I purchased this Chevron Cover Plate a while back and never actually used it until recently when I made this card.  I will say, I love the way it cuts and looks so I do see some more of these types of plates in my future.  I like that you can cut out a card background as I did. You could also use the little chevron pieces that fall out to fill in the negative space.  I've seen so many cute ideas...will have to try some other designs.  This card features some old DSP from Stampin' Up!, cardstock and inks are also from SU!, sentiment is from a Hero Arts set called Many Birthday Messages.

My Pinspiration came from this color combo (which for the record also made me covet those Hunter boots which apparently are no longer available--I did get short red ones instead...now I want a hot pink pair).  This card had me pulling out some oldies but goodies.  I thought I was really clever punching out the top of my cupcake using the center of one of the flowers from a scrap of paper I used for the background.  I really loved the way it turned out--looks like frosting!  The DSP is from a paper pad from Papertrey Ink--not even sure if they still sell it.  I bought it years ago when PTI was at the CHA convention in Chicago...wish CHA would come back to the area!  The card base is PTIs white 110# cardstock.   The other papers, inks, stamps, punch are from Stampin' Up!

My biggest designer crush has got to be on Kristina Werner.  I discovered her years ago as 'StarofMay' on Splitcoaststampers and have been following her ever since.  Even in times where I wasn't particularly crafty, I'd find myself popping over to her blog to see what she was creating.  I love that she is designing for Simon Says Stamp! and have collected many of her products--currently waiting on an order of new stuff as a matter of fact!  I love this card design of hers for many reasons but the most obvious--the Washi and the layout.  Love the clean look and the gridlines in the back--so simple.  I used my Stampin' Up! scoring board and easily scored the lines every 1/2 inch.  The Washi-covered cardstock was so fast and easy--the hardest part was deciding which tapes to use.  The sentiment is from one of Dawn McVey's sets available at Papertrey.  The sentiment was stamped with White Craft Ink onto a scrap of white paper then heat embossed with white.  The ink was smudged over the top of the embossed image and then the corners were snipped with the diagonal of a square punch.  Super fast, super easy.

I saw that Simon Says Stamp! was hosting a challenge over on Splitcoaststampers so I had to play--I am really hoping to win one of those gift cards :-)  The first card was Pinspired by this card.  I loved the idea of a stacked diecut--so simple yet I had never tried it.  While it was tedious to glue the pieces together--I loved the end result.  The picture really doesn't do it justice!  The diecut and accompanying sentiment are from Expressions from You designed by Kristina Werner. The chevron stamps are from a great set of borders from Mama Elephant that I purchased last year and just now finally inked!  

For this next card, I tried just stacking the 'Happy' in order to have it stand out a little more.  These diecuts seemed more difficult to work with--guessing because the word has more intricate details than the 'you' sentiment.  This card came together rather quickly--I defaulted to the same layout and design as my pink washi tape card.

Several years ago, I quit blogging. You can see my old blog here.   The decision came mainly as a result of some changes in Stampin' Up's demonstrator agreement that prohibited demos from blogging about other products/companies, etc. I don't really know if that has changed but I am kind of at a point with my Stampin' Up! Career that if I needed to resign as a result of my blog, I would be okay with that.

The past few years has led me to cut back from crafting in general but I miss it so I am trying to make time for it. 2014 brought along some new resolve for me in several areas of my life, but mainly my overall happiness is the focus. Quite frankly, I am pretty darn happy and know I am blessed beyond measure, but this is a selfish kind of happy--an 'all about me' kinda happy I am talking about. So, going to commit to making time for me: time to workout, time to craft and time to just engage with my family and friends. The more card making I have been doing, the more I started to miss blogging so with this nifty Weebly app, I can conveniently blog in those moments before bed when I am typically scrolling through FB or Pinterest.

This 'Oh Happy Day' stamp is from one of my new Stampin' Up! favorites--Starburst Sayings. Love the framelits that cut the coordinating shape out so nicely!

I made this card for a challenge at Splitcoaststampers--had never tried a tent topper before. A fun alternative to a standard card. The banner punch I got with my last order is quickly becoming one of my favorite go-to accessories. If you don't snag one during Sale-a-bration, be sure to grab it when it becomes available to purchase in the next idea book and catalog.



Other products:

Paper: Whisper White, Melon Mambo DDP, , textured Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake DSP,

Ink: Melon Mambo

Ribbon: Bermuda Bay (no longer available)