Ronald MacDonald House Charities

In 2003, Stampin' Up! partnered with Ronald MacDonald House Charities, and each year since then they have designed a new stamp set that is dedicated to RMHC. Three dollars is donated from the sale of each set, and over the years this has added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars going to this worthy cause! I love being a part of this company!!!

I always thought the sets were cute in the past, but mostly weren't something I could really use. This year is a wonderful exception! I am so in love with this very versatile set - so many ways to use it, for so many different occasions!

This is a cute little love note-sized (3 x 3) card that would be perfect tucked into the top of a gift bag, or under the ribbon on a small gift. (It was the other project we made at the stamping team meeting last week.) The inside says:

MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS....

BUT IT CAN BUY CUPCAKES,

AND THAT'S KIND OF THE SAME THING.

We used the 2015-2017 In Color Envelope Paper for the little envelopes and leftover scraps on the cards. You can get four envelopes out of one 12 x 12 sheet, with enough left over to trim the cards. The envelopes started as a 5-1/4" square, and were punched and scored at 2-5/8" on the Envelope Punch Board.

Recipe:
3" x 6" Whisper White (1/8 of a 12 x 12 sheet), scored at 3" for card base.
5-1/4" x 5-1/4" Envelope Paper, punched and scored at 2-5/8" on all sides for envelope.
1-1/2" x 3" Envelope Paper adhered to bottom of card front.
2-3/8" x 2-3/8" Whisper White, stamped with greeting and cupcake bottom, then adhered to
2-1/2" x 2-1/2" Soft Suede mat, centered and adhered to card base.
Scrap Mint Macaron to stamp cupcake top in Mint Macaron ink, then punch out.
Scrap Whisper White to stamp candle in Soft Suede, then cut out.
Scrap So Saffron to stamp candle flame, then punch out and glue over white flame.
Trim 1/8" off bottom of candle and glue to cupcake top. Adhere cupcake top to card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

* All items with an asterisk below will be available starting June 2nd.

STAMPS: Sprinkles of Life*
INK: Mint Macaron*, Soft Suede
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White 12" X 12", Mint Macaron*, Soft Suede, So Saffron, 2015-17 In Color Envelope Paper*
ACCESSORIES: Envelope Punch Board, Tree Builder Punch*, Stampin' Dimensionals

So, What is YOUR Favorite in the Mini?

That's the theme of this week's challenge at SUO Challenges! Create something using your favorite stamp set or item from the new Occasions Mini. Well, as much as I love nearly EVERYTHING in that catalog (except the gnomes....I just don't get the appeal), I was head-over-heels ecstatic when I saw the Framelits and Edgelits. I've been longing for thin metal dies, made by our very own company, for like, EVAH!

And, apparently, so has much of the rest of our Design Team, because most of us used them, one way or another, in our cards this week, tee-hee! Hey, we know a good thing when we see it.  I was really tempted to use the Bordering on Romance stamp set, too.....so glad I didn't, now that I see what my peeps designed! Long-time followers know that I have to gear up for all the February birthdays coming up, so I went with Crazy for Cupcakes instead.

Thanks for stopping by, and I can't wait to see what YOU choose as a fave from the mini. Maybe one of you can convince me that gnomes are awesome.

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, Bring on the Cake
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz, Chocolate Chip, White Cardstock Vellum
Ink: Cotton White Staz-On, Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede, and Basic Black Classic Pads, plus Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker
Accessories: Big Shot, Labels Collection Framelits, Little Leaves Sizzlits die, Perfect Polka-Dots embossing folder, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, Boho Blossoms Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Rose Red Seam Binding Ribbon, Circle Rhinestone Brads, Blender Pens

Birthdays, Birthdays, and More Birthdays

This is the month for birthdays in my family. There are many more scattered throughout the year, but February takes the cake. *wink*  What was it about May....oh, never mind, we won't go there. :-)

The anniversary of my birth is this month, too, so just for fun I decided to sign up for various restaurant "clubs" to get a free birthday treat. (Hey, in these times of tight $$, I won't turn down a freebie.) As I was doing it, I was struck by just how OLD I have become. What hammered that little nugget home?  When I entered my birth date, I had to scroll and scroll and scroll to get all the way down to the the year I was born. Geez.

Wanna know what else makes me feel positively ancient? My Baby Girl will turn 30 in a week and a half! How can that possibly be?! Just last week I was dropping her off in front of high school for the first time. And the week before that, she was playing teacher with all her stuffed animals lined up as her students. Wahhhhh!!!!

Okay, before I shuffle off with my walker to find the Geritol, let me share a couple birthday cards with you. The CAS kick continues all this week, with various incarnations of the same layout:

Stamp: Got Treats (W-119114, C-120627)
Cardstock: Whisper White (100730), Early Espresso (119686), Blushing Bride from Designer Series Paper Pack (Level 1 Hostess 121028)
Ink, Stampin' Write Markers: Early Espresso (119680), Soft Suede (120973), Blushing Bride 119807 (In Color Set)
Accessories: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch (119275), Scallop Rectangle Clearlits Die (118872), Big Shot (113439), Whisper White 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon (119262), Basic Pearls (119247)

You probably can't see it, but there are tiny dots of Crystal Effects with Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the cupcake. Oh well, looks good IRL!

Stamps: Got Treats (W-119114, C-120627), Perfect Punches (W-117022, C-120516)
Cardstock: Whisper White (100730), Early Espresso (119686), Blushing Bride from Designer Series Paper Pack (Level 1 Hostess 121028)
Ink, Stampin' Write Markers: Early Espresso (119680), Soft Suede (120973), Blushing Bride 119807 (In Color Set)
Accessories: Crystal Effects (101055), Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter (102023), Early Espresso 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon (119964), Early Espresso brad (Neutrals pack 119736), Scallop Rectangle Clearlits Die (118872), Big Shot (113439)

Thanks for visiting today! Up for your enjoyment tomorrow is a Spring-y card. (No, it doesn't jump around; it just kind of lies there.)

Razzle Mambo-ade Cupcakes

Mmmmmm, cupcakes.  Cupcakes with lots of frosting.  Cupcakes with lots of frosting and a cherry on top.  Fat-free, calorie-free, guilt-free cupcakes!  

We made this card at a friend's workshop a couple days ago (hi, Dani!).  The hostess had requested something using the Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set, so this is what I came up with.  The Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper is just a riot of fun In Colors, and I have such a hard time deciding which side of the papers I want to use!  There are 12 designs to choose from, and I managed to work three of 'em into this card, so it satisfied my sweet tooth desire for lots of color. :-D

We spotlighted water coloring with the Classic ink pads and blender pens on this card.  This is really a fun technique that even novice stampers can do with great results.  Tomorrow I'll show you the other card we made. ;-)


Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes (111618)
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry (115316), Watercolor Paper (105019)
DP: Razzleberry Lemonade DSP (115675)

Inks: Staz-On Black (), Rich Razzleberry Classic (115658), Melon Mambo Classic (115656), Crushed Curry Classic (115659), Soft Suede Classic (115657), Real Red Stampin' Write Marker (100052), White Gel Pen (105021)
Accessories/Tools: Rich Razzleberry Polka-dot Grosgrain Ribbon (115613), Blender Pens (102845), Ticket Corner Punch (107214), Large Oval Punch (107305), Scallop Oval Punch (114889)

SCS Challenge SC212

First, let me apologize for the lousy photo. I just can't get the setting right on my camera to make the colors turn out correctly. =( I take about a dozen pictures, using different settings, hoping one will turn out. Thank goodness for digital cameras! Can you imagine the cost if we still used film cameras?!

I thought I'd participate in a Splitcoast Stampers challenge, for a change. I still have to get about three more birthday cards finished, so I'm using the challenges as inspiration. This is the SC212 sketch challenge for this week. I almost turned this sketch on its side, but I think it looks better this way.

The cupcake is from the Hero Arts Clear Design set called (what else?) "Cupcakes". I stamped it on white cardstock using VersaMark Dazzle Frost, because I wanted just the barest outline to follow with the Liquid Applique pen. After letting it dry overnight, I used the heat gun to puff it up, and then cut out just the 'frosting'. Using the same ink, I stamped it again on the darker turquoise cardstock, cut out the bottom part of the cupcake and ran it through the Fiskars paper crimper to make it look like a cupcake paper. After gluing it to the textured background, the frosting was adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals for added depth. The sprinkles (from JoAnn) were adhered with JudiKins Diamond Glaze.

Cardstock: Paper Company orchid, DCWV Robin #2 and Mediterranean
DP: glitter background DCWV Sweet Stack, floral background Provo Craft Bitty Scrap Pads
Stamps: Image- Hero Arts "Cupcakes", Sentiment- H & M Stamps "All-About Birthdays"
Ink: Stampin' Up Tempting Turquoise, VersaMark Dazzle Frost
Embellishments: Liquid Applique, sugared brads, sprinkles from JoAnn, ribbon from my sewing stash