thank you blooms

August 29, 2018 By Mary Haugen

I can’t believe it is the end of August. Boy, the summer just flew by. And here we are going into Labor day weekend. At least my youngest two will be home for the long weekend. And on Saturday we are going to see……HAMILTON!! I have been looking forward to this coming to Minneapolis for over a year. And I was fortunate to be able to get tickets for the four of us to go! Eeeeek! (I’m just a little bit excited.) I am not throwin’ away my shot!

We were doing a photo shoot in my studio for the upcoming Stamp-n-Storage catalog a couple of weeks ago. And I was told to “grab some stuff and look like I was working on a project”. So, I pulled out some things and just started stamping. When the photo shoot was done, I had to finish up the card. This is the finished product:

The card base is embossed with the Subtle 3D Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. The striped layer is from the Twinkle Twinkle designer series paper pack. For the flower panel, I stamped the flowers from Perennial Birthday in Gray Granite. Next I colored them with my Stampin’ Blends in Flirty Flamingo and Granny Apple Green (the lighter shade). Then I grabbed my Light Pool Party Stampin’ Blend and colored the background. Ta Da – I made my own DSP!!!! I embossed the greeting in white on a piece of Gray Granite card stock and adhered it to the card. So easy! Have you tried coloring with Stampin’ Blends yet? You really need to. They are fabulous!

Hey, I just realized my manicure even coordinates with this card!

That’s a wrap for today. Thanks for stopping by. Come back soon and join me in putting a spotlight on creativity!

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inky friends – dc8

July 27, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Hey everybody! It’s time for another My Inky Friends challenge! This inspiration for this one is a color combo found on page 119 of the 2018-19 Stampin’ Up! catalog.

I have to admit this was a tough combo for me. I wasn’t sure how to handle the balance of these colors. I finally decided less is more and went with a white back ground and small amounts of these colors.

I embossed a white panel with the Pinewood Planks Textured Embossing Folder. I wrapped a bit of the Night of navy Gingham Ribbon tied offf with some Linen Thread and layered it on a Whisper White card base. I cut out three leaves from the Tropical Thinlits in Soft Suede, Old Olive and Grapefruit Grove and centered them on the ribbon. The sentiment is from Tropical Chic. I masked off part of it, stamped it in Night of Navy ink, and fussy cut around it. It is popped up on dimensionals over the leaves. The finishing touch is the three Grapefruit Grove pearls from the Share What You Love Artisan Pearls.

Head on over to My Inky Friends blog to see what the rest of the design team did with this color challenge and then play along. I’d love to see what you come up with!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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animal outing thank you

July 16, 2018 By Mary Haugen

Hello! Let’s kick off this week with a fun thank you card featuring the super cute Animal Outing set.

I stamped the giraffe and branches with Memento Black ink and colored them with my Stampin’ Blends. I love these markers. They make it so easy to get a very artistic look with the shading you can do. I cut them out with one of the circles form the Stitched Shapes Framelits. The dotted panel is from the Brights Designer Series Paper stack in Daffodil Delight. The Crumb Cake panel is embossed with the Petal Burst Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and I roughed up the edges before adhering it to the Whisper White card base. I masked off just the “thank you” from the “thank you big time” sentiment and stamped it in Whisper White ink on basic Black card stock. I love how the giraffe looks like he is saying “thank you”! Or maybe he’s singing.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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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

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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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inky friends dc 5

April 27, 2018 By Mary Haugen

My Inky Friends are back with another Design Challenge. This one is based on a card layout on page 35 of the 2017-18 Stampin’ Up! catalog.

I decided to use the Coffee Cafe set and added the “coffee” from Balloon Celebration and the coffee rings from Timeless Textures. The Wood Textures circle is cut out with the Stitched Shapes Framelits, the stitching is hard to see on the dark wood paper. For the Pear Pizazz piece under the Thanks a Latte oval, I went over it with my bone folder to break the fibers. Next I peeled the paper into two layers. The piece now has a soft, fuzzy look.

I hope you go check out the other great creations based on this sketch. Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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petal palette duo

April 2, 2018 By Mary Haugen

I can’t believe it is April already. Spring is coming – well, eventually. Unfortunately, Minnesota didn’t get the memo. We had snow last Friday and more is coming this week. UGH! Enough already! At least today’s cards have a springtime feel to them. They spotlight the Petal Palette stamp set and coordinating Petal Passion DSP in the Occasions catalog. I used the same colors and layout for these cards. I changed up how color was added to the DSP and the sentiment.

The black and white prints of the dsp offer great versatility for your projects. Add in a pop of color (Calypso Coral for these) and you can customize the DSP to you project. For the card on the left, color was added to select flowers in the DSP with a blender pen and ink in the lid of the ink pad. The card on the right, I stamped one of the flower images int he Petal Palette set in Calypso Coral to give more depth to the DSP.

Try customizing your DSP. It’s a lot of fun and adds a fun element to your project!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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Inky Friends DC 4

March 23, 2018 By Mary Haugen

I’m back with my Inky Friends for another design challenge. This time it’s a color scheme found on page 79 of the 2017-18 Annual Catalog.

This one had me stumped for a bit. I rarely use Marina Mist or Blushing Bride. But, I like a challenge and it is good to step out of your comfort zone occasionally. After some thought, I settled on this:

I used Lots of Lavender set with the addition of Basic Gray for the outline and sentiment. Stop by the Inky Friends blog and see what the other designers created with this color scheme. There really is a lot you can do with it! Then play along and share your creation.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

-Mary

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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

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