July is almost over which means the sale on some of the prettiest patterned paper packs (what a mouthful!) is almost over.  One of my favorite packs is the Bloom Where You're Planted DSP pack.  Why?  I like having the option of even more potted plants to use on my cards.  On today's card I fussy cut 2 plants in pots and then mix and matched another plant from 2 other pieces of paper and cut it out using the Perfect Plants dies.  

I started with a Very Vanilla card base.  I used the Picture This dies and cut an Early Espresso frame and adhered a Paper Lattice behind it.  My fussy cutting skills are not the best, thankfully the 2 plants I chose were not too hard to cut out.  The DSP has a sheet of just plants and a sheet of different pots which is how I made the smaller potted plant.  Honestly, I had chosen a different pot but after die cutting it and putting it on my messy desk, I lost it.  I  think it was a good thing  since the one that made it on the card was a better choice.  

The sentiment is from the Plentiful Plants set and stamped on a Stitched Rectangle label.  Inside I added another plant and pot since I had the plant already cut out.   Another wonderful thing about the Bloom Where You're Planted DSP is that the images are neutral, making it good for anyone well except for plant haters.  I haven't decided who I will send this to or for what occasion so I will stamp the inside sentiment later.

Here are all the Designer Series Paper that are 15% off until August 2.

Product List

Beauty Of The Earth 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155841]	Bloom Where You're Planted 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155696]	Hand Penned 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155499]
In Good Taste Designer Series Paper [152494]	In The Wild 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155817]	Pansy Petals 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155807]
Sweet Symmetry 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155605]	Tidings Of Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155718]	You're A Peach 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155686]

Thank you for stopping by!

The Simply Elegant Tutorial bundle has 13 tutorials using the products in the Simply Elegant Suite.  If you want more ideas and ways to use these products the bundle is available for purchase for $15 US.  Contact me ([email protected])  to order or if you have any questions.

It is Thursday and time for the Create with Connie & Mary Challenge.   This is the last week of July so it is the last of the CASE the Catalog Challenges.  The sample we are CASEing is on page 157 of the 2021-22 Annual Catalog.

For the CASE the Catalog challenge you can either case the layout, colors, stamp set, or something else inspired by the sample.  When I saw this sample I immediately thought of using the Welcoming Window bundle so I knew I was going to be CASEing the layout.

I am not sure if I would live in a Flirty Flamingo  striped house but it sure would be cheery.  The Flirty Flamingo striped paper is from the Pattern Party Designer Series Paper Pack.  I die cut the window and sill out of Early Espresso CS.  I am not sure you can see it but the "wood" pieces also have an embossed woodgrain on them.  I love that the dies both embossed and cuts out the image.  I die cut the window again but this time in Basic White CS.  I did this so I could add the Basic White window panes.  

The plant was stamped using Soft Succulent ink on Sot Succulent CS.  Instead of using the flower stamps in the set I used the Loose Flower Flourishes.  I was feeling the card needed more dimension.  The sentiment is also from the Welcoming Window set.

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to check out what the rest of the Create with Connie & Mary design team created.

Earlier in the month I posted a card using the Sweet Symmetry DSP and the Pierced Blooms Dies.  I made a few more cards using different patterns from the Sweet Symmetry DSP.

This paper pack is so fun to mix and match and oh, the Pierced Blooms dies are so cute! 

Love the colors in the DSP.  These are great color combinations to use on another project.  This one is Bumblebee, Calypso Coral, Just Jade and Night of Navy.

So bright and cheery!  Perfect to send some happy in the mail to someone to let them know you are thinking about them.

I used Bumblebee, Calypso Coral, Flirty Flamingo, and Just Jade for these flowers and leaves.  For the centers I used the Playing with Patterns Resin Dots.  

The Sweet Symmetry DSP is one of 9 paper packs that are on sale at 15% off until the end of the July.  Don't delay there's just a few more days left to save.

Product List

Beauty Of The Earth 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155841]	Bloom Where You're Planted 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155696]	Hand Penned 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155499]
In Good Taste Designer Series Paper [152494]	In The Wild 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155817]	Pansy Petals 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155807]
Sweet Symmetry 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155605]	Tidings Of Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155718]	You're A Peach 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155686]

Shop the sale here.

Thank you for stopping by!  

The Simply Elegant Tutorial bundle has 13 tutorials using the products in the Simply Elegant Suite.  If you want more ideas and ways to use these products the bundle is available for purchase for $15 US.  Contact me ([email protected])  to order or if you have any questions.

Did you know that August 7 is National Lighthouse Day?  I didn't.  National Lighthouse Day is the festivity we are celebrating and is  the inspiration behind the Inspo List.  The Inspo List has 10 items on it and to play along with the Festive Friday Challenge you need to use at least 3 of the items on the list for your project.  You can read all about the challenge HERE and how to play along.

I chose to use stars, blue, red, and metallic from the Inspo list for my card.

Are you wondering what does my card have to do with National Lighthouse Day?  Not much but that is one of the unique features of the Festive Friday Challenge, you do not have incorporate the festivity into your project but you can if you want to.  The main thing to remember is that you have to use 3 elements from the Inspo List.  

The penguin is from the Penguin Place bundle (stamp set and punch)which will be available on August 1 and is in the July-December mini catalog.  The balloon strings are also from the Penguin Place bundle.  The star "balloons"and clouds were cut using the Give it a Whirl dies.  The gold metallic happy was cut from the Brushed Metallic Cardstock (a returning favorite in the upcoming mini catalog) using the Christmas Cheer dies.  

The colorful striped layer is from the Pattern Party DSP, a Stampin' Reward choice.  The card base is Poppy Parade CS.   Inside you can see a strip of DSP and some extra clouds and stars.  

I hope you will participate and post a project in the Festive Friday gallery.  We love seeing what you use from the Inspo list.

Check out what the Festive Friday design team created:

Ann Schach

Beth McCullough

Sharon Hashimoto Burkert    you are here

Melanie Hungerford

Helen Jennings

Stephanie Lanzalotto

Melva Peters

Judy Rozema

Thanks for stopping by!

The Simply Elegant Tutorial bundle has 13 tutorials using the products in the Simply Elegant Suite.  If you want more ideas and ways to use these products the bundle is available for purchase for $15 US.  Contact me ([email protected])  to order or if you have any questions.

It is Thursday and time for the Create with Connie & Mary Challenge.  This month the challenge is to CASE the catalog.  Every week a different sample is chosen  to case.  You can chose to case the color combination, the layout, the stamp set, almost anything as long as it is inspired by the chosen sample.

I love this sample and am happy to get the opportunity to CASE it.  

I CASED the layout of the card pretty closely.  Instead of embossing an image on to the Vellum cardstock I chose to use one of the Artistic Dies.  To mimic the embossing I used Basic White to cut the die.  I used little dots of glue behind the die cut to attach it to the vellum.  You could also use Adhesive Sheets.   

Sometimes in the catalog there are items that can be easily overlooked.  I think the Gold & Rose Gold Metallic Specialty paper (page 135) is one of those products.  It is a little bit hidden in the catalog.  The paper has a nice shimmer and I used it for one of the strips behind the vellum.  I think it coordinates beautifully with the Expressions in Ink DSP since the DSP has gold foiling in the designs.  To attach the vellum to the panels, I again applied dots of glue to the back side of the vellum where the die is.  This helps to hide the adhesive.  I added a few Wonderful Gems, which are returning in the upcoming mini catalog.  The gems come in Clear and Red with flecks of gold glitter.  The clear ones were perfect for this card to more touches of gold.  

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

The Simply Elegant Tutorial bundle has 13 tutorials using the products in the Simply Elegant Suite.  If you want more ideas and ways to use these products the bundle is available for purchase for $15 US.  Contact me ([email protected])  to order or if you have any questions.

Welcome to the Creativity Abounds Blog Hop.  We are a group of international Stampin' Up!® demonstrators who have joined together to share ideas focused around a theme, bundle, and/or a suite of products.   This month our focus is the Simply Elegant Suite.  Hop along with us as we share lots of different ideas using the products in the Simply Elegant Suite.

The Simply Elegant Suite  includes a stamp set,  a punch, specialty DSP, and trim.  It has everything you need to create beautiful projects.  Let me just say the Simply Elegant DSP is gorgeous.  It has gold, copper, and silver foiling details and sophisticated designs.  The stamp set includes 7 sentiments in a lovely font and covers so many different situations.  

I made a simple card to allow the beauty of the DSP to shine.   I stamped the flower in Versamark ink and heat embossed the image using silver embossing powder.  I also stamped the long lacy image and embossed it in silver.  I fussy cut around the lacy image and used it for a border.  I know I will be using that image a lot more in the future.   The ribbon is the Black Glittered Organdy ribbon.  

Inside I added a strip of DSP leftover from another project.  This DSP is so pretty that I want to use every bit of it.  This card is one that can be used for multiple occasions so I will leave the sentiment off for now.  

Thank you for stopping by!  Be sure to check out the tutorial offering for even more ideas using the Simply Elegant Suite.

Do you love theSimply Elegant Suite?  Want even more ideas?  We are offering this tutorial with 13 projects fo $15 US.  Contact me at [email protected] to order, 

This month the Create with Connie & Mary Challenge is CASEing the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog.  What does this mean?  A sample is selected and that project is what we us for the inspiration for our projects.  This week the sample we are CASEing is on page 100 of the catalog.  

I was inspired by the layout of this card.  I used the Measure of Love stamp set, Pattern Party DSP, and the sentiment from the Sweet as a Peach set.  

I started out by stamping the bowl of cherries and then fussy cutting them out.  I popped them up on the circles to make them the focal point.  The Pattern Party DSP is so bright and cheery.  This particular print just seems to go with the bowl of cherries.   Are you wondering about the ribbon?  I didn't have any Poppy Parade ribbon so I colored White Crinkled Seam Binding ribbon with Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends.   It is always good to have some white or vanilla ribbon around to create a custom color. 

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team created.  Thanks for. stopping by and I hope you will join in the challenge!

Welcome to the Stampers Dozen Blog Hop!  This month the theme is Sweet Summertime.  When you read that what came to mind?  Something we look forward to every summer is strawberry season.  We rarely buy strawberries any other time of the year and instead wait for the time Washington strawberries are ready.  The season is short but oh so sweet!!  This year the season seemed to be shorter than ever since we experienced very hot weather right around the time the berries were ripening.  

A trio of  strawberries created using the Sweet Strawberry bundle.  The sweet berries are mounted on tags made using the Tailor Made Tags dies.   In addition to the berries I added a few blooms accented  with  Matte Black dots.  The check paper is from the Pattern Party DSP which is a fabulous pack of paper that is available as a Stampin' Reward.  The background is one of the stamps from the Sweet Strawberry set stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento ink.

I have to laugh, I must have really missed the Black Glitter paper since I have used it a lot lately.  This item will be returning in August.  I used a new die from the upcoming mini catalog release called Christmas Cheer dies to cut out the happy.  Yes, I am thrilled to not have to fussy cut it, now if i can just have more word dies. 

Now it is time to check out what the rest of the team created.

Stamper's Dozen July 2021 Blog Hop

1. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place
2. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping!
3. Bonnie O'Neill – Bonnie Stamped
4. Kelly Acheson - A Stamp Above
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!  

Welcome to the Around the World on Wednesday Blog Hop!  This month we are CAS(e)ing a member of the blog hop team.  I am CAS(e)ing the talented and creative Teri West, Alaska Stamper.  It was super fun to look through her blog.  I had a tough time trying to decide what to CASE, there were so many great cards!   I spent a lot of time and finally decided on this one.  I love the color palette, layout, blending and well everything about her card.  

I love the blending Teri did.  I used similar colors Pacific Point, Balmy Blue, and Night of Navy for the background.  I am not as comfortable/skilled with the Blending Brushes so I used Stampin' Sponges which I just realized that Stampin' Up!® no longer sells.  I guess I need to practice with the Blending Brushes!

Instead of sequins I watered down some White Craft ink  and flicked it on to the background using a Water Painter. I used Basic Black cardstock and Black Glitter paper (returning in August in the Mini Catalog) to create the silhouettes using the Meadow dies.  I wrapped Black Baker's twine around the card and tied on a Tailor Made Tag.  The sentiment is from the Through It Together stamp set.  

Are you wondering how I got the butterfly facing this way?  I cut it with the die cutting edge facing the non glittery side of the paper.  Inside you can see I also added another silhouette.  One last thing,  I used the Tasteful Textile 3D folder on the front of the card base.  

Thank you Angie for being our blog hop leader and coming up with this fun challenge.  Thank you Teri for the beautiful cards you have on your blog, so much inspiration!  

Here is the list of all the stops on this blog 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!

Welcome to the Inspire, Create, Share Blog Hop.  This month we are sharing projects using Designer Series Paper.  In the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog there are some beautiful packs of paper and we wanted to share some ideas on ways to use them.

I chose to highlight the Pansy Petals DSP which coordinates with the Pansy Patch bundle.

The Pansy Petals DSP is full of beautiful pansies, leaves and gingham!  I really like the gingham!  The pansies on the belly band were all cut from the DSP.  The leaves were cut from cardstock using the Pansy Dies...check out the embossing on them!  

In the centers of the pansies are the 2021-23 In Color Jewels.   These jewels are pretty pops of In Color iridescence.  The belly band has a strip of Fresh Freesia cardstock that was embossed using the polka dot folder  from the Checks and Dots folders.  The ribbon is the Bumblebee Gingham.

Here you can see how this card opens.  The whole fold  is quite simple.

Scoring Directions

• 5-1/2" x 11" Basic White CS
• 1-1/4", 5-1/2", 9-1/4"

You will be able to see how the fold works after you see the photo sequence.  

Inside another pretty design from the Pansy Petals DSP and a space to write your message.  I added a 1/2". Fresh Freesia strip embossed with the Dots folder and a couple more pansies cut from the DSP pack.

Now it is time for you to hop along and check out what Cheryl Hamilton created. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you enjoy the hop and seeing lots of ideas using Stampin' Up!'s pretty Designer Series Paper.

Product List

Pansy Dies [155680]	Pansy Petals 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [155807]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [159229]
Fresh Freesia 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [155613]	Soft Succulent 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [155776]	Evening Evergreen 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [155574]
1/4" Bumblebee Gingham Trim [153658]	2021–2023 In Color Jewels [155571]	Checks & Dots Embossing Folders [155432]

Be sure to check out the 9 packs of Designer Series Paper currently on sale!  Pansy Petals is one of them!