It's Time to "Sale-A-Brate" - We Create Blog Hop

Thanks for stopping by this month's We Create Blog Hop! This month, we are super-duper excited because it's time for SALE-A-BRATION! In case you haven't heard before, Sale-a-bration is our biggest sale of the year. For every $50 you spend in Stampin Up product, you get a FREE product of your choice from the SAB catalog. You can check out the Sale-a-bration catalog here (it's also in the sidebar). This deal is available until March 31 -- so you've got plenty of time to look at all the pretty things and fill up your wish list!

For today's blog hop, we're all featuring some of the fun products you can earn for free during this great promotion! I first saw the banner stamp set & coordinating punch, and I love them! I also got the fun polka-dotted Textured Embossing Folder, which is just so festive!

I made this cute card tonight, and I intended for it to be brighter, like a birthday card. But it turned out a bit more pastel and calm, so it's more like a "Welcome Baby" card -- I guess you could still say it's a *birth*day card! (Please forgive the horrible pun -- I've been fighting bronchitis and I'm on some strong meds right now. ... Yeah, I'm gonna blame the meds, because I would never make a horrible pun like that normally..... nope....)

I intended to make a cute bag topper to go with this card, and make it a card-and-gift combo, but my creative juices ran out and it just didn't happen tonight. Oh well, maybe next time.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Blog Hop to get inspiration for all the other Sale-a-bration offerings! There are so many great products; you don't want to miss out! Contact me if you ever have any questions or want to host a party. I'm always up for a party!

Birthdays, Butterflies, and Bows - And a Custom Touch

I had so much fun making this card! The inspiration for it came from 3 different card challenge blogs (one of which was closed even when I started the project!), and I'm super pleased with the result:

I just LOVE the quick-and-easy customization "trick" I learned at the SU Regional I went to last month: insert a piece of DSP into the envelop for an instant "luxury" look! So simple, but the effect is fantastic.

As I said, this card was inspired by several fun sources. The layout for this card came from Freshly Made Sketches (FMS86). 

The touch of butterflies came from SUO Challenges #70. When I saw that SUO was all about butterflies, you know I was so totally all over that! Haha. I love me some butterflies.  :)

And the birthday theme came from a fun tic-tac-toe challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays in celebration of their 100th challenge! Hooray! These challenges are always a lot of fun.

Same Colors, Same Stamps, Different Card! (CCMC239 & FabFriday12)

Hello, again! Something I've been trying to do more often is showcase how you can use the same products -- stamps, DSP, color combinations, etc. -- and create various different projects with them. So, after yesterday's masculine birthday card, I've created a more feminine card with some of the same products. Check it out:

Once again, I've used the color combination from FabFriday12 -- Baja Breeze, Wild Wasabi, and their third color, Perfect Plum (which I left out on the masculine card because, really, Plum isn't a terribly masculine color). I've also used the Curly Cute stamp set for the phrase, which I also used to stamp "Happy Birthday" on yesterday's card. This just goes to show that the same colors and the same stamps can be used in SO many different ways!

This card got its layout inspiration from the Create with Connie & Mary challenge this week: CCMC239. I always love their sketches! This time, I took their layout and turned it sideways, to better fit the "Thinking of You" sentiment. The Circle Circus stamp set gave me the rest of the inspiration I needed (with an added nudge from Julie Wadlinger, who suggested the adorable (!) scalloped border under the greeting). In the end, all of these fantastic elements combined to give me one adorable all-occasion card!

Here's the CCMC sketch to get your creative juices flowing, too!

And, again, the FabFriday color palette: 

What are some of your favorite ways to re-purpose and re-imagine Stampin' Up!'s stamps & colors?

Card Details
Colors: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum, Wild Wasabi
Stamps: Curly Cute, Circle Circus
Tools & Accessories: Basic Jewels rhinestones, Large Scallop Edgelits©, Dimensionals

Fab Friday - Lost and Found!

I made this card over a week ago, during the same late-night stamp session that I made this card. But then I put it in an envelope and set it aside -- and completely LOST it! I looked everywhere! Or so I thought. Turns out it was sitting underneath a bag I took with me to a Demonstrator meeting at the beginning of the month. Don't ask me how it got there, because heaven knows I haven't got a clue! Pretty much the story of my life. Who knew you could lose so many things in a 2-room apartment!

So, from the "Lost and Found" files of Michelle's Living Room, here's an adorably pastel baby card I made for the Fab Friday 11 Challenge:

A close-up of the banner, since it's a little hard to read.
And isn't that itty bitty bow adorable?
(I'm rather proud of myself for tying it so tiny!)

I love the pastel colors in this card, and the polka dot DSP is just perfect for a baby card!

Here's the Fab Friday Sketch (so you can see that I pretty much just copied it exactly... including the "frillies" from an Edgelits on top of the green mat layer.) But that's what is so great about these sketch challenges -- they give you some fantastic layouts to work with!

In other news, I've fallen completely behind on my Month of Letters Challenge mailings. So I apologize to all of those who are still waiting on a card in the mail -- I will send them, and soon! These last few weeks have just seen a LOT of changes and unexpectedness, so some things have had to take a back burner. But don't worry! I'll be back to normal very soon (I hope!).

Are any of you doing the Letter Month challenge? How's it going for you? Better than I'm doing, I hope!

Happy Stamping!

"Birthday Bash" Blog Hop! (And 2 challenges)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Does anyone else think of that old Frosty the Snowman cartoon every time you hear someone shout "Happy Birthday"? No? Just me, then.

Anyway, Welcome to our third monthly Blog Hop! Our theme this month is "Birthday Bash," and we're showing you some fun projects relating to everything birthday. I was stoked for this theme, because it gave me a chance to prep for all the upcoming birthday celebrations.

Be sure to check out all the fantastic blogs in our hop!

Hop Forward: Kris Kilkenny

Hop Back: Julie Davidse

Inspired by this week's Clean and Simple sketch challenge (FTL225), this is what I came up with:

The sketch had banners where I have the circles, but I've been doing so many banners lately that I wanted to change things up. Some great DSP and a fun Edgelits for the zigzag border, and I ended up with a pretty cute and simple birthday card (if I do say so myself).

I also stamped a quick, decorative circle behind the greeting. I stamped it in clear VersaMark ink and used clear embossing powder (heat embossing). So I linked up to this week's Late Night Stamping challenge to "Heat Things Up," too.

But a card wasn't enough! So I made a coordinating little gift bag to go with it.

Using the same colors and DSP, I made this cute bag topper in under 10 minutes (and that was while watching TV, so it was probably only 5 minutes of work). Quick, cute, and filled with candy -- the best kind of gift to make!

So there you go! A quick, easy card and gift. Go check out the rest of our hop, then get stamping to create your own fabulous birthday creations!

Hop Forward: Kris Kilkenny

Hop Back: Julie Davidse

"Hello Baby" Card - Subtles collection colors for FMS #68

It seems like everyone I know is pregnant right now! Seriously, in the last 3 weeks, I've found out at least 9 people are pregnant. Maybe it's just because I'm in that early-to-mid-20's age group in the Provo area, but wow, are there a lot of babies showing up on my Facebook news feed! So chances are, soon enough I'm going to need a lot of "Welcome, Baby!" cards for my friends and neighbors. With this in mind (and kind of being inspired by this week's Dynamic Duo pastel color combo), I decided to start building my stash with this sketch challenge card:

Close-up of the cute details on this card:
Subtles Collection Designer buttons, a "hello baby" banner,
Edgelits design, and a bitty bow on the rattle.

This is possibly the first time I've taken a sketch so literally. No, really, check out the sketch provided by Freshly Made Sketches this week:

With such a great layout, how could I go wrong? As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew that I wanted to use my Button Buddies set to fill that blue space, and some buttons (of course) for the details to the left. So I set to work (again at 11 pm.... that really needs to stop!) and came up with my adorable card a little while later. I love the soft color combo, and the polka-dot background (thanks to the textured embossing folder for the Big Shot) is such a cute addition, too! Overall, I'm very happy with this card -- and it goes back to the bolder, cleaner style that I used to stamp (like this post here).

Now to find out which of my friends is having a girl....

Card Details:
Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, and Whisper White CS
Stamps: Button Buddies, Pennant Parade
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede 
Accessories & Tools: Subtles Collection Designer Buttons, 3/16" Corner punch, Finishing Touches Edgelits (Big Shot),
     Perfect Polka Dots Textured Embossing Folder (Big Shot), Linen Thread, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

CCMC233 - Butterflies fix everything

Recently, I've been getting bursts of creative energy around 11:00 at night. While I love it when I actually feel creative, it could definitely come at a more convenient hour. Here's my latest midnight creation:

I based my card on this week's Create with Connie and Mary sketch challenge (CCMC233). Their layout is fun and inspired all sorts of fun ideas. Here's the sketch:

After looking through my stash of stamp sets, I decided (once again) to go with the Everything Eleanor set, and the words from My Friend seemed to fit well with the swirly elements. I got the panels and the green stripe in place, and got the little banner placed just so, and it looked AWFUL! It was totally bland and boring and not at all cohesive.

It needed something to tie in the Old Olive from the "Hello" stripe. Something small and cute, something that fit with the swirly elements going on in the background. But what? I thought of using the bird from the Everything Eleanor set, but it just looked funny wherever I placed it. So I dug through my supplies and tools, and I found my Beautiful Butterflies Embosslit. Aha! Eureka! I cut some cute little butterflies out of Old Olive cardstock, found the one that was the best size for this card, and added a little touch of a pearl in the middle. I love the way the Old Olive with the pearl just ties everything together and makes the whole card make more sense.

What are some of your favorite ways to tie a color scheme together? Buttons? Die cuts? Ribbons, jewels, or other "bling"?

Card Details:
Stamps: My Friend, Everything Eleanor
Ink: Soft Suede
Paper: Old Olive, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, and Very Vanilla CS
Tools & Accessories: Finishing Touches Edgelits, Beautiful Wings Embosslits, Dimensionals, Basic Pearls

"Love is in the Air" Blog Hop (and RS#44)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Welcome to 2013! And welcome to our second monthly Blog Hop! We've chosen for our theme "Love is In the Air" and were told to just run with it. So here's what I came up with -- an elegant card perfect for Valentines Day, or just because you care:

Now, I have to give a little background. I don't really "do" Valentine's Day. It just isn't my thing. I don't particularly like the over-the-top romantic gestures, and I really am not a fan of pinks and reds and whites being thrown all over the place (not my favorite color combo). So when our group of Demonstrators decided to go with what first struck me as a VERY "Valentine's Day" theme, I was a little worried that I wouldn't like my project or that it would feel too "forced" or even too "cutesy."

But I love this card! I was inspired on the color palette by this card by Amy White. In fact, I set out to pretty much replicate her card - it's just so cute! But then I realized: Oh yeah, I don't really "do" the whole Valentine's thing. Which meant I didn't have any heart stamps, or any lovey-dovey stamp phrases, or even a heart-shaped punch! So instead of CASE-ing her card (Create And Share Everything--stampin' up lingo for ya), I took her idea and made it my own -- combined with this week's Retro Sketch Challenge. And the result is a card that I absolutely LOVE!

This week's Retro Sketch layout.
I just did mine sideways and flipped horizontally.

Be sure to check out the rest of our "Love is In the Air" blog hop! 

Hop Back: Julie Davidse 
Hop Forward: Kris Kilkenny

Thanks for visiting my blog! Feel free to stay awhile and check things out. As always, I love comments, so let me know what you think of my card and the blog hop!

Gone Vintage

Lately I've noticed that my style of cards has been drifting. Instead of bold, more modern designs, I've been doing more of a style I thought I could never pull off -- vintage! Gasp! For so long, I'd look at cards that other people have made, and I'd "ooh" and "aah" over their gorgeous, vintage designs, then sign and resign myself to the "fact" that I simply couldn't make those cards work.

Well, was I ever proven wrong!

I LOVE doing these vintage style cards (especially the Christmas ones I posted a while ago -- gorgeous!, if I do say so myself). I love the texture and the colors. And the stamp designs that Stampin' Up! has are just fantastic! Can ya tell I'm kinda loving this whole vintage kick? Yeah? Ok, good; I was worried I was being too subtle about it all.  ;)

Anyway... moving on to the card! Inspired by a similar project I saw by Jeannine Tarrio, I made this card for my mother-in-law's birthday, using the Everything Eleanor set. (Which I got for free, btw -- gotta love Stampin' Up!'s reward system, eh?) So check it out: what do you think?

Some of the lovely details - roughed-up edges,
delicate pearls, faded ink. Love it!

 I also stamped some "wrapping paper" to match the card. (Yes, this is the back side of a brown grocery bag. And yes, it is WAY cheaper than wrapping paper.)

Card Supplies:
Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Birthday Wishes
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede
Paper: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, brown paper sack
Tools & Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits Die (Big Shot), Finishing Touches Edgelit (Big Shot), Paper Snips (cutting out flowers, placing pearls), Basic Pearls, sponge


So what do you think? What are some of your favorite design styles?