Nutz about Stamping

What would you choose for this week's easy card map layout?

I could not be happier with this week's Paper Craft Crew card map. Want to know why? Because this past weekend my Big Shot died. A violent death. I have nobody to blame but myself either. I used the wrong 'sandwich' for a thicker embossing folder and thought I could still squeeze it through the machine. Nope. It literally exploded! I heard this loud BANG as a bolt sheared off in half and flew across the room, kind of like a bullet! 

I thought I could still use my machine but clearly not. It is dead. I have to say it has lasted me 7+ years! And since it was my own mistake I forgave myself and ordered the Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine straight away. 

And then I realized that I had a card map challenge for the week and I always use my Big Shot for each challenge! Oh oh. So imagine my delight when I realized that I didn't need my Big Shot for this layout: 

 

And since the Annual Catalog is retiring soon (see my announcement here), I thought this was also the perfect chance to use up some of my products. You see that little banner strip on the card map? I thought right away that it could be a phrase so chose one out of my Art Gallery stamp set (not retiring but not sold as a discounted bundle in the next catalog):

Then for the squares I immediately thought of the Well Suited paper - it is definitely retiring so I had better get cracking on using it up. You see, I have seen the new catalog and its new paper packs. And I am in big trouble! 

If you want to order either or both of these products, click on one of the photos to link directly to my online store. 

Now for my card map, the rest was easy. Cutting some squares with my paper cutter and here is my final card:

What will you make with this week's card map challenge? Why not give it a try too? If you want to see what the other crew members created using the same challenge, click here to link over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

When you think of the outdoors what color combinations come to mind?

This week's Paper Craft Crew challenge is wide open for your crafting delight.

What comes to mind when you think of outdoor colors? For my card I looked right away at my stash of designer paper and found a pack that is definitely all about the outdoors:

The Fine Art Floral paper pack is retiring soon and I am going miss those beautiful patterns and designs, how about you? 

Once I found a pattern in this pack that I wanted to use, I then used the coordinating Art Gallery bundle to create my image and phrase - so easy!

The Art Gallery stamp set and matching dies are not retiring! But.....they will no longer be sold as a bundle in the next Annual Catalog so if you want to purchase them at a 10% discount, click on the photo above to head to my online store. 

Once I chose my paper and stamp set bundle the rest was easy! I let the paper colors be my guide and create this challenge card: 

If you want to see that the other design crew members created this this week's challenge, click here to hop on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

Do you want to know how to create a large focal point on your cards?

I can show you how using this week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge:

The main decision is around the large oval in the centre. I have the Ovals dies and the Stitched Shapes dies but for some reason I wasn't happy with those. So I decided to go rogue and use my Stitched Nested dies - the largest one would perfect for what I have in mind for my card:

 

I have had a lot of fun crafting with my Fine Art Gallery bundle lately so I decided to try it again today as the focal point on my card: 

I decided right away to use the large phrase on my card - instead of stamped images which I normally would choose. I love that you can have 'just want to say' on the outside and then save the inside for an occasion that arises.

I also decided to use some of my Fine Art Floral designer series paper as a layer, instead of a white background which might be pretty boring to look at:

The rest was pretty easy to put together. I also used my Pierced Blooms dies for the leaves - to match the pierced edges around the Stitched Nested die:

 

Gather all the above products and the card map challenge, and here's my card:

Ok all. Now it's your turn. What will you create using this week's card map challenge? Gather your products together and give it a try. If you want to see what the other design crew members created this week, click here. 

What set would you use to show off your favorite critters?

What a fun card map challenge this week! When you see favorite critters, what stamp set comes to mind?

For me it was instant: Wildly Happy! (click on the set photo to hop over to my online store)

How can you not love this stamp set? It is perfect for baby cards and children's cards, isn't it? The images are super sweet and perfect for those of you who love to watercolor, use Stampin' Blends, Stampin' Write markers, watercolor pencils and so on. 

The other fun part of this week's card map challenge is that there is no specific layout to follow. So your creative ideas can spill over onto your card stock. I decided to keep my layout very simple. I used a piece of the Well Suited paper pack:

my Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends and a strip of Basic Gray satin ribbon. To feature my favorite critters I chose to layer them onto one of my Stitched Nested Labels dies - such a nice way to feature my critters. 

Here's my card:

Now it's your turn. Try our weekly challenge and make a card using your favorite critters! We'd love for you to share your card over on the Paper Craft Crew but if you are too shy to do so, hop on over there anyway for a quick look at what everyone else created. You just might get some additional inspiration! 

There are so many options with this simple map. What would you choose?

I mean really!

So many options come to mind for this week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge. Right away these sets came to mind, when I thought about that large scallop image in the centre:

Healing Hugs

Sweet Ice Cream

Hey, Chick

And yes, I could simply die-cut a scalloped circle and stamp a phrase on it. So many choices!

But in the end I decided on my Art Gallery bundle. Why this choice?

Because I wanted to use some of my Fine Art Floral paper as a background.

And instead of the large scallop circle I could use the largest flower image in this set. 

I ended up stamping and die-cutting two extra stems; I cut apart the leaves to tuck under the flower on my card - just to help the flower stand out a bit more. 

Here's my card:

Now it's your turn - what stamp set/bundle will you choose for this week's challenge? If you want to see what the other crew members created, click here to hop over to the Paper Craft Crew website. 

What three in a row would you choose? Let me show you my choice

I am a day late on our Paper Craft Crew challenge but am having such a busy week I had to forgive myself and hope you will too. 

But the challenge is so yummy I still had to create a card to share with you:

I love the three in a row on the background but tell me - what would you choose? I decided to dig through my paper stash to see what I had left over. I found this: 

My Dandy Garden paper pack! I haven't used this paper for a very long time - I have been completely distracted by Sale-a-Bration so now it's back to reality and using up more of what I have. 

So I chose three different, but coordinating, patterns for my background layers and then chose solids to match: Mossy Meadow, Bumblebee and Misty Moonlight. Yummy!

Then for the circle image I decided to use a circle (duh) and then add a punched dragonfly as an embellishment, using the Dragonfly Garden bundle:

When I stamped and punch it out, though, it felt a bit lost against the Bumblebee circle. So here's what I did. I punched a solid  dragonfly from Misty Moonlight cardstock and layered it underneath - with just a little peeking out. Sort of like a shadow? Perfect!

Here's my card:

And from a different angle:

Now come on - it's your turn. Give this card map challenge a try too - using what you have on hand. I bet you will love your card as much as I love mine!

 

Why not challenge your next card design with these 4 colors

Normally I find color challenges a bit intimidating (or overwhelming??) but this week I knew exactly what I was going to use! (whew, sense of relief)

I knew that my Fine Art Floral designer paper had all of these challenge colors so immediately headed to my designer paper stash to pick my design:

Now, I am convinced that there are more colors in these designs than what the catalog states: 

• Petal Pink
• Flirty Flamingo
• Poppy Parade
• Bumblebee
• Pool Party
• Where's the dark blue and dark purple and dark green???

But choosing from the posted colors and matching to today's challenge, I chose: Bumblebee, and for contrast I chose Crushed Curry, and finally Mossy Meadow. 

And of course I then decided to use the Art Gallery bundle for my card images and phrase because it is the perfect compliment to the paper. I love the versatility of this bundle! 

Here's my card. It is simple layers with the stamped and die-cut flower bits. Add a phrase on top and the card is complete.

If you don't recognize my card layout, check out this blog post for an identical layout and Art Gallery products but using different colors. 

Now it's your turn! Try our color challenge and see what you create at home. And if you want to see what the other Paper Craft Crew team members created, click here to head over to that site. 

Let your matching dies help you create playful elements on your cards

Have you ever looked at a card map and knew exactly which stamp set you wanted to use? That happened to me for today's challenge:

The only 'problem' is that then I needed to figure out what I would use to go with the Hey, Chick stamp set:

I am so excited that Stampin' Up! brought this set back into production, along with the new dies which makes card making a breeze. I decided right away to use Hey Chick but then, what of the other elements on this card? Hmmm. 

So I turned to the Chick dies to see what might work:

And look! The corn stalk would work for the 'branch' element. But the flower? That's when a fun idea struck me. What if instead of the star, I used a die-cut egg image? And that's just what I did. 

I also decided to stamp my phrase on the banner that is tucked behind all the card elements so I didn't have to sort that out somewhere else. 

Here's my card:

A few more pointers: 

• I stamped the chicken, colored the image with my Stampin' Blends (Poppy Parade, Mango Melody) and the die-cut it out
• I embossed the Mango Melody layer using my Old World Paper 3D embossing folder
• I added three Red Rhinestones to complete my card - they really sparkle, which you can't really see in my photo above

Why not give our card map challenge a try? If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this challenge, click here! Why not 'enter' your card into the challenge? We'd love to see what you made too 

What really catches your eye on this colorful card?

 I had so much fun with this week's card map: 

I love that there is one single set of elements at the top of the card - there are so many possibilities, aren't there? 

So I dug through my stash and my eye fell on my new Pierced Blooms dies. 

There is so much value in this set of dies - and you don't need to get the corresponding stamp set either. How many flower combinations can you spot? 

Once I selected the dies I wanted to use for my card, the next step was easy:

The gorgeous Paper Blooms paper! Such colors! Such patterns!

Put all these products together and....taa-daa! My card map card:

Now it is your turn: try our card map challenge and see what you can create with what you have on hand. You will love what you create too!

If you want to see what the other Paper Craft Crew team members made using this card map challenge, click here. 

 

You need to see this second idea for the drapery card technique

This week's Paper Craft Crew challenge card map really stumped me. I immediately thought Valentine's Day but after thinking for a few minutes I realized that the map could indicate occasions beyond 14 February. 

So I looked through my stamp sets and spotted one set that had the word: Liefs - which means Love in Dutch. I don't use this set much so dusted it off and chose it for my phrase. 

Next was the layout, which was an easy choice for me. This past week I learned a new folding technique called Drapery - you can see my blog post HERE introducing this technique, along with a YouTube video taking you through step by step. I love this technique so much that I decided to duplicate it but with a twist. 

I used a leftover piece of the Paper Blooms designer paper. Lovely colors and patterns, right?

This paper pack is a FREE choice for any order over $50 USD between now and 28 February, as part of Stampin' Up!s Sale-a-Bration event. Look on the right side of my blog and click on the cover of the Sale-a-Bration catalog to download it to your device. You can see many other products you can earn for free!

For my card I recreated the Drapery technique but changed how it is laid out on my card front. I also had fun adding several Woven Thread sequins - to add a fun, sparkly touch. 

Here's my card:

Now it's your turn: have a look through your supplies and see what Romance-themed cards you can make using the supplies you have on hand. If you want to see what the other design crew members made for this challenge, click here. 

See how 3 simple dragonflies make a beautiful card

This is such a fun Paper Craft Crew card map, isn't it? And for the first time in a long time, I didn't even blink when I saw the triangles (which I would normally do, ha). I knew right away that I wouldn't be using triangles - they are simply three images on the card front, rather than shapes. 

I wanted to create a card using one of the new Mini Catalog bundles and decided to use my Dragonfly Garden bundle. Imagine yourself in an idyllic garden, surrounded by lovely meadow flowers and watching dragonflies elegantly fly by. The Dragonfly Garden set captures the tranquility and beauty of this scenery. 

I thought it would be fun to stamp and punch the larger dragonfly for my card front. Use 3 dragonflies instead of triangles! And to coordinate I chose to use a strip of the Dandy Garden designer paper - I love the colors and designs in this paper. 

You'll see dragonflies, bees, foliage, and more in the paper designs --all guaranteed to bring a natural look to your projects.

Here's my card - clean, simple and gorgeous! 

Do you want to see what the other design crew members created using the same card map challenge? Click here! 

And I hope you will give this map a try at home too - using what you have on hand. 

What would you choose for this challenge?

Oooh, here's a fun card map challenge - what would you choose?

Tough right? I had sooo many favorite holiday sets to choose from that I stood in front of my stamping closet and debated for a long while. 

And then made a decision to use, once again, the Christmas Gleaming bundle. Can you tell that I am going through withdrawal already? (smiles) In case you didn't know the entire bundle is retiring on 3 January or earlier if supplies run out. Groan. 

I love this simplicity of this bundle - how easy it is to make cards using it, the gorgeous paper designs and the delicate images in the stamp set. This bundle is the real deal! 

So I used all the parts of this bundle to make my card:

Alright a bit of an extra cheat. I also used the Coming Home stamp set for the small image with the stars - a perfect compliment to the paper, don't you think?

Now it's your turn: try our card map challenge and make a holiday card using your favorite set. What will you choose? Leave me a comment below and tell me which set you'll choose! 

If you want to order this bundle before it is gone for good click here. If you want to see what the other design crew members created and their favorite holiday sets, click here. 

Why not try an unusual Christmas card this year?

I think it's really good to stretch our creative muscles every once in a while and this week I certainly did that! The Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is really nothing special:

Looks very simple, right? But I decided to do something quite out of the ordinary for me. I chose a left over piece of Poinsettia Place paper for the large rectangle:

Then I chose the 'black' layer next, a phrase from the Trimming the Town paper. The background was stamped using the Snowfront stamp set. 

Happy so far. But the paper layer seemed so plain that I decided to stamp and color the holly leaf image from the Christmas Gleaming stamp set:

Ready to see my card? I do love it but it is waaaayyyyy out of my comfort zone.

Now it is your turn! Try the above card map and see what you come up with. And if you want to see what the other crew members made using this map, click here to head on over to the Paper Craft Crew website. 

Today's challenge: create something that reflects the holidays

Ohhh, this card map challenge is super fun, right? You can create whatever you want as long as it reflects the holidays! As soon as I saw this challenge I knew I would like it. 

I immediately went to my all time favorite Winter Holidays bundle: Trimming the Town suite. 

This suite just makes me happy and I love using it for my Christmas projects this year. If you haven't seen all the cards I have made so far this season, scroll back through my blog and have a look. Lots of fun ideas to give you inspiration.

For my card I chose to use the dies for a background with trees, dies for the houses (cut from a sheet of the corresponding designer paper), the stamp set for the background snowflakes and the designer paper for the phrase. 

My Trimming the Town card came together in mere seconds, and I love it:

Now it's your turn: have a look at your crafting supplies and see what you can create that reflects the holidays. If you want to see what the other design crew members made for this challenge, click here. We invite you to upload your project for us to see too - look the link under the challenge. 

 

How to be playful with a card map challenge

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is super easy so I decided to do something a bit different. 

I decided rather than stamping and layering a scalloped rectangle, that I would go a bit rogue today and use something completely differing.

As usual, I started with my designer paper choice: Heartwarming Hugs. 

I decided to use two corresponding designs on my card and make one of them the complete card base layer. The right away I chose to use the Christmas Gleaming stamp set and matching punch to make the top layer - instead of the layered rectangle. 

I love this bundle - and am delighted that is was a returning favorite in this year's Aug-Dec catalog:

The rest was pretty easy. I decided that that top banner on the card map would be my phrase and I would attached it at a playful angle on my card. 

I love how it turned out, do you? 

Now it is your turn - give this card map challenge a try using what you have on hand at home. Why not share your final project over on my Facebook Page? Look for the card map image and post under there! 

What would you create with this easy card map challenge?

This week's Paper Craft Crew challenge is super fun and I took a bit of a departure from the map:

 

I knew right away that the card base would have designer paper on it and that this would be a Christmas card. I am feeling a bit behind on my Christmas card list and need to get cracking'!

So I dug through my pile of holiday paper and immediately stopped when I got to the section for Trimming the Town. You just have to know that I LOVE this paper - heck, I love the entire product suite!

Seriously, what's not to love about this suite? The moment I saw it in the catalog I knew I had to have it ALL. So I did. 

I used the paper as a main layer and then stamped and colored the house and wreath with my Stampin' Blends

• Old Olive
• Real Red
• Pool Party
• Smoky Slate
• Misty Moonlight

Those colors coordinate fabulously! 

I really struggle with the circle background on the card map. Should it be a die-cut? A layer? A stamped image? In the end I decided to a bit of a cheat: it would be a bow instead. I just didn't have anything else that looked good. 

And the smaller banner I decided to place in a different spot and make it a phrase for my card. 

Here is my Coming Home card map challenge card:

And here is a side view:

Righty-oh! It's your turn now. Try our card map challenge and see what you can create.