5 Ways To Use Peaceful Poppies Elements Facebook Live Projects

I'm making a separate post for today's Facebook Live so that the resources are easily found in one spot.  If you couldn't watch live, I've posted the replay below.  Make sure to follow me on Facebook to get notified when I go live and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

You can find the project sheet here.

Remember, any order of $35 or more (before shipping and tax) receives the project kits to make both cards demonstrated during today's Live!  Use Host Code 349VN7VY and be sure to place your order by Midnight ET this Friday!

Thank you for choosing me as your demonstrator!  I appreciate your business!

The Closing and Opening of Doors

It's Monday, my favorite day of the week, because of its fresh start.  Did you have a good weekend, friend?

Once again, ours was packed with cross country running.  And I loved it!  Both our high school and middle school teams went to one of the largest invitationals in the Mid-West (5000 runners) and it was exciting.  

I've been a runner for almost 30 years.  I competed in track and cross country in high school and in college; raced in local 5Ks post-college; finished 7 marathons; and ran just for health and the sheer joy of it.  Then two years ago I developed problems in my left foot, severe enough that I have not been able to run trouble-free since and eventually I realized the wisdom in giving it up.  That was a hard pill to swallow. 

God is good, though!  Just months after I began experiencing problems, I was asked to coach middle school cross country.  As one door closed to me, God opened a door that allows me to not only stay involved in the sport of running but to be a mentor and a cheerleader to up-and-coming runners!  Working with middle schoolers is a privilege and a joy - they lift my spirits with their goofy antics and while as a Christian I am to seek God's approval only, I will unabashedly confess to feeling a thrill when someone tells me how much one of my middle school runners loves having me as a coach.  Do you know how hard it is to get the seal of coolness from a 13 year old?!?!  I just love how life works and how God works in life.

Today's project matches my elation.

It's not fall- or Halloween- or Christmas-themed, but it's happy and bright and celebrates something we all have in common.  It's FUN to celebrate those who add pizzazz and love and meaning to our lives!  And it's FUN to be on the receiving end of the attention!

Can you guess how I made the multi-colored, polka-dotted background?  With masks!

In a previous post, I showed how to heat emboss using the Basic Pattern Decorative Masks (item #150697 pg 35 in the Holiday Catalog).  This time, I experimented with using Stampin' Write markers to color in the masks.  For this background, I did not follow a proscribed pattern.  Rather, I used the colors of Grapefruit Grove, Call Me Clover, Lovely Lipstick, and Basic Black to randomly color in the dots.  Occasionally I'd lift the mask to see what color I felt there needed to be more of, then I'd align the mask again and fill in more dots.

Try coloring in the trees with a white chalk marker for an eerie Halloween effect!  Or how about adding a fall border to a card edge by using Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, and Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write markers on the top right stencil?  Gorgeous!

Stampin' Write Markers collections

White Chalk Marker

Basic Pattern Decorative Masks (holiday catalog)

Pattern Party Decorative Masks (annual catalog)

Thank you for stopping by today!  I hope you learned something and were uplifted in the pursuit of your creating.  I so appreciate your business and you choosing me as your demonstrator.

It's a BRIGHT celebration!

We celebrate five birthdays a year in the Steele home and it's a tradition to decorate the table and chair of the birthday person.  After the birthday boy/girl goes to bed the night before his or her big day, I pull out my box of decorations and party tablecloth and begin the process.  I throw bright crepe paper streamers over the chandelier in colors of blue, green, pink, yellow, and orange.  I cover the table with a liner that has sprinkles printed on it.  I stand up a 4-foot long cardboard cutout that spells "Happy Birthday" and has shiny purple and pink foil fringe.  There are pinwheels scattered about the table and a present waiting on top of the Special Plate, a platter that only the birthday celebrant may dine from.   

The birthday person also gets to choose what dessert mom makes.  We've had Chocolate Strawberry Delight, Chocolate Beet Cake with Homemade Frosting, Buckeye Cake, Apple Pie, and Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble.  When they girls were smaller, the cakes were more fanciful.  One year, I made a cake that looked like a CandyLand game board.  Another year, I created a pool scene on top of a cake using blue Jell-O, teddy bear graham crackers, and pretzel sticks.  The Pampered Chef sold this mixing bowl that I could bake a cake in, then invert it and stick a Barbie in it and it looked like she was wearing a huge fancy skirt.  None were bakery-perfect, but they all made my family feel so loved and so special.  And they sure were fun to create!

Much like this card:

Both the color scheme and layout are from Splitcoaststampers, a place from which I get a lot of stamping help.  See that polka-dotted ribbon?  I colored it with my Stampin' Blends to match my card!

I used the brush tip of my Stampin' Blends to color the little felt dots on this ribbon.  It didn't ruin the tips, although if you just touch the Blends tip to the ribbon dot, the color flows to it without having to move the Blends tip.  I was so tickled about this trick, I was talking out loud to myself!

Sometimes it's tricky to get a clean cut with more intricate dies.  A couple years ago, I read a tip that has worked perfectly every time and I'm passing it along to you:

I've used this tip to cut lacy hearts and detailed butterflies and the die-cuts peel right off the dryer sheet, leaving the little bits behind.

Must-Haves from This Card:

Color pearls, rhinestones, and ribbons any color you want; get beautiful shading and blending when coloring stamped images; no marker lines

You can make easy backgrounds with the Birthday Backgrounds set.  The stamps are designed so that you can ink and stamp without having to line images up.  They'll look good no matter where you stamp them.

Soft and easy to tie, this ribbon adds a playful touch to your projects.  And I showed how you can use your Blends to make the dots any color you need.

Shop my online store here to get these must-haves and don't forget to contact me to get your Holiday Catalog Package!

Inspiration From A Store-Bought Card

Did you ever see something and think, "I have to make that into a card!"?  Was it a color combination you spied, or a home decor piece, or a magazine layout?  

Sometimes I get ideas from the graphics at church!  A peek into my sermon journal would show occasional sketches in the margins of those screen graphics that catch my eye. 



Recently my family received a thank you card from my cousin's daughter and I immediately thought, "I have to make this into a card!"  

The colors appealed to me as did the simple prettiness of the one-layer notecard.  I used Perennial Birthday to create my CASE.

The images in that set are SO fun to play with!  They are pretty, fresh, and light-hearted.  I love the font of that "Happy Birthday" on my card.

To apply Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the flowers, I applied a small dot of Tombow Liquid Glue and used my finger to lightly spread it around.  Then I shook the glitter over the flower and let the card sit to dry.  I applied glitter to all the flowers.  Look at them sparkle!

My sentiment sits on an extra layer of Whisper White cardstock because I needed to cut it in half to make it fit the space.  You could cut the stamp itself in half to give yourself more flexibility in using it.  I have done that with other sets.  

To add color to the flowers and leaves, I used sponge daubers to apply color.  It gives such a beautiful, soft look and it's so easy to do!  Just put the sponge dauber on your finger, pick up some ink with it from your ink pad, then gently rub in a circular motion on your cardstock.  So pretty!!

These are the colors I used to create my CASE.  Make sure to click on it to Pin It so you can be inspired next time you make a project!  Matching Stampin' Up! colors to what I want to CASE is easy thanks to all the choices they give us.  I also love that their products coordinate - creating is fun and I know what I make will look nice.  I have other color combinations I'd like to try, so come back to see what those will be!

I'd love for you to subscribe to my weekly email newsletter!  You'll always know about upcoming Stampin' Up! promotions (like the Clearance Rack update that happened yesterday), read tips that make your creating session more productive, and more.  I have a free Class To Go pdf for you as a thank you when you subscribe.  Just click below!