crazy for circle circus

Here's a sneak peek at one of the new stamp sets and ink color from the 2009-2010 catalog...Circle Circus and Rich Razzleberry. I can tell already that this stamp set is going to be one of my favorites. Ever notice how you start to see colors, shapes and images from SU all over other parts of the design world? Really shows how on-trend SU truly is. Anyhow, I love this stamp set and look how great the new in color is combined with Kiwi Kiss (going to miss that one!). The versatile "for you" from the Great Friend stamp set rounds out this cheery, bouncy gift bag. So simple...thanks for looking!


supplies:
stamps: circle circus, great friend
ink: rich razzleberry, kiwi kiss
paper: kraft-style gift bag (not SU!), gift tissue from Target

friends are wonderful

I am in love with cameo coral! I had not used it until I started playing with all the goodies in the mini catalog and now I can't stop stamping with it! Here's a card for...you guessed it...a wonderful friend. I used the weathered background stamp (retired?) in sahara sand on a very vanilla cs base and rounded the corners. Then I ran kiwi kiss cs and my patterned paper through the top note die and trimmed the edge again for a great nested top note. I stamped the flowers from petal pizzazz in cameo coral, baja breeze and summer sun and then cut them out by hand. A touch of the glue pen and a sprinkle of dazzling diamonds gave them just the right amount of glitz for my glamorous friend. I tied it with some kraft taffeta ribbon and tucked some die cut kiwi kiss little leaves in around the flowers. I was going for a shabby chic, vintage feel--what do you think? I also cut a piece of my patterned paper and slipped it into a very vanilla envelope to give it an elegant touch. Mary Fish had the great idea of sticking the liner paper to the envelope by licking the edge and sticking the paper to it--no need for sticky tape! But...that does mean that you can't seal the envelope. So, I punched a small circle from my patterned paper and ran it through the Xyron machine to create my own envelope seal! Cool!

supplies:
stamps: petal pizzazz, wonderful favorites
ink: cameo coral, baja breeze, summer sun, chocolate chip
paper kiwi kiss & very vanilla cs, making memories "chole's closet"
other: kraft taffeta ribbon, MS 2-way glue pen, dazzling diamonds, 3/16" corner rounder, top note die, little leaves die, 1" circle punch, xyron, stampin dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig

a little birdie...

Here's a little card I made for my sister-in-law's birthday. She loves nature and animals so I think the bird and the recycled look of the kraft cs will appeal to her. I've had this bird w/leaves & flower die for ages and this is the first time I used it. I really like how it cut out in the blue dotted SAB paper. I've also been wanting to try the nested effect with the SU top note die. Shannon Bracken designed a series of beautiful cards in the May 2009 issue of Stampin' Success where she trimmed off the perforated edge of the top note die to reveal the cs underneath. What a GREAT idea! So, that's what I've done here with a so saffron base and the coordinating delicate dots dsp. I just have to show a close up of the eye. Look how the rhinestone fit perfectly in the circle of dots! Cool, right? I couldn't have planned that if I tried. Thanks for looking!

supplies: stamps: a little birdie told me, eastern blooms, birthdays count
ink: chocolate chip, certainly celery, bashful blue, so saffron
paper: kraft cs, delicate dots dsp
other: top note die, bird w/leaves & flower die, kraft taffeta ribbon, me & my big ideas rhinestone, versamark, stamp-a-ma-jig, stampin dimensionals

In Sympathy

Sooner or later we all need to make a sympathy card and usually when we least expect it. This one is for a dear co-worker and since I needed to make it late at night, it's CASE'd from Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing. Her blog really is sweet. She is one talented lady with a clean, modern style I aspire to! She's also selling some fantastic watermarks which I have ordered and can't wait to use. Thank you for sharing your creativity with us, Karen!

supplies: stamps: great friend, trendy trees
ink: baja breeze & basic black
paper: whisper white & basic black cs & urban garden dsp
other: nestabilities oval & scallop oval; black organza ribbon (jo-anns); sakura gelly roll clear stardust pen

Cherish

Now that she has opened it, I can post my mother's day card for my Mom here! Again, I used my favorite SU! DSP and stamp set but the color combination is completely different from yesterday's post. Just shows how versatile SU! designer series paper can be. The certainly celery ribbon is a poly-twill blend which has a sleek feel and finish but can be a little stiff to work with. I ran the ribbon over a bone folder a few times to loosen it up and it tied beautifully--it might be my best knot yet!

supplies: (Stampin Up!) stamps: great friend, warm words
ink: baja breeze, old olive
paper: so saffron cs, walk in the park & urban garden dsp
other: rhinestones (me & my big ideas), certainly celery ribbon, glue dots, 2" circle punch