Spring has Sprung!

A friend of mine recently returned from our nation’s capitol. During the course of our conversation, talked turned to the beautiful cherry trees, which were in bloom. And thus we have the inspiration for “Spring”, the first card in a series featuring the stamp set, “Branch Out“. What will be the other members of the series, you ask? Why…Summer, Fall and Winter…of course!

Would you like your own “recipe” for Spring? Just follow these easy steps!

  • Start with Very Vanilla card stock as the card base
  • Stamp the tree image from Branch Out with Basic Brown
  • Randomly stamp the abstract leaves with Pretty in Pink and Kiwi Kiss
  • Randomly stamp the butterfly image with Lavender Lace
  • Mount your stamped image on Kiwi Kiss and Pretty in Pink cardstocks
  • Add Kiwi Kiss and Pretty in Pink paper strips in the lower right hand corner
  • Attach buttons
  • Place a snippet of Chocolate Chip ribbon down the left side
  • Adhere the central matted image in place

And…Spring has sprung!
Order Your Stampin’ Up! Supplies Now!
Stamp Set: Branch Out (113200) Inks: Pretty in Pink (101301); Kiwi Kiss (111835); Basic Brown (104315) Lavender Lace (101305) Card Stock: Pretty in Pink (100459); Kiwi Kiss (111353); Very Vanilla (101650) Lavender Lace (101614) Ribbon: Chocolate Chip (109051) Other: Vintage mother-of-pearl buttons
All stamped images used on this site are copyrighted by Stampin’ Up! 2009.

First Aid for a Card Emergency

How many times have you needed a card quickly? Well, fret no more if you have Stampin’ Up’s new printed window sheets! Featured in the new Occasions Mini Catalog, which will be posted on this blog April 1st, these window sheets are definitely something to add to your card making first aid kit!

Using a card base of Whisper White, I added a Cameo Coral background. I then cut the Window Sheet to size and held it in place with two white brads.

Does the card look a wee bit unfinished to you? Like there should be something stamped in all of that usable space to the right? Ah….That is part of the Master Plan. You can prepare several cards similar to this one (the printed window sheets come in four beautiful designs…2 sheets per package) and then stamp the appropriate phrase when it comes time to select a card. In fact, the new Very Versatile set (also in the Occasions Mini Catalog) would be a great choice for stamping a sentiment.

When the emergency presents itself, all you would need to do would be to remove the brads, stamp the phrase (with this card I would use Whisper White), and then add Whisper White ribbon in place of the brads. Ta-da! Your card is ready in minutes!

You will find that the Occasions Mini Catalog is filled with fantastic products like the ones I have showcased. As a demonstrator, I was able to preview and pre-order items from this catalog. If you would like to have the same perks, please contact me today about joining my group.

Order Your Stampin’ Up! Supplies Now!
Stamp Sets: I would select “Very Versatile” (Occasions Mini—available April 1st)
Cardstock: Whisper White (100730), Cameo Coral (100475)
Ink: Whisper White (101731)
Accessories: My choice…the 5/8ths inch satin Whisper White ribbon (Mini Occasions Catalog), Printed Window Sheets “Clearly Thanks” (Occasions Mini Catalog)

All stamped images used on this site are copyrighted by Stampin’ Up! 2009.

Are You Feeling Challenged?


This card was created specifically for Pretty Pals Challenge #24 based upon Sunday’s sketch from Card Positioning Systems (CPS108). The Pals twist was to use buttons in the design.

I approached this card from the standpoint of “What if?” What if you did not have the supplies you wanted? I took a cue from my son the jazz trumpeter, and “improvised”!

Simply Artichoke was used as the cardbase, with paper “ribbons” of Sage Shadow. The Leaflet Stamp from the “Great Friend” stamp set (Mini Occasion Catalog release date- April 1st) was inked with the fabulous Versamark ink. I can’t stress how versatile this ink is! In fact I was so impressed with the results that I inked the back, too!

Using the paisley paper from the Dressed to the Nines Designer Series Paper to serve as its background, I inked the Watering Can stamp (Thoughts of Father set) to add a feminine touch. Using blender pens and Stampin’ Pastels, I quickly colored in this delightful little scene. If you have never used pastels, be sure to check out the Tutorials on the right hand side of this page. A corner rounder punch and a corner ticket punch added detail to the center focus. And for the Pals twist, three little vintage mother-of-pearl buttons with magenta DMC embroidery floss adds just a touch of spring and feminity to this card. So…what if you don’t have the right color of ribbon available? Make paper ribbons! And what if you don’t have the right “spring” colors of cardstock? Add a touch of sweetness and surprise with a few vintage supplies!

When I purchase stamp sets one of the many factors that I look at is the versatility of the set. The Great Friend set is definitely a versatile set of 5 stamps available from the Mini Occasions Catalog starting April 1st. The stamps in this set are multi-purpose for both card making and scrapbooking! And don’t let the name, “Thoughts of Father“, fool you into thinking that this set is purely masculine. Pairing these stamps up with Soft Subtle cardstocks makes them suitable for a wide variety of all-occasion cards as well!

Order Your Stampin’ Up! Supplies Now!
Stamp Sets: Thoughts of Father (115094), Great Friend (113792)
Cardstock: Sage Shadow (101563), Very Vanilla (101650), Always Artichoke (105119)
Ink: Basic Brown (104315)
Designer Paper: To the Nines (114038)
Punches: Corner Ticket (107214), Corner Rounder (109047)
Accessories: Stampin’ Pastels (105542), Blender Pens (102845)
Non-SU!: DMC embroidery floss, vintage mother-of-pearl buttons

All stamped images used on this site are copyrighted by Stampin’ Up! 2009.