Final Day of Sale-a-Bration!

This is it!  Today is the last day of Sale-a-Bration.  So, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to celebrate that by posting some cards I made with Sale-a-Bration products over the past few months but haven't shown you yet!  ;)

First up, a few birthday cards I created using the chalkboard technique (Whisper White Craft ink on either Basic Black or Chalkboard Paper) and the Big Day Stamp Set from Sale-a-Bration (page 12 of the SAB brochure):

The last card also uses the Irresistibly Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper (Real red ink was sponged on, making the star design pop out), the Hooray It's Your Day stamp set inside (Occasions catalog, page 16), and the Balloon Framelits Dies (silver banners on card front).

Here are a couple more cards created using the Irresistibly Yours paper:

The greeting in both those cards is from the Because You Care hostess set (Occasions Catalog, page 51).  Blackberry Bliss flowers and Pear Pizzazz leaves stamped in the upper background for the bottom card are from the Painted Petals stamp set (Occasions, page 19).

 The next two cards are made with the Nature's Perfection stamp set and Blendabilities (no longer available), cased from this sample by Stampin' Up!.  The greeting is from the Lovely Amazing You photopolymer stamp set (available online here)

 

 

And, last but not least, another CASE'd card (here's a link to the card that inspired it), again using the Nature's Perfection stamp set, but this time combined with a Mini Treat Bag Thinlit (Occasions page 9), created out of the Sheer Perfection Designer Vellum:

 

For this card and the embellishment on the envelope, I used Stampin' Write Markers (Bold Brights) to do the coloring. 

So, which of the 2015 Sale-a-Bration items do you think you will continue to use long after Sale-a-Bration has ended?

Thanks for visiting my blog!
Michelle

Hostess Tea Party Favors

Hi Everyone!  Happy Sunday!  Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!  I thought I'd pop in and share some more about last Sunday's hostess tea -- this time some photos of the favors I gave out to the attendees.  I have photos of the work in progress, as well as the finished projects for you.  Here goes:

I started by creating baskets with the Berry Basket die, which I stamped with the Nature's Perfection Sale-a-Bration stamp set (can you believe there are only a couple days left of Sale-a-Bration!!?!)

To fill the baskets, I decorated some eggs with the Best Year Ever Ribbon (from Sale-a-Bration), flowers created using the Itty Bitty Accents flower and the Petite Petals Punch, and leaves from the Bird Builder Punch:

I added Gold Glitz Dazzling Details in the center of each flower.   Here are a few more photos of the decorated eggs as a work in progress:

Basket assembly:

And, then, basket filling:

My craft-inspector had to pay a visit to make sure all was going well with my progress:

And, after I had the baskets all finished, I lined them up on top of my hutch:

Card stock colors used on the baskets were So Saffron, Crisp Cantaloupe, Wisteria Wonder, Pink Pirouette, and Wild Wasabi.  I think the Crisp Cantaloupe baskets were by far the most popular, as they disappeared first.

Here are some close ups of the finished baskets:

The tags/garden picks in the baskets were created using the From the Garden stamp set and Handpicked Framelits Dies.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

- Michelle

9th Annual Hostess Appreciation Tea!

Hi!  Wow!  I didn't realize I've been away from blogging for two weeks already . . . that time has really flown by.  It's been a busy two weeks for sure (lots going on this time of year!!!)  And, one of the highlights was the 9th Annual Hostess Appreciation Tea this past weekend -- something I look forward to every year!

Here are some photos from the event:

Salad with edible flowers:

Vanilla bean cream scones (here's the link to the recipe: http://bubblynaturecreations.com/2013/11/vanilla-bean-cream-scones.html)

Enjoying time to relax, chat, and stamp with friends:

Working on the make and take:

Here's my original sample:

We used Painted Petals for the background, Sophisticated Serifs for the monogram, and the Because You Care Hostess set for the frame around the monogram.  The ribbon is White Jute (137904, from page 43 of the Occasions Catalog).  Colors for the card are Strawberry Slush, Blackberry Bliss, and Pear Pizzazz.

Inspired by my friends' variations on the sample, I created these cards as well:

We also took a group photo, with a little help from my oldest son:

So thankful to these wonderful ladies for taking the time to come celebrate with me!!!

- Michelle

Flashback Friday Featuring Joyce (and Happy 2nd Birthday Paper Pumpkin)!

Happy Friday!  I thought it'd be fun to flashback to Valentine's today and share a special project my lovely friend Joyce Costello created!  She used Paper Pumpkin kits for her creation, and it just happens that Paper Pumpkin is turning 2 this month, so fun to be able to celebrate that, too!!!

Anyway, Joyce started with the Sweet as Pie kit, dressed the goodie box up using stamps from the Filled with Love kit, and ended up with this beautiful treat box:

 And, she created this fun mini card / tag to go with it:

Isn't this great!?!!!

Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

Bokeh Easter Bunny Trifold Card

Happy Thursday!  In my last post, I shared this bokeh card I created for the recent SUper Friends Swap:

Turns out I've really been into this technique lately, so that actually wasn't my first card with this technique.  This card, which was created for a different swap, was:

I used Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, and Strawberry Slush on this card, and the Happy Easter Bunny stamp.  The flower embellishment is stamped with the Flower Patch stamp set, and cut with the coordinating dies.  I used a length of Gold Sequins and Calypso Coral Pom Pom trim, tied in a bow with the white Painted Blooms Cotton Twine on top of that (thanks to my friend Connie Monahan for the inspiration for this kind of 3D textured embellishment -- she showed me her beautiful card where she'd used an Antique Brad to hold together some ribbon lengths like this, and the idea just grew from there!)

The card is a trifold (couldn't bring myself to completely cover up the rectangular bokeh panel), made by using a 1" x 8.5" inch strip of card stock, folded in half, and adhered to the back of the card.  Here's a photo of the first opening:

Then, the rest opens like a regular card.  The "happy spring" and flower and leaf stamps are from the From the Garden stamp set.

I'll be teaching how to make both these cards in my upcoming Spring/Bokeh Technique Card Class on March 27th . . . so please check out my class info in the side bar if you are interested in making one of your own!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!- Michelle 

SUper Friends' February Swap Cards

Hi Everyone!  Happy Monday!  I have a treat for you today -- some wonderful works of art from the swap at our SUper Friends (my team of talented demonstrators!) February gathering. 


Jana created this adorable card using the card base, stamps, and gold glitter dot embellishments from the March 2014 Paper Pumpkin kit, combined with the Happy Easter Bunny stamp from the Occasions catalog:

Connie's clever card shows off the Adventure Bound Designer Series Paper Stack (so awesome for masculine cards and more!):

I love the inside, too:

Cheryl created this sweet card, using the Cheerful Critters stamp set and the fun Itty Bitty Accents Epoxy stickers (don't you love how they coordinate with the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack!!?!)

Agnes used the amazing January Paper Pumpkin kit to create this wonderfully interactive shaker card:

Nancy's elegant card shows off the Irresistibly Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper from Sale-a-Bration, along with the Another Thank You stamp set, and the cute flower from the Simply Wonderful Sale-a-Bration Stamp set.

 

 

For my card, I used the bokeh technique for the background, the greeting is from the From the Garden stamp set, die cut with the Handpicked Framelits Dies.  The flower is die cut from the Bouquet Bigz L Die.  The Gold Sequins and ribbon from the Best Year Accessory pack are tied together with the Wild Wasabi Painted Blooms Cotton Twine:

 

I'll be teaching how to make this card in my upcoming Spring/Bokeh Technique Card Class on March 27th . . . so please check out my class info in the side bar if you are interested in making one of your own!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle