Category: Cards – All Occasions

Much to be Thankful for

We’ve had a busy weekend at the Semler house…and I am reminded once again that we have so much to be thankful for.

My weekend started off with receiving this happy mail:Bear-HugsIt’s always a treat to receive a hand-made card in the mail! This one was sent from our Canadian Stampin’ Up! home office in Calgary. Our manager, Dale Hampshire,  thanked me for my involvement on Team Canada and the Strategy Team. That bear just makes me smile. It is a part of the Bear Hugs stamp set in the Occasions Catalogue.

I am continuing on with the Strategy Team and will be traveling to beautiful Victoria, British Columbia in the next couple of weeks for meetings. While we’ve had a very mild winter, I can’t wait to see the flowers beginning to bloom in Victoria!

Saturday was set aside to work on wedding plans with Samantha. Two of her bridesmaids came over in the morning to help finish the invites and stamp the envelopes. We got them all done!

Wedding-InvitesThe afternoon was filled with finalizing wedding favors and addressing the envelopes. It was a very productive day.

Finally, my dad turns the big 75 tomorrow, so we celebrated on Sunday here at the house. A few years ago, he suffered a very serious pancreas attack and was hospitalized for a long time. We are so thankful for his regained strength and health in 2015.Dad-1His sugar intake is now limited, but on your birthday one just HAS to have cake! He loved his key lime pie with a mustache candle.

So that’s a snapshot of my weekend. Hope you are rejuvenated and ready to tackle this week.
Happy Monday everyone:)

Signature

Sunburst

Let the sunburst in. There ‘s nothing quite like waking up to a beautiful sunrise. This was my view from our deck a few days ago. Just one of those moments that make you stand in awe of our Creator. Sunrise-1I don’t consider myself a morning person at all, but when I witness moments like this, it makes me want to be one:)

There is a stamp set and framelit combo in the Occasions Catalogue that will definitely brighten anyone’s day. The Sunburst Sayings stamp set and Sunburst Thinlits die is the perfect die for endless creativity. I’ve just started playing with it.

On this first one, the sunburst is just randomly cut to form a sun. (Thanks Kathy House for the design.) The clouds are punched using the Tree Builder Punch, and the balloon is stamped and punched out using our new Balloon Bouquet Punch. Isn’t this a fun happy card?Sunburst-2This second one is a little bit more advanced… a little more time consuming, but not difficult. If you like building puzzles, you will love this technique:) The sunburst is cut in multiple colors and then pieced together. It’s also placed at the bottom of the card…giving it an interesting angle.Sunburst-3Finally, this one was made with the Sale-a-bration set Hello. I just can’t get enough of this set. Brighten someone’s day with this quick and easy card. The paper in the background is from the It’s My Party Designer Series Pack and the clouds were punched from White Vellum Cardstock.Sunburst-1And this is just the beginning! There are so many other possibilities. Use the Sunburst Thinlits die as a layering element, to create a mask, or even for inking.

Thanks for stopping by…
I hope you shine in your little corner of the world today!

Signature

Flowering Fields

The first Sale-a-bration set I fell in love with was Flowering Fields. There are 7 different flower images that can be used separately or all together to make a garden. I sat down this morning to make some quick and easy cards to have on hand this month. They all follow the same design which makes it easy to crank out several at a time.
Flowering-Fields-1These can be duplicated with a few stamp pad colors and very basic supplies. The card bases are all cut from Crumb Cake cardstock. The accent designer paper strips are from the coordinating Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper pack (free Sale-a-bration item).
Flowering-Fields-2I used half a tea lace paper doily on the side of each card…and Crushed Curry Baker’s Twine for all of the bows (which by the way is on the Weekly Deals this week). Very clean and simple.Flowering-Fields-3Have you noticed that there is no coloring involved? I said simple and duplicatable. I rounded the corners using our Envelope Punch Board. If you have had troubles with small corner rounders, the corner rounder feature on the board is VERY easy to use with a high success rate:) It’s the one I always use.Flowering-Fields-4This one looks a little different because I simply cut a piece of designer paper instead of white cardstock as the mat…but it’s the same basic design. The tag on top is just a 2″x4″ piece of Soft Sky cardstock put through the Ornate Tag Topper Punch. The “enjoy your day” is punched with the Washi Label Punch.

I have a couple other samples from my team to share with you as well.

This first one was made by Donna Wizniuk. I love how she put each flower image on their own panel. Again, very clean and simple…with minimal coloring.Flowering-Fields-5And this one was made by Kathy House. She embossed the Blackberry Bliss card base with the Fluttering Embossing Folder. The delicate gold metallic foil doily adds a little elegance to this card. So pretty.Flowering-Fields-6I hope you are inspired by these samples and find some time in your day to create. There are opportunities all around us to be creative each day. It’s good for the soul.

Thanks for stopping by. Have an awesome day!

Signature