I played around some more with the Marquee Messages Stamp Set in the new Stampin’ Up! Catalog and made this Marquee Messages Birthday Card!  This is a fun stamp set to play with. It comes with smaller messages that you can add to the front of the card or use for the inside greeting, plus extra little stars and sparkles you can stamp inside or outside to jazz up the card. Use your markers or whatever coloring method you prefer to color in the marquee.  I also used the Gold Wink of Stella Glitter Brush to a little sparkle on the marquee lights and the stars.

On this card I used Basic Black for the card base and added a layer of Pop of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper. After stamping the marquee and message, I cut that out and fit on top of a Daffodil Delight card stock layer for the front of the card. If the card base is black, then you need to add a layer of Whisper White to the inside so you can write your message or note and sign your name.  This is the perfect opportunity to stamp a little something in the corners or edges of the white layer. And it is always a good idea to do a little stamping on the envelope if you think of it!

If you don’t like coloring, you could stamp the marquee on a piece of colored card stock or several different colors and cut out various parts.  This is called paper piecing. Lots of opportunities for creativity with this stamp set!

Shop Stampin’ Up! and get your Bonus Days coupons with every $50 you spend in July to use in August!

I got the idea for this Watercolored Butterfly Birthday Card from the new Stampin’ Up! Catalog that will be out June 1st!  It was so easy to make and I love how it turned out!

I watercolored the Shimmery White Cardstock background using some reinkers and my Aqua Painter. This is such an easy technique!  The Aqua Painter is one of my favorite tools! The barrel is filled with water so it is like a paint brush without having to dip it in a separate container of water. You can pick up some ink from the lid of an ink pad or you can put just a tiny drop of reinker on the outside of a plastic stamp case or any piece of plastic and water it down with the Aqua Painter first or just pick up as is, depending on what shade you want. Just to help the reinkers along, I spritzed the Shimmery White Cardstock a little bit with water in a spritzer bottle. Shimmery White isn’t as good for watercoloring as Watercolor Paper but it is better than Whisper White.  And you will love the shimmer!  You can probably see it a bit in my photo. I used Delightful Dijon, Bermuda Bay, and Rich Razzleberry reinkers. I just scribbled on some color onto the slightly wet Shimmery White and kind of blended the edges together. If you are in a hurry (of course you are!) use your Heat Tool to gently dry the paper.

The reason I chose those colors was because I was going to use the Elegant Butterfly Punch  to punch out butterflies from the Bohemian Designer Series Paper. Honestly this was never my favorite paper, yet there have been many cute projects made with it. Just look on the back of any pack of designer paper and you will see the coordinating colors listed, in tiny print! I always write them on the back cardboard with a Sharpie so I can read it easily!!  I added some Candy Dots to the butterflies and popped them up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. The greeting is from the Remembering Your Birthday Stamp Set.

You can make this card with just Shimmery White, but mine is actually on a card base of Delightful Dijon Cardstock, which doesn’t show up well in my photo. You can jazz up this card even more if you like with more embellishments but I liked it just the way it turned out. Try something like the Watercolored Butterfly Birthday Card for any occasion or changing the colors or embellishments, etc.

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online for Current and Retiring Stamping Products!

Yesterday I showed you a baby card made with the retiring Big News Stamp Set and today I have used one of the birthday stamps in the set to make this Botanical Gardens Big News Birthday Card. Today is May Day, the 1st day of May, so I thought a few flowers would be appropriate!

Normally I don’t care for the off-kelter, look of cards that seems to be popular recently, like I have done with the designer paper on the background of this card. However, I was looking at a sample that I was copying except for changing the designer paper, so I decided to give it a try. The card base is Hello Honey Card Stock and I used the Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper for the background layers. This paper is retiring, so get it while you can!  I angled them slightly, which normally I don’t like.  The greeting from Big News is stamped on Whisper White Card Stock with Old Olive Ink.

The flowers are cut out from another pattern of the Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper. The flowers are pretty as is, but if you like, you can use the stamps in the Botanical Bloom Photopolymer Stamp Set to stamp the flower centers, as I did. I simply cut out the flowers myself, but you can use the Botanical Builder Framelit Dies to die cut them. If you want it all, get the Botanical Blooms Photopolymer Bundle while you can and get the stamp set, the framelits, and the designer series paper.  You will save 15% with the Bundle and get everything you need!  You could also add some other embellishments if you wanted – ribbon, rhinestones, Candy Dots.

Now that it is May, this is the last month for the Stampin’ Up! Retiring Products! See all that is still available in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE. Accessories are only available while supplies last and some are sold out already. Stamps, since Stampin’ Up! manufactures them, will be available through May 22 even if they sell out.  Stampin’ Up! will make more until that date.

See if you like the angled look of my Botanical Gardens Big News Birthday Card today, and if so, try it yourself for something different!

The sun is finally shining today in Houston! No rain is forecast so I think it’s time for a bright and cheerful card like this one made with some of the Cherry on Top products! It’s all going away by the end of May (or while supplies last!). I got the idea for this card in our Demonstrator magazine we all receive quarterly. They used different paper and washi tape, but I was in the mood for the Cherry on Top designs!

The card base is made with Watermelon Wonder. The paper layered in the background is from the Cherry on Top Designer Series Paper Stack.  Then I took a smaller piece of Whisper White cardstock as a base and wrapped Cherry on Top Designer Washi Tape around it, leaving space for a greeting.

The word “Celebrate” is from the stamp set And Many More, which is retiring. It’s one of the stamp sets I hate to see go because I like the ones with lots of words and greetings in it. This stamp set is even discounted so if you need more words for your cards and projects (and who doesn’t?!) I would grab it for your collection.  I have the wood-mount.  Certain sets I like to have the wood-mount so the stamps are ready to go or if they are small I think they work better with wood-mount.

For a little pizzazz, I added to Brights Candy Dots in Bermuda Bay to each side of the word. And then I tied a piece of Metallic Gold Baker’s Twine around the front of the card. Easy to do and fun to use my Cherry on Top Washi Tape!

Check out the Stampin’ Up! Retiring Products in my Online Store! This is the easiest way to see everything that is still available! When you are on the page of Retiring Products, choose either “Stamps” or “Everything Else”.  Then on the right side of the page, choose “View:  ALL” in the drop down box so you can just scroll through everything!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online

Stampin’ Up! Retiring List PDF

Here is a simple birthday card to make using the retiring Birthday Bouquet Designer Series Paper.  I love this Birthday Bouquet paper, and if you do too be sure to order it while it is available! The ice cream cone patterned paper is layered on a card base of Mint Macaron cardstock.

The greeting is from the retiring stamp set Enjoy the Little Things Stamp Set. This stamp set coordinates with the Enjoy the Little Things Project Kit, which is really cute!  But even if you don’t have the kit, this stamp set has many useful greetings and cute little stamps. For a little embellishment, I just gathered some of the Gold Metallic Thread at the back of the punched circles and popped it up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

You could use any greeting and any designer paper for a card, so keep this card layout in mind when you want something quick! Start with something simple and you can always embellish to your heart’s content!

Shop the Stampin’ Up! Retiring Products!

Retiring List 2016 PDF

Shop Everything Stampin’ Up!

One quick and easy way to make a birthday card is to use the Balloon Celebration Photopolymer Stamp Set and the Balloon Bouquet Punch. For this card, I simply chose to use colors from the Regals Family just because I don’t use those colors as much. But I’m happy with the colors when I look at this card!

To keep it easy, I just used the Whisper White Thick Cardstock for the card base. If you don’t have this paper already, you should add it to your next order.  It just is a little heavier than the regular Whisper White and you don’t feel that you need to add a layer for a little more heft in your card.

Then I had fun punching lots of balloons with the Balloon Bouquet Punch!  If you want to, you can stamp the shading on the paper first and then punch, or punch first and then stamp. Once you start punching balloons, punch extras because it is fun and because you might want to use them on another card or project!

The stars stamp and the greeting all come in the Balloon Celebration Stamp Set, as well as the balloon strings, so you are all set!  You will be able to many kinds of cards with this stamp set to cover almost all occasions!  Have fun making this Balloon Celebrations Birthday Card!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online 24/7!

This is the last week (only today plus three days!) for Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration, and I was also thinking about how soon the current Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog will also be coming to an end. It’s almost April, for heavens sake! One thing to think about, ahead of time, are the In Colors. These are the trendy, up-to-date colors that Stampin’ Up! chooses to be available for only two years in the catalog and introduces a new set every year as the old set goes out. The colors you see on the cards above are going to be the retiring 2014-16 In Colors:  Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, and Tangelo Twist. Based upon previous years, I would guess that as soon as the Retirement List comes out, the In Colors may be the first to go, especially the ink refills. Once they are gone, it is difficult to find ones that are available, unless, perhaps, you pay a premium price from someone selling theirs.

So if you want another FREE item from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure or the extra new SAB products and maybe you don’t really have anything in mind right now you are dying to order, you might consider stocking up on any of the In Color 2014-16 products that you want. If you already have the ink pads, I would strongly suggest getting the reinkers. If you have one of the colors of cardstock that is just about out and you like to use it, then order an extra pack or two.

It’s also a good idea to stock up on adhesives during Sale-A-Bration or basics like Whisper White card stock. Sometimes we are so excited about the new stamp sets and accessories that we forget to check our core supplies.

But back to the In Color cards I made in the photo—I probably made those all in about fifteen minutes! I made a card base for each of the In Colors, cut layers of Whisper White card stock, and stamped with the same color inks. The Birthday Blooms Stamp Set is perfect for this because the flower is large and beautiful. There’s really no need to do any coloring or extra embellishing unless you want to! You’ll see on the Tangelo Twist card I decided to make a smaller one (3 3/4″ x 3 3/4″) and stamp with the single flower in the stamp set. I also added a layer of Silver Glimmer Paper for a little pizzazz!  The stamp set comes with those three perfect greetings plus two little accent stamps, a little flower and some dots.

If any of the 2014-16 In Colors are favorites of yours, be sure to check your supply and consider ordering extras before the retirement rush. I don’t know if Stampin’ Up! will do anything different this year, but I’m going by what has happened in the past. And don’t forget, Sale-A-Bration will be ending on Thursday, March 31.  Don’t miss it!!

For quick and easy cards to make, try the In Color Birthday Blooms Monochromatic Cards, even if you use different colors!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!