Bee Thankful

Another couple from my "use all my stamp sets" challenge! It's hard to think of different things to do with a set that only consists of one stamp, but I've tried to change it up a bit here. This stamp is gorgeous - great for #simplestamping, and it looks fab on its own OR with extra embellishments.

The first one here is straightforward, while I have embossed the Sahara Sand card with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder and cut the edges so it looks staggered to give it the effect of a little hanging sign.  In fact, I only loosely stuck this onto the card blank, so it could indeed be removed and hung up should the recipient choose to do so.

I love this little bee, and have used this for loads of teacher thank you cards.

Share What You Love

These are not my usual style. The Share What You Love papers are not ones I would usually have gone for, but something made me buy them, and you know what? I've used them loads! I think what I like about them is that they make such a statement themselves that they can really carry a card with very little extra embellishment. 

Here I've paired them with a greeting from One for All, and the Postscript background stamp creeping in around the edges, finished off with a bit of sponging, and I really think that's all it needs.

(PS, it's a really big pack of papers too, so you get loooooads, which makes me very happy!)

Floating Away...

After three posts in a row featuring rainbows, I thought I might tone it down a bit here!  I've used three sets here - the otter from Hey Love, a greeting from Incredible Like You, and the flower is from... you know, I can't find it, and I can't remember!  Answers on a postcard please, to this forgetful old Badger!

Flutterby Rainbow

Hm, I seem to be in a rainbow frame of mind again!  I was looking for something to do for the #simplestamping Stampin'Up! challenge, and decided to go back to an old trick. 

You know how you often end up with slim slices of cardstock when you're trimming it down to size?  Well, as long as the edges are straight you can but them up against each other, tape them together, then cut them at 90𝇈 to get stripy strips - voila!

And Butterfly Gala can, of course, be coloured to match whatever offcuts you have lying around. Convenient, eh? 😏

Cake, Glorious Cake!

Shall we talk about cake?  I'm always up for talking about cake (which is probably healthier than eating it, come to think about it - it's a shame I almost certainly do too much of that too!), and how lovely are these?  There are three stamp sets here: Piece of Cake on the rainbow card, Amazing Life on the series of cards in the panoramic picture, and the large Happy Birthday is from One for All.

My rainbow ombre ink pad has been out again, as have my Blends, and all of these feature embossed backgrounds.  Embossing folders are something I go through phases of using - I tend to forget how fab they are!  They're a really quick way to add some texture, especially if you want to keep a card looking uncluttered.  They certainly went down well at the Stamp-a-Stack where we made the set of five cards below!  And best of all, cake is timeless and doesn't discriminate by gender, so these cards are pretty much suitable for anyone - win!

Rainbow Swirls

And here is a second card using Stylish Christmas - I'll be honest, I bought the set solely for this swirl! I love the contrast over the rainbow watercolour background (thank you, ombre pad!), but I think it looks a bit like something from an illuminated manuscript, so I might have to have a look at at that some more...

Sweet and Simple

If proof were needed that a Christmas stamp set is for life, not just for Christmas, here it is.  I've repurposed the poinsettia from Stylish Christmas into a delicate lilac bloom, with just a little accent of metallic pearls in the middle.

I love the overall silver tone of this one and, in the words of Forrest Gump, that's all I have to say about that 💜

How Sweet the DSP is!

It's official: I'm in love with these papers!  I do love a rainbow (you might have guessed this: I do drop very subtle hints about this, very occasionally!), and while the How Sweet It Is papers don't feature an actual, true rainbow, they are so cheerful, with an array of beautiful, bright colours that I defy anyone not to need a pack.  (Or two.  Or... well, let's leave it at that, shall we?)

We made these in one of my classes, and the discussion turned to how many uses these papers had.  Good for birthdays? Check. Good for kids? Check. Suitable for cards of men? Check.  Anyone with a sweet tooth who has a birthday, anniversary, achievement to celebrate or just needs celebrating for being wonderful would love to receive something adorned with these papers, I'm sure.  And as with all Stampin'Up! DSP, there is a subtler pattern on the back of each design, so if the bright and beautiful is a bit much for you all at once, you can tone it down with ease.

Oh dear, I think I might need a *cough* fourth *cough* pack...