Fun stamping day

Today is the sixth anniversary of my blog. Crazy! I didn't have a chance to make a special project to post for the occasion, but I do have a few cards to share that are the result of a fun stamping day.

My friend Erin, who is in town visiting family, spent a few hours stamping with me this morning, and we had a great time. I met Erin through my blog, so I suppose it works out perfectly to share the results of our stamping session on my blog-iversary:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Wetlands, Simply Sketched, Petite Pairs
Paper: Thick Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Mint Macaron, Calypso Coral, Basic Black, Very Vanilla card stock; Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Calypso Coral, Mint Macaron, Old Olive, journaling pen
Accessories: Punches: Starburst, 1-3/4" circle, scalloped circle, heart border, 1-3/8" square, Itty Bitty Accents pack, Fun Flower; linen thread; 1/8" Old Olive taffeta ribbon; Calypso Coral twine; gold clip; pearls; wood buttons; sequins (Craft Medley, Hazel & Ruby); Aquapainter; Mini Glue Dots; Dimensionals; Mono Multi liquid glue; sponge

Yesterday I put together "kits" for us with patterned paper, card stock and embellishments, and we each made three cards using those supplies. It's fun to see the different layouts and styles we created with the same basic supplies.

In the photo, the three cards I made are on the top, and Erin's cards are on the bottom. I love the white space on her cards -- I'm all about clean and simple! I also really like the watercolor accent Erin added behind the sentiment on the first two cards, as well as the hand-cut images. The doodles she added around the "Thanks so much" sentiment on the last two cards are great. At first I thought those little lines were part of the stamped sentiment, which had me confused because I didn't recognize the stamp!

My first goal today was to experiment with making a masculine card using the Pretty Petals DSP, so I focused on the simple Old Olive and Basic Black patterns to make the card with the Canada Goose. For my second card, on the left, I punched squares out of the DSP and adhered them in a pattern to the card base. I couldn't fit a fourth column of squares, so I trimmed the base down to 4-1/4" square and added a punched flower focal point. My third card, in the middle, was inspired by Erin's card with the strips of DSP. I love that look!

I still have some of my "kit" supplies left, so I think I'll try to make a few more cards with them this week. I love these colors and patterns, and it's actually fun to have the challenge of creating with limited supplies.

Thanks for stopping by today and over the past six years!