Retro Fresh Word Bubbles Card

Today's card is moving away from the florals that I've been stuck on lately.  It's not that I've had enough of them, but figured you might be getting tired of them and wanting to look at something else for a change.  While meandering around on Pinterest, I found a card that was clean and fresh looking and I knew I wanted to CAS it.  Of course, I took the liberty to make changes as I usually do, but the finished look is quite similar to the original.   I wish I could give credit for this card, but I went back to find it and have no idea where I saw it!  If I don't save it somewhere, I find it impossible to track it down again.  So I'm sorry to whoever the originator was!!  It is a darling idea and I'm so happy I could give it a try.  Thank you!!!

Stamps:  Express Yourself
Ink:  Coastal Cabana
Paper:  Whisper White,  Cajun Craze cardstock, and Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper
Accessories:   Big Shot with Word Bubbles Framelits, Retro Fresh Washi Tape, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Owl Builder Punch, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Sponge Dauber, and Dimensionals

 The first change I made on the card was using the Retro Fresh DSP for the top and bottom strips on the card.  The original card used the same washi tape as in the die-cut center of the card, but I wanted something a little different.

  I love the look of the glitter on the back of the washi tape peeking out of the die-cut image.  I had always used packing tape for that glitter technique, but this was a really fun change for me.

The original card also used the Just Sayin' stamp set for the sentiment, but I've been using a lot of get well cards lately, so I changed it up to something that would fit nicely into the word bubble die-cut.   I then chose to use Cajun Craze cardstock for the little heart because it was darker and a little more masculine looking in case this card was sent to a man.  I was looking for something sort of gender-neutral for this card, and I think it worked out ok.

This is just a fun way to use the Word Bubble Framelits and you aught to give it a try.  Can't wait to try these framelits on other things.  Remember the puffy word bubble that I used on the Easter card 5 posts back?  These little framelits are definitely fun to use and more versatile than you would think.  How about putting on your thinking cap and see what other ways you can think of to use them.   Then don't forget to let me know what you made!  I'd love to see what you came up with!!  Have a happy stampin' day!      Sharon

More from the Flower Shop

Yep, we're back at the flower shop again.  I really can't seem to leave this stamp set alone.  Again I've paired it with the Petite Petals stamp set and a few other goodies to round it out.  I keep hoping that spring really is right around the corner here.  No matter what the calendar says, when it's freezing or below outside and there's snowflakes fluttering around, it's not spring yet.  So here's my happy spring-colored version of these stamp sets in action.  Maybe it'll prod the weather outside to play nice and get warmer!

Stamps:  Flower Shop, Petite Flowers, and Delightful Dozen
Ink:  Primrose Petals, So Saffron, Blushing Bride
Paper:  Whisper White, Pistachio Pudding, Garden Green, Primrose Petals, and Raspberry Ripple
Accessories:   Big Shot with Hexagon TIEF, Circles Collection Framelits, Little Leaves Sizzlit,  Pansy Punch, Petite Petals Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Tea Lace Doilies, Glue Dots, and Dimensionals

 I really love adding the Tea Lace Doilies (or parts of them) to my cards lately.  They give such a delicate, old-fashioned look to a card with very little effort.  For this card, I just cut one of them in half and attached it to the Pistachio Pudding layer.  I thought about adding a ribbon at the cut edge, but really didn't like any that I had on hand, so I went without.  This look reminds me of a lace tablecloth hanging over the edge of the table and all you can see is the side of it.  So we'll just go with that idea!

After adding the stamped flowers and the die-cut leaf sprays, it still needed a little more contrast in the colors used.  After trying out several different ones, I tried the Raspberry Ripple Itty Bitty flowers and they were perfect.  Just enough contrast without overpowering all the more pastel flowers.  Don't you just love having so many colors to choose from that it's easy to come up with just the right one for any need?!

Ok, that's it for today.  Still hoping for spring around here.  I think I'd even be happy if the temperatures got up into the 40's!  So longing for some sunshine!!  Have a fabulous day.  If it's cold where you are, try bringing a little spring into your life by stamping!  It's sure to cure those winter blahs!  Sharon

More from the Flower Shop

Do you ever get hooked on a stamp and keep grabbing it every time you sit down to stamp?  My passion seems to run to florals and certain ones in particular.  The Flower Shop and Petite Petals stamp sets are my go to sets right at the moment.  I've used these two sets, either together or singly, for so  many different cards that I'm losing count.  They are just so easy to whip up a cute card with that I can't help using them over and over.  Today's card is similar to ones I had seen on Pinterest that I really liked, so I had to make one too.  Here's my version of a popular style of card...

Stamps:  Flower Shop, Petite Petals, and Peaceful Petals
Paper:  Crumb Cake and Whisper White
Accessories: Petite Petals Punch, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Paper Snips, and Dimensionals

I love the idea of cutting around the top of the stamped image to make the front of the card shorter than the back.  It's just gives an interesting visual appeal for me.  The hardest part was remembering to stamp low enough so it would work out right.  I ended up cutting another 1/4" or so from the bottom edge of the white layer to bring it down far enough to make me happy.   I'm sharing a couple extra shots of the card just to show how the different layers really stand out on the finished card.

 To give more interest to the flowers, I stamped the larger flower 3 times before reinking for the 4th flower.  I liked the differing shades much better than all the same color across the line.  The Petite Petals stamp was fully inked each time it was stamped though.  And as you can see inside the card, I stamped it first onto the Crumb Cake, then added a punched flower on top.  There's just something wonderful about a flower stamp that has a punch to go with it!!  Seems like flowers really love to be layered and the punches make that so easy.

Yes, I really love all of my flower stamps, but some I seem to love just a little bit better than the rest.  lol   The ladies that are part of my Hostess Club saw this card and wanted to make one too.  So this is one of the projects we'll be making this Tuesday.  I'm sure they'll want to make other versions of this card once they've made the first one.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Hope you're enjoying your Sunday (or whatever day it is when you're reading this). I just have to tell you how wonderful it was to get away to the ladies' retreat yesterday!  Very insightful, enjoyable, and uplifting.  There's just something special about taking time away from the usual and digging into God's Word and will for your life with friends (some old, and some new that I just met).  It's energized me to get on with my life with joy and appreciation for all He's given me!  Have a blessed week.....   Sharon

Another Easter Card

I promised yesterday that I would share another card using the Blessed Easter stamp, so here I am again.  This one again is pretty quick to make when you have the pieces of DSP sitting on your worktable already cut and just sitting there waiting for me to come up with an idea.   So here goes.....

Stamps:  Blessed Easter
Ink:  Stazon Jet Black, Pink Pirouette, Strawberry Slush, Wild Wasabi, and Pistachio Pudding
Paper:  Whisper White, Pistachio Pudding, Pink Pirouette, and Strawberry Slush with Wild Wasabi paper from Subtles Designer Series Paper (ret)
Accessories:   AquaPainter

Today's card uses a mix of pinks and greens that look really fresh and sweet.   I had all these pieces of dotted Wild Wasabi DSP that has been retired sitting on my desk from another project.  Since I still had all this leftover, I figured I needed to start using it up because I'm running out of space for it all and can't keep buying new without using the old!  I just cut some up into rectangles to give a tiled effect to the background.  Just a little different than a full layer of DSP.

I again used a watercolor technique to color the tulips.  I started with a layer of Pink Pirouette ink on the flowers then added light touches of Strawberry Slush ink to add contrast and depth to them.  The leaves are painted the same way with Pistachio Pudding first, then adding touches of Wild Wasabi ink.  Love how delicate it all looks.

Well, that's it for today.  While you're  reading this I'm soaking up some teachings at our church retreat today.  I'm expecting to come back tired but refreshed too!  Hope you're enjoying your weekend so far.  Remember to relax and find some time to stamp.  I find that's always a good way to refresh myself and it puts me in a good frame of mind.  Have a good day!           Sharon

Blessed Easter cards

When the Occasions catalog first came out, I fell in love with a single, simple Easter stamp.   The tulip line-art is so pretty and the sentiment has a really nice font that fits it perfectly.  I liked it so much that this stamp was on my first order!  And yes, I have used it several times already, but haven't gotten around to sharing any with you yet.  Today, that problem is being rectified.  In fact, I will share a couple versions with you today and another one tomorrow.  Does that work for you?  Hope so, and hope you like these cards too!

 Stamps:  Blessed Easter, with Abundant Hope(ret) and Crosses of Hope(ret) inside
Ink:  Stazon Jet Black, Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral, and Garden Green
Paper:  Watercolor Wonder Designer Notecards and Envelopes
Accessories:  Pearls Basic Jewels, and AquaPainter

Don't you just love the look of the watercolor background on these notecards?  There are 5 different watercolor designs in the packet and they're all soft and lovely.  Of course, the oval inset on this first card is my very favorite and they've all been used up already.  I sure wish I could do the backgrounds myself as nicely as these are done.  But since I can't, I'm happy I can purchase them!!  Woo hoo to Stampin'Up!  for coming up with this product for us!!   Yay!

For the sentiment inside my cards, I dug out some of my retired SU! sets to use.  The sentiments come from the Abundant Hope set.  I lined them up on a large block with enough room in between for stamping the lovely cross image from the Crosses of Hope stamp set.  Together they work out perfectly for me.  No wonder I hang on to so many of my retired stamps!  (I just can't bear to part with so many of them!!)

This version of the card was made with the same stamps inside and out, but a different design from the Watercolor Wonder Designer Notecards set.  I still went with the yellows and corals on this card because there are a few background dots in those colors.  The Daffodil Delight Stitched Ribbon really brightens up this card!  Either version of the card works for me and I'll be sending them out to family in a short while.

Hope you liked these cards.  They're so quick and easy when you start out with the Watercolor Wonder Notecards.  They literally just take minutes to make.  Hope you find time to do a little stamping over the upcoming weekend.  I'll be attending a church retreat tomorrow that I'm really looking forward to.  It should be interesting and insightful.  Have a great weekend!     Sharon

Little Lamb for Easter

I ordered this cute little Easter set called Eggstra Spectacular, then couldn't figure out what to do with it.  All the stamps in the set are pretty small, so I couldn't make something splashy and bright with it.  So it sat for a couple weeks.  :(  sooo sad...  Then I got an inspiration when I was sleeping and had to get up to make it right away!  Now that it's finished, I'm just tickled pink with it.  It uses several new items in the Occasions Mini Catalog that were not intended for the purpose I planned for them.  But that's what makes creating really fun!  Have a look and let me know what you think...

Stamps:  Eggstra Spectacular
Ink:  Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Island Indigo, Calypso Coral, So Saffron, and Pink Pirouette
Paper:  Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Whisper White, Calypso Coral cardstock with Sweet Sorbet and Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Papers
Accessories:  Big Shot with Word Bubbles Framelits, Starburst Framelits, Extra Large Oval Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Fringe Scissors, AquaPainter, Glue Dots, and Dimensionals

 Can you find all the items that were used?  The obvious first - the eggs were punched from cute pastel Designer prints with the Extra Large Oval Punch.  And it was just big enough to fit the little lamb and Easter basket stamp too!  The cloud was made from the puffy word bubble die.  I'm so happy I came across that idea.  Then the genius idea that woke me up in the morning was using the smallest Starburst Framelit die to make the sun peeking out behind the cloud.  It was just perfect in both size and shape!  Woo Hoo!!

 The new Fringe Scissors worked great to cut all those blades of grass and then I trimmed them at angles to make it more interesting.  The grass looked boring by itself, so it needed a few flowers growing added for spring.

There was very little stamping or coloring on this card.  The DSP prints and all the punched and die-cut pieces were all that were needed.  This card is going to be sent to my grandsons next month.  I think they'll like the little lamb for Easter! 

Thanks for stopping by to see what's new here.  It still looks like winter outside, but I'm trying to create my very own spring inside!  Enjoy!!
Sharon

Sweet Sorbet Sweetie

I'm having so much fun using the Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper that is one of the free items you can get during Sale-A-Bration.  This is a wonderful set of prints to make cards and other paper projects because they're so sweet!  Yes, it's very aptly named and is one of my very, very favorite items in the Sale-A-Bration flyer!  Today I've used just a couple 1 1/4" strips on the front of the card as a softly printed background.  Here's the card for you...

Stamps:  Mixed Bunch and Petite Pairs
Ink:  Calypso Coral, Pool Party, and Basic Black
Paper:  Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Pistachio Pudding, and Whisper White cardstock, with Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper
Accessories:  Big Shot with Decorative Dots TIEF, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Blossom Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Simply Pressed Clay and Buttons & Blossoms Clay Molds, Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon, Glue Dots, and Dimensionals

Whew!  It didn't seem like I had used so many items until I started typing them all out.  Most of them were already out on my worktable and were handy, so why not make the most of what's lying around, right?

I chose the flower color to match the DSP and added the stamped and punched center to give it some pop.  The flower still looked too flat for me so I added a little clay button that I had made.  It was tinted with the Calypso Coral refill ink so it matches perfectly. 

I used the Decorative Dots embossing folder to continue the dotty theme in the flower and DSP prints.  I think the background layers almost always look better with some texture added.  The Pool Party ribbon was added to make it look even more feminine.  There's really a lot going on here, but it all coordinates nicely.

Thanks for stopping in today.  Hope you're staying warm and toasty...  Tell me, is spring ever going to get here???  I feel like it's been winter forever - or almost!
Happy stamping,             Sharon

Cheer Up Buttercup!

Oh, how I'm lovin' that little sentiment!  I've been using it a lot lately and it seems to easily fit my general type of cards.  Who couldn't use a little cheering up every once in awhile?  I know I sure could lately!  I've been down with another of my winter colds lately and it hasn't been fun.  I must admit it hasn't been as bad as last year, but still not fun.  And today we got socked with another winter storm and lots of snow.  Bummer!  The storm was bad enough to cancel class for today because I was worried about the ladies being out driving in it.  Anyway, I have a wonderfully cheerful card for you today.  I hope you like it...

Stamps:  Geometrical
Ink:  Coastal Cabana (or Wisteria Wonder)
Paper:  Pear Pizzazz, Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, and Very Vanilla with Afternoon Picnic Designer Series Paper
Accessories:  Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, and Pearls Basic Jewels

This is such a pleasing, cheerful card even discounting the sentiment on it.  The colors make me happy and that's a good thing.  It wasn't hard to make at all.  It's basically made up of strips of cardstock with flag ends on them.  The colors were all chosen because they were all in the Afternoon Picnic DSP which made it a no-brainer for me. 

I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the card.  I used 3 different triangle flags from the set to stamp a banner across the top in the same colors as the cardstock used.  It made the vanilla cardstock layer inside look very festive.

Here's another look at the card along with another version using the same layout, the same stamp set, and the same DSP pack.  Because of some minor changes, the card looks very different.  It's always fun to try the same card with a few changes to see how it looks.  To me the 2nd card with the chevron print looks more modern and the original looks more old-fashion.  It's funny what a change in paper prints can do   for you!

Thanks for checking back in today.  Hope you like the ideas and give them a try.  I think you'll be happy with this layout. 
Happy stamping,    Sharon