Grandmother's Flower Garden

Happy Saturday! I can hardly believe that June is almost over. You know what that means? The Stampin' Up! Convention is just around the corner! I have been busy slaving away working on swap cards, but I don't want to post them until convention time. (If I am not scrambling at the last minute, I will plan to share them with you while I am at Convention.)

Here is the Utah Diva's sketch for today, UDISC247. You can find all of the cards and designers here.

I tried to stay true to the sketch, but my Hexagon punch and matching stamp set were calling my name!

Details ~

• Paper ~ Whisper White, Pear Pizazz, Coastal Cabana DSP 
• Ink ~ Pear Pizazz, Wisteria Wonder
• Stamps ~ Six Sided Sampler
• Accessories ~ Fancy Fan Embossing folder, Big Shot, Hexagon Punch, Whisper White Taffeta ribbon 

Before I fell in love with stamping, my passion was fabric and quilting.  Grandmother's Flower Garden is such an old, classic pattern, and I really wanted to try it with this stamp set.  So if you consider my flower the large circle, I did stay pretty close to the sketch.  It was completely serendipity that the Coastal Cabana DSP pattern mimics the embossing.  I had the "quilt" all done and then started searching for a color to brighten things up a bit.  It was the first time I opened the 2013-2015 In Color DSP and what a surprise it was to find this pattern!  I love it when things just come together, don't you?

What do you think of my quilt block?  It sure went together much faster than the fabric version would have! That is one of the true joys of paper crafting.  You can create little works of art in under 30 minutes.

Take some time to do something creative this weekend!

Blessings,
Barbara

P.S.  I just noticed that my counter is over 50, 000 views!  Yippee Skippie!

Best of Love

Happy Saturday, and welcome to my blog!  Most mornings when I get up, I check my mail with a cup of coffee in hand.  As my dad used to tell me, you need two cups of coffee in the morning, one for each leg!  So by now I'd be on my second cup!  :-)

This week's Utah Divas International sketch was designed by team member Tammy Fite, who has done all of the February sketches. You can find links to all of the cards and designers here.

Here's what I was inspired to create:

All the details~

• Stamps ~ Best of Love
• Papers ~ Very Vanilla
• Inks ~  Primrose Petals, Pink Pirouette
•  Accessories ~ Big Shot, Petals a Plenty folder, Large Scallop Edgelits, Hearts collection framelits, Delicate Designs folders, stampin' dimensionals

My inspiration for the card came from a piece of paper I had embossed last year.  I inked the Petals a Plenty folder with Pink Pirouette ink and ran it through the Big Shot.  I had a couple of pieces left over and hung on to them because I thought they were so pretty.  What do you think?  I am really pleased with how this came out.  And I love the new February Best of Love stamp set (132987, $14.95).  It contains so many great images, including the sweet little "love you much." 

As I type this, we are in the midst of an East Coast blizzard!  It is so nice to be inside of a warm house with electricity!  After losing power for a week after Hurricane Sandy, I don't take my electricity for granted.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be well!

Barbara

Hearts a Flutter

What inspires you? Where does your inspiration come from? For me, it might be a sketch challenge or a photograph. For color inspiration, there is nothing like a color challenge, and this week there is a wonderful one over at Create With Connie & Mary.

 

For me, inspiration is all around, and in this case, it was on page 11 of the Stampin' Up! Occasions 2013 catalog. There is an adorable framed chalkboard, and here is my interpretation in paper! 

Here's the recipe~

• Stamps ~ Hearts a Flutter, Delightful Dozen
• Papers ~ Whisper White, Basic Black, Pool Party
• Inks ~ Basic Gray, Primrose Petals, White Craft ink, Versamark
•  Accessories ~ Big Shot, Hearts a Flutter framelits, Artisan Embellishment kit, White embossing powder, sponge dauber, white colored pencil, stampin' dimensionals

This is one of the cards we made at a recent class that featured several new products in the catalog, and of the three cards we made, this was the favorite!  To get the chalkboard look, we added a white line with a colored pencil and lightly sponged some white craft ink to give the look of chalkboard smudges.  What do you think?

Thanks for visiting today!  I hope you were inspired!

Blessings,
Barbara

Watercolor Winter

Happy Saturday, and welcome to my blog! Grab your cup of coffee and check out the card I created for this week's Utah Divas International sketch. You can find links to all of the cards and designers here. This month's sketches were designed by team member Ruthie Burkey.  And here is the sketch for the week, DIVASC216.  Isn't this a classic?  I can see myself using this over and over.

I love a monochromatic card, and that's what I went with this week. Although it is not what you would think of as traditional Christmas colors, I think the overall effect is quite elegant, don't you?

Supplies used:

• Papers ~ Whisper White, Sahara Sand
• Inks ~ Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake
• Stamps ~ Watercolor Winter, Greetings of the Season
• Accessories ~ Basic Pearls, Big Shot, Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder

For the bottom embossed layer, I opened the folder and inked the flatter side with Sahara Sand ink before I added the paper and put it through the Big Shot.  It adds so much depth and richness to the bottom layer.

Have a wonderful weekend!   I will be spending time with family, working on my Christmas cards,  and making my house look festive for the month of December.  I just love Christmas!

Thanks a bunch for stopping by.  I look forward to your sweet comments, so bring them on!

Blessings,
Barbara

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!

Happy Saturday, and welcome to another Diva Sketch Challenge! Our sketch team is growing, so be sure to head over to UDI and see what everyone has created! Here is the sketch for the week, DIVASC212.

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As you can see, I flipped the sketch so that it is a vertical layout rather than the original horizontal layout.  Other than that, I stuck to the sketch.  Banners and pennants are so hot right now.  When I started thinking about them, I thought of this little fox from Storybook Friends.  Isn't it fun? 

Recipe ~

• Stamps ~ Storybook Friends
• Papers ~  Soft Suede, Midnight Muse, Comfort Cafe DSP, Watercolor paper
•  Inks ~ Black Staz-On, Cajun Craze
• Accessories ~ Big Shot, Bitty Banners Framelits

Here on the East Coast, we are preparing for Hurricane Sandy.  Right now, the predictions are not looking very good for our area.  Tomorrow will be spent taking in anything that might become airborne during high winds. (Think deck furniture and potted plants!)  They are also telling us to have plenty of bottled water, food for several days, fresh batteries in flashlights and fully charged cell phones.  I will try to post if we don't lose power.

Thanks for stopping by! I love to read your comments and I really appreciate them all.

Blessings,
Barbara

Fall French Foliage

Happy Saturday, everyone!  It's time for the weekly sketch challenge over at Utah Divas International.  This week we are working on DSC207.  You can head over to the Utah Diva's blog if you'd like to see what my fellow team members came up with.

I rotated the sketch for a vertical, rather than horizontal, card, but other than that, I stuck pretty much to the sketch. One of my all time favorite stamp sets is French Foliage, #121166, $14.95 clear mount, page 86 in the 2012-2013IBC.   I've seen a lot of fall cards and colors this week on blogs and Pinterest, so here's what I was inspired to create.

Recipe ~

• Stamps ~ Fall Foliage
• Papers ~ Very Vanilla, Soft Suede
• Inks ~ Soft Suede, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Summer Starfruit
• Accessories ~ Big Shot, Wood Grain embossing folder, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Cherry Cobbler seam binding

I love the crinkled look of the seam binding, which was actually a happy accident.  I spilled something on my crafting table and the seam binding got wet.  I scooped it up and set it aside.  When it was dry, it was full of crinkles!  I think Shelli shared the tip to spray it with water, crinkle it up in your hand and let it dry.  Like I said, a happy accident!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have something wonderful planned for this first weekend of fall.  I am so happy to feel the cooler air and see the first spots of autumn colors in the trees.  I even spotted my first pumpkins in the store!

As always, I love your comments.  Thanks in advance for taking time to leave me a note!

Blessings,
Barbara

Just Because

Happy Saturday, everyone! Even though I am retired, I still look forward to the weekends. It's just a slower pace and time to connect with family. And a Sunday afternoon nap helps recharge my batteries for the next week! :-)

Here is the sketch for the week, DIVASC173. You can check here on the DIVA blog to see everyone who participated this week. Tammy has provided us with wonderful sketches this month, hasn't she?

Looking at the sketch, I decided I would flip through my catalog and look for a long image to use in place of the flower. So much for that idea! When I stumbled across "Notably Ornate" I knew where I wanted to go with this. I flipped the sketch on to its side and added a lot of texture. I love cards that are done in neutrals, and this fits the bill.

I used a minimal amount of supplies on this card!
Ink: Soft Suede
Paper: Very Vanilla and Soft Suede
Stamps: Notably Ornate
Accessories: Pearls, Big Shot, Houndstooth and Vintage Wallpaper embossing folders, sponge daubers, Word Window and Modern Label punches, Versamark pen

All right, now it's true confessions time! This is the first time I have inked this set, and I bought it as soon as it came out. I have it in both clear mount and wood mount, since I earned the wood mount as a prize at Convention 2010 for a necklace I designed using our Simply Adorned line. Speaking of Simply Adorned, it will be discontinued at the end of May 2012, so if there is anything you want to order from the line, get it while you can!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a terrific weekend!

Blessings,
Barbara