Global Design Project #558 - Sketch Challenge

What is better than a sketch challenge to stretch one’s creativity? This particular sketch challenge had me thinking in lots of layers!

Check out the challenge here - Global Design Project if you’d like to play along.

Using both stamps and dies from Learn & Grow and Extraordinary Life, I stamped and cut several images to create the layers necessary to stand in for each of the “panels” in the sketch.

Aren’t the little butterfly embellishments the cutest??? I also put a little scrap of Hydrangea Hue behind the slots on the sentiment panel to fill in the empty space.

Stamps: Learn & Grow, Extraordinary Life

Paper: Basic White, Barely Blush, Hydrangea Hue, Gingham Gallery DSP

Ink: Barely Blush, Hydrangea Hue, Black Memento

Accessories: Extraordinary Life Dies, 2026-2028 In Color Butterflies

We’d love to have you play along!! You can check us out here on Instagram … you’re gonna LOVE what you see!!

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TGIF Challenge #587 - Tone On Tone

This week’s TGIF Challenge is soooo much fun - a tone-on-tone inspiration!

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

I’m not sure why I don’t make monochromatic cards more often … they’re so much fun to make!

Using a combination of  Scalloped Wishes Dies, Lazy Daisy and Forever Plaid 3D Embossing Folders and both sides of a piece of Crisp Cantaloupe Gingham Gallery DSP, I created this card to highlight Crisp Cantaloupe … so happy to have it back, even for a while!

After inking up the inside of the Lazy Daisy 3D Embossing Folders with some Crisp Cantaloupe ink, I put a piece of Basic White cardstock inside and ran it through my Cut & Embossing Machine. Don’t you just LOVE how this turned out???

I then cut a Scalloped Wishes Oval and used the Forever Plaid 3D Embossing folder on it to add some texture. Putting the little diecut flowers around the edge of it gives it a fun, summer garden feel.

And Gingham Gallery is fast becoming my new favorite DSP!

Stamps: Scalloped Wishes

Paper: Basic White, Crisp Cantaloupe, Gingham Gallery DSP

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe

Accessories: Scalloped Wishes Dies, Lazy Daisy 3D Embossing Folders, Forever Plaid 3D Embossing Folder, Antique Pearls

We are celebrating Pioneer Day today in the good ol’ state of Utah. Parades, BBQs and time with family are on the agenda all weekend! Love me a good holiday!

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 - Sweet Bugs (and Mushrooms!)

Happy Monday! It’s time once again to check out with the Monday Montage Crew has created for you!

I chose to make a little “summer bouquet”!

My bouquet was made using dies from the Sweet Bugs Dies. Mushrooms, flowers and butterflies complete the arrangement.

I couldn’t help using my white gel pen to add some spots to the Poppy Parade mushrooms … I had to stop myself because I wanted to put them on ALL the mushrooms!

Layers were made using the new Scalloped Blooms dies. And of course I had to add a little platter here and there!

Stamps: Sweet Bugs

Paper: Basic Beige, Very Vanilla, Poppy Parade, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, Blueberry Bushel, Lemon Lolly, Perfect Pine

Ink: Blueberry Bushel; Stampin’ Blends - Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze

Accessories:  Forever Plaid 3D Embossing Folder, Scalloped Blooms Dies, Crumb Cake Baker’s Twine

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 #586 - Inspiration Challenge

Oooooo! Highland cows!! They have become sooooo popular - and for good reason! They are completely adorable!!

This week’s TGIF Challenge is based on inspiration from the photo at the right. So let’s get started!

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

Where I started and where I ended up are not the same! I really wanted to use the cloudy sky paper from the Silly Old Bear DSP. I just couldn’t make the flowers work. THEN I ended up using this cute diagonally-stripped gingham paper from Everyday Essential DSP.

I like how this turned out. But I used a LOT more products than it would appear!

First of all, in addition to the DSP I used in the background - sheets from both Country Woods and Everyday Essentials.

I also used dies from Lovely Arrangements (the circles backdrop and sentiment panel) and Cutest Crew (the flowers).

And, OF COURSE, the focal point Highland Cow from Wild Bunch (which was a product of the month back in June). I really hope it gets brought back as an Online Exclusive because it is sooo very darling!

Stamps: Wild Bunch

Paper: Basic White, Darling Duck, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Cherry Cobbler, Poppy Parade, Country Woods DSP, Everyday Essentials DSP

Ink: Black Memento; Stampin’ Blends - Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Bubble Bath, Gray Granite

Accessories: Lovely Arrangements Dies, Cutest Crew Dies

What are you doing this weekend?? I may convince my hubby to go see “The Odyssey” … it was just released yesterday and it looks really good!

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!

TGIF Challenge #585 - Sketch Challenge

Sometimes, a good sketch is all you need for inspiration - and this week’s TGIF sketch is really good! I knew almost immediately what I wanted to do with it!

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

I have been fixated on the cute little crayon image in the Learn & Grow stamp set since I first laid eyes on it and just KNEW I was going to create something with a whole bunch of them!

I stamped a whole bunch of them and colored each with the light and dark version of each color using my Stampin’ Blends.

After cutting the triangle for the lower left corner of the card I used the Dotted Lines Mask and some Memento Black ink to put the pattern down. I also did a little ink flicking using both Night of Navy and Balmy Blue.

The crayons were super simple to color and cut out … aren’t they fun??

Stamps: Learn & Grow

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Balmy Blue

Ink: Black Memento, Versamark; Stampin’ Blends - Granny Apple Green, Mint Macaron, Pool Party, Night of Navy, Balmy Blue, Fresh Freesia, Bubble Bath, Melon Mambo, Poppy Parade, Pumpkin Pie, Lemon Lolly

Accessories: Adhesive-Backed Metallic Gems, White Embossing Powder, Black and White Baker’s Twine

We’re gearing up to be about 106 degrees by Sunday - stay cool and stay safe!

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!

Words and Wishes

Who doesn’t love to get an actual birthday card in the mail?? I know I do!

The fun, double-hinged card was inspired by a similarly-made card done by my friend, Elizabeth Price (@seeinginkspots). With all the flipping layers the birthday celebration just goes on and on!

Using Barely Blush as my base color, I created the front panel with a combo of layers using the Everyday Arches Dies and the Words & Wishes stamps and dies. 

Upon opening the first flap you can see that I used the Perfect Plaid 3D Embossing Folder to add texture to the left panel while added more splatters and leaves with a little sentiment on the right panel.

Once fully opened I combined elements from the front and right-inside panel with a few more added surprises to finish the “presents” inside. Isn’t this fun??? (The new 2026-2026 Gingham Gallery DSP is going to be my new “go to” for sure!)

Stamps: Words & Wishes

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Barely Blush, Granny Apple Green, 2026-2028 Gingham Gallery DSP

Ink: Black Memento, Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight; Stampin’ Blends - Petal Pink Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green, Pool Party, Basic Black

Accessories: Words & Wishes Dies, Everyday Arches Dies, Phrases & Frames Dies, Perfect Plaid 3D Embossing Folder, Black Baker’s Twine

Come back tomorrow - I have another fun card to share!

Monday Montage - Wild Bunch

Happy Monday! It’s time once again to check out with the Monday Montage Crew has created for you!

I haven’t made a regular ol’ z-fold card in a while, so I figured it was time!

All ya have to do is make a regular 4.25”x5.5” vertical card base and rotated 90 degrees. Then fold the front flap back and you have got it!

This little highland cow … oh my goodness! Isn’t he adorable???  I colored him with some Stampin’ Blends and then did some fussy cutting. He is backed by a double layer of Everyday Arches and the cute little squiggly squares stamp also included in the Wild Bunch set.

I stamped the “wheat field” with some Basic Beige ink while also adding an extra little strip of the Country Woods DSP.

The Crumb Cake panel has been embossed using the Birch 3D Embossing Folder.

Stamps: Wild Bunch

Paper: Basic White, Crumb Cake, Pecan Pie, Early Espresso, Country Woods DSP

Ink: Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Basic Beige, Real Red; Stampin’ Blends - Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Petal Pink

Accessories: Birch 3D Embossing Folder, Everyday Arches Dies, Linen Thread

Have a great week!

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!

Bear Lake - Part 3!

As promised … here are pages 5 and 6 of our Bear Lake trip a few weeks ago! All three of the two-page layouts have similar elements, but I added something a little different to each set to make them a little unique in their own way.

Keeping with the overall theme, the Rolling Waves Dies and the Water & Dotted Lines Decorative Mask were also used on these layouts. Those elements were used on all three spreads.

I board a few different dies from Extraordinary Life (the little flags for the banners) and the seashells from Rolling Waves - dies from each set I hadn’t yet used on the other layouts I had done.

Perennial Postage Dies are probably my most-used dies that are current … they can be adapted to ANYTHING!

The Scalloped Blooms Dies once again came to the rescue for the sentiment panels … they are definitely going to be one of my most-frequently-reached-for dies for the unforeseeable future. They are awesome.

Since I haven’t yet purchased the Simple Alphabet Stamp Set (something I plan to remedy on my next order!), I grabbed a favorited retired alphabet set to stamp words for these pages - it’s called Alphabest. It came through in a pinch for me!

A little more use of the So Swirly Embossing Folder and it all tied together. These pages were so fun to created - a LOT of photos - and I got at least one pic of everyone who was at the lake that weekend. I call that a WIN!

Stamps: Splash and Relax, Alphabest (retired)

Paper: Basic White, Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Everyday Essentials DSP, Country Woods DSP

Ink: Black Memento, Coastal Cabana, Azure Afternoon, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral

Accessories: Rolling Waves Dies, Scalloped Blooms Dies, Splash and Relax Dies Water & Dotted Lines Decorative Mask, Linen Thread, Antique Pearls

Hope your 4th of July weekend is full of fun, family, food and new memories are made! (Maybe you will need to do some scrapbooking once it is done!)

Stampin’ Fancy Friday - Inspired by Water Challenge

I love the beach no matter the time of year. Having grown up in the Bay Area I took for granted the time I spent there on beaches throughtouteach year, so my mind automatically thought of beach time when I saw that this month’s Stampin’ Fancy Friday  Challenge was “Inspired by Water”.

Brightly-colored flip flops made from the Splash and Relax Dies are the focal point here … toes in the sand and letting the waves wash over my feet … nothing is more relaxing!

The Rolling Stones Waves Dies are my new favorite! I splattered a little Crumb Cake and Coastal Cabana inks on the coordinating backdrop colors to give them a more “sandy” vibe. 

This card really came together quite easily … mostly just cutting a bunch of dies and only one stamped image (the sentiment).

Stamps: Splash and Relax

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Pool Party, Coastal Cabama, Melon Manbo, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Cotal, Crumb Cake

Ink: Versamark, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Rolling Waves Dies, Splash and Relax Dies, White Embossing Powder, Array of Dots

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

TGIF Challenge #583 - Technique Challenge - Popping It Up!

Popping It Up!! Are you KIDDING me???!! I think I use dimensionals on every single stinkin’ card or project I make! So this week’s challenge is right up my alley!

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

One of my all-time most favorite Stampin’ Up sets has a flamingo in it (Tickled Pink). I still have it (you will have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers to get it from me!).

So I was ECSTATIC to see the images in the soon-to-be-released “Birthday Song” stamp set! I mean … COME ON!!

Not only did I fussy cut out the image of flamingos, add hats to them and color them with my Stampin’ Blends, but I popped them up on some Dimensonals as well!

And there’s more popping up when you open the card!

I made a swing card! So….. not only does the front panel “pop” and swing as you open it …

… the entire middle section of the card pops up, too!!

Here are the dimensions of each piece:

Barely Blush

  5.5” x 8.5” - scored at 4.25”

Flirty Flamingo

  5.25”x4”

  4 7/8”x1 7/8”

  3.5”x4.75”*

Basic White

  5”x8” - scored at 2”, 4” and 6”

  Scrap for sentiment

2026-2028 Gingham Gallery 12x12 DSP

  3 7/8”x2 3/8” (front panel)

  4.75”x1.75” (inside panel)

*You will have to cut out a panel in the front of the card to accommodate the “swing” panel. Make it the tiniest amount larger than the 3.5”x4.75” panel piece so that it will swing easily!

Here’s a peek from the top down so you can see how to assemble the parts …

Stamps: Birthday Song

Paper: Basic White, Flirty Flamingo, Barely Blush, Gingham Gallery 12x12 DSP

Ink: Black Memento, Flirty Flamingo; Stampin’ Blends - Flirty Flamingo, Petal Pink

Accessories: 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls, White Baker’s Twine

Have a great weekend!!

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!

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