DogGone Delightful Stampin'

Terrific Tuesdays ~~ A Little "Look Back" at Friendly Gnomes ~~ And the Latest News Catch Up!

Hello Fellow Stampers ~~

It seems to be the week for showcasing "retired" products -- LOL.  But I just couldn't resist showing you how I took a fun card designed last year, and turned it into a FABULOUS birthday card for a dear friend!!  Hope you don't mind a little "nostalgic" look back at a fun stamp set, how we created a pretty card for a Coffee & a Card series, and how I used current stamp sentiments to send this cute guy on his way!!

And then, we'll do a little "Catching Up" on Stampin' Up! news for the New Year, and get us heading in the right direction for some Sale-a-Bration fun!!

 

Friendly Gnomes was an adorable stamp set featured a year ago, in the 2023 January to May Spring Occasions Mini Catalog.  We held a Coffee & a Card series using this set and coordinated products during February and March of last year, and had a lot of fun with this set.

 

This card was the last card we made as we closed out the class series.  It is showcased in Pool Party and Coastal Cabana colorways.  The adorable Gnome and his house were fussy cut, colored with Stampin' Blends, a balloon attached, and popped on the Basic White background with some cute "grass" cut out of 2022-2024 In Color Glimmer Paper in the background.

As I often do, I left this card blank until I knew what I was going to use it for and who I was going to send it to ~~  and the moment arrived this week!!  

 

This card is now officially a Birthday card for a dear friend.

I finished off the inside of this card using two different stamp sets that had just the PERFECT sentiments to them!

"I'm so Happy You Were Born" comes from the fabulous sentiment set called Happy Labels.  You can find this set in your Annual Catalog!  The "Wishing You the Happiest of Birthdays" comes from the Charming Sentiments set, also in your Annual Catalog.

These two sets give you a wealth of wonderful sentiments to finish both the front and insides of your cards - and are a "must have" in my book.  Any good sentiment set is immediately on my shelf!!

This card heads out in the mail today to bring "happy mail" to my dear friend!!

 

 

THE NEW 2024 JANUARY TO MAY MINI CATALOG IS HERE!

By now, I'm sure you know that the January to May Mini Spring Occasions Catalog is live, and we're having TONS of fun with all the new products.  If you didn't get your catalog; or if you still need one, please reach out ([email protected]) and I'll get you set up with a fabulous new catalog right away!!

A NEW YEAR -- AND NEW WAYS TO SALE-A-BRATE!!

It's a brand new year, and that means it's time for Sale-a-Bration - the Most Wonderful Time of the Year at Stampin' Up!  That means, for every $50 you spend, you earn FREE product!!  What could be better!!  Be sure to check out the Sale-A-Bration brochure to see what you can earn, the earning levels, and more!!

If you have ever thought about joining Stampin' Up, there is a fantastic promotion. If you join during SAB, you can choose this awesome crafting tool as a bonus.  It is our NEW Stampin' Glass Mat Studio. (value of $60).  This is in addition to your $125 in product of your choice for $99 plus tax.  If you are not interested in the Stampin' Glass Mat Studio, you can choose the additional $30 in product of your choice for of total of $155 for $99 plus tax instead!!

 

THE NEW KITS COLLECTION 

As in 2023, our fabulous collection of Stampin' Up! kits are available in the Online Store.  For 2024, Stampin' Up!, will be releasing 2 new kits every month, instead of just one!  And you will begin to see "older" kits begin to retire.

The two new kits for January 2024 are now released and available.  Be sure to check out ALL the wonderful kits available to you today in my Online Store.

 

STAY TUNED!!!!

More exciting coming soon about Sale-a-Bration and NEW Online Exclusives releases!!!

 

 

Come back later, and we'll do some more "catching up" together!!

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mix-It Up Mondays! ~~ A Belated 4th of July Celebration!

Hello Fellow Stampers ~

I'm back.  The past 2 weeks have been a blur; with 4th of July and activities.  And then . . . suddenly, the death of a close "family" member for which we had to leave suddenly and make a VERY fast trip to Bismarck, North Dakota last week.  We just got back in late on Saturday, and I'm feeling a little discombobulated (LOL) as I try to get things sorted out and back in place.  I have the Annual Christmas In July Class this Saturday, and so I'm trying to get my head screwed back on straight so I can focus on preparations for that.

 

I had wanted to share some fun for 4th of July last week; so we'll do a "Belated" 4th of July design today; and then move into our Christmas in July fun here on the Blog as well!!

 

I had great fun designing this card yesterday.  I've had it bumbling around in my brain for the past 10 days; but it really came together yesterday.

With the requisite layers of red, white & blue, (Real Red, Basic White, and Night of Navy), this fun card pops with "Celebration" for any occasion!!

 

I wrapped the layers with 3/8" Night of Navy Bordered Ribbon and 1/4" Real Red Ribbon.

I incorporated the Circle Sayings stamp set with the Paper Florist Dies to create my fun flowers (we'll call them fireworks! LOL); and used the fabulous set of stars in the Give It a Whirl Dies cut from Holographic Trio Specialty Paper for some shine and pizzazz.

 

Finished off with a fabulous sentiment and some more stars on the inside, send this card off to your favorite person!!

 

 

The next Coffee & a Card virtual class series kicks off shortly!!  Check out all the details on my Class Schedule page.

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

 

 

Wednesday Spotlight - 2023-2025 In Color Fun!

Hello Fellow Stampers ~

Happy Hump Day!!  We're baaaaaaack!!  And so much is going on here, it's hard to keep up!!  LOL  We're getting ready for an Annual Catalog Spotlight class on Saturday.  I'm having trouble figuring out what to showcase as there is sooooo many wonderful goodies in this catalog.  But one thing that will happen for sure, is a spotlight on the new 2023-2025 In Color collection.

So, in the Spotlight today here on the blog, I'm highlighting both the new In Color collection, and also a wonderful new bundle that is simple but has LOTS of versatility.

 

Come class time on Saturday, the crafters will get full exposure to the 2023-2025 In Color Collection.  They'll create a comparison sheet of ALL 10 current In Colors that will showcase cardstock, ink, and markers (as well as some pretty little bling added in); and they'll get to create a fun bookmark for their catalogs.

And then there will be a fun "make-n-take" featuring their favorite new In Color of choice.

 

This fun card is a really simple "fun fold" designed to showcase the new Circle Sayings Bundle which has a new 2-3/8" circle punch as part of the bundle!  Whoo hooo ~~  I love the ease of punches!!  You can see that I showcased all five new In Colors using cardstock, ink pads and Stampin' Blends, along with the new 2023-2025 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper.

 

The new In Color collection is really starting to grow on me.  I see tons of potential for this Fall when we're having a heyday with Autumn designs!!

This simple "fun fold" card is created by cutting the card base 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", score at 4-1/4", and then cut the front flap in half (i.e., at the 2-1/8" mark).

You'll see that I then created layering on the remaining front flap using coordinating cardstock to the designer paper, and wrapping that front flap with the coordinating Jute Trim.

 

I stamped the circular image from the Circle Sayings stamp set in the coordinating ink color (here it is Boho Blue), and the cupcake image in the center in Memento Tuxedo Black.  I then colored each image with the Light version of the matching Stampin' Blend on the frosting and the Light version of Pebbled Path for the cupcake liner.  The cupcake is finished off with Clear Wink of Stella for a lovely shimmer.

I snatched the scalloped circle out of my, sadly, retired Layering Circle Dies to frame the punched circle, and popped that entire piece on the front flap (dimensionals on left-hand side ONLY!).

 

What's really fun here is that several of the In Color Dots work for both the "front" version of the card and for the inside when you open it.

I love "stacking" these sentiments and images on the inside of this card from the stamp set!! 

Just fabulous!!

 

 

JUST ANNOUNCED!!!

STAMPIN' UP IS OFFERING FREE SHIPPING ON JUNE 21ST ONLY!!

ANY ORDER $75 OR MORE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS FABULOUS OFFER. 

DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS INCREDIBLE SAVINGS!!

During the month of June, you can enjoy a 15% discount on select Designer Series Papers from our new 2023–2024 Annual Catalog and Online Exclusives.

Whether you’re a scrapbooker, a card maker or simply a paper lover, this is a great time to stock up and save on gorgeous paper so you have artistic and versatile paper designs on hand for your next projects!

The "In-Person" Semi-Annual Studio Clean Out Sale took place this past weekend here at DDS Studios.

Now it's YOUR Turn!!

LOTS and LOTS of goodies for sale!!

Shop the Clean Out Sale Online HERE.

**All Details for the sale are included on the Sale Page.

 

 

If you're local, and want to come to Class on Saturday, there are still seats available.  Check out all the details on my Class Schedule page.

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

 

 

Terrific Tuesdays ~~ A Sweet Citrus Lime & SU! Specials!!

Hello Fellow Stampers ~~

Where in the World is Wendy !!!  😂🤣😂🤣😂

Yes, I am still alive!!!  Whew!!  It has been a whirlwind of a Spring; and this was SOOOOOOOOO an unplanned break.  I have to apologize to everyone for disappearing into the woodwork.  We've been mighty busy here in Littleton, Colorado.  Things started with the Quilt Retreat near the end of March in Estes Park.  I had fully intended on sharing pics and fun with you all the following week; and it all slipped away on me!!  LOL

After that, we very quickly headed into a hip replacement surgery for my 81 year-old Mother.  That turned out to be more stressful (the recovery side; not the surgery side) than we had thought it would be.  We moved her to rehab a day after the surgery took place, and things promptly went downhill from there.  So I lost pretty much the month of April to that. 

May was the BIG tadoo with our youngest son graduating from Medical School, which meant, of course, the BIG party here at the house, which everyone came home for; and visited from the surrounding area.

And before you knew it, it was June, and time for my birthday, and my Semi-Annual Studio Clean Out Sale, and . . . . .whew!  My husband is on the East Coast this week checking out where the youngest will be doing his residency for the next 3 years (Greenville, NC), and visiting the other son in DC.  So hopefully they all had a nice Father's Day together this past weekend.

Soooooo, . . . here we are!!  I'm slowly getting caught up around here; and I'm finally back at the Studio table doing some designing and playing. And although you haven't seen me here on the blog, my local customers have still been attending some classes with me, and we've been having fun on a weekly basis with the Virtual Coffee & a Card Classes -- right now we're playing with the Cheerful Daisies bundle and having so much fun!

 

Let's catch up with this fun card design with a "carry over" set that was carried from the Spring Mini to the New 2023-2024 Annual Catalog!!  Has everyone been enjoying all the wonderful new creative products, new ink colors, and so much more??  We'll try to do some catching up together over these next weeks with all things Annual Catalog-related.  I'm sure everyone has been seeing lots of wonderful things online already!!

Today's design uses a set that I've been itching to ink up for months; and never had a chance during the Spring Mini cycle.  So imagine my relief when I saw that it had made the "cut" into the new Annual Catalog -- the Sweet Citrus stamp set and hybrid die/embossing folder set.  With the temperatures finally starting to warm up outside, something cool, refreshing, and Summer-like appealed to me this week!

Today's design features Granny Apple Green combined with the "new" (returning to the color collections) Lemon Lime Twist color.  The two colors compliment each other nicely and create a lovely realistic looking lime.  The rind and leaves are all Granny Apple Green ink; while the pulp (insides) of the lime are Lemon Lime Twist.  And you may even notice in the picture that I added Clear Wink of Stella to give the pulp a "wet" look.

The card base for this design is Granny Apple Green, with the front layers alternating between Basic White and Lemon Lime Twist.  The lovely "gingham" designer paper in the background comes from the new Glorious Gingham DSP collection.  One of my favorite designer paper collections in the catalog.  

You'll see that the background was embossed with the embossing folder; and the embossing folder was used again in combination with the dies to both emboss and cut out the lime pieces.  I love this technique that creates embossing to the stamping while cutting it out.

You'll also see that I used our Deckled Rectangle Dies to cut out the white background for the lime pieces.

I saved the third lime cut out for the inside of the card.  A lovely finishing touch!!

See the supply list below for everything I used on today's design.

 

 

JUST ANNOUNCED!!!

STAMPIN' UP IS OFFERING FREE SHIPPING ON JUNE 21ST ONLY!!

ANY ORDER $75 OR MORE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS FABULOUS OFFER. 

DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS INCREDIBLE SAVINGS!!

It’s a fabulous time to join Stampin’ Up!

New team members will get even more FREE products in their customizable Starter Kit.

Between 1–30 June, those who sign up can get $155 USD worth of products for only $99 USD + free business supplies + free shipping + all the fun being a part of Stampin’ Up!

During the month of June, you can enjoy a 15% discount on select Designer Series Papers from our new 2023–2024 Annual Catalog and Online Exclusives.

Whether you’re a scrapbooker, a card maker or simply a paper lover, this is a great time to stock up and save on gorgeous paper so you have artistic and versatile paper designs on hand for your next projects!

Fun in the Sun Paper Pumpkin Kit - July 2023

This kit includes:

All the supplies you need to create 9 cards with fun accordion folds: 3 each of 3 designs; and coordinating envelopes.

An all-occasion stamp set to send friends and family words of encouragement, support and kindness.

Iridescent Sequin Embellishments.

1 Classic Stampin’ Spot: Daffodil Delight.

Summertime Ephemera pieces, labels, and paper pieces.

Adhesive Dots and Tear & Tape Adhesive.

Completed card size: 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" (14 x 10.8 cm)

Coordinating Stampin’ Up! colors: Azure Afternoon, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green, Melon Mambo, Pool Party

 

The "In-Person" Semi-Annual Studio Clean Out Sale took place this past weekend here at DDS Studios.

Now it's YOUR Turn!!

LOTS and LOTS of goodies for sale!!

Shop the Clean Out Sale Online HERE.

**All Details for the sale are included on the Sale Page.

 

 

Whew!!  Thanks for sticking with me for the "catchup!!"  We'll be trying to get back to a regular rhythm and I'm planning some creative fun to share with you; so check back soon!!

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

 

Not in the Blog Hop - Birthday Gnomes

Hello Fellow Stampers ~~

The last several weeks have slipped right by me again.  I've had much going on though.  We just held the Annual Birthday Stamp-a-Stack.  And the stampers left with 16 finished Birthday cards, and lots of fun too!!  It was a wonderful day.  And now I'm in the middle of prepping for my Spring Fling Class.  Oh my!!  Do I have some wonderful fun planned for that one!! 

In the meantime, I terribly neglecting the blog and all of YOU.  So it's time to catch up a little bit. This month's Pal's Blog Hop theme was "Party Time."  And what better time to party than for a birthday!!  With all the birthday cards that have been designed in this Studio in the past month, you'd think there would be plenty to choose from to share with you.. But I just couldn't resist, sharing with you the card my Coffee & a Card class will be creating this evening during our weekly class.  

 

Our current Coffee & a Card class is exploring the Friendly Gnomes stamp set and all the fun ways we can use it.  Tonight's card focuses on celebrating a birthday ~~  hopefully a "magical" one!!  😉😉

 

This current class series is focusing on watercoloring techniques, using our Stampin' Up! Watercolor Pencil collections.  Last week we explored coloring with the pencils and using our Blender Pens.  This week, we're using the Water Painters.  The differences in how the color spreads, the intensity levels, and more is very interesting as we explore these coloring techniques.  So much to learn!!  😉😉😉

 

This card is cut from Thick Basic White cardstock, 4-1/4" x 11", scored at 5-1/2".  We are using a piece of Butterfly Kisses designer series paper (4" x 5-1/4") to mat the Fluid 100 Watercolor paper (3-1/2" x 5-1/4").

I "cheated" - LOL - and used a blending brush to add Parakeet Party ink to the lower portion of my panel.  I did, however, use my Water Painter to "flick" specks of Parakeet Party ink across the upper portion of the panel.

Then I stamped all the cute images using Staz-On Ink, which is the ink of choice when using water.

 

I love our watercolor pencils, and all the ways you can use them.  Coloring directly on the watercolor paper and moving the color with the Water Painter is one method.  This can give an intense color, if you wet your watercolor pencil before adding color directly to the paper as well.

 

My little girl has been die cut (unfortunately these dies are backordered right now!), and popped with dimensionals.

And I added some In Color Matte Dots for a little fun!  You could also add some Wink of Stella to add glimmer and shimmer in all the right places if you wanted!!

 

I love our Parakeet Party (AND our Granny Apple Green) colors.  They feel so fresh and bright and Springy to me!!

I think I know just who this cute little birthday card is going to go to . . .  😉😉

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .