TGIF Challenge #593 - Color Challenge

What do you think of this soft, beautiful color combo? I love it!

This week’s TGIF Challenge is to use the lovely colors of Very Vanilla, Lost Lagoon and Fresh Freesia. Elegant and fun!

Check out the blog challenge here - TGIF Challenge Blog if you’d like to play along.

The focal point of this slimline (3.5”x8.5”) card is the word FRIEND, made using the Playful Alphabet Dies, Two-Tone Lost Lagoon and Fresh Freesia cardstock and the new Soft Weave 3D Embossing Folder.

Small amounts of the white core from the two-tone cardstock came through when I put the completed letters through my embossing machine using the Soft Weave 3D Embossing Folder. I love the effect!

The background was created using a blending brush and some Fresh Freesia ink. I then splattered a little bit of both Fresh Freesia and Lost Lagoon ink using my Stampin’ Blends. The edges were roughed up using a blade from some scissors.

The flowers and leaves were cut using a few of the Help Me Grow Dies and some Very Vanilla cardstock. I lightly colored the centers of the little diecut flowers using the Stampin’ Blends. Adding three different-sized Antique Pearl Embellishments and called this card complete!

Stamps: None!

Paper: Very Vanilla, Lost Lagoon 2-Tone, Fresh Freesia Two-Tone

Ink: Fresh Freesia; Stampin’ Blends - Lost Lagoon, Fresh Freesia

Accessories: Playful Alphabet Dies, Help Me Grow Dies, Antique Pearls

I’ve spent my entire summer going NOwhere … and since last week I have been to Disneyland, Bear Lake and am now headed to Stagecoach, Nevada, to visit my niece, nephew and two grand nephews! Great way to finish up the last month of summer!

We’d love to have you play along!! You can check us out our blog HERE and Instagram … lots of great inspiration from the rest of the TGIF Crew!

Monday Montage - Memorable Garden

Happy Monday! The Monday Montage Crew is back! Having been out of town for the whole last week I had to play catch up once I got home yesterday!

I haven’t watercolored a background for a while, and I felt the need to be crafty! I used some watercolor paper and stamped and spritzed several large and small flower images using the Memorable Garden Stamps. I did some off stamping for the tiny Hydrangea Hue flowers, and I spritzed the already-inked stamps for the large flowers. 

Of course, I couldn’t resist flicking some ink using my Stampin’ Blends … I love how this came out!

Stamps: Memorable Garden, Tile Garden

Paper: Basic White, Watercolor, Mosaic Garden DSP

Ink: Hydrangea Hue, Crisp Cantaloupe, Night of Navy; Stampin’ Blends - Night of Navy, Pumpkin PIe

Accessories:  Hydrangea Hue 1/4” Bordered Ribbon, Glossy Garden Dots, Stapler

Our Monday Montage Hop has gone exclusively to Instagram! You can check it out by finding me @tinkermom85. From there you will be able to find all of my Monday Montage Friends, too!

Stampin’ Fancy Friday - Letter Challenge

Isn’t it crazy that it took me until I was 27 years old (again!) to learn that I actually liked cats?? We adopted our sweet Willow last October and have been smitten with her since day ONE!

Soooo … I used a combination of letters from the Mini Alphabet and Party Alphabet Dies, Cutest Crew stamps and Vanilla Baker’s Twine to create a scrapbook layout to capture her sweet and mischievous nature!

Willow is a bundle of fun! She loves crawling in, around and under things and is very enamored of Amazon boxes (empty or full!). She is very friendly and loves to be where the people are!

I made this little ball of yarn using some Very Vanilla Baker’s twine. I stuck a little adhesive down and just wrapped my own little circle … then added some little pieces to cross over the ball and cascade down from there.

I used an assortment of circle punches to add interest and dimension behind the letters and kittens.

The pawprint strip from the Cutest Crew Dies added the most darling detail to the “MEOW”. If you look closely you can see that the left-hand side of each letter is actually a strip … I did a little cutting and pasting to be able to add them to these letters.

Of course, the Cutest Crew kittens make appearances all over this page … it wouldn’t have been nearly as cute without them!

Stamps: Cutest Crew

Paper: Basic White, Pecan Pie Two-Tone, Lost Lagoon Two-Tone, Basic Gray, Gray Granite, Country Woods DSP

Ink: Black Memento; Stampin’ Blends - Pecan PIe, Crumb Cake, Smoky Slate, Gray Granite, Lost Lagoon

Accessories: Party Alphabet Dies, Mini Alphabet Dies, Cutest Critter Dies, 1 3/8” Circle Punch, 2 3/4” Circle Punch, Very Vanilla Baker’s Twine

Check out all the fun things created by the Stampin’ Fancy Friday Challenge Team on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/stampinfancyfriday/!!!

Mosaic Garden Suite

Eeeeep! You GUYYYYSSS! There is nothing that I DON’T love in the new Mosaic Garden Suite!!

The Tile Garden stamp set (all of the images are SO pretty!!), the Glossy Garden Dots, the Hydrangea Hue ribbon, the DSP … ALL of it is just so elegant!!

All of the flowers were fussy cut (something I actually enjoy … it relaxes me!), so this took a little time. But I absolutely ADORE how this came out!!

I mean, COME ON!! The Mosaic Garden DSP that I used as a backdrop is the BEST!!! It looks embossed, doesn’t it??!!??

I used the Glossy Garden Dots and the Hydrangea Hue ribbon to balance out the details. And the Textured Tree Ring 3D Embossing Folder was just the perfect splash of texture I needed to give the Pecan Pie strip some dimension that makes it pop!

Stamps: Tile Garden

Paper: Basic White, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pecan Pie, Pretty Peacock, Mosaic Garden DSP

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Crushed Curry, Hydrangea Hue, Pretty Peacock, Old Olive, Versamark

Accessories: Textured Tree Ring 3D Embossing Folder, Glossy Garden Dots, Hydrangea Hue 1/4” Bordered Ribbon, White Embossing Powder

What’s your favorite element? I love it all, so picking a favorite is probably impossible for me!

It’s my birthday week and I’m just back from Disneyland before heading up to Bear Lake for a weekend of doing mostly nothing (something I don’t do enough!). Summer is already winding down … how is that even possible??!??

TGIF Challenge #591 - Inspiration

Flowers, flowers and MORE flowers! And in shades of yellow, no less! This inspiration photo for the TGIF Challenge is soooo good … and I knew right away what I wanted to do!

Check out the blog challenge here - TGIF Challenge Blog if you’d like to play along.

This card is mostly an exercise in fussy cutting. I just had received this month’s Product of the Month - Glow of Harvest DSP. It is absolutely GOOOORGEOUS! There’s a slight sheen to it which just makes each flower and leaf even that much better.

With a piece of Gingham Garden DSP as a backdrop, I added a diecut piece using the Botanical Expressions Die in Golden Glow. Then I just fussy cut a bunch of the images from a piece of the Glow of Harvest DSP and arranged them until I felt good about them.

The sentiment came from Sending Salutations and was cut out using one of the Nested Essentials Dies.

I then added a Very Vanilla Baker’s Twine bow and a few little butterfly embellishments. Very easy, and I love the fall vibes it is giving off!

Stamps: Sending Salutations

Paper: Very Vanilla, Golden Glow, Glow of Harvest DSP

Ink: Golden Glow

Accessories: Nested Essentials Dies, Botanical Expressions Die, Very Vanilla Baker’s Twine, 2026-2028 Butterfly Embellishments

My birthday is next week, so y’all know what THAT means … Yep! A trip to Disneyland with my BFF Cheryl and sister in law Diann. I plan to eat my way across both parks (with a little bit of restraint, I hope!). Then we will be taking a little family trip up to Bear Lake for the weekend! It’s gonna be a stellar week!

We’d love to have you play along!! You can check us out our blog HERE and Instagram … lots of great inspiration from the rest of the TGIF Crew!

Monday Montage - Begonia Belle

Happy Monday! The Monday Montage Crew is at it again! Lots of good inspiration this week!

After my good friend and fellow Monday Montage-r, Elizabeth Price, posted one of these lovely accordion folded cards the other day I knew I HAD to figure it out and post one myself! I learned a lot and have some tweaks to make for when I do it again (for which I will post all the dimensions and such!).

Isn’t this purdy?

I also took inspiration from one of the photos that Stampin’ Up posted as a sample for this Begonia Belle stamp set … they used the black and white side of some of the Beautiful Ordinary Life DSP to pair with three different roses … loved it so much I had to borrow the inspiration!

Stamps: Begonia Belle

Paper: Basic Black, Basic White, Beautiful Ordinary Life DSP

Ink: Fresh Freesia, Berry Burst, Highland Heather, Gorgeous Grape, Barely Blush, Melon Mambo, Granny Apple Greene Old Olive, Versamark

Accessories:  Tile Garden Dies, Ladybug Garden Epoxy Shapes

Our Monday Montage Hop has gone exclusively to Instagram! You can check it out by finding me @tinkermom85. From there you will be able to find all of my Monday Montage Friends, too!

On Stage Mini Album

As I was digging through some of my stash I came across a cute little chipboard-cover 5”x5” mini album … Stampin’ Up sold these about a GAZILLION years ago and this one never got the love it deserved! 

Since I have been wanted to make a mini album of my last trip to On Stage in Long Beach last March, this gave me the perfect motivation to get started!!

The Gingham Gallery DSP was the star of the show on this! I just used it on every page for every photo!

I used a combo of dies and stamps from three different set (check the supply list below).

I just kept cutting and stamping and gluing! This particular page has a little pocket to slide a photo out of …

This layout was fun! I cut two pieces of Golden Glow cardstock to 4.25”x 8.5” and folded them in half. That way I was able to adhere 8 photos in total on this little two-page layout!

The folded pieces just tuck into a little strip of DSP that I adhered on both pages close to the spiral bind … cute, eh?

This photo was too big to fit on one page, so I strategically cut it in half and mounted each half on a separate page (luckily I didn’t have to cut any of my friends in half!). How cool is that??!??

Stamps: Capturing Smiles, Extraordinary Life, Bordered in Beauty, Simple Alphabet

Paper: Basic White, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Golden Glow, Hydrangea Hue, Perfectly Pine, Barely Blush, Crisp Cantaloupe, Gingham Gallery DSP

Ink: Black Memento, Golden Glow, Hydrangea Hue, Perfectly Pine, Barely Blush, Crisp Cantaloupe

Accessories: Capturing Smiles Dies, Extraordinary Life Dies, Bordered in Beauty Dies, Very Vanilla Baker’s Twine, 5”x5” Mini Album, Just Jade Gingham Ribbon (retired)

Here are the rest of the pages … I’m so happy with how they turned out!

TGIF Challenge #589 - Color Challenge

Ooooo! Nothing like a good color combo to get those ol’ creative juices flowing, right??!??

Whilst waiting for my new Stampin’ Up order to arrive, I looked through my stash and was feeling uninspired … so I used my clear blocks to create a background instead!

Check out the blog challenge here - TGIF Challenge Blog if you’d like to play along.

Using the two smallest clear stamping blocks (B & C) I created this background.  I then cut the 3.75”x5” piece of Basic White cardstock than I had stamped the blocks onto into 1.25” square. I roughed up the edges of the squares with the blade of my scissors and then stuck them back down onto the card base.

You know me and a little bit of splatter, right?? Using my Basic Black Stampin’ Blend I just let loose and splattered the whole card front!

I colored the little cake and tied both the cake stand and the card front up with some Basic Black Baker’s twine.

I couldn’t resist using some retired embellishments because they were just the perfect thing - and I just found them stashed behind something else (not like I had spent TONS of time looking for them several months back, to no avail!)

Stamps: Words & Wishes

Paper: Basic White, Crumb Cake, Berry Burst, Lemon Lolly

Ink: Crumb Cake, Berry Burst, Lemon Lolly, Memento Black; Stampin’ Blends - Bubble Bath, Lemon Lolly, Crumb Cake, Basic Black

Accessories: Words & Wishes Dies, Spotlight On Nature Dies, Basic Black Baker’s Twine, Clear Blocks B & C, Sparkle Gems Embellishments (retired)

What are your plans for the weekend?? Our oldest son has a community choir he has been conducting for years, and their summer concert is this weekend - can’t wait to go see them!

We’d love to have you play along!! You can check us out our blog HERE and Instagram … lots of great inspiration from the rest of the TGIF Crew!

Monday Montage - Scalloped Blooms

Happy Monday! The Monday Montage Crew is at it again! Soooo much good inspiration from each and every one!

The layout of these dies is reminiscent of a garden layout - nice rectangles made by arranging several pieces of cardstock cut using one of the Scalloped Blooms Dies.

I used the Lazy Daisy 3D Embossing Folder to add dimension to the Mellow Moss rectangles and flowers. Then I used a couple of Stampin’ Blends to flick some ink on the Golden Glow pieces as well as the sentiment panel. Isn’t this cute??

Stamps: Scalloped Blooms

Paper: Old Olive, Mellow Moss, Golden Glow, Very Vanilla, Silly Old Bear DSP

Ink: Old Olive; Stampin’ Blends - Daffodil Delight, Mellow Moss

Accessories:  Lazy Daisy 3D Embossing Folder, Scalloped Blooms Dies, Linen Thread, Adhesive-Backed Metallic Gems

Our Monday Montage Hop has gone exclusively to Instagram! You can check it out by finding me @tinkermom85. From there you will be able to find all of my Monday Montage Friends, too!

TGIF Challenge #588 - Inspiration Challenge

This week’s TGIF Challenge made me go for the kitchen sink … meaning I was throwing everything at it to see what would stick! The photo to the left was our inspiration. We could use images, colors, or go for the “make a card set” thing, which is what I did!

Check out the blog challenge here - TGIF Challenge Blog if you’d like to play along.

There die sets, two stamp sets and one package of DSP got me from beginning to end on these, so let’s go!!

Here are the four “hidden flap” cards I created to make a set. I personally think that this Country Woods DSP is the BEST patterned paper that Stampin’ Up has had for some time … it goes with EVERYthing!! Keep reading to see that by lifting the little hidden flap you will see another hidden element - a framed sentiment!

Upon lifting up the little 1.5” flap that was created by cutting the front of the card base (Early Espresso) at 3” and 4.5”, you will have the option of adding a cute little sentiment panel of some sort. I used a combination of dies from Phrases & Frames and Cutest Crew, as well as a sentiment image from Cutest Crew.

The DSP was actually added to the card front, minus the flap you created (which in essence give you a two-in-one card front!).

Here’s the actual “inside” of the card. You can see how the DSP on the top half of this card peeks through from where the Early Espresso flap was lifted up for the actual front of the card. So much variety comes from just a couple vertical cuts!

Stamps: Words & Wishes, Cutest Crew, 

Paper: Basic Beige, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Coastal Cabana, Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Petal Pink, Country Woods DSP

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe

Accessories: Words & Wishes Dies, Cutest Crew Dies, Phrases & Frames Dies, Linen Thread, Adhesive-Backed Metallic Gems

Here’s the view of the cards in all three stages - closed (upper left), top flap open (upper right), and completely open (bottom middle). The only differences between the four cards in the set were which piece of the Country Woods DSP I was going to use and where I was going to use it. The sentiments throughout all four cards are done using the same cardstock and ink (the flowers surrounding the “just a little hello” sentiment panel were a little different on each card as I used the scraps of Country Woods DSP I had leftover. The little birdies I cut out using the Cutest Crew Dies ended up being a mix-and-match of Pecan Pie, Night of Navy, Petal Pink, Crumb Cake and Coastal Cabana.

Soooo happy to be at the weekend … I am just about ready to tackled my daughter’s old room that is just FILLED with stuff she left behind when she moved out AND all of the remnants of what my dear mama left behind after we had divvied up most of her furniture and clothing. It’s time for me to get serious about that stuff - especially since I will be able to make a lovely guest room out of it by the time I’m done!

We’d love to have you play along!! You can check us out our blog HERE and Instagram … lots of great inspiration from the rest of the TGIF Crew!