Thinking Spring Flowers

Concord and 9th make these really cool stamps called “Turnabout” stamps. With four ninety degree turns of this stamp, you can make an awesome design. They have dots, triangles, and not this beautiful dahlia. The dahlia also comes with a turnabout die, which can also yield the same results. These two paired together can also create beautiful combinations, which I have yet to play around with. 

There is a learning curve with the turnabout stamp, but once you have the hang of it you will have fun mixing and matching the colors. As you can see, I am still working on getting it 100%, but for the friend that is getting this for her birthday, she will not mind that it is not perfect. 

As wee are nearing the end of January, I am thinking spring... so I went with soft color choices. The thought of snow melting and my early spring flowers in bloom left me with eager to stamp up more flowery images to help encourage Spring's quick arrival. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Dahlia Turnabout (C&9)

Paper:

Thick Whisper White (SU)

Calypso Coral (Stampin Up)

Marina Mist (SU)

Ink:

Calypso Coral(SU)

So Saffron (SU)

Marina Mist (SU)

Wild Wasabi (SU)

Versamark (SU)

Accessories:

Marvy Heat Tool 

Clear Embossing Powder (SU)

Tim Holtz Stamping Platform (Blitsy)

Burst of Brusho

Upon first glance of the Spring Occasions Catalog, one of the items I knew I wanted to have was the Brusho Crystals. Many of you may know these watercolor ink crystals as Bister or Colorburst... but with my base knowledge and what I have seen on You Tube, it looks like it does about the same thing. I wanted to dabble with this fun product upon first glance, but at the time Tim Holtz just released his Distress Oxides and I wanted to learn those first. 

The great thing about Brusho being part of the Stampin Up Spring release is that I can buy them to learn with before I share my experience with my customers. Even with the limited colors in this five piece set, you can mix the crystals to make new colors... all you need is basic knowledge of the color wheel. I found this medium easier to work with than the colored pencils, especially for beginner watercoloring. 

Also!!! Congratulations to CarolinesBuzz for winning my blog-a-versary giveaway. Please contact we with your mailing address so I can get this out to you ASAP. Thank you to everyone who played along. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Epic Celebrations (Stampin Up)***

Paper:

Thick Whisper White (SU)

Watercolor Paper (SU)

Dapper Denim (SU)

Ink:

Dapper Denim (SU)

Versamark (SU)

Accessories:

Marvy Heat Tool 

White Embossing Powder (SU)

Brusho Crystals (SU)

Aqua Painter (SU)

***Stamp set available until March 31st with a qualifying order. Feel free to ask me or your Stampin Up Demonstrator for more details. 

Look who’s turning one...

Where has the time gone...? Hard to believe that one year has passed since I launched my blog. One whole year since I decided to start sharing my creations beyond just my circle of friends. In that time I have been introduced to new companies, learned new techniques, made new friends, you name it! 

So this card is a celebration card of sorts... it’s a card to celebrate my one year blog-a-versary. Instead of getting presents, I am giving one away!!! I’m giving away a prize package featuring something from three of my favorite crafting companies: Papertrey Ink, Stampin Up, and Unity Stamp Company.  All you need to do is comment on this blog post and you will be entered into the drawing. All comments received by Saturday January 20th at 8 pm (EST) will be entered to win, one entry per person. The winner will be announced on my January 21st blog post. Good Luck!

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Number of Years (Stampin Up)

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Spring Rain (PTI)

Spring Rain Bitty Big (PTI)

Ink:

Soft Sky (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)

Cricut Die Cut Machine
Balloon Bash Die (PTI)

Large Number Framelits (SU)

Rustic Cream Button Twine (PTI)

Friends of Unity January Blog Hop

Welcome Unity fans to our Friends of Unity January blog hop! This month our theme is anything Winter that is Non-Christmas. Angie Girls are a main staple of the Unity line... and nothing like diving in head when learning coloring and shading than with an Angie Girl. 

When we decided on a theme for our blog hop, this stamp set was first on my list. While I am my own worst judge when it comes to coloring, I really like how this one turned out. The open spaces in this stamp set pushed me outside of my comfort zone and had me utilize the skills I have been learning with my Copic markers. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Shine Bright Girls (Unity Stamp Company)
...abundant Blessings (Unity)

Paper:

Basic Gray (Stampin Up)

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Spring Rain (PTI)
Perfectly Plaid Winter (Lawn Fawn)

Ink:

Memento Tuxedo Black (SU)

Accessories:
Sizzix Big Shot (SU)
Wonky Rectangles Dies (Gina Marie Designs)

Copics (Various)

FRIENDS OF UNITY BLOG HOP MEMBERS

Crystal O. Minkler

Amber Trubiak

Eileen Mathys (You're Here!)

Dawn Fields

  Wynne Grob

 Robyn Jordan

Jeanie Hays

Thank You

In the age of all our technology, the thank you card almost seems to be a lost art. I have encouraged my children to send these cards for Christmas and birthdays... and other appropriate occasions in between. The simple act of sending a thank you card was responsible for landing me my current job. It was a card that said “thank you for the opportunity to interview”, that brought my name to mind when another position came open in the same company. 

Not only is this card a first in many “thank you” cards that I will make, it is also a THANK YOU from me to you... for coming here to look at my cards, for reading my blog, and to those who follow my blog. I do this not only to satisfy my creative side, but to encourage other like minded people, and maybe even inspire a future crafter or card maker with one of my creations. Thank you for making this a great year and I hope to see you in 2018. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

None

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Dark Indigo (PTI)

Floral Boutique DSP (Stampin Up Retired)

Ink:

Night of Navy (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)
Thank You (Xcut Dies)

To The Point Edgers Die (PTI)

Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets (SU)

Sponge Dauber (SU)

Christmas Quilt

I had this warm and cozy quilt card designed in my head from the moment I saw the die and knew I wanted to buy it. It makes a great Christmas card as seen here, but paired with pastels, can also make a great baby card too. I love buying items with more than one purpose. It’s like the word “congratulations”... it covers a multitude of events. 

A few years ago, Stampin Up carried adhesive sheets, and I am happy to say we now carry them again. They are excellent to use in small projects like this quilt frame. The hardest part for me with this card would be finding a color scheme I would be happy with. It took a few tries, but once I got this arrangement set up, I knew it was the one I wanted. A few dots of liquid glue in each space as I was assembling this card and it was finished. The adhesive sheet was truly the key to making this card come together quickly and easily. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Greetings of the Season (Stampin Up Retired)

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Garden Green (SU)
Patterned Paper (Miscellaneous Scraps)

Ink:

Garden Green (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)

Quilt Square Cover Up Die (My Favorite Things)

Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets (SU)

Tom Bow Multipurpose Liquid Glue (SU)

Reindeer Games

I love designing cards and then having the creations come out exactly how you sketched them. The credit for lining up the background stamp on this card goes to my Tim Holtz stamping platform. The trick here was sliding the cardstock to the left while my stamp stayed in perfect position. The alignment was spot on and I was able to get it right on the first try. Yet another reason why I am such a fan of this stamping tool. 

I prefer non traditional shades for most occasions, so I naturally looked for alternate choices when creating this card. Blue is not my favorite color, but it is usually my first choice when going against the grain of mainstream holiday colors. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Dash Away All (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:

Dark Indigo (PTI)

Blueberry Sky(PTI)

Stampers Select White (PTI)

Cocoa Bean (PTI)

Ink:

Soft Sky (Stampin Up)

Marina Mist (SU)

Night of Navy (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)

Stylish Stripes TIEF (SU Retired)
Dash Away All Die (PTI)

Tim Holtz Stamp Platform (Blitsy)

Ruby Slipper Stickles (Simon Says Stamp)