Stampin’ Up! See the Good Stamp Set, cardstock, and embellishments. Colors: Bumblebee, Misty Moonlight, Pumpkin Pie, Cinnamon Cider, Pear Pizzazz
“When I see the good in the world, I see you.” I love this sentiment and I can apply it to several people in my life right now. Close friends have become closer, good things have manifested themselves, and I actively seek the GOOD. Ultimately, I’m happier crafting to a standard all my own. It’s not complicated: a good red rubber stamp, inked up on a juicy inkpad, then stamped on cardstock is all I need. This is another stamp from the versatile and beautiful See the Good stamp set, and I’m not even close to exhausting my inspiration from it.
Stampin’ Up! See the Good stamp set, cardstock, embellishments. Colors: Blackberry Bliss, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry
The best meal I ever ate – and one of the most special – was at Bistro 100 in Charlotte, North Carolina in the early 2000’s. It would close about 5 years after we moved to Texas in 2003, but the memory of a meal that began with a classic steamed artichoke is still at the top of my mind years later. The See the Good stamp set includes an artichoke and a pear along with two lovely sentiments. However, I chose this sentiment from Tasteful Touches as an ode to my artichoke as well as nod to anybody who receives an artichoke card from me: You are So Special.
Stampin’ Up! Life is Beautiful stamp set, cardstocks, and embellishments. Colors are Grey Granite, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Soft Suede, Misty Moonlight, Terracotta Tile
My paper crafting purchases in the past few months have been more thoughtful and less impulsive while I drill down to essentials. This set, however, was on my must-have list. Life is Beautiful is a photopolymer (clear) stamp set, which makes placement quick and easy. I’ve seen some beautiful projects with this set, but I had to rein in my tendency to add just one more element or layer — and to just create with what was essential to me. One layer (or two, if you count the birdhouse), stamped on white heavy weight cardstock, and mounted on a neutral card base. Beautiful.
Life is abundant, and life is beautiful. And it’s a good place that we’re all in, you know, on this earth, if we take care of it.
I adore the Love of Leaves Bundle in the latest Stampin’ Up mini catalog, so I’m unapologetically inducing a Fall vibe to compensate for how hot it is in SE Texas right now. I have no excuses for my brief break from blogging — just that life sometimes presents unavoidable realities and new daily routines have to be established. At the center of it all is a lingering hope to find light and goodness in the world. For me, the simple of act of stamping cards changes my mindset and pushes my thoughts outward as I consider who would like a “paper hug” in the form of a thoughtful sentiment with colorful, tactile elements.
Do you have favorite Fall colors? These are mine! My languishing knitting project matches my card projects too.
Mossy Meadow, So Saffron, Bumblebee, Crumb Cake, and Soft Seafoam were the coordinating ink and card stock colors I focused on. The sample card in the mini catalog was the jumping-off point, as was the plaid designer paper (I think plaid is my favorite color too)! Check back tomorrow for another inspired project with this set.
Here’s another Love of Leaves card with a sentiment from a past Paper Pumpkin kit. Having these past kits “banked” helps when I recall fun sentiments or images that complete current projects.
Paper Pumpkin’s monthly all-inclusive kits completely won me over when I returned to card-making a few years ago. Aside from “Hey, Friend,” all the elements are current products in either the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog or the Mini Catalog that runs from August through December.
Coordinating colors are Pretty Peacock, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake (card base), Bumblebee, Shaded Spruce, and Pumpkin Pie. This card, like the previous one, was inspired by the card samples on page 49 of the current Mini Catalog, and is pictured with one of my knitting projects.
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.
I’m celebrating my husband today as we’ve experienced more than a few milestones and events since last Father’s Day. And just like that, we’re also empty nesters.
The card that inspired mine was this one, with a few tweaks of my own since I’ve only collected a few Stampin’ Blends so far. I used ink daubers with Mango Melody ink to create the darker shading in both the bottle and glass, along with Tasteful Touches wood-grain designer paper and black card base. Cheers and Happy Fathers Day if you’re in the United States.
The Stampin’ Up! Seriously the Best stamp set is just that! I decided to make multiples of the same card design since I was already cutting the Designer Series Paper. My plan was to make as many cards as the 1″ strips of 5 different paper designs yielded. With minor changes to the design, this was an easy card to duplicate. The Stitched So Sweetly dies were perfect for this!
If you’re wondering whether making multiples of the same card is tedious . . . it’s not tedious at all! I love it. If you’d like to do something similar with the stamp set and multiple cards, I suggest the Seriously the Best Card Kit! It’s on sale through June 2, 2020.
I’m still posting non-chronologically in order to share my past swap cards, because some of the stamp/die bundles I used might retire or be unavailable on June 2, 2020. The theme for the January 2020 team swap was New/Current Catalog Product. The die that I used for the card front was a special release during Sale-A-Bration, an annual event that features free-with-purchase promotional items and one-time only coordinating product releases. My card design features one of the coordinating items! Even though it’s no longer available you can still adapt my design by using the Honey Bee Bundle – which is an item that will carry over to the upcoming June 3, 2020 Annual Catalog (but not as a discounted bundle — only as separate stamp and die sets). I chose not to use any Designer Series Paper, but I did use Honey Bee stamps and dies, along with my Stamparatus, to stamp multiples of the Honey Bee elements.
Stampin’ Up!Honey Bee Bundle – My in-process photo of preparing multiple card components for swapping with fellow demonstrators
I thoroughly enjoyed designing and creating these cards: honey bee and honeycomb images are trending right now in crafting and home decor.
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.
— Georgia O’Keefe
I’m working backwards through my team swap photos because some of the stamp sets I’ve used are retiring on June 2, 2020, or are discontinued! This particular set – Timeless Tropical – will carry over to the new 2020 Annual Catalog. And although Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Papers (DSP) do not carry over from one catalog to the next, you have through June 2, 2020 to order DSP before they’re gone! I didn’t use DSP on these cards because I really enjoy stamping my own backgrounds, but at the end of this post, I’ll share a fast and easy Timeless Tropical card with coordinating DSP.
In the midst of making these cards, my son left for USAF Basic Military Training, and because it was very hectic getting things done before and after his departure, I missed the mailing deadline by a day, and ended up sending these to the swappers individually. These cards were so enjoyable to make! I stamped the large hibiscus image with Versamark and heat-embossed with white embossing powder on Shimmery White cardstock, then watercolored with Classic Stampin’ Pads and a water brush, then sponged on more ink after the flower was dry. I let the paper curl naturally as it dried, and then coaxed the petals a little more when I adhered them to the top layer of the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
Almost two decades ago I was in a LiveJournal (now defunct) stamping group, and it was there that I started participating in card swaps. I loved swapping with others because it inspired me to try new techniques with my own supplies. Swappers made enough cards to share with everybody in the swap, including one for the coordinator (plus return postage). Within a couple of weeks, we all received our swaps — to either use or admire. I still have most of mine!
Since joining Stampin’ Up! last year, I’ve had several opportunities to swap with my fellow demonstrators, and like before, the swap guidelines challenge me to look at what I have in a different way, or to use something I haven’t tried yet. (Or to finally use my Pinterest boards and rediscover pins I saved for the stamp sets I have). The turnaround time is less than a week, because we include enough for return postage via USPS Priority Mail. This recent swap requirement was that we use supplies that will still be available in the new Annual Catalog, or to use new stamps sets demonstrators were able to preorder.
