NC SU Demos April Blog Hop - It's a Spring Thing

Welcome to the April NC SU Demos Blog Hop. Our theme this month is "It's a Spring Thing." I chose to share with you the One Sheet Wonder (OSW) cards that I created using two sheets of Designer Series Paper (DSP) from the Magnolia Lane DSP pack. Although I've done plenty of OSWs with templates I found online, this is the first time I've designed my own OSW template. My stamp clubs and I are creating these cards virtually this month. Anyone who placed, or places, a $35 or more order in April using the current hostess code (YDWNMQBA) will be sent the template and basic instructions via email.

Here are all 12 of the cards made with one sheet of DSP. I also made all of these cards with another DSP from the Magnolia Lane pack. While I don't have a group picture, they are all shown below.

I tried to keep the cards pretty basic with minimal supplies so that my stamp club members would have most of the supplies already. Since demonstrators are unable to provide stamped images to customers, I used a variety of sentiments from a variety of sets to give some ideas. Any sentiment that fits will work.

Many of these cards feature circles and ovals from the Stitched Shapes framelits. This card also has a strip of 3/4" Petal Pink cardstock.

 As you can see, I used the back side of one of the papers for a different look.

 I added some pearls to this card for some extra interest since there are fewer layers. It's a little hard to see on the background I used behind the cards, but the card base is Mellow Moss.

This card also has a Mellow Moss base.

 The template gives 2 triangle shaped pieces, so stampers can make 2 of the same card or rotate the triangle for a different look.

This card also has a Mellow Moss base that's kind of hard to see.

 Just cut a V shape out of the end of a rectangle to make the pennants. I usually use my ruler to mark the center of the cardstock piece so both sides end up even. This is particularly helpful when layering pennants.

 I added an extra layer to the card on the left, otherwise these cards are the same.

Magnolia Lane DSP is on the Last Chance List, and it's discounted, so be sure to get your pack before it's gone. There's also a 20 pack of Magnolia Lane DSP that just has the 2 sheets used on my cards on the Last Chance List.

Sentiments on these cards came from Beautiful Bouquet, Butterfly Gala, Dandelion Wishes, Good Morning Magnolia, Itty Bitty Greetings, Rooted In Nature, and Varied Vases. Don't feel limited in your sentiment selection. You don't always have to use a sentiment with the stamps it came with.

Some of these cards fit the criteria for #simplestamping - just ink, stamps, and paper (in this case cardstock and Designer Series Paper).

Thanks for visiting my blog and joining our blog hop. Next up is 

Amy Kinler with another Spring themed project.

April Blog Hoppers
Amy Kinler
Nedine DuPree
Tracie Evans Langley
JoAnne Hewins
Tina Lesson
Toni Campana
Sue Stapp
Ariel Matera
Laurie Meier
Sue Root - You are here

Tulip Cards

Happy Easter!

Here are a couple variations of the Easter tulip card that I shared in yesterday's post. These don't have a sentiment, so you could use them for most any occasion.

The colors are the same - Daffodil Delight, Grapefruit Grove, Highland Heather, Pear Pizzazz, and Whisper White. So is the stamp set - Timeless Tulips.

This first card has some bigger tulips at the front which were punched out with the Tulip Builder Punch and popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals.

And here's another card with lots of tulips. I used masking to make some of the flowers look like they are behind the others.

Tulip Easter Card and Treat

Hello Stampers! I hope you have a very Happy Easter tomorrow!

Here is the Easter card and treat we made in my stamp club back when we were still able to get together in person and the Wood Crate dies were on the clearance rack.

The tulip stamps are so pretty and I really love this color combination.

I added a tulip on the inside for that special touch.

Supplies:

Stamps: Timeless Tulips

Cardstock: Highland Heather, Whisper White

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Grapefruit Grove, Highland Heather, Pear Pizzazz

At the time we made this little Easter basket, the Wood Crate dies were available. Unfortunately they have sold out. However, you could use a template for a rectangular box and get a similar effect. To get the handle I took a 1/2" x 8" strip of card stock and ran it along the edge of the table to break the fibers. That made it curl nicely into the perfect shape. I added Easter grass and chocolate eggs to complete it.

Here's how it looks empty, so you can get a better look at how the handle is attached and maybe it will help you if you want to try to make one if you are lucky enough to own the Wood Crate dies or if you want to try it with a rectangle box.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'll share a couple of tulip card variations tomorrow. Edit: Here's that post.

NC SU Demos March Blog Hop - In Color Monochromatic Masterpieces

Welcome to the March NC Stampin' Up! Demos Blog Hop. I'm glad to be back in the blog hop this month after a bit of an absence. It's always so fun to see what everyone has made.  This month we are featuring retiring In Colors, with the added challenge of making our project monochromatic. We were allowed some neutral cardstock and black ink, but otherwise just one of the In Colors. If you are following through the hop, you just came from Laurie Meier's  blog. I hope you enjoyed her post as much as I did.

If you follow my blog or you've been to my classes, you know I enjoy taking an idea and trying several variations. Since there are 5 in colors, I chose to make 5 variations of the same card. All of the cards use an In Color, Whisper White cardstock, Memento Black ink, Stitched Nested Labels dies, the Crackle background stamp, and a sentiment from Rooted in Nature.

First up is Pineapple Punch. In addition to the items previously listed, I used Basic Black cardstock and White Baker's Twine. I guess this is the time for me to apologize for my photography. The strip really is straight, even though as I look at the picture on the computer, it doesn't appear that way.

 For the Lovely Lipstick card, I added another layer of die cut and some basic rhinestones.

The die cut is in a different position on the Blueberry Bushel card. I also chose not to add rhinestones. I really like the simplicity with this color.

I again used Memento black ink for the sentiment with a Basic Black background die cut for the Call Me Clover Card. I wrapped the White Baker's Twine around the card twice and tied it off. When I use Baker's Twine this way, I usually stick a little adhesive under the tie to keep my twine positioned how I want it. In this case, I used one of the little glue dots from an old Paper Pumpkin. I find those are perfect for this kind of task.

 When something doesn't go quite as I planned when I stamp, I try not to get upset. Rather, I look for ways I can fix it. I can't always and so sometimes have disappointments, but often I can find a solution. Usually I like the solution just as much as my original plan and sometimes I like it even more. I tell you this because these last two cards have solutions I'm going to share with you. Somehow I managed to get ink on the back of my Call Me Clover card. To fix it, I just stamped the Crackle background stamp on the backside. Now when I send my card, it will look pretty on the back, too, and no one will ever know that there used to be unsightly black smudges there. Well, no one except all of you reading my blog 😉

And last but not least is Grapefruit Grove. It's similar to the previous card except I changed the orientation and because that left a smaller area for the die cut, I sponged the edges rather than layering it. The fix on this card is the rhinestone placement. This is not where I would have put the rhinestones. However, apparently when I was sponging I got a few ink spots on my die cut. Rhinestones to the rescue!

Thank for joining us on this month's blog hop. Remember to stock up on your retiring In Colors before they are gone. Do it by March 31st and get a free Sale-a-Bration item with every $50 purchase (before shipping and tax). Current Hostess code for my customers is 6676WVZ4.

 Next up is Tamra Davis. I'm sure you'll love what she has to share.

This month's participants:

Amy Austin-Kinler
Jo Anne Hewins
Tina  Lesson
Ariel Matera
Tracy Marie Lewis
Libby Foreman
Toni Campana
Frances Wagner
Tracie Evans Langley
Laurie Meier
Sue Root: you are here
Tamra Davis
Sharon Maranich
Sue Stapp
Nedine Depree

Melon Mambo Magnolia

Hello Stampers. Today I am sharing a simple card I made using the Good Morning Magnolia stamp set. This stamp set is so gorgeous that it doesn't need a lot of dressing up to make a pretty card.

Supplies:

Stamp Set: Good Morning Magnolia

Cardstock: Mossy Meadow, Whisper White

Assorted Blends

The magnolia is colored with Melon Mambo which is no longer available in Blends. However, we have several pretty pinks that you could use for a similar look. Lovely Lipstick would probably be the closest. You could also experiment with other colors. I have to confess, I have colored this flower in lots of different colors with several different mediums. I'm pretty sure magnolias don't actually come in most of the colors I've used, but it's just so fun and every color looks so pretty, I just can't stop.

Here are all the great stamps in this set:

There is a whole suite built around this set. It is full of products that you'll just love. Click here to see the entire Magnolia Suite. And if that isn't enough, there's actually another smaller magnolia set called Magnolia Blooms.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hi Stampers! It's been a while since I've had time to post. I'm sorry about that. Luckily I have found time to do lots of stamping. I just don't seem to have time to take and edit pictures, upload them, and write a blog post. But, instead of dwelling on that, let's celebrate that I'm posting now and get to my annual St. Patrick's Day card.

Since I don't own any specific St. Patrick's Day sets, I used the heart from A Little Lace to make a shamrock. I drew the stem with a Stampin' Write marker. The background seemed a little plain so I added some interest with the Crackle background stamp.

Supplies:

Stamps: A Little Lace, Crackle Background, Itty Bitty Greetings

Ink: Garden Green

Cardstock: Garden Green, Whisper White

Dies: Stitched Shapes, Stitched Rectangles

The base really is Whisper White and is the normal bright white you expect from Stampin' Up! You just can't tell so much from my photo.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Let me leave you with an Irish blessing in honor of St. Patrick's Day:

May good luck be your friend
In whatever you do.
And may trouble be always
A stranger to you.

Online Extravaganza 11/20-22/19

Online Extravaganza begins tomorrow, 11/20/19 and runs through 11/22/19.

Neutrals, Regals, and In Color ink pads and card stock are on sale as well as several favorite bundles. Check out the whole list by clicking here. Only items on the Online Extravaganza document are on sale during the sale period. Stampin’ Up! thinks they have enough supplies on hand, but has said that if they reach their backorder limit, they will turn off ordering for that item.

For additional savings, check out the Clearance rack. These items are available while supplies last.

  

I will do a group order Wednesday night. If you want to participate, send me your order by 8:30 pm on Wednesday, 11/20/19.

You can also order online. Current Hostess code is HVYDWA9M.

Place an order with the hostess code or as part of the group order and get a thank you gift from me.

While you’re shopping, check out the Christmastime is Here Product Suite, only available in November, while supplies last. For those of you who’ve been waiting, the new Paper Trimmer is now available.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you.

Beauty And Joy Christmas Cards

As I shared in my last post, I was selected as a Stamper of the Month by my upline, Frances Wagner, and was given the Beauty and Joy set with which to make samples. I've been sharing more regularly on our team Facebook page, but have been a little slower getting the projects to my blog. Hopefully you'll think these were worth the wait.

The inspiration for this card came about because I had some leftover pieces from my recent Stamp-a-Stack that I wanted to use. Since I had Real Red glimmer paper in the background, I used red rhinestones on the tree and cut the star out of gold glimmer paper using the Stitched Stars dies. I used the urn to hold the tree because it seems a little fancier than the basket.

Because I like to see what different changes make to the look of a card, I did a non-sparkly red card. Since it was more rustic, I went with the basket instead of the urn. I used a Q-tip to make the ornaments. After I had it done, I saw the little dots/berries in the Beauty and Joy set. I think I'd use those next time. The background strip on this card and the next card were embossed using the Pinewood Planks 3D embossing folder.

The 3rd card was even more rustic, with brown instead of red and no ornaments or berries. I used my scissors to rough up the edges of the mounted layer. I also used a sponge dauber to lightly sponge some ink on the embossed background strip to highlight the wood grain.

Now for some exciting news! 

On 10/23/19, Stampin' Up! is having a 24 hour sale! Save 15% on select stamps. Be aware that these 24 hours are Mountain Time. There should be plenty of stamps for all, but if an item reaches the backorder threshold Stampin' Up! will turn off ordering for the item. Bundles featuring stamp sets from the promotion will not be discounted.

If you order anything from this post, any of the sale items, or anything else, please select me, Sue Root, as your demonstrator. Current hostess code is CKMJD6AX.

Please use this code and get a free thank you gift from me. I will also place a group order on 10/23/19. Email or text me your order by 7:00pm that day.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Also, FYI - if a hostess code you have doesn't work, look in my blog header or at the top of the right sidebar for the current code. I post it both places so it's easy to find.

Thank you for reading my blog and being my customer! 

Beauty and Joy Fall Cards

Hi Stampers! I know it's been a while since I've posted on my blog. I'm sorry. I've been crazy busy and something had to give. I'm planning to have more posts at least through October and hopefully beyond. My upline, Frances Wagner, has started a Stamper of the Month program and I was selected to be a Stamper of the Month for the inaugural month of October. She gave us a stamp set and each week we are to post a project using the set on our team Facebook page. I've decided to post the same projects here on my blog so you all can enjoy them, too. Here's my first Stamper of the Month post. I was given the Beauty and Joy set to work with. Thank you Frances! For my first post, I wanted to make a #simplestamping card using only stamps, cardstock, and ink.

As you can see, I made 2 similar cards. The first card uses the leaf stamp as it is. However, I was curious what the tree would look like filled in with more leaves, so for the 2nd card after stamping the leaves, I inked it up and stamped again. I also inked and stamped a couple individual leaves because it still wasn't as full as I wanted. I applied Fall colors to the leaf stamp using sponge daubers to get a variegated look. Leaf colors: Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, and Cherry Cobbler. Stem color: Soft Suede. Basket Color: Cajun Craze. Cardstock colors: Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, and Whisper White. I made the background on the Cajun Craze cardstock by stamping the basket over and over. Since the leaves on the first card are more open, for the background I used Versamark ink which gives a lighter image, sometimes referred to as a watermark look. For the 2nd card I used Cajun Craze and as you can see, it turned out a little darker. I hope this post has sparked some interest in this set. Come back next week to see another project using Beauty and Joy. Also, for those of you who are unfamiliar with #simplestamping, this is a way to indicate cards that use basic supplies and are easily copied. Generally they use only stamps, ink, and paper, though sometimes there will be another element, such as ribbon or an embellishment. Stampin' Up! has been issuing monthly challenges for demonstrators and sometimes they suggest an added element. If you post your creations online, feel free to use this hashtag if your card uses only the basics. You can also search online with this hashtag to find cards that fit the criteria.

NC SU Demos June Blog Hop - New Favorites

Welcome to the June NC Stampin' Up! Demos Blog Hop. This month we are featuring some of our favorite items from the new catalog. You probably just came from Frances Wagner's blog. I hope you enjoyed her post as much as I did.

There are TONS of things I love in the new catalog, so it was hard to narrow down which one to share. I went with the Free As A Bird bundle. It comes with the Free As A Bird stamp set and the Stitched Nested Labels Dies.

Here's a card we made in our recent club. The colors are Pool Party, Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, and a tiny bit of Pineapple Punch on the beaks. I used Tuxedo Black Memento ink to stamp the bird stamp (this is all one stamp) onto Whisper White cardstock and then cut it out with one of the larger dies in the set.

The Stitched Nested Labels dies cut out a label with a stitched border, but it also leaves an outer stitched border. The Flirty Flamingo is cut with the same size die as I used on the Pool Party. To get the Pool Party stitched border, I centered the die on my 4" x 5.25" layer and cut out the label. It left the stitched border after I removed the die cut label. I then put the Flirty Flamingo label in the spot where I had removed the Pool Party label and then used Stampin' Dimensionals to layer the white label. Can you see the texture on the Pool Party base layer? You can get a similar look using the Subtle embossing folder.

On of my regular stampers, Carolyn Clary, decided the birds would look cute with pink bellies. She made the card above. Another regular stamper, Vicki Yountz, liked that idea, too. Below is her rendition. I think both are cute and I especially love that the stampers in my classes feel free to share their creative ideas. Sometimes, one idea leads to another and we really get on a roll. That way we all learn more and it helps everyone get their creative juices flowing for future projects.

Below is the card I made with the Pool Party label I removed from the other card. I experimented with some other colors on this one. I have to admit I have half a dozen or more of these white, stamped labels ready for cards. I was having a great time experimenting with different colored birds, flowers, leaves, and branches. I used Garden Green on the leaves and Soft Suede on the branch. The birds and flowers are the same as the above, Pool Party and Flirty Flamingo. The "sending prayers" stamp is from Itty Bitty Greeting. One thing I love about that set is that the greetings are similarly sized, so once you have a card designed, you can swap out whatever message you want.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and following through the Blog Hop. Next up on the list is Erin Cook. I'm sure you'll love what she has to share.

This Month's Blog Hoppers:
Erin Cook
Tina Lesson
Tracie Evans Langley  
Jo Anne Hewins
Toni Campana
Frances Wagner
Sue Root - You are here.

Everything Is Rosy Product Medley by Stampin' Up!

Have you seen this lovely bundle of products by Stampin' Up!? It's only available until May 31, 2019, while supplies last. Current hostess code is JJZFUBG3.

Here are some projects made with the Everything Is Rosy product medley. They all came from the Stampin' Up! site. The first one is a decorated pizza box.

The Gift Bag Punch Board is on the last chance list (only available until June 3, 2019, while supplies last) so you might want to add it when you place your order.

The Envelope Punch Board is also on the last chance list so be sure to get it before it's gone.

The following samples are all cards.

Thanks for reading my blog. Be sure to get these items while they are available. Only a few days left for the Everything Is Rosy product medley and only a few more after that for the last chance items.

If you don't have a demonstrator, please select me when you order. Use hostess code JJZFUBG3 and I'll send you a thank you gift (if you allow contact).