Whaley Special

This is a quick card I made for my great-nephew. I posted the card I made for his new sister and parents last week. The inside says "You are whaley special".

He just turned three and I know that little ones can sometimes feel left out when everyone is making over a new baby. So my husband and I bought him a stuffed whale when we were in Hawaii a few months ago. I thought this card and sentiment perfect for the gift.

It was super easy to make. I added about 4 or 5 dark blue layers of cardstock under the fin instead of using foam dots. This gave it some dimension and a bit of a shadow. I finished the card with puffy stickers from The Stamps of Life.

Products used:

• Dies: The Stamps of Life Whale Fold-It
• Stamps: TSOL Patterns4Whales

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Hula Girl at Heart

"In a world that needs more dancing, she's a hula girl at heart" - Jimmy Buffett

For the 1000th color challenge at Splitcoaststampers I was asked to revisit a favorite challenge that I hosted.  I chose challenge 909 with some of my favorite colors, Daffodil Delight, Polished Pink and Orchid Oasis with a favorite dessert - summer! I also chose a challenge where I had an underlying theme of music; all my cards from August of 2022 were in this theme.

This stamp reminds me of my youngest daughter (now 30) whose first dance recital at 3 was "Hula Baby". There is no sight cuter than 3 year olds doing the hula. She kept dancing right up until she went to college. The quote above fits her to a tee - she's still that adorable 3 year old dancing the hula! If you don't know the song "Hula Girl at Heart" it's worth a listen, especially if you have a daughter.

The image is colored with Stampin' Blends and Copic markers to color match. I added some neutrals - browns and Mossy Meadow. I used the Orchid and the Daffodil to get various shades of the green. The markers I used are listed below.

I cut the palm frame once from the white and layered it with two cut from the Orchid Oasis. I also layered the extra leaves with the Orchid. I like the added shadow it gave the white.  The sentiment was made with my label maker and finished with a pink heart.

If you have time please stop by Splitcoaststampers and join in the challenge - we have multiple colors combos this week as each team member chose their favorite. I would especially love to see your summer inspired creations!

Products used:

• Stamps: Stamping Bella Summer Bundle Girl & Puppy Hula Dance
• Markers: Stampin' Blends - Orchid Oasis Light & Dark, Polished Pink Light & Dark, Daffodil Delight Light & Dark, 800, 900, 500  Copic Markers - BV02, Y11, RV00, YG93, YG97, YG99
• Other: The Stamps of Life Tropical Palm Frame die, label maker, SU Embossing Folder

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Layers of Beauty Multi Use Card

Happy Thursday! I'm back for this month's Team O challenge at the TicTacToe Challenge. This board had so many possibilities it was hard to choose. Since Mother's Day is coming up I decided to go with a feminine card that I could give to my mother-in-law. I played the diagonal - plaid, stenciling, twine.

If for some reason I decide to give her a different one (I have four more Mother's Day cards to make) I can use this for a birthday card as I have not stamped the sentiment yet. I have started to leave sentiments off the front of cards unless they are for an obvious reason - for example a birthday cake. This allows me a bit of latitude so I'm ready for a last minute card. And if I leave a bit more white space (and by that I mean uninterrupted area) I can add a sentiment to the front with a sentiment strip or die cut label or word.

I love that this set comes with dies and stencils for coloring. The layered stencil trend is one I really enjoy over layered stamping. For me it is much easier to line up the stencils and the trick to even color is a light hand. It is better to keep adding layers to get depth of color than to try and put pressure on the brush. And always start your brush moving BEFORE you get to the open part of the stencil. You can start it on the stencil itself or on the paper outside the stencil if that is a waste area.

Products used:

• Stamps, dies, stencil: Stampin' Up! Layers of Beauty
• Dies: Stampin' Up! Around the Bend
  
• Accessories: Stampin' Up! Eyelet 3D embossing folder
• Ink: Lemon Lime Twist, Parakeet Party, Polished Pink, Lemon Lolly

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It's All ABout the Texture

Happy Tuesday! I'm back at CAS Colours & Sketches after taking April off. For our color challenge this month Patricia chose Lost Lagoon, Pool Party and Pebbled Path. I will admit up front that these colors (with the exception of Pool Party) are a bit out of my comfort zone. I'm more of a tropical colors person.

So of course I felt this incredible urge to add another color to give these some "punch". This color challenge only allows neutrals (brown, black, grey, white, metallic) as an additional color. (Other challenges will allow the Stampin' Up! Neutrals palette which includes a few blues and greens.) So here I added the brushed pewter metallic to the rim of the basket. In the photo it is hard to see the metallic but it adds some nice subtle sheen.

I decided that adding texture was the best way to give interest to this card so I used a deckled edge die for the panel and the Macrame 3D embossing folder. I also used one of my all-time-favorite stamps in the background - Gorgeous Grunge. After this set was retired I noticed that SU often included a splatter stamp in at least one of their stamp sets for awhile. I just wouldn't have retired this set; but of course I wasn't asked! (wink, wink)

Pretty much everything on this card, except the colors and deckled rectangles, is retired. As a demonstrator I know that I should use current products. But I feel pretty strongly that you should keep and use what you love. There is a lot of pressure to buy new and while I succumb to that pretty easily, I am making a conscious effort to use what I have and buy only what I love (not what I think will sell.)

I hope you like my card today. Right now the card is blank inside. Since it is a very neutral card I may keep it for a guy's birthday or as a sympathy card. Those are hard cards to make and when you need one you need it immediately.

Products used:

• Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Earthen Textures Stamps & Dies, Gorgeous Grunge
  
• Dies: Deckled Rectangles
• Accessories: Macrame 3D Embossing Folder

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Little Inmate Baby Card

My card today is one I made for my niece who just had a baby. While she was pregnant I had the idea for this card but waited to make it until after the baby was born.

It is simple to make using the Onesie Fold-It from The Stamps of Life. I toyed with the idea of using orange for the onesie color (Orange is the New Black) but decided that old-fashioned black and white stripes were the way to go.

I stamped the baby's date of birth on a strip of cardstock to use as her "inmate" number and used a pen to add the stitching.

I printed the inside from my computer and it says it all.

Products used:

• Die: The Stamps of Life Onesie Fold-It
• Stamps: Lawn Fawn Smitty's ABCs

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