Hello Friend - Z Fold Card for TGIFC126

Happy Friday!!  Do you have plans this weekend?

I'm going to a community yard sale today, 3 tball games tomorrow and church Sunday.

(And hopefully in between some of that, I will get a nap or two!)

If you have time this weekend, why don't you join us over at TGIF Challenges?  We have a fun technique this week - a "Z" fold card.

I had yet to make one of these cards, but I have been wanting to try it out for awhile now.  A little time consuming (depending on all the layering), but I love the result.  I used the sketch made by my friend Natalie Lapakko.  You can find it here.

This particular pattern is a square card, but there are other tutorials and patterns for different sizes.  I used some Naturally Eclectic Designer Series Paper (DSP) for the 2 larger panels.  I used the Hello Friend stamp set for the rest of the card.

I wasn't quite sure if stamping coordinating flowers would be too busy or not, but I think it worked out fine in the end.

I also thought there wasn't enough room to write anything on the inside strip, so I put a piece of Whisper White Cardstock on the back of the card.

What do you think?  I hope you enjoyed this card.  I would love to see your creation for this week's challenge.  If you need more ideas, visit TGIF Challenges and see the rest of the design team's creations or browse online.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Holly

For Your Furry Friend - A Sympathy Card

This week I have a few sympathy cards that I need to make.  These are never ones I wish to make, but I also know this is why I make cards - to bring joy in the form of paper.

Here's a card I made for my dear friend Karen who lost her kitty Carlos - he was 10 and well loved.

The Sorry for Everything stamp set is a great set as it covers a lot of things to be sorry for.  I took the large sorry stamp and covered the Island Indigo layer.  A few of the Glitter Enamel Dots matched perfectly.

I added a few ribbons, lace doily and of course the punch art.  I don't own this Cat Punch but a very kind lady punched a few pieces for me and sent them in the mail.  Love the stamping family!

Thanks for stopping by today!  I promise next week I will have a Two for Tuesday post!

Blessings,

Holly

Merry Cafe with The Stamp Review Crew

Hello! Welcome to another hop with the Stamp Review Crew.  Today we are featuring a fun set from the holiday catalog called Merry Cafe.  This set coordinates with the Coffee Cup Framelit Dies from the annual catalog.  This set also covers multiple holidays.

I chose to play with the pumpkin spice stamps to make a fall card.  I love this time of year for the beauty of fall but I have many friends that love the PSLs at Starbucks and other coffee shops, so this is a fun card to send to one of them with a gift card for a drink.

I covered the card base with the two-step leaf stamps in Sahara Sand.

The chevron paper is from the Painted Autumn Designer Series Paper pack - also from the holiday catalog.  I tucked in a little Pumpkin Pie cardstock with the Decorative Ribbon Border Punch.  The heart is from the Wood Crate Framelits.

Overall, a pretty simple layout - but lots of fun details :)  Hope you like it!

Make sure to make your way around the globe with my talented teammates.  You can head back to the super creative Natelie - or next to the lovely Charlett!

 Blessings,

Holly

Painted Harvest Thank You Packs - Artisan Design Team Blog Hop

Hello! Welcome to our first hop of the month - September is almost half over and I can hardly believe it! If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen our little announcement that we welcomed our fourth child (and first daughter) last Tuesday.  She is beautiful and a great baby!  We are all adjusting well and surprisingly getting some rest.  I was able to snap a few pictures of her on Monday and can't help but share!

She melts my heart!  Thank you for letting me share with you!  I'm quite the proud momma :)

Now, let's talk stamping - since that's why you're really here.

If you are hopping with us for the first time, welcome! We are a group of 20 Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the globe that are fortunate enough to be on the Artisan Design Team for SU! and represent the company and their gorgeous products.  Today we are featuring one of my favorite sets from the holiday catalog - Painted Harvest.  Fall is one of my favorite times of year and one of the main reasons is the colors.  

The coordinating Painted Autumn Designer Series Paper (DSP) has such beautiful designs and patterns and the colors really showcase the beauty of autumn.

I created 12 cards for today's hop - showing each of the 12 patterns in the DSP pack.

I fit 6 cards and 6 envelopes in the new Acetate Card Boxes.  I tied each box with some Jute Twine and added a little tag from the Wood Crate Framelits.

I used a variety of punches - including the new Everyday Label Punch from the Holiday Catalog, Stitched Shapes Framelits and Lots of Labels Framelits for the sentiments.

I also used a variety of the gorgeous ribbon Stampin' Up! offers.

You can bundle and save by purchasing both the stamp set and the Leaf Punch.  The sunflower image in this set is beautiful but I think the sentiments are great on their own (as you can see from some of the cards I made without the sunflower).

I hope that you have been inspired by my cards and by the others on the hop so far.  Next up on the hop is the very talented Jennifer Sootkoos from New Jersey!  Make sure to make your way around the entire hop and see all of the lovely creations from the team!

As always, below are some of the items featured on my projects along with the full list of ADT members at the bottom.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Holly

Product List

Painted Harvest Photopolymer Bundle

[146021]

$33.25

Painted Autumn Designer Series Paper

[144613]

$11.00

Acetate Card Boxes

[144628]

$6.50

Big Shot

[143263]

$110.00

Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies

[145372]

$30.00

Lots Of Labels Framelits Dies

[138281]

$27.00

Wood Crate Framelits Dies

[143730]

$30.00

Everyday Label Punch

[144668]

$18.00

Pretty Label Punch

[143715]

$18.00

Touches Of Nature Elements

[144216]

$6.00

Regals Enamel Shapes

[141681]

$9.00

Jute Twine

[144625]

$5.50

Linen Thread

[104199]

$4.50

5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon

[141487]

$7.00

Daffodil Delight 1/4" Double-Stitched Ribbon

[144116]

$7.00

Peekaboo Peach 5/8" Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon

[144192]

$8.00

1/4" Copper Trim

[144179]

$6.00

Garden Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon

[144181]

$8.00

Crushed Curry 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon

[144182]

$8.00

Very Vanilla 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Lace Trim

[141672]

$7.00

Allison Okamitsu
Aurelie Fabre
Cathy Caines
Dani Dziama
Holly Stene <--- that's me!
Jennifer Sootkoos
Jessica Winter
Katy Harrison
Kimberly Van Diepen
Louise Sharp 
Maike Ulbrich
Martha Inchley
Mercedes Weber
Mindy Bingamon 
Miriam van Eyden
Paula Dobson
Rochelle Blok
Shannon Lane
Sylwia Schreck 
Tanya Boser 

Two for Tuesday - a Day Early!

Happy Monday to you! I hope I didn't throw you off with a Two for Tuesday post, but I'm not quite sure I'll be blogging or stamping tomorrow.  I am still pregnant - now 4 days overdue - and I wanted to share my Tuesday post early just in case.

She does know it's Labor Day here in the US, right?  Labor Day could have two meanings!

Well anyway, while we wait on baby girl, I thought I'd share some "boy" cards with you!  I'm playing along with the "All About Him" challenge at the Global Design Project with a card I (or two) that I made for my nephew.

When I started making my nephew a card, I decided on some fun, bright, kid-friendly colors to use.  Lemon Lime Twist, Bermuda Bay, Tangerine Tango and Basic Black.  I then chose the Milestone Moments stamp set - I really love the fonts in this set and the fact that it had a TENTH stamp - perfect!  I thought...

I really thought my nephew was turning 10.  When I called my sister to verify, I was told he's definitely turning 11.  Oops!  (Aunt of the year right here!)  For the focal sentiment, I chose the Five for All stamp set.  This set has sentiment pairs that are great for the front and inside of your card.

So now I have a card for a 10 year old!

For the numbers, I used a piece of DSP from the Merry Little Christmas Designer Series Paper (DSP) - I thought it looked very celestial. 

Soooo... since that card wasn't going to work, I needed to make another.  Perfect for a Tuesday post! (on a Monday) :) I chose the same color scheme and changed it up a bit.  This time I used the Happy Birthday stamp from Five for All.  I was a little over halfway done stamping the background layer and I decided to stop.  I really like the look of this!

I used the same striped ribbon for an accent.  Do you recognize this ribbon?  The 7/8" Striped Ribbon from the holiday catalog is a wired ribbon, so I decided to cut the edges off.

Finally the right age on the inside! :)

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you're enjoying a nice start to a new week.  I will keep you posted on our little one's arrival!  She is getting evicted Friday whether she wants to come or not.  Must be too hot in Texas...

:)

Blessings,

Holly