Birthday Party Invitations

My daughter's 9th birthday is quickly approaching and she wanted some unique birthday invitations so we created them.  She helped me come up with a sample then we went from there.

Sample Invite - Where we started

Back of Sample Invite

We used the "Little One" stamp set and two non-SU! stamp sets for a quick feather and dreamcatcher.  We added the retired Best Year Ever DSP that had the perfect look for her invites.  The colors were perfect for her birthday party theme (Flirty Flamingo and the retired Coastal Cabana) and she loved how all of it came together.  We created 12 invitations to share with friends and family.  Since her birthday party theme is "glamping," we went with teepees, dreamcatchers and feathers for decor.  Our house will be full of girls celebrating our daughter's birthday with walking tacos (Fritos or Doritos with taco fixings in a bag), trail mix, smores, hot cocoa, cupcakes, crafts, a dance party and a movie to round out the night.  My daughter wants to pretend that they are camping even though it will probably be too cold.  So inside "glamping" is what the girls will be doing instead.  It will be a lot of fun for all!

Front of Invite

Back of Invite

Envelope with names printed with the Labeler Alpahabet

Lunch Bunch Cards for December

The two cards we created this month for my Lunch Bunch class are shown below.

Original Idea by Leanne at Literally My Joy

We created this holiday card using the Carols for Christmas stamp set, the boxwood wreaths, Night of Navy Gingham ribbon, white doilies, and the Wood Textures DSP.  I loved this card when I first saw it on Pinterest.  The wood-grain look as a background layer and the boxwood wreath adds dimension to the card and draws your eye to the details of this card.  Click here to view the card recipe.

Original Design Idea from Pinterest by Stesha Blookhard at stampinhoot.com

Inside of Card used Wild about Flowers stampset

This card was created originally for our October Lunch Bunch class but no one was able to come so I held onto this idea for another time.  It is such a great anniversary card that I had to create for a Lunch Bunch class at some point.  We created this anniversary card using the chair die from the Seasonal Layer Thinlits Dies, the Wood Textures DSP and some watercolor paper.  Adding Tranquil Tide ink with an Aquapainter to the watercolor paper draws your eye to the adorable wood-grain chairs sitting side by side.  Click here to view the card recipe.

Customer Gifts

Happy Holidays from your Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!  This was my message when I gave my Club members the gifts pictured below.

Deck the Halls Customer Gift layer

This gift has multiple layers.  The inside Deck the Halls layer can be used on a card to give or the clear envelope can turn into a quick gift card holder.  Inside I placed mini dimensionals for my customers as a thank you gift.

The idea for this Deck the Halls layer/gift packaging came from the card pictured below.  I found the original card idea from Pinterest. The black and white patterned DSP backed with Basic Black cardstock on a Cherry Cobbler cardbase really makes the Deck the Halls layer pop.  I liked how simple and easy this card was to copy for my customer gifts packaging.  The original card had poinsettia leaves fussy cut and popped up and a bow with Cherry Cobbler ribbon.  I wanted to make it as simple as possible to copy 8 times so I left them off the card I created.

Original Idea from Pinterest by Jari at Card-iology.  Click here for the card recipe.

Click here for the card recipe.

When laying down the Deck the Halls layer onto some cardstock and the Merry Little Christmas DSP, I noticed how unusual it looked when it was off centered.  I really liked the way it looked so I popped it up and switched the black patterned DSP to the green diagonal striped DSP and added it to the Basic Back cardstock layer and the Cherry Cobbler cardbase.  It gave me an additional way to create this gift packaging.

December Stamp Club Cards

This month we created 2 holiday cards (a winter holiday card and a new years card) and 1 gift packaging for the upcoming holidays.

Original Card Design by Sue Vine on Pinterest

We created this card using the Carols for Christmas stamp set, the Card Front Builder Thinlits and the Softly Falling embossing folder.  I changed up the original design by Sue Vine by using Iridescent Ice Glitter Paper (retired) for the trees instead of Embossing Paste. I love the sparkle of the trees especially once they were backed with some Pool Party cardstock.  The metallic sequins on the Softly Falling embossed layer and the silver embossed words add a bit more sparkle as well as some dimension to this wonderful holiday card.  Click here to view the card recipe.

Original Card Design on Pinterest by Julie DiMatteo at The Paper Pixie

We created this card using the Years to Cheer stamp set and the gorgeous Years to Cheer Speciality DSP.  The original idea for this card used the "JOY" stamp from the Years to Cheer stamp set but I wanted to create a New Years card so I replaced it with the words "cheers to a new year!".  I love how gorgeous this card looks with the Speciality DSP, the gold foil snowflake and the metallic edge ribbon.  This card is also easy to create so it can be mass produced for New Years' cards if you don't get around to creating holiday cards this year.  Click here to view the card recipe.

Original Idea Design on Pinterest by Laura Borchert at Laura's Stamp Pad

The gift packaging options I chose to share with my Club members used the Stampin' Up! Mini Pizza Boxes.  We created the box below which I found on Pinterest but I have also included additional options for holiday gift packaging ideas or birthday gift packaging options as well.  I originally created a "Get Well Soon" box for a Vendor Fair I participated in recently. I love the different options of using these mini pizza boxes for holiday gift cards, holiday gifts like jewelry, cash, magnets and pictures or for birthday gifts as well. Click here to view the card recipe.

Youth Cards

I recently taught a group of teenage girls how to create 2 notecards and a treat bag.  It's always fun creating with these girls.  We try to get together every 4 months to create some cards, bookmarks, or treat bags.

We created this notecard from the original design idea by Beate Wacker.  I needed to change it into a notecard size for the girls I was working with.  It's always so much easier creating with them when we work with the already pre-cut and pre-scored Whisper White notecards or the Crumb Cake (retired) notecards.  I just had to change the dimensions and use gold faceted gems since I didn't have anymore of the clear faceted gems.  The girls loved the gold bling and some even got creative by changing up the greeting to "Congratulations" or "Thank You" depending on what they planned to use the card for.  Click here to view the card recipe.

The original card idea by Dawn Ferguson

This holiday card was so much fun to create.  When I first saw it on the SU! Demonstrator FB Page, I knew instantly it would be a great card to turn into a notecard with these girls.  The teens loved the bright colors and the sparkle in this card.  I have fallen in love with this Foil Frenzy Speciality DSP.  The bright color combinations of Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist, Soft Sky and Tangerine Tango are so much fun to use when creating cards especially a holiday card that would usually use traditional red, green and white colors.  Some of the girls stamped a holiday greeting inside their card and others left it blank to add a personal message later. Click here to view the card recipe.

Original Treat Bag Idea by Julie Edmonds

This treat bag can be used to give a sweet treat to a special friend or you can add a gift card inside the bag to give an even sweeter treat to someone special.  The teenage girls I created these treat bags with "ooh and ahh" at them.  They were amazed how easy they were to make and began filling them up with candy right away. Click here to view the card recipe.

November Club Cards

This month we created holiday cards to prepare for the upcoming holidays.  The holidays are always here before we know it!

Original Idea from Tracie from For the Love of Stamping

Close Up of lamppost and greenery with gold metallic-edge ribbon

This idea came from Pinterest.  I love how simple and easy this card was to create.  The simplicity of the white on white gives it a classy look and the Softly Falling Embossing Folder gives it just the right amount of dimension.  I chose two different items to go on the lamppost.  I used greenery like ... did in the card I CASEd but I also liked using the wreath with rhinestones colored with red Sharpie on it as well.  Both cards were loved by my Club members and everyone chose a different look for their lamppost.

I decided to use the wreath and bow from the Brightly Lit bundle to the lamppost.

Tip: Use a Sharpie marker to color the Rhinestones to add color to your project.

Original Idea from Julie Schulz at Julie's Creations

I absolutely love the idea of using stamp sets for out of the box ideas.  For example, Merry Little Labels coordinates with the Everyday Label Punch so it seems like it is made for just making labels.  But ... used it to create a lovely winter card as well.  I love the color combination of Night of Navy, Smoky Slate and Silver.  It gives an elegance and simplicity to the card.  The Silver Foil Snowflake just adds to the elegance and draws your eye to the "Let It Snow" label which is embossed with Silver embossing powder.  The Silver 3/8" Metallic-Edge Ribbon was so popular last month that it was on backorder for awhile so I used some retired SAB metallic ribbon instead.

Original Idea from Mary Deatherage

The final card we created came from Pinterest as well.  I didn't have the Christmas Happiness stamp set so I substituted with the Christmas Pines stamp set.  I am always showing my customers how to use what they have and this was a great example of substituting a stamp set in a card you want to recreate.  We all need a change in our crafting at times and cutting the cardstock in a "V" shape at the bottom of the top layers does just that.  I also changed up the original card by substituting Jute Twine for Linen Thread and I didn't add any embellishments or the tear border punch on the "V" shape of the card like Mary did on her beautiful card.  I had to make it a simpler card.


I hope all of theses cards we created during Club this month give you inspiration for your holidays.  They have a simple and classic look to them that can be easily mass-produced.

Lunch Bunch Cards for October

This month I had planned 2 cards for my Lunch Bunch class.  An anniversary card and a fall card but either of them could be used for any occasion.  Unfortunately, my crafting friends were unavailable this month for Lunch Bunch so I am posting these cards for all of you to enjoy instead.

Happy Anniversary card - Original idea from Stesha Bloodhart

Happy Anniversary card close up

I used this greeting from the stamp set - Wild about Flowers

This card used the Seasonal Layers Framelits and a retired mini heart punch.  You could easily switch the retired heart punch out for a current framelit.  I loved using the Wood Textures DSP for a card layer and the chairs.  It reminds me of a vacation my family took to Deep Creek Lake, MD this past summer at my sister and brother-in-law's cabin.  We sat in chairs just like these and watched boats go by on the lake, ducks swimming on the lake and sat around the fire pit most nights.  My favorite part of this card was the "happy anniversary" greeting.  I don't know about you but this month is filled with friends and family celebrating their anniversaries so I love finding an unusual card design to use for anniversaries and this one fit the bill.

Life is a beautiful thing card - Original idea from Holly Stene

Close up of the (retired) On Film Framelits I used behind the greeting.

Life is a beautiful thing card - Inside

The second card I created used the Colorful Seasons stamp set that actually coordinates with the Seasonal Layers Framelits. I loved using the crackled-look paper from the Color Theory DSP for this card.  It helped create part of the color combination and gave the background a different look as well.  Holly used washi tape to create her Island Indigo layer but I decided to use a favorite retired framelit behind the greeting.  I used the retired On Film Framelits to create a little film-like layer behind the words "Life is a beautiful thing."  I think it gave the greeting a bit more pop and helped it stand out more from the background layers.  The leaves popping out from behind the greeting layer also added a touch of the Old Olive color as well.

I hope you enjoyed both of these fall-like cards and will give them a try yourself.

October Stamp Club

This month at Stamp Club we created 2 non-traditional fall colors cards and 1 "getting ready for the holidays" gift card holder project.  I love the colors of Fall but when I'm crafting lately, I like to throw in a few non-traditional fall colors.

You're the Best card - idea from Peta Stephen

You're the Best card changed up

Leaf Wreath Card - original idea from Mary Fish

I decided to change up the colors of the Leaf Wreath card.  I really like using non-traditional fall color combinations right now.  So I liked the look of Always Artichoke, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry and Fresh Fig together especially with the leaves creating a wreath. 

Metallic Wreath card - changed up

I loved the idea of using Mary Fish's original idea of the new Leaf Punch to create a wreath of leaves for the fall and a holiday version as well.  I created my own with foil paper and glitter paper and a bit of vellum cardstock.  I will be posting more directions on this card very soon.

Beautiful Gift Card Holder - original idea from Connie Stewart

Beautiful Gift Card Holder - inside w/ GC

Bright Gift Card Holder - outside

Bright Gift Card Holder - inside w/ GC

I loved Connie Stewart's idea for a Gift Card Holder and thought it would be a great time to show my Stamp Club members how to create one of these before the holidays.  Of course, they loved it!  The simplicity of using the Mini Treat Bag Framelits and having it be small enough to fit into a regular envelope made this idea even sweeter.  If you are interested in creating a Gift Card Holder of your own, here is the link to Connie Stewart's blog post.  It has wonderful instructions to follow along as well.

I hope you enjoyed these cards and GC project.  Please comment below if you plan on giving one of them a try.

Lunch Bunch Cards

I do a monthly class that I call "Lunch Bunch."  We meet around lunch time (11am or 12pm) for 1 hour and stamp 2 cards.  It's always a lot of fun and the crafters that attend LOVE the cards we create.  This month we created the following cards from the Stampin Up! Annual Catalog and Pinterest.

Label Me Pretty Catalog Case from p. 27

I used Watercolor Pencils and Blender Pens to color in the flowers and greenery.

Tranquil Tulips Case from Nandine's Stampin Club

I decided to change up my tulips and use Berry Burst and Powder Pink.  I also used Whisper White cardstock for the decorative label stamped in Berry Burst.  (Nandine had used Powder Pink for her label.)

Both cards were a delight to create and I always love the time I spend with my crafting ladies.  Please let me know if you ever want to join us for Lunch Bunch on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Fall Cards

I decided to focus on Fall for this month's Stamp Club cards.  My Stamp Club members LOVE Pinterest as much as I do so I know choose cards from Pinterest to do at our monthly Club.  Gives the ladies a chance to find all the details easily and they don't get frustrated with more over the top cards that I would create instead.

Painted Harvest card CASED from Shannon Kay Paperie

I have totally fallen in love with the Painted Harvest stamp set from the Holiday Catalog.  I wasn't sure about getting it with my SU! Demonstrator Pre-order but quickly ordered it after seeing all the wonderful cards and designs other demonstrators had created with it.  I love how the stamp set has a canvas/art-like look to it when you stamp.  It is a different kind of look and at first you may feel like your stamp isn't correctly stamping but once you realize it's just a canvas/art-like look, you will love it instantly.
I changed up Shannon's card design by adding a cardbase of So Saffron cardstock and using the other leaves stamp that is a part of the Painted Harvest stamp set.  I also only stamped the dots from Timeless Texture in So Saffron.  My Stamp Club members loved how this card turned out and that we didn't use traditional fall colors to create it.

Foxy Friends card CASED from Pinterest (Bradley Talbert)

I love how this card can sum up a situation or a rough day.  We all have them and sometimes just need to be heard.  This card was so fun to create and made all my Stamp Club members laugh when they first saw it.  I used Smoky Slate for the cardbase instead of Basic Gray like Bradley's card.  I also decided the sponging of the embossed trees was going to be too difficult and time-consuming for my Stamp Club members.  So I used markers to lightly color in the details in the tree and some of the branches.  We used Soft Suede, Early Espresso and Chocolate Chip markers to create different looks on all of our trees.

Close up of this stinkin' cute skunk made with the Fox Builder punch

Card Try #1

Card Try #2 & Original card CASED from Pinterest (Shannon Lane) - I wasn't feeling my card but really didn't help my crafting mood..the Whisper White cardstock layer fell onto some Night of Navy ink I had on my grid paper :(

Card Try #3 - Getting closer to how I would like the card to look.

Card Try #4 - My final card for Stamp Club

Close up of leaf veins embossed in copper.

I decided to try to create this card exactly like Shannon's card but I failed miserably.  It took my 4 tries to find the way I wanted to create the same card.  I changed up the cardbase to Soft Sky instead of Pool Party like Shannon's card and I decided to use copper embossing powder for the leaf veins instead of white.  I also used the Stitched Shapes Framelits for the border layer around my leaf.  The color combination I finally chose was Pool Party, Emerald Envy and Night of Navy ink refills aquabrushed on Shimmery White cardstock.  Then, the leaf was cut out with the Seasonal Layers Thinlits.