Good Friday - Florals

Hello and happy Good Friday!  I'm just popping by today to drop off a few pretty spring cards, just in time for Easter.  When I think of springtime I think of all the bright colored tulips and daffodils and beautiful blooming apple and cherry blossoms and those gorgeous bradford pear trees in my back yard.  I decided to make up a whole cheerful gift card set that I can give to a friend.

For this set of cards I used one beautiful stamp set by Penny Black for all of my flowers.  I also used the Thanks So Very Much sentiment stamp set from My Favorite Things.

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I did some no line coloring with distress inks to make these beautiful blossoms.

I used a heart die to spotlight parts of my cards to add some interest.

A Wink of Stella clear pen added lots of sparkle to my blooms.

I also pulled out my Zig Kuretake watercolor markers on a few blooms to achieve some bright colors.  This Yellow for instance was much brighter than distress inks.

For these cards I used the following supplies:

Stamps: Thanks So Very Much (My Favorite Things), Blooming Garden (Penny Black).

Ink: onyx black (Versafine), festive berries, ripe persimmon, old paper, peeled paint (Ranger Distress Inks).

Paper: khaki, green leaf (Simon Says Stamp), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah).

Accessories: Heart STAX dies, Blueprints #15 dies (My Favorite Things), Silly Stitched dies (Lil' Inker Designs), wink of stella glitter pen, Zig Kuretake real brush watercolor markers, clear sequins.

There's another new challenge up over at StampNation this week with some amazing inspiration from the design team, FREE for all members so go check it out!  Just click on the picture below and it will lead you over to the StampNation page to learn more on how to join in on the fun!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

First day of spring - bring on the flowers!

Happy first day of spring!   

You'd never know it by the cold weekend we just had here in Illlinois.  Brrr!  Since I can't plant outside I thought I'd do a little watercoloring inside and  whipped up this pretty little card using the Large Peony 2 stamps by The Ton and some distress inks.

This is my first time working with this beauty and it was so fun.  I was experimenting and while the shading isn't perfect it did have the watercolor look that I was going for.  I clear embossed it first so it was much easier to control the flow of water and ink.

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps:  Large Peony 2 (The Ton).  Ink: peeled paint, crushed olive, broken china, tumbled glass, milled lavender (Ranger Distress Ink), onyx black (Versafine), clear watermark (Versamark).  Paper:  white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah).  Accessories: Lattice Frame die (WPlus9), clear sequins, clear embossing powder (WOW).

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Happy Birthday Stenciled Balloons

Well hello Friday!!  It's time to PAR-tay!!

And what's a "par-tay" with out balloons right?   This week I posted a tutorial over at StampNation with a lot of tips on how to use your balloon stamps and dies in unique and fun ways.  Check out these lovelies that I made with a custom stencil using the Party Balloons die set from My Favorite Things along with a little blended distress ink.

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps: Big Scripty Greetings (Simon Says Stamp).  Ink: ripe persimmon, spiced marmalade, crushed olive, cracked pistachio (Ranger Distress Ink), onyx black (Versafine), vintage photo (Ranger Distress Marker)  Paper:  white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah).  Accessories: Party Balloon dies, Pinking Edge Circle STAX dies, Split Diagonal Stencil (My Favorite Things), sequins, fun foam, blank plastic stencil sheet (unknown). 

I drew the strings on with a marker, using a t-square ruler.  I also did some spotlighting on the sentiment by just diecutting with the Pinking Edge Circle and popping it up with a layer of fun foam.

If you're looking for some more great ideas and tips on cardmaking, StampNation is loaded with videos and tutorials posted every day  from their talented design team and their awesome members.  It's like opening up a treasure box of crafty fun!   Stop on over, we love to see new faces join the mix.  Follow this link to learn more about how to join StampNation today!

There's a great challenge going on for all StampNation members this week too.  Here's a little peek!!  Can you guess what the theme is?

Have a great day!

Hi Everyone!  There's a great tutorial posted over at StampNation today by Dream Team member Allison Cope.  She gives some great pointers on how to use patterned paper on your cards.  It's so informative and inspirational that I decided to pull out the few paper pads I own...dust them off and take on this challenge of mixing  3 or more patterns onto a standard sized card.  Here's what I came up with:

Even though these three patterns came from three different pads of paper you can see they coordinate very well together.  The only color that really looked a little out of place to me was the bright yellow on the patterned arrow paper.  I decided to tie that in a little better by using yellow for my sentiment.

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps: The Big, The Bold, The Happy (Winnie & Walter), Stained Textures (Bo Bunny).
Ink: onyx black (Versafine), coral crush (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Lucky Charm (American Crafts/Dear Lizzy), Ombre' Stripes (Lil' Inker Designs), Dreamy (Heidi Swapp), Sunshine cardstock (Simon Says Stamp) white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah Exact)
Accessories: Stitched Jumbo Fishtail Banners die, Blueprints #15 (My Favorite Things), Roses die (Paper Smooches), Painted Thanks die (Simon Says Stamp), clear sequins, fun foam (unknown)

If you'd like to get in on the fun and check out some of the great tutorials over at StampNation, come on over!!  Click on one of the photos above and they will take you directly to where you need to go to learn more about becoming a StampNation member.

Have a great day!!

Birthday Wishes with Layers of Vintage Roses

Hello everyone!  I'm back with a very feminine birthday card featuring the gorgeous Vintage Roses by Altenew.  As much as I love these flowers, layered stamps always seem to be a challenge for me and require much time and patience.  After searching for the exact color combination that suits my eye I also find that I have to practice lining up each layer a few times before I finally get a flower that passes enough to showcase on my card.  I admit, I'm very picky and I tend to be a perfectionist.  What I end up with is pages and pages of stamped flowers to chose from in different colors, some lined up....some not so much.  Practice makes perfect right?  The good thing is, I only used a few of them on this card and I have plenty of left over images that will hopefully make my next floral card much easier.  I also made sure to write down the color combinations for future use.  I'll list them below for you also.

Roses:

First I tried the recommendation of starting with the darkest layer, then adding the medium layers and saving the lighter color for last.  What I ended up with was a flower that looked like it was out of focus.  Very blurry.  I'm thinking it was probably the inks I was using;  Hero Arts Shadow inks. Adding the light layer of ink on top seemed to mute all of the darker layers.  So I switched them around and started with the light color first.  That made a huge difference!

Leaves:

With that problem fixed I moved on to the leaves.  For those I did some generation stamping using only one color ink.  I inked up my stamp, stamped off on a piece of scrap paper and then stamped my image. It gave a nice, light, textured impression.  The second layer I stamped directly over that image with the same color.

For the shaker element on this card I decided to use some vellum cardstock for the window instead of clear transparency film.  I love how soft it looks while still being able to see the sequins and beads shaking around inside.  I went with silver sparkle cardstock for the diecut birthday sentiment.

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps:  Vintage Roses (Altenew)

Ink:  field greens, soft pink, bubblegum, ultra pink (Hero Arts Shadow Ink), pink lemonade (My Favorite Things).

Paper:  ombre' stripes (Lil' Inker Designs), silver sparkle cardstock, translucent vellum cardstock (My Favorite Things), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah Exact).

Accessories:  Birthday Wishes die (Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection/CAS-ual Fridays), Anytime Tags die (Lil' Inker Designs),  dinensional tape (3M), sheer ribbon, assorted sequins and beads (unknown).


There's another awesome challenge going on this week over at StampNation. Check out this little peek into our wonderful world of cardmakers.  Can you guess which one is mine?

If you're not a member yet....what are you waiting for?  Come on over and join in the fun!!  Click on the above photo and it will take you right over to get all the information you need on becoming a StampNation Sistah!

Thank you so much for stopping by.  If you have any questions, I'd love to hear from you.  Just leave a comment below.   Have a great day!

Bright Birthday Greetings

Hi everyone!  Today I'm posting a quick little card I made to celebrate a special day.

This card features that awesome Boxed Up Birthday Greetings die from Lil' Inker Designs!

Behind the boxed greeting I stamped some balloons using the HB2U stamp set that was included in the

Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection. 

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps: HB2U (Stamp of Approval: Young at Heart Collection), Pinstripe Background (My Favorite Things), Good Times (Clearly Besotted)

Ink:  butter bar, pale tomato, orange soda, lime green, soft granite (Hero Arts Shadow Ink), onyx black (Versafine)

Paper:  audrey blue, orange peel (Simon Says Stamp), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah Exact)

Accessories:  Blueprints #15 dies, Chevron Stripes dies (My Favorite Things),  Boxed Up Birthday Greetings die (Lil' Inker Designs), clear sequins (unknown). 

And to finish up today, I wanted to share a peek into the awesome challenge that's going on over at StampNation this week.  There's a whole lot of fabulous backgrounds being shared by our Dream Team and our members.

Can you tell which one of these cards is mine??

If you're not a member of StampNation yet you're missing out on all the fun.  Just click on the above photo to find out how you can sign up to be part of this awesome community of cardmakers.  See you there!!

Get Well Spoon

Hello and welcome!  I've been a little absent from my blog the last week or so because I was down with the flu.  I wasn't feeling up to making cards but that sure didn't stop me from thinking about them.  Of course I started thinking about all my friends and family who were also sick and I came to the realization that I didn't have even one get well card to send out. I didn't own any stamps or dies that said "get well soon" either.   I decided to fix that with a little trip over to Papertrey Ink. My friend Kristie told me they had a great selection of stamps and dies over on their website and boy she was right.  I could go crazy over there....and I did!

I fell in love with this little stamp and die set.  A real feel better, chicken soup, ice cream scoop Comfort Food stamp set that I know will make some adorable cards to cheer up all those sickos out there.  

Here's a peek at the first of many "get well" cards I plan to make and keep on hand.  I started out stenciling the background to set the kitchen counter scene.  I diecut and then popped up the top white panel with some fun foam and that  gave a dimensional area to set up the soup can and bowl.

I wanted to give Paper Smooches "get well" diecut a little twist by hanging it from the little spoon.   I know it's a little punny but I just couldn't resist.  ;)

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps:  Comfort Food (Papertrey Ink), Mini Banner Day Alphabet (My Favorite Things).

Ink:  buter bar, pool, soft sand, red royal (Hero Arts Shadow ink), onyx black (Versafine), clear watermark (Versamark).

Paper:  black cardstock (Simon Says Stamp), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah Exact).

Accessories:  Tiny Tags die (Simon Says Stamp), Get Well Phrase die (Paper Smooches), Textile Rectangle Frame die, Blueprints #15 die, Grid stencil (My Favorite Things), Comfort Food dies (Papertrey Ink), wink of stella glitter pen (Zig), white embossing powder (WOW), Real Brush Watercolor Markers (Zig Kuratake), bakers twine (unknown).

That's it for today.  Thank you so much for stopping by!

Gold Chandelier

Hello and welcome back.  I wanted to share another card with you today.  This one uses a pretty chandelier die from My Favorite Things.  It's a die that I think is so beautiful but rarely have an occasion to use it on a card.  I decided to make a card today that I can keep on hand to use as either an encouragement card or a birthday card simply by adding the appropriate sentiment to the inside.

Using this fabulous gold sparkle cardstock from My Favorite Things I was able to add some amazing texture and shine.

For this card I used the following supplies:
Stamps: Christmas Glamour (TPC Studios), Watts Up? (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  onyx black (Versafine), clear emboss (Versamark)
Paper:  sea glass, vellum cardtock (Simon Says Stamp), gold sparkle cardtock (My Favorite Things), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah Exact)
Accessories:  Chandelier die, Blueprints #15 die, Harlequin stencil (My Favorite Things), sunshine die (Simon Says Stamp), Birthday Journal Card die (Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection/Sugar Pea Designs), clear embossing powder (WOW), sequins (unknown).

And since it's Wednesday, I also want take a minute to remind everyone that the new challenge has been posted over at StampNation.  This week we're all playing with a fun sketch....check out this sneak peek of the awesome cards made by the Dream Team!  Sistah's it's time to get creative!!  If you're not a StampNation member yet just head over ---->HERE<---- for more information on how you can sign up today. 

Quick....can you guess which one is mine? ;)

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day!

Love is in the Air! Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I had hoped to get this post up a little earlier in the week but I've been fighting off that dreaded flu bug that's going around.  I did manage to pop a few cards in the mail to some of my friends and munchkins though.  Thank goodness I made them up ahead of time!

First, I made this one for my little card making buddy Rylee.  I knew this girl would be looking over every little detail so I had to make them count.  I would not be surprised to find out she dissected this one on February 15th to figure out how I put it together.  ;)

Diecutting three layers of doll pink cardstock and gluing them together really helps lift this sentiment up and gives it extra dimension.  You can see here I only used one layer for the arrow and boy, what a difference it makes.

For this card I used the following supplies:

Ink:  soft sand (Hero Arts Shadow Ink)

Paper:  khaki, doll pink cardstock (Simon Says Stamp), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah Exact)

Accessories:  split diagonal stencil (My Favorite Things), Love You die (Technique Tuesday), Of the Heart dies (Lil' Inker Designs), Peek a Boo Heart Frames, Hip Clips dies (My Favorite Things), Birthday Journal Card dies (Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection/Sugar Pea Designs), bakers twine, sequins (unknown).

This cute little Valentine was sent as a surprise to my nephew Drue.  I found the cutest little fox stuffed animal that matched him perfectly.

I added a little texture and depth with some diecut grass and a little glossy accents on his eyes and nose.

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps:  Woodland Pals (Clearly Besotted), Myriad Dot Background (My Favorite Things), The Big, The Bold, The Happy sentiment (Winnie & Walter),  Chickadees sentiment (Technique Tuesday).

Ink:  soft sand, cup o' joe, green hills, pale tomato (Hero Arts Shadow Inks), really rust (Stampin' Up), tumbled glass (Ranger distress), onyx black (Versafine) 

Paper:  green leaf, lipstick red cardstock (Simon Says Stamp), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah Exact)

Accessories:  Grassy Edges, Heart STAX, Peek-a-Boo Heart Frames (My Favorite Things), Stitched Mats: Long & Skinny Rectangles (Lil' Inker Designs), Woodland Pals dies (Clearly Besotted), Corner Chomper (WeRMemory Keepers), Glossy Accents, white gel pen, pale pink marker (Zig Kuretake Real Brush), dimensional tape (3M).

For this next card I pulled out my Zig real brush markers and my favorite little flying couple.  I had so much fun coloring that I decided I would duplicate this one a few times to send to some of my out of town friends.  They know my husband is my A #1 flying ace so the theme fit perfectly.  I also found this great sentiment stamp over at Lil' Inker's that said it all for me...and in big bold letters too!

  I'm no expert colorist but I sure have fun coloring this stamped image!  And stenciling these cloud backgrounds is an all time favorite technique for me.  I just used a cloud shaped edge die to make my own stencil, then doing  a little light blending with some Tumbled Glass distress ink. 

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps:  His & Hers Flying High (Art Impressions), All You Need is Love (Lil' Inker Designs)

Ink:  tumbled glass (Ranger Distress Ink), onyx black (Versafine)

Paper:  white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah Exact)

Accessories:  Border Builders dies (Lil' Inker Designs), Zig Kuretake Real Brush Markers, Glossy Accents, Wink of Stella clear glitter marker, hear punch (Martha Stewart), dimensional tape (3M)

And for my final card I kept it clean and simple.  I often see my friend Kristie Goulet use this layout with her cards and I absolutely love how beautiful the angle of the cardstock looks, raised up off the back panel.

I followed that angle with some diecut arrows.   Then I and added three diecut layers of gorgeous schoolhouse red cardstock to make this heart pop!

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps:  The Big, The Bold, The Happy (Winnie & Walter)

Ink:  onyx black (Versafine)

Paper:  fog, schoolhouse red cardstock (Simon Says Stamp), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah Exact).

Accessories:  Scribbles & Splat dies (Sizzix), Of the Heart dies (Lil' Inker Designs), clear sequins (unknown).

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I hope you're having a wonderful day with your special Valentine.  XXXOOO!!!

Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Release Day

Are you ready?!!  It's the day we've all been waiting for!  

The Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection 

is on sale.......NOW!!!  WOOHOOO!!!  You can click on this link for more information on how you can order this awesome collection of stamps and dies.

Looking for more ideas and inspiration?

I thought I'd celebrate this very anticipated day with a couple more cards using the 

Young at Heart Collection.  

Let's do it!!

First up........A clean and simple topsy turvy cake using this awesome Bring on The Cake stamped sentiment that you can color to match any card design!

Once again I was able to use the diecut balloon strings in a whole different way.  This time as a topper for this three tiered cake.  I also added some yellow confetti pieces included in the die set.

For this card I used the following supplies:

All stamps and dies from the Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection.

Ink:  onyx black (Versafine) picked raspberry (Ranger distress marker)

Paper:  doll pink, sunshine yellow, black (Simon Says Stamp), 140 lb white cardstock (Neenah Exact)

Accessories:  wink of stella clear glitter pen, dimensional tape (3M)

Next I wanted to tone down the party scene a little and use some softer shades of color.  For the background I stamped some gray balloons then added an angled strip of gray cardstock to the bottom of the panel to mimic a table.  This worked great to ground the cake a little.  The only thing we want floating around this card are the balloons, right?

I gave the purple watercolored balloons and the cake a little lift with some dimensional tape.

For this card I used the following supplies:

All stamps and dies from the Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection.

Ink:  tide pool, soft granite, passion flower (Hero Arts Shadow Inks), milled lavender (Ranger Distress Ink), clear embossing (Versamark)

Paper:  black, lavender, fog, slate, audrey cardstock (Simon Says Stamp), watercolor (Canson), 140 lb white cardstock (Neenah Exact)

Accessories:  bright white embossing powder (WOW), glitz embossing powder (Recollections), dimensional tape (3M)

And finally, here's a little peek at what's happening over at StampNation right now!  The DreamTeam is pulling out all the stops to give our StampNation members a challenge that will be jam packed with inspiration for the arrival of  their new box of Young at Heart goodies.  While we're winding down here, the party is just getting started over at  StampNation.  If you're not a member yet this would be great time to join in on the fun.  Go --->HERE<--- to learn more and sign up today!!

I hope you all have a chance to purchase this awesome Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection made possible by Catherine Pooler.  She really has outdone herself this time.  This is an amazingly coordinated set of supplies for any card maker, no matter what your style.  The blog hop yesterday was a fantastic mix of styles and ideas that I hope inspired you, so that soon we'll be seeing your wonderful creations all around StampNation and the internet.  I can't wait!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks for all of the nice comments you left for me yesterday on the blog hop!  I appreciate each and every one of them!  

  Have an awesome day!!

Welcome to the Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Blog Hop!

It's BLOGHOP time!!  Wooohoo!!

WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN!

The Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection goes on sale tomorrow, February 3rd!  Be sure to get on that mailing list --->HERE<--- so Catherine Pooler can contact you as soon as it goes on sale Wednesday morning.  Don't worry, if you purchase a box and then find out later you are one of the lucky winners, you will be reimbursed.

Ok, let's talk cards!   I made a very special birthday card for my BFF,  Dusti.  She has been my best friend for 34 years.  She's one of the most special people in my life and is the #1 recipient of my card creations.  

Happy Birthday Dusti!!

Using all dies and stamps from the Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection, I wanted to create a big birthday party on paper for Dusti.  I wanted her card to look like a celebration of bright colors and party favors with a crazy big cake!  When she opens this card I want her cheer!!

I focused most of my energy on stamping.  I stamped a 6 layer cake up the side of this card using all of my favorite bright colors and every cake layer in the Young at Heart  Bring on The Cake stamp set.  I left room for one candle at the tippy top! (sorry Dusti, no room for 50 more  ;)   Then, in the same colors I added some crazy streamers.   I repurposed the large striped cake layer by stamping it multiple times along the left side of the card in black ink to make a nice, slightly wonky striped edge.  

 Then I stamped the sentiment in black to give it some balance. 

I topped it off with some diecuts: a balloon and some confetti.  Let the party begin!!

For this card I used the following supplies:

All stamps and dies from the Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection

Ink:  tide pool, butterbar, ultra pink (Hero Arts Shadow Ink), onyx black (Versafine)

Paper:  140 lb white (Neenah Exact), audrey blue, sunshine, doll pink (Simon Says Stamp), silver sparkle (My Favorite Things).

Accessories: wink of stella clear (Zig) dimensional tape (3M), fun foam (unknown)

Thank you so much for hopping by!  Be sure to leave a comment before you go, for another chance to WIN the 

Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection.   Good luck!!

Keep going!  Head on over to Joni Andaya's blog for more Young at Heart stamping fun!  A full list of all the designers participating in this Stamp of Approval Young at Heart blog hop is listed below.

Have fun!!

Catherine Pooler

Maureen Merritt

Kristie Goulet

Heather North

Allison Cope

Laurel Beard

Lisa Harrolle<---(yep that's me)

Joni Andaya

Nicole Picadura

Simon Hurley

Chaitali Narla

Have a great day!

More birthday fun with the Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection!

Welcome back to day two of the new Stamp of Approval: Young at Heart Collection sneak peek.  We're in countdown mode with only three more days left until the release of this awesome box of goodies!  Wednesday, February 3rd is party time!!  Woohooo!

If you'd like to be notified the minute the Young at Heart Collection goes on sale, make sure to put your name and email on the notification list --->HERE<---  These collections sell out super fast and I wouldn't want you to miss out!

As I said on yesterday's blog post,  I am super impressed with the way the stamps and dies in this Young at Heart Collection coordinate so well.   Catherine Pooler has done an amazing job putting this box of goodies together. She has taken all the guess work out of trying to figure out what stamps will work with which dies.  Let me tell you, that is a huge plus for me.   I've had those times when I have purchased a die and get it home, only to struggle with which stamps will work with it.  I might use them once and then file them away out of frustration, until I can think of some other way to use it.  I guess that's why I'm such a huge fan of these Stamp of Approval boxes.  No guesswork involved, just open the box and start creating.  Even though the collection is a mix of different brands, everything flows together perfectly.

The card I made for today is a great example of that.  It has a mix of two different stamp sets and two of the die sets that are all included in the Young at Heart Collection.

Aren't these water colored balloons awesome?  I really love that there is a string die included in one of the die sets.  I popped up the balloons with dimensional tape and just let the diecut strings float above the card.

I added dimension to the "birthday" diecut by cutting it twice out of pink cardstock and then gluing them together.   

It really stands out next to the stamped sentiment doesn't it?

For this card I used the following supplies:

All stamps and dies from the Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection

Ink:  lime green, butterbar, ultra pink (Hero Arts Shadow Ink), onyx black (Versafine), picked rasperry, squeezed lemonade, cracked pistachio, crushed olive (Ranger Distress Ink), clear watermark (Versamark).

Paper:  doll pink (Simon Says Stamp), navajo (Bazzill), white 110 lb (Neenah), 140 lb watercolor (Canson)

Accessories: glitz embossing powder (Recollections), dimensional tape (3M), fun foam (unknown)

Well, that's it for my sneak peeks.  What do you think?  Leave me a comment and let me know how you're liking the new Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection so far?  Are you on the list and getting excited?  Do you have any questions?   I'd love to hear from you.

If you're looking for some more peeks into this box of goodies head on over to these designer's blogs today: 

Catherine Pooler,  Kristie Goulet, Maureen Merritt, & Nicole Picadura.

Then join Catherine Pooler over at her blog on Monday for day three featuring more awesome designers and their sneak peeks into the Stamp of Approval: Young at Heart Collection.

Oh yeah....one more very important reminder:  BLOG HOP on Tuesday, February 2nd!!  How in the world could I forget?   Come on back here Tuesday and leave a comment for a chance to WIN WIN WIN!!  Catherine Pooler has decided to pick not one, but TWO lucky winners for  a FREE Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection box!  That's right!!  I said it!! TWO WINNERS! All you have to do is hop along to each participating blog and leave a comment.  Every comment you leave will be an entry to WIN!  I'm so excited!!  Ya'll come back now y'hear!  ;)

A sneak peek into the Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection - COMING SOON!

It's almost here!!  We're only 4 days away from the release of the most anticipated 

Stamp of Approval Collection yet:  Young at Heart.

Thanks for stopping by.  I'm so excited to be able to give you a little sneak peek into this box of goodies.  I also want to go on record as saying that this, by far, is my absolute favorite Stamp of Approval Collection , and here's why..... 

Birthday cards have always been my favorite kind of cards to make.  Mainly because I can break out all the bright, cheerful colored cardstock and inks and just go to town!  Where there's a birthday there's a party and seriously, who doesn't love a party?  Cake, balloons, decorations, presents......and hello....birthday cards!!

When Catherine Pooler sent me this Young at Heart Collection I swear, it felt just like MY birthday!  LOL!  These stamps and dies are fantastic!   I honestly believe it is everything you'll ever need to create birthday cards for years to come.  There is such a great array of sentiment stamps that you can use for the outside AND for the inside of your cards.  And  I am just crazy about how all of the stamp sets flow together and coordinate so well.

For this card however, I focused on the dies.  Those fabulous dies!!  I'm a sucker for a good die set.  One that can be used in all different kinds of ways.  For this card, balloon strings turned into streamers and cake layers appear as birthday presents.

"Birthday Wishes" fit perfectly across the bottom of this scalloped rectangle.

Layers of diecuts add some dimension to the little packages and some lift to those pretty pink bows.

For this card I used the following supplies:

All stamps and dies from the Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection

Ink:  onyx black (Versafine)

Paper:  green apple, doll pink, black (Simon Says Stamp), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah Exact)

Accessories:  Dimensional tape (3M) or fun foam (unknown)

This is such an exciting weekend!  Are you itching for some more?  Visit Catherine Pooler's blog to see some more awesome peeks at this collection.  Check out her fun videos using the Young at Heart Collection!  The Dream Team and guest designers will be posting sneak peeks all the way through Monday. Stop by and see what these awesome designers have created today:  Allison Cope, Heather North

And for goodness sake, don't miss that BLOG HOP on Tuesday, February 2nd!!  Awesome cards are in the works featuring more of  the Stamp of Approval: Young at Heart Collection and yes....a chance for you to WIN, WIN, WIN the whole kit and caboodle!! I'm in the BLOG HOP so be sure to check back here on Tuesday!!

The Stamp of Approval: Young at Heart Collection  is an exclusive collection of stamps, dies and stencil, hand picked and coordinated by Catherine Pooler that will go on sale Wednesday February 3rd.  If it's anything like the last two collections they are going to sell out super fast!  Are you on the email notification list yet?  If not please go --->HERE<--- to learn more and to sign up so that you can be notified.  If you are a StampNation member you will be notified first.  An hour after that everyone on the list will receive an email with order information.  Unfortunately there are limited quantities so keep your eyes peeled for that email Wednesday morning.  Once this collection is sold out, it's sold out.  These items won't be offered by these companies until later this year and then you'll have to purchase them all separately.  So don't miss out on this special one time offer.

Well, you all have a great day now!  Stop back tomorrow for day two of my SOA birthday sneak peek!!