Take to the Sky

This week I was playing around with a new stamp set, Take to the Sky.  I bought it to make some masculine cards.  Here is my first attempt at using it.  

For this card, I started with Copper Clay cardstock.  I seriously love this color.  I added a navy blue banner that I embossed with a folder, a piece of the sky designer paper and then a stitched square.  On the square I stamped some clouds and some splatter.  I colored in the plane with Blends and cut it out.  I added a small paper strip to the bottom of the clouds with some twine and then 2 cute little banners from Nested Essentials dies.  I got the idea from Carole Parsons on Pinterest.  

The next card is made with Navy blue cardstock.  I like how Susie Wood cut the paper and added a strip to the top and to the bottom of the card.  I tied a a twine around the middle to give the card a more masculine look.  I stamped the plane directly onto the white rectangle and colored in the plane using some watercolor pencils.  It's hard to see in this photo.

I stamped a couple of clouds and added them with dimensionals to give the card more interest.  I had an extra banner cut out on my desk and I thought that it looked great on the bottom of the focal point.  I trimmed it a bit and like how it looks.  It gives the card an additional contrasting color.

My third card has a side fold.  I like this fold - it's easy to do and it highlights the designer papers.  Add a focal image and a saying and you're all set!  For my card, I stamped the plane and cut it out and added it to some cut outs from Stitched So Sweetly.  They're a few years old, but one of my favs.  I added Happy Birthday, some twine and a few sequin embellishments.  Even though it is simple, I kind of like this card!

I would like to try making some more plane cards, but didn't get a chance this week.  

 

Cup of Tea

Last week I finally had the chance to play around with the Cup of Tea set from last year's catalog.  I bought the set of cards and envelopes to match it as well as the Tea Boutique papers.  I made all 5 colored cards and matched the front of them to the envelopes.

I designed all of the cards myself and had so much fun playing around with this set!  I wish that I had used it sooner because now all of the pieces are retired.

For the first card, I used a the circle cut out for the background from Encircled in Beauty die set.  The sprig is one of my favorites and is one of the dies from Forever Flourishing.  

The red card has some stamped leaves that I cut out and added to the card.  I tried using the dies to cut the little flower but had better luck just using my scissors.  By the time I made all 5 cards and then 8 of each design, I was pretty much "done" with cutting out all of those flowers!  

My third card uses a diagonal piece of the designer papers with a Stitched Shapes circle for the focal point.  For this card, I stamped the greenery right onto the circle and then added the tea cup with dimensionals.

For the purple card base I added a strip of the designer paper to the top and a rectangle from Stitched So Sweetly dies.  I added a small piece of string to the tea bag and tucked it into the tea cup.  

The purple card is the only horizontal card of the set.  

Lastly, the green base features 3 cut-out tea cups from the pretty papers.  I added a banner in Petal Pink and embossed it to give it some texture.  

It took me a couple of days to finish all of the cards, but I loved playing around with this set.  I've made lots of cards to give out to my friends and family to be mailed out in the next couple of weeks for some different occasions.

Here is a pic of the entire set with their matching envelopes.  I enjoyed making these cards as much as I love a good cup of tea!

 

Penguin Playmates

 One of the designer papers that is offered in the SU's summer Sale-a-Bration catalog is this fun set of papers called Penguin Playmates.  The colors are cheery and bright and Penguin and his friends are SO cute!  I love whimsical images from Stampin Up.

All of the cards in this set are not made with stamping, but with images cut out from the designer papers.  One night I sat and cut out several images while watching TV.  Then I was all ready to put the cards together.  

For this card, I cut the snowbanks out of the blue paper in the package.  I used the die cut from last year's Frosty Friends.  

Then I cut out some trees using the green dsp from the set with the cut outs from last year's In the Pines die cuts.  The snowflakes are from So Many Snowflakes die set.  

Then I just added a couple of Penguin friends and a saying!  So easy and so much fun.  

The snow friends are all interchangeable on the cards.  This card idea is from Christine Trimble.

For my next card, I used Just Jade for the cardstock and cut out a green snowbank for the polar bear to sit on.  If the snow was white, he wouldn't show up as well.  I also tucked a green tree behind his head to make him stand out better.  A piece of designer paper, a snowflake and a saying.  

The fun thing about these cards is that you can use any saying that you'd like.  I chose this saying from the Snowflake Wishes stamp set.  I cut out a couple of little trees from the paper and added them, as well.

Although you can't see it in the photos, I also added Wink of Stella glitter to their clothing items.  It really makes the cards shine!

For the Foxy card, I used the Stitched So Sweetly dies for the saying.  I cut out more trees from the dsp and added them as well as the snowflakes.  I got the idea for this card from Kath, a card that I found on Facebook.  

The card would also have been fun to use Cinnamon Cider as the cardstock to match the fox.  Maybe I'll make another Foxy card using that color.

Were these card fun to make?  Oh, yes!  Cut out your playmates and then add them to your cards using the pretty designer paper and coordinating colors.  And guess what else?  You don't even have to make them Christmas cards.  They can be for birthdays and all sorts of other occasions just by changing the sayings.  

I can't wait to make more.  

Forever Fern

Last week I made 4 beautiful cards using the Forever Fern stamp set and it's coordinating designer papers.  They looked so amazing in the catalog, but they're even nicer in person.  :)

For my first card, I inked up one of my acrylic stamps like Karen Kwenzakovic did on her blog, spritzed it with some water and then added some of the fern images.  It's a little different from my usual stamping look, but I really like how it turned out.  I used 4 greens, starting with the lightest one and continuing using a darker green each time until I covered the block. 

For the next card, I used the designer paper, and then added a rectangle using the Stitched So Sweetly dies.  I got the idea for this card from mystampgarden blog.  If you notice in the photos, I used two different sides of the designer papers and although different, I love the look of each of them.

I'm usually a white-on-white card making girl, but in this case, I love how it turned out.  I used the new thin Greenery embossing folders and love the soft look of them.  I got the idea from Patsy Waggoner on Pinterest. 

And lastly, I wanted to use the Ferns in a different color.  You don't have to always use greens for this set.  I copied the idea for this card from Karen Henderson and I just love the purples mixed with the navy blue and Coastal Cabana colors. 

Seriously, I could use this stamp set all day! 

Best of Everything

Today I have been working on some Thank You cards and decided to take out an older set called The Best of Everything.  It's a really cute set with a stitched bird, branch and some cute flowers.

This card has a saying and die cuts from Stitched So Sweetly bundle.  I love that set and use it all the time. 

The designer papers are from Share What You Love that was out a couple of years ago.  I happen to have a lot of this paper left over, so I still need to use it on more projects.  :)

I love mixing in older stamp sets and paper with the new items.  It gives them a whole new look.  :)

I ended up doing a lot of cutting today on the bird images, leaves and flowers, but I'm pleased to have these cards all ready to mail out!

Botanical Prints Medley

Tucked away at the back of the spring Mini catalog was a lovely stamping kit called Botanical Prints.  Before the mini catalog retired, this kit went on sale for half price.  There is so much that came with the kit: stamps, die cuts, papers, ribbon and lots of pretty embellishments for the front of your cards. 

I added an image from the Tuscan Vineyard because I thought that this set would work well with the Botanical Prints.  The black banner is from the kit.

Here are a couple more cards that I made with this set.  I added the little bumblebee to one of them.  There are so many possibilities using this kit.

I loved the die cut papers that came with this set, too.  Here are two more cards with a slightly different look to them.  Simple, but sweet.  I had fun using this set.

What have you made with this set, if you have it?  I will definitely use it again in the future.

Inspiring Iris Card

In June I held a new catalog Open House for my Stampin' Up friends.  Because of the social distancing rules, I had the party in my front yard, where everyone could sit far enough apart. They enjoyed looking through the new catalog, seeing one another again, playing games and eating snacks together.

Our Make & Take for the day was this pretty card featuring the Inspiring Iris stamp set.  I got the idea from Vicki Burdick and cut them out in different colors for the ladies to make.

The first card that I made had watermelon wonder cardstock for the background, but I felt that it needed just a bit more contrast, so I made the card again using black for the background of the card.  I added a black scallop border around the stamped image and I love how it came out.  The center border is from the Magnolia Memory dies,  I think it adds a nice touch to where the designer paper and white paper meet.  I used the "thanks" from the stamp set and cut it out with the small die in the Stitched So Sweetly die set. 

There are a few Make & Take kits left, so I'm off to do some more stamping!

Trip to the Tropics

When I am putting together my card classes, I love to give them a creative title.  Today's cards all feature a tropical theme so it's like taking a Trip to the Tropics.

I love the pineapple cut-out in this suite of products.  And I love the designer papers that coordinate.  I have to say, this year's mini catalog is the best that I have ever seen and I've been working with Stampin Up since 2003.  

I got the idea to cut the pinapple from the designer paper from Su Mohr.  Then I placed it onto the paper that has the orange lilies.  For the first time, all of my crafting ladies voted that this card was their favorite.  I could craft these all day!  

For the next card, I stamped the palm trees and cut them out with the dies.  They cut out so nicely!  I added the saying and pineapple to complete the tropical look.  When I was all done with the card, I thought that it needed a little something else along the bottom, so I added the Aloha cut out that comes with the suite.  The idea for this card came from Heather Heraldt.

I love the simplicity of this card.  What a great template - just put a strip of designer paper (any kind will work) and added a saying and embellishment!  I wish that I had bought more of this tropical paper - it looks so good.  I added a couple of pineapples and a saying using the So Sentimental words and the Stitched So Sweetly die cuts.  

Here is another card with a different saying and instead of using pineapples, I added some of the flower cut outs that come with the pineapple set.

Lastly, I wanted to show that you can use this tropical set in other color palettes.  Look how beautiful these hibiscus flowers look in pink tones.  I copied this card from bluerosepapertreasures.  

Here is another version of this card.

Which tropical card do you like the best?