MAP IT MONDAY - INSPIRED BUTTERFLY

It's March, so here's a Spring card that'll bring a smile.

Today's map is so simple. You just need the "Inspired by Nature" grass stamp or any large nature stamp. A large outdoor floral stamp would look nice as well. The grass is heat embossed. The "good works" message can be heat embossed or simply stamped. I used a ticket corner punch on the white cs corners.

The butterfly was stamped on white cs with Chocolate Chip & colored with Stampin' Write markers. I adhered the butterfly with dimensionals so it looks like it is fluttering above the grass. A white paper clip & ribbon is added for a little whimsy. The paper clip could be replaced with anything - maybe a ribbon, hardware, or button.

I think we might make this card at an upcoming stamp camp!

Linda :)

SCRAPBOOK SATURDAY - Strawberry Mmm

I guess I forgot to post on Scrapbook Saturday, so here's a "Scrapbook Sunday" post!

I paired the Stampin' Up colors Night of Navy, Pretty in Pink & Old Olive. I really like the combination - I should've used these colors for Think About Color Thursday! Speaking of Thursday, make sure you email me to register for this week's Stamp Camp on Thursday!

I traced the Mmm on chipboard (Lots of Letters) & stamped the strawberry from the Tart & Tangy stamp set. I markered Pretty in Pink & Old Olive markers directly onto the stamp - didn't even use an inkpad.

Journaling was done with my white Signo Gel Pen.

Until tomorrow,

Linda

FAST FRIDAY - Hello Flower

RECIPE:

cs: Brilliant Blue, Naturals White, Elegant Eggplant
ink: Perfect Plum
Stamp set: In the Spotlight
Punches: 1/2 & 1" circle punches
Other: dimensionals, diecut machine, Nestabilities, texture plates

Customers tell me how much they like the fast Friday cards that use punches. Circle punches are used on today's card post, along with a diecut machine, like the Big Shot or Cuttlebug. I ran a Naturals White cs piece through the diecut machine, then cut it to make a large square & punched the middle of the flower out of the scraps with a 1" circle punch.

Next, I ran some Elegant Eggplant cs & a Nestabilities scallop circle through the diecut machine. The flower's center was adhered with dimensionals.

The "hello" is stamped with Elegant Eggplant and punched with a 1/2" circle punch.

Linda :)

THINK ABOUT COLOR THURSDAY - Close to Cocoa, Baja Blue, Whisper White

Today's posting is a terrific color combo: Baja Blue, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White

Pair them & see what you come up with!

L

WHATEVER WEDNESDAY - Reinkers

ReInkers 101
I recently purchased my first Stampin’ Up reinker. I can’t believe I haven’t bought them until now. I like them so much that I plan to get them in all of my most often used inkpad colors. They are a great thing, so I thought I’d let you in on the secret.

Here's a few things you can do with reinkers.....

1. Flowers can be dyed to match cardstock, embellishments or ink. The first card shown here was made at last week's stamp camp. We used an inkpad and an aqua painter to dye the silk flower. The other card's flower is reinked with a blender pen & reinker.
2. Reink your Stampin’ Up inkpads (of course!) – a refreshed inkpad makes stamping easier (you don't have to press as hard & you get a more solid, vibrant, opaque image).
3. Dye ribbon the same color as your Stampin’ Up cardstock or ink!
4. Reink your Stampin’ Up markers (ingenious!) – well, Stampin’ Up does not endorse reinking markers, so you do run the risk of ruining your marker & having to purchase a new one, but I’ve been told that reinking markers can be done & many people do this. There are several ways to reink a marker. One way is to put a few drops of reinker in a plastic baggie, set the marker (tip down) into the baggie & wait until the marker soaks up the ink. So, if you have a marker that you've used and overused for years, give this a try!

Linda :)

TUESDAY TIPS - Don't limit a stamp set to the obvious

Let's play a little game. It's in the spirit of good oldie games like "I Spy" or "Where's Waldo". Ready?

Does this card look familiar? This was a card from my February Valentine's Day stamp camp. Sort of.

Take a good look at this card on today's post, then look here at a post I made a couple weeks ago....... Can you spot the differences between them?

I had plenty of Valentine's Day cards, yet not enough sweeties, lol, so I reworked the theme of that card. I pulled off some of the originally intended messages and images and replaced some of them with baby things and a congratulatory baby message. I am so impressed with myself on this one (one more lol). My wheels have been turning ever since I made this baby card because there are probably so many unvalentine ideas to come up with for this stamp set! If you think of any others, I'd love to hear your ideas. I double dare ya!

Linda

MAP IT MONDAY - Dazzling Diamonds Cupcake Circle Card

Cute map, huh? And, don't you love the bling on this cupcake? I used Dazzling Diamonds glitter. We made this card at the last card camp!

RECIPE:
cs: Green Galore, Whisper White
stamp set: Crazy for Cupcakes, large solid surface stamp
paper: Tempting Turquoise Patterns dsp
inks: Black Stazon Inkpad, Stampin' Up markers, VM inkpad
other: Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter, stampin' dimensionals, ribbon, circle cutting system, scoring & cutting blades

Make the card:

Cut two same-size circles approx. 4" in diameter. Stampin' Up has a new circle cutter called a Circle Scissors Plus that you might want to check out on page 188 of the catalog! Score one of the circles near the top. Fold on the scored line & add adhesive above the score line. Press both together & when you open it up, you will see the inside of your circle card.

Stamp & Apply Color to Cupcake: Stamp image onto white cs with Black Stazon inkpad. Color with Stampin' Up markers.

Heat & Stick Powder & Dazzling Diamonds:

Apply VM ink to the area where you want glitter. Any large solid stamp can work well for applying VM. Heat & Stick powder gets sprinkled next. Heat with heat tool, sprinkle Dazzling Diamonds glitter onto the sticky area, then heat set one more time. Cut out the cupcake.

Finish the Card:

I adhered Designer Series Patterns Paper circle in Tempting Turquoise to the card front, added the cupcake with dimensionals, cut a slit in the card with a cutting blade, & added ribbon through the slit.

Linda :)