Inspired By...Happy Birthday to You

The Inspired by... challenge totally inspired me to pull out Concord & 9th's Tall Type letters and the Tall Type Tagalongs.  I immediately envisioned the rows of tall letters looking just like the cool treats!

Of course, what better for a long row of "cool treats" (or a birthday sentiment) than a slimline card!  I used Mama Elephant's Slim Card Basics.  I also created a small panel of stripes (I only needed about 1/2" on each side) using Mama Elephant's Quick Stripes - then I used just the end of the stitched die in Slim Card Basics to trim off a bit.  I cut down the white panel and added the bit of stripes on both sides.

SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Concord & 9th Tall Type Alphabet, Tiny Type Tagalongs and Season of Cheer ("to"); Simon Says Stamp You, Mama Elephant Slim Card Basics and Quick Stripes
Other: Miscellaneous Pretty Pink Posh Jewels

Stampin' Up 2020 Copic Color Matches

I have finished my picks for Copic Markers that match Stampin' Up's 2020 In Colors!  Click here to download! If you want to color in each little square then print it on your favorite white card base paper. 

Stampin' Up 2020 In Colors

Bumblebee: YR23

Cinnamon Cider: E99

Just Jade:  YG45 is OK, but if you color with YG45 then add a light coat of B32 it is better. G16 is brighter but also just OK.

Magenta Madness: RV06 is lighter. RV09 is darker.

Misty Moonlight: B97 

 

Be sure to read my notes at the bottom of the chart.  A few things I want to emphasize:

• I am not associated with Stampin' Up.  I started these charts before they had Stampin' Blends and since I have a large Copic collection, I just kept doing it.

• Matches are a personal preference and depend on your paper. These work for me. I prefer my "match" to be a little lighter because then if I really saturate an area, it matches.

Have fun coloring!!!

The Color Throwdown: Smile

I just received an order from a clearance sale at Spellbinders.  As is usual with me, I ended up with just a few sale items and a number of full price items.  I don't why I do that but if I'm ordering from a place I don't usually order form, I'm going to order everything I might want.  The little poppy bud on this card was on sale - the sentiment which is part of a larger set was not.  I wanted to make a card right away because I wanted to model my little stem on a sample they had before I forgot it.  I like the way the small and large buds are mixed and there are actually  more branches that the buds are covering up.
I did the small picture at the top because I wanted you to see that there was blue in the background. My inspiration is from Color Throwdown which includes blue and I was afraid you'd miss it on my actual photo! It's much more obvious in real life but after taking pictures in natural light yesterday and artificial light this morning, I just can't make it pop.  BTW - the gems are actually soft yellow ... same problem!

Thank you to The Color Throwdown for the inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Spellbinders So Many Sentiments and Poppy Bud, Avery Elle Double Pierced Rectangle Dies
Other: Pretty Pink Posh Buttercream gems

Freshly Made Sketches: Just Bee-cause

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Judy and here’s what I did with it!

Even though many of the COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions have lifted - or at least partially - I still have so many people that need a positive moment in their days. Other than wearing a mask at the store and working from home half of each week - things feel normal for me.  Also in this country, other news has taken over the 24-7 coverage of the pandemic. We've moved on.  But quite a few of my friends and family are still self-isolating because they or their loved ones have underlying conditions.  And we can't forget all the elderly care facilities with very lonely patients.  So I'm still focusing on cheerful cards of encouragement and these little bees were just right!!

All products are from Honey Bee Stamps (appropriate, right?!)  The sentiment set has 65 stamps that all fit with "bee".  They cover so many occasions.  I picked "just bee-cause" because it fit the sketch and also so I could give it a quirky look with the angled "just". I do love the paper pads from Honey Bee Stamps. I'm pretty sure I have all of them.  This particular pad is "bee"-focused but the majority of the paper in it isn't cutesy like this one - just wonderful blue, yellow and black patterns.

I hope you are having a fabulous week (and that you don't need cards of encouragement!).  If you have some cardmaking time, join us - and play along at  Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Honey Bee Stamps Bee-you-tiful Sentiments
Dies: Honey Bee Stamps Bee-you-tiful Dies and Hexagon Bunch
Paper: Honey Bee Stamps The Bee's Knees
Other: Homey Bee Stamps Prism Gem Stickers (colored with Copics)

Poppystamps: Celebrate Your Day

One of my workmates had planned a wedding and a Disney honeymoon in April.  You can guess how that worked out. So last week they got married. I'm not sure if it was online or via paper; I just know she runs home from work every day hoping the paperwork is in the mailbox so she can call herself "married".  Then they will do their honeymoon at some future date.

What I love about making my own cards is that I went with traditional elements for her wedding card using hearts and little birds, but the colors are Disney!!


I'm really happy with the way this turned out.  In general, I don't believe Clean and Simple cards are at all simple to make.  They may look simple - but with so few elements on your card, it takes work to get an eye-catching look (and to avoid fingerprints and glue spots in all of the white space!)  However, with the right die, it's easy.  These little hanging hearts are the right die! For me, the extra element of the string and bow make all the difference for an interesting card.  (I didn't initially envision the little birds but I needed something to tone down the black heart.)
I was inspired to even think in this direction by the Clean and Simple challenge at Poppystamps. Thank you for the inspiration.

SUPPLY LIST Stamps: Poppystamps Birthday Blowout
Dies: Poppystamps Hanging Heart and Chirping Birds, Memory Box Honeyblossom Sprig (just a bit trimmed off for the branch)
Other: Trinity Stamps Cinnamon Red-Hots Jelly Drop Hearts

CAS Christmas: Bells

I had a very pleasant weekend of making cards.  I finished all of the cards that I needed to make, then I think because it was a cooler weekend, I decided I to add a Christmas card to the stash! I had the CAS Christmas challenge to use bells on my radar and here's my card...


When I first saw the challenge, I had planned to use a stand-alone bell and I had mentally planned it in the same general layout but with elegant metallic and black stripes.  Then I was flipping through my Christmas stash and this little guy caught my eye. The set made me smile - so...same layout, very different colors and I have a sweet card for my stash.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Hello Bluebird Frosty Friends, Type Christmas
Dies: Hello Bluebird Frosty Friends dies
Paper: Stampin' Up Pool Party, Mango Melody, Flirty Flamingo, Coastal Cabana
Ink: Stampin' Up Coastal Cabana and Copics
Other: Wink of Stella White (fluff on hat) and Orange (bell)

Fab Friday: Arrange a Wreath

I got my first new catalog order from Stampin' Up - and I am absolutely thrilled!  Right now my card making is all about the die cuts - and the Wreath Builder set did not disappoint!  Not to mention - huge fan of the new in colors!!


This is all the In Colors plus one layer of Shaded Spruce.  Shaded Spruce and Just Jade might be my favorite combination!  I also love how the magenta pops with all of the other colors.  The subtle blue is incredible. And we've needed a different brown for a long time!  FYI - if you are a Copic user, the charts on my sidebar as being updated as you read this. I'm struggling with finding a match for one color, but I expect to have them available by the end of the day.
Check out all of the detail on these dies...

I immediately cut all of the wreath parts, then wasn't quite sure how to arrange my card, but I remembered the sketch at Fab Friday.  At first glance, it certainly didn't seem like a wreath was meant to be on this sketch, but all the elements are still there! Thank you for the inspiration.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Stampin' Up Butterfly Gala (the sentiment)
Dies: Stampin' Up Wreath Builder
Paper: Stampin' Up Just Jade, Shaded Spruce, Bumblebee, Magenta Madness, Cinnamon Cider, Misty Moonlight
Other: Stampin' Up Brick & Mortar 3D Embossing Folder, the enamel dots are not Stampin' Up because those dots are unavailable right now :(

Freshly Made Sketches: Pinwheel Party

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Amy and here’s what I did with it!

These pinwheels from The Greetery are about as fun as it gets to use!!  They are dies, then colored using stencils. I love the result!  I'm not usually a gold person but I love the celebratory look of the shiny gold sentiment, the sparkly dots and the star sequins.  I pushed the sketch a bit.  I originally had a layer to put the "happy" on, but it just covered too much of those pinwheels and I wanted to keep the happy as a stand-alone.  So I convinced myself that the sketch has a unique shaped layer and my "happy" is a unique shape(?) - so it works! 
I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Birthday
Dies: The Greetery Pinwheel Party, Let's Have a Word: Happy, Sentiment Suites Basics
Other: Pinwheel Party Stencil, Studio Katia Gold Sparkle Crystals, Pretty Pink Posh Gold Stars

Color Throwdown: Stemmed Rose

I have been a fan of Paper Smooches' Kim Hughes since the Cornish Heritage Farms days.  (Do any of you go back that far?)  So it was a sad day when I got the email saying the business was closing down. There will be no more of their fun, creative and completely unique products.

Although I already have a decent-sized collection of Paper Smooches products, I went right to their website and picked up everything I had ever even thought I wanted.  This Stemmed Rose was one of those.


I love the color combo at The Color Throwdown. It's not a combination I would have come up with on my own. I see it as very rich, but also very cheerful which is an unusual combination. It seemed perfect given I had colors for the rose and colors for the vase!

SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Paper Smooches Stemmed Rose, Hello Words, Simon Says Stamp Frames, Lil' Inker Designs Quilted Stitch Pattern
Paper: Taylored Expressions Plum Punch and Toffee, Stampin' Up Lemon Lime Twist and Seaside Spray, My Favorite Things Blueberry

Freshly Made Sketches: Don't Lose Faith

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Narelle and here’s what I did with it!

I'm not 100% with the sketch but I'm close.  When I saw these two dies in my not-yet-used stash, I thought they would be a unique way to do the squares on the sketch.  I lined them up just slightly offset and loved it - then just couldn't bring myself to angle them like the sketch.  I think you can still see that I was inspired!!

I wanted something simple in the background so I trimmed the leaves out of the square and added them white-on-white. I had tried a number of other options including embossing folders, stencils with embossing paste, some splattered ink - but they all seemed to take away from the detail of the leaf and the butterfly.


I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Simon Says Stamp You Got This
Dies: Simon Says Stamp Butterfly Square and Leafy Square
Other: Pretty Pink Posh Gems - Marigold and Sea Glass

Perfectly CAS: I Can't Adult Today

My oldest son recently got elected as president of a club on his college campus.  Sadly, he's managed to go through his entire life without being aware of how hard it can be to work with people, especially volunteers!  It's killing him that he has big goals, everybody agrees, and then nothing happens. I knew someday he'd face situations like this. I have funny "adulting" sentiments, so I recently got this sleepy fox who I think has a look of resignation - you can almost see the heavy sigh.  Then I looked through challenges and was inspired by the Perfectly CAS (using only one third) challenge to use animals.

Also, the current challenge at Poppystamps is Clean & Simple.  Last month I won the random drawing for a gift card and I have new Poppystamps products on their way to me!!  Today's card doesn't use newer products, but it is definitely clean & simple.  I have some fun dies coming so probably more from me later for this challenge!

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Poppystamps Whittle Everyday
Dies: Poppystamps Whittle Sleep Fox and Whittle Mounds, cloud dies are unknown although clearly I'm going to have to add the Whittle Clouds to my collection!
Paper: Honey Bee Stamps Over the Rainbow (the grass), Taylored Expressions Peapod and Honey, Simon Says Fog and Smoke
Other: Stampin' Up Glitter and Clear Epoxy Shapes

Color Throwdown: Hey Bouquet

I love the bright and cheerful colors at the Color Throwdown plus the graphic looks amazing - I want those fruit-filled popsicles!! I didn't use popsicles on my card probably because it was a very stormy and windy day yesterday when I was crafting - not a popsicle kind of day - more a day of crossed fingers that my big trees didn't topple onto my house. So I pulled out a cheerful bouquet but I wasn't in the mood for coloring; I wanted quick and easy!

I realized that I had a number of those letters cut in the appropriate colors for the challenge. When I made the letters for this card and already had embossing powder everywhere, I just kept embossing and did a rainbow of pre-made letters. They are coming in handy. Since they are a Stamp Market product, I pulled out their bouquet and the sentiment. Then a few glitter sprinkles and this card was done in minutes!  
BTW - I was lucky - no trees on my house. But not all of my friends and neighbors were so lucky. One friend caught a video of his sons frantically moving cars while the big tree in their front yard slowly toppled all the way across the road. It's a great family - they did it all with a sense of humor!

Thanks to the group at The Color Throwdown for this summery inspiration on my dark and stormy day.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: The Stamp Market Alpha Cuts, Picked for You, Dear Friend (Sentiment)
Dies: The Stamp Market Alpha Cuts
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green, Pumpkin Pie

Freshly Made Sketches: Birthday Bouquet

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Karren and here’s what I did with it!

I just picked up some retiring dies from Honey Bee Stamps - love them all!  I'm never sure how companies decide to retire items because I can't tell you the number of times I find something as it is retiring and I absolutely have to have it!  I got the Banner Builder half price. I didn't get it for banners - I got it to make the neatly cut strips on my card. There are six widths of strips in the set plus quite a variety of decorative edges.  The Bunch of Bouquets is also half price.  It's a great deal, eight vases and about a dozen flowers and leaves. FYI - everything I used on my card was still available as I was writing this post.

The frame was a recent Honey Bee Stamps purchase.  FMS had another recent sketch with a unique shaped frame and I realized I didn't have any.  I'm glad I got this; it's a simple touch that gives the card a different look. The sentiment and die are from one of my favorite sentiment series from The Greetery.  They have a unique set of sentiment dies and then a variety of themed sentiment sets to fit them. 

I hope to see you playing along with us this week!

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Birthday
Dies: Honey Bee Stamps Banner Builder and Bunch of Bouquets (both retiring), Polygon Thin Frames, The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Basics Die
Paper: Honey Bee Stamps Spring Lullaby

CAS(E) this Sketch: Happy Birthday Blend

I was flipping through my unused stamps looking for an idea for a gentlemen at work.  I saw this bold happy birthday and remembered the current sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch. It inspired me to add this bold sentiment along the bottom with one little image - although I did not totally follow the sketch because I did not put it off the edge.


This is an older stamp set from My Favorite Things that is new-to-me. I got it specifically for easy cards especially for guys.  It is super quick to use, especially in just two colors, and it adds interest without being frilly.  Thank goodness for easy stamps and for sketch inspiration because I needed this card really quickly. Working from home has me totally off-kilter; I hadn't even realized it was June and there's a gentlemen at the office with a June 1 birthday.  Oops!
I went an entirely different direction the first time this sketch was around - and I even went off the edge!  Here's my autumn card with a big golden leaf.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: My Favorite Things Happy Birthday Blends
Dies: Taylored Expressions Little Bits Present
Other: Pretty Pink Posh Silver Stars

Christmas Kickstart: Wreathed in Christmas Smiles

I have an over-supply of wreath dies so when I saw the Christmas Kickstart Challenge was wreaths, I definitely wanted to play along.  However, I didn't end up using any of my wreath dies.  I was flipping through my Christmas sets and saw this older set from the original Clearly Besotted Stamps. I also recently got a few slimline dies - so I went an entirely different direction with a trio of wreaths on a slimline card!


It was very enjoyable to do a Christmas card over the weekend.  It was a nice reminder of peace and joy and hope while the news was running in the background. 2020 has been tough.  My oldest son told me about a meme he saw with a person from the future showing up this year, asking what year it was and when he was told "2020", he asked "During the pandemic? Or the riots? Or the zombie apocalypse?!"  That's kind of what it's feeling like. And that's also why the promise of peace and joy and hope is so important right now.


Thank you to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge for the inspiration.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Clearly Besotted Signature Christmas and dies
Dies: Pinkfresh Slim Stitched Rectangles
Cardstock: Taylored Expression Cherry Pop and Cilantro
Ink: Taylored Expressions Cilantro, Lime Zest, Granny Smith, Cherry Pop, Watermelon and Simon Says Schoolhouse Red
Other: Little Things from Lucy Glossy Berry Mixed Pearls