Butterfly Boutique

Hello everyone! I recently taught a class based on Designer Series Paper (DSP). When I was designing cards for this class I was thinking of layouts that showcase many designs of DSP packs as well as use up scraps of DSP so they don’t have to go to waste. My next few posts will be cards from this DSP class. I hope you enjoy them!

The DSP showcased in this first card is the Floral Boutique DSP. My favorite design of the 12 different designs in this pack is the one with the differently shades of blue lines (upper right hand corner). I love things with shades of the same color.

The rectangles measure 2 x 1 1/2″. The crumb cake banner measures 3 1/2 x 3/4″. The whisper white banner measures 3 1/4 x 1/2″.

I borrowed my friend’s precision base plate to use with this detailed die cut from the Butterfly Thinlits die set. I wanted to see if it really made a difference in getting a cleaner cut for all the little pieces and I am happy to report that it did. It was also very helpful in getting a clean cut with the largest die cut of the Flourish Thinlits (see my recent post, Flowering Flourishes) and also for the two larger dies in the Detailed Floral Thinlits die set.

I couldn’t resist adding a little interest to the inside of the card with this gorgeous little butterfly from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set. This more realistic butterfly image is my favorite from this set.

I hope you are inspired to be creative with some DSP and maybe to give this layout a try. 🙂

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

Just a Little Wink

Hello everyone! In my last post, Flowering Flourishes, I had some fun with the in-laid die cut technique and the Flourish Thinlits. Today’s card also features the Flourish Thinlits, but this time they are are free standing and just as gorgeous!

It’s funny how some cards develop from one spark of an idea. My only plan starting out was to do the leaf die cut in Old Olive. I pretty much built the rest of the card around that. I am really happy with the results. 🙂

It doesn’t show up super well in the photos, but I added some clear glitter with the clear Wink of Stella glitter brush. The die cuts are beautiful on their own, but who doesn’t like a little glitter? 😉

I used to be all about Crumb Cake, but recently I am seeing the beauty of Sahara Sand. It is an even starker contrast with these bright colors than Crumb Cake was. Look how those cute little die cuts pop against the gentle Sahara Sand backdrop. It’s fun to have so many great neutrals to choose from!

Dimensions: Card base is 4 1/4 x 11″ (scored in half at 5 1/2″), Whisper White background layer is 3 3/4 x 5″. The Whisper White sentiment piece is 1 x 2 3/4″. The Sahara Sand sentiment layer is  1 1/4 x 3″.

Tips & Tricks: I popped the sentiment layers up with Stampin’ Dimensionals. I recommend brushing the die cuts with Wink of Stella before adhering them so you don’t get extra glitter on your card. I adhered the die cuts with the Fine Tip Glue Pen. I stamped off with the Rich Razzleberry ink before stamping the sentiment. It was too dark for my liking, what with such a fine script.

I hope you are inspired to try your hand with some Wink of Stella. The glitter pen format makes it super easy to control the amount of glitter you apply. The pens come in clear and gold and are super fun to use.

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

**Supplies**: Flourish Thinlits Dies, Big Shot, Butterfly Basics Stamp Set, Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin’ Pad, Sahara Sand Cardstock, Whisper White Cardstock, Old Olive Cardstock, Pool Party Cardstock, Wink of Stella- clear, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Snail Adhesive, Fine Tip Glue Pen, &Stampin’ Trimmer.

**All supplies can be purchased from my online store.

Flowering Flourishes

I have had a blast these last few days creating with the Flourish Thinlits Dies. I earned this die cut set as a reward for meeting a sales goal for Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. That’s right, I got this $29 set for free! Stampin’ Up! treats its demonstrators so well. If you’re interested in hearing more about the benefits of being a SU! demo, contact me for more information. I’d love to have you on my team!

I love CASEing beautiful cards that I find on Pinterest, but there is something very rewarding about creating a card myself. Thinking through design and layout, planning color combinations, going outside of my comfort zone, maybe tossing out an idea or two when it just isn’t working, and then the happy feeling of holding a card in my hand that I designed and being proud of it. 🙂 I hope you have that feeling every once in awhile too. Below is the Flourish Thinlits set that has been inspiring me to come up with my own cards the last few days.I posted a card not too long ago in my post “Fluttering Flowers – Inlaid Die Cut Technique” that featured the same technique I used on today’s card. I think this technique works amazingly well with intricate dies. I was inspired to try some mixing and matching with the colors of the positive and negative images. I think I will try this card again but switch the background (negative image) to Rich Razzleberry and change the positive image (the flower die cut) to Pool Party. How fun would it be to see those two cards side by side? Maybe in a future post? 🙂

Here are the dimensions for this card: Base- 8 1/2 x 5 1/2″ (scored at 4 1/4″), Pool Party Background Piece- 3 1/4 x 4 1/2″ (I took an inch off the measurements for the height and length to leave a 1/2″ border all around), Whisper White Sentiment Layer-1/2 x 3″, Pool Party Sentiment Layer- 3/4 x 3″, Rich Razzleberry Sentiment Layer- 1 x 3″.

Tips & Tricks: I thought it was a little something different to leave the ends straight and not flag them. I used the Fine Tip Glue Pen to adhere the die cut flowers. I stamped off once before stamping the sentiment in Rich Razzleberry Ink. I thought it was a fun embellishment to add the die cut border image on the inside of the card.

I hope you too are inspired to create your own cards – maybe with the Flourish Thinlits set! 🙂

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

**Supplies**: Flourish Thinlits Die Set, Big Shot, Sheltering Tree Stamp Set, Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin’ Pad (stamped off), Whisper White Thick Cardstock, Pool Party Cardstock, Rich Razzleberry Cardstock, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Snail Adhesive, Fine Tip Glue Pen, & Stampin’ Trimmer.

**All supplies can be purchased from my online store.

Wonderful Washi Tape

Hello everyone! Gone are the days when washi tape was just an accent piece on a card. Now, Stampin’ Up! has given us such beautiful washi tape designs that it would be a shame not to let it be front and center on our card!

The three washi tape designs showcased on my card today are from the “Affectionately Yours” collection. There are several other coordinating products, but I thought it would be fun to just work with the washi tape and give it a chance to shine. I really like the other two patterns in this collection, but didn’t want the card to get too busy. Plus, I had to leave some room for stamping! 🙂

How fun would it be to try different combinations of designs from this set? I am also super motivated to pull out the retired washi tape collections I have and go to town, even though I can’t use them on my blog or for the classes I teach in my home.

***A little note: It is a little hard to see in these pictures, but I used Night of Navy ink for all the stamping, not black ink.

I could have trimmed the washi tape along the sides for a crisp look, but I thought it would be a fun surprise to just wrap it around have some pops of color.

I hope you are inspired to create some cards featuring the beautiful designs of Stampin’ Up!’s washi tape. The possibilities are endless!

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

Supplies*: Affectionately Yours Washi Tape, Celebrate Today Stamp Set, Night of Navy Classic Stampin’ Pad, Whisper White Thick Cardstock, Butterfly Basics Stamp set (inside sentiment), Stampin’ Trimmer.

*All supplies can be purchased from my online store.

Something Old, Something New

When a new Stampin’ Up! catalog arrives there is always lots of excitement over the new products, as there should be. There are always so many awesome new things to create with. There is also lots of creative fun to be had by freshening up products that carried over by combining them with new ones.

The Butterfly Thinlits Dies are probably my favorite die cut set that carried over into the new annual catalog. As I set about designing some cards that used sentiments from the May Paper Pumpkin stamp set, “Manly Manly Occasions”, I was inspired to combine this “old” die from the Butterfly Thinlits Die set with a new In-Color, Emerald Envy. I love the result!

While I love using bold colors with this butterfly die, I stepped out of my comfort zone a little bit with the rest of the colors on this card. When I am choosing a brown, I usually gravitate toward Crumb Cake, probably because I love how it can coordinate with the Crumb Cake Envelopes.  However, when I looked at the Emerald Envy butterfly I was inspired to try pariing it with Soft Suede, a little more of a bolder brown to match the bold green of the Emerald Envy. I was then inspired to tone things down a little bit by using Very Vanilla for the background, whereas I usually gravitate to the more striking Whisper White. I really had fun stepping out of the box with this card.

As I mentioned above, the stamp set I used for this sentiment is from May’s Paper Pumpkin kit, “Many Manly Occasions.” As of this blog’s posting, this kit was not available for purchase. However, I think you could easily substitute sentiments from any number of sets.

I hope you are inspired to create with the Butterflies Thinlits Dies and to step outside of your comfort zone and try new things in your crafting. I’d love to see what you come up with using inspiration from this card. If you email me your creations (stephaniemackey2012@gmail.com) I just might put them in future blog posts. 🙂

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

Supplies**: Soft Suede Cardstock, Very Vanilla Cardstock, Emerald Envy Cardstock, Big Shot, Butterflies Thinlits Dies, Large Dots Embossing Folder, Soft Suede Classic Stampin’ Pad, Many Manly Occasions stamp set (May 2016 Paper Pumpking kit), Pearls Basic Jewels, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Snail Adhesive, Paper Snips.

**All supplies are available for purchase from my Online Store. 

$5 Paper Pumpkin Deal- Today only!

THE FLASH SALE IS HERE!  Sign up for Paper Pumpkin now and get your first kit for only $5.  CLICK HERE and use promo code “ONEDAYDEAL” today.

This amazing offer ends today, Friday, June 10 at 11:50 PM (MT).

FINE PRINT

• This offer is open to first-time subscribers only. Discount applies to one kit for June 2016. After the first month, the price for the subscription will return to $19.95.  You will need to cancel your subscription before the 10th of the month to avoid being charged again.
• Available for month-to-month subscriptions, not prepaid subscriptions.
• Read all FAQ’s by clicking here.

See samples of past Paper Pumpkin kits on Stampin’ Up!’s Pinterest boards.

If you haven’t done so yet, I hope you are inspired to give Paper Pumpkin kits a try. I know you’ll love them!

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

“Love you Lots” & New Catalog!

It’s here! The 2016-2017 Annual Catalog went live June 1st. I will be sharing lots of fabulous cards made from awesome new product in the coming weeks. I think the coolest thing about the new catalog (besides the new In Colors, which are always amazing each year!) are the new thinlits and framelits. Stampin’ Up! has given us some super creative and super detailed dies to get creative with in this catalog. 🙂

This card is simple, as is its message. I wanted to showcase the new In Colors as well as the cuteness of this stamp, so I purposefully kept it Clean and Simple (CAS).

The elephant and mouse image (they are the same image) comes from the hostess stamp set “Love You Lots”. And I sure do love this set! I was able to get it early during the demonstrator pre-order period last month. Just one of the many perks of being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. 🙂 Click on the link to the right if you would like more information on joining my Stampin’ Up! team, or contact me directly. I’d love to help you get started on this next stage of your Stampin’ Up! journey. 

I just love the shading on this elephant. Very sketched-looking which is super cute.

I would have loved to go crazy with the Emerald Envy cardstock on this card (it’s my favorite new In Color) but I felt the look I was going for called for a Sweet Sugarplum cardbase. We’ll have some fun with the Emerald Envy in another post or two. 😉

The tiny dots that accent the sentiment are from another hostess set, “Pun Intended”. I can’t wait to show you cards created with the main images from that set, but for now I must be content with adding a little bit of interest with the line of tiny dots.

I hope you are inspired to create with the new 2016-2018 In Colors and these adorable Hostess stamp sets. You can purchase these sets by placing an order of $150 or more and using your hostess Stampin’ Rewards towards them. You can also gather orders from some friends to help you reach the $150. Please let me know if I can assist you in this, maybe even help you host an online Stampin’ Up! party.

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

Supplies**: Love You Lots Stamp Set, Pun Intended Stamp Set, Basic Gray Archival Stampin’ Pad, Emerald Envy Classic Stampin’ Pad, Sweet Sugarplum Classic Stampin’ Pad, Emerald Envy Cardstock, Sweet Sugarplum Cardstock, Whisper White Cardstock, Snail, & Stampin’ Trimmer.

**Supplies for this card can be purchased from my online store.