I used a Thick Basic White card base and added a 1″ strip of designer series paper to the left of the card. The Rich Razzleberry cardstock on the right side was embossed in the Cut & Emboss Machine using the Brick & Mortar 3D Embossing Folder and attached with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Fabulous texture! The polka dot piece of patterned paper from the Ice Cream Corner Designer Series Paper was cut with the 2 1/4″ Circle Punch from Stampin’ Up! and adhered directly to the Razzleberry layer.
The true delight is in the loops of black and white baker’s twine from the Playful Pets Trim Combo Pack, combined with the bright Magenta Madness 1/4″ Twill Ribbon tied in a bow and the black label with the White Embossed sentiment. The label and sentiment come from the Many Messages Bundle. The big background stamp has a wonderful collection of sentiments and the die cuts them all out at once! It’s brilliant!
You can find all these products on my online store with Stampin’ Up!
The next Stamp Camp event will be May 15th! If you’re in Canada, then be sure to save the date and watch for registration info!
Welcome to 2021! This will be a year of hope and a promise of better days to come! I just know it!
It’s good to be back after a break over the Christmas holidays. I didn’t do much. It was glorious!
Question: Are you a person who’s often early for things? Or maybe you arrive right on time?
I can be early and I can be on time, but it doesn’t come easily for me. I have a very poor concept of time and often misjudge how long it will take me to get ready to go somewhere or how long it takes to actually get there. I’m late for a lot of things – including sending birthday cards.
The card I designed for the As You See It Challenge this week has a sentiment that is a great choice for acknowledging a late birthday wish. As You See It has some new graphics on the blog, too!
We have a speed challenge, folks! This is undoubtedly my favourite challenge because it helps train me to be more aware of my time and it gets my creative mojo flowing!
I used scraps from some cards I was preparing for an upcoming event. The patterned paper is one that you can get for FREE during the Sale-a-bration Promotion with Stampin’ Up! – Flower & Field Designer Series Paper. I thought using scraps would make my card come together faster, but I still used up extra time as I fussed to get my bow straight, so this card took 9 minutes and 28 seconds to complete. I cut it a bit close!
After placing the 1/2″ strips of patterned paper (see the subtle weaving I did in the corner?), I inked up the sentiment from the Happiest of Birthdays stamp set from Stampin’ Up! with Just Jade ink, then I carefully inked over the “happy” and the “birthday” with Tuxedo Black Momento ink, before stamping it on my Whisper White cardstock. The little Matte Black Dots that I placed on the card are a new item in the January – June Mini Catalogue, while the Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon is an old favourite of mine. So lovely to work with and one that I often like to colour using the Stampin’ Blends Markers, though the white was just what I needed for this design.
I really like the simplicity of the angled background on the card base. I used Basic Black for the base, then cut a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ piece of Blushing Bride cardstock in half on an angle and attached it to the front of the black base, before adhering my white layer with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
I have a few birthday wishes that are running late … late enough that if I send this card out, maybe it should actually read HAPPY little-bit-early BIRTHDAY.
Oh man. I’m just going to have to put my shame aside and send it, one way or another!
Click the SHOP button on this page to browse the online store and see what new products are available. There are so many beautiful things just waiting for you to make them!
the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun,
and we shall soon see the results of their love”
~ Sitting Bull
I know that spring has officially arrived when the crocuses in my front yard begin to bloom. I love when the grass gets greener and the street sweepers clean all the sand and grit from the neighborhood streets. You start to hear the red-winged blackbirds and the robins whistling their cheerful tunes. And the kids actually WANT to go outside.
Spring is a sign that the worst is over. Winter can’t throw much more at us. We can look forward to warmer days, barbecues on the patio, and longer hours of daylight. The earth wakes from it’s sleep and we, in turn, feel more alive! It’s a beautiful thing.
The theme for the speed stamping challenge today, is flowers. As in every speed challenge from the As You See It Challenge Blog, you have to make a card in 10 minutes or less. You can gather your supplies and have a plan, but you cannot pre-cut anything. I put my stamps on their blocks, I pull out the paper and inks that I want to use, and I start the clock!
I always seem to push it to the limit of my time. I usually know to avoid colouring, sponging, tying ribbon, or even die-cutting and embossing, as they just take too much time. I didn’t quite avoid all those things this time. Have a look at what I was able to create in 9 minutes an 50 seconds! Oh man! I just squeaked through, didn’t I?!!
This card has a Merry Merlot Cardstock base, to which I added a layer of my favorite Pressed Petals Specialty Designer Series Paper. So pretty! The stamped layer is Whisper White Cardstock, on which I stamped the flower image from the host stamp set, Soft Spring. This is such a pretty stamp set with multi-step stamping. I stamped the outline of the flower image four time using Momento Tuxedo Black ink. Then I stamped the leaf filler using Old Olive ink. Finally, I added the Merry Merlot flower filler to complete the image. At first, I though these flowers were lupins, but I realize that the leaves are completely wrong. I spent some time trying to figure out what kind of flowers they are, but nothing I found looks right. Either the flowers are wrong, or the leaves are wrong, or the stems are too tall. Whatever flowers these images are supposed to be, they’re very pretty.
After stamping all the parts of the flowers, I used Crumb Cake ink and sponged aroung all the edges to give a bit more of a warmth to the image. I used a small circle punch on both sides of this stamped cardstock to make notches for the Braided Linen Trim. I wrapped the trim around the cardstock and tied it in a bow, then attached the cardstock to my card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
This is where I should have stopped and called it done, but I wanted to add a sentiment. I chose words from the Peaceful Moments Stamp set and stamped it on a strip of Whisper White cardstock with Old Olive ink. I flagged the end and realized I was RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!
I SLAPPED on a couple of Mini Glue Dots and POPPED it on my card, STOPPING the clock with only
10 SECONDS TO SPARE!
Phew!! DONE!
That was close! I think I’m getting pretty good at making quick cards, though. I feel like I’ve come a long way! Practice practice practice!
Oh my gosh! There’s dog hair in my picture! Can you see it? LOL! I can’t escape it. It’s everywhere! If you have a dog or a cat, then I know you understand. If not, then all you have to know is that I’m an imperfect person and you just have to take me as I am or go enjoy someone else’s dog-hair-free, perfect pictures! HA!
Thanks for stopping by, my stamping friends. I hope you try this speed challenge. It really is a great creative exercise to get your blood pumping and your creative juices flowing. Do share it with us at the As You See It Challenge blog. We love to see your creations!
