Shabby Postcard from Paris

I was inspired by the floral stem from Forever Blossoms, a new set to be offered in the new Stampin' Up! Occasions mini catalog. Which led to the layered Eiffel Tower from Parisian Beauty and the Parisian dies.  Which led to a very rustic and distressed piece of white card stock cut using the Stitched Lace die, then wet and rolled with my fingers until the fibers released. Which led to the pulling out of some of my fav retired SU! sets -- Post Card and Postage due.  Which led to an abuse of pearls and ribbon...

I like a shabby, distressed look -- what can I say?

Featured Products

Parisian Blossoms Suite

153934

$133.50

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Parisian Beauty, Forever Blossoms, Postage Due, Post Card 

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Petal Pink, Pool Party, Soft Suede 

Ink:  Black Memento, Soft Suede, Petal Pink, Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Stitched Lace dies, Parisian dies, metallic brads, pearl embellishments, Aquapainter, sponges, Petal Pink organdy striped ribbon, Gold shimmer ribbon, postage stamp punch,  Ticket Corner punch, Dimensionals

Botanical Prints

Also a new set from the Stampin' Up Occasions Mini Catalog, you can either buy the cling Botanicals Print, or you can buy the whole Botanicals Product Medley,  which contains stamps, Designer Series Paper, Dies and Accessories to take you wherever you creativity sends you.  This medley includes 6"x6" double-sided designs, die-cut accents, laser cut overlays, Old Olive twin ribbon, Botanical Prints dies and 12 little copper bumblebees to accent your work.  All in all, a great product suite for your creativity!

This card starts with a base of Pretty Peacock, Pool Party and Terracotta Tile floral DSP.  Layered on top of that, I have a wisp of Pool Party around a 2 1/4" square of white card stock, which I sponged clouds with Pool Party and using the oval scallop mask,  I think that it adds a nice little bit of dimension to the whole.

The four corners of the central layer have a triangle die-cut from Crushed Curry, using the Botanical Prints  dies.  There are two of the floral sprigs, a copper bumblebee and a Pool Party seam binding bow to finish it off.

Featured Products

Botanical Prints Product Medley
151301

$70.00

All products used are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Botanical Prints, Forever Blossoms 

Paper:  Whisper White, Pretty Peacock, Pool Party, Crushed Curry, Botanical Prints DSP 

Ink:  Memento Black, Calypso Coral, Terracotta Tile, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Pool Party

Accessories:  Big Shot, Botanical Prints dies, Candy Dot brads, Dimensionals, Aquapainter, Pool Party seam binding, Gold shimmer ribbon, sponges, scalloped oval punch

Grace's Garden

This is a new set from the upcoming SU! Occasions mini catalog -- 

Grace's Garden!  Although I love making seasonal Holiday cards, it's always nice to get back to a lighter palette and spring flowers.  Grace's Garden can come bundled with the Garden Gateway dies, to give your creativity a custom look.

For the wall, I overlaid the Brick Wall Textured Impressions folder with Crumb Cake ink to give it some dimension.  I cut out the garden gateway with the U-shaped die, then added a cloudscape behind it, where I sponged Pool Party onto white card stock using a mask.  The mask was made with two scallop oval punchies, with the ends adhered together.

The picket fence and gate I stamped out then fussy cut to give more dimension to the piece.  I also cut the gate so that it would open down the middle, and burnished the edges with my bone folder for nice, clean lines.  The rest of the flowers were stamped, watercolored and adhered being the fence with craft glue, and in front of the fence with Diminsionals.

Featured Products

Grace's Garden

153789

47.50

All products used at Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps:  Grace's Garden 

Paper:  Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather 

Ink:  Black Memento, Crumb Cake, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Cool Cabana Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, More Mustard 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Garden Gateway dies, Brick Wall Textured Impressions Folder, Ticket Corner punch, Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Aquapainter, Dimensionals, Sponges, Oval scallop punch

This is amazing -- I didn't use my Big Shot!  Who knew that you could make a card without one?  With this card, I was trying to create something non-holiday with the Christmas Rose set.  The red berries and the evergreen sprigs don't exactly say "spring," but it's a pretty spray of roses, nonetheless.

For the curlicues, I cut three off a sheet from the Beautifully Detailed laser-cut specialty paper.  To make them stand out a bit more, I brushed them with glue and adhered Ice glitter.  I like the effect.

Featured Products

Christmas Rose

152431

$38.00

Beautifully Detailed laser-cut specialty paper

148812

$5.60

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Christmas Rose, Good Morning Magnolia 

Paper:  Whisper White, Mint Macaron, Garden Green, Garden Lane DSP, Beautifully Detailed Laser Cut specialty paper 

Ink:  Black Memento, Soft Sea Foam, Mint Macaron, Garden Green, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Soft Suede, Early Espresso 

Accessories:  White gel pen, Mint Macaron sheer linen ribbon, Ice glitter, pastel pearl embellishments, Dimensionals, Aquapainter, Washi Tape punch

Potting Bench

I'm sure that I'll do more holiday cards, but it was nice to do something springish today!  I love the muted greens of the Garden Lane DSP -- Soft Seafoam, Pear Pizzazz, Mint Macaron and Mossy Meadow.  The image is two separate stamps, which I put together to suggest a potting bench.

Don't forget your white gel pen to pull out highlights!

Featured Products

Garden Shed
149247
$23.00

Garden Lane Designer Series Paper

149488

$11.50

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Garden Shed 

Paper:  Whisper White, Mint Macaron, Garden Green, Garden Lane DSP 

Ink:  Black Memento, Mint Macaron, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Soft Seafoam, Crumb Cake, Gray Granite, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Flirty Flamingo, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Cajun Craze, Riding Hood Red

Accessories:  Big Shot, Stitched Nested Labels dies, Finishing Touches edgelits,  Mint Macaron textile ribbon, Dimensionals, Aquapainter, Candy Dots brads, white gel pen

Online Extravaganza!

November 20 - 22!!

Get ready for three days of savings with the Stampin’ Up! Online Extravaganza! For three days only, you can get these deals:

15% off Ink pads and Cardstock in:

Neutrals Collection 

Regals Collection

2018–2020 In Colors 

2019–2021 In Colors (except Purple Posy)

Take Additional 5% off the original 10% discount:

8 bundles 

Neutrals Classic Stampin’ Pads Assortment

Regals Classic Stampin’ Pads Assortment

2018–2020 In Colors Classic Stampin’ Pads Assortment

Christmas Birds

I love Free as a Bird from the Stampin' Up! annual catalog!  These little birds on a twig lend themselves to all sorts of occasions.  The Stitched Nested Labels dies are also fabulous -- there are so many sizes that you can really get just the look you want to frame or layer.  I coordinated the Cherry Cobbler Swiss dot pattern from the Wrapped in Plaid DSP with the Diagonal Stripe background stamp in Cherry Cobbler on White card stock.  I love how the Diagonal Stripe sets off the patterned DSP so crisply!

Featured Products

Free as a Bird

149468

$22.00

Stitched Nested Labels dies

149638

$35.00

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Free as a Bird, Diagonal Stripe, Toile Christmas 

Paper:  Whisper White, Mossy Meadow, Wrapped in Plaid DSP 

Ink:  Black Memento, Balmy Blue, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Calypso Coral, Cherry Cobbler, Rococo Rose, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Gray Granite, So Saffron 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Stitched Nested Labels dies, metallic brads, Always Artichoke seam binding, Mossy Meadow stitched satin ribbon,  Aquapainter, Dimensionals, white gel pen

#Elfie!

Some days, only #Elfie! can make you smile!  This set is full of retro Christmas elf images and are perfect to watercolor or color with Blends.  The stripe card stock is made using my favorite Diagonal Stripe background stamp by stamping Shaded Spruce onto White card stock.

Things to notice about this card:  The vine filigree behind the image is cut from Silver Glimmer paper using the Christmas Layers dies. The edging for #Elfie's hat and the bottom of his jacket are done using Snowfall Accents puff paint and a heat tool.  The smaller, horizontal layer is actually cut from the back of the white/Shaded Spruce diagonal layer, then I adhered the Wrapped in Plaid DSP over the hole.  Thrify, hmmm?

Featured Products

Snowfall Accents Puff Paint

150691

$4.50

Christmas Layers dies

150654

$29.00

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  #Elfie!, Diagonal Stripe 

Paper: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Wrapped in Plaid DSP, Silver Glimmer paper 

Ink:  Black Memento, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Pretty in Pink, Blush Blossom, Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Shaded Spruce 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Christmas Layers die, Stitched Nested Layers dies, Real Red woven satin ribbon, Dimensionals, aquapainter, Snowfall Accents puff paint, heat tool, white gel pen, gold glitter enamel dots

Vintage Flakey Friends

A group of vintage snowmen for a snowy day!  I used one of my favorite sets for this, Flakey Friends.    It's a retired set, but you can find it if you look around -- Snowman Season, from the Holiday mini, is very similar.  You can't see it, but there is glitter around the edges of the snowmen.  I laid down a little Shimmery Crystal Effects, then shook Ice Stampin' Glitter on it.

The diagonal border was created by stamping the Diagonal Stripe background stamp in Black on Whisper White card stock.  It's a great background stamp to create a custom background with.

Featured Products

Shimmery Crystal Effects

150892

$5.00

Ice Stampin' Glitter

150445

$7.50

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Flakey Friends, Diagonal Stripe 

Paper:  Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Tranquil Tide, Let It Snow DSP, Silver Glimmer paper 

Ink:  Black Memento, Cherry Cobbler, Real Red, Flirty Flamingo, Lost Lagoon, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Christmas Layers dies, Soft Sky seam binding, Tranquil Tide velvet ribbon, Ticket Corner punch, Candy Dot brads, Aquapainter, Dimensionals, Ice Stampin' Glitter, Shimmery Crystal Effects

More Christmas Rose

I've rediscovered an old stamp that I love -- the Diagonal Stripe background stamp!  I deeply enjoy the diagonal edge around the edge of a card.  It's a nice way to give a little edge to an otherwise romantic design.

I popped out some elements from this rose image. The central portion of the rose is popped up on Dimensionals, as are the three pinecones.  For a little shine, I cut out the bud design from the Christmas Layers dies from pink Glimmer paper and added them around the image.

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Toile Christmas, Diagonal Stripe, Christmas Rose 

Paper:  Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Merry Merlot, Bird Ballad DSP, pink Glimmer paper 

Ink:  Black Memento, Merry Merlot, Flirty Flamingo, Blushing Bride, Early Espresso, Soft Suede Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Cherry Cobbler 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Roses dies, Christmas Layers dies, Rectangle Stitched framelits, Pearl elements, Petal Pink organdy striped ribbon, Cherry Cobbler textured ribbon, Candy Dot brads, Dimensionals, Aquapainter, frost white all-purpose ink, white gel pen

Happy Tuesday!

Now this is something a whole lot different from my usual style.  Yes, I have a secret, and it's a guilty love of Crafty Secrets stamps!  I love the retro look of the images and all the detail.  

Most of the paper used is DSP from Memory Box and the clip art is from Creative Scraps.  The moon and the little witch are from Crafty Secrets Costume Cuties, the banner from Artsy Banner -- all three are watercolored.  the tickets and the sentiment are from Creative Scraps.

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Costume Cuties (Crafty Secrets), Artsy Banner (Crafty Secrets) 

Paper:  Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Timeless Elegance DSP, Nightfall DSP (Memory Box) 

Ink:  Black Memento, Blush Blossom, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Tangerine Tango, More Mustard, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Twist, Old Olive, Crisp Cantaloupe, Mossy Meadow, Pear Pizzaz 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Stitched Nested Labels dies, Black brads, Dimensionals, Aquapainter, Wink of Stella, white gel pen

Golden Afternoon

Making a masculine card is always a little difficult.  This set, Golden Afternoon, from the 2019 Occasions mini catalog is a very good choice for something guy-ish.  The large and small tree images are suitable and the sentiments are either gender neutral or spiritual.  

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Golden Afternoon (retired) 

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Mossy Meadow, Old Olive, Pressed Petals DSP 

Ink:  Black Memento, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Early Espresso 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Rectangle Stitched Framelits, Mossy Meadow stitched satin ribbon (retired), Washi punch (retired), Dimensionals, Aquapainter, metallic brads, Good Morning Magnolia ribbon pack (retired), white gel pen

Snow Globe Roses

This was made using the new Christmastime Is Here DSP that will be available on November 1st.  It's so pretty, and would be great to use throughout the year!  I'm still totally captivated with the Snow Globe Scenes domes and making shaker cards -- so, yet another one.

Featured Products

 

Still Scenes bundle

153023

$47.50

Snow Globe Shaker Domes

150442

$6.50

All products are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Still Scenes, Toile Christmas 

Paper:  Whisper White, Mossy Meadow, Cherry Cobbler, Christmastime Is Here DSP 

Ink:  Black Memento, Mossy Meadow, Soft Suede, Old Olive, More Mustard, So Saffron 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Snow Globe Scenes dies, metallic brads, Always Artichoke seam binding, Gold shimmer ribbon, Dimensionals, Aquapainter, Ticket-Corner punch, Snow Globe shaker domes, Snowflake sequins, Iridescent sequin assortment

Sno-Pig!

Don't ask me why, because I don't know...

I had the little carrot noses from the Let It Snow embellishment kit and the This Little Piggy stamp set on my desk. Somehow the carrot ended up on the pig's snout, and that was that -- Sno-Pig was born.

There's so much on this card, I don't think that I can even explain.  Just one of those projects that seems like it's too cute to stop working on, but hard to get it to come right.  All the DSP changed three times, Sno-Pig got three different hats, the ribbon was a disaster, whole thing is contrived -- but Sno-Pig still has some charm, I think!

All product is Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  This Little Piggy, Toile Christmas 

Paper:  Whisper White, Shaded Spruce, Gold foil, Wrapped in Plaid and Let It Snow DSP, Gold glimmer paper 

Ink:  Black Memento, Shaded Spruce, Flirty Flamingo, Crumb Cake 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Stitched Seasons framelits, Christmas Layers dies,  Metallic pearls, Dimensionals, Aquapainter, Let It Snow embellishment kit, Holiday Rhinestone basic jewels, Cherry Cobbler woven satin ribbon, Cherry Cobbler diagonal stripe ribbon

Christmas Rose

Christmas Rose is a new, limited edition holiday set from Stampin' Up! that will be available on November 1.  It's a gorgeous set and, if you bundle it, you'll get the stamp set,  Christmas Is Here DSP, gold glitter enamel dots, gold satin ribbon, Roses dies -- and an Alex and Ani type gold bangle!

Featured Products

Christmastime Is Here product suite

I made this card by watercoloring the larger of the rose images on white, then fussy cutting it out.  I used the middle-size label of the Stitched Seasons framelits to cut out a piece from Whisper White, which I then ran through the Big Shot in the Square Lattice embossing folder.  I pieced together two label cuts in Night of Navy to create a layer behind the central image.  The filigree top and bottom were cut from gold foil paper using the Rose dies.  Gold glitter enamel dots anchor the corners.

All products are Stampin' Up!. unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Christmas Rose 

Paper:  Whisper White, Night of Navy, Christmastime Is Here DSP, gold foil paper 

Ink:  Black Memento, Early Espresso, Garden Green, Mossy Meadow, Cherry Cobbler, Real Red, Rose Red, Regal Rose 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Rose dies, Stitched Seasons framelits, Square Lattice embossing folder, gold glitter enamel dots, Gold shimmer ribbon, Dimensionals, Aquapainter, Night of Navy satin ribbon, Ticket-Corner punch

Goodie Box treats!

Part of the treats for going to the Maryland Stampers Bi-Annual Regional was a goodie box full of treats from the Stampin' Up holiday mini -- samples of Gather Together DSP, the coordinating card bases made from SU! card stock, Holiday rhinestones, Come Together ribbon and wooden Tags and Feather elements.  I don't yet have the Gather Together set, but I thought that these birds from Free as a Bird would work perfectly!

The technique that I used on this card was peeling wallpaper.  Two coordinating pieces of coordinating DSP are adhered together, then the papers are torn and sponged to make it look like one sheet of old paper is falling off the other.  Sponging the edges front and back help to distress the DSP.

Featured Product

Come to Gather suite bundle

153484

$70.00

All products used are Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted 

Stamps:  Free as a Bird 

Paper:  White, Early Espresso, Mint Macaron, Come Together DSP 

Ink:  Black Memento, Soft Suede, Mint Macaron, Flirty Flamingo, Sahara Sand, So Saffron, Garden Green 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Stitched Seasons framelits, Come Together ribbon, metallic brads, Mint Macaron textile ribbon, Dimensionals, Aquapainter, sponges, Ticket-Corner punch

Who remembers the Birdhouse Man?

Who remembers DoDo, the Birdhouse Man?  His real name was Richard Keeney and he passed away in 2015. For those of us of a certain age in Maryland, you could find the Birdhouse Man just over the Frederick County line, in Tuscarora.    At the corner of Routes 28 and 85, there was a wooded corner with a little shacky house on it.  It was surrounded by bird houses and other Americana built out of repurposed wood and garden implements. There was a "honor box" where you put your money when you bought something.

For years, I kept horses in various stables around Boyds, Dickerson and Adamstown.  Over the years, I was back and forth over the Point of Rocks bridge over the Potomac to horse shows at Morven Park, Middleburg and Upperville.    At the stop sign at Routes 85 and 28, I'd always stop and look at the Mr. Keeney's creations, thinking how wonderful they were.  One day, I pulled to the side of the road and bought my very own Birdhouse Man bird house.

My particular bird house was made of repurposed wood, painted in a faded burgundy.  It had a corrugated tin roof, and was attached to an old shovel and a pair of rusty garden shears.  My bird house has been at three homes and is always the center of attention! He's getting a bit shabby now, and maybe needs a little new paint and a couple of nails, but the shabbier he gets, the better he looks.

At the last house, he lived in a big bank of blue hydrangea for eleven years.  My current house had no existing garden per se, so for the first year, he held court over Black-eyed Susans and morning glory.  Hopefully, next year he'll have bee balm and coneflower to keep him company, too.  Maybe even a new coat of paint, too!