A Tree for All Seasons Redux

With the exception of the set, Dreams du Jour, I usually do not go hog-wild when I get a new stamp set, no matter how much I love it. But once I started stamping with Branch Out, I was amazed by the versatility of this little set! The last thing I expected to be doing last night was making a Halloween card, but that's exactly what came to me while I was stamping! I stamped the tree in Basic Black Craft ink and embossed it with black embossing powder. I masked the moon before I brayered on Almost Amethyst, Elegant Eggplant, and Lovely Lilac ink, and then colored it with an Aquapainter and More Mustard ink. I also used Martha Stewart's Halloween fence punch and K & Company Halloween paper.

I can already see that I will make lots of Autumn cards with this set because I love the cooler weather and the leaves changing colors. My favorite color family is Earth Elements - all of the colors work so well together, especially Old Olive, Ruby Red, More Mustard, and Really Rust. I sponged Old Olive for the grass and Baja Breeze for the sky, and this is my new favorite technique.

My spring card features a pink dogwood that are so beautiful where I live in Tennessee. I love the Jumbo Brad used as a tire swing and hemp twine for the rope. It's not my original idea and I can't remember where I saw it, but I think it's AWESOME!!! Such a simple but very impressive embellishment. I'm going to make more cards using this set, so check back often, and have a great weekend!

Branch Out, Baby!

Here's another sample I made using one of my new stamp sets - Branch Out. I just love the tree and something about this set spoke to me - it said "buy me!" :) I was inspired by this card on SCS. I don't usually sponge color onto my cards, but I think this simple technique looks perfect on the card. The tire swing, birdhouse, and bird are all separate stamps as is the tree trunk & branches. The leaf stamp has sort of a sprinkle effect and I stamped it several times before re-inking in a different color to create depth. Be sure to put this versatile stamp set on your wish list!

Happily Ever After

I bought the new SU! set called "Ever After" because I LOVE the heart stamp. Usually, I am so bad at picking out the new stamp sets that are going to be wildly popular, but I think I might have picked a winner this time. I check out Diana Gibbs' blog every day and when I saw this card, I couldn't wait to make it. I think the Build-A-Brads are adorable and I love the pretty combo of red and pink - perfect for Valentine's Day. I just realized that I didn't stamp on a sentiment so I'll have to do that once I decide which lucky person is getting this card! Thanks for stopping by - see you soon!

Simply Sent = Simply Beautiful!

If you haven't seen the *NEW* 2U Simply Sent Card Elements & More kit (#114579) from the Spring/Summer Idea Book & Catalog, you are definitely missing out! I usually don't purchase these kits because, while they are easy to use and take the guesswork out of creating cards, I typically like to create my cards from scratch. But the minute I saw the turquoise glittery letter, Chocolate Chip Carousel Note, & striped ribbon, I knew I had to have it! The kit comes with everything you'll need to create 8 cards, including Chocolate Chip Carousel Notes/ Envelopes, Very Vanilla & Tempting Turquoise cardstock circles, Chocolate Chip Chipboard "2" and glittery chipboard "u," striped ribbon, Thanks/Happy Birthday stamp, and a Ruby Red Stampin' Spot. I made this card for my parents to thank them for my birthday presents and the DELICIOUS birthday dinner Mom made for me. Be sure to visit my website at www.stampingwithangela.stampinup.net and add this item to your order when Sale-A-Bration begins on February 1. Have a great day!

Birthday Thanks!

I was so blessed by the kindness of my friends on my birthday yesterday! I found this card on Inking Idaho's blog and thought it was beautiful! And what a great way to use your scraps of Designer Paper that you can't stand to throw away! I also love this card from Kim Evans that I found on Splitcoaststampers. Scallops are my favorite and my largest scallop Nestabilities is the perfect size for a little note card, so a made a few of these to send to my friends. I love the glitter accent on the flower - it adds just the right amount of pizazz. Thanks for stopping by - have a great week!

Scrapbooking 101 - these tips will set you free!

If you haven't discovered the MAGIC of Nestabilities, specifically the square ones, you need to check them out! I created this 2-page spread in about 30 minutes using the almost 3-inch square to cut 8 of the 14 pictures I wanted to include. The squares allow you to frame your photos to see how they will look once they're cropped but, more importantly, they allow you to see how much of the photo you can cut away, thus giving you room for more photos on your pages. Plus, even with 14 photos, I still have plenty of space for a title and journaling (which I need to add) without the layout looking crowded. I used my favorite Thickers letter stickers for the title, and they ROCK! I can't say enough good things about how easy they are to use and how GREAT they look. I'm completely caught up on titling my pages thanks to these little jewels. Now if I could just get my journaling done . . .

Framed Art Baby Gift

I saw a beautiful framed art piece in a recent SU! catalog and couldn't wait to make one! A friend of mine recently had a baby and my favorite gifts to give are those than incorporate pictures - and what new parent doesn't have a TON of pictures! So I used the awesome Curly Label Punch and Hawaii Papaya paper (which should match the baby's room) to create this framed art. A little ribbon and a chipboard monogram and it's ready for Sweet Baby's picture!!

Color Challenge #39

It's been weeks since I've completed one of Kristina's Color Challenges but I woke up at 4 a.m. today ready to make something (I know, I'm a freak), so here it is!! I have a hard time making the simple but beautiful cards I see in Stampin' Up!'s catalogs, but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I tried not to overthink the design and that approach seemed to help. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

Bugs and Kisses

I saw this beautiful card on Atomic Butterfly's blog and knew immediately that I wanted to CASE it for my nephew's birthday. I love the layout and the colors of the card. You could use a multitude of color combinations and focal points to make this card appropriate for any occasion. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! We're off to West Virginia where it's going to be EVEN COLDER than it is in Knoxville (currently 15 degrees!!).

Silver Magic!

Isn't this the COOLEST?!?! This project is in this month's "Stampin' Success," and it is surprisingly simple . . . until you get to the microbeads! But I'll save that for later! I have always loved our Hodgepodge Hardware and the Styled Silver is the prettiest. I made this necklace/card for my sister-in-law's birthday and, since she's a scrapbooker like me, I knew she'd like this charm I found at Hobby Lobby. I used the Fresh Cuts stamp set and Bella Rose DSP. Once I assembled the necklace, I covered my focal point with Crystal Effects (per the instructions) and poured on some clear microbeads. A word of warning: use the CE sparingly!!! I used too much and had glue and beads going everywhere!! I was able to press some of the beads into the glue and remove the extras, but it was touch-and-go there for a minute! I couldn't bear the thought of ruining my masterpiece at the final stage! I hope my sister-in-law likes it!!

Patchwork Valentine

My sweet friend, Cele, always finds the most amazing stamping and scrapbooking supplies and projects, and she often shares them with me. I was *SO EXCITED* when she gave me a Valentine Kit from TayloredExpressions that includes cardstock, beautiful patterned paper, coordinating ribbon, brads, and glitter. I couldn't pick just one patterned paper to use on my thank you card/Valentine for Cele, so I used them all to create this patchwork Top Note, which is one of my most favorite new ideas. After cutting out the Top Note, I embossed it with the Swirls folder. I also embossed the second layer with the Swiss Dot folder because I love the look of all that texture! I found some GREAT Valentine stamps at Michael's for $1 each, so I grabbed a handful and used one to make the medallion on this card. A little glitter and Ba Da Bing - a beautiful Valentine, if I do say so myself! Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Pages

If you haven't seen K & Company's Christmas paper, you must check it out! I love the beautiful color combinations and the glittery, embossed papers! I found this layout on-line and thought it would be great for one of my many photo-filled pages! I especially like the glittery letters (Making Memories Fa-La-La-La are my faves!!) on the rounded accent at the top of the page.

One of my favorite ways to get lots of pictures on a page is by doing a collage. Some of my collages are more structured (like this one) than others, but free form collages work very well, too. Once I put the pictures on the page, I needed something to jazz up the page, so I used decorative scissors to cut strips of coordinating paper and I put them where the photos meet. I also used these cute little Christmas brads at the intersection point for a little more pizazz. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you get to scrapbook a little today!!

More Simple Pages

I know it's hard to tell anything about these pages, but they are super simple! My new favorite accessories are Thickers Sticker Letters - they are so much fun and make the prettiest page titles. I love to mix different styles of these cute letters to make my titles pop! The glittery letters are the very best - I used those on the word "tubing" and they just remind me of snow! There are so many cool colors and styles that you can create titles for all your scrapbook pages, quickly and easily! Happy Scrapping!!

I'm just a scrapbooking machine . . .

OMGosh! I have been scrapping like a crazy woman over Christmas break!! I have so many awesome pictures (if I do say so myself!) from Christmas and Bailey's birthday that I just had to get them on some pretty paper! I just love this layout because it's simple, beautiful, and includes lots of pictures. I love looking at scrapbooking magazines, but the layouts usually only have 1-2 photos and my layouts usually have 10 or more pictures. I used my square Nestabilities dies to crop these photos so that they are a uniform size. Believe me, photos are much easier to arrange when they are square and the same size!!! But this layout is never boring! I hope to get some more layouts posted this week so check back often for more scrapbooking inspiration!

You can be a rock star!!

Here's another card using my new favorite stamp set, A Little Somethin.' I didn't think I'd use the Rock Star stamp until I saw this card on Dawn McVey's blog. I made this card for a friend's birthday (love ya, Jackie!) and wrote on the inside, "I hope your birthday ROCKS!" Clever, huh? I am so in love with the new Raspberry Tart DSP that it almost hurts my feelings to cut it, so if yo get a card from me that uses it, consider yourself SUPER SPECIAL ;) Thanks for stopping by - have a great day!