Birthday Cupcake

Hi Stamping Friends!

Today I have the final card from my birthday stamp camp:

This would be the card that caused the most ruckus among my camp partcipants.  They all loved it, but some gals just don't care to do so much fussy cutting.  And because I'm a "frugal" Dutch woman, I cut my card kits to the exact paper measurements.  That doesn't leave much room for error.  In this case, some of the ladies stamped the whole cupcake on the pink DSP and not just the top half.  Normally they would just flip the paper over and stamp on the other side.  But with DSP, the other side is a whole new pattern!  So a few ladies ended up with different colored frosting.  But they were good sports about it.  Sometimes I have a few scraps lying around that I'll give them, but I held this camp at my church and didn't think to bring any scraps with me.

The card base is Kraft.  The cupcake comes from the Crazy For Cupcakes stamp set.  The sentiment is from the Well Scripted set in the Occasions Mini catalog.  The blue paper looke like Tempting Turquoise, but its really Taken With Teal.  Just my normal bad lighting!  The DSP is from the Sweet Pea DSP pack.  I adore this pack of papers.  So many great girl AND boy patterns.  You rarely get that in one paper pack!  I'm debating if I should get another pack before April 30th.

Speaking of cupcakes... I visited both of the bakeries where I have my cards for sale: Goodies Cookies and The Frosted Muffin, both in Visalia, CA (in case you're ever in the neighborhood!).  Can you believe I sold 33 cards at each bakery?!!  I was pleasantly surprised.  Now I have a few more stamping dollars to spend in May when the Summer Mini catalog comes out.  Yay for new stamping stuff!!  I really need to visit the little bakery in our town and see if they would sell some cards too.  Can't hurt to ask!  I also need to make more cupcake cards, since they seem to be my best sellers, especially at the cupcake shop!

CRAZY FOR CUPCAKES  #111618  $23.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

The Royal Court

Hi Stamping Friends!

Well today's the day you've all been waiting for!  It's the most exciting stamping news I've had in forever.  Drumroll please...  Arielle Gordon of the COLOUR Q  color challenge blog has asked me to be on her Design Team called The Royal Court!  How fun is that?!  I was so completely shocked and honored when she emailed me.  And of course I said YES!!  I've always dreamed of being on a DT but never thought it would actually happen.  And then I was even more amazed when I saw the awesomely talented ladies who are on the team with me.  Let me tell you, I was quite a wreck trying to come up with my first DT challenge card.  Just ask my hubby!  This is a fabulous group of stampers.  And I'm still in awe that I was asked to be a part of all this wonderful stamping goodness!

Now on to the good stuff... stamping!  One thing I've always loved about Arielle's color challenges is her choice of inspiration pieces.  She picks out the most fantastic, colorful pictures.  Here's this week's challenge cQc #26

Aren't those shoes just the cutest?!  So soft and girlie.  I really wanted to do an Easter card with these fun colors, but I just couldn't get that peacock image out of my mind.








So here's the FIRST card I came up with, the one I finally emailed to Arielle:

You know how much I love to combine my challenges, so this uses the Fall To Layout FTL84 from the CLEAN & SIMPLE blog.  The peacock image comes from the Very Thankful set.  When you buy this set from your SU! demonstrator, Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to the Ronald Mc Donald's Charities.  SU! has contributed nearly $800,000 to RMHC over the years.  I wasn't really thrilled with this card, so I went blog hunting for another sketch challenge and this is the SECOND card that I made:

This card uses the sketch from Amy Rysavy's blog PRARIE, PAPER & INK  AMYRS77.  While it is a very fun sketch, this card was a bit too busy for me.  Too many flowers and scallops and polka dots or something.  I dyed my Lavendar Lace Corduroy Button by using my Craft Ink Spots.  So again, I went back to blog hunting and found another sketch.  (Aren't you glad there are so many sketches to choose from?!)  And this is the THIRD card I came up with:

I finally got that Easter card in there!  This card uses the SFYTT sketch from Jen del Muro's blog I{HEART}2STAMP.  Again, another fabulous sketch, but for some reason it just wasn't working for me.  I think it's the DSP, just a little too busy.  The lily image comes from the Fifth Avenue Floral set.  That's when I decided to send Arielle the FIRST card and just roll with.  I've got quite a few more weeks to figure out this design team stuff.  BUT... I still thought I had to improve my original card, so I took a few things off and added a few things and now it looks like this:

Now I know what you're thinking (probably the same thing as my hubby!)... really lady?!  It's just a color challenge!  Why all the fuss?!  But man!  Have you seen the other talent on this team?!  I've got to make par, give it my all, earn my bread and butter, or something like that.  I need perfection people!  And yet, after FOUR tries, I'm still not satisified.  I think this time I just simply tried too hard.  I hope (and so does my family!) that next week isn't near as taxing as this week was.  Even if it is, I'm just happy to be doing some "fun" stamping again.  The "stamping for no reason" kind of stamping.  Not for a stamp camp or hostess club or a customer, but just for creativities sake.  Woo!  Hoo!

Well, thanks for sticking around for this awfully long and involved post.  I promise they won't all be like this.  And I'm really not that much of an over acheiver.  But I am a first born, so I do have my issues!  I hope you can play along with us this week.  I'm sure it won't take you near as many tries as it did me.  :)  And be sure to visit the other members of The Royal Court.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

No News Is Good News!

Hi Stamping Friends!

Last week I told you to stop by on Monday, because I had some fun news to share.  Well... you'll just have to wait until tomorrow!  Silly me.  I got the days mixed up and I can't share until Tuesday.  I'm sure you're all just sitting on pins and needles in great anticipation to hear what the news is.  Well you'll just have to wait one more day!

In the meantime, I have two cards from my birthday stamp camp.  They both use the Happy Moments SAB set.  It's kind of a boy/girl version.

The images are colored using Watercolor Crayons and Blender Pens.  The DSP is from the Sweet Pea paper pack.  LOVE that pack!  The sentiment comes from Birthday Bliss, which you can get for FREE through the end of March with the Sale-A-Bration promotion.

Thanks for stopping by!

I hope you stop by again tomorrow!

Happy Stamping!

Birthday Stamp Camp Card #3

Hi Stamping Friends!

Here's another card from my recent Birthday Stamp Camp.  It was the "guy" card for the day.  Why is it so hard to come up with great masculine cards?!  And it was also the easiest card of the day.  The ladies really appreciated that!

The card base is Pumpkin Pie that has been stamped with the splotch from Extreme Elements.  I just can't make a guy card with out using that set!  The Chocolate Chip strip has been embossed using the Distressed Texturz Plate.  The DSP is from the Sweet Pea Pack, AWESOME paper pack by the way.  The sentiment is from Four Square and is stamped in Taken With Teal.  The Twill Tape is the widest size that I cut in half along the length.  That's why it looks so frayed.  I just don't know how to use that wide stuff.  Simple and easy!

Be sure to stop back by on Monday when I will have some very fun news to share with all of you.  I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it!!!

EXTREME ELEMENTS  #115181  $26.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Birthday Stamp Camp Card #2

Hi Stamping Friends!

Just a quick post today as I'm heading out to my little office job.  It's another card from my Birthday Stamp Camp.  This one was CASEd from the amazingly talented Lynn Put.  I just LOVE her style.  You've got to check out her fabulous blog: THE QUEEN'S SCENE.

This was a favorite of the class.  Evertone loved this card.  I also did an "up-do" version to sell at the bakeries.  This card didn't need much improving, I just added a little bling.

This card uses the set On A Pedestal.  The base is Chocolate Chip layered with Pretty I nPink.  The DSP is from the Sending Love pack in the Occasions Mini Catalog.  The stamp is colored with markers.  We used Going Gray for the pedestal, Chocolate Chip for the cake and Regal Rose for the frosting.

Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

ColourQ #25

Hi Stamping Friends!

I haven't played in a blog challenge in forever!  And I'm so happy that I had a chance to finally to do some "fun" stamping.  All stamping is fun, don't get me wrong!  But alot of the time I'm stamping for a particular purpose (stamp camps, hostess clubs, fundraisers, etc....), not just for creativities sake.  So it is always a pleasure to stamp "for no reason at all".

Today's card is for the color challenge over at the ColourQ blog.  I love the color inspiration pieces that Arielle picks out.  Here's this weeks challenge:

Isn't that a fabulous picture?  And what an amazing color combo!  Makes me want to actually color Easter eggs with my kids.  That's just one of those family traditions I've avoided over the years.  Simply because I do not like boiled eggs.  GAG!  So who's going to eat them?  Not me!  And not my kids.  My hubby likes them, but how many boiled eggs can one man eat?!  So we just hunt for plastic eggs filled with all sorts of yummy cavity causing candy, and we leave the egg dyeing to others.








But that doesn't mean I can't have a few Easter eggs on my card.  Easter eggs and a chocolate bunny!

This was my first time inking up the Chocolate Bunny stamp.  And I have to confess, he's stamped on Close to Cocoa, but I did use Chocolate Chip ink!  I just think he shows up better on the Close to Cocoa paper.  The card base is Certainly Celery, layered with Barely Banana, and Tempting Turquoise which is embossed with the Perfect Details Texturz Plate.  The "grass" is from the Cottage Wall DSP pack, and the eggs (which are punched using the Oval Die) are from the Tea party DSP and the Pink Flamingo DSP.  I decorated the eggs using the Eggcellent Egg Kit from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  Decorating paper eggs is so much more fun than the real kind!  Love those mini rhinestones that come in the kit.  I wish SU! would sell these all the time.  I would buy them by the dozen!

This card also fits for the challenge over at the Our Creative Corner blog which is to think Easter.

Still trying different camera tricks.  Not liking how this turned out, but I'll keep experimenting until I get it right!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Birthday Stamp Camp Card #1

Hi Stamping Friends!

I had a wonderful time at my Birthday Stamp Camps this past weekend.  I even had three new gals come.  How fun is that?!  I usually do a camp every other month.  Last year I did them every month, but it got to be too much with the busy life of my family.  Every other month works out perfectly.

This was my favorite card from the set of five cards.  The colors just make me smile.

I used the Sweet Pea DSP pack from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  The card base is Whisper White layered with Old Olive.  The Old Olive has been embossed with the Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates.  The flower is punched out with the Extra Large Fancy Flower from the mini catty.  The stem is stamped in Old Olive and comes from the Sweetheart stamp set.  The birthday sentiment is from the set called A Little Birthday Cheer, which you can get FREE through the end of March with our Sale-A-Bration promotion!  It is punched out with the Modern Label punch.  I love punching out my sentiments.  Not only can you raise them with Dimensionals, you don't have to worry about stamping it straight!

I made an "up-do" version of this card, for the two bakeries where I sell my cards: Goodies Cookies and The Frosted Muffin, both in Visalia, CA.

I used a different print of the DSP, plus added a Pumpkin Pie Corduroy button and the Pumpkin Pie Striped Grosgrain replaces the regular grograin.  I also paper pierced around the edge of the image and added a brad to the sentiment.  The ribbon inside the button is a piece of retired Kiwi Kiss Twill.

I hope I have time to stamp today.  I'm neck deep in some baby shower invites that need to be mailed TODAY!  I really want to play in the ColourQ challenge.  I just LOVE the inspiration pieces that Arielle picks out!

SWEETHEART  #120415  $21.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Compliments To The Chef

Hi Stamping Friends!

Just a quick post today!

I made this card for a couple at our church that caters alot of our church functions.  They are the sweetest family and have an awesome catering service.  If you have to sit and meet church "dignitaries" and listen to their speeches.  It's always more enjoyable if there is good food involved!  :)

Happy Stamping!

Extremely Late Skater

Hi Stamping Friends!

Hope you all had a terrific weekend.  I know I did!  I had some very fun news that I can't reveal until next Monday, so be sure to come back and see what it is!!  :)

I made this card for my nephews birthday on March 16th.  I remembered it was his birthday, but never got around to getting a card in the mail.  Had to first make a card and go to Target for a gift card and then sign the card... you know the routine!  But I HAD to snap a quick photo before we put it in the mail.  Didn't even take the time to set up my "faux" lightbox.  (Check out my stamping mess in the background!)  Funny thing is this "quick pic" turned out better than the ones I plan and take time on.  Maybe I should ditch the "faux" lightbox and just do "messy desk" pictures all the time!

The stamp sets I used for this card I used Extreme Elements (awesome boy set!), Extreme Skateboard and Sanded BG.  The card base is Tempting Turquoise.  The DSP is some retired scrap that I grabbed out of scrap bag.  The other colors I used are Pumpkin Pie and Green Galore. 

The sentiment is from a retired set called Three Thoughts.  I just love that sentiment for guy cards.  It's a great masculine looking font, not too girly and curly.  It's one of those sets I'll never part with, just for this one image!  It was punched out using the Key Tag Punch, which is also retired.

EXTREME ELEMENTS  #115181  $26.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to stop by next Monday for my fun news!

Happy Stamping!

Krystal's Weekly Favorites #10

Hi Stamping Friends!

Happy Spring!  The weather is so gorgeous here in the Central Valley, that last night we ate dinner outside on the patio.  Ahhhhh!  The good life!

There sure has been some wonderful stamping going on in blogland!  I've seen so many gorgeous creations.  It's so difficult to choose sometimes!  Since I missed posting my favorites last week, some of these beauties are a couple of weeks old. Enjoy!

Lemonade Cup Card by Dawn Griffth at DAWN'S STAMPING THOUGHTS

Sunfower Treats by Kerin Sylvester at STAMPS, PAPER, GLITTER!

Whimsical Basket by Anne Matasci at THE MAUI STAMPER

Mini Milk Carton Basket by Becky Roberts at INKING IDAHO

Little Chick Treat Holder by Sara Mattson-Blume at LILY'S INK PAD

Mini Easter Treat Boxes by Kay Kalthoff at STAMPING TO SHARE

Aren't they fabulous!!  There are so many awesome Easter projects out right now.  There's just not enough stamping time in the day to CASE them all!

I have another Birthday Stamp Camp today.  Yesterday I had eight ladies and today I have four.  What a great time we always have.  Lots of laughing and sharing and talking and stamping.  If you live in the Visalia, Exeter, Tulare, Tipton, Hanford area and want to attend a class, just email me and I'll add you to my newsletter list!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a blessed Sunday!

Pick A Petal Quilt Square

Hi Stamping Friends!

My 11 yo daughter is a member of a girls group where their main goal is to give to others.  During the winter, they used the Nifty Knitter to make knit hats to give to the shelters around our area.  Their current project is to make quilts to give to homes of unwed mothers.  Funny thing about this project is, I don't sew!  I don't knit either, but we were not a part of the group yet and even if we had been, my daughter does know how to knit, so she would have been fine with the project.

For the quilt, each of the girls had to design one quilt square and then replicate it 10 times.  Then each girl traded with all the other girls, so each girl ended up with one quilt square from each person.  Since I only know stamping, I decided that my daughter should stamp on her quilt squares.  I chose the Pick A Petal set, because it makes the cutest flower and the image is big and bold.  Each one of these quilt squares is 7x7 and will end up to make a 6x6 block (using a 1/2" seam).

Here's her square:

Didn't she do a great job?!  Here's a bunch of her squares laid out on the fabric that we are using to make the quilt.

I kind of wish we could use all of her squares!  We also had to make an "extra" square that had to be different than the other 10 we made.  So this is the odd square that we made.

I just love how versatile the Pick A Petal set is!  I used the Craft Ink from Stampin' Up!  I just heat set it after we were down.  I did not test it in the washer, but other stampers told me it would be fine.  Let's hope they are right! 

I didn't know which colors to buy of the craft ink.  I just knew that we wanted a yellow flower with some green leaves.  So I bought So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Summer Sun, and Green Galore.  The So Saffron and Certainly Celery were my first choice, but they were way too light.  The Summer Sun turned out more orange than I had imagined and the Green Galore was much brighter than I had anticipated.  I wished I had also ordered Yo-Yo Yellow and Gable Green, just to see what they would have looked like.  You just don't know how the Craft Inks are going to look, especially on fabric.  Fortunately, the colors look adorable with the fabric that we chose.  And it really doesn't matter, because the other girls squares don't match our fabric at all!  :)  But since SU! is all about matching, it's hard not to want that!  I'll update you when we finally get the quilt made.  We will be getting some help with that!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping (and Quilting!)

Friend Pack Card #5

Hi Stamping Friends!

Happy Friday!
Today's card is the last card from my Friends Pack.  I made extra of all five of these cards, so I will have some on hand for myself.  What's great about a "friend" card is you can use it for any occasion! 

This card has a total vintage feel to it.  I don't do vintage very well, so I was quite pleased with myself how this turned out. Shelli Gardner, the cofounder and CEO of Stampin' Up! has a beautiful vintage style.  I'm always envious of people that can pull it off so effortlessly!

The card base is Whisper White layered with Kraft that has been embossed with the Damask Texturz plate.  The images are from the Friends 24-7 set and the sentiment is from the True Friend set.  The Pink Pirouette (retired) tag is cut using the Lots of Labels embosslit.  And the flowers are cut using the Birds and Blooms embosslit.  All the edges have been sponged with Soft Suede.

Can you tell that I LOVE my Big Shot?!  There's hardly a card that I make that doesn't require the Big shot for at least one element.  It has been the best craft investment I've ever made!!!  My Cricut is sitting at my cousins house right now, because she needed it for her bulletins boards.  Otherwise that thing hasn't seen the light of day since I got my Big Shot!  If you don't have a Big Shot, now is the best time to order one. You'll receive lots of free stamp sets through our Sale-A-Bration promotion going on now through March 31st.  Don't wait!  Order yours today!

FRIENDS 24-7  #113218  $25.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Stamping!

Friend Pack Card #4

Hi Stamping Friends!

I've been working all week to get my cards ready for my birthday stamp camp this weekend.  I can't wait to show them all to you.  I used the Sweet Paper Designer Series Paper pack that is in the Occasions Mini catalog.  But I don't want you to see all the fabulous cards before my stampers do!  So instead I'm going to show you card #4 from the Friends mission card pack:

The card base is Whipser White layered with Cameo Coral.  The DSP is the retired Raspberry Tart.  The images and sentiment are from the Great Friend set.  This is such a beautiful set and perfect for a friend card!  I love that the tag shape matches the tag from the Matchbox die and can be cut out with the Big Shot.

GREAT FRIEND  #113792  $17.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Today is your lucky day!

Hi Stamping Friends!

Well today is your lucky day because I have three projects to share today! 

We don't really "do" St. Patrick's Day in my house.  When I was a kid I always made sure I wore something green to school so I wouldn't get pinched.  When I told this to my kids (who are homeschooled) they asked me why and I had no idea why people pinch each other on March 17th.  They thought it was weird. 

There is not an Irish bone in my body.  Now, if they was some national Dutch holiday, we'd be all over that!  Bring out the tulips and klompen and serve up some ollie bollen and stroop waffles and I'm there! 

I do have some "Irish" stuff to show you today.  One project is new and the other is old, but both celebrate today perfectly.  The first is a Fancy Favor box that I made with my club ladies last month.  I totally CASEd the idea from the amazing Kay Kalthoff (whose work I absolutely adore!) on her blog STAMPING TO SHARE.  I didn't have the correct shade of green, so I improvised:

Isn't he just the cutest?!  And so easy to make with the Big Shot!  I gave my gals some Hershey's Nuggets with Almonds (since they are wrapped in gold) to put in it.  They loved it.  The box is made with Old Olive and the little guys beard is Dusty Durango.  His face is Blush Blossom.

The second card is a one I posted during a Stampin' Addicts blog hop.  I showcased the Heart of Hearts embosslit. 

I love to see different ways to use stuff and this is a perfect example.  Just because I don't have any St. Patrick's stamps, doesn't mean I can't make a "lucky" card.  Any heart stamp or die cut would work to make this clover.  The sentiment comes from the Define Your Life set.

The final card I have for today isn't a St. Paddy's card, but it does have the correct color scheme of GREEN.  I made this card way back in January for two challenges, a sketch challenge and a color challenge.  But life got so hectic that I never posted it to my blog and now I have no idea what challenges they were for!

This card uses the Upsy Daisy stamp set and also Circle Circus.  The colors are Always Artichoke and Old Olive.

UPSY DAISY  #111710  $18.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!