40 Cards in 40 Days

Day 39.  My 40 Card in 40 Days Challenge is almost done.  Can you believe it?  Today’s card was made by a fellow demonstrator that I swapped with at On Stage in Raleigh last month.  This card is so sweet.  It was made with the Memorable Blooms Bundle.  This bundle was on the Last Chance List and unfortunately, the dies are already sold out.  The Memorable Blooms stamp set is the only part of the bundle still available (as of this writing). 

The card design is lovely, and you could easily recreate it with a different-shaped die for the window.  You could even use a different stamp set.  Sometimes we must look beyond the beauty of the colors and the stamp set and dies to the basic design of the card itself.  The soft purples that were used on this card definitely shout SPRING! 

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping.  Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for the last card in my challenge.

Day 38 of my 40 Cards in 40 Days Challenge brings you another beautiful card made using products from the Botanical Textures Suite.  This suite of products is an Online Exclusive and contains seven different products.  This card was designed by demonstrator Heather Brekken.

Heather used the Textured Notes stamp set, the Textured Notes Dies, the Woven Textures Designer Series Paper, and White ¼” Ribbon, all from the Botanical Textures Suite.  The only item on her card not found in the suite were the gems.

I’m not sure what it is about the suite of products that grabs my attention, but I love it.  I especially like how all of the dies have different borders on them.  So fun!  I need to place an order in the next day or two and I keep going back and forth on whether to add this suite to my order.  Hmmm….right now, ordering it is definitely winning!  Ha!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

I have a simple, yet elegant card for you on Day 37 of my 40 Cards in 40 Days Challenge.  We made this card in my April Card Buffet and it was quite popular.  As I mentioned, it is a simple card.  A piece of designer series paper, a border, some die-cut butterflies and some jewels.  That’s it!

The die-cut butterflies are the start of the card.  They are from the Sketched Butterflies Dies.  These dies can be purchased separately, or they can be purchased as part of the Sketched Butterflies Bundle.  These products are part of the Last Chance List and are only available while supplies last.

I used the Perennial Lavender Designer Series Paper and the Purple Fine Shimmer Gems to finish off the card.  So easy!  So beautiful!  You can easily recreate this card with your favorite designer series paper and coordinating embellishments.  Give it a try!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

It’s Two-Fer Tuesday on Day 36 of my 40 Cards in 40 Days.  Two cards in one day!   Both of these cards are made with the Impressions Abloom stamp set.  This stamp set/bundle is a fun 2-step stamping set.  Unfortunately, I can’t give you the link for this stamp set in the online store because this set won’t be available until the new 2025-2026 Annual Catalog goes live in May.  This gives you something to look forward to, right? 

The first card I am showing here is one we made at On Stage in Raleigh, NC in March.  There was a special evening session that we could sign up for.  I then decided that I needed to recreate it when I got home.  The highlight of both cards is the fun technique.  I’m not sure if there is an actual name for it, but I am going to call it the Puzzle Technique.  You stamp your images on a piece of Basic White cardstock and then you cut it diagonally in both directions.  The piece of Basic White cardstock should be the same size as the piece you are adhering it to.  In the first card, the Basic White cardstock was 5 ½”x 4 ¼” which is the size of a regular card front.  On the second card I wanted a border so I glued my pieces to a 5 ¼” x 4” piece of Timid Tiger cardstock.  My Basic White cardstock was the same size.

I found that lining up the pieces of my “puzzle” was a little tricky.  I started by laying out my “puzzle” on the cardstock I was going to adhere it to.  To get the splits between the pieces some of the edges will overlap the piece you’re adhering them to.  When all pieces are adhered, you then just trim the edges away. 

The center intersection of the splits doesn’t always line up perfectly which is why you place the sentiments strategically on the card front. 

A little side note: if you’ve noticed that the flowers on the first card look a bit different from the flowers on the second card it’s because we forgot to do the second step of the 2-step stamping at On Stage.  Oops!  The flowers do look much better with the second step.  Ha!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

It’s Day 34 of my 40 cards in 40 Days and we’re in the final stretch!  Today’s card was created by fellow demonstrator Marcie Besecker.  Isn’t this card beautiful?  It really caught my eye when I received it for a swap.  I think it was the color combination along with the fun sea creatures.  Marcie used the Friends of the Ocean Bundle.  (This bundle as well as the individual pieces are on the Last Chance List).

The background is designer series paper from the Everyday Happiness package.  So pretty!  Doesn’t the pattern that Marcie used on her card look like water and sand?  The jewels really make this project pop.  I think they are the Riverside Irregular Pearls.  So many great products on this fun and beautiful card!  I hope you like it as much as I do.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

It’s time for another dinosaur on Day 33 of my 40 Cards in 40 Days!  Darling Dinos is such an adorable bundle!  I’m excited because it is NOT on the Last Chance List.  Woo Hoo!  This bundle is perfect for the littles in your life.  It’s got so many versatile sentiments for various occasions. 

I received this card as a swap, but I don’t know who created it so I can’t give them credit.  I’d just like to give a shout out to whoever made this card because it’s so dang cute!  You just can’t go wrong with these adorable dinos. 

Aren’t the circles on the background a nice touch?  I need to start being a little more creative with my backgrounds.  What else you could add to a background that would make your focal point pop?  Hmmm….we’ll have to work on that! 

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

A Beautiful Butterfly for Day 32 of my 40 Cards in 40 Days Challenge.  I designed this card for a swap back in December.  (So long ago!  Ha!)  I used the Beautiful Butterflies Bundle, the Beautiful Bokeh Designer Series Paper and the Plaster Painting 3D Embossing Folder. 

The Beautiful Butterflies Bundle consists of the Beautiful Butterflies stamp set and the Beautiful Butterflies Hybrid Embossing Folder.  I love the intricate die that I’ve used on this card.  I like use two of them for each butterfly.  The first one I adhere flat to project and the second one I only adhere in the middle of the wings under the body.  You probably can’t tell from the photo, but this gives it a little more dimension, especially if you bend up the wings on the second butterfly.

When I adhere this detailed butterfly die to a project I like to use Adhesive Sheets.  I can get liquid glue neatly on the back of the butterfly, but I manage to make a big mess when I pick it up and turn it over to adhere it.  Adhesive Sheets are definitely my friend. 

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

I hope this 31^st card in my 40 Cards in 40 Days Challenge makes you smile.  I designed this card form my recent Card Buffet Class.  Unfortunately, the Cheerful Daisies stamp set and the coordinating dies were on the Last Chance list and the stamp set is already sold out and retired. 

The card design itself is a simple one.  I layered the stamped daisies on a piece of Old Olive cardstock and then used another piece of Old Olive cardstock behind it.  I like how that second piece of Old Olive cardstock really makes the green of the stems and leaves pop on the card.  I could have embossed the second piece of Old Olive but it didn’t really need it.  Daisies are a simple flower and the card called for a simple design.

If you look closely at the stamped flowers you may notice that some of them look like they are stamped in front of leaves.  I used Stampin’ Up!’s Masking Paper for this look.  I first stamped all of the flowers.  I then stamped a few of the flowers on the masking paper and cut them out.  Once I removed the backing, I covered the flowers that I wanted in front of the leaves.  Then I stamped the leaves and removed the mask.  Masking is easy to do and it gives your stamped image a bit of depth.

I hope you have a lovely day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Another lovely card for my 40 Cards in 40 Days Challenge.  It’s Day 29.  We’re heading into the home stretch.  This card was designed by fellow demonstrator Debbie Horne using the Memorable Blooms Dies.  These dies are part of the Memorable Blooms Bundle. 

I talked about this bundle and the dies especially in a post a few weeks ago.  Debbie didn’t use the bundle on her card, just the dies.  The sentiment on the card is from the You are Beautiful stamp set (sorry, I couldn’t get the link to work).  The designer paper is from the Unbounded Beauty Designer Paper.

Just a little FYI for you…the Memorable Blooms Bundle (as well as the stamp set and the dies separately) and the You are Beautiful stamp set are on the Last Chance List so if you love either of these products, you will want to purchase it soon as they are only available while supplies last.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

I have a lovely Spring card for you on Day 28 of my 40 Cards in 40 Days.  This card was another swap I received.  It was created by Lisa Arruda.  Lisa used two different stamp sets on this card.  The sentiment and the flowers are from the Spotlight on Nature stamp set.  The background behind the flowers and the little design under/behind the sentiment is from the Elements of Text stamp set.

The Elements of Text stamp set is an Online Exclusive that I completely overlooked!  I may need to add it to my stash.  These subtle images are the perfect little something to take your projects to the next level.  I can see randomly stamping the crosshatch design randomly on your card front for an interesting background.  Hmmm….I do think this will stamp set will be on my next order. 

Lisa used the Stylish Shapes Dies (one of my favorite die sets) to die-cut the circle on her card front.  The stitched outline around the circle really sets off the stamped image.  The jewels are from the Tinsel Gems Three-Pack. 

I really like this card.  I’m already envisioning ways to copy it, yet make it my own.  Have a great day.  Take care and Happy Stamping!

It’s Day 27 of my 40 Cards in 40 Days Challenge and I’m excited to share today’s card with you.  I used the Layers of Beauty Bundle on this card.  The bundle comes with the Layers of Beauty stamp set, the Layers of Beauty Dies and the Layers of Beauty Masks.  The masks are so fun to use!  (Do I have to admit that this card is my first attempt at using them? )

The first thing I did to create this card was to stamp the image (yes, this is one large image) on a piece of 5 ½” x 4 ¼” Basic White cardstock.  I then placed the stamped piece of cardstock on a large piece of scrap paper (or you can use grid paper).

There are five masks in this bundle.  They are all numbered, and they all have the same indentation in the same place on them.  This will help you line them up.  (see photo)  You can’t really see the number in the photo but it’s just below the point of the indentation on the mask.  When using the masks, you want to use them in numerical order.

In this third photo, you can see that I adhered the stamped image to the scrap paper (I used pink cardstock so you could the paper and the mask better).  I used my favorite removable tapewhichI also use to hold my dies on the paper when die-cutting.   I then lined up Mask #1 over the stamped image and used the removable tape to hold it in place.  You could also use washi tape, painter’s tape or any type of removable adhesive.  If you look closely, you can see that I used a pencil to outline the notched spot on the mask.  This will help me line up the other masks.

To add color to my stamped images I used Blending Brushes and Sponge Daubers.  To use the Blending Brushes, just lightly rub the brush over the ink pad and then rub the color over the open areas of the mask.  Start light.  You can always add more color.  For smaller areas, like the yellow flowers, I used the Sponge Daubers.  The Sponge Daubers pick up a little more ink, so I rubbed them on my scrap paper a little before rubbing and dabbing them over the areas I wanted covered.  It’s so fun watching the image get more and more dimension with each mask.

After the image was completely colored, I die cut it and adhered it to an embossed piece of cardstock before adhering it to the card.  I used the new, upcoming Strawberry Slush ink, Old Olive ink, Daffodil Delight ink and Pecan Pie ink to color the image.  The embellishements are the Strawberry Slush & Pretty in Pink Gems which will be a new Online Exclusive coming in May.  They’re pink and so pretty! 

If you have tried using any of Stampin’ Up!’s bundles that have masks, you really should.  They’re fun to work with and the results are amazing.  Speaking of amazing….I think I did a pretty god job adding the jeweled embellishments to my card.  Ha!  I’m usually rather inept at it. 

Have a great day!  I hope you enjoyed my mini tutorial on using masks.  Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

A fun birthday card for Day 26 of my 40 Cards in 40 Days Challenge.  I used the One More Year stamp set to make this birthday card for my son.  This stamp set has fun images and snarky sentiments.  I colored the dog on the front of the card and the cake on the inside of the card (see photo below) with Stampin’ Blend markers. 

The circle that I used to die cut the dog is from the Spotlight on Nature dies.  Have you checked out this die set yet?  You get 12 different circle dies of various sizes with fun borders.  The larger circle die on the card front is from the Stitched Shapes dies.  In my opinion, this is a must-have die set for any craft room.  Circles, squares and labels in various sizes.  You can’t go wrong. 

The designer paper is from the Timeless Plaid Designer Series Paper pack.  This pack is becoming my new favorite, especially for cards with a more masculine feel.  I’m a little sad because I know this paper will be going away since three of the colors in it are retiring In-Colors (Boho Blue, Pebbled Path and Wild Wheat). 

This was a fun card to make and yes, I may have gotten a little carried away with my layers on this card.  Ha!  It did turn out pretty cute though. 

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

It’s Day 25 of my 40 Card in 40 Days! Today’s card is from my group’s Stamp Camp in early March.  It was designed by Laura Colburn.  Laura used the Linked Together Bundle on her card.  This bundle comes with the Linked Together Stamp Set, the Linked Together Dies and the Linked Together Decorative Masks.  So many great products in one bundle!  Laura didn’t use the masks on her card but I know she had them available at Stamp Camp for people to use on the sentiment label if the wanted.

The background of the card is made using the Leaf Collection background stamp.  Perfect for when you want a leafy background and don’t want to stamp a bunch of individual leaves.  The trellis die and the greenery die are from the Linked Together Die set.  Such a fun and easy card set off perfectly with the Tiny Bee Trinket.   Using the bee as the dot on the “j” really shows you how tiny they are.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!