I hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our country on the 4th of July. Here in Clarkesville we got together with family to not only celebrate the 4th but also two birthdays. Larry’s mom turned 89 on the 5th and a brother 67. So there was lots of celebrating going on here in the Merck house hold.

Ma loves loves flowers and rubies so I thought I would start there for her birthday card. Of course I couldn’t resist using the Blended Bloom stamp and my new Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers!

She really loved the card and that made me happy. After all at 89 what do you need? I knew of course, spending time with her boys and their families was what she would want. We had a good turn out, although not everyone was able to make it. It’s pretty hard getting together seven families now a days with everyone scattered and grandkids raising their own families too.

Here is a picture of Ma with her boys, that’s my hubby on the right, he’s the baby of the family.

I also made a card for Larry’s brother, Dan (He’s standing right behind Ma in the photo). Dan likes anything collectible but of course cars and trucks are always a hit with this group of guys. So I reached for an old faithful stamp set, Classic Pickups. It has been retired for awhile, but it was one of those first sets that I bought when I started stamping, and so I still enjoy using it. And I was itching to try coloring the images from this set using the NEW Blendabilities!

So what do you think? Larry loved it when he saw it – a very good sign indeed. I just wish I’d done the wheels to match the truck. Since I didn’t have my Smoky Slate Assortment yet, I tried the Skin Tone Assortment. It’s ok, but next time I’ll try doing the wheels maybe the Cherry Cobbler and Pumpkin Pie combo like I did the flames on the front of the truck.

I wanted to create both a masculine and feminine card using the same Designer Series Paper and I think I did a pretty good job of it. Even though the cards are very different, it just goes to show you how versatile our Designer Series Paper is. Do you recognize the Designer Series Paper from these cards?

Well it’s the Flash Back Designer Series Paper pack. And all of our designer series paper part of our Buy 3 Get 1 FREE promotion during the month of July – Check out the details by clicking HERE.

Supplies:

Stamp Set: Blended Bloom (135906) and Four You (130535/130538)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black Pad (132708)

Paper: Flashback Designer Series Paper (133699), Basic Black (121045), Crushed Curry (131199), Pool Party (122924), and Whisper White Card stock (100730)

Accessories: Cherry Cobbler (130995), and Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers (130998), and Scallop Edge Border Punch (119882)

Click here to order your Stampin’ Up! Products online 24/7! (US only)

Hostess code KGM3XHTJ

Last Day for Weekly Deals

Weekly Deals (Special ends Monday, July 7th 2014 at 11:50 p.m. (MT)

Get your favorites Designer Series Paper in July – Sale ends July 31, 2014 at 11:50 p.m. (MT)

Blendabilities are here – Click HERE to get yours today!

Great news! The release of the Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers are just a few days way! You’ll be able to order you own Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers on

Tuesday, July 1st! Whoo hoo!

So today I thought I would share with you a project that I made using the Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers that will be available on Tuesday to purchase.

My card is made using the Blended Blooms stamp (135906) from page 167 of the NEW 2014-2015 Catalog. It is one of our single stamps that are available and work well for coloring.

And, I have to say with our NEW Blendabilities Markers it’s a lot of fun to color. I have to be honest and say I was a bit skeptical at first about them since I’m not a big colorer (is that a word?), but by my second image I was hooked. I find coloring with the Blendabilities, well – relaxing. And It is amazing how quiet a room will get with a group of demonstrators using Blendabilities. Ahhh….a Zen moment! LOL

I really wanted to make my flower pop on this card and a black and white combo seemed the way to go, so I chose to use the Back to Black Designer Series Paper.

I started with the Blended Bloom image that I colored using my Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities (131003) and cut the flower out using my Paper Snips. (And it’s ok if your cutting isn’t perfect – when a little of the white showed, I just took my lightest Blendabilities and touched up the edges.)

Next I cut a piece of the Back to Black Designer Series Paper (4″ x 2 3/4″) so that the scallop was right against the top edge of it since I wanted to add the strip of ribbon above it. I layered this onto the bottom of my Whisper White Card stock (4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″).

I stamped my sentiment from the Fabulous Four stamp set in Versa Mark on to my Basic Black card stock (cut 4″ x 2 1/2″) and embossed the sentiment in White embossing powder. I was looking for a happy birthday greeting but for some reason this font reminded me of the pattern in the scallop on the Designer Series Paper, so I went with it instead.

I attached the sentiment to the front of the card, added a strip of the 1/4″ Rich Razzleberry Cotton Ribbon (LOVE this ribbon!) and then added it to my Rich Razzleberry card base.

And of course I had to try my Blendabilities on the Rhinestones, right? So I used my darkest marker to color them. Soooooo easy!

And for the inside I decided to use another sentiment from this set that I stamped in Rich Razzleberry. I also added a scallop edge along the bottom with a bit of Basic Black peeking out.

I really like the way this card turned out and think my friend will like it too. I can already see, I’m going to love coloring again and having another coloring choice is great!

Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers on the Horizon

These exclusive alcohol-based marker sets, come in a 3-pack of light, medium and dark shades (of the same color ), and provide your projects a more saturated look with blended colors. Use Stampin’ Up! Whisper White Cardstock with your Stampin’ Up! Blendabilities, or any one of Stampin’ Up! card stocks would work just as well.

On Tuesday, July 1st the following items will be available to order:

Cherry Cobbler (Item #130995 – $11.95)
Coastal Cabana (Item #131000 – $11.95)
Daffodil Delight (Item #130998 – $11.95)
Old Olive (Item #130999 – $11.95)
Pumpkin Pie (Item #130997 – $11.95)
Rich Razzleberry (Item #131003 – $11.95)
Skin Tone Assortment (Item #129370 – $22.95)

In addition, the following Blendabilities products will also be available:

Memento Ink Pad (Item #132708 – $5.95)
Memento Ink Refill (Item #133456 – $4.95)
Color Lifter (Item #129369 – $4.95)

*On August 1st, the remaining six color assortments will be made available to order.

What Sets Them Apart:

The Stampin’ Up! rectangular barrel keeps your markers from rolling away!
Flat storage helps to maintain the life of each marker.
Each marker comes with a tip on each end: brush and fine.
Marker tips are made of nylon, which is superior to polyester which can fray.
Color coded caps.
Blendabilities Markers coordinate wonderfully with our card stock, and can be used with transparent sheets, rhinestones, and pearls.

Want to Learn More about Blendabilities?

I’ve created the following video to get you started.

And here is another video to show you the basics in coloring.

So what do you think? Want yours right away? No worry – I can accept your order today and place your order on July 1st for you when they go live!

Contact me today.

Supplies:

Stamp Set: Blended Bloom (135906), and Fabulous Four (134171/134174)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black Pad (132708), Rich Razzleberry (126950) and Versa Mark Pad (102283)

Paper: Back to Black Designer Series Paper (133700), Whisper White (100730), Basic Black (121045), and Rich Razzleberry (115316)

Accessories: Rich Razzleberry (131003), Pumpkin Pie (130997) and Daffodil Delight (130998) Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers, Rich Razzleberry 1/4″ Cotton Ribbon (134564), Basic Rhinestone Jewels (119246), White Embossing Powder (109132) and Heat Tool (129053), Scallop Edge Punch (119882), and Paper Snips (103579)

Click here to order your Stampin’ Up! Products online 24/7! (US only)

Hostess code BRXTH4XS

Weekly Deals (Special ends Monday, June 30th 2014 at 11:50 p.m. (MT)