Paper Players Tic Tac Toe Birthday

 We're playing Tic Tac Toe at The Papers Players this week, and I almost forgot to share the card I made!  

I went diagonal (because you always get the surprise win that way!), and included die-cuts, embossing, and blue on my card today.  

I adore the Pierced Blooms dies so much I designed my Spring Virtual Weekend Retreat around them!  They are beautiful in every colour, and depending on your colour combination you can get looks from subtle and elegant, to colourful and fun.  

My flowers are die cut from Night of Navy, Pacific Point, and Balmy Blue cardstock, and I added Gilded Gems for their centres, with white piereced leaves.  I love that this design could be customized to the favourite colour of the recipient.

The sentiment, "Hope your birthday is filled with beautiful things" is from the Flowering Cactus set, and I have used it a lot.  It's just a great sentiment for a birthday.  I tied some Night of Navy twine into a bow around my sentiment...this is a retired product but you can get the same look by colouring the current white twine with your Navy Blends.  I then frayed the ends of the twine for a softer look.

I layered everything onto a white panel that I embossed with the Ornate Floral 3D embossing folder...hard to see in the picture but in real life that 3D folder gives so much dimension. 

Thanks for stopping by to see my project, 

Barb

Wild Roses (Blog Hop)

 With a very broad theme this month of anything from the new mini catalogue or Saleabration it was SOOOO hard to decide what to do!  I finally settled on this very demure birthday card that I had in my head and finally got onto paper.

I had this vision of a kraft background with white watercolouring highlighting the flowers in a unique way, and it turned out even better than I had hoped.  I usually use my ink pads and aquapainter to watercolour but this time I used a white watercolour pencil on crumb cake cardstock.  I think it really adds depth to the background roses image.

I paired the stamped piece with a strip of DSP from the In Good Taste paper pack.  I think this stamp set creates a background that looks like fabric, and the woven DSP just tied this look together.

I tied a piece of the Blackberry Bliss striped ribbon along the "seam" of my paper and added a large bow, which I think adds a lot to the understated femininity of this card.

A small heat embossed sentiment on a beautiful stitched shape background anchored to the bottom corner of my card completed the front.  I added a second stitched element in white beneath the sentiment to help draw the eye and create a neutral resting place.

I added a strip of the highlighted roses paper to the inside of my card, offsetting the sentiment and leaving lots of space to write a personal message to the recipient.

One final look at the outside of my card:

As you hop along to see everyone's creations I hope you'll consider following me on Instragram (@justbstamping) and Facebook.

Thank you for stopping by, and if you leave a comment on my post you'll be included in my weekly draw for a free card!

Barb (you're here)

Jen

Leigh

Laurel

Leena

Ice Cream Birthday

Is there anything more birthday than a stacked ice cream cone shaker card?!  I just LOVE the new Sweet Ice Cream stamp set, punch and paper.  And I couldn't resist making a shaker card with the coordinating sprinkles!!!  

I used a colour scheme of Bermuda Bay, Pacific Point and Granny Apple green for my inspiration.  That is once again the beautiful ombre paper from the free Saleabration collection--it comes in such yummy colours!  

I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment from the stamp set in versamark ink on Bermuda Bay cardstock and then heat embossed it in white powder.  It's so great to have a large sentiment, as it allowed me to fussy cut it for a more free-form look.

I always create my shaker window as a separate piece from the card base, so that I can ensure it is sealed up tight.  I used the largest rectangle from the Stitched So Sweetly dies and created my own window by cutting out the inside of the rectangle with square dies (just run the square die through your cutting machine multiple times, moving its position until you get the opening you want).

I added a piece of the DSP to the back of the window...those little sprinkles are so fun!  And I filled my shaker with a combination of the sprinkles from the suite, sequins, and small metallic beads so that is makes a great sound when shaken up.

I stamped the ice cream scoop in my three colours and stacked them on top of a Cinnamon Cider/Soft Suede ice cream cone, all of which were punched out with the coordinating punch.  I then used glue dots to add a few of the sprinkles to the top of my cone, because every cone needs sprinkles!

And for a finishing touch I added some of the new Whisper White twine tied in a sweet little bow.  

For the inside of my card I added another single-scoop cone and the sentiment "with sprinkles on top."

This card works for men, women, kids--everyone!

I'll be featuring this suite all week on my Instagram (@justbstamping) and Facebook pages (justBstamping) so I hope you'll join me there to see all my ideas.

Also, in case you missed it last week, I announced a few ongoing events too:

- Freebie Friday; every Friday I'll choose a random winner from everyone who commented on my social media pages and send them a card as a thank you

- Surprise Saturday; every Saturday at 2pm we will meet for this free event where you will assemble a mystery card using your supplies and my design.  RSVP to receive the link to the event and the list of supplies/measurements to gather ahead of time.  

I hope you'll consider playing along, crafting is so much more fun when it is shared with others!

Wild Roses Birthday Card

The new Jan - June mini catalogue goes live tomorrow!  If you don't have a catalogue yet please let me know and we can organize free porch pickup--there is so much to see!!

As a demonstrator I've had the chance to preorder items and have been having TONS of fun making new projects to share with you.  If you don't already, please follow me on Instagram (@justbstamping) or Facebook to see all the latest!  :)

This week I am kicking things off with the oh-so-beautiful background stamp, Wild Roses.  This stamp gives an amazing look on plain cardstock, but I stamped it on a sheet of the new Oh Some Ombre DSP (saleabration freebie!!) and it just amps it up a whole other notch!

I used a tone-on-tone technique with Roccocco Rose ink on Roccocco Rose Ombre paper, trimmed to 4.25" x 5.50".  I used the Stitched Nested Labels die to cut out a window on the front of my card--did you notice the stitching on the OUTSIDE of the window?!  Love that added feature.

I popped up my card front on dimensionals and added a recessed "Happy Birthday" sentiment from the new Oval Occassions stamp set.  I have used this stamp A LOT this week, I love the mix of fonts and it's just the perfect size to fit in so many places.

I die cut some pretty little flowers from the Wreath Builder die set in Very Vanilla and Blushing Bride, and some leaves in Soft Sea Foam, and placed them around my sentiment window.  I added some coloured pearls to the centers, which just adds to the softness and femininity of this card.

And I finished off the front with some new Whisper White twine tied into a bow.  This twine comes in a two-pack with Blushing Bride and it is FABULOUS!  Sometimes twine is too thick to do much with but this is the perfect thickness to tie a bow without any bulk, and is so soft and easy to use.

For the inside of my card I took the die cut piece from making my window, cut it in half, and used it to decorate the top left and bottom right of my inside panel.  Nothing goes to waste here!

I'll be posting more projects all week featuring this beautiful background stamp, so please be sure to check out my Instagram and Facebook pages.  

I appreciate you stopping by and would love to hear your comments,

Barb

Stamping Symphony Blog Hop--Painted Poppies

Time for another Blog Hop with the ladies from Stamping Symphony!

We are still showcasing all the lovely new products in the mini and Saleabration catalogues--there is so much great stuff to while-away these wintry days!  I'm featuring the Painted Poppies suite this time around.

I thought the Painted Poppies DSP was the most eye-catching part of the whole suite and actually considered purchasing just the paper--I'm so glad I didn't!  I knew that I would be seeing tons of inspiring projects once the catalogue went live and would want more, and I was right.  ;)  I did limit myself to one of the two (yes, two!) coordinating bundles as a compromise to my wallet and those stamps and dies have revived my love of watercolouring.

I was inspired by this card from the very talented Tammy White at https://stampspaperscissors.com/--so much texture, and so much to see!  I improvised my version based on the supplies that I had and squaring up those layers (I love the look of off-centred layers but my OCD-heart just can't do it!).  I rearranged the layout as well, just to mix it up.

For my embossed background I started with a layer of Coastal Cabana cardstock and sponged various splotches of Pretty Peacock and Bermuda Bay ink randomly on the paper.  I then ran it through my Big Shot with the Scripty 3D Embossing Folder.  It's hard to catch on camera but you can see a few spots peeking out.

On the next layer I splattered ink from my aqua painter in Old Olive, Bermuda Bay and Pretty Peacock onto white cardstock.  One of my goals for 2020 is to get better at splatter, so you should be seeing lots of that from me in the coming months!

I love, love, love white-on-white embossing these days....it may need to be a Techniques class soon!  I embossed the flowers and leaves in white on watercolour paper and started playing.  I watercoloured two poppies in Coastal Cabana and Bermuda Bay, with Daffodil Delight mixed in places, and one poppy with Bermuda Bay and Pretty Peacock inks.  I also watercoloured various leaves from the set with Old Olive and Pretty Peacock.  Everything was dried and then fussy cut or cut with the coordinating die sets.

I added the same hints of gold glimmer paper and vellum as in Tammy's card, and a few sequins left over from a Paper Pumpkin kit.

I heat embossed my sentiment in gold on one of the labels that comes in the bundle and popped it and one flower up on dimensionals.  I tried to keep in mind the thickness, as all that layering on its own added some depth to the focus point, and I still want to be able to mail the card.

I love to be inspired by the works of other crafters--whether casing an exact card or challenging myself to mix it up and make it my own.

Do you have a favourite crafter I should check out?  Shout out in the comments if you do!

And here are the links to the other bloggers this month:

A La Cards (Leena)

LollyandSand (Sandy)

JustBStamping (Barb--you're here!)

Stampingjen.BlogSpot.com (Jennifer)

Stay warm,
Barb

Salebration and a Blog Hop!

Salebration has started once again and, as always, it does not disappoint!  My absolute favourite this year is the beautiful Happy Birthday To You stamp set, with this gorgeous floral cake.  And the best part is--you can earn it for FREE!

 I've embossed the image in white and then watercoloured the flowers in Rococo Rose with Old Olive leaves.  The cake itself is Mint Macaron.  I cut the image out with the coordinating dies--available in February to customers but available now to demonstrators...just one more reason to join my team ;)

It's hard to photograph but I've layered the cake with dimensionals onto a white panel embossed with the 3D Scripty folder, and mounted that onto a piece of mint cardstock.  I've wrapped some new Whisper White Wrinkled Seam Binding ribbon as well, and tied a pretty bow.

Have you noticed that AMAZING stitched scallop rectangle yet?!?!  Those dies were the first on my list.  You get 10 dies total including 6 layering rectangles and 4 shapes--all perfect for sentiments.  "Celebrate every moment" is from the new Honey Bee stamp set and is stamped in Old Olive ink.

Inside my card I stamped a mint cake and added "happy birthday" in Old Olive.

I've also made a great anniversary or wedding card with this cake, can't wait to share that with you soon!

Please keep hopping to the next in our lineup to see everyone else's creations, and comment below.

A La Cards (Leena)

LollyandSand (Sandy)

JustBStamping (Barb--you're here!)

Stampingjen.BlogSpot.com (Jennifer)

Easy Birthday Card (3 of 3) with Picture Perfect Birthday

I'm back with my final card from my New To Stamping class last week, and it might just be my favourite. 😁

Layers upon layers make this card something special yet so easy to do.  We started with a small rectangle of Whisper White and stamped the sentiment in Bermuda Bay.  To draw emphasis to the "you" on the stamp, we sponged Lemon Lime Twist ink over just that part of the stamp before stamping.  I love how it just blends seamlessly into the Bermuda Bay.

This was layered onto three other layers:  Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist (die cut with the scallop square die) and finally Bermuda Bay.  I popped up that whole lot on a dimensional on yet another layer of Whisper White that was embossed with the Sequin Dynamics embossing folder.

My Bermuda Bay card base really helps this card be a bright and cheerful birthday wish.  As a final decoration to this super simple card, we stamped a paper party whistle in all of the coordinating colours.  So much fun!

I hope you have enjoyed this series of easy cards, and will join me next month for my New To Stamping class!

And once again a reminder about my big retirement sale next weekend (June 16) starting at 10am.  I will have lots of things to see and do.  RSVP for some extra-special treatment. :)

Barb

Easy Birthday Card (2 of 3) with Picture Perfect Birthday

Today I will share the second card we made at my New To Stamping class last Saturday.   I will share the third and final card on Friday, so be sure to check back for that.

I kept the theme to birthday because everybody needs birthday cards!  And it is also just a little something more to recive a handmade card  for your birthday, isn't it?

For this card I used only the Picture Perfect set--but it was easy because this set has a great mix of fun fonts and images.  I was again inspired by Pinterest, just search for this stamp set an so many great ideas come up!

I started with a thick Whisper White card base and added a strip of Berry Burst and a flag of Lemon Lime Twist.  I'm not sure if you can see it in the pictures, but we randomly stamped the flag with a tiny triangle stamp from the set.  This is a great way to create variety without adding DSP.

We stamped three solid candles in Berry Burst, Pool Party and Lemon Lime and topped them with Mango Melody flames.  Overtop we layered the sentiment in black Memento ink before cutting out  stitched circle with the Big Shot.  I love using circles for sentiments because you don't have to worry about stamping straight--a common frustration for new stampers. 

By using the thick cardstock for the base we were able to stamp directly on the inside of the card, which I love.  We added a few  more of those tiny trial goes to tie in the front of the card.

My New To Stamping class takes place on the first Saturday of each month, no experience necessary.  😊  I hope you will consider joining in on the fun!

I continue to work feverishly on items for my retired sale and open house next week (click on my events page for details).  Don't forget to RSVP in advance for some extra-special goodies.

Barb

Growing Old(er) with Humor

I don't know about you, but I stopped counting my birthdays several years ago.  I didn't, however, lose track of the count for those people who are, and will always be, older than me!  The way I see it, the only way to feel better about getting old is to make fun of the people who get there before you.  :)  Kind of like a bait and switch. 

My second oldest sister celebrated her birthday last week and this was a prime opportunity to have some fun!  I knew just the stamp set I wanted to use: the Five for All set has a bunch of fun sentiment pairs to make any birthday a little easier to take.  Once I had decided which one I was going with, I knew exactly how I wanted the completed card to look.



I thought the sentiment alluded to the big philosophical question most of us face as we get older, so I wanted to make the card reflect that sort of "big picture" thinking.  I inked a street scene in Whisper White on Basic Black cardstock using the In the City hostess set, and then white embossed the first half of the sentiment below.  I sponged the light glow in Crushed Curry just above the sky line of the buildings.  Then I sponged the night sky in Night of Navy, letting it naturally get lighter as it got closer to the skyline.  It's hard to see in the picture but I added some sparkly stars with my Wink of Stella pen. The street scene is attached to the night sky with dimensionals, and then the whole thing is matted to some silver glimmer paper before adding it to the Night of Navy card base.

The inside sentiment reads "...like 'Why did I walk into this room?'".  Funny, because I know I do that all the time!!  And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.  There's nothing quite as demoralizing as standing in front of a filing cabinet seriously trying to remember what you walked two feet to get!  And there are so many more great funny sentiments in this set, and not just about getting older, so I know I'm going to get lots of use out of it.

Now for some news:  I am very excited to be joining the Tri-City Stampers Blog Hop this month!  Stay tuned for my post later this week (Friday) and then please make sure you check out the other blogs, as they always have amazing work to showcase.

See you Tuesday!
Barb


Product List

Five For All Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[143784]

In The City Photopolymer Stamp Set

[143771]

Silver Glimmer Paper

[135314]

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100867]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

[141897]

Sponge Daubers

[133773]

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad

[131173]

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

[126970]

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

[101731]

White Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109132]

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]