The Stamp Review Crew: I Think You're Great

Welcome to another Stamp Crew Review Blog Hop!  We share our take on a selected stamp set every first and third Monday.  This week we are using an artistic expression stamp set from the main catalog, I Think You're Great, with a variety of fun sentiments and designed specifically for the kissing technique.  If you are following the blog hop order, you have just come from the very creative Deb Burgin's blog.  I always love her take on the chosen stamp set!

I thought "Way To Go!" was a fun sentiment for a graduation card.  May and June will be here before we know it!

A fun and simple way to congratulate the graduate, and you can customize with the appropriate school colors.  Always fun to create a coordinating tassel with baker's twine.  I created the mortar board by sketching on black card stock and free-hand cutting.

Stamps: I Think You're Great; Paper: Lost Lagoon, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Going Places DSP; Ink: Delightful Dijon; Accessories: Crushed Curry baker's twine, Silver metallic thread, Mini stapler, Lucky Stars EF, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

Now make sure you check out the next stop to see what lovelies Nikki Spencer has put together for us with this week's stamp set. 

 

Other I Think You're Great projects you may have missed -

FM241 Year of the Monkey

It's been a challenging week here.  My daughter and I got stuck down south due to Winter Storm Jonas, and I had to drive straight through from Georgia to New York on Monday, so she wouldn't miss yet another day of school.  And I'm suffering through a terrible head cold.  I just haven't been able to make a card for my own challenge over at the Friday Mashup.

Here's my recycled card with a cascade fold.

All the details for this card can be found on this post.

This week's Mashup Challenge is:  

Photo Source

• Create a project featuring a Monkey or Zoo Animals. 
• or Create a project with a Fancy Folds. 
• or Mash it up! and create a Fancy Folded Project with a Monkey.

Stamps: Zoo Babies, Ray of Sunshine, And Many More; Paper: Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White, Lullaby DSP; Ink: Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Pumpkin Pie & Daffodil Delight markers, Black Stazon; Accessories: Layers of Gratitude Paper Pumpkin kit, In Color thick baker's twine, Circle punches, Cupcake Builder punch, Confetti Heart border punch, Sponges, Bitty Banners framelits, Big Shot.

Stampin' Up! Sky Is the Limit

Today I have a masculine birthday card using the limited-time stamp set Sky Is the Limit.

This is a downline card front swap sample.  The focal panel was spritzed with Lost Lagoon ink, and I stamped the propeller on a piece of vellum and cut out for a bit of layering. Also notice the background is stamped with the World Map background stamp and embossed. I used Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #216 as inspiration.

Note, this stamp set is only available as a FREE item with your $50 or more order through February 15!

I was a little perturbed with the card stock buckling from the spritzing, so I used the Watercolor Wash background with Soft Sky ink on this one.

Stamps: Sky Is the Limit, World Map BG, Watercolor Wash BG; Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White, Wildflower Fields DSP, Vellum; Ink: Lost Lagoon, Basic Gray, Basic Black Archival, Versamark, Lost Lagoon reinker; Accessories: 2014-16 In Color washi tape, Mini silver brad, Clear EP, Aquapainter, Stampin' Spritzer, Fringe Scissors.

And here are this week's Weekly Deals (click link for details).

Stampin' Addicts Occasions Catalog Blog Hop

Hello Everyone, Welcome to the Stampin' Addicts Occasions Catalog Blog Hop, which features amazing products from the new Occasions Catalog.  Sit back and enjoy some wonderful ideas using the newest stamping goodies!

If you have been following the blog hop in order, you have just come from Twila's post featuring the Number of Years bundle.  Twila has some beautiful projects!  And today I will show you some projects using the set Balloon Celebration.

Framelits are fun, and how often do we want to have a framelit for every stamp image?  But, hands-down, nothing is quicker and easier than a stamp-punch combo!  The new coordinating Balloon Bouquet builder punch was a large factor in my love for this set.  Today, I have a couple fast and easy birthday cards.  

This first card is one that we made in January's stamp club.  Super quick.  I was trying to giving the illusion of a bunch of balloon floating in the air.

You'll notice a spotty look on the solid balloon image.  Getting even ink coverage on solid stamps can be difficult.  There are ways to fix this, like cleaning the stamp before using, rubbing it on jeans, or even using Versamark, but I kinda like the effect.

Stamps: Balloon Celebration, Sprinkles of Life, Watercolor Wash BG; Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White; Ink: Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Tip Top Taupe; Accessories: Whisper White baker's twine, Balloon Bouquet builder punch, Tree builder punch, Dimensionals.

I had to also highlight the bright and fun It's My Party patterned paper.  Love bright colors to lighten a winter-doldrum mood!

How fun are those clear sequins?  Just a little thing to break up the background without overwhelming.

Stamps: Balloon Celebration; Paper: Whisper White, It's My Party DSP; Ink: Crushed Curry, Mint Macaron, Melon Mambo, Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Melon Mambo baker's twine, Neutrals sequin assortment, Balloon Bouquet builder punch, Dimensionals.

With weather coming in for the weekend, I all-of-the-sudden find myself rushing to get things done in case I need to leave for Florida a day early.  Hence a combo card for the hop and the Friday Mashup #240.

I followed the sketch, but couldn't pull in the theme of music into my card.  You know, a background of "Happy Birthday to You" wouldn't have been a bad idea.

Peeking out from behind the focal point is a fun shaker panel.

Stamps: Balloon Celebration; Paper: Crushed Curry, Mint Macaron, Whisper White, It's My Party DSP, Vellum; Ink: Crushed Curry Mint Macaron, Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate, Basic Black; Accessories: Gold sequin trim, Aquapainter, Sewing machine, Thread, Dimensionals.

ICYMI, here are a couple other past Balloon Celebration projects -

Make sure you check out the next stop to see what Rhonda at The Stampin' Bunny put together using the Rose Wonder bundle. She made some amazing projects!

 

 

Love Is in the Air with the Control Freaks

Welcome... It's time to hop along with the super fabulous Control Freaks group!  This month's theme is "Love is in the Air".  I love making Valentine's projects to help get us through the doldrums of winter.  You've probably arrived here from Mindy's blog.  Her projects are always so lovely!

As soon as I saw Going Global in the Occasions catalog, I immediately thought of a masculine Valentine's day card.

I tried several different color combinations and papers for the "Love" banner and settled on watercoloring with Mossy Meadow ink.  I love the soft look of it.  I created this card a couple dozen more times for the Control Freaks swap.

For the background, I embossed with the World Traveler embossing folder, and then highlighted the texture by sponging.

Tip: Make a perfect diagonal cut on the Glimmer strip every time by placing it in the Triple Banner punch.  So easy!

Stamps: Going Global; Paper: Lost Lagoon, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Going Places DSP, Silver Glimmer; Ink: Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Basic Black Tuxedo; Accessories: Chevron ribbon, Mini Stapler, Triple Banner punch, 2" Circle punch, Confetti Heart punch, Aquapainter, Sponge, World Traveler EF, Big Shot.

Here's another masculine Valentine's card, this one for stamp club, combining the Sale-a-Bration set Sky Is the Limit and Occasions Going Global.

I tried several different ways to darken the water vs. continents on the World Traveler embossing folder and settled on brayering the folder (on the side with the Stampin' Up logo) with Versamark.  Brayering gives even folder coverage without too much inking on the recessed continents, although I did a quick wipe-down of the center of the continents with a paper towel before running it through the Big Shot.

Don't forget Sky Is the Limit is only available through February 15, so hurry to grab yours!

Stamps: Sky Is the Limit, Going Global; Paper: Delightful Dijon, Lost Lagoon, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Going Places DSP; Ink: Mossy Meadow, Smoky Slate, Basic Black Archival, Versamark; Accessories: Crystal Effects, Mini Stapler, White EP, Confetti Hearts border punch, Sweetheart punch, Aquapainter, Brayer, World Traveler EF, Big Shot.

Jump over to the amazing LeeAnn Greff's blog to check out what fabulous ideas she has for us. 

FM239 Sending Good Wishes...

This week's Friday Mashup is a color challenge with snowflakes.

I was taken by the inspiration photo, which reminded me of the little whimsy stamps in the new Balloon Celebration set from the Occasions catalog.  They are really a bottom shadow image from a balloon, but they sure do look like dandelion fluff, don't they?

After sponging and stamping, I wanted to use a little bit of bokeh and splatter to really make it look like the photographic effect of focusing on the fluff floating in the air.  It adds a lot of fun dimension, don't 'cha think?

Using My Digital Studio, I found Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, and Almost Amethyst to be the closest Stampin' Up colors to the challenge color palette.

This week's Mashup Challenge is:  

Photo Source 

• Create a project featuring at least 3 of the colors above and Neutral of your choice. 
• or Create a project featuring Snow/Snowflakes. 
• or Mash it up! and create a Snow themed project using the colors above.

Stamps: Balloon Celebration, Lovely Amazing You; Paper: Night of Navy, Whisper White; Ink: Almost Amethyst, Bordering Blue, Night of Navy, Night of Navy marker, Whisper White Craft; Accessories: Rhinestone jewels, Sponges, Watercolor brush.

Dec 2015 PP: One Great Year

All the holiday decorations have been put away.  How rewarding is it to sit down and create a new desk calendar?  Clean slate, new goals... yay!  I had so much fun with this kit!

Rather than use the stand that came in the kit, I used my Bind-It-All to create a spiral-bound calendar.  In my mind, this will keep me from knocking the stand and prevent pages from flying over my desk.

I added some cardboard and a calendar stand made from card stock on the back page to help with the stability (and to assure it stays standing-up!).  Make one for yourself or give away as a gift.

Don't forget to add your Paper Pumpkin creations to the My Pumpkin Challenge.  This month's theme is A Full Year of Fun.

This is the bonus project I will be sharing with my Paper Pumpkin Club members.  You too can get the directions for this and future projects by becoming a Paper Pumpkin subscriber.  Each month a fully designed project kit arrives in an adorable box filled with stamps, ink, and paper – everything cut and ready to go.

Speaking of a Paper Pumpkin subscription -

3-Month Prepaid Subscription (137859) $59.85 $55 USD
Save on a 3-month prepaid subscription and instantly qualify for a FREE* Sale-A-Bration item!

This offer will end on March 31, 2016 at 11:50 PM (MT).

*Sale-A-Bration items ship for free with a qualifying product purchase of $50 USD or more. Paper Pumpkin subscriptions alone do not qualify for free shipping on Sale-a-Bration items. A shipping charge of $6.95 USD will be charged to orders with only Prepaid Subscriptions.

And here are this week's Weekly Deals (click link for details).

Occasions Catalog & Sale-a-Bration are Here!

Launching today, and available through May 31, is the Occasions Catalog.

(Click photo to view PDF)

But hold on... it's also the most wonderful time of the (Stampin' Up!) year... Sale-a-Bration is here!!!  Hopefully you had a chance to check out the new SAB product in last weekend's Stampin' Addicts Blog Hop.

(Click photo to view PDF)

There are several ways to join in the Sale-a-Bration festivities -

For each $50 you spend in Stampin' Up! products (and they have the BEST products!), you earn a FREE gift out of the SAB brochure.  Choose from seven exclusive stamp sets, two patterned papers, vellum stack, or Project Life card collection.  There is something for everyone. Please note, there are some limited edition items, available only until February 15. So don't wait to grab yours!

This is the best time to host a workshop, for both your guests as well as extra SAB incentives for you, so be sure to book your workshop today! Earn an extra $25 in Stampin' Rewards when you host a party of $250 or more.  That's $50 in FREE product with a $250 party, and even larger percentage of rewards with larger parties.  Gather your friends for some girls night in!

But that's not all! Sale-a-Bration is a great time to sign up to be a demonstrator. The Starter Kit consists of not the standard $125, but $155 of merchandise of your choice, for only $99. And that includes shipping. The starter kit is a great value! 



I like to look at all the Sale-a-Bration freebies at a glance, so maybe you do too.  So here ya go.

Botanicals for You Botanical Gardens Vellum Stack What I Love Memories in the Making Project Life Cards Perfect Pairings Wildflower Fields DSP Flowering Fields Honeycomb Happiness Sky is the Limit (Limited Time) Perfectly Artistic DSP (Limited Time)       Hello         (Limited Time)

Sale-a-Bration runs through March 31, so you'll several opportunities to earn FREE product!

What could possibly make Sale-a-Bration even better?  Getting Paper Pumpkin involved of course!  Our 3-month prepaid subscriptions are on sale for Sale-a-Bration (January 5-March 31, 2016).  It just might be the easiest way for your customers to earn FREE Sale-a-Bration items.

3-Month Prepaid Subscription (137859) $59.85 $55 USD
Save on a 3-month prepaid subscription and instantly qualify for a FREE* Sale-A-Bration item!

Or, take it to the next level with a 12-month prepaid subscription.

12-Month Prepaid Subscription (137861) $215.40 USD
Save $24 a year with the everyday awesome price, earn Stampin’ Rewards, and get 4 FREE Sale-a-Bration items!

This offer will end on March 31, 2016 at 11:50 PM (MT).

*Sale-A-Bration items ship for free with a qualifying product purchase of $50 USD or more. Paper Pumpkin subscriptions alone do not qualify for free shipping on Sale-a-Bration items. A shipping charge of $6.95 USD will be charged to orders with only Prepaid Subscriptions.