Mixed Bunch CASE and Life

(This post was actually started 11 days ago for posting, but life got in the way. First I got sick with this horrible sinus infection that's going around here. Then my daughter came down with the flu which precipitated her early labor and the baby came almost 2 weeks early. Yah - he's a darling little boy!! That meant we had our grandson living with us for 4 days and nights. Mama and baby are doing well, and I'm still dealing with the sinus infection. Hope I get my energy back soon. But that brings you up to today, and my post that was started on February 27th...)

Last Friday I was getting ready for a workshop on Sunday afternoon and was totally stumped on my last project. How great it is to have demonstrator friends that just happen to call when you're stuck. My friend, Ruth Snyder, called when I was starting to go crazy and she pointed me to a post on Stampin' Connection by Becky Roberts for a great idea. So that's what I'm sharing with you now! The ladies liked the idea and I thought it was really cool too! Thanks so much Becky and Ruth for getting me out of my slump! Here's what I ended up demonstrating on Sunday....


Stamps: Mixed Bunch and Loving Thoughts
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Pear Pizzazz, and Whisper White along with Twitterpated Designer Series Paper
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Big Shot with Finial Press Embossing Folder, Blossom Punch, Bird Builder Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Brights Buttons, Marina Mist Bakers Twine, Ice Rhinestone Brads, Paper Snips, Mini Glue Dots, and Dimensionals

I'd gotten the card made all except for the button accent in the flower center. Wasn't sure what to do, because it was so boring without anything there. But all the brads and stamped accents I tried I didn't like. After sleeping on the idea overnight, I woke up with this idea for the flower center. All of a sudden the card brightened right up and is perfect.

And isn't the punched embossed look quite interesting? It gives the background some texture, but not all over so it's more subtle. I'll have to try this again sometime soon. So pretty...

Hope you like this idea. I'm so sorry for the delay in getting it posted in a timely fashion. Hopefully now things will get back into some semblance of order. Well, I can wish, can't I?
Sharon

Soft Vintage Look

It's been a little crazy around here with our grandson being miserable with a cold and doing some teething on top of that. Whew, keeps us hopping for sure! So that means I've got just a little time to get something posted today while he's napping. Hope I can get this finished before he wakes up. Today's post has a vintage look to it, using lots of stamp layering and tone-on-tone. Hope you like it.

Stamps: Elementary Elegance, Vintage Vogue, and En Francais

Cardstock: Early Espresso, Blushing Bride

Ink: Blushing Bride and Early Espresso

Accessories: Curly Label Punch, Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad set (SAB), Mat Pack and Piercing Tool, Basic Pearls, Sponge Dauber, and Dimensionals

I love all the layering of stamps for the background. Even through there's lots of stamping, it's still very soft looking because of the colors used.

Why is it that after I'm done making a card and I like the looks of it, when I take a picture and see it on the computer screen there's always something I think I should have done differently! This is getting so frustrating!! I might just take it all apart and add a layer of Very Vanilla cardstock to it. There is already a layer of it inside the card, so it would continue the look and maybe give the card a shot of brightness too. Just thinking here...

Oops, I here him already. That nap sure didn't last very long. Maybe he'll go back to sleep. Yeah, right! Have a great day. And try not to catch any of those cold bugs that are making the rounds in this neck of the woods. Sharon

Little Boy Easter

Now that Valentine's Day is well in the past, it's really time to start thinking about Easter. When I first saw the Heaven Blessed stamp set in the Occasions Mini Catalog, I knew I needed to get it. The children were so cute, and the bunnies and chicks would be so much fun to stamp. I've shared the first card I made with the set early on, but then got busy with other things and didn't get to stamp with it again for quite awhile. Well, that has been remedied and I've got another card to share with you using the cute little boy stamp. (He reminds me of my grandson, so...)

Stamps: Heaven Blessed
Cardstock: Very Vanilla and Lucky Limeade, with Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper (SAB)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, and Crumb Cake
Accessories: Aqua Painter, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Mat Pack and Piercing Tool, Everyday Enchantment Brads & Ribbon (SAB), and Dimensionals



This lovely DSP is so soft and gentle that I decided to watercolor the image with just a hint of the same colors keeping the card very delicate looking. I love the added ribbon and brad that coordinate nicely with the Designer Paper. It's fun to have a card that is at least half made up of free Sale-a-bration items. It gives me such a good feeling when I can say that something is 'free'. Guess that's why I love Stampin'Up! and especially Sale-a-bration time!! Make sure you get some of these great items free when you order $50 or more until the end of April. Hurry up - times running out. Sharon

Dotty Floral Card

You never know just where you're going to find inspiration for a card, but one good place to start is always our Stampin' Up! magazine - 'Stampin' Success'. It's a magazine just for us demonstrators to get information and ideas. And one of their card ideas in the January 2012 issue was perfect for me. Of course, I had to make a tweak or two, but the layout and color combo is directly from the magazine. Here's my take on their idea...

Stamps: Bordering on Romance, and Short & Sweet
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Pear Pizzazz, and Naturals White with Mocha Morning Designer Paper
Ink: Soft Suede and Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Big Shot with Adorning Accents Edgelit Die, Adorning Accents Embossing Folder, Little Leaves Sizzlit Die, Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch, 5-Petal Flower Punch, Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon, Mat Pack and Piercing Tool, Fire Round Rhinestones, and Dimensionals

This card uses the coordinating stamp set and Edgelit set. Then added in the embossing folder that goes with it too! It's so fun to see how SU! plans out their products to all work together so nicely! When I was packing the materials to make this at a workshop, I realized how many of my 'toys' I was taking along with me. But each and every one of the items really went together to make an awesome card. If you're a demo I'm sure this looks familiar to you, but it's fun to put your own twist on something one of the pros made.

And one of the ingredients that I haven't mentioned but is very important here, is the Mocha Morning DSP. There are some lovely prints (even a flocked one!!) that make any project special. I've got to make sure to use it again soon.

Thanks for taking time out to visit. Hope you stop in again soon! Happy stamping - Sharon

I Dig You card

Yes, I know it's the day after Valentine's Day, but I just couldn't get a decent picture of this card yesterday and I just gave up trying. So you get it a day late instead. So sorry about that, but you should know by now that I do everything at the last minute - or even later sometimes! I'd planned to make my little grandson a valentine, but was stuck on an idea. He's just lately gotten into "Bob the Builder", so Monday night I had an idea and quickly made up the card. Then no matter how I took a picture, the little stamped loader didn't look right. But anyway, here it is. Hope you like the idea and maybe try it out yourself for your favorite little guy!

Stamps: I Dig You
Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Melon Mambo, and Brilliant Blue(retired)
Ink: Real Red and Brilliant Blue(retired)
Accessories: Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, and Dimensionals

I wanted to use bright colors for his card, so pulled out some of my retired Brilliant Blue cardstock and ink. Since I wasn't planning on lots of layers, I didn't want the loader to be too dark so it was off-stamped before stamping on the white cardstock. This is where I ran into a problem- it just doesn't show up as bright in the pictures as in reality. Here it looks so washed out and almost not even there, but that's not the way it really is. Trust me on that!

It was fun punching all those hearts and layering them up to look like they were being scooped up, tumbled, or pushed by the loader. He thought it was fun and kept pointing at it. And what more could a grandma possibly want?

Hope you're having a great week. I'll be done with classes tomorrow and get back in the swing of things again. Have fun! Sharon

Happy Valentine's Day to You

Hope your loved ones are showering you with love today! And I'll send along my hugs too! Just think of this as my Valentine to You!! Today's card was inspired by one I saw on Tory Bray's blog here. She has some fun ideas that she shares. The inspiration comes from a class she's having. Of course, I tweaked it to make it my own as usual. Hope you luv it!

Stamps: PS I Love You

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, and Rose Red

Ink: Rose Red Pad and Rose Red and Early Espresso Markers

Accessories: Big Shot with Adorning Accents Edgelits Dies and Adorning Accents Embossing Folders, Full Heart Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Blushing Bride Smooch Spritz, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, and Dimensionals

This little card seems to have just a little bit of a lot of little things on it, and it all adds up to a pretty punch! I'll admit I was a little intimidated about using the coordinating Adorning Accents die and embossing folder together, but they are so simple to use and look wonderful!! What was I so worried about??

Have you heard about coloring directly onto your stamp using the Smooch Spritz? Well, that's just what I did on the heart of hearts. Just a pretty shimmery look altogether! And then I added a bit of the new Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details on just one of the hearts to give it a little more glitz. Oooh, more shimmer!

I am a bit frustrated about how the different types of ink tended to look so off with this picture! IRL the marker on the chocolate-dipped strawberry and the cupid look the same. Funny how the camera makes thing look so different. All in all, I thought the card turned out really cute and I'll be passing it on to my daughter this afternoon. And just for my hubby - please be mine!! Hugs, Sharon

Fresh Take on Mixed Bunch

Ok, it's been awhile again. I can't seem to get in gear and stay that way for very long. Last week the ladies were stamping at church and this week is classes again. Where does the time go? Seems like it was just class week a little bit ago, not a whole month back. Ah well, no time to complain about my tardiness here. Instead, let's get on with the sharing before I fizzle out tonight! Today's card is using the new stamp set and punch combo from the Occasions Mini Catalog. I thought it was time to get some ink on it and see what it can do. Here's the first run with it...

Stamps: Mixed Bunch, You're A Gem, and En Francais

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, and Lucky Limeade with Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper (SAB)

Ink: Soft Suede, Calypso Coral

Accessories: Blossom Punch, 5 Petal Punch, 3/4" Circle and 1" Circle Punches, Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad Pack (SAB), Sponge Dauber, Basic Rhinestones,

My thoughts on this card were to use the new Ribbon and Brads I had just gotten free during Sale-a-bration. I'd been using the wonderful Everyday Enchantment DSP on everything and anything lately, so it was time to get out the ribbon and brads and put them to use too. I liked how the Blushing Bride cardstock coordinated with the colors of the DSP. I'd tried different colors for that layer, but this one really blended nicely and gave a more mellow look to the overall card.

Instead of using an embossing folder for the main layer like I've been doing so often lately, I got out a background stamp to give it some interest. I off-stamped the Soft Suede ink on it to keep it soft and sponged the edges of everything but the punched flower and leaves. Maybe those should have been sponged too. The jury's still out on that one. If you have any comments they would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for stopping in. And a early Happy Valentine's Day to you! Just a little over 4 more hours to go to the big day. Hope you are well loved - not just on Valentine's Day, but every day! Hugs, Sharon

Easter Blessings 411 Challenge

I've been up to my eyeballs last night and today getting cards designed and ready for the ladies at church to stamp and put together next Tuesday night. That's our monthly night for making cards for our service men and women to show them our support in a small way. Anyway, I was struggling to come up with an idea using one of our retired cross stamps, and there it was! A new challenge from the Stamping 411 Operators here that was the perfect layout for the stamp. I got to work right away and the card came together nicely. So today you're going to see a card using lots of retired stamps, cardstock, and even non-SU! ribbon. If you're a purist and can't stand seeing contraband supplies, click out of here right now!! Don't take a chance on maybe liking it! But for those of you that have some of these sets, hope you like the idea. Stamp on!!

Stamps: Renewed Faith, Refuge and Strength (both retired)

Cardstock: Naturals White, Pale Plum (retired), and Pretty in Pink

Ink: Perfect Plum, and Pale Plum (retired)

Accessories: Scallop Oval Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Set, Basic Pearls, Sponge Dauber, Dimensionals, and skinny plum ribbon

I told you not to look if you were a SU! purist. When I'm making up card kits to make for our soldiers, anything goes as far as I'm concerned. I'm more worried about the numbers of cards I need to get ready than in whether everything is current SU! This seems to be a wonderful way to use my retired stash and giving back to our service men and women at the same time.

So there you have it. The card is fairly simple because the ladies will be making 24 of these. Sure hope our service personnel like these, 'cause that's what really counts. Thanks for stopping by to see what I have today. Hopefully, the next card I share will be a bit more current. Have a wonderful weekend! Sharon