Good evening! We've had another fun-filled weekend. Saturday we had Aidan's bowling birthday party so we had 10 kids who all had a blast on the lanes (the best way to describe it was "herding cats" but everyone had a great time and that's all that matters). Today we've been waiting for this "snow storm" we're supposed to get but it didn't start snowing until about 7:30 tonight so we'll have to see what we end up with in the morning. I spent the day planning of fabulous projects for Laura's workshop on Saturday was well as making a sketch card for this weeks
Stamping 411 challenge. I drew the colors from for this weeks card from the
Twitterpated designer series paper and was excited to show off the new
Mixed Bouquet stamp set from the Occasions Mini catalog. The cardbase is Baja Breeze and I added a piece of Basic Gray cardstock as well as a couple of strips of
Twitterpated DSP. You may have noticed the funky border on the Riding Hood Red patterned paper -- I got that by using a scrap of DSP from when I cut a box with the
Fancy Favor XL die.
For the printed circle accent I stamped in Basic Gray ink on Basic Gray cardstock with the
En Francis stamp set, then I cut the circle out with the
Clear circle Big Shot die before sponging the edges of the circle with the same ink. I also added a strip of
Riding Hood Red 3/8" pleated satin ribbon. For the flower I stamped with the
Mixed Bouquet stamp set and Island Indigo ink, once on Whisper White cardstock and again on Riding Hood Red cardstock and used the new
Blossom punch to punch out both flowers to be layered. I used my
bone folder to shape the petals so they flip up. Next I stamped one of the circle images from the same stamp set with Riding Hood Red ink on Riding Hood Red cardstock and punched it out with the
3/4" circle punch. I added add a
Pear Pizzaz Glimmer Brad to the center of the flower and the final touch was to add a small butterfly that was cut out with the
Beautiful Wings Embosslit. (Check out a close up to the right)
The last step was to stamp the happy birthday greeting from the
Happiest Birthday Wishes stamp set with Pear Pizzaz ink. I used snips to cut the ends of the strip to make it look like a flag and once again used my bone folder and glue dots to add some "ripple" to the banner. Now here's the sketch, I have to admit this wasn't how I envisioned the card when I first started but I really like how it turned out.
Hope you enjoy and have a great week!
Diana
Happy Sunday friends! What another great weekend, not only did we have beautiful weather but we had lots of fun family activities and today I spent the day with a friend at a local vendor fair. I decided to showcase two retiring items for this weeks Stamping 411 challenge. I used the Berry Blossoms DSP (retiring) and drew all the colors (Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeaid, and Wisteria Wonder). I also used a striped embossing folder for the back ground. The stamped greeting is from the Happiest Birthday Wishes Hostess stamp set (retiring) and I colored it in with Stampin' Write markers. The final touch was to tie a double bow with the Wisteria Wonder 3/8" ruffled ribbon and an In Color Designer Printed brad for the center. 
Now check out the sketch we were provided. Nice and simple card and oh so fun and cheery. I hope you enjoyed the card this week and just think, we just have five days before the holiday weekend (I can't wait).
