Happy Birthday to the Best. Guy. Ever.

Happy first day of spring! Our boys have been asking when it is going to be Spring, so today is a good day for them!  They say a little sunshine is good for the soul - and boy do we need it.  Yesterday we decided to get outside and we took a walk in the woods behind our house - it must have been exactly what we needed! We all slept well last night and (so far) we seem to be on the mend.  As of Saturday, all 3 boys were in antibiotics and my husband was in bed for the 3rd straight day.

I was spared.

So far...

So since the sicknesses have been in full swing at our house, I forgot to post my husband's birthday card that I made for him.  If you missed my Instagram post of the boys' cards they made, you can see it here.

I wanted to keep my husband's card fairly simple.  I think I've used the same masculine sets over and over in the past years, so I decided to just highlight the Large Numbers Thinlits Dies and make a cheerful and bright card using some scraps of paper and ribbon.

For the background I used the "Best. Guy. Ever." stamp from the Suite Sentiments set from the Occasions Catalog.  This set is one of my favorites as the fonts and sentiments coordinate with each of the 7 "suites" in the catalog.  (This stamp coordinates with Urban Underground.)

Because the words are in "threes", I was able to stamp the image repeatedly in a way that you can read it from top to bottom or left to right.  I was pleased with how it turned out.  I did this without a Stamp-a-ma-Jig, but if you wanted it to line up perfectly, that would be the best tool to use!

Thanks for swinging by today!  Enjoy your Monday :)

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

Everyday Hero Trio

I have some fun cards for you today!  But before we start, have you entered my BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY?? I started sending out a newsletter a few times a month and I'm looking for NEW NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS - not just blog followers!  Make sure you sign up for my newsletter.  Follow the birthday giveaway link!

So today I have 3 cards using a new set from Stampin' Up! called Everyday Hero.  This is such a great set - for boys and girls - young and old!  I loved the old Calling All Heroes set from Stampin' Up! and was sad to see it go.  This set though far exceeds the other!  I think you'll agree!

I started by picking out this new designer series paper (DSP) called Urban Underground.  This is another sneak peek at some great masculine paper in the new catalog.  I decide to use Emerald Envy and Crushed Curry to offset the dark gray and black.

This set comes with a "D" and an "M" for dad and mom - but I decided to turn the M sideways for an "E" for our little Eli.  Perfect card for his lunchbox!

To create a longer skyline, I first stamped the image on thin computer paper - I find this paper makes the best masks.  Fussy cut as best as you can around the image to blend the images together.

This next card is so sweet!  I love the little sentiment. :)  

And it just so happens that the star from the Brights Enamel Shapes fits perfectly on the stamped star!

Lastly, I made a card with my mom in mind!  Superheroes can have grey hair too I think! 

The background sentiment is made with two separate stamps.  Because this set is photopolymer, this was easy to line up!

I made the skyline the same with the masking technique.  This time I stamped on two different grays.  I really like how this turned out!

I hope you like this set!  I'm considering having this set as part of an upcoming Stamps in the Mail kit.  If this is a set you think you'd consider, please let me know!

Blessings,

Holly

Happy Hour for TGIFC72

Happy Friday everyone!  We have a new challenge over at TGIF Challenges.  This one is a fun sketch so I hope you play along! :)

I have a vendor show coming up here in Minnesota.  It's called Market Under Glass and it has a lot of trendy decor, refurbished furniture, wood signs, etc... I'm trying to think of products that will appeal to the younger crowd so I purchased this Mixed Drinks stamp set.  I'm hoping to make a 5pk (not 6pk) of various cards with this set.  I used today sketch to make the first one and I like the way it looks!

I hope you like my card! I would love to hear from you and I would love it more if you joined us this week for the challenge!

Have a great weekend!

-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  

Celebrate 89! GDP042

My grandfather "Pap Jake" is turning 89 next Tuesday. Since Monday is a holiday here in the US, I had to be somewhat quick this morning so that I could get the card in the mail today.  (I actually set my alarm early to stamp before my kids woke up!  But.. yeah, that didn't happen..)

I was inspired by the Global Design Project sketch this week.  

Pretty simple.  I love sketches - my kind of thing when I'm in a hurry! :)

I wanted to use these little presents for awhile now.  The Weather Together stamp set is one of my new favorites and it has these 2 little presents in the set.  Not sure how to tie them with the umbrellas quite yet, but for now, I think the present looks cute as a background stamp, don't you?

I love the addition of the little fussy cut present too - wrapped in the Emerald Envy solid baker's twine.  The splatter on the 89 is from the new grungy set called Touches of Texture - another great set from the new catalog!  And the numbers are from the Larger Numbers Framelits.

For the inside, I carried over the Emerald Envy DSP, the splatter and the little present.  The sentiment is from the Feather Together set.

Don't forget to stamp your envelope too!

Thanks for stopping by!  If you still have your grandparents (or parents) around - give them a call or visit!

Have a great weekend!

-Holly

TGIFC57 - Pick Your Favorite: Teresa Kline spotlight!

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful week!  I'm so glad I have been able to share some new and exciting product with you this week!  If you missed my Affectionately Yours DSP highlight, make sure you go back a few posts!

It's Friday, which means another fun challenge over at TGIF Challenges!  Since it is the last week of the month, we will be picking our favorites from the month of May here at TGIF for inspiration. A designer's card, winner's card or a favorite challenger's card...

   

This week I chose Teresa Kline's card from TGIFC54 - her blog is Paperie Blooms:

The thing that really drew me in was the textured look of the tag.  I love the crackled look!  Teresa used a stamp and well... I don't have that stamp, so I had to get creative.  

This. was. easy. peasy.

I promise.

I took a piece of paper from my kiddo's art stash (computer paper is a good thickness) and crumpled it up.  Holding the paper wad tight, I just simply stamped it like a stamp!

I chose the color combo from the challenge over at Global Design Project - 

Mint Macaron, Tip Top Taupe & Island Indigo!

I chose The Wilderness Awaits for my stamp set.  I haven't used it enough!

Two things retiring here: the awesome cotton ribbon and the It's My Party enamel dots. I am happy that Stampin' Up! is coming out with more enamel dots, so I don't have to be upset about those!

I decided to take my Island Indigo marker and color the fox's eyes blue.  I also added a little shimmer on the eyes with my Wink of Stella, but you can't really set it up close.

The inside is pretty simple too but I wanted to carry this fun background over.

I hope that you were able to learn something new today!  Thank you Teresa for inspiring my card today and for playing along with TGIF Challenges!

Make sure to stop by our site to see all of the DT's creations this week!

Happy Friday!
-Holly 

News Flash, You Are Awesome! TGIFC56

Okay everyone!  Are you ready for a real challenging challenge??

First off, I almost completely forgot about it being Thursday until I was chatting with Rochelle (who is also on the TGIF team) - thanks Rochelle!  I thought this might be a good challenge to make some Project Life cards for because we will be heading to Texas to see family (and go to a baseball game... the Pittsburgh Pirates are playing in Texas - yay for away games!). Anyway, I decided against that for now since I already have a Pirates scrapbook page.  

------->You can see it here.<------

This was a challenge for me since we don't have too many sports stamp sets.  Had to get creative!

I decided to make a card for our son Eli.  He will start t-ball the first week in June and I want to encourage him since this is his first time playing on a team!

I stamped a strip of Soft Suede cardstock with the Hardwood stamp and then cut the baseball bat out by hand.  The baseball itself is a 3/4" circle that I drew on with my Real Red Stampin' Write marker.

For the jersey I inked up one of the onesies from Made with Love and drew a line across the bottom to make a shirt.  I also added the small Smoky Slate stars with the Made with Love set.

The cute little saying "News Flash you are awesome" is from one of the new hostess stamps coming out June 1st.  It's a "punny" stamp set ;)

The red stitches are from the Bohemian Borders stamp set that is retiring at the end of the month. They make the perfect baseball stitches!  And those cute little number dies are also retiring! :(

I think this would make a cute birthday card or encouragement card!  Maybe even mix it up a little and make birthday invitations?

Well I hope to see you over at TGIF Challenges!  It's a tricky one but I know you can do it!  You have until Thursday! :)

Blessings,

-Holly 

__________________________________________________________________

If you place and order with me by May 31st of $20 or more, I will mail you a brand new catalog from Stampin' Up!  Please use hostess code: UPAUWSXK

Stamp Review Crew - Guy Greetings

Hey everyone!  I'm back today with another fun hop with the Stamp Review Crew!  We are featuring the awesome set Guy Greetings!

If you're like me, making guy cards can be kind of challenging.  This set has it all covered and we hope that you make it all the way around the hop to find some inspiration.
Make sure you click the image below to take you to the list of us participating this week.  If you came from Bruno Bertucci's blog - thanks for checking my blog out!

All of these cards feature paper from the Going Places DSP Stack.  I will certainly miss this paper.   

For this card, I chose to use one of the new In-Colors: Emerald Envy.  It's a beautiful color!  And the ruched ribbon is awesome! 

This card I kept pretty simple.  Sahara Sand and Delightful Dijon - nice color combo I think. :) 

I fussy cut the tools and gave the wrench a little dimension. 

I must admit - Cucumber Crush is growing on me.  I don't quite have a "crush" on it yet - but I really like the new thick baker's twine in the color.

The Basic Black layer is embossed with the Softly Falling Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. 

This last one is my favorite.  I made this for a friend that just passed his bar exam.  Think it's worthy of a card like this! 

Notice another new blue?  That's Dapper Denim and it's beautiful too! 

Well that's it for me!  If you want to make your way backwards, head on over to one of the coolest stampin' guys: Bruno Bertucci or you can continue on to the next team member - my fellow Minnesota stamper - the talented Tanya Boser!

    

Again, if you get lost along the way you can click on the SRC image at the top of this post and you'll be directed to the homepage where all of the blogs are listed!  Have a great week!

-Holly