Just one more day left until Sale-A-Bration 2023 will be over.  It is always sad to see Sale-A-Bration end, I mean who doesn't love free products with a qualifying purchase?  Today I am using the Beautifully Happy stamp set.  

Here's the color combination I used.

Sweet Sorbet

Coastal Cabana

Old Olive

I haven't used Sweet Sorbet very much.  I don't really know how to use it and what colors it goes with so I decided it was about time I tried to figure it out.   I do like how it looks with Coastal Cabana.  

I really like how this 2 step stamp set creates shading on the image.  It is so easy to line up and the results are beautiful.  

Product List

Beautifully Happy Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [160804] $27.00	Very Best Occasions Cling Stamp Set (English) [159871] $25.00	Thanks A Bunch Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [160816] $18.00	Sweet Sorbet Classic Stampin' Pad [159216] $8.00
Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad [147097] $8.00	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [147090] $8.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00	Coastal Cabana 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [131297] $9.25
Sweet Sorbet 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159268] $9.25	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276] $10.25	Stylish Shapes Dies [159183] $30.00	2022–2024 In Color Baker's Twine Pack [159195] $15.00
Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels [158130] $7.50

I do not know the name of this fold and if you do please let me know.

It is a "Z" type card on a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" base and folds up to fit nicely in an A2 envelope.   If you would like me to do a tutorial on this leave me a comment and I will work on it.   

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to get your Sale-A-Bration orders placed before it is too late,

Did you know that Stampin' Up! has kits?  Yes, there is the Paper Pumpkin monthly kit but there are also lots of other kits.   Kits for cards, tags, holidays, and home decor.  Kits are great whether you are just starting out or are an experienced crafter. 

I recently ordered the Saying Thanks kit.  I knew we were going to be traveling and wanted to bring along with me something that required little additional supplies and of course was super cute.  

All you need to put together these cards is a scissor to cut the Baker's Twine.  All the other supplies including adhesives come with the kit.  The cards are fun and colorful.  You get all the supplies to make 9 cards and 9 coordinating envelopes.   

Love the water colored looking background with the heart overlay.  You will have lots of hearts to play with once you punch them out from the overlay.   I added the sweet owl from the Sale-A-Bration set, Adorable Owls.  I had colored it and cut it out previously and was looking for a way to use it.  The owl was colored using Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight and Tahitian Tide Stampin' Blends.  Instead of using the white Baker's Twine included in the kit I used black Baker's Twine.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Sale-A-Bration is almost over, just a couple more sleeps.  Be sure to get your Sale-A-Bration products before they are gone!

It is Thursday and time for a new Create with Connie & Mary Challenge.  This week it is a sketch challenge.  

At first this sketch stumped me.  I just had no idea what to do with it.  After thinking about it I decided that I would use patterned paper for the larger pieces.  Once this decision was made the rest of the card fell into place.  Sometimes making just one decision helps bring everything else in focus.

Yes, I used the Easter Bunny stamp set again.  I love the flower garland, must be my Hawaii roots.  I stamped her simply in Tuxedo Black Memento ink and did a little bit of Fresh Freesia for her tummy, ears, and feet.  The tag is from the Something Fancy dies.  Her flower garland was colored using Fresh Freesia, Blackberry Bliss, and Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends.  The tag was finished with a little Fresh Freesia 3/8" Open Weave Ribbon bow.  The sentiment is from the Thanks a Bunch set (Sale-A-Bration) and stamped on another die cut from the Something Fancy dies.

The patterned paper are from two different Sale-A-Bration paper packs, Dandy Designs DSP and the Favored Flowers DSP.  Do you see the Fresh Freesia Shimmery paper behind the DSP?  That is from the Fine Shimmer Paper Pack.  The shimmer paper comes in Fresh Freesia, Soft Succulent, and gold.  It is so pretty and the colors are beautiful.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out what the rest of the Create with Connie & Mary Design team made for this challenge,

Like most stampers I love patterned paper aka Designer Series Paper (DSP).  I buy a lot of it and have been trying to use it more.  I am breaking up with the idea of saving it for just the right, special project.  It sounds easy but the tendency to hoard is real.  I am always on the look out for ways to use my DSP.  Last week on my team's bi-weekly stamp together session, Kivonne shared this template with us.  We all loved it and have been having fun creating cards using it.

Here's the first card I made using the ideas she shared.

• Card base-5-1/2" x 8-1/2" Basic Black CS
• Cut two 1" x 4-1/4" Favored Flowers DSP (flowers)
• Cut two 1" x 3" Favored Flowers DSP (the flip side of the flowers pattern shown above)
• Cut 1 Fresh Freesia CS 1-7/8" x 3-1/8" (used the new Basics 3D Embossing folder available March 1)
• Die cut thanks from the Amazing Thanks die in Basic Black.
• Cut out flowers, leaves and bud from the Favored Flowers DSP.
• Iridescent Rhinestones

Now all you need to do is layer the strips on the card front, attach the fussy cut flowers and leaves with Stampin' Dimensionals, and attach the thanks.  This is a quick and easy card to make.  For me the hardest part is figuring out which side of the DSP to use and where.

I enjoyed making this card so I decided to make more!

Used the Perfectly Penciled DSP for this card.  The card base is 4-1/4" x 11" scored at 5-1/2".  The butterfly and flowers were cut from the DSP and colored using Stampin' Blends.  Used the Basics 3D Embossing Folder to emboss the Basic White in the middle of the card.  Love these new folders and i think they will quickly be my go to textures.  The sentiment is from the Sending Smiles stamp set and cut out using the coordinating Sending Dies.  Buy it as a bundle and save 10%.  I used Versamark ink and White Embossing powder and heat embossed the sentiment.  On either side of the sentiment are Iridescent Pearls Basic Jewels.

Inside I added a strip of DSP and more fussy cut images from the DSP.  

Here is a very quick and easy masculine version.

For this one i used the He's the Man DSP Specialty DSP which has 2 sheets of dies cuts in the pack.  The car and the sentiment are from the die cut sheet.  Instead of using a card stock piece in the middle I used a piece of the He's the Man DSP. This card can be made very quickly.  Just cut some strips and add some die cuts and you have a handsome card.  The only extra thing was I added were some Rustic Metallic Adhesive Backed Dots on the banner and on the tires.  

Inside I added a strip of DSP and more die cuts from the DSP pack.  Seriously this card could be made in 15 minutes!

Thanks for stopping by and remember Sale-A-Bration is ending at the end of February!  Place your order soon as items are beginning to sell out (Dainty Flowers DSP).

It is Thursday which means it is time for a new Create with Connie & Mary challenge.  The weekly challenge alternates between color and sketch challenges. This week we have a sketch challenge.

When I saw this sketch I knew it would be a great one to use two Sale-A-Bration choices, Beautifully Happy stamp set and the Favored Flowers DSP.

The outline of the image was stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento ink.  The flowers were stamped in Fresh Freesia,  the buds in Blackberry Bliss, and the leaves in Evening Evergreen.  All the lovely shading on the flowers and leaves were created by the stamp.  This is a quick and easy image to stamp.  The two strips on the side were cut from the Fine Shimmer Paper Pack.  In the paper pack there are Fresh Freesia, Soft Succulent, and Gold.  The little Black dots are from the Matte Black Dots. 

Inside of the card I added a strip of DSP and stamped another flower from the Beautifully Happy set.  The sentiment is also from the stamp set.  

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

I enjoyed looking back and doing the 2022 Year in Review posts.  I am going to try and remember to do it monthly.  Here goes the first 2023 Month in Review.  I tried to pick a card using products from the different catalogs, 2022-23 Annual Catalog, 2023 January-April Mini Catalog and the 2023 January-February Sale-A-Bration Catalog.

My first favorite used the Sale-A-Bration stamp set, Beautifully Happy  and the pretty die from the Tw0-Tone Flora dies.

More information about the card can be found HERE.

The next favorite was made for the Festive Friday Challenge.  This was so much fun to make.  

You can read about this card HERE.  

The last card was a tough one for me to decide on.  I really liked coloring the Abigail Rose DSP and creating the card on this post.  It also was a different layout from what I usually make.  It ultimately it came down to 2 cards using the Hues of Happiness DSP.   I decided to choose both since they are different from each other.

This card uses the flowers from the DSP, the Split Card Textures die and Fine Shimmer Paper Pack (in Fresh Freesia).  You can read more about the card HERE.

This card also uses a flower from the Hues of Happiness DSP and also another pattern in the pack.  This card is pretty simple and  quick to put together.  We all need some quick and easy cards.  You can read about this card HERE.

Are these the same cards you would have chosen?  Let me know if you have different favorites from January 2023.

Thanks for stopping by,

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,

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 ([email protected]) if you would like to purchase the tutorial.

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

Welcome to the Around the World on Wednesday blog hop!  We are a group of international Stampin' Up!® demonstrators who have gathered together for a monthly blog hop.  The blog hop goes live on the 2nd Wednesday of the month.  This month our theme is CAS(e) the Mini Duo.  Huh?  Are you wondering what that means?  Angie, our mighty leader always comes up with interesting themes.  We are to use the 2023 Sale-A-Bration catalog and/or the 2023 January-April Mini Catalog for inspiration.  Before I show you what my inspiration was let me show you who makes up the Around the World on Wednesday Blog Hop.

Now, let me tell you what was the inspiration for my card.  It is the sample on page 39 of the Mini Catalog that uses the die cut conversation bubble as a background.  I like the white on white background and thought it would be fun to incorporate that element on my card.

I punched out 6 bunnies using the Easter Bunny punch and positioned them on a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Basic White CS.  The sentiment and the cute bunch of carrots are  from Thanks A Bunch (a Sale-A-Bration choice).  I wanted that one special bunny to stand out so I gave her a lei of Calypso Coral Fun Flowers .  I also added some Matte Black Dots thinking it might make the bunny background stand out more.  The bunny background is layered on a Basic Black layer, 4-1/8" x 5-3/8" and then on a Thick Basic White card base, 4-1/4" x 11".

Inside I added a strip of the Perfectly Penciled DSP and another bunch of carrots.  

Now it is time to checkout what Chris Smith was inspired by!

Be sure to check out all the stops on the hop!

Jan Clothier - NZ

Leonie Stuart - AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith - AU

Cazz Boylan - AU

Cheryll Miller - AU

Melissa Gifford - AU

Danielle Kassing - NL

Ximena Morales - DE

Aurélie Fabre - FR

Mikaela Titheridge - UK

Tina Zinck-MacDonald - CA

Annette Ball - CA

Angie McKenzie - US

Wendy Lee - US

Sharon Burkert - US

Chris Smith - US

Tricia Butts - US

Teri West - US

Cheryl Hamilton - US

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the hop!