BLOGGING HIATUS

Hi Stampers and Scrapbookers,


My blog is on hiatus for an undetermined amount of time.  If you follow my blog, you have noticed that I have not posted much for several months. Why? I have gone back to "school" and have been spending most of my time studying.  This life change does not give me frequent opportunities to stamp in my studio. 


You can certainly check my blog occasionally; however, my blogging for the upcoming months will be sporadic, if not infrequent. This is a sad announcement to make, since I truly love sharing my love of stamping with you.


I plan to continue stamping, when I can, and I continue to be a Stampin' Up Independent Demonstrator. You can continue to place your product orders with me directly via my email. You also can still attend my stamping events, though there will be fewer events. Planning, preparation, setup, and cleanup take quite a bit of time, and at this time in my life I must cut back somewhere.  Unfortunately, my hobby business takes the hit.


So, until I am back on track, I hope to remain in contact with you and I hope you check my blog occasionally to see when I return on a regular basis.


I hope you find time in your days to stamp!


So grateful for you,
Linda

Think About Color Thursday - Lucky Limeade, Concord Crush, Pumpkin Pie, and Daffodil Delight or Crushed Curry

Hello!


That lucky day is approaching!  St. Patrick's Day!  Can you tell that I am Irish?  My post for today honor's that corned beef & cabbage day with a cheerful color combo:


Lucky Limeade, Concord Crush, Pumpkin Pie, and Crushed Curry.


Crushed Curry is a retired Stampin' Up  "In Color" from a couple years ago.  If you do not have this color in your collection, a nice substitution would be Daffodil Delight.  Daffodil Delight is a current Stampin' Up color.  


Here I have decorated the card front with selections of polka dot designer series paper within my color combination.  The card stock is Sahara Sand.


The stamped image {from the 2011 Holiday Mini Catalog's Gift Givers stamp set} has been done with black Stazon ink onto watercolor paper.  A combination of Stampin' Write markers and an Aqua Painter were the tools for coloring.  A little trick I used for the stripes on the trousers was to color a Concord Crush stripe, then pull the color across the adjacent stripe with an Aqua Painter to create two shades of Concord Crush.  I like how it created both light and dark coordinated shades of purple! 


Do you recognize the ribbon that is tied through the button?  It is one of the products contained in the current Stampin' Up Sale-a-Bration Everyday Enchantment Ribbons and Brads Pack, which you can get FOR FREE with a $50 product order through the end of this month!  Let me know if you'd like to place an order. 


Linda

Whatever Wednesday - Fresh Sprinkles

Hello!


You have another couple of weeks to contact me in order to place a Stampin' Up $50 product order so you can get {FOR FREE!} either the Fresh Vintage stamp set (the little postage-stamp style image on today's card is one of the stamps in this set) or the Sprinkled Expressions stamp set (the "You Make My Whole Face Smile" stamped image above is included in that stamp set)!  Contact me today for more information!


The color scheme for today's card is so cheerful and bright!  Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, and Rose Red.  If you are attending my March Simple Yet Stunning card camp this evening, you will be stamping this card!


Have a great day!


Linda

Tuesday Tips - Stamp a Scene

Today's card features a Stampin' Up 2011/2012 "In Color" called Lucky Limeade.  On Friday I posted a card that had just a taste of Lucky Limeade as well.


Notice the "scene" that is stamped on today's card?  The little girl is collecting Easter eggs and looking at the bunny.  Stamping a scene is a nice change of pace and a fun way to create a card, particularly for a holiday!  I designed this layout so the girl, who is looking down, would be looking down at the bunny.  The bunny needed to be placed in the lower left area of the card front to "set the scene".  Give it a try!


This card was another swap card that I created for last weekend's Stampin' Up Regional Convention.  It is a simple card using regular stamping and no coloring.  It can be made in a jif!

NOTES:
cs:  Lucky Limeade, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
dsp:  Lucky Limeade patterns
stamp sets:  Heaven Blessed and Mixed Bunch (both available from the current Occasions Mini Catalog until March 31, 2012!), Teeny Tiny Wishes
inks:  Classic Stampin' Pads - Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede
Punches: Circle – XL Oval, Curly Label, Word Window, Modern Label, Ticket Corner

Enjoy the day!


Linda

Fast Friday - Bunny and Chicks

So, I had hoped to post a few times this week but I've been extra busy.  I've also been stamping to get ready for the Regional Stampin' Up convention.  I am very excited to be attending and have been making swap cards.  Today I finally finished them, so here's a blog posting!

My Fast Friday post this week is one of the convention swap cards I made.  It is quick and easy because stamping is done with only one inkpad, Early Espresso Classic ink.  The cutting is easy because all that is cut are strips of card stock and designer series paper.  Speaking of dsp, the dsp on today's card is from the Sale-a-Bration Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper.  You can get the 12 x 12 packer package FOR FREE when you place a $50 Stampin' Up order thru March 31, 2012!  Let me know if you'd like this beautiful paper!


The 1 3/4" circle punch is used for the three stamped images and the 1" circle punch creates the Tempting Turquoise circle under the bow.


Have a great weekend!


Linda

Fast Friday - Shabby Birthday Gift Box

This has been quite a busy week, so today will be my only post until next week.  The quick card this week is an unstamped card.  That's right.  No stamping.  A happy birthday message might be an appropriate message to stamp inside the card.  I adhered a Whisper White background, and then only a designer series paper square and rectangle and coordinating ribbon to create a gift box.

The gorgeous 1 1/4" double striped ribbon becomes the bow for a gift-wrapped box!   I simply cut the ribbon to make it narrower and tied a bow.  A few glue dots secure the ribbon to the card front.  You can give the ribbon a shabby chic look or remove the frayed strands for a neater appearance.  This gorgeous ribbon is available currently in a variety of Stampin' Up's colors. 

Linda

Fast Friday - Crumbcake Heart

Happy Friday!

Valentine's Day cards are so much fun to create!  I've been quite heart happy.  Today's quick card of the week is a stew of several types of hearts.

I punched the full heart punch into a Crumb Cake square of card stock and backed it with designer series paper.  Any of Stampin' Up's dsp in a shade of pink will do.  Consider using up a scrap!  You can make an entire set of these cards using dsp scraps!  I also inked the edges of this Crumb Cake square element with a Crumb Cake Classic inkpad.

Other hearts in my heart stew are the tiniest heart from the 3 heart punch and two die cut hearts.  The new Fashionable Hearts Embosslit Die from the current 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog makes it so easy to make these little hearts!

Happy Weekend!

Linda