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bloom with happiness

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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.

Gorgeous Grape Vase - Center Stage Stamping

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

inky friends – dc7

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It’s time for another design challenge from My Inky Friends!  This time it is a layout based on a card on page 48 of the 2018-19 Stampin’ Up! catalog.  I knew the Broadway Bound suite would be great for this challenge.  This set was a must get on my first order from the new catalog.  Hmmmm, I wonder why?  I decided to turn the sketch on its side.

 

Broadway Birthday Wish - Center Stage Stamping

The only stamping is the “make a” banner.  Gotta love the Broadway Lights framelits!!  The marquee is perfect to fill in with the Metallic Pearls featured in the suite, or my favorite embellishment -Basic Rhinestones!  Perfect for a little Broadway Bling!

Make sure you go over to My Inky Friends and see all the other great ideas for this card layout, then play along! Create your own project based on this sketch and share it with us.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

25 years

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Yesterday Brett and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.  A quarter of a century – has it really been that long?

Ok, yeah, I guess the added weight and loss of hair proves that it has.   Now our kids are grown.  One is married, the other two are in college. We are entering a new stage of life.  Seems fitting for it to happen at this milestone.

I wanted to share the card I made for Brett.  I know that the 25th traditionally calls for silver, but I decided to make a card that represents us.

25th Anniversary - Center Stage Stamping

Wood has always been an important part of our life.  Brett was into wood working as a hobby when we were first married.  He has built benches, entertainment centers, and more for our home. (And it plays an even bigger part since we started Stamp-n-Storage!)  So naturally I pulled out the Wood Textures designer paper. (my favorite!)  I used the retired Large Numbers thinlits to cut out the 25.  I placed a bit of retired floral dsp behind and mounted the panel with dimensionals for added depth.

Happy Anniversary, Brett.  Here’s to 25 more!  I love you.

-Mary

a star is born

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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.

A Star is Born - Center Stage Stamping

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

thank you big time

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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.

Animal Outing Thank You - Center Stage Stamping

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

granny apple mango hello

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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.

Mango melody Varied Vases - Center Stage Stamping

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

we interrupt the regularly scheduled program

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Summer means construction season, right?  So why not a little studio remodel?  After some not so subtle hinting, my husband finally agreed that it is time! My posting last week was pre-empted due to Brett giving the green light for things to get started. So, we boxed up everything in my studio

and I moved out to the small desk in our kitchen for the time being.

It is a bit difficult to create in such a confined space, but it will be so worth it!

Now that I am situated in my temporary space, I hope to have some new projects to share soon.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy stamping!

-Mary

mediterranean adventures

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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

remember

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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

trip of a lifetime

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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