(Another) Mother's Day Card - SUO Challenge

I feel like I've only made Mother's Day cards for the past few weeks!  I hope you aren't getting sick of seeing them either!  I know I have posted at least 3 times - once for my etsy shop, once with the OSAT Blog Hop and just this past Sunday with the current CYCI challenge.

But I have been wanting to do the SUO Challenge.  I noticed their site had been down and thought maybe they were done, but they're back!! Woohoo!  I've been trying to enter challenges lately because they really are fun to take on!  I like to be challenged and sometimes they can really help get the stampin' mojo flowing.  

I was happy when I stumbled upon the SUO challenge site.  I really like to stick to SU stamps only (I only own about 3 Neat & Tangled stamps and I love SU for their coordinating ribbons, colors, paper, etc.   Stampin' Up! only chaalenge?  :) yes, please!

So here is the card I came up with for the challenge!  I love the flower branch from the Indescribable Gift set.  There is only another month left to get it - and I certainly recommend it!  It's been more that an Easter set to me!

I also chose to use 3 of the 5 current in-colors.  While I will certainly miss the in-colors that are done in June, I am really starting to love the 2014-2016 colors.

I added some gold shimmer to the middle of the flowers and cut the petals to really give it a 3D look.

I saved the sentiment for the inside as to not take away from the beautiful flowers on the card front.  These sentiments are retired, but a favorite.  Moms surely do shape us into who we are today.  I know my mom did. <3

I hope you enjoyed this card!  You may or may not see ONE more post about Mother's Day :)

Happy stamping!

-Holly

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Boys Will Be Boys & Pals Paper Arts Challenge

Happy Thursday everyone!  Today I have 3 cards for you - all featuring the Boys Will Be Boys stamp set from Stampin' Up!.  As a mom of three boys, this set was a must have.  I'm certainly glad I waited a bit to get it though because it was a weekly deal a few weeks ago.  Sometimes it's worth the wait! 

 

They also have 3 different backgrounds.  The first one is a neat coloring trick.  I stamped the robot in memento ink on whisper white and colored in between all of the robots with my light daffodil delight blendabilities.  These are no longer available to order, but what good are they if I don't use them??  The other option would be to buy a copic marker and do the same.

 

 

 

For the second one, I lined up the robot and stamped it vertically right onto the Lost Lagoon card base.  This was my 4yo son's favorite of the three.

 

I think that this card could pass for the sketch, but since it's not as close to the sketch as I'm sure the design team intended, I'm going to use my third card for the challenge.

 

For the last card and my very first Pals Paper Arts challenge entry, I used a piece of Sweet Taffy DSP for my background.  I thought the little hexagons went well with the robot. 

 

Here is the sketch for the challenge.  You can find the design team's inspiration here on the Pals Paper Arts page.

 

 

 

 

I added some basic black twine angled the sentiment to go with the sketch.  I also shaded the robot with smoky slate to give it some dimension. 

 

It was a hard choice of which one to enter.  I hope all three inspire you to have a little fun today!  Happy stamping :)

 

-Holly

 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Ten Minute Tuesday - Just Add Ink Challenge

Well it's Tuesday which means two things: Monday is over (yay!) and it's Ten Minute Tuesday!  Now these cards may seem a little more involved than a ten minute card, but I have a few tips to speed things up.  I also am playing along with the talented group of stampers from Just Add Ink for their color challenge. 

You will see that I tried two different masking techniques.  This first one I stamped the two dahlias along the edges and then stamped another on a separate piece of cardstock so I could cut it out and adhere with dimensionals.  Cutting the dahlia might be the most time consuming part that of your ten minutes.

I chose the smoky slate color for my card base and ribbon.

For the next masking technique I first stamped the dahlia on a separate sheet and cut it out.  Then I stamped in the corner, covered it and stamped a dahlia on each side.  I covered them a little bit more to add my smoky slate splatter.

So there you have it!  Two cards that take less than ten minutes (each) to make!  

Here are some tips that I have for you to make your cards come together a little quicker.

1  -  Have your card bases and layers of whisper white/very vanilla precut.  This saves a ton of time! 

2  -  If you have the dahlia set (or any set you want to mask often), keep the piece you have cut out and use it over and over.  Mine was already cut, but I still cut a new one to see if I could keep things under ten minutes.

3  -  To get the two tone look - VERY IMPORTANT to stamp your lighter color first then "rock/roll" the edges of your stamp gently in the darker color.  ALSO, clean between each flower!! 

I hope you all enjoyed the technique and tips :)  Happy Stamping!

-Holly

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Oh Baby Baby <3

I had to fill another order this weekend - this time for a baby boy card.  I was a little pressed for time and quite honestly needed to clean my room more than make another mess, so I kept it simple.  

For the first card, I chose a piece of DSP from the Best Year Ever pack.  This was a freebie from sale-a-bration this year, but have no fear - you can still get your hands on a pack.**

I used the Little Letters dies to cut out the word baby and I saved the letters for the other card. The "welcome" is from Celebrate Baby and the banners were just a simple and easy added detail.  

This card came together fairly quick too.  The alligator was a last minute choice.. I always hate adding something and then regret it later... This, however, I didn't regret.

A little frayed detail to the edges and it was complete :)

Two sweet coordinating cards <3  Now if you're wondering how you can still get the DSP from Sale-a-Bration, here's how! 

From the day Butterflies Thinlits are again available through April 30, we are bringing you two special offers:

1. Get the Butterflies Thinlits at a 15 percent discount--just $21.20!
2. Buy any of the Butterflies Thinlits Bundles at the already-discounted price and choose one of three FREE Sale-A-Bration items (only available while supplies last)!

• Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper (item 138633)
• Best Year Ever Accessory Pack (item 138634)
• Irresistibly Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper (item 138635)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!  See you tomorrow for Ten Minute Tuesday! :) 

-Holly

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

The Waters of Baptism...

A few weeks ago my friend Karishma ordered a few cards from me that she needed for April.  On Wednesday I asked her when she needed the baptism card and she said it was this Sunday!  I procrastinated and now here I was without the card made AND no idea what to do.  I don't own any stamps pertaining to baptism specifically, but I did have some current (and retired) biblical stamps.

Knowing that's all I had, I went to Pinterest to get some inspiration.  I found the punched out cross cards using the modern label punch.  I liked the idea, but wasn't sure I quite liked the look of the cross.  Then I remembered the PLxSU framelits and knew they'd work better for me.  

I was going to look for the woodsy paper in my adventure bound DSP stack.  As I flipped through I saw it!  Right there... WATER - waves of water :) it was perfect!!

I cut out the cross using one of the Project Life labels framelit.  To get the smaller piece across, I only ran it through halfway, flipped my platform and ran it halfway again.  I added dimensionals to give the card a little detail.  

The inside features a verse from the Blessings from Heaven (retired) and a strip of the same DSP.

I'm so glad it worked out like this! I hope you enjoyed this card! Don't forget to pin it, and thanks for stopping by!

-Holly

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

PP237: Your Perfect Day

Anyone else out there wait until the last minute to do something??  

This week's Paper Player's Challenge was posted here on Sunday.  I made a card on Monday but I just wasn't feeling it.  It needed something.  So I scratched the idea and decided last night around 9 that I would make a brand new card and submit it before noon today!  

Yes, I procrastinate!  

Nonetheless, the card is done and I like it more than I thought I would! :)

Here is the sketch for The Paper Players Challenge #237:

And here is the card I came up with:

The original card I made was the horizontal sketch, but when I started thinking about a vertical concept, the cake from Your Perfect Day came to mind.

I added a few flowers that punched out perfectly with the old itty bitty punches.  Much easier than fussy cutting :)

So there you go!  Better late than never.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

-Holly

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog