Tiddbits from Dawn

A Good Day to Make a Baby Card

I am finishing up a baby quilt to put in the mail this week and needed a baby card to put with it. I turned to the sweet little images in the A Good Day stamp set to create one. I had a hard time picking one of those little critters but I finally settled on the deer.

My goal is to put this in the mail before Saturday when our great-niece, Ellie, turns 6 months old. Thankfully, you don't really outgrow a quilt. This sweet little gift enclosure was made using a Whisper White Narrow Note Card. The Polka Dot Basics Embossing Folder was used on a piece of Powder Pink Card Stock to overlay on the front of the note card. Of course, I used my Stampin' Blends to color the little deer before using one of the circle dies in the Layering Circle Framelits to cut it out. He was backed with a Soft Sky scalloped circle punched with the 1 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch. I finally remembered to pull out one of the Corrugated Elements to use and it's the cute heart. Layering ribbon, the 5/8" Burlap Ribbon and Powder Pink 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon was the perfect spot to add the deer and the heart. I decided I didn't want a sentiment to take up any room on the front of this card so I added it inside the card.

Best Birds has such a pretty font that I chose the "congratulations" from it to use with the diaper pin from Better Together to finish off the card. It's ready to go as soon as I get the binding on the quilt!

It rained all day yesterday and I enjoyed it! I enjoyed it even more when I read my cousin, who lives west of NYC, say his power had just been restored after 60 hours of being out. Thankfully, he was able to borrow a generator from a friend. I'll take the rain. I'll be stamping again this afternoon and getting that binding on that baby quilt. I hope you have a good day! - Dawn

Don't forget in order to order the 5th Anniversary Paper Pumpkin kit for March before March 10th to receive the special gift Stampin' Up! is including in each 5th Anniversary box. Click before for more information.

Smitten

We have friends who recently had a new baby girl! I'm taking a meal this afternoon so I didn't mail them a congratulations card. Instead I'll take it today too. Since the baby was born in cooler weather I thought I'd pull out Smitten Mittens stamp set and coordinating Mitten Builder Dies to use. I think those sweet tiny mittens are perfect in pink!

Powder Pink is the perfect baby girl pink. It' so soft and sweet. Powder Pink is in the banner, cut from a piece of Whole Lot of Lovely Designer Series Paper and the mittens and sentiment were stamped with Powder Pink too. The cute scalloped oval, die cut with the Layering Ovals Framelits, is also Powder Pink card stock. I just had to use an embossing folder on the Thick White card stock base. I chose one of my favorites, the Polka Dot Basics, to emboss the background. It was all tied together with a little White Baker's Twine bow. Who wouldn't be smitten with a new baby girl?

Inside I found the perfect sentiment in the Better Together stamp set, another of my favorite things. Then I added a x-stitched stamped heart from Smitten Mittens over it.

Last night I went to a family Christmas celebration at my mother's Assisted Living. They had so much fun! There were a wonderful singer and even Santa Claus there. They sang lots of Christmas carols and then broke out other music. Some of them even did the twist and the director started a congo line. It was fun just to watch them have fun! My fun today is going to be delivering a meal to my friend and meeting her new baby girl! I hope you have a fun day too. - Dawn

BABY Blocks

I sat down yesterday afternoon for a few minutes and picked up an old issue of Paper Crafts which, unfortunately, is no longer being published. I saw this cute card that I thought I could duplicate, especially since I saved my Little Letters Thinlit Dies. 

Baby blocks! These were so easy to make with the Squares Layering Framelits. First, I used two squares that fit inside one another to make the frame. Next, I used the larger of the two squares to cut out the wood part of the blocks from the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack. Finally, I used my retired Little Letter Thinlits to cut out "BABY" in the same colors as the frames. These blocks remind me of some that my children played with, only theirs are slightly more beat up! I used the "Welcome" stamp from Special Celebration. I covered the "baby" with tape and inked up the Welcome, removed the tape and stamped Welcome on the card. I don't need baby cards too often lately but I do have a niece who's expecting a little girl next month. I made this card with them in mind. Now I have a card ready to go when the baby arrives.

Inside the card I stamped a sentiment from Better Together and punched four little hearts, with a retired heart punch, to add above the sentiment.

It's the weekend! Tomorrow is my mother's birthday and I have ordered a cake to take to her Assisted Living at lunch time. I took her and my daughter to lunch last Saturday when my daughter was visiting as they both have birthdays in the same week. After taking the cake, I have no plans. That's the best kind of weekend! I hope your weekend is wonderful. - Dawn

The Stamp Review Crew: Playful Pals Edition

January 16th already, half way through the first month of 2017 and time for another hop with the Stamp Review Crew.  As the banner says, we're all using Playful Pals on this hop to give you some inspiration for a set that first joined us in the 2016 Occasions Catalog. Just in case you haven't hopped with us before I'll fill you in a bit but you can find more information about us and a full list of this week's hoppers by clicking the banner above. We're a group of International Stampin' Up! Demonstrators who hop on the first and third Monday of each month. What's different about us is that we all use the same stamp set to bring you lots of ideas for using it. 

If you didn't start right here on my blog then maybe you came from My Papercraft Journey, Kelly Kent's blog. Kelly's way on the other side of the world from me in Australia and she always has awesome ideas to share!

I went a little wild today, appropriate for animals though isn't it? There are so many fantastic things people have come up with using Playful Pals and their coordinating Thinlits Dies, Playful Pyramids. I did use a couple of the animals parts thinlits but I didn't create any pyramids. 

Getting a head start on some cards for the next month, I started with a Valentine card for one of the grand boys! I'll probably be making one or two more of this one. I used the Labeler Alphabet to make the greeting. The row of sweet little hearts is from Sending Love, in the Occasions catalog.

I'm just going to show you the inside of this card to finish off the pun. This little sentiment is also found in Sending Love.

I also need another baby card this month and it's another baby card for a girl. A pink bunny will work!

Flirty Flamingo, Sweet Sugarplum, some embossed Polka Dots, a bow and done! The sentiment is from Suite Sayings.

Our youngest grandchild turns two at the end of the month. Now I can cross her card off the list!

She has a new dog at her house and our daughter says Lucy "mothers" him constantly. To go along with her card, she's getting her own stuffed puppy that she can mother all she wants!

Finally, I couldn't stop, one more card celebrating our nearby National Football Champions, the Clemson Tigers.

It doesn't hurt that our three children and their spouses are all Clemson Alum!

You're ready to hop along to Tanya Boser's blog, Tinkerin-in-ink. Tanya's the brains behind this hop and she always amazes me with her great cards! Can't wait to see what she has for us this week…now let's get going!

 

Affectionately Made

I'm a bit late with a new baby card for a friend whose little one will soon be three months old! I finally got one made on Sunday afternoon when I snuck away to my craft room. It was rest time for our two charges and I took advantage of it.

Can you tell Affectionately Yours is my favorite Designer Series Paper? I've used it two days in a row because I love the colors. The whole base is backed with that sweet little print. I almost forgot about the pair of Floral Affection Embossing Folders but they worked so well to frame that sentiment from Better Together. The sentiment was stamped with Watermelon Wonder ink and then the embossed piece was backed with Watermelon Wonder. That's all it needed.

For the card's interior I found a cute sentiment in Sunshine Sayings to use. To frame it Stampin' Write Markers were used to ink up a bouquet from Bloomin' Love to frame that sentiment.

I hope you have a terrific Tuesday! - Dawn

The Stamp Review Crew: Special Edition Host Sets

You get a bonus hop from The Stamp Review Crew this month and we're showcasing the Host Sets in both the Annual Catalog and the Holiday Catalog.

 

 

First, just a little information about the Stamp Review Crew in case you haven't visited us before. We're a group of international Stampin' Up! Demonstrators who usually hop twice a month, on the first and third Monday. As I said, today is a bonus hop. If you get off track at anytime during your hop please click the banner above to go to The Stamp Review site and you'll find a full list of hoppers there. That will help you get right back on track. If it's Sunday night when you're hopping not everyone may be "live" yet. We give it until Monday to work out any kinks in the links!

If you haven't started here, on my blog, then you may have hopped over from Mickey Robert's blog, Paper Conversation. I bet you found a fun idea over there!

I have only purchased one Host Set this year and it is one I couldn't resist, Pun Intended! My husband is known for his "puns" so I bought this set so I'd have a few of my own! 

That bee is my favorite image in this set. I wanted to used the Labeler Alphabet stamp set to make a custom sentiment. I stamped it out on Whisper White with Daffodil Delight ink and trimmed it out with my Paper Snips. A checkerboard background was cut from Daffodil Delight and Basic Black card stock and then bee is showcased on top of that! He was stamped in black ink and I used my Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write Marker to color him before cutting the panel out with the Squares Layering Framelits. I'm partial to scallops so it's nice to have choices! Of course, his wings are coated in Wink of Stella for some shimmer and shine. His little flight trail is the dotted line stamp that I was able to curl, since it's photopolymer, on the acrylic block before stamping. 

Let's look inside the card to see what all the buzz is about....

This could be an actual baby card (add a "congratulation" at the end) or a card for your special "baby"! 

What Host Stamp Sets are your favorites? I'd love to know!

You're ready to hop along now and you'll go to My Sandbox, Nikki Spencer's blog. I'm sure she'll "wow" you with her project, she does me!

                      

                      

The Stamp Review Crew: Foxy Friends Edition

 It's time for another Stamp Review Crew Blog Hop! I'm always excited to see what everyone creates because I know it's going to be good! We're all using the Foxy Friends stamp set this week. It's a super cute set that has a coordinating punch, the Fox Builder Punch. I'm sure you've seen how many things people are creating using that punch, they're all over Pinterest. If you're hopping on Sunday we've gone live to work out any kinks in our hop as we include Demonstrators from all over the world, but they should be worked out by Monday. If you get lost along the way or want to find out more about us then click the link or header above and you'll find your at the Stamp Review Crew website where you'll find a full list of hoppers. Now let's get hopping!

If you didn't start hopping here then you may have come from Val Moody's blog, Stamp with Val. Val's projects are always an inspiration!

Until I started working on my card for today I had forgotten that I needed a baby gift, so Foxy Friends came to the rescue. He's perfect for a cute baby card and that's what I've made.

This dressed up fox is carrying some love to some new parents! He really stands out on the background full of embossed foxes. They were stamped in Versa Mark and embossed with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder. But the feature fox shares the greetings in a special way, in his bow tie that was cut with a die from the Snow Friends Framelits. It takes a very dapper fox to bring these greetings.

Inside the card is another fox with sentiments from Happy Happenings. What could be happier than a new baby?

You're ready to hop along to Stampin-Style, the blog of the always stylin', Mike Funke!

                                          

I hope you have something fun planned for Labor Day. Just chillin' sounds like a good plan to me! - Dawn

Snow! Baby

I was invited to a baby shower this weekend and the theme is "Baby it's Cold Outside". I thought I'd make a shower card using that same theme. The Snow Place stamp set was the way to go...

They'll be a family of three, so three snow people it is! And the baby is a boy so I gave him blue ear muffs. For the background I already had this piece of Soft Sky card stock embossed with the Large Polka Dots so I randomly stamped the snowflakes from Snow Place in each large dot and embossed them with White Stampin' Emboss Powder. I've really gotten some good use from the Washi Label Punch lately. For the sentiment stamped on it I used the SNOW! from Snow Place and I found that cute BABY in Tin of Cards stamp set.

Inside the card, I've decided to write a little jingle I sometimes put in baby cards when it's a first baby. My mother told me this many years ago. "I wish you luck, I wish you joy, I wish you first a baby boy. And when his hair begins to curl, I wish you then a baby girl!" When my friends and I were having our first babies we didn't know what sex the baby was but we do know this new mommy will be having a boy first! I just stamped a little snowman inside too.

Well, I'm off to make some check marks on a new "to do" list! I finally completed the last one and then some. This card is one of those things I can check off but I've got more to do. I hope you have a good day. Come back tomorrow when we'll be having another Pals Paper Arts challenge!

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It's a Boy!

I never knew what any of our babies were before they were born. It's rare now that someone doesn't find out the gender of their unborn baby and it's no different with two of our nieces. They're both having boys! One is due this coming Friday and the other on August 1st. Those cousins will have fun together! 

While I was making cards over the weekend I went ahead and got a baby card made for this week's baby. I used a simple layout and Zoo Baby to make it.

I love the sheet of paper in Cherry on Top with all the banners across it and that's where I started. I cut off about four rows of the banners and rounded two corners with the Project Life Corner Rounder Punch. I did the same on the Whisper White card stock layer. I love the animals in Zoo Baby and chose the elephant to take our congratulations to the new parents. He's stamped in Bermuda Bay ink and then again in Pool Party. The Pool Party ear was trimmed off and added to the Bermuda Bay elephant with a Stampin' Dimensional. Three little Pool Party Candy Dots make the trail to interior of the card.

Take a look at it...

A couple of banners were cut with the Balloon Dies to go across the top of the inside. The alligator is sharing the love with some hearts punched with the Confetti Hearts Border Punch.

Thanks for stopping by today! Tomorrow is another Pals Paper Arts Challenge. Be sure to come by and see what the Resident Artists have created this week! I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday! - Dawn

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Bonjour Beautiful for FMS 189

First,  I'm sorry if you received a partial post of today's post yesterday. (Confused yet?) It went out somehow and obviously, I played a part but still haven't figured out what I did. :)

One of ur daughter's childhood friends will be welcoming a brand new baby girl into her family this week! This baby will have two sweet sisters to help "mother" her too! How much fun! I thought I'd get a jump on things and use the Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week to make a card to take to them when I go visit. 

This sketch was challenging for me! I had so many die cuts scattered around because I couldn't decide which colors to use where. I had some Designer Series Paper pulled to use and changed my mind. Oh my! The DSP did help me decide on Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush and Pool Party for my colors. The Floral Frames Collection Framelits trimmed out my flower dies in a snap. The flower was topped with a 1" circle of Cucumber Crush card stock for the center. The "square layer" on the sketch, which isn't square at all on my card, is one of the Fun Frames embossing folders which I snipped out after it was embossed. I only recently bought these when they were on the Weekly Deals and I verified that they were remaining in the 2015-16 Annual Catalog! The Cucumber Crush alligator is from Zoo Babies and he's on a tag from the Chalk Talk Framelits. There's a lot going on here, isn't there? When I finally had all my elements laid out I still had to decide what color card base to use. The new Thick Whisper White card stock won!! It is so nice. Now my white cards don't do "splits" when I stand them up to photograph!

No waste on this card as you'll see inside. I used up some of practice dies! Now I won't find them after the colors retire and have to throw them away!

 

I'm at least ahead on the card for the baby's arrival anyway! We had some company yesterday and that was fun. I did manage to paint a piece of furniture and finish an outfit for Lucy on Saturday. It's so funny how I look at fabric with my Stampin' Up! colors in mind. I decided this outfit is Pool Party, Calypso Coral and Watermelon Wonder. Think about those colors together for awhile and I'll try to post a picture of the outfit tomorrow! :) Have a great day. - Dawn

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