Comparing Over 80 Stampin' Up & Memento Inks

My day today began with me obsessing over turquoise ink colors. My demonstrator told me that the price of card stock is going up in the next Stampin' Up! catalog. I began to put an order together and quickly became obsessed with which colors I had, which ones I used and which ones I wanted to buy.

So instead of making a card today, I began by reinking all my stamp pads. Then I thought I would stamp each one in a bold flower so I could easily see the differences. Sometimes names don't always help. For example, Stampin' Up's Pool Party could either be a blue or a green, depending on what color pool you're in! 

After making these sheets, I thought I would share them here on the blog. Perhaps someone will find them interesting.

I am missing Memento's Bahama Blue and I don't have Stampin' Up!'s Temping Turquoise anymore, which started this whole thing. I'm not sure if the new Azure Afternoon is a good replacement. I may considering getting Pinkfresh Studio's Turquoise Ink. I think it's just the color I'm looking for, but they don't have coordinating paper. Ugh! 

If you're unfamiliar with Stampin' Up! and Memento Colors, the Stampin' Up! Colors are all two words and almost always begin with the same letter. For example, Lemon Lolly and Pineapple Punch are SU! colors and Dandelion is a Memento color.

There are a couple Papertrey Inks in here too. They are Hibiscus Burst and Lovely Lady.

Anyway, these aren't the most professional photos, but the collection is quite complete. I didn't intend on publishing it, but thought that it may be a good idea after all. Here are my pics:

I hope this helps someone, somewhere, someday! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sunny Birthday Wishes

Here are two fun cards I made using the digital design below. Dolphins are always a great subject for a birthday card because it seems like both young and old like them. And with blue and yellow as the main colors, they're perfect for a any gender too.

Starting with the images that I had printed at FedEx (she printed two because she said that one set didn't turn out right, but they looked fine to me) I mounted them on Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry Card Stock, then on a generic blue then back on the Crushed Curry. As you can see in the video below, they're made with Wobblers, which give them the perfect feel of the dolphin jumping in the water.

They're finished with generic clear rhinestones that I think I got at Michaels.

Of course you and take the image and create any card you want in any size. Below is the free digi. As always:

1. Snag it to your desktop or photos.
2. Put it in a Word or Pages Document.
3. Resize it to the size card you want to make.
4. Print it out, either at home or at a copy center. 

I hope you enjoy the freebie! Remember that all images are for personal use only, please! Thanks for stopping by my blog today and have a wonderful day!

A Card Based on a Movie and an "NBUS"

What fun I had with this challenge! When I first saw the theme over at Time Out Challenges, I wasn't sure if I had what it took to play along. Make a card based on your favorite movie? Hmmmm... 

Here starring Tom Hanks just came out late last year and instantly became my favorite movie. 

It's the story of a piece of land and everything that happens on that land from prehistoric times through Covid. The entire movie is filmed in one room, and focuses on one main family. As someone who loves to reflect on the passage of time, I became one with this film.

The reviews are mixed, and I understand why. You either love it or hate it. If you've seen the movie I'd love to hear what you though of it. If not, I highly recommend it! You can check out the trailer below too.

Anyway, on to the card! Because it's about a house, I chose a NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) stamp set that I picked up a while back that features a door. Ironically, there is a saying in the set that says "So Happy You're Here." So perfect!

Here's my complete supply list:

• Stampin' Up! At Home With You
• SU! Early Espresso Ink and Card Stock
• SU! Perfect Peach Card Stock
• Speckletone True White Card Stock
• Copics C1, Y23, Y35, E97, R43, YG06, YR18 and E34
• Dimensionals

Here's the trailer for this heartwarming and poignant movie:

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Get Well Challenge Card

Tomorrow is my mom's 84th birthday! It's amazing and wonderful how active she still is. One thing she requested this year is that I make her some "get well" cards for her to send out. She's part of the local Garden Club, and undoubtedly there will be some friends from there who will be receiving those cards, so I thought some potted plants would be great.

I've found three challenges this week that are perfect for this card. Both Retro Rubber and Word Art Wednesday and Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. all have "anything goes" challenges. The only requirement at Retro Rubber is that the stamp has to be at least a year old. Easy peasy! There's no excuse not to enter!

Here is my complete supply list:

• Stampin' Up! Cactus Cuties (2022)
• SU! Tangerine Tango Card Stock & Ink
• SU! Cajun Craze Card Stock & Ink
• Misc. Patterned Papers in Yellow and Purple
• SU! Calypso Coral Ink
• SU! Highland Heather Ink
• SU! Gorgeous Grape Ink
• SU! Granny Apple Green Ink
• SU! Pear Pizzazz Ink
• SU! Old Olive Ink
• Papertrey Sentiment

I still want to make mom a few more cards, so there's more crafting to do today. Thanks so much for stopping by and be sure to check out Darnell’s Blog, Word Art Wednesday and Retro Rubber for lots of inspiration!

Seaside Card For Three Challenges

Today's card was created by inspiration from three different challenge blogs: 

Cardz 4 Guyz #368 - S is For ...

    (my card features the Seaside)

Darnell's Weekly I.D.E.A.S. Calendar (E for Embossing)

    (my card has a heat embossed lobster)

Retro Rubber's Challenge 250 "Under The Sea" #rrcb250

    (and the lobster lives under the sea!)

Here's my complete supply list:

• Stampin' Up! By The Tide Stamp Set (2016)
• Graphic 45 Patterned Paper "Sail Away"
• SU! Night of Navy Card Stock and Ink
• Speckletone True White Card Stock
• Sentiment from Papertrey Ink
• Versamark Ink
• Brutus Monroe Embossing Powder in Vanilla Ice Cream

This card is a perfect addition to the assortment of cards that I'm making for my mom's birthday next week. She requested get well cards, and I think having at least one masculine card will be great for her to have on hand.

Thanks to Darnell, everyone over at Retro Rubber, and the Cardz 4 Guys team for helping me make something new! Be sure to check out their blogs and play along!

And thanks so much for stopping by today!

Jeremiah 29:11 Greeting Card Printables

Who doesn't love the Bible verse in Jeremiah 29:11? It seems like everyone who is familiar with the verse clings to it, myself included. What I love is that it reminds us that God does have a plan for our lives. And it's a good plan. Sometimes it can really seem like that's not the case, but this verse reminds us otherwise.

When I sent these out to be printed at FedEx, I made two of them because that's how much room I had on the sheet of paper. I'm glad I did. I know that it will be really easy to mail these out and will probably want to make more.

To finish the cards off, I used some paper doilies from Stampin' Up!, then mounted the image on their Pear Pizzazz card stock and then on their Bubble Bath card stock. I added flat glitter dots that I believe I got from the Dollar Tree. 

These measure about 6.5 x 4.75, but you can make the design any size you want and of course make the cards any size you want also.

Here's the free digi. As always:

1. Snag it to your desktop or photos.
2. Put it in a Word or Pages Document.
3. Resize it to the size card you want to make.
4. Print it out, either at home or at a copy center. 

I hope you enjoy the freebie! Remember that all images are for personal use only, please! Thanks for stopping by my blog today and have a wonderful day!

Christmas (or Not) BINGO Challenge #12

It's been a while since I've been over at Christmas (or Not) BINGO Challenges and it's good to be back. As always with this challenge, you have to pick just one column going straight up and down and create a card (or other crafty items) with just that column. There's no across or diagonal allowed. 

The column I chose is "I" and the elements from that column are:

• Christmas
• Black/Gray
• No Stamping

I love making digital images and creating cards with them, so this was the perfect opportunity to do that with the "no stamping" spot. I did include a die cut element from white card stock and framed the image with Stampin' Up!'s Garden Green and mounted them all on SU! Real Red card stock.

Black and gray are unique elements on a Christmas card, but I love challenges like that. Plus black is one of my go-to colors to really make cards pop, so this was really fun. It's a super-easy image that I feel really captures the Christmas spirit in a fun way.

Feel free to use the image below in your own work if you want.  As always:

1. Snag it to your desktop or photos.
2. Put it in a Word or Pages Document.
3. Resize it to the size card you want to make.
4. Print it out, either at home or at a copy center. 

I hope you enjoy the freebie! You can make a card out of it like I did, or use in as a digital image to send to someone on Facebook or in an email. Remember that all images are for personal use only, please! Thanks for stopping by my blog today and have a wonderful day!

Irish Blessing Cross Stitch

Yesterday I managed to start and finish a beautiful, well known Irish Blessing. I've seen this on more complex charts, but I felt like stitching it in an easy format, so I created the chart myself at a site called stitchpoint.com. It's a wonderful place that makes it super easy to write any font and turn it into a cross stitch piece.

Here's my chart, but the cool thing is that you can make a chart out of any saying that you want. It took me just a little getting used to it, and some of the fonts are an upcharge, but the one I chose, which is called Monaco, was free, and it was just what I was looking for!

Feel free to use my chart if you'd like to stitch this:

One other bit of helpful information... When I stitch something using a dark thread on light fabric, I often can see the floss through the fabric. One thing I did to combat this is to spray paint my mounting board a dark color. It worked like a charm. The picture below shows the threads underneath...

Below is the board after I spray painted it. It didn't matter that the green paint was a different shade than the floss. It was close enough to hide the threads underneath...

And here's the same piece on the green background. You may notice that it's laying on my computer monitor, which is laying face-up on my desk. Basically I'm using it as a lightbox because I'm too cheap to buy one right now! But notice how you can no longer see the threads underneath.

A Green & White Challenge Card

I picked up this tiny vase at an antique store. Ironically it's made in
Portugal, not Ireland.

Well this is a first for me! I have four different challenges that I'm entering this card in. I guess St. Patrick's Day has set off a spark of green and white challenges, and I love them all. I've already made my St. Patrick's Day cards, but my Mom requested some Get Well cards for her birthday coming up later on this month. Green is just such a happy color and even well after St. Pat's day it can be a great reminder of spring, summer, and of course my very favorite one, Kermit the Frog!

Here are the wonderful links that's I'm entering this card in:

• Colorful Options 
• Color Hues Challenge
• Simply Clean & Simple Stamping
• Try A Sketch on Tuesday

Here's my supply list:

• Stampin' Up! Granny Apple Green Card Stock
• White Card Stock
• SU! Very Vintage Stamp Set
• SU! Garden Green Ink
• Copic Marker YG11
• Soft Enamel Dots from Dollar Tree
• Sentiment from Papertrey Ink

Be sure to stop over at any of these fun challenges and play along! Thanks for stopping by today!

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #367

We all need Guy Cards, and that's one of the reasons I love to play over at Cardz 4 Guyz. This round their challenge is to use men's clothing on your card. That can be a tough one, but after looking through my stamps I realized that I had several that would qualify. I chose this set that I have only used a couple of times and that was for girl cards. It has a sentiment with it that I just love. It says "Put On Your Big Girl Boots." I left that off, but just added a simple Happy Birthday that came with the set.

Here's my complete supply list:

• Close To My Heart "Life In Boots" Stamp Set
• Copics E19, E19, E26, E34 and E35
• Stampin' Up! Soft Suede Ink
• Misc. Patterned Papers

It was fun to make this one for sure. It's all ready to go in a kraft envelope that some guy out there will love. 

If you're up for the challenge, be sure to stop over at Cardz 4 Guyz and play along!

Inspired by Darnell's Letter "I"

Well this is a fun surprise! I went over to NBUS to get some inspiration that would help me dig out some of those "Never Before Used Schtuff" items. While looking at the cards that were entered there, I spotted one, which was Darnell's, which I thought was so pretty. 

I followed it to her blog and was so taken because she talks about getting in a slump with stamping. I could relate, especially today. So many times I feel like that's where I'm at. Some days I think, I'm done with stamping. I'm donating everything to the Salvation Army. Then the next day I'm making cards and loving it. I think I'm crazy. That was until I read the post on her personal blog HERE.

One thing Darnell does is to create an acronym of the word IDEAS and create a corresponding card using the technique of the week. This week it was 'ink.' 

So that's how this card started out. I was inspired to use an old technique using Saran Wrap and ink and water to create a background. It was designed to look like the sky. Then I stamped some fun strawberries on the front and added the sentiment "Just For You" in the corner.

Here's my complete supply list:

• White Card Stock
• Stampin' Up! Boho Blue Card Stock and Ink
• Water
• Saran Wrap
• SU! Sweet Strawberry Stamp Set
• Sun (purchased from eBay)
• SU! Poppy Parade Ink
• SU! Real Red Ink
• SU! Garden Green Ink
• Copic Markers

I'm so excited to know that Darnell has created a place on her blog where we can enter the cards we make using her IDEAS guide. It's such a fun was to get creative. And I'm especially glad that I'm not the only one who gets in a funk and feels like I can't possible make another card!

So if you need some inspiration, be sure to hop over each Monday and play along!

Here are a few more pictures of this technique:

Love Those Pretty Papers Rainbow Challenge

This month over at Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge they have an optional theme of rainbows. I love rainbows because their colors are so much fun to work with. However I only had one specific patterned paper with actual rainbows on it, and I don't know who made it. It's lightweight and one-sided, so it probably came from a big box store. I tried Googling it and didn't see it, but wow, the rainbow patterned papers that I did see made me want to shop!

When I stamped the image I tried to match the rainbows on the paper. I felt like I did okay up until the smallest one. It's a little too dark. I believe Stampin' Up! has a new turquoise of some kind. I'll have to look into that.

One last thing to note, this card is large. I have some clear envelopes that I want to use up, and they hold a card that's 7.5" x 5.25 which is the size this card is. I had to make it that big to get all the rainbows on it. It's still mailable with a non-machineable stamp.

Here's my complete supply list:

• Stampin' Up! Rainbow of Happiness
• Misc. Rainbow Patterned Paper
• SU! Black & White Patterned Paper
• Black Card Stock
• White Card Stock
• SU! Polished Pink Ink
• SU! Pineapple Punch Ink
• SU! Pear Pizzazz Ink
• SU! Island Indigo Ink
• Memento Black Ink
• Sentiment from My Sentiments Exactly!

It was so fun making this card and I really appreciate Darlene and Diane over at for encouraging me to create this cutie. Be sure to check out their wonderful blog and play along!

Two St. Patrick's Day Cross Stitch Freebies

Here are two fun, easy to stitch and free patterns that I found on Pinterest. (I always do a reverse Google Image Search to make sure that what I'm stitching isn't stolen and published illegally, and these two make the cut!)

The larger one is a free pattern from Not Forgotten Farm. She has so many wonderful patterns on her site as well as on Etsy. I changed the colors just a bit to make it a little brighter, but I didn't want to go too bright. 

The second pattern is another freebie from Pinker n Punkin called Erin Ewe. Melisa has an amazing website and there are even a couple more free St. Patrick's Day patterns on just that link. (Note: this pattern would have fit perfectly in the square frame if I hadn't accidently added an extra green row above the black belt. It was too much to rip it out, but now I wished I had done so. Still, it's cute!)

One thing that I try to do when I'm making a two or three pieces that I want to display together is that I use some of the same color flosses in each. Here are some of the similar colors that I used in both pieces.

Both frames came from Amazon, which makes it really easy to get these guys framed and on a shelf!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

4 Easy Easter Cards

Today's cards were super-easy to make using a paper pad set called Springtime Travel from The Paper Boutique. I did embellish the prints with Stickles, a Stampin' Up! stamp and the sentiments are from Pink & Main.

Here's a picture of the front of the paper pack. I really love this one and will get a lot more use out of it too.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

St. Patrick's Day Printables

Because I like to send cards out through The Angel Card Project, I always like to have some on hand for those less celebrated holidays. St. Patrick's Day is one of them.

I did see some amazing clover stamps over at Simon Says Stamp, and really wanted to get them, but with the dies they're $50.00. This year money is a little bit tighter, so I decided to create some printables for St. Pat's Day.

I've already sent one out to a special needs man named Patrick who loves to get dressed up on the 17th! I know he'll like getting this. And the ACP is going to create a post in which people can request St. Patrick's Day cards, so I'll be sure to send out the other two this year.

Mine were made by having them printed at FedEx, but you can certainly print them at home too. I then mounted the images on patterned paper and then on green card stock.

Here are the free digis. As always:

1. Snag it to your desktop or photos.
2. Put it in a Word or Pages Document.
3. Resize it to the size card you want to make.
4. Print it out, either at home or at a copy center. 

I hope you enjoy these freebies! Print them out or share them online. Remember that all images are for personal use only, please! Thanks for stopping by my blog today and have a wonderful day!