Slimline: Christmas Kickstart Starry, Starry Night

When I saw the challenge at Christmas Kickstart, Starry, Starry Night, I ran right to my local Hobby Lobby.  They had Sizzix on sale and I had seen this swirling star die (any excuse works, right?!)  I knew that I already had a variety of animals for this peaceful scene.  Everything is by Sizzix except the slimline frame from Honey Bee Stamps.

I like how this eventually came together but it took a few tries.  I cut the Swirling Stars and the Peace on Earth and was just planning a few animals, but it was very bland.  I was wishing I had done something different with the sentiment so it stood out more.  But after the effort to get it all lined up (the sentiment is on three different dies), I wasn't starting over.  I saw some greenery in one of the sets and it definitely helped the sentiment, but it needed more to balance it. So with all the layers of greenery this card became a little more involved than I normally like to do - so I only created one of them for my Christmas stash!  

Some of the animals are popped for some dimension.  Not too much because I didn't want to deal with layering that thin frame!

I do like the outcome and thanks so much to Christmas Kickstart for inspiring my shopping trip!

SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Sizzix Swirling Stars, Christmas Elements, Christmas Shadow Box and Holiday Words #2, Honey Bee Stamps Slimline Thin Frames
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Misty Moonlight and Cinnamon Cider, Taylored Expressions Granny Smith and Peapod

Other: Studio Katia Gold Foil Pearls

Slimline: Tic Tac Toe Mountain Scene

This might be a bit of a stretch for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  I am using the line for Mountain, Sunshine and Adventure.  On the surface I really didn't nail the "adventure" part.  But the challenge really helped me finish this card so I wanted to give a shout-out. When I saw the challenge, I had the mountain scene created but it was lacking something.  The "sunshine" in the Tic Tac Toe grid inspired me to focus on the sun even though my husband (whose birthday this is for) will make sarcastic comments about the sun spots (or sequins!)  The sun really filled in the space - and it "warmed" up the card.  I had been regretting doing it on white because it was so stark - but the sun and a few sequins sun spots made all the difference.

The fabulous products on this card are from Trinity Stamps (except for the fish, and I did freehand the ground and the water).  Although I have way too much of everything, I actually try to invest in multi-use products, so the rest of the slimline products that I have are basic frames, scalloped edges, etc.  This set does come with the wonky stitching (so I'm going to justify it as basic) but also the mountains and trees and clouds and so much more.  For a Colorado family that spends significant time in the Colorado Rockies, this was a must-have.  The Happy Birthday is also Trinity Stamps and is sized to fit across the slimline card but I couldn't cover my mountain scene!

So speaking of mountains and sunshine and adventure.  I know there isn't a specific adventure component on this card, but when you have to drive over this....(elevation 12,005)...

Look closely for the road to the left

To do this...

It's an adventure!!!  And there was even wildlife!

I must have done something right on this card because my husband has it displayed on his dresser. Most cards get opened and forgotten.

Thank you to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge for the inspiration to finish this card.

SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Trinity Stamps Wonky Stitched Wilderness (all except fish) and Scripty Birthday Greetings
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Just Jade, Shaded Spruce, Balmy Blue, Crushed Curry, Gray Granite, Cinnamon Cider

Other: Wink of Stella Yellow (on the fish)

Slimline: Freshly Made Sketches A Lovely Day

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Linda. She decided we were going to do slimline cards.  Funny story.  I've really liked the slimline cards I've been seeing so I invested in a variety of products specifically made for slimline cards.  Did I use a single one of my new products on today's card? Nope!  However, I have made a number of other cards with them, so I've decided it's "slimline week" on my blog. Check back for more!  (And I have played around in the past with my products. Here's a slimline happy birthday and a slimline Christmas.)

I started out regularly sending cards to my two nieces as they were stuck at home.  But then they found out that the entire family had had COVID over Christmas so, while they were still cautious, they did venture out of their homes and were no longer stir-crazy so I haven't sent cards in months. But as I was thinking through the idea of a row of thought bubbles (new from The Stamp Market), I saw that I had other stamps/dies from The Stamp Market that would make a very fun card for my tween niece. This little guy in black and white, surrounded by the yummy colors makes me smile - I hope it makes her smile too!

Have fun working on a slimline card! (Of course now you need new envelopes!!  #9 envelopes are just the right size - I got mine on Amazon. #10 envelopes are regular business size so just a bit bigger but some slimlines are a bit bigger so these would do double-duty.)

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

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: The Stamp Market Lovely Little Notes, Bear Hugs Stamp Bundle
Dies: The Stamp Market Thought Bubbles, Small Blooms

Fab Friday: Loving Thoughts

I let the Stampin' Up Sale-A-Bration set Thoughtful Blooms come and go, then after it went, I saw a number of cards that I fell in love with.  I loved when cardmakers stamped a large number of them and made a spray across the card.  Then I started seeing people use the different sized blooms with the same punch - such a fresh and clean look!  I recently found it on a retired sale and am thrilled to now own it.

My first card with the set does a spray across the card and uses the different sized blooms, just like I fell in love with.  I used the colors at Fab Friday because I wanted a bright and cheerful get well card. 

To make it even more cheerful, I added some gems in the middle of each flower.  The background is one of my favorite embossing folders - I adore the texture of the brick   The sentiment is a two-parter; the inside says "you'd be better already" and I added some of the small blooms around it so even the inside is cheerful!

Thank you to Fab Friday for the inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Stampin' Up Thoughtful Blooms and Sending You Thoughts (both Sale-a-bration sets)
Punches and Dies: Stampin' Up Small Bloom Punch, Tasteful Labels dies
Ink: Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Poppy Parade
Paper: Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay
Other: Stampin' Up Brick and Mortar 3D Embossing Folder

The Color Throwdown: Hello There

I needed a bright and cheerful card but I needed it fast so I went to the Color Throwdown for inspiration and as luck would have it, the colors are definitely bright and cheerful.  Here's what I came up with...

I grabbed some new products from The Stamp Market that were already out on my desk. Their last release included the Thought Bubble die and the Hey Hi Hello There die.  Then I pulled out the Picked for You stamp set which I remembered using previously on a quick and easy card. I pulled this together in about 10 minutes.  Then I snapped a couple of pictures and ran to the mailbox. Of course, my always-at-1:00 mailman showed up at 5:30 pm yesterday but had I known he'd be late I would have spent an hour on this and probably wouldn't have liked it any better!!  More importantly, the card is on its way to a friend who needs a bright spot in her day.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: The Stamp Market Picked for You

Dies: The Stamp Market Thought Bubble and Hey Hi Hello There

The Paper Players: It's Time to Celebrate

It's definitely time to celebrate!!  The Paper Players is holding their 500th challenge!!!  I haven't played along with them since their beginning but here's my first Paper Players post on March 31, 2011 which is just a few months after I started my blog.  If you click to my first post, look at some of the comments - LeAnne Pugliese, Anne Schach, Ann Marie Hile, Jaydee - all still part of the team.  And also Nancy Leedy, administrator, and Lesley Croghan, creator. To you - and to the rest of the design team - thank you for the years of inspiration.

I don't think I've done a celebration card lately without pulling out the Pinwheel Party group of products from The Greetery. Originally I didn't get the Twisted Crepe die knowing I already had too many banners but I remedied that mistake recently.  Although I didn't do it here, it's fun because it has individual sections so you can add darker/lighter layers or different colors to clearly show the twist. 

I started with colored cardstock base and sponged on a darker color using the stencils.  The little sparkles came from the Pinwheel Party stamp set.  And did you notice that I splattered ink?!  I don't do that often because I really hate the lack of control.  But it worked this time!  I've been using Silks by Fun Stampers Journey.  They are packaged like finger nail polish so I can just tap on the applicator and I have splatters. Although a fun (or sad) story - A particularly big splatter showed through one of the openings on the large green pinwheel.  That's all I could see, so I actually pried up part of the pinwheel and slid a small piece of white paper under the hole.  That is utterly obsessive and so very controlling. Of course, now I can see which one it is because it's white, instead of sponged on blue - but I didn't sponge a scrap with blue and try again.  I think that's proof that I can "let go" - HA!

Thanks again to The Paper Players - here's to another 500 challenges!!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Birthday

Dies: The Greetery Pinwheel Party dies, Twisted Crepe, Sentiment Suite Basics die

Other: Pinwheel Party stencil

Freshly Made Sketches: Cloudy Day, Go Away

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

This is definitely the kind of card many people need right now.  It seems like the "cloudy days" just keep coming. I feel quite blessed in that my husband and I are both still working - and most days, I get to do it from home in sweats!!  We are both homebodies so the opening and closing of shopping/restaurants doesn't impact us too greatly, although Amazon Prime loves me.  Our children are in college so we don't have the incredible anxiety of dealing with younger children out of school. I do have two orders of face masks coming because I've finally decided that this is going to be long-term and I need a stash.  Our grocery stores just began requiring masks and then our state did.

I hope your days aren't too cloudy and that you can see the sparkling rainbow at the end! 

SUPPLIES
Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Very Special (retired)
Dies: Memory Box Small Circle Burst, My Favorite Things Flat Bottomed Clouds