Card

In addition to swapping at our last SUper Friends (my team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators), one of my friends asked how to make a triple time stamping card like this one, so we whipped up this card using some of the new 2013-2015 In Colors:

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Flower Shop, Morning Meadow (hostess exclusive set)
Ink:  Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe, and Pistachio Pudding
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories:  Hexagon Punch

By the way, there are some wonderful new downloads for My Digital Studio available today.  You can check them out here!

Please stop by again tomorrow to see more of the swap projects from our gathering!

Thanks,
Michelle

Simply Sketched Meets Venetian Romance Card

A few members of my SUper Friends group got together recently, and we had a swap.  I decided to create a CASE of this card for my swap card, and to use the gorgeous new Venetian Romance Designer Series Paper in doing that.  (By the way, in case you haven't heard already, Stampin' Up! has a great deal on Designer Series Paper this month -- buy 3 get 1 free!!!  You can check out more details in my online store here).

Here's how my card turned out:

Supplies Used:

Stamp set:  Simply Sketched (exclusive hostess set)
Inks:  Pistachio Pudding, Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar & Crisp Cantaloupe Stampin' Write Markers all from the 2013-15 marker package); Island Indigo Stampin' Pad
Paper:  Pistachio Pudding, Soft Sky, Watercolor Paper and Venetian Romance Designer Series Paper
Accessories:  Ovals Collection Framelits, Soft Sky Seam Binding Ribbon

Thanks for visiting!
Michelle

Two-fer for the Tangerine Scene Tuesday Trigger Challenge

I recently came across a challenge that's new to me -- the Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger -- and couldn't resist playing along with their Scene in Tangerine challenge.  I love these colors -- so bright, happy, and summer-y!  Here's the Trigger photo and link to the challenge (there's still time to play along as it is open until July 14th!):

Challenge Link

In fact, I found this so inspiring, I ended up creating two cards for the challenge!  

Here's the first one:

For this card, I first took inspiration from the colors in the Trigger photo -- I decided to use Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Gumball Green as the closest colors I could think of to the embroidery floss, as well as Crumb Cake and Whisper White from the ric rac holder and background fabric, respectively.  I also liked the pop of black from the embroidery floss tags and decided to incorporate that into my design by stamping my greeting in Basic Black ink.  

The ric rac in the photo reminded me of the oval chevron background stamp in the Oh, Hello stamp set, so I decided to use that.  And, I remembered seeing this gorgeous card on Gayle Wheeler's Stampingville blog, where she created an ombre technique by using sponge daubers to ink up the chevron background stamp.  I still want to try the ombre effect, but had fun using that technique with Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Gumball Green to create a fun background for this card's greeting.  I actually ended up sponging over the stamping as well to make the color a bit more intense and to coordinate better with the "grunge" feel of the background paper.  Here's a close up of the oval piece:   

I found the background paper in the Epic Day This and That Designer Series Paper pack, and decided to stamp it with the patterned arrow and stitched arrow images from the Oh, Hello stamp set.  I used Gumball Green ink for that.  The ribbon peeking out from behind the oval is Gumball Green Stitched 3/8" Ribbon.

For the flower, I selected the sketched flower image from the Flower Shop stamp set, since it reminded me a bit of embroidery floss.  I stamped that three times (using the Rock and Roll technique for the top image -- inking first in Daffodil Delight, then rolling the edges in Pumpkin Pie), punched out with the coordinating punch, and sponged the edges.  I used embroidery floss and created a bunch of french knots in the flower's center.  The multi-patterned flower from the Flower Shop stamp set, stamped in Gumball Green, makes some fun leaves for the flower.

The second card came together more quickly.  Using the stamp sets I already had out from the first card, I decided to stamp a line of the patterned arrow images from the Oh, Hello set in each of the three colors of ink I'd selected, onto Whisper White card stock, and then add a matching flower from the Flower Shop set along the line:

I stamped the greeting in Basic Black and the stitching in Baked Brown Sugar.  The card base is Daffodil Delight, and I added a layer of Pumpkin Pie in between that and the Whisper White stamped layer.  My flowers needed a little something extra to dress them up, and the smallest size of the new designer buttons turned out to be just the thing!  (The yellow and green are from the Regals and the orange is from the Brights collection.)

Hope these brighten your day, and hope you'll play along with the challenge, too!

Thanks,
Michelle

Hello to You -- June Paper Pumpkin Creations!

Hope you had a happy 4th of July!  We had a great day -- did a bit of kayaking and swimming before our traditional BBQ-ed dinner and fireworks-watching!  

Last month's Paper Pumpkin kit came with 4 pre-printed and die cut notecards, and was a breeze to use to quickly whip up some fun cards!  I made one following the kits' directions, then tried some different ideas for the rest.  Here are the 4 cards I created all together:

 Here's the card I made following the sample and instructions in the kit:

  

And, actually there is an online video from Stampin' Up! about this kit, too.  Here it is in case you'd like to check it out:

 

(I notice in the video that the crafter uses adhesive to secure the patterned hexagons; however, these actually already have adhesive on them -- you can just peel and stick, if you prefer.)

Here's my first variation on the design:

The only thing I changed for this one was to substitute the "hey there friend" greeting from the Paper Pumpkin welcome kit for the "Hello to you."

For my next variation, I decided to turn the card to portrait orientation, and I stamped "Hello to You" on a scrap of Daffodil Delight Card Stock, which I shaped into a flag and adhered:

For the last card, I went a little crazy:

I stamped the splatter image from the Welcome Kit outside and inside the card using Daffodil Delight Classic Ink.  Then, added the "hey there friend" greeting from the Welcome Kit again.  And, decided to add not just the Soft Suede hearts but also some Primrose Petal kissed hearts all around.  To create the kissed hearts, I 

inked the heart image up with Primrose Petals, stamped off once, then inked up the June kit's small chevron background stamp with Primrose Petals and "kissed" the heart to the chevron stamp before stamping the heart on Whisper White card stock.  I fussy cut the hearts then attached them to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I have quite a few hexagon pieces leftover from this kit, and am looking forward to seeing what else I can make with them and with the great stamps!

Want to learn more about Paper Pumpkin and how you can join the fun?  Be sure to click here and visit my Paper Pumpkin page!

Thanks!

Michelle 

In Color Backyard Bird Card For You

My new catalog open house was Friday, and I had so much fun with the ladies who came!  Here is the make and take card we created at the party -- I designed it so everyone would have a chance to try out one of my favorite new stamping toys, . . . uh, I mean tools . . . the Big Shot magnetic platform (which works like a charm to keep Framelits in place as you run them through the machine)!!!   

The base for this card is Coastal Cabana, one of the new 2013-15 In Colors.  We also used the beautiful new Venetian Romance Designer Paper and flirty, fun Baked Brown Sugar 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim.  The stamp sets are Backyard Basics and Chalk Talk, which we could die cut with the coordinating Framelits (as well as the new Circles Collection Framelits for the "For You" stamp from Chalk Talk).

We used Aquapainters and ink from the Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe and Baked Brown Sugar ink pads to watercolor the "for you" and little bird images.  Here's a close up of the bird I created for the sample:

 A couple of my friends, Teresa and Jean, decided to watercolor their birds a little differently -- they added some beautiful touches of Crisp Cantaloupe to their birds' cheeks and tail feathers.  Here are their cards, with the sample in the middle:

I liked their variation so much, I decided to copy that for another card I made -- although I ended up using the Cantaloupe on the bird's cheek and breast feathers instead:

And, I couldn't stop there . . . had to try a variation of the card with the butterfly from Backyard Basics as well.  Here's how that turned out:

Which is your favorite?  Please leave me a comment and let me know -- always enjoy hearing from you!

Thanks,

- Michelle

Dino-Chalk Talk Thank Yous

Here are the last of my projects from vbs week!  These are thank you notes I created for my co-teachers and our great youth helpers!  I kept with the Pumpkin Pie, YoYo Yellow, Basic Gray, and Basic Black color scheme for these, and had fun using some new products along with the now-retired Dinoroar stamp set:

Supplies used:
Stamps:  Dinoroar (retired), Six-Sided Sampler, Chalk Talk
Ink:  Basic Black
Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, YoYo Yellow, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Accessories:  Epic Day This and That Washi Tape, Hexagon Punch, Chalk Talk Framelits

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle