Friday Flashback: Elements of Style

Happy Friday afternoon, y'all, and welcome to the Friday Flashback.  This week's stamp set is Elements of Style, which is a lovely vintage-kinda style stamp set which debuted in 2010.  So let's get started!

Also features By the Seashore, Pursuit of Happiness, Perfectly Penned

The flourish behind the postage stamp-style element is the stamp that's from Elements of Style.  Hey Stampin' Up!, we need more flourishy stamps like this.

Also features Pursuit of Happiness

The real reason I got the stamp set:  the hummingbird.  Also that ribbon is actually Marina Mist to match the hummingbird stamp, it just really doesn't look it in the photo.

Also features Fabulous Phrases

There's a big toile stamp in the set in addition to that flourish, both fun.

Also features Papillon Potpourri and Perfectly Penned

Another one with the flourish!

And hey,t here's a card that has one of the Elements of Style sentiments on it.  So there's your flashback, here's today's new card:

Seems like all my card photos are under-exposed lately.  Well, we've been socked in with clouds for what seems like forever (it's a giant swamp outside) and I really think my little camera is on its last legs.  But anyway, that's the new card...and the sentiment is a bit crooked but I'm going to write that off as proof that this is homemade.  And it's going in the mail within the next week.

I used the brand new color challenge from Fab Friday:

But I added a bit of Sahara Sand (generally you're allowed to add neutrals to any color challenge) and that means it also counts for the Inkspire Me color challenge:

Well, we've got to go pick up my car from having its oil changed, so I'm outta here.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Elements of Style, Thank You Kindly, Hardwood
Ink:  Soft Sky, Sweet Sugarplum, Sahara Sand
Paper:  Soft Sky, Very Vanilla
Accessories:  Stitched Shapes & Lots of Labels Framelits, Dimensionals, Pearls

Friday Flashback: Perfectly Preserved

Hey, kids!  How's your Friday the 13th going?  No bad luck, I hope.  Today's retired stamp set is Perfectly Preserved, which I totally love, so without further ado let's get to the Flashback!

Also features Sweet Essentials

I love the Orchard Harvest DSP, such fun colors.  Anyway, before I got this set, I was talking to my friend Missy and she mentioned some really old stamp set that was like the first one she ever got and it had a jar, and she *never* used it.  And then we said we wouldn't buy Perfectly Preserved because we'd never use the jar.  And then a week later I bowed to the power of Stampin' Up! psychic resonance and I bought it.  So I made Missy this card.  With the jar, obviously.

Also features Perfectly Penned

I do love these apples :)

Also features Pursuit of Happiness

You've seen this one recently, the only time I've used the corn stamp.  But you never know when you might need a corn stamp, so it's a good thing I held onto it ;)

Also features One Smart Cookie

The Friday Flashback for One Smart Cookie wasn't that long ago so you've seen this recently too.

Yay more apples.  I haven't checked back on my Raspberry Ripple ink pad to see how it's doing now after I tried to wash all the gold sheen off.  But I now know that my Bravo Burgundy ink pad has it even worse.  I should take a picture of it so you can see what I mean.

Also features A Word For You

I love a good pun:  you're a perfect pear.

Also features Fall Fest, My Paper Pumpkin

I love that "there's no such thing as too much pie" stamp from one of last year's My Paper Pumpkin kits, I just kinda wish it was in a more easily readable font.  Picky picky.

So there's the Flashback, wasn't that fun?  I have to tell you I'm a little late getting this post up because I've been doing a lot of work on scrapbook pages, and for some reason I find it difficult sometimes to move from scrapbooking to card making.  It's like they're parallel tracks in my brain but it's hard to cross from one to the other.  But then I did and I got TWO cards done for today, plus another one you'll see next week.  So here's the new creations:

I had to use the jar, just to prove I *can* use the jar, and I really wanted to use the flowers since I'd never done that before.  And it took forever for me to find a sentiment for this card, but in the end I went with Perfectly Penned because a.) it's awesome and b.) it's right next to Perfectly Preserved in my stamp cabinet.

The sketch is courtesy of TGIF Challenges:

And since I had the other half of that piece of thick Whisper White cardstock on my table, I figured I might as well make another card with it:

Same sketch, just horizontal.  And I pulled out One Smart Cookie again because it's cute with these apples.  The colors are from Colour Me...!

Red and green might say "Christmas" to you, but like Mary I am quite contrary so I like my red and green apples.

I hope you have a lovely weekend, peeps!  I'm back to working on those scrapbook pages if I can get my train of thought onto the other track.  Cheers!

Supplies, flower thank you card:
Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved, Perfectly Penned
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Marina Mist, Smoky Slate, Pear Pizzazz
Paper:  Thick Whisper White, Berry Blossoms DSP
Accessories:  white baker's twine

Supplies, sweeter than pie card:
Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved, One Smart Cookie
Ink:  Real Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Thick Whisper White, Old Olive DSP
Accessories:  Real Red taffeta

Corny Goodness

Howdy, y'all!  How's it going this fine Wednesday?  I had some fun this morning working in my craft room, and for today I pulled out some retired stuff--stamps, paper, and ribbon are all retired.

I like this year's Into the Woods paper, but for me it just isn't as awesome as past years' fall-themed papers.  I got a bunch of packs of Orchard Harvest when it went on the clearance rack but for this card I managed to use scraps.  The corn panel is actually two pieces, I cut thinner strips to 5 1/4" and overlapped them under the two cardstock strips so I wouldn't have to cut into a new sheet of patterned paper.

Anyway, the latest Global Design Project challenge is what prompted me to break out Perfectly Preserved:

Since we were out of town over last weekend I didn't get my card for their sixth challenge linked up in time (rats!) but I have done every challenge over there.

I also used this week's Mojo Monday sketch:

At first I was going to use the apple stamps from Perfectly Preserved, because I think every farm should have an apple tree, but I changed my mind because I don't think I'd ever used the corn stamp so why not try something different?

Alright kids, I'm off to go do other things.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU! (some retired)
Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved, Pursuit of Happiness
Ink:  Early Espresso, More Mustard, Lucky Limeade, Cajun Craze
Paper:  Early Espresso, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Orchard Harvest DSP
Accessories:  Cannery & Lots of Labels Framelits, Neutrals Candy Dots, vanilla taffeta ribbon, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Of the Earth

Happy Friday, peeps!  And woohoo for the Friday Flashback!  Today's randomly selected retired stamp set (RSRSS, haha) is Of the Earth, which is a lovely hostess set from the 2009-2010 SU! catalog.  To my consternation, I looked in my archives and discovered that I had NEVER used this stamp set, and that was just such a shame that I created no fewer than three cards for today!  So let's get to the all-new Flashback :)

The bird image is from Of the Earth, and the sentiment stamp is from my much-loved Pursuit of Happiness.  If you're wondering, I stamped the birds offset and sometimes a little crooked on purpose because I knew I wouldn't get them lined up perfectly if I tried.  For this card, I used this Retro Sketch:

And this color combo from the Color Throwdown, which I absolutely love and adore:

I used Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip, Coastal Cabana, and Bermuda Bay for my colors.

And here is card number two:

The circular image with the butterfly (haha, you cannot escape the butterflies!) is from today's featured stamp set, and the sentiment is from Perfectly Penned which I still love and adore.  The Friday Flashbacks are always fun to dust off some old favorite stamps and play with them again.  Anywha, my color combination on this one is courtesy of Create with Connie and Mary:

Isn't that pretty?  I'm also entering this card over at The Paper Players:

Yes, my card has a few layers on it, but I still think my design was pretty CAS.  I tried stamping a background on the card base and just didn't like it as well, so I left it plain and simple.  I also used this week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches, can't leave them out:

And for my last card...

I really like the idea of stamping the same image in different colors like that.  I used the very first Fall-To Layout from Clean & Simple Stamping:

Trying to tie that bow in the baker's twine was a trial, let me tell you.  I also used a recent color combination from Just Add Ink, but that challenge is already closed:

I used to not really like Calypso Coral, but I seem to be using it a lot lately.  Maybe 'cause I love it with Sahara Sand, or Coastal Cabana, or Daffodil Delight.  Most colors I don't like much, I eventually come around to and end up loving.  But not always :)

Ok, I've procrastinated long enough...it's time to help the hubs with our prep for moving.  Oy.  But hey, if we get a lot done this weekend then maybe I can squeeze in some more stamping and scrapping before the packers arrive on Thursday.  Hope springs eternal!

Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, first card:
Stamps:  Of the Earth, Pursuit of Happiness
Ink:  Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay
Paper:  Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Flowerpot DSP
Accessories:  Neutrals Candy Dots

Supplies, second card:
Stamps:  Of the Earth, Perfectly Penned
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss
Paper:  Soft Sky, Blackberry Bliss, Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Eastern Elegance DSP
Accessories:  1 3/4" circle punch, Circles Framelits, ticket corner punch, Dimensionals

Supplies, third card:
Stamps:  Of the Earth
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Chocolate Chip
Accessories:  1 1/4" square punch, Calypso Coral baker's twine

Friday Flashback: World Treasures

Happy Friday afternoon, peeps!  It's time for another Friday Flashback, and grab a cuppa tea (or coffee, if you prefer) and settle in because this one's a long one.  Let's take a look back at the very awesome stamp set (and more recent retiree) World Treasures!

Also features Fabulous Phrases

I think you're going to figure out very quickly which stamp in the set is my favorite.

Also features Four You

 For a while, it was even available as a single stamp.

Also features Vintage Verses

Because it's that awesome.

Also features Sweet Essentials

Haha, snuck one in here without the peacock on it!  But the flowers are from World Treasures too.

Also features Curly Cute

This one might be my favorite card with World Treasures, I just love that bright blue and orange together.

Also features All Holidays

The fun thing about stamps is that peacocks can be any color you want.

Also features Pursuit of Happiness

Or multi-colored.

Also features Occasions

Though I admit, perhaps I am lacking in imagination for usually sticking with the blues, greens, and purples for my peacock.  Or maybe those are just the colors I'm drawn to.

Still, the sky's the limit for peacock colors here.  And that's the flashback part of the Friday Flashback, so now it's time for a brand new creation!

I decided to be contrary and make a World Treasures card *without* the peacock.  I mean, I love that peacock, but these flowers are perfectly lovely too, and I was suddenly curious this afternoon as to how Crushed Curry embossing powder would look on Blackberry Bliss cardstock.  Answer:  awesome.  But use your Embossing Buddy, the first time I had powder all over everywhere.  The sentiment is from World Treasures too, I took a marker to the sentiment stamp in the set and only inked up "friend".  Tip:  make sure your stamp is very, very clean and DRY or you'll get a ghost image around the part you ink up.  And Halloween is over.

So the color combination for today's creation is from Fab Friday:

Another awesome fall color combo, amirite?  Might have to use that one again!  Y'all know how much I love Crushed Curry and Blackberry Bliss.  And they work great together.

The sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches:

So even though it took me a long time to settle down enough to actually make something today, once I sat down the card came together in, like, ten minutes.  Woohoo!

And that's it for today's Friday Flashback, I hope you enjoyed it.  Happy weekend, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  World Treasures
Ink:  Versamark, Cajun Craze
Paper:  Crushed Curry, Blackberry Bliss, Very Vanilla, Comfort Cafe DSP
Accessories:  Banners & Labels Framelits, Crushed Curry EP, Very Vanilla seam binding, Regals Candy Dots, Dimensionals

A Grateful Heart

Happy Thanksgiving!  Today seemed like the appropriate day to post some scrapbook pages from a past Thanksgiving, but first up I have to show you this:

I got this in the mail from one of my sweet SU customers and he was so cute, I knew I had to recreate him for a scrapbook layout.  So here's how my version turned out:

The photos are from Thanksgiving in 2009, when we lived in Okinawa and it was warm enough to wear short sleeves almost anytime of the year :)  I so wish I'd bought another pack or two of that Orchard Harvest DSP, because I don't have a whole lot of it left and I LOVE it.  This year's fall DSP just didn't grab me as much as this one did.

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful holiday.  I'm off to make something dessert-y :)

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Day of Gratitude, Pursuit of Happiness
Ink:  River Rock, Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade, Raspberry Ripple, More Mustard, Cajun Craze
Paper:  Early Espresso, Raspberry Ripple, Cajun Craze, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Orchard Harvest DSP
Accessories:  Top Note Die, Labels Collection Framelits, circle & oval punches

Good Feathers

ACK!!!  This day has totally gotten away from me and I almost forgot to post something on here today.  Soooo this is all I've got for now:

Again, another combo SCS sketch/color challenge...though I don't like that one lone fussy cut feather so much.  Oh well.  As Scarlett says, tomorrow is another day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies (all SU!):
Stamps:  Fine Feathers, French Foliage (retiring, get it fast!), Pursuit of Happiness
Ink:  Certainly Celery (retiring), Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake
Paper:  Certainly Celery (retiring), Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Accessories:  Dimensionals

Happy Hummingbird

The weeks are just flying by, aren't they?  Can't believe we're almost at the end of April.  But here's another springy card for today:

Thought I'd give some other soon-to-retire stamp sets some lovin' today, so I chose Elements of Style and Pursuit of Happiness.  I *am* bummed that they're retiring Pursuit of Happiness, I've used that set a LOT.  I really like Elements of Style too but haven't used it much of late.  This was going to be a Mother's Day card until I settled on that "grateful" sentiment from Pursuit of Happiness; it shows up against the background better IRL than it looks like on the picture.  And the ribbon matches the hummingbird better too, even though I've got some natural light in my craft room the colors in the pic seemed to be a tad off.

This layout is courtesy of Retro Sketches:

Kind of an unusual layout to my mind but I kinda like how my card turned out.  I saw a card earlier today (I think it was in the new SU! catalog, demos can see it online now which I just figured out this afternoon, DUH) that had the reverse masking technique so I thought I'd give that a whirl today.

Hope you have a fantastic day and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Elements of Style, Pursuit of Happiness
Ink:  Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze (sniffle! is there a petition to replace Soft Sky with Baja Breeze, 'cause I'd sign it!), Crumb Cake
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Twitterpated DSP
Accessories:  Baja Breeze seam binding, Labels Collection Framelits, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Flower Fancy

Happy Friday and welcome to this week's Friday Flashback!  I randomly picked a fun springy stamp set today, Flower Fancy.  Let's visit the archives, shall we?

I remember thinking this color combo was never going to work (it was an SCS color challenge) and then being pleasantly surprised with it when I actually got my card made.  I also used the still-current Four Frames and Pursuit of Happiness.

 I like the flowers on this name frame, but I'm less sure of how much I like the cut-out Broadsheet Alphabet letters.  But I like the bright colors!  You know me, I love-a de bright colahs!

Here's one using my favorite Baja Breeze *sniffle*!  Fear not, I have quite the stash of both 8.5x11 and 12x12 cardstock to keep me company.  I was surprised how well it went with Island Indigo and Rich Razzleberry, this is one of my favorite cards!

And here's today's creation:

I went with some springy colors for today, and I picked out the two stamps I hadn't used yet in this set.  There's no sentiment on it so it can be for Mother's Day or a new baby (I always thought this color combo would be cute for baby girl cards) or just hey friend, I'm thinking of you.  I was inspired (or should I say INKspired?) by the latest challenge at Inkspirational:

Obviously I just went with the sketch and chose my own colors :)  And I moved the bow to the bottom of my image because it just didn't work on the top like in the inspiration pic.

That's it for me this week, y'all have a great weekend!  We leave early tomorrow morning to spend a couple days in Amsterdam.  I know, tough life right?!  Happy stampin'!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Flower Fancy
Ink:  Regal Rose, Peach Parfait, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Peach Parfait, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White, retired DSP in Regal Rose & Peach Parfait
Accessories:  Windows Collection Framelits, Festive Paper Piercing Template, retired Old Olive polytwill (yay for me using some retired ribbon!), Dimensionals