If you give a cardmaker scraps...

...she will make a birthday card!  I am frequently teased about the scraps of cardstock and pattern paper that  I save. "Oh wait! There's still an eighth of an inch of paper there..." ha...ha...ha...

I'm not quite that bad, but I do save pieces that I think can be used, including strips of white cardstock that are 1/2 an inch wide.  Why? They are the perfect size to use with the word window punch and the bitty banners!  I also save smaller pieces of ribbon that can be folded and tucked to dress up an image or turned into something else.  These scraps also keep me from cutting into a full sheet of paper when I only need a tiny piece, and stretch a spool of ribbon just a bit further!

I was in desperate need of some birthday cards, especially kids and gender neutral.  I came across the dinosaur image that I made ages ago and put in my "Do Something With This" box.  We won't talk about how many things are in there... I made this paper pieced dinosaur shortly after I made this card.  The background paper just looked like dinosaur skin! So I used the scraps (seeing a pattern here?) to stamp and paper piece this awesome guy!

notice the scrap of paper used for the banner!

I also made a gender neutral card because sometimes I forget birthdays (gasp!) and then need to grab a card as I walk out the door.  These are great for those occasions!  I managed to use smaller pieces of cardstock for most of this card, but the best scrap use is the ribbon scrap as the tails of the badge.

Now I have a few more cards in my file and a few less scraps hanging around! Bonus!!

I hope you are having a wonderful week and perhaps you'll spend a day digging through your scraps too! Who knows what you might find?!  Thanks so much for visiting!!

Card #1 Recipe: Paper-crumb cake, garden green, whisper white, Woodland Walk DSP (ret), Ink-garden green, crumb cake, stazon black, Stamp Set-Dinoroar (ret), Accessories-pastels, bitty banners framelit, big shot

Card #2 Recipe: Paper-whisper white, daffodil delight, old olive, Ink-night of navy, old olive, Stamp Set-Blue Ribbon, Accessories-circle framelit, 2 1/2 " scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, perfect polka dot embossing folder, chevron embossing folder, denim ribbon

A Merry Monday on a Tuesday!

I thought I would try to squeeze one more card into the past sketch challenge at Merry Monday.  I used sketch #13 for my card.

This could easily be considered one of my flashback cards with all of the retired goodies on this! I used a little more of my stash of Ski Slope DSP and also pulled out the Stitched Stockings stamp set and matching punch (both sadly retired...).  I also dressed this up a bit with the red glimmer paper and red sharpie colored rhinestones! Fortunately, neither of these are on the retired list!

Well, I survived another year of Kids Camp! We came home Sunday evening, took showers, ate a quick meal, and went to bed! I was the first to wake at 9:30 Monday morning!  The weather was perfect for camp! Don't get me wrong, it wasn't 'cool' during the day, but there was a refreshing breeze the whole weekend and the humidity was low. We even used blankets on Saturday night! Saturday, while my DH and another officer were grilling chicken, they were talking about the camp and the our friend mentioned that the grill was built for the first camp.  We looked at the base of the grill and sure enough, there was the date.  Next year will be the 25th camp and DH and I have helped with either 15 or 16 of them! Wow!! I'm not sure if that is commitment or the need to be committed!

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit and I hope you find some time to be crafty this week!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-riding hood red, whisper white, chocolate chip, red glimmer paper, Ski Slope DSP, Ink-chocolate chip, old olive, Stamp Sets-Teeny Tiny Wishes, Stitched Stockings, Accessories-stocking builder punch (ret), basic rhinestones, bitty banner framelits, red sharpie

No... It's not a Christmas Card!

Surprise!  And you thought I had abandoned my other supplies for Christmas!  I am happy to say that nearly everything on this card is fairly new!

Today we have our Crafty Sistahs' team meeting.  I decided to participate in the swap this month.  Each month there is a swap offered with a different theme, technique, or challenge.  This month's swap was using the new in colors and the big shot.  While I love the freedom of this type of theme, it took me forever to decide on a card! I really wanted to use the NEW stamp set Reason to Smile and finally found an old Clean and Simple Stamping sketch that would work nicely with the image.  I also knew I wanted to use the midnight muse paper from the Comfort Cafe DSP.  I love the fabric like pattern on this paper!

So here is the sketch...

and here is my card...

If you are checking out this image and the name of the stamp set and wondering 'where in the world did she find this...', I have some news for you!

In the month of July, when your Stampin' Up order totals $50 or more (before S&H) you can order this lovely stamp set for $5!!!!  Let me know if you would like to place an order and add this beautiful set to your supplies!

 

So on this card, I have used all 5 of the new in colors, the new Comfort Cafe DSP, the new Bitty Banners stamp set and framelits, and the exclusive stamp set!  How's that for new goodies!!  And even better-I get to bring home some wonderful cards created by my fellow crafty sistahs! Can't wait!

I hope your weekend is extra special and crafty!  Thanks for visiting!!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-very vanilla, midnight muse, primrose petals, raspberry ripple, Comfort Cafe DSP, Ink-summer starfruit, gumball green, midnight muse, black Stazon, Stamp Sets- Itty Bitty Banners, Reason to Smile, Accessories- bitty banner framelits, beautiful wings embosslit, dazzling details

Flash Back Friday

Happy Friday!  I realize it is Friday the 13th, but since 13 tends to be a good number for me (married on 13th, child born on 13th, first home had 13 in the address), I don't buy into the whole 'bad things' superstition.  Besides, isn't any Friday a good day, regardless of the date!  I am a little sad that I have less than a month of summer vacation left...

Today, I have yet another Christmas card for you!  The good news is I made 3 other cards besides this one and now my Merry Moments is all but gone!  So while I will continue to make at least one Christmas card a week (trying to stay ahead!), there will be a lot more new products and a wider variety of cards, after the last three are posted!  

Once again, I've used a Merry Monday sketch-#9 to be exact.  This seemed to be a good sketch as well (still grumbling about the complete loss of mojo on #7!) and the ornament just seemed to be the perfect thing to put on the center panel!

The pattern I punched out is probably my favorite design out of the entire package.  I'm a little sad it's all  but gone, but I am sure I will find a new favorite to replace it! My Flash Back items are the DSP (obviously!) and the now retired snow burst embossing folder (still sad about this one...), and the stamp set.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and are able to find a little time to be crafty!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-crumb cake, very vanilla, real red, Merry Moments DSP (ret), Ink-chocolate chip, Stamp Set-warm words, Accessories-snow burst folder (ret), perfect polka dots folder, ornament punch, bitty banners framelits, lucky limeade bakers twine, scallop trim border punch

I will not procrastinate... I will not procrastinate...

At our last SU team meeting, Tiffany gave us two different types of challenge.  One was to read the article in the latest Stampin' Success about changing habits that hold you back, then pick something to change.  While I'm sure there are several things I could change to make myself more organized and a better prepared demonstrator, I picked the most obvious one for me...procrastinating.  How nice would it be for me to have everything ready for club and classes ahead of time, instead of finishing and packing at the last minute...  So challenge number one was completed.  On to the second challenge- the color combo sketch challenge and since I'm not procrastinating, I have my card finished and there's still over two weeks until our meeting! Woo! Hoo!

So here is my 'not last minute' card using the colors island indigo, baja breeze, and rich razzleberry.  I have to say these colors really made me think.  I'm still not sure I'm thrilled with the finished product, but I don't hate it either...

Just a little fussy cutting on the balloons, sponging for the sky, and a little twine to dress it up.  I stamped the party arrow in versamark to add a little interest to the baja breeze panel.  Well, wish me luck with my newest endeavor!  Hope you have a great day and happy crafting!

Card Recipe:  Cardstock-island indigo, baja breeze, rich razzleberry, whisper white, Ink-island indigo, rich razzleberry, baja breeze, versamark, Stamp Set-Party This Way, Accessories- island indigo twine, bitty banner framelit