I'm Sorry

 

Dear Marina Mist, 

I'm sorry that I've been neglecting you.  I will try to incorporate you into my cards more often.  As demonstrated by this card, you are clearly a star.

Sincerely, 

Crystal Dawn

Wedding Cake

One of my very favourite people in the world is getting married this spring so last night, as I was tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep, I was thinking about how fabulous her wedding is going to be.  I love weddings and I was thinking about all the wonderful things associated with them.  Then I got onto the cakes that you can have made up for you, and the layering idea for this card popped into my head.

Now, however, I cannot give said person this card because she reads my blog like a good cousin, but I had to put it on here because I'm pretty sure it is my absolute favourite card of all the ones that I've made so far.  I love how it looks with the Crumb Cake background, but I am going to try it out with a bunch of other colours too.  If you like it, please copy it for anyone you know that's getting married!

Colour Coach - Pear Pizazz

 

To the Colour Coach again!  I think this is combination 3 out of about 90 possibles so far (on the CC - which I am going to try and get through).

This is actually one of the colour combinations for Pear Pizazz, though I used it more as a supporting colour than the main one (Garden Green).  I like the two colours together and was trying to think of what I could add in there and I thought of my good friend, Elements of Style.  The little hummingbird was perfect to stamp in Rich Razzelberry over the flourish to make it really stand out.  So far, the Colour Coach is batting 1000.

Stamps:  Elements of Style

Paper:  Garden Green, Pear Pizazz, Whisper White

Ink:  Garden Gree, Pear Pizazz, Rich Razzlberry

Extras:  Whisper White ribbon, Modern label punch, Scallop trim edge, Scallop trim corner

Crazy for Cajun

I recently bought the Colour Renovation Kit (click here to check it out) and once I got over the initial shock of spending $116 on ink, I realized what an amazing deal it is.  You get 16 new ink pads as well as a stack of 32 pieces of cardstock - 2 of each of the colours in the kit.

I've been playing with all of the colours that I didn't have before, and Cajun Craze seems to be my new favourite.  I love how it looked when paired with Old Olive and Baja Breeze.  I'm anxiously awaiting my new shipment with a whole package of it so that I can keep playing.


Stamps:  Always, Simple Friendship
Paper:  Cajun Craze, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Brights DSP, Very Vanilla
Ink:  Cajun Craze, Baja Breeze, Old Olive
Extras:  Modern Label punch, Tulips frame

Birthday Binge

This week I've been on a bit of a binge - a birthday card binge.  I decided that I needed to make a whole whack of b-day cards, saw my Ice Cream Parlour SAB paper, and stamped my heart out.  Here's what happened next...

Colour Coach - Concord Crush

 

Let it be said - I hate orange.  However, I am trying to incorporate it into more of my cards since I know that many people love it.  Flipping through my Colour Coach this morning to find a compromise, I came across the Concord Crush card. That's it!  I feel like Tangerine Tango is more of a minor actor in this card rather than supporting actress, played by Daffodil Delight.  The colour scheme is cherry and playful, and matches the weather outside.  Maybe spring is really on its way?

Stamps:  Elements of Style, Sweet Summer

Paper:  Concord Crush, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White

Ink:  Versamark, Perfect Plum

Extras:  Clear Embossing powder, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder

Sale-a-Bration is Coming to an End

 

 Stamps:  Elizabeth

Paper:  Not Quite Navy, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla

Ink:  Cajun Craze, Not Quite Navy

Extras:  Very Vanilla ribbon, Tulips frame

With just over a week left in SAB, I wanted to remind everyone what a great promotion it is.  For every $60 order you will receive a free stamp set of your choice from the SAB catalogue.  Both of these cards are made with stamp sets you can get for free during SAB.

If you've ever considered joining Stampin' Up, this is the time to do it.  And if you just want to get the great deal on the starter kit and the discount of products without doing anything else, even better.  During SAB, you get the kit for $182 (all in, including tax & shipping).  In addition to all the amazing stuff that comes in the kit, you also get to choose a punch (worth $24) and a Simply Set kit (worth $28).  The Colour Coach also comes with your SAB starter kit.  It's a pretty great little do-dad to have when picking out colours to go together.  That's what I used when picking my combos for these cards.  I also throw it in my purse when I head out craft shopping to see what I've got to work with at home.  Yes, I am that person.

  To sign up for the starter kit click here to go to my online Stampin' Up store.  If you're not sure what products you'd get the most use of, call or email me and I can help you figure it out.

Happy Sale-a-brating!

Stamps:  Bliss, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, More Mustard, Garden Green
Ink:  Perfect Plum, Garden Green
Extras:  Scallop Edge, Whisper White ribbon, Modern Label punch

Mojo Monday 183

Is it really Monday again already?  I have no idea where the last week went.  Oh, yes I do.  I've spent it in my craft room.  My husband is out of town right now and it looks like my craft room has barfed everywhere.  Usually I try and keep it somewhat tidy, but for the past few days I've been like an irresponsible teenager when the parents are away.  I'm loving it.

I haven't used my Elements of Style set in a while, and it's my favourite one, so I thought this would be a good time to pull it out again.  I wanted to try a couple of colour schemes out with this layout, and here are the results.

Stamps:  Elements of Style
Paper:  Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, First Edition
Ink:  Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler
Extas:  Scallop Trim Edge, Modern Label Punch, Very Vanilla ribbon

 

I've been looking EVERYWHERE for my Colour Coach (thought I would never use it, but I always do...), and it turns out it was in my work bag.  I pulled it out and wanted to do something with Marina Mist, but a little different than the greens or yellows that I would naturally pair it with.  Cajun Craze showed up on my CC to pair with MM and I am in LOVE.  This is an unexpected pair, but I think it's pretty great.  Thanks Colour Coach.

Stamps:  Just Believe

Paper:  Marina Mist, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Ink:  Marina Mist, Cajun Craze

Extras:  Very Vanilla ribbon, Scallop Edge trim

This one's a response to a colour challenge that I found online.  I tried out my Tulips frame today (it showed up about an hour ago - yay!) and I think my next binge will be embossing with it.

Stamps:  Silhouette Sentiments, Just Believe
Paper:  Rich Razzelberry, Old Olive, More Mustard, Whisper White, Brights DSP
Ink:  Old Oliver, Versamark
Extras:  Whisper White ribbon, Tulips Textured Impressions frame

Layers Layers Layers

 

Whoever said "Less is more," had probably never had quite enough more.

I love the look of layers upon layers of patterned paper.  When done properly, many layers of paper can come together quite nicely. Of course it helps when your paper has been made to coordinate, like Stampin' Up's designer paper series.



 This little boxed set will make a nice gift for a colleague of mine that's forever doing nice things for me.

Paisley Petals

This is the newest designer paper put out by Stampin' Up (available in the new catalogue coming in July).  There are 6 different prints that all work nicely together.  I wasn't too sure how much I liked this red one, but it's grown on me over the past few days.  It's not a colour I would usually choose to work with so it gave me a chance to go outside my comfort zone.

Stamps:  Clearly For You
Paper:  River Rock, Paisley Petals
Ink:  River Rock, Old Olive, Soft Suede
Extras:  Whisper White Ribbon, Basic Jewels Pearls

I love Baja Breeze so I was thrilled to see it used so much in this colour palette.  The clean lines  of this card give it a touch of mordernity  juxtaposed against the heritage feel of the pattern.


Stamps:  Elements of Style
Paper:  River Rock, Baja Breeze, Paisley Petals
Ink:  River Rock, Crumb Cake
Extras:  Modern Label Punch, Basic Jewels Pearls

I wanted to make something on a larger scale to really show off this print so I made up this altered journal.  Right now I am slightly obsessed with making these paper flowers, so it seemed a perfect fit to give the cover a vintage feel.















 Here's a detail of the flower, as well as the tag to keep your place, or to use as a bookmark.
 

Hostess Sets

 

Looking through my stamps today I realized I hadn't used a couple of my hostess sets.  This paper works perfectly with the Birthday Bakery set so I made up a bunch of variations on this card.

Stamps:  Birthday Bakery 

Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Razzleberry Lemonade

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie

Extras:  Blender Pen, Whisper White ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds

 

Because I Care is another one of the hostess sets that you can earn as a free product for hosting a workshop.  Hydrangeas are some of my favourite flowers and this stamp makes me yearn for spring.    You could just as easily swap the sentiment for anything really.  I think the simplicity of it would suit a sympathy card well.

Stamps:  Because I Care

Paper:  Concord Crush, Pear Pizazz, Rich Razzleberry

Ink:  Pear Pizazz, Rich Razleberry, Basic Grey

Extras:  Whisper White ribbon

Sneak Peek

I love it when the Purolator van stops outside my house.  In my box of goodies today was a package of one of the designer papers that will be introduced in the new catalogue coming this summer.  As with all of Stampin' Up's designer paper, all of the pieces coordinate well together and this particular sheet includes my favourite - blues, greens, and browns.  I always want to use Crumb Cake since it's such a versatile shade, but I must say that River Rock is claiming its own spot in my heart.

Paper:  River Rock, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Paisley Petals
Ink:  Early Espresso, River Rock
Stamps:  Nature Walk
Extras:  Scallop Trim Border, Basic Jewels Pearls

 

Paper:  Not Quite Navy, River Rock, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler

Ink:  Not Quite Navy, River Rock

Stamps:  Because I Care, En Francais

Extras:  Embosslits Beautiful Wings, Basic Jewels Pearls

Mojo Monday Sketch 182

I'm going out on a limb here and posting this card to Mojo Monday.  There are soooo many talented paper artists on here that I'm a little nervous (and feeling like an imposter!) but I'm doing it anyways.  Each Moday there's a new sketch that you can use to design a card around.  I've been looking at it for months and making cards from the sketches, so its high time I take the plunge and enter my own.

This paper is exquisite and I bought several pieces of each pattern I liked it so much.  This seemed like the perfect card to showcase it.  Hope you enjoy it!

Originally I made the card on the right in the photo below, but I thought it needed a little extra.  I like the extra dimension the paper flower adds.










Here are the two cards side by side.  I like the original (right), but think the revised one's a little nicer.

If you ever need inspiration, check out the site by clicking on the blinkie on the left side of my page.

Gate Fold

Last night after a few hours of curling, I decided that I would warm up by sitting on my butt and crafting for a few hours.  I hadn't gotten around to trying gate fold cards out quite yet, so I gave it a whirl.  The warm temperatures (and by warm, I mean 1 degree) made me pick my Sunny Garden paper out of the pile and play.  I'm really happy with the result.  This was the perfect card to give to a friend that I wanted to let know how much she means to me.

Paper:  Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Sunny Garden
Extras:  Embosslits Beautiful Wings






I've still got a few pieces of Ice Cream Parlor hanging around, and I wanted to use them up, so I put together this little number.  I have been trying to get myself to make some cards with brights, so this was the perfect opportunity.  Ice Cream Parlor is only available through Sale-a-bration which ends on the 31st so get your orders in if you would like a stack of this fun paper!

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Pacific Point, Ice Cream Parlor
Ink:  Old Olive
Extras:  Scallop Edge Punch, Ice Cream Parlor Quick Accents

Workshop Thank Yous

I had a great workshop a couple of weekends ago and the ladies' orders should be in early this week.  I wanted to make them thank you cards to put in with their orders and here's what I came up with.  The Botanical Gazette designer paper is just beautiful and works perfectly with the Nature Walk stamp set.

I got another chance to use my Build a blossom set, and love how it turned out with the dark colour.







Stamps:  Nature Walk (121997), Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370), Build a Blossom (121923)
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler (119685), Night of Navy (100867), Crumb Cake (120953), Early Espresso (119686), Botanical Gazette (121783)
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler (119669), Night of Navy (102997), Early Espresso (119670)
Extras: Blossom Petals Punch (121808), Modern Label Punch (119849), Embosslits Beautiful Wings (118138)

 

 

Owls in the Family

 

Tomorrow is the last day before spring break (yay!) so I've been baking black forest cupcakes for my students all night.  In between batches I wanted to make something, but not a card.  Here's what I came up with.  I originally bought these craft sticks to make sets of the Sticks game out of, but I have a whole bunch left over and I haven't known what to do with them.  Well, problem solved.  I love making bookmarks with leftover scraps, but they're a little boring for kids.  I thought this was a pretty cool option.  Going to send some home for a friend's kidlets tomorrow.  I think I'll stamp their initials on the bottom for the finishing touch.

Paper:  Daffodil Delight (119683), Melon Mambo (115320), Pacific Point (111350), Rich Razzleberry (115316), Pear Pizazz (119795)

Paper:  Ice Cream Parlor (free during Sale-a-bration)

Extras:  Owl Punch (118074)

Altered Journal

Unfortunately, I cannot claim this idea as my own. I saw on someone's blog somewhere an altered journal and I knew that I wanted to try making one.  I love journals (though I never seem to follow through with writing in them regularly) and I think they make really nice gifts.  I think I might send this one down to my niece.

You could cover it with plain cardstock as opposed to designer paper, but I really like the look of stamping on newsprint, so my First Edition paper was hauled out once again.  I don't have my Melon Mambo ink yet, but as soon as it comes in, I'll make another one with that colour.

Stamps:  Elements of Style (120045)
Paper:  First Edition (121878), Basic Black (121045), Real Red (102482)
Ink:  Real Red (103133)
Extras:  Modern Label Punch (119849), Embosslits Beautiful Wings (118138)

Basic Grey

 

Grey is the new black.  I love the simplicity of monochromatic.

Okay, monochromatic is amazing, but so is hot pink.  I tossed some Melon Mambo into the mix just for kicks.  I knew that I wanted a background of some sort to put the birdcage on, but nothing was working.  Then I moved some things around on my desk and saw the leftovers from the previous card and, voila!  Match made in heaven.  The birdcage is a Tim Holtz die that I've been looking for for ages, but is always sold out.  As soon as I saw it on the shelf I grabbed it and felt quite smug that I scooped it up.  I forsee great things coming from this die.

Stamps:  Silhouette Sentiments (hostess), Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370)
Paper:  Basic Grey (121044), First Edition (121878), Melon Mambo (115320), Very Vanilla (101650)
Ink:  Basic Grey (109120)
Extras:  Modern Label Punch (119849)

Build a Blossom

As soon as I saw the spring mini catalogue, I knew I had to have this.  The stamp set and punch give you limitless combinations of gorgeous flowers to make.  This is the first time I've played with this set and I am absolutely in love.  Today's task was to make some elegant cards, but next time I think I'll give it a try again with a more playful colour scheme and see what comes out!


Stamps:  Build a Blossom (121994), Simple Friendship (113397), En Francais (109521)
Ink: Perfect Plum (101437), Pear Pizazz (119784)
Paper: Crumb Cake (120963), Perfect Plum (101899), Pear Pizazz (119795)
Extras:  Clear Embossing Powder (109130)

Stamps:  Build a Blossom (121994), Baroque Border wheel (109675)
Ink: Poppy Parade (119782), Pear Pizazz (119784)
Paper: Night of Navy (100867), Poppy Parade (119793), Crumb Cake (120963)

Friend to Friend

The {friend to friend} sentiment is probably the most well-used of my stamps from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  It works for pretty much anything.  I leave my cards blank inside, and this sentiment leaves the door wide open for whatever use you need.

My best friend loves owls, so I am going to send this down to her.  We both love browns and greens together, so it seemed like a natural combination with this sweet little owl.

One of the free sets during Sale-a-bration includes an owl stamp that fits this punch perfectly.  New demonstrators that join Stampin' Up during SAB get to choose a free punch as one of the extras, and this could be the punch that you choose.  Hobby stampers - remember, you can join Stampin' Up just to take advantage of the great deal ($187 for over $350 worth of product and supplies during SAB).  There's absolutely no obligation to sell even one stamp set if you join.  Starter kits are completely customizable to get you exactly what you want.  Check out the details on my page (test drive SU!) or contact me for more info.  I can help you figure out what sets you'd get the most mileage out of.  SAB ends on March 31, so take advantage of this deal while you can!

Stamps:  Teen Tiny Wishes (115370)
Paper:  Pear Pizazz (119795), Crumb Cake (120963), Early Espresso (119686), First Edition (121878)
Extras: Owl Punch (118074), Early Espresso Ribbon (119753), Modern Label Punch (119849)