Clean and Simple Blog~~

Hey there~~I just re-found the Clean and Simple Blog! What a treasure! I adore the CAS style of stamping and I think you will too! I hope you will book mark and/or subscribe to this site! You will find a ton of fantastic ideas and layouts. Not all cards are SU but many of them are, and the layouts are perfect for all levels of stampers!

Clean_and_simple_blog

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Swap Stuff~~

I am involved in a swap right now using the Always SS. In case you haven't noticed, I am totally lovin' the CAS style (that means Clean And Simple, Lissa....) After I finished this I thought of a couple ways I could bling it up if I wanted. I might Cuttlebug the card base. I might add a rhinestone to the birds belly, I might color circles to the flower centers on the Celery piece. But, I wanted to keep it simple!

But then I got to looking at it, and I thought it was to dark. To heavy. And maybe it needed some more color! So, version two shows just that!

Still no bling, but the extra color kinda brings it to life! I started with Kraft CS, used Tempting Turquoise and Chocolate Chip CS, and finished with the white satin ribbon! The paper piercing adds just a touch of texture and style! How do ya like it?

2 1/2 more weeks until my Son In Love, daughter and GRANBABY come to see me! Can't wait!
He is already 7 weeks old, which means I moved 8 weeks ago. Time flies.................

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

More fun with Flowers~~

As usual, the original idea for this was not my own! Splitcoaststampers.com is a fantastic resource! The ladies there are so wonderful and creative!

Today's card was a touch tricky, but worth it! After I cut my standard white card base, I cut a piece of CS 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 and then cut out a square from the middle that measured 2 3/4. I layered this on top of my card base, then stamped the flower shape in the center of the hole. If you have seen Awash With Flowers, you know that the flower shape is a half flower, so I turned it around and stamped it again to create the whole flower. The middles gets kinda wacky, hence the button! I then created a mask for my flower by stamping the image again onto CS and cutting it out. Next I stamped in the flower center with the yellow ink. I then covered up the flower with the mask, and using a sponge, I filled in the square hole with the blue ink you see! Be careful not to move your square piece, this will muck up the edges of your frame. Then I removed the square piece, added ribbon, the button and a greeting. Ta-Da! A little more work than normal, but so fun!


My weekend plans include teaching two stampin' classes today! I have some fun ladies coming over to create some great Mothers Day and Birthday themed projects! I hope to snap a couple photos and post them soon.

Do something special for someone you love this weekend. Fix their favorite snack, take them somewhere, maybe write them a note telling them how you feel. Make a memory!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Awash with Wonderul Flowers!~~

I saw a lovely card on SCS by CarrieJoe, and I knew I could duplicate it! It was a snap, and I think quite lovely! I used the all new Awash With Flowers set, that is not available to customers until July! I love being a demo! This set is a must have, perfect for all occasions!

All supplies SU except the ribbon slide and ribbon that I picked up at my LSS. If you look closely you can see the Whisper White stamping on the More Mustard piece. It adds nice softness to the card! I think rounding only one corner adds interest as well!

Are you sending cards or just making them? Do you have a giant stash of beauties that you are hoarding? Send a few today! Just do it! I dare ya~~~~

Last Always~~

And voila! The last one! If you look super close you can see that I also stamped the image with Real Red onto the Real Red CS. It shows up better IRL. Basically the same, but I made the panel smaller, reversed the white and colored CS, and changed up the greeting by not using a punch! Which one do you like best for the swap?
I just received Awash With Flowers in the mail this week, so you can be on the look out for samples with that headed your way soon! This set is a fantastic must have, and cannot be purchased by customers until July! Oh the perks of being a demo! I got mine early, AND for free!
Happy Saturday~~feed your family ice cream, they'll love ya for it!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Always 2~~

I know the bright green CS behind the photo is kind of obnoxious, but it was lost on white!
For today's version of yesterdays card, I used Eggplant and Olive inks. There is Eggplant CS behind the main image, and the rest is identical to yesterday! Can you see the possibilities now! Any color combo will do!

Come back tomorrow for one last version, but you will love the contrast! I changed it up a bit, and the effect is gorgeous! See ya then~~

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Always~~

I am in a swap right now using the SU set called Always. Sometimes we get a set and we over look the smaller stamps, and they can be great on their own. I got the idea for this card (and the next two) from my friend Mary Ann's shirt! (Hi Mary Ann!) The print in her turtle neck made us both think of the small stamp in the Always set, and I instantly knew what the card would look like! This idea has been in my head for about 3 months.......so when I got involved in the swap I knew what my first card would be!
I used Basic Grey ink and stamped off to create the lighter image. I used Whisper White ink for the greeting and my Modern Label punch! Accented with some black CS behind, and a simple knot of black satin ribbon, and voila! Simple and cute (if I do say so myself!) Tomorrow I will be back with another version of this cad so you can see options!
When was the last time you encouraged someone with a handmade card? Make today the day!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Simple skecth and an update~~

Yesterday I was blog hopping and I found THIS card. I instantly fell in love with the payout! I knew making cards with SU's fantastic DSP and a few simple items would be easy and fun. I ended up making 4 of the in about 25 minutes! (different DSP of course.....)

My standard card has a top fold and measures 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 (standard) I used Saffron CS for the base, then I cut the Chocolate Chip CS 1 inch smaller all the way around, so it measures 4 1/2 x 3 1/4. Then I cut the DSP 1/8 inch shorter on the width, so it is 4 1/8 x about 2. The white CS is also 4 1/8x about 1 1/2. The DSP and white overlap, so exact measurement on that part is not super important. It is a matter of where you want the ribbon to lie since it covers the over lapping. Capish?

Then I stamped the greeting in Chocolate ink and added the ribbon before I attached that piece to the card base. Ta-Da! You like? These come together fast and easy and since you are relying heavily on the DSP for color, very few other supplies are needed. Great for a new stamper!

Update: I didn't realize that the link to the Corner Punch video on a previous post was not working. So sorry about that! I found another one on youtube by Dawn Griffith, she is fantastic and a big Muckety Mucky in SU! She has been around for years, and her cute accent is so fun to listen to! She is brilliant! So, when you go back to that post on my site you will find a new video. Or you can click HERE and you will be taken there. Please watch the video as it is very helpful for those tricky corner punches!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli