Retro Sketches | Challenge #239

This week's Retro Sketches Challenge is up and it's a good one! The sketch is based on one of my previous cards: 

To create a new version of this card I pulled out one of my favorite Stampin' Up! stamp sets: Secret Garden. Oh, how I love this set. It has both solid and outline images, and I have made several lovely cards with it. 

I started by choosing my color scheme. I used two pieces of retired Stampin' Up! designer series paper and matched cardstock and ink colors to those patterns. The light pink flower is stamped with Melon Mambo, the dark purple is Rich Razzleberry, and the leaves were stamped with Crushed Curry. 

I found matching buttons from an old (old, old) bag of Autumn Leaves buttons, and the enamel dots are from My Mind's Eye. The sequins are from my stash. 

One of my favorite things about this card is that I used products from my stash that are several years old. Great floral sets never go out of style, and the matching dies make this set even more versatile. 

I hope you can play along with us this week! You can find more inspiration on the Retro Sketches blog here.

 

Designing with Stampin' Up! | Christmas Shaker Card

Happy Friday, friends! I hope everyone is having a nice week. I have been busily working on Christmas cards, Christmas shopping (I love shopping for the boys!), and working on my December Daily album. Fall is my favorite time of year! 

Stampin' Up! has a ton of cute (and versatile!) stamps and dies in the Holiday catalog, and they just released a new die set called Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies. I used the dies to create a fun shaker card, sandwiching a piece of acetate in between stitched circles and foam tape. 

Start by stamping the sentiment onto white cardstock with Emerald Envy ink and Stampin' Up's Oh, What Fun stamp set. Next, die cut two red circles using two stitched circles dies. Adhere a red circle to the card base, making sure to center the sentiment. Die cut a pie of foam tape with the same circles and adhere to the top of the red circle. Sprinkle sequins in the center of the circles, and adhere a piece of clear acetate on top of the foam tape. Finally add adhesive to the back of the second red stitched circle and place on top of the acetate layer. I also tucked in a tag to the top of the ornament so it can "hang" from the card.

Make sure to check out some of the matching stamp sets that are on sale this month, too!

It's barely November and I've already made a ton of Christmas cards. This may be the first year that I have all my cards made by December 1st! I'm never this on top of things but it's a really great feelings. 

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by! 

In Bloom | 2016 Photography Project

One of my personal goals this year is to grow as a photographer. Photography has been a passion of mine for the past 10+ years and I am proud of many of the photos I've taken, especially of my boys. When they are grown and gone, I will have a cache of photos to remember their childhoods. 

However, photography is not a hobby that can be mastered. You can continually grow and learn, practicing new techniques along the way. This year I am making a point of photographing foliage, tree, flowers, and nature. Steve and I have taken several walks/hikes this year, photographing nature during each trip. I also practiced my skills while the kids and I were in Washington in June/July. My Uncle's church has a lovely garden, tended by a master gardener. I could have spent hours photographing the flowers! 

I have some thoughts on what I'm going to do with these photos. I might print them as 4 x 6 photos and create a photo collage with white frames and hang it in my living room. I also think a miniBook of all flower/foliage photos would be cool. So many possibilities!  

These first five photos were taken at the FIT (Florida Institute of Technology) Botanical Gardens. 

My love of palm trees extends to cool palm fronds. The light bouncing off the palm fronds in this photo is awesome. 

I really wanted to photograph the butterflies flying around the botanical gardens but they were stubborn little buggers. I did get some nice shots of flowers and palm trees, though. 

Flamingo Gardens in Davie, FL has the most amazing Desert Rose bush. Gorgeous hot pink flowers with almost white branches. So pretty. 

During one of our walks through Turkey Creek, in Palm Bay, I captured this shot. 

My mom planted some beautiful potted flowers on her deck this summer. I especially like this one. 

Another flower from my mom's yard. The yellow is striking against the green leaves. 

My parents took us to Seattle for a few days in June and we stopped off at the Pacific Science Center. I took this photo while we were in the butterfly gardens. The boys were being entertained outside by Grandpa. 

The gardens at my uncle's church, in Vancouver, WA, are really spectacular. I plan on framing this photo. 

So many varieties of flowers, most of them I can't name, but so beautiful.  

Another shot from my mom's garden. Her lavender plant is huge, and absolutely gorgeous. I used my 85mm 1.8 for this shot and I am super impressed with the detail it captured on the flowers.

What about you? Are you working on any photography projects right now? 

The new edition of Click magazine landed in my mailbox yesterday and I must say, it is beautiful. I had forgotten how much I love getting magazines in the mail! I devoured this issue and can't wait for the next issue to arrive. I highly recommend subscribing if you're a photography buff! 

Click Magazine

Have a great week!

Designing with Stampin' Up! | November 2016

The Christmas Pines stamp and die set from Stampin' Up! is so much fun to work with! I love the fern dies and how they look layered on a card front. So pretty! 

For this card, I used the Christmas Pines stamp and die set, along with the Presents and Pinecones designer series paper. 

I started by stamping the frame and sentiment onto white cardstock. I stamped the red frame with Stampin' Up's Cherry Cobbler ink pad and the sentiment with black ink. Then, I trimmed a piece of Presents and Pinecones patterned paper for the top of the card, and a piece of silver glitter paper for the bottom.

For the cluster of elements on the left, I die cut the leaves from Emerald Envy cardstock and a pinecone from white cardstock. I die cut the bow from Cherry Cobbler cardstock, then adhered them with foam adhesive. I die cut Cherry Cobbler cardstock with a scalloped border die from Papertrey Ink. Then I added enamel dots (from My Mind's Eye).  

You can check out all the Stampin' Up! products on the Stampin' Up! website: www.stampinup.com

 Check back soon for a card using the new Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies! Have a good week.