The Hippest Hippos was going to be the first stamp and die set I got when we could order from the new catalog. They are so cute! So I ordered them and played for a couple days. Here is one of the cards I made.

This is such a great set! You get 19 dies and 7 stamps! Each one is FREE with a $50 purchase. There are so many fun items in the die cut set. Like the snorkel and boat I used.

I used two of the new In Colors, Tahitian Tide cardstock and Sweet Sorbet cardstock. I also used Soft Suede cardstock. The dies came from Hippo dies set. I also used an old embossing folder and one of the new ones, Stipes and Splatters. The greeting came from the Charming Sentiments Bundle. By purchasing this bundle, you can earn one of the hippo sets. I can see this being used a lot in my future!

I think this is one of the best bargains Stampin Up! has had for Sale-A-Bration in awhile. It is a fun set and you can do lots with it. I will post some more ideas soon. If you would like to earn these two sets, you can go to my store and purchase any item.

Happy Stampin!

Some days you just have to breathe deep. When there is so much going on, it’s good to take the time to relax and breathe. Reflected In Nature is a stamp set that makes me want to do just that. I want to be in that cabin by the lake and breathe deep. Maybe without the snow!

For this card I used up some of my stash. Love it when I can do that! I used Soft Suede Ink to stamp the images on Very Vanilla Cardstock. Then I used up some old paper, ribbon, and brads. When was the last time you used brads?! I had fun going through my stash to see what I could use. I finished it up using the Treasured Tags Punch.

I didn’t use the reflection part of the image for this card. I wanted to try something different and I like the results. But the full image is stunning. I know I will be using that on future cards. And this stamp set can be used for so many different kinds of cards, such as masculine or Christmas. So, breathe deep, and go make some cards!

Don’t you hate it when you get done making a card and then, all of a sudden, an ink blob happens! You spend all that time working on it, only to have it ruined!

Or is it?

That happened at a recent card class I held. My customer finished her card and then accidentally bumped her card into the ink pad! Arrrg! Some quick thinking came up with a solution that saved the card and actually made it better! Here is the card without the ink blob.

The card was cute but the ink blob wrecked it. So I pulled out the High Tide Set and we added some birds right over the top of the ink blob. It worked perfectly. I actually like it so much that I added them to the card without a mistake!

So next time you make a mistake on your card, there may be hope for fixing it and you might even come up with a better design!

I love this time of year when the flowers start popping up and there is color in our world again! The black and white of winter has it’s beauty, but I am ready for some color.

I have been wanting to try the dry brush technique again since I received the My Meadow stamp set. So finally, here is the result of my playing with it. I love how it turned out! The Highland Heather, Granny Apple Green, and Balmy Blue colors go so well together!

I have an old milk can sitting around at my house, and I can just see it planted with flowers like this, sitting by my front steps. A little too early to plant for around here, but hopefully soon.

This fun technique can be done with any number of stamps. Here, on my old blog, is a card I did using a swing stamp.

This is a fun way to get a watercolor look. I posted a video on YouTube showing how I did it. I hope you will go watch it and try this technique too. If you need any of the supplies, you can click on the links below to order them or contact me. I would be happy to help.

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730]	Grace's Garden Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [151513]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad [147103]	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad [147095]	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad [147105]
Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad [149165]	Balmy Blue 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146982]	Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper [149612]	My Meadow Photopolymer Stamp Set [151650]	Snow Front Photopolymer Stamp Set [150483]	Country Home Photopolymer Stamp Set [147678]