Friday Flashback: Linen

Happy Friday, y'all!  Today's Friday Flashback stamp set is Linen--yep, we're shining the light on a background stamp today.  Let's check it out!

Also features Baby Talk, Petite Patterns

One thing I noticed going through my archives is that I've used Linen quite a few times, but it's hard to see in the pictures because the texture is so fine on the stamp.  So click on the photos to enlarge, and check out the card base on this one.

Also features Heartfelt Thanks, Warm Words, French Script

Or the Almost Amethyst layer on this one.

Also features Fall Whimsy, Print Pattern, AYC3

Pumpkin Pie layer on this one...

Also features Touch of Nature, Print Pattern, Weathered, AYC3

The card base on this one...

Also features Steppin' Style, Print Pattern

And finally, the blue layer on this one.  Uh, Linen is a hard stamp to photograph I guess?  Well, here's my new card:

I think you can see it a little better here; I stamped Linen with Dapper Denim ink on Dapper Denim cardstock and IRL it looks like blue jeans which makes me happy.  I'm entering this at Just Add Ink, where the challenge is to just add "B"--I made a birthday card with a blue jeans background, using the color Blushing Bride and the stamp set Bodacious Bouquet for my blooms, to which I added a bit of bling in the form of rhinestones, and I used my Big Shot to cut out the Lots of Labels die for my sentiment.  How's that for Bs?

This also counts for Retro Rubber's challenge to use flowers:

I've had Linen for 10 years (!!!), Bodacious Bouquet for 9, and Perfectly Penned for 5, so they're all nice and retro for that challenge.

I also incorporated the colors from The Color Throwdown:

I used Dapper Denim, Blushing Bride, and Watermelon Wonder for my colors, and I think they'll forgive me for adding a smidge of Pear Pizzazz because I just needed some leaves for my flowers.

This afternoon, hubs and I are going to see the new X-Men movie (hubs is off work today!) and then we're going out to dinner.  Maybe I can talk him into going to Chuy's for some Mexican food...adios for now!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Linen, Bodacious Bouquet, Perfectly Penned
Ink:  Dapper Denim, Blushing Bride, Watermelon Wonder
Paper:  Dapper Denim, Blushing Bride, thick Whisper White
Accessories:  Lots of Labels Framelits, rhinestones

Friday Flashback: Holidays & Wishes

Happy Friday, friends!  So the hubs and I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens last night, and despite my best efforts I had to blink at least a half a dozen times during the movie so we're going back tonight so I can catch anything I missed the first time around ;)  But you're here for the Friday Flashback!  Right?  Right!  Today's retired stamp set is Holidays & Wishes, so here we go!

Also features Lovely as a Tree, Bella Toile

I love greens and blues together, I think they make a nice sympathy card when you use more subdued tones.

Also features Heartfelt Thanks, Paisley

Playing with Heartfelt Thanks and inchies.  Also, I miss Almost Amethyst and all the other purples :(

Also features Snow Burst

This was before I learned how to tie pretty knots, but otherwise I like this one.  It's shimmery white cardstock for a bit of shine.

Also features Simply Said, Kindness jumbo wheel

And there's a pink and purple Valentine...

Also features Scandinavian Season

And a Scandinavian Christmas tree.

Also features Lovely as a Tree, French Script

One more sympathy card, and now it's time for today's new creation!  Spoiler alert, it has blue and green on it, but it's not subdued for a sympathy card and it might be one of my favorite cards this year.  Take a look:

I just had to use Joyful Christmas again because that flower is so pretty.  And I was inspired by these colorful poinsettias at my local grocery store:

They have glitter on them in addition to being a wonderful shade of royal blue.  Aren't they pretty?

I also used this week's Pals Paper Arts sketch:

And this week's Color Throwdown is a free-for-all Christmas challenge:

I used Garden Green, Pacific Point, and Blackberry Bliss, and I think I love that combination.  The poinsettia was inked with Versamark, then Blackberry Bliss, and I used Iridescent Ice embossing powder plus it's stamped on shimmery white cardstock.  For the leaves, I just stamped them in Garden Green, so they ran a little bit when I watercolored them.  I waited until the water dried and then used the fine tip of my Garden Green marker to go over the lines again, and I like how that worked out for me.

Anyway, I've got to get moving.  Have a great weekend, peeps, and if you haven't seen the new Star Wars movie yet I won't spoil any plot points for you.  May the Force be with you!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Holidays & Wishes, Joyful Christmas
Ink:  Versamark, Pacific Point, Garden Green, Blackberry Bliss, Crushed Curry
Paper:  Pacific Point, Garden Green, Blackberry Bliss, Shimmery White
Accessories:  Iridescent Ice EP, rhinestones, Decorative Label punch, Ovals Framelits, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Heartfelt Thanks

This week's Friday Flashback stamp set is Heartfelt Thanks, which is probably one of Stampin' Up!'s most popular stamp sets ever (at least based on the fact that there are 7,000+ cards in its Splitcoast gallery!).  I had several Heartfelt Thanks cards in my archives so rather than inundate you with all of them, I just picked a couple older creations to share and then one new one.

This was for a Ways to Use It challenge to use inchies.  It was also for a color challenge because I hardly ever reach for Bravo Burgundy by choice : )

Stamps:  Heartfelt Thanks, Paisley, Holidays & Wishes
Remaining supply list can be found here.

This one uses all the same stamps as the card above with the addition of En Francais.  The technique for the background squares is called Serendipity and it works like this:

1.  Start with a piece of white or vanilla paper and ink it up with two colors of ink, direct to paper.  Start wondering if you picked colors that don't go together at all.
2.  Stamp over it with a background stamp in a third color just to add to the mess.
3.  Heat emboss the flower all over on top of everything and think to yourself that this is going to be really, really not pretty.
4.  Cut or punch it into squares and somehow magically it looks much cooler.  Act like you're not surprised and that you knew it was going to be okay from the start.
5.  Rearrange your pieces on a mat however you like and build the rest of your card from there.

Stamps:  Heartfelt Thanks, Paisley, Holidays & Wishes, En Francais
Remaining supply list can be found here.

And here's my new Heartfelt Thanks card, which was oddly enough inspired by a card I made years ago using Carved & Candlelit.  I chose a sketch & color challenge I hadn't done yet and voila, here it is.  I wanted the sentiment to be in the middle of the flower image, but that left me with a lot of empty space on the bottom right so I added a Glimmer Brad.  The sketch is a little on the complicated side for me, but on the whole I like how this turned out.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Heartfelt Thanks, Occasional Quotes
Ink:  Versamark, Soft Suede, Blushing Bride, Certainly Celery
Paper:  Blushing Bride, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Attic Boutique & Twitterpated DSP
Accessories:  clear EP, retired In Color Glimmer Brad, Fancy Fan embossing folder

I recently went through and organized all my card and scrapbook project photos (hence why I was looking at that old Carved & Candlelit card) and I noticed that for the first several years, I hardly ever used patterned paper.  Instead, I used a lot of background stamps.  Now I think it's mostly DSP, sometimes embossing folders, and rarely do I break out the backgrounds.  Note to self:  use more background stamps : )  Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this Friday Flashback!