Flowerbug's Inkspot

Pretty Pumpkin projects in out of the box colors with Video too!

On Tuesday's FB Live I featured the Pretty Pumpkins bundle in out of the box colors.  I was inspired by the white pumpkins that are trendy now and by a card made by Deb Crowley.  

Isn't it gorgeous?  The colors are Pool Party, Olive & Smoky Slate. I stamped the pumpkins in Smoky Slate onto White Basic card stock and colored them in with our Watercolor Pencils seen here.  A Blender pen is the magic tool when using watercolor pencils!  Watch the video below to see how.  

I stamped the greeting directly onto the die-cut stitched rectangle using Smoky Slate ink.  It's cut from In Good Taste designer paper.  I used a blending brush to add a bit of Coastal Cabana ink behind the die-cut pumpkins. 

Next is another pretty card in Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana and Rose Gold.  This pretty specialty paper is in our Annual Catalog on page 134 seen here.  It's also my free gift for orders in October! *see details below

These pumpkin and leaf die-cuts are in the Detailed Pumpkin dies seen here.  *Save 10% when you purchase the bundle - stamp set & dies. I did fussy cut the greeting after stamping it. The embossing folder is called Brick Wall.  

Look at this pretty & quick treats box.  It's one of our 3 1/8" square Acetate boxes seen in the annual catalog here.  You get 10 boxes for $6.  Inside can hold either treats or 3 X 3 cards & envelopes.

I added a 2" X 9" belly band of Coastal Cabana card stock, a few pumpkin die-cuts, a wrap of Gold 3/8" shimmer ribbon and a fussy cut greeting.  

Did you know we carry 3" square envelopes in the Annual Catalog? Check out page 136. They're perfect for little note cards and they fit in this box too!  

You might wonder where you get 3 X 3" cards....   I made them from a piece of 12 X 12" card stock. It's the best size CS to start with. You'll get 8 small cards from one sheet with no waste!  Watch my tip on this in the video below. 

I think these cards would be great at each place setting on the Thanksgiving table!  Think white pumpkins, autumn colored leaves & turquoise ribbon or accents.  Mmm - I think I have a plan! 

And here is the video; click on the image below to watch it. 

~~~

October Specials

Host code: YYUAWBVA

*click here to order

Clearance Rack has new items!!

Get a free package of Gold & Rose Gold Metallic specialty paper from me with a $50 online order in October! 

All online orders will receive my October PDF tutorial free! 

This month it features the Gingerbread & Peppermint suite.

Beauty of the Earth cards

I'm continuing the sharing of our Flowerbug's Team projects from our September swap - Fall cards. 

Both of today's cards feature the beautiful Beauty of the Earth designer series paper seen here.  First is Mary's pretty card.

Her colors include Misty Moonlight, Merry Merlot, White & Early Espresso.  

Products used:

• Inspired Thoughts bundle seen here
• Floral Gallery dies for greeting die-cut

~~~

Jacki made this next card using just four 3/4" strips of this pretty designer paper. Think of all the cards you could make with your leftover thin strips!

Her card base is Mossy Meadow with a 4" X 5 1/4" layer.  Besides the DSP she added the greeting strips and a pretty leaf in yellow that pulls those peeks of yellow from the DSP.  LOVE it! 

~~~

October Specials

Host code: YYUAWBVA

*click here to order

Clearance Rack has new items!!

Get a free package of Gold & Rose Gold Metallic specialty paper from me with a $50 online order in October! 

All online orders will receive my October PDF tutorial free! 

This month it features the Gingerbread & Peppermint suite.

Beautiful Fall card swaps!

Look at these stunning swaps made by my Team.  Our theme for September's swap was autumn cards. 

Annette created this first one using a innovative sponging technique 

I'm sure you cannot guess how she did this .....! 

It features the Welcoming Woods stamp set seen here. She used a variety of colors like Highland Heather, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry and Misty Moonlight.  

Here's how she did it: She gathered up a sheet of plastic wrap and dabbed it in ink a few times.  Then she dabbed it horizontally across her stamped image piece.  With each color change, she re-rolled the plastic wrap & blended the previous one a bit to achieve a beautiful sunset look. 

She added some of the leaves from the stamp set to the inside as well.  

This next card made by Karen features a bunch of beautiful metallic products!

• Detailed Pumpkin dies seen here
• Brushed Metallic Adhesive-Backed dots
• Paper Lattice (annual catalog)
• Copper Foil sheets (annual catalog)
• Tasteful Textiles embossing folder 
• Vellum card stock

~~~

October Specials

Host code: YYUAWBVA

*click here to order

Get a free package of Gold & Rose Gold Metallic specialty paper from me with a $50 online order in October! 

All online orders will receive my October PDF tutorial free! 

This month it features the Gingerbread & Peppermint suite.

Gorgeous Leaves paired with the Timber embossing folder

Today I get to share two cards made by my talented Team members who used the beautiful Gorgeous Leaves bundle seen here.  I shared a bunch earlier this week as well. Click here to see them. 

First is a beautiful card made by Marilyn.  Her colors include Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Old Olive & Crushed Curry. 

It's hard to see in this photo but after she stamped the background she ran it through the die-cutting machine with the Timber embossing folder.  

Her die-cut leaves are darker than the normal hues since she sponged the corresponding color over each one.  Neat effect! 

Measurements: 

• Crumb Cake 5 1/2" X 8 1/2"
• Cajun Craze 3 3/4" X 5" & Stitched So Sweetly die-cut 2 1/2" X 3 5/8"
• Vanilla 3 1/2" X 4 3/4" & 2 1/8" X 3 1/4" 

~~~

Next is a lovely card made by Deloris. She also used the Timber embossing folder seen here. 

She also added a strip of the Cork specialty paper.  This paper can be found in the Holiday catalog on page 55.  It sure adds a neat touch to autumn or men's cards! 

Her colors include Early Espresso, Cajun Craze & Bumblebee. 

Measurements:

• Early Espresso card 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
• Cajun Craze 3 3/4" X 5"
• White 3 1/4" X 4 1/2"
• Cork 1" X 4 1/2"
• Bumblebee 1/4" X 4 1/2" strip

~~~

October Specials

Host code: YYUAWBVA

*click here to order

Get a free package of Gold & Rose Gold Metallic specialty paper from me with a $50 online order in October! 

Look at all of these fabulous card ideas! Last chance for free items

Today's the last day of Sale-a-Bration!  Do you have everything you want?  

Shop here to stock up on essentials or get those items you've been wanting and choose something FREE! 

Or choose the best deal and get up to $205 in product for just $99.  If you're one of those people who likes to save money this is the best option! Click here to read more about this.  You will not regret it!!

I'm sharing some group photos of some of my favorite Sale-a-bration projects today. Many are made by me and others are swaps from my Demonstrator friends or team members. 

Maybe you already own some of these Sale-a-Bration items.  I hope you're inspired by these projects.  Or maybe these will give you a little nudge to add one or more to your order....?  

First are cards made with the Delicate Dahlia stamp set.  This was an easy favorite of mine.  The 2-step DistINKtive images are gorgeous!  

See it here online.  

Next is the Feels Like Home stamp set.  Line art images that you can color in or stamp in one color.  

See the Feels Like Home stamp set here.  

Next is the Summer Shadow dies.  These dies can stand alone (as you can see!) or pair with the Shaded Summer stamp set seen here in the Annual Catalog. 

See those here:

Here are the Textures & Frames cards I made on a recent FB Live. See that video here. 

I LOVE this unique set!  It is way more fun and easy to use than I thought it would be. As you can see I had trouble stopping!  See it here. 

Lastly is the Peaceful Prints designer series paper seen here.  

I love this paper so much!  Classic prints in Black, Red, White, Sahara Sand & Garden Green.  In fact I like it so much I created one of my October kits to go around it!  I'll share that next week.  

Well I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my favorite Sale-a-Bration projects today.  It's always sad when this amazing promotion ends.  I hope you were able to get the items you wanted!  See all of the free options here.   

**Use the host code below and if your order is over $50 you'll get a nice stack of 10 cards from me!  Orders over $100 get the 10 cards AND a new embellishment as well! 

~~~

September Specials

Host code: WGVUYXTF

*click here to order

Get 10 beautiful hand-made cards from me with a $50 online order

from September 20-30th! 

All online orders will receive a free PDF tutorial filled with projects featuring

the Painted Christmas Suite!

BEST DEAL!

Get a Free Bundle  from the Holiday Catalog when you choose the Starter kit! 

Plus pick out $125 in product of your choice for just $99 and shipping is free! 

You're getting up to $205 in products for just $99!

Gorgeous Leaves video; from simple to WOW techniques!

I chose to play with the Gorgeous Leaves bundle for Tuesday's FB Live yesterday.  You can fine me on FB here. 

 It was an easy choice for me; I love both leaves and these neat background images as well. Actually anything botanical is my style. 

This first set of cards is what is referred to as 'simple stamping'.  This means using just paper, ink and stamps.  

This Gorgeous Leaves stamp set & bundle is one of the choices you can pick with the Starter Kit special going on right now.  It's actually free; one of 12 different options just through tomorrow, September 30th.   Click here to see them all. 

Here's the most simple card I made.  But with these beautiful colors it is still striking. Cherry Cobbler, Evening Evergreen & Cinnamon Cider.  Most of the cards used this color combination.  

You might wonder how I come up with these color combinations.  I usually pull out sheets of card stock and see if they work together.  Many times I have to switch one or more out before I'm happy.  I don't use a color wheel or any guide; I just play and use what feels right.

This next card is a 3" X 5 1/2" panel of Vanilla CS with a thin edge of Cinnamon Cider.  The greeting is stamped and heat embossed on a 1" strip of Evening Evergreen.  I did go over the White embossing with my Cinnamon Cider Blends marker. I also colored the White ribbon with the same Blends marker before tying my bow. 

Do you ever create your own paper with stamps & ink?  These types of images make it fun & easy to do. Try it; you will love filling in your card stock with pretty images.  Remember to always start with your largest images first. 

In this next card I added a few of the die-cuts from the Intricate Leaves dies from this bundle.  The greeting is from the Pretty Pumpkins stamp set seen here.  I colored the small leaves image with Stampin' Write markers.  

This next card is so quick, easy and still eye catching.  Start with a pretty greeting in the center (Pretty Pumpkins set) and add leaves in opposing corners.  A little splatter, sponging and gems and you're done! 

Now for the next few cards we're getting into some stamping techniques!  This set of cards is made with the Emboss Resist technique.  Same colors as above with the addition of Bumblebee and Gold. 

I embossed the leaves images using Versamark ink and clear embossing onto Vanilla CS.  Next, sponge Classic ink randomly, directly over the embossing filling in the entire piece of card stock with color. 

Then use a damp tissue or cloth to wipe off the excess ink.  It will come off of the embossed images but stay on the card stock.  So fun and gorgeous! 

I toned down & softened the look with a piece of Vellum card stock (3 1/2" X 4 3/4"). The die-cuts are all from the Intricate Leaves dies. The pretty greeting that is heat embossed with Gold embossing powder is from the Heartfelt Wishes stamp set seen here. It's in the Holiday catalog as well.  

Now we're on to the Joseph's Coat technique.  It's very similar to the Emboss Resist except you add color before you heat emboss!  

As you can see the Joseph's Coat can create a beautiful 'coat of colors'.  The card above uses the same colors as the previous cards including Bumblebee. Holiday rhinestones are perfect with these colors. 

This next card has Old Olive instead of Evening Evergreen.  The Evergreen was just too dark. It is Cherry Cobbler card stock & ink. My photo came out a bit off color. 

Here's what the vanilla card stock looked like before I added the leaves embossed in Clear embossing powder.  

Once you have clear embossed leaves over this sponged piece you rub on a darker color of Classic or water-based ink. Anything but permanent ink should work.  I used Soft Suede here. Most people use Black.  

After I rubbed the Soft Suede ink pad directly onto the embossed card stock I used a tissue to wipe off the excess from the embossed leaves revealing the beautifully colored leaves.  

*Watch the video below to see this technique done Live. 

And here is the video.  Click on this photo below to see these cards made!  I hope you are inspired to use some of these techniques! 

Don't forget that tomorrow is the last day of Sale-a-Bration!  Don't miss out on getting your favorite items FREE!  The link to order is below. 

Or choose the Starter Kit deal and become a member of the Stampin' Up! family & my Flowerbug's Team! 

~~~

September Specials

Host code: WGVUYXTF

*click here to order

Get 10 beautiful hand-made cards from me with a $50 online order

from September 20-30th! 

All online orders will receive a free PDF tutorial filled with projects featuring

the Painted Christmas Suite!

BEST DEAL!

Get a Free Bundle  from the Holiday Catalog when you choose the Starter kit! 

Plus pick out $125 in product of your choice for just $99 and shipping is free! 

You're getting up to $205 in products for just $99!

 

The Beautiful Christmas Season bundle can be yours FREE!

We made this pretty (and easy) card at my September Christmas card class.  

It's made with the Christmas Season bundle seen here.  This bundle was one of my first purchases from the 2021 Holiday Catalog; I think it's extremely versatile and SO easy to create with!  

Here's the inside view: 

The colors include Evening Evergreen, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake & Very Vanilla. The sentiments are from the Poinsettia Petals stamp set in the Annual Catalog. 

Did you know you can get this $54 bundle FREE with purchase of the Stampin' Up! Starter kit?!  It's one of 12 choices you can pick from to add to your kit at no cost. See them here 

Right now, through Thursday, September 30th you can pick out $125 in product of your choice for $99 and free shipping too! Then choose a free bundle from this list to add on.  With the free Paper Pumpkin kit you'll receive over $200 for just $99!  It's a crazy, good deal. 

Then enjoy the 20% discount as long as you stay active.  When you're done ordering, you just stop.  No pressure, no need to 'sell or hold events'; just enjoy being a part of the Stampin' Up! family and my awesome Flowerbug's Team!  Get your kit here. 

After we stamped the background we added texture with either the Timber or Timeworn Type 3D embossing folders.  There is also a few spatter images from the Gorgeous Leaves stamp set. 

I created a video for a very similar card; check it out below: 

~~~

September Specials

Host code: WGVUYXTF

*click here to order

Get 10 beautiful hand-made cards from me with a $50 online order

from September 20-30th! 

All online orders will receive a free PDF tutorial filled with projects featuring

the Painted Christmas Suite!

BEST DEAL!

Get a Free Bundle  from the Holiday Catalog when you choose the Starter kit! 

Plus pick out $125 in product of your choice for just $99 and shipping is free! 

You're getting up to $205 in products for just $99!

 

Amazing, Fun & Easy Center-Fold card video!

We made several neat Center Flap cards on this week's Live (right here) at 7:30 pm CT. Here's my monthly FB Live schedule:

 

 

Tonight is the 4th Monday so we're stamping at 7:30 pm CT here on my FB page.  The cards are a unique Center Flap fold and SO EASY! This fold also shows off your pretty designer paper beautifully. 

 

Prep your pieces to make some.

You'll need:

• Card stock: one piece 4 1/4" X 5 1/2", one at 3" X 5 1/2" and one 1" X 4 3/4" for flap & a neutral piece for the inside greeting at 2 3/4" X 4"
• Designer paper: 1 piece 4" X 5 1/4" and 1 at 2 3/4" X 5 1/4"
• A large label (punched or die-cut) for the greeting
• Ink, a greeting image, gems & ribbon to match

The black & white card is made with the Beautifully Penned designer paper in the Sale-a-Bration catalog.  This pretty black & white paper is 12 X 12 and only available through Thursday, Sept 30th.  It's free with a $50 order here. 

 

I used the Thinking, Thanks & Peace stamp set for the front and the Heartfelt Wishes for inside.  The die-cut is from the Stitched So Sweetly seen here.  

 

It's such a great time to order those items you've been wanting since you get something free with each $50-100 you spend!  FREE is everyone's favorite thing!  Shop here. 

Plus if you spend $50 in September you get a stack of 10 hand made cards from me as a thank you.  *see below.

 

Here's the video: 

~~~

September Specials

Host code: WGVUYXTF

*click here to order

Get 10 beautiful hand-made cards from me with a $50 online order

from September 20-30th! 

All online orders will receive a free PDF tutorial filled with projects featuring

the Painted Christmas Suite!

BEST DEAL!

Get a Free Bundle  from the Holiday Catalog when you choose the Starter kit! 

Plus pick out $125 in product of your choice for just $99 and shipping is free! 

You're getting up to $205 in products for just $99!

 

Textures & Frames; who knew you could create such fun & variety?!

At first this stamp set baffled me; what would I do with it?  Well leave it up to the creativity of others to spark my own!  I got some ideas online and all of a sudden I couldn't stop! 

I shared all of these cards and tips on making them on this week's Tuesday FB Live.  Look!

The card above is my favorite.  It truly makes me smile!  That sentiment is from the In Your Words stamp set in the back of the Sale-a-Bration catalog.  It's free with a $300 order through Sept 30th.  See it here. 

You may wonder how I achieved that perfectly shaped smile on these faces.  I searched all of my stamp sets for a circle shape and found one in the cat in the Cute Halloween set.  Watch the video here or seen below to see how I did it.  The eyes are clear rhinestones colored Black with my Blends marker.  The colors are Bermuda Bay, Granny Apple Green, Fresh Freesia and Pacific Point. 

In the video I also share a neat tip on getting a smaller Postage shape from our Rectangular Postage Stamp punch.  

If you love quirky and unique get this while you can.  This fun Textures & Frames stamp set is free with a $50 through the end of September. *stock up on your favorites and earn it free! 

~~~

This next card uses the same solid circle image to create a colorful background for the nice, large greeting in the Thinking, Thanks & Peace stamp set.  I also used the Basic Border dies to create the eye catching rick-rack border trim. 

These colors include Fresh Freesia, Bermuda Bay & Granny Apple Green. 

~~~

Next I added some vellum dragonflies to a colorful column on this White card using the Dragonfly Dreams stamp set and the Dragonflies punch.  

The greeting is also from the wonderful In Your Words stamp set; I fussy cute it and popped it up with Stampin' Dimensionals. 

~~~

I love this one too!  It's cased from my Team Member Tracey.  I had to make one in these colors.  

The die-cut swirl is from the Painted Labels dies and again the greeting is from the In Your Words stamp set. 

~~~

I was inspired by the card on the lower right (seen by other Demo's) to create one with TALL candles!  I used my Stamparatus for both of these cards!  Watch how in the video below or click here. 

These colors include Granny Apple Green, Bermuda Bay, Pacific Point & Crushed Curry. The greeting is from the Happiest of Birthdays stamp set. 

Which is your favorite??

~~~

And lastly is a simple card using the open circle image and a few stars die-cut with the Stitched Stars dies and our Rainbow Glimmer paper.  

The greeting is from the Happiest of Birthdays stamp set.  I love how easy you can create a masculine card with this unique stamp set!  

Don't miss out if you want this set! It's unavailable after Sept 30th! You'll also get 10 free hand-made cards from me with a $50 order!  Details are below.

Here's the video below: 

~~~

September Specials

Host code: WGVUYXTF

*click here to order

Get 10 beautiful hand-made cards from me with a $50 online order

from September 20-30th! 

All online orders will receive a free PDF tutorial filled with projects featuring

the Painted Christmas Suite!

BEST DEAL!

Get a Free Bundle  from the Holiday Catalog when you choose the Starter kit! 

Plus pick out $125 in product of your choice for just $99 and shipping is free! 

You're getting up to $205 in products for just $99!