Downline Project

This was the project we made in last week's stamping team meeting. I really like the Timeless Love stamp set, and used this sketch from Swirlydoos as my inspiration. The flower fit nearly perfectly in the 1-3/4" punch - just a bit of one leaf was nipped off to leave room for the "Hello". The image was colored with a Mint Macaron marker, and then the larger flower and leaves were re-colored to darken them.

I had originally used a Mint Macaron In Color Blossom Accent, but Lily (one of my team members) used a Watermelon Wonder one and I really loved how it just made the card pop!

Recipe:
5-1/2 x 8-1/2" Whisper White Thick Cardstock, scored at 4-1/4" for card base (LOVE this stuff!)
4" x 5-1/4" Basic Black (use the 1-7/8" Circle Framelit to cut circle in center before matting Color Me Irresistible layer on top)
2-1/4" x 4-1/4 Whisper White
5/8" x 3" and 5/8" x 4" Mint Macaron strip for swirls
Scrap of Mint Macaron to stamp image and punch with 1-3/4" Circle Punch
Scrap of Silver Foil Sheet to punch leaf from Bird Builder Punch

STAMPS: Timeless Love (flower), Crazy About You (greeting), Everything Eleanor (swirl)
INK: Jet black StazOn (flower), Memento Tuxedo Black (greeting), VersaMark (swirl), Mint Macaron Marker
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White Thick Cardstock, Whisper White, Basic Black, Mint Macaron, Color Me Irrisistible DSP
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Circles Framelits, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Mint Macaron Dotted Lace Trim, In Color Blossom Accents

Love & Sympathy

Just a quick post today - I'm designing cards to share later. This is one of "those" cards; the kind you never want to have to make.  Too depressing to share details, but I hope that knowing people care and are praying for the family helps them in some small way.

On the bright side, it is simple card to make (unless you're bow-challenged, haha), and would be great for other occasions if done in cheerier colors with a happier greeting. The mat behind the greeting was cut twice from Basic Black. One was split lengthwise and the other crosswise to form the mat.

Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Love & Sympathy
Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Baked Brown Sugar DSP (In Color stack)
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Basic Black 5/8" Satin Ribbon (retired)

Stampin' Up Retiring Colors Blog Hop

Never let it be said that we stampers don't work best under pressure!  Stampin' Up! announced their color update on Thursday, and by Thursday night the Stampin' Addicts were planning this hop to showcase the retiring colors. Everyone chose a different color as their main focus, but there will be some mixing and matching, and the last stop even uses all eleven!  You can see the twelve stops HERE. They are all linked to each other, so just click the links at the bottom of each post to make the full circuit. Everybody should be linked by noon Eastern (9:00 AM Pacific).  If you started at the beginning, then you've arrived from Adriana's blog, Escape2Stamp.  She made Certainly Celery sing, didn't she?

My color choice is Baja Breeze. I am so sorry to see this color is leaving the line up, because it coordinates so well with other colors, it's practically a neutral!

For my first card, I paired Baja Breeze with its dynamic duo on the Color Coach, Not Quite Navy (which happens to be Paula's color). There's even another retiring color in there - Certainly Celery, which you just saw on Adriana's blog! This is a "mailable" card, because the bling doesn't stick up too much, so no need for extra postage!

STAMPS: Stippled Blossoms, Feel Goods, Distressed Dots  CARDSTOCK: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White  INK: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy,Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi  ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Ovals Framelits, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

For my second card, the Color Coach suggested another retiring color, More Mustard.  I wasn't too sure about that combination at first, but stamping, then stamping off twice really made a nice faded effect and toned down the More Mustard (which is Holly's color). Pairing it with some Basic Black really makes the card pop!  The ribbon is Whisper White Taffeta, sponged with More Mustard.

STAMPS: Secret Garden, Delightful Dozen, Everything Eleanor  CARDSTOCK: Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Basic Black, Twiptterpated DSP  INK: Baja Breeze, More Mustard, Basic Black  ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Secret Garden Framelits, Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Stampin' Sponges, Pearls Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Well, there you have it.......bye-bye Baja Breeze *sniff!*.  Since Stampin' Up! is offering free shipping through Monday, we wanted you to see the colors that are going away. If you can't live without them, you still have time to order and get free shipping! Note: the discountinued colors (including cardstock, ink pads, markers, etc. are available while supplies last. Once they're sold out, that's it!

Next stop on the hop is Jennifer Timko at Stampin' on the Fly. She's going to show you how much you really need Riding Hood Red!

This hop was brought to you by the fabulous folks at Stampin' Addicts, a friendly community of stampers addicted to all things Stampin' Up! The people are friendly, membership is free, and the inspiration in the gallery is amazing. Be sure to check it out soon!

SUOC66 - Easter and/or Spring!

Today's challenge theme at SUO Challenges is Easter or Spring. I know everyone here in the northern hemisphere is ready for spring to arrive. Enough with the snow already, sheesh! Those of you in the southern hemisphere are getting ready for autumn, but you still have Easter coming up. So pull out some Spring-y colors and stamps and make something to share at SUO Challenges.

I thought the Everything Eleanor stamp set would go perfectly with the Easter Blessings single stamp. The greeting is large enough the be the focal point, but it needed something behind it. The flower was stamped and colored twice, spritzed with home made Shimmer mist, and fussy cut. The center petals were popped up on dimensionals.

Stamps: Easter Blessings, Everything Eleanor
Cardstock: Whisper White, Midnight Muse, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery
Ink: Midnight Muse, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, and Rose Red Pads, Daffodil Delight Marker
Accessories: Big Shot, Fancy Fan folder, Bird Punch (leaves), Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Rhinestone Brad (retired), Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Stampin Dimensionals

FMS68 and Resolutions!

Note: The SUO Challenge will be delayed a week, because our fearless leader has been ill.

We should be back with a new challenge on the 15th!

One of my resolutions this year is to be more consistent in my blog posts, and to that end, one of my other resolutions is to participate in more challenges. Sometimes a sketch or color challenge is just the kick in the kiester I need to get creative.

So this week, I'm playing along with Freshly Made Sketches challenge #68. My friend, Jennifer Timko, is on the design team there, and I love seeing her take on the sketches! Here's the sketch for this week:

And here's my take on it:

I rotated it 90 degrees so the greeting would fit on the Everything Eleanor label. It's so soft and feminine looking IRL. I made one of Jennifer's magic bows, spritzed it with water and scrunched it up. Why is it the "messy" bows look so fabulous when someone else does them, and mine just looks sad?

Tomorrow, Mr. Brown is bringing more goodies from the Spring Catalog, woohoo! I had to exercise great restraint and wait to place my main order until after the first of the month. So now I'm anxiously waiting to see my favorite guy tomorrow (outside of immediate family members, lol)!

Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Vintage Verses (FREE Sale-A-Bration item, starts Jan. 27)

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Naturals Ivory

Ink: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy

Accessories: Big Shot, Fancy Fan folder, Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon, Artisan Embellishment Kit (lace and button)

Mom Stamps!

Mom came to visit a few weeks ago and while she was here, she wanted to learn how to make cards. Um, I think I can show you how to do that, Mom! She had fun, and said she could get addicted to it too easily, lol. Both of my parents have (had) an artistic streak in them which, thankfully, I inherited. So naturally Mom took to stamping like a duck takes to water. That is her creation shown above.  She wasn't too into doing the fussy-cutting (hands shake a little), but she was very happy with how it looked when it was finished!

My sweet Mommy

Stamps: Everything Eleanor

Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Melon Mambo

Ink: Midnight Muse, Wild Wasabi

Accessories: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Stampin' Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals