Join us for Happy Birthday to You Class

I absolutely adore the new Happy Birthday to You stamp set in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure!  The possibilities with this set are endless!  You may look at it and just see one cake option, but I guarantee there are lots of possibilities!  Join us for this special class on February 27th at 6:30 p.m. and make 3 different cards with this one set.

Here's a sneak peek at just one of the fabulous cards I've made!

Register now to reserve your spot!  Click here to register.

Class Fee:  $12 (waived with $45 order)

Birthday Painted Poppies -- Happy and Bold

All the wonderful images in the Painted Poppies Bundle and the Peaceful Moments Bundle inspire creativity every time I see them!  I just love the power and simplicity of this card using the Painted Poppies stamp set and the Painted Labels Dies.  Those reds (Poppy Parade) just really pop (yeah, I hear the pun too!) against the Whisper White cardstock.  The flower heads were quick and easy to color in with my Poppy Parade Dark Stampin' Blends Marker and I topped it off with a little Wink of Stella on each one.  I didn't even try to use shading on those little flowers; just a solid coloring with the dark marker.  I did use both the light and dark markers to color the large poppy and the leaves.  The fun swirly die is a great accent for the sentiment from the By the Dock stamp set.  I also used a stitched circle for the sentiment from the Stitched Shapes Dies. 

The inside was kept simple with a bold sentiment from the Peaceful Moments stamp set and just a peek of the field of poppies in the lower right corner.  

Stamps:  Painted Poppies (mini p. 26), Peaceful Moments (mini p. 27), By The Dock (mini p. 49)

Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Real Red

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Tools:  Die Cutting Machine, Painted Labels Dies (mini p. 26), Stitched Shapes Dies

Other:  Large & Small Dimensionals, Light & Dark Poppy Parade, Light & Dark Old Olive Stampin’ Blends Markers, Wink of Stella

Technique:  Coloring with Stampin’ Blends

All supplies from Annual Catalog unless otherwise noted.

Original idea CASED from Michelle Robinson @ www.mlbstampinup.blogspot.com

To order the supplies listed, please visit my online store at SmilesAcrossTheMiles.stampinup.net.

Please use Host Code U7F3YDKMF to enter your name into the monthly prize drawing.

Coordination Product Release is Live Today!

The Coordination Product Release goes live today with marvelous dies and DSP that compliment several of the new products from the Mini-Catalog and Sale-A-Bration brochure.  I'm always excited when there are dies to match stamp sets and these are no exception!  The Ladybug Dies that go with the Little Ladybug stamp set are one of my favorites!  Check them out today and fill out your wish list!  CLICK HERE to see all the new items then hop on over to my store to place your order!  When finished shopping, use Host Code 7F3YDKMF and I will enter your name into a monthly prize drawing.  Good luck!  I will also send you a darling ladybug thank you card when you place your online order.

Remember all of these special release products are while quantities last, so don't delay or your favorites may just be gone!

Painted Poppies!

Oh, I just love these Painted Poppies!  The stamps, dies and DSP are all incredible!  Check out the Peaceful Poppies Suite of products, including TWO stamp/die bundles!  Those sweet little sequins add just that perfect touch to your card.  Here is one of the cards we made in class this month.

I used those tiny gold flower sequins to finish off the poppy centers for that little extra bling!

This card is kind of outside my normal creative box, but I like to challenge myself to "break out of the box" in January to try new things or improve skills.  I normally like everything to be inside the lines, neat and precise; but this card called for a watercolor wash effect and some paint splatters.  I also moved the layers lining everything up evenly at the top and left, only showing the layers on the right and bottom of the card.  It's just a different presentation.  What about you?  Have you taken a challenge to try something new?  What new technique or skill have you recently tried?

Stamps:   Painted Poppies (Mini p. 26), 

Peaceful Moments (Mini p. 27)

Paper:  Basic Black, Poppy Parade, Whisper White

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Poppy Parade

Tools:  Die Cutting Machine, 

Painted Labels Dies (Mini p. 26)

Other:  Dimensionals, Light & Dark Old Olive Stampin’ Blends, Peaceful Poppies Sequins (Mini p. 25), Glue Dots

Technique:  Alternate Layering, 2-Step Stamping

All supplies from Annual Catalog unless otherwise noted.

Poppies and Valentines

Today I'm sharing a lovely selection of some of the cards I had fun making while recovering from a nasty upper respiratory infection.  It certainly made staying home and recuperating more fun! 

I just decided to play and see where the inspiration led me.  I'm just crazy about the new Peaceful Poppies Suite!  These poppies are all so gorgeous!  Next I'm going to play with the Designer Series Paper.  It's so stunning, it is a card all by itself without even stamping!  All these poppy products can be found on page 25 of the 2020 Mini-Catalog.  I also pulled a "happy birthday" sentiment from By the Dock on page 49 and "How Did I Get so Lucky..." sentiment from Thanks for the Laughs on page 11.

By the Dock is a perfect masculine set by itself and I can't wait to explore that set and the coordinating dies soon!  I have a few masculine birthdays in February, so I'll be creating with it next.

Thanks For the Laughs is a great set of all sentiments sure to make the card maker and recipient giggle.  I'm sure when you read them all, some of them will strike you as perfect for a friend or two!

The bright field of poppies birthday card in the front was CASED from Michelle Robinson at www.mlbstampinup.blogspot.com.  I made a couple small changes to my card but her card certainly gave me the inspiration.  Thanks, Michelle!

More on each individual card later . . .

Holly Jolly Christmas Treat Holder

My Stamp Club ladies are very special, so I made them these darling treat holders from the Holly Jolly Stamp Set and the Night Before Christmas Designer Series Paper.  That paper is just darling!  I made the first one with the reindeer paper, but after I punched the half circle at the top and looked at it, I had decapitated a reindeer!  That was definitely not going to work!  So I chose different paper patterns from that pack of DSP.  There were lots of great options!  This was my finished product all filled with Hershey bars ready to make the ladies smile.  

Needless to say, they LOVED them and were so excited about those Hershey bars with almonds.  (I think they all have a bit of a love affair with chocolate.)  Why not?  Most of us love a good chocolate bar.

Here's a close up of just one of the treat holders.  If you would like directions to make your own treat holders, let me know and I will be happy to send them to you.  They are very easy to do and can be customized for any occasion with our gorgeous Designer Series Paper.

Here is the list of supplies I used:

Stamps:  Holly Jolly Christmas (HC p. 26)

Paper:  Whisper White, Night Before Christmas DSP (HC p. 26)

Ink:  Real Red, Memento Tuxedo Black

Tools:  Big Shot, Jolly Season Dies (HC p. 25), Paper Trimmer, 2” Circle Punch, Ribbon Scissors, Ornate Frames Dies (HC p. 53)

Other:  Liquid Tombow, Dimensionals, Cherry Cobbler 3/8” Diagonal Stripe Ribbon (HC p. 25), Light & Dark Real Red, Light & Dark Pretty Peacock, Light & Dark Call Me Clover, Light & Dark Crumb Cake, Light Basic Black, Ivory, Dark Mango Melody, Light & Dark Soft Suede, Light Flirty Flamingo, Light Smoky Slate, & Color Lifter Stampin’ Blends, Wink of Stella.

All supplies from the Annual Catalog unless otherwise noted.

BRIGHTLY GLEAMING!

The Brightly Gleaming suite in the Holiday Catalog on page 31 is an absolutely stunning combination of products.  This month the TGIF! Class was all focused on these gorgeous products.  I am so very excited to share these cards with you.

This card was actually a CASE out of the catalog with just a tiny bit of rearranging on my part.  This is a keen reminder that while it's fun to surf the internet looking for project ideas, there are lots of incredible ideas at your fingertips right in your catalog.  While it was excruciatingly painful to put glue on the copper foil side of the DSP, I think the stripes work perfectly for this card.  The Foil Elements added just the right touch of bling at the top to balance out the copper ornamnet and copper stars.  Looking at this photo, I do believe it pops even more in person!  Afer I photographed this card, I decided to add a bit more shimmer to the sentiment and lightly brushed the letters with Wink of Stella.  The difference was subtle but it was just the right amount of extra the card needed.  I also added a "Wink" to the word "jolly" inside the card for a little more glitz!

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.