Saturday, February 24, 2018

Ink & Share February Blog Hop Sale-a-bration


Welcome to the Ink & Share February Blog Hop where we will be focusing on products from the 2018 Sale-a-bration catalogs. This is our first blog hop featuring projects created by Stampin' Up! demonstrators from all over the world to inspire you.

Today I thought I would share two cards created using the Celebrate You Thinlets (item #146840) which is a Level 2 Sale-a-bration product. What does that mean? It means that you can earn this die set Free with a US$100 order. I love all the wonderful options creating with this die set and I thought I would share 2 ways that it can be used.


For my first card I decided to showcase how you can use the negative space created by the Amazing die to create the sentiment for the card. I die cut the sentiment from a piece of Berry Burst cardstock and layered it onto a layer of Elegant Eggplant cardstock, making sure to place the small pieces from the die to fill in the letters "a, z and g". I heat embossed the small rose image from the Heart Happiness stamp set (item #145769 2018 Occasions Catalog) using Silver embossing powder and I adhered a piece of the Silver 1/8" Ribbon to either side of the Berry Burst cardstock to create a border. I then attached the Elegant Eggplant cardstock layer to the Wisteria Wonder cardstock card base. 

To complete the sentiment, I die cut the "You" sentiment from Berry Burst cardstock and attached it to the lower right corner of the Elegant Eggplant cardstock layer. To finish off the card, I used Clear Wink of Stella to highlight the negative space of the "amazing" sentiment as well as the Berry Burst "You" sentiment, for a little sparkle.

My second card features the "positive" sentiment from the first card and I also die cut another "You" die cut from Berry Burst cardstock. I heat embossed the floral image from the Amazing You stamp set, which is a Level 1 Sale-a-bration product (you can earn this product Free with a US$50 order), with Silver embossing powder onto a layer of Whisper White cardstock.  Next, I colored the images with Light and Dark Pink Pirouette Stampin' Blend markers and then did a shadow outline around the images with the Light Pool Party Stampin' Blend marker. I attached the Whisper White layer to a layer of Berry Burst cardstock and then attached it to my Elegant Eggplant cardstock card base. 

To finish off the card, I attached the die cut sentiments to the Whisper White cardstock layer and added some Basic Rhinestones for a little bling. I love the way the Amazing You stamp set coordinates with the Celebrate You Thinlets dies and the great thing is that you can earn them both Free during Sale-a-bration. 



I hope you have enjoyed the cards I have shared today and I hope that it will help inspire you to think about both the positive and negative space that can be used to create your projects when using die cuts. Both of these cards are quick and simple to create and would work well for card sets or to create in a variety of colors to have on hand throughout the year when you need a special card.

Now it is time to visit Deb Naylor's blog to see what she has created to inspire you. Just click the Next button below to visit her blog or use the Roll Call list below if you get lost along the way.


February Roll Call

Until Next Time.
Happy Stampin',

Tricia Butts

Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator ®

Like What you see? Visit My Online Store Here
Visit my Facebook Page 







Friday, February 16, 2018

SBTD February Blog Hop Critters


Welcome to the SBTD Stampers By the Dozen) February Blog Hop and this month we are featuring critters of all shapes and sizes. I love this month's theme and I had a hard time narrowing down my choices as there are so many wonderful critters to choose from. I hope you will enjoy the two cards that I finally chose to share.


Both of the cards I have chosen were favorites of my customers at my recent card class. They loved creating the fox with punch art using the Fox Builder Punch (item #141470) and we had fun coloring the sweet hedgehog using Stampin' Blends. Both cards have so many possibilities and can be used for a multiple occasions.


My first card shows how critters can be created using punches for a fun card. The Fox Builder punch is one of my favorites and coordinates perfectly with the Foxy Friends stamp set (p104 2017-2018 Annual Catalog) to provide the face and legs as well as a variety of other images to help you create a variety of other critters. I chose the fox because it tied in with the sentiment from the Truly Tailored stamp set (p45 2018 Occasions Catalog) which coordinates with the Tailored Tag Punch (item #145667) and when purchased as a bundle, saves you 10%. 

To create the fox, I chose Cajun Craze carstock for the body and Whisper White cardstock for the accent pieces. I stamped the face and legs with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and then assembled the fox with Snail Adhesive and a Mini Dimensional to attach the head to the body. So cute and so easy to put together.

For the card base I chose Smoky Slate cardstock and added a layer of Tranquil Tide cardstock that I embossed using the vine embossing folder from the Petal Pair Textured Impressions Embossing Folders (item #145656 $9.00) in the 2018 Occasions Catalog. I loved the textured it added to the card without being too busy. The banner was created using Night of Navy cardstock and I created the banner end using the Banner Triple Punch (item #138292 p206 in the 2017-2018 Annual Catalog).  I attached the fox to a circle of Smoky Slate cardstock punched out with the 2" Circle Punch (item #133782) and then attached the circle to the Night of Navy banner.

To finish off the card, I stamped the sentiment in Tranquil Tide Classic ink and punched it out with the Tailored Tag Punch. I also stamped the sentiment a second time in Cajun Craze Classic ink and fussy cut the small fox image with my Paper Snips and attached it to the sentiment with a Mini Dimensional. I centered the sentiment below the banner and attached it with Snail adhesive. 

This makes a wonderful masculine card and you can have fun playing around with different sentiments and different punch art critters to create a variety of cards for the men in your life.


My second card focused more on fun with stamps and ink using the Hedgehugs stamp set from the 2018 Occasions Catalog. There are so many cute images in this stamp set that it is hard to choose just one. I stamped the image with Soft Suede Classic ink onto Whisper White cardstock and colored him with the light and dark Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends markers and the light Rich Razzleberry Stampin' Blend marker for the flower. The sentiment was stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Gold embossing powder. I added a layer of Real Red cardstock as a matte to make it pop. 

I created this card with Valentine's Day in mind but it really can be used for a variety of occasions. I used Real Red cardstock for the card base and I embossed a layer of Crumb Cake cardstock with the Pinewood Planks 3D Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing folder (item #143708). To bring out the wood grain, I sponged it with Crumb Cake Classic ink to give it a worn, aged look. 

I love the simplicity of this card design and so I decided not to add any embellishments. Sometimes clean and simple is best. 

I hope you have enjoyed my cards today and I hope it will help inspire you to create your own "Critter" creations. Now it is time to visit Lyndsay LaRae Carara and see what she has created this month. Just click the button below to visit her blog or use the Roll Call below if you get lost along the way. Enjoy your creative journey.





SBTD Blog Hop Roll Call

SharleenLuciano             


Until Next Time.
Happy Stampin',

Tricia Butts


Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Like What you see? Visit My Online Store Here

Visit my Facebook Page 








Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Colour Combo Blog Hop February


Welcome to the Colour Combo Blog Hop for February. This month our color combination is Elegant Eggplant, Pacific Point and Wisteria Wonder. I decided to use Waterfront, a new stamp set from the 2018 Occasions Catalog to explore this color combination. Living in Colorado, I love looking at the Rocky Mountains every day, so I thought a mountain scene would be fun to try. 

This stamp set has a variety of shapes that help you create amazing landscapes and I loved experimenting with the images. I decided to use Pacific Point Classic ink for the water and Wisteria Wonder Classic ink for the mountains and the clouds in the sky. To create depth and dimension to the landscape, I used Elegant Eggplant Classic ink to stamp the trees and the land around the water. 

To complete the card I used Wisteria Wonder cardstock for my card base and added a layer of Elegant Eggplant cardstock to provide a matte for the Whisper White cardstock that I used for my stamped design.
item # 145766 Sure Do Love You (Clear) Mount $21
The sentiment is from the Sure Do Love You stamp set, also from the 2018 Occasions Catalog and I really liked the way the font worked with the landscape scene. I stamped it in Versamark and heat embossed Silver Embossing powder to make it pop against the strip of Elegant Eggplant cardstock. Although I only used the Pacific Point for the water of the design, I felt like it was the focal point of the card design and tied everything together. The final touch was just a few highlights on the water, mountains and clouds with Clear Wink of Stella. 
Item #146386 Waterfront Photopolymer $17
This stamp set is so amazing to use and as you can see, you really don't need a lot of colors to create beautiful landscapes. I can't wait to try other color combinations with this stamp set and see how they turn out.

I hope you have enjoyed my card for this month's blog hop and I hope that it will help to inspire you to experiment with this color combination and give the Waterfront stamp set a try. 
Now it is time to visit Lisa Kmiec's blog and see what she has created for this month's color combination. Just click the button below to visit her blog. 




Until Next Time.
Happy Stampin',

Tricia Butts

Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Like What you see? Visit My Online Store Here

Visit my Facebook Page 


Sunday, February 11, 2018

2018 Kre8tors Blog Hop Sale-a-bration Theme



It's time for the 2018 Kre8tors Blog Hop for February and this month we are focusing on the amazing Free products you can earn during Sale-a-bration. Visit blogs from all over the world featuring amazing projects to inspire you created by talented demonstrators using Stampin' Up! products.

I decided to showcase the often overlooked Mixed Medallions Card Kit (item #147183) which contains supplies to create 8 beautiful trifold cards plus envelopes. You can choose to create these wonderful cards as shown in the directions or you can do as I did, and have a little fun embellishing to make your own unique creations.



As you can see, there are a variety of cute embellishments provided that are easy to pop out and attach to the cards to decorate. There is also a variety of sentiments, not just in English but also in German and French.  Putting these cards together is a fun and stress-free way to spend an afternoon. 



I just love the color combination for this kit which includes Berry Burst, Calypso Coral, Sahara Sand and White. I decided to add a little bling for a little extra sparkle.
With the Berry Burst card base, I added a layer of the Turquoise Glimmer paper from the Myths & Magic 6"x6" Glimmer Paper Pack (item #145601) using the 1 1/4" Circle Punch (item 3119861) under the Calypso Coral Scalloped circle die cut and the sentiment from the kit. I also used the Tree Builder Punch item #138295) to punch out a the small flower from the Turquoise Glimmer Paper and attached it to the Calypso Coral die cut from the kit with a glue dot.

I embellished the center of the flower with a small Basic Pearl (item # for a touch of bling and added it to the card front. I added two of the flower die cut shapes from the kit and embellished the center of the Sahara Sand flower with a Basic Pearl (item #144219)that I colored using the Light Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blend Marker (item #144580). I love how it coordinated perfectly with the Turquoise Glimmer paper and finished off the flower.

As you can see, I didn't need to add a lot to give the card a different look and it didn't take a lot of time to complete. Don't you just love creating beautiful cards that are so simple to put together. 


When it came to embellishing the Sahara Sand Card, I wanted something a little more elegant and understated. For this card, I decided to use the Gold Foil (item #132622) and I used the 1 1/8" Scallop Circle (item #146138) which is a new punch from the 2018 Occasions Catalog. I attached it to the center of the card with glue dots and then layered the sentiment for the kit on top using Mini Dimensions (item #144108).

I also punched out a small flower from the Gold Foil, once again using the Tree Builder Punch. Can you tell that I love using punches? They are great for creating quick, simple yet beautiful cards.

The other flowers were created from the die cuts in the kit and I embellished the centers of two of the flowers with Basic Rhinestones (item #144220). Once again, with just a few simple supplies, I was able to dress up this tri-fold card and transform it into something different. 

I hope you have enjoyed my take on this wonderful Sale-a-bration product. You can earn this kit Free with a $50 order during Sale-a-bration. Contact me for more details and help to place your order, or visit my Online Store Here and have it shipped to your door.

Now it is time to visit Kathy Maurer and see what wonderful Sale-a-bration product she has chosen to showcase. I know you will enjoy visiting her blog. Just click the link below to visit her blog or if you get lost, just click the link in the Blog Hop Roll Call List below. 




2018 Kre8tors Blog Hop
Roll Call List

Melissa Tennison
Amy Grendel
Su Mohr
Becky Browning
Laura Kate Mackie
Tricia Butts
Kathy Maurer
Deb Naylor
Jackie Lawless
Linda Handford
Lisa Kmiec
Kirsteen Gill
Alexanra Rauf
Nichole Loe
Mary Trautner
Sanda Roberts
Maria Calia
Hiske MacKay
Jacqui Lawrence
Leisa Pedersen



I hope you will enjoy your journey along our blog hop this month and I hope it inspires you to create your own amazing projects. 

Until Next Time.
Happy Stampin',

Tricia Butts
Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Like What you see? Visit My Online Store Here

Visit my Facebook Page