Jersey Shore Birthday

Even though I used it quite a bit when I first got it, I still have some Jersey Shore DSP left. So - I decided to pull it out for this birthday card. I haven't made anything this bright for awhile, but I like the way it turned out. The cupcakes in the Darling Dots hostess set were perfect for this sketch (Sketch Challenge 206 on SCS).

All 3 of the patterned papers are from Jersey Shore. The polka dot and Brilliant Blue dot patterns are both matted on Brilliant Blue cardstock, and the Pumpkin Pie pattern is matted on Pumpkin Pie cardstock. The cupcakes were punched out with the 1 1/4" circle punch and matted on 1 3/8" circles of Old Olive. Both the Pumpkin Pie layer and cupcake circles are adhered with dimensionals.

The small sentiment tags on the left are from the retired So Many Sayings hostess set. They are tied to the Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon with Linen Thread.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Darling Dots, So Many Sayings
Cardstock: Whisper White, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
DSP: Jersey Shore
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, Linen Thread
Tools: 1 1/4 & 1 3/8" Circle Punches

Thinking of You

This is the last of the Thoughts & Prayers cards (for now anyway). This one is pretty straightforward. The tree image is matted on 3 strips of Parisian Breeze specialty DSP and then matted on Chocolate Chip cardstock.

The tree was stamped with Baja Breeze ink, and then I went over the trunk and limbs with a Chocolate Chip marker. It would have been easier to do it all with markers, but since we don't have in-color markers, this was my back up plan. Once that was done, I "thumped" my Chocolate Chip marker onto the leaves to give it some additional variation.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
DSP: Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta

Wild About Baby Cards

I needed a thank you card, so I decided to use the Sketch for You to Try that I used on this card. I really liked the sketch, and it came together really easily.

The So Saffron background was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing folder, and the striped DSP is from the Delicate Dots DSP package available through Sale-A-Bration. The small buttons are from a variety package I picked up in the sewing section of Wal-Mart.

While I had all of my supplies out, I decided to make a couple of baby cards with the same design. I know a few ladies that are still expecting also, so it will be nice to have them on hand.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Wild About You, Nursery Necessities, Much Appreciated
Cardstock: Whisper White, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue
DSP: Delicate Dots, Berry Bliss
Ink: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Buttons (Wal-Mart)
Tools: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Praying for You

For this card, I cut a 1 1/8 x 3 3/8 strip of Whisper White and stamped my image before cutting it into 1 1/8" squares. The squares were then matted on 1 1/4" squares of Chocolate Chip.

The sentiment was stamped in Chocolate Chip and then punched with the 1 3/8" circle punch. I wanted to make this a SU! only card, so I resisted the temptation to add a 1 1/2" layer of Baja Breeze before adhering to my scallop circle. (Just as a side note, I think it's interesting that SU! came out with a 1 3/4" circle punch before a 1 1/2". I have a 1 1/2" circle punch from my pre-SU! days and find that I use it quite a bit for layering when sentiments or images don't quite fit on the 1 1/4" and really need the 1 3/8". Anyway, just my thought for the day.)

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
Cardstock: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip
DSP: Parisian Breeze Specialty
Ink: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Marker
Tools: 1 3/8" & Scallop Circle Punches

Thoughts & Prayers

The next few cards I have to share also use the Thoughts and Prayers set. This one uses Jen del Muro's Sketch for you to Try from last week. I took some inspiration from a couple of different cards that also used her sketch - this one and this one.

This card also uses the Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze. I love that color combo!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
DSP: Parisian Breeze Specialty
Ink: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Marker
Accessories: Vintage Brads

Bleached Thoughts & Prayers

This is the second card we were supposed to do at my workshop this past week (it ended up being canceled). I have to say that I really love the new Thoughts & Prayers set. I took it on and off my order a few times because I didn't think I really "needed" it, but I'm so glad I went ahead and got it. Great images and sentiments for those difficult cards!

For this card, I used the bleaching technique to stamp the tree on Baja Breeze cardstock. (Just pour a little bleach onto a paper towel in a small container and use that as your stamp pad.) The sentiment was stamped in Chocolate Chip, and the rest is just layers - Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, and Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP. A few scallops with the scallop edge punch, some Chocolate Chip Taffeta, and the card is complete!

If you haven't had a chance to see or feel the new specialty DSP SU! is offering in this catalog, be sure to check it out! It is a cardstock weight paper with just a little bit of texture. I love it!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Kraft
DSP: Parisian Breeze Specialty
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta
Tools: Scallop Edge Punch, Household Bleach
Techniques: Bleaching

Update & "A Good Egg"

It's hard to believe it's been almost 2 months since I've posted anything (seems to be a recurring theme for me), but time sure has flown by. I am just a little over 34 weeks along now and have spent the majority of my spare time the last few months doing things to prepare for our little one's arrival. We have the nursery pretty well done - thanks to DH's great painting skills, have purchased and/or received the necessities (car seat, etc.) and have been attending birthing classes for the last few weeks. I've spent a lot of my time reading and researching - breastfeeding, cloth diapers, natural childbirth, what kind of car seat to get, strollers, etc., etc. I've been amazed at all the options available! (I've gotten some strange looks when I start mentioning cloth diapers, but we decided to go with them for health, environmental and financial reasons, and it's incredible what is available now - let me tell you, these aren't your grandma's diapers and plastic pants! Here's a link to one of the kinds we're planning to use if you're interested in checking them out.) It's been a fun journey so far, and we are getting very excited to meet our little one and finally find out if it's a boy or girl (I have to admit, the suspense is getting to me a little bit!).


Anyway, sorry to ramble about baby things. I do have a card to share. This is a quick card I am doing for a workshop tonight. It uses the "A Good Egg" set and the Delicate Dots DSP from the Sale-A-Bration promotion. I used paper piecing for the chick and egg, but otherwise it's a pretty straightforward card. I have some other cards to share over the next few days as well. It was fun to finally get a little stamping in again!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: A Good Egg
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Whisper White
DSP: Delicate Dots
Ink: Basic Grey, Pumpkin Pie Marker
Accessories: Certainly Celery Grosgrain, Linen Thread
Tools: Word Window Punch
Techniques: Paper Piecing