A Simple, Yet Fun Card

 Hey Everybody,

I've been trying new sketches for cards lately.  Here's one that is very quick and easy to do.

It's a great way to show off double-sided designer paper.

Blueberry Bushel card base 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" scored at 4 1/4"

white card stock 4" x 5 1/4"

designer paper Stampin' Up!© Bloom Impressions 4" x 5 1/4" (score 3/4" from right side)

2" white circle

2 1/4" shy shamrock circle

Pretty in Pink gems

Pretty in Pink ribbon

Check out my video and let me know what you think.

I hope you give this a try.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

Sue

Color Challenge Using Boho Blue, Crushed Curry and Pebbled Path

 Here's another color challenge.

 Our color challenge was boho blue, crushed curry and pebbled path with adding birds being optional. 

I stamped the birds in pebble path and colored them with Copic markers. I masked the sun while I used the blending brush to make the clouds. I used a cut out of a cloud and boho blue ink with a blending brush for the clouds. I colored the sun with a copic marker. The ground and sides were done with ripped cardstock that I used my blending brush against.

I wanted to show how this would look with the sides colored using the ripped paper and blending brush technique. I think it really adds to the scene that I've created.  I colored the ground under each bird with Copic marker, then used my blending brush and ripped paper to add ups and downs which gives this great texture.

This card will go to a local hospital to be put on a patient dinner tray.

I think I'll try to remember this technique and try it again soon on a card. I like the framing it gives the images.

I hope you like the card and the idea. I hope you give it a try.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

Sue

Buy One Get One 50% Off

 

Wow! A new promotion is coming on June 3rd to June 30th!
ALL SUITES AND SUITE PRODUCTS ARE BUY ONE,
GET ONE 50% OFF!
If you had your eye on a few, now is the time to grab them!

Promotion Details

• All available suites and suite products from the 2025–2026 Annual Catalog and Online Exclusives are buy one, get one 50% off.
• When you shop the sale, the 50% off discount will apply to the lower-priced item (for example, if you buy a suite collection and a stamp set from a suite, the suite would be full price, and the stamp set would be 50% off).
• Suite collections are available if all items are in stock; if all items are not in stock, you can still shop the available suite products.
• You don’t have to buy a suite and suite products all from the same suite collection for the discount to apply. You can buy any suite products from any suite.
• The discount will appear in your cart once you’ve added two items within the sale parameters to your cart.
• Products are available only while supplies last.
• See and shop all qualifying suites in the online store.

Masculine Card Challenge

 My challenge for this card was to make a masculine card.  Isn't a masculine card one of the hardest cards you have to make?

We don't make as many masculine cards as feminine. In my classes, I try to make one of the four cards, masculine.

This card was made using a friend's idea. Thanks Denise.

Denise used real buttons on her card. I didn't have buttons so I made my own.

Here's how I made my card.

I made a plaid shirt with one sheet of Timeless Plaid designer series paper then added the collar which is a triangle.  I cut a pocket and added a handkerchief in the pocket for the greeting.
The buttons were punched using a 1/2" circle punch. I poked 4 holes in each then used a needle and linen thread to make them look like buttons. (I didn't have any buttons.) The buttons were added with glue dots. The pocket was added with foam adhesive strips.

The card base is mossy meadow with a lost lagoon layer under the designer series paper.

The card base is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  The lost lagoon layer is 4" x 5 1/4".  The designer series paper layer is 3 3/4" x 5".

With Father's Day coming, this would make a great card. It's easy to make yet isn't ordinary.

There are lots of men's shirt templates out there. See what you can find if this isn't your style.

I hope you give this a try. Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

Sue

Featured Stamper Challenge on Splitcoaststampers

 The next challenge I did from Splitcoaststampers is the Featured Stamper.  That challenge is found here.

This week's gallery was Andrea. Her gallery is here.

I chose this card that she made to inspire a card of my own.

 I put my bird in a solid circle instead of an open one. I have my card portrait instead of landscape. I used dry embossing instead of layering with paint and paper as Andrea did. I used bright, fun colors on my bird similar to Andrea.
The quilt pattern is from a Facebook Page called, Quilt Cards and more. https://www.facebook.com/groups/347261759969829
I found a sentiment with the word day, in it as well.

Now I have a card courtesy of Andrea and her gallery. This is a great way to get ideas for cards.  I use this sometimes if I feel stuck or uninspired in card making.

You can even look at cards you've made and do the same thing. Be inspired by the shapes, colors, layout, stamps, papers or sentiments.  Then make something similar.

Here is a link to my gallery on Splitcoaststampers. Give this idea a try and see what you come up with.  If you're like me, you don't know what you'll come up with and you'll be glad you had some ideas of  what you can put into your next card.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Blessings to you,

Sue

Playing With a New Set

 Hey Everybody,

I've been playing with a new stamp set. It is one I didn't give a second look to when I first saw it. Then a customer ordered it. When I saw it again, I began to think of different things I could do with it.  The set is called, Blooming Phrases.

When I saw the sample card, I thought, "Oh, that looks so easy!" Famous last words! LOL  My first card didn't look anything like this.  My flowers were all over the place, unevenly spaced and looked like a first grader did it.

                                         

I began to wonder what could help me make this easier and nicer looking.  I noticed that there was no stem for the flowers, but you could use the line that followed any of the words.

1. I measured the line from the end of the word to the end of the stamp. The one I measured was 1 1/2".

2.  I measured 1 1/2" from the bottom of my cardstock and drew a light line with pencil across my card base.

3. I stamped  the center, left and right flowers with highland heather, stamped off once at the line.

4. I added the dark heather flowers lower than the first heather flowers. 

5.  I used daffodil delight to stamp the flower between the two purple flowers at about the same height as the original flower.

6.  I added the stems and single leaves with pool party ink.

                                    

                                  

7. I erased the pencil line on my card base.

8. I did the same thing on my envelope flap.

Well, that was my process. I hope it helped you. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Blessings,

Sue

Using Retired Designer Series Paper

 Hey Everybody,

Have you wondered what you can do with your retired designer series paper? As a demonstrator, obviously for classes I use current paper that customers can purchase. When designer series paper retires, I can use it for things other than classes. 

Did you know I make cards for three different organizations?  Yup, I donate cards each month to:

1. Southwest General Hospital -Cards are placed on meal trays. 

(No envelope is needed. Stamp something on the inside please.)

Get Well, Thinking of You, Hang in there, Baby, Holiday cards.

2. Broadview Multi-Care Facility- Cards for residents and staff to use.

(Envelopes needed and stamp something on the inside please.)

Birthday for adults and kids, Get Well, Sympathy, Thinking of you, Holiday

3.  Hillcrest Hospital Cancer Floor

Encouragement, Birthday and Sympathy.  (No envelopes needed-blank inside.)

In fact, the reason I became a Stampin' Up!© demonstrator is so I could have a Card Ministry at my church that would be self-supporting. I didn't want the church to have to pay for anything other than the postage for each card. That was 20 years ago. Today I support other places in my community.

Anything I make from Stampin' Up!© goes into my Card Ministry to buy supplies needed to do what I love, make cards and give them to others.

I consider it an honor to be able to make cards that let someone know they are being thought of and aren't alone.  I also enjoy making all sorts of cards for the Nursing Home residents and staff so they can send cards to loved ones.

Each month I have several blogs I visit to get layouts to make multiple cards.

This group of cards is from Call Me Crafty Al. Here is her YouTube video where she shows what she does and tells how to get her pattern for cards.

One of the great things she does is, she gives you directions for making one single card if that's all you want. She also gives you ideas for changing things in the layout. There are lots of possibilities. You can take her original idea and add to it or change it to make it more like your style.  It's a starting point if that's all you need.

These are the 8 cards I made with the retired Designer Series Paper called, You're A Peach.  The great thing is, I can make this many that are similar yet it won't matter because they use so many at Southwest Hospital. They won't care if there are duplicates.

They can be stamped with various sentiments and donated to go on a dinner tray. 

I hope you've found some inspiration here and try it yourself.

Blessings,

Sue

Sketch Challenge

 Hey Everybody,

I'm back again with another challenge from Splitcoaststampers. Today's challenge is a Sketch Challenge. Have you ever done a sketch challenge?  Here's the sketch for this week. Here's where the sketch is located on the site.

Here's the card I made for this challenge.  Sometimes it's nice to have the design part of the card done for you. I get to choose the designer paper, then the colors for the cardstock depending on what colors are in my designer series paper.  To me, that's the fun part.  Here's the process I used.

I fussy cut the beverages from the designer series paper. I added them to the 2" circles. The card base was embossed with the flowers embossing folder. The lemonade glass was embossed with the square textured embossing folder. I cut 1/2" x5 1/2" strips of designer series paper to add to the card base. The circles were added with dimensionals as was the sentiment. Lastly, I added the Strawberry Slush and Pretty In Pink Gems.

Stamps: Cheers & Sips

Paper: blackberry bliss, Celebratory Sips designer series paper-Stampin'! Up©, Pretty in pink

Paper Size: A2

Ink: blackberry bliss

Accessories: Glass and Gardens embossing folders 1 and 2, Strawberry Slush and Pretty In Pink Gems

Techniques: dry embossing, sketch challenge

So once you see the sketch, how do you figure out what size everything is?

I started with a piece of cardstock that was 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". That's the size of a finished card.  Next, I looked at the strips of paper. I knew if I made them 1" wide, that would take up 3 of the 4 1/4".  That wouldn't work. I had to make them narrower.  So I tried 1/2" knowing that together they'd take up 1 1/2" plus some space between the strips.  Next I looked at the sketch and saw that the circles were a little larger than the strips of paper. The strips of paper plus the space between was about 1 3/4" so I made my circles 2".

Then I looked at how plain it looked and decided to dry emboss the card base and the lemonade glass.  I like to add sparkle to my cards, so I added the strawberry slush and pretty in pink gems.

I hope you liked the sketch and I hope you give it a try. Let me know if you make a card with this design.  I'd love to see it!

Again, thank you for stopping by, it's greatly appreciated.

Blessings,

Sue

Color Challenge For This Week

Did you know that Splitcoaststampers has a weekly color challenge? It's fun to have the colors chosen for you sometimes. Check out what this week's challenge was.

Splitcoaststampers has a weekly color challenge.

Are you ready to mambo in a burst of pink?
pretty in pink
melon mambo
berry burst

Add to this: Any color of green if you'd like.

Our colors were pretty in pink, melon mambo and berry burst. I decided to use 3 of the 4 stencils that came with this set. I started with pretty in pink and inked up the stencil that just had squares. Next I took the melon mambo and inked up the plaid looking stencil. The last stencil was colored with berry burst. It's hard to see the berry burst because of the other two colors.

I stamped the flowers and butterflies in black then added the gold ribbon and gold dots.

 

Stamps: Artemio-Butterflies and Flowers

Paper: white, melon mambo

Ink: pretty in pink, melon mambo, berry burst, Versafine Black

Accessories: Stampin' Up Artistic Mix Decorative Masks, gold Stickles, SU gold striped ribbon, Bow Easy, blending brushes

Techniques: triple stencil

Take the challenge. What will you make with these colors?  It's a great way to use your supplies and take a look at your collection of stamps and papers and see what you can come up with.

Surprise someone and mail that card! Who doesn't enjoy receiving a card?

Thanks for stopping by today.

Blessings,

Sue

 

Another Challenge

 Another Challenge at Splitcoaststampers

On Sunday, there is a challenge where someone's card gallery is chosen. You look through the gallery and choose a card that you'd like to copy, but make it yours. You might be inspired by colors, sentiment, stamp set, or even the layout or design.

You choose a card and let everyone know which card you chose, then show your card.   

Here is the card I cased from Roxie's gallery.

Fluffy bird - February Card Kit by morgainegeiser at Splitcoaststampers

As soon as I saw her card, I knew I wanted to use this stamp. It's one of my favorites!

I made a similar card layout but used different colors and used ovals instead of rectangles. I used a smaller gingham pattern on the top and a plainer paper on the bottom of the card.

I stamped in Stazon black ink and colored with colored pencils. Then I used water and a brush to mix the colors. I added more colored pencil then added Wink of Stella.

Stamps: Unity Flock Talk, Whipper Snapper-If We Get Caught

Paper: white, basic beige, donated dsp

Paper Size: A2

Ink: Stazon black, Pecan Pie

Accessories: Derwent and Stampin' Up watercolor pencils, oval dies, double oval punch, gold metallic gems, Wink of Stella

Techniques: watercoloring

Check out my gallery on Splitcoaststampers here. Find a card you like and copy it but make it yours. Change things in it that makes it your style. Have fun with it.

This is something I do sometimes when I can't decide what to make for a card or if I don't have the energy to start from scratch with a design idea and stamp.  There are lots of great ideas out there. See what you can find.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

Sue

Splitcoaststampers Monday Challenges

 Splitcoaststampers Monday Challenges

In order to grow and learn new things in card making, I participate in challenges at Splitcoaststampers Monday's Technique Lovers Challenge was-Drywall Tape Texture

Check out the tutorial here.

What I love about this is that it stretches my imagination and allows me to use stamps from other stamp companies.

Take a look at the first card I did for this challenge.

 

The tape is a bit sticky on one side, so I stuck it to my white cardstock and applied ink with  

I found three different sizes of drywall mesh in DH's stash. So I used them all on this card. I added them to my cardstock and colored with distress oxide inks and domed sponges. Then I added the pebbles stencil on top of part of the cardstock.

 I used the tape that was colored with ink and wrapped it around paper to use as a background behind my image. I popped it up with dimensionals. Lastly, I added my sentiment. This card will be donated to a local hospital where it will be placed on a patient dinner tray. Hopefully it will bring a smile.

Stamps: Unity Stamps-Flock Talk, The Stamps of Life-Healing thoughts 2 stamp

Paper: coastal cabana, white

Paper Size: A2

Ink: fossilized amber distress oxide, faded jeans distress oxide, broken china distress oxide, boho blue

Accessories: drywall tape, pebble stencil, oval die, colored Derwent and SU watercolor pencils, blender pen

Techniques: stenciling, drywall tape texture

The image was colored with Derwent and Stampin' Up!© watercolor pencils. Then I used a blender pen over that to smooth out the color.

The other Monday challenge was:

CAS847 - Bubbles - May 19, 2025

I'm thrilled to be your hostess for this creative adventure. This time, we're bringing a bit of whimsy and fun to our clean and simple (CAS) cards with Bubbles! Whether you showcase them with stamps, embossing, hand-drawn details, or even creative paper techniques, let's see how you bring this playful element into your designs this week.

I was so excited that I had a bubbles stencil, that I forgot that this was a Clean and Simple card. LOL

I was so excited to use the mesh tape from my other card as a towel for the ducky in the bath, that I forgot this is clean and simple......I stenciled bubbles all over the paper.

Anyway, I placed the mesh tape on paper and inked it with distress oxide inks then taped it to cardstock to use as a towel for the ducky's bath. I colored the duck with Copic Markers. This card will be donated to a local hospital and be placed on a patient dinner tray. Hopefully it will bring a smile to the recipient.

Stamps: The Stamps of Life, Duck image from a friend

Paper: white, misty moonlight, vanilla

Paper Size: A2

Ink: fossilized amber distress oxide, broken china distress oxide, faded jeans distress oxide, SU Misty Moonlight

Accessories: mesh tape, bubbles stencil, 1 1/4" circle punch, dimensionals, Copic Markers

Techniques: stenciling

Well, what do you think? Do you have any drywall mesh at home you can play with on your cards? How about stencils that are just sitting in a drawer or on a shelf? 

If you give one of these ideas a try, let me know.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

Sue