Welcome to the Inspire, Create, Share Blog hop.  This month the theme is, It's a Guy Thing.  This is a timely and helpful theme.  I think it is safe to say that most of us have a harder time creating masculine cards. We are approaching Father's Day so hop along with us and hopefully get some inspiration.

We recently went on a little getaway to the Oregon Coast.  It is one of our favorite places to go when we want to go somewhere for just a couple of days.  It is a 2-3 hour drive from where we are and the scenery is beautiful.  We go on  lot of walks on the beach and enjoy the sights and sounds of the ocean.  We come home feeling refreshed and relaxed.   Sounds pretty good, right?

I was thinking about our trip as I looked through my stamp sets.  When I saw the sentiment in the Friends Are Like Seashells set I knew what I wanted to make.

Isn't that just the perfect sentiment?  I used 2 different patterns from the Sand & Sea DSP for both the background layer and to cut out the seaweed.  I embossed some Pearlescent Paper using the Seashells 3D folder  and cut out the shells.  The Pearlescent Paper is so pretty and makes the shells look just a little more special.

I used a Blending Brush to add a little color to one of the shells.   I hope you can see how pretty and not too shiny the Pearlescent paper is.  Are you wondering where that tag is from?

Let me introduce you to the Tailor Made Tags.  These are  dies in the new catalog. I stamped the sentiment in Night of Navy ink on Pearlescent Paper and cut  it out  using the #2 tag (#1 being the smallest tag)  die.  

I lined up the bottom of the tag die where I wanted to cut and created a shorter tag.  I finished off the tag with some Night of Navy baker's twine from the Well Suited Twine Combo Pack.

I finished up the inside of the card by stamping the sand dollar in Night of Navy ink on the Sand & Sea DSP.

Now it is time to hop on over to see what the creative Debbi Green had made for you.

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy the hop!

How do you register for the event? 

Simply head to my store  and purchase the Hand-Penned Suite (Item 155503 $66.25)--or an equivalent amount of product if you already have the Hand-Penned Suite.  You must use the Host Code 3M9KUB3Y when you purchase the Suite or equivalent.  You will need the Hand-Penned Suite to complete the projects.  If you have any questions please email me: sharon@astheinkdries.com.  Registration ends June 7th.

Click on the picture and it will take you to my Stampin' Up! website and more information about becoming a demonstrator.

Submit a qualifying order ($250 before shipping and tax) or party from 4 May–14 June 2021, and you’ll get our generous Stampin’ Rewards PLUS additional $25 you can redeem! Hosts can earn Stampin’ Rewards based on order totals for an entire party. Outside of the party setting, Stampin’ Rewards are available to those who place individual orders that meet qualifying thresholds.  Shop with me or/and contact me about hosting an event.

Happy Mother's Day! 

I used the Hand-Penned Petals stamp set again!  This time I stamped and colored the image using Polished Pink, Daffodil Delight and Soft Succulent Stampin' Blends.  The image was framed by one of the Scalloped Contour dies part of the Color & Contour bundle.  

The Polished Pink ribbon (3/8" Open Weave) is one of my favorites.  Love the way it looks and it is soft and easy to tie.  Are you wondering what the yellow (Daffodil Delight to be exact) gems are?  I didn't have any Daffodil Delight gems so I colored the clear Elegant Faceted Gems with the Dark Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blend and voila!  Along with rhinestones and pearls the Elegant Faceted Gems are a great embellishment to have on hand to custom color.  I also stamped a partial image on the inside of the card and colored it with Stampin' Blends.  

Hope you are spending time with or are remembering the special women who loved and nurtured you.  I also hope you are being celebrated and remembered  by those you have nurtured and loved.   

Thank you for stopping by! 

How do you register for the event? 

Simply head to my store  and purchase the Hand-Penned Suite (Item 155503 $66.25)--or an equivalent amount of product if you already have the Hand-Penned Suite.  You must use the Host Code 3M9KUB3Y when you purchase the Suite or equivalent.  You will need the Hand-Penned Suite to complete the projects.  If you have any questions please email me: sharon@astheinkdries.com.  Registration ends June 7th.

Click on the picture and it will take you to my Stampin' Up! website and more information about being a demonstrator.

Submit a qualifying order ($250 before shipping and tax) or party from 4 May–14 June 2021, and you’ll get our generous Stampin’ Rewards PLUS additional $25 you can redeem! Hosts can earn Stampin’ Rewards based on order totals for an entire party. Outside of the party setting, Stampin’ Rewards are available to those who place individual orders that meet qualifying thresholds.

Welcome to the Stamping Inkspirations Blog Hop!  We are an international group of paper crafters brought together under the leadership of Angie McKenzie.    We are hopping this month around the theme of Florals.  There are a total of 33 stops on the hop...wow!  Lots of flowery inspiration awaits.  Let's get started.

I was happy with how this card turned out especially the die cut background.  I started by cutting out 4 of the outline floral bouquets (Penned Flower Dies) in Basic White.  The next time I make this card I will apply an Adhesive Sheet behind the Basic White CS before I cut out the dies.  This will make adhering the die cut to the Basic White CS much easier.  I attached the die cuts using Liquid Glue and cut off any overhang.  I also applied just parts of the die cut to smaller areas.   The Basic White layer was adhered onto  Pale Papaya CS.

Next I heat embossed the flower image (Hand-Penned Petals Bundle) in White embossing powder on Shimmery White CS.  I used a Water Painter with Pale Papaya and Soft Succulent ink refills to color in the image.   The image was cut out using the Penned Flowers Dies.   The label was cut using the Scalloped Contour Dies.  The label I chose has slits along the sides of the label. I used the slits to run the Pale Papaya Open Weave ribbon through and tied a bow.  The flower was attached to the label using Stampin' Dimensionals.   The card base is Thick Basic White CS, 4-1/4" x 11", scored at 5-1/2".

I wanted to focus more attention on the background so I attached a few Pale Papaya jewels (2021-23 In Color Jewels) to the centers of some of the flowers.  I added Wink of Stella to the petals of the flower.   The Shimmery White CS has some shine but I wanted even more. 

 It is now time for you to see what the talented Ann Krucek has created for you.

Here is a list of all the stops on the hop.

Angie McKenzie  ●  Libby Fens  ●  Jo Blackman

Karen Henderson  ●  Jan Musselman  ● Mo Rootes

Terry Hamilton  ●  Tricia Butts  ●  Deb Macdowell

 Leonie Stuart  ●  Narelle Fasulo  ●  Danielle Kassing

Shel Anderson  ●   Teri West  ●  Vicki Milyard

Jill Chapman  ●  Melissa Faust  ●  Rebecca-Jo Unwin

Susan Webster  ●  Gez Carpenter  ●  Susan Simpson

Annette Ball  ●  JoAnn Pollock  ●  Melissa Gifford

Linda Moore  ●  Cheryl Hamilton  ●  Rochelle Laird-Smith

Satomi Wellard  ●  Alejandra Gomez  ●  Sharon Hashimoto Burkert

Ann Krucek  ●  Aurélie Fabre  ●  Elaine de Montmorency

Thank you for stopping by! 

How do you register for the event? 

Simply head to my store  and purchase the Hand-Penned Suite (Item 155503 $66.25)--or an equivalent amount of product if you already have the Hand-Penned Suite.  You must use the Host Code 3M9KUB3Y when you purchase the Suite or equivalent.  You will need the Hand-Penned Suite to complete the projects.  If you have any questions please email me: sharon@astheinkdries.com.  Registration ends June 7th.

It is Thursday which means it is time for the Create with Connie & Mary Challenge.  This week it is a color challenge.  I had a tough time with this challenge.  

This combination reminds me of Fall and I will definitely keep it to use later in the year.  

I used the Stitched Rectangle dies to cut the panels in Crushed Curry CS.  The Dandy Wishes dies cut the plants in Cajun Craze and Soft Succulent (2021-23 In Color).  The Dandy Wishes dies has a few dies (this one being on of them) that there isn't a corresponding stamp in the Garden Wishes stamp set.   

We now have Vanilla twine!  The Baker's Twine Essentials Pack has Crumb Cake and White twine (both of these have 10 yards each) and 5 yards each of Black, Gray Granite and Vanilla twine.  I am thrilled to have more Baker's Twine in the new catalog.

The sentiment is from the Many Messages stamp.  Instead of inking the entire stamp I just inked the sentiment I wanted and stamped it on Vanilla CS.  The sentiment was cut out using the Stitched Rectangle dies.   

I decorated the inside of the card with another die cut.  The pretty Soft Succulent gems  from the 2021-23 In Color Jewels were used to add a bit of sparkle to the front of the card.  

Thank you for stopping by be sure to check out what the rest of the design team created with this color combination.  

Happy new catalog day!  So exciting to have a new catalog full of fresh new products.  I am excited about the new In Colors.  These new colors, Fresh Freesia, Polished Pink, Pale Papaya, Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen are definitely some of my favorite new colors.  

Here are the new In Colors.  These were cut using a new die called Basic Borders.  The Basic Borders die set contains 6 different dies.  These dies are going to be lots of fun to play with.  They all have stitching along the edge.  

These are the other 5 dies in the Basic Border Die set.  These dies are all 6" long, so you can easily cut along the entire edge of a card.  The In Colors starting from the bottom, Evening Evergreen, Soft Succulent, Pale Papaya, Polished Pink, and Fresh Freesia.

The sentiment is from the Pansy Patch stamp set.  Love the mix of fonts used.  The little flower embellishments are from the Loose Flower Flourishes.  There are 2 sizes of flowers in 3 colors Fresh Freesia, Pale Papaya, and Polished Pink.  Each pack has 60 flowers, 10 each of the 3 colors in the 2 sizes.  I used a dot of Multipurpose Liquid Glue to secure the flowers. 

Today is also the start of 2 great promotions.

• May 4-31 2021 Stampin' Up! Starter Kit Promotion!  For $99 (plus tax) you will get up to $155 in products of YOUR choice (this is $30 more than the already generous starter kit).  The kit ships for Free, which is another 10% savings.  
• May 4- June 14  Connect, Craft, & Collect $25.  Receive an extra $25 in Host Rewards when your online order reaches $250 ( before shipping/tax).  

Thank you for stopping by!  

Today is the last day to purchase retiring items from the 2020 Annual Stampin' Up! Catalog.   Many of the items have been drastically reduced in price and some have sold out.  I decided to have a play with some retiring items but to keep it interesting mixing it with a new item that will be available starting tomorrow.

I used these items that are retiring; Wreath Builder dies (sorry it is now sold out), Confetti Flowers Border punch (on sale for $9.20!!) , and the sentiment from the Butterfly Gala stamp set.   I am planning on keeping all of these items.  I love the 3 sizes of flowers that the Confetti Flowers Border punch creates.  I have used them a lot and right now do not have a replacement for them.  

What is new are all the colors I used are the NEW 2021-23 In Colors.  Do I dare say this may just be my favorite batch of In Colors?  I like that they coordinate so well with each other and also seem to fit in so nicely with our existing colors.  The wreath and flowers were cut out using another new product,  2021-23 In Color Shimmer Vellum.   I love some sparkle and shine and this new vellum has it.  It looks like it was heavily coated with Wink of Stella and has the translucency of vellum.  

The sentiment from the Butterfly Gala stamp set is one I use a lot.  Love the font and it is a great size.  I also love that it fits so nicely on the Stitched Rectangle label.

Thank you for stopping by and check out all that is retiring and snag some of your favorites.  May 4th the new catalog will go live and also 2 fabulous promotions!

• May 4-31 2021 Stampin' Up! Starter Kit Promotion!  For $99 (plus tax) you will get up to $155 in products of YOUR choice (this is $30 more than the already generous starter kit).  The kit ships for Free, which is another 10% savings.  
• May 4- June 14  Connect, Craft, & Collect $25.  Receive an extra $25 in Host Rewards when your online order reaches $250 ( before shipping/tax).  

From the first time I saw the Kangaroo & Company Bundle I knew I would have to get it.  I haven't pulled it out in a bit and I thought it would be fun to use for the Festive Friday Challenge, #FF83.

Before I show you what I created for the Challenge, let's talk a little about it.  The Festive Friday Challenge is a bi-weekly challenge.  The challenge is inspired by a festivity and based on the festivity an Inspo List is created.  To play along with the challenge you need to pick 3 items from the Inspo List to use on your project.  Your project doesn't have to be inspired by the festivity but it does need to have 3 items from the Inspo List.  There are a few other rules that you can see here.  When you have completed your project you will post it on the Festive Friday  blog.  We love seeing how you were inspired.

Here is the Inspo List.

I chose get well, red, blue, cross, and emboss from the Inspo List.

I wanted to create a nurse's cap for the kangaroo.  I had to google it to see what they looked like.  I hope you can kind of see what I was referencing.  I think the red cross on it definitely helps.   I colored the flowers using Stampin' Blends and meant to have a secret message  pull out from the kangaroo's pocket.  Unfortunately I got a little too aggressive with the Stampin' Dimensionals and ended up securing the flowers down.  Oops!

I used the Tasteful Textile 3D folder to emboss the Basic White layer.  It is definitely one of my go-to folders when I want just a little something.  The Real Red tag was cut using a die that will be available soon (when the new catalog goes live on May 4).  The Tailor Made Tags dies are stand alone meaning they do not coordinate with a particular stamp set, they coordinate with everything.  The cute red ribbon with stitching is from the Playful Pets Trim Combo Pack.

Please check out what the rest of the Festive Friday Design team created for #FF0083.

Ann Schach

Beth McCullough

Sharon Hashimoto Burkert   that's me!

Melanie Hungerford

Helen Jennings

Stephanie Lanzalotto

Melva Peters

Judy Rozema 

Thank you for stopping by!

It is time for a little sneak peek from the upcoming Stampin' Up! Annual catalog.  I used the Pansy Petals Suite Collection  which includes the Pansy Patch bundle, Pansy Petals DSP, and the Bumblebee trinkets.  I also used the 2021-23 In Color Shimmer Vellum in Fresh Freesia for the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge, #CCMC661.  This week it is a sketch challenge and you will see that I followed the sketch pretty closely.

The main difference is I used my Layering Circles dies for the focal point.

The card base is Evening Evergreen, one of the new In Colors.  It is a dark, rich green which coordinates beautifully with Soft Succulent, another new In Color.  The Pansy Petals DSP features all of the new In Colors and more.  Some of the images in the DSP can be cut out using the Pansy Dies.  The pansy on my card is one that was cut out from the DSP.  The flip side of the DSP features pretty ginghams, dots and stripes.  

My photo fails to catch the shimmer in the vellum.  The vellum looks like it was painted with Wink of Stella.  A pretty, soft shimmer and the vellum comes in all the new In Colors.  The stitched scallop edging is from the Penned Flowers Dies, another new die in the upcoming catalog.   Love the detailed gold bumblebees.  I have it secured on the label with a glue dot.  

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you will check out what the rest of the design team created for the challenge.

The patterns in the True Love DSP are so fun to mix and match. It just might be the perfect pack of paper.  I know I am biased.  I love black and white cards with a pop of color.  

I mixed 2 of the pattens for the card and cut out and colored the flower and leaves from another pattern in the pack.  I colored the flower using Magenta Madness and  Soft Succulent  Stampin' Blends.  I also added a few In Color Enamel Dots.   The "thanks" is from the Hand-Penned Petals set which is in the upcoming Annual Catalog.

Here's more information about this card.

• Card base  5-1/2" x 7-1/2" scored at 3-1/4",  6-5/8".
• DSP pattern A   3" x 5-1/4".
• DSP pattern B   3/4" x 5-1/4".
• Inside of the card Basic White 3" x 5-1/4".
• Attach the circle along the scored line using dimensionals.  The circle bends back to open the card and folds back to close the card.  

Here's one using the Prized Peony bundle and the Peony Garden DSP.

The peony was colored using Mango Melody, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Real Red, and Blushing Bride Stampin' Blends.  This stamp set and dies are currently offered as a bundle saving you 10%.  In the upcoming catalog it will no longer be available as a bundle.  

Thank you for stopping by!

This week the Create with Connie & Mary Challenge is a Color Challenge.

Aren't these pretty spring colors?  Seaside Spray is one of the In Colors that are on the retiring list.  It is a color that I will miss.

I cut a  1-3/4" x 5-1/2" strip of True Love Designer Series Paper.  I colored the center squares using So Saffron, Flirty Flamingo, Seaside Spray Stampin' Blends.  I used the light marker of the combo pack.  I love how this looks.  This pack of paper has lots of designs that look great when colored.  How I love a black and white paper!  I inked up the Butterfly Brilliance stamp set in Versamark ink and stamped a sheet of Vellum Cardstock, sprinkled the images using White Embossing Powder, and heat embossed using the Heat Tool.  The vellum butterflies were cut using the Brilliant Wings die.  I do have a few extra butterflies to use on another project.  I also used the Brilliant Wings die to cut out the butterflies in the colors of the challenge.

To finish the butterflies I used the Stampin' Blends to color a rhinestone in each of the challenge colors.  The sentiment is from the Peaceful Moments stamp set and it was inked in Tuxedo Black Memento ink.

Thank you for stopping by and I will list below all the supplies used to make this card.

Product List

Butterfly Brilliance Bundle [155821]	Peaceful Moments Cling Stamp Set (English) [151595]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Seaside Spray Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154901]
So Saffron Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154905]	Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154884]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [159229]	Seaside Spray 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [150883]
So Saffron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [105118]	Flirty Flamingo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [141416]	True Love Designer Series Paper [154281]	Vellum 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [101856]
White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132]	Rhinestone Basic Jewels [144220]