I hope you are having a wonderful Memorial Day.  Just dropping by to say thank you.

Just a few more days left to take advantage of the Eastern Palace Suite Early Release.  Here's a simple black and white card.  Using the Eastern Beauty stamp set and the Eastern Medallions thinlits dies.

I also cut out a layered flower in vellum for the center of the medallion.   Once I did this I wondered what it would look like in white.

I added  Dazzling Diamond Glimmer paper behind the cut out .

I held off adding a sentiment. I am not sure who I will be sending this to but  I think this would make a beautiful wedding , anniversary, or any kind of congratulatory card.  

So, what do you think?  Black and white or all white?

There are stamp sets that I keep returning to and Remarkable You is one of them.  I used it again for this week's Create with Connie and Mary Challenge #459.   First let me show you the sketch.

I followed the sketch very faithfully except that I haven't stamped a sentiment yet.  I am going leave it blank until I know who I am giving this card too.

I used a mix of products.  Let me tell you about the products that are new and coming in the new Stampin' Up! catalog, June 1.  I used Berry Burst ink refill to color in one of the flowers.  Berry Burst is one of the 2017-19 In Colors and it is a beautiful pop of color.  The Old Olive ombre paper is from a fabulous new Designer Series Paper stack called Color Theory.  The lovely Bermuda Bay ribbon is also new.  It is the 3/8" Mini Chevron ribbon and it is wonderful.  

I hope you will try your hand at this sketch challenge.  You can go to the Create with Connie and Mary blog for all the details.  Be sure to check out how the other design team members handled the sketch.

Time for another Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge!  Members of the design team alternate weeks and this is our week!.   This week's sketch challenge is a classic and it was so fun making this card.   First here is the sketch for this week'c challenge.

TSOT #323

I used a fun new set called Pieces & Patterns and the Pick a Pattern DSP.   I love these whimsical animals!

Don't you love that little raccoon?  He looks like he just popped in to say hello!  Wish I could tell you that I planned that but it was another happy accident.  I used Flirty Flamingo, Emerald Envy and Basic Black for the layers.  Very clean and simple.  

Hope you like this quick and easy card.  If you want to join in the challenge you can go to the Try Stampin' on Tuesday blog and get all the scoop on how to play along with the challenge.  Be sure to check out what the other designers created for this challenge.  I know you won't be disappointed.

I cannot explain it but sometimes I see a stamp set that really isn't "me" but I cannot resist it.  That is exactly how the Pieces and Patterns stamp set and coordinating Pick a Pattern Designer Series Paper came to live with me in my teeny stamp room.    Did I have a plan for these 2 products?  I wish I could tell you that I knew exactly what I was going to do with them but that would be a big ole fib. 

I especially love these 2 designs from the Pick a Pattern DSP.  These silly, whimsical animals just make me smile.   This is a quick and easy card to make. The DSP really does all the work.  I  hope it looks like the bear is sending you a hello. This was not planned but it just worked out.   I love this sentiment. Here's a tip, I used the Basic Black Archival ink to stamp the sentiment and the coverage was perfect.  I tried the Memento Tuxedo black pad first but the coverage was not as good.  I also ran a Basic Black marker around the edge of the circle to cover up the white edge.  

Are you wondering how I made the giant scallop edge?  It is a thinlit die from the Seasonal Layers thinlit.  What is brilliant about this thinlit is that it is longer than 5-1/2"  so you can comfortably cut out a 5-1/2"card front and line the thinlit up perfectly.  Meaning perfect scallops.

Did you notice the pretty Crushed Curry ribbon?  This is a new ribbon called 3/8" Mini Chevron ribbon.  It comes in Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, and Old Olive.  It is soft and easy to tie.  Winner!

Hope you liked this Pieces and Patterns sneak peek.  This is a fun new stamp set and DSP that will certainly bring a smile to your face!  

Are you ready for the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge?  This week we have a Color Challenge!

Both Watermelon Wonder and Mint Macaron are 2015-17 In Colors which means they are retiring at the end of May. I am sad to see these colors leaving.  They were my favorites of the 2015-17 In Colors.  

Here's what I made with this lovely color combination.

I used the Gift Bag Punch board to create a Mint Macaron treat bag.  You can make all different sizes of bags using the punch board, it is really quick and easy to do.  The stamp set is Tranquil Tulips which is a hostess set in the upcoming Stampin' Up! catalog.  I am hooked on this stamp set and love how easy it is to create beautiful flowers.  I also used the retiring Papillion Potpourri to decorate the Gold Binder Clips.

So what are you going to make with this color combination?  For all the details of the challenge please go to the Create with Connie and Mary website or their Facebook page.  Hope you will enter and share your creative flair with us!

The Eastern Beauty stamp set and the whole Eastern Palace Suite is so full of possibilities!  I know you have seen lots of ideas using the Eastern Beauty stamp set and framelits.   Here's the first card I made using this bundle.

The only slightly tricky thing I did was to "straighten" out the sentiment.  Since this is a photopolymer stamp set, you can manipulate the stamp a bit  which is how I got a straighter sentiment.  The stamp is actually shaped to go along the curve of a circle.   Manipulating the stamp doesn't hurt the stamp and once the stamp is off the block it will return to its original shape.  I really like the font used for the sentiments in this stamp set.  

I used the color combination of Bermuda Bay and Berry Burst( a 2017-19 In Color).  The ribbon is in the new catalog and is the 3/8" Mini Chevron ribbon.  This new ribbon is available in Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, and Old Olive.  It is a very easy ribbon to tie and is not bulky.  The Berry Burst DSP you see is from the Color Theory DSP Stack.  I also used a Berry Burst  Glitter Enamel Dot for the center.  

If you are interested in the Eastern Palace Suite there are 2 special bundles available only in May.  Both of the bundles have free gifts available with your purchase.  You can see all the details here.

Welcome to the Stamper's Dozen Blog Hop!  This month we are sharing Sneak Peeks of products that are featured in the upcoming 2017-18 Stampin' Up! Annual catalog.   As SU demonstrators we were able to pre-order a selection of products that will be in the new catalog.  The catalog will go live on June 1!  

It was a difficult decision trying to decide what stamp set to share for my project.  I decided on Tranquil Tulips, which is one of the new stamp sets available as part of the hostess reward program.   I couldn't wait to get a hold of this stamp set.  I love the water colorish,  dreamy look  of the flowers.

I used the new In Color 2017-19 In Color, Berry Burst.  Love this happy and bright color.  Here's a rundown of the products Berry Burst products I used. The new 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon available in the new In Colors is a dream to tie.  See the strip of DSP?  That is from the Color Theory DSP stack.  I used one more item in Berry Burst but you will have to to see it.

Now you can see the Berry Burst Glitter Enamel Dots.   The sentiment is from the Eastern Beauty stamp set.  You can see the Eastern Palace bundles that are available now for you to purchase.  These special bundles are only available in May.  

Tranquil Tulips is a 2 step stamp set.  I inked the detailed image in VersaMark ink and then in Berry Burst ink. I  heat embossed the image in a mix of  Clear embossing powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter.  I thought a little bit of sparkle would be pretty.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek of one of the stamp sets you could choose as part of your hostess rewards.  The hostess reward stamps in this catalog are fantastic.  

    Now it is time for you to hop on over to see what Laura has created for you!

If you just came from Laura's blog then hop on to see what BJ has in store for you!

The time between the release of the Stampin' Up! Retirement list and the start of the 2017-18 Stampin' Up! Annual catalog(June 1) is really tough.  It is hard to keep track of what is retiring, sold out, and well you get the idea.  It is  much easier and well fun to share with you new things.  However, I do not want to only show you new things since you will not be able to order them until June 1.  I will do my best to balance my posts that being said...here's another sneak peek!

The card base is Chocolate Chip, a color I do not use often enough.  I used the new Fresh Florals DSP Stack (all the new In Colors!) in Powder Pink.  The sentiment is from the Ribbon of Courage stamp set.  I love this sentiment and I know I will be using it and the whole stamp set a LOT!  The little bouquet is from the Bike Ride stamp set.  The entire image was stamped!  I used 3 different stamps to create the image.  One in Chocolate Chip which is the outline image, Powder Pink which colored in the flowers, and Pool Party to color in the paper wrap.  It was very fast and EASY to create the bouquet.  This set is photopolymer so lining things up is pretty easy.   

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you do not already have a SU! demonstrator and you need  a 2017-18 Stampin' Up! catalog.  

I have been trying to limit the sneak peeks I share but I just couldn't help myself when I saw this week's Create with Connie and Mary Challenge sketch. 

I immediately thought of using the Daisy Delight stamp set, coordinating Daisy punch and the Lovely Words Thinlits.  Since I was already sharing some sneak peeks I decided I might as well also share the Wood Textures DSP stack.  Apparently, when I decide to share sneak peeks  I don't hold back.

I stamped the daisy using Powder Pink ink( new In Color!) on Powder Pink card stock and punched it out using the Daisy punch.  I cut the "friend" out of Early Espresso card stock and made a few quick snips and removed the words from the frame.  I layered it all on one of the woodgrain patterns from the Wood Textures DSP stack.  This was a quick card to put together.

Be sure to check out what the other designers made for this challenge.  You can get all the details on how you can play along with the challenge by going to the Create with Connie and Mary blog and/or the Create with Connie and Mary Facebook page.

If you have placed a Stampin' Up! order from me within the last 6 months I will be sending you the 2017-18 Stampin' Up! catalog in the next few days.  If you are not currently working with a Stampin' Up! demonstrator but are interested in receiving a catalog, please send an email to: [email protected]