Love You Much!

Hello! This past week I've been working on getting my Valentine cards finished so I can get them out in the mail next week. I only have two more to go...w00t! I have also been reorganizing my craft area and I unearthed some beautiful retired Stampin' Up! DSP and one of my favorite retired stamp sets called Love You Much. I thought the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches #19 worked nicely with some of these retired products. 

I especially like the use of the Itty Bitty Buttons (current product) on the bottom left of the card...nothing like X's, O's and lots of love.

Enjoy! ~Julie

Flamingos & Mojo #225

Hello!  I created this fun Valentine card for my husband using the sketch challenge on Mojo Monday #225.  I decided to use some of my retired stamps that I wasn't able to use last year and I had a lot of fun using choosing which ones to use. Everyone deserves to receive a card with flamingos.

Enjoy! ~Julie

Birthday - PPA 127

Hello!  Today's card was made for our niece's 20th birthday. I used the Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge #127 for my layout and of course the Sale-a-bration Designer Series Paper that I received free with my $50 purchase. I was also inspired to layer my "Happy Birthday" sentiment over embossed card stock by one of Mary Fish's fabulous cards.

Enjoy! ~Julie

Poppy Flower

Hello! There was another great sketch posted last week on Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #17.  I really enjoyed the simplicity of this sketch as your imagination could run wild with it. I highly recommend hopping over to this blog challenge and checking out all of the amazing creations.  There are some great submissions!

Lately, I've been challenging myself to make more vintage style cards. The new Sale-a-bration Everyday Enchantment DSP is one of my motivating forces as I don't want to let this gorgeous paper go to waste (I even used it as my background in this photo!). I layered the First Edition DSP (a great versatile paper set) behind the Everyday Enchantment DSP and after ripping the desired look, I further distressed the tops of the papers using some Crumb Cake ink and a sponge.

I made this beautiful poppy by punching 2-3/8" Scallop Circles out of Poppy Parade and distressing the cardstock until it peeled apart.  I also punched some Peach Parfait Cardstock in the largest of the Boho Blossoms Punch to provide a colorful center to my poppy flower. I combined all of the layers together using the paper piercer and a silver mini brad.  I then ruffled the petals to get the final look.  I used Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere the flower to the paper.

Design Tip! : The Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon looked great as the top strip but didn't have the "oomph" to be used as a bottom strip.  I decided to make my own version of ruffled ribbon by crimping some Pool Party cardstock and laying the 1/2" Chantilly lace ribbon over top.

Materials!: Cardstock = Everyday Enchantment DSP (SAB item available Jan. 24th), First Edition DSP, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Pool Party

Ink = Crumb Cake

Tools = Paper Piercer, Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Crimper

Accessories = Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon, Chantilly Lace Ribbon, Silver Mini Brads, Snail, Stampin' Dimensionals

Enjoy! ~Julie

Love is in the Air -January Blog Hop!

Love is in the air as the Stampin' Pretty Pals share the love with cards and projects for today's Pals Blog Hop!

You've probably hopped over from Emily Steggell at Em's Creations, I'm stop #26 on the Pals Hop and I'm glad you hopped in! I'll help you "hop along" from blog to blog where you'll find great ideas for love themed paper projects from the Stampin' Pretty Pals! Should you hop off course, simply click on any of the links in the Pals Hop Line-up below and you'll be back on track

Card 1  = Love Note

I am featuring cards today that are not made using the traditional Valentine's colors or paper designs.  I wanted to experiment with colors other than red so what better colors to use then the In-Colors for 2011-2013 - Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral, & Lucky Limeade - and the Designer Paper Series Berry Blossoms. I wanted the first card to look like a love note and I decided to individually color in each tiny heart in the larger stamped heart image.  The smaller punched hearts are also folded in the center to give the card a bit more depth and the top right coners of the card and "note" are rounded (I scan my cards so this may be a but hard to see). I also submitted this card to The Paper Players "All you need is love" Theme Challenge.

Card 2

The second card is quick and easy to create as I let the paper do all of the heavy work.  The coral flower in the center of the card happened totally by accident and was a pleasant discovery. The Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon was softened by laying linen thread over top and the sentiment was punched out using the Decorative Label Punch. I then trimmed off the top and bottom design from the punch.

Don't forget to use the great sentiments in the "P.S. I love You"  and "I {Heart} Hearts" Stamp Sets to highlight your true feelings for your Valentine and let them know that your card was made with love.

Materials for Card 1! :
Paper = Berry Blossoms DSP, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Stamp Sets = I {Heart} Hearts; P.S. I Love You 
Ink = Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, Early Espresso
Tools = Window Punch, Full Heart Punch, Small Heart Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, 3/16"Corner Punch, Spiral Border Punch (retired-on clearance rack)
Accessories = Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon, Basic Pearls Jewels


Materials for Card 2! :
Paper = Berry Blossoms DSP, Whisper White
Stamp Set = P.S. I Love You 
Ink = Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, Early Espresso
Tools = Decorative Label Punch, Paper Snips
Accessories = Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, Linen Thread

Now hop along for more inspiring ideas from Beth Beard at My Little Craft Blog, stop #27 on the Love Is In The Air Pals Blog Hop! Thanks for "hopping" by!

1. Linda Fisher at Linda's Stampin Loft
2. Maggie Mata at MaggieMadeCards
3. Kim Luithle at Kim's Stampin Stuff
4. Barb Furlong at The Love of Stamping
5. Dawn Tidd at My Stampin' Blog
6. Maxine Conrad at Stamp to the MAX!
7. Susan Lankford at Stampin' Crafty Corner
8. Nina Dee at Deesigns by Nina Dee
9. Kim Czenszak at Live Love Stamp
10. Cindy Hall at Pretty Impact
11. Frenchiee Hum at Frenchiee's Spot.
12. Kylie Nicolosi at Kylie's Crafty Corner
13. Jennifer Takacs at My Stampin' Blog
14. Angie Blake at Angie's Musings
15. Nicole Watt at Impressions By Nicole
16. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
17. Rae Harper at Wild West Paper Arts
18. Amanda Cramer at Mrs. C with Style!
19. Sandie Conner at Pretty Provisions
20. Nancy Gleason at My Stampin' Space
21. Sue Bendinsky at My Color Creations
22. Leah O'Brien at Leah's Stampin' Corner
23. Patti MacLeith at Papercrafts by Patti
24. Diane Roberts at Score at Four and a Quarter
25. Emily Steggell at Em's Creations
26. Julie Trevett-Smith at The Stampin' Affair!
27. Beth Beard at My Little Craft Blog
28. Jessica Ying at YoYoStamping Studio
29. Leslie Davis at Ellalicious Elements
30. Joan Norris at My Creative Impressions
31. Mikki Sarkisyan at Mikki's Creative Corner

Valentine's Sweets! Freshly Made Sketches #16

Hello!  Today I would like to share a fun card that is both cute & sweet and is inspired from the Sketch #16 on Freshly Made Sketches. When I saw the chocolate covered strawberry in the new P.S. I Love You stamp set, I immediately pulled out the brown polka dots from the Berry Blossoms DSP.  I love the way the Riding Hood Red contrasts with the Early Espresso and in the future if I want more of a contrast I would substitute in Real Red or highlight the "strawberry" using the new Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details Glitter glue.

Enjoy! ~Julie

Birthday Surprise! - Mojo Monday #222

Hello! Today I have created a card using the Mojo Monday Sketch #222.  I also have a Sale-a-bration sneak peek to share today.  I used some of the new Sale-a-bration Designer Series Paper called Everyday Enchantment in my card today. I love this gorgeous set of papers.

The flowers were created using the Boho Blossoms Punch and I used the coordinating colors in the DSP (Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait and Lucky Limeade) and then adhered them together using a silver mini brad. I placed these flowers on specific parts of the DSP to look like an extension of the flower design. To create the flag, I used my Postage Punch to give the "V" a bit more "oomph" and then used the Lattice Textured Embossing Folder to create the embossed design on the flag.

 Design Tip! : To give the flowers a softer look, I peeled apart the layers of the Stampin' Up! cardstock to reveal the inner linen-like look. To do this I punched the design in the cardstock  then crumpled up the punched images several different times. The edges of the paper will start to lift and then you will be able to peel apart the layers of the paper.  

Materials! :  Cardstock =  Everyday Enchantment DSP (Sale-a-bration item available 1/24), Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait and Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla

Stamp Sets = Happiest Birthday Wishes Hostess Set

Ink = Soft Suede

Tools = Postage Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, and Itty Bitty Flower Punch

Accessories = Linen thread, silver mini brads, Lattice Textured Embossing Folder, Paper Piercer, Stampin' Dimensionals

Enjoy! ~Julie

Happy New Year!

Hello!  My #1 New Year's Resolution is to make more cards and #2 is to remember to post these cards to my blog...haha! I used retired Stampin' Up! paper and stamp sets to create this cute card below.  I am sending it as a thank you note but with the cute hearts and sentiments it could easily double as a Valentine's Day card.

Enjoy! ~Julie