stamp review crew: first frost

November 18, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Welcome to another Stamp Review Crew blog hop! *The Stamp Review Crew is a group of International Stampin’ Up! demonstrators who want to show you how much you can do with ONE stamp set. Each edition the SR Crew will showcase a new featured stamp set. Each stop along the hop will show you a different idea, or ideas using that set!* Today we are hopping to bring you some inspiration for the beautiful First Frost stamp set. This set is part of the gorgeous Frosted Floral Suite in the 2018 Holiday Catalog. It is perfect for occasions year round. If you have already started the hop, you have come here from Nikki and her beautiful creation.

My first card pairs this set with the stunning Frosted Floral specialty dsp/ . This paper has a beautiful pearlized frosted look. Trust me. The picture doesn’t capture its true beauty.

I cut a slightly smaller square of vellum to soften the dsp and layered a small Crumb Cake square that I ran through the Corrugated Textured Embossing Folder.I stamped the flowers and stems on Shimmer White card stock to carry over the shimmer. The dark stem is actually cut from Copper foil and there is a bit of Copper Thread peeking behind the large flower. The sentiment is stamped on vellum which is only adhered behind the flower. The edges of the card base were stamped with an image from the Timeless Textures set to give it a distressed look.

For my second card I had to pair this with what else but the Wood Textures dsp. I seriously don’t know what I am going to do when this stuff retires. I better start hoarding it soon! (Who am I kidding, I have already been hoarding it!)

I stamped the flower in Flirty Flamingo and the leaves in Lemon Lime twist and Tranquil Tide and cut them out with the coordinating Frosted Bouquet Framelits. I added some Champagne Shimmer Paint on the berries of the vellum sprig. The sentiment label is wrapped with Linen Thread and layered on a Pool Party panel.

Thanks for stopping by! I am sending you over to Holly for some more gorgeous inspiration! Enjoy the hop and join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

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lift your spirits

November 12, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Wow! On stage was AH-MAZING! I love getting to spend time with my SU! Demo friends and see so many creative ideas. Not to mention getting the NEW Occasion Catalog and Sale-a-Bration brochure! So. Much. FUN!! I can’t wait to share all the new goodies with you! Today, I wanted to share one more of the cards I made to swap at On Stage.

I used Lift Me up stamp set and chose my colors from the Garden Impressions DSP. I love Soft Sea Foam. It is such a gentle color. So much fun to swap with demos from around the world! Love it. Live it. Share it.

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inky friends: thankful for… blog hop

November 9, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Today, I am joining My Inky Friends Thankful For… blog hop. You are in for a great variety of inspiration on today’s hop. We are each featuring a Stampin’ Up! stamp set or product that we are thankful for. If you are following in order, you have arrived here from Holly and her wonderful projects. Weren’t they great. If you are starting here make sure you check out all the stops and see what everyone is thankful for!

I am thankful for… Stampin’ Blends! These markers are so amazing and really easy to use. They make me feel like a real artist! There is so much you can do with them!

First off, how about no-line coloring. I’ve seen it done with watercolors and thought why not try it with my Stampin’ Blends! I love the outcome!

I stamped the milk can and flowers in Sahara Sand that was stamped off to make it lighter. Then I colored it in. I used the stamps as a guide if I could no longer see the inked outline. I really like how the milk can turned out! It’s even better in person.

Next up, I went with basic coloring. Postcard Palls is a great set for this. Isn’t that little otter just adorable! The Stampin’ Blends make it possible to get so much depth with the shading.

Finally, I made my own designer paper – the flowers and background are colored with Stampin’ Blends. The possibilities are endless!

If you haven’t tried Stampin’ Blends yet, you need to. They make coloring so much fun! I now send you over to Cindy and her fantastic creations!

Thanks for stopping by! Join me again to put a spotlight on creativity!

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watercolor sunset

November 7, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Hey crafty friends! I am basking in the sun in Orlando! Today is check in day for Stampin’ Up! On Stage!!! I am so excited to celebrate Stampin’ Up!’s 30th anniversary with many of my demonstrator friends from around the world! Lots of fun, laughter, swapping, and possibly some shenanigans ahead. Plus, we get to see the NEW Occasions catalog and Sale-a-Bration offerings!!! Squeee! I’m so excited! I thought I would share one of the cards I made to swap with fellow demonstrators this week.

I blended Pineapple Punch, Mango Melody and Grapefruit Grove for a fun sunset look. The perfect backdrop for a sweet daisy flower. Stay tuned for an On Stage recap next week after I get home! I’m off to swap (and maybe a visit to Disney this evening!)

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stamp review crew: farm house Christmas

November 4, 2018 By Mary Haugen

The Stamp Review Crew is starting off November with a fun holiday set: Farmhouse Christmas! This set is loaded with possibilities! Make sure you go through all of the stops on the blog hop. You don’t want to miss any of the amazing creations we have in store for you! As always, you can find the full blog hop list on the Stamp Review Crew page.

Growing up in northern Minnesota, this set brings back a lot of great holiday memories. My three cards today draw from those memories. For my first card, I wanted to feature the coordinating Festive Farmhouse DSP.

Of course, this set and DSP pairs wonderfully with the Wood Textures DSP. (Then again, what doesn’t!?) The card base and stitched circle are Pear Pizazz. I took a couple of leaves off of one of the Boxwood Wreath embellishments and three of the red rhinestones to create the holly. I think it is the perfect little embellishment.

For this next card, I wanted to feature the fantastic little truck. And again I went with the Festive Farmhouse and Wood Textures DSP’s. What can I say. When it works, it works! I colored the truck with Mint Macron and the tree with Shaded Spruce Stampin’ Blends.

This last card is all about texture with embossing folders and framelits. The Crumb Cake card base is embossed with the Pinewood Planks and the Pool Party panel is embossed with the Subtle embossing folder. I cut a piece of Sparkle Glimmer Paper with the snow mound die in the coordinating Farmhouse Framelits and layered it behind the fence cut from Wood Textures DSP. The tree is cut out and colored with Stampin’ Blends. Don’t you just love those tiny little red bows? There is a die in the Farmhouse Framelits that cuts out six off them at once! So much fun!

Did these projects stir up any nostalgic holiday memories for you? Leave me a comment, I’d love to know! Now for some more creative inspiration, I am sending you over to Holly and her fantastic creations! or you can always go back to Stesha and her amazing creativity.

Thanks for stopping by. Join me again to put a spotlight on creativity!

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snow is glistening

November 2, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Stampin’ Up! has a fantastic new Suite of products: Snowflake Showcase – that is available for a LIMITED TIME. You only have until the end of November to snatch this awesome group of products. You won’t want to miss out! There are two stamp sets. One is perfect for Christmas and one is for year round fun. Plus some awesome coordinating dies and fabulous embellishments: white flocked paper and snowflake trinkets! I LOVE IT ALL!!

I love the snowflakes in the Snow is Glistening set. I decided to recreate a card I previously made with this new set.

I started with a Pool Party card base that I embossed with the Pinewood Planks 3D Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. I stamped the snowflakes in Pool Party, Tranquil Tide and Crumb Cake on a pice the Wood Textures DSP which is layered on a Tranquil Tide panel. The Joy sentiment is stamped in Whisper White on Tranquil Tide and wrapped with Linen Thread. It is a quick and easy card with a wow look.

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happy 21

October 31, 2018 By Mary Haugen

This past weekend was my daughter Rachel’s 21st birthday. When did that happen? 21!? Life continues forward far to quickly. I love you to the moon and back, Rachel! I wanted to share the “card” I made for her. She really likes pineapples, so I used that as my starting point. I decided to make an explosion box and somehow incorporate 21 pineapples.

I used Concord and 9th’s Pop Art Pineapple for the 12 pineapples around the exterior of the box. They are stamped in Stampin’ Up! Pumpkin Pie ink on Pumpkin Pie card stock. Four pineapples are stamped in Pineapple Punch and Granny Apple Green and cut out with the coordinating dies. I added the Happy Birthday Thinlit and some Braided Linen Trim to the Granny Apple Green box top. But what about the inside? When I saw this folded pineapple by Martha Inchley on Pinterest, I knew I had the perfect center for the explosion box. Thank you, Martha for sharing your pattern!!

I added eight tiny pineapples in Pineapple Punch and Granny apple Green and punched out with the retired tiny pineapple punch. I am so happy with how it turned out. What’s more, Rachel loved it! Thanks for stopping by! Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

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stamp review crew: little twinkle

October 28, 2018 By Mary Haugen

It’s time for a bonus round with the Stamp Review Crew! Join us for an inspirational blog hop shining the spotlight on Little Twinkle! This is a very fun set and is part of the sweet Twinkle Twinkle product suite. (See what I did there?) I have previously shared a couple of cards I made with this suite. You can see them HERE and HERE. This time around I wanted to try something different. I decided I wasn’t going to use the coordinating Tinkle Twinkle Designer Series Paper or similar colors – with the exception of Night of Navy. I also wanted to see if I could come up with something other than a baby card.

This card started with a White card base embossed with the Oh My Stars embossing folder. I stamped the sentiment and stars in Night of Navy on a smaller white panel. I used stars and dots punched from the Twinkle Builder punch in Lemon Lime Twist, Gorgeous Grape (for some reason, the Gorgeous Grape stars look Navy in the photo) and Coastal Cabana and glued them on randomly. The Take Your Pick Tool came in handy for this task! I added a strip of Night of Navy striped pattern from the Neutrals DSP stack and tied some Night of Navy Medium Bakers Twine. I love the bright color pops on this card.

For this next card, I decided to have a go with my Brushos. Would you believe I have had them since April and this is the first time I have used them! Crazy, huh? I started with a pice of watercolor paper. I wet it down and sprinkled some Prussian Blue brusho on. I moved it around with my aqua painter and added more Brusho until I got the depth of color I wanted. Once this panel was completely dry, I stamped the small stars and embossed them in gold. I stamped the star in Night of Navy and cut it out. I added some Gold Foil, Gold Glimmer Paper and Gold sequin trim behind the star for extra texture contrast. The watercolor paper panel is layered on Gold Glimmer paper and a Nigh of Navy card base. This would be a great card for many different occasions!

I hope now you look beyond just baby cards for this fun set. Make sure you travel through the entire blog hop for more amazing Little Twinkle inspiration! You can head on over to Tanya or go back to Stesha and remember you can always find the full blog hop list on the Stamp Review Crew page.

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inky friends: dc 11

October 26, 2018 By Mary Haugen

It is time for another design challenge with My Inky Friends! This one is based on a card layout on page 122 of the 2018-19 Stampin’ Up! catalog. Here is my creation.

I used Dashing Deer and Detailed Deer Thinlits. I think this is my favorite Christmas bundle in the Holiday Catalog. The Crumb Cake card base has a Crumb Cake layer that I ran through the Corrugated Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. The sentiment is from Merry Christmas to All. I colored it and the swag with Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow and Crumb Cake markers to get the multi color images. It is hard to see in the photo, but the Cherry Cobbler circle was stamped with the Burlap background stamp before I cut it out with the Stitched Shapes circle. I finished off with a few strips of Festive Farmhouse designer series paper and some Linen Thread.

Make sure to check out what the rest of the design team has created for this challenge and then play along! Make your own creation based on the sketch and share it by linking it to the My Inky Friends page.

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bubble wrap background

October 24, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Hello! I’m back with a quick tutorial for that fantastic watercolor background featured on this card yesterday:

Would you believe it is done with bubble wrap?! Seriously… it is! It is really easy, you just have to resist the urge to pop all of the bubbles! You will need watercolor paper, markers (I used Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie and Rich Razzleberry) a spritzer filled with water and of course bubble wrap.

Use your markers to color directly on the bubble wrap, starting with the lightest color. Make sure you color on the bumpy side, not the smooth or you won’t get the dot effect.

Next spritz the water color paper with water. Make sure to get it good and saturated. less water means a more dotted, less blended outcome.

Next press the bubble wrap colored side down onto the wet watercolor paper. You can lift and set back down to fill in light areas or to blend colors more.

Let the paper dry fully before assembling the card.

Every time you do this it will turn out a little different. Use less water if you want more of the dots to show, More water if you want it more blended. Color options are endless. Let me know if you give it a try! I’m off to finally pop that bubble wrap…then go get some more!

That’s a wrap for today. Join me again to put a spotlight on creativity!

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Year: 2018