Happy Tuesday to you and I admit….I was fearful that I was going to forget how to blog!!! I think that this is the absolute longest that I have gone from blogging but please do not think that I have not been busy…as the Product Share Orders kept me full time each day and they are all complete and OUT THE DOOR! (whew, a great feeling !!!)

Life on Randall Lane has been busy and I feel like there are sooooooo many “funnies” to share with you and I will on another day as I think you will laugh….BIG TIME with some of the shenanigans that have been going on with the critters!  Poor Daisy Mae…she is a grumpy piggy with the heat and my family thinks I spoil her with air conditioning….heck I say – a girl has to do what a girl needs to do! I promise I will share as I know you enjoy my animal stories!

Today I have for you a card that I think is going to make you smile, well at least I hope so! When I am woking on Product Shares, I get to know the new products really well! I watch sooooo many videos while cutting and sorting! It is funny, products that I did not give much emphasis to clearly make me look at it differently and this bundle is one that perked my interest…the Serene Garden Bundle.

You have heard me blog about this before but here it is again…I adore looking at the catalog for inspiration as the amazing pictures of projects in the catalog will make you have a “spring board” to start your creative juices to flow! (page 166) I think the thing that intrigued me about attempting to make todays card was the Pool Party pop of color around the stamped image.

The coloring on this card was all done with the Stampin’ Blends. They make coloring a breeze. One question I am asked many times is…what colors do I need? Hang tight as you might think I am being over board on this one but here you go….YOU NEED THEM ALL! Yep, you heard me…you need them all as I just cannot imagine sitting down to work on a project and being limited to waht you can do and what you cannot do because of the color options!

The Blends (page page 205) are an alcohol based marker that makes coloring as fun as the day when you were a “grasshopper” and got the new box of Crayola Crayons (now THIS IS a great memory as getting a new box felt like you hit the jackpot). They come in a light and a dark but I would just look at the column on the right and purchase them as a combo pack as you DO WANT both the light and dark of each coloring offering!

WHY DID THEY DO THIS LIKE THIS??? Easy….you will see that you will gravitate and use certain colors more than others, just like we do with our cardstock and stamps that we use. The great thing is that YOU WILL be able to purchase just what you need in case you have to reorder on one Blend….not having to get it as a set.

Using an alcohol based marker allows you to color without marker streaks and here is a myth…as many of you think that you need to understand the whole blending and shading scoop…NOPE – you can get GREAT results without knowing any of this stuff! I did all of this with straight forward putting the Blend to the paper! Once you get comfy with the Blends, then you can experiment with shading etc….

There is SOOOOOO much to chat about this new catalog and darn it, I wish that we all lived in the same town so we could chat in person (the reality is…our families would NEVER see us cause’ we would have a BIG OLD TIME together) But for me, a NEW CATALOG takes time to settle in and get to know! I am looking so forward to sharing you things that I love in a clean and simple way!

One thing that is FOR SURE is…

Stampin’ Up! ROCKS IT with DSP and the color coordination across the entire product line!

I am just goo-goo over the Garden Impressions DSP Stack! It is just over the top beautiful and truth be told, I am drawn more to the flip side of this paper that I am using today but I wanted to stretch my comfort zone and use this side…and I learned a lesson – I loved the end result!!! When I showed my best critic (my sweet hubby John) he smiled and said – this is great and what makes it is that background! (and then I smiled)

I often like to cover the entire panel of a card front. To me, it makes an instant impact. Speaking of impact…the new color of Gray Granite is my new favorite Neutral! I invite you to play with this color as it is one that makes a subtle project rock, a bold project rock etc…I did a wee mat of it around the focal portion of the card today! Just a little goes a long way and IT’S WORTH IT!

You just cannot go wrong with paper…I love to layer, I love to pop up – taking that extra step, taking that extra time will clearly show up in the end result. I like to look at layering as an accessory…just like when we dress ourselves, a scarf can make a fun outfit a wow outfit…just like paper does with our card designs!

Speaking of extra touches…how about this Linen Thread? It’s like a crisp white blouse in your closet…you ALWAYS need this! I love to wrapped several strands of the Linen Thread around when I create as I think the texture and effect makes a difference.

I like to run my Linen Thread (and also I do this with Bakers Twine) through a Bees Wax thingie???? (I have linked it for you from Jo Ann’s Fabric) but I am sure you can get them many places….I might be creative but I cannot sew worth a lick! I do this because it make the thin stands “behave and make a perfect bow with both texture and substance” I secure my bows with a simple glue dot – works every time!

The sentiment….super cute, right?!?! The font is right up my alley and this is from the amazing bundle, Varied Vases! I wish that Stampin’ Up! would share with us what products are on the tops but I would wagger to say that this one…has to be in the top 3! It is super special as not only is is a clean and oh so versatile bundle but the price point is perfect!

I know that you all have seen many amazing projects with this set and it is one that will be a classic through the test of time! Perfect for all occasions…and paper piecing….one of my favorite techniques to do (watch for future posts with this technique). I am also super “family proud” as this bundle was created by my upline, Mary Fish for becoming a million dollar SU seller….you can see her clean and classic style! I guess I could say, I’m proud of my SU Mama!

I simply took a 1/2″ piece of Calypso Coral cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. This IS a technique that I never get tired of as the WOW comes back to you just as it was the first time you did it! This is funny….I can remember that after I purchased the Heat Tool I could hardly wait for John to get home to show him the magic! (kinda silly that as an adult things like this makes us feel giddy)

The 2 most important tips I can give you for great Heat Embossing results are….get the Heat Tool good and hot before you bring it to the project to set…and you DO NEED the embossing buddy…this helps with stray pieces of embossing powder to your area that you are heat setting. Both of these products are a one time investment!

I often get emails about how do I get the embossing powder off of my darker cardstock after heat embossing. Here you go – I keep Swifter Clothes in my work area and use them often! (You can get them at any Grocery Store but I linked you to Amazon for convenience) and I cut them into smaller sizes and use them for many things….cleaning off the white reside from the embossing buddy…removing any excess embossing powder that is on my work area etc….

I love the look of white embossing on a color cardstock…clean and classic!

Speaking of things I love…I love my envelopes!

This is something that I do with each and every card I send out… to me, it is all about first impressions and when you receive a card in the mail and see some envelope love to it….I know what happens, you smile! Trust me, I “get it” as I am the same way and it is funny that when John brings the mail in and sees that I have some “happy mail” from someone….he will SPOT OUT THE ENVELOPE and say….this will make you smile – it’s a pretty envelope!

With this card today I wasn’t feeling the love to put this DSP on the outer flap like I usually do so I thought – make your own envelope in Pool Party to pull it all together! This IS a great example of envelope love! There is an instant WOW with a colorful envelope and making one with the envelope punch board is a cinch. (you have heard me say this….but this IS the best piece of plastic you can buy for $20.00) 

It just took an 8″ X 8″ square of cardstock to create this smile! For those of you that like to make square cards like I do…you can easily whip up any size using the trusty guide on the front.

Are you hanging in there???? I am sorry that my posts are so darn long but I cannot help it sometimes – it is always my goal to inspire you and help you “see where I am coming from” with my projects! Remember, it’s ME…..SIMPLE SUSAN so I do not showcase anything that I do not like personally and I am just who I am with my style of blogging!

I am sooooo happy that many of you enjoyed the Blog Post of how I organize my Cardstock….I am going to pop in there today and respond to your comments! Being organized just makes this whole process of this “addiction we have” so much more enjoyable and it also allows us not to over buy.

The next post I am going to do is how I organize my Designer Series Paper! Trust me, you will be SHOCKED with how little room it takes up and I have every offering that Stampin’ Up! has! It is all about the process and all about having the right products!

Enjoy the day and I am sooooo hoping to have more “me time” today in my studio! I just wanna play with the new kids on the block! All of the products that I used to create this sweet card will be found below!!! See you soon!