Back after a busy stretch...

Hi everyone! 
I had a really busy month - I can't believe it's been so long since my last post!  I was sad to see the end of Sale-a-Bration, but May always brings awesome promos.  Sure enough, this year you can 30% off various scrapbooking related products, including professional prints from My Digital Studio.  Check out the link on my sidebar to the right.

I will post a couple cards today...Even though I've been busy away from the blogosphere, doesn't mean I haven't been crafting!  I had a tradeshow last night as part of a Ladies Night event in my hometown.  It was great fun - lots of vendors, prizes, food and even a pole dance demo!  The surprise of the evening was the blizzard that came out of nowhere.  Yeesh, last day of April and we got dumped on at least another 6 or 7 inches.

This card is special because it shows you a sneak peek at some *new* DSP that will be coming out in the new catalogue on July 1st.  It's called Paisley Petals and it's great!  On this card, I tore the edge of the DSP and rolled it down a bit, then distressed with Burgundy ink on a sponge.  The flower is punched from Cherry Cobbler using the XL Fancy Flower Punch and is sponged with Burgundy again.  There are 3 brads - the big one is from Antique Brads and the 2 small ones at the bottom are from Vintage Trinkets.  The sentiment is stamped from my favorite go-to set, Teeny Tiny Wishes.

This card also showcases some new paper and stamps.  The Summer Mini Catalogue is out and it is great! There's some fun summer stuff, nautical stuff, Canada stuff, but my very favorite so far is the floral stuff.

This card uses Tangerine Tango as a base, then the bottom half was covered in the new paper Beyond the Garden.  This paper has bright fun colours like Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point and as mentioned, Tangerine Tango.  It's gorgeous but bright and fun too!

The yellow flowers and the sentiment are from the same set: "Fabulous Florets".  It coordinates with the DSP mentioned above.  It's my new favorite set and I really hope we carry it over into the new Idea Book & Catalogue in July.

But just in case, you better get yours now!

Hope you like!

I Got The Vintage Blues!

Don't worry - the Vintage Blues are actually a good thing!  I've been playing around a lot with the new colour Marina Mist.  I love how it goes with every neutral colour out there - especially Crumb Cake.  I used that colour pair in the card to the left - I think it turned out well, it somehow reminds me of antique china patterns.  

I used a flower stamp from the set Embrace Life to make the pattern on the Crumb Cake panel.  It was then shaded in slightly with Marina Mist ink and a blender pen.  {NOTE: Blender pens are the most awesome invention in the history of Stampin' Up!  You NEED them.}  The sentiment is from an old hostess set called A Little Somethin'.  I added some Very Vanilla corners, brads, satin ribbon and a Hodgepodge Hardware ribbon slide.

  Now this next card {aren't you lucky? Getting 2 today!} uses Marina Mist background as well, but it has been dry embossed using the Big Shot machine {another Must Have} and the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  The text paper is from the Newsprint line.  I embellisheed with some Marina Mist satin ribbon, the new Chantilly Lace ribbon, and a tiny safety pin from the new Vintage Trinkets.  The crown and medallion images are both stamps from the Artistic Etchings set.  The "thank you" and small flower are from the new hostess set "Because I Care".  Finally, a gorgeous, distressed brad from the Vintage Brads.  I also sponged a little brown ink over the raised embossing, just to give a little weathered feel. 

I hope you're feeling the vintage blues too!