Project Life Quick & Easy

I love how Project Life makes scrapbooking quick and easy! Did you know that you can also use it for quick and easy cards?

I used a piece of Pink Pirouette card stock, that thankfully in this picture you can't tell that my beloved Abby has chewed on. Silly crafty kitty! Since it's for my husband, I know he won't mind teeth marks in his card.

I stamped one of the greetings from Groovy Love in Bermuda Bay ink, and then layered one of the cards from the Memories in the Making Project Life Speciality Card Collection. By the way, that Project Life card collection is a Sale-A-Bration item! I used some of the Bermuda Bay Washi Tape from the Bohemian Designer Washi Tape collection to attach the PL card.

Super fast, super easy, and perfect for the hubby. I love Project Life!

Make sure to stop over at the SSINKspiration blog to see what how the other designers used Project Life today!

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#SSINKMC29: Mystery Challenge

I believe that this is the first one of our Mystery Challenges I've actually participated in since we started them last summer! Shame on me! It was so fun and definitely a challenge. You should play along with us at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration!

I managed to use 5 of the 6 challenge elements on my card.

I started with Hearts (1). There are heart shaped balloons in the Balloon Builder stamp set which is in the 2016 Occasions catalog. I stamped one in each of the challenge colors (2): Bermuda Bay, Wild Wasabi, and Watermelon Wonder. Next I outlined them with Dazzling Details for a Glitter (3) element. Once that was dry, I cut them out using my Paper Snips

The card base is a 4-1/4" x 11" piece of Watermelon Wonder card stock scored and folded at 5-1/2". I layered a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Wild Wasabi embossed with the Lucky Stars embossing folder (4a). Next I cut a piece of Whisper White card stock to 3-1/2" x 4-3/4" and embossed the bottom with one of the folders from Fun Frames (4b). I stamped Happy Birthday (5) from the Balloon Builders stamp set in Watermelon Wonder and added two Bermuda Bay Candy Dots.

I didn't want a stark difference in my layers, which I feel happens with Whisper White, so I sponged some Wild Wasabi ink around the edges in hopes to blend the layers a bit. I added my balloons and there you have my challenge card!

There are some super adorable cards from the design team today. Check them out and play along with us!

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These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

It's time to share our favorites from the 2016 Occasion Catalog with you today on the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration Blog Hop. We'd love to hear what you think of our creations so leave some love on each blog as you hop by. You are at stop 1. If you get off track or a link doesn't work, the full lineup is at the bottom of this post.

My favorite thing from the new Occasions Catalog is the Enjoy The Little Things Kit. It comes with an easel clipboard and supplies to make 13 different cards to display on it. The Choose Happy is definitely my favorite.

I put the entire kit together in one sitting, and I think it took me about 2 hours. Most of that was punching out the die cuts for each project. It really went together quickly and would make a great gift for someone!

A word of caution, lay out all the materials for each project before you get started. There were actually two doilies stuck together, and before I realized it, they were both glued to one project. I improvised and used a metallic doily on the second project!

Here is an overview of what comes in the kit:

The bonus is that if you purchase the kit and the coordinating stamp set you'll need to assemble the kit with, the total is $45. Purchase one additional $5 item and you can choose a Sale-A-Bration item for free!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll check out this kit as it's sitting in my office and helps brighten my day every day. Now head over to see what Tobe has cooked up for us. I'm certain it's fabulous as all of her projects are!

Blog Hop Participant List:

1. Darcy at Dj's Stampin Place
2. Tobe at The Craft Sea
3. Jennifer at Jenny G's Paper Crafts
4. Diana at Stampin' Fun with Diana
5. Kim at Stamping with Kim
6. Leanne at Literally My Joy
7. Heidi at Stuck on Stampin'

Mix It Up

Sometimes when a new catalog comes out we get so excited playing with new stuff that our older stuff sits all lonely in the stamp cabinet wishing it was remembered. Therefore today at SSINKspiration, the designers are mixing a little of the old with a little of the new!

I used two new Sale-A-Bration items (which you can now earn for FREE with every $50 purchase). The stamp set is Botanicals For You. I layered the Botanical Gardens Vellum over the top of it. Then I added two Papillon Potpourri butterflies to the card. Four Old Olive Candy Dots to cover my Glue Dots and the card is complete! 

What is first on your SAB and Occasions wish list? Click on the images below to place your order! 

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New Catalog Countdown: Day 3

Look at that. Day 3 of our countdown falls on the 3rd. Do you know what that means? Less than 48 hours remain before you can order from the Occasions Catalog AND get a FREE Sale-A-Bration item of your choice for each $50 that you spend.

In case you are just dropping by today, the ladies at SSINKspiration have been featuring new products since Friday. We love sharing our INKspiration with you!

Today I am featuring What I Love. A new stamp set that you can only get for FREE because it's a SAB special!

What I Love was the first item that caught my attention when I saw the Sale-A-Bration catalog. My first thought was, "Do I really need another flower set?" But the card on page 7 made me say, "YES!"

This is a CASE of that card. I changed up the colors and used it as a focal point on the card instead of the background, as SU! did for their card.

This set is photopolymer and has arrows on the flower stamps so you can line up the three layers correctly. For best results, stamp the outline first in the darkest color. I used Rose Red. Next stamp the larger solid image in your lightest color. For this I used Pink Pirouette. Finally use the smaller solid image; I used Blushing Bride. My card stock color is Smoky Slate. For the leaves I used Cucumber Crush, and stamped off on a piece of scrap paper for each solid image I stamped.

One other new product that I used on this card is the Bermuda Bay 1/8" Stitched Ribbon. It will be available to purchase from the Occasions catalog and coordinates with a new product suite called Have A Cuppa.

This card is a quick and easy one for you that features three new products. The first is the Going Places Designer Series Paper. You've seen other patterns from it the past two days if you've been following my countdown posts. The next is three patterns from the Botanical Gardens Washi Tape. Remember the green one that I used yesterday? There's still one more tape from this package that you haven't seen! Finally, I used three stamps from the What I Love stamp set.

For my final card today, I used the What I Love set to create my own background using the outline flower image in Perfect Plum and the leaves image in Sahara Sand. I actually created this card on New Year's Day and seeing all of my friends' outlooks for 2016, this greeting seemed perfect to use. It is from the Feel Goods set, which is current in the Annual catalog.

What I Love has so many uses, and I am certain that it won't take you long to find $50 of Stampin' Up! products that you wish to use it with in order for you to receive it for free.

See more fabulous new products by checking out the other designers' projects at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration!

The Countdown Continues

Good afternoon! The countdown continues at SSINKspiration. The Occasions catalog and Sale-A-Bration starts in four days! If you missed my post yesterday, make sure to check out my Sunburst Sayings projects.

Let's have some Bear Hugs today!

This set is super fabulous and very versatile. It has greetings for Mom, Dad, Baby, and more!

Now for the close ups.

The honey pots, bear, and flowers are all from the Bear Hugs stamp set. There are coordinating Bear Hugs framelits too! The Dream Big is from Enjoy The Little Things. All of these items are available in the Occasions catalog.

The Honey Pot is stamped on Hello Honey card stock with Early Espresso ink. I colored the honey with the Hello Honey marker for some extra detail. I colored in the flowers and bear features with Stampin' Write Markers. The bear and the background are all on Shimmery White card stock, which works great with our markers, and gives an extra shimmer.

Up next.

This one I made with my mom in mind. Her favorite color is green. The background is Botanical Gardens Washi Tape on a layer of Very Vanilla card stock. Once I stamped and cut out the mama bear, I stamped her again on the back so that I could score and fold her arms and make it look like she was hugging her baby. I did stamp the baby on the other side, but if she hugged him with him facing front, it looked like she was trying to cover his face.

And finally.

This set will be easy to use for masculine cards as well. I used Watercolor card stock with Marina Mist for the pond, and Daffodil Delight for the sun. The fish, the saying, and the hat all also come in the Bear Hugs set. The tree is from Happy Home, another new set in the Occasions catalog. I used markers to color just the area of it I wanted to stamp with.

The layer behind is another pattern from the Going Places DSP stack that mentioned yesterday on my Thanks card.

I also recommend getting Bear Hugs in the Wood-mount as there are many smaller images that will lend themselves to crisper images with the wood. Bundle Bear Hugs in Wood-mount with the Bear Hugs framelits, and not only will you save 15%, but with a price point of $48.25 you just need to add one other item and you will qualify for your choice of a FREE Sale-A-Bration item!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed my Bear Hugs as much as I enjoyed making them. Please visit SSINK and see what new products the other designers are featuring today!

New Catalog Reveal Countdown

Good afternoon! So happy to have you stop by. For the next five days, the gals of SSINKspiration are bringing you new projects and ideas featuring new items that will be available starting January 5th. You may see new Occasions products or new Sale-A-Bration items that you can get FREE! Check back each day as we'll all be featuring different things!

Today I'm focusing on the Sunburst Sayings bundle from the Occasions Catalog and showing three ideas.

Now for the up close and personal.

After wiping out on the ice last Monday, I'm ready for the dull dreary winter to be over and some brightness. Since Mother Nature isn't cooperating, I made a card to brighten my day! The greeting is from the Sunburst Sayings stamp set and punched with a scallop circle punch. The Melon Mambo sunburst layer is cut with the coordinating Sunburst Thinlit. I enhanced the focal point with some Basic Rhinestones.

Now for the most important part. The Melon Mambo DSP is from a pack called Perfectly Artistic. It's gorgeous and won't last long. In fact, if it doesn't sell out sooner, it's only available until February 15th. The best part? It's FREE. That's right, it's a SAB item. Wanna know a little secret? If you get the Sunburst Bundle in Wood-mount and add a package of Basic Rhinestones, you can choose this DSP pack as your FREE item!

Moving on.

If Vellum is more your style, you're in luck. The Botanical Gardens Designer Vellum Stack that I used on this card is another SAB item that you can get for FREE! The Thanks is from the Sunburst Sayings stamp set, and of course I cut the vellum with the Sunburst Thinlit. Like that DSP? It is from a new 6" x 6" stack called Going Places. When you visit SSINKspriation today, check out Kim's card as she featured the Going Places Suite on her card today.

Isn't that flower jewel adorable? It's a Botanical Garden Jewel. So once again, you can purchase the Sunburst Bundle in Wood-mount, and add either the Botanical Garden Jewels or the Going Places DSP, and get this vellum as your FREE SAB item.

Saving my favorite for last.

So my third card for today was originally going to feature using the Sunburst die cut as a mask to create your own background. However, I happened upon this trick accidentally, so I had to feature it instead.

Stampin' Up! recommends using a piece of paper as a shim when running your project through the Big Shot in order to get your cut to release from the Thinlit. I hadn't done it with the first card, but thought I definitely should with the vellum on the second card. So I grabbed a piece of card stock and laid it on top of the back of the Thinlit in my Big Shot sandwich. When it came out, I had a cool embossed image! It's definitely subtle and you can see it much better in person. (Click on this card image to enlarge and you will see it better. I honestly never would have thought to use a framelit or thinlit as an embossing "folder" but it definitely works!

Of course, the Shine and It's Your Day are from the Sunburst Sayings set. You may be wondering why I keep recommending this set in Wood-mount. As you can see, there are some smaller phrases, and you will get a crisper image on these words in the wood mount.

The fun ribbon that I used is the new Pool Party Glitter Ribbon and is available in the Occasions catalog. If you pair this with the Sunburst Bundle, you can choose any SAB item for FREE!

There you have it. A specatularly long post, but one that features three ways to use one bundle. Make sure you visit SSINKspiration to see what the other designers have created. Also, stop back in tomorrow when I will feature three Bear-y cute cards!