Category Archives: Handmade Cards

#TGIFC436 — Color Challenge

Hi friends and welcome to a new TGIF Challenge! This week, our color challenge includes Crumb Cake, Blackberry Bliss, and Pool Party. While those colors didn’t immediately make me think of Christmas, I started looking through my stash and found the One Horse Open Sleigh Designer Series Paper, which includes both Crumb Cake and Pool Party! That lead me to designing my first Christmas card of the season!!! Yay! The… Read More »

Stamping Sunday — You’ve Been Framed

Welcome to the August Stamping Sunday Blog Hop. This month, our theme is “You’ve Been Framed!” We could choose to make a framed project or use a frame on our projects. I love using frames on cards, so that’s what I picked. The Stamping Sunday Blog Hop occurs on the 3rd Sunday of each month. We are a group of international Stampin’ Up! designers. To see all the projects, use… Read More »

#TGIFC434 — Inspiration Challenge

Hello and happy Friday! This week’s TGIF Challenge is a sketch challenge. I love the layered geometric shapes in the background! They’re so fun and different. Visually, they appear to form a subtle wreath. I decided to use the Layering Leaves Stamp Set. It had been sitting on my shelf for too long, and this layout was a great opportunity to break it out. I love that it coordinates with… Read More »

Stampin’ Fancy Friday — Baby Card

For this month’s Stampin’ Fancy Friday, we have a great sketch theme. (See photo below.) I’ve seen a preview of all the cards we’ll be sharing this month, and I think you’re going to LOVE the huge variety of techniques, styles, and ideas. To see all the designers’ projects, keep an eye on the Stampin’ Fancy Friday Facebook and Instagram pages. We’d also love to see any of your projects using our monthly theme!… Read More »

Color Fusers Blog Hop — August 2023

Welcome to the Color Fusers Blog Hop for August! This month’s color combination is a cool collection, including Pebbled Path, Boho Blue and Misty Moonlight. It could work well for masculine cards, which was perfect, because that’s exactly what I needed to make. My son got some great news this week (he passed his boards!) Whether you’re already following the blog hop, or just starting here, be sure to continue… Read More »

#TGIFC432 – Color Challenge

Happy Friday! This week, the TGIF Color Challenge includes Blueberry Bushel, Bubble Bath, and Parakeet Pary. It’s a bright and cheery combo that immediately made me think of parties, fun, and celebrations. So, I decided to break out the Zany Zoo Bundle and create something cute. The Zany Zoo Stamp Set and coordinating designer series paper feature lots of darling animals, including this gator. He seems so happy, coasting along… Read More »

A Special 100th Birthday

My Mother-In-Law, Antionette (Toni), just celebrated her 100th birthday! Isn’t that amazing? You’d never guess. We are very blessed. To celebrate this momentous occasion, my sister-in-law and husband arranged a big surprise party. We filled a whole restaurant with friends and family. My sister-in-law’s decorations and attention to detail were amazing, and the birthday girl felt like a queen. She even got a key to the city! One of my… Read More »

#TGIFC430 — Inspiration Challenge

Hello and welcome to a new TGIF Challenge! This week, we’re being inspired by the photo below. I love inspiration challenges, because I can choose anything about it that I like, including the theme, the colors, or even the layout. For my project, I simply focused on travel and where I’d like to go … to Hawaii swimming with the turtles. I’ve recently been busy designing a bunch of cards… Read More »

Stampin’ Sunday – Tips

Welcome to the July Stamping Sunday Blog Hop. This month, our theme is “Bish, Bash, Bosh” or tips (for us Americans – haha.) Our creative design teammate Mikaela Tithridge from the U.K. came up with this great idea. It should be a lot of fun! I can’t wait to see what the team dreams up!!! I decided to focus on tips/techniques for easy watercolor stamping. I used the Tropical Leaf… Read More »

Stampin’ Fancy Friday — CASE a Fancy Friend

For this month’s Stampin’ Fancy Friday, our theme is to CASE a fancy friend. I love this challenge, but it’s also a little intimidating. The entire design team is made up of artisan alumni! So it was not only difficult to pick just one person, but also difficult to pick just one project! I ended up selecting another US artisan, Elizabeth Price. I’ve always admired her work and love her… Read More »

#TGIFC428 — Color Challenge

Hello, and welcome to a new TGIF Challenge! This week, we have a color challenge including Basic Black, Lemon Lolly, and Sweet Sorbet. I have to admit that initially, I was a little stumped. But while I was playing with the June “Welcome Inn” Paper Pumpkin Kit, inspiration hit!!! I love the little vase stamp from that kit and really wanted to use it more. The beauty of Paper Pumpkin… Read More »

Color Fusers Blog Hop — July 2023

Welcome to the Color Fusers Blog Hop for July 2023. This month, we have a bright and beautiful color combination of Azure Afternoon, Daffodil Delight, and Pumpkin Pie. Why haven’t I used Azure Afternoon more before this? It’s absolutely gorgeous! For my project, I used the (#162253) Translucent Florals Bundle. It’s a new bundle coming out in the next Mini Catalog this September. I had pre-purchased it for Stampin’ Up!’s… Read More »

Coming Soon: Translucent Florals Bundle

Last Saturday, Stampin’ Up! hosted a super fun online event for demonstrators called Creativity Now. This annual event just keeps getting better. It included four hours of crafting, presentations previewing new products, and behind the scenes videos from the home office. It was such a nice change of pace to just sit back, relax, and let others teach while I got to follow along and craft. Creativity Now is open… Read More »

#TGIFC426 — Inspiration Challenge

Welcome to a new TGIF Challenge! This week, we have an inspiration challenge using the photo below. I think it could be interpreted to include cupcakes or anything party related. I also think the focus could be on the colors, layout, or cherries. I decided to use the Circle Saying Stamp Set (which includes a cupcake stamp) to make a birthday card for my brother-in-law. He loves cupcakes, especially red… Read More »

Exploring In Color – Paper Pumpkin Kit

Paper Pumpkin Kits are so fun, especially if you have limited time to craft and want to bang out a bunch of great cards. The monthly kits have unique and varied themes. The examples above use the May Explore In Color Kit. I absolutely LOVE this kit! If you haven’t heard of Paper Pumpkin, check out my blog page. I love that I can choose which kits I want to… Read More »

Stampin’ Fancy Friday – Stripes or Spots

For this month’s Stampin’ Fancy Friday, we have a theme of stripes or spots. It’s a broad theme allowing lots of creative interpretation. I decided to incorporate both into my project by using some striped Granny Apple Green paper from the Brights 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper pack and a dry embossed spotted background using one of the Basics 3D Embossing Folders (an Online Exclusive.) To see all the… Read More »

#TGIFC424 — Sketch Challenge

Welcome to a new TGIF Sketch Challenge. I love sketches! It makes designing cards so easy. For this card, I used a combination of products including the Patchwork Pieces Dies (for the background), Timeless Arrangements Bundle (for the flowers), and Bottled Happiness Stamp Set (for the bottle.) I also used the Go To Greetings Stamp Set for the sentiment, because I always need birthday cards. I make them for family,… Read More »

Irresistible Blooms Thank You

It has been a busy month! My family was recently in Southern California to watch my son’s graduation, and we finally got the opportunity to meet my daugther-in-law’s mom and family! Sam and Josie just got married last November, but due to various circumstances, the parents kept missing each other. The kids’ wedding was small (at the courthouse), so Josie’s mom decided to host a small family reception last weekend… Read More »

#TGIFC422 — What Would You Do…

Happy Friday! This week’s TGIF Challenge is “What would you do … with a Navy Blue background?” Fun, right? Personally, I LOVE navy blue’ it’s one of my very favorite colors. Also, the new Countryside Inn Designer Series Paper (DSP) has several beautiful prints with Night of Navy backgrounds, so this challenge was easy!!! I created a slimline card that fits in a legal envelope. (I miss the retired slimline… Read More »