Coastal Cabana Challenge Cards

Today, I got together with Julie again after a long stamping hiatus and made a few quick, simple cards. Both cards feature Coastal Cabana, a super-fun In Color.

The "Congratulations" card is for my friend Jessica, who is expecting twins! On the inside, it says "Woohoo! It's two!" The elegant design and the rhinestone remind me so much of Jessica, so this card is just perfect for her.

The second card is a thank-you to Kaitlin, who recently joined my Stamping newsletter and has come to a few of my classes. (Hi, Kaitlin!) The fun paper on the bottom is from the Spring catalog - the "Fresh Prints Designers Series Paper Stack". It's also the same paper I used on the LOVE banner. The layout comes from this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge. Such a simple layout makes the greeting really pop, don't you think?

Supplies

Stamps: Beautifully Baroque, Cuddles and Kisses, and a special photopolymer stamp set just for Demonstrators! (Sorry)

Paper: Coastal Cabana cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, and Fresh Prints DSP

Ink: Coastal Cabana - that's it!

Accessories: Real Red stitched ribbon, Dimensionals, Basic Jewel Rhinestones

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!

"Guest Post" (of sorts) and FM99

Around Christmas, my mother-in-law, Jolene, decided she wanted to get into stamping as a fun hobby. So I sat down with her, pored over the catalogs and seasonal offerings, and helped her create her first order. Since then, she's built up her stamping "stock" and has been really excited to create with it all. She sent me an email a few days ago with a picture of the card she made for a friend's baby shower, and it was SO stinkin' adorable that I just had to ask if I could share it here, since she doesn't have a blog of her own to show off on.

At first, she wasn't sure, since she had pulled the ideas from other cards she found online. But after explaining to her that we have a "CASE" mindset at Stampin' Up! -- "Create And Share Everything" -- and that copying or taking inspiration from other stampers' projects is what most of the SU community does all the time (I've just given away my secret!), she said I could share the card on here with you guys. 

Isn't it so cute! I love the color combination!

Here's what Jolene had to say about her card (after insisting that she's "not creative") --

I combined the "Congratulations Box" from page 41 of the 2013 catalog with a card I saw on another Stampin' Up website. I raised the duck (like the catalog pic) and cut around it so the duck would have a small white frame, and I decided using a So Saffron frame around the white backing, used the polka dot folder to made the entire background polka dotted (instead of only half like the website pic), set the framed duck towards to top right corner, put some curve in the "Congratulations" flag, and came up with my card. I had so much fun figuring it all out!

I love it! And it also happens to coincide perfectly with this week's Friday Mashup challenge (FM99)! They want "Baby" cards and/or projects using their color challenge - which includes So Saffron! Here's the challenge info:

1. Make a project for a "Baby Shower or a Baby."
2. Or Make a project using the Colors "Pool Party, Real Red, So Saffron & a Neutral."
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project for a "Baby/Shower using the Colors listed above."

Perfect! So, Jolene, I've entered your card in this week's challenge. Good luck! I'm sure they'll love your card!

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!

"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