Pirate Thank Yous

Today's post is the first of my series celebrating Arthur and Quentin's Pirate Birthday party. Being the crafter, I had to make a ton of decorations and bits and bobs with the pirate theme. I needed to make some thank you cards, settled on a design, and then couldn't decide which image to use. Instead of deciding, I made multiple of each. I stamped a bottle with different fillings (whale, octopus, or pirate ship) and fussy cut the bottles out. From there I stamped a fun background on my kraft paper with repeating images. Time consuming, but I do love the effect. The addition of the gold glitter washi tape was the perfect finishing touch. Loved these cards!

• Stamps: Message in a Bottle; Labeler Alphabet
• Inks: Island Indigo; Crumb Cake; Real Red; Basic Black
• Cardstock: Real Red; Kraft; Whisper White
• Accessories: Gold Washi Tape (retired)
• Tools: Stitched Shapes Framelits; Washi Label Punch (retired)

Pumpkin Thanks

Today's post is a fun little pumpkin for your Friday. Easy peasy! Just die cut three large ovals and hand cut a little stem. Put them together and you have a great pumpkin! I added a stamped image from the Timeless Textures set and a bit of ink sponged onto the edges.

• Stamps: Timeless Textures; Happy Happenings (retired)
• Inks: Pumpkin Pie; Always Artichoke
• Cardstock: Wood Textures DSP; Pumpkin Pie; Always Artichoke; Very Vanilla
• Accessories: Retired SU washi tape
• Tools: Oval Framelits

Ride from the Flower Market

Today's challenge was to use two of my current favorite colors. I am loving Fresh Fig and Island Indigo and they look amazing together! I stamped the back end of the bicycle and added some pretty flowers. I also snuck in a few fireflies from the Jar of Love stamp set. I mounted my bicycle on a piece of Fresh Fig and went to dig for some DSP. In my scrap stash, I had this piece of fun dotted DSP from the Scenic Sayings Paper Stack (retired). Perfect pattern to show off my bicycle but not compete with it. 

• Stamps: Bike Ride, Bookcase Builder, Jar of Love
• Inks: Fresh Fig, Island Indigo, Pool Party, Lemon Lime Twist, Early Espresso
• Cardstock: Scenic Sayings DSP (retired), Fresh Fig, Island Indigo, Whisper White
• Accessories: 
• Tools: 

A Touch of Ribbon

I bought the gorgeous Night of Navy Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon weeks ago and it has just say on my desk. How have I not used this yet? The ribbon is just so great to work with. It's thin and easy to tie into a ribbon. But it also looks great as just a strip on a card. After deciding on using the ribbon on some card, I started pulling ink colors and DSP to coordinate. I ended up with two jars full of flowers. I love all the patterns and textures of this card. So cute!

• Stamps: Jar of Love
• Inks: Early Espresso; Dapper Denim; Soft Sky; Daffodil Delight; Crushed Curry; Flirty Flamingo; Watermelon Wonder; Pear Pizzazz
• Cardstock: Whole Lot of Lovely DSP; Wood Textures DSP; Soft Sky; Crumb Cake; Whisper White
• Accessories: Night of Navy Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon
• Tools: Stitched Shapes Framelits; Everyday Jars Framelits; Seaside Embossing Folder

TGIFC119: Riding My Bike

Today's card is playing along with TGIF's Color Challenge. These three colors together just scream summer! I love the combo.

I had so much fun making this simple little card that it's going to be one of the featured cards for August's stamp club meeting. I started with stamping this cute little green and blue bike. I love how the stamp set is designed to be able to layer on different colors. And it comes with a ton of different items to put onto the back of the bike. So versatile! I filled a little basket with a dog and some pretty sunflowers. As a last touch, I added some glitter enamel dots to the centers of the wheels.

• Stamps: Bike Ride; Thoughtful Banners
• Inks: Lemon Lime Twist, Pool Party, Crushed Curry, Crumb Cake
• Cardstock: Eastern Palace DSP, Crushed Curry, Pool Party, Whisper White
• Accessories: Enamel Glitter Dots
• Tools: Duet Banner Punch, Build a Bike Framelits

Inspired by a Rug Advertisement

Pinterest apparently thought I really wanted to buy some rugs and suggested this pin. I don't need any rugs, but I did find the image inspiring for my own card. 

I pulled out my collection of random scraps and created a rainbow of pieces. From there I figured out my size of rectangle and started cutting. And this is what I came up with. I really like this design and should make some more cards. 

• Stamps: Four You (retired)
• Inks: Basic Gray
• Cardstock: Basic Gray; Whisper White; random scraps
• Accessories:
• Tools: 

Lift Me Up Peach

Somehow I have a ton of Carried Away DSP left over from Sale-a-Bration. And yet I love this paper! It's just so whimsical with the wonderful hot air balloon patterns. For today's card, I used my Playful Backgrounds Stamp Set to make my basic card base a bit more interesting. 

• Stamps: Playful Backgrounds; Happy Happenings
• Inks: Peekaboo Peach; Watermelon Wonder
• Cardstock: Carried Away DSP; Peekaboo Peach; Whisper White
• Accessories: Peekaboo Peach Ribbon (retired)
• Tools: Triple Banner Punch; Circle Framelits

Medallion Thanks

Leftover card from my Sale-a-Bration stash. I resisted getting this stamp set, because... I have no idea. I love this image and the ability to mix and match colors and patterns. For this card, I figured out a little trick. After multiple failed attempts to line up the different pieces, I started with the darkest color. It was so much easier to see where to stamp the next layer. Once I got my medallion squared away, I added a fun scalloped piece underneath and a fun piece of glimmer paper. So sad that this stamp set and the glimmer paper is retired!

• Stamps: Make a Medallion
• Inks: Delightful Dijon; Night of Navy; Mint Macaron
• Cardstock: Mint Macaron Glimmer Paper; Night of Navy; Mint Macaron; Whisper White
• Accessories:
• Tools: Layering Circles Framelits

Marvelous Mint Macaron

Hello everyone! With the close of every Stampin' Up Annual Catalog, we have to say goodbye to five In Colors. This May, we will be losing the following colors:

Initially I wasn't a huge fan of these colors. It seemed to be a odd combination. But over the past two years, I have grown to like all of the colors. In fact, I have grown to love love love Mint Macaron. It will be sad to lose these colors, but I am devastated to lose Mint Macaron. Hands down my favorite! Today I'm celebrating Mint Macaron and giving it a proper sendoff with three fun cards!

My first card is actually one I made using a ton of retired products. I don't usually hang on to retired stamp sets (preferring to sell them and get new ones), but I have kept two sets that get pulled out time and time again: Four You and Four Feathers! This great monochrome triptych features both of those retired sets plus one current set (Timeless Textures) and a great accessory (Mint Macaron Striped Ribbon). Simple card, yet it highlights the color beautifully.

• Stamps: Four Feathers (retired); Four You (retired); Timeless Textures
• Inks: Mint Macaron
• Cardstock: Mint Macaron; Whisper White
• Accessories: Mint Macaron Striped Ribbon
• Tools:

Card two features a Holiday Catalog stamp set that is carrying over! I immediately fell for the Cookie Cutter Christmas Stamp Set and Punch and love that I can use it beyond Christmas time. The little suit stamp is perfect as a teddy bear. And I love the color combination of Mint Macaron and Crumb Cake. The soft colors make a great gender neutral baby card. This card also features the In Color DSP pack. I love these packs for great background pieces. SU sells the DSP packs in both In Color collections, Brights, Regals, Subtles, and Neutrals.

• Stamps: Cookie Cutter Christmas; Suite Sayings
• Inks: Mint Macaron; Crumb Cake; Chocolate Chip
• Cardstock: 2015-2017 In Color DSP; Neutrals DSP; Mint Macaron; Whisper White
• Accessories: Mint Macaron Striped Ribbon
• Tools: Cookie Cutter Punch; Layering Circles Framelits

Finally I am featuring my favorite color combination: Mint Macaron and Rich Razzleberry. Purple is my favorite color and I love the green and purple combo of these two colors. I am again featuring the In Color DSP as my background paper. I kept the main image of the card fairly simple with a jar full of flowers.

• Stamps: Jar of Love
• Inks: Sweet Sugarplum; Rich Razzleberry; Mint Macaron; Smoky Slate
• Cardstock: 2015-2017 In Color DSP; Mint Macaron; Whisper White
• Accessories:
• Tools: Everyday Jars Framelits

Super sad that we only have a few weeks left with Mint Macaron, but hey, maybe they will eventually bring it back when Stampin' Up does another color refresh. A girl can dream, right?

Stamp Sets to Use:

• Birthday Blooms
• Celebrate Today
• Build a Birthday
• Love and Affection
• Foxy Friends
• No Bones About It
• Watercolor Wings
• Papillon Potpurri
• Jar of Love
• Petite Petals
• Seaside Shore
• Suite Sayings
• Friendly Wishes
• Flower Shop
• Timeless Textures
• Playful Backgrounds
• Work of Art
• Blooms and Wishes
• Botanical Blooms
• Kinda Eclectic
• Labeler Alphabet
• Cookie Cutter Christmas
• Paisleys and Posies
• Endless Birthday Wishes
• Dragonfly Dreams
• Cool Treats
• Bookcase Builder
• Birdcage Builder
• Tasty Trucks
• Hey Chick
• Designer Tee
• Reverse Words
• Four You
• Four Feathers

Affectionate Washi

Today's card features a simple design with a big visual impact. I love working with washi, but I haven't pulled out the Affectionately Yours Washi Tape set in a few months. Time to rectify that with a fun card featuring lots of washi tape. I also pulled out a retired, but still loved stamp set to offset the washi with a big greeting!

• Stamps: Four You (retired)
• Inks: Night of Navy
• Cardstock: Night of Navy; Cucumber Crush; Whisper White
• Accessories: Affectionately Yours Washi Tape; Regals Candy Dots (retired)
• Tools:

Stamp Sets to Use:

• Birthday Blooms
• Celebrate Today
• Build a Birthday
• Love and Affection
• Foxy Friends
• No Bones About It
• Watercolor Wings
• Papillon Potpurri
• Jar of Love
• Petite Petals
• Seaside Shore
• Suite Sayings
• Friendly Wishes
• Flower Shop
• Timeless Textures
• Playful Backgrounds
• Work of Art
• Blooms and Wishes
• Botanical Blooms
• Kinda Eclectic
• Labeler Alphabet
• Cookie Cutter Christmas
• Paisleys and Posies
• Endless Birthday Wishes
• Dragonfly Dreams
• Cool Treats
• Bookcase Builder
• Birdcage Builder
• Tasty Trucks
• Hey Chick
• Designer Tee
• Reverse Words
• Four You
• Four Feathers