mediterranean adventures

June 8, 2018 By Mary Haugen

From Amsterdam, we flew to Rome for a couple of days before leaving on a week long Mediterranean Cruise with stops in Pisa and Florence, Italy, Cannes, France, Mallorca and Barcelona, Spain and Naples, Italy (with an excursion to Pompeii). What struck me most on this trip is the history we saw. In America, we really don’t have a grasp on this kind of timeline. Things here are really ‘new’ in comparison. To see things that have been standing since sometime B.C. WOW! We also had some great food. One of my favorites was gelato, eaten by the Trevi Fountain! Here are just a few highlights:

This truly was a trip of a lifetime. So thankful we were able to have these amazing experiences. But, it is good to be back home. I have a bunch of new goodies from the new Stampin’ Up! catalog waiting for me to start creating. I’ll have some new projects to share soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Mary

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remember

June 6, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Next on our trip was a brief stop in Amsterdam for Brett and I to each cross something off our bucket lists. For Brett it was to rent a car and drive on the autobahn. For me, it was to visit the Anne Frank House. Two years ago I was in a production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” in the role of Anne’s mother. It was one of the most powerful stage experiences I have ever had. It was amazing to actually stand in the place where it all took place.

I do not have the words to truly express how much this meant to me. Simply put – we must NEVER FORGET.

-Mary

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trip of a lifetime

June 4, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Brett and I are back from an absolutely amazing trip – we spent two weeks in Europe to celebrate our 25th Anniversary! We started off with three days in London: Westminster Abbey, Tea at Fortnum and Mason, The Play That Goes Wrong, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap, Sherlock Holmes Museum, The British Museum and a Dinner Cruise on the Thames.

I love London! I visited London with my oldest daughter last year and am really glad I got to go back again. There is still so much I want to see. Hopefully I get to go back again someday.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Mary

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it’s here!

June 1, 2018 By Mary Haugen

(Trumpet fanfare) It’s here! The new items in the 2018-19 Stampin’ Up! catalog are ready and waiting to be ordered. If you don’t currently have a demonstrator, I would love to help you shine a spotlight on your creativity. Let me know if you would like a catalog. It is bursting with great products. I can’t wait to get creating and put them center stage!

Let’s kick off this new catalog year with a sweet welcome card for a new little baby. Introducing the NEW Animal Outing stamp set!

I am smitten with that little rhino. He is so cute! I colored him in with an aqua painter and some NEW Gray Granite ink. What a great new color! The leaves are from the Petals & More Thinlits. I used a few strips of Wood Textures designer series paper. The ‘welcome’ is stamped in Balmy Blue, another NEW color. Coordinating Balmy Blue card stock was used for the Little One tag. It was punched out using the Classic Label punch. But wait, that punch is 2 1/4″ long. To get it smaller, you simply put line up one end back into the punch and punch again. Ta da – Smaller label!

The Animal Friends Thinlits coordinate with the Animal Outing set to give you even more creative options. Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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curtain call

May 30, 2018 By Mary Haugen

As curtain is about to go down on the 2017-18 Stampin’ Up! catalog and 2018 Occasions catalog, how about one final bow for all of the great Stampin’ Up! sets and colors whose run has come to an end.

Bravi, Bravi, Bravissimi. (Sorry, I couldn’t help throwing in a little Phantom of the Opera quote there.) June 1 is curtains up on the NEW 2018-19 Stampin’ Up! catalog! I’m looking forward to it’s time on stage and sharing many more great creations with you. Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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you’ve got this birthday

May 28, 2018 By Mary Haugen

I have loved working with the You’ve Got This stamp set. I love the flower and background stamp. Here is a fun birthday card featuring that glorious flower.

I love the clean look of this card. I heat embossed the flower with white embossing powder on Crumb Cake card stock. Next I watercolored the flower with Bermuda Bay and Always artichoke. I really like how it turned out. I popped up this panel an another layer of Crumb Cake and drew around it with a white watercolor pencil. It is on a Whisper White card base and the sentiment is embossed in white on a thin Bermuda Bay strip.

I love detailed cards, but sometimes it is fun to keep it simple and let the art work of a stamped image really take center stage. Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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inky friends – dc 6

May 25, 2018 By Mary Haugen

It’s time for another Inky Friends design challenge. We picked a color combo from page 63 of the 2017-18 Stampin’ Up! annual catalog. This is a great color scheme, perfect to get in the mood for summer. The colors are very bold, so I chose to use them in moderation to let them shine.

I used the NEW Varied Vases set (designed by Stampin’ Up! Million Sales Achiever, Mary Fish). I LOVE this set. It even has a coordinating punch! For this challenge, I decided to go a bit minimalist. I masked the center vase so it would look like it is in front. The fun scallop line makes a great shelf for the vases. A few enamel dots compliment the trio of vases. I stamped the Hardwood background stamp in Bermuda Bay. I stamped it off first to mute the color just a bit. The front panel is raised with Stampin’ Dimensionals for more depth.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will drop by the Inky Friends blog and play along with our color challenge. It’s more fun when others play along. Create a project using this color scheme and upload a link to it on the Inky Friends page. Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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blooms for you

May 23, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Today I have a fun technique to share as we say good bye to the Blooms and Wishes set. This is a fun way to make colors really stand out on Crumb Cake or kraft card stock.

First, I stamped the various images with Whisper White ink on the Crumb Cake panel and let it dry. Next, I stamped the same images, but in color. I din’t worry about lining up the images perfectly. It gives some great shading if it is slightly off. I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. The final touch was to take a white colored pencil and draw the border lines to tie things together. I adhered this panel to the card base with dimensionals. How much fun is that! I really love this effect.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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shelter from the storm

May 21, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Life is lumpy. Sometimes we all could use a little note of encouragement – like today’s card.

This card was made with the retiring Weather Together stamp set and coordinating framelits. I masked off the area under the umbrella, then sponged in around and stamped the raindrops to get my stormy background. The bright Peek-a-boo Peach umbrella is a fun pop of color. It is popped up with a dimensional for some depth.

Do you know of someone who could use some encouragement? Why not create a card and send it out today? It is amazing what a little happy mail can do. Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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Sweet Treat

May 18, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Today’s card puts me in the mood for hot summer days. Cool Treats is a really fun set. I’m sad to see it retire, but I’m sure Stampin’ up! will come up with something just as great!

I like the word stamped repeatedly on the right side. I stamped the popsicle twice. I cut out one of them with the coordinating framelit. and layered it over the other image for some dimension. I added fun little details like the linen thread tied on the ends of the sentiment strip and the little rhinestone on the treat. A fun treat to wish someone Happy Birthday!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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Year: 2018