Teacher Appreciation and Farewell to the 2015-16 Annual Catalog

Last week, we celebrated teacher and staff appreciation week at my younger son's elementary school, and I enjoyed creating a couple of fun projects for that!  The first is some stamping I did on envelopes that held an invitation created by another friend.  I chose colors and images to coordinate with the invitation, and ended up using a combination of Blackberry Bliss, Flirty Flamingo and Emerald Envy -- so a combination of retiring and new In Colors!  The stamps on the envelope back are from the retiring Floral Wings Hostess set, and the image on the front is from the already retired Painted Petals set (but one of my favorites -- I'm happy to see some new floral stamp sets in the 2016-17 that have a chance at taking its place on my favorites list!)

The other project is another card tote, this time made with the retiring Schoolhouse Designer Series Paper (and apologies for the blurry first photo):

 

The greetings on the cards were created with the new Thoughtful Banners stamp set and coordinating Duet Banner Punch -- available tomorrow!!

You can see what's retiring in my online store here, and be sure to check back on June 1st to see the new catalog here!  Also, if you are local, I'm having a new catalog open house this Sunday from 2-4pm.  You can come see the fabulous new In Colors, try some of the fun new products, and pick up your catalog, if you haven't already!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

New In Color Bookmarks

Hi!  A quick post today to share some new In Color bookmarks I created for our SUper Friends gathering last week:

The five 2016-2018 In Colors are Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach, Emerald Envy, Dapper Denim, and Sweet Sugarplum.  The bookmarks have either Emerald Envy or Dapper Denim Ruched Ribbon at the top -- the Ruched Ribbon is so pretty, and will be available in each of the new In Colors, starting June 1st!

I used the new Swirly Bird set to stamp the images, and punched pieces of card stock with the new Sprinkles Punch.  The names are written on with the new In Color Stampin' Write Markers.

So, which of the new In Colors is your favorite?

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

SUper Friends - Masculine Cards for May

Happy Tuesday!  Today, I have a treat for you!!! I finally have photos ready to share from our May gathering of SUper Friends (my demonstrator group!).  We had such a fun time together, stamping, swapping, and just visiting -- thanks so much to Judy-Ann for hosting us and providing a yummy lunch and a make and take!!!

Here are all our swap cards all set out together, ready for swapping:

Our swap theme this month was masculine cards (always challenging!!!), using either sets that are new or carrying over into the 2016-17 Catalog.  As demonstrators, we were able to do a pre-order of select new items, and I think you'll soon see which one was a favorite in the group to meet this challenge!  ;)  

Judy-Ann actually used three brand new stamp sets to create her wonderfully manly creation -- Painter's Palette (easel), Swirly Bird (for the sun, boat and sky in her painting on the easel and for the splatter background on the layer underneath the easel), and Thoughtful Banners ("Happy Birthday" greeting).  Judy's card also features Dapper Denim -- one of the new 2016-2018 In Colors!  

Fanny also used the boat image from Swirly Bird for her fabulous card, but she combined it with the coordinating Swirly Scribbles Thinlets, and did a bit of sponging of sky and sea to create this fabulous card, featuring a Real Red, Marina Mist and Whisper White color scheme:

The bakers twine adds the perfect touch to her nautical-themed card!

As you can see, looking ahead to the next card, great minds think alike!  Margery used a similar layout on her card, but rather than sponging to create her sea and sky, die cut the "waves" with white and added a Bermuda Bay layer behind that (hard to tell from the photo, but it is popped up on dimensionals, as are the boat and sun, to give a fun 3D effect!).  Margery's sky is created with the splatter stamp from Swirly Bird, and she managed to use 4 of the new In Colors on her card -- Dapper Denim for the base (and image around the greeting), Peekaboo Peach for the sun and greeting, plus Flirty Flamingo and Sweet Sugarplum on the sails!  And, her greeting is created with the new Thoughtful Banners stamp set:

And, I actually also used Swirly Bird and the coordinating Swirly Scribbles Thinlets on my card.  I was inspired by a sample on page 152 of the new catalog, to use a portrait orientation, and have my scene be on a narrow bit of paper.  Inspired by a painting class the night before I made this card, I decided to sponge on a sunrise sky (with Pool Party at the top, Peekaboo Peach next, and Daffodil Delight) and an ocean with a bit of Pool Party then Dapper Denim.  The Swirly Scribbles die cut piece is also Dapper Denim.  The Real Red layer is embossed with the Lucky Stars Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  My greeting also comes from the Thoughtful Banners stamp set (stamped in Peekaboo Peach and Dapper Denim), and is punched out with the coordinating Duet Banner punch: 

We also had some amazing swaps with continuing sets!!!  

Connie S. created this very dapper masculine birthday note card using the Guy Greetings stamp set and Timeless Textures:

And, here's the inside:

Connie also showed us this amazing graduation card she created using the May Paper Pumpkin kit (Many Manly Greetings) and her Large Numbers Framelits:

Plus, Connie shared with us a great demo on how to sponge with a makeup applicator, 

which you can store right inside with your ink pad:

Such a clever idea!!!

Christina created this awesome tropical card with the Botanical Blooms stamp set and coordinating Botanical Builders Framelits:

Jana's card also uses the "Happy" from Crazy About You, but she repeatedly stamped it across the top of her card base to create a wonderful background!  She also used the Woodgrain Embossing Folder to add a bit of texture, and the new Thoughtful Banners set and coordinating Duet Banners punch to add the rest of her greeting:

Nancy's greeting also comes from the Crazy About You stamp set, and her cool color blocked card has "Happy" embossed with white embossing powder and "Birthday" stamped in Night of Navy, for a very sophisticated look:

Agnes used the perfectly-timed May Paper Pumpkin kit, Many Manly Greetings, plus some wooden accents from the June 2015 Happy Thoughts Paper Pumpkin kit, to create her fun and fabulous masculine cards:

Here we are stamping our make and takes, and checking out the new catalog:

And here's my rendition of the make and take Judy designed for us using the new Swirly Bird set, Swirly Scribbles Thinlets, and Endless Birthday Wishes with Peekaboo Peach, Sweet Sugarplum, and Emerald Envy:

Plus, I couldn't resist showing you this beautiful card I received from Judy, made with the retiring Floral Wings hostess set (don't miss out on this one, only available through May 31st or while supplies last!):

Whew, that was a long post!  Thanks for sticking with me through it!  Hope you enjoyed the amazing ideas and inspiration from my group as much as I did!!!  

If you are interested in joining my SUper Friends group as a demonstrator, there is an amazing special coming up on Stampin' Up!'s starter kit next month (you will be able to choose two additional stamp sets for FREE when you join!) -- leave me a comment or send me an email, and I'll be happy to send you more information about it!!

Also, please contact me if you haven't received your copy of the new 2016-17 Catalog yet and would like one!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

And, a couple more Botanical Totes!

Yes, I'll admit it, I'm really stuck on making these totes right now!!!  Hope you aren't tired of seeing these creations yet!!  I had my note tote class yesterday, and wish I'd taken photos of everyone's creations at it -- each came out so wonderful and different!  I do have photos for you, though, of a couple of purses I created with the Botanical Gardens Designer Paper!  I love the summery designs in it -- they make me think of Hawaii!  This paper is retiring very soon -- if you'd like some of your own, you can buy it in my online store here (but be sure to get it before it retires on May 31st!).

Now, on to the photos!  Here's the purse I used as a sample at class (and which I've actually already given away as a gift to a sweet friend!):

And, here's a peek at the inside of the tote and the note cards I made to fill it up:

And, here's a closer view of the cards:

 And, here's the purse I created during yesterday's class:

Still need to finish the note cards to go in it!  Wonder who will get this one?

And, I don't think anyone had time to look at these yesterday because we were so busy creating, but I did update my display boards!  This one has photos of Paper Pumpkin alternate projects, cards with stamp sets that will continue into the new catalog, and samples from the amazing Watercolor Wonder card kit:

And, this board has some of my favorites made with retiring stamp sets or retiring designer papers:

Be sure to check out the retiring items here and make sure you have your favorites before they are gone!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

Michelle

It's My Party Totes! (and sneak peek . . . )

We had our May SUper Friends gathering yesterday, and I decided to create a couple more card totes (using the same pattern as the Botanical Blooms tote I posted earlier and as we'll use in class on Sunday -- still space if you want to come learn how to make these with me).  I made one as a gift for our hostess and another as a gift for a friend who just had a birthday!  Here they are:

There's actually a little sneak peek here, too, as I made the greetings on the cards using the new Thoughtful Banners stamp set and coordinating Duet Banner Punch!!!  These will be available when the new Catalog goes live June 1st!  (Don't have your new catalog yet?  Either leave a comment or contact me to let me know you need one, and I'll get one to you asap!!)

Off now to create another one of these for a sample for Sunday's class!  Wonder which designer paper I'll use this time!?

Thanks for visiting my blog!  Happy stamping!

- Michelle

Shop Online 24/7 at www.michellevanwiggeren.stampinup.net

Botanical Blooms Card Tote

Happy Monday!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend!  Ours was good -- enjoyed watching my husband coach our younger son's baseball team at their game on Saturday (our son is still sidelined from his broken arm about 6 weeks ago, but should be back to playing soon).  Then, yesterday, highlights were time spent with friends at a nearby park and then a painting moms' night out!!!  

I've started playing with some items from the 2016-17 Catalog that I was able to preorder, and look forward to showing you what I'm making soon.  In the meantime, I want to share a fun project that I created for my most recent swap with my friend Marlene -- and which was so fun to make and would make such a great gift (for birthdays, teacher appreciation, etc...!), will be one of my upcoming classes!  I've been wanting to create one of these purses ever since I received Margery's fabulous purse at our SUper Friends swap in December.  For this project, I wanted a purse the right size to hold at least 4 A2 size cards (4-1/4 by 5-1/2" inch cards), and through a Pinterest search, found a great tutorial for that on Connie Tumm's blog here.

For my purse and matching cards, I used one of the gorgeous tropical floral designs from the Botanical Gardens Designer Paper (only available while supplies last, and definitely retiring May 31st), and dressed up with flowers die cut with the Botanical Builder Framelits dies and tags from the April Paper Pumpkin kit:

Here's the bag without the cards and envelopes:

And here's a peek inside:

Here are a couple of the coordinating cards I created:

And, here's the whole set on display (the stamped white papers in the front are coordinating envelopes):

What do you think?  Would you like to give or receive this as a gift?  Please leave a comment and let me know!  I love hearing from you.

Hope you can join me for this class!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Lovely Little Wreaths for Mother's Day

Hi!  Whew!  May is already flying by!!!  Hope it is going well for you!  

I loved the May Paper Pumpkin kit, Lovely Little Wreath, so much that I decided I wanted to create a special wreath for my mom, mom-in-law, and grandmas-in-law.  Here's how those turned out:

This one is created more or less as shown in the kit's directions:

For the bright and happy flowers on this one, I decided to add some smaller hand-dyed flowers into the centers:

 For this wreath, I used flowers I had hand-dyed Filter paper by spritzing on watered-down Calypso Coral ink refill, as well as a hint of Melon Mambo:

Here are some close ups of the flowers:

The flowers were punched with Petite Petals and the flower from Itty Bitty Punch Trios, and are held together with mini silver brads, which I was also able to use to anchor some of the flowers that aren't on the branch into the wreath.

And, here is a version with flowers dyed with Melon Mambo and Blackberry Bliss ink refills:

Hope you like these!  Which version is your favorite?

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

P.S.  If you aren't already a Paper Pumpkin subscriber and would like to learn more or sign up, be sure to click here to go to my Paper Pumpkin website!