Flower Shop Bundle

I received a generous order via My Online Store this past week, thanks to the recent Free Shipping promotion. Admittedly, I don't get many online orders at all. Most of my customers come to my events/classes and place their orders through me. Perhaps partly because I do not advertise or solicit as much business as other demonstrators do. It's more of a hobby for me (at least for now) and the earnings (if I could even call it that) is just the icing on the cake to help me support it. It brings me joy - to craft and share my passion with the very few customers that I have. So, when I get an Anonymous online order (no matter the amount), I am completely ecstatic. Sadly, I couldn't send this person a thank you card because he/she indicated No Contact and did not create an online account. However, I put together this card to express my deepest appreciation. So, whoever you are, kind and generous stranger...thank you.

 

Card Recipe

Stamp Set(s): Flower Shop Bundle (Wood 132727 Clear 132726 - purchase in a bundle to get 15% discount), En Francais Retiring (Wood 128562 Clear 127790), Petite Petals Bundle (Wood 134821 Clear 134822 - purchase in a bundle to get 15% discount), Lots of Thanks (Wood 129687 Clear 129690)

Paper: Card stocks in Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder and Whisper White

Ink: classic Stampin' pads in Elegant Eggplant and Wisteria Wonder

Tools & Accessories: Big Shot Die Cutting Machine (113439), Apothecary Accents Framelits (127003), Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), White Satin ribbon

That's all for now, thank you for stopping by. 

Retired BNF Friday #27

Happy Friday, everyone! Well, in honor of Earth Day this past Tuesday I am sharing with you this masculine birthday card with trees on them. Time is running out before the 2012/2014 In Colors will be retired. Midnight Muse and Gumball Green combo? Very nice, right? Stampin' Up! published the retiring list this week and I was shocked at how much items are going to say farewell. I was sad, but not as much as how I normally would since I changed how I run my events/classes last year. Most of my gals are makers, so they just choose and pay for the cards they make. They don't care if I use current or retired items as long as the projects are nice.

Card Recipe

Stamp Set(s): Trendy Trees, Teeny Tiny Wishes (Wood 128748 Clear 127802)
Paper: Card stocks in Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Crumb Cake and Whisper White
Ink: Classic Stampin' pads in Early Espresso, Gumball Green and Midnight Muse
Tools & Accessories: 1 1/4", 1 3/8" square punches, Word Window (119857), Modern Label (126881) punches, 1/8" white taffeta ribbon, stampin' dimensionals (104430), brads

Well, that's all for now. Have a great weekend and thank you for stopping by.]

Blessed Easter 2014

Happy Easter Sunday, everyone! I have truly enjoyed five days of my staycation. I cannot believe it's time to return to work tomorrow. I will really miss my afternoon naps. Oh well, it was definitely a great idea to take a few days of break just like that every so often to recharge. I am already looking forward to the next one.

It has been twenty-five years since I celebrated Easter aka Holy Week in the Philippines. Yet, each and every year when the Easter holiday comes around I still think and fondly remember how we celebrate this solemn holiday back home. My younger sister and I actually often talk about how our children would have been scarred for life if they'd seen the "Senakulo" aka the dramatic presentation of the Passion of Christ in "action" blood, wounds, thorns and all. There was no Easter Bunny, eggs or treats.

Once again, I used a stamp here that is a single stamp and solely in wood. When I mounted the rubber, I cut out the sentiment and adhered it on a spare piece of wood block. That way I can use both the image and sentiment separately. Chocolate Chip is one of my favorite, be it cookie, ice cream, cake and in this case, colors. I find that I can always pair it with almost anything. It's just a little softer than early espresso and more delicious than soft suede. I also love the Chocolate Chip 1/2 Inch Scallop Dots Ribbon (124142) and it is currently available on Clearance.

Card Recipe

Stamp Set: Blessed Easter (133212, Happy Watercolor (Wood 133188 Clear 133191)
Paper: Card stocks in Daffodil Delight, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White
Ink: Daffodil Delight classic stampin' pad and StazOn Ink pad in Jet Black (101406)
Tools & Accessories: Artisan Label punch (130920), Chocolate Chip 1/2 Inch Scallop Dots Ribbon (124142) On Clearance, Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Well, that's all for today, folks. Happy Easter!

See Ya Later

Since I went AWOL for the most part of Sale-a-Bration season, I would like to share with you a card we made in class a couple of months ago. Better late than never, right? I think this layout really showcased Sale-a-bration products. I am trying to use the 2012/2014 In Colors as much as I can because they will be retired end of May. I have no doubt some of them will probably return in the near future when Stampin' Up! decides to reorganize their colors again. I have learned not to be too quick to get rid of my In Colors after they have been retired. I hope they bring back Summer Starfruit and Gumball Green.

Card Recipe

Stamp Set(s): See Ya Later, Petal Parade (both SAB), Petite Petals (Wood 133152 Clear 133155)
Paper: Card stocks in Summer Starfruit and Whisper White, Sweet Sorbet DSP (SAB)
Ink: Classic Stampin' pads in Summer Starfruit, Pool Party and Pistachio Pudding and StazOn ink pad in Jet Black (101406)
Tools & Accessories: Angled Top Topper punch (133323), Petite Petals punch (133322), 3/8" Stitched Satin ribbon in Summer Starfruit (126846), Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Well, that's all for today's post. My errands await. Thank you for stopping by.

Retired BNF Friday #26

It's about time I post another Retired But Not Forgotten card. I want to share an Easter card we did in class two weeks ago. I find myself wearing bright colors lately. I notice that it also shows on my cards. Pastel and soft colors usually indicate Easter and spring, but I thought I'd rebel against the norm and use bold colors. Haha!

The flower image is from the Best of Flowers stamp set. I love how it matches with the 1 1/4 Scallop Circle punch. It was such a simple and easy card to make. The layout is also versatile, just change the sentiment and one can use it for any occasion.


Card Recipe

Stamp Set(s): Best of Flowers
Paper: DSP in Floral District, Card stocks in Rich Razzleberry, Lucky Limeade and Whisper White
Ink: Classic stampin' pad in Rich Razzleberry
Tools & Accessories: Punches in 1 3/8 and 1 1/4 Square,  1 1/4 Scallop Circle (127811), Scallop Trim Border (118402), 1/4" Tangerine Tango Satin Ribbon from the Sycamore Street Ribbon & Buttons pack (130812) Currently on Clearance, Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246)

Well, that's all for today, folks. Have a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend.

People Like You

Well, look at that - second day of my staycation and I am staying true to my goals. Although, I must confess that I was not entirely productive yesterday. I paid bills, made a few phone calls, caught-up on my recorded TV shows and then took a long nap. What can I say, a nap often is a vacation in itself. I am sharing another card with you. This is another Clean & Simple card using People Like You single wood stamp from our 2014 Celebrate the Everyday catalog. As soon as I saw this stamp, I knew I had to have it (duh, don't I always?). It's solely in wood, it is one stamp with both the image and the sentiment, plus I can use the matching Decorative Label punch with it. Need I say more? Calypso Coral and Chocolate Chip, such an amazing color combo.

I stamped the image twice, punched the sentiment and popped it with stampin' dimensionals.

Card Recipe

Stamp Set: People Like You (133215) Order this by end of May - Limited Edition.
Paper: Card stocks in Calypso Coral, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White
Ink: Classic Stampin' pad in Calypso Coral
Tools & Accessories: Decorative Label Punch (120907) and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Thank you for stopping by.

Simply Sketched

I am on staycation beginning today. My daughter and I watched a movie last night. She asked me to help her with her project, so I used the most litigious term in the HR world - "quid pro quo". I told her I'd help provided that she sat down and watch the Silver Lining's Playbook with me. So, she did and come to find out, she liked the movie. That's why this is going to be a quick post, so we can work on her project. One of my many goals during this staycation was to take photos of the cards I have done the past few weeks. So, check mark on that! I just want to share a card with you and then I will be off to my To Do List.

I CASED this card from a swap I received at SU's convention last year. I just changed the color combo and added the brad. As soon as I saw it, I fell in love with the simplicity of the layout. I just adore Clean and Simple cards like this. It was easy and beautiful at the same time. Less is indeed more. I really love this Hostess Set called Simply Sketched. It's so versatile and the images can be embossed, and colored with markers, ink pads or with water color. Or it can just be stamped like this - plain. The stamp set comes with three sentiments: Thanks So Much, Happy Birthday Wishes and With Heartfelt Sympathy. Like I said, versatile.

 

Card Recipe

Stamp Set: Simply Sketched (Hostess set)
Paper: Card stocks in Basic Black, Perfect Plum and Whisper White
Ink: Classic Stampin' pad in Perfect Plum
Tools & Accessories: Big Shot Die Cutting Machine (113439), Apothecary Accents Frame Lits (127003), Glower Garden Embossing Folder (123113), Brads (retired), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Well, that's it for today, folks. I hope to stay on track and post one card a day for the next few days. I feel optimistic and I am off to a good start. Thanks for stopping by.

So Very Grateful

Happy Sunday, everyone. I didn't mean to stay away for so long, I've just been really busy with work and with so many things. I am still creating though, and trust me when I say that I have a stack of cards I need to photograph so I can share them all with you.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my dearest and one of my favorite aunts passed away in the Philippines. She was one of the kindest and most genuine person I've ever known and I was really saddened by her death. She had been ill for quite sometime and although her passing was not a complete shock it was still a huge loss. I grieved in silence and thought about the last time we saw each other 2 1/2 years ago. I remember walking over to visit her, since their house is only yards away from ours. She was very generous with kind words and always told me what a wonderful woman I turned out to be. If I only knew that would be the last time I'd see her, I would have hugged her a little longer and a little tighter. My mom was really disheartened, because they were very close and even planned to retire and spend their old age together along with another aunt. I feel she was taken from us way too early and the fact that she also had three daughters (like me and my two younger sisters) gave her passing a heavy impact on me because I closely identified with it. Oh well, this card is for you, tita Delia - Rest in Peace, my sweet aunt, until we meet again. 

Card Recipe

Stamp set(s): So Very Grateful (Wood 133050 Clear 133053), Word Play (retired)
Paper: Card stocks in Strawberry Slush (131295) and Lucky Limeade, Watercolor paper (122959)
Ink: Classic Stampin' pads in Strawberry Slush (131178), Lucky Limeade and StazOn Ink pad in Jet Black (101406)
Tools & Accessories: Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine (113439), Oval Collections framelits (129381), Aqua Painters (103954), Stamping Sponges (101610), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Dazzling Details (124117)

Well, that's all for now. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and thank you for stopping by.