Saleabration Archives

Beautifully Happy – Sale-a-bration

Posted on February 13, 2023February 13, 2023 by dayinker

Beautifully Happy stamp set from the January 2023 Sale-a-bration from Stampin' Up!

Just a couple more weeks of Sale-a-bration, so I had to show you the Beautifully Happy set. It’s a two-step set with images and sentiments and one of your free options with a $100 purchase. When working with a two-step stamp collection, I try to remember to get out my Stamparatus. This stamp positioning tool makes life so easy.

For this card, I found inspiration from another demonstrator’s post. You can always find inspiration for creating with this set and LOTS of others on my Pinterest boards: https://www.pinterest.com/dayinker/

Let’s start stamping.

A Beautifully Happy Birthday Card – The Planning and Cutting

Ink and paper and the Beautifully Happy stamp set from Stampin' Up!

To begin, I selected the colors I wanted to work with for this card. I knew I wanted to use some of the 6×6″ Fancy Flora designer paper from the mini catalog. I love that the backing is printed with not only the name of the paper, but the Stampin’ Up! colors that coordinate. Once I picked a pattern I liked, it was simple to select some pretty colors. I went with Orchid Oasis, an In-Color for 2022-24, and Soft Succulent and Fresh Freesia, 2021-2023 In-Colors.

Next, I did some cutting. I cut the sheet of Orchid Oasis cardstock in half to make my card base. I trimmed the designer paper to 4″x5-1/4″ and cut a piece of White for the inside of the card to the same dimensions. The inside is stamped with a the happy birthday sentiment and the single flower outline in Orchid Oasis. I also used two “scrap” strips of the designer paper, 1/2″x4″ at the top and bottom of the inside white piece. Super fancy, I know. I hate wasting that gorgeous paper and I love a card that is decorated from the envelope to the interior.

A Beautifully Happy Birthday Card – The Stamping and Assembly

Beautifully Happy two-step stamping with the Stamparatus

Then it was time for stamping with the large flower spray in the Beautifully Happy set. For this, I remembered to use my Stamparatus. I stamped the flower spray in Orchid Oasis ink. For the leaves and the flower shading, I used Soft Succulent and Fresh Freesia. Because the stamp positioner keeps everything perfectly aligned, I was able to stamp the shading a couple of times to get the ink as dark as I wanted.

Birthday card using the Beautifully Happy stamp set from Stampin' Up!

I cut this stamped piece down to 2-1/2″ x 4-1/4″. The Orchid Oasis layer under it is just 1/8″ bigger for each dimension. The bee from the set helped to balance the image. It’s stamped in Tuxedo Black and colored in with the light So Saffron Stampin’ Blends. After tying a length of matching Metallic Woven ribbon at the bottom third, I adhered the piece to the card with Dimensionals.

For my final touches, I added a sentiment, also layered on Orchid Oasis and a few Matte Decorative Dots. And of course, a flower stamped on the envelope.

If you’d like to order any of the products mentioned here, you can shop with me using the code on the right, or contact me with questions. Until next time: Ink up!

Design Process with Desert Details

Posted on February 8, 2023February 8, 2023 by dayinker

How do you decide what to create with new products, like the Desert Details bundle once you’ve unboxed your order? How do you commit to cutting the paper? I’m an advocate of the Stampin’ Up! kits and Paper Pumpkin because they clear that hurdle for you by providing some preplanned projects. But I also enjoy seeing where the products take me, finding out what I can create from scratch. I’m going to walk you through my method in a gallery style. I started with an intention to create a masculine birthday card. I’m almost completely out and I have some birthdays coming up.

Delicate Desert DSP

First, I opened the Delicate Desert paper pack and flipped every other page so I could see all the patterns along with the Desert Details stamp set. I loved the colors. Gray Granite called to me, as well as the rustic Cajun Craze pattern. From the stamp set, I decided to use the “Let the fun begin” as one of my sentiments. But I would need a Happy Birthday sentiment from another stamp set. I could worry about that later.

Desert Details Dies

Next, I considered what die cuts I might want to use from the Desert Details dies. I decided pretty quickly that I didn’t want flowers for this project. I liked the details on the two panel dies and the aloe plant shape would be a nice contrast to all those hard edges. I couldn’t ignore the cool geometric banner piece which I decided would be perfect for a sentiment in a small font. I wanted to use the long edge die too. Perhaps on the inside.

Narrowing the choices

Once I had an idea of the elements, I started to make some selections and draft a layout. Returning to the DSP, I decided which patterns I would use for each layer. I pulled a sheet of each color of cardstock I thought I might use: Cajun Craze, Gray Granite, and Soft Succulent. I really liked the die that would add cut-outs with a diamond pattern, but it didn’t work for this card as I already had a lot going on.

Desert Details with Cajun Craze, Gray Granite, and Soft Succulent card stock.

Die-cutting the Desert Details

Next, it was time to cut the paper. I cut a 4″ strip from the Cajun Craze pattern paper and a 3″ strip from the Gray Granite pattern for my banner pieces. I cut the cardstock in half and then the Gray Granite and Soft Succulent halves in quarters. This saves paper by leaving me usable pieces for card bases or layering. I cut small strips off one of the quarters of the Gray Granite and the Soft Succulent paper so I didn’t run the entire quarter sheet through my cutting/embossing machine. That can leave marks from the plates on the scrap making it unusable.

Stamping Time

Now that I had all the paper I needed to create my card, it was time to stamp. You may notice I have a quarter sheet of white card stock cut 4″x 5-1/4″. That piece is going inside my card. I also have a strip of white paper that I planned to use for my tiny sentiment. More on that soon.

Stamping with the Desert Details stamp set.

Heat Embossing to the Rescue

I found a sentiment that would work with a little fussy cutting in the Beautifully Happy set currently available through Sale-a-bration. Heat embossing with a metallic powder, like Copper, let me add some bling to my masculine card without making it too fussy. I was also able to cut just the “happy birthday” from the sentiment that read “for a very happy birthday.” I love masking stamps or cutting the part I need in order to really customize my cards. You’ll also notice in the upper right of this picture, that when I did my stamping, I added a little detail to the envelope. A decorated envelope announces to the recipient there’s something special inside.

Heat embossing the Beautifully Happy birthday sentiment in copper.

The Inside Desert Details

Here is how the inside of the card looks. In retrospect, I probably would make two changes to this. I would stamp the sentiment in Cajun Craze and the detail stripe in Soft Succulent. Second, I would have flipped my die cut so that the “teeth” hung over the edge of the base and the Cajun Craze card could peep between them. Next time, I’ll try that and let you know.

The inside of the Desert Details masculine birthday card.

The Final Desert Details Masculine Birthday Card

Here is the final card. Instead of the Gold Faceted sequins that come with the Delicate Desert Suite, I used the Brushed Metallic dots from the annual catalog. The Gray Granite banner is popped up on Dimensionals and so is the leafy plant. That was a labor of love because I had to cut the mini-dimensionals into thirds to make it work. Talk about fussy!

Overall, I’m very happy with how this card came out. I told you about the minor changes I would make to the inside, but I think the front of the card is exactly what I wanted—interesting without being too fussy.

Let me know if you liked this post and would like more behind the scenes with the designer posts. If you’d like to purchase any of these products, there is a shop with me code on the right. Until next time: Ink up!

Fragrant Flowers Sale-a-bration!

Posted on February 6, 2023February 6, 2023 by dayinker

Favored Flowers DSP designed for the Fragrant Flowers bundle from Stampin' Up!

Did you see the Favored Flowers designer series paper (DSP) in the Sale-a-bration catalog? It works perfectly with the Fragrant Flowers bundle from the January Mini catalog. As soon as I saw the gorgeous peony patterns in rich purples, deep greens, and warm corals and all the sample cards, I had to have the set.

Twelve sheets of double sided 12″x12″ paper with flowers on one side and graphic patterns on the opposite means you don’t need much more than some cardstock to create beautiful cards. The dies from the bundle are sized to cut the flower images perfectly. To get a good idea of what I could do with the set, I started with a CASE of a card in the Sale-a-bration catalog.

Copy and Share Everything card

I started with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock cut to 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ scored at 4-1/4″ – so a standard half-sheet card. I think the card in the catalog is slightly larger and they used a Mossy Meadow base, but I’m such a fan of purple. I added a layer of DSP cut to 4″x5-1/4″ and there is another strip of a different pattern across the middle. This is 4″x 1-1/4″.

As designed, the dies cut the main flower image from the DSP perfectly, including the two little buds. I used Dimensionals to lift that piece. Next I die cut leaves from White cardstock, and peony buds from Blackberry bliss. I tinted the leaves with Fresh Freesia and a blender brush. The big, bold Thanks stamped a bit patchy, but I liked the touch of vintage feel, so I didn’t restamp it. Both the stamp and the banner die come in the bundle. For my final touch, I added Classic Matte Dots in black.

An Upline Card – Simply Elegant

Beautifully Happy and Favored Flowers card.

As a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, I get a ton of support from my upline demonstrator. She recruited me and helps me with any questions I have. She also sends me beautiful cards! This one is just elegant. I’m going to do my best to describe how she made it, and probably make one in Calypso Coral.

It’s a base of Blackberry Bliss. You can use the other half of the sheet from the card above. A layer of white cut 5-1/4″ x 4″. The next layer starts with a piece of Blackberry Bliss cut to 3-1/2″ x 4-1/4″. The DSP is cut in 1″x4″ strips. The sentiment is from another Sale-a-bration set, Beautifully Happy, and stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink. The final embellishments include a Soft Succulent Open Weave Ribbon from the annual catalog and some Opaque Adhesive-Backed gems from the Mini catalog.

If you’d like more ideas on how to use the Fragrant Flowers bundle and Favored Flowers DSP, check out my Pinterest Board here: https://www.pinterest.com/dayinker/stampin-up-fragrant-flowers/

You can order any of these products with me by using the shop with me code on the right. Sale-a-bration ends February 28, 2023 or as long as supplies last. So, don’t delay. Until next time: Ink up!