Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Well, sorry i've been a little, well, absent lately. Things were a little hectic because of the end of the school year. It is one of the most insane parts of my year! I feel like i barely have time to breathe, never mind blog. The only reason there were posts up last week is because i had scheduled them the weekend before!

But this past weekend i basically collapsed, and am still recovering. Well, that plus having overnight company for 2 nights, and getting ready for a church yard sale this Saturday where i'm selling some things, etc.

ANYway, i did make something new tonight, with a brand new stamp set! This is made with Fresh Cuts, which is part of a promotion running this month. Check out this flyer for more details:
I got the Fresh Cuts set last week but only tonight had time to play with it. Let me tell you, this set is so much fun because it's so easy to work with. You really can't make it look bad! This card only took me about 15 minutes. Here's what i came up with.

All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise indicated.
Stamp Set: Fresh Cuts
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Mellow Moss, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Close to Cocoa
Adhesive: Tape runner, Dimensionals
Other: Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon

Enjoy!

Well, folks, school is out for summer! Here's a card i made for a colleague who just finished her very last school year - Linda is retiring. I really didn't feel like doing the usual "congratulations" card, and Enjoy Every Moment just seemed like the perfect sentiment! I hope she does enjoy every moment of her long and happy retirement.

All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.
Stamp set: Enjoy Every Moment
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Ink: Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie
Adhesives: Tape runner, dimensionals
Tools: 1/16" hole punch, bone folder, corner rounder
Other: 5/8" Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon

Sparkly Wedding

Here's a card i made recently for a bridal shower. There's a lot of glitter on it but the scanner really doesn't pick it up. But it looks very sparkly in real life! Sorry about the retired background stamp.
All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.
Stamp Sets: Soft Swirls (retired), Cause for Celebration (hostess)
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink Pads: Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black
Markers: Rose Red, Regal Rose
Adhesives: Tape runner, Dimensionals, Two-way glue pen
Other: Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Regal Rose 5/8" grosgrain ribbon

Summer Cherries

One night recently, i needed to make a couple of thank you notes. I didn't have a lot of time, but i was in the mood to do something with a little "wow" factor. When i'm in that situation, i often turn to Stampin' Up!'s Designer Series Papers. Using one of them makes it so easy to choose colors (which is often the hardest part of designing), and makes a quick card look special and gorgeous.

Lately i'm loving the Summer Picnic DSP, which is only available 'till the end of June. It's so...well, summery!! And i love how well it coordinates with one of my favorite sets these days, Tart & Tangy.

This card only took about 30 minutes once i got going, and in that time i actually made two. 15 minutes per card? You can't beat that, right?! I couldn't have made it to the store and back in that amount of time, were i the card-buying type instead of the card-making type. And that time includes a little snaffu which involved stamping the sentiment directly onto the DSP, not liking it, and then figuring out how to put the sentiment on AND cover my mistake in one shot!

Here's the end result.

All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.
Stamp sets: Tart & Tangy, Short & Sweet
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White
DSP: Summer Picnic
Ink Pads: Old Olive
Markers: Real Red, Old Olive
Tools: Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, large oval punch, small oval punch
Adhesives: Tape runner, dimensionals
Other: Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon

A Chocolate Sky

The design for this card may seem familiar to you if you've been reading my blog for awhile. It's one i go to when i'm stuck for an idea, but somehow it always ends up looking a little different than the last time i used it.


This time i was motivated to use Soft Sky and Chocolate Chip together for some reason. I guess it's because usually if i'm going to use blue with brown, i reach for Bashful Blue. But in a few short months, the 08 In Colors will go away forever, so i wanted to try these together while i can!


I love how soft sky ink looks stamped on soft sky cardstock. It's so elegant, especially when the stamp is Baroque Motifs. I swear, it's almost impossible to make an ugly card with that stamp set. I'm hoping it will be in the next catalog even though it's already been around for a year. Of course, the wood blocks on my set are so beat up, they look like i've had the set for 5 years, not just 1 year!


There is something i don't LOVE about this card, but i can't put my finger on it. I think it has to do with how the ribbon and circle-punched piece came out. If i had some soft sky ribbon, i think that would have been better, but vanilla was the best i could do. Anyway, enough rambling. Here's what i ended up with.





All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.
Stamp sets: Baroque Motifs, All Year Cheer I (retired)
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink Pads: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Versamark
Tools: 1 1/4" circle punch, 1/16" hole punch, Stampin' sponges
Adhesives: Tape runner, dimensionals
Other: Vintage Brad, Very Vanilla 3/8" grosgrain ribbon

True Confessions

Sometimes i check my Google Reader at work during my "break" (a term which i use loosely because i'm supposed to use that time to get work done). I really shouldn't be reading blogs during that time, but sometimes i just need a little creative outlet in a day full of tying shoelaces, disciplining, lesson planning, hearing Mrs. ... 57 times per hour, oh, and teaching too.

So, sometime over the last few weeks, on someone's blog in my Reader, probably referring to a SCS color challenge, i saw the combo pumpkin pie, chocolate chip, and purely pomegranate. I scribbled it down on a scrap of paper and tossed it in my bag, not to be discovered again until recently. It's a color combination i have never used and would never have thought of, so when i found that little scrap, it motivated me to give it a try. It's a great color combo - i will definitely be playing with it again!

I started with a cardbase of pumpkin pie and continued from there. I added the background stamp (the dots) almost at the end, because the dots reminded me of the dots around the flower. I must be in the mood for clean, simple, unembellished cards lately, since that seems to be mostly what i'm coming up with! Anyway, here's the end result.

All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.
Stamp sets: One of a Kind, Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate, Very Vanilla
Ink Pads: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate
Markers: Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose

Adhesives: Tape runner

Other: Blender pen