Fun Flower Card

The Fun Flowers die for the Big Shot is great for creating fabric flowers, but it's also great for making quick cards. I took advantage of the deal available during Sale-A-Bration of getting the Ice Cream Parlor DSP and Quick Accents FREE for placing a $50 order (SAB ends MARCH 31), and I really liked the Melon Mambo floral DSP with the sweet scalloped edge at the bottom of the sheet. This became the catalyst for the entire card, and it came together in a few short minutes!

I used Whisper White and Melon Mambo to create a three-layered flower. I added a Melon Mambo button from the Brights Collection Designer Buttons pack. Then I wanted to have some leaves, but the diecut doesn't include them. I thought a minute and realized that I could use the bird body from the 2-Step Bird Punch! Some scraps of Old Olive, and a few squeezes, and I had what I needed.

I added a little knot of 1/8" Old Olive taffeta ribbon using a glue dot. Then I decided I wanted to add a sentiment, so I pulled out another FREEBIE from SAB, So Happy For You, and stamped "birthday wishes", one of 4 sentiments in the set, in Old Olive, and created a little banner.

I used my Scallop Edge Border Punch to mimic the scallop on the DSP and created a little extra border along the card's bottom. It's nice to change up a card from a standard straight edge look once in awhile.

I have another card I made using this diecut and a cool technique that I'll be back to share tomorrow.

Oodles to Share--Day 7: Another Sympathy SAB

Like I said, I'm NOT happy about all the sympathy cards I've had to make this year. This card is for a friend whose grandmother passed away.

I was inspired by Carol Valentine's card that I saw on Stampin' Connection. Sorry, she doesn't have a blog I can link to to show you the original. I used my Big Shot and Petals-A-Plenty Textured Impressions Folder to emboss the Wild Wasabi base. Then I took the branch image from Sweet Summer, a Sale-A-Bration FREEBIE, and stamped it multiple times around the edge of the Very Vanilla card stock. I pulled out my Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi, and Peach Parfait SU! Markers and colored the line art. I stamped the sentiment from So Happy For You in Early Espresso and matted the whole thing on Crumb Cake card stock.

The Peach Parfait decorative strip was made using the Scallop Trim Border Punch. It's such a delicate accent; I love this look and will probably use it again soon.

Well, that's the end of the week of Oodles to Share! If you'd like to get in on Sale-A-Bration, you have until the 31st to do so. Simply purchase $50 of merchandise--nothing is off-limits--and you'll get to choose an item of your choice from the SAB brochure. I'll email that to you when you email me with your order: jenn.nahrstadt@nahrstadt.com. Happy shopping!

Oodles to Share--Day 4: So Happy for You SAB

Hope you're enjoying these consecutive days of posts. I've had many occasions to craft cards for, just not enough hours in the day to write up descriptions of them.

My youngest cousin and his wife just had their second baby, a surprise BOY (they didn't find out at their ultrasound--hurray!). There have been only three boys amidst a slew of girl second cousins, and none to carry on the Schwartz family name. Enter Kiptyn Dale! Everyone's very happy.

I saw this card on Stampin' Connection, a site just for SU! demonstrators to share their creations (don't worry; I linked you to Tessa's blog). Tessa's design was so clean and just my style, so I CASE'd it. It features the star from So Happy For You, a FREE stamp set available only during Sale-A-Bration (SAB) with the purchase of $50 in merchandise of your choice. I loved her color scheme but chose Marina Mist, Poppy Parade, and Peach Parfait, paired with Whisper White, Bashful Blue, and Crumb Cake card stocks for my card.

I stamped the stars on the WW first, then stamped them again and colored over them using my Versamarker. Then I sprinkled them with a combination of Clear Embossing Powder and Dazzling Diamonds and heat embossed them. I cut them out and popped them up on dimensionals--it only took 1/4 of one for each star, to give you some idea of the size of this stamp.

The panel is mounted on Bashful Blue that has been stamped with the A to Z small background stamp using Marina Mist classic ink. The A to Z stamp is one you can choose as a FREE selection from the Big Idea Book & Catalog during SAB, which ends the 31st. The A to Z stamp is really great for baby cards.

I used the Scallop Edge Border Punch and a scrap of Peach Parfait to make a border along the bottom, using my Mat Pack and Paper Piercing Tool to punch little holes in each scallop. Not too girly, I hope! The linen thread tied around the main piece adds some nice visual interest.

I colored direct to rubber in my colors the "so happy for you" sentiment from the set by the same name. It not only includes the star, but a heart, a four leaf clover, a flower, and a butterfly, AS WELL AS five sentiments. A 10-stamp set you can add to your collection FREE--it's a great deal, SAB is!

Put together your needs list of supplies, be it stamps, ink, card stock, markers, adhesive, ribbon, brads, you name it. Then leave me a comment or contact me via email (jenn.nahrstadt@nahrstadt.com) and I'll hook you up with a SAB brochure so that you can choose your FREE item! It's super easy, but only available til the 31st.

Hooray for baby BOYS!