FabFri48- FOR BABY!

Hey everyone! I'm so excited for this post! My dear friend (and convention roomie), Mindy Backes, is the creator of the Fab Friday challenge blog. She usually does all of the postings, but she just had her super adorable little baby boy, Ian, last week and is taking a break from doing the posts. She asked me to be her fill in during her break. This gave the design team an opportunity to plan a little surprise in honor of her and Baby Ian.

So, for the first (and possibly last) time ever, we decided to do a theme challenge and make baby cards! Aren't we so sneaky?

 

 

My card...

 

 

 

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Stamps: Zoo Babies

Paper: Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, Whisper White, Moonlight DSP stack

Ink: Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey

Accessories: Circle framelits, banner punch

 

I have to admit that this is not my best work or photography and I would normally make something a little more elaborate for a fellow stamper, but (in other big news) I was hired last Monday to teach second grade at the school that my son attended for the last four years and that my daughter is currently attending. I'm super excited, but I have been extremely busy and tired as I get ready for the school year to begin (on Monday- yikes!). It is also pretty difficult to transition from full-time stay at home mommy to full-time teacher again. I haven't been in the classroom for nine years and it is unbelievable how much has changed in that time!

 

Anyway, enough about me! We all hope you will join us in this challenge to honor Mindy and Ian. It would be so much fun if this was our highest participation in a challenge ever. :-)





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Blended Sympathy

Happy Fab Friday! This is going to be a quick post. Tons going on this week. I always thought summer was supposed to be carefree and relaxing. I'm not finding that to be the case this year. How about you?

Anyway, we have a fun sketch for you over at Fab Friday.

My interpretation is a little "loose". I hope my design team friends won't mind. I got a new stamp set that I wanted to use, so I made the sketch fit my idea.

I have to give a shout out to my best stampy friend, Rita. She encouraged me to go for a mostly white card. I almost never have this much white on a card, but it did turn out pretty. I also got to get in a little more practice with my Blendabilities. They are so fun to color with! I will try to get back soon to post a supply list, but no time at the moment.

I hope you'll join us at Fab Friday! We'd love to see your work! Pin It

FabFri46: Grungy Butterfly

Hello and Happy Friday! I'm having a bit of a sad Friday because I am not in Salt Lake City for Stampin' Up convention. I have gone twice before, but because I am not working and my business is really just to support my hobby, I can't justify the expense of going each year. I aim for every other year, which means that next year I AM THERE!!!! It is fun to see all of the pictures that my stamping buddies are posting, so I live vicariously through them this year.

Even though I am not at convention it is still a Fab Friday and time for a fun, bright, and cheery color challenge. What do you think?

And here is my card...

Stampin' Up Supplies:
Stamps: Papillon Potpourri, Gorgeous Grunge, So Many Thanks
Paper: Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Whisper White
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Butterfly punch, rhinestones

I decided to go for a CAS design for my card. My stamping time is very limited this summer because I am continuously interrupted by the kiddos. When I do get a chance to stamp, I need to finish quickly, so CAS is the way to go.

It's your turn to come and play along. We'd love to have you join us!

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FabFri45: Just Sayin'

Hello and Happy Fourth of July to my American friends! I hope all of you enjoy a fun and safe holiday today. In addition to July 4th, it is also Friday and Fab Friday! We have a new sketch challenge for you this week.

And here is my (flipped) take on it...

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Just Sayin'
Paper: Hello Honey, Blackberry Bliss, Very Vanilla
Ink: Hello Honey, Blackberry Bliss
Accessories: Big Shot, Banner Framelits, Blackberry Bliss ribbon, Hearts and Stars Decorative Masks, Sponge Dauber

This card is not at all what I had in mind when I sat down to stamp, but my original idea just wouldn't work out. I had MANY interuptions while trying to stamp, so I decided to go with a quick and easy design. I love the new masks in the new catalog. They make such fun backgrounds! I also really love this color combination. Yellow and purple just naturally look nice together, but the super saturated shades in Hello Honey and Blackberry Bliss are extra nice together.

Now it's your turn. Come on over to Fab Friday and play along with us. We'd love to see what you create! Pin It

Blackberry Bliss Birthday

Hey there! My kids are away visiting with my parents this week which means two things-
1. My house is way too quiet and a little boring. :(
2. I have some free time to stamp. :)

I decided to use some of that free time to do a little stamping this evening. I am preparing for a class coming up this weekend. I want to be sure to showcase lots of new products as well as the new in colors. I did what I always do when I need a little inspiration. I checked out Pinterest for some card sketches. I found this one from Sweet Sunday and was pleasantly surprised that it is their current sketch!

Here is my card using this fun sketch...

 

I am still experimenting with Gimp for my photo editing and I had some trouble with this one. I couldn't get the colors to be as true as I would have liked and I couldn't figure out how to change the opacity of my watermark. I need a lesson! Anyway, this uses a bunch of fun new products. I like the way it turned out and that may be because I LOVE Blackberry Bliss! I am a purple person and I love this dark, beautifully saturated shade of purple. Plus, it looks really pretty with each of the other new in colors!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Stamps: Bloom For You (single stamp), Remembering Your Birthday

Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Moonlight DSP stack

Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Basic Gray

Accessories: Fun Flower punch, 7/8" Scallop Circle punch, Linen Thread, Vintage Faceted button (colored using the darkest of the Daffodil Delight Blendabilities), Banner punch, Scallop Trim border punch

 

I think this will be one of the cards we will make at my new catalog class on Friday. If you are local and would like to come, be sure to let me know!

 

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Fab Friday 44 meets FMS141

Hi there! I'm finally back in business after several weeks of technical difficulties. I finally have a new laptop, but I still don't have Photoshop installed, so I tried using Gimp this time to edit my picture. I think it worked well. I still need to figure out how to use my old watermark in the program, but at least I was able to add one (even if it isn't very cute).

Anyway, it's Friday and time for another challenge at Fab Friday. This time it is a color challenge using all of the new 2014-2016 in colors. Check it out...

And here is my card...

 

I also used the sketch from this week's Freshly Made Sketches...

 



Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Work of Art, Just Sayin'
Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist, Whisper White
Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist
Accessories: Big Shot, Word Bubble framelits, Adorning Accents embossing folder (retired)

We had a busy week last week. My daughter, Caroline, was in her very first dance recital. Isn't she just the cutest little turkey you've ever seen?

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure you play along with the challenges at Fab Friday and Freshly Made Sketches!

~Marla Pin It

FabFri42: Butterflies Just For You

Hey there, stampers! Sorry for being away for so long. I have been having major technical difficulties lately. My laptop crashed and is still not repaired. Fortunately, my hubby got a new laptop for work and I can now use his old one. :)

It's Friday (Woo Hoo!), and time for another challenge at Fab Friday! This time we have a color challenge.

Pretty, right?

I wasn't sure what direction to take with these colors and my friend, Rita, suggested that I try a watercolor wash. I had never done this technique and decided to give it a whirl. As it turned out, it was perfect for these colors and for making a quick and simple card (which I needed after the slightly crazy day I've had). This is what I cam up with...

 

 

Isn't the watercolor wash a pretty background for the butterflies? This was a very quick card to make, but I like it a lot. To do the watercolor wash, I filled my aquapainter with water and squeezed some ink from my Pool Party reinker into the lid of the ink pad and used the aquapainter to quickly paint the background onto watercolor paper. I did the same thing for the butterflies. I painted small areas with the aquapainter and the different ink colors and then stamped the butterflies over the colors once they dried. Then I added some accents with my stampin' write markers and punched them out. Easy peasy!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Stamps: Work of Art, Papillon Potpourri

Paper: Pool Party, Basic Black, Watercolor

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Summer Starfruit, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Memento Black

Accessories: Aquapainter, Butterfly punch, Small Butterfly punch, rhinestones

 

OK, now it's time to flutter on over to Fab Friday and play along with us! I can't wait to see what you make!

 

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