Poppystamps: Birthday Floral Vase

I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with this amazing card using the Poppystamps Floral Vase Pop Up Easel.

Here's how it looks as a card.

And here's how it becomes an "easel" for display.

Isn't that just amazing?!  And the dies make it easy.  Check out the Poppystamps blog for pictures of each step and many more details.

I made this specifically for a friend and I wanted a fresh and cheerful look.  So I created a bold black and white vase using cardstock stripes and I picked bright colors for the flowers.  But this set can be used in so many ways.  Check out the samples on the Poppystamps store. They do amazing things with shading and with curling each petal for dimension.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Poppystamps Birthday Blowout

Dies: Poppystamps Floral Vase Pop Up Easel

Paper: Memory Box Berry Red, Sunny Orange and Lush Green paper packs

Other: Poppystamps Pastel Jewels

Freshly Made Sketches: Just a Note

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

 

I picked the flower right away.  It's from the Memory Box Bouquet Blooms and Leaves set.  I love the detail and the layers. I knew it was pretty small to stand alone but I was hoping the uniqueness of it plus the colors would give it enough pop.  But at some point I decided that it was just too small for the card so I made my card smaller and square so the proportions seemed better. Problem solved!

The sentiment is also Memory Box.  I tend to stick within companies whenever possible because the look of their products is often the same.  In this case, I like the lightweight lines of the sentiment that work well with the flower.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Memory Box Just a Note Posh Script, Bouquet Blooms and Leaves

Other: Studio Katia Stormy Cloud Pearls

Freshly Made Sketches: Valentine Bookshelf

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

 

I knew right away what I was doing with this sketch.  Papertrey Ink has an older series of "Storybook" stamps. I recently got all the holidays in the series as it became apparent that my two young nieces were taking their passion for reading into their teen years.  Not only do they love reading - but they love books!  Even old-fashioned me has moved to a Kindle.  Of course, it's mostly because it's lighter and easier to hold as I read - books are heavy!!  When I got the stamp sets, the "books" were bigger than I expected. Then I saw this sketch and knew that there was space for my Valentine bookshelf!

I hope to see you playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Storybook Love (and dies), Avery Elle Lots of Love (sentiment)

Dies: Trinity Stamps Modern Embossed Rectangle Stack

Paper: Stampin' Up Sweet Sorbet, Flirty Flamingo and Coastal Cabana, Taylored Expressions Cupcake, Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist, Memory Box Delicate Pastel Glitter

Ink: Stampin' Up Sweet Sorbet

Other: Sizzix Embossing Folder

The Card Concept: Winter Snow

There's a new inspiration challenge at The Card Concept. It's double challenge week and I am using the Winter Snow graphic.  My Clean and Layered card was inspired by the colors, the snowflakes and the pine boughs.

I almost exclusively use dies (except for sentiments).  I love the dimension and the crispness of dies plus I often get frustrated with ink and stamps especially for cards like this one with multiple images.  I hate getting to the last one and deciding it's not in the right place or it's the wrong green or it only partially stamps (not that I'm obsessive!)  Thank goodness for the Stampin' Up Stamparatus which I highly recommend because it has two hinged doors and they are removable so I set up the sentiment on one, then flipped it and lined up one tree, then a tree on each side of the other door - so four stamps lined up at one time! I could re-stamp if it wasn't good or I could move them slightly and start over. I had forgotten how much I liked this tool until I broke my wrist last fall and it became essential for any stamping.

This is going to go out to my oldest son. He lives in a fabulous town for outdoor activities. Funny story - during his tween and teen years, we still owned a small place in a mountain town but he just wasn't interested in joining us in hiking or snowshoeing or just enjoying nature. Now that he's a young adult, he finds he needs that time in nature to let go of stress and to refresh. It's been fun to watch because even though he grew up going to the mountains, it's like it's all new to him. He's so enthusiastic and tells us every detail of his adventures!  Although I don't love the look of this sentiment that came with the stamp set - it does say exactly what I what to remind him of. Nature is just outside his door and it's magical!!

I hope to see you playing along with us at The Card Concept.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Forest Scenery

Dies: Hero Arts Wood Frames, Lawn Fawn Mini Snowflakes

Paper: Taylored Expressions Toffee, Memory Box Delicate Pastel Glitter pad

Ink: Taylored Expressions Sweet Basil and Granny Smith, Stampin' Up Old Olive

Poppystamps: Panda Love

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with the sweet Whittle Giant Panda along with a variety of brand new Valentines products!

I used the new Heartfelt Pinpoint Frame and layered two coral pink colors from the Memory Box Berry red pad (with the third coordinating color on the heart).  Then the older Double Diamond Lattice Plate works perfectly to showcase the hearts and the stitched accents. The panda was accented with the new Vintage Scalloped Heart which includes the ray pattern which really puts the focus on him.

There are many more pictures and details on the Poppystamps blog.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Poppystamps Diamond Sentiments clear stamp set

Dies: Poppystamps Whittle Giant Panda, Vintage Scalloped Heart, Heartfelt Pinpoint Frame, Double Diamond Lattice Plate and Colwell Label Set

Paper: Memory Box Berry Red 6x6 pad

Freshly Made Sketches: Bee Loved

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!

 

Most of the stamps and dies are from Honey Bee Stamps but I'm fairly certain they are older. The Honey Bee die set is one of my all-time favorite sets of bees so, old or not, I'll be using it.  I get a chuckle out of the one little bee flying straight at us.  The hexagons in the background and the sentiment are also Honey Bee.  The only things that aren't are the hexagons behind the bees. I found a hexagon in a Concord & 9th set that fit the bees and had stitching so it helped them stand out.  Then that still wasn't enough so I dug up an old nesting set of hexagons from Lifestyle Crafts and one of them was just perfect behind the stitched sets.  Sometimes I think get more excited over the basic stuff than the fancy new stuff - and the fact that I have two hexagon sets that work with each other - I'm giddy!!!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Honey Bee Stamps Bee-You-Tiful Sentiments

Dies: Honey Bee Stamps Bee-You-Tiful dies, Honey Bee, and Hexagon Bunches, Concord & 9th Honeycomb Quilt Top Dies (the white stitched hexagons), Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Hexagons (the black behind the white stitched hexagons)

Other: Stampin' Up Subtle Embossing Folder

Freshly Made Sketches: Sweet Birds

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!

 

After the rush of making Christmas cards, this was the first card that I made and I stepped far away from Christmas, all the way to a spring look! But I figure birds can work any time of the year, especially these cute and charming little guys. They are Sweet Birds on a Branch by Spellbinders and the set includes these three three plus three more (and a branch of course!) I nested them in little circle frames and added some pops of greenery.

I spent the weeks over the Christmas holiday controlling the chaos in my craft area. (I did the same thing at work - so few people are at the office that it gives me time to close out the prior year and clean up all of my files.)  I love going into the new year fresh - whether it be an organized craft room or completed projects at work. This was the first card that I created with my fresh outlook and I'm thrilled with it.

I hope to see you playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Neat & Tangled So Many Sentiments

Dies: Spellbinders Sweet Birds on a Branch, Essentials by Ellen Essential Circles

Other: Taylored Expressions Leafy Vine

The Card Concept: Holiday Gatherings

There's a new inspiration challenge at The Card Concept: Holiday Gatherings. My Clean and Layered card was "inspired" by the colors and the neutral elegance of the scene in the photo.

This card definitely evolved while I worked on it.  I didn't start out planning on Easter card. I did start with the idea of an elegant bouquet using the rich green and a metallic color. After I settled on the green and the linen color, I started seeing the potential for Easter - it would be rich and elegant yet also hopeful with the sweet spring tulips. Not only did the card work, but Easter is our next big holiday gathering so it fit right into the theme!!  But at that point, the gold metallics that I had pulled were just too bold for my soft card so I switched to champagne.  I was definitely inspired by the colors; I just kind of took a left turn along the way!

I hope to see you playing along with us! The theme is Holiday Gatherings with that gorgeous tablescape as inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Verve Egg-stra Special

Dies: Kat Scrappiness Layered Tulip Bouquet Die Set, Stampin' Up Scalloped Contours

Paper: Papertrey Ink Fine Linen, Pinefeather, Stampin' Up Champagne Foil

Ink: Papertrey Ink Pinefeather

Other: Stampin' Up Champagne Rhinestones

Poppystamps: Cocoa and Warm Socks

I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with my entry for this month's challenge: Let It Snow. What could be better on a snowy day than hot cocoa and warm socks!

I'm looking out my window as I type this and it's gray and cold and there's about 12 hours of snow in front of us. I do have the warm socks on - plus fleece pajamas and a thick, warm robe - I'm just missing the cocoa. So no more typing because that cocoa is calling my name! But there are full details and many more pictures on the Poppystamps blog.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Poppystamps Wintertime Sentiments clear stamp set

Dies: Poppystamps Whittle Cocoa with Whip, Adelaide Snowflakes and Heartfelt Pinpoint Frame (just for the one little heart on the mug)

Paper: Memory Box Fresh Aqua 6x6 pad and Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

Other: Pastel Jewels