Just Cheeky – Tic Tac Toe Challenge #56

by Shannon Jaramillo // March 19, 2020 // 3 Comments

It’s Thursday which means it is time for another Tic Tac Toe Challenge! We’re using a board created for us by our featured designer, LeAnne. Pick a row, column or diagonal and play along! This time I went for the far left column and chose Easter Sentiment, Chick, Yellow.

I’ve gone through ALL of my stamps and pulled out everything Spring and Easter related so fair warning that there will be lots of cheerful cards on my blog for the next while!!

Measurements:

Mango Melody Card Base 4 1/4″ x 11″ scored at 5 1/2″
White Card Stock 4″ x 5 1/4″

Details:

This sweet card began with the cue word chick. I have very recently purchased this red rubber stamp called Baby Chick Totem from Whimsy Stamps. It just cracks me up, I love it so!! And it really reminds me of the characters by the Current Catalog company from many years ago, I believe entitled Suzy’s Zoo. I wonder if they are still around?!?

I went really bright with the colors today – I’m so pleased that Stampin’ Up! has added some really bright colors to their offerings. I started the chicks with a base of Light So Saffron, and then blended in both Light and Dark Mango Melody. Their beaks and limbs are Light and Dark Pumpkin Pie, the leaves are Light and Dark Call Me Clover, and the teeny flowers are Light Blackberry Bliss.
The Easter sentiment is from Stampin’ Up!’s Itty Bitty Greetings – itty bitty was perfect for this card!

I found some white baker’s twine in my stash and colored it with my Dark Mango Melody Stampin’ Blend – it’s SO fun to make custom colors!!
And of course both the flowers and the chicks have had Wink of Stella added – I just LOVE the sparkle!

The interior of my card is quite simple, just a stitched rectangle as I wanted it to be in keeping with the rest of the card – clean and simple, letting the colored image take center stage.
I adore this darling DSP that I found to match everything perfectly – it’s from the Birthday Bonanza DSP!

I hope you are inspired by both the board and my card and that you find some time to play along with the Tic Tac Toe Challenge this week! Please pop on over to the challenge to see the wonderful inspiration from the rest of the design team!!

Blessings to you!

Supplies (all Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted):

Card Stock: Mango Melody; Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White (80 lb)

DSP: Birthday Bonanza DSP Stack (Mango Melody)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Versamark Onyx Black

Stamps: Baby Chick Totem by Whimsy Stamps; Itty Bitty Greetings by Stampin’ Up!

Coloring Tools: Stampin’ Blends – Light So Saffron and Light & Dark Mango Melody (chicks); Light & Dark Pumpkin Pie (chick’s beaks & limbs); Light & Dark Call Me Clover (stems & leaves); Light Blackberry Bliss (teeny flowers). ShinHan Twin Touch – CG0.5 and CG1 (cool Grey)

Dies: Stitched Rectangles Dies

Tools: Big Shot; Stampin’ Trimmer (both retired)

Embellishments: White Baker’s Twine

Other: Whisper White Envelope

An Open Heart – Freshly Made Sketches 422

by Shannon Jaramillo // February 16, 2020 // 5 Comments

Hello my stampin’ peeps! I am back in town and was SO happy to be able to perch on my stool in my craft space and MAKE SOMETHING! I’ve been away TOO long! And I have just enough time to squeeze in the latest Freshly Made Sketches challenge! So let’s get to it!

Measurements:

Mossy Meadow Card Base 4 1/4″ x 11″ scored at 5 1/2″
Pear Pizzazz Card Stock 4″ x 5 1/4″
Strip of Garden Lane DSP 2″ x 5 1/4″
White Die Cut Card Stock 2 3/8″ x 4 5/16″

Details:

In my search for an image that would fit within the layout parameters, I quickly came across the retired stamp set An Open Heart and decided that it would be perfect. It’s a set that I acquired secondhand and have never stamped up. I have FAR too many of those so was very happy to get it inky! I knew I would be coloring with alcohol markers so I stamped the main image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
Four colors of Stampin’ Blends were used here (you could easily just use one or two): Light & Dark Soft Sea Foam; Light Old Olive and Light Mossy Meadow. I needed a very fine tip pen to color in the branch stem so I pulled out my Mossy Meadow Stampin’ Write Marker for that.
I wasn’t sure what type of foliage I was working with and had no idea what the buds and berries really were so I went with the first image that popped into my head and that was – citrus! So I reached for more Stampin’ Blends in Light So Saffron (may I add that this is a FABULOUS addition to the Stampin’ Blends color variety – if you don’t have it, order it!) and Light Mango Melody. I love the brightness of Mango Melody!

Once the image was colored I searched through my stand alone dies for a rectangle shape narrow and tall enough to use with my stamped image and found the right size in the MFT stamps Pierced Traditional Tags die set. It fit perfectly and I like the added interest the tag shape adds to the card 🙂
I layered the tag over a pattern from the gorgeous Garden Lane DSP and then layered them both over a piece of Pear Pizzazz card stock which has been embossed with the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder.
I added this darling bird image from the same stamp set, again stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black (always use this ink when using alcohol markers), and wondered what color to color it. I am hopelessly illiterate when it comes to birds, but I found inspiration in the yellows of the buds and berries and then added darker shades as I went. When I was finished I had used a total of SIX colors! Light So Saffron, Light Mango Melody on the face, Light and Dark Crumb Cake on the body and Light and Dark Soft Suede on the wing and tail feathers. I’m pretty impressed with how he turned out. I have no idea if any such bird exists in nature but decided that it really doesn’t matter, and that knowledge is SO liberating! I just like the colors!! I fussy cut this little guy out and popped him up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
I found a perfectly small sentiment to add to my card in the Itty Bitty Greetings stamp set. This set is the replacement for Teeny Tiny Wishes.
The layout called for some of ribbon or twine so I reached for (as I often do) my Linen Thread and make a quick bow. I just love (insert audible sigh) these linen bows and add them to projects frequently.
Added some Wink of Stella to the the leaves and called it good – at least for the card front!

I chose a simple white insert for the card and added a darling sentiment from the Forever Lovely stamp set. The sentiment was inked up with Versamark Onyx Black for a vivid stamp and then I added a tiny leaf spring from the same set, colored in Light Soft Sea Foam with just a touch of color from my Mossy Meadow Stampin’ Write Marker. I left it at that for the card interior and proceeded to add matching DSP to the envelope flap and a partial stamp of the main image on the front of the envelope.

It can be sometimes a scary feeling for me when I start a project without a fixed image of the final result in my mind, but I worked through the twists and turns of the creative process and am super happy with how it turned out. Thank you again to the Freshly Made Sketches design team for their inspiration!! Make sure to visit the Freshly Made Sketches website to see all of their beautiful designs!!

Thank you for stopping by today and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Supplies (all Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted):

Card Stock: Mossy Meadow and Pear Pizzazz; and Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White (80 lb)

DSP: Garden Lane

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Versamark Onyx Black

Stamps: An Open Heart, Itty Bitty Greetings and Forever Lovely

Coloring Tools: Light & Dark Soft Sea Foam, Light Old Olive, Light Mossy Meadow, Light So Saffron, Light Mango Melody, Light & Dark Crumb Cake and Light & Dark Soft Suede Stampin’ Blends; Mossy Meadow Stampin’ Write Marker

Dies: MFT Stamps Pierced Traditional Tags & SU’s Envelope Die (retired)

Tools: Big Shot; Subtle 3D Embossing Folder

Embellishments: Linen Thread Wink of Stella

Other: Whisper White Envelope

Hey Lady! – Freshly Made Sketches 417

by Shannon Jaramillo // January 11, 2020 // 4 Comments

Hey there, hi there, ho there…anyone else know what song those lyrics are from? 🙂

Today’s project features a number of products from Stampin’ Up!’s new Occasions Catalog and their 2020 Sale-A-Bration Catalog.

I absolutely adore this piece of pattern paper from Stampin’ Up!’s new ‘Best Dressed’ collection. I accented the bold color in the DSP with bold color in this darling flower stamp which can be found in Stampin’ Up!’s ‘Little Ladybug’ stamp set. I truly enjoyed coloring the flower with SU’s Lovely Lipstick Stampin’ Blends and then used thin lines of Dark Blackberry Bliss to deepen the color in the center. I then stamped, colored and fussy cut an absolutely darling little ladybug to sit on top of the flower (it makes me think of the smoking caterpillar on the mushroom in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ :))

and little Miss Ladybug pairs perfectly with the sentiment!! Oh my gosh – SO cute!!

I added Journey Glaze to the flower center as well as to little Miss Ladybug, and of course, Wink of Stella to the flower petals.

I love being able to use up every last scrap of DSP – don’t you? My piece of DSP was 6 x 6, so with a panel for the card measuring 4 x 5 1/4, I had a 6 x 2 piece left over which I used to cover the envelope flap. I also had a 4 x 3/4 inch strip left so with a strategic trim to one end of it, I was able to add it to the inside of my card. Waste not, want not, right?!?

And here’s a peek at the inside of the card:

This card will be going in Monday’s mail to my mom, I hope she likes it as much as I do!

The latest Freshly Made Sketches challenge was the inspiration for my layout:

I struggled with having the main panel all the way over to the far right, but that’s what challenges are for, right?!?

Thank you SO much for stopping by!

Supplies (all Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted):

Card Stock: Lovely Lipstick; Neenah Solar White Classic Crest 80#

DSP: Best Dressed

Specialty Paper: None

Ink: Versamark Onyx Black & Memento Tuxedo Black

Stamps: Little Ladybug; Angel Policy by Honeybee Stamps

Alcohol Markers: Light & Dark Lovely Lipstick, Dark Blackberry Bliss, Light & Dark Old Olive, Dark Mossy Meadow, Color Lifter; CG2 & CG3 Shin-Han Twin Touch

Dies: Stitched So Sweetly, Stitched Rectangle and Envelope Die (retired)

Tools: Big Shot, Stampin’ Trimmer (both retired)

Embellishments: Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots, Gold Metallic Thread, Journey Glaze by FSJ; Wink of Stella

Other: Whisper White Envelope

Turning My Thoughts Toward Fall…

by Shannon Jaramillo // September 2, 2018 // 3 Comments

Yesterday was the 1st of September and seeing all of the “Fall” photos in my FB and Instagram feeds inspired me to give some of my fall themed stamps some love. We don’t really get “Fall” here in Southern California. We get hot, we get windy, and we get fires, but actual “Autumn” things, not so much. So we create our fall with fake decorations! I will be pulling mine out this next week but in the meantime, here’s a taste of fall:

What do you think? I think it’s yummy and is inspiring me to go with a sunflower fall motif this year!

Measurements:

PTI Rustic White Card Base 4 1/4″ x 11″ scored at 5 1/2″
PTI Rustic White Layer 4″ x 5 1/4″
Soft Suede Layer 2 3/4″ x 5″
Old Olive Layer 2 1/2″ x 4 3/4″
PTI Rustic White Stamped Layer 2 1/4″ x 4 1/2″

Details:

I came across this Stampin’ Up! stamp set a few months ago on one of the FB resale groups I belong to and I was SO HAPPY to be able to claim it! The set is called “Sunflower Serenade” and it’s SU circa 2001. It’s 17 years old but the design is timeless!
I first stamped the image with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and then used the Stampin’ Blends to color everything in. I like to layer color so I won’t lie to you, I colored this image probably five times, making mistakes along the way. But I didn’t worry about it too much as I’m learning the in’s and out’s of the Stampin’ Blends.
After all of my redos, I settled on using the Light Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Blends Marker and then followed it up with a layer of Dark Daffodil Delight. I learned to apply the light color and then wait for it to dry before applying the darker color, AND to not get too close to the edge! I kept having the ink bleed out because there was too much and the Color Lifter couldn’t push it back in because everything was still wet. It is important to note that I am NOT using Whisper White card stock. I’m sure I would not have had so many issues if I had used the proper paper, but Whisper White is too yellow of a white for me. So Papertrey Stampers’ Select or Papertrey Rustic White are my go to’s.

Something else that I tried and was very pleased with was that I colored all of the flowers, stems, and leaves with the Light Daffodil Delight color and then went over it with a coat of Light Old Olive. I love how the color turned out, the yellow and green work so well together!
I also used my Old Olive Stampin’ Write marker to define the leaf details and used Light Crumb Cake, Dark Crumb Cake and the the Bronze Stampin’ Blends for the flower centers. Probably overkill, but I think they look pretty 🙂
Did you see all of the shine on the flowers? I used Journey Glaze on them, just like I used on my last card, and I adore how it turned out! They REALLY pop!

I have a tendency to keep adding “things” until I get the balance right. For this card I added Soft Suede ribbon (probably long retired) and Old Olive ribbon which was current as of last year. Then I went through my paper stash to find this adorable pattern in the “Moroccan” DSP pack from a few years back and die cut a stitched circle out of it to layer behind my stamped panel.
It still wasn’t enough so I pulled out my trusty Linen Thread, made a pretty bow and then topped it off with a long retired Soft Suede button. Yum!!

As you can see, I had trouble stopping so I continued on and stamped and colored the envelope too. I should mention that I did add two of my “oops” pieces of cardstock in the envelope to protect the back side of the envelope from bleed thru from the markers. And of course, a pretty envelope flap!
But what about the inside? Yep, I decorated it as well but kept it simple:

The little bumblebee is from the same stamp set but the sentiment is from a different set. It’s a very old set as well, I just don’t know the name of it at the moment. I think the bumblebee steals the show 🙂

So there you have it. I truly enjoyed creating this little card, I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing it.

Here is a look at the entire stamp set:

And if you are wondering, I’ve realized that I value the freedom of not worrying about which company something came from and just create what my heart thinks is pretty. I just want to enjoy the process and I love hearing your comments, they really encourage me so thank you for taking the time to comment when you do, I appreciate you!

Thank you,

What’s Old is New Again – Honey Bear circa 2000

by Shannon Jaramillo // March 5, 2018 // 3 Comments

Lately I’ve become obsessed with vintage Stampin’ Up! stamps. I adore the images and have been trying my hand at coloring them.

Do you know what I found when I goggled ‘Honey Bear’? Nothing. Not one image of this stamp stamped and colored. So sad 🙁

Here he is a bit closer up. I used Stampin’ Blends for all of the colors:

Light Crumb Cake for the Bear with touches of Dark Crumb Cake and Bronze. Ivory was used for the pads of his feet.
Several coats of Light Daffodil Delight were used for the flowers as well as some Dark Daffodil Delight and a touch of Light Pumpkin Pie.
The bee hive was colored with Light and Dark Daffodil Delight
Bear’s bandana and the patch on his foot were colored with Light and Dark Pumpkin Pie
The grass was colored with Light and Dark Old Olive with a touch of Light Crumb Cake on the grass clumps
I wanted the leaves to be green, but not the same as the grass so I colored all of the leaves with Light Daffodil Delight before going over them again with Light Old Olive. I shaded with a bit of Dark Old Olive.

The Fence is Light Smoky Slate. I used my Smoky Slate Stampin’ Marker to color along the grain of the wood to bring just a bit of detail to them.
The birdhouse is Light and Dark Crumb Caked the bird is Light and Dark Pool Party with a smudge of Light Bermuda Bay.
All of the bees are colored with Dark Daffodil Delight and their wings touched by a bit of Light Smoky Slate. I dabbed a bit of the color in the center of the wings and then used the color blender to spread it, giving the wings ever so slight color to them.
I colored the sentiment with my Crumb Cake Stampin’ Marker as that was the only tip fine enough not to bleed.
I’m not sure if you can see it, but all of the flowers, the bees, and the bird have been touched with Wink of Stella so they sparkle 🙂
A triple loop linen thread bow adds to the country charm.

I used a non-SU die to cut out Mr. Bear, backed him with some fresh and fun Tutti Frutti DSP and popped everything on a card base of Crushed Curry.

I masked the sentiment stamp to add a few bees to the interior of the card…they are SO cute!

So what do you think of this 17 year old stamp set? I would love to hear your thoughts! As I have purchased a number of vintage Stampin’ Up! stamp sets, I think this will be a regular feature on my blog. So pull out some of your old favorites and stamp along!

Thank you for ‘buzzing’ by!!!