I make thank you cards to give my customers whenever they order from me and sometimes I’ve added some images, etc. to the bags I put their orders in. Recently I had the idea to make tags to attach to the bags instead and was inspired by another demonstrator’s design.

For my tags since I love butterflies I went with the Butterfly Wishes cling stamp set which coordinates with the Butterfly Duet Punch and for the top of the tag I used the Delightful Tag Topper Punch.

I put some Designer Series Paper from last year’s Sale-a-bration onto the Whisper White cardstock tag and chose the colour of my butterflies using some of the colours from the Nature’s Twine; Mint Macaron, Grapefruit Grove and Blackberry Bliss. “Thanks” came from the Beauty Abounds cling stamp set.

I’m wondering if the Blackberry Bliss is a little dark, so while I love it I may look at another shade of purple for my next batch. Otherwise I really like how they turned out and hope that my customers like them too!

If you like this project please follow my blog so you’ll be notified whenever I post!

Since the list of retiring products came out I’ve been trying to create with the stamp sets, etc. that soon will be gone to keep me busy while I wait for my pre-order from the upcoming Annual Catalogue to arrive. This week I pulled out the This Little Piggy cling stamp set. I actually haven’t used this set very much, but it’s so cute… I’m wondering now how come I didn’t stamp with it more often.

For this card I also wanted to use some of the Bermuda Bay 1/4″ Mini Striped Ribbon before it’s gone as well, so that’s what sparked my colour combination. I used Bermuda Bay cardstock for the card base and Petal Pink cardstock for the card mat. I really like how these colours compliment each other, plus the Petal Pink ink worked perfectly for the pigs.

To frame my pigs I used the Stitched Shapes dies and popped them up with Stampin’ Dimensionals. I also used the Pinewood Planks 3D Embossing folder to add a sort of farm feel to the card.

When my daughter saw this card this morning she commented that it was “the cutest card ever” and I do agree with her, this card is super cute!

If you like this card make sure to follow my blog so that you’re notified whenever I post a project!

Also for those of you who live in Canada who haven’t had a chance to look at this year’s list of retiring products here it is. And let me know if you have any questions, especially regarding what is still available, I’m happy to help! (inkspirationwithteresa@gmail.com)

Retiring List 2020

For Mother’s Day this year I wanted to create a different kind of card, so when I saw a Double Corner Fold card created by a demonstrator from the UK I knew that was what I wanted to make.

For my design I started by deciding to use the Timeless Tulips bundle. From there I choose Old Olive for the card base, stems and leaves and Daffodil Delight for the card mat and some of the tulips. I also used Calypso Coral ink for the other tulips and went with Very Vanilla cardstock for a softer white to stamp my images on.

Using the Tulip Builder Punch made it really easy to add some tulips and leaves to the inside of the card.

For the phrase on the inside of the card I used one from the Strong & Beautiful cling stamp set.

On the outside I used the Stitched Rectangle dies to frame “Happy Mother’s Day”, which came from Timeless Tulips. I also added some Linen Thread and one Rhinestone Basic Jewel.

This was a fun and relatively easy card to make. I hope my mom likes it! Here are the measurements, etc. I used if you’d like to try this for yourself…

• card base: 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ and fold in half
• measure 2″ from each top corner along the top/fold as well as down the side, mark each point with a pencil on both sides of the card base
• score between the pencils marks on both sides of the card base
• push the corners in towards the inside of the card

If you like this card be sure to follow my blog so you’ll be notified whenever I post and if you make your own Double Corner Fold card I’d love to see a pic!

I’ve been meaning to create something for Stampin’ Up!s April #simplestamping challenge all month, but with everything going on my inkspiration has been running low and so I kept putting it off. In the last week or so my creativity and inkspiration has started making a come back and so I was finally able to tap in and come up with an idea.

The challenge for this past month was to create a birthday card using only stamps, ink and paper. One of my go to stamp sets for birthday cards has been Broadway Birthday and so that’s where I started for my card design. For the colours I pulled from the Best Dressed 6×6 Designer Series Paper because I knew that I wanted to use that in my stepped up version; I went with Petal Pink and Blackberry Bliss for my paper and ink.

I also decided to use the small bubble image from the Beauty Abounds cling stamp set because I wanted to add something other than balloons or candles for this birthday card.

Here it is…

For my stepped up version I added Stampin’ Dimensionals of course, I had to fight my urge to use dimensionals on the #simplestamping version. I also added in another colour ink; Purple Posy using the Stampin’ Write Marker to ink up the stamps. Then I also used a strip of the Best Dressed 6×6 DSP and added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

I will be sad to see Broadway Birthday and the Best Dressed DSP go, but I’m excited to see what the new Annual Catalogue will bring. If you want to grab these or any of the other products that will be retiring check out my online shop.

All over the world we are being challenged by Covid-19. We are all being asked to stay home, businesses and schools are closed and yet for many work and school are still happening.

While I thought of writing this post a couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t in the place to write it. At that point we were only a couple of weeks into this whole social distancing thing and we were still waist deep in trying to figure out what this new “normal” was going to look like without killing each other. I was also still trying to figure out what I needed to do for myself to stay positive and keep my mental health in a good place.

When this all started I was definitely struggling to find my inkspiration. I would get to the end of the day and I was exhausted, so there wasn’t much crafting happening for a while. Fortunately one weekend my youngest munchkin said he wanted to make a card and I remembered I still had some Paper Pumpkin kits that I hadn’t finished. So we all ended up making some cards from last March’s Paper Pumpkin kit. It was nice to make a card without having to really think about it.

Since then I’ve also been making it a priority to get outside for a walk everyday… read more… colour more and enjoy some peace and quiet as often as I can (and with two munchkins that can be hard to find some days).

Thankfully we seem to have found our rhythm, although we still do have our days. My creativity and inkspiration also seem to be flowing a bit more easily these days which is nice. I do realize though that there are still going to be days that are a bit more challenging and so I have a few go tos for when I need a good laugh. Laughing is another thing that I’ve found really helpful during this time.

So here’s a little something that I hope will make you laugh or at least bring a smile to your face.

Stay safe and stay positive!!

It’s that time of year when we’re about to say goodbye to a group of In Colours to make room for the next ones from the upcoming new Annual catalogue. Which is why I thought I would make some cards featuring the 2018-2020 In Colours. The inkspiration for this design came from a fellow demonstrator; Helene Den Breejen. It’s a great way to feature a single colour, plus they have butterflies…. so I couldn’t resist!

For the butterfly I used the Butterfly Wishes cling stamp set along with the coordinating Butterfly Duet punch. Then for the frames I used the 2 largest squares from the Stitched Shaped dies and the smallest die from the Stitched Rectangle dies for the phrases.

I used phrases from different stamp sets for the cards. With the Call Me Clover  and Pineapple Punch cards I used phrases from the Itty Bitty Birthdays cling stamp set. Then with the Blueberry Bushel card I used “congratulations” from the First Frost cling stamp set.

With the other two cards, using Lovely Lipstick and Grapefruit Grove, I used phrases from the Beauty Abounds cling stamp set.

To create the background I used the different inkpads on the raised side of the Scripty 3D Embossing Folder and then placed the card front in the folder and ran it through my die cutting machine.

To finish it off I popped up the butterflies and frames using Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals. I debated about adding some pearls or rhinestones, but decided to keep it simple.

I really like how these turned out and am definitely going to miss these colours when they are gone!

If you live in Canada and want to find out what else is retiring when the new catalogue arrives, or if you want to get your hands on a copy of the new Annual catalogue, send me an email and I will gladly send them to you!

It’s time for another Fancy Fold Blog Hop…. and this month’s fold is the Free Standing Pop Up card. Here’s a YouTube video to help you create one for yourself. I’ve also created a step by step instruction sheet, so make sure to scroll to the end!

For my card I started with the colours and then built up the design from there. I used Bermuda Bay cardstock for the card base, with Crushed Curry for the ribbon and cardstock behind the birds and I also decided to throw in some Pear Pizzazz cardstock for the tag and cardstock behind the phrase.

For the phrase and image I used the Free as a Bird cling stamp set and then used the Layering Circles Dies to cut them out as well as the borders behind them. I also wanted to add some extra texture to my design, so I used the Country Floral 3D Embossing Folder for the base and the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder for the tag.

To finish it off I used some of the colours from both sets of Watercolour Pencils to colour the bird image and then added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels for a little bling.

I really enjoyed making this card and love how it turned out! If you would like to make your own grab the instruction sheet and then post a pic in the comments. I’d love to see your cards!

2020 Free Standing Pop Up Card Sheet

If you liked this card make sure to hop over to Nadine Schweda’s blog and check out her card as well as all the other projects. And make sure to follow my blog so you’ll be notified whenever I post!

I enjoy decorating our house depending on the season we’re in and this Spring is no exception, although with everything happening right now I tried to stick to using what I had in my home already.

The idea for this framed piece originally came from a print I saw at a Michael’s a while ago…

I absolutely LOVE butterflies and so loved this idea!

For my version I used the Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper from last year’s Sale-a-bration and the Butterfly Duet Punch. I did also have to use my scissors to cut out some of the bigger butterflies, but thankfully the punch took care of most of them.

It definitely took some time and patience to get this done, but it was totally worth it. I love how it turned out! Now I just need to figure out where to hang it. Thoughts?!

If you like this project make sure to follow my blog so that you’re notified whenever I post!

This weekend is the Easter long weekend and it will definitely be different than previous years. With everyone staying home families are getting together online using different platforms. We actually used ZOOM earlier this week for a big family dinner and are thinking we might use it more often just to check in with everyone.

Even though we won’t be getting together and having our usually Easter family dinner, I still wanted to make a card to celebrate. I’ve made easel cards before, but this one’s a bit different. It was inkspired by another demonstrator, Janice McIntyre.

For my version I used the Timeless Tulips bundle and the See a Silhouette Designer Series Paper (I’m really loving the pack of DSP!). I also used Night of Navy as my card base and a few images from the Beauty Abounds cling stamp set.

I used Night of Navy, Blackberry Bliss and Pear Pizzazz to stamp the tulips and Blackberry Bliss for the butterfly and phrase.

For two of the tulips I simply used the punch with the See a Silhouette DSP and popped them up using Stampin’ Dimensionals. I also stamped the floral flourish with Versamark so that I could heat emboss it with White Stampin’ Emboss Powder.

Here’s a basic template for you to create your own Twisted Easel card…

2020 Twisted Easel Card Sheet

If you like this card please follow my blog to get notified whenever I post.

I loved this technique as soon as I saw it! It’s so simple, looks beautiful and is a great way to use your Designer Series Paper. Bruno Bertucci, a demonstrator in Australia, came up with this and it’s one that I’ll definitely be using again.

For my take on this technique (#scrappystriptechnique) I used the Magnolia Lane Designer Series Paper and Mossy Meadow for my card base.  I love that you can see the different designs of the DSP with this technique and with the Mossy Meadow card base the colours really pop!

“Happy Birthday” as well as the images came from the Magnolia Blooms stamp set from the Beginner’s Brochure. The phrase and large bloom on the inside of the card were stamped using Petal Pink, while the leaf on the front of the card was heat embossed using Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder. I wanted to pull in the silver from the Silver Metallic-Edge Ribbon and I think it turned out nicely.

I also used the Stitched Nested Labels dies to frame the phrase which I popped up using a few Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I’ve been having fun creating some cards featuring DSP, I’m going to have to remember these! Here’s the other card I created recently using DSP.

If you like this card make sure to follow my blog so that you’re notified whenever I post.

These days I’m trying to craft as much as I can. Stamping and paper crafting are totally my happy place and we all need to spend as much time in our happy place as possible given what’s going on in the world right now! So I was happy when this sketch challenge showed up in my inbox.

This week’s Paper Craft Crew challenge (PCC375) is a horizontal sketch challenge. Here’s the sketch…

The inkspiration for my card started with the Timeless Tropical cling stamp set. From there I decided to use Daffodil Delight and Crumb Cake as my main colours with Very Vanilla for stamping and Pool Party for an extra splash of colour. For the Crumb Cake card mat I also wanted to add a bit of extra texture and so I used the Coastal Weave 3D embossing folder.

Here’s my card…

I popped up the phrase using Stampin’ Dimensionals and added a few Pearl Basic Jewels. The flower and leaf I fussy cut, not as bad as you might think, and then I coloured the flower using the Pool Party Stampin’ Blends.

As a little something extra behind my popped up phrase and images, I stamped the paint splatter image from the Beauty Abounds cling stamp set using Crumb Cake ink.

I also stamped and blended a flower on the inside of the card. I’ve been doing a lot of colouring lately with my cards, that’s another go to for me when I’m stressed or upset. I’m actually starting to wonder if all this colouring I’ve been doing has been to help keep things in check.

Either way I had fun creating this card and if you’d like to check out the other entries to this week’s challenge head over to papercraftcrew.com/pcc-375.

And if you like this card make sure to follow my blog so that you’ll get notified whenever I post.

As soon as I saw the Lily Pad suite of products in the Sale-a-bration catalogue back in November I knew I had to have them all and I was lucky enough to be able to do just that. Ever since I have been creating with the stamp set, dies and/or Designer Series Paper whenever I get the chance.

The inkspiration for this card came from another demonstrator, Tracy Helman Held. I just love the look of the Designer Series Paper being folded back like this and it’s so easy. This is definitely something I will be recreating with some of my other DSP!

You don’t need much for this card. I used Whisper White cardstock, Blackberry Bliss ink, the Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper and the Lily Pad dies.

For the phrase I used one from the Timeless Tulips stamp set and the small lily from the Lovely Lily Pad stamp set was stamped on the inside of the card. I also put a strip of the same DSP on the inside.

I also added a few Pearl Basic Jewels on the outside of the card because I always like to add a bit of bling. The DSP is really pretty though, so you don’t have to.

I love how quick and easy it is to create this beautiful card and it’s a great way to showcase the DSP, plus you can see both designs at the same time.

If you like this card make sure to follow my blog so that you’ll be notified whenever I post.

Colouring and crafting has been my go to when I’m feeling stressed and upset for a long time and so with everything going on in the world right now I thought that we could all use some art “therapy” (so to speak). Which is where this card came from… out of my desire to just pop onto my Facebook page and do some crafting with whomever hopped on with me.

I decided to use the Free as a Bird cling stamp set because I wanted to use my Watercolour Pencils and these images work really well for that. Plus I wanted to do something that had a Spring feel to it.

That’s actually also why I went with Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry for the colours of this project. I also decided to throw in a little bit of Old Olive ink for the leaves.

For the birds I used colours from both sets of Watercolour Pencils; Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Old Olive and Early Espresso. I also used the Layering Circles dies to frame the birds, wrapped some Crushed Curry seam binding ribbon around the card front and added a Gold Faceted Gem for my little bit of bling.

I also added an extra piece of Whisper White cardstock and stamped a simple flower using Bermuda Bay ink on the inside of the card.

This was a really fun card to make and I enjoyed creating it with those who joined me on my page! If you like this card then make sure to follow my blog so that you can get notified whenever I post.

I’m back with another project for this month’s Fancy Fold Blog Hop! This month we were asked to create a Teepee Fold card and while this fold is totally new to me apparently this fold has been around for a while, as I learned from Tina Zinck’s video.

I love the Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper and Lily Pad dies that you can get right now as part of Sale-a-bration and so I couldn’t resist using these as my jumping off point for my card.

From there I decided to use Blackberry Bliss cardstock as my base for the teepee. I also used Blackberry Bliss ink for the phrases that came from the Strong & Beautiful and Timeless Tulips stamp sets as well as for the paint splatter behind the lilies which came from the Beauty Abounds stamp set.

I also used Bermuda Bay ink to stamp the small lilies on the inside of the card and Bermuda Bay cardstock for the die cut lilies on the outside of the card. Finally to add a bit of bling I added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels around the outside of the card.

This card was really fun to make and so I decided to create a simple instruction sheet to share with you. It has the measurements you’ll need and the step by step instructions to make your own Teepee fold card.

I didn’t add a list of supplies as I wanted to leave that up to you. Of course you’ll want your paper trimmer, SNAIL Adhesive, maybe some Stampin’ Dimensionals and whatever stamps, ink, colours of cardstock and Designer Series paper you want.

2020 Teepee Fancy Fold Sheet

If you enjoyed this card make sure to follow my blog so that you’ll be notified whenever I post. You can also check out the next project on this blog hop on Nadine Schwema’s page.

With everything going on in the world right now I am very thankful that I am fully stocked up on stamps, ink and paper (along with a lot of other embellishments, etc.) and can easily re-stock without leaving my house. Art, colouring and stamping is so enjoyable and relaxing for me which is totally what is needed right now, I can’t imagine my life without it! I’m also thankful for the monthly #simplestamping challenges from Stampin’ Up!, while I love challenging myself and trying new techniques and folds, I really enjoy getting back to basics.

This month’s #simplestamping challenge is to create a birthday card using stamps, ink and paper, especially Designer Series Paper. Immediately I thought of using my See A Silhouette DSP… I had gotten this pack of DSP back in the fall and with all my holiday crafting and cardmaking I hadn’t had the chance to create anything with it yet.

I paired the DSP with the Broadway Birthday photopolymer stamp set and pulled the colours for stamping from the DSP; Night of Navy, Real Red and Daffodil Delight. For the cardstock I used Night of Navy and Whisper White.

To attach the “Make a Wish” to the front of the card I decided to stick with SNAIL Adhesive (you can pop it up with Stampin’ Dimensionals if you like). I also added an extra piece of Whisper White cardstock on the inside of the card and decided to stamp a little something on the inside as well.

As I was creating this card for the challenge I got hit with some more inkspiration and decided to step things up a little bit and make another card. I used the same Designer Series Paper and stamp set as the foundation, but added a few simple extras.

Even though I wanted to step this card up, I still wanted the DSP to shine through. So I kept the cardstock for stamping fairly small.

In addition to Broadway Birthday and the See a Silhouette DSP, I also used phrases from the Itty Bitty Birthdays cling stamp set, some Whisper White Solid Baker’s Twine, a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels and I popped up both stamped pieces of cardstock with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Here’s the inside…

I really love how both of these cards turned out and as I kept creating with this one sheet from the See a Silhouette pack of DSP it started to remind me a bit of the universe and all the different colours and patterns, etc. that are out there. I can’t wait to create some more with this pack of DSP!

If you like these cards make sure to follow my blog so that you’ll get notified whenever I post or sign up for my newsletter and have inkspiration sent right to your inbox!