Wild About Flowers

Wild About Flowers is one of the stamp sets that is not carrying over into the 2018/2019 Catalog.  This set reminds me of my childhood vacations that I used to spend at my grandparents house in Manchester Depot, Vermont.  They owned a store called Carriage Trade and lived something like a half mile behind the store.  Between their house and the store were fields of wild flowers.  It was a beautiful, peaceful place and a ton of fun for the kids.  They had a pond that we could swim and fish in.  There was a giant sand pile that was always a lot of fun to slide down, lots of woods and near all the big ski places.  Manchester now is totally different.  There are numerous houses between what used to the the store and my grandparents house.  Manchester has become a town full of outlets (stores) so now it is crowded and full of tourists.  I am sure the economy in that area is much better than it used to be.

In any case Wild Flowers is a two step stamp set.  This is where you use two or more stamps to make one image.  In this case, the stems are one stamp and the flowers are another.  I first stamped the stems in Emerald Envy (now of the InColors that is retiring). Then I stamped the flowers in Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Peekaboo Peach and Lemon Lime Twist.  I cut the circle out using the Layering Circle Thinlits Dies.  Then I stamped the sentiment using the stamp set called One Big Meaning (also retiring) and cut that out using the same sized Circle Die.  I used Dimensionals to pop up the flower background and put the sentiment inside the hole.  It fit right inside since I used the same sized die.

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Quick & Easy Thank You

Here is a quick and easy thank you card that can be put together in no time at all.  I just cut two pieces of cardstock from the same Designer Series Paper and used one side on the top and the other side on the bottom.  I probably should have cut it the other way but I didn’t notice that at the time.  Then I adhered a piece of Ribbon in the middle to cover the seam.  It didn’t take any time at all.

The Designer Series Paper I used is called Fresh Florals.  This stack of paper comes in all there 2017/2018 In Colors.  In this case, I used Fresh Fig.  I also used 1/2″ Finely Woven Ribbon in Fresh Fig too.  If you haven’t tried this ribbon you really should.  It is beautiful and works well on cards.

The sentiment is from the stamp set called One Big Meaning.  This set has seven different ways to say thank you.

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New To Stamping? Where To Start?

Are you a new stamper and don’t know where to begin?  Does the amazing Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog overwhelm you with all the things you can buy?  I have been stamping for ten or more years and it can still overwhelm me!  I have an idea for you.

First, you need to decide what kind of cards you want to make.  Most people start to stamp because they want to make thank you cards or birthday cards.  Whichever is your choice, you will need a few basic items to start.  You’ll need some cardstock, ink and stamps.  It really is as simple as that.  Below are some examples of some simple thank you cards you can make and they didn’t take a lot of supplies at all.

To make these cards, all you need is a stamp set (I used One Big Meaning (page 41), Note Cards with Envelopes (#131527), one ink pad (pages 169-171), one pack of cardstock (pages 169-171) and a pack of Designer Series Paper (pages 172-174). If you want to make birthday cards all you need to do is change out the stamp set.  I would recommend Confetti Celebration (page 12).

If you purchase these items, you can make up to 20 cards.  If you want to make more than that, all you will need is to purchase additional sets of Note Cards with Envelopes.  There is plenty of the other supplies to make a lot more cards.

It is as easy as that!

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A Color Stamp Off Challenge

I love Fridays because it is the day I have our Stamp Off Challenge with Jackie and Buffy.  This week we have a Color Challenge.

I think these are great colors.  They are bright and happy and look really well together.  Sadly one of these colors, Cucumber Crush is going to retire on May 31st.  Here is my card:

I used the stamp set called Jar Of Love to stamp the flowers and leaves.  The sentiment is from One Big Meaning.  If you look at this set you won’t find this particular stamp in it.  It is actually part of a stamp that I masked off with some medical tape.  It looked like this:

Then I inked up the entire stamp using Memento Black Ink.

Then all you do is peel off the tape.  This way only the words I wanted to use have ink on them to stamp.

You could do the same thing with Stampin’ Write Markers but if you don’t have a Marker in a certain color you can still partially ink up a stamp with this method.

Now, let’s go see what Jackie and Buffy made with these bright and cheery colors.


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Another Thank You

One Big Meaning, Flower Patch, Stampin Up, susanstamps.wordpress.com

I made this card using an old favorite stamp set.  Flower Patch was the first Photopolymer stamp sets that came in one of their catalogs.  They did test the waters a bit and released some Photopolymer sets separately but this one was actually in an Annual Catalog a couple of years ago.  It also has a matching set of Framelits called Flower Fair.

It was funny.  When they first came out with the Photopolymer stamps, I said no way am I buying those.  I love my rubber.  Of course, when they came out with Clear Mount Rubber, I said no way am I giving up my wood blocks!  Well, time changes and we all adjust to these new, crazy ideas.  Now most of my sets are Clear Mount and I do have a lot of Photopolymer sets.  I am still partial to rubber but I’ve adjusted to change.  You can teach an old dog new tricks!

Don’t forget it is Sale-a-bration time! Earn FREE merchandise with a qualifying purchase! Get an extra $25 in Hostess Benefits with a $250 workshop (or order)! Join my Stampin Up! family and get a $125 worth of product for $99 PLUS your choice of TWO FREE STAMP SETS (an added value of up to $104)!!

SAB

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Dragonfly Dreams

Dragonfly Dreams, Detailed Dragonfly, One Big Meaning, Stampin Up, susanstamps.wordpress.com,

These cute little dragonflies are part of a new set of Thinlits that are in the 2017 Occasions Catalog.  They are called Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies and they have a matching stamp set called Dragonfly Dreams.  Although, I didn’t use the stamp set for this card, if you purchased both in a Bundle you can save 10%.  All the dragonflies on this card are cut out at once using one die.  It is just adorable.

It make this card, I first cut out a set of dragonflies in a Copper Foil Sheet.  Then I cut them out again using the Whisper White Card Stock that you see on this card but I used the negative part.  I saved the actual dragonflies to use at a later date.  Then I fit the Copper Foil dragonflies inside the negative space on the Whisper White.  Of course, it fit perfectly since I used the die to cut both.  It was pretty easy to do, although you do have to save some of the white pieces to fit around the Copper in a couple of places.  In the picture below I show you which two pieces I needed to save and glue back in.

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The sentiment is from the stamp set called One Big Meaning.  This set is in the Annual Catalog.

Don’t forget it is Sale-a-bration time! Earn FREE merchandise with a qualifying purchase! Get an extra $25 in Hostess Benefits with a $250 workshop (or order)! Join my Stampin Up! family and get a $125 worth of product for $99 PLUS your choice of TWO FREE STAMP SETS (an added value of up to $104)!!Blog Signature-001 Product List

One Big Meaning

One Big Meaning, Cable Knit, Stampin Up, susanstamps.wordpress.com

Here is another thank you card I made to use myself.  I have a lot of people to thank for a lot of things lately.  People were so kind to our family when Rob’s mother passed away and did so many things for us to help us through hard times.  They brought us food, sent us cards and made generous donations in her name.  It always amazes me how kind people can be.  Sometimes in this crazy world, we forget that.

I used the textured embossing folder called Cable Knit.  This embossing folder makes a deeper impression so that it looks 3D.  A trick to using this folder is to lightly spritz the card stock with water so help break down the fibers in the paper.  That will help prevent cracking.

The Designer Series Paper is in the Annual Catalog and is called Floral Boutique.  It uses Night of Navy and Whisper White on all the sheets and is very elegant.  The sentiment is from the stamp set called One Big Meaning.  I added a little pop of color using Enamel Shapes.

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Wild About Flowers

Wild About Flowers, One Big Meaning

Yesterday I mentioned out of the blue that I went to South Carolina to visit my mom with my sisters.  One of the fun things we did was to go to a large outlet shopping area.  We went to all the usual stores we normally go to but then I spied a Swarovski store.  We decided to go into it to see what it was like.  Well, that a big mistake, although not so much for me as for my sisters.  This store is full of bling!  Everything in it sparkles.  Of course, we had to look around.  I found two gorgeous bangle bracelets.  They were beautiful and fit perfectly (of course) but they were way more money then I would spend.  Well, it just so happens that I have a birthday coming up soon.  It is a big birthday.  It is a very big birthday!  So, my amazing sisters bought me these bracelets for my birthday.  Aren’t they awesome sisters?

So this is one of the Thank You Cards I made for them.  I used the Wild About Flowers stamp set and One Big Meaning for the sentiment.  First I stamped the sentiment on a piece of Post-It Note Paper.  Then I cut around it and made a mask so that the stems of the flowers would not stamp where I wanted the sentiment.  Then I stamped the stems over the mask and then stamped the sentiment in the blank space the mask made.

Thank you to my awesome sisters!  You are both amazing!

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Petite Petals Thank You

Petite Petals, One Big Meaning

Today is Election Day.  You need to go vote.  I know many people don’t think their vote counts but it really does.  Many years ago, I ran for the local school board.  The election ended up in a tie vote.  I had so many people stop me on the street  the next day and say “Oh I am sorry I didn’t vote.  I just thought you would win”.  It is not exactly what anyone who runs for a public office wants to hear so make sure you vote!  It is important.  My father used to say “if you don’t vote then you can’t complain”.  So go.  Vote.  Now!  Afterwards you can stamp!

I will leave you with a smile.  Madelyn was a chicken for Halloween.  Get it?  Chicken and Waffles! (Go Vote!!).

Chicken

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Another Vintage Leaves

Vintage Leaves, One Big Meaning

Today is the last day to get 15% off stamp sets!  Hurry before it is too late!

I know you are all probably sick of all the cards I make using the stamp set called Vintage Leaves but here is another one.  I can’t help.  I love this set especially since it is Fall here and all the leaves are so beautiful.  I think it must be peak season because the yellows, oranges and reds are so bright.  When the sun is shining, which doesn’t happen much in the Fall, the view is spectacular.

I also love the Cording Trim in gold.  I love the silver too, but I just ordered that so I can only use gold for now.  It is bright and shiny and so easy to tie.  Plus it stays tied unlike some cording trim.  If you don’t have any, you really need to buy some!  It is in the 2015 Holiday Catalog.

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