osat blog hop: fabulous florals

May 9, 2019 By Mary Haugen

It is time for another One Stamp at a Time blog hop! Today, we are spotlighting those fabulous florals. I am SO ready for them to start blooming around here. I was over winter three months ago! And yet we keep getting cold weather and snow… ah, spring time in Minnesota.

My projects feature the beautiful All That You Are stamp set and the gorgeous Floral Romance Designer Series Paper in the 2019 Occasions Catalog.

This card and sweet little gift box would be great for a bridal shower or for a good friend.

I started with a Soft Sea Foam card base and stamped the floral spray in Mossy Meadow. The floral vellum in the Floral Romance dsp is so beautiful. And the dark leaves help hide the adhesive as does the corrugated Mossy Meadow strip. The sentiment is embossed in white on Fresh Fig card stock and tied with a bit of the Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon. A few Frosted Flower embellishments with pearls in the center complete the card.

This adorable little gift box uses one of the Clear Tiny Treat boxes wrapped in the floral vellum. The top is decorated with the flowers and other dies from the Frosted Bouquet Framelits.

A little bit of Fresh Fig ribbon and some pearls are the perfect accents for the florals. The sentiment is from the Well Said stamp set also in the 2019 Occasions Catalog.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out all of the great Fabulous Floral projects the OSAT design Team has to share! Please click on the blue box below for a pop up list of the design team.

Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

stamp review crew: incredible like you

May 5, 2019 By Mary Haugen

After a too long hiatus, I am so happy to be back hopping with the Stamp Review Crew! We have a great blog hop featuring the fun stamp set Incredible Like You from the 2019 Occasions Catalog.

My first card features a fun floral wreath. Colors used are Flirty Flamingo, Poppy Parade, Lemon Lime Twist, Mango Melody, Granny Apple Green, and Coastal Cabana. A fun and bright greeting for a friend!

My second card has a much softer feel using Petal Pink and Soft Sea Foam. I stamped directly on the Wood Textures dsp. The dots and sentiment are embossed in white. I traced around the word amazing with my Petal Pink Stampin’ Write Marker to highlight it.

You can click the buttons below to go on to Charlet’s blog or back to Jay to check out more fantastic Incredible like you projects! As always, you can find the full blog hop roster on the Stamp Review Crew page. Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

on stage: theatre and stamping

May 1, 2019 By Mary Haugen

Well… the past two months flew by! I haven’t had much creative time in my studio lately. My days were filled with directing the play “Shadowlands” for our local community theatre. It was a beautiful story and I am grateful for the opportunity to bring it to life on stage.

I also had the opportunity to attend Stampin’ Up!’s local On Stage event in Minneapolis on April 13. (Yep, same day as the final performance of Shadowlands. I made it back just in time!) It was a great time to reconnect with my demonstrator friends and of course getting the NEW 2019-20 Stampin’ Up! catalog!

So many exciting and fun new stamp sets and products are coming! One of the benefits of attending On Stage is the opportunity to preview products from the new catalog. We got to use new product for our make and take projects, plus we were able to order from a selection of new items!

These were the make and take projects featuring four new product suites and a preview of the May Paper Pumpkin kit – designed with Stampin’ Up! cofounder Shelli Gardner.

Now that my calendar is a bit more open, I hope to get back to creating in my studio again. Not going to lie, kind of feel like my mojo is still hibernating from the ridiculously long winter. Time to get inky!

Thanks for staying with me! Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

inky friends: dc 15

February 22, 2019 By Mary Haugen

Digging out from one snowstorm with another right around the corner – sounds like a perfect time to hunker down in my studio. My Inky Friends ave another design challenge to help kick your crafting mojo in gear. This time it is one of my favorite color combos chosen from a sample on page 37 of the 2019 Occasions catalog. Right now those colors are making me think of spring. In the midst of all this snow, I’ll take what I can get. Here is my project with this color scheme.

I made that fantastic watercolor background with a technique I featured in this post. The flower and sentiment are from the All That You Are stamp set in the Occasions catalog.

Check out what the rest of the Inky Friends design team has created, then create your own project putting the color combo center stage. Be sure to share your creation by linking to the My Inky Friends design challenge 15 page.

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

osat blog hop: #simplestamping

February 14, 2019 By Mary Haugen

It is the second Thursday of the month. That means it is time for another One Stamp at a Time blog hop! The theme for this month is #simplestamping. Stampin’ Up! challenged us this year to get back to basics: stamps, ink and paper. As fun as it can be to go crazy with layers, embellishments and details, clean and simple can be just as effective.

Varied Vases is a great set for simple stamping! Stamp a few vases and a bold greeting and you have a great card to send someone a little hello. Vase colors are Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral and Petal Pink.

Varied Vases: sour cream treat container - Center Stage Stamping

Simple Stamping also works for a cute little treat like this little sour cream container. I added a 1″ circle punch and a bit of Petal Pink metallic bakers twine for the little tag. Perfect for a couple of Hershey Kisses – chocolate is always a win!

Be sure to check out everyones #simplestamping creations on the blog hop and then give it a try yourself. Don’t forget to upload your creation to social media with the hashtag #simplestamping. You can find the full blog roll call by clicking on the little blue rectangle below.

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

Inky Friends: dc 14

January 25, 2019 By Mary Haugen

My Inky Friends are back with a new design challenge! This one is a layout based on a card on page 3 of the new Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog. Be sure to check out all of the great inspiration over at My Inky Friends and then play along and share your creation based on this fun sketch!

I simply love the card this sketch is based on, so my first instinct was to reach for florals. But then I stopped and thought, “I need to push myself to something different”, so I reached for the new Geared up Garage. I always struggle with making cards for men. But, this set and sketch came together for a fun card that is perfect for the gear head in your life.

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

OSAT blog hop: sale-a-brate every occasion

January 10, 2019 By Mary Haugen

I am excited to start off the new year joining the One Stamp At A Time Blog Hop Team! This month we are sharing projects featuring NEW stamp sets from the Occasions catalog and Sale-a-Bration brochure. We have so much fun and inspiration coming your way, make sure you check out all of the stops on our hop.

My projects today put the whimsical Hello Cupcake in the spotlight. This cute set is one of the many fantastic offerings in the Sale-a-bration brochure. These items can be yours FREE with a qualifying purchase. (in the US that is $50 before tax and shipping) I created a card and gift box that work for just about any occasion.

Hello Cupcake: Sweet Wishes - center Stage Stamping

Hello Cupcake: Sweet Wishes box - Center Stage Stamping

How cute is that cupcake? I love the chalkboard effect of Whisper White ink on Basic Black card stock. The tiny hearts are from the new Well Written Framelit Dies. See the fun black and white striped paper peeking out? That is another fun Sale-a-Bration offering: Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper.

Hello Cupcake: Sweet Wishes duo - Center Stage Stamping

Thanks for stopping by. Make sure you check out what the rest of the OSAT team has for you. You can get the blog hop list clicking the blue rectangle below. Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

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!

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.

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

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!