Inky Friends DC 3

February 23, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Time for another design challenge over at the Inky Friends blog. This week is a card sketch challenge based on a sample form page 10 of the Occasions catalog.

Here is my card based on this layout.

I decided to work with products from the Petal Passion Suite. I love the bold black and white prints in the Petal Passion designer series paper. The polk-a-dot print made for a great base for this card. I used the Petals and More Thinlits to die cut the flowers in Lemon Lime Twist and the scallops in copper metallic. The top panel has the sentiments stamped in Lemon Lime Twist and Basic Black. I added a copper trim bow and finished off with some Basic Pearls the I colored with a copper sharpie marker. Head over to My Inky Friends and check out the other Design Team members take on this sketch. Then create your own and share it with us on the Inky Friends blog. We would love to have you play along!!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Today Blooms

February 21, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Just popping on with a quick post today. I’m getting prepped to start blocking at today’s rehearsal for the High School play I’m directing. The most tedious part of directing – figuring out who moves where, when and why. At least today’s card wasn’t tedious to make, even though I made 20 of them for a recent swap. I really love the delicate feel of this one.

I used the Perennial Birthday set. Colors are Rose Red, Soft Sky, Peekaboo Peach, Pear Pizzazz and Crumb Cake. The Soft Sky card base has been embossed with the Simple Stripes Textured Impressions embossing folder. The sentiment is embossed in white on a strip of Wood Textures designer series paper. This is hands down my favorite designer series pack. I LOVE the various wood textures/ grains. They are a great addition to many projects. A few rhinestones and a small linen thread bow add the finishing details.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Sweet Pineapple

February 19, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Fab Friday has a new sketch challenge up and I was inspired to play along. I really like sketch challenges when I need to jump start my stamping mojo. Here is the sketch:

And here is my take on it:

I love this pineapple print from the Tutti-frutti designer series paper stack. I used the pineapple from the Itty Bitty Fruit punch pack to punch out tiny pineapples from the patterned paper. I stamped the bowl from the Fruit Basket stamp set on Pool Party card stock and fussy cut it out. To add a little detail, I added some shadows with the light Pool Party Stampin’ Blends marker. Here is a close up so you can see it better.

I think it added some nice depth to the bowl. And, aren’t those little pineapples adorable? I LOVE that little punch. The whole Tutti-frutti suite in the Occasions catalog is fun. I can’t wait to play with it some more. I have lots of ideas floating around in my head, just need time in my studio!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Canvas Stamping

February 16, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Sometimes I branch out from making cards and the rare scrapbook page. Every once in a while I get inspired to create a home decor piece.

For this project, I started with a 4 inch square canvas. I did a water color wash with Soft Sky ink across the canvas. Next I stamped the branch and flowers from the Colorful Seasons stamp set. It is difficult to get a full image on the canvas because of the edge of the wood under the canvas, but don’t worry. Next I went over the stamping with my aqua painter to bleed out the image and get more of a water color look. I stamped “breathe” in black memento ink and traced over it with a Black Journaling Pen to fill in the gaps on the canvas. a few Rose Red die cut flowers with Crushed Curry baker’s twine knots. A bit of Linen Thread wrapped around the canvas finishes it off. All in all, this project came together really quick. The most time was waiting for the initial water color wash to dry.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Valentine

February 14, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Happy Valentine’s Day. Thought I would pop on and share one more card I made with the Sure Do Love You set and Painted with Love DSP.

This picture really doesn’t do it justice. The dark spots are actually the gold foil on the DSP. I just couldn’t get it to photograph well. The vine heart is embossed in gold and fussy cut out. I kept the rest pretty simple to let that gorgeous specialty paper take center stage. I seriously want to just frame a few of the pieces. They are works of art all on their own!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Little Love Notes

February 12, 2018 By Mary Haugen

I normally don’t make a lot of Valentine cards. One for my husband and maybe little notes for my kids. But, I am having so much fun with the Painted With Love Suite. There are so many fun products to work with. I made three little coordinating love notes with this suite. They are made with the Narrow Note Cards and Envelopes in the Occasions Catalog (page 19 – they are easy to miss). The Painted With Love Specialty DSP is SO GORGEOUS!! The gold foil accents are stunning. The Sure Do Love You stamp set and Lots to Love Box Framelits combine to make some wonderful Valentines. These little love notes would be perfect to tuck in with a Valentine treat.

Aren’t these so cute! Each one features a different pattern from the DSP and different stamps from the set. Let’s take a closer look at them.

Here is another angle so you can see the little heart peeking through from the inside.

I added some of the DSP to the flap of two of the envelopes and sponged ink and stamped a little heart on the other. It really ties them together. Another fun thing is that these notes would fit inside this little box I shared last week!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

Love It Live It Share It Blog Hop

February 9, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Today I’m hopping with my Inky Friends in the Love it. Live it. Share it Blog Hop! We all are showcasing different sets from the Occasions Catalog. I have the honor to be the first stop to kick things off. Make sure you go through and check out everyone’s blog. There are some fantastic projects out there.

I am shining a spotlight on the Picture Perfect Birthday stamp set. This set also has a fantastic suite of products to go with it. So. Much. Fun. Are you ready for some inspiration? Let’s get started. First up I have a fun little treat box.

I made a little 2-4-6-8 box, similar to the one here, out of the Foil Frenzy Specialty Designer Series Paper. Love the foil dots! I stamped the little tag, layered it on the Lemon Lime Twist banner and clipped it to the box with one of the Birthday Mini Binder Clips tied with a bit of Berry Burst Metallic-Edge Ribbon and piece of Bermuda Bay from the Sale-A-Bration Shimmer Ribbon Pack. A tiny rhinestone to add a little bling on the candle finishes it off.

Next I have 3 different Birthday cards. First is a 3″x6″ greeting showing off the coordinating Picture Perfect Party Designer Series Paper. I love the realistic photo quality images in this stack. I used the candles for this one. Stamped the sentiment right on the DSP and layered it on striped pattern also form the stack. I stamped the bow in Pool Party on the card base and used Bermuda Bay stamped off for the little shadow details. A Lemon Lime Twist In Color Bitty Bow is the finishing touch.

This next card also features the Picture Perfect Party DSP stack. I have to give credit to Mercedes Weber for the polaroid idea. The photo realistic paper is perfect for this.

I used the Layering Squares Framelits to cut out the polaroid frames. Stamped Happy Birthday in Bermuda Bay, Lemon Lime Twist and Berry Burst and layered the dsp images behind. It is hard to see, but the Basic Black card base is embossed with the Polka Dot Basics Embossing Folder. I finished off the card with some rhinestones and Lemon Lime Twist 3/8″ Mini Striped Ribbon.

My last project is another Birthday card, but this one let’s the Stamp set take center stage.

I started with a 3.5″x5.5″ Crumb Cake card base. I added a layer of the Wood Textures DSP and a Berry Burst panel layered on the striped piece from the dsp stack. I used the large Happy Birthday from Perennial Birthday stamp set to create the background for the white heat embossed “Celebrate the Good Stuff” greeting from the Picture Perfect Birthday set. I stamped and cut out the candle, bow and noisemaker. The present is one of the patterns in the DSP stack. two Pool Party strips create the “ribbon” around the gift. I really like the Wood Texture DSP as the background for this.

Hope you are inspired to create some Birthday fun with the Picture Perfect Birthday set!

Thanks for hopping by! Next up on the hop is the amazing Sarah Wills. She is featuring the fabulous Picnic With You set. Happy Stamping!

Sure Do Love You

February 7, 2018 By Mary Haugen

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.

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

Hello Baby Bear

February 5, 2018 By Mary Haugen

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.

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.

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

You Are Simply Amazing

February 2, 2018 By Mary Haugen

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.

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