Sassy Stampers - April 2025

Sassy Stampers camp in Berthoud, Colorado will be on April 5, 2025. This is a very fun camp and the gals all seem to enjoy it. Here is the card they will be making at my table:

The card base is Balmy Blue with a layer of Old Olive and then some Floral Delight designer series paper. I love this DSP! There are no patterns in it that I cannot use and I really like that. The image is from the Bright Borders stamp set and is punched out using the To the Point label punch. The sentiment is computer generated as is the card inside. Campers can choose four different sentiments for the front and three different sentiments for the inside as well as a blank insert.

This camp is super fun. Here is some more information about this camp:

I would strongly urge you to give this camp a try. 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Crafters Retreat - March 2025

I was recently invited to attend a crafters retreat at a wonderful spot just outside Blackhawk, Colorado called the Golden Gate Getaway. The house is wonderful and the craft room is great! There were 12 of us and the entire weekend was full of laughter! We crafted, talked, shared our talents and played some fun games. It was wonderful and I ended up coming home with some great memories. Here is the card I made to share with my fellow crafters:

The card base is Basic Gray with a layer of Basic Black. I used a design from Botanical Textures designer series paper and added an insert of Basic Black layered with a Basic White piece on which I printed a sentiment. The image is from Mixed Florals and was colored using Stampin' Blends (Smoky Slate, Balmy Blue and Azure Afternoon) and then die cut using the Mixed Florals dies. I added some Adhesive Backed Sparkle Gems and called it done. I worked my computer magic on the front sentiment, front image and the inside of the card. I don't remember much from my days as an IT person, but I do remember how to use my computer to get creative!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!   

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Downline Meeting Swap - March 2025

As I've mentioned before, one of the gals from my camp is a Stampin' Up! demonstrator extraordinaire! She has a downline meeting monthly and invited me to join them. I really enjoy these meetings and come away so inspired! You can check out last month's card here. This is the card I made for this month's meeting:

The theme was fun fold cards. This card is a "Z" fold card. The card base is Old Olive and I used Floral Delight designer series paper. The image is from Spotlight on Nature and I also used the coordinating dies. I have a real problem with fun fold cards (I can't make them) but this fold is one that I can manage.

I went on a craft retreat recently and will post a photo of my card tomorrow so come back and visit!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!   

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Downline Meeting Swap - February 2025

As mentioned previously, I attend a downline meeting/dinner sponsored by a very talented demonstrator named Terry Kaspari. Last month's card can be seen here, and this was my card for February's meeting:

The image is from (one of my absolute favorites) Mixed Florals stamp and coordinating die set and was colored using Stampin' Blends then scanned and printed. The sentiment is from a Paper Pumpkin set. I used the Soft Waves embossing folder on the Gorgeous Grape piece. The card base is Highland Heather with a layer of Peach Pie. The gals all outdid themselves with some really fun and ingenious swaps!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials usedn the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Longmont Senior Center - February 24, 2025

Once a month I do a class at the Longmont Senior Center with a fellow teacher, Cathy Hansen. We offer a Christmas card every month which gives them a bit of a head start on this year's Christmas cards! This month was my month to design the Christmas card and here's what I came up with:

Additionally, there were some Real Red and White Adhesive Backed Peppermints to add to the front! The card base is Old Olive with a layer of Mossy Meadow. The dsp is from a pack of Christmas paper called Season of Green and Gold. The stamp is a Lily of the Valley digital stamp that I colored with Stampin' Blends and scanned. The inside has a basket of holly and a sentiment (also computer generated).

This is my second card:

I used one of the images from Mixed Florals stamp set that I had colored with Stampin' Blends and cut out with a die from Scalloped Contour dies. The dsp is from the Toadstool Gardens 6x6 set of paper and it is embossed with Botanical Swirls from Creative Expressions. The card base is Gorgeous Grape and then a layer of Peach Pie. The sentiments, both inside and outside. are computer generated. The front sentiment was punched with the Oval Punch and then layered onto a Scalloped Oval Gorgeous Grape punched piece.

This is a very popular class and fills up very quickly. You can register online at the Longmont Senior Center website.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Stamp Camp North - March 8, 2025

Here is the card the campers will be making at my table:

The stamp is from a set called You Are Remarkable and I just love the images and sentiments in this set. I colored the flower using Stampin' Blends (alcohol markers) in Balmy Blue, Petal Pink, Azure Afternoon and Highland Heather for the flowers and Granny Apple Green and Mint Macaron for the leaves. I then scanned the images in and edited them with my graphics program. I printed the flowers out on Basic White and then stamped the little dots from the stamp set in Gray Granite. The punch is the Everyday Label punch from Stampin' Up! I used my Scan n' Cut machine to cut slightly larger labels in Balmy Blue to use as a background to the Basic White label. The card base is Balmy Blue with a layer of Petal Pink. I added some Purple Adhesive Backed Sequins and called it done!

This is a super fun camp and this month is our semi-annual craft sale! I will be selling some retired designer series paper and also some retired stamps! Here is some more information about this fun activity:

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Sassy Stampers - March 2025

Here is the card the campers will be making at my table on Saturday:

The stamp set is a freebie called Friendly Seagulls and can be earned through today with a $60 order from Stampin' Up! It's a great set and I originally had planned to use Beautiful Bokeh (a great 6x6 dsp pack), but I didn't have enough. As an alternative I used the backside of one of the patterns from the Bloom Impressions designer series paper pack (also a freebie if you act fast). The card base is Basic White with a layer of Basic Black and then the dsp. The seagulls were stamped on die cut pieces of Basic White using the Perennial Postage dies and colored using colored pencils and a blender pen. They were then mounted on a strip of Basic Black which was attached to the card front using dimensionals. The sentiment was stamped directly onto the dsp. I added a few Low Profile Dots and called it done! This card is a bit out of my wheelhouse, but I think it is successful! I was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest. The inside sentiments are from a Paper Pumpkin kit and include Happy Birthday, Thank You, Get Well Soon and Lots of Love as well as the possibility of just writing something yourself!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Stamp Camp North - February 2025

Saturday, February 8 was Stamp Camp North! Here is what the campers made at my table:

Card base is Calypso Coral with a layer of Granny Apple Green. I used the designer series paper called Mixed Media Florals (love, love, love it) along with the stamp set Mixed Florals. Sentiment is computer generated then punched out with the Oval Punch and mounted on a Granny Apple Green punched Scalloped Oval. This is the same stamp I used for my Sassy Stampers card here, but I made it smaller and cut it using the Scalloped Contours dies.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!   

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Sassy Stampers - February 2025

Saturday was our Sassy Stampers stamp camp and the campers made this at my table:

The card base is Calypso Coral with a piece of Granny Apple Green and a layer die cut with the Scalloped Contours dies. The image is from a new stamp set called Mixed Florals and I really love it! I colored the image using Stampin' Blends and topped it off with ovals punched in Basic White and Granny Apple Green. I also added one of the Adhesive Backed Heart Sequins. 

The theme this month was "Sharing the Love" and we had a wonderful time! There are a total of 10 projects that the campers made and all were really excellent! If you would like to get on the mailing list for this camp, please email me or leave me a comment and I will make sure you get on the list. Next camp is on March 1, 2025 and the theme is "Mixing it Up" and it should be great fun!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Longmont Senior Center - January 2025

I teach a class every month at the Longmont Senior Center. The ladies that attend are so much fun! We always have a really great time creating. This month we made the card that I used for Sassy Stampers and  one other:

The class is always in need of birthday cards. This card uses the "Happy Birthday" in the Wanted to Say dies from Stampin' Up! along with a Heartfelt Hexagon punched piece. I am loving the in-color Shy Shamrock these days and what's not to love about the Bloom Impressions designer series paper (free with a $60 purchase.)

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Meeting Swap - January 2025

A fellow demonstrator has a monthly meeting that I attend. I am not a member of her downline, but she includes me because she's such a nice person! Her name is Terry Kaspari and she is a very talented demonstrator and I really look forward to alll the meetings, camps and retreats that she is a part of. Here is the card I made for this month's meeting:

I found the idea on Pinterest from a card made by Carol Buckalew. I didn't use the same dsp, but here's what the inside looks like:

The card base is Melon Mambo with a layer of Granny Apple Green. The dsp is from a card pack called Toadstool Gardens and can be obtained free with a $60 purchase from Stampin' Up! The stamp set is called Terrific Toadstools and is bundled with a punch of the same name and is in the Spring Mini Catalog. I used a strip of the dsp on the inside along with one of the sentiments from the stamp set and a tiny mushroom that is also included in the stamp set. I thoroughly enjoy these meetings!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!   

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Couple more Valentine's

I also really like the combination of white, red and black! Here are a couple more Valentine's Day cards using that combination:

I am really in love with that "Love" die (as you can tell). I haven't used it recently and it is really nice. Cuts well and looks good in most colors.

It is really cold here. It was -1 when I got up this morning and it's now hovering around 3 degrees! Sun is shining though so hopefully it will warm up. I'll be staying nice and warm INSIDE the house today! Sure hope you are all safe and warm today too.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying warm, healthy and safe!   

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner ...

I have been making some Valentines! I love the combination of Poppy Parade and Crumb Cake and explored my overwhelming collection of dies to find some that would work for Valentines. Here are a couple I played with today:

These use various embossing folders and dies from my collection. The middle one I would never, ever do for a class! I popped up the word "Love" and also the hearts and used a combination of large and small dimensionals to do it. I would definitely need to find an alternative for a class. Talk about tedious! The others were just fine and I may use one of these for my Longmont Senior Center class on January 27.

Got an order from Stampin' Up! today containing lots of new goodies! I will start working on my card for the downline meeting later this month. With all the new stuff, I should have tons of fun!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Just playing around ...

I have a whole bunch of some designer series paper and thought it would be a good idea to make use of it. So, I did! Here are some samples:

I used this same pack of paper for my card for Sassy Stampers. See the blog post here. I used papers from my stash, some Stampin' Up! and some from Papertrey. The top card uses my new favorite color - Shy Shamrock! I used dies from my stash and punches and embellishments from Stampin' Up!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!   

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Stamp Camp North - January 11, 2025

Finally finished my card designs for Stamp Camp North. Here they are:

The campers can choose pink or blue. Card bases are Basic Grey (SU) and Dark Chocolate (Papertrey). This is layered with an embossed piece (Hero Arts) of either Spring Rain or Pale Peony (Papertrey). The stamps are from Unity Stamps and the stamp set is called Frosty & Feisty. Don't you just love these pissy kitty stamps! I used the Layered Circle dies and the Stitched Rectangle dies to die cut the image and the saying. The gems are called Frosty and Clear Epoxy Droplets and they are from SU. The images were colored using SU Blends.

Since going with an "anything goes" mode at both Stamp Camp North and Sassy Stampers (Berthoud) we have been able to use retired product and products from other companies and it has really upped the creativity! I tend to use mostly SU products, but the freedom to use retired products and other company's products has added a breath of life into my card making.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Working!

I am busily working on my cards for Stamp Camp North this month. Camp will be on January 11, 2025 (my dad's birthday - he would have been 98). If you want more information on this camp, see the flyer below. I hope to be back tomorrow with my cards - yes there will be two of them and the campers can decide which one they want to make! The stamp I am using is from Unity Stamps and I really love coloring these stamps. I colored two of the samples below, I love to color! I primarily used Stampin' Up! blends to do my coloring, but long to have the time to play with some of the various watercolor sets I have. One of these days....

I thought I would share with you a couple more cards that I made in 2024:

Information on Stamp Camp North:

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

New Catalog Swap

Fellow demonstrator Cathy Hansen organizes a demo only swap for each new catalog that Stampin' Up! puts out. This time its for the new Mini Catalog and Sale-a-Bration catalog. I struggled with this one as it had to be using items from those new catalogs. I came up with this:

I think it is very "spring-like" don't you? The card base is Daffodil Delight and the first layer is one of the new in-colors that I haven't used yet, Shy Shamrock. The designer series paper is from the new Sale-a-Bration catalog and is called Bloom Impressions. I used Shy Shamrock ink to ink up the stamps from the Grow With Love stamp set (which is also in the new Mini Catalog.) I stamped the mint leaves on it a piece of white paper and then die cut the label.  I then die cut a separate mint leaves image and mounted it on the label using dimensionals.  The small circle says "grown with love" and once punched out it was mounted using dimensionals. The ribbon is also Shy Shamrock.  The gems are from the 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer Gems pack.

I enjoyed using this color more than I thought I would. The other colors in the newest batch of in-colors are very nice and I have used them often. I hadn't tried the Shy Shamrock and I am now asking myself why not.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!   

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Couple more cards from 2024

Here are a couple more cards from 2024:

July 2024:

August 2024:

September 2024:

October 2024:

November 2024:

December 2024:

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.