Monday, June 25, 2018

Happy Birthday!

Here's that new favorite Happy Birthday stamp showing up again. 

This first card, I used the die cuts that coordinate with the stamp set.  The balloons are stamped in varying shades of purples and greens. 
 On this birthday card, I used lots of different techniques.  The background is embossed with the Tufted folder, the Trio punch made the corners, and the Around the Corner stamp set makes those square corners much less plain! 
On the Happy Birthday and balloons, I used a rolling technique to get the color variations.  Stamp in the lighter color - Highland Heather here - then roll just the edges of the stamp in a darker, coordinating color.  I used Gorgeous Grape.  It gives you a different gradient of colors. 

Colors used on these cards:  Highland Heather, Gorgeous Grape, Shaded Spruce, Soft Seafoam, Granny Apple Green, Lovely Lipstick.


Click on any of the products below to purchase materials to make this project.

If you don't currently have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I'd be thrilled to talk with you about furthering your crafting pursuits!




Sunday, June 24, 2018

Thank You and Chickens!

We have family in Wisconsin that have a Hobby Farm.  My husband, who is not from Wisconsin had no idea what a Hobby Farm is.

It was a real experience for him.  There were 2 donkeys, a steer that was clearly still growing, lots of chickens, and two kitties.
 I used some of our new Garden Impressions paper for the first Thank you, and then decided to borrow my friend's SAB Chicken stamps.  There were many more on the inside of this card as well.  So many chickens!
I wanted to thank Nicole and the family for allowing us to come and see the farm.  It's fun to see updates on Facebook, but in person is so much more special!


Click on any of the products below to purchase materials to make this project.

If you don't currently have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I'd be thrilled to talk with you about furthering your crafting pursuits!



 

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Happy Birthday! A Contrast in Favorites

Oh my!  Has it been practically a month since I posted? 
That's JUST too long.
During this entire month, I've been busy creating.  I'm starting you off with a slew of new posts.

Here I'm just showcasing one photo.  It's a contrast.
The Happy Birthday on the top right of the picture is from a now-retired stamp set called Celebrate You.  I used it A LOT last year.  It was my favorite, and I'll still use it... but I mourned its retirement.

On the other hand, the Happy Birthday at the bottom right corner is my new favorite!   It comes from a new bundle (stamps and dies) called Blow Out the Candles.  I LOVE it!
You'll see it often over the course of its Stampin' Up! life here at Susan Vilar Stamps.  I have cards coming up soon using it.

I wanted to show the similarities and differences in the Happy Birthdays.  I love them both!



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If you don't currently have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I'd be thrilled to talk with you about furthering your crafting pursuits!


 

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Painted Glass - Stained Glass Thinlits

I am IN LOVE!

I first saw this stamp set at the Stampin' Up! OnStage event at the beginning of April.  Even before someone demo'd it for our group, I fell in love with it just from looking in the catalog.  I could immediately see the possibilities.

 There are many new items featured in this post!  Above you get a good look at the cardstock Lovely Lipstick.  The irises and butterflies are colored in Gorgeous Grape, and Highland Heather.

Here you can see the new cardstock color Balmy Blue, and Shaded Spruce for the leaves and butterflies.

GORGEOUS GRAPE!  WOW!  We have purple!  The flowers are colored with the Lovely Lipstick marker as a contrast on the purple.

I put these together as quickie cards to look at design.  Check back later for more embellishments and layers on similar cards.

Keep June 1st in mind to order these beautiful Stampin' Up! papers and stamps!


Click on any of the products below to purchase materials to make this project.

If you don't currently have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I'd be thrilled to talk with you about furthering your crafting pursuits!




Thursday, May 24, 2018

Special Order Completed

Here is the completed special order for my work colleague.  She requested an engagement card, 2 wedding cards, and a welcome baby card.

I've been dying to use the Amazing Congratulations stamp set for awhile but was having some trouble with color selection.  Once Coastal Cabana came back to the color collection I knew it would be perfect with Bermuda Bay! 

 I took a closer picture so you can see the gradients in color with both stamps.  LOVE how they work together so well!  There's a lot of sparkle on this card.  Glimmer paper, sequins, rhinestones - so much sparkle!

I made two of these - the flowers were colored differently.  The special part of this card is the background.  I die cut the white roses, and placed them on white cardstock for dimension.  
 Here again is the Moon Baby card.  I posted this previously and just added it here to have the complete set of cards together.



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If you don't currently have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I'd be thrilled to talk with you about furthering your crafting pursuits!


Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Artist Trading Card Swaps 2 and 3

I'm having way too much fun with the Artist Trading Cards!  They are baseball sized cards (2 1/2 x 3 1/2) little pieces of art.  They are numbered pieces, and of limited edition. 

Searching around Pinterest, I saw ATCs that matched full sized A2 cards.  What a great idea!  It's a small piece you can keep rather than storing a card.  Since I'm in ATC creation mode, I plan to take them and then create full cards for my club or for mailing.

Here is our 2nd swap.  After our Stampin' Up! OnStage event, we kept the swapping going, and one lady was fabulous enough to organize the swapping for us! 

My Thank You ATC here features lots of techniques.  I used Brusho crystals on Thick White cardstock for a colorful background.  I used the new stamp set Painted Glass, and the Stained Glass die cuts.  I also stamped the Thank you with StazOn on the vellum.  The butterfly was heat embossed and colored with Stamp 'n Write markers.  I also used one of the new *beautiful* buttons.  They're SO pretty!



This was actually going to be my 2nd swap.  I had to wait a bit longer than I wanted to for this stamp set.  It was worth the wait!
We were assigned a technique for this ATC swap.   I used watercoloring.  The background is special.  Color the C block with various markers.  Spritz with water, and place on the paper with some pressure.  It melds the colors together on the paper!
I used the Watercolor Pencils and an aqua painter to color the balloons.  After they dried, I used the chalk marker to add a highlight and make the balloons look spherical. 

Colors featured on this ATC:  Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, and Rich Razzleberry.
The Happy Birthday comes from Southern Serenade, and the little confetti is from Amazing Congratulations stamp set.

Contact me if you'd like to learn more about Artist Trading Cards!


Click on any of the products below to purchase materials to make this project.

If you don't currently have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I'd be thrilled to talk with you about furthering your crafting pursuits!