This retired SU set, called Just My Style, was a fast favorite! The images are clean, simple and very girlie!

I chose a CAS layout today, but there is so much you can do with a set like this with its many images, including a shoe, a perfume bottle and more! I embossed the face with black embossing powder which is hard to see here. I used chalk to color in her lips, and adhered tiny pink rhinestones to match the Pink Passion CS behind her.

Pink, black and white seems a perfect combo for this set! I opted for a pink background to photograph this so it did not get lost on to much white!

Now that stamp club is over I have the projects from that to post this week! I adore you stamp girls, and I look forward to our time together always. It makes the social butterfly in me happy! Thanks girls~~

Today is Mail-A-Card-Monday! Get your going now!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Ocean Girl~~

I have had Seaside Sketches SS for years. I shall not part with it! I love how you can color it with pencils, chalk, or not at all. Embossing is nice too!

This particular set is just like my family, a mama, a daddy, three girls and a boy! Another reason to love it!

I started with marina Mist CS. The light layer is Soft Sky (ret.) and the image is on Very Vanilla. The Early Espresso piece is punched with an EK Success punch from my LCS. In the background you can see faint lines, which I did with the back ground stamp from SU called Weathered (ret.) I colored the girl with colored pencils and added a couple silver brads. Love it~~


Stamp Club tomorrow night again! Yay! The highlight of my month!

Hug your hubby, he probably needs it~~~

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Colorful Aviary~~

When I first saw this set, I liked it. Then I got stuck imagining black bird cages and colorful birds. I couldn't see much else in my head past that. Then I saw a similar card with colorful cages AND birds, and I knew I "needed" this set.

I keep seeing cute stuff being made with this set, so plan on seeing it again!

I started with Tempting Turquoise CS, added Certainly Celery ink, Pink Passion ink, Only Orange ink, and Yo-Yo Yellow ink. The black punched piece is a Fiskars border punch. The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (a favorite that shows up every club). Lastly I added some silver brads to the tops of the cages for dimension and ta-da!

The trick to the height of the bird cages is masking. If you aren't familiar with the technique, SCS has a great tutorial in the resources section. Check it out!












The inside is spruced up just a tiny bit.....




Hugs to you and stamp today!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Today's lovely is a sympathy card, but it could be any number of card types. There are many small sentiments that would fit inside this "box" The colors are so light and flowery that any type of greeting would be great!

I started with Early Espresso cs for the base. The focal image is actually stamped on speckled white cs that I picked up a long time back. It is nice since it is not as stark as plain white. I used Water Color Trio with Pink Pirouette ink and Rose Red ink for the flowers. I used Wild Wasabi for the stems.

For the pink little box, I used a Sale-a-bration set from last year called Vintage Frames, stamped with Espresso ink onto Pretty in Pink CS. The greeting is from PTI, and I punched out with the Curly Label punch.

The ribbon is called "Celebrate It" from my LCS in a rich brown. Lastly I used SU's half back pearls that I think were in the Holiday Mini, and I hope make it into the regular catalog! The add some dimension and texture here.




As promised, I photographed the inside of the card! I used SU markers to color directly on the stamp to create the three colors you see on the flower. The words are from an old SU set that I will never part with! I no longer have the original box, sorry...

I used SU's Pinking Hearts Border Punch for the nice edge here! I have been using border punches often on the linings of my cards. It adds more interest that a straight edge.

So there ya have it! I hope your weekend is fantastic! I will be enjoying dinner out with my honey Friday night, Stamp Club Saturday morning and hopefully game night with friends Saturday night!

Can't wait out hang with my Stamp Club Girls~~don't forget Show and Tell!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Seeing Spots~~

I created this little quickie after I saw an VERY similar card on the
Clean_and_simple_Blog.

Nothing special really, but it was under ten minutes, as promised. No frills, no ribbon (gasp), just some bright fun colors! Perfect when you need something fast and easy! The greeting is from the $1 spot at M's a couple years ago (sorry)!

I cleaned my stamp room tonight. Whew, I feel better now! I am happy to make a mess in here, but I can't work that way for more than a couple days. Now I need to add some shelves for my ribbon storage and a few other things to get them off my work space. I have a closet full of shelves, but there are some things I want out closer, but off my work space. (besides the closet is pretty much full!)

That gave me an idea, I think soon I will post pics of my craft room! Everybody does that on their blog, and I haven't yet! Hmmm....

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Let it snow~~

There is no snow forecast for my area in the near future (thank goodness) but I know it's coming! I wish we could have one snow, like the one we had at New Years, and be done with it. But I know we need the water in the ground. This is a desert after all. I just think snow is a four letter word. If you live in the mid west, my apologies. I am a wimp!

This little guy is from a retired SU set called "Thanks Snow Much". I have had it for years, and it is among my "never let go" stamp sets. I particularly like the melted snow man in the set, as I do live in the desert! You can see the set on Splitcoaststampers if need be.

I used Brilliant Blue (ret) cs and Bashful Blue. The embossing you see on the Bashful is from a Cuttlebug embossing folder. The image in the circle is a retired hostess stamp set called "Riveting". That set is the entire reason I started buying SU punches. I needed a way to cut out the circles, and there is no way to cut it yourself and have it look nice. So I had to cave, and buy punches. I loved them, and am now hopelessly addicted to punches. I have a wall full of the old style type and am adding to my collection of the new type!

The inside is lined with white cs cut to 4x5.5 and there is a Brilliant Blue snowflake in the bottom left corner~!

I hope your weekend was lovely~~~choose a friend to encourage this week!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Form Fitting~~

Today's pretty comes to you from a set by SU called Chic Boutique!

The DSP is old PTI and worke perfectly ith the black and white only theme of this card.

I stamped the dress form twice in black ink and "blinged" them up a bit by adding a few clear rhinestones. There is one on the neck, on in the middle of the stand and one near the base. The simplicity of black and white is nice, but usually requires just a touch of bling to spruce it up a bit!

I used the ticket corner punch on the white layer for some added interest. I also lined the card to make adding a sentiment easier.

Lastly, I used Whisper White ink for the Hello, and one more rhinestone to top it off~~

Ta-da!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Manly Moose~~

In the process of making more cards to sell at work I decided to add some more manly cards. This set is one I will never part with. It is called Pines and retired in 2007.

I started with Always Artichoke cs, layered with Creamy Carmel (ret.). The ink, matting and stripe of cs on the left is all Chocolate Chip.

I used another retired stamp for the wood grain look in the back, called Weathered. The greeting is from PTI, which I punched out with a 3/4 inch circle punch and popped up with Dimensionals. FYI, when I stamped the pine bough behind the pine cone, I stamped off first to lighten the ink.

Tip: when you are inking up a large solid image stamp like the moose here, it is helpful to "twist and pat". Apply pressure the stamp while you twist it on the surface of the ink pad, that be sure you pat it up and down several times to erase the swirls that appear when you twist. Always check the stamp by looking at where the ink is before you stamp. This will help you avoid messing up a project!

Make someones day, mail a hug today!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Wheelin' Away~~

This one is an original Shelli! So often my ideas are sparked by others, but this one came to me all on its own! I must say I am relatively pleased with the results.

I started with Daffodil Delight CS. I stamped the bicycle image from Time For You in Whisper White ink onto Crumb Cake CS and let dry. I colored it is with colored pencils and matted onto Soft Suede. I punched up some Real Red on the side, added a couple red brads, and finished off with the greeting in Soft Suede ink.

The inside has a white liner with a strip of Real Red near the bottom. I am enjoying dressing up the inside of the card a little.

San Diego was great. I went for a wedding and also got to spend some precious time with my granbaby! Always a plus~~

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Snow Day~~

I had fun with this one~~~

The DSP is some I got at M's last year. I just love the browns and muted colors. It has so many different ones!

The Stamp Set is an ancient SU. I think it retired in 2004! If I remember right it is called Snow Angel. The boy here is so fun to color with his scarf and snow suit. I used colored pencils on him then I added some 2-way glue behind him in the "snow" and added Dazzling Diamonds glitter for some sparkle.

Next I adhered the DSP to the Baja Breeze CS. I use Marvy 2 1/2 and 3 inch circle punches for the layers. Finished it off with some chocolate ribbon and voila!

There WAS a nice photo of the inside of this card, but while posting I did something wrong....and since I am in San Diego seeing gran baby, I cannot access the photo on my computer to get it back! Oh well! Just imagine cuteness inside!

See ya Monday~~~~

~~Stamping Smiles~~
Shelli

Simply Easy~~

This is the last one for this series. All together, they made a great set. I love how SU's DSP makes card making a snap. Just pair it up with some matching CS and you have a set of cards in no time!

I started with Pear Pizazz CS for the base. The Mat is Tangerine Tango with some Daffodil Delight on the right side next to the Garden Gala DSP. The ribbon is also Pear Pizazz!

The sentiment is from the $1 bin and M's a long time ago. For a touch of bling I added the pale green rhinestone. Ta-Da!

Club girls----you should all have gotten an email from me regarding dates this month. Check and RSVP if you haven't already~~

Friends and Family~~Happy New Year! Live long and prosper......oh, sorry! Gettin' silly now! Why not take a few moments to tell someone you love them, or that you appreciate them, or even just that they made you smile. Trust me, it will brighten their day just enough to spread some sunshine! Hand made cards are nice, but store bought cards work or even just a scrap of paper. Nothing electronic this time k?

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli

Garden Goodness~~

I am getting very lame-o with the post titles aren't I? Haha! Whats a girl to do~~~

So today's lovely uses Early Espresso CS for the base, Pear Pizazz and Baja Breeze for the matting and a trendy piece of Garden Gala DSP! The ribbon came from my LCS, and the greeting I did in Whisper white ink due to the dark cs. If you don't have Whisper White ink, you should. It is so helpful with dark colors like this.

I also lined this one since the cs was dark and would have been hard to write on.

I have one more card in this series that I gifted to a co-worker. You will see that Wednesday. Then it's on to some cute snow type cards! It snowed here last week. A lot. I whined about it. A lot. When we moved here to the flat lands from the hills, I really thought I might only see a couple inches of snow at most. But this freak storm dumped over 4 inches in my little valley. Ugh. Snow is a four letter word.

The good news is, it made me want to stamp snow cards!

I hope your day is filled with coffee, tea, cocoa or something warm and yummy!

~~Stamping Smiles~~

Shelli