Sep 8, 2019 | Color Throwdown |
Free as a Bird, Short and Sweet
This is my second card using this beautiful bundle consisting of the Free as a Bird stamp set and Stitched Nested Labels die set. You can see the first card here.
I always enjoy the Color Throwdown challenges, and sometimes they really are a challenge. After thinking about this one for a few days, all of a sudden it dawned on me what I would create.
Here’s the banner for CTD#599:

Here’s the card I created:

And here’s the inside:

When Inspiration Strikes
During one of the Pinterest browsing scrolling, a card I saw reminded me that I hadn’t used the double time technique lately. One thought led to another, and that’s when the whole card came together in my mind.
I used Very Vanilla/cream for the base, and the top label for the bird and the greeting.
After cropping the labels to the sizes I wanted, I lined them up and stamped the single and double flowers from the Free as a Bird stamp set. Then I carefully lined up the Calypso Coral layer on the Very Vanilla background and stamped another layer of the flowers. I had to very carefully line all three layers together to fill in the outlines for the stamps.
I now had the Calypso Coral color I needed, and added the Night of Navy as the base, Very Vanilla/Cream was covered with the background and the label. The only color I needed to incorporate was mustard. In order to accomplish a mustard looking color, I used the Crumb Cake and Daffodil Delight blends combos. I also used the Crushed Curry Stamping Write marker on top of the blends. The bird’s beak is Calypso Coral.
I colored the flowers by laying all the layers flat and used the Calypso Coral blends combo to color them. I used the Calypso Coral Stamping Write marker to add details to the center of the flowers.
Finishing Touches
Dimensionals pop up each layer of the labels, which I carefully realigned before adhering the layers together.
I really felt that something was needed to tie all the elements together. Therefore, I used my Night of Navy dark blend to color three of the largest Pearl Basic Jewels. Turns out that I am really, really pleased with the pop of Night of Navy jewels on the Very Vanilla background. I now had some weight with the colored flowers, and the added weight with the Night of Navy jewels. Those two elements dictated the general area where I needed to place the Calypso Coral pearl in order to create a triangle of the three elements, which is very pleasing to the eye.
As always, I finished with the envelope. I used a piece of the coordinating DSP for the envelope flap. Finally, I stamped and colored another bird on the bottom, right corner on the front of the envelope.
Ta-Da! Success
Thank you for stopping by today.
Have a Peachy day!
Sue
You Know You Want to…….

If you would like to order the bundle, stamp set, and/or punches, and live in the U.S., please use the icon above to be connected to my store. With just a few simple supplies, you, too, can create fabulous cards. I would be honored to help you do so. For example, check out this all-inclusive kit: Notes of Kindness Card Kit, item # 148266 ($35.00). The only thing you need to add is a Momento Tuxedo Black ink pad (item # 132708, $6.00) and some Tombow liquid adhesive (item # 110755, $4.00). One kit, 20 cards, 5 of each of 4 designs. Check it out!

HOST CODE
IF you are placing an order (you know you want to do so) over $150, please contact me so you can earn all the Host Rewards for which you are entitled. If your order is less than $150, please use YYX6FBEC for the host code.
Wednesday was a HUGE day for Stampin’ Up! Not only did the Holiday Catalog go live for customers, the Buy 3, get 1 Free DSP sale from the annual catalog starts! I already have my FOUR sets of DSP picked out! Get yours now!


To shop from the holiday catalog, available now, click on the image below:

Supply list:
Free as a Bird bundle, item # 151123
OR
Free as a Bird stamp set, item # 149468
Stitched Nested Label dies, item # 149638
Bird Ballad DSP, item # 149592
Night of Navy cardstock, item # 100867
Very Vanilla cardstock, item # 101650
Momento Tuxedo Black ink pad, item # 132708
Calypso Coral blends combo, item # 144045
Crumb Cake blends combo, item # 144601
Daffodil Delight blends combo, item # 144603
Pearl Basic Jewels, item # 149607
Tombow Liquid Adhesive, item # 110755
Dimensionals, item # 104430
Apr 6, 2019 | Freshly Made Sketches |
Painted Seasons
The Painted Seasons DSP was a limited time product during Sale-a-Bration. However, I did not break into it until a week ago and now want to use it all up. I am trying to be much better about using my DSP rather than hoarding it. Sometimes I cut it up, sometimes I don’t. I immediately thought of this DSP stack when I saw the Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week. Personally, I think it is the perfect paper for it. When I broke into the DSP pack, I found a few papers which are going to be transformed into One-Sheet Wonders this weekend!
Here’s the FMS382 sketch:

As always, clean and simple rules with FMS.
Here’s my card:

Color Choices Abound
This gorgeous pattern contains a multitude of colors, but I chose to highlight the Poppy Parade and Pumpkin Pie, with accents of Early Espresso. All of the papers used were outlined using the Early Espresso Stamping Write Marker. While the challenge had only one mat, I chose to use two. I ran the Poppy Parade cardstock through the Big Shot using the Swirls and Curls TIEF just for a bit of dimension peeking out from the DSP.
The sentiment is from Varied Vases and, poof, this card is an all-ocassion card. I snipped one end into a banner, and tied the Poppy Parade ribbon onto the other end. Ta-da. Clean and Simple, and it matches the challenge.
Thank you for stopping by!
Have a Peachy Day!
Sue
Jul 1, 2018 | CAS(E) This Sketch |
CAS(E) This Sketch #278
This week’s challenge is super simple, but took me a couple of days to figure out what I was going to do. I knew I wanted to use Animal Outing DSP and finally decided exactly what I would do. As with the vast majority of sketch challenges with which I play along, I look at the sketch just a couple of times and then let it roll around in my head until I get an idea.
Here’s my card:

Here’s the CTS#278 sketch that inspired my card:

The trio of adorable animals and the sentiment banner were taken directly from the sketch. The sentiment, from the Animal Outing stamp set, was the perfect size for my banner. I stamped the sentiment, trimmed the length, and punched the banner, albiet non-symmetrical.
Kangaroo, Iguana, and Sloth ~ Oh My!
All three of the animals came from one sheet of DSP. This whole stack is absolutely adorable, and I had a difficult time deciding which three to use. In the end, it came down to which ones I could get out of a piece of DSP smaller than a 6 x 6 inch square. The animal print DSP is on the reverse side of the animals, and I thought it would calm down the Berry Burst in the mat and the strip of DSP (also from Animal Expedition) going down the front. In order to try to further calm down the DSP patterns, I matted the Berry Burst on Pool Party, also taken from the DSP colors.
After cropping out the squares using the Stitched Shapes framelits, I used the Soft Suede Stamping Write marker to color in the stitches in the ditches. Then I thought that trying to mat these squares would be just too much for this sketch. Therefore, I used a tip I picked up from Mary Deatherage, of Stamps-n-Lingers, during one of her weekly FB live videos. I’d always outlined the borders of paper by tap, tap, tapping it in the ink pad. Mary uses the broad tip of the markers to outline the borders. Winner!
Here’s a close-up of the kangaroo faux stitching in the ditch and the colored borders:

The colored borders really add dimension without adding another layer. I love this tip and have used it quite often since I saw it.
Dimensionals, Mini and Regular
These little pieces of dimensional happiness were the finishing touch to the card. I popped the sentiment on mini-dimensionals and tucked it under the sloth. Regular dimensionals provided the lift needed on all three animal squares. While I know the sloth needed to be upside down, I first placed it right side up. I realized my mistake and very, very carefully pulled up on the square, reapplied a couple of dimensionals, and then placed it down correctly. Yeah, me.
The simplicity of this sketch inspired my layers and mats. I wanted something to ground the animal squares, which is why I added the DSP strip.
Thank you for stopping by my blog and I hope you are inspired to play along with this challenge.
Have a Peachy day!
Sue
Jun 10, 2018 | Global Design Project |
Global Design Project # 141
This week the color challenge is to use Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, and Rich Razzleberry. I’ll be honest and say I would never have put these three colors together, but when I saw the challenge post, I loved the combination. I’ve had these colors bouncing around inside my head all week; I’d think of an idea and then discard it, and think of another and discard it again. I finally decided I wanted the three colors included in one design. When I looked through my new stamp sets (TOYS from the 2018 – 2019 catalog) I decided on the Hand Delivered Hostess Set, and the balloons were what caught my attention.
Here’s the color challenge for GDP#141 so you can see these gorgeous colors all lined up:

Hand Delivered
Here’s my finished card:

I used my Stamparatus for this card. Since there is a problem when stamping too close to the hinges, I moved my Whisper White over to the right side. There is a SU logo on the foam mat included which allows for a straight line without needing the grid. When I line the right side of the cardstock up with the right side of the logo I have gotten a much cleaner stamping result.
With the three Bright colors, I needed the rest of the card to be clean and simple. My SU grid paper got quite a work out when planning this card. I stamped all the pieces on the grid paper and then planned the color placement so I (hopefully) wouldn’t mess up my mats. Originally I colored each balloon with my Stamping Write markers, but decided the card was too flat. Therefore, I stamped the balloons on a scrap of Pumpkin Pie, and another stamp on Real Red. Fussy cutting was pretty easy for these basic circles. Mini-dimensionals pop up the Pumpkin Pie balloons. Regular dimensionals pop up the Real Red balloons. The result is a 3D layering of balloons, giving depth to the card.
I stamped the woman’s skirt in Basic Black for the outline, and Rich Razzleberry for the striped overlay. I very lightly touched her blouse with Pumpkin Pie, and the collar has a deeper coloring. Real Red shoes finish off her outfit. Everyone coordinates their clothes with a bunch of balloons, right?
Finishing Touch
When I was “finished”, I realized I needed a bit of something something on the card. I didn’t want to add anything outside of the stamped/colored images in order to keep the card clean and simple. Therefore, I used clear Wink of Stella on the Rich Razzleberry balloons, but that didn’t really solve my problem. That’s when I pulled out my (retired) Brights enamel shapes. Each balloon recieved a coordinating star enamel shape. The greeting had room for just one Real Red enamel shape, but it seems to work. Now, this card was finished.
This hostess set is super cute and very versatile with greetings for graduates, birthdays, and congrats!
Here’s an image of this photopolymer stamp set:
Super cute, right?
I hope you have a Peachy day!
Thank you for visiting my blog. I love getting feedback, so please feel free to leave a comment.
Sue