A little stampin' time...

I'd rather not need sympathy cards

but when I do, I make them with love for

the recipients.

"Thoughts and Prayers"

pg 160 in the current STAMPIN' UP! Idea Book & Catalog.

This tree is so pretty in its simplicity

& can be used for any occasion.

*  *  *

This set is one of my new favorites!

I love the flowers.

"Field Flowers" pg. 120

For both cards I used Big Shot embossing templates

& decorative paper punches.

Two Step Stamps

This is a birthday card I made for my "apple loving" friend.

I know she likes sunflowers, too, so I thought I'd do something

besides apples this year.

This stamp is from a retired set but the same technique can be used with any Two-Step Stampin' stamps.

Two-Step Stampin'

First, I stamped the big flower and stem with Versa Mark then colored with

Stampin' Pastels (chalk)

Next, I stamped the detail stamps with Versa Mark

on top of the flower and leaves

and again colored with Stampin' Pastels using accent colors.

You can get so much shading and depth to your artwork this way.

More cupcakes...

My husband needed a card for work.  (He told me at 6:30 A.M.)

He said he would go buy one if I didn't have one ready.

(Knowing how I'd feel about that but not wanting to impose...)

I said, "That's a sin!"

I already had this "pocket" section of this card started so

it didn't take much more time to finish the card for him.

The Pennant Big Shot die works perfectly for making the pocket.

(You can find this on page 208 of the new Stampin' Up! catalog.)

Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set...

Great stamps to have on hand! (pg 56)

Colored with watercolor pencils (pg 194)

The Wheels are a great way for you to decorate your envelopes.

Wheels are on page 219.

After the pieces were cut, I used the Square Lattice & Perfect Polka Dots embossing folders. (pg 214) I love adding texture to the card stock.

I stamped on the Square Lattice side before embossing although it isn't showing on the picture.  Stamp your card stock to make a background then put through the embossing folder for a great effect!

Add a little ribbon and a few beads....& there ya go!

Had to see if I could still stamp!!

I've been beading so much lately,

I had to see if I could still stamp so I made this card last night.

(My husband was even wondering if I could still stamp!)

This set is from the mini catalog but is still available to order.

VINTAGE VOGUE comes in either wood mount or clear mount.

Colors used:  the new Cherry Cobbler, Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette

 & Melon Mambo ink.

A decorator brad serves as the center of the large flower.

...without the last minute...

Saturday morning, I had 35 minutes to make a card, gather a few supplies and head across town to meet a gal and head to Red Lodge for a meeting.

Even in Laurel, it takes more than 5 minutes to get across town.

I wasn't even sure what card I wanted to make but started designing one in my head while getting dressed.

This is the result...

I used "Vintage Vogue" flowers, stamped, cut them out,

stamped "happy birthday" and punched it out...

grabbed a few brads & Stampin'Dimensionals.

Tossed everything in my bag & headed out!

The flowers and greeting were added with Stampin' Dimensionals after 

we arrived in Red Lodge.

The card was for the lady who was heading up our meeting!

If it weren't for the last minute, a lot of things would not get done!

Happy birthday...

This is the card I made for a friend celebrating her 60th!

She just called and said everyone loved her card!!

That makes me happy!

"Vintage Vogue" is the set I used for the flower.

When I first received our SU mini cataglog and saw this set,

I thought it was pretty but I had enough flower stamps.

Now, I so glad I got this set!

I also use "Well Scripted" from the mini catalog.

Word stamps can always be used!

H'Apple Birthday

This card is for my friend who loves apples.  I try to come up with a different way to use apples each birthday. 

This close up picture shows the apple is stamped with craft ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder.  The 'frosting' on the cubcakes is fine glitter. The "Happy birthday" greeting is cut out with a circle punch and layered onto a scalloped circle cut out of Close to Cocoa.

(My screen saver Scatters Joy, too!)

Hope my friend has a great birthday!!!

Quick card...

Always Artichoke and So Saffron were used for this card. I had about 20 minutes between supper and church to come up with a card for a precious man in our church. The train is stamped in the Artichoke and I sponged on more Artichoke and So Saffron. I used Stampin' Up! star and circle paper punches and applied with Stampin' Dimensionals for more dimension.

Butterfly birthday card....

This is a card I made for a dear friend who shares the same birth date as me. The colors used are Regal Rose, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink and Old Olive.
Flight of the Butterfly (pg 108 in the SU catalog) is the stamp set I used. This set is "two step" process which is very easy especially with the Stamp-a-ma-jig. (pg. 191) For the first step, I stamped the solid butterfly in So Saffron. For the second step I stamped the dotted edged butterfly in Regal Rose over the solid image using the Stamp-a-ma-jig. On another piece of card stock, I stamped a second solid butterfly, the flower butterfly over that one & cut it out, bent the wings up just a little and used a Stampin' Dimensional to apply. This was layered on Pretty in Pink card stock and mounted with Stampin' Dimensionals.

This card made me smile so I'm sure it should make my friend smile, too!