Ready for another Festive Friday challenge?   What is the Festive Friday challenge?  The Festive Friday challenge is a bi-weekly challenge that is inspired by a holiday/festivity.  An Inspo list of 10 items is created using the festivity as its inspiration.  To play in the challenge you need to use 3 items from the Inspo list on your project and enter it in the Festive Friday gallery.  We love seeing what you choose from the Inspo list and create.

Whether you celebrate Galentine's Day or not, this Inspo List is a fun one!  I used from the list Friendship sentiment, Pink, Flowers, and Pearls.  

I wasn't sure what I was going to make but I have Hawaii on my mind and wanted to make a garland/lei.  I thought about a little window so I cut out a circle using one of the Stylish Shapes dies on a 4" x 5-1/4"  Basic White CS piece.  The little flower swag in the Easter Bunny set has also  been on my mind so I started stamping with it. The flowers and leaves were colored in using Pale Papaya, Parakeet Party, Flirty Flamingo, Daffodil Delight, Sweet Sorbet, and Tahitian Tide Stampin' Blends.  The card base is a Tahitian Tide Tea Boutique Cards & Envelopes .  I used a Layering Circle die to cut out the circle on the card base.  

On the Basic White circle I stamped the sweet little Easter Bunny and gave her a floral headband.  I swore I saw this idea in the Mini Catalog but when I looked, the garland in the sample is actually around the bunny's neck.  Just another idea for another card.  I fussy cut the floral swag and used Dimensionals to pop it up.  Isn't she so sweet?

Check out the sentiment.  Are you wondering where it came from?  I am proud of this.  I used a Black Stampin' Write Marker and colored in the Happy Valentine's Day sentiment from the Love For You stamp set except for the V and stamped it on Basic White CS.  I then colored in the G (Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker) from the Congratulations sentiment and stamped it where the V should be and voila Galentine's!  I am not usually very good at doing this and so am very happy that it turned out on the first try!  I probably won't push my luck and attempt it again!  I used a banner from the Stylish Shapes dies and cut it out.  The 2 little hearts are Heart Pearls colored using a Sweet Sorbet Dark Stampin' Blends.

In addition I added a sentiment from the Country Bouquet set.  Love this sentiment which can be used all year long!  Be sure to check out how the rest of the design team used the Inspo List.

Thanks for stopping by and please join in the challenge,  we would love to see your creations in the Festive Friday Gallery,

It is Thursday which means it is time for a new Create with Connie & Mary Challenge.  This week it is a color challenge and it is a good one!

Sometimes I am a little slow on the uptake but could it be that the color challenge colors are taken from Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper? Today’s colors look like they come from the Favored Flowers DSP, a beautiful pack of paper that you can earn for FREE during Sale-A-Bration.   The colors featured in this Sale-A-Bration paper, Basic Black, Blackberry Bliss, Calypso Coral, Evening Evergreen, Fresh Freesia, Petal Pink.

Whatever the inspiration I chose to use the Favored Flowers DSP for my challenge card.

This is a pocket card.  The DSP is cut 4” x 12” and scored at 5-1/2” and 9-3/4”.  I cut it at 4” instead of 4-1/4” so I can get 3 of these pockets from one sheet of DSP.   The Evening Evergreen insert measured (before cutting with the Basic Borders dies) 3-3/4” x 5-1/4” and the Basic White layer 3-1/2” x  5”.

I chose the pattern from the Favored Flowers DSP that features the flowers in Calypso Coral and the leaves in Evening Evergreen.  I loved the flip side of this paper in Calypso Coral.  To incorporate the Blackberry Bliss color, I fussy cut a few flowers and buds from another sheet in the paper pack.  In addition another flower and buds in Calypso Coral.  I did not glue or tape the sides of the pocket and instead use the ribbon (Metallic Edge Cotton Ribbon) to keep the pocket together.  The top and the flap edge were also cut using the Basic Borders die.  Normally I would have used a corner rounder to round the edges but I don’t seem to have one.  You could leave the corners or edges straight.

I stamped in Evening Evergreen the sentiment from the Sending Smiles stamp set.  I added a silver dot from the  Festive Pearls. The Festive Pearls are a carryover from the previous mini catalog.  In the embellishment pack there are gold, silver, mint and red pearls.  They are a small, sweet little embellishment.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out what the other members of the design team created for this challenge,

I have been working on using my patterned paper (Designer Series Paper aka DSP) instead of hoarding it.  I want to enjoy creating with it instead of saving it for the perfect project.  Does this resonant with you?  

One thing that I do not do enough  is color my patterned paper.  The Abigail Rose DSP  is a  great one to color. I used Petal Pink and Old Olive Stampin' Blends to color these flowers. Early Espresso and Petal Pink is one of my favorite color combinations.

This DSP is so pretty that you really do not need to do very much to make a lovely card.  

I added a coordinating strip of DSP and used the Amazing Thanks dies for the layered thanks.  Along the side I added the ribbon from the Real Red and Burlap Ribbon combo pack.  I wanted to add a little bit of bling and used the Petal Pink Elegant Faceted Gems along the side of the striped DSP strip.

I added a strip of DSP along the side to decorate the inside of the card.  I usually add a strip of cardstock or DSP along the bottom of the inside of my cards but I had this perfectly sized strip that fit perfectly along the edge. 

Product List

Petal Pink Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154893] $9.00	Old Olive Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154892] $9.00	Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154883] $9.00	Abigail Rose 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [159037] $12.00
Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [119686] $9.25	Petal Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146985] $9.25	Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [101650] $10.25	Amazing Thanks Dies (English) [157816] $27.00
Real Red & Burlap Ribbon Combo Pack [160386] $9.00	Elegant Faceted Gems [152464] $7.50

Another DSP that looks great colored is the Perfectly Penciled pack.  Go here to see a card I made using  the Perfectly Penciled  DSP and Stampin’ Blends.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you will color and use some of your Designer Series Paper,

On Thursday I shared that I cut out all the flowers from the Hues of Happiness DSP.  Why did I do this?  One thing I realized when I packed up my craft room was I had a LOT of paper especially patterned paper.  I mean a lot.  I love paper and honestly I am not the best at using it.  I love certain designs so much that I don't want to use it.  Huh?  Sound familiar?  Well, I am trying to change my ways and am now making more of an effort to use and enjoy my paper and not save it.  I thought that if I cut out the flowers from the Hues of Happiness DSP I would use it.  This was a good decision.  I have made a bunch of cards using the flowers and have been thinking about the flowers and other ways to use them.  The flowers are color sorted and waiting patiently for me to use them.  Today's card was on my mind and I had to make it even though there were lots of other things I needed to do.

I used the Split Card Textures dies and added the Hues of Happiness flowers along the split.  Since the flowers and leaves were already cut out, this card came together easily and it made it easy to make other decisions like color.   I used the Gorgeous Grape and Fresh Freesia flowers which made me think about the Fine Shimmer Paper Pack which has a Fresh Freesia paper.  I cut the Fresh Freesia Shimmer Paper a little larger than the Split Card Texture so it would show through behind the cutouts and also act as a layer.  Everything is layered on a Gorgeous Grape card base.   The dots look black in this picture but they are actually Gorgeous Grape Glossy Dots.

Inside of the card I added a strip of the Fresh Freesia Shimmer Paper and another flower from the Hues of Happiness DSP.  The sentiment is from the Framed Florets set stamped in Gorgeous Grape ink.

I hope in this picture you can see the shimmer of the Fresh Freesia Fine Shimmer Paper.  This paper is so pretty and in the pack there are 6 sheets (2 each of Fresh Freesia, Soft Succulent and Gold).

Thanks for stopping by and if you would like your own pack of Hues of Happiness DSP you can shop online with me,

I am starting to cut the make and take packets for the Creativity Abounds By the Bay Stamp Camp.  Be sure to register soon for the camp.  Want more information?  GO HERE for all the details.

Love fun folds? Place a $50 order through my online store and receive this bundle (13 tutorials!!)  as a thank you.  You can also purchase the tutorial bundle for $15.00.  Please contact me (sharon@astheinkdries.com) if you would like to purchase the tutorial.

What do you do when you don't feel very creative?  I like to organize my stuff.  Doing this sometimes refreshes my memory of what I have and often gets me thinking about things I want to make. 

I was looking through my DSP (Designer Series Paper aka patterned paper) and pulled out the Hues of Happiness DSP.  It is such a beautiful pack of paper and contains so many of my favorite colors.  I decided that I would cut out all the flowers and leaves that coordinate with the dies, Blossoming Happiness Dies.  I don't do usually do this because I think what if I want to use the flip side of the paper instead? On the other hand  I also know that if I have a bunch of flowers and leaves ready to use it would be easy to make cards and using my supplies is really what I want to do.  No more saving paper just in case.  Know what I mean?  Cutting all the flowers and leaves out was so satisfying and I have already made about 8 cards using them.

Here are the blue flowers and leaves I cut out.  Yes, I even separated them by color to make it even easier to use them.

One of the cards I made was for the Create with Connie & Mary Challenge, #CCMC751.  The Create with Connie & Mary Challenge is a weekly challenge that generally alternates between a sketch and a color challenge.  This week it is a sketch challenge,

Sketch challenges give you a great foundation for your project.  I don't always follow the sketch exactly but I think you can see the "bones' of the sketch in my card.

Instead of a circle I used one of the pretty flowers and leaves cut from the Hues of Happiness DSP.  The wider rectangle was replaced with the thanks from the Amazing Thanks dies.   I also used another pattern from the Hues of Happiness DSP.

The card base is Melon Mambo and I embossed the front of the card using the Pretty Flowers folder.  To add a little sparkle I added a few Iridescent Rhinestones to the front of the card.  Inside I added a strip of gold paper from the Gold & Rose Gold Metallic paper.  

Here you can see the shine of the Gold Metallic Paper and the flower from the Hues of Happiness DSP.  This card came together quickly thanks to the sketch and the flowers already being cut out.   I am in need of more thank you cards so I will make up more of these up.    The next time I am feeling not very creative I am going to cut out more designs from the DSP. 

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out what the rest of the design team created with this sketch,

Do you like fun folds?  Here is a bundle of 13 different ones!

Place a $50 order through my online store and receive this bundle (13 tutorials!!)  as a thank you.  You can also purchase the tutorial bundle for $15.00.  Please contact me (sharon@astheinkdries.com) if you would like to purchase the tutorial.

Ready for another Festive Friday challenge?   What is the Festive Friday challenge?  The Festive Friday challenge is a bi-weekly challenge that is inspired by a holiday/festivity.  An Inspo list of 10 items is created using the festivity as its inspiration.  To play in the challenge you need to use 3 items from the Inspo list on your project and enter it in the Festive Friday gallery.  We love seeing what you choose from the Inspo list and create.

I chose from the list Red, Hat, Rhinestones, and Texture.

I am still on the go and working with just a handful, ok more like an armful of supplies.  I knew I could work red into my project since I love the color and then I remembered that one of the Adorable Owls (free with a qualifying purchase during Sale-A-Bration) is wearing a hat!  It is a cute little party hat and would be perfect for my card.   I colored the sweet birthday owl using Soft Suede, Real Red, Daffodil Delight and Pool Party Stampin' Blends.

I couldn't find an embossing folder that I wanted to use so I decided to create my own texture by adding die cut hearts.  The hearts are from the Give It A Whirl dies.  This die set not only has the parts to make a fun interactive card it has so many other dies like hearts, stars, and clouds.  

I added the sentiment from the Adorable Owls set and thought I could accent it with Red Rhinestones.  I went from wondering how I was going to use 3 items from the Inspo List to using 4!

Time to check out what the rest of the Design Team created for Challenge #FF126.  

We look forward to seeing what you create using the Inspo List.  Be sure to add your entry into the gallery!

Do you love Fun Folds?  We have a tutorial bundle featuring 13 fun folds!

Place a $50 order through my online store and receive this bundle featuring Fun Folds (13 tutorials!!)  as a thank you.  You can also purchase the tutorial bundle for $15.00.  Please contact me (sharon@astheinkdries.com) if you would like to purchase the tutorial.

It is Thursday which can only mean one thing...it is time for a new Create with Connie & Mary Challenge.  The challenges alternates between a sketch and a color challenge.  This week it is a color challenge.

I have been playing with the Country Bouquet bundle and thought the beautiful floral heart would look pretty in this color combination.

The Night of Navy looks pretty dark here but I assure it is Night of Navy.  The heart is Two-Step stamp which means you need both stamps to create the image.  It was very easy to line up the two images to create this pretty heart.   The gems are Night of Navy Solid Faceted Gems.  The sweet little bow was made using the dies in the Mini Pocket Envelope dies.  I forget about this adorable bow and need to use her more often.  

Do you recognize the DSP?  If you guessed the Tea Boutique DSP in the Annual Catalog you would be right!  I sometimes forget about all the lovely DSP in the Annual Catalog.  

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out what the rest of the design team created for the challenge,

Welcome to the Creativity Abounds Blog Hop!  We are a group of international Stampin' Up!® demonstrators.  We hop together on the third Wednesday of every month.  Our hops focus around a particular bundle, holiday, occasion or product suite.  Every month we create a tutorial bundle. The tutorial bundle is available as a gift with a qualifying purchase or can also be purchased. This month our theme is Fun Folds!

We also offer a stamp camp three times a year.  The next stamp camp will be in February 2023 and will feature a suite from the 2023 January-April Mini Catalog.  The suite we have chosen for the next stamp camp is…By the Bay!  More information about the stamp camp can be found HERE.

Fun folds are just well fun.  It is amazing what a cut here or an extra fold there can create.  My card requires just 2 extra cuts from a 5-1/2” x 8-1/2”(14.9 cm x 21 cm) card so it is simple to make so you can spend more time figuring out how to decorate it. 

I used the lovely Two-Tone Floral bundle, Fancy Flora DSP, and the Iridescent Pastels Gems.  These are all part of the Fancy Flora Suite Collection. 

The colors I used are Calypso Coral, Pool Party and Evening Evergreen.  The flowers in the Two-Tone set  are 2 Step stamping.  This means there are 2 different stamps used to create the beautiful shading on the image.  For the larger flowers I used Calypso Coral.  I found it easier to stamp the darker lined/definition first and then the lighter solid image on top of that.  I thing everyone has their own preferred way.  The lined/definition stamp was stamped full strength and the solid image was stamped off (stamped first on another piece of paper) and then over the the definition image.  This creates the beautiful flowers.  You could also use 2 different colors to create the flower.  The Evening Evergreen leaves were stamped off  once. I wanted the color to be a little more muted.  The flowers and leaves were adhered on to a Basic White Layering Circle and then on to a Pool Party circle using the Stylish Shapes dies. The sentiment is from the Days to Remember set.  

Here are the details of the card.

• Pool Party Card Base- 5-1/2” x 8-1/2” (14.9 cm x 21 cm folded in half) scored at 4-1/4”.  Cut a slit from the fold to the bottom of the front of the card 1-1/4” (3.5 cm) in from the side.  Repeat on the other side. These are the “arms”.
• Cut a 1” x 4-1/2” (2.5 cm x 13 cm) piece of Window Sheet.  Attach the ends of the window sheet to the “arms” 1/2” (1 cm)up from the edge of the front of the card.
• Cut four 1” x 4” (3 cm x 10 cm) strips of the Fancy Flora DSP  for the arms and inside of the card.  
• Adhere a 2-3/4” x 4” (7.5 cm x 10 cm) piece of Fancy Flora DSP to the center panel.
• Stamp and die cut the flowers and leaves.
• Die cut a Pool Party Stylish Shapes circle (2-1/2” circle/6.5 cm)
• Die cut a Basic White Layering Circle (2-3/8”/6.3 cm)
• Stamp the sentiment and adhere the flowers to the Basic White circle.
• Attach the circle to the “arm” portion only with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
• Attach Calypso Coral Iridescent Pastel Gems as shown.
• Stamp Happy Birthday on Basic White CS and die cut using the Stylish Shapes banner die.
• Adhere the Happy Birthday banner to the center panel only, positioning it to show through the Window Sheet.
• Stamp and die cut Pool Party flowers and adhere it to the banner only.
• Attach the remaining DSP strips to the inside of the card so it mimics the look of the front of the card.
• Cut a 3” x 4” (7.8cm x 10 cm) Basic White piece and attach it to the inside of the card, between the 2 arms. This piece should be hidden behind the center panel.  Adhere a 3/4” x 3” (2 cm x 7.8cm) piece of DSP to the bottom. 
• Stamp and die cut a flower and leaves and attach it to the DSP strip.

Time to keep on hopping!

Thank you for stopping by and be sure to check out below how you can receive the Creativity Abounds Fun Fold tutorial.

Place a $50 order through my online store and receive this bundle (13 tutorials!!)  as a thank you.  You can also purchase the tutorial bundle for $15.00.  Please contact me (sharon@astheinkdries.com) if you would like to purchase the tutorial.

So, what do you think of the 2023 January-April Mini Catalog?  I found this catalog to be very dangerous.  I love the suites and wanted to just buy them all.  See what I mean by dangerous?  The first suite I wanted was the very first one I encountered...Country Floral Lane Suite Collection.  It is so good!  I knew I had to have the DSP.  The Country Gingham DSP and the Country Floral Lane coordinate so beautifully together.  I enjoy mixing and matching papers between the 2 paper packs.  

The Country Floral Lane DSP does all the heavy lifting on this card.  The only thing stamped is the sentiment from the Country Bouquet stamp set.  I really like this sentiment, it can be used for so many different occasions.  I am thinking Galentine's Day.  The cute heart and leaves were punched out from the DSP with Country Bouquet punch. 

The Basic White scalloped piece was cut using the Scalloped Contours die and the DSP in the middle was cut using the Stitched Rectangle dies.  The banner piece was cut using the Stylish Shapes dies.  In addition I used the Sweet Sorbet Baker's Twine from the 2022-24 In Color Baker's Twine Pack.

Inside I added a strip of DSP and another punched heart and leaves.  

Thank you for stopping by and be sure to check out the Country Floral Lane Suite Collection,

Welcome to the Stampers Dozen Blog Hop! We are a group of Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators that hop together on the 14th of the month.  Every month we pick a theme and this month it is Sale-A-Bration!  Sale-A-Bration runs from January through February and with a qualifying order you can chose a free gift.  You can see the Sale-A-Bration brochure HERE.

I chose to use the Beautifully Happy stamp set.  This is a 17 piece photopolymer stamp set.  This set has a mix of sentiments and images.  This set is a Two-Step stamping set, which in this set means there are outline images and bold images that can be used to color in the outline images.  The bold stamps that color in the images are also DistINKtive stamps which means they color in the images with shading.  You could also choose to color in the bold images using another coloring tool.  The Beautifully Happy stamp set is free with a qualifying order of $100 (US), before shipping and taxes.

I stamped the image 3 times and colored them using the coordinating bold stamps.  This is a quick and easy card. Once all the stamping was done I embossed the image using the Timber 3D folder. I like the subtle texture.  In the center of the flowers I added a Gorgeous Grape Glossy Dot.  The Pool Party ribbon is from the Jan-April Mini Catalog. The label the sentiment is stamped on is from the Fabulous Frames dies. I had to make the hole on the label a little larger to thread the ribbon through.  

Pool Party

Granny Apple Green

Highland Heather

 I used the color combination of Granny Apple Green, Pool Party and Highland Heather.  I liked these colors so much I decided to also make it using the same colors except I switched the flower colors to Highland Heather from Pool Party.  

What do you think?  Which do you like better?  I think I know which one I like better. 

Now it is time to check out the rest of the stops on the hop!  We have 2 new members hopping with us...Debbie Henderson and Kim Quade!  So exciting and welcome!

Thanks for stopping by and you can check out all the supplies I used to make this card below.

Product List

Beautifully Happy Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [160804] $27.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [147107] $8.00	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad [147103] $8.00
Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad [147095] $8.00	Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [122924] $9.25	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276] $10.25	Timber 3 D Embossing Folder [156406] $10.00
Fabulous Frames Dies [159163] $31.00	Pool Party 3/8" (1 Cm) Grosgrain Ribbon [160430] $8.00	Glossy Dots Assortment [158827] $8.00