AN AUTUMNAL CARD FOR SEIZE THE BIRTHDAY

Last night was deemed "family movie night", so I sat down with my boys (two teens and husband) to watch "Olympus Has Fallen".  Wow.  Never have I had such a visceral reaction to a movie; I couldn't watch it beyond about the 15-minute mark. 

Once I'd settled my sobbing, I retreated to my craft room - and shut the door!  To take my mind off what was happening just on the other side of that door, I made a card for this week's "Seize the Birthday" challenge.  This challenge is to make any type of birthday card, but with the optional task of using "fall" colours.

I delved into my stash of retired Stampin' Up! Designer Series Papers, to find Autumn Spice DSP - just perfect for this challenge.  Here's what I made:

Stamps: Sassy Salutations

Card: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Naturals Ivory

DSP: Autumn Spice Designer Series Paper (retired)

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Soft Suede stampin' pad

Other: Early Espresso stampin' emboss powder, Honeycomb embossing folder, Hexagon punch, Brushed Bronze designer button, Natural Trim ribbon, Linen Thread, sponge dauber, glue dots

 

 



JAI # 186 : AN INSPIRATION PIC

I've had a bit of fun with the inspiration photo that is Just Add Ink's challenge this week.  Delys found this gorgeous pic of a floral wreath, to kick-start our creativity:

I started off with notions of making a bright, floral card - but that idea shifted to a butterfly wreath.  When it came to assembling a card, I just wasn't "feeling it", so allowed myself to think a bit outside the square.  I knew I wanted to create a wreath ... and I ended up making a "wreath" of suitcases.

This card is for my niece, who has been an intrepid traveller since a young age (well, she's still young!).  She's more likely to use a backpack than a suitcase, but hopefully she'll appreciate the fun sentiment behind this card:

Stamps: Label Something

Card: Basic Gray, Pool Party, Whisper White

DSP: I am Me Designer Series Paper

Ink: Real Red and Basic Gray stampin' pads

Other: Stylish Stripes embossing folder, Cloud embossing folder (retired), Artisan Label punch, Circles framelits, 1 3/4" Circle punch, paper snips

 

 

 

Make sure you check out the awesome samples from the rest of the Just Add Ink Design Team.  We'd love you to join in the fun, too, by using the inspiration photo to create a card or other papercraft project.

 

 



STAMPIN' UP!'S REV UP THE FUN

I had a card to make for a special young man's birthday this past week (well, I should've made it a couple of weeks ago but, thankfully, family are forgiving).  It was a great chance for me to ink up my new Rev Up the Fun stamp set.  Here's what I came up with, taking the colours from the Epic Day This & That Designer Series Papers:

Stamps: Rev Up the Fun, Memorable Moments, Off the Grid, Four You

Card: Basic Gray, Whisper White

DSP: Epic Day This & That Designer Series Paper

Ink: Basic Gray, Sahara Sand and Calypso Coral stampin' pads

Other: 1/2" Circle punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Circle punches, 1 1/2" Circle punch (not SU!), Stamp-a-ma-jig, sponge daubers, Brights Candy Dots, Season of Style washi tape, Epic Day This & That washi tape

 

 

 



JAI #185: A STAMPIN' UP! CHRISTMAS CANDLE

Delys has come up with a gorgeous colour challenge for us, at Just Add Ink this week.  Take a look:

 

I've deviated a little from my usual "card" offering, and have a candle, decorated for Christmas, to share with you.

 

 

 

 

 

Stamps: Merry Little Christmas

Card: Sahara Sand Core'dinations, Coastal Cabana Core'dinations, Very Vanilla

DSP: Raspberry Ripple Patterns Designer Series Paper (retired)

Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Coastal Cabana and Sahara Sand stampin' pads

Other: Chalk Talk framelits, Stylish Stripes embossing folder, sanding block, Scallop Trim border punch, paper snips, sponge dauber, Raspberry Ripple stitched satin ribbon, Antique Brad, Basic Pearls, sticky strip, glue dots

 

 

This colour combination has been used beautifully, and so creatively, by the rest of the Design Team over at Just Add Ink .... make sure you check out the samples.  We hope you'll play along with us!

 

 

 

JAI #184: JUST ADD BOWS

Our challenge this week at Just Add Ink is to "just add bows" to a papercraft project.

I LOVE to tie bows, but wanted to think a little differently to my usual use of ribbon bows.  A happy discovery, in my neglected stash of non-Stampin' Up! products, was two little bow dies (one to cut a solid bow, and one to create an outline).

Here's what I came up with for this challenge:

Stamps: Delightful Dozen

Card: Crisp Cantaloupe, Very Vanilla smooth and Core'dinations

DSP: Birthday Basics Designer Series Paper

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe stampin' pad and marker, Crumb Cake stampin' pad

Other: Hearts Collection framelits, Occasions Paper-Piercing pack, Paper-piercing tool, Stampin' Pierce mat, basic pearls, sponge daubers, Pistachio Pudding stretch ruffle trim, Tasteful Trim XL Bigz die, stampin' dimensionals, Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder, sanding block 

 

 

 

There are some AWESOME samples from the rest of the Design Team at Just Add Ink - make sure you check them out!  We hope to inspire you to play along with us this week.

 

 



STAMPIN' UP!'S "SIMPLY FABULOUS" SIMPLY SENT ... PART 2

Today I have four more cards to show you, using Stampin' Up!'s "Simply Fabulous" Simply Sent kit.  If you haven't seen yesterday's blog post, you might like to start there.  I made 8 cards using this kit, and have shared already the first 4 I made. 

Here are the rest:

Oh dear - the colour's rather bright, and wrong, on that last card!  It's a soft pistachio green, not a fluorescent lime green, in real life!  I hope you can see beyond that aberration; Blogger seems to be having a bit of a 'conniption', because the colour's pretty true in my saved photo.

If you'd like to know any of the supplies I've used on these cards, please feel free to email me.

The lovely kit, containing 8 cards and matching envelopes (which have pretty polka-dot print inside, by the way!), costs only $22.95, and is available in my online shop here.

I hope I've inspired you to check out the Simply Sent kits in the Stampin' Up! catalogue.

STAMPIN' UP!'S "SIMPLY FABULOUS" SIMPLY SENT .... PART 1

Have you noticed the Simply Fabulous Simply Sent kit on page 161 of our current Stampin' Up! catalogue?  I must admit that I have a tendency to skim past these sorts of products ...  but I'm here to tell you, that this kit is aptly named.  It's fabulous!  If you want to make some quick cards, with the trademark Stampin' Up! "wow" factor, this product is for you!

The kit comes with 8 laser-edged cards (single layer), which I've adhered to folded card bases; they could also be used as postcards.  There are 8 envelopes, some ribbon, rhinestones and heart stickers - enough delightful 'bits' to make 8 cards, for only $22.95.  The colours are Pistachio Pudding and Smoky Slate - and what a combination!

Using various Stampin' Up! products, I've made up 8 cards with minimal effort, and today would like to share 4 of them with you.  If you'd like further details about any of the stamps/products I've used, just email me, and I'll be happy to share.  For now, I'll just share the pretty pics!

 

 

 

You can find this lovely little kit in my online store here.

Come back tomorrow afternoon to see the other four cards I made using the Simply Fabulous Simply Sent kit!