Happy Graduation--#tgifc261

It's a fun product challenge this week at TGIF Challenges:  Use Your Words.  This challenge highlights word dies. I pulled out my retiring Well Written dies (#148534) to create a Happy Graduation card.  It is sad that traditional graduation ceremonies are not taking place this year--especially for our high school seniors who didn't experience proms, awards nights and all the fun end of the year events that mark this important time of passage into adulthood.  Without the ceremonies and parties, graduates still need a recognition of their achievement and I've had many customers ask for graduation cards.  It has been fun creating these cards in Upson-Lee High School colors:  purple, silver and black.  

Here is the one I created for this challenge and also for a friend who wants a card for her son's girlfriend:

When Blackberry Bliss was first introduced as an In Color, I promoted it as the perfect Upson-Lee purple!  So it is the card base and the 4-layer die cut "happy".  

The focal point is the large floral stem from Forever Blossoms stamp set (#151457).  It was stamped in VersaMark, heat embossed in Silver and colored with the Purple Posy Combo (149566) and Soft Sea Foam combo (#148059) Stampin' Blends. The stamped piece was layered on Basic Black card stock and then on Silver Glimmer paper (#146960).  

"Graduation" is from the retiring Well Said stamp set (148796) it was stamped in VersaMark and heat embossed in Silver on Basic Black card stock.  Three Rhinestones (#144220) complete the card.

Check out the fun uses for word dies over at the TGIF Challenges blog here.

Here's to all the graduates this year!

--Sara Nell

A Rainbow for Encouragement--#tgifc258

This week's TGIF color challenge is Rainbow!!!  I decided to use a rainbow as a backdrop for a message of encouragement to a special (and beautiful!) friend.  Everyone can use a little rainbow in their lives right now.

For my rainbow, I used strips of card stock in the rainbow colors of the Brights Collection:  Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Poppy Parade, Gorgeous Grape, Pacific Point and Granny Apple Green.  These strips were glue to a piece of Whisper White card stock.  I die cut the leaves image from the Well Written dies (#148534) in Basic Black and glued it on the rainbow.  Then I put this piece through my die cutting machine with the Subtle 3D embossing folder (#151775).  I love how this folder brings the leaves and panels together into one "painted" image.

The greeting is from The Strong & Beautiful stamp set (#148732).  It was stamped and die cut with a Rectangle Stitched die (#148551).   A Basic Black layer over a Whisper White thick card base and three rhinestone "diamonds" complete the card.

There are lots of different rainbows on the projects created for this color challenge over on the TGIF Challenges blog here.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend.

--Sara Nell

Hello!--#tgifc219

It's color challenge week over at TGIF Challenges.  This week we have three new In Colors:  Seaside Spray, Purple Posy, and Rococo Rose. For some reason this color combo gave me fits.  I think I pulled out about 20 stamp sets.  I finally threw my hands in the air and said, "Let's do grunge!"  I pulled out my Gallery Grunge stamp set and inks and created this:

The Purple Posy ink pad is not yet available so I used my Stampin' Write marker to color the distressed circles image.  The little Seaside Spray bird was die cut with a die from the Well Written Dies and the greeting from the Well Said stamp set.  The three little faceted dots are from the 2019-2021 In Color collection.  I used the Light Seaside Spray Stampin' Blends marker to color the piece of Whisper White baker's twine that is tied around the card front.

I may have been stressed over coming up with a stamp set, but I really like how the card turned out.  I need to pull out Gallery Grunge more often! 

Here's where you can see several talented stampers' takes on this color combo:  TGIF Challenges Blog.

Thanks for stopping by today!--Sara Nell

Hello, Friend--#tgifc215

The TGIF color challenge for this week is Night of Navy, Granny Apple Green, and Pool Party.  I've always liked blues and greens together, so this was a fun challenge.  I decided to combine the colors for a watercolor background invoking a pond-side scene:

For my background, I inked up Clear Block E with stripes of the challenge colors, spritzed it with water and then stamped it on Watercolor Paper.  I held the block in place for a few minutes  so the paper could absorb the ink and water.  You never know what you are going to get when you do this! 

To finish my little pond scene, I added a Granny Apple Green clump of plants and a Night of Navy butterfly die cut from the Well Written dies.  The "friend" in script is also from this die set.  I adhered 3 die cut words together for my card.  The "hello" is from the coordinating stamp set Well Said.  I added a Vellum card stock oval behind the scene to help it stand out a bit.  A fold of Granny Apple Green 1/2" textured weave ribbon at the top of the focal piece completes the card.

Head over to the TGIF Challenges Blog to see some fantastic projects using this fun color combo:

Thanks for stopping by!--Sara Nell