MDS album - Delight in the Day

I love My Digital Studio.  What I love even more.....finding photobook templates that you can totally keep just like they are or change them around as you please! 

I decided that for my daughter's birthday album this year I would use the Delight in the Day photobook template.  I loved the colors in the photobook and I just adored all the happy pages in the template.  In fact, this template had so many pages and photo spots, I had plenty of room to just highlight some of the pictures we had taken of her as she was getting ready to turn five on our cruise, or after she had just turned five.

By the way, did you know that you can get a free trial period of My Digital Studio for 30 days?  How awesome is that - you can try it and if you like it, get some more!  If you don't like it, there is no penalty.  That's my kind of deal!  Just go to my website and hit shop.  Go to digital designing and choose the free My Digital Studio trial.  And then....PLAY!

Baby Bear Hugs card

I was too tired to do much of anything Saturday evening, so I just played with the Copic markers again.  I always enjoy coloring this sweet baby bear, so I thought it would make a great thank you card.  I had some retired DSP in my scraps as well as a scrap of Ballet Blue that was just big enough to math the card.  Nothing too special - I just pierced some holes in the corner. 

Stamps:  Baby Bear Hugs

Ink:  Memento ink

Paper, Whisper White, Neenah, Ballet Blue, Retired DSP

Accessories:  Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, So Saffron ribbon

Exciting news!

I'm so very excited!  Our town just got a Hobby Lobby!!!!!   Now, don't get me wrong.....I personally love the quality of Stampin' Up products for paper, stamps, etc. more than I love the quality of any of the basic scrapbook supplies at Hobby Lobby.....but if you've ever been to a hobby lobby, you probably understand how heavenly that thought is! 

Anyway, I did not really get anything done last night.   I floated on cloud 9 through Hobby Lobby and got a few basics...paintbrushes, adhesives, scrapbooks/refills.....and some new Copic markers!  Aren't they just lovely.  I admit - I just love to color with them! 

The flowers on the card are stamped with Fifth Avenue Floral.  They are colored with Copic markers and accented with Silver Smooch.

For the card base, I just found some old scraps that matched - Pool Party and Lovely Lilac DSP and a Lovely Lilac background.

Gotta' run - UK plays Vandy at 12!  Go CATS!!!!

Jenny W. - Guest designer again!

I hope you are ready for some delightful and yummy cards today!  Jenny W., my customer who has spent the last month in Florida (I know.....we hate that for her....!) sent me some terrific pictures of cards she made on her nice, warm vacation.

Here is an elegant card made with last year's SAB stamp set.  I believe it was called Bliss.  I love that flourish!  And the pearls and satin ribbon really set off the elegant look here.

Here's another card using Not Quite Navy and Baja Breeze.  This Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder adds to the elegance of these cards.  I love the butterfly in the top corner, too - it balances out the sympathy sentiment.

Now, isn't this just adorable?!?!?  Who wouldn't just LOVE to get this yummy cupcake for their birthday?  The best thing of all....it's fat free!!!   Love that polka dot embossing folder on the pieces here - great layering!

And here are two more cupcake cards - both of them are so sweet!  I just love these yummy pastel colors - they are so springy.  And the eyelet border punch on the bottom card really sets off the brown layer on this card.  

Thanks, Jenny, for sharing your amazing talent with us again!   These are absolutely gorgeous cards!  Can't wait to see what you come up with next!  :)

Baby firsts thanks

As I'm striving to make my thank you cards, I came up with this card by accident the other day.  I accidentally stamped these handprints in Baja Breeze instead of Marina Mist, so I just decided to use the handprints on a different card.  I backed the handprints with Pear Pizzazz and Baja Breeze.  I stamped my thanks on a scrap of retired DSP and layered that on another layer of Pear Pizzazz.  This layer I embossed with my Texturz plate.  After embossing, I took my Baja Breeze sponge and just lightly sponged ink over the embossed edges to really make the design pop.  For a final touch of finesse, I added 3 little rhinestones in the top left corner to balance out the thanks in the bottom right corner.

Stamps:  Baby Firsts, Thank You Kindly

Ink:  Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip

Paper:  Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Retired DSP

Accessories:  Basic Rhinestones, Baja Breeze grosgrain ribbon, Texturz plate

Aviary thanks

Here is a quick and easy card that I made using some scraps from a recent scrapbook page.  I am starting to make some thank you cards, so I'll probably make a few designs and then decide which card is the best for mass production and stick with it!

Stamps:  Aviary

Ink:  Basic Grey, Marina Mist

Paper:  Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist, Whisper White, Nursery Nest DSP

Accessories:  Pear Pizzazz seam binding ribbon, Basic Rhinestones

Makeover Monday

Well, I guess I'm a few hours too late.  I had to take my daughter to the dentist this morning, so I didn't get this post in time to participate, but I still really liked the card and wanted to share it.  The picture above is the card that was used in the original Makeover Monday post. 

Here is the card that I made.  I used several scraps of paper and a border sticker to make my banner strips.  I made the accordian flowers with a 1 1/4" wide piece of paper and I scored it at every 1/4".  A little tedious, but I liked the end result!

Stamps:  Thank You Kindly

Ink:  Chocolate Chip

Paper:  Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, DSP (retired)

Accessories:  Matchbox Diecut, Baja Breeze corduroy buttons (retired)

Time to get to work

Well, since we are officially only 4 weeks and 5 days away from the baby's birth, presents have started coming our way.  This is a present I got from my dear friend, Angel, who moved far away to Pennsylvania.   :(   I miss you Angel! 

Anyway, she sent this darling handmade baby card that uses certainly celery and baja breeze - Isn't it precious?!?!?

Then, since she is an incredible Uppercase Living consultant, she made this sweet lightbox for the baby and filled it with candy for my daughter.  I loved my daughter's reaction - ummmm....mommy.....since Baby Owen doesn't have any teeth......I think the sister should eat all the candy for him! 

Thanks, Angel!

Now.....time to get to work making thank you cards!

Another guest artist!

I am currently battling an upper respiratory infection, so I'm going to feature another one of my splendid customer's ideas today! 

Today cards are made by Carolyn M., who happens to be Jenny W.'s sister!  Together, these two ladies are two fantastic card making machines!!!

I'll start with this first glorious card - it happens to be my favorite of all of the cards!  Simple and elegant.  It features the Labels Framelits, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Tulip embossing folder and Bitty flower punch.

This card features the Apothecary Art stamp set, which goes together perfectly with the Labels Framelits.  Carol added a few tiny pearls and one tiny little butterfly from the Beautiful Wings embosslit for the perfect finishing touches!

And what a great use of all of those scraps of Everyday Enchantment DSP in the Sale-a-Bration catalogue.  You'll notice here that she glued all of her postage punches onto the white mat and then ran it through the Lattice Embossing Folder.  She used another Labels Frame as well as the Designer Frames Textured Impressions Embossing folder.  Not sure on the stamp set.

And just in time for St. Patrick's Day next month.  This looks like last year's Sale-a-Bration set.  Top Note die cut and lattice embossing folder.

Now, I love this idea - it is more of the same, but I think she made a 4-leaf clover out of the heart punch.  And just a tiny little rhinestone in the center for the perfect finishing touch! 

And here is another darling 4-leaf clover idea!  You can see it even better here.  I love this idea - to use the Fashionable Hearts embosslit and put four matching hearts together to make a larger four-leaf clover.  Too cute!  And it looks perfect with the Polka Dot embossing folder behind it. 

I'd say Carol is giving her Big Shot a good winter workout, don't you?!?!? 

Carol says she was inspired by other people's creations on the internet, so while can't remember who gave her the ideas, she doesn't want to steal all the credit for all of these darling cards! 

Either way, I LOVE seeing all of the magnificent creations my customers make with their Stampin' Up products! 

Thanks, Carol, for sharing your gorgeous creations with us!  We hope to see some more of your work soon!

And if you are one of my customers who would like to be featured on my blog, send me a few of your latest Stampin' Up creations! 

Springtime bookmarks

Since Charlotte, our head librarian, was the hostess of our club yesterday, I thought it was only fitting to create bookmarks as one of our projects yesterday.  I made two different versions of the bookmarks. 

This version here uses the glorious Springtime Vintage fabric and the Flower Fun Folds Bigz Die.  I just cut several layers of flowers out (I think about 5-6 in different sizes) and hot glued away.  I layed the first flower down and hot glued the ribbon on TOP of it to hide the end of the ribbon.  Next, I just hot glued and layered until I was finished.  I topped it off with a large Not Quite Navy button.

Supplies:  Flower Fun Folds Bigz Die, Springtime Vintage fabric, Certainly Celery striped grosgrain ribbon, Extra large buttons (retired) 

Here is another version of the bookmark.  If you are wanting a bookmark that you will always use in the same book - for instance, a Bible or a journal, you can make your flowers the same way with the ribbon.  I just added a loop around each side of the hair band that gives the bookmark a bit tighter fit around your book and holds it in place with just a bit of elasticity.

Supplies:  Daisy die cut, Flirtatious Designer Fabric, Pretty in Pink satin ribbon, Melon Mambo button (retired), Wisteria Wonder baker's twine

Fresh Vintage scrapbook page

I adore the flourish in this Fresh Vintage stamp set.  It is pretty when stamped alone or when colored.  I thought it would be the perfect accent for this set of 6X6 scrapbook pages.  I started by stamping a border with the long, narrow stamp in Soft Suede at the top.  I took a 2 X 6" strip of Beau Chateau paper and punched a scalloped border for the top area just under the stamped section.  I layered some Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon on top and accent with vintage roses and antique brads.

For the finishing touch, I used the flourish at the bottom.  I started with a Marina Mist flourish and filled in the corners with Soft Suede.

Stamps:  Fresh Vintage

Ink:  Marina Mist, Soft Suede

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Beau Chateau DSP

Accessories:  Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon, Antique Brads, Vintage Roses (retired)

Faux Tile: Sprinkled Expressions trio of cards

Here are some samples of cards I made using the Sprinkled Expressions stamp set that is in the Sale-a-Bration catalogue.  We are making these cards at the club meeting Saturday morning. 

I used the same basic recipe for all of the cards - I just switched up which stamp set or piece of DSP I used for a different look each time. 

Here is a Valentine version of the card - I used the Outlined Occasions stamp set for the sentiment inside.

And finally, a congrats card for someone who has accomplished something special. 

Faux Tile:

You may notice the background has somewhat of a checkerboard appearance to it.  To get this faux tile effect, I used my Simply Scored board and scored lines horizontally and vertically. 

In the top picture, I stamped BEFORE scoring the lines.

In the bottom two pictures I scored first, THEN stamped.  It leaves a little bit of an impression that shows up when you stamp your image - you can really see it pop in the Poppy Parade heart card.

Also, the first two cards were scored ever 3/4".  The last card was scored at every 1/2" for a closer checkerboard look.

Stamps:  Sprinkled Expressions, Outlined Occasions

Ink:  Pool Party, Poppy Parade

Paper:  Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment DSP

Accessories:  Simply Scored, Scallop edge and heart border punches, Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon, Calypso Coral Organdy Ribbon, Large Oval punch, Everyday Enchantment brad pack, Textured Impressions embossing folders

Nature Walk Thanks

I have a tendency to get in a rut and use only certain stamp sets.  I decided that I had recently been using mostly new stamp sets and neglecting some of my older stamp sets.  I was inspired to use this gorgeous Nature Walk stamp set last night.

To create this card, I colored the leaf/flower stamp with Old Olive and Rose Red Stampin' Write markers.  I stamped the inner image first, then stamped off on the outer image. 

I stamped the sentiment and the bee in Early Espresso.  I added a few Rose Red brads and colored the bee image with Illuminate Smooch Top Coat. 

For the finishing touch, I added a little bit of Dazzling Diamonds for the flowers.  It is really pretty in person! 

Stamps:  Nature Walk,  Thank You Kindly

Ink:  Old Olive, Rose Red, Early Espresso

Paper:  Rose Red, Confetti Cream

Accessories:  Dazzling Diamonds, Rose Red brads, Illuminate Top Coat Smooch

So Grateful for you

I made this page for a few pictures I had of our daughter at her Thanksgiving party/program at her kindergarten.  I loved the Everyday Enchantment DSP in the Sale-a-Bration catalogue.  it has a vintage look, but it also looked really great with the colors in her shirt. 

Here are some closeups of the stamps.  The bottom stamp is from Apothecary Art.  It is the smallest label.  I stamped it in Poppy Parade and colored the flowers with Lucky Limeade and Poppy Parade.  I added tiny pearls to the middle of the flowers.

On the journaling (as well as the right side of the page), I used the flower from the Fresh Vintage stamp set.  I decided to use the Rock and Roll technique for this one.  I stamped each flower in Pool Party and then I rolled the edge of the flower in Lucky Limeade.  This creates a nice two-toned effect without overwhelming the color scheme.  I finished each flower off with one of the Everyday Enchantment Poppy Parade brads. 

Stamps:  Fresh Vintage, Apothecary Art

Ink:  Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Poppy Parade, Everyday Enchantment DSP

Accessories:  Labels Framelits, Word Window and Modern Label punches, 1 1/4" circle punch, Journaling spot (retired), Everyday Enchantment brads, Very Vanilla ribbon (retired)