Beautiful (Beachy) Blessing - TGIFC66

Happy Friday everyone!  We had a great week here in MN with nicer (cooler) temperatures and lots of rain for the garden - but now we have too many misquitos!  I also hosted my first stamp class at my house since we moved here and all 6 ladies that came had a blast!  I've never had two classes going on at once - so I'm very excited!

But, enough about me!  We have a new challenge over at TGIF Challenges - we are picking our favorites from JUNE and casing them.  It could be a design team member or a challengers card from TGIFC #62-65.  Pick one you like and share both the original and your take on it!  Simple enough!

The last two times we have done this challenge, I chose two challengers cards.  This week I was inspired by this card made by a fellow DT member - Jennifer Frost.

I love the watercolored background and the beachy feel.

I didn't want to use the same set for the focal point, so I decided on another sea themed stamp set.

The lighthouse is from the set From Land to Sea and it's paired with the sentiment from Rose Wonder.

I wanted to add some color to my card so I added some Calypso Coral Thick Twine, By the Shore DSP stack & I colored the lighthouse and oval with my Aqua Painter.

I also stamped the background a few times with the sentiment.  I love the graphic look of repeated words.

So there you have it!  I hope you liked the card (and the original)!  I can't wait to see what you come up with for this week's challenge!

Blessings!

-Holly

Stamp Review Crew - Thoughtful Branches

Welcome to a special Stamp Review Crew hop!  Usually we hop on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month, but Stampin' Up! has an exclusive, while supplies last, one month only set that will be released Aug 2 called Thoughtful Branches, so we decided to show off the set to you.  The Artisan Design Team for SU! has already shown some great previews to the set and we hope to do the same! I don't have a picture of the matching framelits, but here is what the set looks like:

I fell in love with the font right away.  (It's called Madina Script and I think if I ever buy a Silhouette machine, it will be the first font I purchase!)

Anyway, I made two things with the set that I wanted to share today (and the rest I will share over the next few days).  I really like the bare trees and decided to focus on them for my projects. First is a card that I made with a "Christmas in July" concept.  

I filled my Aqua Painter with Soft Sky Reinker and some water and brushed it on SU! Watercolor paper.  I then stamped the tree image over the background in Versamark.

One of the great sentiments in the set is this (large) "You're in my thoughts" stamp.  I love that it's big and fills about a 2" circle.  I stamped the tree image again in Soft Sky ink and then embossed the sentiment with Gold Emboss Powder.

I love stamping on the insides of my cards too - so this was no exception.  I think that you could even stamp "at Christmas" on the inside to make it a "thinking of you at Christmas" kind of card. :)

So that was my card.  What do you think?  Like the new set so far?  Here's another use of the trees - this time used with the "Thank You" sentiments.  With all of the negative news, we decided to make some cookies for our local police station to say thank you.  Our 5yo even added a sweet little note.

For the box, I used a retired gift box from SU! (measures 4.5"x6") but with the Gift Box Punch Board, you could make a similar box.  

I stamped the trees and stars around each side of the box in Crumb Cake ink.  

I stamped the "thank you" image all over the lid as well in Crumb Cake.

Tip:  When packaging cookies in a box with a Window Sheet, put what you want showing through the window opposite of the ziplock.  For example, here I put the cookies in the bag upside down so that when I turned it back over to put in the box, the cookies were facing upward and the ziplock was on the underside.

We made some of my favorite chocolate chip cookies - this time with some M&Ms.  If you're not putting pudding in your chocolate chip cookies, you're doing it wrong. =) Just trust me.  Here's the recipe I used.

Thanks so much for scrolling through my post! I know it was long :)  Make sure to continue around the hop to see all of the ideas for this exclusive stamp set!  Remember, August 2nd is the first day you can order from your demonstrator!  And if you order now during July, you can earn bonus bucks to have credit towards the new set!  Win-win!

Head on back to Bruno B or on to Kelly K! :)

    

Blessings,

Holly

Bless Your Heart - Jar of Love for TGIFC65

This week we have a fun (and easy) challenge over at TGIF Challenges!  Let's just say if you have a pair of scissors or a big shot - you should be playing along!

As Joey Gladstone would say - "Cut - it - out!"

Whether it's fussy cut, die cut, or heck - even a cake - we want to see some cut out images! :) 

Easy enough, right?

So for this challenge I chose the new Jar of Love bundle.  This was the first set that I wrote down on my wish list when the new catalog came out but it didn't quite fit in my budget.  I recently purchased it with some hostess money I earned and I'm so glad I got it! It's a must have!

I love the graphic look of stamping sentiments all over the background.  I have been doing it a lot lately - it helps fill in some white space.

This set comes with flowers and matching dies.  The smaller branch I did fussy cut.

  

I decided to add some Wink of Stella to the water.  Beautiful, right?

Hope you like it!  Please join us this week over at TGIF Challenges!

Blessings for a great weekend!

-Holly 

Stamp Review Crew: Endless Thanks

Welcome to another Stamp Review Crew hop!  If this is your first time joining us, we are an international group of stampers that share our projects on the first and third Monday of each month - highlighting a particular Stampin' Up! stamp set.  Today we are showcasing Endless Thanks.  This is an inexpensive photopolymer stamp set that should be in everyone's stamp collection! Can hardly beat $16!

So get ready to be inspired! :)  If you came from Kelly's blog - thanks for continuing on to me!  Here are the three cards I made using the Endless Thanks set - also highlighting the Affectionately Yours Washi Tape.

I love the way this combo turned out: Night of Navy, Cucumber Crush and Crumb Cake.

I just received the Layering Circles Framelits this past week and they really are great!  I was hesitant because I still have the older circles framelits, but the small scallop circle peeking out from behind really sold me on this set.

I really like this set because I like to send thank you cards - but with this set you can also make this sweet "friendship" card.

Isn't that floral washi tape gorgeous?? LOVE it!

Lastly, I wanted to show off the copper color that's in the washi tape.  SU! came out with a Copper Emboss Powder with the new catalog, along with Copper Thread - both are beautiful in person!

I like the graphic look of the small sentiment repeated in the background.  Gives this somewhat simple card the extra detail it needs!

So there you have it!  I hope that you take time to head around to everyone's blogs - such great talent on the Stamp Review Crew!  You can head back to Kelly Kent's or click next and go to Yapha Mason's blog.  If you get lost along the way, or lose your spot - you can always go to the Stamp Review Crew's blog!  Thanks for stopping by! Have a great Monday!

Below are the materials used for the Endless Thanks cards.

Blessings,

Holly

You're As Old As...

I have had a busy past few days.  My father-in-law Marv just turned 60 last week and we celebrated his birthday yesterday with friends and family.  Because I love to bake, I volunteered to make him a cake and some cupcakes.  I made 120 but only ended up bringing 24 home.  I have my Stamp & Snack class tomorrow so I won't have to eat them all! :)

But I wanted to share a few pictures of the cupcakes in addition to the card I made for Marv.

This was my Friday night - thankfully, my husband took the older 2 boys out while I baked.  And I mean that I didn't have to share the beaters! :)

Here they are all finished and ready to eat! There are Carrot Cake/Cream Cheese icing, Chocolate/Kahlua icing, Funfetti/Buttercream, Banana/Peanut Butter icing (we call them "Elvis" cupcakes) and Chocolate/Peanut Butter icing.  Marv requested a special chocolate cake (with coffee in the cake) and a buttercream icing.

I really do have a great father-in-law.  He has a fun personality, so I wanted to do something funny for him. 

 Our 5yo said "that's not very nice to say"... someday he'll understand.  And yes... that really is dirt.

We had a great time and he really enjoyed the cakes and card!

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday - make sure to come back tomorrow for the Stamp Review Crew's latest.

-Holly  

Summertime Sweetness for TGIFC64

Do you know it was only in the 60s yesterday here in Minnesota??  Cool and rainy - I would almost think summer is over, but we have had our share of days in the 80s and 90s the last few days.  Monday we were at the zoo and it was sunny and 88.  So the nice cool day yesterday was well received!

I know we have some hot days in the forecast too, so to "cool off", I have a special summertime treat for you!  The theme this week at TGIF Challenges is "Summertime & Sunshine" - what's not to love?

When I think of summer I think of beaches, campfires, pool parties, grilling... and ice cream! We grew up going to a place called the Ranger and they still sell the biggest cones for like $1.50 - it's a really treat to go when I visit family.  When we lived in Rhode Island, we lived in a beach house for about 3 1/2 months.  We would ride our bikes down to the ocean and about another mile to the ice cream shop.  The biking and ice cream evened out - right? :)

Anyway, I have been saving these little pom-poms for a few weeks now.  They came from the frayed ribbon I used some other cards.  Then when I saw this week's theme, I thought I should make some sort of ice cream cone!

Aren't those scoops cute? Yes, a little fuzzy for ice cream - more like cotton candy - but you get the point and it looks sweet!  For the waffle cone, I stamped two triangles with the burlap stamp from Jars of Love.

I hope you enjoyed this summertime treat of a card!  Be sure to head on over to TGIF Challenges and play along with us this week!

Hope you have a great weekend!  I'm off to bake 100 cupcakes for my father-in-law's 60th birthday party!

Blessings,

Holly 

Tough Day to Be a Fish - #frommetoyouwhenyourefeelingblu

I received the Jars of Love bundle in the mail yesterday and couldn't wait to use it!  I made a card with the flowers in the jar but the little fish was really calling me.  I wasn't sure how I wanted to use it - I like the "best fishes" that goes with it, but I wanted to try something different.  Then I remembered a great cause that was started by Petra Tailor a few weeks ago called "#frommetoyouwhenyourefeelingblu" - a little piggy back to the "#imbringingbirthdaysback" kick, but this time it's to encourage card makers to send a card to someone they know (or don't know) that might be battling depression or that maybe just needs a pick me up.  Kylie Bertucci is also highlighting this too and you can see some other cards here. 

Anyway, here is the card I made today using the Jars of Love Bundle and Here for You. 

Send a smile today...  The world most certainly needs the extra love.

-Holly