Love, love, love!

I am in love with the new stamp set "Stippled Blossoms"! I used it for several of my convention swaps. I was lucky enough to win the last prize patrol with Carrie Cudney, so I actually have a second set! I will use it for a door prize or a down line gift, or maybe even as blog candy!

Anyway, on to my card. This is for the Stamping 411 sketch challenge, SSC266. It's a square card with lots of layers.

• Stamps ~ Stippled Blossoms, Gossamer Lace, Lovely Little Labels
• Inks ~ Crumb Cake, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals 
• Paper ~ Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White, Fan Fair DSP
• Accessories ~ Lacy Brocade embossing folder, Little labels Punch Pack

So what do you think? Are you in love too?

Blessings,
Barbara

They Say "This Too Shall Pass"

I can hardly believe I have been home from the Stampin' Up! Convention almost a week!  I had a wonderful time and came home with tons of new ideas and lots of swaps!  Today I'm going to share a card I designed using this week's DIVA sketch challenge, DSC199.  If you go to this link, you can see what my fellow team members have designed.  (Last week I did not have a chance to post because I was in Salt Lake City having a great time at convention!)  Here is this week's sketch.

And here is my card.

I just love a monochromatic card, don't you? Here are the products I used.

• Stamps ~ From My Heart
• Paper ~ Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
• Inks ~ Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake marker
• Accessories ~ Big Shot (LOVE IT!),  Framelits Labels, Lacy Brocade embossing folder, stampin' dimensionals, 1 3/8" square punch for the banner

Lots of nice texture on this card, right?  I inked the Lacy Brocade folder with Crumb Cake before I ran it through the Big Shot.  The Crumb Cake banner uses the faux suede technique.  I cut the banner and ran the paper between my finger and my bone folder several times to break up the paper fibers.  Once that is done you can separate the paper layers and you end up with the soft suede look.

I have to run!  I don't want to miss too much of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, but I wanted to get this post ready since I missed last week.

Did I tell you that I had a fabulous time at Convention?  Ha, I know I told you twice already, but I can't begin to tell you how much I loved it and how much I learned!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend and please leave a comment.  I love them!!

Blessings,
Barbara

So Sorry... Please Forgive Me?

Here it is, Saturday again!  I have been confined to the stamping salt mines most of the week, trying to prepare all of my swaps.  Next week I hope to share a different swap each day while I am at the Stampin' Up! convention.  I took some liberties with this week's sketch, as you will soon see.  My card is actually one of my swaps and a loose interpretation of this week's sketch.  You can see what the rest of the team did with DSC197 if you follow this link. 
 

I used lots of new products here, including the So Sorry stamp set, which will be useful for so many occasions. You can check it out on page 137 of the catalog.

Here are the specifics:

• Stamps~ Circle Circus, So Sorry
• Paper~ Whisper White, rich Razzleberry, Floral District DSP
• Inks~ Rich Razzleberry, Lucky Limeade
• Accessories~ Big Shot, Two tags die, Scallop punch, 1 1'4" circle punch,  Brights designer  buttons, Stampin' dimensionals

Well, back to the salt mines!  Please stop by next week since I hope to be sharing lots of cards as well as doing some sharing from convention.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,
Barbara

After Amsterdam

This week I returned from a lovely trip to the Netherlands!  We spent time in Utrecht, Groningen, and Amsterdam.  Three of my grandparents were born in the Netherlands, so it was a trip that really affirmed my Dutch heritage.  The same is true for my husband.  But that's a long story, and I know you've stopped by to see what I've done with the UDI sketch challenge.  If you follow this link, you can see what my sketch team friends have done with this design.  It feels good to have stamps, ink and paper in my hands again after two weeks away!

I flipped the sketch onto its side, and in place of a bow, I inserted a flower. I just love all of the new embossing folders in the catalog. They add so much texture and class to a card. Don't you agree?

These are the supplies I used.

• Paper~ Whisper White, Primrose Petals
• Embossing folders~ Delicate Designs, Fancy Fan
• Inks~ Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple
• Stamps~ Stippled Blossoms
• Accessories~ Stampin' dimensionals, Victoria lace trim

Here's a tip for you:  Don't add a greeting until you are ready to send your card!  I find that my cards are much more versatile that way.  When I need a card, I add a greeting that is appropriate!

Thanks for stopping by!  I will leave you with this view from our hotel room window in Amsterdam.  We were right on a canal, and we woke up to this view every morning

And went to sleep with this...

Blessings,
Barbara