It's a cupcake kind of day!

Hello stampers and a happy sunny Monday to all!

Today really IS a cupcake kind of day!  It is my first grandchild's birthday!  Little Emma Jane arrived 8 years ago today, weighing just 3 pounds.  She was 2 1/2 months early and spent the first 10 weeks of her life in the NICU.  But seeing her at age 8, you'd never guess she was a preemie.  She's tall and strong and smart!  We're so thankful that she's a normal kiddo, after a rather rocky start.

In honor of Emma's birthday, here's a fun cupcake card made with the new stamp set called Cupcake Party (page 58 of the new catalog).

Doesn't this color combination remind you of Neapolitan ice cream?  I used Whisper White with Pink Pirouette and Crumb Cake.  I love the new Large Polka Dot embossing folder and the new Striped Grosgrain ribbon in Crumb Cake too. I stamped the cupcake "frosting" on Pink Pirouette card stock with Pink Pirouette ink and stamped the cupcake bottom with Crumb cake ink on Crumb Cake card stock.Then I punched the cupcake pieces out with the Cupcake Builder punch (page 223).  I think the sparkly little cherry on top (punched from Silver Glimmer Paper) is the perfect finishing touch.    I love the sentiments in this set as well, especially this one... "It's a cupcake kind of day."  Only around here it's going to be a cake kind of day, as I'll be whipping up a chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting for Emma's celebration.

Even if your day isn't full of chocolate cake, I hope you'll still have a sweet Monday!  Please come back on Wednesday for another classic card.  Before I leave you, here's a quotation I came across that I really liked. I thought it was a good reminder to those of us who are growing older and perhaps becoming a little too set in our ways.  "I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief."  Gerry Spence
Hugs and Happiness!
Susan

A walk down Sea Street

Hello stampers and a happy Friday to all!

I'm gearing up for a busy weekend and I'm hoping that the weather guy is correct this time and that the rain will be diminishing on Saturday and that by Sunday we'll have sun!  I'm not complaining... just hopeful that there's going to be sunshine for the next week or so.  As Oregonians know, summer doesn't start until the 5th of July.  But would any of us mind if it started earlier?  I don't think so!

I've got a fun card to show you today.  I made just a few of these to swap with my Kansas City friends that I meet up with every summer at the Stampin'Up! convention.  The theme for this swap was a "wow" card... something made with new stamps and accessories and either a different fold or something that makes the card out of the ordinary.  Here's what I came up with...

Here's what makes this card different:
It is a card with three panels.
The front panel is embossed, then cut away to reveal the panel underneath.
It is closed with a belly band.
It has a pocket inside for a gift card, check, or cash.
It has a blank area on which to write a personal message.

This is the outside of the three-panel card.  The front panel is cut away to reveal the second panel.  The card is closed with a belly band.  Here's a photo of the inside of the card, showing the pocket where you can place a gift card or cash. Then the blank panel on the right is for a message to the birthday boy.  Who wouldn't get a kick out of a fun card with cash, check, or gift card?

These cute sea creatures are all part of the Sea Street stamp set. You get lots of fun images for your money with this set... the octopus (love his smile!), a rope, a row of nautical flags, 3 starfish, an anchor, a crab, a lobster and a school of fish, all for 16.95 in clear-mount.   Check it out on page 48 of the new catalog.  The matching designer paper is called Maritime and can be found on page 187.
The sentiment is from Cycle Celebration, a set that carried over into the new catalog.  The colors I used are taken directly from the designer paper... Real Red, Night of Navy, Coastal Cabana, and Whisper White.  The photo of the inside of the card doesn't show it very well, but there's some of the new cotton ribbon across the pocket where the cash will be stashed.

If you'd like to make a "wow" card like this, we can make it at your very own stamping party, where you'll invite your friends over to my house.  You supply the guests and the snacks and I'll do the rest.  When your fun party is over, you'll get the freebies generated by the sales at your party!

 Thanks for coming by to visit today!  I hope the weekend ahead is filled with people and things that bring a smile to your face and happiness to your heart!
Susan

Bundle for Baby

Hey there, Stampers!

Just when I thought I was finished with baby cards and baby showers, I found that oops---  I'm not done yet! My daughters and most of their friends have completed their families and are officially out of the baby business, but the daughters of my friends are still having babies and thus new grandmas are still popping up!  And while new babies require shower gifts and cards, it's a fun tradition to also give a gift and/or card to the new grandmother!   When you're a new mom, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with all of the work a newborn entails...breast-feeding, diaper changing, sleepless nights, endless laundry, and oh, the crying!  But when you're the new Grandma, it's just pure fun!  Holding and rocking and singing lullabyes... no problem! And when it's time for feeding or a yukky diaper change you can just hand the little one off to mom or dad.  So share the joy of new Grandmotherhood with a fun card for your friend.  She'll think you are the most thoughtful person ever!

Of course, I've got just the supplies you need to make many adorable baby cards.  Check page 74 of your new catalog and there at the top you'll see the great Something for Baby set.  The images in this set are so fun and the best thing is that there are framelits to go along with the stamps.  This is a big set, 12 stamps in all. Of course Stampin'Up! is offering the stamps and matching framelits as a bundle for $39.75 in clear-mount.  How convenient, as you'll be able to cut out the images in a jiffy... no "fussy cutting" for you!

Here's a cute square card made with this new set by Shannon Carrier, one of the demonstrators in my sideline.

Shannon used the Circle Framelit dies to cut both the white and Pistachio Pudding circles.  The onesie was cut with the Baby's First Framelit Dies on page 230 of the new catalog.  The Decorative Dots embossing folder was used on the background. What a clean and simple card, yet it is darling.  And the Pistachio Pudding is perfect when the gender of the baby is not known.  Believe it or not, there are still some parents who want to be surprised.

Of course I'm hoping that you need everything to make this card.  If you'd like to place an order, just go to the "shop now" button at the top of my blog and it will take you right to my business page where you can place your order 24/7.

Thanks for visiting The Classic Card today and please come back on Friday for more card ideas.
Hugs and Happiness!\
Susan

In Love with Flower Pot

Hi there and a happy Monday to all!
 These Mondays just keep blipping by at warp speed and here we are, almost at the end of June and it seems like June just arrived.  If only there was some way we could drag our feet and slow down the passage of time!  Would you be willing to help me do that, if it was a possibility?  Do you remember how summer used to last seemingly forever when you were a child?  Day after day after day, time moved in slow motion and it seemed like summer would never end.  Ahh, those were the days!

Speaking of summer, my very favorite season, let me put in a good word for Stampin'Up!'s new Designer Paper called Flower Pot.  The colors and patterns in this paper just scream "summer!"  Yellows and pinks and greens and blues in patterns that are perfect for summery cards.  I ordered one package, but think I need several more.  Check the product out on page 186 of your new catalog.

Now that I've hyped the product, I guess it would only be fair to show you a card made with it, so here it is...

I loved the touch of Night of Navy in this particular pattern, so I used Night of Navy as the card base and for the mat behind the designer paper, as well as for stamping the sentiment and its mat.  The combination of navy and white always looks so fresh.  I pulled a couple of other colors from the paper as well... Blushing Bride, Crushed Curry, and Calypso Coral.  The Calypso Coral seam binding is a brand-new color too.  The sentiment is from one of the new hostess sets called Hello There.  You can get this great set for only $9 in hostess dollars.

Well, friends, as usual I have about a bazillion things on my "to-do" list today, so I'm off to get started.
Hope you've started off your week on the right foot.  If not, drink more coffee and then go back and begin again. It's not too late for a "do-over!"
Hugs and Happiness,
Susan

Photopolymer Fun

Hi there, stampin' peeps!

Hope your Friday is off to a satisfactory start!  If not, why not sit down and have another cup of coffee while you read my ramblings for today??  OK.... before I get too far into this post, I have a confession to make.  I kind of hate to admit it, but I'm not an overly adventurous person.  I tend to lean toward the tried-and-true and I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon when a new product is introduced.  So when Stampin'Up! came out with the Big Shot, I foolishly thought "Why would I buy that when I've got background stamps?"  It didn't take too long before I realized all of the great things the Big Shot can do and now I'm the owner of two Big Shots.  What was I thinking back then?  I was just being my normally overly-cautious self, I guess.

The same thing happened when Stampin'Up! came out with photopolymer stamp sets.  I had tried this type of stamp before and I didn't like them at all.  Even though they are perfectly clear, which definitely makes them super-easy to use, I didn't care for them because I found them stiff and brittle and I didn't think they gave a good clean, crisp impression.  I finally broke down recently and tried Stampin'Up!'s version of photo-polymer stamps and once again, I feel a little foolish that I stubbornly refused to try them for so long.

Here is what you'll find to be true about Stampin'Up!'s photopolymer stamps:

Like all Stampin'Up! products, this is made with a high-quality material.
These stamps are "squishy" enough to make a good, crisp impression, similar to a red rubber stamp, which is the Cadillac of stamps. They are nothing like the cheap-o ones you can get at craft stores.
They come on a clear sheet which has the images printed in black.  The stamps are already trimmed and there is no work involved in using them for the first time.  Just peel them off the sheet and adhere them to your clear block.
One of the big advantages of these stamps is that they CLING to the blocks like you won't believe!  There is not a chance in the world of them falling off as you are stamping.
Another great thing about these stamps is the price... significantly lower than either the clear mount or wood mount stamp sets.  You get a lot of stamps for the money when you purchase photopolymer stamps.

Have I convinced you to try them?  Right now Stampin'Up! is offering a great stamp set called Endless Wishes.  It is a birthday set with many words that you can mix and match to make all sorts of sayings.
There's also a sweet birthday cake.  Here's a card I made last night using this fun set.

I used quite a few new products on this card--- new Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey card stock, new Lost Lagoon stitched satin ribbon, and a sheet from the new Moonlight paper stack (page 185 of the new catalog).  This is one of the 4 1/2 by 6 1/2 inch paper stacks and sells for just 6.95.  To color the cake, I used my Hello Honey and Lost Lagoon stamp pads.  I did the old "squeeze the lid into the pad" trick and then picked up the color from inside the lid with a blender pen and then colored the cake.  So easy and quick.  When you want to change colors, just scribble with the pen until the liquid comes out clear again, then switch to a new color.
The Endless Wishes stamp set has been so popular that the first "run" sold out and Stampin'Up! turned the number off so no one could order it.  The back order report says that this great set should be available again on June 17th, so hopefully you'll be able to order one of these sets now.  The price for the set is just $13.95... so much bang for your buck!  No wonder it sold out so quickly!
Have a great Friday and a wonderfully relaxing weekend.  If you'll take a few minutes out to stamp something pretty, I know you'll be a happier person!
Stamps and smiles go together like peanut butter and jelly!
Susan

White on White

Happy Wednesday to all!

Summer in Oregon is all about weddings.  Once June sloshes to a puddly end, wedding season is upon us, as it seems that everyone wants an outdoor wedding these days.  Wildflower meadows, forest glades, beaches, vineyards, gazebos, barns, and all sorts of gardens--- all  are popular venues for summer weddings.

If you've received a wedding invitation recently, then I've got just the card for you!  This is the other card we made at Barbara's party this weekend and everyone loved how it turned out.  Please take a look and see if you love it too...

This photo doesn't really capture the silver and white beauty of this card, but trust me... it is stunning in real life!  Isn't that just the best embossed background ever?  It was made with the new Lovely Lace embossing folder (page 227).  The flowers from the Beautiful Bunch stamp set (page158) were stamped in Metallic Silver ink on Whisper White card stock and then punched out with the new Fun Flower Punch. I layered two of them together for more dimension  Then punched a center from Brushed Silver card stock (page 193) and then punched a tiny white flower with my new Itty Bitty Punch Pack (page 222).  A small pearl makes the perfect finishing touch.  I used some of the beautiful 5/8 inch Organza Ribbon (page 206) to add a satiny touch that gives that "bridal" feel to the card.  Finally, the sentiment, from Teeny Tiny Wishes is stamped in black on a thin banner.

While you've got your supplies out, why not make two or three of the same card?  That way you'll be ready when that next summer wedding invitation lands in your mail box.

Hope your week is going well!  Don't forget to come back for another card on Friday!
Hugs and Happiness,
Susan

Quick Art

Hi there Stampers!

Golly!  How did it get to be Monday so quickly??  I blinked and the weekend was gone!  Saturday and Sunday seem to go by so much more quickly than the rest of the week.  I guess we must be having too much fun.

I want to show you the card we made at Barbara's party on Saturday.  I categorize this card as "art in l0 minutes" because I think it's artsy, yet so very quick to create.  With the help of the Work of Art stamp set (page 165) you can easily create this card in 10 minutes or less.  Check it out...

The colors I used for the swoosh and puddles are Lost Lagoon, Pear Pizzazz, and Pool Party.  The large Thank You is called Watercolor Thank You (page 146).  I cut the ovals with my Ovals Collection Framelits  (page 231).  I embossed the front of the card with the Decorative Dots embossing folder (page 226).
For the sweet flower embellishment, I stamped two flowers from the Flower Shop set (page67) in Lost Lagoon ink on Lost Lagoon card stock and punched them out with the Pansy Punch (page219). If you want a more masculine thank you, use the woodgrain embossing folder (page 227) instead of the dots and leave off the flower.

Note to those waiting for their very own Work of Art stamp set... the back order report now says that they'll begin shipping on June 17th.  Thank you, everyone, for your patience.  This set is definitely worth waiting for!

Thanks for taking time out of your busy Monday to visit my blog.  I've got another fun card for you on Wednesday, so please come back!
Hugs and Happiness,
Susan