A Flutter with Happiness

Hello stampers. Todays card is for the Color Challenge this week to use Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay and Dusty Durango. Dessert is to stamp on DSP.

I went through the UFO box and didn't see anything in there that would work. Soooo, I opened my stamp drawer and came out with all kinds of stamps.
First, I stamped 3 butterflies with the All a Flutter stamp. It's a single on the last page of the Summer Mini catalog. I used Black Stazon ink so it wouldn't smudge. Using a blender pen and ink pads, I colored each butterfly with a different color and added some contrast. They looked a little bland so I laid the VersaMark pad down on them and embossed with clear embossing powder. It made them so silky and pretty! They were also easier to cut out.

I found the DSP in the Welcome Neighbor DSP pad left over from the Sale A Bration. I stamped just the outline flower in Crushed Curry and used the Dusty Durango marker to dot the centers. A blender pen diffused the dots a bit.

I stamped the tips of the grass from the Inspired by Nature stamp in Crumb Cake. It's a new core color. (It's used to be called Kraft but as of tomorrow, it's Crumb Cake and you can get the ink in that color too.)

The sentiment is an old favorite from the Happy Harmony set. It was a Sale A Bration set about 3 years ago.

The DSP is adhered to a piece of Basic Black cut about 1/8" larger and all mounted on a Bermuda Bay card. The butterflies have adhesive just in the middle so the wings lift off the paper a bit.

I had so much fun doing this challenge. I really love the colors and today is their last day as current colors. Hopefully all of you have received your new catalog by now and see all the new colors and stamps and have a list as long as mine.

You can see that the All a Flutter didn't make it into the new catalog. You have until August 31 to order from the Summer Mini Catalog. If you don't have one, email me and I will be glad to send you one.

Card Receipe
Stamps: All a Flutter, Greenhouse Garden, Inspired by Nature, Happy Harmony
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Basic Black, Whisper White, DSP
Ink: Black Stazon, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, VersaMark
Acc.: Clear Embossing Powder, Gray Marker

Hope you enjoy this card as much as I enjoyed making it.

Happy Stampin',
Bonnie

Wreath of Welcome

Hi fellow stampers. Have you ever had a card that just wouldn't go together to suit you? I doubt I'm the only one. Well this is one of them. I did this card for the CAS challenge this week to use Miss Boo's signature colors; Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery & Pumpkin Pie.

I went through that UFO box looking for something I could use for the challenge. I had done this wreath in Celery several years ago. I actually had 2 of them in there. It was made from an old Stampin' Up! set called All Season Wreath. It has a copyright date of 1997 so you can see how old it is. Just goes to show you how well these stamps hold up!

I used the Pumpkin Pie marker to color the berries on the wreath and painted the bow in Bashful Blue. I actually stamped another bow, cut it out and added it for a little dimension.

The Celery strips were embossed with the whacked Finial Press embossing folder. I love that little swirl strip. It adds a lot without being too fussy.

Card Recipe (card is 5 1/2" square)
Stamps: All Season Wreath
Paper: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Acc.: Pumpkin Pie & Bashful Blue Markers, Big Shot, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Scallop Trim Border Punch

I'm not going to point out the flaws in this card to you. I think you will find them quite readily.

Using only pieces from the UFO box is a real challenge.

In fact the next post will be of a card that has all new parts. It was fun too!

You ought to see my stamp room. There are stamps and stuff all over the place. I guess I'd better go clean it up. Luke has discovered the room and so far the most interesting thing he found was a pencil. He left me a love note on my scratch paper. I'm trying to keep him from knowing about all the good stuff in there....at least for a couple of years.

Hope you had a wonderful day. I'll be back.
Bonnie

Bye Bye Little Bella

I was going to share a card for the CAS challenge today, but I really don't like the card I made and decided to work on it some more or throw it back into the UFO (UnFinished Objects) box.

Instead I'll show you a card I made a while back. The stamp set & the Pale Plum cardstock will be saying adieu in a couple of days.
This set, Bella's Bloom was a darling set and I really didn't show it enough love! I don't know why because this card was so simple. It took longer to figure out what to do with the image than to make the card! By the way, the image was inked with Perfect Plum & Mellow Moss SU Markers.

The sentiment is one of my favorites. It is from the Bird on a Branch set.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Bella's Bloom, Bird on a Branch
Paper: Pale Plum Textured, Perfect Plum, Whisper White
Ink: Perfect Plum
Acc.: Perfect Plum & Mellow Moss Markers, Large Oval & Scallop Oval punches

I really appreciate all the visits and comments in the past week. Each one is like a hug.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Yellow Bloom

Hello friends. Remember the Awash with Flowers set that was available a while back? Well it will be making a return in the new 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog that will go live on July 1st. That's next week!

Although this stamp set uses a 2-step stamping technique, I just stamped the outline and colored with markers and a blender pen. I used the Crushed Curry which didn't make it into the new catalog, but the new Dafodil Delight will do as well. It is a beautiful shade of yellow!

Card Recipe
Stamps: Awash with flowers
Paper: Naturals White, Crushed Curry, Real Red, Basic Black
Ink: Crushed Curry, Garden Green
Acc.: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, 1/4" Circle Punch


Hope you have a great weekend. It's gonna be a hot one! I'll be working on my UFO box.

Happy Stampin',
Bonnie

Emboss, Emboss

Hello Stampin' Friends. First off I want to share a blog with you today. A lovely stampin' friend from the UK has started her own blog. It's called Cards for all Reasons. She does the most beautiful cards and pretty much sticks to the CAS style. I will put her blog on the side bar so you can access her readily.

Today's Ways to Use It challenge was to use heat embossing.

Embossing has never been my favorite technique, probably because I've not done it much and hate to drag all that stuff out. Now I keep my heat tool handy and it's not so bad. I still make a mess with the powder and seem to have it all over my work table when I'm finished. I'll have to work on that.
First card here is from a piece from the UFO (UnFinished Objects) box. I did have to break bad and ink up a stamp to do the background and the sentiment.

The tree was stamped in Handsome Hunter and I had used the Chocolate Chip marker to color the trunk. I used the VersaMark Pen on the branches and sprinkled the white Embossing Powder, heat set and voila! I had a snowy tree! The tree is matted on Handsome Hunter. The punching is a little funky because I used the punch in the corners and didn't like it. I cut off the corner & outside scallop. It gives it a little different look and I liked it.

I created a snow storm on the card by inking the little snowflake from the Short & Sweet set with VersaMark and embossing all those snowflakes. I used the soon to retire, Sage Shadow, for the card base. The sentiment is part of a stamp from an old Christmas set, To You & Yours. Snowy trees always make me feel peaceful.

While I was working on the tree card, I kept thinking Emboss Resist. I had seen so many beautiful cards done with this technique and had always thought I would try it but didn't. I have a goal to only use stuff from the UFO box and I had these flowers stamped from the Eastern Blooms stamp set. Since I needed a card base for them, I figured it would be ok to ink up the branch from the same set and do an emboss resist with it. Boy am I glad I did. I really love how it turned out.

I inked the branch with VersaMark and stamped it randomly on a white card. I sprinkled a good coat of White Embossing Powder on the card (and on the table, oh my!) then heat set it. The hardest part of heat setting such a large area is to make sure all of it is set before you stop. I let it cool a bit then sponged Certainly Celery and Baja Breeze (new color) ink all over the card. When I was finished, I took a paper towel and wiped off the branches. The ink doesn't stick to the embossing!

I found this darling center for the big flower in my gem box. I have no idea where it came from. A big pearl would do too. By the way, the large flower is punched with the 5-Petal Flower Punch. I used textured Pacific Point (new color) & Certainly Celery behind the flowers. The sentiment is from the Level 1 Hostess gift I showed you a couple of posts back. It's called Because I Care.

I'm glad I tried this technique. It was really fun to see the colors emerging and I love the effect. I'll surely do it again.

Don't forget to check out Sally's blog.

Hugs to all,
Bonnie

Unfrogettable You

I emptied out my UFO (UnFinished Objects) box last night. I threw a lot of stuff away. There were all kinds of things I had not stamped very well and had kept for some reason. Some of them were done when I first started stamping and hated to part with anything. Oh how things change. There is a new catalog coming out and I need room for new stuff!

I took all of the good bits and pieces and put them in a box by my work table. The goal is to make cards from all of them before I ink up another stamp.

We'll see how long that lasts! So far I have gotten through today though.

This little guy had been put on a card a couple of years ago. When I realized the card was backwards and he was on the back cover, I cut him off. He was at the top of the box and when I saw the Sketch Challenge today, he hopped into my mind. He was a perfect fit. Well, not quite perfect but close enough. And I didn't ink up another stamp!

Now I need to keep my word about exercise and hurry this up so I can get a walk in.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Unfrogettable (this set retired several years ago)
Paper: Certainly Celery, Certainly Celery DSP, Whisper White, Handsome Hunter
Ink: Basic Black
Acc.: Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Celery SU Marker, Google Eyes & Dragonfly brad (non SU)

Note: The frog was stamped in black on DSP and cut out.

I appreciate all the comments in the past week and all the visits. I hope you are leaving inspired and ready to unleash your own creativity. I enjoy visiting several blogs as well as Splitcoaststampers. I get so many wonderful ideas and even if I never use them myself, I enjoy looking.

I hope you get to stamp today...or get into your UFO box and find a permanent home for a design piece.

Have fun,
Bonnie

Two for a Color Challenge

I could say that I got carried away. Well that happens every day. Actually, I started with this card and didn't like it so I made another. Then I came back and finished this one.

I used the same colors, Soft Suede, Apricot Appeal & Almost Amethyst, on both cards. It's amazing how different they are!
I love Almost Amethyst so I used it as the main card here. I used the Perfect Dots Embossing Folder with the BIG GUY to dress it up a bit. I inked the stamp with markers and stamped on Whisper White. I stamped the sentiment off on scrap before stamping on the design. I wanted a softer look. Itty bitty pearls finish it off.

The design is matted with Apricot Appeal DSP & Soft Suede.

I was hunting in the drawer for a piece of Soft Suede and found a piece that I had stamped on and didn't use. It seemed to be a good fit, so I decided to use it for this card. I had used the flourish stamp from Vintage Vogue and stamped it in Soft Suede on the edges of Soft Suede.

The design piece is Very Vanilla that I spritzed with Almost Amethyst & Apricot Appeal. I inked the flower with markers. I love the Apricot and Soft Suede together! The butterfly was inked in Almost Amethyst. I used the marker to draw some highlights on him and the black marker to do the body & antennae. The design piece has a very narrow mat of Early Expresso (a new core color).

Dessert for this challenge was to use a clip of some sort. I used one of the ribbon slides from the Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge hardware with Very Vanilla narrow grosgrain ribbon.

I'm still not sure whether I really like this card or not. I hope you like one or the other of them, or maybeboth.

Only 1 more week to order from the Last Chance list. And then, the new 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog will be live. My list is growing each time I look at it! So many pretty things in there.

Enjoy,

Bonnie

Spring Singer

I love bluebirds. We have had a pair of them in the back yard. Come to think of it, I haven't seen them lately. Maybe they went some place cooler. I really don't blame them!
Mr. Bluebird was left over from my watercoloring tries. I thought he would fit well with the CAS challenge this week. This week is a sketch challenge of a card by Diane aka Fionna51.

I turned the card and used cardstock embossed with the Square Lattice Folder & the BIG GUY instead of DSP. I thought the bluebird would be perfect in an oval so I changed the shape of the main design too.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Spring Song, Whimsical Words
Paper: Confetti White, Ballet Blue, Crushed Curry, Shimmery White
Ink: Black StazOn, Chocolate chip
Acc.: Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Ovals Die, Aquapainter, Re-inkers, Paper Piercing Tool, Corner Rounder punch

I hope you had a good weekend and that the week is starting out well for you.

Happy stampin',
Bonnie

Ribbon Flower

This week's Ways to Use it Challenge on SCS was to use ribbon. Now I don't usually use ribbon except for tying a knot or bow. So I decided to really challenge myself and do something different.

I'm not crazy about this, but I'll share anyway. I used a needle & thread to tack loops together until I had enough for a daisy. Usually I end up sticking my finger and bleeding all over things, but I remained accident free for this. I used to sew like I make cards now. I don't have time for both so the sewing is put away.


I used one of the Level 2 Hostess gifts in the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog for the background on the Early Expresso layer (another sneak peek of a new core color). The stamp set is called Fast & Fabulous and it is both.

Card Recipe

Stamps: Fast & Fabulous, Short & Sweet

Paper: So Saffron, Early Expresso, Old Olive

Ink: Early Expresso

Acc.: Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, Ribbon from the Ribbon Originals, Elementary pkg., Pearl from the Pretties Kit, Large Oval, Scallop Oval, 1/16" Circle & Scallop Trim Border Punch

Hope you like this better than I do!

Again, have a wonderful weekend.

Bonnie

One Layer Swirl

Hello Stampin' Friends. Here is another One Layer Card. See this beautiful pink card stock? It's a Sneak Peek of on of the In Colors. It's called Blushing Bride and it's a beautiful shell pink.


Susan's One Layer Wednesday challenge this week was to do a card with flourishes. I'm so glad Baroque Motifs is not going to say goodbye. It's kind of a basic in my stamp collection. It works for any occasion.

I stamped the swirl in VersaMark and embossed it with White Embossing Powder. Added the pearls & ribbon, stamped the sentiment and voila! it was done. I used the upcoming Cherry Cobler to stamp the sentiment. Isn't it pretty with the pink?

Card Recipe
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Warm Words (will be retiring June 30)
Paper: Blushing Bride
Ink: VersaMark
Acc.: White Taffeta Ribbon, Pearls from the Pretties Kit

Now wasn't that easy?

I'll be back with another post, if I get the time. If not, have a great weekend.

Bonnie

Sneak Peek Because I Care

I'm so excited!!!!!

This is a set that I got free for ordering the new color kit. It's gonna be a Level 1 Hostess gift come July 1. If you would like to host a workshop, you can earn this free...after July 1. That's only a couple weeks away!

This is a sneak peek at some of the new colors too. The card is an In Color called PearPizzazz. It's a little darker than Certainly Celery and perfect with the new core color, Marina Mist that I used with it. Aren't they pretty together?

I inked the hydrangea with markers, stamped then used the blender pen to pull the color a bit. I used the Color Spritzer Tool with the Pear Pizzazz & Poppy Parade (another In Color) markers to put the speckles on the background.

I am really loving the new colors. I can see that this stamp set is going to be one of my favorites too.

By the way, the layout is for the Sketch Challenge on SCS this week. It was perfect for this set since it has the single bloom too.

Card Recipe

Stamps: Because I Care

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist, Whisper White

Ink: Marina Mist

Acc.: Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, & Poppy Parade SU Markers, Color Spritzer Tool, Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Scallop Trim Border Punch

Just wait til you see the other colors! It's going to be a great year!

Enjoy,

Bonnie

Banana, Moss and Red

Two cards for you tonight. The color challenge this week is to use Barely Banana, Mellow Moss & Real Red. Barely Banana & Mellow Moss will be history in two weeks. Maybe I should have made a sympathy card! Now that I think about it, this would be a good sympathy card!

I had trouble with this challenge and I love all three colors. Do you have those days when nothing goes right? I had one of those yesterday when I was trying to do this card. I thought of my red lilies at our old house. I bought them at the Farmer's Market and they were planted outside my bedroom window. I enjoyed seeing them each morning when I opened my blinds.

You can find the tutorial here. While you are there, be sure to check out Heidi's other posts. She has some awesome ideas!

Card Recipe Paper: Barely Banana, Whisper White, Real Red, Mellow Moss
Acc.: Real Red & Mellow Moss SU Markers, Big Shot, Perfect Dots Embossing Folder, Ovals Die, Linen Thread, Extra Large 2 Step Bird & Large Oval Punches


When I couldn't figure out what to do with the lilies, I used the colors with the True Friend set. This set will be one to retire in 2 weeks.

It is an old layout, tried and true. That's a ladybug under the sentiment. Directions are on a previous post.

I've heard my aunt, who is 94, has been under the weather. I thought I would send this to her.

Card Recipe
Stamps: True Friend, Short & Sweet
Paper: Barely Banana, Mellow Moss, Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black
Ink: Barely Banana, Real Red, Mellow Moss
Acc.: Banana Brad, Ticket Corner, Large Oval, Scallop Oval, and 1/4" Punches, Big Shot, Perfect Dots Embossing Folder




What wouldn't go together yesterday seemed to fit into place today. It's much more fun when things fall into place. I can really appreciate having fun today. Hope you had a good day too.

Happy Stampin',
Bonnie

Sweet New Baby

I needed a card to celebrate a new baby. I don't have any baby stamps (gasp)! I really need to remedy that!

I started with a card from my Hallmark Deluxe program on my computer. I thought the graphic was adorable. The baby had red hair though and Avery has brown hair. So I got out my Prismacolor pencils and changed her hair color.

I punched the design with my Scallop Oval Marvy punch and used the BIG GUY and punched the large oval from Pretty in Pink to put behind. Both layers are popped up.

The background paper was in my stash. I have no idea where it came from! A piece of SU Pretty in Pink satin ribbon dressed it up and I used a pretty pink brad that was a gift from a friend.

Usually I try to use all Stampin' Up! products. I really need to get that new baby carriage stamp set that will be in the new catalog. I think it would work perfectly for those occasional baby cards.

Enjoy!
Bonnie

Monet Garden

I'm so excited about my new previews that I just had to do another post and share one with you.

This stamp reminds me of the holyhocks my mom grew when I was a kid. It's Two-step Stamping and you know how I love that!

I inked the main flower with Melon Mambo and the outline with Wild Wasabi & Rose Red Markers. I did three main flowers and stamped off around to resemble a garden. It has a nice watercolor look don't you think?

This will be a Level 2 Hostess gift. It has two more flowers too. I can't wait to play with them!

This qualifies for the Technique Lovers Challenge this week to do a one layer card. That's really hard to do! It's not too clean & simple but since it has butterflies, I may put it in the CAS too.

BTW, there are flat back pearls and rhinestones in the new cattie. Reasonably priced too!

The butterflies are from the new Daffodil Delight. It is a beautiful shade of yellow!

Card Recipe
Stamps: Fast & Fabulous
Paper: Naturals White, Daffodil Delight
Ink: Melon Mambo
Acc.: Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Rose Red & Wild Wasabi SU Markers, Flat back Pearls, Rose Red grosgrain ribbon

That's it for tonight. Thanks for visiting. Let me know what you think.
Bonnie

Hummer Birthday

Hi stampin' friends. Hope you had a wonderful weekend and a good start to this week. I did. I got some ink on my fingers too!

I needed a birthday card for a friend and today's CAS challenge, Things that Fly, was the perfect opportunity to get one ready for her.

I painted the design with the Aquapainters and re-inker. I'm still not real confident with the watercoloring, but I'm more comfortable with it all the time. Practice will make perfect!

I used my Nestabilities to cut the design pieces. I trimmed the green one down to make it fit better.

The green is Wild Wasabi which is one of the new core colors. It was an In Color a couple of years ago and has been my favorite shade of green. I'm so happy that it is coming back.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Spring Song (Retiring June 30), Watercolor Trio (Summer mini until August 31)
Paper: Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Shimmery White
Ink: StazOn, & Basic Black ink, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Old Olive, Garden Green re-inkers
Acc.: Aquapainters, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder, Labels 3 Nestabilities (non SU), Large Oval & Designer Label Punches, White Taffeta Ribbon

I received my new catalog Friday and I've got to say, it's been my main reading since. Ooooh!!! I can't wait for you to see all the wonderful new things. I will get catalogs to my customers as soon as I get them. If you are not my customer, don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like a catalog, email me.

Meanwhile, don't forget to check the Last Chance List. Don't miss out on items on your wish list. When they're gone, they're gone.

I'll be back. I have more to share.
Bonnie

Another One Layer

Hello again. Boy, have I had problems figuring out how to get these cards in so I could link them with Susan's blog. Alas, I don't think the last post will link.

This is the first card I did for Susan's challenge but I don't think it was what she was looking for.

I used the BIG GUY and the Flowers Daisies #2 die to make my mask or stencil. Then I sponged Crushed Curry for the petals and Soft Suede for the center. I turned the stencil a bit and sponged the petals again in between the ones already sponged. I went a little lighter on the ink this time.

The sentiment and stem are from the Bloomin' Beautiful set. Another one set to retire July 1.

Again, have a wonderful weekend.

Bonnie

Only One Layer

Hello Stampin' Friends. The author of one of the blogs I have been following, Simplicity, offers a One Layer Wednesday Challenge. If you are interested in checking it out, you can go here.

I thought, since I liked simple cards, it would be a snap. IT"S NOT! It is really hard not to mat anything. She does allow embellishments although I didn't use any.



The challenge this week, besides making a One Layer Card, was to create a mask with a label or die and use it to make a background for your card.

This is what I ended up with. I used the Oval Originals Die with the BIG GUY and used the piece the large oval was cut from. I taped the mask on the card with repositional tape and sponged inside the oval. I used Crushed Curry then went over it with a little Dusty Durango. Then I stamped the All a Flutter (a single stamp on p. 31 of the Summer Mini Catalog) and the sentiment from Warm Words (on the retirement list) in Basic Black. The card is Naturals White. It has a little more body than the Whisper White.

This is one of those cards, as my friend Ruthann says, takes 2 hrs to figure out and 5 minutes to put together!

Now that I have done these one layer cards, I really like them. (I have another to show you later.) They will be so easy to mail too. No worries about extra postage or brads popping through the envelopes.

A big thank you to Susan for the challenge. Why don't you try it now. If you don't have the BIG GUY, you can use a decorative punch instead. Check out all the great inspiration on Susan's blog.

I'm taking some stamps on the road tomorrow and meeting some Roanoke Rapids stampers for playtime. I'm so excited! Hope you have a great weekend. See you next week.
Bonnie

True Friend in Coral & Ruby

Hello Friends. Here is a card for this weeks Sketch Challenge. I used the colors from the Color Challenge again too (Turquoise, Coral & Ruby Red).

I love this little spray of flowers. It reminds me of the counted cross stitch samplers I used to do. I inked up the stamp with markers then spritzed a little water. I've tried this before and always got too much water and my design was lost. I had some pretty colors, but not what I was looking for. This time, I spritzed water and passed the stamp through the spray. I like the look much better. It just softens the colors a bit.

Sadly this stamp set and the Cameo Coral and Ruby Red will only be available for less than 3 weeks. I have just recently discovered that I love this color combination. Oh well, I guess there are more discoveries to make!

Card Recipe
Stamps: True Friend
Paper: Naturals White, Whisper White, Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Ruby Red, Raspberry Tart DSP
Ink: Cameo Coral, Ruby Red & Old Olive SU Markers
Acc.: Big Shot, Ovals Originals Die, Whacked Finial Press Embossing Folder, Black Satin Ribbon

Hope today has been a good one for you. I appreciate your visits and comments. They make my day.
Bonnie

Darla the Dragonfly

Hello Stampin' Friends. Today I have a card for Mother Mark's Teapot Tuesday challenge. There is a story that goes along with this. You can read it here. You really need to read it to believe it! You probably still won't believe it, but that's ok. At least you won't be totally lost!

Have you read it? OK, this is Darla the Dragonfly's advice to her DD (Darling Daughter) Dingle Bell Berry.

She can show her a meadow of beautiful flowers that happen to be some of the colors of this week's color challenge. I love the Cameo Coral & Ruby Red with the two-step stamping. I'm going to miss these colors! Darla & Dingle have their turquoise dresses on. That covers all the colors for this week.

It was hard to think of critters that wouldn't eat dragonflies. I didn't want to take any chances so I made some little ladybugs. They're too small to do much damage I think.

I decided to try an Easel Card. I have been admiring them on Splitcoaststampers and for some reason last night, I just had to try one. Here is the link to the tutorial.

Darla & Dingle were stamped with Whisper White Craft ink on Vellum Card Stock, embossed and cut out. Directions for the ladybugs are in yesterday's post.

Card Recipe

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Greenhouse Garden, Nature's Nest

Paper: Ruby Red, Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black, Cameo Coral, Tempting Turquoise, Vellum Card Stock

Ink: Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Old Olive
Acc.: Tempting Turquoise & Crushed Curry SU Markers, White Embossing Powder, Scallop Oval & Wide Oval, & Scallop Trim Border Punches

I hate to tell you how long it took me to make this card. I usually stick with the Quick & Simple. Every now and then it's fun to experiment and go all out. I will do more of the Easel Cards. They fold flat for mailing then display so nicely.

Hope you enjoyed Darla and Dingle. I'm glad you stopped by. Come again, ok? And don't be afraid to leave a comment. I love comments!

Bonnie

Watercolor in Blue & Yellow

Hello folks. Boy am I late getting to this tonight. I was working on a card for the Color Challenge and the Teapot Tuesday challenge and I played far too long. Usually I make pretty simple and quick cards, but I got carried away. I'll try to get a picture taken and share it with you tomorrow.

I treated the Creative Arts group to a workshop of three cards this morning. This is one of the cards we did. Except that the ones today didn't have the ladybug and butterfly. I had some smudges on this one that needed to be covered up! I really enjoyed spending time with these lovely ladies. It was a small group and I feel like I got to know each of them a little better than in a large group. They are all very creative too.


Card Recipe

Stamps: Watercolor Trio, Short & Sweet

Paper: Ballet Blue, YoYo Yellow, Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black

Ink: Ballet Blue, Always Artichoke, & Crushed Curry SU Markers

Acc.: Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Crushed Curry Polka Dot Ribbon, 1/4" Paper Punch

The ladybug is made with 1/4" circles of Real Red & Basic Black. I put the red circle on top of the black with a glue dot and drew the dots on the back with a Black Marker. Super easy and a great way to cover a boo boo.

The Ballet Blue & YoYo Yellow will be discontinued soon. Only a few more weeks to stock up on those colors. They are so pretty together.

Got to go. There is a book calling to me. It's South of Broad by Pat Conroy and it is really good. Lot's of really quirky characters that I love to read about.

Good Night.

Bonnie

Hope

Hello Stampin' Friends. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Did you get some ink on your fingers?

I had the most wonderful surprise last night. My niece Cindy, who I haven't see since she was 6 yrs. old, called me. If she were here, she would be wrapped in the biggest hug! I am so proud of the person she has become. God is so good!

Today's CAS challenge is to do a card with a quote, verse or saying. The TLC challenge is to get personal and use a favorite technique. I love this quote from a poem by Emily Dickinson. Today it made me think of my niece. Stamping is my favorite technique. I think this will qualify for both challenges. Don't you?

The feather was stamped in VersaMark, heat embossed in black and cut out. The quote was done on the computer.

Card Recipe

Stamps: Elements of Style, Nature's Nest

Paper: Pale Plum, Whisper White

Ink: VersaMark, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum

Acc.: Black Embossing Powder, Big Shot, SU Top Die Bigz Die, bling, computer

Hope you get a chance to tell someone you haven't seen in a while that you love them.

Bonnie

Bloomin' Lavender

Happy Friday folks. Today's card if full of soon to retire Stampin' Up! goodies.

This flower, from the Bloomin' Beautiful set, is so pretty and a good project to learn water coloring with. In fact, this was one of my first attempts with the aqua painters. You can see I had a control problem with the stem. I still color outside the lines, but that's acceptable in water coloring. At least I think it is.

Anyway, Roxie gave this sketch for us to use this week and I thought of this piece sitting in the box and waiting for a card to call home. It was a perfect size and had been painted with Lavender Lace (a retiring color). In fact all the elements for this card were left overs from something or in the scrap box.

I added a little subtle bling. You can see the big pearl pretty well but the tiny pearls in the embossed flowers didn't show up well in the photo. My paper piercing looks more crooked in the picture than in real life. I guess I need to start taping the template down to keep it from moving. Hopefully I will remember that the next time I use it.

I'm really sad that the Lavender Lace is being discontinued and this stamp set is retiring. The set is on p. 98 of the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog. You can find the complete list of retiring stamps here. Some of the accessories are being discontinued too. You can find that list here.

If you are interested in becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and getting some of the new items before July 1st, now is the time to sign up. For $99.00 you can become an Independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator. To see the list of all the goodies you get for the start up kit go here and scroll down just a bit. You get over $180.00 worth of supplies and all of the items will be in the new catalog. (Some of them are brand new items that only demonstrators can see now.) You can contact me through my Stampin' Up! website or through this blog if you are interested. I have a 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog as well as some sneak peek items and a hostess level 1, 2 & 3 set on the way. That's just one of the perks of being a demonstrator. I can't wait to play with them and show you.

My but I have gone on tonight. I'll try not to do that again...for a while anyway. Meanwhile, enjoy the lavender for a little while. And do try to get inky this weekend.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Elements of Style with Mambo

Hello friends. Today's card is from the Elements of Style set in the Summer Mini catalog. It has this wonderful, large spray of flowers as well as a curly stamp, hummingbird, For You and the sentiment stamp that I used on this card. I have these stamps in the clear mount and I still love using them.

I stamped the design with black StazOn and colored it with ink pads and a blender pen. It was actually quite quick and easy and I love how it turned out.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Elements of Style
Paper: Melon Mambo Textured, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Black StazOn, Melon Mambo, Always Artichoke, Crushed Curry
Acc.: Blender Pen, Scallop Trim Border Punch

I hope today has been a good day for you.
Bonnie

Color Challenge x 2

Hello again stampin' friends. Just wanted to share the cards I did for this weeks Color Challenge on Splitcoaststampers. The colors this week are Close to Cocoa, Barely Banana & Garden Green. Dessert is gem stickers & the cherry on top is to use a little bit of Soft Sky.

This first card I think I will give to the girl who is buying our house. (If everything goes through. We have our fingers crossed.) I used the little curly stamp from the Wings of Friendship stamp set. It is a level 2 hostess gift and this is the last month you can earn it. I punched a 1" circle and taped it (with painter's tape) on the card stock, inked the stamp and stamped around in a circle. I went back and cut it out and adhered it to the Banana piece I had stamped with the Sanded background stamp. The bow is from Soft Sky ribbon. (This was an In Color about 3 yrs. ago.)

The whole time I was cutting this wreath out, I was thinking about using this combination with the single tree from the Lovely As a Tree set. Sooo.......

I really like this one better.

I inked the stamp with markers, stamped and used a blender pen to "spread" the color a bit. Then I used a Banana marker to put some dandelions around the trunk of the tree. I used the single leaf to stamp a row on the inside. I inked in Garden Green and stamped off first. This card only took about 15 minutes.

Wreath Card Recipe
Stamps: Wings of Friendship, Warm Words (both to retire on June 30), Sanded

Paper: Close to Cocoa, Barely Banana, Whisper White

Ink: Garden Green, Barely Banana, Close To Cocoa

Acc.: Word Window Punch, Big Shot, Magnetic Movers & Shapers Die, Soft Sky ribbon, Flatback Pearls

Tree Card Recipe

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Teeny, Tiny Wishes

Paper: Naturals White, Soft Sky

Ink: Close to Cocoa

Acc.: Close to Cocoa, Garden Green & Barely Banana SU Markers, Blender Pen, Dimensionals

I think the color challenge is my favorite. Betty always finds a combination that I would never, ever think of. I enjoy the challenge and I also enjoy the results. I hope you enjoy them too. Pop on over to Splitcoast and give it a try. You will find the challenges near the bottom on the right of the home page.

Thanks for visiting. Hope you have inky fingers.

Bonnie

I'M SO EXCITED!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!

I had a comment on Monday's blog from Hannah saying my card had been "Blog Spotted" by Cards Magazine. When I went to the Cards site, there was my Basket of Daisies among several awesome cards commemorating Memorial Day.

Did I say I am so excited? If you click on the Blog Spotted button on the sidebar, you can go directly to that site.

On top of that, I got a sneak peak of some of the new Stampin' Up! goodies that will be in the upcoming catalog! Oh boy! I have ordered a few things, well ok, more than a few. I can't show them to you yet, but I can share what I make with them. I'm really excited about the new colors and most of what I ordered is card stock and ink. I did order one level 2 & one level 3 hostess gift. And I got a level 1 hostess gift for ordering the new color kit and I was able to order one of the new stamp sets. Oh, the perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!

June is a good month to become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator if you are interested. If you click on the Idea Book & Catalog on the side bar to go to my Stampin' Up! website and click on the promotions button, you will see all the details.

From there you can also see all the stamps that will be retiring at the end of this month. Check the list carefully. After June 30 they will be gone for good. Some of the colors are also being discontinued, so if you have a favorite, check to make sure you have plenty before they are gone for good.

I do have some cards to share with you but need to get them ready to load. So I'll be back in a little while. Sorry I didn't get to share all this yesterday. What with all the excitement and all, the day got away from me.

Janet, if you are reading this, email me and I will give you the details about the embossing folder I used for the basket.

Meanwhile, enjoy.

Bonnie