The Paper Players + Sunday Stamps

In keeping with my personal challenge of stamping an original project each day, here is my fourth challenge card. I made this card late last night and by the time I finished it, I was way too sleepy to write a blog post. This time I combined the fun sketch at The Paper Players with the soft and pretty color challenge at Sunday Stamps.

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Friendly Phrases
Paper: Pool Party, Sahara Sand, Wisteria Wonder
Ink: Wisteria Wonder
Accessories: Big Shot, Fun Flowers die, Perfect Polka dots EF, Pool Party ruffled ribbon, Boho Blossoms punch, mat pack, paper piercer, In Color brad

I'm really having fun doing stamping challenges! I didn't realize that there were so many out there! A special thanks to my stamping/texting friend, Rita, for hanging in there with me while I worked on this card. It was a bit of a labor of love. I started out using a different color combo that just wasn't working. Rita suggested the Sunday Stamps combination and then the card just came together. It is nice to have a friend to help me through the creative process (and struggles).

Check out these fun challenges and give them a try-

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all who have served and are serving!

~Marla Pin It

Mojo Monday meets Dynamic Duos!

Are you tired of my challenge card posts yet? I got a chance to sit down and stamp for a while this afternoon while the kids napped. I decided to do another couple of challenges combined into one card. The sketch is from Mojo Monday and the color combination is from Dynamic Duos. Here is my take on these two great challenges...

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Up, Up, and Away
Paper: Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Marina Mist
Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice EF, Stripes EF, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Tasteful Trim die, Cupcake builder punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, paper snips, dimensionals
Technique: inlaid/embedded embossing

Take a look at these two challenges, and if you get a chance, give them a try!

Thanks for stopping by! This may be my last post for a couple of days. One late last night and three today- whew! This has got to be a new record!!!

~Marla Pin It

Freshly Made Sketches meets Hand Stamped Sentiments!

Hello again! Here is my second challenge card. This one combines the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches with the theme challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments.

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Workshop Words (Convention 2011 exclusive)
Paper: Real Red, Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Big Top Birthday DSP
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Large Star punch (retired), Small Star punch (retired), mat pack, paper piercer, brights brads

Check out these two fun challenges and play along!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Marla Pin It

ColorQ mashed with The Friday Mashup!

Two postings in one day? Unheard of, I know! Are you ready for me to really blow your mind? I have a third one that I will be posting as soon as this one is finished! Why, you ask? Well, I have given myself a personal challenge to stamp something daily and to make it even more of a challenge, I am attempting to also make only original creations! My awesome stamping buddy, Rita, said that she really boosted her stamping skills by doing daily challenges, so I am giving it a try. Thanks, Rita, for the inspiration!

I made this card for two different challenges. The sketch and theme came from the challenge at The Friday Mashup! and the color combination came from ColorQ, so I combined the challenges to make this card.

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Circle Circus, Petite Pairs
Paper: Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade, Pool Party, More Mustard, Very Vanilla
Ink: Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade, Pool Party, More Mustard
Accessories: Big Shot, Stripes EF, Houndstooth EF, linen thread, dimensionals

Check out these awesome challenges and play along!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Marla

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New In Colors (and a New Club)!

Whew! Summer break is finally here, and I couldn't be happier! The last couple of weeks of school kept me on my toes, but I can't believe how quickly I've already slipped into summer mode. I'm sleeping better and later, and it has been wonderful. Now if I could just get my kiddos to get along a little better, all would be perfect in my little world.

I have a card (if you can call it that) to give you a sneak peek of the new in colors. I feel the need to preface this by saying that I realize this card is not very heavy on design. Thank goodness a super adorable card wasn't my true intent. I really just wanted to make a quick card using all five of the 2012-2014 in colors to give you a sense of how they look together. I think it at least achieved that. I hope you agree! ;-)

Going from left to right, we have Raspberry Ripple (a deep, dark, almost-red pink), Midnight Muse (a rich blue that falls in between Not Quite Navy and Night of Navy), Gumball Green (a really nice, true green), Summer Starfruit (a yellow with lots of green mixed in), and Primrose Petals (a dusty pink).

I really like the bold, bright colors this year. They compliment so many of our existing core colors. I am really enjoying using them and I think that you will as well!

If you are interested in purchasing all of the in color ink pads, papers, and accessories slowly over time and at a discounted rate, you may be interested in joining my In Color Club. Here are the details-

The club will run for five months (June-October). There are no meetings for this club.

There must be five members. (If there is enough interest, I can do more than one group, but each group must have five members.)  

Each member will be assigned a starting color in the order that they agree to be a member of the club.

The colors will rotate in alphabetical order (Gumball Green, Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit) each month.

By October, each member will have all of the products listed below in each of the five new in colors.

Each month, each member will receive the following in their color for that month:

1 classic stamping pad
1 ink refill
1 marker (you will also receive a case during the month that you receive your Gumball Green marker)
12 sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock
4 sheets of 12 x 12 cardstock
4 sheets of Designer Series Paper (from the In Color DSP stack)
8 Dahlia flower embellishments
1 full roll of 3/8" stitched satin ribbon

The cost of this club is just $35 monthly. This price is based on the product and tax only with no charge for shipping, so it is a great deal! Payment will be due by check on the first day of each month. (June payment will not be due until June 9th.) If you are not local, you can still participate in the club. For $40 per month, I will ship your items to you through USPS Priority Mail.

Please email me (reedmarla622@gmail.com) by Tuesday, June 5th if you would like to participate in this club.

**Also, don't forget to RSVP for the New Catalog Release Party and BOGO sale on Saturday, June 9th (11:00-1:00) by JUNE 1st!**

Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think of the new in colors. Is there already one that stands out that you know will be your favorite? What do you think? I'd love to know!

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend! Remember those who sacrificed for our freedoms!

~Marla Pin It

Pinterest to the Rescue (Again)!

Hello again, stamping friends! If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I am quite the procrastinator! I don't intend to wait until the last minute, but I just tend to prioritize my tasks based on urgency and therefore a lot of things get done at the last minute (or sometimes the last second). Anyway, this week is Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week and I had grand plans of sending in a little gift each day for my son's teacher. Well, here it is Friday (the last day of the school week) and I just finished the gifts this morning. Everything is going in today. Maybe next year I'll have my act together and accomplish my goal of a small gift each day, but I have to accept the fact that it didn't happen this year and just move on, right?

If you are a regular reader, you also know that I love Pinterest. I will admit that I haven't been on it as much lately, but I do go when I need some quick inspiration. I got all of the teacher appreciation gift ideas from Pinterest this year. I found great ways to say thanks without spending a lot of money. As a former teacher, I know that it's not about how much money you spent. It's just about doing a little something to show your appreciation for all that they do!

I made up this gift for my daughter's preschool teachers. I purchased some strawberries at our local farm market and placed them in some reusable plastic containers that I got at WalMart. I added a handmade label to the top and that was it. Please excuse the background as I took this picture in my car just before delivering the finished gifts.

Here is a close-up of the tag:

I made the strawberry using the Large Heart punch, which I ran through my Big Shot in the Perfect Polka Dots folder. The top was made using the Five Petal punch. There is also a sneak peek of two of the new in colors on this label! The dark pink/red color is Raspberry Ripple and the green is Gumball Green. I really like the new in colors and think that all five of them compliment each other very well.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Perfectly Penned
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green (marker)
Paper: Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note die, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Large Heart punch, Five Petal punch
My inspiration: this picture from Dixie Delights

My son is in first grade this year and I sent the post it note holders from this post to his current teacher as well as his Kindergarten teacher. However, I also wanted to send in a little treat for his specialist teachers (art, music, library, PE, and computer lab) as well as his bus driver (because it is staff appreciation too). I found these adorable little owl treat bags on Pinterest and knew that they would be perfect!

Aren't they just the cutest? I made tags for the back. The teacher treats said, "Thanks for making me wiser!" and the bus driver treat said, "Thanks for "owl" you do!"

Supplies Used:
Stamps: none
Ink: Basic Black (marker)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note die, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1" circle punch, 1/2" circle punch, Five Petal punch, 3x5 cellophane bags
My inspiration: this project made by Nancy Williams

Well, there you have it. I realize that this post may come too late to inspire you for this year, but maybe you could pin it for next year. ;-)

Enjoy your Friday and have a wonderful weekend! Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing mothers out there!

~Marla Pin It

May Stylin' Stampin' Squad!

Wow! I can't believe another month has passed already! Time has been flying by! As we rapidly approach the end of the school year, I have been one busy mama! Field trips, meetings, PTA events- the list goes on and on! Add to that all of the excitement and buzz in the Stampin' Up world and my head is spinning!

I kept my projects for this month fairly simple due to the very fast pace of my life right now. I hope you will enjoy them even if they are not quite as impressive as I would have liked.

My first project is a Mother's Day card that we made at my most recent card making class. I wanted to try to use as many retiring products as possible and this one uses several!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Best Friends Forever (retiring), Vintage Vogue (retiring), Delightful Dozen
Paper: Regal Rose CS, Blushing Bride CS, Whisper White CS
Ink: Blushing Bride, Regal Rose
Accessories: Big Shot, Fun Flowers die, Eyelet Border punch (retiring), large pearls, paper snips, bone folder
Technique: faux suede technique
My inspiration: this card made by Renee Van Stralen

While I'm not much of a pink person when it comes to card making, I was very pleased with the way this card turned out. The vines and leaves from the Best Friends Forever set make awesome backgrounds and the two flowers from Vintage Vogue make the perfect center for the flower. My favorite part of the card is the flower itself. Here is a close up so you can see the detail a little better.

Do you see the texture on the flower petals? I did that using a fun and easy technique called faux suede. Here is the video tutorial from Dawn Griffith's blog if you would like to try this technique yourself. The best part is that you get two flowers out of one die cut, which is great when you are making multiples of the same card!

My 3D project this month is a post it note holder that I made for my son's teacher. Next week is Teacher Appreciation week and I always try to send in a little gift to express my appreciation. As a former teacher, I know that it is not always an easy or fun job, but a very important one.

Supplies Used:
Stamp: Thank You Kindly (retiring)
Paper: Daffodil Delight CS, Summer Smooches DSP (will be available again beginning June 1st)
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango (for sponging)
Accessories: Big Shot, Fun Flowers die, Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon, Summer Smooches fabric brad (no longer available), glue dots, dimensionals, acrylic 4" x 6" photo frame (non SU), post it notes (non SU), RSVP pen (non SU)

This is a very quick gift to make and is great for anyone who has a desk job. I simply slid a piece of DSP into the frame, tied a ribbon around the top, added a flower and attached a stack of post it notes using glue dots. I also made a matching pen by rolling up a 3 1/4" x 3/4" piece of DSP to put inside the pen. I hope that  my son's teacher will like this small token of our appreciation.

Please continue on through the hop and leave some encouraging comments along the way! We love to read your comments!There are many wonderful projects to enjoy this month! Remember that if you get lost, you can always come back here and there is a full list of the entire hop at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

~Marla

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Shellie G. of Creative Electica
2. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
3. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!
4. Nancy B. of Lady Stamps a Lot
5. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
6. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
7. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
8. Patricia T. of Sunnyone Stampin'
9. Heather W. of Heather's Stampin' Blog
10. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
11. Marla R. of Marla's Stampin' Spot (You are here!)
12. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
13. Nicole B. of Creations by Mommy
14. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim

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