Create A Cupcake

This is a VERY simple birthday card that takes five minutes or less to make.  But simple doesn't mean that it can't be cute.  What I love about this is how it can be customized to the recipient by simply changing the colors.  This card is a piece of cake...or cupcake...to make!

Tips & Tricks

• To get the perfect square shape, I first made a template with a piece of card stock and my Squares Collection Framelits.  Next, I used a sponge dauber and my retired (boohoo) pastels.  Don't worry if you don't have pastels...you can get a very similar look by just using an ink pad.  Push the pastel/ink covered dauber around in the hole until the square is filled in.  When you pull away the template you'll have a cute little square on the front of your card!

• Less is more on this card...I only used three colors (plus white) and everything is tied together perfectly (especially since I used Cajun Craze for both the square and the ribbon on the cupcake!)

Supplies

Stamps:  Create a Cupcake
Ink:  Marina Mist and Cajun Craze Classic Ink, Whisper White Craft Ink
Paper:  Naturals White card stock
Accessories:  Big Shot, Squares Collection Framelits, Cupcake Builder Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stampin' Pastels (retired)

Happy 40th Flip Cards {Circle Card Thinlits}

Ah, 40.  Ever since I turned 40 last December, it seems that almost everyone I know has been hitting that milestone.  Yikes.  I remember when my parents turned 40...and I was in high school.  When I think about that, it makes me feel ancient.  But most of the time, I still think I'm 18 and know that age is just a number. 

This week I'm sending out two 40th birthday cards...one to my college roommate, (whose birthday was actually a couple months ago and I never sent her card and box full of goodies) and the other is for my sister-in-law.  I've known Heather since 9th grade (we were in the same class), and it's still kind of weird that she's married to my brother.  But I'm so glad she is, because they are a great match.

This first card is for my roomie, and I've given a bit of a glimpse into what the inside looks like.

 This one is for my sister-in-law...this paper may be retired, but it makes me think of her.

Since so many of the products I used on these cards are retired, I'm not going to list the supplies.  But if you want to know about anything that I used, just let me know!  And if you'd like to order the Circle Card Thinlits I used on both of these, email me or visit my online store here.

Sneak Peek: Sketched Birthday

Want to see a sneak peek of a BRAND NEW stamp set that will be coming out in the 2013-2014 Catalog?  You just did. :)  That adorable piece of cake is part of a set called Sketched Birthday.  I received this set when I was at Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference.  It was at the very end of the day, and we had to leave the convention center by a certain time in order to meet the car that was going to take us to the airport.  We thought we'd allowed enough time, but the session went longer than planned, and we were getting very close to needing to leave.  However, we could see Stampin' Up! employees standing at the doors with boxes, so we just knew we were going to get one more fabulous give-away.  There was no way we were going to miss out on that, so as things started winding down, we edged over to the door, and were the first ones to get this adorable set.  And then we were out the door, sprinting over to our hotel.  We got there with two minutes to spare, although the car service seemed to think that we had already left.  I'm not sure how we would have done that, since they were providing our ride!

Anyway, this set is SO CUTE!  I'm not allowed to show you a picture of the set, just samples, but take my word for it...it's adorable!  And remember the other day when I said that I don't really like line art style images?  Yeah, well, that apparently doesn't hold true when it comes to this set.  The more I look at it, the more I like it.  Oh, and the cute little banner at the bottom...it's just one of three in the set, which all coordinate with the Bitty Banners Framelits.  Other images in the set coordinate with other punches and Framelits as well.  That just increases my love. :)  Be sure to check back later this week, when I'll have another sneak peek of this set!

Stamps:  Sketched Birthday (available on June 1!)

Ink:  Jet Black Staz-On Ink (101406), Whisper White Craft Ink (101731), Regal Rose (126947), Soft Suede (126978), and Basic Gray (126981)

Paper:  Soft Suede (115318), Crumb Cake (120953), and Pink Pirouette (111351) card stock, Watercolor paper (122959)

Accessories:  Bitty Banners Framelits (129267), Big Shot (113439(, Argyle Embossing Folder (127750), White Embossing Powder (109132), Heat Tool (129053), Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon (122332), Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon (120999), Aqua Painters (103954), 2 1/2" Circle Punch (120906), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Happy Day

Remember this Christmas card?  I mentioned in that post that it could be varied to make a card for just about anything.  Here's one of those variations!  This was the card I made for my husband for his birthday last week.  We both have December birthdays, and since his is so close to Christmas, I needed a simple card.  This one fit the bill.  I cut the banners at an angle this time, and pushed the sentiment pieces up to the top, cutting off part of it.  Oh, and those five banners?  They were skinny scraps I had left over from the original Christmas card!  Since the paper is two sided, I just used the other side, which had more masculine (and non-Christmasy) colors.  Just some simple changes to a very simple card!

Stamps:  Friendly Phrases

Ink:  Whisper White

Paper:  Festival of Prints DSP pack, Island Indigo, Crumb Cake, and Early Espresso card stock

Accessories:  Window Frames Framelits, 7/8" cotton ribbon

I just wanted to mention that I'll be taking a short blogging break.  We're making an unexpected trip out of state and I won't have a chance to do any stamping for a while.  I'll see you 2013!