The Stamp Review Crew - Sale-a-Bration Bonus

Welcome to the Stamp Review Crew's BONUS Sale-a-Bration edition! The "Crew" is made up of a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world who pick a stamp set or bundle to highlight on the first and third Mondays of each month, with a bonus hop if there is a fifth Monday like today. If you landed here from Holly's blog, Rubber Redneck, welcome! There are ELEVEN of us today, so be prepared for lots of inspiration.

There are seven stamps sets (including the Host set) and four great Designer Series Papers in the brochure that you can earn for free with a qualifying purchase, so there should be a wonderful variety of projects on this hop. To see them all, click the image above.

For today's creations I chose images and greetings from Calming Camellia (the host set) and a greeting from Friendly Hello, along with DSP from Daffodil Afternoon. Kind of a mish-mash of products, but it works!

This card practically made itself. The daffodil pattern didn't need anything but a greeting, which came from Friendly Hello.

I heat embossed it on black and added a Crushed Curry banner behind to coordinate with the Crushed Curry in the daffodils.I couldn't figure out how to add bling, so I used a few loops of gold cord for extra shine.

The background images on the second card (Calming Camellia) were stamped with Pear Pizzazz and matted on Mossy Meadow. The embossed background is the splatter folder from the Stripes & Splatters 3D embossing folder set.

Some Gold Shimmer Ribbon and Brushed Brass Butterflies added the subtle shine I wanted.

The last card also uses a pattern from the Daffodil Afternoon DSP pack. I brushed some Blackberry Bliss on it for a shadow background to the Blackberry Bliss stamped image. A bit of Pale Papaya was added to the blossoms to make them pop a little more, then it was fussy cut and popped up on dimensionals.

I adore the greetings and the fonts used in Calming Camellia, and the birthday greeting is sooo pretty with the blossoms!

That's my share for today, so click NEXT to see what Lou at With a Bow on Top has made!

CCM Saturday Blog Hop - Valentine Favor

Today's Create With Connie & Mary Saturday Blog Hop theme is Valentine Favor. With Valentine's Day just 2-1/2 weeks from now it's time to finish those cards and treats! Today's favor is straight out of the Sweet Talk Suite using the Sweet Little Boxes, the Sweet Conversation Bundle, and Sweet Talk Designer Series Paper.

I started by assembling the box and running a Dark Real Red Stampin' Blend around the edges so the box would look red.

 

No need to color the whole thing since I was adding DSP to the sides. (Be sure to use the side of the brush tip when adding the color!)

After adhering the DSP to the sides, I colored a strip of white 1/4" Seam Binding Ribbon with the Stampin' Blend (again using the side of the brush tip). Wrapped and tied the bow, then slipped the greeting under and glued in place. The greeting was stamped three times using the Stamparatus so it would be more bold.

The hearts were inked with Real Red using a sponge dauber to preserve the details. I find I get a better image that way. One was adhered directly to the box and the other popped up on mini dimensionals. A couple of Polished Dots accent the hearts.

That's my share for today. Click the Next button to jump over to Libby Fens at Libby Stamps, or the Back button to see what Lori at Loritamarie Crafts has made!

Stampin' Up! products used:

• Stamps: Sweet Conversations
  
• Paper: Basic White, Sweet Talk DSP
  
• Ink: Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad and Dark Real Red Stampin' Blend
• Accessories: Sweet Hearts Dies, Sweet Little Boxes, Stamparatus, Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine, Whisper White 1/4" Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon, Polished Dots
  

CCM Saturday Blog Hop - Winter Birthday

Today's Create With Connie & Mary Saturday Blog Hop theme is Winter Birthday. This was a fun one for me because to me winter means cold, snow, and stark trees. And that leads to this CAS (Clean and Simple) card, which would be suitable for any winter birthday!

I started by buffing Balmy Blue and Mango Melody on the card base with Blending Brushes to create a chilly sunrise. We've been having a lot of those lately, BRRR!

After die cutting the snowbanks some Wink of Stella was brushed on the top edges to give the sparkly snow effect. I didn't know how to recreate the diamond dust we sometimes see when conditions are right, but it's sooo pretty; the air sparkles like someone tossed glitter in it!

The trees were cut from the lightest silver in the Silver Foil Specialty Pack and adhered between the hills. Don't you just love the font used for the 'Happy Birthday' in the Calming Camellia set? It fits the space perfectly.

That's my share for today. Click the Next button to jump over to Libby Fens at Libby Stamps, or the Back button to see what Lori at Loritamarie Crafts has made!

Stampin' Up! products used:

• Stamps: Calming Camellia Sale-A-Bration Host Set (greeting)
  
• Paper: Basic White, Silver Foil Specialty Pack
  
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Balmy Blue, Mango Melody
  
• Accessories: Inspiring Canopy Dies, Blending Brushes, Clear Wink of Stella, Artistry Blooms Adhesive-Backed Sequins
  

Control Freaks Fave Color in Monochrome

The Freaky theme this month is Favorite Stampin' Up! Color - make it monochrome! If you just landed here from Bree's blog, Craft-somnia Momma, welcome! There are six of us on this hop, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what SU colors the other Freaks chose!

It would have been so much easier if they had just given us a color and said "Go for it." How can I pick one favorite SU color??? I love most of them! So, I just went with MY all-time favorite color, which has always been blue (and no, I never use that for a password question, lol). So that narrowed it down to about four true blues, and right now I'd have to say my fave is Misty Moonlight. So there ya go. 😄

I pulled out the Color & Contour bundle for this card and already knew what I wanted to do, which is rare for me. And guess what? It turned out almost exactly the way I pictured it!

The only thing I added as a last-minute addition were the Metallic Pearls. Yeah, I know they're supposed to be silver, but doggone it, they look blue to me!

That's all I could cook up in this tired old noggin. I swear that puppy is going to do me in! Anyone have suggestions for getting him to sleep in past 5:30 a.m.? Even the chickens aren't up that early!

Up next is the amazing Debbie Henderson, at Debbie Henderson Designs. Any guesses as to her favorite SU color?

 

The Stamp Review Crew - Sweet Conversations

Welcome to the Stamp Review Crew's Sweet Conversations edition! The "Crew" is made up of a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world who pick a stamp set or bundle to highlight on the first and third Mondays of each month, with a bonus hop if there is a fifth Monday. If you landed here from Kristie's blog, My Paper Life, welcome! There are only five of us today so the hop won't take too long, but you are sure to find some sweet inspiration!

Sweet Conversations is a really cute 17 piece photopolymer set that has a coordinating 16 piece die set called Sweet Hearts Dies. It's all about the candy conversation hearts we all loved when we were kids and is part of the Sweet Talk Suite Collection that starts on page 8 of the Jan-Jun Mini Catalog.

I have two cards to share today, so I'll start with my favorite of the two. When I think of Valentine's day, I always think of red & white. But this card adds a rainbow of color in the background with the Sweet Talk DSP. It was die cut with a Scalloped Contours die as was the greeting panel.

I stamped and die cut the hearts and popped them up on dimensionals, then added a double bow (Playful Pets Combo Pack) and some red rhinestones. The background was embossed with the Gingham Embossing Folder that is part of the suite.

Even though I could have die cut hearts from the Sweet Talk DSP, for the second card I stamped them instead and popped them up on a Hippo & Friends label embossed with the Gingham folder.

A strip of Ombre Specialty Paper added some more glitz and brings out the Iridescent Rhinestones.

That's my share for today, so click NEXT to see what Holly at Rubber Redneck has made!

CCM Saturday Blog Hop - Celebrating Sale-A-Bration

Today's Create With Connie & Mary Saturday Blog Hop theme is Favorite SAB Product that's NOT stamps, and that just leaves the fab four Designer Series Paper selections. What a treat for my paper-lovin' heart! Of course I love them all, but today I seem to be drawn to the cheerful colors of the Sunshine & Rainbows 6" x 6" DSP. We are under a winter storm watch for the weekend, which means cold and gray. So bring on the bright colors!!!

 

This card uses three of the twenty-four (!) patterns in the pack. The rainbow print which was cut with the coordinating Brilliant Rainbow Dies, the cloud print which was punched with the Cloud Punch, and the Bermuda Bay diagonal striped print.

 

I punched two extra clouds from Vellum Cardstock and one from Basic White to layer with the printed clouds. The hearts under the rainbow were stamped in Magenta Madness, and the label for the greeting is from the Bouquet of Love Dies, and the rainbow colors in the Iridescent Rhinestones matched perfectly. Quick, cute, and easy!

That's my share for today. Click the Next button to jump over to Libby Fens at Libby Stamps, or the Back button to see what Lori at Loritamarie Crafts has made!

Stampin' Up! products used:

• Stamps: Rainbow of Happiness
  
• Paper: Basic White, Vellum, Sunshine & Rainbows 6" x 6" DSP
  
• Ink: Magenta Madness and Memento Tuxedo Black
  
• Accessories: Brilliant Rainbow Dies and Bouquet of Love Dies, Cloud Punch, Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels
  

CCM Saturday Blog Hop - Loving Sale-A-Bration!

Happy New Year, everyone! Today's Create With Connie & Mary Saturday Blog Hop theme is Favorite Sale-A-Bration stamp set. This was an easy choice for me for once! I immediately fell in love with the Friendly Hello set as soon as I saw it. I mean, what's not to love? There are flowers, leaves, an adorable bird, and great sentiments as well. Plus, this is one of the "extra" Sale-A-Bration items that has matching DSP (with a qualifying order). Woot!

For today's card I stamped and cut out the bird on the branch, then colored it with Stampin' Blends. I like the way the paper lattice and background DSP give it almost an Asian look!

 

The circle behind the lattice helped the popped up image stand out, and some Champagne Rhinestone jewels added the bling I wanted. 

That's my share for today. Click the Next button to jump over to Libby Fens at Libby Stamps, or the Back button to see what Lori at Loritamarie Crafts has made!

Stampin' Up! products used:

• Stamps: Friendly Hello Sale-A-Bration stamp set
• Paper: Basic White and Petal Pink cardstock, Friendly Hello DSP
  
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, plus Stampin' Blends Combo Packs Calypso Coral, Petal Pink, Crumb Cake, and Daffodil Delight
  
• Accessories: Layering Circles Dies, Paper Lattice, Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels