A night out

Earlier this week my sister celebrated her 40th birthday. We went out for a delcious family dinner at a local vegan restaurant and then afterward the two of us went to see the musical Hamilton. It was so good! Other than clips I’d seen here and there, I didn’t know a lot about the story beforehand (I’m definitely not a history buff). But we listened to the soundtrack a couple of times the day before so we were familiar with the music, and we had a great time. Here are a few pre-show pictures:

I don’t go out to the theater as often as I would like, but I always enjoy it. And I would definitely recommend seeing Hamilton if you have the chance. Thanks for stopping by!

Card ideas for patterned paper

I don't know about you, but I often have a hard time using patterned paper when I'm making cards. Even if I love the colors and the design, sometimes I just can't seem to make it "work." Or, confession time, sometimes patterned paper just seems too pretty to actually use! Well, today I'm going to share three different card layouts with patterned paper that you can use when you need a little inspiration or a little push to use up some of your paper stash.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Thick Whisper White card stock; patterned paper, purple card stock (Close to My Heart)
Ink: White gel pen
Accessories: Celebrate die (Close to My Heart), Balloon Bouquet punch, white crochet thread (DMC), glitter enamel dots, Dimensionals

This is a layout that's perfect when you want the patterned paper to stand out, and it works whether your card has a portrait or landscape orientation. Just cut the patterned paper so one piece is about twice the width of the other, and choose two complimentary patterns. Use a more subtle pattern to balance a very bold or colorful one. For instance, a multicolor flower pattern looks great with tone-on-tone stripes or small polka dots. For this card the green geometric print is actually the reverse side of the colorful "seed" print, which worked out great.

Then you just need to add your focal element(s). I used one bold color to avoid more busy-ness and added a die-cut word, two balloons and three enamel dots. Another option is to cover the "seam" between the patterned papers with a strip of ribbon or card stock and then place your focal image (such as a sentiment in a die-cut circle) on top the ribbon.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Birthday Balloons (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Thick Whisper White card stock, gold glimmer paper; patterned paper, purple card stock (Close to My Heart)
Ink: Gorgeous Grape, gold paint pen (Sharpie)
Accessories: 1-1/4" circle punch, Merry Minis punch pack, Baker's Twine Trio, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Dimensionals

This layout is a great way to use up scraps of paper that are too pretty to just toss in the recycle bin. The grid pattern can be made with just about any shape -- circles, squares, stars, hearts, flowers, etc. -- so you can customize your card for the recipient or for a specific occasion. And you can have an order to the shapes (my colors/patterns go in diagonal lines) or leave it random.

I wanted to add a sentiment to the front of my card, so I swapped out one of the green patterned circles for a white one stamped with a small greeting. To help it stand out more I added gold dots around the edge of the circle. A bit of gold twine and three gold stars finish it off.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Varied Vases
Paper: Berry Burst, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Whisper White card stock; patterned paper (Close to My Heart)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Pansy punch, Itty Bitty Accents punch pack, rhinestones, White Perfect Accents, Sweet Sadie washi tape, Dimensionals

This is a Crazy Z Fold-style card, and I simply used the patterned paper for the background on each panel of the card base. For the focal image I used a couple of different flower punches and bright card stock colors that coordinate with the patterned paper. (Here's a tip: The leaves and the yellow flowers are made with the same punch. I just punched a green flower and then snipped the petals apart to create leaves.) The different fold and extra layer of this card make it feel a little more "special," which I think makes it easier to use up some of those extra-special papers.

I hope you found a layout, tip or idea to inspire you when using patterned papers on your cards. Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday leaves

We've definitely settled into autumn in this neck of the woods -- we had our first frost warning last night, and we've even turned on the heat. It's been a perfect day to stay inside and binge watch a TV series (we started Midnight, Texas) while making cards.

I had to take a little break from stamping, though, to share the fall-themed birthday card I mentioned in my last post.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Thankful Leaves Turnabout (Concord & 9th), Versatile Verses
Paper: Thick Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Old Olive, Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede
Accessories: Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies (Lawn Fawn), Birthday dies and Thankful Leaves dies (Concord & 9th), copper sequins (Craft Medley), linen thread, Quilt Top embossing folder, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

I didn't actually use the turnabout portion of the Thankful Leaves Turnabout set for this card. Instead, I used three of the other stamps from the set -- two leaves and a splatter image -- to create a collage-type background on a Very Vanilla card base. Some of the images I stamped twice without reapplying ink in order to get multiple shades of color.

I chose my color palette from the large die-cut leaves, which were left over from an old Paper Pumpkin kit. I embossed one of the leaves to add texture and then adhered both of them near the middle of the card front.

For the focal image, I die cut a small stitched rectangle from Very Vanilla card stock. Then I die cut the "happy birthday" sentiment out of Soft Suede and Old Olive card stock. I cut the full phrase out of each color and then made two cards with the same layout; this card has a Soft Suede "happy" and Old Olive "birthday," and the second card is the opposite.

I glued the die-cut words onto the stitched rectangle and added a small stamped, die-cut leaf in the corner. I used Dimensionals to adhere the panel over the top of the large leaves and added a linen thread bow. Three copper sequins add just a touch of shine to finish the card.

Inside the card I stamped a birthday sentiment using Soft Suede ink. This stamp set, Versatile Verses, is an old classic and was probably one of my first sets. But it has great sentiments, and I've always especially liked this one. To match the front of the card, I stamped a few clusters of leaves around the sentiment and in the bottom right corner.

I really love how this card turned out. It's relatively clean and simple (my favorite!) but definitely not boring. The most time-consuming part was probably making the focal layer. When I first cut out the words, I didn't stop to think that the "birthday" part was actually separate letters. So getting those all glued on was a bit more than I planned for. But I'm glad I stuck with it and didn't change my plan.

As always, thanks for stopping by today!

Happy fall!

Fall arrived for us this weekend, and I'm so excited for the cooler temps, changing leaves and just general coziness. Here's a fun card to celebrate the season:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Thankful Leaves Turnabout (Concord & 9th), Lighthearted Leaves
Paper: Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Cajun Craze, Soft Suede, Old Olive, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits dies, Quilt Top embossing folder, gold sequins (Craft Medley), clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen, Metallic Foil Doilies, die-cut leaves (Paper Pumpkin kit leftovers), linen thread, Dimensionals

Concord & 9th has a line of stamps called Turnabouts. Basically, you use a stamp positioning tool to stamp the image up to four times, changing the ink color and rotating your paper with each impression. When you're done you have a piece of card stock filled with an elaborate pattern of images. I've been really intrigued by these stamps -- and since I finally bought a stamp-positioning tool -- I knew I had to get this fall-themed set when it was released..

I used the Thankful Leaves Turnabout stamp to make the background panel on the front of thiis card. (Actually, I stamped a larger piece of card stock and cut it in half to make two cards.) I used a couple of coordinating stamps from the turnabout set to stamp "happy fall" on a die-cut circle, and I accented it with part of a gold doily and two die-cut leaves tied with linen thread. The leaves were leftover from a Paper Pumpkin kit, and I embossed one of them with the Quilt Top embossing folder to add a bit of texture. For the finishing touch I added three gold sequins.

Inside the card I stamped a sentiment on Very Vanilla card stock. This sentiment is from  the Lighthearted Leaves set from Stampin' Up! (which retired a few years ago), and it's perfect for this card. I also used a few more of the coordinating stamps from the turnabout set to add a couple of leaves and splatters.




I also used the Thankful Leaves Turnabout set to make a fall-themed birthday card, which I'll share in my next post. Thanks for stopping by!

September's Christmas card

I've only purchased one stamp set (so far) from the 2018 Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog, Feather & Frost. I knew as soon as I saw it that I needed that set. It arrived last week, and I used it over the weekend to make my September Christmas cards.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Feather & Frost, Tree Rings
Paper: Crumb Cake card stock, white 80 lb card stock (Cougar)
Ink: Crumb Cake; colored pencils: 50% French Gray, Olive Green, Crimson Lake, blender pencil (PrismaColor)
Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits dies, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, paper piercer, Baker's Twine Trio Pack, Foil Snowflakes, red pearls (Paper Pumpkin leftovers), Dimensionals, micro adhesive dots (Glue Dots)

I love the way this design turned out. I didn't originally intend to stamp all the images in Crumb Cake ink. I had grabbed that ink pad and some scratch card stock to play around with the layout. I decided on this arrangement and started stamping the images in black, but it looked much too harsh. So I scrapped that, went back to Crumb Cake, and I think it's perfect.

I lightly colored the birds and branches with colored pencils and blended them with a blender pencil. I wanted to die cut the images with a stitched-style die, but I looked through all my dies and couldn't find one that was the right size and shape. So I used this oldie but goodie from the Apothecary Accents Framelits set. I was really excited when I remembered that I have a paper-piercing guide for this die shape, so I ended up with a stitched look after all, although it was a bit more work.

I cut a gold foil snowflake in half and adhered the two pieces to a Crumb Cake card base stamped with the Tree Rings background. I used Dimensionals to attach the die cut over the snowflakes and then added two small red pearls for the berries and a small twine bow below the sentiment.

The sentiment inside the card is the main reason I wanted this stamp set. I always seem to be stressed or worried about something, so this stamp really caught my attention. And it's such a wonderful sentiment for holiday cards. Imagine how different the world would be if more people had hearts filled with peace rather than hate, jealousy, and fear.

But back to the card at hand. I stamped the sentiment in Crumb Cake and added a branch on either side as an accent. The touch of red and green is the perfect pop of color inside the card.

I started making a Christmas card list this week, and I think with all the cards I've made so far this year I should be almost done. I do still need to make some small cards to include in the little gifts I give to the delivery people from USPS, UPS, etc. I think that will be my focus for October cards.

Thanks for stopping by -- and peace to your heart!