A Bloomin' Beautiful Note

    I had such a fun day off yesterday! David and I went out for breakfast then we worked in the yard all morning. My perennial beds are a disaster with weeds so I weeded which I love to do and he cut grass. It was soo hot and humid that we were glad to quit at noon. After we cleaned up we went out for an ice cream cone. Hey it is really HOT here and we don't have AC. Lol. Like we need an excuse for ice cream.

   I made time to stamp in the afternoon. This was my last chance to use some things that are retiring. Oh I will be using them again but I don't like to post retired products if I can help it. And I really love this card using the stamp set Bloomin' Beautiful. It is clean and simple - for me anyway. lol.

   So Saffron and Basic Gray - 2 colors that I often see together these days (in the stores). I used my Stampin' Up! Markers for the flower and then layered on Pawsitively Prints designer paper. I thought it needed something at the bottom so I poked a Basic Gray Corduroy button through some Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon first and then a punched circle wrapped around the stamped image. 

   The saying, "A Note" is part of a stamp from the set, Thank You Kindly. I just used a marker to color in the words I wanted to use. 

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Bloomin' Beautiful stamp set - retiring
• Thank You Kindly stamp set
• So Saffron and Basic Gray cardstock
• Watercolor Paper
• Pawsitively Prints designer paper - retiring
• Black Stazon ink
• Stampin' UP! Markers
• Blender Pen
• Corner Rounder Punch
• 3/4"  and 1 1/4" Circle punch
• Designer Label Punch
• Basic Gray Corduroy Button and Taffeta Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!

Kind Birthday Wishes Vintage Style

   Another retiring stamp set that I love. sniff. And this paper, Pawsitively Prints is retiring also BUT only the colors because the designs will still be available in the New Catalog - just different colors!! Woo Hoo! 

   I thought this little girl from the set, A Kind Word, went perfectly with the paper. I added some Soft Suede sponging to age it a bit. And since it is going to be a birthday card, I added the sayings from the set, Wow Flowers.

   Once I colored the images with Markers and White Gel Pen, I put the card together. The little Happy Birthday circle was kind of dwarfed so I decided to add a larger circle of the same designer paper and then layer that onto a distressed flower punched with the XL Flower Punch (available in the new catalog, July 1st).

 Retiring Bashful Blue Taffeta Ribbon balances the right side of the layout and helps the birthday wishes saying to stand out a little better. 

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• A Kind Word stamp set - retiring
• Wow Flowers stamp set - retiring
• Watercolor Paper
• Bashful Blue cardstock
• Pawsitively Prints dsp - retiring
• Black Stazon ink
• SU Markers
• White gel pen
• dimensionals
• XL Flower Punch
• 1" and 1 3/8" Circle punches
• button and hemp thread
• Bashful Blue Taffeta Ribbon - retiring

Off to do some weeding before it rains! 

Beautiful Thing

   The month of June is winding down and so is the current Stampin' Up! catalog. It is always a bittersweet time of year. While I am sad to see things discontinued, I realize styles and trends change so Stampin' Up! must retire stamps and accessories, especially since they have to make room for the new! And I love new!! Stay tuned for new!

   But before I show you new, I have a few more cards, made with retiring stamp sets, to show you. 

  I made this card with the stamp set, A Beautiful Thing - soon to be discontinued. The upper part of the card is a piece of So Saffron cardstock that I had in my scrap pile. It had been embossed with the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder so I rubbed some Pumpkin Pie ink over it to give the embossing some definition and put it on the front of my card.

  Do you have the Stamp-a-ma-jig? You know. That gadget that allows you to stamp the image exactly where you want to! I highly recommend it! I used it on this card to line up my tiny border of flowers. The more I use it, the more I love it and use it some more! lol.

  After I assembled my card I added the embellishments - a Flower Fusion, Corduroy button and stamped imaged that I cut by hand.

   I should note that the "Thanks" does not come with this particular stamp set.

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• A Beautiful Thing stamp set - retiring
• Thank You Kindly stamp set
• Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron and White cardstock
• Pumpkin Pie and So Saffron ink
• Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper - Retiring
• Flower Fusion - Retiring
• Pumpkin Pie corduroy buttons - Retiring
• Hemp and brad
• sponge and dimensional
• Stamp-a-ma-jig
• Big Shot and Elegant Bouquet embossing folder

I am so happy because yesterday (Saturday) was the last Saturday I have to work until September because the library where I work is closed on Saturdays during July and August! Yeah! And I will also have Mondays off until September! Another BIG yeah! Just thought I'd let you know. LOL. 

Thanks for looking and have a Blessed day!

Treat Holder

   This is such a fun, easy treat holder to make! It is a variation of some of the other treat holders I have seen but there is no box involved for this one - just 2 Scallop Circles, designer paper and ribbon. 

  I just used my Big Shot and cut 2 Scallop Circles from Rose Red cardstock. then I stamped with the filigree stamp from the Summer Mini Set, Elements of Style. I scored each one at 1 1/2 inches, folded and adhered them together. Then I punched a "handle" with the Large Oval Punch and wrapped a strip of Thoroughly Modern designer paper around the middle. 

   After I completed this simple treat holder with ribbon and twine and embellished the front, I added a little packet of pretzels. If pretzels aren't your thing, use it to hold candy or a non edible item! It is just so darn cute!

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Elements of Style stamp set - Summer Mini Catalog
• Rose Red, Soft Suede and White cardstock
• Thoroughly Modern designer paper - Retiring
• Rose Red and Soft Suede ink
• Rose Red Ribbon - Retiring
• Twine
• 1" Round Punch
• Large Oval Punch
• Oval Scallop Punch
• Brads and Dimensionals
• Big Shot and Scallop Oval die

  Thank you for stopping by my blog! I am really, really enjoying the summer - hope you are too!

Plum Bashful

  No I'm not plum bashful - my card is. And it is yet another card made with Watercolor Trio. If I haven't convinced you yet that you NEED this set - I don't know what will! LOL! It is just so versatile.

   The background is tone on tone with Perfect Plum. I ran the layered cardstock through the Big Shot to give it some texture. The ribbon and buttons were added in an effort to use up some of my discontinuing stock! 

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Watercolor Trio stamp set - Summer Mini Catalog
• Perfect Plum, White cardstock
• Perfect Plum, Old Olive, Bashful Blue ink and markers
• Big Shot
• Brocade Blue Grosgrain Ribbon
• Brocade Blue and Lavender Lace buttons
• Large Oval punch

Happy Stamping!

It's Hummingbird Time!

   Yes it is! I love those little birds and never tire of watching them zip in and out of my flowers and feeders! To me hummingbirds mean summer and I love my summers!! The stamp set I used today happens to be called Spring Song (as opposed to Summer Song) and it is retiring. Sniff, sniff. I will not be parting with this set though cause of the sparrow stamp in this set. I love that little bird!

Oh and by the way. I apologize for being absent from my blog. We were on vacation and then I have been super busy with work and life. But I am back for now!

 And here is my card for today.

  I have always loved this layout and this stamp lends itself perfectly to the circle shape! To make the card I just stamped the image with Stazon, colored with Stampin' UP! Markers and then used the Big Shot and Clear Circle die to cut it out. Easy!

Added details:   

• The saying is from the set Three Little Words
• Splatter added with Color Spritzer Tool and Old Olive Marker
• Vanilla Smooch Spritz sprayed on hummingbird only to give it some shimmer.
• Dazzling Diamond Glitter is in the center of the flowers.
• An extra flower, stamped, colored and cut out was then layered onto an Old Olive Flower from Flower Fusion.
• Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon reversed and folded. I added a punched circle of Old Olive cardstock beneath the ribbon to further accent the flower.

I hope you are enjoying your summer so far! I will be posting more this week so stay tuned! And thanks for hanging in there with my blog while I was AWOL.

Watercolor Christmas

   Not trying to rush the season - just acting on an inspiration. Everytime I look at this particular stamp from the Watercolor Trio stamp set I see a winter type greenery with red berries. Since Handsome Hunter and Ruby Red are retiring I figured I would see what I could do with those colors plus Kraft. And for good measure I tried one of our new Vintage Mini Tags found in the Summer Mini Catalog. Oh I see lots of possibilities for those little things.

   After I stamped the foliage I added berries with my marker. Then I separated the cardstock just a little in the bottom right corner and stamped part of the saying from A Cardinal Christmas stamp set. The Merry Christmas is also from that stamp set. Some sponging, distressed cardstock and a few brads rounded out the card. But wait! I almost forgot the twine and the Mini Tag! I cut out the word joy and adhered it to the mini tag separately. I figured that was safer than trying to stamp something directly to the tag. I have seen others do this and I admire their courage! lol.

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• A Cardinal Christmas stamp set
• Watercolor Trio stamp set - Summer Mini catalog
• Handsome Hunter cardstock and ink - Retiring
• Ruby Red cardstock - Retiring
• Kraft cardstock
• Twine 
• Brads
• Vintage Mini Tag - Summer Mini Catalog

I will be posting the retiring list at a later date. Stay tuned!