Sketch Challenge

 Hey Everybody,

Today's card is a sketch challenge.

Marion's challenge can be found here. 
I stamped the stool with crumb cake ink on crumb cake cardstock then dry embossed with my SU Timber 3D embossing folder. I stamped the teapot onto my designer paper and cut it out with the die. The designer series paper is called, Floral Charm, which is a newer paper. I stamped with crumb cake ink, then die cut the flowers for the vase. Then I colored them with Copic Markers and added clear Wink of Stella to the roses. I added the pretty in pink square the assembled everything on top of it. I added my strips at the bottom opposite of the card background, then added my sentiment strip. Lastly, I added strawberry slush gems.

166125

Sale

FLORAL CHARM 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER

$10.63 $12.50

Keywords: SC1071

Stamps: Country Flowers, Label Me Grateful

Paper: crumb cake, white, vanilla, SU Floral Charm designer series paper, pretty in pink

Paper Size: A2

Ink: crumb cake, berry burst

Accessories: country flowers dies, dimensionals, Timber 3D embossing folder, Copic Markers, Strawberry Slush and Pretty in Pink Gems

Techniques: dry embossing, coloring, die cutting

This is one of the few cards where I used dies.  I think it's been on my mind that I haven't used too many dies on my cards, so I pulled out a set that I really liked. These dies aren't too small and they are easy to work with.

I like to use embossing folders a lot too. I have several woodgrain embossing folders that I can use.

Well, that's it for today. I'll see you back here again tomorrow.

Blessings,

Sue

3 New Kits Plus Last Chance Products AND In-Color Sale

 Hey Everybody,

We have 3 new kits beginning today. Take a look.

(Click on the link to go to the Stampin' Up site.)

166460

BRIGHTEN YOUR DAY KIT

$17.00

Product detail

Create easy to assemble, nature-inspired cards with the Brighten Your Day Card Kit. The delicate, organic overlays and soft pastel colors pair beautifully with friendship and encouragement sentiments.

DETAILS

- Makes 9 cards: 3 each of 3 designs

- Folded card size: 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" (10.8 x 14 cm)

- Colors: Balmy Blue, Basic Beige, Fresh Freesia, Highland Heather, Lost Lagoon, Pecan Pie.

Sentiments printed in Dutch, English, French, and German

Kit includes one of each item listed below.

- Step-by-step instructions

- 9 printed envelopes

- Precut overlays

- Adhesive

KITS COLLECTION

- Includes designed projects that come in a range of project types.

- Is perfect for new crafters, busy crafters, or crafters who want quick and easy projects.

166228

HARVEST HOME GARLAND KIT

$22.00

Gather your friends and create beautiful DIY home decor with the Harvest Home Garland Kit. Layer die-cut leaves—including hints of copper foil—for a rich, nature-inspired look. It’s perfect for group crafting or a cozy solo session with your favorite show—and you’ll have a one-of-a-kind piece you made yourself!

DETAILS
- Makes 1 garland 5' 5" long (165 cm)
- Colors: Cajun Craze, copper, gray, Lost Lagoon, Old Olive, Pecan Pie, Very Vanilla, white

Kit includes one of each item listed below.
- Step-by-step instructions
- Adhesive

KITS COLLECTION
- Includes designed projects that come in a range of project types.
- Is perfect for new crafters, busy crafters, or crafters who want quick and easy projects.

166212

Sale

BUNCH OF THANKS KIT (ENGLISH)

$19.55 $23.00

Product detail

Brighten someone’s day with handmade floral cards from the Bunch of Thanks Kit. With hand-drawn designs, heartfelt gratitude sentiments, and preprinted pieces, this all-inclusive card making kit helps you craft stunning cards in minutes—no extra supplies needed.

DETAILS

- Makes 8 cards: 4 each of 2 designs

- Folded card size: approx. 3-3/4" x 5-1/2" (9.5 x 14 cm)

- Colors: Bubble Bath, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Strawberry Slush, Timid Tiger

- Also available in French

Kit includes one of each item listed below.

- Bunch of Thanks Photopolymer Stamp Set

- Clear stamp block

- Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin’ Spot

- Step-by-step instructions

- 8 printed envelopes

- Adhesive

KITS COLLECTION

- Includes designed projects that come in a range of project types.

- Is perfect for new crafters, busy crafters, or crafters who want quick and easy projects.

Lots of new products added--including some "old" Sale-a-bration items!!  Go shop now--they're "while supplies last"!! Shop HERE!

In Color Product Sale

Thanks for stopping by.

Don't forget to sign up for August Classes.

Monday Aug. 11th at 10 filled

Tuesday Aug 12th at 1  1 spot available

Thursday Aug 13th at 10   3 spots available

Friday Aug. 14th at 7   1 spot available

Down On The Farm Today

 Hey Everybody,

Here's Lisa's challenge for today.  When I saw a farm theme I immediately thought of my Gerda Steiner Chicken stamp set. I thought they'd bring a smile to Betty. I used versamark ink on the white panel then added silver embossing powder and heat set it. I stamped and colored the images. I die cut the images and added a dimensional behind each. I used my Prairie Grass stamp set to make the hay. I just inked up the bottom of one of the stamps. For the nests I inked up and cut out what I stamped. I stamped the sentiment then made it look like a sign. The inside reads Wishing you every happiness this special day will bring. May you be blessed by the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 115:15 P.S. This card was made from scratch. When I was making this card, I needed a way to make it look like hay under the roost area. I also wanted hay for a couple of nests. I looked at the Prairie Grass stamp set and saw that I could use one of the grasses stamps for hay. I stamped it all over the bottom of the cage. Then I stamped it in a pile and cut it out for the two nests. I had no idea how it would look, but I liked the way it looked. (I lucked out for sure! LOL) Gerda Steiner has been a favorite stamp company of mine for a long, long time. She has lots of whimsical animals. I love cute animals and use them a lot for the hospital cards I make. I like to throw in humor and whimsy when I can.  Being in the hospital isn't any fun and if I can bring a smile to someone with a card on their dinner tray, I'm happy. I know this is a birthday card, but it could just as easily by a Thinking of You card or Get Well. I'm impressed that this local hospital puts a card on your dinner tray. I'm also proud to be a behind-the-scenes person involved with this. My gift as a Christian is encouraging others. My love of making cards is the perfect way to blend those two loves together to serve others and the Lord. Thanks for stopping by. It's so appreciated. Blessings, Sue

Have You Ever Used Stencil Strips?

 Hey Everybody,

Barbara's challenge today was to use lemon-lime twist, daffodil delight, poppy parade and pool party. You can see the challenge here.

These stencil strips from Taylored Expressions are really easy to use for this type of card. I taped off all but an inch of the stencil for each pattern. I used washi tape to hold it down on the cardstock. I used blending brushes to add the ink colors.

I stamped and colored this cutie pie with Copic Markers. I added Wink of Stella to the light bulbs. I stamped and cut out the sentiment. I added yellow Wink of Stella to the word, bright.
I added peppermints to the flowers and to the kitty.  This was a new kind of stenciling for me. I've used stencils that are 6" x 6" not strips.  Have you used this type of stencil?  When I saw them I wanted to try them out. I thought they'd make fun additions to backgrounds for Get Well cards for the hospital.

I think I'll check out how they use these and practice a bit more so when it comes time to make Christmas cards I'll have more ideas of how to use them.

Have you ever used strip stencils?  

I like the set up I have to work with stencils. I line up my paper on the lines and add a small piece of rolled up tape under it.  Then I add my stencil on top of my paper with the 4 magnets. These are very strong magnets and hold well as I use my blending brushes.

When I am finished this easily wipes clean and stores away easily in my drawer in my desk.

Do you have a way you store stencils?  Thanks to a good friend, I now have a better way to store my stencils. I used to store them all in a gallon Ziplock bag.

I like this because it has good sized pockets and you can add 6" x 6" pages to it. It also has a 'D' ring closure instead of a typical binder closure. It will hold more pages without opening.

I store this on my shelf by my desk. It's handy to grab and flip through the pages for what I want. I'm really enjoying using this tool. It's easy to grab and find the stencils I want, so I use more of my stencils. By using it more, I continue to see what stencils I have so when I'm doing projects, I know if I have a stencil I can use or not. It's a win/win.

How do you store your stencils? I hope you'll share your ideas.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Blessings,

Sue

Spotlight Embossing

 Hey Everybody,

Jean's challenge to us was to do a technique called, Spotlight Embossing. It can be found here. The video for the technique  is here. I've never done this technique before, so it was new to me. I dry embossed the daisies then used my blending brushes and daubers to color the daisy centers. I used daffodil then added a bit of pretty in pink. I added the circle with the daisy with foam squares. I stamped the sentiment and die cut it then added early espresso behind it. I also have an early espresso card base to show off the daisies. I added adhesive-backed dots for days to the center flower and around the sentiment. Have you ever done this technique? I think I'd like to try it again as I'm not sure I really like how this came out. As this is the first time I've tried this, it's not too bad. If you have suggestions, please let me know. I love to learn new things and know that without practice I can't get better. Thanks for stopping by today. If you do this technique, please let me know. Blessings, Sue

CASED Card and Where We've Come From

 Hey Everybody,

Lisa's challenge was to CASE ourself. Here's her challenge.  For my card, I chose one from 2010, because it had color blending as well but with a brayer. This is the card I CASED. 2010 I just finished a beginner and advanced brayer workshop with Michelle Zindorf this past Saturday. So I took on trying to do her 2 latest tutorials. For this tutorial, I didn't have the turtle and tried a bird on my first try and it didn't look good, so I left the grass without anything in it. For my card I brushed balmy blue top to bottom, then added highland heather for most of the card front. I stamped the tall grass in highland heather then mossy meadow. I stamped the grasses in mossy meadow several times without reinking. I used early espresso at the bottom to fill in any white. Then I splattered watered down white paint and let it dry. Then I colored it yellow with a water based marker. I have to say, I found it much easier to use blending brushes than a brayer to do my background. Back in 2010 we didn't have blending brushes. We had sponges that we cut into wedges and the brayer. I was actually able to find two videos that Michelle did to learn how to use a brayer on your background. Here's Lesson 1. Here's Lesson 2 I know I'll have to do a refresher if I want to do backgrounds this way. I'm not sure I want to go back to this way now that I have blending brushes. Anyway, I thought it might interest you to see where we've come from in the stamping world. We've gone from stamps mounted on wood blocks and sponges and brayers to make backgrounds to photopolymer stamps you can see through and blending brushes to create backgrounds. As always, thanks for stopping by. It's so appreciated. Blessings, Sue

August 2025 Stampin Up!© Newsletter and Class Information

August 2025 Stampin Up!© Newsletter and Class Information

Hey Everybody,

Before I tell you what's going on at Stampin' Up, I have to announce that August 1st, I'm celebrating 20 years as a demonstrator for Stampin' Up! Yep, I started August 1, 2005 with a dear upline named Val.

Thank you to all of you for helping me make it this far. I love this job and have acquired so many sweet friends as a result. I thank God that He's put me in a place where I can do what I love and encourage others through words and cards.

Blessings,

Sue

Just got this from Stampin' Up.

Dear Sue, Happy 20-year Stampin’ Up! anniversary! This is one of our favorite milestones to recognize and celebrate. We are so glad you have been with us all these years and thank you for your contributions and the connections you’ve made in our community of stampers. As part of this celebration for your outstanding milestone, you will receive a 20-year anniversary pin in the mail and we will add 50 CSV in Stampin’ Rewards to your Rewards account. Watch the expiration date and use your rewards soon to grab some fun products. Click here for a digital badge to use on your emails, social media, blog, and more so that others can join the celebration! Congratulations again! Stampin’ Up!

Here's what's going on at Stampin' Up this month. We're participating in the Sales Tax Holiday. From July 30-August 8th there won't be tax on items listed.

From August 5th-August 31 we're having a 15% off of items that feature the new In-Colors. I have listed some of the items below and their sale prices.  

This means during August 5-8th you can get $15% off In-Color items AND purchase it TAX FREE!

Tax Free Holidays Coming Soon

 

Tax Free Holidays Coming Soon – Save On Stampin’ Up! Supplies!

Woohoo!  Twelve states are having Back-to-School Sales Tax Holidays this year and some Stampin’ Up! items qualify for the tax break in those states!

The states with upcoming tax holidays are:  Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.  So if you live in one of those states take a second to download the spreadsheet below and mark your calendar!

Here is the list of states having sales tax holidays, what the dates are and what supplies will be tax free during the holiday.

Please note that you must place your order with Stampin’ Up! during the tax holiday period in your state in order to receive these items tax-free (which is midnight on the first day to midnight on the last day of the tax holiday).  Also, keep in mind that this is a state sales tax holiday; the state statute may not apply to county, city, and special jurisdiction taxes.

For those wondering about Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, those states have suspended the sales tax holiday this year.

OHIO July 30-Aug 8

Starting August 5, select products that feature the new 2025–2027 In Colors™ are 15% off! This is a great opportunity to purchase new In Color products at a discount, so grab products you love—like ink, two-tone cardstock, embellishments, ribbon, scrapbooking kits and Designer Series Paper—and get everything you need to create projects that showcase Stampin’ Up!’s amazing color coordination!

Ready to shop the sale? Click here!

FLORAL IMPRESSIONS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER

$12.50  Sale Price $10.62

165175

FLORALS IN BLOOM 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER

$12.50  Sale Price $10.62

165586

CELEBRATORY SIPS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER

$12.50  Sale Price $10.62

165196

BEAUTIFUL GALLERY 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER

$12.50 Sale Price $10.62

165615

STRAWBERRY SLUSH & PRETTY IN PINK GEMS

$8.50  Sale Price $7.22

165582

PACK YOUR BAGS TWINE THREE-PACK

$7.00 Sale Price $5.95

166157

LOW PROFILE SPARKLE DOTS

$9.50  Sale Price $8.07

166146

PAINTERLY PEARS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER

$12.50 Sale Price $10.62

KINTSUGI INSPIRATIONS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER

$16.50 Sale Price $14.02

165291

TIMID TIGER STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK

$11.00  Sale Price $9.35

165271

CLOUD COVER 3/8" (1 CM) FAUX LINEN RIBBON

$8.00  Sale Price $6.80

165625

STRAWBERRY SLUSH 8-1/2" X 11" CARDSTOCK

$14.00 Sale Price $11.90

Paper Pumpkin August

Click here to subscribe

Don’t miss the coordinating Circle of Seasons Dies Add-On!

This exclusive add-on (item 167277) coordinates with the three upcoming kits! Paper Pumpkin subscribers can purchase it beginning June 11. Remind your customers that the add-on is available only while supplies last, so it’s best to shop early!

August Classes

Monday Aug 11th at 10 Filled

Tuesday Aug 12th at 1   1 spot

Thursday Aug 14th at 10   3 spots

Friday Aug 15th at 7  1 spot