For quite a while now, I have been trying to make the perfect cloud or puff of ink as a background on my card fronts. I kept ending up with blotchy, streaky messes. Finally, I realized I was using the wrong tool. I'm very excited to share with you today how I successfully got these beautiful clouds of ink in the middle of my card fronts. So, on y go! Let's get stamping. 

Cutting Dimensions:
Cardstock: 5 ½” x 8 ½”, scored at 4 ¼”
Cardstock: 1 ¾” x 5 ½”
Whisper White or Vanilla cardstock: 1 ½” x 5 ½”
Patterned Paper: (7 pieces) 1” x 2” of various coordinating patterns

My third card features the Plaid Tidings DSP that will be in the new August-December Mini Catalog. These plaids are awesome! I chose ones that used Mango Melody and Rich Razzleberry, but there are lots more to choose from and I probably could have chosen four or five different color schemes to use for this card with this paper. The colors are just so beautiful. I want to gobble it up. 

To go with the fabulous paper, I used the Pattern Play stamp set. And, I added a few of the adhesive backed sequins. These things are the bomb! They are so iridescent and sparkly and they already have adhesive on them. So you just have to peel them off the backing and put them down on your card. So easy and so pretty! If you haven't picked up a pack yet, you should definitely add them to your next order. They are hands down my favorite embellishment right now. I just wish there were more colors!

For my final card of this series, I tried really hard to use up the rest of my scraps of the Flowers for Every Season DSP. I had a lot of 1/2" strips. So, I made a lot more skinnier banners than the original cards. I finished the card with the To a Wild Rose stamp set and some Bumblebee gingham ribbon. 

This sketch was so much fun to work with! I can't wait to see what all my Mystery Stampers created with it. 

You'll find the list of currently available products below. Remember, for every $50 you order in July, you will receive a $5 coupon to use in August when the new Mini Catalog is released. If you need any help ordering or have questions about stamping or Stampin' Up!, ask away! You can comment below or send an email. See you Friday!
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I love the look of simple images on a white card with lots of white-on-white texture which led me to wonder what would happen if I used the same design ideas but did them on black instead of white. The results are dramatic cards that are simple and elegant. For these cards, I used the Forever Fern stamp set from Stampin' Up! It is new in the 2020-2021 Annual Catalog and has an entire suite of products including some really yummy Designer Series Paper. But for these cards, I focused solely on the stamps and dies. So, on y go! Let's get stamping.

For my first card, I challenged myself to use only black, white, and gray. I created the background by adhering black die-cut ferns to a black card front. I love, love, love the subtle texture this creates. For the focal image, I used a circle of vellum cardstock with Smoky Slate and Granite Gray leaf clusters. I added a length of metallic-edged ribbon and I embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder on Basic Black cardstock and fussy cut it. 

Christmas will be here in only a few short months. Ok, maybe 6. But if you're making your own Christmas cards, it's never to early to start! Black isn't a very traditional Christmas color, but I think this card has a quiet elegance to it that reminds me of snowy night. I stamped the leaves in Old Olive and Mossy Meadow. I added the speckles behind the wreath with the speckle stamp from the set stamped with White Craft ink. I swiped the greeting from the Merry Moose stamp set. I really wanted a greeting that was a little bigger and bolder, but my new Christmas sets aren't arriving until tomorrow. 

My final card pulls in a little Petal Pink with Soft Sea Foam and Pear Pizzazz leaves. I've been wanting to try this stamp set with some non-traditional colors, so this seemed like a good time to try the pink. I embossed the greeting with silver embossing powder. For the lines, I added strips of Tear & Tape to hold the embossing powder. I love the dramatic effect of the silver lines. For the hints of ribbon, I carefully cut the edge off of a length of the metallic-edged ribbon. I layered it under the greeting and once it was taped in place, I unraveled it a little more to get the wisps of silver thread. 

One last tip, when you're making cards with a black base like these, the black Stampin' Dimensionals are amazing! I often forget to use them. But, with the black-on-black cardstocks, it's sooooo nice to not have the distracting white of the regular Stampin' Dimensionals when the card is turned sideways to open it. 

I hope you have found these little black cards inspiring. You'll find all of the products I used listed below. Each one links to my online store. If you have any questions or need help ordering Stampin' Up! product, leave a comment or send me an e-mail. I'd love to help you however I can!
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While I love the bright colors, especially the Magenta Madness, there are also some awesome Christmas theme papers in the pack of Flowers for Every Season Designer Series Paper. For my last card, I layered patterns on patterns. I stamped the trees and greeting from the Merry Moose stamp set. This awesome set was in last year's Holiday catalog and it's back again this year! So, you can't order it right now, but you will be able to order it again beginning August 4. 

To finish off the card, I added some ribbon. This is the White Crinkled Seam Binding that I colored with the dark Poppy Parade Stampin' blend. Because it's a circle, the piece of ribbon isn't actually tied around the front. Instead, I laid a shorter piece across the front and then taped the ends to the back of the circle. Then, I took another piece, tied a bow, and adhered it to the front with mini glue dots. 
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Thanks for looking at my projects today! I hope you'll take a moment to hop through the whole blog hop and check out all of the amazing designers from around the globe. The complete list of designers is below. After that, you'll find links to the supplies I used today. 

Do you need a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator? I would love to help you out. Click any of the products below to link to my online shop. Be sure to grab the host code and start earning free stamps (see the more info under the Shopping Rewards tab). And of course, if you need any help, feel free to send me an email (stampin_heidi@yahoo.com) or leave your questions in the comments. ​
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I love blog hop week! Today, I am excited to be hopping with the talented designers of the Stampin' Friends Blog Hop. If you're already going through the hop, you've joined me from Kim Lamos's awesome site. The theme this month is "Anything Goes," so there is a variety of awesome projects on everyone's site. At the bottom of my post is the complete list of designers and links to all of their blogs. Next in line is designer Maureen Rauchfuss. I hope when you're done here, you'll check out all of the projects for the hop. Ok, on y go! Let's get stamping.

I love the new Nothing's Better Than stamp set, but it's so hard to choose whether to use coffee, chocolate, cocktails, or cookies for my cards. So, I made a spinner card so I could use both chocolate and cookies on one card. Then, I decided to make an awesome fridge magnet using the same design. This way, you can choose whether it's time for coffee or time for cocktails!

Add more tape to the back of the circle and add the other circle on top of it. Then add additional tape to the front of the card base. Be sure to keep the tape away from the edges where the Crumb Cake will show. Then, adhere the Soft Suede card front. 

1. Teri Pocock
2. Jean Beaulieu
3. Jo Blackman
4. Katja Ettig
5. Barbara Lash
6. Kim Quade
7. Kim Lamos
8. Heidi Collins  <--- YOU ARE HERE
9. Maureen Rauchfuss
10. Melissa Thomas
11. Steph Jandrow
12. Barbara Welch
13. Tiziana Milano
14. Anne Marie Hile
15. Lisa Ann Bernard

Do you need a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator? I would love to help you out. Click any of the products below to link to my online shop. Be sure to grab the host code and start earning free stamps (see the more info under the Shopping Rewards tab). And of course, if you need any help, feel free to send me an email (stampin_heidi@yahoo.com) or leave your questions in the comments. 
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For last night's Mystery Stamping, we created an easy peek-a-boo card. If you haven't joined us for Mystery Stamping yet, I hope you'll pop in next week Tuesday night at 8:00 PM Eastern. It's always a fun time and it's so much fun seeing how different everyone's card turns out. Be sure to join the On Y Go! Stamping Facebook Group and watch for the first clue next Monday. So, back to the peek-a-boo card - on y go! Let's get stamping.

1. Fold the piece of 4 ¼” x 11” Cinnamon Cider cardstock on the score line.
2. Adhere the 4” x 5 ¼” piece of Whisper White cardstock to the interior of your card.
3. Adhere the piece of 3 ½” x 5 ½” patterned paper to the front of your card.
4. Cut a hole in the front of your card using a punch or a die.
5. Close your card and stamp an image through the hole onto the piece of Whisper White cardstock on the interior of your card. 
6. Stamp a greeting on the piece of ¾” x 3 ½” Whisper White cardstock.
7. Adhere your greeting to the piece of 1” x 3 ½” cardstock.
8. Adhere this to the front of your card. 

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Shadow box cards are so much fun to look at and much easier than it seems! I used the Whale of a Time suite for this card and I have another sample below with the Forever Fern and Birds & Branches stamp sets. Be sure to scroll all the way through the post to see all of the samples. I love how you peer in through the window when you open the card. There is so much depth! So, on y go! Let's get stamping.

Whisper White cut with the Stitched Shapes Dies
​Additional images cut from the Whale of a Time DSP.

1. Score your pieces of Pool Party cardstock. The 5 1/2" x 8" piece is your card base. Unlike regular card bases, the sides of this one are not the same size. The smaller half is the back and the larger is your card front. 
2. Put Tear & Tape or another strong adhesive along the outer two 1/2" sections of the other piece of Pool Party Cardstock. 
3. Take one piece of 3 1/2" x 5 1/4" Whale of a Time DSP and cut a circle out of it using the largest circle from the Layering Circles dies. Adhere this piece to the center of your piece of 5 1/2" x 5 1/4" Pool Party cardstock.
4. Using the next smaller-sized circle, cut a hole in the Pool Party cardstock in the center of the hole that you already cut from the DSP. 
5. Lay your card base out flat with the smaller side to your right. Lay the 5 1/2" x 5 1/4" piece of Pool Party cardstock in front of you so that one 1/2 strip is on the left and the other two are on the right. Fold the two right sections under. To adhere this to your card base, line up the left side with the fold and glue down the right side with the two right flaps folded under. (I highly recommend watching the video for this!)
6. Open up your card all the way and adhere the other piece of 3 1/2" x 5 1/4" DSP to your card back. Part of it will cover the edge that you just glued down.
7. To adhere the other side of your card, fold it over again so that the left side lines up just inside the fold of your card base. Remove the backing to the Tear & Tape and close your card. When you open it again, you should have a shadow box.
8. Decorate as shown using fussy cut pieces from the Whale of a Time DSP. 

How do you make hexagons when you don't have a hexagon punch? Use the Tailored Tag punch instead! I had fun making these two cards using hexagons of patterned and glimmer paper, so on y go! Let's get stamping.

For last night's Mystery Stamping, we quickly created two cards at once! This technique is so simple and makes it so easy to create a pair of cards in minutes. So, on y go! Let's get stamping. 

For each of these cards, I made a simple two-layer card and then I made a second slightly stepped-up card. For the second card, I trimmed the card front to 3 3/4" x 5" and layered it on a second piece of colored cardstock before adhering it to the card base. I also stamped the sentiment on a separate piece of Whisper White cardstock, layered it on colored cardstock, and then adhered it to my card base. I added some sequins or linen thread for a little more embellishment. 

These cards are so quick and easy that they are addictive! Once you start, you'll want to try all your stamps out to see what it looks like.