You guuuysssss, I am overexcited to share today's card with you!  I think I made my very favorite Christmas card last weekend!  During the holidays, I have always decorated the living room of our house in silver, blues and white.  Every year I find these beautiful blue dyed poinsettia's at my local Agway store and it would just help complete the room.  No, don't worry, I haven't started decorating yet -  I'm a wait until after Thanksgiving girl!  But, that color scheme inspired me to create a card using the Altenew Poinsettia & Pine stamp set, and I think it came out simply gorgeous.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Blueberry Bushel cardstock.  I cut a piece of 5 1/4" x 4" gold foil paper and adhered it to the base of the card at an angle.  The gold foil paper is key in making this card sparkle with a touch of elegance.  I cut a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and stamped the berries, branches and leaves in Blueberry Bushel and Marina Mist inks.  I heat embossed the sentiment in the lower right corner using gold embossing powder.  On a scrap piece each of Blueberry Bushel and Marina Mist cardstock I stamped the large poinsettia in Versamark ink and heat embossed it in white embossing powder.  Using the coordinating dies, I die cut the poinsettia and adhered it to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive.  I also stamped the pine cone in Versamark ink on kraft cardstock and die cut it out adhering it behind the poinsettias.  Lastly, I added some blue rhinestones around the card for added sparkle. 

Here is the Altenew Poinsettia & Pine stamp set (with coordinating dies) that I used to create today's card:

And, just in case you like things a little more traditional, I also made the same card in red, green and pink.  This one is equally as pretty too, but, the blue is still my favorite!

I hope you have enjoyed today's cards.  Do you prefer one color over the other?
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello crafty friends and welcome back from the weekend!  I don't know about you, but considering I worked the past three days at the Scrapbook Expo in Marlborough, Massachusetts, I'm exhausted and need a weekend to recover from my weekend! 

 Today I'd like to talk about my love/hate relationship with a stamping platform.  There are many various types of stamping platforms on the market, from the original Misti, to the Tim Holtz Tonic Studios, Hampton Arts, etc.  All of these serve the same general idea of helping to line up your stamps for the most precise and consistent result.  This is not a review of any of these products, just a personal confession of my own struggles with mine.  I currently own the Stamparatus from Stampin' UP! simply from my former time as a demonstrator.  I say love/hate relationship, but what I really mean is that I'm just not comfortable using it yet, mostly because I just don't use it enough.  Okay, like never, really!  I like to think that I'm fairly good at lining stamps up just by "eyeballing" them, but when I used this Baby Balloon stamp set recently from Altenew, my eyeballing scenario was off.  WAY off.  So, I forced myself to bring out my stamping platform and use it.  As it turns out, if you don't really know how to use it, it doesn't work so well.

There was a lot of frustration, a lot of paper that went into the trash, a LOT of ink everywhere and a lot of time spent watching YouTube tutorials.  None of it was very fun for me!   But, after enough trial and error and ink stained fingers I did learn enough to complete my first two cards using my Stamparatus and while they are not perfect, they ARE better lined up than they would have been without it.  Essentially I learned that with practice comes a level of comfort and I need to spend significantly more time practicing.  At the very least, I would like to have a "like" relationship with my stamp platform, but I'm not there just yet. . .

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using the Scalloped Stitched Rectangle Nesting dies by Gina Marie Designs, I created a frame from Lovely Lipstick cardstock.  Next I cut a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of white cardstock and layered it directly over the scalloped frame.  I stamped the balloons in Lovely Lipstick ink, Blushing Bride ink and Mango Melody ink.  I die cut the balloons using the coordinating die and adhered them to the card with 3M foam adhesive.  On a scrap sheet of white cardstock, I stamped the banner and sentiment and die cut those before adhering the banner over the balloons using more foam adhesive. 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using the Scalloped Stitched Rectangle Nesting dies by Gina Marie Designs, I created a frame from Island Indigo cardstock (retired).  Next I cut a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of white cardstock and layered it directly over the scalloped frame.  I stamped the balloons in Island Indigo ink (retired), Night of Navy ink and Pool Party ink.  I die cut the balloons using the coordinating die and adhered them to the card with 3M foam adhesive.  On a scrap sheet of white cardstock, I stamped the banner and sentiment and die cut those before adhering the banner over the balloons using more foam adhesive. 

I'd love to know YOUR thoughts on a stamping platform?  Do you use one? And, if so, how frequently
and what for?  For instance, I know that my mother uses hers just to line her sentiment stamps up straight, but for really no other reason.  What about you?

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello friends and happy Thursday!  I hope you are having a good week so far.  Today I'm sharing the first of my fall floral cards using this beautiful Altenew Sunflower Daisy stamp set.  If you're a regular follower of mine then you will know that I love the Altenew color-layering floral stamp sets!  But, one of my botany knowledgeable readers might have to explain to me, is this actually a sunflower or a daisy?  Is it both?  I'm slightly confused by the name of this stamp set!  Either way, the end result of this color layering stamp is simply gorgeous no matter what colors you use.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  From Rich Razzleberry cardstock, I die cut the frame using the Altenew Watercolor Stripes cover die.  Next I stamped each of the sunflower daisies in Sahara Sand ink, Daffodil Delight ink, Rich Razzleberry ink and Blackberry Bliss ink.  I die cut each flower using the coordinating dies.  I stamped each leaf in Sahara Sand ink and Rich Razzleberry ink.  I die cut the leaves and began to assemble the flowers onto the card using 3M foam adhesive.  I stamped the sentiment in Rich Razzleberry ink on white cardstock and notched both ends before adhering it to the card.   Lastly, I put a coat of Clear Wink of Stella on the flowers for added sparkle.

Today's cards were created using the Altenew Sunflower Daisy stamp set and coordinating dies:

I hope you have enjoyed today's first fall floral cards!
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello crafty friends and happy Friday!  TGIF!  I  hope you have fun things planned for the weekend ahead.  Speaking of crafty friends, and before we get to today's crafty friends cards, I would like to give a little shout out to my newly found again friend, Carla!  You see Carla used to follow me on the Super Stamp Girl website and then when I transitioned, I forgot to email her about the change.  Oops!  Then on a random whim, Ink Road Stamps announced that Carla was their winner of a recent Instagram contest, so I reconnected with her again.  I'm happy to have you following along again, Carla!  And, a big thank you to all the other readers who visit my website regularly as well!  I hope to continue to inspire and entertain you while you are here.

As for my weekend plans. . . I have a stamp camp to teach on Saturday and then on Sunday I've got lots of designing to do for my upcoming fall classes.  LOTS!  But, I'm excited because that means I can finally start to play with all the fun Halloween products! 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Crumb Cake cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Stitched Rectangle dies, I die cut a sheet of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Next I heat embossed a whole bunch of the crafty sentiments onto a variety of cardstock using white embossing powder.  From top to bottom, the cardstock colors are:  Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist (retired), Pool Party, Blushing Bride and Highland Heather.  I trimmed each sentiment into a small strip and notched both ends.  I adhered all the sentiment strips to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. 

Both of today's cards were created used the Crafty Friends stamp set from Altenew:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Basic Black cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Stitched Rectangle dies, I die cut a piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock for the first layer.  I stamped the sentiment in Memento Tuxedo black ink.  I heat embossed the Lawn Fawn Mailbox (retired) on Real Red cardstock in white embossing powder and cut it using the coordinating die.  I adhered the mailbox to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Next I stamped each small envelope in Lovely Lipstick ink, Pumpkin Pie ink, Daffodil Delight ink, Pear Pizzazz ink, Tempting Turquoise ink (retired) and Highland Heather ink.  I fussy cut each stamped envelope and adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive. 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a crafty fun weekend too!

Hi friends and happy Fri-YAY!  I hope you have fun (and cool) plans for the weekend ahead considering it will be 10,000 degrees outside here in Massachusetts!  Okay, maybe I added two extra zero's on that temperature, but you get it, it's gonna be H-O-T hot!  I have a craft room with central air calling my name! 
Yesterday I shared with you how to create a beach scene with two different color layering stamp sets from Hero Arts.  Today we are going to focus on just those beautiful color layering clouds from the Color Layering Sea and Sky stamp set that I used to create a sympathy card.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Basic Gray cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitches Nesting Rectangles, I cut the largest rectangle from Balmy Blue cardstock.  I cut a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of Neenah Solar White cardstock and stamped the sentiment in Basic Gray ink.  I stamped the raindrops in Balmy Blue ink using the Sunny Studio Stamp called rain showers.  On a separate sheet of white cardstock, I stamped the layering clouds in Balmy Blue ink and Basic Gray ink.  I die cut the clouds and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the clouds for added sparkle.

Here is the Color Layering Sea and Sky stamp set and coordinating dies from Hero Arts that I used for today's cards:

Here is the second card I created using the color layering clouds:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  On a 5 " x 3 3/4" sheet of Basic Black cardstock. I stamped the sentiment and burst of stars in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder.  I mounted this stamped image onto a piece of Goil Foil paper before adhering it to the card front.  On a separate sheet of Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock, I stamped the layering clouds in both Smoky Slate ink and Basic Gray ink.  I die cut the clouds and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the clouds for added sparkle. 

I hope you have enjoyed seeing different ways to use this stamp set, both to create a serene beach scene and a peaceful sympathy card.  Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello readers and welcome back from hopefully a long holiday weekend (Yay, 4 days weekends are even better than 3-day weekends!)  Ugh! But, then Monday's are so tough. . . So, today we are going to fight the ugly Monday's like a ninja!  I'm not going to lie, I completed invested in this $45.00 Ninja Invasion stamp and die set from Altenew simply because of that one sentiment, "Crafty by day, deadly ninja by night."  How fun is that?!  I just LOVE it!  I have created a few different cards for you using this ninja stamp set and some vivid alcohol ink backgrounds. 

Because I am not currently creating video content and tutorials on my website, I highly recommend checking out this Easy Alcohol Ink Background Tutorial by Jennifer McGuire.  She has created a very simple introduction to working with alcohol inks to create some basic backgrounds.  This was the first video I watched after purchasing my alcohol inks and then I just spent time playing around with them!  The great thing is there is no right or wrong when it comes to art.  You just have fun (and usually make a mess) with it!  *My only tip would be that you don't need to spend your money purchasing polysynthetic Yupo Paper at nearly $1.00 per sheet.  You can use the reverse side of any high quality photo paper (like this one by Kirkland) and achieve the same results!

Here is the "Ninja Invasion" stamp set by Altenew that I used to create today's cards:

The base of all these cards are A2 in size and made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  I put a 5 1/4" x 4" sheet of Basic Black cardstock behind each alcohol ink background.  The sentiments were all stamped in Versamark ink and heat embossed with black embossing powder.  Because photo paper (or Yupo paper) is glossy, heat embossing works even better than using a solvent ink like Staz-On. 

I hope you have enjoyed today's colorful ninja cards!  I felt like a crafty ninja making them! : )
Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Hello readers and happy Friday!  I hope you have some fun plans for the weekend ahead.  We have nothing specific planned yet, but sometimes no plans are the best plans!

Today I am sharing two cards I created using a new stamp set that I recently purchased from Altenew called Potted Plants. I did not inherit my mother's green thumb, so stamping plants instead of actually potting them is about the only way I'm guaranteed to keep them alive!  Altenew has some of the most beautiful and realistic looking stamps and I have come to love their products very much.  Their layering flower stamps like this hyacinth and these Peruvian Lilies are among other personal favorites of mine.

Here is the Potted Plants bundle by Altenew that I used to create these cards.  The bundle is both the stamp set and coordinating die, but you can purchase each individually as well.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Crumb Cake cardstock.  Using the Papertrey Ink Mix and Mat Plaid Die, I cut the frame from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using Memento Tuxedo black ink, I stamped the sentiment at the top of the card.  On a separate sheet of white cardstock I stamped the three plants in Garden Green ink and Pear Pizzazz ink.  Using the coordinating dies, I cut out each plant.  I stamped the two plant pots in Versamark ink and heat embossed them with gold embossing powder.  I die cut the plant pots using the coordinating die.  I adhere the plants and plant pots to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. 

For the second card, I created the base from Pear Pizazz cardstock.  I stamped the sentiment in the lower left corner using Intense-ified black ink.  I die cut the black frame from Basic Black cardstock.  Sorry - I can't recall who makes this die!  I cut a sheet of white cardstock to fit behind the window frame and stamped the plants in Garden Green ink and Pear Pizzazz ink.  Lastly I stamped the palm plant in Pear Pizzazz ink and die cut it using the coordinating dies. I stamped the plant pot in Versamark ink and heat embossed it in white embossing powder.  I die cut the plant pot and then I adhered this palm plant to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend friends!

Hello friends and happy Thursday!  I have been mentioning recently that my own supply of cards is getting particularly low, especially when it comes to birthday cards, which I send out frequently.   Unfortunately, I have gotten out of the habit of making multiples of cards when I sit down to create.  By making them one card at a time (on the average of three to four cards per week), it was not giving me a lot of cards to have on hand!  So, last weekend I took a birthday card that I had made in the past and decided to replicate the same card in four different colors.  I made four of each card, and within an hour's time I had SIXTEEN new birthday cards to add to my supply!
Sixteen cards!  IN. AN. HOUR.   OMG, I'll be doing this WAAAAAAaaaaayyyy more often!
It's a really great way to add to your collection, especially if you send a lot of cards, like me!

I used the Altenew Beautiful Heart stamp set to create today's cards:

Ink colors used for the flowers:  Rich Razzleberry, Lovely Lipstick, Gorgeous Grape (Stampin' UP!)
*All leaf ink colors are the same for all four cards:  Pistachio Pudding, Pear Pizzazz, Garden Green (Stampin' UP!)

Ink colors used for the flowers:  Daffodil Delight, Pineapple Punch, Crushed Curry (Stampin' UP!)

Ink colors used for the flowers:  Cantelope Crisp, Mango Medley, Calypso Coral (Stampin' UP!)

Ink colors used for the flowers:  Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather and Rich Razzleberry (Stampin' UP!)

If the shoe fits, they say you buy it in every color, right?  I say, if the card works, MAKE one in every color! This particular floral layout would also work well for sympathy and get well cards too.  In fact, I think I see sixteen more cards coming in the near future in additional colors!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hi friends, today I'm sharing a card with you that we made in my last stamp camp.  It was only the second time I had used the Sketchy Landmarks stamp set from Altenew and the Westminster Abbey stamp made for a beautiful wedding card.  It's very simple and elegant in black and gold.  I love that this set also comes with a variety of greetings that would work well as a sympathy or more religious card too.

Full list of supplies at end of post.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I cut a 5 1/4x 4" sheet of Gold Foil paper for the first mat.  I cut a 5" x 3 3/4" sheet of Basic Black cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot using a now-retired star embossing folder from Stampin' UP!  I stamped the church on a scrap piece of Basic Black cardstock and heat embossed it in gold embossing powder. 

Here is the Sketchy Landmarks stamp set from Altenew that I used to create this card:

I hope you have enjoyed today's card.  Thanks for visiting!

Happy Friday, friends!  I hope you have fun things for the weekend ahead!  I am super excited because for the first time in FOUR weeks I will not be painting my house!  Instead, I have a stamp camp on Saturday morning and then no plans for the rest of the weekend.  I truly look forward to a little bit of downtime.

Today I am sharing another beautiful color layering floral card.  This card features the new Build A Flower: Hyacinth from Altenew and I think this one is currently favorite Altenew stamp so far!  I am always impressed with the designs Altenew produces, but these layering stamps are beyond!

*Full supply list at end of post.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Kraft cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Stitched Scalloped rectangle dies, I cut the first layer from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  On the lower right side of this white paper, I stamped the sentiment in Gorgeous Grape ink.  I stamped the purple flower furthers to the right directly onto the white cardstock.  The other two flowers I stamped on a separate sheet of white cardstock and die cut them before adhering them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  I stamped each hyacinth in two colors (a light and a dark shade) for added contrast.  The stems/leaves were also stamped in two colors.  I added a couple randomly placed rhinestones to the card front and lastly I added a layer of Clear Wink of Stella for added sparkle. 

Here is the Build a Flower: Hyacinth from Altenew that I used to create this card:

I hope you have enjoyed today's card!  Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend!