Friday, July 31, 2015

Friday Flashback: Sweet Serendipity

Happy Friday, stampers!  It is time once more for a Friday Flashback, and today's stamp set is Sweet Serendipity, a set of six cool sentiment stamps plus a few little images.  Let's go!

Also features Bronc Buster and Flannel Plaid
 I'd say riding a bucking bronco would be an adventure, wouldn't you?


The Sweet Serendipity stamp I used on this layout says "Live each day with laughter/enthusiasm" which seemed perfect with the picture of my friend Sarah on a carousel in Florence.
Also features Pretty Amazing and Pretty Petals
You saw this one earlier this year in the Pretty Amazing Friday Flashback.

Also features Happiness Always
And this one was in last week's Happiness Always Friday Flashback.

Also features Fabulous Flowers, Sanded, Paisley
 Oh hey, Fabulous Flowers had a Friday Flashback already too.  This is still one of my favorite cards.

Also features Snow Burst and Paisley
The sentiment says sparkle, and this card delivered!  The whole top panel is covered in Iridescent Ice EP, which is hard to photograph but looks awesome and sparkly in real life.

Also features Pretty Peony and Sanded
This was the first card on the Pretty Peony Friday Flashback, and it's another of my old favorites.  I love that Sanded background stamp.   That's it for the flashback part of today's post (and the flashback to prior flashbacks, if you followed all the links), it's time to see what's new!


I had Sheltering Tree out on my table for a different project so I thought I'd use it for today's post too.  I used the Fall-To Layout #22 from Clean & Simple Stamping:


And the softer color combination from Colour Me...!


But since I was on a roll in my craft room, and there was a whole 'nother color challenge on there, I had to try the bold combination as well:


I added a bit of Sahara Sand to both color combinations, I couldn't help it :)  For this one, I also used the sketch from the Paper Players:


Hope you enjoyed today's extra-long Friday Flashback.  Have a great weekend, peeps, we're painting again!

Supplies, Sheltering Tree card:
Stamps:  Sweet Serendipity, Sheltering Tree
Ink:  Tip Top Taupe, Blushing Bride, Wisteria Wonder, Sahara Sand
Paper:  Tip Top Taupe, Blushing Bride, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder DSP
Accessories:  Oval & Scalloped Oval punches, Dimensionals

Supplies, Secret Garden card:
Stamps:  Sweet Serendipity, Secret Garden
Ink:  Night of Navy, Whisper White
Paper:  Calypso Coral, Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, Whisper White
Accessories:  Secret Garden Framelits, Spring Flowers EF, ticket corner punch, Dimensionals

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Awesome Superhero

You know what?  I love superhero movies.  So of course I had to get Calling All Heroes when it was released, even though I haven't used it much.  Had to dust it off for today's card.


I have some trouble with photopolymer stamps and the new firm foam ink pads sometimes; my pads are still relatively new and really, really extra juicy which sometimes makes for uneven edges on the solid stamps like this.  I wish I'd used the retired Starburst Framelits for behind my superhero instead of a plain circle, but I didn't think of it until I already had the Dimensionals on the regular circle so it is what it is.

I used the current sketch from Freshly Made:


And this superfantastic color combo from the Color Throwdown:


Love those colors!  That's it for me today, peeps.  I've got several things I want to do today so I'd better get a move on.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Calling All Heroes, Flower Patch
Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Blushing Bride, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Accessories:  Banners & Circles Framelits, 1 3/4" circle punch, Dimensionals

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Thankful Dragonfly

Mornin', peeps!  How's it going this fine Wednesday morning?

I took a break from baby books yesterday to work on some other projects, including today's card.  And you knew I wasn't going to stray far from the butterflies and dragonflies for long, right?


I do totally love this stamp set.  As soon as I saw it, I knew I was going to get it first thing.  All of the stamps I used today are from Awesomely Artistic except for the "so much" part of the sentiment, that's from Crazy About You that goes with the Hello You Thinlits.  I thought about adding some pearl accents to this, but I decided I liked it the way it was.

This awesome color combo is courtesy of the folks at Fab Friday:


Of course, I added Sahara Sand to balance out those three strong colors.

Okay, I'm off to work in my craft room again.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Awesomely Artistic, Crazy About You
Ink:  Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, Blackberry Bliss, Sahara Sand
Paper:  Lost Lagoon, Blackberry Bliss, Sahara Sand, Whisper White
Accessories:  Hello You Thinlits

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Nachos: Balloons, not Butterflies

Hey, stampy friends!  It is time once again for a rock-your-socks Nacho Average Color Challenge!  This one's a great one too, check it out:


By now you probably recognize those colors from the Cherry on Top DSP.  Of course I used that on today's card, but I thought I'd mix things up and make a card with balloons instead of butterflies this time :)


All of the stamps I used on this are from past My Paper Pumpkin kits; the greeting is from a different kit than the balloon and string stamps, but I don't remember which months.  I stamped the three balloons with different colors of ink, then stamped over them again with Versamark and applied some Iridescent Ice embossing powder for some fun glitz.

Now it's your turn to play with this specfabulous color combination!  Don't forget to share your beauty with us on the Nacho blog.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  past My Paper Pumpkin kits
Ink:  Cucumber Crush, Watermelon Wonder, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versarmark
Paper:  Watermelon Wonder, Basic Black, Whisper White, Cherry on Top DSP
Accessories:  Iridescent Ice EP

Monday, July 27, 2015

Liverpool

Scrappy Monday, peeps!  It's raining here today, which makes me think of England even though I'm 900% sure it rains more here in Virginia than it does in England.  But let's have an England layout today anyway!


See the original pics here.  On our anniversary weekend in 2013, the hubs and I took a road trip to Liverpool.  The Beatles are awesome and my mom is jealous we got to see things like the actual Strawberry Field (in reality there's just one) and all the landmarks from the song Penny Lane.


All the accents on here are stickers that I got YEARS ago of Beatles album covers...I got them well before we moved to England or had any idea that I'd get to go to Liverpool and they were the perfect accents for these pages :D


Today's color palette:  Kiwi Kiss, Tempting Turquoise (which I haven't used much lately, I need to revisit that color), Riding Hood Red, Summer Sun, and of course Basic Black.

Hope you have a great Monday, peeps!  I'm off to get things done.

Supplies, mostly SU!
Stamps:  Notable Alphabet
Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Basic Black marker
Paper:  Kiwi Kiss, Tempting Turquoise, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Night & Day DSP
Accessories:  Beatles stickers

Friday, July 24, 2015

Friday Flashback: Happiness Always

Happy Friday, peeps!  Hope you've had a good week.  Today's Friday Flashback is for an old hostess set called Happiness Always.  For some reason, a lot of times I don't use hostess sets a whole lot...so at least they're free?  Let's flash back!


Once again, I did the Splitcoast index card for this stamp set.  It's kind of sad when I feel the need to include the index card in the flashback.

Also features Sweet Serendipity

And here's the only actual card I made with it back in the day...I was trying out the ink-spray-smash technique (and that might be the one and only time I tried it).  So that was short...here's the new project for today!


I do actually like this card and it's in the mail already to my friend Sarah.  I used the sketch at Create with Connie and Mary:


I actually stuck pretty close to it this time, go me.  And I had to play along in the three hundredth challenge at ColourQ:


Of course, I added a fair bit of Chocolate Chip to the palette, I just needed it to ground the bright colors on my card.

That's it for me this week, I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Happiness Always, Friendly Words (unmounted wheel)
Ink:  Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Daffodil Delight, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Coastal Cabana, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Ginger Blossom DSP
Accessories:  Oval Framelits, Daffodil Delight 1/8" ribbon, Regals Candy Dots, Dimensionals

Thursday, July 23, 2015

A Cup of Cheer

If you know me at all, you probably know that while I lived in England I became hopelessly addicted to tea.  I have a cabinet full of the stuff and quite a collection of teapots and teacups, despite the fact that I'm American and drink my tea out of a Harry Potter coffee mug :)  But given my love for tea, you know I was excited to see this month's My Paper Pumpkin because it's all about the tea.

Or coffee, I suppose.  But for me, it's all about the tea.


And I almost ended my subscription right before this one was mailed out...so glad I got it after all!  The teacup die cut is part of the Paper Pumpkin kit, as are all the stamps; I used different colors than what was provided and the patterned paper is a scrap that I used to make this fit in a Colour Me...! color challenge:


I also used Fab Friday's very simple (but awesome) sketch:


Instead of doodling, I added a wee bit of piercing around the square element on my card.

And that's it for me today, peeps.  I think it might be time for an afternoon cuppa...cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  My Paper Pumpkin July 2015 kit
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss, Pink Pirouette, Calypso Coral, Garden Green
Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Park Lane DSP (retired)
Accessories:  die cut from MPP kit, Dimensionals, paper piercing tool

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Kind Butterfly

I'm running out of names for butterfly cards.  I mean, I try to give each blog post a name that has something to do with the card (or scrapbook layout, or whatever) that I'm sharing, but it's getting tougher to come up with unique names for butterfly cards.  'Cause I love the new Watercolor Wings butterfly stamps.


Even though I can't get the butterfly body on there straight even *with* a Stamp-a-ma-jig.  I'm special like that.  Anyway, since Watercolor Wings is brand new and it is a current favorite, that qualifies this card for the challenge over at SUO Challenges to use favorite new stamps.

I also used the brand new posted today sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:


I looked at several color challenges, but none of them were speaking to me today so I ended up using a color combo I had sitting out on my stamp table for a baby book layout.  The butterfly is stamped with Crushed Curry (stamped off twice) and Calypso Coral, with a Marina Mist die cut on top.  Later this afternoon I'm going to work on the baby book layouts with that same color combination :)

That's it for now, peeps.  I've gotta get to the grocery store.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Watercolor Wings
Ink:  Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Marina Mist, Basic Gray marker
Paper:  Calypso Coral, Marina Mist, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Cherry on Top DSP
Accessories:  Bold Butterfly Framelits, Dimensionals, rhinestones

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Nachos: Another Butterfly

Hey stampy friends, are you ready for another terrific Nacho Average Sketch Challenge?  Because we've got one coming your way, right....now!


Don't be scared of the layers, this sketch is easy to work with I promise!  In fact, I ended up matting almost all my layers so my card has about eight layers on it.  Nine if you count the rhinestone.  Here it is:


Once again I used the Cherry on Top DSP (I so need to order some new stuff!...though I do still love the Cherry on Top stuff, lots of good patterns in there) and a butterfly from Watercolor Wings.  You've gotta get those butterflies if you haven't already, it's so fun to play around with color combinations and patterns.  But if you don't have Watercolor Wings yet (or any other butterflies), feel free to sub in another shape for the butterfly on the sketch.  That's totally allowed :)

So it's your turn!  Upload your sketchariffic creation to the Nacho blog by Sunday night for us all to see and oooh and ahhh over.  Cheers, peeps, and happy stampin'!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Watercolor Wings, Best Thoughts
Ink:  Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe
Paper:  Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Watermelon Wonder, Whisper White, Cherry on Top DSP
Accessories:  Butterflies Thinlits, rhinestone, Dimensionals

Monday, July 20, 2015

Cardoness

Scrappy Monday, peeps!  Hope you had a good weekend.  My hubs came back from a week-long business trip on Friday afternoon, and we had a nice relaxing weekend that involved going to the movies twice :)  But anyway, let's get scrappy shall we?


These pics are from our last trip to Scotland in May of 2014, when we met up with members of my dad's side of the family for a family reunion.  Supposedly Cardoness Castle is connected to our family history.


Love the color combination, I still wish they'd bring back Baja Breeze.  The other colors are Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, and Very Vanilla.  Just love it.

I'm off to get started on some baby book layouts.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Lovely Letters Alphabet
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive
Paper:  Baja Breeze textured, Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Woodland Walk DSP
Accessories:  circle punches

Friday, July 17, 2015

Friday Flashback: Living Large

Happy Friday, friends!  Today's Friday Flashback stamp set is one I love and wish I'd used more often, I think it's SO cute.  So without further ado, let's take a look back at Living Large!


If you click on that link above, you'll see this is the first picture in the Living Large gallery--I made the index card that has all the images and sentiments from the set on it.


My only trouble with this set is that some of the spaces to color are SO tiny.  But so cute!!

Also features Wild Hearts

I think these colors are a little dark for a birthday card, but...it was probably a color challenge.

Also features Amazing to Zany
Orange, green, and brown will forever be '70s colors.  And somehow that's the end of the flashback, so here is today's new card:


I like the colors and the sketch I used, it just seems like this card needs a little something more.  I'll think about it for a bit but I want to get this in the mail today, I know exactly who she's going to.

So the colors are from the Cupcake Inspirations challenge:


Which always makes me hungry.  Don't those cupcakes look yummy...

Sorry, drooling.  I also used the sketch from Just Add Ink:
And that concludes this week's Friday Flashback!  Thanks for coming along with me, and I hope you have a great weekend.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Living Large
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Rose Red, Daffodil Delight, Skin Tone Blendabilities
Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Regal Rose DSP
Accessories:  Circles Framelits, Watercolor Wonder Crayons

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Pure Awesome

Hey there, peeps!  This week I started working on a new set of baby books for my friend who's expecting twin boys, so you might start seeing those layouts here and there.  But I managed to tear myself away from the baby books long enough to make a card for today, and here it is:


I love that awesomeness stamp from Big News.   I just realized that this card has a couple things in common with yesterday's card, which is pure coincidence :)  But alas, no unicorns.  I think SU! needs some cool unicorn stamps.

I used this week's Color Throwdown:


The closest I could get with current SU! colors is Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Basic Black and of course the silver glimmer paper for the required added sparkle.  Kinda wish I'd added some glitter on the letters or something, but it's pretty sparkly already.

I also used this week's Mojo Monday sketch:


I went pretty literal with my interpretation of the sketch, I even used a star.

That's it for me today, peeps.  I'm off to work on more baby book layouts and tomorrow's Friday Flashback card.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Big News, Be the Star
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo
Paper:  Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer
Accessories:  Stars Framelits, Dimensionals

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Unicorns are Awesome!

Morning, peeps!  I'm sitting in front of the computer with four cups of tea in front of me.  While the hubs is away this week, I decided to empty out the tea cabinet and taste-test all the ones I don't drink very often to make sure I actually like them...and even with tasting 10+ different teas per day, it's going to take several more days.  Why no, I don't have a hoarding problem, whatever do you mean?  I am staying ridiculously well-hydrated though, which means I have a new hobby.

So, today's projects require a bit of explanation.  My friend Ashlea somehow came to the conclusion that every single movie I watch has unicorns in it.  Granted, two of my favorite movies as a kid were The Last Unicorn and Legend (the old Tom Cruise unicorn movie with Tim Curry as the devil), but by no means do *alllll* of my favorite movies feature unicorns.  But anyway, every time I talked about a movie, Ashlea's first question was does it have unicorns in it.  It's now a running joke.  She even told me that Ruby Rhod in The Fifth Element is a human unicorn because of his hairdo in one scene...


Well, when her ridiculously adorable daughter turned one, I couldn't resist...


Shout out to my friend Tiana, who cut out a couple dozen unicorns for me out of different colors using her Silhouette.


Oh yeah, I decorated the bag too.


So what did this bag contain?  A set of five plush unicorns with their own castle and The Last Unicorn on BluRay.  Just to make sure that baby girl grows up with unicorns in her life, because that is a necessary ingredient for a great childhood.  Her parents cracked up when they saw the bag and again when they opened everything for her.  WIN.

Well, my teas are getting cold.  The chocolate one is better than I expected...cheers, peeps!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Perfectly Penned
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Melon Mambo, Silver Glimmer Paper, various cardstock from my friend Tiana
Accessories:  Circles Framelits, rhinestones, die cut unicorns from my friend Tiana