Sunflower Card ~ Color Dare #677

Are you feeling creative but not sure where to start? How about starting with a color challenge from our team at Color Dare? Every Friday we give you a combo of colors to get you started. This week we give you two colors + 1 color of your choice. There are also Free color you can use along with the colors shown in the graphic. Do not add any extra colors beyond this so be careful if you're combining challenges.  

My two colors are Pumpkin Pie and Garden Green. My 1 color of choice is Darling Duckling and I added the neutral color Pecan Pie. 

I embossed my design and used sponge daubers to add color to the flowers. The embossed panel is edged with Pecan Pie CS. The sentiment was decorated with gems and a ribbon. Simple and easy to create. The colors got me going and I like having something to point me in a direction to get started. 

Direct Link to Color Dare #677

Now it's your turn to create and share. We love seeing how our colors inspire you. Have fun!

Michelle Loncar

Independent Stampin' Up® Demonstrator 

Images©Stampin' Up

#showandtellwithmichelle #colordarechallenge #colorchallenge #cardmaking

Z Fold Card for Christmas

Hello and welcome! Today I'm sharing the final card in our October Team Challenge. The challenge was to create 3 cards for Christmas with DSP and 3 Fun Fold cards with DSP. DSP = Designer Series Paper (pattern paper). The is card fulfills the Fun Fold category.

Have you tried a Z Fold Card yet? It's really quite easy. Start with a regular card base and fold the front of the card back on itself . You now have a Z fold Card base! I said it was easy!

Now you just have to decorate the panels. This is where I used the DSP on both the front and inside of the card.  I also added a layer to the card front with a sentiment and image. The image was die cut from the DSP. For the sentiment I wanted to use one that was too long for my mat. I solved the by curing the stamp on the block then stamping on the CS. Next I placed the image up in the curve. A few gems were added as well. 

On the inside I stamped a sentiment and left room to sign the card. I also added a different pattern to the inside for some fun. 

So, are you ready to give this easy Z Fold a try? I know you'll have fun and make many more!

Michelle Loncar

Independent Stamppin' Up® Demonstrator 

Images©Stampin' Up

#showandtellwithmichelle #cardmaking #teamchallenge #christmascard

What's Up Wednesday ~ Triangle Twist Card

 Welcome! Today I have a fun technique card to share with you. I don't know it it has an official name or not but I'm calling it a Triangle Twist card. As we get into it I think you'll understand why I call it that. 

The card is a 4" square when closed. It still goes into a a medium sized envelope. There is also an easy way to make multiple cards at once!

To open the card you pull on the upper right and lower left Cornes of the card to make it unfold.

Start by using our 12" x 12" Two Toned cardstock. To prep for 3 cards at once score your cardstock at 4" and 8".  Now turn the cardstock 90 degrees and cut at 4" and 8". You now should have 3 pieces of 4" x 12" CS with score lines at 4" and 8". 

To score the diagonal lines take one piece and tip to the right lining up the corner of the CS with the end of the first score line. Score. Turn the piece so the bottom square is at the top. Again, tip it to the right and line up the corner with the end of the score line. Score. That's it!

Here is the card partially open. You can see how the scored lines work to create the triangles. You need 3 pieces of pattern paper cut to 3.75" squares. Two of those pieces are cut on the diagonal. Line up the diagonal edge along the fold and glue it down. Do the same with the other sections. The 3rd piece goes in the center of the card. Use a piece of white CS for your message and signing the card. Decorate the front with a die cut image. Be sure to only adhere it to one side of the diagonal line. Here I used foam to pop it up. I added a sentiment piece and inked the edges of the CS to make it stand out a bit from the pattern paper.

Here the card is all the way open. It's a fun card to make. Why not give it a try?

Thanks for stopping by. Come back often for more ideas!

Michelle Loncar

Independent Stampin' Up® Demonstrator 

Images©Stampin' Up

#showandtellwithmichelle #triangletwistcard #cardmaking

Quick and Easy Christmas Card

 Here's another card for our Team Challenge. It fits the "make 3 Christmas Cards with DSP". For the pattern paper I used a couple pieces from our Joyful Days Memories and More Card Pack. That's where the quick and easy part comes in!

I picked a 4" x 6" pieces and a 3" x 4" piece that coordinated with the patterns. There is actually a sentiment on the larger piece, too, but I covered it with the smaller layer. The larger piece was trimmed a bit to fit a 4.25" x 5.5" card base.

After adhering to the card base I put the smaller piece on a matching mat. I wrapped a piece of ribbon around and glued it to the back. I tied a bow and used glue dots to stick it to the card front.

It's hard to see in the photo but I added some Gold sequins to finish the look. Like I said.....quick and easy!A piece of white cardstock was added to the inside to allow for a sentiment and signing the card.

Thanks for dropping in! I have two more cards for this Team Challenge. They are both Fun Fold Cards! Look for them this week.

Michelle Loncar

Independent Stampin' Up® Demonstrator 

Images©Stampin' Up

#showandtellwithmichelle #teamchallenge #cardmaking #christmascards

Jack o' Lantern Card ~ Color Dare #676

Welcome to our Friday Color Dare Challenge! We give you a new set of colors each Friday to create any paper craft you like. For this challenge you can use shades of orange PLUS 2 colors of your choice. The colors of choice are to be other than the Free colors we offer. See the graphic for more info.

I decided to go with a Jack o' Lantern theme for my project. The catch was I didn't have a Jack o' Lantern set so I had to create it from a variety of other pieces. I have a pumpkin stamp set so that was an obvious starting point. To create the face I raided other stamp sets/dies to get the pieces needed. 

My 2 colors of choice were yellow and green. The pumpkin was stamped with layers of color. First the base was stamped in Crushed Curry. Next I used sponge daubers to add some Pumpkin Pie to the top of the detailed pumpkin. The last step was to use Cajun Craze on the detailed pumpkin to color the bottom. 

I added various details using black cardstock, die cut vines and stamped grasses. Some gems were added, too and a die cut title.

Direct link to Color Dare #676

I know this list of products is long since I used bits and pieces from so many sets/dies. As you look over the list can you tell what I used to create the Jack o' Lantern? It's fun to use those bits and pieces in unusual ways. It gets your creativity going!

Now it's your turn to create and share using our colors. Have fun!

Michelle Loncar

Independent Stampin' Up® Demonstrator 

Images©Stampin' Up

#showandtellwithmichelle #colordare #cardmaking #colorchallenge

Our Three Favorite Samples from the New Mini Catalog

Watch this fun video featuring 3 favorite samples from the Mini Catalog for the Holidays shared by our Art Department at the SU Office. 

We absolutely love all the samples featured in the new September–December 2025 Mini Catalog. We picked our three favorite samples, and we want to show you how to make them! One is nice and simple, one is a little more challenging, and the last is tough, but nothing a skilled crafter can’t handle! Which sample from the catalog is your favorite?

Shop for these products and more by clicking here!

Michelle Loncar

Independent Stampin' Up® Demonstrator 

Images©Stampin' Up

What's Up Wednesday ~ Winter Scene Ornament Card

Welcome to What's Up Wednesday! Today I have a really pretty card to show you with lots of little tips to go with it. Let's take a look!

I created this card for a Team Challenge where you had to use DSP (pattern paper). As I was drifting off to sleep last night the idea came to me to use the ornament die and the Winter Scenes image to create a beautiful ornament. I think it worked well. How about you?

I started by stamping the ornament in Memento Black ink so it wouldn't bleed when I added color with a Water Painter. let the ink dry for a few minutes while you get the rest of the card pieces ready. 

The base is 5.5" x 8.5" in Pretty Peacock CS. This is a side fold card. the Balmy Blue is the light side of our 2 tone CS and is 4" x 5.25". The DSP is from our Elegant Pine Snowflake pack. It's one of the back side patterns. the piece is 1.5" x 5". The strip of Pretty Peacock CS is .5" x 4". The Vellum circle was die cut using a die from the Ornamental Christmas Dies, as was the white ornament base. 

Going back to the stamped image I lightly added some color using a Water Painter and the Balmy Blue ink. I tapped a block on the ink pad and lifted the ink with the Water Painter. On a piece of scrap paper I tested the ink to make sure it was what I wanted then painted parts of the image. Once the image was painted I also painted ink around the outside of the ornament to give it a bit of color and to shape the ornament a bit. 

The ribbon is actually white so I used my light Pretty Peacock Stampin' blend marker to color the ribbon. All you have to do is drag the brush tip across the ribbon and you end up with a beautiful color coordinating ribbon! Let it dry a minute while you assemble the card using the photo as a guide.

The Vellum is glued down using adhesive in the middle area of the circle because this area will be covered by the ornament layer so the glue won't be seen. The ornament is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals to give some depth to the design. 

The ribbon is used in two places: the bow and the hanger for the ornament. Attach those two pieces to the card using Glue Dots as they work best to stick fabric material to your card.

Once all the pieces are in place I painted the image with Wink of Stella to give a shimmery look. Then the gems were added and it was finished! By the way, I didn't put a sentiment on the card front because it would have been hard to fit it in somewhere and not look busy. You don't always need a sentiment on the front. This is one of those times.

In this close-up you get a better look at the shimmery on the image. It added a nice element to the theme don't you think?

Looking at the ribbon would you have guessed it was colored with a marker to get that pretty look? It matches the Pretty Peacock CS perfectly!

The Faceted Snowflake gems look like they were made for this design! Once again, the color is a great match and the facets add another element of sparkle to the card.

I also used the Pretty Peacock marker to edge the ornament. This gives it a nice finished edge.

Using Vellum as a layer under the ornament separates the ornament from the background in a soft and subtle manner. I tried a piece of CS but it was too bold. The vellum was just the right touch.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this card.  I know I had a lot of fun creating it!

Come back often for more ideas and inspiration! 

Michelle Loncar

Independent Stampin' Up® Demonstrator 

Images©Stampin' Up

#showandtellwithmichell #cardmaking #teamchallenge #christmascard #winterscenes

NOTE: The ribbon is part of the Last Chance Products. Get it while you can!

Vellum will be available in November as part of the November Online Exclusives!