Mish Mash

Sorry for the lack of updates but I've spent a lot of time over the past week trying to figure out what to make for a couple of swaps I have coming up plus a demo get together make & take. After many, many trials (and too many errors to admit to), I have come up with some ideas that I am happy with but I don't want to share the final versions ahead of the swaps. Instead, I wanted to share some of the "rejects" that I liked but decided against for one reason or another.




The first was using the Thoughts and Prayers set. I had no intention of buying this set until I made some cards with it at Nancy's stamp camp and fell in love. It is one of those sets that works for so many things and in so many color schemes. Here I used one of my all time favorite color combos of Mellow Moss and Perfect Plum.




Stamp Set - Thoughts & Prayers
Cardstock & DP - Mellow Moss, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum (textured), Very Vanilla. Perfect Plum DP
Inks - Perfect Plum, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke
Accessories - Dimensionals, Flower brad



Nancy mentioned this color combo and I thought I would try it out. It also gave me a chance to use some more of the retired Green tea DP that I have been hoarding.

Stamp Sets - Embrace Life

Cardstock & DP - Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Whisper White. Green Tea DP

Inks - Baja Breeze

Accessories - Baja breeze satin ribbon, ribbon slider from a retired HPH set, Dimensionals, Scallop Square punch (Marvy), Big Shot Texturz plate (Flourishes)

Another attempt at playing with the Cheers to You set. This is a very masculine card and I love the fun effect given by using the liquid applique for the head on the beer.

Stamp Set - Cheers to You
Cardstock & DP - Going Grey, Basic Grey, Night of Navy, Handsome Hunter, Whisper White. Prestwick DP (?)
Inks - Black Stazon, Night of Navy, Creamy Caramel marker.
Accessories - Big Shot Texturz plate (Harlequin), Silver brads, Modern Label punch, Dimensionals, Scallop Square punch, Crystal effects, Liquid applique.

And finally, another card made with the fabulous new DP, Razzleberry Lemonade. I think I am officially in love with all the current in colors but this DP is going to be an all time favorite. Thankfully I have at least a whole year to play around with it. All of these wonderful goodies will be available when the new catalog starts tomorrow, July 1st.

Stamp Sets - Sentiment from Fresh Cuts, Matchbox Messages (frame)
Cardstock & DP - Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry. Razzleberry lemonade DP and Vellum.
Inks - Rich Razzleberry, Versamark and Copper embossing powder.
Accessories - Rich razzleberry ribbon, Filigree brad.

Missed one!

I thought I had posted this card in my blog but realized that I had only posted it on SCS so thought I would share it here too. I have tried this design before with other colors and DP but these new in colors work perfectly and I love the way it turned out.

The flowers were stamped onto whisper white paper and then cut out and mounted on dimensionals around the border of the top note. I used Rich Razzleberry ink to sponge around the edge. The sentiment is from the new Kind & Caring thoughts set.

Stamp sets - Eastern Blooms, Kind & Caring thoughts

Cardstock & DP - Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White. Razzleberry lemonade DP

Inks - Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry

Accessories - Rich Razzleberry ribbon, Dimensionals, Big Shot top note die

Snoopy - take 2

I posted a birthday card a while back that I had made for my Snoopy-loving daughter. I wasn't at all happy with it so I tried again today. I was inspired by a card from our recent demo swap in which there was one of the Big Shot scallop envelopes on front of the card with a pull-out in it.

I like this new version a lot!

Stamps - Surfing Snoopy. Sun from Just Beachy

Cardstock & DP - Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery. Flowers for you DP (SU! retired)

Inks - Black Stazon, Certainly Celery, Night of Navy. SU! markers

Accessories - Big Shot Scallop envelope die, Tempting Turquoise ribbon, Cuttlebug folder, Scallop edge punch, bling flower sent by my sister.

More sneaky peeks

I spent some more time this evening playing with my new goodies. The only color I have yet to test drive is the Bermuda Bay and that is on my list for tomorrow evening. I love all the colors I have used so far and Rich Razzleberry is fun to work with. My daughter is going to love this color!


I also got to play with the first of my new stamp sets. This is a level 3 hostess set from the new catalog called Kind and Caring Thoughts. It has beautiful floral images and some lovely sentiment stamps, including the Best Wishes used on this first card.

Stamp set - Kind & Caring Thoughts (level 3 hostess set in new catalog)

Cardstock & DP - Very vanilla, Rich Razzleberry. Razzleberry Lemonade DP.

Inks - Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo

Accessories - Rich Razzleberry ribbon, Scallop Oval punch, Dimensionals

No "new" stamp sets on this next card but I do love this little animals - cute, funny and easy to color.

Stamp set - Animal Crackers

Cardstock & DP - Barely Banana (plain and textured), Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Crushed Curry.

Inks - Black Stazon, SU! markers

Accessories - Flower brad, Crushed Curry ribbon, Scallop square punch, Dimensionals, Big Shot Texturz plate (large dots), Scallop edge punch.

New Goodies!

I finally managed to get a little time this evening to try out some of my new goodies. I am totally in love with the new In colors, Dusty Durango and Crushed Curry!!

Stamp Set - Bird on a Branch (soooo glad this isn't retiring)

Cardstock & DP - Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Whisper White. Razzleberry Lemonade DP.

Ink - Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip

Accessories - Dusty Durango ribbon, Filligree brad, Dimensionals, Big Shot top note die.

Stamp Set - A flower for all seasons

Cardstock & DP - Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Very Vanilla, Watercolor paper. Razzleberry Lemonade DP.

Inks - Black Stazon, watercoloring with SU! markers (including the new IN COLORS - yay) and aqua painter

Accessories - Dusty Durango ribbon, Dimensionals, Corner rounder punch

Not the new stuff but a set I have only used a few times. I wanted to try something different and so made a gate fold. I want to add some ribbon through the eyelet but couldn't decide on the color so left it open for now.

Stamp sets - Nature Silhouettes

Cardstock - Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke (plain and textured), Chocolate Chip, Whisper White. To the nines DP.

Inks - Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Night of Navy (sponged)

Accessories - Sage Shadow ribbon, Dimensionals, Jumbo eyelet

Lollipop flower arrangement

My daughter has her dance recital on Sunday and I wanted something fun for her little sister to give her after the performance. I remember seeing lollipops made into flowers before and thought it would be fun to make them into an arrangement. I found the really cute little tin bucket at Michaels, filled it with florists foam and then stuck the "flowers" into the foam. I covered the foam with thin strips of cardstock (Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red and Pretty in Pink). I love the way it turned out and I will have to make some more.

Stamp sets - Warm Words

Cardstock & DP - Raspberry Tart, Pretty in Pink, Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red

Inks - Rose Red

Accessories - Big Shot Flower layers #3 die, Scallop oval punch, Wide pink ribbon (non- SU!), Rose Red ribbon, metal pail, florists foam, Dimensionals, Self adhesive gemstones (Michaels), circle punch (Marvy) oh, and the suckers.

Tea Party fun!

I think I may have mentioned before that the Tea Party DP may be one of my all time favorites. During the Stampin Up! May Scrapbooking "Buy 3 get 1 free" promotion I stocked up in anticipation of making lots of things for my oldest daughter's birthday. However, as I am a little birthdayed-out right now, I decided to play with some of the paper to see what else I could come up with.

As you would imagine, it looks great with the co-ordinating Sweet Stems stamp set but I think it works well with the Crazy for Cupcakes set and wheel too!



Stamp Set - Sweet Stems, Best Yet
Cardstock & DP - Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst, Whisper White. Tea Party DP
Inks - Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst. So Saffron and Pretty in Pink Markers
Accessories - Designer Label punch, Scallop edge punch, Flower brad, Dimensionals.


This was CASED from Nancy's demo meeting. It was a make and take that I didn't get round to making while I was there. I think she used Pretty in Pink instead of Certainly Celery.

Stamp Set - Sweet Stems, Best Yet
Cardstock & DP - Certainly Celery, Whisper White. Tea Party DP
Inks - Black Stazon, Certainly Celery. Pretty in Pink, Almost Amethyst, So Saffron, Certainly Celery markers.
Accessories - Circle punch, Scallop circle punch, Scallop edge punch, So Saffron ribbon




Stamp Set - Crazy for cupcakes and matching cupcake wheel
Cardstock & DP - Barely Banana, So Saffron, Very Vanilla. Tea party DP (the cupcake case was paper pieced with DP also)
Inks - Chocolate Chip (wheel cartridge), Brown Stazon, Pretty in pink. SU markers for coloring
Accessories - Ticket corner punch, Scallop oval punch, Eyelet border punch, Dazzling Diamonds, Dimensionals

While enjoying some play time, I also broke out another couple of sets.

Stamp Set - Soft Summer (2009 mini)

Cardstock & DP - Very Vanilla, Bravo Burgundy. Parisian summer DP (retired)

Inks - Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Bravo Burgundy, So Saffron

Accessories - Bravo Burgundy ribbon, Antique brass brads, paper piercing (done with mat pack)

I love how this turned out and I think it would look good in many different colors.

Stamp Set - Warm Words, Bella's Border wheel

Cardstock & DP - Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White. Bella Rose DP

Accessories - Scallop Edge punch, Big Shot Flower layers #3 die, Big Shot Little Leaves sizzlit die, Chocolate Chip ribbon, Pretty in Pink ribbon, Chocolate Chip corduroy button brad

Tip - The stampin'around wheel guide is absolutely worth the money when using stamping wheels. Without it, I find it almost impossible to stay straight.

Teacher appreciation gifts

Can I just say before I start rambling that I LOVE my Big Shot?? How on earth did I survive all of the daycare events without it?

I needed to make little gifts for 4 teachers and so decided to go with the scallop top bag filled with chocolate pretzels from the local handmade candy store (who make the most delicious chocolate dipped fruit - but I digress).

As all the teachers are female I wanted something a little girlie and then I remembered that I hadn't broken in to my Raspberry Tart DP yet even though it was one of the first things I ordered when the new catty came out. The flowers on the scallop top were made by cutting out flowers from Raspberry Tart DP using the Big Shot and the Flower Layers #3 die. They were just so easy to make and I think they are really cute - I see many more coming in the future!

Stamps - Oval all (mini)

Cardstock & Paper - Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss and Raspberry Tart DP

Ink - Old Olive

Accessories - Big shot scallop top bag die, Big Shot flower layers 3 die, Oval Punch (mini), Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla satin ribbon, Dimensionals.

At long last - the Matchbox Die (and friends)

I finally managed to get some stamping time today and got to play with the new Matchbox Die. I love it but need a lot more practice with folding it so it doesn't look smooshed. So, my idea from the other day was finally translated into reality and I am quite pleased with how it turned out (if you ignore the smooshing). The Playful Petals flower was stamped onto the vellum with Versamark and then heat embossed using black embossing powder. It was then flipped over and the "underside" was colored with markers. When I folded the top together, the embossed image is on the outside and the colors are very subtle as they are mellowed by the vellum.




Big Shot Matchbox Die

Stamp set - Playful Petals

Cardstock - Almost Amethyst (textured and plain), Vellum for the lid


Ink - Versamark, black embossing powder (heat embossed) and assorted SU! markers

Here it is with the coordinating scallop bag

Close up of the scallop bag

Cardstock & DP - Almost Amethyst, Tea party DP, Pretty in Pink

Stamp sets - Oval All (Occasions Mini)

Ink - Regal Rose

Accessories - Pretty in Pink ribbon, Oval punch (Occasions Mini), gold eyelets (set with crop-a-dile), Butterfly punch (Martha Stewart), Circle punch

These last two cards are just experiments using the Just Beachy set (Occasions mini). I have signed up for a Beach theme swap and am playing around with some layouts. The second of the two is closest to what I want to achieve but I'm still not thrilled with it so I may need to play some more.