Stampin' Up! Butterfly Gala meets Lily Pad Lake

Unfortunately, I needed a sympathy card this week. Our Godson's Nana passed away after a long struggle. His mother loves butterflies and they will be taking a boat ride to scatter Nana's ashes. So, I thought it fitting to use the upcoming Butterfly Gala bundle (available January 3) and the current Lily Pad Lake stamp set to create my card for the family.

The inspiration for my design came from the challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch #301

My corner pieces are cut from patterned paper I purchased at Michael's when I first started making cards. The embossed vellum was embossed with a retired TIEF called Flittering. The enamel dots are retired Calypso Coral to match the Calypso Coral card base. The mat is Coastal Cabana.

I stamped the two butterflies from Butterfly Gala with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, colored them with my Stampin' Write Markers and Blends. Then I punched them out with the punch from the Butterfly Gala bundle. The sentiment is from the Lily Pad Lake stamp set.

The inside is stamped using the Lily Pad Lake set. The colors I used are Coastal Cabana, Balmy Blue, So Saffron and Tuxedo Black. 

The Wreaths Across America ceremony yesterday was very touching. The plaque for Perry's niche had not been done yet but will be in another month. The entire ceremony was very well organized. My son and I went and next year, I hope to have my daughter in Florida so she can attend. My photos didn't turn out so great, but here is a link to the Photo Gallery that the cemetery has created Sarasota National Cemetery Wreaths Across America. Thought you would like to see the weather we enjoyed after the ceremony. 

Thank you for stopping by today.

Stampin' Up Tropical Escape DSP

Today we are headed to the Sarasota National Cemetery for the Wreaths Across America service. It's hard to believe we were there just two weeks ago for my husband's memorial service. I'm sure I'll need to get the tissues out. My son and I are just hoping we don't get wet from predicted rain!

So, my post title sounds like you will be seeing Florida paradise paper. Nope, you're going to see a wrapped Christmas present! The design comes from the challenge at TGIF 190

and the color choice comes from the challenge at Just Add Ink #438

The additional color I chose is Garden Green. Let's take a look see...

Whoa! That sure is bright!! It's funny how the iPhone camera shows up all the flaws that I can't see with my naked eyes. Why is that?

Well, in any event, I adhered a mat of Lovely Lipstick to my Whisper White card base. Then I cut four panels from the Tropical Escape DSP that were Granny Apple Green and had Garden Green dots. The Garden Green enamel trees are from the Santa's Workshop Enamel Shapes (sold out). The ribbon is 5/8" Polka Dot Tulle.

This is not my favorite Christmas card, but it does fit the two challenges. Let's think of it this way...you know the ugliest Christmas sweater? ...well, I'm starting the ugliest Christmas card contest!  

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day.

Product List

Whisper White 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon [146912] $7.50	Tropical Escape 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [146916] $11.00	Lovely Lipstick 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146970] $8.50
Santa's Workshop Enamel Shapes [147811] $7.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $9.75

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Stampin' Up! Happy Inkin' Thursday Blog Hop

Wow, where does time go these days? It seems like it was just Thursday yesterday! Here we are again with our blog hop and we've got a color challenge this time. This one just fell into my lap with what I had on my desk so it was easy peasy. Here are the colors...

and I chose Shaded Spruce for my other color.

My card base is Shaded Spruce with a  4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of Gold Foil Paper adhered to the front. I then cut a mat 4" x 5 1/4" of Under the Mistletoe Designer Series Paper and adhered it to the gold. I cut another piece of Gold Foil 3 1/4" x 3 3/4". I cut a piece of Whisper White 3" x 3 1/2", sponged it with Shaded Spruce, stamped the star snowflake from the Star of Light stamp set, stamped off once. The sentiment is from Timeless Tidings. I ran it through my Big Shot with the Subtles Dynamic TIEF and then adhered it to the gold mat. I affixed that to the front with dimensionals.

For the inside, I cut a piece of Whisper White 4" x 5 1/4". I sponged it with Shaded Spruce ink and punched the corners with the Detailed Trio Punch. The sentiment is from Snowflake Sentiments.

I hope you have enjoyed my card today. There are more to look at by clicking on the "next" button or on each name listed below.

Thanks for stopping by.

Amy Koenders

Shelagh Freemantle

Mary Deatherage

Kristi Gray

Jaimie Babarczy

Sue Prather

Karen Finkle - you are here!

Julie Johnston

Product List

Under The Mistletoe Designer Series Paper [146921] $11.00	Star Of Light Photopolymer Stamp Set [142110] $26.00	Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [143706] $10.00
Snowflake Sentiments Clear-Mount Stamp Set [144820] $22.00	Timeless Tidings Clear-Mount Stamp Set [148936] $20.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Stampin' Up! Timeless Tidings and Joyous Noel

My card tonight uses the Timeless Tidings stamp set that is retiring. I'm so disappointed! I was inspired by Chris Smith for my design. She has a Facebook video to teach you how to cut a 12 x 12 piece of designer series paper to make frames. Check it out here.

So, for starters, I used a 12 x 12 piece of DSP from Joyous Noel (which is out of stock and retiring anyway) to cut my frame. I used a piece of Joyous Noel Glimmer Paper (copper...also retiring) and a piece of Whisper White that I sponged with Tranquil Tide. From the Glimmer Paper, I cut the tree out with a die from In the Woods. I stamped the sentiment in Copper embossing powder (from Timeless Tidings...retiring!). The frame is adhered to yet another piece of DSP that was left over from the frame! By doing that, this is how the inside of my card looks. I cut a piece of Shaded Spruce for a mat (I was out of Tranquil Tide) and adhered a piece of Whisper White (sponged lightly with Tranquil Tide). The sentiment is from Timeless Tidings, stamped in...can you tell the difference between Tranquil Tide and Shaded Spruce? Me neither, but it's Shaded Spruce! If you would like measurements, let me know in a comment.

Now, here's my problem...I am continuing to make Christmas cards and I haven't sent one out yet! Want to know why? Because the post office probably wouldn't get them there in time. I mailed important papers out 12/3 to NC, express mail. They are stuck in NH at the moment...North Carolina...New Hampshire...HELLO! Can you tell I'm frustrated? Yes, very.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for listening to my rant. Be sure to stop by tomorrow when it will be total fun with our Happy Thursday Inkin' Krew blog hop!

Stampin' Up! Timeless Tidings for Amy's Inkin' Krew Team Blog Hop

Welcome to another monthly Inkin’ Krew blog hop! Our very talented team is doing a blog hop featuring  Stampin’ Up! products.  This month Amy has asked us to make projects with a “Celebrate” theme and I’m using the Timeless Tidings stamp set.  I hope you have time to hop to the other projects. There is a list of other team members below.

I'm playing at SOS today for their "Tis the Season" challenge and at SUO Challenges 212 Anything Christmas.

My card base is Shaded Spruce. I used the Joyous Noel DSP for my mats. The top mat is die cut from the In the Woods Thinlits Dies. I used the dies from Frosted Bouquet Framelits to cut my sentiment from Gold Foil and Whisper White. The sentiment is from Timeless Tidings, stamped in Shaded Spruce.

For the inside, I used scraps of the DSP, stamped other sentiments from Timeless Tidings in Shaded Spruce. I didn't like the way it looked so I added the dots on the side, which is also a stamp in that set.

Now that you have seen my card, I hope you will take a few minutes to hop through all of the other shared projects. It's not too long of a hop and you can click any name listed below, or you can use the previous button to go to Mary Deatherage or the next button to Amy Koenders.

1. Julie Johnston
2. Jaimie Babarczy
3. Karen Ksenzakovic
4. Shirley Gentry
5. Sue Prather
6. Mary Deatherage
7. Karen Finkle - you are here!
8. Amy Koenders

Product List

Timeless Tidings Clear-Mount Stamp Set [148936] $20.00	Frosted Bouquet Framelits Dies [147895] $33.00	In The Woods Framelits Dies [147919] $33.00
Joyous Noel 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [147816] $14.00	Gold Foil Sheets [132622] $4.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Stampin' Up! More Designer Paper Depleted!

So, yesterday I showed you three treat boxes I made for our card group members and here's another set of three. I have decided to enter these at the Dragonfly Journeys Handmade Holiday Magic Challenge #130. You need to visit that post, especially if you are a Green Bay Packers' fan. Aaron Rodgers has been my favorite quarterback for a number of years. I was raised and grew up on Bart Starr! However, my loyalty is no longer to one particular team ... for many reasons.

The one on the left was done with current Under The Mistletoe DSP. The Early Espresso pine cones were die cut with the Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies. The bow, cut with the same set, is Cherry Cobbler. The sentiment is from Timeless Tidings.

The middle "box" is embellished with a die from Starlight Thinlits dies using Sparkle Glimmer Paper. I cut two and glued them together so it would be sparkly on each side. The patterned paper is Graphic 45.

The last one uses the same die for the embellishment but cut with Gold Glimmer Paper, again double. The DSP is retired. The sentiment is from Christmas Pines.

Just like yesterday, the instructions/measurements can be found here.

Thank you for stopping by.

Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper

I have stacks of DSP that I need to use before I can buy more said no stamper/scrapbooker ever! There should be a 12-step program for this addiction!! Kyle Bertucci has helped me by creating the #loveitchopit group and she has a free workshop, which has helped me immensely.

Thursday was our annual Christmas Luncheon and I made nine treat packages. Here are three of them...great use for pieces of DSP. The instructions and measurements can be found here. I used retired Christmas DSP. The stamp I used for the sentiment is from Christmas Pines. The trees are dies from Rooted in Nature and I used the Joyous Noel Glimmer Paper and Sparkle Glimmer Paper. 

Over at the Paper Players, they have a red, green and one other color challenge. My other color is Crumb Cake.

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you tomorrow.