Sunshine, Sprinkles, Owls and Adoptions...Oh, My!

Hi stampers! The title of my post is a little random, I know. Hopefully it makes sense by the time you get to the end. I'm in a sassy mood today as I had the day off and was wicked productive. Don't you love days like that? I got a LOT scratched off my never-ending "to do" list, including cleaning up my stamp studio. I was a little scared to go in there, as it looked like the Tasmanian Devil ripped through there recently. Not a joke, by-the-way. It was BAD! 

I was so happy that my space was fresh and clean, I celebrated by...getting it messy again and making some cards today. Oh well! I made this card after seeing the awesome sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches, created by the amazingly talented Cindy Hall. I got to meet Cindy at SU Convention last year, which was pretty cool! 

When I get really excited about creating, I always reach for bright and cheerful colors. The Sunshine and Sprinkles Designer Series Paper (from the SU! Spring catalog) is one of my absolute favorites right now. I couldn't decide which stamps to use and after staring at my collection for longer then I truly needed to, I abandoned that thought completely and went to my punches. WHOOOO loves owls? This girl does! I've listed all of the supplies I used at the end of the post. 

So what's up with that "adoption" in the title of my post? Well, if you are a regular visitor to my blog, you know that my husband and I have been fostering a dog from the city shelter since last September. After many months of unsuccessful (and some very creepy) adoption inquiries, we decided that Mr. Oscar had already found his home...with us! So we went ahead and made it official last week. Thank you to everyone who has been inquiring about him for an update. Oscar (he is the one on the right) is super excited to be part of the family and so are we!

Until next time...Have a very HAPPY day today! :) 

CLICK HERE to order anytime 24/7 from my Stampin' Up! website

Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Owl Together Now (retired)

Paper: Sunshine and Sprinkles DSP (Spring catty), Brights Designer Series Paper Stack, Pacific Point, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight Old Olive and Whisper White card stock 

Ink: Basic Black Classic ink

Punches: Owl Builder Punch, Bird Builder Punch (branches), Large Oval Punch and Modern Label Punch

Accessories: Cloudy Day Embossing Folder (Spring catty), Melon Mambo 3/8" Striped Organdy Ribbon (Spring catty), Big Shot, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals

Oh, Hello for Dynamic Duos #35

Hello there stampers! This week at Dynamic Duos we are taking things "Soft and Subtle" with a combo of Certainly Celery and So Saffron. Although Certainly Celery is not my favorite shade of green, I REALLY like this pairing. 

I will be honest, I had no idea where to start when I decided to use the Oh, Hello stamp set. I love that sentiment, by the way. It is something you would say to someone who maybe was standing behind you and you just realized they were there..."Oh, Hello". So nonchalant. Love it! Sorry for that moment of randomness, that is just how I roll sometimes. :) 

Here is another attempt at "shabby". Does it qualify? I'm not sure. I sponged pretty much every edge of the card (and the white doily) with some Crumb Cake ink. There is a "chevron-theme" going on this card, too. After I lined up the little chevron pieces I thought about running some stitching down the middle and then I remembered....I don't sew. So, I opted for a line of pearls instead of the stitching.

Finally, I added a punched and layered sentiment and a little punched butterfly just because it felt like it needed something else. Lots of items from the *new* Spring Catalog on this one. All of the products I used are listed at the end of the post.

I hope you will join us and play along this week at Dynamic Duos this week. Please stop by and visit the rest of the Designers to see what they created with this subtle color combo: 

Allyson Andersen

Christina Barnes

Vicki Burdick

Karen Day

Deanna Dean

Jenny Engelke

Anne Marie Hile

Bobbie Jones

Erna Logtenberg

Amy White

Before I go, I wanted to share some exciting news! Stampin' Anne is (FINALLY) on Facebook! I hope you will stop by and "Like" my new page. Please, please! It's a great way to stay connected and share some more crafty goodness. Check it out by clicking HERE or clicking the photo below.

Stampin' Anne

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CLICK HERE to order anytime 24/7 from my Stampin' Up! website

Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Oh, Hello

Paper: Subtles DSP paper pad, Newsprint DSP, So Saffron, Certainly Celery and Crumb Cake card stock

Ink: Certainly Celery and Crumb Cake Classic ink 

Punches: Extra-Large Oval, Decorative Label and Bitty Butterfly (Spring Catalog) 

Accessories: Ovals Collection Framelits (Spring Catalog), Chevron Embossing Folder, Paper Doilies (Spring Catalog), Natural 7/16" Trim Ribbon (Spring Catalog), Stamping Sponges, Basic Pearls and Stampin' Dimensionals

Hearts a Flutter for The Paper Players #127

 Hi there stamping friends! Hope you are having a super-fantastic day today! The weather is gorgeous here in South Texas on this bright and sunny day. This week at the Paper Players, Ann is our hostess with a fun theme challenge to play along with: "Love is in the Air". Time to get a jump start on those Valentine's or just a card for that special someone, letting them know you care.

For my card, I decided to use some of the new items from the SU Spring catalog. You can view the catty by clicking HERE. There are quite a few vintage-inspired items in the catalog and admittedly, that is not one of the styles I feel comfortable creating with. So, I went at this card with a different approach. I'm calling it "Simply Shabby". I came up with a simple layout and then dressed it up with the embellishments. That actually made it a whole lot easier to use the products and didn't make me over think them...like I tend to do.

I love the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and coordinating die cuts. It really makes it easy to create a lot of layers on cards, without a lot of fuss. I used the Heart punch to layer inside the scalloped heart and added some texture from the Fancy Fan Embossing folder along with some pretty pearl trim. You just can't participate in one of Ann's challenges without using pearls, I tell ya. The lace came from the uber cool new Artisan Embellishments Kit. I just cut it down the middle and added it to either side of the middle layer using some Sticky Strip.  All of the supplies I used are listed at the end of the post. 

Finally, a quick shot of the inside of the card, using a Valentine's Day sentiment: 

I hope you will join us this week at the Paper Players and share the "love". Please stop by and visit the rest of the Design Team to see what they whipped up for inspiration. This is the first week our awesome new Guest Designers are joining us, too. Whoop whoop! Have a great day today! :) 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy

Amy O'Neill

Brian King

Jen Nelson

Justin Krieger

Sandy Mathis

Before I go, I have had a few people ask about Oscar, our foster dog. Yes, Oscar still lives with us and he is still looking for his forever home. He is doing very well and there has been talk that he might have already found his home with us. I will keep you posted on that. But, until then, here is a shot of the big guy just being cute. 

CLICK HERE to order anytime 24/7 from my Stampin' Up! website

Stampin' Up! Supply List

Stamps: Hearts a Flutter (Spring catalog) and Itty Bitty Banners

Paper: More Amore Specialty DSP (Spring catalog), Rose Red (even though it is Primrose Petals in the paper...oops!), Pool Party and Very Vanilla card stock

Ink: Rose Red Classic ink

Punches: Full Heart punch, Scallop Edge Border punch

Accessories: Fancy Fan Embossing Folder, Bitty Banners Framelits, Hearts a Flutter Framelits (Spring catalog), Big Shot, lace from Artisan Embellishments Kit (Spring catalog), Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Sticky Strip and Stampin' Dimensionals

The New Spring Catalog is Here!

Hello there! I am so excited to share my first card made in 2013! Whoop whoop! Well, I actually made 30 of this particular card...so I guess that is one way to start the crafting year out right. Go big or go home! This is my card for a swap with some of the most awesome Stampin' Up! Demos out there. Our theme for the swap was to feature new items from the Spring catalog, which went live TODAY!

I used the new Oh, Whale! stamp set along with the coordinating die cut, the Cloudy Day Embossing Folder, the new Sunshine and Sprinkles DSP and super fabby new Striped Organdy Ribbon in Melon Mambo. Bright, cheery and BLINGY! As I mentioned above, these products are available to order TODAY! For real! I'm so excited about this catty and I know you will be too. You can order from my website anytime 24/7 by clicking HERE.

View the new catalog by clicking HERE. 

Stampin' Up! also started the My Little Valentine Promotion today! You will receive the Sealed with Love Simply Sent Kit FREE (a $7.95 value) when you purchase the brand-new My Little Valentine Set. The 4 piece stamp set was created exclusively for this promotion and will not be available again after January 21st! Click HERE for more info about this awesome promotion. 

 Have a HAPPY day today! :)