Addicted to Stamping

Tropical Retirement

I always enjoy making one of a kind specialty cards like this one. You don't have to remember how you made it because you'll probably never make another. I pull out products, see what works and just keep adding details.  For me this is pure stamping fun.

This card was an order for someone who is retiring and planning to travel so I incorporated a few of her favorite destinations. All of the products used are  Stampin' Up but some are now retired. I've had several questions on Instagram asking how to make the flip flops so I've added the instructions below the pic. If you have any questions, email me and I'd be happy to answer them.

 

The background is sponged with Balmy Blue, Calypso Coral and So Saffron Inks. Other products used; High Tide stamp set, Word Wishes dies, Basic Pearls and Sprig Punch. I layered several different size punched and die cut flowers. The letter dies I used are retired but there's a set in the new catalogue that is very similar

 

 

To make the flip flops fold a piece of DSP in half and cut the foot bed shape. Punch a small hole and tuck the center of a piece of ribbon into the hole. Bring the ends around to the back and tape in place. The sand hills are real sandpaper. I tore pieces from the edge so I wouldn't have to use my trimmer (hopefully my husband notice).

Cut the shape of a beach bag from DSP. Punch 2 holes and pull ribbon through the holes. Tie knots in the ends and trim off the excess. I printed the brochures on White card stock using the smallest print on my computer, folded them in half and trimmed them to size. Sponge around the edges with an ink that coordinates with the lettering. Tape the folders in place. Roll up a piece of ribbon or fabric and tape in place. I cut a 1" pop-up into the card fold so the bag would sit forward.

 

I wasn't sure how well the white on white lettering would show so I popped up the work "Happy" by cutting tiny pieces of dimensionals and putting them under a couple of the larger spots on the bottom of the word.  I was able to glue the top of the word to the flowers since they were already popped up with dimensionals.

 

Let it Ride

This is one of the cards I made the last time I had a stamp day with my girlfriend prequarentine. It feels like forever ago. We planned another stamp day for tomorrow; outdoors on disinfected tables spaced 6' apart.

We're trying out a class I'm planning to offer online. This is new territory for me so I want to work out as many of the bugs as I can beforehand. 

For this card I used the Let it Ride stamp set and watercolor pencils. It will be retiring at the end of this month. This is another set I'll miss. 

Timeless Tulips

A fellow demo that I stamp with once called my cards Mailing Nightmares. I like lots of layers with elements hanging over the edge making them difficult to fit into an envelope. I still use dimensionals on almost every card but I've learned to tone it down a bit. I've posted a pic below showing how I use dimensionals with glue to get a slight 3D effect.

The stamp set I used is Timeless Tulips and it coordinates with the Tulip Builder Punch. I was thrilled to see both of these items are carrying over into the new catalogue.

 

Don't forget to stamp your envelope and insert. Stamp off to get a softer look

Wild Rose Card Set

These are some of  my "Pretend" cards. I like having something to work on while I pretend to be interested in whatever show my husband is watching on TV. I stamped the images ahead of time and cut and colored them during some car/house reno/dirt digging show. The stamped images are from To a Wild Rose and  the retired Timeless Textures set. I used the Water Color Pencils and Blender Pen but couldn't decide on a favorite colour so I tried several. I thought I'd make up sets to give to my sisters but because I left them blank they've been my go to card for every occasion. I guess I'll just have to make more. I'm sure there's another car/house reno/dirt digging show scheduled to air soon.

 

 

 

Blackberry Blossoms

I have to admit, the images in the Layered with Kindness stamp set are easy to overlook. On the printed page of the catalogue they looked underwhelming but I've been seeing the most beautiful samples made with this stamp set.  I bought this set because I loved the sentiment stamps that went with the coordinating punches (Label Me Lovely and Label Me Fancy) but I think the soft DIST-INK-TIVE images in this set are going to keep it in my stack of  "most used" stamps

 

Sunflower Bouquet

Yay! My preorder arrived and I couldn't wait to play. Some of the new products I used on this card were the Jar of Flowers stamp set, Birds and More dies and Bumblebee Gingham Ribbon. Now I'm off to try the Jar Punch and Mason Jar Shaker Domes that coordinate with the Jar of Flowers stamp set. They're sooo adorable!

Smokey Slate Butterflies

This butterfly stamp from the Beautiful Day stamp set has been one of my favorite images to color. It's large, bold and whimsical so anything goes when it comes to colors. I'm a little sad to see it retire but I'm sure I'll find some new favorites in the 20/21 Annual Catalogue. 

 

Tool Time

This is one of those cards I made years ago and keep coming back to. I started out by casing a swap I received at convention with DSP and small flowers but somewhere along the way I switched to tools. Even after several years it's still one of the most popular cards at my stamp classes. It's pretty easy to make and the coloring goes quickly with Stampin' Blends. I also like that there's no waste. The drawers are made from the strip of card stock  that's cut from the card front.

Oops. It might be a good idea to color your hammer before you glue it in place

 

A Gift for Mom

 Because of the Coronavirus we've all had to make sacrifices and adjustments in the way we interact with family and friends, especially the elderly. My Mom has been a trooper through all of this. She grew up in a large family, has many friends and has always been active in the community so going from that to self isolation has been a real adjustment for her. And she's a hugger. When it's safe to hug again I'm envisioning the Pepe Le Pew cartoons when he hugs the cat.

While we can't hug Mom and can only visit from a distance I thought she might like some cards to send to the people she loves. I embellished a card box with Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper, filled it with a variety of cards and included a few books of stamps so they're ready to mail. Some of the cards are ready made and some have interchangeable sentiments. There's a pic of the interchangeable cards below.

The sentiments were embossed in gold, punched out using the Label Me Fancy Punch and can be added to any of the above cards. Several other Stampin' Up punches worked well for mats to put beneath the sentiments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dots and Daisies

I like this DSP. For some reason it reminds me of the Flintstones but since I'm on a mission to use some of the supplies I've been hoarding I decided to cut it up for some clean and simple birthday cards for my Card Buffet Class. To stretch it a little further I first cut the DSP into  4" x 5.25" pieces then made an angled cut with my paper trimmer so I could use both the top and bottom portions and get 12 cards from a 12" x 12" sheet instead of just 6.