#SimpleStamping Wedding Cards

As a Stampin' Up Demonstrator,  I have been presented with the #simplestamping challenge to come up with some cards using limited tools.   

This month's challenge was to make a card for either a wedding, funeral or new baby using just paper, ink, stamps and a bonus material, ribbon.  So I looked through all the stamps I had to see what I could piece together to make some wedding cards and this is what I came up with:

I used the color pallet of Blushing Bride, Gray Granite and Whisper White for both of these cards.

The first card starts with a Gray Granite cardstock basic A2 card base.  

Blushing Bride layer - 3 3/4" X 5"

Whisper white layer - 3 1/4" X 3 1/2"

I stamped the hearts from the Meant to Be stamp set with Blushing Bride ink, first stamping the floral heart on a scrap piece of paper and cutting out around it to use it as a mask, (tip- using a post it note is good for masking) I placed my scrap paper heart down where I was going to stamp the floral heart and then stamped the bigger heart over the scrap so that the outline of where the two hearts intersect is now on my scrap and not on my piece of Whisper White.  Then I stamped the floral heart so that it fit right into the outlined heart without a line going through it.

 The Mr & Mrs is from the Piece of Cake stamp set and the

Wedding Wishes sentiment is from the Floral Phrases stamp set, both stamped in Gray Granite ink.

The white tule ribbon is tied around the Blushing Bride layer before it is adhered to the base of the card.  I love this ribbon, it is becoming one of my favorites!

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

The second card uses the All Adorned Stamp set which is one of the Free Stamps  if you order $50 worth of product in the Sale-A-Bration offerings that is good only until March 31st. 

It is on a Whisper White A2 card base.

Gray Granite mat layer -  4 X 5 1/4"

Whisper White - Stamped Layer - 3 3/4" X 5"

A tip for stamping this card is to lay a piece of washy tape across the Whisper White layer you are stamping so that there is a  3 3/4" square at the top of the piece - this will help you place the corner stamp so that everything lines up evenly.  

You want to watch the the edge of the stamp to make sure the little line crosses over the previously stamped image, stamping all 4 corners.

The three hearts across the bottom are from the Meant to Be stamp set, stamped in Blushing Bride ink. The Mr. & Mrs, from Piece of Cake stamp set, the little gray hearts, from the All Adorned Set and the sentiment is from the Beautiful Bouquet stamp set, are all stamped in Gray Granite ink.

I tied the polka dot tulle ribbon around the white stamped layer before adhering it to the Gray Granite layer.

Although I did use a number of different stamp sets to make these cards - none of these sets were purchased with wedding cards in mind.  That is the nice thing about mixing and matching stamp sets, you can come up with a design for the intended purpose needed. So I encourage you to look through the sets you have and put something beautiful together!

If you don't already have a Stampin' Up Independent Demonstrator that you work with - I would love to be your coach!  You can shop 24/7 by clicking the little store front  on my side bar.  Please use the hostess code that is posted at the top of the side bar.  If you spend more than $35.00 before shipping and tax - I will send you a sampling of the Gingham Gala 6X6 Designer Series Paper - 2 sheets of each of the 5 colors when you use my hostess code.  You will also receive a copy of the Occasions Catalog. 

Now is a great time to buy because of the Sale-A-BRATION event that started on January 3rd, runs through March 31, 2019.  Since we are coming to the end of this sale, some of the items have sold out.  But there are still plenty of other FREE stamps and accessories, like this All Adorned stamp set I used for the second card, still available with every $50 purchase!  Yes - that is on top of the DSP sample I will send if you use my hostess code! Plus you will receive free merchandise from Stampin' Up! with a purchase of $150.00 or more a long with the free stamps and accessories for Sale-a-bration!

Check out the Sale-A-Bration Catalog here!

Cabbage, Clover and Cream St. Patrick's Day Table

Welcome to my St. Patrick's Day Table!

We are celebrating with Cabbage, Clover and Cream!

Three things that the Irish are famous for!

I suppose we could have added Corned Beef - but that isn't as pretty!

I started with this crisp white, black and green plaid table cloth from Target, and built up from there.

I received this Blessing's Jar as a gift from my Stampin' Up upline, Linda.

It had a heart on the tag - so I decided to flip over the tag and stamp a little clover on the other side.

 🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

I didn't have any appropriate napkin rings - so I took a cue from the wood tag on the jar and made my napkin rings.  I took some wood circles I had in my stash and just stamped them with the same clover that can be found in the Amazing Life stamp set found here with some Call Me Clover ink, and then just tied them on with some jute.

 When I celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I do so not because I am Irish, but because it is my birthday!

This year is a big milestone - feeling a bit old - because it is the big 60! 

 I got my Golden Buckeye card in the mail the other day!

(something special for old Ohio residents!💚)

So for you,  I wish you much luck and many blessings on this St. Patrick's Day!

Have fun celebrating, as I will be enjoying my annual green beer!

Sources:

Tablecloth - Target

Clover -silk plants - The Peddler, Walnut Creek, Ohio - last year

Greenery Placemats - Pier 1 - several years ago - use them all the time!

White Chargers - Olde Time Pottery years ago

Black and white check plates - Marshalls, several years ago

White Plates and Napkins - Pier 1

Cabbage plates - I am not sure how I got those!

Green stemware - World Market years ago

Flatware - HomeGoods last year

I am linking up to Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch and
Thursdays Favorite Things @ Shoestring Elegance 

Spring is Just Around the Corner!

With Spring being just around the corner,

 and I am celebrating spring by joining Chloe Crabtree from Celebrate and Decorate in her Springtime Tablescape Blog Hop happening this week.

I have the links to 26 wonderful table stylists and their Springtime Tables at the bottom of this post.  

Visit each and enjoy the inspiration sparking spring all around! 

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 

 In reality- this is what it looks like outside my door!!!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

But let's focus on spring!!

This is what my kitchen table looks like😊

Much nicer, with the look and feel of spring! 

I found these fun plates at HomeGoods.  There were actually 4 different animals in the series.  I originally wanted all the lambs - so I could do -March in like a lion and out like a lamb theme- but they only had three lambs (doesn't that just drive ya crazy?!?!?) 

 The other two animals in the set that I didn't purchase was a bunny (because I already have plates with a bunny wearing flowers) and a chick.   ( I just didn't get the warm and fuzzies from the chick, it looked like it was all hunched over.  I didn't want the chick with posture issues!)  

 I settled with the goose and the lamb. So, I guess March is in like a goose and out like a lamb at my place!

A simple green pinstripe tablecloth acts as my base.  The placemats, I find myself using all the time - I just love that little bit of greenery that peeks out under the chargers. Some bright flowers and more greenery make up the centerpiece.

I made up a little spring favor from my Stampin' Up! stash of goodies.

The clear favor boxes can be found here.  I used Gingham Gala paper and the Pretty Labels Punch to make a spring topper for the boxes and filled them with colorful gummy candies.

I love these new plaid rimmed plates from HomeGoods, They had salad plates as well, but I only picked up the four dinner plates - I will probably regret that someday! For the napkins, a simple roll tied with ribbon and a sprig or two of baby's breath.

Here are the links to all of the creative ladies participating in this week's hop:

Monday

A Casa di Bianca | Red Cottage Chronicles | Panoply
 The Little Yellow Corner Store | From My Carolina Home

Tuesday

Celebrate & Decorate | Everyday Living  | Home is where the Boat Is | Belle Blue Interiors 
Living With Thanksgiving 

Wednesday

The Painted Apron | Debbee's Buzz | Bluesky at Home | Corner of Plaid and Paisley
Home and Gardening With Liz

Thursday

Sweet Sensations | Chasing Quaintness | Our Crafty Mom | Zucchini Sisters | Life and Linda

Friday

My Thrift Store Addiction | My Family Thyme | Me and My Captain 
Follow the Yellow Brick Home | Katherine's Corner | Twelve on Main 

It is snowing again as I am typing this post up.  I hope this hop brings just a little bit of spring into your hearts💟

Little animals wearing floral wreaths makes me think pleasant warm thoughts!

Nicer days are ahead,  with the promise of new growth and sunshine!

Wishing you a very lovely Spring!

I have linked this post up to Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch.

Sweetest Thing Cards

The new Sweetest Thing bundle has been so much fun to play with!

I was immediately attracted to this group because of it's bright and fun paper.  But today I am making some cards with this bundle with some alternative papers that I think are just as fun.

What could be sweeter than the mix of candy and gingham?

I will give you the specs for the Daffodil Delight card.

• The card base is Basic Black cut 8 1/2" by 5 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4"
• The next layer is Daffodil Delight cut 5 1/4" X 4" and embossed with the Scalloped Stripe embossing folder making sure your stripes are going in the correct direction.
• Then a mat layer of Basic Black cut 4 1/4"x 3 1/4" 
• Gingham Gala DSP in Daffodil Delight layer 4" X 3"

I used liquid glue to affix all of the layers, so that you can slide the layers over to get the borders even.

🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬🍬

Now the fun part!

• stamped the jars with Grey Granite ink using the Stamparatus
• cut the jars with the framelits on the Big Shot
• stamped the candy with Black Momento Ink
• colored the candy with Stampin' Blend markers - Daffodil Yellow Light and Calypso Coral Light 
• Cut some extra candy pieces from Daffodil Yellow and Grapefruit Grove cardstock with the framelits on the Big Shot.
• Stamped the sentiment and scroll border with Stamparatus on Daffodil Yellow cardstock with black ink and cut it with framelits on the Big Shot

I popped the two outer jars and a few of the candy pieces out with dimensionals and added a bow in the corner for an added touch.

🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭

The black and white card was made with Flirty Flamingo cardstock and the Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper that is FREE with a $50 purchase during SaleABration.

If you don't already have a Stampin' Up Independent Demonstrator that you work with - I would love to be your coach!  You can shop 24/7 by clicking the little store front  on my side bar.  Please use the hostess code that is posted at the top of the side bar.  If you spend more than $35.00 before shipping and tax - I will send you a sampling of the Gingham Gala 6X6 Designer Series Paper - 2 sheets of each of the 5 colors when you use my hostess code.  You will also receive a copy of the Occasions Catalog and Sale-a-brations catalogs. 

Now is a great time to buy because of the Sale-A-BRATION event that Starts on January 3rd and runs through March 31, 2019.  Free stamps and accessories are available with every $50 purchase! yes - that is on top of the DSP sample I will send if you use my hostess code! Plus you will receive free merchandise from Stampin' Up! with a purchase of $150.00 or more a long with the free stamps and accessories for Sale-a-bration!

Check out the Sale-A-Bration Catalog here!

Valentine's Day Tablescape

I should be a pro at this Valentine's Day stuff with all of the Hallmark movies I have watched over the last few month, but I always find this holiday a kind of difficult one to decorate for. Maybe because I feel it is a bit limited - how much can you do with red hearts?!   or maybe get real daring and use  pink hearts? or double dog daring and use XOXOXO's?  But I threw caution to the wind and this is as daring as I get!

I am happy to be part of the Valentine's Day Tablescape Blog Hop that Chloe Crabtree, from Celebrate and Decorate, has put together.  There will be 24 different talented table stylists showing off their Valentine tables just for you to enjoy.  Check back each day, as I will be updating the links at the bottom of the post all week long.  

So, for my table I added some brown to the mix of red and pink!!  And that isn't all that daring when you consider that chocolate is brown and that is one of the most popular things about Valentine's day!

My inspiration was the floral paper that you see on the hearts, it is a beautiful mix of a dark khaki, pink, red and sea foam green.  I tried to mix the sea foam green in somehow with my dishes, but trust me - it looked horrible!

I used several sheets of my favorite Valentine paper from Stampin' Up! to create an embroidery hoop collage above my mantel and then moved that color scheme onto my table.

The hardest part about putting together this table is that we were in a polar vortex this past week with temperatures in the negative degrees, and wind chill factors making the plunge unbearable.  So I was not about to go out and go shopping for anything new.  I had to make due with what I had.

I wrapped some old red Christmas candles with khaki colored paper cut with a heart die cut and placed them in a wood tray I had - along with some white wood heart ornaments for a simple centerpiece.

The wood hearts were Christmas tree ornaments, after adding the paper to the middle and that beautiful soft variegated ribbon to the wood hearts it looked much more appropriate for Valentine's Day.  I was going to make some cute little chocolate favors, but again, I didn't have any at the house and I wasn't really thrilled at going out in -25 degrees to get some chocolate.  Worse yet, I would just eat it because I never left the house for three days and I didn't need to do that.  So I opted for the little hearts on the easels instead of candy,  much easier on the hips!

Below are all the links to the wonderful Valentine inspiration for you to enjoy this week.

Check out each blog, I bet someone came up with a fabulous out of the box Valentine Table that is surely drool worthy!

Monday

A casa di Bianca | Panoply | From My Carolina Home | Corner of Plaid and Paisley | The Little Yellow Corner Store

Tuesday

Everyday Living | Life and Linda | Knock it Off Kim | Home is Where the Boat Is
Belle Blue Interiors 

Wednesday

Bluesky at Home | Debbee's Buzz | The Painted Apron | Camelot Art Creations

Thursday

Home and Gardening With Liz | Sweet Sensations | Celebrate & Decorate 

 Our Crafty Mom | My Family Thyme 

Friday 

Follow the Yellow Brick Home | Zucchini Sisters | Red Cottage Chronicles

My Thrift Store Addiction | Me and My Captain

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day and you get to spread some love.  A simple smile or a well placed compliment can do wonders to spread that love around.  

Hug someone today!

Stampin' Up! Meant to Be -Not just for Valentines!

It is always nice to spread some love.  It is easy to do with the new Meant to Be bundle from the new Stampin' Up! 2019 Occasions Catalog.

And just because this is considered a Valentine's day set, It can be used for many other cards such as Mother's Day, Miss You  or Wedding Cards.  I have also used it for a Thank you card here.

Since this is a new bundle, you save 10% by purchasing the Meant to Be stamp set and the Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies together.  On all of these cards I used black ink and cardstock.  I did however use several other sentiments other than 6 sentiments it comes with just to give you some ideas on how to expand this set even more.

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

Let's make the Thanks card!

The base of the card is Crumb Cake Card stock cut to 5 1/2" X 8 1/2", scored down the middle at 

4 1/4" , folded in half to make a basic A2 card.  I cut a rectangle piece of Whisper White  5 1/4" x 4" and ran it through my Big Shot using the Pinewood Planks embossing folder giving that a nice wood texture look.  

Next I took my black ink and stamped out three out of the 6 heart stamps that comes with this set on Crumb Cake cardstock. Then matched them up with the framlits that fit the hearts I chose and ran them through the Big Shot to cut the hearts out.   TIP: I use washi tape to line my dies up with the stamped images and run them through my Big Shot. I personally don't like using the magnetic plate with the dies - I have don't like the way the dies jump around a bit with the magnetic force!!  I would rather just use the washi tape - it sticks just enough to hold it in place but not ruin you piece when you remove the tape.

Lastly I cut the Thanks word out with the Well Written Framlits Dies (also found in the new 2019 Occasions Catalog) from Blushing Bride Cardstock, .  I applied the hearts and the word Thanks with Tombow liquid glue.

Very Simple! 

💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟

 On the You're the Best (sentiment from the Label Me Pretty stamp set) card I used dimensionals to pop out some of the hearts, that would be an option you could do on this card as well.  I also want to point out that there are a lot of framelits in the Be Mine Stitched Framelit Dies set.  I only used a few on these cards.  Check out how many come with it here!  

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

If you don't already have a Stampin' Up Independent Demonstrator that you work with - I would love to be your coach!  You can shop 24/7 by clicking the little store front  on my side bar.  Please use the hostess code that is posted at the top of the side bar.  If you spend more than $35.00 before shipping and tax - I will send you a sampling of the Gingham Gala 6X6 Designer Series Paper - 2 sheets of each of the 5 colors when you use my hostess code.  You will also receive a copy of the Occasions Catalog and Sale-a-brations catalogs. 

Now is a great time to buy because of the Sale-A-BRATION event that Starts on January 3rd and runs through March 31, 2019.  Free stamps and accessories are available with every $50 purchase! yes - that is on top of the DSP sample I will send if you use my hostess code! Plus you will receive free merchandise from Stampin' Up! with a purchase of $150.00 or more a long with the free stamps and accessories for Sale-a-bration!

Check out the Sale-A-Bration Catalog here!

When Snowed In, Set a Winter Table!

We didn't get quite as much snow as they had predicted but we still stayed home and hibernated this weekend.  And when you are snowed in, what better thing to do but set a winter table?!

I had purchased these fun plates and chargers at the semi-annual warehouse sale at Ragon House in Bolivar, Ohio back in November.

Their warehouse sales are wonderful!  They have them twice a year, spring and just before Christmas.

They are very well attended, very well staffed and it is definitely a shopping frenzy! If you see something you like, you have to pick it up and carry it with you or it may be gone when you go back 10 minutes later. 

These plates and chargers are melamine, which I have an appreciation for because they are much lighter and easier to store.  Plus they happen to be a pretty darn good deal!!

I had them displayed on my hutch until I decided to throw together a quick winter table.

I thought it was just a tad early to do Valentine's Day.  Besides with all the snow we are getting, this just seemed right!

You can just see the hint of snow we had on the deck outside.  They were predicting that we would get 12-14" of snow, but after it snowed for about 3 hrs and it was starting to pile up- it changed to rain and it rained for about 5 hours.  I can't imagine how much we would have had it not rained because it is snowing like crazy as I am writing this post.

So for a last minute favor to add to the table I just went into my stash and pulled out a few canning jars.  I got out my Stampin' Up! Buffalo Check stamp and made some tops for the jars and the little tags, filled the jars with cocoa mix, sprinkles and mini marshmallows. 

 While we don't live in Montana or Vermont as these plates suggest, we do live out amongst nature on a little lake.  We have had a pretty mild winter thus far.  Our lake has not frozen over yet, this time last year we were watching all of the ice fishermen.

I hope you are warm and cozy where you are.  We are going to throw another log on the fire tonight and enjoy these days we get when the snow puts a hush on the world.