Follow your heart...

Hi!  I hope you are having a great weekend!

For this card, I was inspired by my friend Sharon's color challenge this week at Stampin' Addicts, as well as this week's Saturday Sketch Challenge at Stamping 411...

The I {Heart} Hearts stamp set is wonderful for more than just Valentine's Day, and more than just for saying "I love you".  Plus, when you purchase this set from your demonstrator through February 28, 2010, Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to the American Red Cross' Haiti Relief and Development Fund.  It's one of my favorite sets, so if you don't have it.. what are you waiting for??  :)

I love using all of these hearts in the set together.. it creates such a whimsical yet connected look.  The Kraft heart was simply punched out using the Full Heart punch, then stamped with VersaMark using the flower vine from the Vintage Vogue set.  I created the panel on the left by punching the Scallop Trim border, then scoring the edge and folding it over, tucking the Designer Series Paper inside.  This has to be my new favorite border punch!

Follow Your Heart card:  I {Heart} Hearts, Vintage Vogue and Whimsical Words (SAB freebie) stamp sets; Melon Mambo, Old Olive and Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pads; VersaMark ink; Kraft, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, and Crushed Curry cardstock; Welcome Neighbor Designer Series Paper pad (SAB freebie); Whisper White taffeta ribbon; Full Heart punch; Scallop Trim Border punch (SAB freebie); Filigree Designer Brads

Stamping411 Color Inspiration 107 - Butterfly Congrats

Good morning!

Today's card was created with inspiration from this week's color combo at Stamping 411.  Here are the colors:

I kept playing around with my design for a while, and eventually ended up with a fairly clean and simple layout.  Sometimes those are the best!

I love the new Beautiful Wings Embosslits die.  The die cuts and embosses 5 gorgeous butterflies with one pass through the Big Shot, so it was fabulously easy to cut a bunch in different colors!

Butterfly Congrats card:  Well Scripted stamp set; Close to Cocoa Classic Stampin' Pad; Apricot Appeal, Close to Cocoa, Bermuda Bay, and Whisper White cardstock; Welcome Neighbor Designer Series Paper (SAB freebie); Pumpkin Pie corduroy button; Linen Thread, Whisper White organza ribbon; Scallop Trim Border punch (SAB freebie); Beautiful Wings Embosslits die

Disaster Relief in Haiti

On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, leaving in its wake devastation so overwhelming that the Haitian people and their leaders can only look for help from the outside to cope. You can help make a difference in the lives of those who continue to suffer from the effects of this earthquake by purchasing the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set.

From now until February 28, 2010, $2 from every  I {Heart} Hearts stamp set sold will be donated to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

Product Name	Item #	Price
I {Heart} Hearts – clear-mount  (block D recommended)	118571	$18.95
I {Heart} Hearts – wood-mount	117010	$26.95

In the past, when terrorists attacked the Twin Towers, when a tsunami struck Indonesia, when a hurricane destroyed New Orleans, and when wildfires ravaged Australia, Stampin′ Up! demonstrators have stepped forward and showed their commitment to making a difference in the lives of others. This time is no different.

Download the flyer here.

Stamping 411 challenge - Vintage Birthday

Hi!  I discovered a new papercraft challenge website, Stamping 411.  This week's challenge is sketch challenge #134.. I love it!

I wanted to try out a vintage look for my card, and what better stamp set to use than the new Vintage Vogue.  The Well Scripted stamp set works wonderfully with this look as well!  Here's my card:

To create my vintage look, I started out Very Vanilla cardstock, stamping the images in Chocolate Chip, Bravo Burgundy, and Old Olive.  I first sponged around, starting off the paper and going around with Creamy Caramel, then Soft Suede.  I just kept sponging until I was satisfied with it!  :)  The embossed piece was also "distressed".  I love how different the cardstock looks.. doesn't really look like Very Vanilla anymore, does it?

Check out Stamping 411 and play along!  There are some fabulous creations there to see as well.

Vintage Birthday card:  Vintage Vogue and Well Scripted stamp sets; Chocolate Chip, Bravo Burgundy, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel, Pale Plum, and Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pads; Kraft, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip, and Old Olive cardstock; Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions folder; Bravo Burgundy 5/8" grosgrain ribbon; Scallop Trim Corner and Border punches; Playground Designer Buttons; Linen Thread; Stampin' Sponges

Love You Much!

Hi!

Today's card was inspired by this week's challenges from Pals Paper Arts and Mojo Monday...

I tell you, I just love the new sentiment stamp set, Well Scripted, from the Occasions Mini.  The font is just gorgeous!  And aren't the little critters from the Love Bandit set just so darn cute?  I colored them in by using the Classic ink pads and a Blender Pen.  They were also masked when stamping the darker cloud, so that it appears that the cloud is behind them.  So cute!

Placement with the cling-mounted stamps as a breeze, although I will admit that I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig for the sentiment... just to be sure!  I created the side piece using a stamp from the Vintage Vogue set, making it look like a piece of patterned paper.  The beautiful pink DSP in the background is from the Sending Love Specialty paper pack.  The papers in this pack are fabulous - one side has a glittery design.  I used the non-glittery side here.

The grass was fun to create!  After cutting the shapes I wanted to make the "hills", I simply used my craft knife to cut little slits and ruffled up the "grass" a little.

Have a great day!  We're going to test-drive some cars.  Hopefully we'll find a good one!

Love You Much Critter card:  Love Bandit, Vintage Vogue, Good Neighbors, and Well Scripted stamp sets; Chocolate Chip, Basic Gray, Going Gray, Creamy Caramel, Pretty in Pink, Not Quite Navy, and Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pads; Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Kraft, and Whisper White cardstock; Sending Love Specialty Designer Series Paper; Scallop Trim Corner and Border punches; Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon; Pewter Jumbo Eyelets; Crop-a-dile; craft knife; Blender Pen; Ovals Originals die

Fox & Friends Small Wonder card

Hi again!

At one of my favorite hangouts, the Memory Makers magazine forum, we've started a weekly sketch challenge.  The first one was actually last week, but I didn't get a chance to create a layout or card with that sketch.  I love the sketch this week.. it's so versatile and I can see many different ways of using it.  I don't have any pictures printed out though that I wanted to use, so I challenged myself to create a card using the sketch.

Here's the sketch.. it's from Pencil Lines.  I discovered that it's sketch #166 (might I say that they do have some fantastic sketches there!  I've never been there before).

And here's my card!

The stamp set is soo cute!  It's the new Fox & Friends set from the Occasions Mini.  The set contains 4 other cuties - a lion, a turtle, an owl, and a whale.  As soon as I saw the set in the catalog, I knew I had to have it!  :)

I created the circle in the top right corner by first punching a 1-3/8" circle out of Old Olive cardstock, then lining up the 1-3/4" Circle punch up to create an outline.  The Slit punch made a perfect opening for the Whisper White satin ribbon to slip through.  And that Designer Series Paper in the back?  It's from the gorgeous new Sweet Pea 12x12" Designer Series Paper pad.  There are fabulous papers in this pack for both masculine and feminine projects!

Small Wonder card:  Fox & Friends and Whimsical Words (SAB freebie) stamp sets; Dusty Durango, Chocolate Chip and So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pads; Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Old Olive, and Taken with Teal cardstock; Sweet Pea 12x12" Designer Series Paper pad; Whisper White Jumbo Grommet (Designer Hardware); Whisper White satin ribbon; Star Designer Brads; 1-3/8" Circle punch; 1-3/4" Circle punch, Slit punch

New blog header and background!

Hello!  How do you like my new blog header and background?  I love being able to change them on a whim, and it's so easy to do with My Digital Studio.  I felt the need for some spring-y colors, so there you go!

I'll be back later with a project.  Have a great Sunday!