Flowerbug's Inkspot

It's another Hey Chick card

This stamp set is wildly popular as many of you have noticed if you're on Pinterest. You can get this stamp set free with any $50 order right now. See the bottom of this post for links.

Marilyn chose to use this fun Hey Chick stamp set for her swap card last month. 

Isn't it great?  She has lots of layers on this card but that amazing Hexagon Dynamic embossing really stands out!  It looks so 3 dimensional. And be sure to catch the subtle chicken wire stamping on the 2" tag.  We inked one side of the Hexagon embossing folder with Smoky Slate ink, laid the tag on it and pressed the folder closed. Easy and so cool. 

Her colors are Emerald Envy, Smoky Slate & Dapper Denim.  Vibrant rich colors aren't they? We used the ink from the lid of the ink pads and a blender pen to color our chicken; plus the Watercolor Pencils for the body. 

Click on any of the pictures below to see these items in my store. 

Custom Tee Tie Dyed

So did you ever wear tie dyed clothing?  My husband is a fan even still!  

Candace made this cute, retro style swap card for our last Team shoe box swap.  

It was so fun to use the Tie Dyed stamp set on the tee shirt!  There are three stamps that create that tie dyed look.  And they're photopolymer so they're easy to line up too.  

Her colors are Calypso Coral, Bermuda Bay and Peekaboo Peach here.  The greeting is from Work of Art. Such a fun card!

If you've ever wanted to take part in card swaps you should consider joining Stampin' Up!  My team does a swap almost every month. 

Plus if you have a big wish list you can get a lot of it in your starter kit; and you can choose what you want! For just $99 you get your choice of $125 in products plus 2 extra stamp sets of your choice right now; up to $104 in value! What a fabulous deal! Click here to read about joining my team; I'd love to have you. There's no pressure to do any more than YOU want to do!  And I'm here to help you reach whatever goals you strive for. 

So in Love Swap

Jen made this beautiful card for our latest Team Swap using the So In Love bundle. 

That beautiful patterned paper in the background is the Falling in Love Designer Series Paper.  It is so incredibly gorgeous.  I fell in love with it and knew it would be a big hit.  

The pretty die-cut is part of the So in Love bundle on page 52 of your Occasions catalog. The three intricate thinlits in the dies package are so pretty.  If you tend to like florals or detailed cards you will want this set!  It's my class to go choice for January; you can read about that here.

Nailed It with Pop of Pink!

Annette created this cool card using the Nailed It bundle on page 48 of the Occasions Catalog.  She wanted to remind us that women use tools too!  So she chose to feature the Pop of Pink color combo on her card.

I love the fresh look of the Black and White with that pop of PINK! It's just striking. The Silver foil paper adds the perfect touch to these fun tools. 

Beautiful You

Mary made this pretty card for our Team Swap featuring the Occasions catalog. 

What a pretty and perfect layout for this stamp set!  It's Blushing Bride with Sahara Sand, Vanilla and Gold details. That beautiful designer paper is the new Falling in Love paper.  Put it on your list if it's not there already; it is so very soft with photo-like details.  I believe she cased it from Amy K. 

The Designer Paper is 2 5/8" X 3 5/8"; the Sahara Sand layer is 2 3/4" X 3 3/4".  The Vanilla oval is 3" tall. 

You can see all of the products used on this card below; just click to see them in my online store. 

So In Love; January's Class to Go

When I saw the pretty stamps and dies bundle called So In Love, I knew it would be my first choice for Class to Go.  I think they can be used for so many occasions. 

See what I mean?  It's a beautiful bundle!  The stamps are beautiful and cover a lot of sentiments and the dies are amazing. 

Above are 4 of the 5 gorgeous cards in this class to go. I did use White embossing powder on two of the cards above.

It's called a Class to Go because you can make these cards at home with either my pre-cut kit or the written tutorial!  There are now two options if you want to make these yourself.  

1. If you would like to receive the pre-cut class to go cards kit, go to my online store here to purchase the bundle.  It's a fabulous deal to get this 5 card kit for just $8.00 and that includes shipping to you! The kits include all pre-cut pieces including die-cuts or punched pieces and embellishments. They will not be stamped for you however. I will send the written tutorial in an email to you. 

2. Or you can order the written pdf tutorial from me below for just $4.00.  It includes the step by step directions, photos, supply list and measurements. 

• For long distance customers I ask that those who want the cards kit order the stamps & framelits bundle from my online store using the link above or at the bottom of this post.  Local customers can contact me and I'll order it for you.  
• Use this hostess code CQNVW2EX
• The item number is #144739 clear or #144738 wood mount.  Click on this item at the bottom of this post to see it in my store. (If you already own this bundle you can substitute other product valued at $47.00 or more.)  Then I will send you a $8.00 Paypal invoice for the card supplies and send the kit to you in the mail in late January.  
• Your So In Love bundle will come from Stampin' Up! 

***If you already own this stamp set & bundle you can substitute another item of like price ($47).  

Use the hostess code CQNVW2EX

Purchase the bundle and then e-mail me at lagreff@gmail.com by January 21st if you want the kit to go.

Hey Chick!

Out last Team Swap was a shoe-box swap featuring new products from the Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs.  It was so fun to make all of our cards together.  If you're not sure what a shoe-box swap is here is the way we run it.  Everyone designs a card and makes their card for our example. Then each of us cuts out enough card pieces for everyone attending to make their card.  Put it all in a 'box' and bring it to the swap. We also had dinner together first. 

So this week and next I'll be sharing each of the amazing cards everyone designed using tons of brand new products. We all loved them and it was super fun to play with all of the new products from these great catalogs. If you haven't seen these two catalogs click here. 

Candy F. made this adorable card.  She thought the suns' rays would pair nicely for a chicken on a farm.  I got it right away; such a cute idea!

Her colors are Daffodil Delight, Soft Sky and a bit of Cherry Cobbler.  She used the Sunburst Thinlit on the Daffodil Delight CS.  I love the 2-toned hair on this fun & fancy chicken. 

Dragonfly Dreams & Inside the Lines Watercolor Background video

I was designing a card for my Team Swap a few weeks ago and decided to use the Dragonfly Dreams and Inside the Lines Designer paper.  I thought they went beautifully together. 

Dragonfly Dreams is a beautiful new stamp and dies bundle in the Occasions catalog.  It was among my top 5 picks!  The Inside the Lines designer paper is from our Sale-a-Bration catalog; it's one of the free choices you can get with a $50 order. It's meant for coloring if you want to; or leave it black & white.  Or color just part of it! I wanted to use a watercolor background technique for my card in blues and greens, one of my favorite color combos.  

I first cut the DSP pieces I needed and then laid them onto paper towels.  I used 70% rubbing alcohol in a spritzer bottle.  I also used another bottle with just water in it.  I sprayed the paper with a lot of water and alcohol; no special ratio of either.  I used the alcohol because it would help the paper dry quickly.  Once it was very wet and runny I dropped ink refill drops over it all and rolled the paper around to coat it in color.  I used Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz and Bermuda Bay ink refills.  

After the DSP dried I layered it onto my White CS and then ran it through the new, amazing Hexagon Dynamic embossing folder.  It was a neat quilted feel to it. 

Watch my video below to see this fun technique.  

Measurements:

• Whisper White square 2 1/2", plus scrap for dragonfly image
• Whisper White large layer 5 1/4" X 3 7/8"
• Black square 2 5/8"
• Black main card 5 1/2" X 8 1/2"
• Inside the Lines DSP 3 3/4" X 5" 

Classic Valentine card with Sealed with Love

Today is my new catalogs Open House (Friday, January 6th from 4-7 pm) and this is the card they can make free when they attend: 

I chose to use the Sealed with Love bundle here.  It's classic Red & White with quite a few new products.

That pretty hearts edgelit is part of the Love Notes Framelits dies. Isn't it pretty? It cuts so cleanly without the need for the Precision Base Plate.

The card is 4 1/4" square and made from our thick Whisper White.  I added a 2" X 4 1/4" strip of Real Red on the side that makes the card 5 1/2" wide when finished.  It's hard to see in the photo but I textured that Red piece with the Falling Petals embossing folder. 

That cute 1/4" strip of dotted Red Designer Paper is from the Sending Love DSP stack.  Now that is a perfect stack of paper!  I love all of the small prints; they're super easy to design with.  The Real Red little bow is from the Sending Love ribbon combo pack.  It's nice and narrow at 1/8". All of these products can be found on pages 14-15 of your Occasions catalog.  Click on the photos below to see them in my store.