Two America cards for July

I believe the first horizontal easel card below, the Swirly Birds vine as a flag card, was first made by Kim Jolley, but if you are the originator, please comment, and I will change it.  It is a wonderful idea!

Of course I made changes from the ones I saw on Pinterest. I added the Soft Sky behind the impressionistic flag and made it have more of a waving-type look. I used the "Thank You" sentiment and banner from the set and punched with the matching duet punch. I'll send this to my friend's husband who is in the Oklahoma National Guard after class is over next Thursday (though it will be late for the 4th this year).

The sailboat card has an ocean that is "white with foam" and a Happy Birthday sentiment which can be changed of course.  I was tempted to draw some seagulls in the sky, but I was afraid I'd mess up the card. :)

Stampin' Addicts 2016-2017 New Catalog Blog Hop Shooting Star Bundle

Welcome to the Stampin' Addicts 2016-2017 New Catalog Blog Hop!  I hope you'll enjoy our little hop through our own personal favorites in the new Stampin' Up! Catalog.

Should you get lost or want to chat about the hop, here is a link to the chat thread on the Stampin' Addicts website: Chat Thread

If you are hopping in order, you've arrived after seeing Betty's sweet creations with the Pretty Kitty Stamp Set on her Kitty Stamp Blog.  Wow! What beautiful coloring and designs!

I chose the Shooting Star Bundle because I love to make motion cards.  This bundle has an array of cute stamps with matching framelits for convenience as well as the round and curved slot motion pieces. (Image directly below is from and by Stampin' Up!)

First, I made this card for my husband for our 20th Anniversary.  He liked it very much, but he may be biased. :)  I used Soft Sky, Whisper White, So Saffron and Basic Black for a simple color scheme that lets the Honeybee Spinner Shine. For added shine, I used clear Wink of Stella on the bees' wings. The sentiment banner is from the Popcorn Box Thinlits. You can see the penny ever so slightly. We'll pretend I did that so that you could see how I made it. :)

This card needs a bit of an explanation...It is for my cousin and her husband who have been missionaries in Cameroon, Africa for the last 24 years.  In the next year or so, they will transition to Togo, Africa, so I thought the Spread the Love sentiment from last year's Ronald McDonald House Set, Sprinkles of Life, made a perfect card to give to her. I punched the sentiment using the Classic Label punch. Then, I put a rhinestone bling on Togo for fun.  The heart is the second smallest from the new Sweet & Sassy Heart Framelits, and I used the Happy Heart Embossing folder to complete the theme.

Finally, I made this card using the other spinner/slider option which I learned (from Stampin' Up!) works best as a rainbow rather than a smiley.  We don't want the slider image to get stuck in the bottom of the depression. :)  I used Basic Black, Whisper White and Crushed Curry Cardstock as well as the Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, So Saffron and Crushed Curry Markers.  The Lucky Stars embossing folder was my background, and I added Gold Wink of Stella to each star on the card--both on the black and on the slider image piece.

Sparkly as it was, it was missing something, so I added three of the gold stars from the Metallic Enamel Shapes, and for the sentiment I used the Duet Banner Punch. I slide the sentiment to the left rather than punching right in the middle and used the "negative" to make the basis of the point on the right side of the sentiment. I had to trim just a bit too though.

Now, it is time to continue to Sara's Lily's Ink Pad blog to see the Always an Adventure Bundle in action. I LOVE that diorama card!

Father's Day Country Livin' Truck Stampin' Up! card

I bought the Country Livin' Stamp Set to make cards for my dad since he likes old cars and guitars. :) For my first effort I had a little trouble with the shading. I will hopefully improve when I use watercolor paper instead of Whisper White, but I do like the vibrant colors in this card. I used the banner punch to create the tails on the sentiment layer.  Quick and Easy....I used Wink Of Stella on the chrome, but I have a difficult time photographing the sparkles.

Pop of Paradise Flamingo and Hostess Club Appreciation Brunch

At my hostess/club appreciation brunch last weekend, we made this card with the Pop of Paradise Stamp Set and Washi Tape. We embossed the pineapple in gold and used the new Layering Squares Framelits. I so enjoy presenting this "thank you" for my customers!

Love and Affection Kraft Embossed card

This card uses the Love and Affection Stamp Set and matching Affectionately Yours designer series paper. This card uses MOJO Monday Sketch 449. MOJO449

I considered putting Night of Navy ink on the raised embossed surface, but I was afraid I might make the card look rustic instead of elegant.