Sweet Cirtus

 For my Stamping Class this week, I chose to use the Sweet Citrus stamp set and die cuts.  I like how the stamped images can be used to make oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit and even coconuts!  

The fruits on my first card are supposed to look like Ruby Red grapefruits.  The tag is from Tailored Tags and to that I added the citrus images, some leaves and a few flowers.  

The photo looks a bit bleached out, but the card is really very colorful and bright.  Just so cute.  

Card #2 is an easy fancy fold card.  I started out with Lemon Lime cardstock and found some older gingham papers to match for the front of the card.

I used the Scalloped Contour dies for the focal point and then added some lime slices, leaves and flowers from the stamp set.  I stamped the saying, "Sending you a big squeeze" onto the white panel.

I like to embellish with rhinestones and for this card I found some old lemon lime flower accents that matched just perfectly with this card.  

It's another bright and easy card using the Sweet Citrus set.  :)

I got the idea for this Navy blue card from Yvonne Spikmans on Pinterest.  I love how different it is from what I usually tend to make!  I added a dry embossed piece of Navy blue cardstock to the front of the card and then white embossed the saying directly onto that.  Then I stamped and added more limes! Aren't they just so sweet?  (Get it - sweet?)   This time I stamped the little flowers in Navy blue and added the usual embellishments to complete the card. 

I love how it turned out.  The contrast of the Navy blue and the Lemon Lime colors really make the card pop.

 And last, but not least, I copied the coconut idea from Tami Hewlett from Pinterest.  First I embossed the white cardstock with the Citrus embossing folder and then sponged it with some teal ink.  I wanted it to have an ombre look to it, darker on one side and then getting lighter on the other.

For the white ribbon, I unraveled it a bit on the edges and then added the rinds of the citrus images.  I lightly painted the insides of the coconuts with a paintbrush.  I found that this technique worked better on glossy paper, so the fruit and flowers are stamped on that.

The green sprigs are from the Tropical Chic set that came out a few years ago.  

Are you loving the Sweet Citrus set after seeing my cards?  I loved using this set and thought that the images worked very well for my cards.  What do you think?  

To order the Sweet Citrus set, click here.  

Crafting with a Friend

Last week I went over to my friend Tracy's house to make some craft projects.  She has a beautiful craft room, with all of her supplies sorted, labeled and displayed - unlike mine, which is just sort of a mess!

We decided to start with these little tobacco baskets from Hobby Lobby.  They were already painted and we left them white. Then I painted some soft colors onto a wooden tag and small wooden bird.  I embellished them with some stamping and added a couple of pretty flowers to them.  

I added two gold sprigs to the basket to start and then added some greenery to fill in.  I finished it off by gluing in some pretty flowers.  

I'm happy with how it turned out.  Maybe Tracy will come to my house and help me decorate my crafting room.  If she does, this little bird basket would make a nice accent.  

 

More Countryside Inn

 Don't you love the Countryside Inn papers from Stampin' Up?  Here is another card that I made using them.  

For this card, I used thick white cardstock for the base, added a panel of Night of Navy and then added the pretty designer paper to complete the background.  I used the Framed Florets die cuts for the oval and Stitched Shapes for the white focal point.  The saying is from Layering Leaves as well as the sprigs and the flowers are punched from Petal Park.

When I made the cards, I tried to use different sayings, all from Layering Leaves stamp set.  

Each one looks a little different, but I love the soft sweet look of these papers.  And yes, it does remind me of what the wallpaper might look like if I was staying at the "Countryside Inn."  

Quiet Meadow meets Countryside Inn

For my next card using the Countryside Inn papers (aren't they just beautiful?) I made a fancy fold card, folding back the top layer of the cardstock and adding strips from the designer papers.  

Using thick cardstock, I cut three different flowers from the Meadow cut outs.  I sponged them using Boho Blue, Misty Moonlight and Night of Navy inks to give them some different shades of color.  I got the idea for this from Gail Ellis.  

For two of the cards, I used the little tag from the Meadow dies and stamped the Love saying from the Quiet Meadow stamp set.  For the third card, I used a With Sympathy saying from an older set that fit perfectly into the saying frame from the Meadow dies.  

I made some Post-It-Note holders with the left-over paper from the Countryside Inn and used the Courage & Faith stamp set for the sayings and Petal Park flowers and punch set for the flowers.  

I put them on a small tray and let my stampers each choose one for their desk.  Cute, right?  

If you'd like to order this beautiful paper for your crafting projects, click on the link here to get to Stampin' Up to purchase.  

 

Layering Leaves Meets Countryside Inn

For this week's stamp class, I used the Countryside Inn designer papers for the base of my cards.  The blues in this paper are so pretty and the images are just plain fun!  

This first card is made using Layering Leaves stamp set.  The leaves coordinate with the Bough punch and make this card a quick-and-easy card to make!  

The Layering Leaves set has lots of nice sayings in it.  Here are some sample cards with a couple of the different sayings on them.

The cardstock colors for this card are Night of Navy and Boho Blue.  I got the idea for this card from Anne Marie Hile on Pinterest.  

 

Crafting With You

I finally got to take out the Crafting with You stamp set today and mixed it with the Countryside Inn papers.  I stamped the flower image twice so that I could cut and add another flower to the image.  

The saying and little bird is from Garden Birdhouses, a stamp set from last year.  I love the simplicity of it.  :)
 

You're Just My Type

 After last week's class, I made more cards using Just My Type.  I love the little typewriter in the set and the cute flowers with mini envelopes!  

For my cards, I used Masterfully Made designer papers and mixed up the embellishments.  I love making cards where you can mix up the pieces.  

The green and yellow card is made using papers from Regency Park.  I have lots of this paper left over so you might be seeing more things made with it!