Retro Sketches Sketch Challenge: Yippee-Skippee!

I'm so excited that it's Friday and the weekend is just about here.  We've got a really exciting weekend ahead of us, Aidan is taking is pre-test for his Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and he needs to pass it in order to take his Black Belt test in two weeks.  He's been working really hard at this for the past 3 years so I'm excited but also really nervous so please keep him in your thoughts.  Anyway, today I want to share the card I made for this weeks Retro Sketches Sketch Challenge.  I was using the new Soho Subway designer series paper on another project this week so it was siting out on my desk so I decided to try to come up with a more masculine card.  The cardbase is Crumb Cake and I stamped the background with the Clockworks stamp set and Crumb Cake ink (love the swirly, geometric images in this set).  Next I added a piece of Soho Subway designer series paper that is matted on a piece of Island Indigo cardstock (I used the Finishing Touches Edgelits and the Big Shot to cut the decorative border along the bottom.

The next layer uses the Early Espresso coredinations cardstock (love this stuff) that was embossed with the Big Shot and the new Alphabet Press Embossing Folder before sanding the cardstock so the images really stand out.  This piece is matted on Summer Starfruit cardstock.  I added two neutral brads to the top right corner (they're retired but I don't have any of the new candy dots to use which would have been perfect).  I also added a piece of Crumb Cake 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon and a matching bow that's accented with a Basics 3/8" Glimmer Brad.  The greeting is from the new Yippee-Skippee stamp set (one of my absolutely favorite new stamp sets!!!!) and I used Stampin' Write Markers to add the ink directly to the rubber before stamping, punched it out with the Decorative Label Punch and then sponged around the edge with Crumb Cake ink.  As usual, I used dimensionals to attach the greeting to the card so it pops up.

 

I really like how this card turned out and the colors are so fresh and different from what I normally use, I love how when you use our designer series paper it provides you some great color inspiration and a means to step out of your comfort zone while knowing that the colors will work together since Stampin' Up already planned the images and colors to work together.

 

Hope you enjoy and happy stamping this weekend!

 

Diana

 

New In Color Markers - Complete Your Collection Now

In the 2013-2014 annual catalog, we offer the Stampin' Write Marker New Color Kit (item 130034, page 163) to help you update your Many Marvelous Marker pack. Now, we've sweetened the deal. For a limited time, from June 26 until October 31, you can buy any of the new colors in the pack or on their own!   This is great if you already have some of the past In Color Markers that that have now been added to our Color Collection.  Go ahead, fill in the missing pieces in your collection or buy the whole lot.


ITEM   PRICE DESCRIPTION

130034 $28.95 Stampin' Write Marker New Color Kit

Bermuda Bay, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky, Wisteria Wonder

131899 $3.50 Bermuda Bay Stampin' Write Marker

131265 $3.50 Blushing Bride Stampin' Write Marker

131902 $3.50 Calypso Coral Stampin' Write Marker

131901 $3.50 Crushed Curry Stampin' Write Marker

131905 $3.50 Island Indigo Stampin' Write Marker

131266 $3.50 Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write Marker

131904 $3.50 Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker

131898 $3.50 Smoky Slate Stampin' Write Marker

131900 $3.50 Soft Sky Stampin' Write Marker

131903 $3.50 Wisteria Wonder Stampin' Write Marker

Fab Friday Color Challenge: Bootiful Occasions

Happy Wednesday friends!  It's going to be another hot and humid day (summer has definitely arrived) so I hope you're able to stay cool.  Today I'm sharing a card I made for this weeks Fab Friday Color challenge and these bright, cheery, In Colors are perfect for a hot day, they remind me of ice cream.  I started with a Baked Brown Sugar cardbase and then added a layer of Whisper White that I ran through the Big Shot with the Mosaic Madness Embossing Folder.  I used my Crisp Cantaloupe ink and a sponge dauber to lightly add ink to the raised part of the embossed design so it really stands out.  Next I added a piece of Coastal Cabana designer series paper from the 2013-2015 In Color Paper stack that I  punched along the edge with the scallop border punch.  For lots of fun and dimension I added three layers of the new In Color Stretch Ruffle Ribbon, in Strawberry Slush, Baked Brown Sugar, and Pistachio Pudding (this ribbon is so soft and awesome). 

For the main stamped image I used the Bootiful Occasions stamp set (this rain boot is so cute!)  I stamped it in Baked Brown Sugar and then colored in the boot with Stampin' Write Markers.  This piece was matted on a piece of Pistachio Pudding cardstock before attaching it to the card with dimensionals.

 

I don't normally use this many different colors on a card but I love how these all compliment each other so well and they're so fresh.  I'll definitely be using these colors in a lot more projects in the future so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  If you want further inspiration with these colors hop on over to the Fab Friday blog site and check out the projects from the design team and other fabulous stampers participating in the challenge.

 

Enjoy!

 

Diana

Paper Players Sketch Challenge: Happy Day

Good afternoon!  I'm a little later posting so I hope I wasn't keeping you in suspense.  Today I'm sharing a fun card using lots of new items for The Paper Players Sketch challenge this week.  I've been busy working on lots of swaps for my upcoming annual convention but I had to break away to play along with this challenge.  This card uses the new Happy Day stamp set and as soon as I saw the shape of the sentiment part of this sketch I knew I had to use the flourish from this stamp set along with the Labels Collection Framelits.

The cardbase is Strawberry Slush and I added a layer of Island Indigo and Modern Medley DSP for the main panel.  The main stamped panel is Very Vanilla cardstock and the text is stamped in Island Indigo ink and the flourish in Strawberry Slush.  I also added a piece of Coastal Cabana 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Ribbon.  The medallions are stamped with the same stamp set and I just punched the centers out with the 7/8" scallop circle punch and 1 3/8" circle punch.  The circle layer is matted on a piece of Coastal Cabana cardstock that was punched with the 1 3/4" scallop circle punch.  I used dimensionals to attached both the circle elements so they pop off the cardfront. 

 

This is my first time using this color combination and I have to say, WOW, I really like it and the DSP so so fabulous! 

 

I hope you enjoy and have a great day,

 

Diana

Hand Stamped Sentiments Sketch Challenge: Simply Sketched

Good morning!  We've made it through another week and we're looking forward to an exciting weekend, the highlight of which is the Annual Neighborhood BBQ we host, it's always so fun to see our friends and neighbors and it's a great way to kick of the start of summer.  Today I'm sharing the card I made for this weeks Hand Stamped Sentiments sketch challenge.  For this challenge I used one of the new hostess sets, Simply Sketched.  I had this set out on my desk for a convention swap I'm finishing up so I decided to use this great flower image, and this stamp set has perfect greetings!

The cardbase for this card is Crisp Cantaloupe and I added a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock behind the Soho Subway designer series paper.  The main stamped image was stamped in Chocolate Chip ink and then colored in with a Blender Pen and Summer Starfruit, Crisp Cantaloupe, and Pistachio Pudding ink.  I sponged around the edge with Crumb Cake ink and matted on a piece of Summer Starfuit cardstock.  The greeting is from the same set and was punched out with the large oval punch and then matted with the scallop oval punch.  The final touch was to add some texture with some ribbon, in this case Chocolate Chip 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Summer Starfruit Stitched Satin Ribbon, and Crisp Cantaloupe Ruffled Ribbon.

 

This card is so soft and summer, I love it.  Now the funny thing, when I look at a sketch I look at the challenge but I usually don't look at the cards created by the design team or other challenge participates so I can come up with something completely on my own, well apparently the flower in this stamp set is very popular because I discovered when I was posting this submission that Diane Vander Galien also used the same stamp set and image so you should check out her card also for another great idea with this stamp set, I love how people can take the same images and come up with different ideas.

 

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

 

Diana

 

 

End of the Year Class Gifts, Super Simple with My Digital Studio

Happy Wednesday, we're greeting today as the first day of Summer vacation and Aidan is so excited to start summer camp.  I wanted to share the super fun and easy gift we made for Aidan to give his classmates for an end of the year gift.  We made these cute bookmarks in My Digital Studio (MDS).  I bought and downloaded the Book Buddies Designer Template (only $2.95) and all four of these bookmarks were already designed.  Then all I did was add the text to personalize it for Aidan's school and year and they were ready to send of to be printed. 

 

I used Stampin' Up!'s professional print services (took advantage of the recent 25% off sale) and printed them on heavyweight cardstock.  Once they arrived all I had to do was cut the bookmarks apart, punch a hole and add a ribbon flag.

 

These bookmarks are so cute and I know the kids will enjoy using them this summer as they work on their summer reading assignments.  Hope this gives you another fun idea to use MDS to make great projects that look great and are super fast.

 

Enjoy,

 

Diana

Paper Craft Crew Sketch Challenge: Sketched Birthday Greetings

Good morning friends, I hope you had an enjoyable Father's Day and were able to spend time with your loved ones.  We spent Saturday at Kings Dominion and had so much fun checking out some awesome roller coasters, but we only saw about 1/3 of the park so I know we'll be making a return trip in the future to have more fun.  Today I'm sharing my card for this weeks Paper Craft Crew Sketch challenge and I decided to use this challenge to make a birthday card for my nephew.  This sketch is so fun and I love how you can use different shapes for the bottom elements.

 

I started with a cardbase of Daffodil Delight and then added a layer of Pacific Point before adding the Pumpkin Pie DSP from the Perfect Polka Dot DSP (love this pack of paper).  I also added some Pacific Point, Whisper White, and Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon (I decided to add multiple tied knots instead of a bow since this is for a boy.

 

For the elements on the bottom I stamped two images from the Sketched Birthday stamp set and punched it out with the new Hexagon punch before coloring them in with Stampin' Write Markers.  The greeting is from the Banner Greetings stamp set and was stamped in Pacific Point and then I just cut it out with Paper Snips.  The banner was attached with dimensionals so it stands up.  The final touch was to add a couple of rhinestones to accent the hexagons.

 

This card is bright and cheery and will be perfect for my nephew as he gets ready to turn another year older.  There are so many fun new stamps and accessories in the new catalog, I'm having fun mixing the new with the carryover items, it's like rediscovering forgotten treasures.

 

Aidan gets out of school for summer on Tuesday and we're all looking forward to the fun and relaxation the summer brings (even if we already have the weekend booked up).  Hope you enjoy and have a great week.

 

Diana

Hand Stamped Sentiments Color Challenge: Thankful Flowers

Happy Friday and welcome to the the start of the weekend (in a few hours).  After what was supposed to be a very bad weather day yesterday, thankful the storms missed us and we're looking forward to a beautiful weekend, perfect to celebrate the special men in our lives for Father's Day.  Today I want to share the card I made for this weeks Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge, this week it's a fun color challenge.  These are four fun colors but I'll admit I never would have thought to combine them.

 

I started with a cardbase of Baja Breeze (so sad this color retired) and then added a layer of Midnight Muse under my Whisper White panel.  For the Whisper White piece I first stamped it with the Mixed Bunch stamp set and just stamped several of the flowers and circle images in different colors.  Then I ran it through the Big Shot with the Hexagon Embossing Folder before adding a piece of Primrose Petals Stitched Satin Ribbon.

For the greeting image I used the Oh, Hello stamp set and stamped the chevron oval piece in Summer Starfruit but stamped off first to soften the color.  The greeting is from the same set and is stamped in Midnight Muses.  I used the Big Shot and the Oval Collection Framelits to cut out both oval pieces (I love matting layers and the framelits help me do that so easily and with so many different sizes and shapes available, so awesome!)  I used dimensionals to attach the greeting to card so it really pops up off the page.

 

I have to admit when I was making this card I didn't know how it was going to turn out because of the colors but the more I look at the card I really like it, nice and cheery!  If you haven't tried using these colors together, give it a try, it'll be fun to see what you come up with.

 

Take care and have a great weekend!

 

Diana

June Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop: New Catalog Showcase

Good morning friends!  Thanks for joining us this month for the Stylin' Stampin' Squad June Blog Hop.  This month we're featuring projects using all the great new items from the 2013-2014 Annual Catalog.  If you've been following along the hop you just came from Bree's blog, isn't her work amazing!!  Don't worry if you're just starting here you can continue following around the hop so you don't miss out on any of the fabulous creations from these talented stampers.
 

For my first project I'm showcasing the Mosaic Madness stamp set with the coordinating Mosaic punch and the Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder.  I love how all these products work so well together and we even have the Quatrafancy Specialty designer series paper which is yummy.  You'll also notice I used three of the new in colors, Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe, and Coastal Cabana.  The greeting is from the Really Good Greetings stamp set, these sayings are so fun and whimsical.

For my second project I decided to make a matching gift using the new Tag a Bag Gift Boxes.  If you haven't seen these boxes you have to check them out, they come with a clear sleeve cover so they're all set and ready to decorate, and they really do hold quite a bit.  I wrapped a piece of Pistachio Pudding Cardstock, Coastal Cabana Ruffled stretch ribbon (this new ribbon is to die for), as well as the Quatrafancy Specialty DSP.

Here's a close up of the tag.  I used the Yippee-Skipee stamp set (another great greeting set you've got to get!) and I heat embossed on Basic Black cardstock with Whisper White embossing powder.  I used a sponge dauber and Whisper White craft ink to create the chalkboard technique (so hot and in right now).  For a decorative element I added one of the Crisp Cantaloupe In Color Boutique Details and the Whisper White Organza ribbon.

 

This gift is so fresh and fun, plus it has peanut butter cups inside, what could be better.  I hope you enjoyed this months projects and it's shown you some of the great new products available, LOVE THEM!  I would love for you to leave a comment and know what you think about this months projects as well as what your favorite new item from the Annual Catalog is.

 

I encourage you to continue on with the blog hop, your next stop is Annie and I know you'll love her projects.

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!
2. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
3. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
4. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
5. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
6. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
7. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
8. Heidi B of Stuck on Stampin'
9. Bree R. of Craft-somnia
10. Diana E. of Stampin' Fun with Diana
11. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
12. Jamie H. of Unique Ink

Create with Connie and Mary: Delightful Dozen

Good morning friends!  What started as a stormy week is turning really warm and pretty which I love!  We're also starting to wrap up the spring and school activities so we're starting to get some of our evenings back which is oh, so nice.  Today I wanted to share the card I made for this weeks Create with Connie and Mary sketch challenge.  I decided to mix some old and new elements to create a fun and easy card.  I started with a cardbase of Pear Pizzaz (so excited that this color returned to our color collection) and then added a piece of Melon Mambo cardstock that I embossed with the Big Shot and Chevron Embossing Folder.  The next layer is a piece of Gingham Garden designer series paper.

The greeting is from the Delightful Dozen stamp set and was stamped in Night of Navy ink before being punched out with the oval punch and then matted it with the scallop oval punch and Daffodil Delight cardstock.  I used dimensionals to attach the greeting to the card.  The final touch was to add a button that I made with the Simply Pressed Clay and the Buttons and Blossoms Clay Mold.  I made the button directly with the white clay and then used the Island Indigo Stampin' Write marker to color it in and added a White Baker's Twine bow to finish it off.

 

This is such a fresh and cheery card, sure to make someone feel better in no time.  What can you do with the fabulous new catalog items?  There's still time to participate in the challenge or get some fabulous inspiration from all the other sketch participants.

 

Make sure to stop by tomorrow.  This months Stylin' Stampin' Blog Hop is starting tomorrow and we'll be sharing some fabulous projects using items from the new 2013-2014 Annual Catalog, can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

 

Have a great day!

 

Diana

 

Best of 25 Years - Limited Edition Stamp Sets and Special Offer

As part of our 25-year anniversary celebration, we're bringing back some of our favorite stamp images from the last quarter century and combining them into 12 sets, which will release-one set per month-during 2013. Even better, along with some great classic images, each "Best of" set will also include a never-before-seen image!  All Best of stamp sets will include 3-5 images, including a never-before seen image, and will be priced at $14.95.   While we are releasing just one Best of stamp set per month (with a new theme each month), all of the Best of sets will be available until March 31, 2014.   All Best of stamp sets are available in Clear-Mount only.

 

As a special incentive to collect the Best of stamps, we're including a collector's card and 25-year proof of purchase sticker with every Best of set. Collect six stickers, and send it in to redeem a FREE set of your choice valued up to $14.95! Free sets must be redeemed no later than April 30, 2014.

Below are the stamp sets that have been released so far and are available for purchase now.

 

Best of Birthdays - 132929

Best of Brides and Babies -  133482

Best of Butterflies -  133345

Best of Flowers -  133342

Best of Greetings -  133485

Best of Love - 132987

Paper Craft Crew Challenge: MDS Scrapbook, It's All About Family

Good morning friends!  Summer has arrived and we've been busy getting activities wrapped up before school's out and all the summer fun can begin.  For this weeks Paper Craft Crew sketch challenge I decided to use My Digitial Studio (MDS) to create a scrapbook page.  MDS is so great since you can take your paper crafting anywhere (in this case I worked on this page on the go which is awesome.  MDS is so great that I've decided to make my 2013 scrapbook completely digitally, I've been able to get several pages done from our recent trip to Chicago and it's nice to be able to work on this anywhere.  We had a neighbor take this picture of our family last month to finish a mother's day gift I made for the family and I loved the picture so much I new it had to be scrapped.

 

I started with a template scrapbook page and then started adding, deleting, and modifying elements so it would fit my picture.  Below is the list of all the elements used for the page.

    Background

     Designer Series Paper/_Designer Kits/Fan Fair/paper 1

Embellishments
    Staple & Stitching/Stitching_8b_black
    _Designer Kits/Fan Fair/frame 7
    Staple & Stitching/Stitching_6_corner_black
    _Designer Kits/Fan Fair/journaling 1
    Antique Brads/Antique Brads - brad 2
    Antique Brads/Antique Brads - brad 4
    Staple & Stitching/Staple
    Staple & Stitching/Staple

Stamps
    _Designer Kits/Fan Fair/ornate frame 1, Color = 255,250,226
    _Designer Kits/Fan Fair/ornate frame 2, Color = 255,250,226
    _Designer Kits/Fan Fair/ornate frame 2, Color = 255,250,226
    _Designer Kits/Fan Fair/ornate frame 1, Color = 255,250,226

Punches
    Extras\Fan Fair - doily punch, Fill Color = ISLAND INDIGO 0,126,135
    Extras\Fan Fair - doily punch, Fill Color = RIDING HOOD RED 190,64,75

Photos

I really like how this page turned out and I'm finding that the more I use the program, the easier and more addicting it is.  If you haven't given MDS a try you, should the program price was recently lowered to only $20 which includes over $500 in digital content, plus you can download a FREE 30 day trial of the software so you can try it first before you fall in love.

Enjoy and have a great day!

Diana

Save 25% on Tons of My Digital Studio Digital Downloads and Print Products

You only have one more week (through June 15, 2013) to take advantage of the awesome My Digital Studio promotion currently going on.

Get 25 percent off select My Digital Studio content and print products. Digital content includes: ALL ensemble, calendar, photobook, and swatchbook digital content. See it here. Print products include: ALL photobooks, swatchbooks, cards, tags, individual pages, and calendars. See it here. This is a great opportunity to get all those digital downloads that you've been wanting for projects and then complete projects in time to order using Stampin' Up's professional print services and get an additional 25% off select print items.  I used this great promotion to make and print bookmarks for an end of the year gift for Aidan's class, as well as printing some gifts and individual pages for upcoming projects I'm working (including my fish extender gift elements for our Christmas Disney Cruise).

The Fine Print

• You can place orders on an online order only.
• Discount for downloads only available for artwork released prior to May 1, 2013.
• Make sure you have the latest version of the MDS software to get the discounts on print products. 
• Bulk pricing not included.

Fab Friday Sketch Challenge: Blooming with Kindness

 Happy day friends, we've reached another Friday, yeah!  We've got another busy weekend coming up, I think I need to resolve myself to the fact that with all of our activities the days of having nice relaxing weekends are a thing of the past.  When I saw this weeks Fab Friday sketch challenge I knew I wanted to play along since it's such a great layout and would be perfect for another sympathy card that I'm working on (I'm planning on mailing by package of sympathy cards to my mom shortly so I'm hoping this batch will tied them over for awhile, unfortunately my mom and her friends have had to use a lot of sympathy cards lately, which is sad, at least they can have something pretty to send their greetings in).  Today's card starts with a Pool Party card base and then has a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock that I stamped the En Francis background stamp in Soft Suede.  Then I distressed it a little by tearing one of the edges and sponging around all the edges with Crumb Cake Ink. 

Next I added a piece Pool Party Core'dinations cardstock that was embossed with the Big Shot and the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder before being sanded to bring out the embossed texture.  I tore one of the corners of this piece as well to mimic the corner tear on the Crumb Cake piece.

For the main stamped image I used the Blooming with Kindness stamp and inked the flower with my Pool Party and Island Indigo markers using the thumping technique before punching it out with the 2 1/2" circle punch.  This piece was matted with a piece of Island Indigo cardstock that was cut with the Big Shot and the Window Collection Framelits.  The greeting is from the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set and is stamped in Soft Suede ink before being punch with the Modern Label Punch and then being sponged with Crumb Cake ink.

I really like how soft and pretty this card turned out and I love being able to mix so many different stamps and elements together.  I think they work really well.

I hope you enjoy, have a great weekend and happy stamping!

Diana

Paper Players Theme Challenge: Happy Hour

 I'm loving that our summer weather has finally arrived here in Northern Virginia and along with the warmer weather has come the humidity, wow it's been crazy this early in the year.  so when I saw this weeks Paper Players theme challenge, summer and holiday I was already in the mood.  Nothing says summer more to me than bright colors and tropical drinks with umbrellas so I used that as the inspiration for this card.  The cardbase is Rich Razzleberry and then I added a piece of Pumpkin Pie polka dot paper from the Perfect Polka Dot DSP package and matted it with Going Gray and Whisper White Cardstock.  I added a strip of of Rich Razzleberry 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain ribbon and then knots with the same ribbon in Real Red, Whisper White, and Going Gray.

I used the Happy Hour stamp set for the tropical drink and inked the stamp with Stampin' Write Markers before stamping.  I used the same technique to make the rainbow umbrella and then cut it out with my Paper Snips and attached it with a dimensional.  The drink was punched out with the Extra Large Oval Punch and then matted on a piece of Tempting Turquoise that was punched with the Decorative label Punch.  The final touch was to stamp the greeting and I used my paper trimmer and snips to cut just around the words so the piece was nice and small.

If this card won't get you in the mood for summer I don't know what will.  The bright cheery colors are perfect for a friend with a summer birthday.

Have a great day,

Diana

Stampin’ UP! new Big Shot Magnetic Platform -Video Tutorial

Finally a way to keep your Big Shot Framelits and Edgelits exactly where you want them when you die cut – introducing the new Magnetic Platform.  I'm so excited about this platform since we all know how frustrating it can be when you line your framelit up with your stamped image, just to have it move while you're rolling it through the Big Shot.

You can check out the video below see how great this new platform works.

 

You'll definitely want to add this item to your next order.

The 2013-2014 Annual Catalog is Here, Don't Miss Out!

Our new Catalog is here!!


Have you seen it yet?? It is SO beautiful!

Here she is – Isn’t she lovely (so full of fresh inspiration and ideas) , Isn’t she wonderful…. New catalog sales have begun.

I love that it is fresh and new and on trend and the new In Colors (Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, and Strawberry Slush)  are so yummy and lots of Chevron stuff which are sure to delight.  Plus, the new Magnetic Platform (a must if you have a Big shot and use Framelits).

You can check out the new catalog by clicking HERE.

When it comes time to place a Stampin' Up! order, you can do so on my Website. Thank YOU!

You can check out some of the new products at this months Just Cards class which will be this Sunday, June 9 at 2:00 PM, there's still time to RSVP so contact me soon to reserve your space.

Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge: Pursuit of Happiness

Good evening friends!  What a fun weekend, we spent the weekend at lots of fun activities and were on the go and I also had a lot of fun playing with some of the great new catalog items (I placed my first new catalog order and can't wait for it to arrive).  Since the 2012-2013 Annual is still available through tomorrow I decided to highlight some of the retiring items for the last time for this weeks Hand Stamped Sentiments sketch challenge.  This is a fabulously versatile sketch and will work for so many projects.  This card starts with a Pear Pizzaz cardbase (so excited that this color is returning to our color family).  Next I added a piece of Going Grey cardstock and then a piece of Twitterpatted DSP.  I added a coordinating DSP strip from the same package as well as some Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon.

The greeting is from the Pursuit of Happiness stamp set.  This set has some great greetings for many occasions.  I used Stampin' Write markers to color in the words and then punched it out with the Decorative Label Punch.  This piece was matted on a piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock that was punched out with the 2 3/8" circle punch and then embossed with the Big Shot and the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder.

This card is so bright and cheery, perfect!  I loved this challenge so much I'll definitely be saving it for future products.

 

Enjoy and have a great week!

 

Diana

Paper Craft Crew Sketch Challenge: Label Love

Happy Monday!  Today is going to be a beautiful day and I can't wait to see what this week has in store for us.  Today I'm sharing a card for this weeks Paper Craft Crew Sketch Challenge.  This is a fun challenge since you can use so many different shapes for the four main pieces.  I decided to use the new Artisan Label Punch that was just released in the new catalog, along with the coordinating Label Love stamp set.  This card also uses the fabulous new designer series paper, Quatrefancy Speciality DSP which has so many fun and bright colors and patterns, you'll fall in love with it. 

The cardbase is Strawberry slush and is one of the new In Colors, I know this color is definitely going to be one of my favorites.  The Whisper White cardstock was embossed with the Big Shot and the Mosaic Madness Embossing Folder.  The Island Indigo cardstock is punched with the Scallop Border Punch and the final touch was to add a piece of Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon.

 

I hope you enjoy this weeks card and make sure you check out these and all the other fabulous new products from the annual catalog, I'm sure if your wish list is half as long as mine you're in trouble, and lots of fun.

 

Take care and happy stamping,

 

Diana