My Inky Friends Challenge #7 - Sketch!

Hello, stamping friends! This month's design challenge from My Inky Friends is a sketch, inspired by the adorable duck-billed platypus card on page 48 of the Stampin' Up! annual catalog. I thought I'd change it up a bit and make a floral image the focus.

The tags in the Botanical Tags Thinlits Dies (part of the Botanical Bliss bundle on page 20) take the place of the DSP used in the sample.

Since we don't have stitched rectangle dies, I added faux stitches with a marker on the Soft Sea Foam background DSP. I think next time I'll stamp "friend" directly on the cardstock and save the fussy cutting for something easier, like the blossom!

We'd love to see what you create using this sketch! Upload your project HERE using the linky. You have two weeks to play along, so there is plenty of time! Don't forget the basic quidelines:

1. Follow the general design of a sketch, although it can be flipped. For a color challenge, Stampin' Up! colors are listed. You can use compatible colors and add neutrals as needed.
2. Create something new that has not been posted before.
3. Post your creation on your blog or online gallery, please provide a link back to our challenge. Provide a direct link to your project or post to the Linky. 
4. Feel free to combine up to three challenges, as long as you include a link to the Inky Friends post.
5. Most important of all - have fun!

Product List

Botanical Bliss Clear-Mount Bundle

Botanical Bliss Wood-Mount Bundle

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

Granny Apple Green 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

Mossy Meadow 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

Subtles 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

Calypso Coral Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

Old Olive Light Stampin' Blends Marker

Daffodil Delight Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

Big Shot

Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies

Stampin' Blends Update!

After FOUR WHOLE WEEKS of waiting, I'm thrilled to announce that the NEW COLORS of Stampin' Blends are finally in stock and ready to order! You have no idea how antsy I've been waiting for these to be available. Patience is definitely NOT one of my virtues, so it's been agonizing with multiple daily checks of the Stampin' Up! demo site for updates. The day has finally arrived!

I think I'm most excited about the new greens (four of them!), but most especially Granny Apple Green which is my current favorite color. But I'm also excited about Poppy Parade, and Highland Heather. Oh, who am I kidding - I want them ALL!

And to make things even more exciting, there will be a Buy Three, Get One Free DSP sale starting Sunday AND the ten bonus ink pads deal if you join in July! Yep, it's a great time to be a demo. I love my "job!"

Holy Cow!

This is such awesome news, I couldn't wait to share it - Stampin' Up! will be running a promotion for the month of July for new demos. As a bonus for signing up, you can chose ANY ink pad color family assortment! That's TEN free ink pads, folks! And if you sign up with me, I'll throw in the matching cardstock assortment! The ink pads and cardstock are valued at $76.00 so that's a pretty sweet deal!

For $99 you get to choose anything you want (up to $125) for your kit, and shipping is FREE on the starter kit! You immediately start getting at least 20% off on future purchases, and you get to preorder things before the general public....including the new promotion SU will have for stampers in August. Yes, demos can get it in July!

There is no further obligation of any kind, but if you decide you'd like to keep getting the discount and insider info on new products, just maintain a minimum of $300 in sales per full quarter (remember, you get 20% off that $300!). If you sign in July, your first full quarter starts in October, so you have until the end of December to make that minimum!

If you'd like more information, I'd be happy to help. I promise there will be no pressure from me at all. I will just answer any questions you have with no obligation from you. To get your questions answered, CLICK HERE.

If you're gonna go for it, and are ready to take the plunge (YAY!) CLICK HERE. Keep in mind this promotion starts July 1st!

New Catalog Happiness, Control Freak Style!

Welcome to the latest edition of the Tour de Freaks! This month's theme is New Catalog Happiness, and there is MUCH to be happy with in the new catalog!!! There are seven of us on the tour, so you may have landed here from Connie's page, Inkspired Treasures. Her creations are so awesome! If you're starting here, just click the link at the bottom to go on to the next stop.

Today's projects are brought to you by the Graceful Glass Designer Vellum on page 188. It is so fun to color with either Stampin' Write Markers, or Stampin' Blends, and makes for a quick card! I call this first one "Jail Birds" because it totally reminds me of birds behind bars, LOL.

After coloring the birds, I cut the vellum down to 3-1/2" x 4-7/8" and mounted it on Whisper White the same size. A little bit of liquid glue around the edges held it in place, and was covered by a Basic Black rectangle frame (cheated a bit with S.O.B. since we don't have any).

The greeting was borrowed from Enjoy Life, and popped up on dimensionals.  More new catalog happiness can be seen in the Granny Apple Green branches, which are part of the Botanical Tags Thinlits Dies on page 216.

Up next is a "current event" card. We have beautiful day lilies growing wild all over here and they've just started blooming in the past couple weeks. They're so pretty! Well, until the county mows them down as part of their weed abatement on the roads. At least they don't spray weed killer!

I used several new goodies on this card. It's really hard to see, but the Tufted Dynamic TIEF was used on the background. It sure is pretty in real life! The lilies were mounted on W.W. and I discovered that the Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets work perfectly as an invisible adhesive behind vellum! Just cover the cardstock that you are adhering the vellum to, then place the vellum on top and rub it down.

Two more new goodies are on there, too.  The stitched edge on the greeting panel (greeting from Healing Hugs) is from the Stitched Labels Framelits (p 220), and the gold lace stitched edging is from the Delicate Lace Edgelits (p 217). Like the Tufted embossing, it's so much more spectacular in real life!

That is all I have to share today, so hop on over to see what LeAnn has for you at Flowerbug's Inkspot. I just love her style!

The Stamp Review Crew - Animal Outing

Here we go again - The Stamp Review Crew is featuring the precious Animal Outing stamp set this time! The "Crew" consists of a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from all around the world inspiring creativity by showing lots of different looks from a single stamp set. Did you just land here from Betty over at Kitty Stamp? Her projects are always awesome! Just follow the links to take the whole tour!

Animal Outing is a stamp set many of us received as a gift when we attended the Stampin' Up! event in April, called OnStage. I have to admit, I was rather puzzled about what to do with it, since cutesy animals aren't really my style. (That's one of the reasons I am so happy to be part of the Crew - I am forced out of my comfort zone and have to flex that creative muscle!)

My first card features the rhinoceros, which epitomizes BIG so the greeting totally works! After stamping and coloring with Stampin' Blends, it was cut with a Layering Square die. A Basic Black frame was cut slightly larger and set askew to add interest.

Love, love, LOVE the new Granny Apple Green! A little embossing with the Seaside folder added some texture behind the image, as well as the leaves from the Foliage Frames Framelits Dies.

Up next is a sweet baby card with a Delightfully Detailed frame! This was a fun one to make. I stamped and colored the kangaroo and fussy cut it out, then layered it on a white Stitched Shapes oval. Next I stamped just the koala, fussy cut and popped just the top of his head up with a mini-dimensional and glues his hands down. It looks like he's trying to climb out, LOL! (Does anyone besides me think it's kind of unsettling that the 'roo is carrying a koala? I know koala babies are called joeys too, being marsupials, but still....)

The laser cut designer series paper makes a perfectly sweet frame for the image, with a peek of Mint Macaron DSP peeking through.

I think the cards turned out well, considering I wasn't very inspired at first. I hope that YOU are inspired to try this stamp set, too. You just never know where your creativity will take you!

Up next is Ann, at the Stampin' Schach!

World's Most Expesive Jam

This is one of the cards we made in the stamp club this week. It was inspired by a similar card I saw on Pinterest by Monica Gale, from the U.K.

It's been a crazy couple of days here. Yesterday was our anniversary, and I thought it would be great fun to go to a U-pick berry farm and pick some raspberries and blueberries. Well, the early crop of blueberries was already done, and the mid-season ones weren't ready. Darn! However, the raspberries were in peak, and we picked a gallon so I could make jam, then headed home.

I was just turning onto the highway when my power steering quit working, all the idiot lights came on, and the car died. Fortunately, I had enough momentum to get safely over to the shoulder. So there we sat, dead in the water, fifty-six miles from home. And it was hot. And we weren't familiar with the area at all. And did I mention it was hot?

My honey walked to the Auto Zone store that was nearby, and got the number for a tow truck company (really nice owner/operator) who hauled us to the nearest Toyota dealer almost an hour away. The Toyota dealer got us hooked up with a rental car so we could get our berries home, and let the dog out to go potty. She'd been stuck in the house for over six hours by the time we got home!

Today I made seedless raspberry jam, and got four pints out of it. Between the cost for the tow truck, the rental car, and the repairs to my car, I figure each of those four pints cost us about $300 to make. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you The World's Most Expensive Jam....

Floral Frames and Delicate Lace

When I saw all the new dies in the 2018 Stampin' Up! catalog, I let out a squeal and danced a little jig - Mr. Big was going to be soooo happy! You may have noticed by now that I am slightly obsessed with using the Big Shot on almost every card. Can't help it; the dies and embossing folders take the cards from pretty to pretty spectacular!

And, being the girly-girl that I am, I was especially excited about the Delicate Lace Edgelits dies. I think they pair exceedingly well with the Foliage Frame Framelits, don't you? The card is lined with whisper white to show off the lace edging cut in the card front. I love that the edging also includes the stitched look! And the Foliage Frame label cuts AND embosses the ring around the greeting circle; how cool is that?!

Did you notice that the glitter in the Gorgeous Grape Glitter Dots coordinates with the Mint Macaron card base? And if you looked reeeeeally close did you see the Subtle Dynamic embossing? It gives such a cool, almost linen-like texture!

The Floral Frames stamp set and Foliage Frames Framelits Dies are available as a bundle at a 10% savings. Look on page 135 of your catalog, or click the image in the product list below.

Product List

Floral Frames Clear-Mount Bundle

Floral Frames Wood-Mount Bundle

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

Tranquil Tide 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin' Pad

Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' Pad

Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad

Big Shot

Foliage Frame Framelits Dies

Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Gorgeous Grape 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Mini Striped Ribbon

Glitter Enamel Dots

Stampin' Dimensionals