More Valentines with Spring Sampler

I'm going to keep this post short & sweet! My family has been sick for the last two weeks and it looks like my body is (finally) succumbing as well :( I was hoping I was super-immune, but apparently not. I shouldn't be surprised though... in our house in less than two weeks we've had the flu (yes, the REAL flu), croup (2x), horrible colds, gastro (2x). So I suppose I was due.

Today's cards are 3 others that I did for my Mom and Me Valentine's Class last week. This was such a fun class! The girls were all fantastic little stampers and we had a ball. I was impressed how efficiently we all worked. I'm looking forward to doing it again.

I incorporated the Pals Paper Arts Challenge in my cards, but especially this one below. The challenge was to use Primrose Petals, Real Red and Pool Party in our card. I think I accomplished that pretty well in the card below.

How cute is that little frog? I also couldn't resist using some of the Silver Glimmer Paper for one of my flags. It's just so sparkly :) I'm still loving that Stitched In Color Ribbon, too!

On my next card, I allowed the girls (and moms) to choose from a variety of images. It was easy with the Spring Sampler stamp set. They could make the cards a bit more girly, or more boyish if desired. I love this simple layout - it's one of my go-to's.

And how about that ribbon? It's from the Sale-a-Bration Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack. You get one Sale-a-bration item for every $60 you spend and this pack has 15 yards of ribbon and 24 gorgeous buttons - each in three colors!

Finally, I decided to use my Hearts Embosslit for my last card. It's a bit embarrassing, but I haven't actually used this embosslit yet. So I broke it out for this super simple but super cute card. And yes, I couldn't resist using more of that Silver Glimmer Paper ;)

What's great about these cards is that you can use them all as something other than Valentine's cards. Sure they have hearts - but I like to tell my friends and family that I love them with a few hearts pretty often ;)

'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Monica
Shop Stampin' Up! Online 24/7  

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Spring Sampler, Tiny Tags, Oh, Hello, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Pool Party, Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Real Red, Very Vanilla, More Amore DSP, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink: Pool Party, Real Red
Accessories: Notecards & Envelopes, 1" Square Punch, Jewelry Tag Punch, Pool Party Sycamore Street SAB Ribbon, Primrose Petals Stitched Satin Ribbon, Big Shot, Hearts Embosslit, Basic Jewels - Rhinestones, Stampin' Dimensionals

More Amore Valentine's

Eek, I'm a day late! I'm trying to stay on track with my posts, but sick kids and a sick husband (and who's kidding who, he's like a sick kid too ;) ) have thrown me of my game this week. But I have some great cards for you today. Yes, cardS :)

I'm doing a mom-and-me Valentine's class tomorrow evening. We are using the Note Cards and Envelopes, the Spring Sampler stamp set and the More Amore Specialty DSP from the Spring Mini Catalogue. I can't tell you enough how much I absolutely LOVE the More Amore DSP. It is GORGEOUS and so easy to use. I especially love how easily the different patterns coordinate. Did I tell you I love it?

My inspiration for this card was this week's Freshly Made Sketch. I love the cut-off large element on the left. I used the Try Stampin' On Tuesday sketch for the next card.

Tips & Tricks:

*I was in a glitzy and glam kind of mood (plus I thought the kids would appreciate it) so I made sure to use the Basic Jewels - Rhinestones and Silver Glimmer Paper on every card. I find I can never give the Glimmer Paper justice through photos. It's so much more SILVER ;)
*The Notecards and Envelopes are awesome. For just $7.95 you get 20 3-1/2"x5" note cards as well as envelopes in Whisper White. Perfect for that quick card or a set of cards.
*I absolutely LOVE the laser-cut hearts in the More Amore DSP. So many ways I could use them...
*I embossed the DSP on the second card with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. I love how it gives paper, especially DSP, a fabric-like feel.

*Wondering where the greeting is on the second card? I used the Wacky Wishes Hostess-only stamp set and stamped it *inside* the card :)

I hope my guests enjoy the cards. These ones are pretty feminine, but I do have some masculine ones up my sleeve, too. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Monica
Shop Stampin' Up! Online 24/7 

Card Recipe: 
Stamps: Spring Sampler, Wacky Wishes, Delightful Dozen
Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party, Primrose Petals, More Amore DSP, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink: Real Red, Primrose Petals
Accessories: Note Cards and Envelopes, Big Shot, Perfect Pennants Bigz L Die, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Modern Label Punch, Full Heart Punch, Basic Jewels - Rhinestones, Stampin' Dimensionals

Kids' Canvas with Floral District DSP

Last Friday, I hosted a birthday party for my daughter (who turned 7) and ten of her 'best' friends. She actually had many more 'best' friends, but we were able to cap it at 10. Thank goodness. Because as fun as it is crafting with eleven 6-9 year olds, it is crazy and exhausting! Luckily I had a good friend helping me. Funny thing is, she's not super crafty, but she was the one doing all the stamping and punching with the girls :D I think she's good for the rest of the year now with respect to craftiness ;)

So what did we make? Well, my daughter wanted to make a card - so we made a Valentine's card for the girls' parents with the Dress Up stamp set as well as various Happy Valentine's Day greetings. But the bigger project was an 8x10 canvas. I wanted to keep the project simple. The girls were old enough to punch and stamp, but I also wanted to leave some room for their creativity.

Each girl got their initial in  Silver Glimmer Paper so that they could personalize their canvas. I focused the project around the Floral District DSP because it's so pretty and girly. I thought the girls would love it and I was right :) Here are a few Tips & Tricks I've learned along the way on stamping with kids:

*Keep it simple! Leave a lot of room for personalization. Every single girl had a completely different canvas when she was finished. Only two loosely followed my example. The other nine did their own thing. It's one of the things I love so much about stamping with kids - the uninhibited creativity.

*Have a lot of extra DSP and card stock on hand. I let the girls go crazy with the Full Heart and Blossom Punches, and crazy they went. They used nearly five full sheets of DSP! I kept cutting more to keep them happy. They were punching and gluing flowers and hearts everywhere!
*Do the ribbon tying for them. It will avoid wasted ribbon as well as frustration. Many adult stampers have a hard time with ribbon and bows, the kids will too (for the record, I adhered their ribbon and tied the bow where they wanted it).
*Offer them some personalization. The girls were THRILLED to have their initial for the canvas.
*You can never go wrong with bling. Silver Glimmer Paper and Basic Jewels were definitely popular!
*Use wood mount stamps. They won't fall of the block and are less likely to get lost.

To show you I'm not a one trick pony, I made the cake below for my daughter's birthday as well. She wanted a Barbie cake. She didn't tell me how she wanted it decorated but I think I know her pretty well because she said it was exactly what she'd imagined :)

I hope these little tips are helpful if you're ever stamping with kids! The girls had a blast and you know what? So did I! :) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Masculine Just Thinking

One thing I love about Leadership is that you get FREE stamps (and DSP and accessories). And this year was no different. We were spoiled and one of the stamps we received was the Just Thinking single stamp. I love it! Coordinates perfectly with the 2-1/2" Circle Punch as well as the Window Frames Framelits. I'm always on the lookout for a great stamp that works well for masculine AND feminine cards and this stamp definitely fits the bill.

I used this weeks Try Stampin' on Tuesday sketch for my card inspiration. Can you believe, however, I don't have the coordinating Framelits yet? Unbelievable, I know. So I improvised and stamped my image in Early Espresso on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock. Then I stamped the image again in Lucky Limeade on another piece of card stock and put it over the Espresso image with Dimensionals.

Tips & Tricks:
*Do you like the Early Espresso background? I used the new Vine Street Embossing Folder, available in the Sale-a-Bration Brochure. What's SAB? It's only our BEST promotion! For every $60 you spend in product, you get to choose a FREE item from the brochure!

*Do you see how my punched out element seems to be missing some ink? This was intentional! I colored it with my Lucky Limeade Marker because I didn't want to include 'friend' in the sentiment. Then I intentionally roughed the image up by not coloring all the edges.
*I haven't used Linen Thread to tie around my card and make a bow in a long time. I love the natural look of it. I added a clear Bitty Button to the center of the bow.

I made this card for a Card Brigade that I organized. It's a little group of people that will send a card to someone needing an 'Avalanche of Love' - just a little random act of kindness that can make someone's day a bit brighter. Interested? Find more info on my Facebook Page.

Hope you've enjoyed this card - 'til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Monica
Shop Stampin' Up! Online 24/7

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Just Thinking
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Bright Blossoms DSP
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Linen Thread, Bitty Buttons, Big Shot, Vine Street Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Lucky Limeade Stampin' Write Marker, Basic Jewels - Pearls

Fancy Fan Embossed Valentine

We're still in January, but I figured I should get a head start on a few Valentine's cards that I need to make. I actually don't have too many Valentine's stamps, I like using DSP and making Valentines nice and simple. I do have the Delightful Dozen greeting stamp set which has some pretty fantastic, ornate greetings.

I got sketch inspiration for my card from Try Stampin' On Tuesday. A lovely simple sketch. Instead of the traditional color red, I thought I'd mix it up a bit and use Raspberry Ripple as well as the Print Poetry DSP. I love how my two-toned card turned out. 

Tips & Tricks:

*Did you notice that the whole card was embossed? I got a card at Leadership and after putting her card together, the demonstrator embossed the whole thing. So I did the same, embossing all the layers, with the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder. I love the look of the embossed DSP and greeting.
*The heart in the greeting seemed a little too empty, so I added the largest pearl from the Basic Pearls embellishments. It just adds that little je-ne-sais-quoi to my card.
*I am still loving the notched out flagged look that is so 'in' right now! An easy little added touch with my Paper Snips.

You've got to forgive my pictures. I'm still trying to sort out the best place and way to photograph my cards and projects. I'll get there though and hope you'll hang in there with me. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Monica
Shop Stampin' Up! Online 24/7 

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Delightful Dozen
Ink: Raspberry Ripple
Paper: Very Vanilla, Raspberry Ripple, Print Poetry DSP
Accessories: 2/3" Scallop circle Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Big Shot, Fancy Fan Embossing Folder, Raspberry Ripple Stitched Ribbon, Basic Pearls Jewel Accents