Circus Fun for GDP079

Wow! It has been awhile since I've played along with the Global Design Project.  In fact, the last one I think I did (according to my saved photos) is GDP065 when I was a guest - and #61 before that!  When I saw this week's challenge I knew I wanted to play along.  The Cupcakes & Carousels stamp set from Stampin' Up! is probably the obvious choice - but these fun images in the set are hard not to use for this theme.

I have not used this set as much as I had hoped but I have found that I really like this sentiment.  I used my Stampin' Write Markers to color the sentiment for some extra fun detail.  When I think of the amusement park or the carnivals I think of all the fun colors, fonts and lights that are on the food trucks/buildings.

 I added some Bermuda Bay DSP from the Cupcakes & Carousels Designer Series Paper Stack on the bottom half of the Calypso Coral card base.  (This card is 3"x 6")

I created my own banner by simply adding some extra white cardstock at an angle underneath the sentiment.  Cut each piece like a small banner and place a Stampin' Dimensional between the pieces of white CS.

Extra details on this card include the Peekaboo Peach enamel dots from the In-Color Enamel Shapes, some Peekaboo Peach 3/8" Ruched Ribbon and some Calypso Coral splatter made with an Aqua Painter.

I masked the tent image a few times - looks like a grand circus!

I hope you like this card!  Makes me want to go to the state fair now! :)

Be back tomorrow for our 100th challenge for TGIF!

Blessings,

Holly

Creation Station: Boxes, Baskets & Bags - Oh My!

Welcome to this month's blog hop with The Creation Station.  We are a global group of demonstrators that blog on the first Sunday of each month.  We're so glad you are joining our hop today and I'm excited that you are here to see my creations!  If you came from Denita's blog, thanks for continuing on to me.

Yesterday I sat down to create something for this post and was really debating on what to make.  I'm pretty weak in the "creating boxes" category.  I really like packaging and gift giving, but I like when the basics are made.  Now don't get me wrong, SU! provides some pretty awesome tools for this theme like the Gift Box Punch Board, the Gift Bag Punch Board or the new Window Box Framelits Dies.  However, one thing I really miss that a year or two ago are these long kraft boxes.  Lucky for me, I have a lot in stock.  

I took one apart, made myself a template and voila!  I made a replica! :)

I was also inspired by Val Moody's masculine card made with Nailed It.  I had CASEd this card earlier in the week and decided to make the box match the card.

I made the box with Basic Gray Cardstock and covered it with the tools from the Nailed It stamp set.  I added some basic black splatter using reinker and an Aqua Painter.  I also used my Fringe Scissors and cut up some Smoky Slate cardstock for some filler.

You can see how neatly the bottom folds in to secure the box.

For the belly band I used a piece of Urban Underground DSP and some Urban Underground Washi Tape.  I also added the hexagon (cut with the Build It Framelits) and embossed with the Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  The hammer was also cut with the coordinating framelits and colored with a Blender Pen.  The sentiment is stamped on Watercolor Paper - the Delightful Dijon wash was made with an Aqua Painter.  To top it off, I added one of the screw heads from the Urban Underground Embellishments.  This are the coolest embellishments!

I sure hope you enjoyed my creation!  You can head back to my lovely friend Denita or on to the talent Sara!  Be sure to check out the entire hop and pin your favorites!  Have a wonderful week!

Blessings,

Holly

High Tide Highlight

Hello there!  I'm so glad I get to post this morning a card that isn't for a blog hop or challenge - just me sharing a card I made this weekend!  It was nice to get some time to just stamp for fun. :)

This card was fairly quick to make.  The watercolor background was very simple and it was my first time trying it this way.  I saw a video on a demo-only site or I would link it here for you to see.  The lady was from outside of the US and I'm not sure the video was in English either, but it was easy to watch.  I've looked for her video too to no avail - so - THANK YOU for sharing this - whoever you are <3

Okay, so all you need is a ziplock bag, some markers, watercolor paper and an aqua painter.

Take the ziplock bag and lay it flat on your work area.  Using your Stampin' Write Markers, color and area on the bag large enough to cover a card layer (a little shy of 4' x 5.25").  Set that aside.  Now using your Aqua Painter, get your Watercolor Paper fairly wet - I did squeeze the AP as I "colored" the paper.  Once that's wet, flip it over and press it onto the ziplock bag.  Carefully pull it off and dry the paper with your Heat Tool.  I added a little more of the Pool Party and Mint Macaron ink on the bag and repeated the process.  I hope that makes sense.  (I really want to start taking videos soon so you can see me walk you through these kinds of techniques!)

I used Memento Black Ink for the lighthouse, birds and sentiment.  The sentiment is on circles made with the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies and the Layering Circles Framelits Dies.

A little Linen Thread and the card is complete.

If you have any questions about the technique, please don't hesitate to ask.

Have a wonderful Monday!

-Holly

A Succulent Pop & Twist Birthday for TGIFC96

Happy Friday everyone!  It's a beautiful, sunny (and COLD) day here in Minnesota.  I hope you're ready to play along with a new challenge at TGIF Challenges.  We had over 20 entries last week and they were all great to see!  This week we are honoring the lovely Bibi Cameron - she has recently left her job as a SU! demonstrator, but she is still worthy of admiration - she truly is gifted!

Bibi is one of the BEST at watercoloring flowers - or making floral cards in general.  Make sure to check out her website for inspiration!

Yesterday we celebrated my beautiful mother-in-law Linda.  She turned 60 so I knew I wanted to make a very special card.  I decided to (finally) try a Pop & Twist card.  I've seen so maybe over the past year but have yet to try one.  Linda likes fun folds and techniques so I needed to make it for her.

 

I focused mainly on the Oh So Succulent Photopolymer Bundle except for the front of the card's sentiment which is from the Milestone Moments.  The "sixtieth" fits perfectly in the banner framelit from the Large Number Framelits Dies.

The Succulent Garden DSP and Succulent Garden 3/8" Ribbon Combo Pack finish off the front.

If you are not familiar with the Pop & Twist card, here is the video I watched.  It was a lot less complicated than it looks!

I altered the sentiment a little since the front of the card had "happy birthday" on the front too.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  Please take a moment to play along this week at TGIF Challenges!

Blessings,

Holly

Cupcakes & Carousels in Peekaboo Peach

Hello friends.

It's been awhile hasn't it?  Seems to be the story of my life lately!

But I'm happy to report I have been stamping a lot lately and have some fun stuff to share with you over the next week!

Our oldest has a birthday tomorrow so I have been busy prepping for his party.  I did have a few moments to do something other than party planning though and I wanted to share with you one of the cards I made yesterday with this Cupcake & Carousels stamp set.

I made 5 cards and it took me awhile to make one I really liked.  This was the one I loved the most!

Hope you like it too!

Check back tomorrow for a new TGIF Challenges challenge!

Blessings,

Holly

A Carrot Colored Card for My Friend

I know what you're thinking - two cards in one day??  I actually had a moment to sit down and create a card this afternoon. I needed to make a card for a fellow demonstrator who has done so much for me and my small team over the last month.  I also have been wanting to participate in a card challenge for The Crafty Carrot Collective. 

It's a team of 5 worldwide demos that bring lots of techniques and tutorials.  I've enjoyed their first month free - you can still check them out on facebook.  Here's the challenge site.

The ladies in the group have been focusing on the stamp set Weather Together.  I absolutely love this set.  It was one of the first I saw back in June and I've enjoyed making a lot of umbrella cards with it.  This time I wanted to try something different.  I still used the stamp set - but I focused on the little hearts for the background.  I wanted to combine two of the techniques shown this month...

Susan Wong created some really neat cards with a repetitive background and Cindy Schuster created a lovely watercolor look with ink & the clear blocks.

This sentiment comes from the Suite Sentiments stamp set from the Occasions Catalog.  This set has 11 sentiments that coordinate with 7 different suites from the catalog.  It is a MUST HAVE set!  I love it!

I embossed the "friend" in gold which really gives this card an extra beautiful detail. 

The hearts were embossed in clear before I added the watercolor background.

I hope that you like this card!

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Holly

Party in a Box! - 3D Window Box

A week or so ago, I participated in a little contest featuring a certain suite from the Occasions Catalog.  I was assigned the "Party Animal" suite.  I was kind of stumped on what to create with the Party Animal DSP and Window Box since I knew the other demos received the same items.  How would I make something really different?

I decided to cut a #5 in the lid.  Why 5?  Good question!!  

No really, I'm still wondering that myself.  

Our middle son turned FOUR last Monday, not FIVE.  I must have been sleep deprived.

These little Party Animal Embellishments charms are so adorable!  They come two ways - blue party hats and red balloons.  Simple slide a little twine through and you're all set.

Now because I put the 5 upward on the lid, I wasn't happy with the way the lid opened.  This is what happens when I'm trying to stamp at 11pm long after kids are in bed and that's really where I should've been too! So I decided that it could open downward and I would create a little cake on the inside.

I took three different size strips of Emerald Envy cardstock, rolled it up and stapled the back.  I cut the 5 little candles from one of the pieces of Party Animal DSP.

I finished the box up with a tiny little envelope to hold some money.

I think these Window Box Thinlit Dies are going to be a hit!  I can't wait to create some more items with it!

Be sure to come back on Thursday for the very first ARTISAN BLOG HOP!  So excited!!

Have a great day!

-Holly

Items used for this project:

Party Animal Designer Series Paper

[142738]

$11.00

Party Animal Embellishments

[142775]

$7.00

Emerald Envy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[141415]

$8.00

Emerald Envy Solid Baker's Twine

[141686]

$3.00

Ribbon Taffeta 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Emerald Envy

[142742]

$6.00

Window Box Thinlits Dies

[142762]

$38.00

Large Numbers Framelits Dies

[140622]

$31.00

Big Shot

[143263]

$110.00

Endless Birthday Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set

[140273]

$16.00

Love is in the Air with The Creation Station

Welcome to our Creation Station blog hop.  We are a group of international SU! demos that blog on the first Sunday of the month.  Now obviously, this is the second Sunday of the month, but I'm not sure we were all on our computers last weekend since it was a holiday.  This month we are highlighting Love - whether it's a Valentine's Day treat or just a love themed creation... We hope you enjoy seeing our projects made with Stampin' Up! products.  Be sure to make your way around the entire blog hop - there is lots to see (and pin!)

I decided to make a card and little gift bag with the new Sealed with Love stamp set and matching framelits.  I'm not a huge Valentine's fan, but this set has lots of cute little hearts and a few small primitive images - one that I used as a background.

For the bag I used the Gift Bag Punch Board, stamping the "Hugs & Kisses" stamp over in Mint Macaron ink. For the little tag I layered a piece of Sending Love DSP that I punched out using the Best Badge Punch, the hearts and arrow are from the Love Notes Framelits Dies. I also punched out the sentiment using the Classic Label Punch.

The ribbon is the Sending Love Ribbon Combo Pack - Real Red and Whisper White.

For the card I used a scrap piece of Real Red cardstock that I cut three arrows from.  I actually cut these arrows out while I attended OnStage back in November.  The arrows were a part of our Make & Take, but I like to plan ahead sometimes and thought if I cut them out a certain way, maybe I could use the negative for something else.  Yes, I save weird stuff like that and hoard too many scraps.

I took the cute primitive stamp and created this background.

Some Layering Circles Framelits to finish the card off. 

I hope you like both projects!  There is plenty more to see, so make sure you take time to check it all out!  You can head back to my dear friend Cindy, or on to the next across the world to my sweet Aussie friend Denita!  Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful Sunday (and week)!

-Holly

 

Supplies I used for these projects:

Sealed With Love Photopolymer Bundle

[144705]

$45.75

Big Shot

[143263]

$110.00

Layering Circle Framelits Dies

[141705]

$35.00

Gift Bag Punch Board

[135862]

$20.00

Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[138337]

$8.00

Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad

[138326]

$6.50

Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[102482]

$8.00

Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

[126949]

$6.50

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[120953]

$8.00

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad

[126975]

$6.50

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

$9.00

2015-2017 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack

[138432]

$22.00

Sending Love Designer Series Paper Stack

[142733]

$10.00

Sending Love Ribbon Combo Pack

[142737]

$7.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.00

Best Badge Punch

[140633]

$18.00