6.24.2014

Summertime

It's officially summertime! That makes me happy because I love my flip flops; yet not as happy because I have to plan my exercise early in the am or late at night because it's HOT!

We are featuring Summer Fun at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration today.


Having a baby seems to be a fun activity, as there have been at least four babies born in the last two weeks among my Facebook friends; with several more on the way. I had to chuckle at myself that I included a clothesline as part of "summer fun," because hanging clothes out on the line was my least favorite chore growing up. (Ok, so it tied with dusting for least favorite.) However, when I think of summer, I think of hanging clothes out to dry.

I needed a baby card to go with a gift for a co-worker. I had recently purchased the Eclectic Paper-Piercing Pack to go with the Star Framelits that I ordered. This Paper-Piercing Pack also coordinates with the Something for Baby stamp set. I have not purchased that stamp set yet, so I decided to use the paper-piercing to make a pattern on the Moonlight DSP pack and the cut it out with my paper snips. Our new Thick Baker's Twine makes the perfect clothesline. Of course you can't hang up laundry (& rubber ducks) without the, oh so yummy, 2014-2016 In Color Clothespins.

As always, you can head over to SSINK to see more summer fun. Let me tell you, there are some YUMMY projects over there today!

6.23.2014

Masculine Monday

Today is my 200th blog post! In honor of that, would you like to "make a wish?" If so, leave your wish in the comments below and just maybe it will get granted.

Today is Masculine Monday at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration. At a loss for what kind of masculine card I was going to make, I found inspiration in a Deconstructed Sketch layout. Once I had the layout, everything else fell in to place.


After a fun discussion with a fellow SSINK design team member regarding Mossy Meadow, I thought it was the perfect color to use for a manly card. I used two techniques I haven't used in forever; the first being good ole paper tearing with just your hands. (Working with your hands is manly, right?) The second was heat embossing. That has been my favorite technique of all times, and it's probably been six months since I've pulled out my heat tool. Crazy!

Stop over at Stampin' Stylin' INKspiration for more masculine card ideas.

Here is the Deconstructed Sketch No. 155 that inspired me:


6.20.2014

My Project Life

You've seen a few cards that I've made thus far with my new Stampin' Up! Project Life Assortment Packs. Today I've got some real deal, Project Life scrapbook pages to share with you! Two+ years and 199 posts and this is the first time that I've ever shared non-digital scrapbook pages that actually have pictures on them. I'd say this qualifies as a significant occasion!


Yes, I did have to stand on a folding chair to get this picture of the two page spread together. Would you like a closer view?


On the first page, I really wanted to focus on the pictures so I just used one journaling card and no other embellishments. I was happy when I came across this card in the Everyday Adventure Project Life Card Pack, as it had rained on us during the walk that most of these pictures were captured on. The detail on the card reminded me of raindrops.


I really liked the layout for this page as it gave me more room to journal more about each picture. The wooden arrow came in the Everyday Adventure pack, and made a fun addition to the page to mark the trail. Did you catch the blocks where I used punches on this page?

My overall opinion of Project Life is a positive one. I like how quickly pages can come together. I also like that with some of the detail on the printed cards, you don't need to spend a great deal of time adding lots of embellishments to the page.

Want more Project Life inspiration? Head over to Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration!

6.17.2014

Shake It, Shake It

I got some new goodies to play with today; but I forgot which new goodies, so I had to edit what I'd been dreaming up all day. All in all, I'm still very happy with my Shaker card today.

Cardstock colors: Lost Lagoon, Melon Mambo, Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White

I am so excited about the "groovy" new sets that are in the 2014-2015 Annual Stampin' Up! Catalog. Peace, Love, & Cupcakes is one of these, and one of the items that arrived in my box today. All of the stamps used on this card are from the set. Aren't they cute? I think the peace sign is my favorite.

The flowers feature tone-on-tone stamping with Crisp Cantaloupe ink on Crisp Cantaloupe cardstock. The Lost Lagoon ink looks really nice stamped on Crisp Cantaloupe as well, as you can see with the "friends" image. I love the new 1/4" Cotton Ribbon. It's so soft! I chose white so that I could dye it other colors with my reinkers. ;)

Since I thought the 2013-2015 In Color Sequins were coming in this box, and they aren't coming until Friday; I had to come up with something else to put inside my shaker. The Heart Border punch had just arrived in today's box, and the hearts are just the right size to put into a shaker like this! I punched 12 hearts out, dumped them in, and added some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to shimmer it up. Of course I had to shake it a few times to make sure it would work.

I used our fabulous Shaker Frames to create the shaker. If you would like to see a tutorial of how to make your own Shaker Card, head over to Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration.

6.16.2014

June Layout Sketch

Last week I traveled to Golden, Colorado for work. This was huge for me as I have never done well with traveling, and this was the first time going that far by myself. I'm happy to report that I made it there and back, and overcame a few fears in the process.


I was a mess in the airport before boarding the plane. However, I ended up talking with a man and his 6 year old daughter who were also going to be on my flight. The little girl was so calm and told me about all the times she had been on an airplane. This helped calm me down tremendously. After that, the rest of the trip was a breeze.

While in Golden, we went on morning walks each day. I will admit that when our walk leader said, "we'll walk along the river, cross the bridge and then come back," I did freak for a second. However, I quickly told myself, "you just flew out here by yourself yesterday, you can surely walk over a bridge now with no panic." I did panic just slightly, when we found out the bridge was icy; but careful steps and I made it across! After, that, I didn't think twice about stepping on to, or stopping in the middle of any of the other bridges we crossed!

I also managed to make it through the Denver airport with minimal issues on the way home. While, everyone else was talking about "flying on Friday the 13th," my only issue was that I sat in the airport for 7 hours before we finally got to leave, because our flight kept getting delayed. Now, that I've worked on overcoming my fears, I guess it's time to start working on my lack of patience! My other issue was that I was freezing, because I had packed my jacket in my checked bag. Who thought I would have needed it?

Thanks for joining me today for this recap of my exciting journey. We would love to have you play along with our Project Life inspired layout sketch today at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration.


6.13.2014

Friday Favorites

Project Life is my favorite new item in the 2014-2015 Annual Catalog. I am working on Project Life pages, but I love using the PL cards on my cards as well!


For this card, I used a Pacific Point base, and a Melon Mambo layer. I used Pacific Point to stamp the Oh Happy Day from Starburst Sayings directly onto one of the cards from the Everyday Adventure Project Life pack. I finished it off by wrapping a length of Silver 1/8" Ribbon around the PL card. 

Today is an "oh, happy day!" It's my husband and my five year anniversary and I'm flying home from Denver and will get to see him for the first time in a week!

Now back to the important stuff. Here is a shot of the Everyday Adventure pack.


Please visit Stylin' Stampin INKspiration for more Friday Favorites out of the new catalog!

6.11.2014

New Stampin' Up! Favorites


Today is a monumental day, as it is our last Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop. Never fear, we'll still have daily inspiration for you with the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration Design Team. Of course, we have to share our new catalog favorites with you today, since the 2014-2015 Annual Catalog has now been live for 10 days!

As you hop along, please be sure to comment and show some love on every blog! We are always excited to hear from our followers! You should have just left stop number 11 on the Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop -Heidi B. of Stuck On Stampin. If so, you are in the right spot. If a link doesn't work or you get off track, you will find the full blog hop lineup below.


My favorite for this card is the Metro Type Alphabet set. All of our alphabet sets are now photopolymer sets, which is great. It makes them easy to position and use to create words on one block. I used the largest Clear Block and mounted letters A-T on it to create this fun background.


This card would make a great end of year card for a teacher, or student. It also features the new Work of Art set and the new Baked Brown Sugar Thick Baker's Twine.

Click the Next button below to head over to Cynthia's blog. Make sure to follow my blog while you're here so you don't miss any of the daily inspiration here, and at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration.

http://inkadoodlecreations.blogspot.com/2014/06/new-catalog-release-stylin-stampin.html

Blog Hop Participant List:
  1. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
  2. Cynthia R. of Ink-A-Doodle Creations
  3. Diana E. of Stampin' Fun with Diana
  4. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
  5. Donna S. of Organized Chaos
  6. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
  7. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun
  8. Bree R. of Craft-Somnia
  9. Rose C. of Stampin' with Rose
  10. Heidi B. of Stuck on Stampin'