TGIF Challenge #530 - Inspiration Challenge

Happy Friday! TGIF!!

Isn’t this inspiration photo pretty?? The colors, the sea life, the use of light … all very nice!

I don’t have many current Stampin’ Up products that are sea-life related - EXCEPT “Along These Lines”! I’ve been wanting to make another card with this set, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so!

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

It took me a little while to figure out exactly HOW I was going to use these stamps and make them fit with the above inspiration photo. I stamped the dolphins using Secret Sea ink and then made little wavy cuts on either end of the stamped image to create “water” for the dolphins to swim in. Each dolphin was brushed with a little bit of Afternoon Azure, both a little underneath their bellies and sponged along the edges of the water.

I flicked some ink on the Plastered Paint embossed layer as well as on the layers of dolphins. 

I then added a few Adhesive-Backed Sparkle Gems to represent “bubbles” floating up toward the waters surface. I also painted a little bit of Wink of Stella along the waves edges. The Highland Heather layer behind the top layers was cut with a Textured Notes dies.

Stamps: Along These Lines, Mixed Labels (sentiment)

Paper: Basic White, Highland Heather

Ink: Azure Afternoon, Secret Sea, Highland Heather; Stampin’ Blends - Azure Afternoon, Highland Heather, Blueberry Bushel

Accessories: Textured Notes Dies, Plastered Paint 3D Embossing Folder, Adhesive-Backed Sparkle Gems

Have a lovely weekend. Take some “you” time and relax, craft, watch a movie or go for a hike!

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!

Tractor & Co.

I was thrilled when I saw this adorable Tractor & Co. on the preorder list … it’s so very fun!

I used a combo of lots of things on this one … DSP, stamped images, die cut images and some braided and knotted Baker’s twine.

This is my best attempt at a John Deere tractor! I stamped the tractor body and trailer in Garden Green ink. I then cute out the fenders, seat, hoot hardware, wheeled and hubcaps (not to mention the roof over the cab of the tractor). I used.a sponge to distress the edges of the fenders over each tire to give them a more rustic look.

I stamped the hay image using Crushed Curry ink onto some Crushed Curry cardstock, which I ten cut out with a die.

I couldn’t stop adding cute things to the trailer behind the tractor … Poppy Parade banners, Granny Apple Green cornstalks with ears of corn stamped in Daffodil. Delight on Daffodil Delight cardstock. I then stamped the darling little rooster in both Daffodil Delight and Poppy Parade ink on Basic White cardstock. I then did some fussy cutting to put the Poppy Parade head on the Daffodil Delight body. 

The two tones of Timeless Plaid DSP worked as a perfect fun and farmy background. I just cut and ripped a strip of the Crumb Cake/Pecan Pie-colored paper to use as the “ground”.

The trim of Baker’s twine was braided and then knotted at short intervals. I love the texture. 

Stamps: Tractor & Co.

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Garden Green, Crushed Curry, Daffodil Delight, Timeless Plaid DSP

Ink: Garden Green, Crushed Curry, Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade

Accessories: Tractor & Co. Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Muted Palette Dots, Linen Thread, White Baker’s Twine

I have several other new goodies to share, so stay tuned!!

Monday Montage - Turtle-y Awesome!

Monday Montage Time is here! YAY! I loved Mondays for this reason … always lots of beautiful things to see!

My first thoughts on the “Turtle-y Awesome” Suite was … “No thanks. I’ll pass.” Not because it’s not good, just because it didn’t feel very “me”. UNTIL I saw some of the absolutely ADORABLE samples shared at OnStage back in March while we were in Raleigh. The DSP just did me IN! It is sooooo stinkin’ CUTE!!

I don’t have the dies (yet!), so I had to do a little fussy cutting (which I don’t mind as I find it kinda relaxing!). I did a fold I haven’t done in a while known as the “joy fold”. It’s basically a card within a card.

When you “open” the front-right panel, this is what you see … 

And then when you open the front-left panel, you see this (who DOESN’T love a surprise piece of cake??) …

Here’s another peek so you can see how it all opens up! It’s basically a 5.5” x 4.25” card within the front panel cut in half … and then a smaller version of the card (approximately 4.75” x 3.5” when folder) placed the opposite direction (with the fold on the right instead of on the left).

I love the DSP so much! Every dang piece is cute! I cut the banjo-playing turtle and the piece of cake out of one of the pieces).

Stamps: Birthday Celebration (Sentiment)

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Garden Green, Turtle-y Awesome DSP

Ink: Versamark

Accessories: Cutest Sentimental Framing Dies, 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls, White Embossing Powder

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!

TGIF #529 - Sketch Challenge

Happy Friday! TGIF!!

Sketches are the BEST kind of inspiration … I sometimes struggle to NOT use the same-old/same-old when it comes to layouts, so having a sketch to get me started is great! This week the TGIF Crew are using this sketch challenge to create!

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

The Storybook Moments Suite is PHE-NOM-E-NAL!! I have NO idea what took me soooo long to get on board with it. Sigh … it is now on “last chance” on Stampin’ Up’s website, so get on over there and get ALL of it!

I happened to have the white oval shape (from Impressions Abloom) still sitting on my table, so I decided to incorporate it. That girlie bunny and butterflies??? Tooo-too cute! They are all from the Storybook Moments DSP. They are on a sheet of cutouts … so no fussy cutting or stamping, just instant cuteness!! (And that little picket fence is to DIE for!!)

Up close you can see what I did with the background behind the bunny. I used an image from Elements of Text stamped in Pecan Pie ink. Prior to stamping the image I used a Blending Brush to add a little bit of Basic Beige to “age” the paper just a little!

And the gingham paper from the Timeless Plaid 6x6 DSP??? Perfection!! I distressed the edges with my snips to age that as well.

Stamps: Elements of Text

Paper: Basic White, Pecan Pie, Storybook Moments DSP, Timeless Plaid DSP

Ink: Pecan Pie, Basic Beige

Accessories: Impressions Abloom Dies, Muted Palette Dots, Crumb Cake Baker’s Twine

Family Reunion is happening for me tomorrow! It’s going to be a good time!

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!

All Because of Stampin’ Up!

Hey friends! I have been having soooo many technical difficulties with my lil’ ol’ blog here, but I think I have finally fixed what was broken so I can finally share again! YAY!

I made this scrapbook page to express my gratitude for what my life is like because of Stampin’ Up.

A good friend of mine, Shellee Reading, kept working on me to get me to join her “card club”. This was about 23 years ago (which is weird, since I am only 27!). I didn’t really want to, but she finally wore me down! Up to this point I had done some scrapbooking, but hadn’t really done any stamping or card making.

After having been in the “club” for about 3 years she convinced me that I should just sign up to be a demo. She said I could make my own minimums based on what I was ordering just from her. The discount sounded nice, and there was a promo for new demos at the time that included an entire color family of ink pads. How could I resist?? (Apparently, I couldn’t!). I was about a year behind signing up from my BFF, Cheryl Curtis. I met her at Shellee’s card club.

I was only going to be a demo for a year or two “just to get the discount.” I am now just about to reach my 20-year anniversary with Stampin’ Up - hard to believe!!

I met Kathy via Splitcoaststampers. There were a bunch of us who used to have a thread on there, mostly active in the early mornings, where we would “chat” as we waited for the daily challenge to be posted. (It was soooo inefficient as you had to continually refresh the page to see any new messages!) Kathy and I soon realized we had a lot in common! We talk almost every day (she lives in Minnesota), and she and I have made many trips to one another’s homes over the years. She even took me to Mt. Rushmore once on a drive to Utah from Minnesota (I flew out to drive back with her so she wouldn’t have to come alone!). Coolest experience EVER!

I met Bree Renwick’swhen she and I were both Artisan Design Team Finalists WAY back in 2012. We have also done a lot of traveling back and forth to our respective homes (she lives in Walla Walla), in addition to a great beach girl’s trip to the Oregon Coast during the Pandemic and at least TWO trips to Disneyland for RunDisney events. Not to mention Stampin’ Up events in Los Angeles, Houston, Raleigh and Las Vegas!

These ladies are my “ride-or-die” besties. We talk ALL the time - laughing, crying, or just shooting the breeze. I love them with my whole heart - hence the use of the “Friends for Life” dies (which, sadly, recently retired). I also used some old DSP I had … it wasn’t in its original packaging, but I know it is from Stampin’ Up. USE THOSE OLD SUPPLIES, FRIENDS!

Stamps: None!

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Calypso Coral, Basic Gray, Misc Retired DSP

Ink: None! (Except for a white gel pen)

Accessories: Friends for Life Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Spotlight On Nature Dies, Adhesive Backed Sparkle Gems

I cannot even BEGIN to imagine what my life would be like had I not gone to Shellee’s card club all those years ago. I have made friendships and had experiences that you canNOT put a price tag on. What a blessing it has been - blessed, grateful and happy!

Monday Montage - Cutest Onesie!

It’s MONDAY! Which means we are doing another Monday Montage Hop! Hooray! I am forever inspired and enabled by my fellow Monday Montagers. They are all soooo talented … and lovely humans as well!

I have not made a “baby” card in what feels like forever! Since Bree also had this Cutest Onesie Bundle at her house, I got to play with it! (We stamped a LOT while I was there!)

I had visions of multi colors of these cute little onesies. I stole the Daffodil Delight gingham paper from the Floral Delight DSP (cute, cute!). The Pool Party gingham is from Everyday Happiness DSP. Since I wanted to lighten the tone on it a bit, I stamped the onesie outline with Black Memento Ink on some vellum (which, sadly, SU doesn’t carry any more!) and then layered it on top of the Everyday Happiness onesie I had cut with the Cutest Onesie Dies.

And that frame!! Gotta love it! I snatched that die out of the Storybook Friends Dies … it looks adorable with the onesie framed in it!

You can see up close that I used the 3D Eyelet Embossing Folder in the background … another new favorite in my personal collection.

I used my Stampin’ Blends to color the bands around the arms and legs and also the little snaps. Too-too fun!

Stamps: Cutest Onesie

Paper: Basic White, Everyday Happiness DSP, Floral Delight DSP

Ink: Black Memento, Pool Party

Accessories: Cutest Onesie Dies, Storybook Friends Dies, 3D Eyelet Embossing Folder, 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls

I shall be heading back into my craft room to make another attempt to dig myself out! Sheesh! It’s an ongoing battle! You know what they say … you only need about a 6”x6” square of blank surface to make a card, right???

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!