35 years and still going....

It's my parents 35th wedding anniversary tomorrow and of course I wanted to stamp a card to celebrate their journey so far! It's unlikely they'll visit my blog before I give them the card this afternoon, so I feel "safe" sharing it here with you. ;)

While the bicycle image is retired and no longer sold by Stampin' Up!, all of the other products I used are still current.

Once I had the layout figured out in my mind, it was a fairly quick card to put together.  The most time consuming part was cutting out the flower...and really, it took less than a minute! ;)

Here's a quick list of the products I used:

Cardstock:  Crumb Cake,  Basic Grey, Very Vanilla, Raspberry Ripple DSP (In Color DSP paper stack)

Ink:  Classic Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Basic Grey

Accessories:  Basic Pearls, Gumball Green 3/8” stitched ribbon

Tools:  Big Shot, Argyle Embossing Folder, Labels Collection Framelits, Curly Label Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border,

Stamps:  Everything Eleanor, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Pedaling Past (Retired)

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Stamping!

Keeping it Simple

I needed a Father's Day card for my dad yesterday and because I was tight on time, I knew it had to be something quick and simple. I decided to use my new Argyle embossing folder for the main design.

I just love the texture of the embossed cardstock!

Cardstock colors I used are Crumb Cake, Basic Black & Island Indigo.  My embellishments include a Tempting Turquoise button (from our Brights Designer Buttons Collection), some white Bakers Twine and 3 of our Basic Black brads from our 3/16" Neutral Brads Collection.

Happy Stamping!
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Birthday Wishes

It's my moms birthday today and so of course I wanted to stamp a card to go with her gift this afternoon. I wasn't feeling very creative though and couldn't seem to come up with much. So, I went surfing! Internet surfing that is. ;) I find a lot of inspiration from seeing what others have created...and sometimes I just CASE (copy and save everything) someones project when the creative juices just don't seem to be flowing.

 I came across a gorgeous shabby-chic card stamped by an amazing demonstrator by the name of Sandi MacIver. Her projects are gorgeous. I fell in love with her card as soon as I saw it and had most of the materials she used. SO, I shamelessly CASEd it.

The designer series paper I used is our Beau Chateau dsp - I LOVE this paper and we even have matching fabric right now!!!

 
I embossed the tag with one of our Designer Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folders (which coordinates with our Beau Chateau suite!) and I just love how it draws your eye to the stamped images.

I didn't have any antique brads left (which is what Sandi used on hers) but I did have a retired "rose" embellishment that I thought would work well for the center of the rosette (created with my Simply Scored score board) and matched the Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon.

I "distressed" all the edges with our  distressing tool which is part of our Cutter Kit and then sponged around all the pieces to really accentuate the rough edges.

The small flowers were punched using the 4-petal punch from our Itty Bitty Shapes Punch pack and I added a small pearl to the center of each one to finish it off.


Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stamping!!!

 

Chicks & Chocolate Easter Projects

The past couple of years I've offered a few Chicks & Chocolate events. It's an evening that has the guests stamping 3 projects; a greeting card and two 3-D items. Of course, chocolate is always included!

These are the projects the girls made last night.

How cute is that little bunny???  I had precut and prepunched almost everything, so the girls last night just needed to assmble them.

His little box "body" is just the right size to hold an assortment of chocolate goodies!

 And what bunny would be complete without a cute little fuzzy tail!

While the bunnies we created last night were all grey, I also decided to try one in a crisp white!  Ack - just adorable, don't you think? :)

The second project was a little matchbox.  I love how quick these little boxes can go together.  They're easy to cut using the Matchbox die for my Big Shot. It cuts and scores everything in just one quick pass through the Big Shot.

 We dressed them up by adding a piece of designer paper to the top of the box wrap.  Before adhering, we embossed it with our Oval Designer Frame Mini Embossing Folder.  Once adhered, we punched out the center with our Extra Large Oval Punch and added a small piece of our clear window sheet to the underside to keep the candies from falling out.

To finish it off, we stamped a greeting on one of the tags (included on the Matchbook Bigz Die), added one of the small butterflies cut/embossed with the Beautiful Wings embosslit and tied it around the box with a piece of our new Daffodil Delight Seam Binding ribbon. 

Haven't seen this designer paper or seam binding ribbon yet?  That's because it's part of our April Summer Smooches Promotion!  These items are both a sneak peek from our upcoming new Idea Book & Catalogue.  You can order these (and a few other amazing sneak peek items) RIGHT NOW, but ONLY for the month of April!  After that,they won't be available again until June.

The third project we stamped was a greeting card.  Once again we used some of our Summer Smooches designer paper.  We stamped the bunny image from our Everybunny stamp set on watercolor paper and colored it in with some of our classic inks and our Aqua Painters.

The banner along the bottom is a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock that's been folded in a fan style and adhered in place.  The greeting was stamped on another piece of Very Vanilla cardstock, punched with our Large Oval punch and layered on an Island Indigo punched Scallop Oval.

 Oh, and don't miss the little mushrooms stamped in the bottom corner.  They're part of the stamp set and I just HAD to include them on the card. ;)

It sounds like the girls all had a great time last night and really enjoyed the projects. 

Happy Stamping!

Darling Diagonals

As mentioned on my Stampin with Cristina facebook page, I’m posting the two projects I stamped with my Stampers 6 Club girls this week.  Both projects involved our new Diagonal Scoring Plate that  goes with our Simply Scored Scoring Tool.

The first was a greeting card.   We scored a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and then ran it through my Big Shot with the Top Note die for a simple textured background.

The banner on the bottom is also just a piece of cardstock that we scored and folded to give it a pleated look.

The second project is a Triangle Trifold card. The finished card size 3-1/2 x 3-1/2, so we also scored, folded and stamped our own coordinating envelope.

 

I love these cards!   They look complicated, but are actually fairly simple to put together.  With just a few score lines, you get a very unique folded card.  

The designer papers, thin ribbons on both cards and the stamp set on the trifold card are part of our Sale-a-Bration offering right now.   You can receive these items for FREE when you place a minimum $60, but ONLY until the end of March!!!  You can visit my website at www.cfindlay.stampinup.net and click on "shop now" to place an order and have it delivered directly to your door.

Happy Stamping!

Berry Blossoms Birthday

At the last demo stamp & chat evening I had, one of my downline offered to provide a make & take and I absolutely LOVED the design! I knew it was one I would make again. I had some time this afternoon while my kids were playing and took the opportunity to stamp.

It's a 4 x 4 tri-fold card. What I think makes the card so unique is the cutouts in the front two panels. So quick and easy with our new Labels Collection Framelits Dies!  The card base is made with our Berry Blossoms designer paper.  I added a simple "bow" to the front made with our Lucky Limeade 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon and one of our Everyday Enchantment Brads from our Sale-A-Bration collection.

The interior is lined with Calypso Coral and Whisper White cardstock panels.

To stamp the greeting, I closed the card and using my Stamp-a-ma-jig, was easily able to line it up with the center of my smallest cutout.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping.

Simply Scored Diagonal Plate

YAY! Stampin' Up! is pleased to annouce the all-new Simply Scored Diagonal Plate, perfect for creating envelopes, boxes and more! It's the the must-have companion to your Simply Scored scoring tool!

125586 Simply Scored Diagonal Plate $15.95

Watch this video to see it in action! 

Product Features

• Sits on top of the Simply Scored base
• Held securely in place by rubber pads on back of the plate
• Has etched grooves every 1/8"
• Can score any size card stock up to 12" x 12"
• Includes instructions for creating common envelope sizes
• Coordinating products include
  • Simply Scored (item 122334
  • Simply Scored Place Markers (item 125625
  • Simply Scored Stylus (item 125624)
  • Bone Folder (item 102300)

Happy Stamping!

It's All Elementary...

That would be Elementary Elegance! Have you seen the new set in our Sale-a-bration catalogue? That's right, it's one of our FREE items you can choose until the end of March with every $60 order!

I received this set back in December (one of the perks of being a demonstrator!) and hadn't had a chance to really try it out yet! Here's a quick card I made last night using a favorite layout I like.

I started by cutting and embossing the right front edge with our Adorning Accents dies and embossing folders (LOVE those things!)

I added a strip of Berry Blossom designer series paper for color, but before I adhered it, I added a "ruffle" to each side by punching a strip of Natural White cardstock with our Lace Ribbon Border punch.

The main stamped image is from our Elementary Elegance stamp set.

Our Curly Label punch coordinates perfectly with this set!  It makes adding a greeting SO easy!  I stamped, punched out and then popped it up with a Stampin' Dimensional.

The addition of some Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon and Victoria Crochet Trim along with three of our smallest pearls finished it off.  Oops - almost forgot.  The cute brad in the center of the bow is also from our Sale-a-Bration catalogue!  It's part of a ribbon and brad combo pack!  Love them! :)

Hope you like it!

Happy Stamping!

Quick & Simple...

Last night while I spent some time in my craft room cleaning up, I came across a package of our Whisper White 3-1/2 x 5 pre-scored Note cards. They come in a package of 20 WITH envelopes for only $7.50 and when I ordered them last year for a project (that I ended up not making) I had tucked them away and completely forgotten about them.

When I discovered them last night, I thought they would be a great base to start with for a quick and simple card when short on time.

This is what I came up with:

I started by cutting and embossing one edge with our new Adorning Accents Edgelit die and coordinating embossing folder and sponged the edge with an ink color I chose from the designer series paper I wanted to use. I cut a piece of 2" x 5" Paisley Petals designer paper and sponged the two long edges before adhering to the card front.

I added a piece of Sticky Strip over one edge of the designer paper and added a piece of Seam Binding ribbon that I "scrunched" before sticking it down.

I stamped the "For You" image from our new "Apothecary Art" stamp set, cut it out with the coordinating Labels Framelits die and matted it on a piece of colored cardstock also cut with the Labels Framelit die (I just used the next size up). Adhered it all to the card front with a few dimensionals and it was finished! A quick and simple card perfect for any occasion. :)

Happy Stamping!

Little Gnome

As part of a recent incentive promotion Stampin' Up! recently offered to demonstrators (and I qualified for!) I earned a few free products! Yay! Who doesn't love free stuff???

One of the FIVE sets I earned free is in our upcoming Occasions Mini Catalogue and is called "Gnome Sweet Gnome". I had the opportunity to spend some time in my craft room this morning, so I wanted to try a card using this new set.

This is what I came up with:

Awe, too cute. ;)  The designer paper is our new "Twitterpated" paper also in the new mini.  Again I used the new Labels Collection Framelit dies and our Adorning Accents Edgelits Dies and Embossing Folders.

The little flower brad in the center of the ribbon bow is one of the FREE items in our Sale-a-Bration catalogue this year.  It's part of a brad AND ribbon package!  LOVE it!

Hope you like it.  Thanks for popping by!!!

Stamps:  Gnome Sweet Gnome, SAB Elementary Elegance (butterfly)

Cardstock:  Island Indigo, Old Olive, Whisper White, Twitterpated dsp

Ink:  Classic Island Indigo, Basic Gray, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Sahara Sand; Stampin Write Marker:  Blush Blossom

Accessories:  5/8” Organza Ribbon, Pool Party Brad (SAB Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack), Basic Pearls, Stampin Dimensionals

Tools:  Big Shot, Labels Collection Framelits Dies, Adorning Accents Edgelits Dies & Embossing Folders, Aqua Painter, Jewelry Tag Punch

Move over mistletoe...

...It's Birthday time!!!

It's my mother-in-law's birthday on Christmas Eve and from what I've been told by many with birthday's so close to the holiday is their birthday's tend to be pushed aside or kind of just blend in with the rest of the festivities. That's so sad! SO, when I sat down to stamp her a birthday card, I wanted to make sure her card was definitely birthday-related with no Christmas in sight! ;)

Here's what I came up with!

I was absolutely thrilled with the way it turned out!  Now, you may spot a few things on this card you haven't seen before.  That's because I used some of the new products I was allowed to preorder from our upcoming Occasions Mini catalogue that starts in January!  Also, I can't take full credit for this design.  I actually copied the basic layout from the example on the front of the mini catalogue and just made a few minor changes. :)

The color combination started from the floral designer paper on the front.

That's a piece of our upcoming Twitterpated dsp.  LOVE!  From there I stamped the floral label image from our new Apothecary Art stamp set and then cut it out with our new Labels Collection Framelits die!  Oh my goodness...you won't want to miss out on those.  These wafer thin dies come in sets of 6 so they're perfect for instant layering.  While I am not allowed to post pictures of the actual product yet, I CAN show you examples of projects I've made with them. Take my word you'll want to see this catalogue ASAP! ;)

The beautiful cut and embossed edge on the right of the card and the scallop peeking out from under the designer paper?  Oh yes, more new products!

It's our new Adorning Accents Edgelits dies and embossing folders!  Easy to use and oh so gorgeous!!!

I finished the card with some sticky strip and Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon, a piece of our crochet trim and a large rhinestone brad.

OH, and that little stamped skeleton key on the tag?  That's one of the stamps in our Elementary Elegance stamp set you can receive FREE during Sale-a-Bration!  Um ya...you won't want to miss that! ;)

I love this card so much I plan to make a 2nd soon to keep!  I didn't want to part with this one! ;)

Happy Stamping!

And 3 more makes 5....

If you visited my blog over the past two weeks you would have seen my Snow Swirled and JOYful Ornament cards. They are actually 2 of 5 cards that I offered at a Christmas card class a friend had asked me to do for her. The class was last night and so I thought I should post the remaining three cards we stamped.

Each card uses some of our Letters to Santa designer series paper. I love the color combinations in this paper.

This is a fairly simple card with the images being stamped on a Whisper White Top Note I cut with my Big Shot.

 This card had the ornaments stamped first on scrap Whisper White cardstock, cut out and then popped up with dimensionals.

I think this is one of my favorites.  The large scallop circle was cut on the Big Shot and the large white circle I cut with my Circle Scissor Plus.  We also embossed the bottom Marina Mist cardstock with my Square Lattice embossing folder for some added texture.

Happy Stamping!