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]

Welcome to another Creativity Abounds Blog Hop!  We are an international group of  Stampin' Up!® demonstrators who have joined together to collaborate.  This month we are hopping and also have created a tutorial bundle around the theme Masculine cards.   Thank you for joining us and enjoy the hop!

Masculine cards are some of the hardest cards to make.  I tend to want to gussy ( wow, how old am I?) them up too much. The cards I created today use the Handsomely Suited Bundle and the Well Suited Designer Series Paper.

Once a month my team meets on Zoom and we have a Crafty Time.  A few days before the Zoom meeting I send out the measurements and basic supplies everyone will need to make the projects.  We have 2-3 projects.  This card was inspired by a project taught by Heather Peeler.  She had us cut strips of DSP and attach them to a piece of Basic White Cardstock.  We then cut a frame using the Stitched Rectangle dies.  She did some beautiful watercoloring inside of the frame but I opted to use the bow tie stamp and dies to fill my frame.  

The Well Suited DSP is such a fun pack of paper.  The patterns of the DSP remind me of my husband's tie collection back before he retired.  Most of them were pretty classic patterns but there were some florals and brighter colors too.  I also used the Tasteful Textile 3D folder on the Basic White layer.  This folder will be my new go-to folder since the Subtle 3D folder is retiring soon.  

Now the bonus of creating a frame, is that you are left with a  rectangle of the DSP strips that you can use on another project.  Here I layered it with Basic Gray CS cut using the Stitched Rectangle Dies and added another bow tie.

I tried to keep things clean and simple to hopefully keep a more masculine vibe.

I couldn't decide if it looked better with one or two bow ties so I tried it both ways.  Which do you think it better?  

Our team is having another Crafty Night and I am looking forward to seeing what will be shared tonight.  I will post what I will share soon.  It is always a fun time and I always learn something new.  

Here is a list of all the stops on the hop!  I know you won't want to miss a stop.

Here is a little peek of the Tutorial Bundle we have created.  There are 12 tutorials in the bundle and they are different than the projects in the blog hop.  If you are interested in purchasing the tutorial please contact me ([email protected]) the price is $15 US or place an order of $35 or more and use the Host Code TYVQXM6H and I will send it to you as a thank you gift. 

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy the hop!

Today I am sharing a little sneak peek of some of the items in the Hand-Penned product suite in the 2021-22 Annual Catalog.   I am excited about this suite and think it is beautiful.  You will also see a couple of the new In Colors, Soft Succulent and Pale Papaya.

This is a Two Step  and Distinktive stamp set.  The bold image does not completely color the inside of the outline.  There is intentional white space and overlap.  The effect is a loose and free watercolored look.  I was a little skeptical at first but after playing with it I love the way the flower and leaves turned out.  The image is mounted on the retired Stitched Shapes oval and the retired scalloped oval from the Layering Oval dies. Love these 2 dies sets and am sad that they are no longer available.  The small scallop on the Hand-Penned DSP was cut using one of the dies in the Penned Flower Dies.  

The Soft Succulent ribbon is also new and it may be my favorite.  Why?  This ribbon is soft, easy to tie, and not bulky.  It also comes in all the new In Colors (Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen, Pale Papaya, Polished Pink, and Fresh Freesia).  Inside you can see a die cut flower that is also part of the Penned Flowers Dies.

Hope you liked this sneak peek from the upcoming 2021-22 Annual catalog.  There will be more sneaks before the catalog goes live on May 4th.

Thanks for stopping by!

It is time for the Festive Friday Challenge!  The festivity we are featuring is World Laughter Day and we could all use a lot more laughter!  We have an Inspo List that was inspired by the festivity and to play along with the challenge you need to use 3 of the items from the list on your project.   We would love for you to play along with the challenge!  There are a few more rules that you can see HERE..  We hope to see your project in the Festive Friday blog gallery.

Here is the Inspo List.

I turned to the Snailed It stamp set.  These cute little gastropods always make me smile.

From the Inspo list I used yellow, red, rainbows and sequins.  The snail was colored using Stampin' Blends.  They are probably my go to coloring tool.  I added a few sequins to presents and of course some goggly eyes.  

Inside I stamped the sentiment You Snailed It and I could have also ticked off the pun element on the Inspo List.  FF #0082

For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the  Festive Friday Challenge Design team.

Ann Schach

Beth McCullough

Melanie Hungerford

Helen Jennings

Stephanie Lanzalotto

Melva Peters

Judy Rozema 

Thanks for stopping by!

It is Thursday and you know what that mean! It is time for the Create with Connie & Mary Challenge.  This week it is a sketch challenge and it was a tough one for me.  

I had just received my Stampin' Up! demonstrator pre-order and wanted to use something from that beautiful  box.  Being able to pre-order from the upcoming catalogs is such a great bonus given to Stampin' Up!  demonstrators.

Are you wondering what is that lovely color...  Fresh Freesia!  Such a lovely spring time color.  The card base is Fresh Freesia and the 2 patterned paper designs are from the Pansy Petals DSP.   I like gingham and there are 3 different gingham sheets in the Pansy Petals DSP.  Makes me very happy to have some gingham back.  

The flower is from the Art Gallery bundle.   The petals were stamped using Fresh Freesia, once at full strength and then stamped off.  The leaf and stem were stamped in Old Olive.

The floral DSP was cut out using one of the new Scalloped Contours dies.  This die set features 5 different scalloped rectangle dies, a scalloped border die and 2 dies that coordinate with the Color & Contour stamp set.  This new die set is  another great basic and will be used a lot.  The gingham scalloped rectangle was cut using the Stitched So Sweetly dies.  

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

Welcome to the Stampers Dozen Blog Hop!  This month we are hopping featuring products that are retiring.  The retirement/Last Chance list can be found here.  You will find lots of great deals on the Last Chance list but remember these items are only available while supplies last.

I kept on waffling about what stamp set I wanted to show for this blog hop.  When I was cleaning up my desk I found this Ornate Style bouquet all embossed and colored!  I cannot even remember when I colored it and why didn't I ever finish it?  

I layered the bouquet onto Flirty Flamingo CS and the on to a Basic Black card base.  I added some black twine (Black Twine will be in the upcoming catalog-yay) and a label from the Stitched So Sweetly Dies.  The hello is from the Beauty Abounds stamp set.  which is also retiring.  I also scattered a few rhinestones around the bouquet.

The image was  heat embossed using white embossing powder.  The image was colored using ink refills and a Water Painter.   Unfortunately i failed to write down the colors I used.  These are the ink refills I think I used to color in the image; Flirty Flamingo, Real Red, Daffodil Delight,  and  Old Olive.  

I will miss this big image from the Ornate Style stamp set.  It is fun to color and doesn't require too much else to be done to it.  

Thank you for stopping by and not it is time for you to check out the rest of the hop!

<!—STAMPERS DOZEN BLOG HOP LINKS-->

Stamper's Dozen April 2021 Blog Hop

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

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 25 stops on the hop!  The theme for this month's hop is Monochrome Rainbow Challenge.  Each participant was assigned a color based on their time zone.  How fun is that?  The leader of this blog hop, Angie McKenzie is so creative and is always thinking up fun and interesting blog hop themes for us!  Thanks Angie!

Where I live falls  in the orange part of the rainbow.  I decided to use Pumpkin Pie, Calypso Coral, and one of the new In Colors, Pale Papaya.  I chose the Band Together stamp set and the Detailed Bands dies .  Both of these products are retiring, so the time to shop for them is now.  

I used the Pumpkin Pie, Mango Melody, and the Pale Papaya Stampin' Blends to color the flowers.  The fancy label frame was cut out using Pale Papaya CS.  This color is so lovely and remembers me of well, papayas or maybe cantaloupes.  It is a color I didn't realize I needed but when now that I have it totally fits in and makes sense.  

I also used the soon to be retiring Dainty Diamonds 3D embossing folder. The sequins are from the Artistry Blooms Sequins.  Love that these sequins are adhesive backed, it makes adhering them a breeze.   The ribbon is another sneak peek from the upcoming catalog.  It is the Pale Papaya and White 1/2" ribbon.   I added 3 loops of the ribbon to act as leaves since I didn't want to introduce another color to the card.

The sequins do not look Mango Melody in this picture but it is just how the light is reflecting.   Now it is time for you to hop on over to see what the talented Teri West has created for you.

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

Jan Clothier - NZ

Tatiana Tobin - AU

Leonie Stuart - AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith - AU

Cheryll Miller - AU

Melissa Gifford - AU

Danielle Kassing - NL

Satomi Wellard

Pia Gephardt - DE

Ximena Morales - DE

Aurélie Fabre - FR

Annette Ball - CA

Angie McKenzie - US

Mary Brown - US - Special Guest

Connie Babbert - US - Special Guest

Wendy Lee - US

Shel Anderson - CA

Chris Smith - US

Lisa Martz - US - Special Guest

Tricia Butts - US

Wendy Weixler - US - Special Guest

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 hop!