The Herd Wishing a Merry Christmas

Everytime I see "the herd" it makes me feel good so I try to incorporate them into a card for every season. The SU Wondrous Wreath stamp set and the matching framelits make incorporating them really fun. My mother enjoyed the card so much she made me one for Christmas. Now I can enjoy the card. I hope you enjoy the card and find fun ways to incorporate the herd too.

 

 

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Dove of Peace

My friend surprised me with a Christmas gift of the SU Dove of Peace stamp. Luckily I had not finished all my cards and I was able to make a few cards with this stamp. Adding to the beauty of the card are two other items from the SU Holiday and regular catalog ... the Iced Rhinestone embellishments and the 1/8" silver ribbon. This stamp has great versatility for weddings, baptisms, and sympathy cards. Thank you Marlene for this great stamp!

 

 

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Fun and fast tree card

Keeping with the theme of fast and fun, I made another card with the SU tree punch. The paper is from last year's SU DSP. I love the small prints for the trees. The softly falling textured impressions folder adds a nice background texture. SU Cording trim and the "home for Christmas" enamel dots add the right amount of bling.

 

 

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Christmas tree and holiday blessings

I was late getting my Christmas cards out and even later getting anything posted. I love the Christmas season.... Wrapping presents, making tags and cards, really enjoyable. The insane pace of parties and traveling... Not so much. This card using the SU tree punch and saying from the "six sayings" hostess set is easy and fast. It also enabled me to use the enamel dots. I love them and while I want to horde them, I keep reminding myself that they are to use not to save.

 

 

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Halloween Themed October Birthday cards

I have twin brothers with birthdays in October. I try to be really cleaver with their cards as they are really fun to be around and they deserve something fun for their birthday. I forgot to tell you that their birthdays are almost Halloween. This year, the SU DSP really made the card making fun. I used the SU Happy Hauntings DSP for both the cards. The cards used a variety of stamps, with the first card using the cake from the SU Big Day stamp set and the cute little web was from the SU Mixed Medley. The word bubble and saying are from Great Impressions "The Cloud" and the saying from Stampendous.

The second card was also made with the SU Happy Haunting DSP. The saying is from SU "Just Say'in" and the tree stamp is from Hero Arts, "Scary Tree." The web from SU Mixed Medley was used again. The cute little bat is a Martha Stewart punch.

 

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The Herd here for Halloween

SU "The Herd" just makes me smile. The idea of "the herd" going trick or treating is really great. The paper is the Happy Haunting DSP from the SU Holiday catalog. The witches hat was taken from the little girl in the SU Greeting Card Kids." The glittery bats are possible because of an essential punch from Martha Stewart. The SU glitter paper makes that shine.

 

Keep stopping by... More to come from the herd.

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Shabby Chic Christmas Card

I love cards that encorporate all kinds of paper prints. When I saw this paper from MME I thought it would work well for a Shabby Chic card. Using the SU "Tree" punch worked perfect for the look and it was simple and fast. The SU embellishments made the look. First, the striped very vanilla "Subtle Stripes Satin Ribbon" really creates the look. The poinsettia button from the SU holiday catalog "Home for Christmas Designer Buttons" is absolutely beautiful in the middle of the ribbon. The finishing touch was the snowflakes from the 2014 frosted sequins embellishments. I can't wait to mail this card to a friend!

 

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First Christmas notecard with envelope

Wow.... It is always fun to sit down and make the first Christmas card of the season. With the new SU Holiday catalog, And seeing the cards with the "Reason of Being" I got in the mood to pull out an older SU poinsettia stamp...."Wondercolor Winter." This was also my first time to make a square card, 4.5 x 4.5. With the new envelope board, any size card is possible. This card would make a great notecard on a gift or a thank you note after Christmas. It is hard to see in the photo, but the poinsettia is positioned on top of lace circle.... The Hero Arts stamp, "Starburst Lace." The stamp is embossed in white on top of vanilla paper. The poinsettia is embossed with Cherry Cobbler embossing powder on vanilla paper. Gold gemstones were used in the middle of the poinsettia. The beautiful little "believe" statement is from the SU "Good Greetings" stamp set. I sure hope SU comes out with more sayings using that font and size. I love those stamps. I love the potential of the envelope board. Note the pretty little poinsettia on the corner of the envelope.

 

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First Thanksgiving Card

I have been enjoying the Halloween papers and stamps. Yesterday I decided that I wanted to play with some Thanksgiving ideas. I took the lead from my friend, Marlene Heringer who maximized the SU Wonderful Wreath Framelits with her awesome Halloween card with the black glittery wreath. See this beautiful card at "somanytoyssolittletime" blogspot. I stamped the wreath using the wreath stamp from the Wondrous Wreath stamp set in the current SU book. The little acorns are stamped using a retired SU set, "Day of Gratitude." The little leaves are from the current SU Square Pillow Box dies in the holiday catalog. The cute greeting was taken from last years SU Endless Wishes set. Being able to use stamp sets for multiple functions makes me really happy!!

 

 

 

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Happy Halloween

I could not wait for my SU DSP to arrive. Everybody is talking about the new SU Holiday Catalog. It is a great catalog. I really love the Halloween paper and stamps. I had been designing cards in preparation for the arrival of my paper. All sides of the paper go together so well, that it makes card design really fun. I used an assortment of old and new SU stamps. The first card is a monochromatic design with just the DSP and the Sweet Hauntings stamp set.

The next card using the DSP is a bit more colorful and really fun. The spider stamp is from a Hampton Arts stamp set . I love the polka dot DSP and the "hello love" statement is possibly the best part of the card. This stamp is from SU's special stamp set with 2014 Holiday Catalog.

Note the little embellishments of diamonds in the web and the Googly eyes.

I made one other card I have to share. The DSP with the tombstones is really fun so I just couldn't help myself. The tree on this card is a Hero Arts stamp called Scary Tree. The saying is a 1989 Stampendous stamp that I stamped into a Great Impressions stamp bubble. By cutting out the bubble I could cut around the words that did not quite fit in the bubble. The SU word bubbles were not quite big enough. The little pumpkin is Stampotique Originals. The cute little bat was made with a Martha Stewart punch.

 

Hope you enjoy!! I sure enjoyed making all of them.

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Cheerful Critters Happy Birthday

This has been a fun set to use. The options are almost limitless. Thanks Marlene for the use of her stamp. I have borrowed this repeatedly. I used it for my son's graduation card. I hate that SU got rid of Crisp Cantaloupe. It is the primary color in this card. The ribbon was in the Celebration book and then note the basic metal button. I love them.

 

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Fun anniversary card

Yes....I am catching-up today.  I had tried to blog a few days ago and I kept having trouble with my computer.  Today, the "force" is with me and everything is working well.  I feel as if I better hurry and blog while everything is functioning well.  As I indicated in my last blog, I really love the retired SU Ampersand.  I used it for this fun anniversary card.  The SU "Something to Say" from the current book really makes this card special.  The sayings fit perfectly in the SU Word Bubbles. I am very sad that these were retired.  I guess the Project Life Paper Clips thinlits replaced them.  While they are also very cute, they would not work for this look.  Thanks to my dear friend, Marlene for the use of her stamp set.  The cute little heart stamp is from "Something to Say" set too.  The large heart was punched out using the SU Sweetheart punch.  The paper is from the DSP Stacked with Love that was in the 2015 Occasions Catalog.   Note, the envelope.  I lined with with a contrasting paper from the DSP Stacked with Love paper stack.  Love, love this card.

Special Grad Card for Matt

I wanted to make a special card for Matthew and I have fallen in love with the SU Ampersand textured impressions folder that was retired from the catalog this last cycle.  I used it for this graduation card and then an anniversary card you will see on my next blog.  I did have to use the retired bravo burgundy ink again as it matched his school colors.  Sadly, I wish I had the ink refill as the ink pad is getting quite dry now....it used to be one of my go-to colors.  This card incorporated stamps from a variety of SU stamp sets.  The "congratulations" stamp is from the SU "Something to Say" stamp set.   The outline for the SU Word Bubble at the bottom is from the SU "Just Sayin" stamp set.  The saying in the bubble is from the 2012-2013 SU catalog, "Pure Gumption."  The fun of stampin with friends...collectively, we can certainly maximize our stamp sets.  That makes it really fun.

As Much as we wanted a nice picture with Matthew, he hates to have his picture taken so we had to grab one just before he turned his gown in.  Oh well....the diploma is in hand.  I guess that is what really matters.  His graduation night was memorable in that we had one of the worst storms in history.  We must thank all our wonderful family and friends that "weathered" the storm to come out and party with us.  It was a great evening.

Belated Graduation card ideas

I had meant to post this blog prior to the end of the graduation season and before the SU Ocassions Catalog retired.  My son graduated from High School so I purchased the Class of 2015 stamp to use for thank you's, scrapbooking etc.  I started out making cards that fully utilized the stamp set.  Then a Demonstrator friend purchased the Cheerful Critters stamp set and I developed a card that would be the primary thank you card.  I love how it turned out.  His school colors are burgundy and gray so I had to resort to a retired SU color....Bravo Burgundy.  Luckily, I had some reserved paper.   Also note, the "celebrate" statement on the card is from an old SU set "Along the Same Lines."  At the bottom of the stamp with the christmas trees there is a small celebrate.  Through the whole process of graduation....etc. the glass of wine was a nice addition

I used the same design for a son of a friend's card.  The colors were changed to reflect his school colors.   I had to go to my retired pile of paper and colors again though as I needed the Brilliant Blue and the Bravo Burgundy again.  I sure wish those colors still existed.  I forgot to mention that I used the SU large clear buttons (retired) on the card above and then on the card below I added stars from the In Color sequins...they work with any color as they seem to pick up the color of whatever paper you put them on.  The button is also from a retired button set during Bravo Burgundy days.

SU Big Day Card

Last post of today.   I have some other cards to post but thought I better leave them for another day.  I love this card and decided I wanted to get it posted.  Not only do I love the SU Big Day stamp set, but I absolutely love the DSP Fresh Prints paper stack.  I will miss the 2013-2015 In Colors.  Costal Cabana and Real Red are the best!!  A phenomenal SU Demonstrator has helped me think outside the box with my card designs.  She has helped me to angle shapes and use different shapes all over the card.  She is also the expert at covering little unexpected blemishes.  It was her expertise that led to the beautiful Gorgeous Grunge accents at the top.  Again, the envelope liner is the final wonderful touch.  I am finding it hard to line the envelopes because I feel as if I have to horde my Fresh Prints paper stack.  I don't know what I will do when it is gone. 

Fun with SU From The Herd stamp set

SU's From the Herd stamp set is a winner.  It has really brought out the creativity for all stampers.  This next card took advantage of my favorite animal within the stamp, the llama.  I loved a card pinned from scrapjunkie-becky.  I made some adjustments.  We both used the DSP paper stack.  I love the "keep calm" stamp that I found at Michaels.  I used the SU Word Bubbles Framelits for the statement.  The SU basic metal buttons are really great because they are so flat.  I used Calypso Coral SU baker's twine.   Note the lined envelope.  It just really tops off the card.  I love this llama.

Love is Kindness Birthday Card

Here is the last "tulip" card for now.   I really like the SU Strawberry Slush In Color.   It is beautiful and really makes this card bright.  I think it would have been a bit nicer if I would have used the aqua painters on the tulips instead of the markers but at the time I did not have the stamp pad to use the aqua markers. The embossing folder in the background is the SU Spring Flowers Textured Embossing Folder.  The sequins are from the 2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment.  They are really handy as the colors blend well with any of the SU colors.  The ribbon is the SU Melon Mambo 3/8" striped organdy ribbon.  I used the bitty banners birthday stamp and framelits for the message. 

Another Tulip -- SU Love is Kindness card

I apologize for not posting but I will try to catch up now.  As you will quickly note, I have really been using the SU Love is Kindness stamp.  The SU Occasions catalog had so many nice stamps and embossing folders.  I am already looking forward to the Christmas catalog. 

I sent this card to my mother for Mother's Day and while I rarely make the same card twice, I loved this one so much, I made it for my mother-in-law too.  The background is the Spring Flowers Textured Impressions embossing folder.  I cut the tulips out with the ovals collection and then made a pink frame from Pretty in Pink paper with a larger oval.  The tulips are colored with a retired Stamp and Write marker...Pretty in Pink.  The stems are colored with another SU retired color, Garden Green.  The saying is from a retired SU set..."From the Heart" stamp set.  I used the bitty banner framelits and cut out the saying and then cut the one end off flush with the card edge.  The pretty pearls finish off the card. 

SU Love is Kindness -- Birthday, Mother's Day, Thank you...great stamp

I have been very delinquent in catching-up my blog.  I have been busy making thank you cards, birthdays and mothers day cards.  I am finding that the Love is Kindness stamp from the SU Occasions catalog is my "go-to" stamp.  The Spring Flowers Textured Impressions embossing folder is a nice compliment. 

The card below was made with crisp cantaloupe paper and colored using the crisp cantaloupe stamp pad with the aqua painters.  It gives a softer appearance.  A hint of green paper is the pistachio pudding.  The ribbon is the 3/8" Taffeta ribbon in SU Pear Pizzazz.  I wish SU still carried this ribbon it is nice to tie and is a nice width. 

Sweet Thank You

The idea for this sweet thank you was taken from a Pinterest entitled "For the Birds" from stampsnsmiles.BlogSpot.com  I love using the Adorning Accents embossing folder and edgelit. 
The paper forming the foundation for the card was SU DSP Summer Starfruit.  The flowers were created using a 2006 Shades of Nature stamp.  As already mentioned the SU Adorning Accents edgelit and embossing folders were used to create the beautiful edge.  Lastly, SU white organza ribbon was used to create the bow.  This ribbon was available on the clearance rack recently. 

Patriotic eagle congratulatory card

A friend of mine was promoted to Colonel.  I wanted to make her a card that included an eagle.  The background of the card was created with the SU Lucky Stars Textured Embossing Folder.  The cut-out star was made with SU Star Framelit set and the smaller star inside the framelit as well as the one to the side was made with the SU small star punch.  The tiny star was created using Martha Stewart's star confetti punch.  The eagle stamp is from Stacy Stamps and is entitled "Freedom."  The Hooray stamp is from the SU stamp set "Sumthin' Sumthin."  The oval was created using SU's small oval punch.  I love the card and thank she will like it. 

Thank you for a Navy Servicemember

I recently retired from the Air Force and I needed to make lots of thanks you.  Some of my thank you cards were for Navy members.  I wanted to come up with a card that included blue and gold.  The only element of this card that I do not particularly like is the ribbon running through the open star.  The only option for this would have been to cut a white star the same size of the cut-out star to put behind it.  I may still do this.  Stampin Up (SU) Stripes and the Lucky Stars Textured embossing folders were used on the white paper.  The blue paper is Night of Navy as is the star created with the SU Star framelit.  The thank you is a non-SU stamp and I could not read the end of the stamp.  The ribbon from the SU Best Year Ever free accessories from the 2015 Sale-A-Brations catalog.  The small star was created with the SU small star punch and the glitter paper.  I hope my Navy colleague enjoys his card.

Big Day Birthday message

Given that I have four brothers with two having birthdays in March....I had to get busy stamp'in.  I did not want to give both brothers the same cards so I came up with this birthday card design using the SU "Big Day" stamp set from the Sale-A-Brations options.  This is the neatest stamp set with so many options for stamping.  This card was really fun because I was able to use the Fresh Prints DSP series.  My SU Demonstrator has turned me into a believer.  The colors featured within the Fresh Prints DSP series are some of my favorites.  The primary color in the card is Coastal Cabana wth accents in real red.  It may be hard to see in the picture but the cake has a glitter coating using SU Iridescent ice embossing powder.  The banners were created with the SU framelit banner set.

Happy Birthday from "From the Herd"

Two of my four brothers have birthdays in March.  One of the two brothers is my twin.  The Herd stamp set is perfect for wishing a happy birthday to one of my brothers as both brothers are farm and ranchers in Kansas.  They manage a ranch with over 300 head of cattle.  Admittedly, their herd does not look like that within "the herd."  However, I think my oldest brother will enjoy the well wishes from a cute group of a goat, water buffalo (I think), a pig, a funny bird and a spirited llama. 

I love this SU stamp set because it just makes you feel good when you see this silly faces.  Framing of the faces make them even cuter.  The card was made with the In Color of Pistachio Pudding and black.  I embossed the top layer of the card with the "Decorative Dots" textured impressions folder.  The stamped image of the Herd was framed with the Oval Collection from the SU Framelits.  The Happy Birthday message also from the herd stamp set was highlighted by using the SU Word Bubbles Framelits.  I think this card took advantage of some of Stamp'in Up's best items.

SU Mini Treat Bags for Valentines

It has been awhile since I blogged.  I just retired from the military after 28 years and had the opportunity to stamp with a group of family and friends over the weekend.  We had such a good time.  I focused on playing with SU's new Mini Treat Bag Dies from the Sale-A-Bration p. 9.  It is a great die with lots of fun options.  While the assumption would be that one would use a 12x12 double-sided sheet of paper, we figured out how to use the SU DSP paper stack.  We made the bags first from white paper and then cut another piece of paper for the front and a different print for the inside of the bag.  Some of our finished products are below.