Year: 2018

Sure Do Love You

Hello!  Just a quick post today.  I finished auditions for the High School spring play I’m directing and am in the middle of casting the show.  How about a quick Valentine project today?  I made a quick little treat box with the Lots of Love Box Framelits Dies.  I just love the possibilities with this box die, beyond Valentine projects.

Sure Do Love You box- Center Stage Stamping

 

Love you box Center Stage Stamping

 

 

The box is cut out from the Painted With Love Specialty Designer Series Paper. Love the gold foil on this paper.  I heat embossed the heart vine and the banner in gold and splattered Calypso Coral and Melon Mambo ink.  Next I stamped a Calypso Coral heart as well as the little Melon Mambo Heart and die cut them.  I also cut one of the little hearts out of Melon Mambo card stock for layering.  A few rhinestones finish off a fun little treat for your Valentine.

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

Hello Baby Bear

I did it!  I survived another Middle School musical production and now I get to enjoy a week free from rehearsals.  My husband, Brett is gone this week.  Stamp-N-Storage is on the road, heading to pop up sales in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.  Let me know if you happen to get to one of these.  Hopefully, in the future I will be able to travel along to some of these.  For now, I’m spending some quality time in my studio.

I realize I have been really focused on products from the Occasions and Sale-A-Bration catalogs.  They are new and I am having a lot of fun.  I still have a lot to share with you.  But let’s not forget about all of the awesome stuff in the Annual Catalog.  Today’s card shines a spotlight on one of my favorite sets – Pieces and Patterns.  I LOVE the little dinosaur and bear in this set.  I thought the little bear would be great on a baby card, but not your typical baby card.  I decided to go with a non-traditional baby color scheme and used colors from the Coffee Break designer series paper.

Hello baby bear - Center Stage Stamping

I started with an Early Espresso card base and added a panel of Early Espresso that I ran through the Pinewood Planks 3D Textured Embossing Folder. here is a better shot of the texture folder.

Hello baby bear - Center Stage Stamping

Next I punched a 2 1/4″ circle out of thick Whisper White card stock and one out of Coffee Break designer series paper.  Isn’t that chevron pattern so cute! I cut the patterned circle in half and glued it to the bottom of the white circle and added a thin strip of Soft Sky across the circle.  I colored the little bear with the Crumb Cake Stampin’ Blends.  I love the shading detail you can achieve with these markers.  It is SO easy.  Finished off with the sentiment, a Linen Thread bow and a tiny Pearl that I colored with the Lighter Pool Party Stampin’ Blend, since there isn’t a Soft Sky Blend at this time. (Fingers crossed for next year’s catalog!  What a sweet greeting for a new little someone.

Thanks for stopping by – Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

You Are Simply Amazing

Curtain’s up!  It is opening night for Mulan Jr. at Hutchinson Middle School.  It is always exciting to get to this point. To be honest, after three long months, I am also ready for it to wrap up.  Of course, I go right into rehearsals for the High School spring show. So the whole cycle begins again.  I hope to get some more time in the studio soon.  For now, here is a scrapbook page I made of my amazing middle child, Rachel.  I used one of my favorite shots from her Senior pictures (she graduated in 2016).  This picture just blows me away.  It was a lot of fun designing this page.

Amazing you sb page - Center Stage Stamping

I started with an 8″x8″ piece of Crumb Cake card stock.  I stamped the flowers from the Amazing You Sale-A-Bration stamp set in Soft Suede.  Next, I added the brick background with the decorative mask and embossing past.  I stamped the words “You are Simply” in Berry Burst, Peak a Boo Peach and Dapper Denim and cut them out.  I used the Celebrate You Thinlits to die cut the word “amazing” from those same three colors.  The last detail is the ribbon element at the top.

I really do think she is simply amazing!

Thanks for stopping by – Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

Copper Celebrate

Well, tonight is the final dress rehearsal for our Middle School production of Mulan Jr.  Followed by a performance for 5th and 6th grades Thursday morning and three public shows Friday through Sunday and it’s a wrap.  Then I move right into auditions for our High School spring play.  Whew.  Thankfully I have some projects finished ahead of time that I can share with you.  Like this one.

 

Amazing You Stampin' Up! - Center Stage Stamping

Today’s card features some fun products.  The Amazing You stamp set and coordinating Celebrate You Thinlit dies available in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure; Shimmery White Embossing Paste in the Occasions catalog; Copper Metallic Thread, Copper Foil Sheets, Wood Textures and Fresh Florals designer series papers, and the Pattern Party Decorative Mask in the Annual Catalog.  The Embossing Paste adds some great texture to the card. It is very glittery, the photo doesn’t do it justice.  The flower image is stamped in Early Espresso Ink on the Wood Texture dsp.  The hint of Powder Pink dsp is a supports the copper sentiment nicely.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

Have a Birthday Brew

I had some fun playing along with another challenge at Fab Friday.  This time it is a sketch challenge.  Go check it out and play along!

I was inspired to use the Bubble Over set.  I have been having a lot of fun with this one lately.  I stayed pretty true to the sketch with my card, but decided to expand the focal shape.

Stampin' Up! Bubble Over - Center Stage Stamping

 

I am in love with the Bubbles and Fizz dsp in the Sale-A-Bration brochure.  These colors are so bright and fun. Started with one of the Tutti-frutti cards also from the Sale-A-Bration brochure. Layered the bottle print strip and the this strips (the thin coral strip is from one of the Tutti-frutti cards, too).  I die cut the bottle out from one of the sheets of dsp and layered it on a Starburst punched from another pattern in the pack.  Added the banner with the sentiment and finished off with some of the enamel dots.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

 

Share with your friends:

My Inky Friends Design Challenge 2

My Inky Friends are back with another design challenge.  This time it is a color challenge based on page 36 in the Annual Catalog.

Lemon Lime Twist is one of my favorite colors, so I love this challenge.  I thought it was great for a birthday greeting.  Here is my card:

SU Birthday Wishes for You - Center Stage Stamping

I used two sets from the new Occasions Catalog.  Birthday Wishes for You and Picture Perfect Birthday.  I lined up the three card stock strips, Then stamped the Happy Birthday in Basic Black.  I used the Lemon Lime Twist, Berry Burst and Soft Sky markers to color in the word Birthday to darken the color so it would stand out more.  Added confetti in the challenge colors at the bottom of the card and the 3 balloons to finish it off. The white card base really lets this color palette take Center Stage on this card.   Come on over to My Inky Friends and play along!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

Pineapple Treat Box

Monday we had an early school dismissal due to bad weather.  This meant our rehearsal for the Middle School musical was cancelled.  (Sigh) We really can’t afford to lose a rehearsal at this point, so we will make it up on Friday evening.  Yuck.  I really don’t like Friday rehearsals.  But, it is what it is.  The show must go on.

So, how about a hint of summertime for today’s project? – A fun little Pineapple treat box.

Stamping up! Fruit basket - Center Stage Stamping

I used the Sale-A-Bration Tutti-Frutti cards for the box.   I started with the card base.  Since it is already scored , I trimmed 1/4″ of one side. Giving me a 8 1/4″x5 1/2″ base.  Next I scored every 2″ along the 8 1/2″ side.  Turned and scored up 2″ o the 5 1/2″ side.  Next cut the bottom tabs so the box will fold together and trim off the extra 1/4″ piece on the bottom.  Hopefully the photo below helps my explanation.

Assemble the box and pinch the top together.  I cut the green top by hand and glued it inside the top before closing it up.  I punched out notches on each side with a 1/4″ hand held punch and wrapped Linen Thread around to hold the box shut.  The little tag features the Tutti-frutti designer series paper and the Fruit Basket set and matching punches.

SU fruit basket tag - Center Stage Stamping

I just love that tiny little pineapple!  A fun summertime treat in the midst of winter.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

Birthday Panda

A little Theatre update: This week is the last week of rehearsals for the Middle School musical – Disney’s Mulan Jr. – that I am co-directing.  The following week is show time.  That means the next 2 weeks are going to be CRAZY!  Making sure every last details comes together.  This show will end on Feb. 4 and on Feb. 5 I have auditions for the High School spring play that I direct. Plus, I am getting things ready for the summer children’s theatre workshop that I run.  Trying to find creative time in the studio will be a challenge this week.

I have one last (for now) Party Panda project to share with you.  This set has been SO much fun to work with.  (I have been creating some fun stuff with other sets as well, I promise.)

Birthday Panda - Center Stage Stamping

The card base is the Sale-A-Bration Tutti-Frutti cards and envelopes.  Our little panda friend stands out against the text background.  His hat was colored with Stampin’ Markers and the tiny little bow is Pool Party bakers twine. His balloon was colored with the new Blends markers.  Made it a breeze to do the shading.  A fun birthday greeting for friends of any age.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

Panda on Ice

WooHoo!  It’s actually above freezing!  What a joy to go out and the air doesn’t hurt my face.  I know it won’t last.  We still have at least 2 months of winter ahead.  You would think I would be used to it, having lived in MN my entire life (except for a brief stint in ND, but we don’t talk about that).  Growing up in Northern MN, naturally Hockey was a big part of winter.  (Although, I personally come from a Basketball family.)  When I saw this card that Diana Gibbs made, I knew I had to make one of my own.

Panda Hockey - Center Stage Stamping

Yes, I used Party Pandas again.  I just can’t seem to stop.  The greeting is from Perennial Birthday and Labeler Alphabet. Can you guess where the hockey stick, puck and helmet came from?  They are in the Bottles and Bubbles Framelits – the straw, bottle cap and one of the labels!

Sorry, I forgot to get the bottle cap in the pic.   The hockey stick is cut from the Wood Textures dsp, and a thin strip of black washi tape wrapped around the stick helps the look. I cut off the top of the label to make the helmet.  The green helmet is a nod to my high school team – the Roseau Rams.  What a fun birthday greeting for a hockey fan.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

Bubble Over with Happiness

I’m back with another Bubble Over card.  This set and paper are just so much fun to create with!  The paper has so many fun patterns in it.

I really like how the Basic Gray card base lets the colors pop.  I die cut the bottles from one of the sheets of Designer Series Paper, easy peasy.  I altered the label on the light green bottle by punching out circles form other bottles on the sheet to create the label I wanted.  The sentiment is actually in 2 long lines, so I did a bit of masking to make it fit the space.  It is embossed in white to help it stand out.  A die cut bottle cap and some Clear Epoxy drops add the finishing details.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends: