Bloom and Grow Forever

Does anyone else remember that line from the Sound of Music when they sang Edelweiss? Ok. Maybe just me. It's ok. You will still love this new Stamp and Die Bundle from Stampin' Up! called 'Bloom and Grow'. I just started playing with it yesterday and I am already hooked.

I love using the Stampin' Blends to color images. I used to avoid stamp sets that included images that needed to be colored because honestly, I sucked at it. Now I have a new lease on life.. and coloring

The following cards use all three of the larger flower designs showcasing the versatility of the set.

 I can't decide which color combo I like best out of these two.

For the next card, I simply just stamped around the edges of the card using Memento Ink starting with the corners and then the sides.

This has more of a pastel feel. I love how well the colors work together as colors really are NOT my thing!

*Remember to use Memento Ink when coloring with Stampin' Blends otherwise your colors outline will run with the Stampin' Blends and there is nothing pretty about that!

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Use July's Hostess Code 9ZWGASTK when selecting me as your Demonstrator if your order is less than $150 to receive a special Thank You gift from me! Orders over $150 will still receive a gift, but I just want to make sure that YOU get the Hostess Benefits.

Back on Your Feet

Yep. I am back to Z Fold Cards! They can be so quick and simple to make yet have a great WOW factor. I have a couple workmates out due to surgery and injury so this little guy will be perfect.

Sometimes I like to hide the message behind the fold so that you can only see it once fully opened. I’ve been having fun with the new brick embossing folder as well as the ‘Back on Your Feet’ Stamp Set. 🐢 💕

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Halloween Treat Bag

I love how this cute little bag turned out! 

It was pretty quick to put together which is a big plus when you plan to make multiples like I do. 

I also love that you can get 2 out of one piece of 8 1/2" X 11" cardstock. 

Here is the tutorial if you would like to make your own.

Start with a piece of cardstock cut at 3 1/4" x 11" and score at 4", 6" and 10".

Cut circle as shown. I used a circle Framelit and ran it through my BigShot.

Gather and prepare the pieces you would like to decorate with. I used the fence from the 'FarmHouse Framelit Dies', Spooky Bats Punch and the stamp set 'Trick or Tweet'. The cat is coloured with Stampin' Blends Markers. You will need to fussy cut the cat out.

Adhere pieces to the cardstock. I used dimensionals to pop the cat up a little.

The second bat is placed at the top section that will fold over.

To keep the gusset bag in place, I used a strip of tear away tape to the top flap.

To help the bottom keep it's shape and stay flat, I added some clear sticky tape to hold the bottom seam down.

Adhere the bag about 1/4" down from the top of the flap. You don't want it peaking out once you fold it over. The cardstock should also fold nicely under the bottom of the bag once closed.

Fill the bag with candy.

Fold flap over. Punch 2 holes at the top. If your punch is not strong enough, you might need to unfold and punch each layer separately. Tie ribbon through and you are done! 

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September Hostess Code and Freebie!

September Hostess Code 3VESJYXC.
Earn these adorable Santa's Workshop Enamel Shapes for FREE when you place an online order over $75 using the Hostess Code (Before shipping and Taxes) through September 30.
If you order is over $150, do not use the code but you will still receive the gift as well as the applicable Stampin' Rewards.
Order must be placed through my store.
The Santa's Workshop Enamel Shapes are featured in the NEW Stampin' Up! 2018 Holiday Catalog beginning September 5th.
Your gift will be mailed to you at the end of the month.
You MUST use the Hostess code to receive your gift (Orders totaling $75 - $150 before Shipping and Taxes)

Reese's Big Cup 'Tropical Chic' Explosion Box

Today's challenge was to make a gift for someone who likes Reece's. I chose the Big Cup because they are a nice squarish shape although I had no clue at the time what I was going to do with them!

I think this explosion box worked perfectly though. The finished size is 3" x  3" x 3".

As you can see, I left the middle fairly basic. The gift is for a guy and I didn't want to risk

making it too foo foo. Ha!

I added a shaker element to the lid adding some fun sequins.

 And here is a better look at the finished product.

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Colour Inspiration - Beautiful Bouquet.

I am going to tell you a secret. I suck at coming up with colour combinations. 

Flowers are typically super difficult for me. So, you know what I thought I would do?

I 'Googled' images of Flower Arrangements and it really helped! I had to scrutinize the colours

in the arrangments to find the 'Stampin' Up!' colours, but it wasn't too tricky.

This is the bouquet that I got my inspiration from to make my card.

And below is my finished card.

I would never have come up with these colours on their own but they WORK!

Can you guess the Stampin' Up! colours I used?

OK. I'll tell. 

Merry Merlot, Flirty Flamingo, Petal Pink, Mango Melody,

Crumb Cake for the branch and Garden Green for the leaves.

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online Stampin' Up! store.

Shadow Box Card Tutorial

Here is my little project from today. It’s for one of work colleagues birthday who loves to hike. It’s a shadow box card. I love 3D stuff if you hadn’t guessed. This stamp set and Designer Series Paper is sadly retired and no longer available for purchase but I hung on to it as the set reminds me of Oregon. It also provided a great opportunity to make a tutorial for my blog which I’ve been terribly slacking on. Paired with a ‘kombucha’, he should be happy.

The use of Dimensionals is key here to add depth to your scene.
I stacked 2 Dimensionals on top of the other before adhering the tree line layer.

Here is an upside down view to help show the layers a little better and the depth of the box.

A bird's eye view of the card.










Ok. On to the fun stuff. The tutorial.

For the base you will need:
1 Piece of cardstock 4 1/4"x 11"
2 Pieces of Cardstock 2 3/4" x 3 3/4"
1 Piece of DSP 2 3/4" x 3 3/4"
4 Pieces of Cardstock 1/2" x 2"

Score the 4 1/4"x11" piece on the long side at
5 1/4" and 5 3/4"

Turn the Cardstock over so that you are working on the inside so that your pencil marks won't show on the front.

Measure and draw a rectangle 3/4" from the outer edges like so.

Measure in another 1/2" and draw another
rectangle.

Your cardstock should look like this.

Next, starting at one of the outer corners, draw a line to the closest corner of the inside rectangle and then through the center to the opposite corner.

Your line will not be straight from one corner to the other at furthermost points.

Score the outside edges of the 2 rectangles only.

Using a ruler as a guide, cut the diagonal lines with a craft knife.

Fold your four pieces out like so.

This is what it will look like closed from the front.

Take your DSP (Designer Series Paper) and adhere it directly on top of one of the 2 3/4" x 3 3/4" pieces.

Place tear away tape to the back.

Adhere in place into the shadow box of your card.

Make sure to fit it snuggly against the fold line.

It will look like this from the back.

Adhere the 2nd piece of 2 3/4" x 3 3/4" Cardstock over the back to help it look a little nicer.

Now to cover up those corners.

Score each piece of the 1/2" x 2 " piece at 1"
and fold.

Add glue to the outside ends.

Glue and hold in place at each corner.

You might even like to run some 1/2"
Washi Tape around the edge to pretty it up even more.

This is how your card now looks from the front.

You can now decorate however you like!    I usually like to add as many layers and depth as possible and it's always fun to have something on the edge on the very front. Dimensions are your friends for this project. I hope you enjoyed my tutorial.

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be directed to my online Stampin' Up! store.