Hand Stamped Sentiments #116 - Color Challenge

Don't these colors just make you skip with happy pink cotton candy thoughts? This week, Hand Stamped Sentiments is holding a color challenge with these 'almost' lick-able yummy colors. 

And to pre prep for our big summer move, I'm checking off cards I'll be needing this summer when I'll be without my crafty supplies, so another Birthday card was clearly in order! 

I wasn't too sure what I wanted to use as my main focal point so decided to make a collage of Happy Birthday sentiments and tiny little stamps. I added a bit of Dazzling Details to my crown and to both dots on the i's. The 2nd 'I' is kind of hard to see...it's on the little gray banner and is dry embossed with a non-SU Birthday folder.

I used this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch as the base of my card and now I can chalk another mail-able Birthday card off my list! Head on over to Hand Stamped Sentiments to check out what the DT has designed for you this week and link up to our color challenge, you won't want to miss it! 

SU! products used:

Ink - White Craft

Paper - Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Textured Pink Pirouette, Pool Party DSP

Stamps - Happiest Birthday Wishes, Hostess Afterthoughts (small flower and sentiment), Party This Way, Vintage Labels, SAB Elementary Elegance (key, bird, crown and sentiment)

Punches - 5 Petal Flower, 3/4" Circle, 1/2" Circle, Square

Other - White Embossing Powder, Dazzling Details

Merry Medallion Christmas

This week's Sweet Sunday Sketch is the PERFECT sketch to use the Medallion background stamp...which I'm falling in love with all over again! 

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Isn't my little felt tree sweet? I found a small bag of them at a Christmas market in Germany back in 2004, so as you can see, I've been hoarding them! 

SU! products used:

Stamps - Medallion, Come to Bethlehem 

Ink - Real Red

Paper - Red Glimmer, Very Vanilla, retired Christmas striped paper
Punch - 1-3/4" Circle
Other - retired Silver Cord, Real Red ribbon, Red Button

"Silver and ???"

 I don't know about you but with that title, I've got the song "Silver and Gold" running through my head with Frosty the Snowman twirling round in a pile of fresh white stuff! This week over at The Paper Players, however, they are switching it up a bit from gold to silver and Night of Navy (or blue). I've paired these fun holiday colors with this weeks simple but stunning sketch over at Sweet Sunday Sketches. 

I used a snowflake EF on a piece of Night of Navy and then sponged on Shimmer Paint to create my silver background. The silver cord is hard to see on the front of my card but it's tied between the two pieces of Blue Jean Ribbon. The inside sentiment says, "Giving thanks for God's Gift of Love and the joy we share through Christ the Lord". 

Challenges I'm entering this card into:

click on photos below to be taken to each challenge

SU! products used:

Stamps - Come to Bethlehem

Paper - Night of Navy, Whisper White

Ink - Versa Mark, Night of Navy

Die - Bigz Oval Scallop Frame (I left off the scallop portion)

Other - Silver embossing powder, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Blue Jean ribbon and Silver Cord retired

Bday Scrap Banner

Sweet Sunday Sketch's just seem to always get my mojo going...that AND I was itchin' to try out my new banner punch!

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I started off with a yummy cool palate of Basic Gray, Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party and Very Vanilla and started searching for just the right scraps of paper for my pennant & paper pieced presents. Do You Stack Up is asking crafters to use their scraps this week on projects and I did just that pulling out my ever handy SU! demo paper sampler. My dry embossed piece of Pool Party was just shouting for a little attention, so out came a sponge and my Frost White Shimmer Paint (photographed in the afternoon sun to REALLY show off the glamour!). A bit of paper piecing and coordinating ink on the little presents to make them pop, some Grey Taffeta Ribbon and an ever so gentle Wisteria Wonder "Happy Birthday" sentiment to finish it off.

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SU! products used:

stamps - Happiest Birthday Wishes (hostess set)

paper - Wisteria Wonder, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Pool Party, retired scraps of DSP

ink - Wisteria Wonder, Basic Gray, Pool Party & Frost White Shimmer Paint

Ribbon - Grey Taffeta

Punches - Large Oval, Pennant, Scallop Border

accessories - dimensionals, sticky strip

Happy Birthday Seat

For the ladies who used to come to my monthly club meetings in TX, we've started up a monthly swap which I'm calling the SAS (San Antonio Swap), just so I can keep my head screwed on straight, haha! This last month, our challenge was Birthday cards using the Sweet Sunday #134 Sketch. 

This week over at the ColourQ, I snagged these colors to work with (basic black, chocolate chip, pear pizzazz, wisteria wonder & white) and without further ado, here's my card. 

I stamped the little black chair in Versa Mark ink and then heat embossed with basic black embossing powder for a shiny and raised effect.

SU! products used:

Stamp Sets - Have a Seat, Happiest BirthdayWishes

Cardstock - In Color DSP patterned paper pack, basic black, chocolate chip, pear pizzazz, wisteria wonder & white

Ribbon - Basic Black Satin

Punches - scallop boarder

Ink - Pear Pizzazz, Chocolate Chip, Versa Mark, Basic Black

Accessories - retired Chocolate Chip corduroy buttons, black embossing powder

Happy Bean Birthday

I have to say that I LOVE making Birthday cards, especially when I can imagine the recipient opening their mailbox and finding one of my creations inside, instead of a boring old bill...which comes, regularly like Birthday's, no matter if we like them or not. Hopefully, this little latte sippin' lady will put a smile to a certain someone's face this month, as she celebrates another fabulous year! 

This week over at the Hand Stamped Sentiments Blog, they are warming up to fall with this lovely color pallet of Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie & Night of Navy

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&

the sketch for my card came from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Blog

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A lovely brown box was dropped off on my front porch yesterday and I was able to try out my NEW Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder with the Happy Birthday sentiment, FUN STUFF, I tell ya! 

 How cute is she in her white jeans and polka dotted blue top?

A sweet little treat tucked inside!

The following SU! products were used to create this card (and then some)...

Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Night of Navy, Whisper White & Cherry Cobbler

Ink: Versa Mark

Stamps: (Hostess) Happiest Birthday Wishes

Like it a Latte (retired)

Punches: Scallop Edge & Word Window

Ribbon: Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding

Bigs Dies: Scallop Circle & Clear Circle

Cake for 2

First I want to apologize for the amount of photos in this post... I have two wonderful friends who are having Birthdays next week and I wanted to color accordingly! Which is why one of my sassy little ladies is blond and one is brunette! 

 I snagged this weeks Sweet Sunday Sketch, chose my stamps and papers and got to work...coloring, cutting, paper piecing (the pants), punching (the scallop edge), attaching my buttons to a mini images and adding a bit of brown fluff to the icing on the cake, yummy!

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 who do you think has more fun?? Blonds or Brunettes?

 a great shot of the buttons

  check out the fluff on the frosting! YUMMY!

Colors Used: Lucky Limeade, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Punches Used: 3/4" Circle, Scallop Edge

SU! stamp sets Used: Birthday Bakery RETIRED

Sail Away Birthday

My Dad's Birthday is coming up this week, so again another daunting man card (hehe)...I started off using this weeks Sweet Sunday Sketch #133

  

I pulled out some RETIRED Nautical Expedition DSP (that I hadn't opened yet) and cut out one of the boats. The image was so stunning by itself, I couldn't bear to muck it up with anything else, so instead, I stamped a random display of Happy Birthday greetings onto my Basic Gray background with Craft White Ink & Embossing Powder. A bit of the DSP (which is printed to look like a log book) is stamped with a bolder Happy Birthday phrase with Craft Black Ink & Embossing Powder as the main sentiment and focal point. Some Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine, three RETIRED Aged Copper brads in the top left corner and now for some sentimental words inside to celebrate my hard working Father on his Birthday. Love you Dad!!

The Paper Players Challenge #62 is celebrating Birthday cards this week

 and over at 

Our Creative Corner

their challenge is to use DP as the focal point on this weeks project

Stamp Sets used for the Happy Birthday background:

Plane & Simple

Happy Moments

So Happy For You

Messages for Mom

Vintage Labels

Well Scripted 

Birdie-versary

 A special someone, or rather two special someone's, have an Anniversary coming up soon on Valentine's Day. I decided to try a new blog challenge on for size (hehe) and as I was browsing the internet, I came across this lovely blog for items created with ONLY Stampin' Up! products. (Which can be a challenge in an of itself since I have a plethora of other lovely little babbles splattered around my craft room) SU-Only Challenges is asking for a lovey dovey Valentine creation this week, so I tried to make my card as romantic as possible, for the two love birds who fell in love many moons ago. 

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I used this weeks Sweet Sunday Sketch to create my canvas and then added a bit of red glitter paper & a rub on (complimentary of SU! to demonstrators) which will have special meaning to the recipients of this card. The lovey birdie background was created using my Stamp-a-majig and the birds from the Love You Much stamp set. Alas, the sentiment comes from Teeny Tiny Wishes, a set that I've used so much more than I thought I would.

Punches used: 1-3/4" XL Circle, 2-3/8" XL Scallop CIrcle, Scallop Border

Paper: Blushing Bride, Real Red, Whisper White, Red Glitter

Ink: Real Red, Blushing Bride, Basic Black

P.S. didn't know if this was considered stamping or not but it snowed in San Antonio, TX, CRAZY, I know. So I "stamped" my boot print in the snow to prove it and add just a little more love to my post, brrrrr!

Sweet Valentine

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This weeks Sweet Sunday Sketch inspired me to make a manly Valentine for my DH. I've been chomping at the bit to ink up my new "Be My Valentine" solo stamp and Basic Black was the color of choice. Didn't really think my man would be too fond of pink on his card, so I kept it simple with black and red with a touch of glitter...okay, maybe a tad more than a touch with the Red Glimmer Paper from the Occasions Mini but I don't think he'll mind too much!

Hard to believe there's any green with all the snow everyone has been having everywhere...but in Texas, surprisingly enough, the plants in the front of our house are still green! Hooray for slightly warmer temps.

I drew the sketch on a piece of paper and didn't realize I had goofed where I had drawn my ribbon till my card was already put together, oops! I used a piece of Glossy White card stock to stamp my image onto in Basic Black Craft Ink, which I then heat embossed with Black Embossing Powder. I felt like the white was just too sharp so I used my Brayer and layered on Riding Hood Red till I got the desired color and then touched up a few spots with a sponge. To get your glossy paper glossy again, it's best to wipe or buff it with a clean, dry Swiffer wipe or a kleenex. I love using odd ribbon and pulled this big red beauty out of my Christmas wrapping basket. So a manly card with girly flair, LOVE it!

Red, White & Blew?

The inspiration for my card came from this fabulous photo over at The Shabby Tea Room. Doesn't it remind you of a well worn and loved Iowa country farm kitchen? Where the bread is rising under a towel, cookies are  cooling on the counter and Grandma has flour on her cheek from wiping a wisp of hair out of her eyes. If I'm ever feeling down, I can always close my eyes and remember that very picture from my childhood.

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The RED, WHITE and BLUE (unlike my title...leave a comment if you actually GET that, haha) were fun to work with and although the first thing that comes to mind when working with those colors is an American flag, I held back on the stripes and instead veered toward gingham. 

I chose this week Sweet Sunday Sketch to work from and started adding layers, color and detail till I was happy with my birthday card. I versa marked a small flower stamp onto my Bashful Blue to add just a hint of "something" to my background. The Scallop Trim Border added a bit of girly flair, not to mention all the red bling. I had fun coloring my little birthday girl, paper pieced her skirt and tried for the very first time, some sparkly fluff. Thought her hat and sweater could use a little cozying up, since the photo just screams COZY KITCHEN!! 

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(the glue was still drying on the little sweater when I took this pic)