It is Thursday, do you know what that means?   It is time for the Create with Connie & Mary Thursday Challenge.  This week we have a color challenge.  

I have been thinking about the Measure of Love set and the cute flower image.  The image measures about 1" which means it is a good candidate for the Stamparatus and hinge stamping.   If you aren't familiar with hinge stamping, it means you move the Stamparatus plate one hinge down.  Your image will be perfectly lined up and spaced.  The size of the flower image makes it just right to look like a continuous image using the Stamparatus.

I added the strip of Cinnamon Cider CS and the sentiment from the Artistically inked stamp set.  The sentiment was stamped on Basic White CS using Cinnamon Cider ink and then fussy cut out.  In addition I added a row of Mint Macaron Genial Gems.  

I also embossed the Basic White layer using the Checks and Dots Embossing folder.  I ran the folder through two times to cover the entire card front.  These particular folders are 3-3/8" x 6-1/4" which is why it requires 2 passes with the folder.  

Thank you for stopping by!  

Love the Hand-Penned Suite?  Would you like a tutorial bundle featuring 12 PDFs?  We have created a tutorial for only $15! Contact me for your tutorial bundle.

Welcome to the Creativity Abounds Blog Hop!  We are a group of  international Stampin' Up!® demonstrators who have come together to collaborate. This month our blog hop focuses around the beautiful Hand-Penned Suite.  Grab a cup of something tasty and hop along with us!

The Designer Series Paper that comes in this suite is just so beautiful.  Both sides are gorgeous ! I wanted to make another card that features both sides of one sheet of the paper.  A split card design came to mind with the flower bouquet as the connector.  I built the flower bouquet on a couple of circles from the Layering Circles dies and it adds stability to the card.

This suite is such a good one.  You get a stamp set, coordinating dies, DSP (Designer Series Paper) and a pretty embellishment-Genial Gems.  You can see that I made use of every item in the suite for my card.  

Thank you for stopping by and now it is time to hop along and see what the rest of the Creativity Abounds team created!

Love the Hand-Penned Suite?  Would you like a tutorial bundle featuring 12 PDFs?  We have created just the tutorial for only $15! Contact me for your tutorial bundle.

Welcome to the Stampers Dozen Blog Hop!  This month we are focusing on Tools.  Sounds like an easy one but I found it difficult trying to decide.  So many tools came to mind, some I use every time I stamp  and others are only used in certain situations but are lifesavers.  

Yup, I chose my Paper Snips.  It is an essential tool and I use them every time I stamp.  I use them to cut my Stampin' Dimensionals to just the right size.  I use them to grab embellishments and place them on my projects.  I use them to cut out DSP images that do not have a coordinating die.  The list goes on and on.  They are sharp and cut all the way to the tip making it easy to fussy cut.  Lately I have been using them a lot to cut out sentiments like the ones found in the Biggest Wish and the Create with Friends stamp set.  I love the fonts and since there are no dies for these stamps I fussy cut them out using my Paper Snips.

I inked up the large flower from the  beautiful Artistically Inked stamp set in Gorgeous Grape ink and the center in Crushed Curry.  I marvel at how the stamp is created to achieve this look.  I added a few Mint Macaron leaves and die cut the flower and leaves using the Artistic Dies.  I added a few loops of silver cord using the Simply Elegant Trim and some Metallic Pearls in silver.

I embossed the happy from the Biggest Wish set using White embossing powder on Vellum.   I partially stamped birthday in Versamark on vellum, embossed it using White embossing powder and did a little trimming with my Paper Snips so it says day.   I attached the words to the flower using glue.  I applied the glue behind the embossing so it doesn't show through.  

Be sure to check out all the stops on the hop.  I am looking forward to seeing what is everyone's favorite tool is.

Stamper's Dozen June 2021 Blog Hop

1. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
2. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place
3. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping!
4. Bonnie O'Neill – Bonnie Stamped
5. Donna Burk Schneidtmiller – Donna Stamps
6. Rose Grunewald – Country Cards by Rose
7. Jodi Petersen – Jodi’s Card Designs
8. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s - Stamping in My Flops
9. BJ Peters – Create & Feel Great
10. Judy Garza – Creativity Released
11. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
12. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps

Thank you for stopping by and I would love to know what your favorite tool is.  Let me know in the comments.

It was only a matter of time before I paired the adorable Party Puffins and the Pattern Party DSP.  

The Pattern Party DSP is available as a Stampin' Reward.  It is one of the best packs of paper.  On one side there's black and white patterns (gingham, stripes, dots!) and the other side bright and colorful patterns.   I colored the puffins birthday hat with Stampin' Blends to coordinate with the paper and added a resin dot for a pom pom.  I was surprised to find that I do not have a current balloon stamp and die so I had to go to my stash and used the balloons from the Special Someone stamp set and dies.  The "Celebrate" is from the Create with Friends set.

This card is a great way to use those scraps of DSP.  I hate to throw away patterned paper and try to find ways to use it all up.  

I couldn't stop once I started with this layout.  Here I used the Snail Mail DSP.  This paper along with the entire Snail Mail Suite is retiring at the end of the month.  Products are only available while supplies last.  I just checked and the Snail Mail DSP is still available.  The little Resin Hearts on the envelopes and near the hello are 50% off!  They make great little accents.

I used the Biggest Wish set for the hello.   Lately it seems like I am either using the Biggest Wish set or the Create with Friends set.  If you look closely you can see that I used the new Checks and Dots embossing folder on the Real Red strip.  I totally missed them in the catalog so I thought I would be sure to point them out.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

It doesn't happen often that I use a retired Stampin' Up! set for a blog post.  I needed to pull from my stash for the Festive Friday Challenge.  I have a smallish stash of sets that I keep for my personal use.   I kept  the Clubhouse stamp set and the Gold Club dies that  debuted in the 2020 January-June Mini Catalog.  My spousal unit is a golfer which is his primary hobby so it was a given that I would keep these 2 items.  

Here is the Festive Friday Challenge #FF0085.

To play along with the Festive Friday Challenge you need to pick 3 items from the Inspo List to use on your project.  I chose blue, plaid, golf, and brads.

I used the Picture This dies (which is in the current Annual Catalog).  The plaid paper is from the Well Suited DSP paper pack, which is in the 2021 January-June 2021 Mini Catalog.  This pack of paper is unfortunately sold out. (check out the Last Chance list HERE, lots of great deals!) The rest of the images are from the Clubhouse stamp set.  It was fun playing around with the different elements and arranging them.

If you are wondering the small black dots on either side of the banner are brads.  It is in  the Round & Square Brads.  It is nice to have some brads back in the catalog.  

I am happy that I have this card made and ready to give.  I am sorry that I had to use a bundle of products that you cannot order and I will try not to do this too often.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team created for this challenge.

Ann Schach

Beth McCullough   

Sharon Hashimoto Burkert

Melanie Hungerford

Helen Jennings

Stephanie Lanzalotto

Melva Peters

Judy Rozema 

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

I had a tough time with this one and am looking forward to seeing what the rest of the design team created.

I used the You're a Peach DSP (Designer Series Paper) and the 2021-23 In Color 6" x 6" papers for the sketch.  I fussy cut the happy birthday from the Biggest Wish stamp set.  I have been using this stamp set a lot.  I really like the font and wish there were dies for this set.  Fortunately armed with my Paper Snips it isn't  difficult to cut out the words.  

I added some tiny flowers cut using the Peach dies in Calypso Coral and Balmy Blue.  I added the Artistry Blooms Adhesive Backed Sequins to the centers of the flowers.  I like the little bit of shimmer that the sequins add.  

Product List

Biggest Wish Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [155052]	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad [147105]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [159229]	Pear Pizzazz 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [131201]
You're A Peach 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155686]	Peach Dies [155829]	Pale Papaya 3/8" (1 Cm) Open Weave Ribbon [155672]	Artistry Blooms Sequins [152477]

Thanks for stopping by!

Today, June 10th is the last day to register for the Hand-Penned Stamp Camp!  Be sure to sign up before it closes!

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 10th.

Thank you for joining us for the Around the World on Wednesday Blog Hop!  We are an international group who have joined together for this fun hop.  The are a total of 24 stops on the hop!  The theme for this month's hop is Step It Up.  There are so many ways to interpret this theme.  It is going to be fun seeing everyone's take on it.

I chose to prepare a card progression.  I started with a very simple idea and  "stepped" it up.  Have you heard of SIP?  It stands for Stamps, Ink, Paper.  My first card is exactly that. Just the basics.  It is one that anyone.

I started with Thick Basic White  Cardstock cut at 4-1/4" x 11", scored at 5-1/2".  I stamped the sentiment from the Biggest Wish stamp set in Early Espresso ink.  Have you noticed that I use this stamp set a lot?  I am currently obsessed with it.  Next I used the Plentiful Plants set and stamped the pot using Cajun Craze ink.  The greenery was stamped in Evening Evergreen.  It took me longer to cut and score the card than it did to stamp it.  

For the next step I again started with a 4-1/4" x 11" Basic White (Thick) CS card base.  I also die cut a tag using the Tailor Made Tags dies.  Instead of stamping directly on the tag, the plant and pot were stamped and then die cut using the Perfect Plants dies.   I assembled the plant and pot and attached them to the tag using Stampin Dimensionals (both sizes).  I fussy cut the sentiment and attached them to the tag using dimensionals.   The ribbon is the Early Espresso 1/4" Faux Suede Trim and also the Linen Thread.   i also attached a few Gold Metallic Pearls.  This card is still easy to make but it has a few more elements.

This card is basically the same card as the prior one except I added the Paper Lattice.   I was thinking that I could have made at least one or two more step ups.  I like each of the cards for different reasons.  It was a good challenge for me and I plan to do this more often.

Now it is time for you to check out how Teri West interpreted the theme. 

Here is the list of all the stops on the hop!

Jan Clothier - NZ

Leonie Stuart - AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith - AU

Cazz Boylan - AU

Cheryll Miller - AU

Danielle Kassing - NL

Satomi Wellard

Pia Gephardt - DE

Ximena Morales - DE

Aurélie Fabre - FR

Emma Goddard - UK

Mikaela Titheridge - UK

Annette Ball - CA

Angie McKenzie - US

Wendy Lee - US

Shel Anderson - CA

Chris Smith - US

Anne Marie Hile - US

Brenda Nelson - CA

Tricia Butts - US

Elaine de Montmorency - CA

Sharon Hashimoto Burkert - US- you are here!

Teri West - US

Cheryl Hamilton - US

Thank you for stopping by and  enjoy the rest of the hop!

Welcome to the Inspire, Create, Share Blog Hop.   This month we are hopping with the focus on the 2021-23 In Colors.   I think this group of In Colors are the best ones yet.  

I couldn't decide what color to use so I pulled the stamps I wanted to use, Kangaroo & Company.  I was happy to find in the stamp case the kangaroo all colored and even more surprisingly colored using Pale Papaya.  

The Kangaroo & Co bundle from the 2021 January-June Mini Catalog will be retiring.  I will miss this adorable bundle.   In addition to the Kangaroo & Co bundle I  used the cake and hat from the Party Puffins stamp set, the sentiment from the Artistically Inked set,  and the scallop edge was cut using the Scalloped Contours die (part of the Color & Contour bundle).  I cut the scallop from the front of the card positioning the die about 3/4" up from the edge.  

The cute little butterflies are also from the Kangaroo & Company stamp set.  I did have to use the Stamparatus to stamp a mirror image of the butterfly and fussy cut it out.  The ribbon is the Pale Papaya & White 1/2" Ribbon.   The DSP is from  the 2021-23  In Color  6" x 6" Assortments.

The Kangaroo & Company card did not take very long to create so I made another card using the In Color Polished Pink and the same layout.

This color just makes me smile!  It is a bright pop of color.  I am  sad that the Snailed It bundle is retiring.  I have used this bundle a lot.  These are snails I love seeing and playing with.  The hello is from the Biggest Wish stamp set.   I am a little obsessed with it.  I send a lot of cards and often it is just to check in with someone so the hello is the perfect sentiment.  

Don't you love those little envelopes?  I covered up the hearts on the envelope with the 2021-23 In Color Jewels (they are back in stock!). The ribbon is the Polished Pink 3/8" Open Weave that comes in all the 2021-23 In Colors.  

Now it is time for you to check out what the talented Joni Metras has created for you.

Thanks 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 10th.

Here's a peek of the projects you will receive in the Hand-Penned Stamp Camp!

It isn't a secret that black & white with a pop of color is one of my go to color combinations.  When the True Love DSP debuted in the 2021 January-June Mini Catalog I was so happy.  This pack of paper has both pretty floral designs and lovely patterns all in black and white.  The black and white florals were so fun to color  which sometimes made it hard to choose which side of the paper to use.  

I colored the True Love DSP with Cherry Cobbler, Real Red, and Old Olive  Stampin' Blends.  I fussy cut the flowers out which fortunately was easy to do.  One thing I do after I fussy cut, is  run the side of the brush end of  a Stampin' Write  Black marker around along the cut edge.  This colors the edges and helps cover up some of my cutting mistakes and just gives it a more finished look.

The card base is 4-1/4" x 7" scored at 3-1/2".  The Stitched Rectangle is positioned so the top of the rectangle to the bottom of the card base measures a total of 5-1/2".  This means it will fit in the standard A-2 envelope.  

I just checked and the True Love DSP is still available.  Here is a list of all the items that are retiring from the 2021 January-June Mini Catalog.  There are some amazing deal so be sure to check the list.  If you find something you need, you can shop with me here.

Thanks 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 10th.

Are you a fan of the Hand-Penned Suite?  I am a big fan of the suite,  so much so that I am participating in an International Stamp Camp featuring the Hand-Penned Suite Collection which includes the Hand-Penned Petals bundle, the Hand-Penned Designer Series Paper (12" x  12") and the Genial Gems).   

Let me tell you about the Hand-Penned  Stamp Camp.  The camp features 9 projects (one project from 9 different demonstrators),

•  PDF for each project
• video tutorial for each project
•  make and take packet for each project (the materials provided are for items not in the Hand-Penned Suite Collection) These will be mailed to you June 14th. 
•  a bonus Facebook group featuring additional projects using the Suite. (the lives will take place June 25-26)  

Wow, that is a lot!  What does it cost?  All you need to do is purchase the Hand-Penned Suite Collection (155503) using the Host Code 3M9KUB3Y from my online store.  That is it!  So for the price of the Suite Collection you are getting a 9 project stamp camp+make and take packets+PDFs+video tutorials+Bonus private FB group content!  It is VERY important that you use the Host Code, i will be using that list to  see who has registered.  If you do not live in the US please contact me: sharon@astheinkdries.com and I can refer you to someone in your market.  

Here are a few projects some I have shared before featuring the Hand-Penned Suite. 

Here I used the beautiful dies to create a background and did a little coloring of the flower from the Hand-Penned Petals.

Stamped the image multiple times and colored the flowers using Stampin' Blends.

This one I haven't shared before and uses all of the items in the Hand-Penned Suite Collection.  Love how versatile the Hand-Penned Suite is.  

Hope you will join me for the Hand-Penned Stamp Camp.  The last day to register is June 10th.  Please contact me if you have any questions, sharon@astheinkdries.com.

Thanks for stopping by!