Simplicity with Lacy & Lovely

As I mentioned in a previous post, fall colors in Ottawa are in full swing. And they're more gorgeous than ever this year. Every day they seem to be getting more intense, more colorful. The trees are full of colors like Cajun Craze and More Mustard. Which is why I thought that the Pals Paper Arts Challenge this week was so fitting. We were asked to use the colors More Mustard, Cajun Craze and Early Espresso.

Try Stampin' on Tuesday had a most fantastic sketch for us to work with this week, as well. So simple, yet so many possibilities! And we all know I just love to mix up different DSPs. Why stick to just one package? lol! On this card I mixed together Comfort Cafe and Candlelight Christmas.

Tips & Tricks:
*The Espresso pattern I used from Candlelight Christmas has large snowflakes on it, but I cut them off enough so it doesn't look as Christmas-y. Because that's not what I was going for ;)

*I'm loving the 7/8" Cotton Ribbon. You can stamp on it! And the Lacy & Lovely has stamps that are perfectly sized for it.

*I love stamp sets like Lacy & Lovely and Delicate Doilies. The larger stamps that work coordinate together are perfect for creating a custom look on any neutral surface. This card is super simple - just a Very Vanilla base with strips of DSP!
*Love flagging but can't get your card stock/ribbon flagged evenly on both sides? Check out this quick tip. Cut a slit down the centre of your card stock/ribbon (like on the Cotton Ribbon). Then cut from one corner of the DSP down to the end of the slit (you're cutting a diagonal, see the Candlelight Christmas DSP). Finally cut out the second notch from the opposite corner (like on the Comfort Cafe DSP). And voila - easy flagging!

I hope this card inspires you to simplify your cards a bit ;) Sometimes simple is best! To my Canadian followers, I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving! 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Lacy & Lovely
Card Stock: Very Vanille, Candlelight Christmas DSP, Comfort Cafe DSP
Ink: More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso
Accessories: 7/8" Cotton Ribbon

A Little Papillon with International Bazaar

I've used a lot of my new stampin' supplies but some, such as the Vintage Faceted Buttons, have gone unused up 'til now.  Not because I don't like them. It's more of a time issue. I can only craft so much ;) And then there are some supplies, like the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and the International Bazaar DSP, that I would like to use even more. So on this card, I did just that. Lots of different elements, but I think they work well together.

My inspiration for this card was this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge. I had originally wanted to make two of the DSP flowers (bottom right corner) but it was too busy for the card. So instead I put a Vintage Faceted Button in the corner. The button still draws some attention, but doesn't take over the card.

Tips & Tricks:

*For the DSP flower, I used the new 1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch. It is in the Holiday Mini and will be available August 1st. I punched 6 scallop circles from the International Bazaar DSP, crumpled them (I know! It seems so wrong to crumple up DSP, but it looks so great) and put them together with a Brights Brad.
*Did you notice the piercing around the Framelit Labels? I used the Festive Paper Piercing Pack, also available in the Holiday Mini. I'm loving how Stampin' Up! is making paper piercing so easy for us with these lovely templates.
*The Papillon Potpourri stamp set has several different styles of butterflies - from a realistic looking one, to a flowery one and then to a more mod one. I thought this more realistic looking butterfly was perfect for this card.
*I've always loved the Word Window punch but I kept waiting on buying it because I was worried it would retire. It works so well with Teeny Tiny Wishes, Fabulous Phrases and other stamps. When I put in my huge order a few weeks back I took the plunge and finally ordered it. I can't believe I didn't have it before ;)

*Not sure how to adhere your buttons? I use the Mini Glue Dots. They're clear so they work with the clear buttons. I used them to adhere my DSP flower on the card, as well.

It's one of my friend's birthday this week so I'll be giving her this card. She loves anything colorful and with a funky pattern. I think this card fits the bill. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Papillon Potpourri, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, International Bazaar DSP
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Elegant Butterfly Punch, Word Window Punch, 1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch, Big Shot, Labels Framelits, Paper Piercing Mat, Paper Piercer, Festive Piercing Pack, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals, 1/4" Stitched Rich Razzleberry Grosgrain Ribbon, Basic Jewels - Rhinestones, Brights Brads

Two-Tone Wonderful

I'm really loving the challenge that the Dynamic Duos Challenge presents. I tend to use lots and lots of bright colors, and I definitely have my favorite combinations. So this type of challenge that has me use colors out of my comfort zone are great for getting my creative juices flowing :)

I combined this challenge with the Pals Paper Arts Challenge ~ a love sketch by Margaret Moody. With only two colors to play with (other than neutrals) - Daffodil Delight and Basic Black - I had a bit of a tough time coming up with all the layers. The 'Sweet Dessert Option' that the Dynamic Duos offered us was dry embossing. So that was my solution :) I use one of my Edgelit Embossing Folders to emboss the #3 layer.

Tips & Tricks:

*I absolutely love the Seam Binding Ribbon for this ribbon shirring (folding of the ribbon in waves). It fold so easily and stays folded. Use some Sticky Strip to make sure it stays stuck on the card.
*Isn't Gently Falling a lovely stamp set? Well, good news!!! It has made it into the 2012-2013 Catalogue :)
*Although two-step stampin' can sometimes be a bit frustrating if you want your images lined up perfectly, Gently Falling makes it easy. Even if the outline stamp isn't perfectly lined up with the solid stamp, your image will still look great!

*Doesn't the dry embossing look great? Love had it adds that bit of texture to my card.
*I know the 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon isn't part of the sketch, but the leaf needed just a wee extra detail. I really like how the narrow ribbon adds a very subtle extra touch.

I really like how this card turned out, even though I've never used this color combination before. But I do know I will use this combo again :) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Bright Blossoms for Mother's Day

Another Mother's Day card coming today :) I made the spiral card last week for my MIL and I needed a card for my own mom too, of course. I was already planning on using the color combo in last week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge ~ Calypso Coral, Baja Breeze and So Saffron ~ but I wasn't sure what sketch to use. I was browsing a friend and downline's blog and came across the Retro Sketches Challenge. I loved this week's sketch so I flipped it and combined it with the color combination I was going to use.

I wanted to show off the color contrast as much as possible. As luck would have it, the Bright Blossoms stamp set (a 2012-2013 cattie sneak peek) has three larger flower images. I stamped and cut each of them out. I used Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere them to my card so that they popped out a bit. I love how it all turned out.

Tips & Tricks:

*I don't *love* cutting images out, I much prefer punches. But sometimes to get the effect I want, it's necessary. I always use my SU! Paper Snips to help me out ~ LOVE them.
*See how the 'Mom' is written in the three-color combination too? I used my Stampin' Write Markers for that. Love how I can stamp with them because they have the same ink in them as the ink pads.
*Yeah, the Seam Binding ribbon frays more easily than others. But I think that just adds to its charm. And you can't deny that the sheen it has is just gorgeous.
*I couldn't make a spiral card for one mom and not the other ;) So I used the smaller floral images from Bright Blossoms for the spiral inside this card.

I hope our moms love their cards! I've just received my new catalog preorder so I've got to run to play ~ after I get my son down for his nap. Be on the look out for more sneak peeks. 'Til then, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Fast & Fabulous Flowers

This Wednesday April 25th, I have my Fast & Fabulous Monthly Card Class. I'm looking forward to stamping some fun cards with the ladies! I've still got room, so if you're in the Ottawa area, I'd love for you to join us!

One of the cards look pretty complex, but is most certainly fast and even more certainly fabulous ;)

My inspiration for this card was this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge. It was a sketch challenge and if you've ready my blog before, you'll know those types of challenges are my favorites :)

Tips & Tricks:

*Instead of the circle in the sketch, I used one of the larger flowers from the Fast Flowers Bigz XL Die.
*I used Vellum Card Stock in a card a few weeks ago and I just love how it looks, especially embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.

*The flowery Island Indigo DSP is from the Twitterpated DSP in the Occasions Mini. I'm going to miss this paper ~ it's so pretty but it's patterns are so versatile. Get it before it's gone on April 30th!
*Who knew that Island Indigo would look so good with Cherry Cobbler?!?! This is one of the things I love about SU!'s Designer Series Papers. They provide stampers with color combinations that sometimes aren't so obvious ;)
*I love cards that look complex but are really quite simple to put together. Some DSP, a few die-cut flower, a stamp and a punch helps put this card together quite easily!

I hope the ladies who come on Wednesday enjoy this card and the others we will be making. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

The Open Sea with Summer Smooches

I finally got my Summer Smooches preorder on Thursday! In the preview, I thought it was the DSP was really girly with flowers and such. But there are polka dots, squiggles, blues, red ~ lots of masculine patterns! Since I have a "Man Class" coming up on Friday April 20th I dove right in and used the red polka dot pattern. More info is available on my Facebook Page.

I used my beloved The Open Sea stamp set for this first 'man card'. I haven't used this stamp set in much too long. Love the sketch? I do too! I used this week's Pals Paper Arts sketch for my card. I thought it was a perfect way to showcase the Summer Smooches DSP.

Tips & Tricks:

*I'm loving the flagging technique. I love showing my stampin' friends that they *don't* need every punch and can free-hand a few notches in their card stock. I curled the tips of the flag with my bone folder.

*I stamped my ship and greeting in Cherry Cobbler. But if you look closely, Cherry Cobbler doesn't match the DSP perfectly. Nor does the Real Red. Or Ridinghood Red. Is this a new 2012-2013 In Color?
*I find the Baker's Twine works so well with the nautical theme. I used the Early Espresso here.

If you're in the Ottawa Area, I hope to see you at my 'Man Class'. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Dare to Dream

One of my very bestest friends just moved into a new house. They have been wanting to move for a few years now and they finally found the perfect house, in the perfect neighbourhood on the perfect lot. We are going to see their new place this week-end and of course I needed a card to go with their house-warming gift. I don't have any 'new house' stamps, but for my friend and her husband, this house represents their dreams come true and dreams to come ~ they're expecting a little baby boy at the end of March :)

My card today is based on this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge. If you have seen some of my previous creations, you know that I have a bit of a hard time actually sticking to the sketches. So today, I challenged myself to stick to the lovely Pals Paper Arts sketch. Yes ~ you read that right. And I think I did pretty well! Okay - so I added the Adhesive Rhinestones but other than that I stuck to the sketch.

Tips & Tricks:

*The 'Dream' greetings in rainbow colors were inspired by a SU! sample that I saw at Leadership. To line up the greetings, I used the scallops on the square as a template.
*Wondering how I 'embossed' the edges of my card? I used my Simply Scored to make two score lines at 1/4" intervals at on each side of the card.
*I free-handed the 'Dare to Dream' sentiment label with my Paper Snips. I then curled the edges with my Bone Folder. I wanted to give the sentiment a dreamy, airy feel.
*I adhered my Tangerine Tango and Daffodil Delight and then ran it through my Lattice Embossing Folder. This gives the two card stocks a seamless look.

If you like my cards and techniques, and you're looking to learn some advanced stampin' techniques, come check out my Technique Class on Sunday! It's a great way to get out and stamp as well as learn new techniques :)

I hope my friend loves her card, now to shop for a house-warming gift. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Valentine's is in the Air

There's something in the air! It involves lots of reds and lots of hearts! And two of my favorite challenges asked us to use these elements this week. At the Friday Mashup, they asked us to:
1) Use the inspiration photo to the left; or
2) Use the color combination of Regal Rose, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White; or
3) Mash them up and do both!

Then at Pals Paper Arts, we were asked to make a card and add any red. So I combined both challenges and came up with the card below. Since we're talking love, romance, Valentine's day, I thought it would be fun to use the P.S. I Love You stamp set and Textured Impressions Adorning Accents Embossing Folders. I love these folders, especially the hearts for romantic cards. And I love how the other two folders coordinate with the Adorning Accents Edgelits. The design and layout of this card was inspired by a card I saw at Leadership.

Tips & Tricks:

*Did you notice that my supposed-Valentine's Day card has a 'Happy Birthday' greeting?  Well you see right! I did this card for a Valentine's Day class but I wanted to make it versatile for the class-goers. Doesn't it make a lovely birthday card? We also use the 'Love' greeting from Outlined Occasions, and various V-day greetings at the class.

*Are you LOVING the Twitterpated fabric? It coordinates with the Twitterpated suite of products and I love using it as a ribbon.
*I removed a few threads from each side of the fabric strip to give it that shredded look.
*A lot of my class-goers were worried about having the white and red scallops aligned perfectly. You'll notice mine aren't... I think that is part of the card's charm!
*If you follow my blog you know I love my Stampin' Dimensionals. This card is no exception. I popped up that yummy-looking strawberry on a few :)
*Still loving all of the coordination with punches. The circled hearts fit perfectly into the 1-3/8" Circle Punch and the strawberry fits perfectly into the 1-inch Circle Punch.

How's that for a lot of info for you today! Hope you've loved this card as much as my class-goers. I just love love love the fabric :) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

A Man's Birthday Card

I just found out I'm a new auntie! My new nephew was born less than an hour ago. Unfortunately, he lives all the way in Germany so I don't get to see him 'til he's about 3 months old :( And I guess I should've been making a card for him. But I didn't know he was on his way, so I made a birthday card instead.

This week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge was a color challenge (my favorite after sketch challenges) and they asked us to use Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla and Baja Breeze. A great color combination for a man's card. Even better, I needed to make a card for our Uncle Dale who's birthday is next week, as well as for my Birthday Card Class next week :) (Yes, this is another sneak peek of the class!)

I love the ties from the Best Dad Ever stamp set - they work for a bunch of different masculine cards. Even more, I like stamping out a tie in a contrasting color, cutting it out and putting it on top of one of the darker ties. It adds so much to the image.

Tips & Tricks:

*I love the clear Bitty Buttons. They work with all styles of cards. Adhere with Glue Dots - very easy!
*I find the NEW Island Indigo Baker's Twine coordinates well with Not Quite Navy. In this card, I used Mary Fish's trick of threading a thin strip of card stock through the button (LOVE this technique!). But in a second card I made, I used the Baker's Twine. Looked great!
*Never have enough cards? An 8-1/2 x 11 piece of card stock makes two cards! So since you're already stampin', why not make two cards? One for now, one for when you just don't have the time!

'Tis all for this evening. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring your creativity!

A Cup of Thanks

You may have noticed I'm not posting as often. I would really love to post atleast 3 times a week, but with the holidays fast approaching, time is at a serious premium. I'm aiming for 1-2 times a week right now and hope to update my class list for the winter soon, too! Thanks for hanging in there with me :)

Today's Pals Paper Arts Challenge was a sketch challenge ~ my favourite type of challenge! I have been itching to try out my Tea Shoppe stamp set, another sneak peek from the Occasions Mini. I have recently become a very avid tea drinker but what I really loved about this set was the mug - it's so pretty! Look at the little flowers on it, which I strategically adorned with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. :)

I also used a new DSP ~ Sweet Shoppe. It is a specialty DSP with two embossed designs. The Wisteria Wonder Polka Dot paper has debossed polka dots :) It is so cute, so beautiful. A great variety of designs that work so well together and I love the idea of tea and cakes!

Tips & Tricks:

*Sometimes the right DSP can add a lot to your card. Even though the tea cup is the focal point of this card, the cake DSP adds a whole other element to the card.
*Love the ribbon? It's the new Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon.
*The Tea Shoppe stamp set comes with a myriad of lovely greetings, it's a great everyday stamp set :)
*Do you have trouble inking big stamp sets? Usually we put our ink pads on our work surface and ink our stamps by pushing them into the ink. For bigger stamps, try putting the stamp on your work surface upside down and pushing the ink pad down on the stamp.

Hope you've enjoyed this 'tea card'. I know atleast one person who will love it! You know who you are ;) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Sale-a-Bration will be here soon...

With my Occasions Mini Preorder, I was also able to preorder some Sale-a-Bration (SAB) exclusive stamp sets and accessories. How exciting!!! Even more stuff. Even better was I got it all FREE ~ I love being a demonstrator :)

What is SAB? It's the most wonderful time of the year for SU! customers, hostesses and demonstrators, and runs from January 24th to March 31st. As a customer, you get to choose 1 FREE SAB item with every $60 in merchandise you order! What types of free items are we talking about? SAB exclusive stamps, designer papers and accessories, as well as some catalog merchandise such as the Brights Designer Buttons and Stripes Embossing Folder. Wait, it gets better! There's NO LIMIT!!! If you join SU! during SAB, you get your Starter Kit for $150 (tax free in Ontario ~ Canada only) as well as a FREE package of Designer Paper every month 'til December 2012. Do you see a trend? As in FREE???

You can take advantage of this awesome Demo Starter Deal before Sale-a-Bration through me because I'm going to Stampin' Up! Leadership conference. Sign up on December 13th or 14th and get your business off to a great start in the new year, taking advantage of Sale-a-Bration right from the get-go!!! You can sign up easily at www.stampingwithmonica.com ~ but only December 13th and 14th for the $150 + free DSP deal :)

This week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge asked us to dress up our card for a special occasion. I used some new SAB goodies as well as the Labels Framelits to dress up my card:

Tips & Tricks:

*Love the ribbon? So do I! It's the new Lucky Limeade and Calypso Coral Organdy Ribbon. Get 10 yards of each PLUS 30 Everyday Enchantment Printed Brads (top left - Pool Party flower brad) in a SAB bundle. The ribbon is nice and narrow, but a good weight. Just gorgeous.

*The DSP is also the SAB Everyday Enchantment DSP and it is beautiful. The snippits in the brochure do NOT do it justice!
*I wasn't sure about the SAB Fresh Vintage stamp set, but it's has definitely grown on me. The larger flower image fits perfectly into a medium Labels Framelit. Because the Framelit has not center (it's a frame - go figure ;) ) you can position it perfectly on your stamped image. The square stamp coordinates perfectly with the 1" Square Punch.
*I love the Framelits. I've never used a similar product. I did, however, learn the hard way that making a frame is a two-step process. First cut out your larger die-cut. Then, position the smaller framelit on your larger die-cut and cut out your frame. DO NOT put both the large and small framelits on at the same time... you run the risk of them shifting in the Big Shot and cuttin into each other ~ been there, done that and even though the framelits are super sturdy, I wouldn't want to do it again ;)

Wow! Long post... That's it for today, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Birthday Cupcakes with Pearls

Today I was feeling a little tired and needed a little stamping pick me up. Freshly Made Sketches had a fantastic simple but fun sketch for us. Pals Paper Arts challenged us to us beautiful, classy pearls in our creation. I knew I wanted to do something other than Christmas and when I need a little extra inspiration I head to my stamp set wall and look for a stamp set I haven't used in a while. I bought Create a Cupcake and loved it instantly. I still do, just haven't used it much lately with all the Christmas excitement. So I grabbed it and played :)

I also wanted to show off this awesome two-color ribbon technique I learned at a demo meeting a few weeks back. It looks so great with the In Color Ruffled Ribbon and is super simple but so effective!

Isn't it fantastic? And.... I *finally* got to use my new Curvy Verses stamp set. I just love the font used in this set and the variety of the greetings. The tiny pearls in the Basic Pearls were perfect as sprinkles on my cupcake :)

Tips & Tricks:

*I used the Perfect Pennants Bigz L die to cut out the scalloped circle. Then I adorned it with the lovely large and medium Basic Pearls. I love how much fancier they make the card look.
*This year's In Colors coordinate absolutely beautifully together. I especially love the Wisteria and Lucky Limeade paired up, but the Calypso Coral cherry just pops out :)
*I popped my cupcake up on Stampin' Dimensionals to make sure it really stands out.
*Want a more masculine card? Change the colors to Pool Party and Island Indigo. Then swap out the Pearls for Rhinestones. Easy!

I made this card with my daughter's friend in mind - her party is on Saturday. Hope she loves it :) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!