Back to Bella Bleu

For the past few weeks, my focus has been on preparing sneak peeks of new stamp sets, In-Colors, and Designer Series Papers. As I was pulling out the Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper for yet another card, I spotted my package of Bella Bleu. Bella Bleu has always been a perennial favorite of mine. So I put my ideas for my new In-Color card on the back burner, and returned to my old friend for today’s challenge, inspired by this week’s Our Creative Corner sketch. But you know what? There really is a sneak peek of Circle Circus on this card. Can you find it? I’ll give you the answer at the end of this recipe.

  • Prepare a standard card base from Kraft and score at the top. Use the Corner Rounder on the two bottom edges.

  • Three selections from Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper were then layered. The Scallop Edge Punch was used on the small Kraft colored pattern piece, which was selected to contrast the blue patterns. The Corner Rounder was used on the lower corners to mirror the card base.

  • Ribbon was added as illustrated in the photograph. (Tip: I did not have a single snippet of navy colored grosgrain ribbon, which is what I wanted. Feeling rather industrious this morning I “dyed” my own, using Bashful Blue 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon and a Not Quite Navy Stampin‘ Write Marker. I then dried it with a blow dryer, and heat set it with an iron. I absolutely love how it turned out!”)

  • Position and adhere the Bella Bleu pattern papers to the card base. (Tip: I always adhere the layers to each other, and then adhere the complex as a single layer.)

  • Ink the “Baroque” motif stamp from the Friends 24-7 stamp set with Not Quite Navy, and stamp onto Very Vanilla. Mat onto Not Quite Navy and Kraft. Position and adhere to the card base.

  • And now for the sneak peek…Ink the one of the “Small Circle” stamps from the Circle Circus stamp set with Not Quite Navy and stamp onto Very Vanilla. Punch out using the 1/2″ Circle Punch. Adhere this to a Pewter Build-A-Brad base, and attach the acrylic cover disk. Place in the lower right hand corner of the card. (Tip: With the Build-A-Brad set, you are never without a custom brad!)
It was refreshing to use one of the stand-by Designer Series Papers again. But you know what? I am wondering what the same sketch would look like with Razzleberry Lemonade. Guess what I will be serving up tomorrow!
The Stampin‘ Schach Tip of the Day: You don’t have the right color of ribbon on hand? Don’t despair. You can always create the color you need just like I did. Stampin‘ Write Markers can save the day!

Your comments are very important to me, so please feel free to leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you! Until next time…


Order Your Stampin’ Up! Supplies Now!
Stamp Set: Friends 24-7 (113218), Circle Circus (115778)
Ink: Not Quite Navy (103008)
Designer Series Paper: Bella Bleu (113974)
Card Stock: Kraft (102125), Not Quite Navy (101722), Very Vanilla (101650)
Tools: Corner Rounder (109047), 1/2” Circle Punch (104390), Scallop Edge Punch (112091)
Embellishments: ¼” Bashful Blue Grosgrain Ribbon (109029) dyed with a Not Quite Navy Stampin’ Write Marker (100059), Pewter Build-A-Brad (109128)

The Partridge Family

This morning, as I was getting ready to create a card, I happened to have a section of Tall Tales Designer Series Paper left from a previous project that was just crying out to me. “Pick me! Pick me!” it pleaded. The more I looked at this little piece of paper, the more I thought, “Why not?” I loved the scene that was depicted, with its Old Olive, Rose Red and So Saffron hues. And then I had an epiphany…”Let the paper speak for itself!” Thus, evolved this quick and easy card!

  • Prepare a standard card base from Rose Red and score at the side. Round the corners with the Corner Rounder.

  • Layer with Tall Tales Designer Series Paper. Round the corners to correspond to the card base. (Tip: I cropped the Designer Paper slightly to highlight the scene that I wanted to depict.)

  • Ink the {friend to friend} sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes with Rose Red and stamp onto Small Stripes So Saffron paper from the Tall Tale collection. Punch out with the Word Window Punch. Mat onto a Rose Red Modern Label. Punch another Modern Label from the Small Stripes So Saffron paper. Cut off the ends, and mat behind the Rose Red Modern Label as illustrated in the picture. Position and attach to the card base with Stampin‘ Dimensionals.

  • Select three Rose Red buttons from the Fresh Favorites II Collection and “thread” with snippets of So Saffron card stock. Using Mini Glue Dots, place these buttons as centers in randomly selected flowers.

  • As a finishing touch, I used the Build-A-Brad set and the 1/2″ Circle Punch to create a custom brad which mimicked the partridges in the tree. I then positioned this brad so that it appeared as another tree in the background.

Obviously this particular selection of paper would have been a perfect background for scrapbooking. However, with an almost twenty-year-old young man as the focus of my scrapbooking these days, I doubt that I would have used it for this purpose. This card is a different matter! I can hardly wait to send it out!

Your comments are very important to me, so please feel free to leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you! Until next time…

Order Your Stampin’ Up! Supplies Now!

Stamp Set: Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370—Available July 1st)
Inks: Rose Red (101778)
Designer Series Paper: Tall Tales (115678—Available July 1st)
Card Stock: Rose Red (102544), So Saffron (105118)
Tools: ½” Circle Punch (104390), Word Window Punch (105090), Modern Label Punch (116630—Available July 1st), Corner Rounder (109047)
Embellishments: Antique Brass Build-A-Brad (109108), Rose Red Buttons from Fresh Favorites II (107422)

Color Throwdown Cakes

One of the nice things about challenges is that they help us grow as artists. Sometimes they jump start our creativity, while at other times they move us out of our comfort zones. I feel that I do my best work with rich and earthy colors, as opposed to those of lighter and softer hues. So when Color Throwdown posted this week’s color combination of Kraft, Baja Breeze, and Pink Pirouette, I was in a quandry. I love Baja Breeze, especially with Basic Black. But with Pink Pirouette and Kraft? I wasn’t quite sure what to do! Remembering the many times that I have encouraged my students in the classroom to stretch and challenge their minds, I decided that I would stretch and challenge my “muse”. I even added some “girly” glitter and swirly swirls to really move me outside of my creative box! Here’s the recipe for “Color Throwdown Cakes”:

  • Make a standard card base from Kraft and score at the side.

  • Layer it with Pink Pirouette that has been texturized using the Swirls Plate from Stampin’ Up Backgrounds I and the Big Shot.

  • Punch a Baja Breeze strip with the Eyelet Border Punch.

  • Punch a Kraft strip with the Scallop Border Punch.

  • Cut a strip of Dotted Baja Breeze Designer Series Paper.

  • Wrap a Kraft strip with Striped Baja Breeze Ribbon and form a bow.

  • Adhere all elements to the card base as illustrated.

  • Ink the “Wedding Cake” stamp from Fun and Fast notes with Basic Brown and stamp onto Whisper White. Punch out using Nestabilities and the Big Shot. Color using Blender Pens and ink pads. (Since I did not have Baja Breeze and Pink Pirouette, I substituted Sage Shadow and Pretty in Pink, and used Sahara Sand for the pedestals and Certainly Celery for the leaves.)

  • For a bit of Wedding Day sparkle, I added Dazzling Diamonds glitter around the edge of the image!

I hope that you have enjoyed today’s slice of “Color Throwdown Cakes”!

The Stampin’ Schach Tip of the Day: Are you all out of Baja Breeze and Pink Pirouette? Don’t be afraid to substitute! In most instances, members of the same Stampin’ Up! color families work well with each other. And if you are not confident in your own choices, try Stampin’ Up!s Color Coach (105796). It features coordinating and complimentary color suggestions for the Stampin’ Up! colors, as well as neutral and monochromatic color choices. At only $9.95, it is money well spent! And, if you have never participated in a challenge, I encourage you to give one a try! You may be surprised at what you can create!
Your comments are very important to me, so please feel free to leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you! Until next time…

Stamp Set: Fun and Fast Notes (113500)
Inks: Basic Brown (104315), Sage Shadow (102532), Pretty in Pink (101301), Sahara Sand (105208)
Designer Series Paper: Baja Breeze
Card Stock: Kraft (102125), Very Vanilla (101650), Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze
Tools: Eyelet Border Punch (113692), Scallop Edge Punch (112091), Stampin’ Up! Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates (114512), Standard Texturz Impressions Pad (114614), Standard Texturz Silicon Rubber (114615), Big Shot (113439), Blender Pens (102845)
Embellishments: Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (102023), Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain Ribbon