This Little Piggy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made this card for my grandson who recently had an accident. Inside the card is a bunch of lip kisses.😊 

This card is from the sketch of the week from Freshly Made Sketches. #726. 

 

This card is made from a Stampin' Up set named "This Little Piggy", and uses the colors: Crumb Cake and Regal Rose. The DSP is some watercolor paper I had on hand. 

Thanks for looking.

  

Sketch #701

Today's Challenge was from Freshly Made Sketches #701. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's my entry: 

 

 

This card is made with the Stampin' Up stamp set named "Coffee Cafe". I used the matching designer series paper named "Coffee Break".

 

The patterned paper is on a base of Soft Suede. The ink colors are Soft Sky, Blushing Bride, and Regal Rose for the hearts. Early Esspresso was used on the sentiment. I added 'Wink of Stella' glitter to the cup holders and covers of the cups. 

 

At first the card was kind of plain, so I asked my sister & daughter for suggestions on how else I could improve it. They had very helpful suggestions and this is my finished product. 

 

  

 

Sketch #696

 

Today's Challenge was Freshly Made Sketches #696.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my entry:

 

This card is made with Stampin' Up Products. The stamp set is called "Beautiful Promenade" and the coordinating dies. The background is the embossing folder named "Quilt Top". 

The colors are Regal Rose, Crushed Curry, Elegant Eggplant, and Old Olive. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I created two cards for this challenge but I couldn't decide which one I liked better. So, I took a poll on Facebook, and the top one was the winner by an overwhelming margin! 

Here's the other one but not entered into the competition.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Sketch #692

This is the sketch challenge from Freshly Made Sketches - #FMS692

I used older colors, More Mustard, Really Rust & Old Olive. The stamp set is Vintage leaves, all from Stampin Up. Enjoy!

March 2017 Paper Pumpkin

Hi Friends,

Well, I posted the March paper pumpkin video on my Facebook page and now it's time to give you a few ideas on what else you can do with this month's paper pumpkin.

This little card measures 3 x 3. It's made according to package directions. This kit will make 9 - 3 x 3 cards. It's a sweet little card, but there is more that we can do!	This little bunny is another item you can make using the March PP kit. You can fill the little bunny with candy or stuffing for decorations. This kit contains 9 little bags.

This card is standard size, 5 and a half by 4 and a quarter. I cut apart some of the patterned paper, and backed the bunny face with the matching dark blue. The design came from a sketch.

Sketches are a great way to help you decide on a layout of a card. All you do is stick the pieces in place.

This card took me a little while to decide what I could do with some of the colored pieces. The pieces were ovals meant to be the inside of the bunny ears. I took one of the pieces and cut it in half. I kept playing with it and trying different ways of putting them together.

I came up with kites! The kit came with the 3 different patterned ovals and 3 different colored twine. I added them to a piece of blue paper for the sky. The "Happy Spring" sentiment went perfectly!

It so fun when a card comes together!






The month of April is Paper Pumpkin's 4th Birthday! They have a special Paper Pumpkin specially designed by Sara, the CEO of Stampin' Up!

Sign up by the 10th of April to get this special kit. Click the paper pumpkin box on the right or contact me. I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Happy Crafting!

The Break is Over!

Hi Friends,

Well, my break from stamping is over. I took a break over the holidays and did a few crochet projects.
Sometimes, to encourage your creativity, you need to do some other type of craft.

Here are a few things I was working on during that time:

Princess Braids with Crown

This was a Princess hat with braids and a crown that I made for my granddaughter for her 4th birthday.  I ended up remaking the crown because the first one didn't fit.  She looked adorable in it!

I got the pattern (free) from a knit/crochet site called Ravelry. It's a great site for inspiration and all types of knit and crochet patterns.















My other project is one that I've worked on for years!

This is a queen size blanket that I've worked on only in the winters here in Minnesota. It took about 5 years, with one year off. The advantage to that is that you can cover up with the blanket as you work on it! hee hee

It's basically my own design. It's very simple. It's a straight double-crochet, changing colors occasionally for the stripe.


Now that the holidays and a winter get-a-way is over, I can get back into the swing of things and post my project a little more often.

I'll be back soon! Until then, stay creative!

One Layer Card Challenge

Hi Friends,

Today's card is a one layer card created for the One-Layer Simplicity Challenge.

I've always wanted to participate in their challenges, but lack the time to do so. This week is a vacation week for me, so I have some extra time to create.

This challenge was to use the colors red, yellow and orange. I decided to use my new Paisley & Posies stamp set from Stampin' Up!.

This card started off with a half sheet of heavy weight white cardstock.

I masked the center square with a trimmed down post-it note and started stamping.

The larger circles are in Cherry Cobbler, the orange swirls are Tangelo Twist, and the yellow shapes are Crushed Curry. The leaves are Old Olive.

I took anOld Olive marker and carefully drew around my post-it to create the frame.

The sentiment and flower are from the same stamp set and are stamped in Cherry Cobbler and old olive.







Thanks for coming by to look at my card. What challenges are you taking on today? Fun, creative ones I hope. Have a great week.

Golden Sympathy

Hello Friends,

I had recently reorganized my cards that I had, and put them in a box by type. This was better than having them in piles on my dresser! I saw that I had more than a half a box of birthday cards, and 2 sympathy cards. So, I got busy making cards.

I needed some inspiration, so I looked through my old sets of paper pumpkin.
This card collection uses the August of 2015 paper pumpkin.

Most of these cards are CASED (Copy And Share Everything).
That means I copied someone's card that I saw either on Pinterest or on a paper pumpkin group that I belong to.











Here are a few close ups. I really enjoy taking a paper pumpkin kit and make as many cards as I can with the contents of that kit. In these cards, I added gold ribbon, Black and White cardstock and some pearls.
I still have enough supplies from the kit to be able to make at least 6 to 8 more cards, by just adding the few items I mentioned above.

The white part on this card is a part of the card next to it. They overlapped a bit. I didn't take individual pictures of all the cards.







I hope you enjoyed this little collection of sympathy cards. It's always good to have many different types of cards on hand.

We have our new Holiday catalog available now. There are great new stamp sets in there.  Check it out! The link is on the right.

If you ever need help with putting cards together, and want some help, just let me know. I would love to help you.

Colorful Crusin'

This month's VC Rock Blog hop is called Colorful Crusin'. This means I was suppose to make a card that is colorful!! Easier said than done!

I struggled for awhile to come up with an idea. When you need inspiration, where do you go? What do you do? Well, my favorite is Pinterest!

If there is a particular stamp set I want to use, I'll google the stamp set. I'll use a search phrase like "Work of Art stampin up images" This will come up with all kinds of pictures to get some inspiration.



This card's inspiration came from this Pinterest post that I had pinned a long time ago. This card is similar, yet different.

So, how did I do this? I'm glad you asked.

The base of the card is Crumb Cake cardstock.
The patterned paper is from a 6 x 6 stamp stack named Playful Palette.

The colorful background on the white uses the smaller splotch from the Work of Art stamp set. The cone, ice cream and sentiment are from the Sprinkles of Life stamp set.

Ink colors and other pieces of cardstock are:
Crumb Cake, Peekaboo Peach, Pool Party and Flirty Flamingo.

I cut out the ice cream with the tree builder punch and I decorated the top scoop with some tiny pearls.

I didn't put anything in the inside, but it would make a great birthday card, or friendship card. The "Sprinkles" stamp set includes sentiments that would work for either one.

Thanks for coming by and checking out my colorful card. Now cruise on over to the VC Rocks blog hop and check out all the other colorful cards made by the other talented stampers.

Swap, Sympathy, and Get Well Cards

Hi Friends,

I wanted to share with you some cards I made lately.
Like in the title, 2 are for a swap, 3 are sympathy cards, and one get well card.

The first two cards were for swaps. The swaps have a theme and then you make 6 to 10 cards. You then send the cards to the hostess, and she sends you back one card from each of the other participants.

For the left card, you were to make a card using the Big Shot. I used it by cutting out the butterflies.
The card on the right, you were to use the new colors. (there are 5 new colors each year)




The next cards are sympathy cards. Unfortunately, we all need them at some time. I have a new stamp set called Rose Wonder. It has such a beautiful rose and the sentiments are so nice. It includes birthday, thanks, and sympathy sentiments.


The last one is a get well card for my sweet grandson who had his tonsils out. I'm so glad this card put a little smile on his face.

This stamp set is one of my oldie, but goodie stamp sets. I've always liked the bandage with the sad face.














I hope you enjoyed looking at my cards. It's one of my favorite hobbies.

TFL (Thanks for looking!)

Cruisin’ With Fun Folds

Greeting Stampers,

Today for the VC Rocks blog hop we're cruising with Fun Folds.
My fun fold card today is a simple fun fold called a gate card.
Here is my Birthday card. It looks simple, but it took a little work.

First the recipe:

Stamp set: Birthday Blossoms
Inks:  Sweet Sugarplum and Emerald Envy
Cardstock: Sweet Sugarplum, Emerald Envy, and Very Vanilla
Designer Series Paper: Playful Palette
Bling: Jewel Basic Rhinestones (in the center of the flowers)









As you open the card, you see the gate part of it is where the right side of the center fits into the left square frame and tucks under the flowers.

And you can see inside the card is very vanilla with the Happy Birthday sentiment.

Now hop on over to VC Rocks and check out all the other cute fun fold cards.  Let us know what you think of them in the comments.

Blog Hop: Crusing with Florals

Hi Friends,

This is the season of Flowers! I love Spring & Summer because of all the beautiful flowers that are around and smell so wonderful.

Our blog hop for this month is called "Crusing with Florals". I used the new colors and some paper from the new Stampin' Up! catelog. I also used the new to me stamp set called "Grateful Bunch".

This card is made with a white cardstock base.

The paper on the left side is from the Designer Series Paper called "Blooms & Bliss".

The inks I used are Sweet Sugarplum, Old Olive and Tuxedo Black Memento ink.

The flowers are mounted with a dimensional and a jewel basic rhinestone center.   

I'm not sure if you can tell, but I put a little "Wink of Stella" on the flowers.










Thanks for stopping by and looking at my cards. Hop on over to the VC Rocks Blog to see the other cards created celebrating Flowers!

2016 VC Rocks Blog Hop

Hi Stampin' friends,

It's time again for the VC Rocks Blog Hop. This month's theme is "Cruisin' for Special Occasions".
Now what could be more special than celebrating my little granddaughter's First Birthday!
And just as special, is big sister's birthday #5, both happening in June!




Both cards use the 'Cherry on Top' Designer Paper Series 6 x 6 paper stack, and the 'Number of Years' stamp set with matching framelits.  (I am in love with this set!)

This card uses 2 circles that I turned into balloons. The balloons are Crushed Curry embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. The Pool Party balloon is lightly sponged with the same color to give it a little dimension.

I added Bermuda Bay baker's twine for the strings on the balloons, and stamped the words and #1 in Watermelon Wonder.

This card uses a retired Sale-a-bration stamp set named "Big Day". I love the cake in this set. I used Tip Top Taupe to stamp the cake and Watermelon Wonder, stamped off, to stamp the sentiment.

The card seemed like it needed just a little something more, so I randomly added little drops of Silver Dazzling Diamonds in the white section.










Thanks for stopping by to check out the Special Occasion cards.

Now, hop on over to VC Rocks and see the other special occasion cards submitted by other in the group.

Celebrating Spring and April Paper Pumpkin 2016

HI Stamping Friends,

Today's post features the April Paper Pumpkin. This month came with a free stamp set to celebrate Paper Pumpkin's 3rd birthday and the mailing of their 1 millionth kit!

Here is the little wreath that you can make according to package directions.

I made one and hung it up at my work. Things just had to start looking a little more springy!

This kit, as I mentioned, came with an extra stamp set.

The stamp set on the left is the bonus stamp set. It's very cute, and of course, I can't just make cards according to package directions.










On the Paper Pumpkin Facebook page, many group members created a one sheet wonder with the bonus stamp set. I took this as a challenge.

Here is what I came up with:

How do you make a OSW (one sheet wonder)?

First you start with the flower stamp, stamping randomly. Then add the green leafy stamp. The stamp set has a little square lined stamp that I used to do the yellow center of the flowers, and then I added a little blue for an accent.

Here is the pattern to cut up the sheet that you created. You don't have to cut it in this pattern, but it will give you some place to start.

You can just cut it into rectangles like the top of the pattern.

Here are the cards I made. I used mostly extra pieces from the kit.

I didn't add much besides white card stock, and some Mossy Meadow, Daffodil, and Pool Party card stock as back grounds to mount the cut pieces on.

I also added a little ribbon on a couple of the cards.






The thing about a one sheet wonder is that they can make 9 to 12 cards, depending on how you cut them. If you make just straight cuts, you can make the cards all the same if you want. Doing it the way I did gives me a variety of cards.

Don't be afraid to experiment. You can use any type of stamp set that you like. (It doesn't have to be flowers!)

Happy Stamping!

March 16 Paper Pumpkin and a Male Birthday

Hi Stampers,

I finally got back to stamping and I'm featuring the March Paper Pumpkin with a few alternates.

First, I want to show you a male birthday card I created. This card followed a sketch from one of my favorite sites, "Stampin' Gals Gone Wild".  She has some great sketches.

Male Birthday

The Sketch

Here is my card. The car is from a set named "Guy Greetings".

The designer series paper (DSP) is a 6 x 6 stack named "Go Wild".

The little dots or gems next to the car are small rhinestones colored with a black sharpie.

This sketch is such a nice, simple, and versatile design.

Now for the March Paper Pumpkin I told you about last month. This month was the 3rd Birthday for Paper Pumpkin, and they shipped their 1 MILLIONTH Kit!!

Here is the card made according to package directions.

This kit made 4 cards, 4 envelopes, 4 gift card holders, and 4 little cards for the holders.

They are just right for birthdays, graduations, or just a thinking of you card.

Here is my first alternate card with this kit. You might have noticed that I used the same sketch above.

The patterned paper is from one of the envelopes.

When you get your kits, don't be afraid of cutting up the paper or envelopes. They usually are decorative and can be incorporated into cards.








Here is one more alternative. Can you see the difference between them?


The left one does not have the 3 little green beads on the center square. I couldn't decide which one I liked better or looked better. What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments.

Next month's paper pumpkin we get a free stamp set in the kit as a birthday present to us. I'm excited to see it.
It will be here soon.

Contact me anytime. To subscribe to Paper Pumpkin, click the link on the right.
Keep Stamping!!