Connie Babbert

Flower Fest

April 24, 2012 By Connie | 2 Comments

I'm SO sad this set is being retired! I have used it sooooo much. One of those Go-To stamp sets for me. Here is a quick one I put together. I used the sketch from the Create with Connie and Mary challenge this week! There is still time to play along!

This piece of Designer Paper from Just Add Cake package has literally been adhered TO my desk for weeks. I had planned to use it on a different card, then ended up taking it off…but it was still sticky. It was too good to throw away. When I saw the sketch, I knew I could put it to good use!

I started with a base of Marina Mist. I layered on the Just Add Cake Designer Paper across the bottom. I added a strip of Poppy Parade punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch. I stamped two flowers with Poppy Parade on Daffodil Delight and punched them with the 5 petal punch. I added red flower buttons tied with White bakers Twine in the centers and Wild Wasabi leaves cut out and placed around them. Finally, I inked up the greeting from Full of Life…another stamp set that will be retired…with my Stampin' Write Markers and stamped it on Whisper White, then cut it with the Label Framelit. The flowers are popped up around the greeting. What a fun summery looking card! Enjoy!

Click HERE for the Retired Stamp Set!!!

Want to win a $100 Shopping Spree? Get details HERE!

Start shopping HERE!

March 2012 Tour de Freaks – SPRING!

March 19, 2012 By Connie | 15 Comments

It's time for the monthly Tour de Freaks! Our theme this month is SPRING into SPRING! With the temperatures around here in the mid 70s, our trees and flowers are BLOOMING their heads off! I love this time of year! You've probably arrived from the awesome Wendy Weixler's blog…didn't you LOVE her projects?

My first project an Easter Bunny Punch Art card. I think she's a little different than what you've seen before! I loved how she turned out paired with the Nursery Nest Designer Paper in soft colors!

The base of the card is Pale Plum. I layered on Whisper White cardstock, and a piece of Nursery Nest stripes along the bottom. I cut a 1/2" strip of Blushing Bride cardstock to hide the seam area. Then I cut some Pear Pizzazz cardstock and ran it thru the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots folder for the background of my bunny. The bunny's body is the 2 1/2" Circle Punch, her head the Extra Large Oval, the ears the Large Oval and her tail is the cupcake punch! I used 1/4" circles in the Owl Punch for the eyes and mouth area. The small heart for the nose is the smallest heart in the Heart to Heart punch. I added White Gel pen to the eyes and nose for highlights and drew the whiskers with the Stampin' Write marker. I tied a bow from 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon for her head. Finally, I made a pennant with Happy Easter from Delightful Dozen stamp set and added two PINK Rhinestone jewels from the Blossoms Builder Kit that I had left over!

Don't recognize the Designer Paper? That's because it is in the NEW Summer Smooches Designer Paper that will be available to customers as the April special! Don't you LOVE the bright colors? I cut a strip to cover around the Kraft Box and added a trim of Daffodil Delight Pinking Hearts Border around the bottom. I also covered the top of the Kraft Box with the same DSP. I cut the label from the Label Framelits and stamped Happy Birthday using my Stampin' Write markers…it's from the hostess only set, Happiest Birthday Wishes.

I made up a bow with the NEW Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon and added an In Color Lucky Limeade brad in the center. Then I made two daffodils with the Blossom Punch and the 5 Petal Punch to decorate the top. Here's a closeup look:

The main part of the daffodil is Daffodil Delight cardstock and the centers are Tangerine Tango cardstock. I used the 5 petal punch and Lucky Limeade for the leaves. I think this will be a very pretty box to hold a birthday surprise! Not sure who I'll give it to yet…lol!

Make sure to continue on to the rest of the Tour de Freaks…there are 10 stops this time! Your next stop is the FABULOUS Barb Mullikin…go check out her projects!

Everybunny again!

March 13, 2012 By Connie | 6 Comments

Sorry, my stamping has been seriously curtailed with other things going on in my life. My cabinets are ordered and should be here next month. My flooring goes down in TWO weeks. I need to get everything off the walls and out of the room by then so we can patch and paint before it is installed. I settled on the old SU color Mellow Moss for my walls! I wanted Pear Pizzazz, but it just wasn't going with the stain on the cabinets…made them look too orangey. My son and his wife were here for the long weekend and we had a wonderful time visiting with them. I also am finishing up prototypes for wedding invitations I'm making for friends…was supposed to be a small wedding…75-80…that has grown to over 200! Of course, my taxes aren't done either.

You can see my list again here…HUGE RETIRED STAMP SALE!!! I'll be adding more sets and accessories as I work thru the piles of stuff I have. Thank you to everyone so far that has helped me clear off my shelves of retired stamp sets!!!

But…enough of me…

Stampin' Up!'s stamp set, Everybunny, has seriously replaced my old favorite Easter set, A Good Egg. I love the expressions on these bunnies. Here is another Easter card I made while I was on the retreat! My girlfriend had challenged me to use this image with the hot air "egg"…I hadn't used it yet.

I started with a base card of Pear Pizzazz. I ran the layer of Bashful Blue thru the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots folder. I added the "ground" from the In Color Patterns Designer Paper, cutting it with my Cutter Kit blade. I stamped the hot air balloon bunny in Black Stazon and watercolored with my AquaPainter and Stampin' Write Markers, then cut it out. What a pain to cut all those strings! lol! I popped it up with Stampin' Dimensionals. Finally, had the bunny throwing flowers out of the basket…I used the tiny Mini Brads in the center of the Itty Bitty Punch flowers, curling them outwards. I stamped Happy Easter Everybunny in Black Stazon on Whisper White and punched with the Modern Label punch.

Love how whimsical this card is…maybe will do a few more to send to my parents and in-laws for Easter.

Make sure to check out my RETIRED STAMP SETS for sale! Many, many thanks!

Mixed Bunch again

February 29, 2012 By Connie | 3 Comments

NOTE: I added some retired floral/nature sets to the last updated FOR SALE post you can see HERE! Make sure to check them out!!! I know they are some that are very popular!

Thank you to all that have purchased. I've made a SMALL dent in what I have. If you are looking for any set in particular, please EMAIL me!

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I recently held a stamp camp using Mixed Bunch and the Blossom Punch (remember the little favors with the Hershey Kisses in the center? You can see them HERE!) This is one of the cards we did. I love the colors in it…so bright and intense and really set off with the Basic Black accents!

The base of the card is Wisteria Wonder. I added a layer of Basic Black. On the Whisper White layer, I added blocks of Berry Blossoms Designer Paper. I wrapped the Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon around to the back and secured. I stamped the Mixed Bunch flower with Wisteria Wonder ink on Wisteria Wonder cardstock, then punched them out. I added a trio of little flowers from the Boho Blossoms punch in Lucky Limeade in the center and then a wonderful Black Glimmer Brad. I punched the Blossom punch flower again and cut off two of the petals for the leaves in Lucky Limeade. It is tucked under the flower that is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals. Finally, I stamped Get Well Soon in Basic Black from the stamp set, Delightful Dozen.

Overall, a pretty quick and easy card with lots of pop! I love it!

Flower Poinsettia

December 14, 2011 By Connie | 4 Comments

I've had this card done forever and have waited closer to Christmas to show it to you! To me, the Poinsettia flower looks so real…hard to believe it is made from simple cardstock! The step-by-step Poinsettia Flower pdf tutorial is available as my Online Ordering Gift with any $40 Stampin' Up! Online Order placed from now until the end of the year at my Stampin' Up! website! I'm working hard to earn that Stampin' Up! Incentive Trip to Fiji, you know!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER NOW!

Just a few details about the card itself. It is a base card of Real Red cardstock. I layered on a panel of green print from Holly Berry Designer Paper and then the glittery polka dot from the same package of designer paper. I used the Oval Frame Embossing Folder with Very Vanilla and cut it out. I stamped the Merry Christmas greeting from Delightful Dozen in Early Espresso on Wild Wasabi and punched it out with the Extra Large Oval Punch. I added the smallest pearls as accents in the two corners of the card. There is a vintage brad in the center of the Poinsettia.

Although I placed mine on a card, the paper Poinsettias would look beautiful as stand-along ornaments on the tree or on a tag for your holiday gifts!

So, again, any $40 or more Online Stampin' Up! order placed thru my Stampin' Up! Online website starting today through the end of the year will get my Online Ordering Gift, a step-by-step Poinsettia Flower Tutorial pdf showing how to make my Poinsettia flower!

Please allow 24 hours after your online order is placed to receive the pdf file.

CLICK HERE to place your order NOW!

Thank you SO much!

Merry Winter

October 18, 2011 By Connie | 4 Comments

REAL quick post today…I wanted to share my Control Freaks Swap from the last swap we did featuring new sets in the Main Catalog! This Merry Winter set really caught my eye! I want to use it on my Christmas Cards this year! Speaking of Control Freaks…the Tour de Freaks will be here in a couple days! Come back on the 20th!

I love the Lucky Limeade and Poppy Parade colors together…a very BRIGHT Christmas color theme!

The base of my card is Early Espresso. I layered on Lucky Limeade that I ran thru the Big Shot with the new Snow Burst Impressions Folder (in the Holiday Mini). I added a strip of Letters to Santa Designer Paper (LOVE all those stripes in that package!), and then added a little sliver of Red Glimmer Paper along the side. Oh, I used the Corner Rounder and rounded both corners on the right side.

I stamped the sled from Stampin' Up!'s Merry Winter stamp set in Early Espresso on Whisper White, placed the snowman from the same set on top, and then used the line of snow flakes in red across the "ground". I colored the hat and scarves with Lucky Limeade and Poppy Parade Stampin' Write Markers. I layered the Whisper White on Poppy Parade…and rounded the right side corners again.

Finally, I stamped the Simple Snowflake single stamp in Poppy Parade and punched it with the Snowflake Punch, then added the word Merry Winter in Early Espresso on Poppy Parade and punched with the Small Oval punch. Nice and colorful!

LOTS for me to do today…my girlfriend arrives this evening for the stamping retreat this weekend. I need to finish cleaning, grocery shop (yuk!) and get some posts ready to go on here…you wouldn't want me to miss a week, would you? Anyway…have a great day!

CCMC-HOL3 – Special Card Challenge

October 8, 2011 By Connie | 10 Comments

Today on Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Edition we have a Special Card Challenge for our subscribers to play along and win PRIZES! The theme for this week is a One of a Kind or Special Christmas Card! You know, one of those that you only make ONE of because of the details or time involved! Check out the AWESOME cards made by our Design Team over on Create with Connie and Mary!

Here is my Special Card using various sized Scallop Circles and the medallion technique with my Simply Scored Tool to make a PLEATED CHRISTMAS TREE! Isn't that COOL looking? I was SO excited when it was done!

I used the Scallop Duo Die for the small top one and the larger bottom one in two different papers, then the 2 3/8" Scallop Punch for the center one. All patterns were from the Holly Berry Designer Paper package. To make the medallion, I used my Simply Scored Tool to score from inside scallop to inside scallop on the opposite side of the circle, then cut a slit from the inside of one of the scallops to the center. I pleated the folds and pressed to make the 1/2 medallion. I cut the tree trunk from one of the patterns, making sure I got mostly the Early Espresso color. The top is a Small Star from the Stars Die and Red Glimmer Paper.

Next was the tricky part…to have them hold the tree shape and not pop out too far. I used Mini Glue Dots to secure them in several places on the card and at the top of each peak. I adhered the tree to Very Vanilla that I ran thru the Big Shot with the Houndstooth Impressions Folder and layered on Early Espresso. The background I kept simple with a piece of the designer paper, wrapped with Early Espresso Quilted Ribbon and secured in the back. I stamped Merry Christmas from Petite Pairs in Early Espresso on the Real Red, then layered onto the base of Wild Wasabi.

This definitely wouldn't be a card you would mail very easily…but would be a beautiful presentation for someone along with their gift…or placed on a tag for the gift!

Make sure you check out the rest of the fabulous Design Team cards over on Create with Connie and Mary! We've just finished up our third week and are getting ready to begin THREE full weeks of Christmas ideas every day! It's not too late to join! You still have access to all the projects we've already done and will be one of the first to see new ones as they are posted every day!

Another Folded Tree

October 5, 2011 By Connie | 9 Comments

I can't believe the popularity of these Folded Trees! Thank you to all who left such nice comments on my card from two weeks ago you can see HERE. I also have the FREE TEMPLATE for the larger one I did last year HERE. Since each circle makes two trees, I had a few of them on my desk left over from a couple weeks ago (messy desk!). When I saw SCS sketch challenge today, it looked like a frame to me, so I had the idea to "frame" one of my folded Christmas trees!

This card came together pretty easily! The base is Real Red cardstock. I ran the Wild Wasabi layer thru the Big Shot with the Snow Burst Impressions Folder and layered it on Early Espresso. I cut a stripe of the glittery red dots in Stampin' Up!'s Holly Berry Designer Paper. I hand cut the embossed Rectangle Frame Folder from Early Espresso cardstock and layered the rectangle of Real Red inside. I added one of the Folded Christmas Trees and topped it with the small Silver Glimmer Star from the Stars Die. I also added a little tree trunk of Early Espresso. The Rectangle Frame is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals. Finally, I stamped the word Merry from Stampin' Up!'s Pennant Parade stamp set, then punched with the Small Oval Punch. It is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals, too.

It came together really quickly because I already had the Folded Tree done. I just took my colors from the Designer Paper. Enjoy!

It's not too late to join the Holiday Edition of Create with Connie and Mary! This week we are featuring the Card Keeper…in ways that aren't made for cards! It is FUN to see all the different uses we've come up with for the Card Keeper box! You won't miss a thing if you sign up now, you can refer back to all the projects we've already made using products from the Holiday Mini…and you'll see new ones EVERY DAY throughout October! A total of 36 step-by-step tutorials! Join us…there are chances to win prizes, too! At $34.95 US, that is less than $1 per tutorial. Check out the Preview Projects at Create with Connie and Mary to see what our tutorials are all about!