Category Archives: Cards

I was recently in New Mexico, so this succulents stamp set (Simply Succulents #154480, pg 32 in the Annual Catalog) really resonated with me!  There is also a coordinating die set, Potted Succulents (#154330 pg 173 in the Annual Catalog).  The die set includes the background cutout as well as the floral shapes, flowerpot and several label shapes.  I cut the background die from some vintage shimmer paper, but you could achieve this look by inking silver shimmer paper with different ink colors or blenders.  I inked the agave and flowerpot die cuts with blenders, but left the succulent blank for contrast.  There are some other sentiments with the stamp set that I like as well, and will definitely use on some future cards!

To order the stamp and die sets, please use the link on the green heart!

What inspiration have you used for your cards?  Please leave a comment and let me know!

I’ts amazing how many crazy holidays are celebrated every day!!! Today is “Walk on your wild side day”!!!  So I decided to put some ink on my Fabulous Flamingo stamp set!  This is a 3-part stamp so the only challenge is lining each stamp up so the final image really looks 3-dimensional.  I had some success, but it would have been PERFECT if I had used the new Stampin’ Up! Stamparatus, which is both the perfect stamping surface AND the perfect way to align all your stamps!!!  Mine, sadly, is on order, but I will have it SOON to show you all it’s AWESOMENESS!  In the meantime, here’s my card!

Fabulous Flamingo, item#143758 $21.00 photopolymer

Dont’ the flamingos look GREAT???  A little strip of DSP at the bottom to look like a stream (from my scrap stash), a bit of green grass, and a sentiment from “A Little Wild” stamp set.  The paper looks a bit pink, but it is shimmery white IRL – my favorite stamping paper.  Oh, and a little masking going on as well.

So, challenging YOUR creative side, what can YOU put together to celebrate “Walk on your wild side day”???

Me and my bright ideas!  I loved this stamp set, especially since there are two punches that coordinate with it – the 1-3/4″ Circle punch and the Lemon Builder punch.  🙂  My first quandary was finding a yellow ink pad that would be bright enough – after several lackluster attempts, I decided to use my yellow acrylic paint (Jacquard Neopaque), and painted the stamp.  (If you use acrylic paints on your stamps, you MUST CLEAN them immediately!). STILL not bright enough even on black, so I painted over the stamped image with more yellow.  A little better, and a bit of a shine, so that was good too.  I stamped the lemon with So Saffron on very vanilla paper just for the image shape, and then painted over that with the yellow acrylic.  I needed a little shadow, so I tapped my (clean) paintbrush on the Delightful Dijon inkpad and added it to the still-wet yellow acrylic on the lemon – worked like a charm!  The leaves were stamped with Emerald Envy and then I added a little Old Olive with my paintbrush for some contrast.  Finally, I embossed the lemon and both leaves THREE times with clear embossing powder to get that bumpy, glossy texture on the lemon and a glossy shine on the leaves.  The sentiment was embossed with white embossing powder.  I think this card looks VERY zesty!!!  When Life gives YOU lemons, what do you do?