#TGIF359 Features Blending Brushes

We are spotlighting Blending Brushes for this week's challenge at #TGIF359.  I have lots of Blending Brushes and use them all the time.  I use them so much that they have a permanent spot sitting out on my stamp table.  

Let me give you the details for this "congratulations" card:

• Cardbase is 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" folded in half.
• Heart and Home DSP 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" stenciled with one of the Butterflies & Flowers Layering Decorative Mask, Blending Brushes, and a mix of Pear Pizzazz and Soft Succulent Inks.
• DSP pieces from Heart and Home.
• Basic Grey doily from Heart and Home Doilies.
• Pale Papaya die cut from the Honeybee Blooms Dies.
• Tag cut from Tailor Made Tags Dies stamped with Happy and Heartfelt Stamp Set and Basic Grey Ink.
• Linen Thread and Classic Matte Dots.

A Paper Pumpkin Thing: Safari Celebration

Welcome stamp friends to our monthly "A Paper Pumpkin Thing" Blog Hop.  Each of us are making alternative projects using elements from this month's Safari Celebration Paper Pumpkin Kit.

I used a few extra things to put this card together.  One, I grabbed a Soft Suede and a Fresh Freesia Ink Pad.  And then Layering Circles Dies, a scrap of Fresh Freesia and Basic White cardstocks, and some Linen Thread.  Everything else is from the kit.

Using the Layering Circles Dies I cut a window in the card front and a frame from a scrap of Fresh Freesia.  On the inside of the card I added the hole hoopin' monkey and one of the circles from the kit.  I noticed the "yay" image was perfectly sized to look like the monkey was holding the banner. So, I stamped it in Soft Suede on Basic White and cut it out with Paper Snips.

Thanks for stopping by for today's hop.  I'll be sharing lots more alternative projects next week on my Facebook Live Up!STYLE Your Paper Pumpkin Class.  You'll find the class on Seeinginkspots Facebook Page. Right now be sure to click through each of our blogs to see more ideas with this playful styled Paper Pumpkin Kit.

Thanks for Being Amazing

Here is a new sketch for you to try.  Check out what the Hand Stamped Sentiments team has created using this as a map to a hand crafted card.

I grabbed the Abstract Beauty Cards and Envelopes for an awesome 4" x 6" card base and then layered a tag cut from the Abstract Beauty 4" x 6" Specialty Designer Series Paper.  All the other die cut bits were pulled from the scraps on my stamp table.

Driving By with a Friendly Hello

If you have visited my blog or IG you know that I adore the Driving By Stamp Set.  It's my most favorite Sale-a-bration item and I use it all the time.  If I can't own and drive a VW Bus I guess I can settle for a stamp of one.

Along with Driving By this card also features the Friendly Hello Stamp Set and the Floral Squares Dies.  I used the Friendly Hello images to stamp a colorful "beachy" background in Fresh Freesia, Coastal Cabana, and Granny Apple Green.  Highlighting the VW Bug is a trail of flowers and leaves cut from the Floral Squares Dies and the Leaf Boarder Punch.

Inside is a clever pop up surprise.  It's a gift bag perfectly sized for a bit of tissue and a gift card.  Pretty cute don't you think?

Well that's all for today folks.  Next up is Emily or click back to visit with Dani.

to Dani

to Emily

Hand Penned Petals for #TGIF355

From start to finish this Hand Penned Petal thank you card came together in less than 15 minutes.  Thanks to the latest sketch challenge from #TGIF355 I was able to gather all my supplies, make the card, AND clean up is just under 15 minutes.  Thanks TGIF sketch!

Here are the card details:

• Hand Penned Petals Stamp Set
• Penned Flowers and Stitched Rectangle Dies
• Brick 3D Embossing Folder
• Bermuda Bay, Poppy Parade, Pumpkin Pie, Pear Pizzazz Ink Pads
• Basic White, Pool Party, Poppy Parada Cardstocks
• 6" x 6" Brights DSP (retired)
• Linen Thread
• Classic Matte Dots
• Wink of Stella (splatters)

Sketch Stampin' Fancy Friday

Here's my take on the sketch challenge for the month of February for the Stampin' Fancy Friday Team and everybody who would like to join along. I enjoy sketches as they map out layers to be stamped and arranged in ways I might not typically think.

You can see from the hand-drawn sketch below how closely I stuck to the layout.  Sometimes I have been know to stray from sketches, but not this time.

I cut lots of flowers from the Floral Squares Dies to create a floral backdrop for my focal VW Bus and greeting.  The colors of the flowers are Petal Pink, Calypso Coral and Soft Seafoam.  I adhered them to a piece of Daffodil Afternoon DSP.  I covered the entire card front with another pattern of paper from the Daffodil Afternoon pack.

I stamped the VW Bus on a scrap of Very Vanilla with Memento Black Ink and colored it with Soft Seafoam, Grey Granite, and Calypso Coral Stampin' Blends.  I grabbed my paper snips to do a pretty quick cut out of the bus.  The balloons were a bit trickier to cut because they were so small.  I do think it was worth the effort.

Hand Stamped Sentiments Inspo Board

Check out this adorable pink and blue inspiration board from Hand Stamped Sentiments.  There is so much in the board photos to pick and choose to include in a hand stamped project.

First and number one I gravitated to the VW Bus and then the combo of a bright intense blue with pink.  I mixed Pacific Point and Night of Navy with a blend of Polished Pink and Flirty Flamingo. Being inspired by the blue brick wall I included a panel of Basic White which I dry embossed with the Brick and Mortar 3D EF.

I used one image from three different stamp sets.  The VW Bus from Driving By, the hand drawn flowers from Painted Poppies, and the "happy birthday" greeting from Sharing Sunshine.  I did use two ink pads to stamp the "happy birthday" image.  The top half of the stamp is inked in Pacific Point and Night of Navy on the bottom.  I like doing that to give a subtle bit of visual variation.

I did grab a piece of retired Brights 6" x 6" DSP to layer behind my white focal layers.  I thought this added a light hearted pop of interest.  To pump up the pink end of things a bit more on this card I added In Color Jewels.

Monday Montage: I'm Sharing In Symmetry

This month my stamp class took a deep dive into the In Symmetry Bundle.  Here's a look at the three cards we made.  I combined the In Symmetry Stamp Set with the Pattern Party DSP and I think these are bright, spirited, and spunky.

The oversized square card was made with lots of help from the Stamparatus.   I found it was super therapeutic to create the perfect wreath of stamped flowers.  I also enjoyed mixing Flirty Flamingo and Polished Pink with the black and white Pattern Party prints.  Below is an inside look at this square card.

For this "best day ever" card I started with a Coastal Cabana card base and cut a 1 3/4" piece off the front. I trimmed it to 5" long and then layered it on top.  Both the papers are from the Pattern Party DSP.  I embossed the black polka dot piece with the Dainty Diamonds EF (retired, but a total favorite of mine).  the In Symmetry flower is backed with a Tailor Made Tag.  The tag dies have quickly become a staple for me when stampin'.

I like this trifold thank you card.  It's based on a 1/4 sheet of Night of Navy Cardstock. 

Inside is includes a nice surprise pocket perfectly sized for a gift card.

I'm glad you have visited with me today.  Next in our hop is Emily at EMK Creations.  Have fun and happy blog hopping.

to Emily

to Cheryl