Oh, What Fun.................

Oh, what fun indeed!  I have posted a couple of window cards from the inside looking outside.  Here is a brick home with a brown window where you can peek inside to see the Christmas tree.

The card base is 5 1/2" x  8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4" Crumb Cake.  The "wall" is made using the Brick Wall embossing folder found on page 174 of the Annual Catalog or at my on-line store here .  To get the "mortar" lines on the wall, I brushed the raised side of the Brick Wall embossing folder with the Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Ink Pad before running the front of the card through the Big Shot.  Despite several tries, I could not avoid a few smears of ink on the flat surfaces.  Therefore, I sponged the wall with Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Hello Honey ink to "weather" all the bricks.

The tree from the retired Evergreen stamp set and the star are stamped with Mossy Meadow and Hello Honey onto 3 1/4" x 2 1/4" piece of Very Vanilla.  The window box and sentiment are also stamped on Very Vanilla card stock.   I sponged the edges of the torn sentiment with Cherry Cobbler ink.

The window is cut from 3" x 3 1/2" Early Espresso card stock.  Both the Window and the window box are dies from the Hearth & Home Thinlits Dies in the 2015 Holiday Catalog which goes live on September 1, 2015.  The sentiment is one of the 17 photopolymer stamps in the Oh, What Fun stamp set on page 5 of the Holiday Catalog.

The stamped tree scene is adhered to the brick with a snail.  The window is attached to the scene with Stampin' Dimensionals.  I used dimensionals cut in half on the sides of the window frame and whole ones on the corners. 

The window box is filled with Old Olive inked holly and cherry cobbler inked berries from the "Cardinal in Holly" Tapestry Stamp Set.  The cardinal is from the same set.  The bird is stamped with Crumb Cake ink and colored in with my Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write Marker. 

The bird is fussy cut and adhered with glue dot attached behind the window box at his feet.  The window box is adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I look forward to making this card again once I receive the Peaceful Pines stamp set and Perfect Pines  Framelit Dies Bundle on page 17 of the Holiday Catalog.  Come back later to see what I create!

Thank you stopping by and I will greatly appreciate your order.

All other products are available now. Click on any product below to link to my on line store.  Here are all the products used to make this Oh, what fun! card.  Remember the products from the Holiday Catalog are available for purchase on September 1, 2015.  These are the first two on the list below.

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Did your grandmother have wallpaper like this Stampin' Up! Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper?

Mine did!  A fond memory of spending time in her home filled me when I worked on this window card.  If you have been following my social media, you already know I LOVE the new Hearth and Home bundle!  I can't wait for you to get it, too,  As I write this, just 2 more days - September 1, 2015 when the Holiday Catalog goes live!  On or after September 1, click here to get your own thinlit dies and the Happy Scenes Stamp Set.

Okay, so here is what else you need to make this tent card.

#138336, Tip Top Taupe card stock
#100730, Whisper White card stock
#138442, Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper
#138419, Mossy Meadow Striped Ribbon

and the usual necessary stampin' products which I have listed at the end of this post.





I used the 2015-2017 In-Color, Tip Top Taupe as the base of this tent card.  It measures 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  The window is die cut from 3' x 3 3/4" Tip Top Taupe card stock with your Big Shot.

Stamp the bare tree with birds stamp from Happy Scenes on a 3" x 2 1/2" piece of Whisper White card stock with Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Ink Pad.  Sponge the sky with Soft Sky and Marina Mist inks. With a very light touch, sponge the ground with Soft Suede to look like a winter yard or use the a little soft sky if you want snow on your ground.  I love this flexible set!!!   I colored the birds with my Real Red Stampin' Write Marker.  Adhere the scene to the back of the window with Stampin' Dementionals; full sized  to the corners and cut in half to add to the sides of the window.   Because I think of this card as being inside and looking out, I used Stampin' Dimentionals to give depth.  


Cut a 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" piece of Pretty Petals DSP.   Adhere window scene.  Before adhering the DSP to the card base, cut a 5 " length of the ribbon and adhere it around the DSP.  I like to use a small piece of our new Tear & Tape Adhesive.  It is a strong, double sided, tearable tape.  Or use Scotch double sided tape.  Adhere to front of card base with more double sided tape or adhesive of your choice.

Sit back and admire your pretty card.  Thanks for stopping by.

Click on any item below to order your supplies from my on-line store.  Thank you for your support!

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Yes, there is a Santa Claus!

Just look out this window and you will see Santa and his reindeer flying through the sky.

I can't get enough of this Happy Scenes Stamp Set and Hearth and Home Thinlits Dies Bundle.  You are going to want to get this bundle and save 15% over buying the dies and stamp set separately.  I am writing this on August 30 so it is available in just two days!  See my on-line store, to get your bundle.
You can get all your stamping supplies at the same link.  Thank you!

If you need a Holiday Catalog, leave me a comment below and I will be happy to send you one!

The tent card base is 11" X 4 1/4", scored at 5 1/2" Very Vanilla card stock.

The Home and Hearth window is die cut from a 3" x 3 1/4" piece of Very Vanilla card stock.

The 4" x 5 1/4" Night of Navy card stock is embossed with the retired Snowburst folder.  Decorative Dots and Lucky Stars in the current Annual Catalog on page 174 look nice with this design.

The outside scene is sponged on a 2 1/2" x 3" piece of  Whisper White card stock with Night of Navy at the top, Marina Mist in the middle and Tempting Turquoise at the bottom atop the hill.  You can mask  the hill with a piece of scrap paper or just be very careful when you sponge. I like to burnish all the night sky with a little Night of Navy at the end.

If you like the falling snowflakes, take an aqua pen, squeeze some water onto a paper towel to wet the brush, then flick the brush over the sky.  You may need to do this a couple of times to get the amount of falling snow you want.  Let dry completely!!

Use your embossing buddy on the dry sponged Whisper White piece.  My Santa is from the retired stamp set, Holiday Home.  The 2015 Holiday Catalog has a new Santa with reindeer in the Cozy Christmas stamp set on page 9.  Stamp Santa in the sky then stamp the trees from Happy Scenes Stamp Set with Versa Mark Ink.   Sprinkle with black embossing powder and heat set.  If using a mask for the hill, remove it before heat setting the embossing powder.

I dotted Dazzling Details on some of the branches of the trees and spread it over the hill to make glistening snow.  Set aside to dry completely.  

The sentiment from the Cozy Christmas Stamp Set is stamped with Night of Navy Classic Stampin' ink.
I rounded the corners with the corner punch before using Multipurpose Liquid Glue to adhere the sentiment to the ribbon.  The bow is a piece of ribbon tied in a single knot. 

The ribbon is retired Pool Party ruffled ribbon from my extensive stash of retired ribbons!!!  Sorry, I need to use them as they are threatening to take over my crafting space!  Don't start with the "hoarder!" talk!!  Yes, I confess, I am a Stampin' Up! hoarder!  The current Pool Party or Marina Mist 1/4" cotton ribbon on page 159 of the Annual Catalog will work nicely.  The Pool Party color works well with the Dazzling Details I used over the blue sponging for the snow in the trees.

Thank you for spending part of your day on my blog.  I love ya' for it!

Clicking on any of the items below will take you directly to my on-line store.  Thank you in advance for choosing to order with me.  I have listed the substitute products I mentioned for the retired products.  Remember, even though I was able to add the products from the Holiday Catalog below, they are not available until September 1.  Guess who is staying up til midnight to order - the Hoarder!!

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Water Coloring with Glycerin Technique

The beautiful hydrangea flower is from the Host set, Best Thoughts, as seen on page 180 of the Annual Catalog or here. You can choose this set as part of your rewards for placing an order of $150 or more.  Get a few friends together to order and you will have earned this set soon.  Leave me a message for more information about how to earn this set.

The card base is 8 1/2' x 5 1/2" Pink Pirouette card stock, scored at 4 1/4"; the second layer is 3 3/4"x 5" Smoky Slate card stock.  The flower and sentiment are stamped with Jet Black Stazon ink onto water color paper.  You can also stamp with Versa Mark ink and heat emboss with black embossing powder.  The inks used to paint the flower are Old Olive for the leaves, Perfect Plum for the petals and Delightful Dijon for the stamens.

Glycerin is readily available at pharmacy department of many stores.  The bottle will last you a long time as you use just a drop or two for each color.

Get out your Perfect Plum and Old Olive ink refill bottles, your aqua painter or a small artist paint brush, a palette or small plastic lid and you are ready to go!

Thank you, Lynne Ernst, for sharing this wonderful water coloring with glycerin technique with me.Place a drop or two of Perfect Plum ink onto your palette.  Nearby add a drop of glycerin and in another area add a drop of water if using a dry paint brush.  If using an aqua painter, squeeze to moisten the brush and wipe on a paper towel until the brush is just damp.  You can always add more water, but, it is more difficult to dry a thirsty brush.  Drag a small amount of ink and glycerin together and mix.  Do not mix all of it together in the beginning so that you will have control of your color intensity and ability to glide the brush.  Test your color on a scrap.  Add more color, if desired.  If your brush feels dry and is dragging, add a tiny amount of water.  It is a bit of a trial and error science!  You will quickly feel when you need more liquid.  When in doubt as to the gliding, add more glycerin before adding more water.  Continue in this fashion for the entire painting.   

You do not need to color within all the lines here,so it goes rather quickly.  Just be careful to stay within the lines at the outer edges of the flower petals and leaves. Let the first coat of ink dry and then return with more ink to add shadows.  The glycerin slows down the drying so you may want to use a hairdryer to speed the process.  Be careful not to get it too hot or the paper will warp.  The stamp helps you determine where there should be depth by the lines within the petals and leaves.  Remember that where one petal overlaps another, the under petal will be shadowed and is a place to add more color.  If you can avoid the stamens, use Daffodil Delight ink to color them.  If you are like me and just can't keep the purple from going into the stamens, just dab a little Delightful Dijon where it should be and when it dries add Dazzling Details.  Dazzling Details also comes with a gold glitter you might like.  You can order Dazzling Details and all other products used in this card at my on-line store. 

Stamp the sentiment onto a 3/4" wide piece of card stock.  I used water color paper to match the paper used for the flower.  Use a piece long enough to cut into a flag shape, if desired.  Cut a piece of Smoky Slate card stock to fit behind your sentiment leaving a 1/8" border.  Cut one end into a flag shape.  Or use the Banner Framelits seen here. 

The ribbon is a retired piece of Perfect Plum from my stash. 

I did this same card in Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral and Tangerine Tango mixed with Daffodil Delight.  Choose your color and start painting!  

Thank you for dropping in today.  

The products I used for this card are listed below.  Click on any item to order it sent directly to your home.  Thank you. 

                                                                         Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Other items you will need for this card and for many other projects you do are listed below.  Some of the items are suggestions you might want to substitute, such as the embossing powder and others.  To order any of the items, click on the item to connect with my on-line store.

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Hearth and Home Thinlits Dies makes a variety of wonderful scenes

One of my favorite items in the 2015 Stampin'Up! Holiday Catalog is the Hearth and Home Thinlits Dies.   See it on page 11. This die makes a window as seen here.  It also comes with a planter box to hang and fill with greens, flowers, or whatever suits your fancy.  It also coordinates with the Festive Fireplace Stamp Set as seen on page 10 of the Holiday Catalog.

8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Whisper White card stock base
4" x 5 1/4" Tangelo Twist card stock
3" x 4" Wisteria Wonder for window
2 7/8" x 3 3/4" Whisper White for scene
Whisper White scrap for sentiment
Retired DSP, use any DSP for curtains
Tip TopTaupe 1" Dotted Lace Trim

Using your Big Shot and Hearth and Home Thinlits Die, cut window.
With the Happy Scenes stamp set, stamp the scene with Soft Suede onto Whisper White.
Color pumpkins with Tangelo Twist Stampin' Write Marker.  Use other fall colors for the leaves.
Sponge Soft Sky and Soft Suede respectively for the sky and ground.
Adhere scene and DSP "curtains" to Tangelo Twist card stock.
Adhere window over scene to Tangelo Twist card stock with Stampin' Dimensionals.
Add lace trim.
Stamp sentiment from Happy scenes stamp set with Tangelo Twist ink onto Whisper White card stock scrap.  Punch out with retired label punch or the current Washi Label Punch.
The brads are from my stash.  The sentiment could be attached with the Handheld Stapler or Mini Brads, both seen on page 160 of the Annual Catalog.
For any of the items used or suggested above, click on the icon below.
Thank you for stopping by.

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Jingle All the Way ....to Grandma's' House!

 
This post is just a sneak peek of one of fantastic new items coming in the Holiday Catalog! 

I fell in love with this Edgelit Die at the 2015 Stampin' Up! Convention and decided why not save 15% and purchase the bundle so I could have all the fun matching sentiments and picture stamps?

I will give you all the directions and measurements later.
You can email me at stampinwithpat@Juno.com to be on the list to order the set when it becomes available, September 1, 2015.

The edgelit dies include a set of houses that I use on this card.

The stamp set includes sentiment stamps "merry everything" and "home for Christmas".  And, 9 small images that correspond to the scale of the dies.  The stars on this card and the tree on the card above are but 2 of the images in the set.







Click on the picture below of any of the supplies I used to make this card to order NOW.  EXCEPT the Jingle All the Way bundle.  For that set, you will have to wait until September 1, 2015.

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Have you seen the 6 x 6 Brick Wall embossing folder by Stampin' Up!?

Here it is!  I love the fact that because of it's size you can use it in portrait or landscape mode.  Click here to buy your own brick embossing folder or any of the supplies used to make these cards.

This is a single layer card.

 Using the side with the Sizzix name on it, I inked the raised areas of the embossing folder with Early Espresso ink. I ran the 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" portion of an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Crumb Cake card stock through the Big shot.  Basically, the front of the card leaving the back of it outside the folder.  Some of the ink is on parts of the brick that I did not expect it to be so I sponged with Crumb Cake and Daffodil Delight ink to distress all the bricks.  The Mossy Meadow ferns are from the Butterfly Basics stamp set, on page 124 of the Annual Catalog.  You can view the catalog on this site.  It is in the column on the right side, near the top.

The 3-step butterfly is the smaller butterfly trio from the Watercolor Wings stamp set.  See the bundle here.  The 12 piece photopolymer stamp set is also sold alone.

I stamped the solid with Daffodil Delight ink, which I had stamped off, onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock.  The second layer is Daffodil Delight full strength.  The details of the third layer are done with Cajun Craze ink.  The body of the butterfly is stamped with Early Espresso.  I used the Butterfly Thinlits with the Big Shot to cut it out.  The butterfly is adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals.

 
I made the card on the right to practice water coloring with glycerin.  I will do my next post on the glycerin water coloring technique.  But for now, I wanted to use the Brick Wall embossing folder again, so I added the Early Espresso ink to the embossing folder as I explained above and embossed a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of Crumb Cake card stock.  This time I did not worry about the unplanned ink on the brick because I knew I would cover most of the brick with the painted design.

You can see the difference the sponging on the bricks above makes versus no added color.

Sweetbriar Rose is a single stamp seen on page 115 of the Annual Catalog.  I stamped it with Memento ink on a 2 7/8" x 4 1/8" piece of Whisper White card stock to see how well the card stock and ink would work with water coloring.  I let it dry thoroughly before painting, but the black ink bled some resulting in a "muddy" Pink Pirouette flower.  The Old Olive leaves hides any bleeding.  The flower centers are done with Daffodil Delight.  To hide the slight bleeding, I used Dazzling Details on the stamens.

The butterfly is from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set.  I stamped a scrap of Whisper White card stock with Melon Mambo and punched it out with the Bitty Butterfly punch as seen on page 166 of the Annual Catalog or here.   I stamped the same butterfly with Pink Pirouette on the Whisper White card stock before adding the Melon Mambo butterfly with Stampin' Dimensionals.  The antennae are stamped with Early Espresso ink.

The card base is an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Pink Pirouette card stock scored at 4 1/4" .

I hope you enjoyed the brick wall embossing folder cards and will come back in a few days to see the cards I made using the water coloring with glycerin technique.

Thank you for stopping by.  Here are the Stampin' Up! products I used to make these cards.

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Tin of Cards

I am having so much fun with my Tin of Cards kit as seen on the cover of the 2015-2016 Annual catalog!  I am making it for a Christmas gift for a friend.  You can see the kit on page 110 of the catalog or here.  The stamp set that coordinates with it is viewable here.

I have used the stamp set several times for different cards.  It is such a versatile set!  This is the best gift for that person who has everything, who is difficult to find a gift for, your favorite relative, or not so favorite relative - wow, did I say that????  When the next occasion comes along, you have it covered - you just make some more cards to refill the tin!!   I plan to make several of these Tin of Cards kits for friends and relatives.

 These are the cards in the kit.  There are supplies to make 4 of each card.  You will have extra of some of the embellishments that you can use on other projects.  The kit also has envelopes to go with each card.

Here are some tips that I learned while making my cards.

Use a snail or Fast Fuse to adhere the DSP and window sheets.  If you use a liquid glue, it is easy to get some on the window sheets and it is difficult to get off.  Ask me how I know!

I sponged the edges of all the butterflies and the sentiment on the flag.  The sponging made the butterflies look so much richer.  

For the Bermuda Bay blue card,  stamp the "+" strip from each end.  It does not quite meet in the middle, but, the center does not need to be added. The wooden sentiment completely covers the middle.  If the sentiment does not completely ink on the wooden element, use your Basic Black Stampin' Write marker to fill in any voids.   

On the gold striped card, be sure to use Stazon Ink, which is permanent, so that it will not smear.

Cute gift bags made from the Stampin' Up! Gift Bag Punch Board

These gift bags are made from 11" x 5 1/2" retired card stock I had in my stash.  I followed the directions on the Gift Bag Punch Board for a medium sized bag to make the bags.  Then I fussy cut a flower I had water colored using glycerin awhile ago for practice and added it to the green bag front.  A length of ribbon from my stash and I have a gift bag ready to go.
The yellow bag is the same size card stock.  I used the Bird Builder punch on page 167 of the Annual catalog to add pizzazz to the bag, a length of ribbon from my stash and I have another bag ready for the right gift!

You do not have to punch the holes and add ribbon at the top of the bag.  This is the first gift bag


I made using some retired products to try out the Gift Bag Punch Board.  I added a couple of flags, some retired Hello Honey Striped Ribbon (just in case you, too, have some around) and a sentiment from the Water Color Wings stamp set which I punched out with the large oval punch.

You can order the Gift Bag Punch Board here.  There is even a link to a video showing how to use the Gift Bag Punch Board


 Well, I don't know why, but, I can not add text next to the last bag I want to show you.  Here is the info anyway!

 Even deeper in my stash is some Pocketful of Posies Designer Series Paper that I have hoarded.  It made a large gift bag.  I used a 12" x 10" piece of Designer Paper, scored the top at 1 1/2 inch.  I made the gift bag per directions on the Gift Bag Punch Board folding the collar over on the score line.  It is a perfect size for the Shower Gel I am giving to a friend.

Paper Pumpkin Sale

Oh my gosh!  This month's Paper Pumpkin is so cute I stayed up way past my bedtime making additional cards using the stamps, the negative spaces from the kits and additional designer papers.

We had a sneak peek at the next two month's Paper Pumpkin kits at convention.  You are going to love them!!

If you are not a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, now is the time to sign up.  There is a sale for First-Time Subscribers this month.  50% off the first two months.  That is just $9.95 a month.  And, that includes shipping!  Check out the promotion at  here.

Here are the cards in the July Paper Pumpkin .............
Your kit has everything you need to make 8 cards plus a few extra pieces.  Even the dimensionals!  Envelopes are also included.

I love to use the negative spaces.  This is one of the extra cards I made with the left over Tangerine Tango edge from the stickers for the above cards.  And, you know I can't make a card without butterflies!  The butterflies come from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set.  The butterflies are stamped in Early Expresso as is the sentiment and bottom cup.  The stacked cups are Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe and Cucumber Crush.  The plant is Tangerine Tango as is the body of the butterflies.


The stamps are a cup, steam for the top of the cup, a tea bag and 2 different plant outlines and solids.  The sentiments are: thanks a latte, get well, and a cup of cheer.  The two ink spots are Early Espresso and Cucumber Crush.

Order now and enjoy the FUN!  Paper Pumpkin is a great gift, too.  Be sure to use the Promo Code:  HALFOFF.

2015 Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. Yahoo!!

Wow, what a fantastic shindig Stampin' Up! put on for it's demonstrators!  The convention was impressive, informative, BIG, and FUN.  I particularly enjoyed meeting fellow demonstrators.  From the tour of the Stampin' Up! Corporate Offices, to the Gala hosted by Patty Bennett, Jan Wakefield and Janice Weightman for their respective groups, to the learning sessions, to the Award Night Roaring Twenties After Party, we were on the go.  I loved every minute of it and will share some of what I learned with you a little at a time.  I am still digesting it all!

One of the fun things we did at the convention was to "swap" cards that we had made with other demonstrators.  If you have not heard of CASE, it means Copy and Share Everything.  That is what Stampin' Up! demonstrators do.  I was overwhelmed with all the creative, pretty designs using Stampin' Up!'s wonderful products.  I had only made 88 of my swaps so 88 different card fronts is what I brought home.  It was not unusual to find a demonstrator with 350 - 400 swaps ready to trade.   Whew! 

Here is the swap I made using the Work of Art Stamp set seen on page 118 of the annual catalog or here.
 I had so much fun making the cards that I want to share how I made it with you.

The card base is Whisper White, 5 1/2 x  8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  Cut another piece of Whisper White 2 1/8" x 4 1/4" to stamp the flower onto.  Use a 1/2 inch scrap to stamp the sentiment onto.  The 4" x 5 1/4" Watermelon Wonder card stock is embossed with the Fluttering embossing folder seen on page 174 of the 2015-2016 Annual catalog.   Add a linen thread bow and you have it. 

Okay, so here is how you make the flower.

Choose the squiggle stamp and use it with the solid side to the left as you see in my hands.

After you mount the clear stamp or are using the wood mounted stamp, ink it with Watermelon Wonder.  As you see in the picture, stamp at an angle on the left side of your 2 1/8" x 4 1/4 " piece of Whisper White card stock.

Now you will stamp off the second petal of the flower.

Without reinking your stamp, position the top a little to the right of but overlapping the first image and stamp.   Keep the bottom left of the petal near the first stamped petal.  Notice in the picture that the stamp is almost straight up and down.  Basically, you are rotating the stamp a little to the right.  But, be sure you lift the stamp from the card stock before you rotate it. 

Reink your stamp with Watermelon Wonder.  Rotate the stamp all the way to the right and stamp the petal on right side of the flower.  You will have a small gap in the flower, that it alright because you will fill it in soon.  

Now let's fill in that last petal.  Similar to step #2, you will slightly rotate the "petal" stamp to the left, and stamp off the last "petal".   On this last step, you will move the bottom of the "petal" stamp slightly to the right to fill in the bottom of the flower.

Add your stem from the Work of Art set. Stamp with Old Olive ink.

 

Using the heart shaped stamp, add a leaf on the right and left of the stem.

Adhere your flower to the embossed Watermelon Wonder card stock.

I stamped the sentiment from the Watercolor Wings stamp set in Delightful Dijon.  I cut the card stock into a flag, sponged it with Delightful Dijon and adhered it with Stampin' Dimensionals.  You can add a linen thread bow to the tag with a small glue dot.  Adhere to Whisper White card stock base and you are ready to surprise a friend with a pretty flower!

This little flower is nice in many different colors.  Try it in your favorite Stampin' Up! color.

Here are the Stampin' Up! products I used to make this card.  Click on any of them for more details to to order.

Please excuse the spacing in this post.  The pictures and text have a mind of their own today.  Thank you for stopping by!  I love sharing with you.

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