stamp review crew: rooted in nature

August 5, 2018 By Mary Haugen

I’m super excited to be joining the Stamp Review Crew this month! What’s that? What is the Stamp Review Crew? We are an international group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators that gets together to do a blog hop on the first and third (and sometimes on a fifth) Monday of each month. For each hop we choose a single stamp set to put center stage, and then we work our creative magic! All of the hops are archived on the Stamp Review Crew blog. So, if you every need some extra inspiration, head on over HERE and check them out. If you are following the hop in order, you should have arrived here from Anne at The Stampin’ Schach.

For this hop, we are putting Rooted in Nature in the spotlight. What a beautiful set! I got to work with this set this spring when I made display samples for Stampin’ Up! On Stage Milwaukee. You can see some of those projects in this post.

This time I decided to go for a bolder look by stamping the leaves in Granny Apple Green and Tranquil Tide.

I was going for the feeling of falling leaves so I kept them more sparse at the top and layered them heavily at the bottom. The Wood Texture DSP made me think of a fence. I did use one retired item – the clear epoxy dots. I just loved the idea of dew drops on the cut out leaves.

I’m also sharing my absolute favorite project I have made with this set. This scrapbook page features one of my favorite pictures of my two daughters from my oldest’s wedding last summer. I am so proud to be Momma Bear to these two beauties.

Well, if you started at the beginning, I am the last stop on the blog hop. I hope you have enjoyed all the great projects that have shone a spotlight on Rooted in Nature! From here, you can head back to Anne’s blog or go on to Heidi’s(the start of the blog hop). If you started somewhere in the middle, make sure you check out all the other blogs. There are some fantastic projects out there!

That’s a wrap for now! Happy Stamping!

Share with your friends:

hello gorgeous (grape)

July 20, 2018 By Mary Haugen

I am loving all of the new colors Stampin’ Up! introduced this year! One that really surprised me is Gorgeous Grape. I normally don’t use a lot of purples, so Gorgeous Grape kind of snuck up on me. I tried it as just a pop of color on this card, and I love it! It is so vibrant and fun.

For this card, I trimmed a bit off the front of the card and put a full size Basic Gray panel behind. I stamped the Basic Gray panel with the Hardwood background stamp. I think it gives the feel of a floating shelf, which are very popular in home decor right now. Next, I stamped the vase outlines (and one solid vase) across the bottom, overlapping them a bit. I added the stem and leaf outline in Granny Apple Green, solid leaf in Lemon Lime Twist, solid flower in Highland Heather and the flower outline in Gorgeous Grape. I embossed the “hello” in White on a small strip of Gorgeous Grape card stock and popped it up on dimensionals. Final touch is a tiny rhinestone on the solid vase.

I love the simple pop of color on this card.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

carnival of colors blog hop

July 13, 2018 By Mary Haugen

It’s good to be back blog hopping with My Inky Friends. This time we are spotlighting some of the fabulous NEW Stampin’ Up! colors. Stampin’ Up! has done a color revamp and it is fabulous! They have introduced ten BRAND NEW colors and brought back six former In Colors to the core color families. Plus there are five BRAND NEW In Colors! So. Much. Color!!! I LOVE IT!! You may have arrived here from Yapha if you are following the hop in order. (or from Sharleen if you are being wild and crazy and doing the hop backwards).

Today, I get to put the NEW Mango Melody center stage. This is such a fantastic cheerful color. This first card let’s this color introduce itself with the help of the Delightfully Detailed Laser-cut Specialty Paper.

The sentiment is from the Stitched All Around stamp set. I cut out the label from the coordinating framelit set, Stitched Labels. between the framelits and the Laser cut paper, the work is done for you! Just throw on a few rhinestones for some added bling and voila!

For the next card, I added in a bit of Basic Gray and the Dandelion Wishes stamp set.

The patterned paper strips are from the new 6″x6″ Designer Series Paper, Brights and Neutrals.

For the last card, I cast Mango Melody with fellow NEW colors Gray Granite and Granny Apple Green. They take the stage with the Healing Hugs stamp set.

The card base is embossed with the Basket Weave 3D Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. This cheerful color combo should brighten anyones day!

Now, head on over to Sharleen. She has some great projects featuring the new In Color, Pineapple Punch. Be sure to follow the full blog hop circle for great color inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

never too old to make a wish

July 11, 2018 By Mary Haugen

When I first saw the Broadway Bound suite of products in the new Stampin’ Up! catalog I knew I had to have it. I know, shocking, right? They had me at broadway. The entire suite is amazing. I think used most of the products in it on today’s card.

I started with a strip of the Broadway Bound Specialty Designer Series Paper. One side of each sheet has wonderful gold foil accents on it! Next I stamped ‘WISH” in Lemon Lime Twist. Above that I stamped the remainder of the sentiment that I colored with Stampin’ Write Markers so I could get more than one color. I then stamped the little diamond shapes, added the fun little gold candle embellishment and wrapped a little Lovely Lipstick ribbon around. Who wouldn’t love bright, fun birthday reminder like this?

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

bloom with happiness

July 2, 2018 By Mary Haugen

July is off to a fantastic start! Stampin’ Up! has announced some great deals this month. I have shared more details about those on my Center Stage Stamping Facebook page. But I have to tell you about the starter kit special. Sign up to be a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator in July and you not only get $125 worth of product for $99, you also get a color family set of 10 ink pads- FREE! With all the fantastic NEW colors available, this is a great way to get your hands on them and join the Stampin’ Up! family. I would love to have you join my Center Stage Stamping cast!

I am loving the fresh new palette of colors Stampin’ Up! has. There are nine BRAND NEW colors and six previous In Colors returning to the core color line up. Not to mention the five new 2018-20 In Colors! That’s a whole rainbow of color fun waiting for you.

Speaking of new colors, I usually do not use purples much, but I have had a lot of fun with Highland Heather and Gorgeous Grape.

The Highland Heather panel is embossed with the Simple Stripes embossing folder. I used Gorgeous Grape for the little vase, Daffodil Delight for the flowers with Mango Melody for the flower outline, Lemon Lime Twist for the leaves and Granny Apple Green for the leaf outline – all punched out with the coordinating Vase Builder punch and popped up with dimensionals. Sentiment is heat embossed in white on Basic Black card stock. A great card to brighten a friend’s day.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

a star is born

June 25, 2018 By Mary Haugen

I had some fun this weekend creating with the new Little Twinkle stamp set. I paired it with the Twinkle Twinkle designer series paper and came up with this sweet card.

I started with a Gray Granite card base that I embossed with the Pinewood Planks 3D Dynamic Textured Impressions Folder. The Star is stamped in Pool Party and cut out by hand. I added the paper strips to give it a shooting star feel. For the bow, I took a piece of the Petal Pink/ Silver Bakers Twine and pulled it apart to get just the Petal Pink threads. I doubled it and tied a bow.

This would be a great card to send to any of my theatre friends with a new baby. Or, you could change the color scheme and it could celebrate someone’s performance in a show!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

thank you big time

June 22, 2018 By Mary Haugen

My studio remodel is coming along slowly. We took out the closet and removed the popcorn ceiling texture.

My wonderful husband, Brett is doing most of the work in the studio himself. I owe him a BIG thank you. Today’s card might fit the bill. The new Animal Outing stamp set is SO cute! I just love this little rhinoceros. He is so much fun to watercolor and perfect for the new color Gray Granite.

The Gray Granite layer is embossed with the new Subtle 3D Dynamic Textured Embossing Folder. I pulled in some Lemon Lime Twist, Pool Party and Grapefruit Grove for a pop of color. The leaves were cut with the Animal Friends thinlits. I surprised myself by not using any extra embellishments on this. But the die cut leaves, stitched circle and Grapefruit Grove strip cut with the Stitched Labels framelits give this card plenty of extra detail.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

granny apple mango hello

June 20, 2018 By Mary Haugen

The craft studio remodel continues slowly. That’s the problem when you do it yourself. We were gone every evening last week, therefore nothing happened in the studio. Hopefully we can find some time to make some good progress soon. Meanwhile, I am trying to create some new projects in my confined space. Here is one I made before we started remodeling. I love the fresh new colors Mango Melody and Granny Apple Green. Perfect for summertime.

I thought these two new colors were perfect for the Varied Vases set. Two of the tiny flowers stamped randomly make a fun background. I masked the mango vase when I stamped the granny apple one so it would appear to be in front. I also masked it when I stamped the flowers to shorten the stem. Stamping the flowers and sentiment in black created a nice contrast with the rest of the card. I used the Layering Squares Framelits to cut the “polaroid” frame in Mango Melody card stock and layered it over the white panel stamped with the vases. This panel is popped up with dimensionals to create some depth. A little white Baker’s Twine and a rhinestone add just the right accent.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends:

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

Share with your friends:

all you need is chocolate

May 14, 2018 By Mary Haugen

In just a few weeks, the new Stampin’ Up! catalog will be out. While I am super excited about the fantastic new stamps and accessories coming (and the color revamp- Coastal Cabana is back, baby!), there are many that are leaving us that I will miss. You can find the retiring list HERE. I thought I would take some time to look back at some of my favorite projects from the 2017-18 catalog that will be retiring.

I think this card was my absolute favorite from this last year. It spotlights the More Than Chocolate stamp set and the Wood Textures designer series paper.

I love the delicate Pool Party scalloped circle peeking out from under the candies. The Pool Party twine and little Calypso Coral heart are fun details. I love chocolate, so this set was a must have for me. I also really like the fonts used on the sentiments.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Share with your friends: