CASEing myself

I wanted to improve this card, from a KWerner challenge a few weeks ago. I used the same layout, but switched up the image and colors. I also made the focal point a little larger, which helped it become more visually appealing. I think I definitely improved it, what do you think?



~Supplies~
Stamps: Hero Arts bird; Studio G sentiment; Polka Dot basics (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: black (Versafine); Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, and So Saffron (Stampin' Up!); Vintage Cream (PTI)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Old Olive (SU); Stamper's Select White (PTI); kraft (unknown)
Other: Old Olive ribbon (SU); hemp twine; brown button (Basic Grey); scallop edge punch (SU); dimensionals (SU); watercolor tool

I'm Back!!! Happy Wedding Day

Did you miss me? We were on vacation at the beach, and then in our hometown to attend (and be in) my sister-in-law's wedding. Congratulations, Lesley and JR! This is the card I gave them. In the picture I tried to capture how sparkly it was - I applied glitter to all of the navy parts of the patterned paper. Time consuming, but worth it!


~Supplies~
Stamps: All Year Cheer III (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Not Quite Navy (SU)
Paper: Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink); Not Quite Navy (SU); Bella Bleu DSP (SU)
Other: Dazzling Diamonds glitter (SU); cream ribbon (Martha Stewart)

Playing with the new SU In Colors

I got a HUGE box of new Stampin' Up! stuff yesterday, and I have had so much fun playing with the new In Colors and stamp sets I got. Today I spent my daughter's naptime stamping, stamping, stamping! Here's a couple CAS cards with the new colors and new (to me) sets:

This first card shows off all the new In Colors except for the brown. I want to credit my inspiration for this card, Amy Yingling (check out the rainbow heart card on the left of her collage). Isn't her work amazing?!?!
The next card shows the great fall potential for the new colors. And I have been dying to get that Trendy Trees set. Finally!


And last is a summery kind of card. This one is very simple - but sometimes those are the best ones!




~Supplies~

Card #1:
Stamps: Great Friend (Stampin' Up!); Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry (SU)
Paper: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry (SU); Stamper's Select White (PTI)
Other: Butterfly punch (Martha Stewart); glue dots

Card #2:
Stamps: Trendy Trees (SU)
Ink: Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry, Old Olive (SU)
Paper: Dusty Durango, Old Olive (SU); Stamper's Select White (PTI)
Other: Crushed Curry ribbon (SU); sponge (SU)

Card #3:
Stamps: Great Friend (SU)
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum (SU)
Paper: Rich Razzleberry (SU); Stamper's Select White (PTI)
Other: Square Scallop punch (SU); Bermuda Bay ribbon (SU)

New Stuff!!!!

I just got my new Stampin' Up! goodies today and HAD to throw together a card to show off my new stamp set and the new In Colors!

Sorry about the lighting - it is getting cloudy here so there's no good natural light. But I just couldn't wait!

~Supplies~
(All Stampin' Up!)
Stamps: Kind & Caring Thoughts
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Old Olive
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Old Olive
Other: Old Olive ribbon

MORE Raspberry Suite Color Challenge Leftovers!

I couldn't help myself - I had a few leftover scraps laying around with the pink/green motif stamped on them....and I HAD to use them! Very simple card - and VERY quick and easy, since I already had the pattern stamped on the white!

~Supplies~
Stamps: Funky Nature (My Cute Stamps)
Ink: Raspberry Fizz and Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Stamper's Select White, Raspberry Fizz, Ripe Avocado (PTI); Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!)
Other: Ripe Avocado ribbon (PTI)

Happy Birthday, Matt

My dear husband is turning the Big 3-0! His birthday isn't til next week, but we're celebrating tomorrow night with a family cookout and cupcakes (which I just baked this afternoon - yum!) Here's his birthday card....I tried very hard to make it "manly", which I know so many stampers struggle with! My tricks for masculine cards - use lots of brown, and don't use ribbon (I know, I know, it's so hard not to use ribbon! But trust me - the fastest way to girlie up your card is to use ribbon!) I opted for vintage brads to add some dimension instead.

By the way, isn't this the neatest stamp set?!?! You can customize your cake so the candles say whatever number you want! I thought it was just perfect, and HAD to order it as soon as I saw it! Perfect for kids and milestone birthdays. And I love the scallops - on a girlie card, I would use the border scallop punch to match! But like I said - the less frills, the better, on masculine cards. :)

~Supplies~
Stamps: Birthday Numbers (My Cute Stamps); Humorous Birthday (Inkadinkadoo)
Ink: black (Versamark); Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink); Always Artichoke, Creamy Caramel, So Saffron (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Kraft; Chocolate Chip, To the Nines Specialty DSP (SU); Vintage Cream (PTI)
Other: Vintage brads (SU)

Some Raspberry Suite Color Leftovers

I enjoyed the colors in Dawn's latest color challenge so much, I actually made two cards! This one is made with all the "leftovers" from my first card.


I cut the word bubble out freehand....it turned out so cute, I've decided I *need* to find a punch in that shape!

~Supplies~
Stamps: Funky Nature and Birthday Numbers (My Cute Stamps); Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Ripe Avocado and Raspberry Fizz (PTI)
Paper: Stamper's Select White, Ripe Avocado, Raspberry Fizz (PTI); Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!)
Other: Scallop border punch, dimensionals (SU)

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #7

I LOVED the colors in Dawn's latest color challenge! Here's my card:




~Supplies~
Stamps: Funky Nature (My Cute Stamps); Flight of the Butterfly (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Stampers Select White, Ripe Avocado, Raspberry Fizz (PTI); Certainly Celery (SU)
Other: Ripe Avocado and Raspberry Fizz ribbon (PTI); Certainly Celery ribbon (SU); buttons (Basic Grey); twine; dimensionals (SU)

Kristina's Color Inspiration #53

Here's Kristina Werner's latest color challenge. The colors are definitely outside of my comfort zone - but that's why I do the challenges, right? :) Here's my submission:


I even tried a little something new (for me) with the layout. I like it! Here's a couple close-ups:


~Supplies~
Stamps: Very Punny (Stampin' Up!); Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Black (Versamark); Summer Sun (SU)
Paper: Black, Whisper White, Pacific Point, Summer Sun, Real Red (SU)
Other: Real Red marker (SU); Scallop edge punch (SU); dimensionals (SU); red ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon); white button (Making Memories - Chloe's Closet); twine

Happy Anniversary

This card is 4 1/4 x 4 1/4. I usually try to make my square cards so they fit in normal size envelopes, so I don't have to worry about mailing them.

~Supplies~
Stamps: Heart Prints; Polka Dot Basics (Paper Trey Ink)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink (SU)
Other: Heart Punch (EK Success); pink ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon); gemstones

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #6

Here's another color challenge from Dawn McVey. I turned it into the Father's Day card that my daughter will be giving my husband next month. Awwww....

~Supplies~
Stamps: Studio G Series 30
Ink: Dark Chocolate (Paper Trey Ink)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Raspberry Tart DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Other: Button (Basic Grey); Ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon); twine

Kristina's Color Inspiration #52

Time for another color challenge from Kristina Werner! This card is clean and simple, like most of my works.

I didn't have any Sahara Sand cardstock or ink, but luckily I had some To The Nines DSP, which featured Sahara Sand as a color.


~Supplies~
Stamps: Heart Prints (Paper Trey Ink)
Ink: More Mustard (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Baja Blue, So Saffron, To The Nines DSP (SU); Stamper's Select White (PTI)
Other: Scallop Border punch (SU); Heart punch (EK Success); white ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon); dimensionals (SU)

Card Club

This was my card for my monthly card club, which we held at my house this past Wednesday. It is simple, yet fun and whimsical. I think the girls enjoyed making it. :)


~Supplies~
Stamps: Spunky Nature (My Cute Stamps); Everything Happy (Stampendous)
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Pixie Pink, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip (SU)
Other: dimensionals

Masculine Birthday

It's REALLY hard to make birthday cards for men! Add a ribbon bow or a "girly" color, and it just doesn't look masculine enough. Lesley and I set out to make some masculine birthday cards a few weeks ago using the color scheme from Washington Apple DSP. Here is what I came up with.

~Supplies~ (Everything from Stampin' Up!)
Stamps: Party Hearty, Bitty Birthday
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black
Paper: Bashful Blue, Riding Hood Red, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Whisper White, Washington Apple DSP
Other: Circle and Scallop punches, dimensionals

Happy Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I did! My husband and daughter cooked me a fabulous dinner on the grill. My daughter got to "draw" on her card to me and thought it was the greatest thing ever (so did I). :)

This is the card I sent to MY mom. Another very CAS card - just her style.

~Supplies~
Stamps: random rubber stamp from Idaho I bought a long time ago!
Ink: Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Bordering Blue, Bella Birds DSP (SU)
Other: brown ribbon (Basic Basic)