Flower Fest for Friday!

Here's one of the cards we'll be making this Friday at class! I guess I've been on a kick with the Sweet and Sour Specialty papers - I think because they're so bright and happy! And with this on again - off again Spring/Summer weather, these papers keep brightening my mood!

The card is made with a Gate Fold opening; I've seen a couple versions of the Gate Fold, but this is definitely one of the easiest!

And here's how it looks when it's opened - Kind of a fun something different than the usual side-to-side or top-to-bottom opening!

And here's a closer look at all the cool-ness added to the front of the card! We'll be using the Happy Greetings set, and the Flower Fest set (I'm really lovin' how easy to use the Flower Fest set is - with coordinating punches!).

I hope to see you this Friday at class! I have some other super cool stuff to share - I can hardly wait to show you the Scrapbooking project we'll be making!! Yep, me who doesn't scrapbook has already finished the sample project - and it even has PICTURES in it!! I'm so excited, there may even have to be a Sneak Peek of it in the next day or so... Stayed tuned!!


Hope you've had a wonderful Memorial weekend!


Julie

Happy Greetings for a Friend!

This was another card I had started that was sitting on my desk - and I finally put it all together today. I had some pieces of the Sweet and Sour Designer Paper cut and the card base, but today I added all the details.

I thought this was a cool way to make this border - it's the new Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch. I made five of them and then stuck them to the Rose Red layer, overlapping them just a bit. Of course, the centers (that were now halved) needed some bling!!

Then I made the focal piece with the 2 3/8" Scallop Circle, a 2" circle from the Circles #2 Big Shot die (please, oh please, Stampin' Up! get us a 2" circle punch!), and then the 1 3/4" circle for the saying. The saying is from the Happy Greetings set in the Summer Mini. And I added a couple buttons from our Designer Buttons packs!


Thanks for stopping by,


Julie

Flower Garden Meets Woodland Walk!

This is a card I started the other day (while procrastinating other things I was supposed to be doing!). I saw a card on Stampin' Connection where they sponged some color onto a piece of Designer Paper and I really liked it! I'm not sure that my card turned out to be exactly what I imagined, but it's an idea I think I'll work with again!

With the Woodland Walk designer paper, I sponged Crumb Cake onto the vanilla areas of the flowers. So that lead me to use Crumb Cake for the card base. - Like I never would use that color otherwise?! :)

And here's a close up of the Flower Garden embossed background - I gave it a little sponging with Crumb Cake to blend with the sponging on the paper.

I also added the saying from the Happy Greetings set. - Lovin' that sayings set!

Thanks for stopping by,


Julie

Fabulous-ly Simple Floret!

Here's a super simple thank you card I made today! I was inspired by a card I saw on Stampin' Connection made by LeAnne Pugliese. It kind of reminded me of the sponging I did on one of the cards I've made just recently, but then it's a bit stepped up with an embossed image in the middle.

So, to make this one, you would just want to stamp and emboss your main image first, then you sponge the background.


Pretty cool, huh?!


Thanks for stopping by,


Julie

Graduation Owl!

I needed a graduation card, and I couldn't resist making one of these little owls! I know I've seen a lot of these little guys made, but I was inspired by a card made by LeeAnn Greff (I've followed her blog for a long time!). You can check out her version here. It's pretty much the same, but I made bigger eyes and I used Pacific Point.

I also gave an extra black layer and popped up some parts for extra dimension. And I used the Black Taffeta ribbon - I love the weight of it, and it's so easy to push and pull into place!

Here's a little bit closer up of the owl - he is pretty cute, huh?! His little diploma is just a piece of 1 1/4" x 1 1/2" typing paper rolled up and tied with the 1/8" Black Taffeta. His wings were made with a Scallop Oval punch, just with the top part of it trimmed off. His graduation cap is hand cut out - but the rounded edge that sits on his head was made with the 1 1/4" circle punch.

And here's the inside, with the saying from the Word Play set. - Perfect for the graduate, don't cha think? And, guess what? - the set is still on sale for 30% off, but only until the end of May! (You can click on the "National Scrapbooking Month" ad to the right for more details.)


Thanks for stopping by,


Julie

Quick and Elegant Flower Garden

I wanted to make a few thank you cards that I could do real quick to have on hand for mailing out. And this card is about as quick and simple as they come - but I think it still has an elegant feel to it.

I just ran the Very Vanilla through the Big Shot with the new Flower Garden Embossing Folder. I sprayed a little Shimmer on it (I just had to!). Stamped a thank you (from the Thank You Kindly set) in Marina Mist. Then I tied a piece of Satin Marina ribbon around it and layered it onto a Marina Mist card - and wah lah...

Here's a little closer of the embossed Flower Garden with the Shimmer Spray - not sure how well you can see the shimmer in the picture, but it just adds that little bit!

Wouldn't a bunch of these make a nice little gift set for someone?!


Hope you had a great weekend,


Julie

A Rose Flower Fest!

Today I wanted to make a thank you card, and I decided to play along with a couple of Challenges! I've been making a bunch of design and color choices in some remodeling we're doing at home, so it was definitely nice to have some design and color choices already made for me!!

So I went with this cool and fun design layout from the Create with Connie and Mary site!

And then I found this color inspiration from the Stamping 411 site! I forget to take out River Rock, but I really do like it!!

I wasn't sure at first about making all the different flowers (from the new Flower Fest set) all in the same color, but I like how they came out! The (outside of the) largest flower was punched out, and the rest were hand cut out. But they all coordinate with punches if you don't mind a little extra edge to them. - Makes it a great set to keep it quick when you want!

Anyway, I added some sponging (in Rose Red too), a little Rhinestone bling and some Shimmer Spray to glitz then up a bit too!

I added the saying from the Just Believe set - I love how the words from that set fill up the Word Window punch just right! And I added the Chantilly Crochet Trim for the bow. I gave it a little sponging in River Rock to help it coordinate better. I also sponged all the Very Vanilla pieces with River Rock too!


Have a Happy Friday!


Julie

A Blushing Floret!

Today I finally got a chance to play along with the Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge. I decided to use the Fabulous Florets set (from the Summer Mini). And I used Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.

And here's the sketch!

Here's a closer up of the flower - I stamped it onto Very Vanilla and then yep, I cut it out! Then I popped it up with a couple Dimensionals. And the background Scallop Square comes from the Big Shot die Scallop Squares Duo (also in the Summer Mini!).

And here's a close-up of the saying and the brad accents. The saying comes from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set (man, I've gotten my money's worth out of that set!!). And the brads are from the Subtles collection - really they're Pretty in Pink, but they go great with the Blushing Bride Patterned papers!


Thanks for stopping by,


Julie

Congrats Alex!

Today I made this card for Alex. I used the Sketch Challenge from Mojo Monday to help me with a layout idea.

Here's the Sketch I tried to follow!

I used a saying from the new Happy Greetings set, and the background paper is from the Nautical Expedition DSP pack.

I also used the Seeing Stars set to make the Not Quite Navy stamped star. The other stars are from the Stars #2 Big Shot die. Don't know if you can see, but I sponged most of the parts with Crumb Cake too - it just toned things down a bit!

Here's a picture of Alex going up to receive his award. He got an academic award for achievement in English. The awards were a surprise to the kids receiving them, but as parents we were told about it on Friday so we could plan to go to the assembly and watch. Right now he has straight A's in all of his classes - I'm so proud of him!

So I made this card for him, but I didn't give it to him at the assembly this morning - I didn't want to embarrass him! Actually I'm not really even sure that he saw that his dad and I were there! I'm going to give it to him after school though.


Hope you had a happy Monday,


Julie

A little bit of Sweetness!

Here's a quick card I made the other day (inspired by one I saw made by Dawn Griffith). It's just a little 3" x 3" card, but I love it - super easy!! And sometimes all you need is a little note!

I used a small strip of Sweet & Sour Specialty paper layered onto a piece of Rose Red. I also used the "love you" from the Short & Sweet set. - Doubly sweet there!! And then I added a punched flower from the new Triple Layer Blossom Bouquet punch.

And here's a little tip for centering the brad (I used the Circle Fire Rhinestone brad) on these flowers - use your Paper Piercer! I've made a few of these punched flowers before and I've used my 1/16" punch. But with the punch, sometimes it's hard to see that it's really going into the center - so I've found the Paper Piercer easier to "aim" at the center!


Hope you've had a Happy Sunday,


Julie