50 Things--I finally tried Rootbeer!

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Hi friends! I have been busy working on some things for my 50 Things list! So far I have been completing a puzzle a month and have been putting $$ into my holiday savings account! Many of the things are ongoing throughout this year, however a few are ones that I can say “I checked that off”!

Recently, I did recently check off a really fun thing off my list that has proved to be quite polarizing—Do you like Rootbeer or NOT? hahaha! I could never partake in this conversation until now, because I had never tried it!

I was told I needed an A & W Rootbeer, in a bottle (sorry those of you that love a can) and it needed to be ice cold! I decided to give it a try during one of my Stampin’ Up! classes as pretty much all the girls there couldn’t believe I had never tried Rootbeer!

I will add that I did NOT finish off the bottle and it did have a cream soda ish sort of flavour. Glad I can say I tried it but I can’t see myself drinking it any time soon, hahaha!

So cheers to getting #2 off of my list!

And for my puzzle lovers out there—here are a couple of the puzzles I have finished! My January puzzle was one that I bought in Amsterdam this past summer so it was fun to finish it off with my friend that I went on the trip with. I sent it home with her to put together. I am always up for a puzzle swap!

 

The best part about having a puzzle out is that I am scrolling less on my phone while making dinner and Summer likes to help out by adding pieces and it gives us a chance to connect with each other.

Thanks for following along on my 50 Things journey! I can’t wait to keep you posted on what I can check off next!

Color Fusers--March 2026!

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Welcome to our Color Fusers Blog Hop for March! We are so happy you are here! This month we have been creating projects with Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green and Berry Burst.

I just got a new stamp set, Fragrant Layers, and I thought it would be perfect for this project. I also wanted to add in the ticket die from the Boardwalk Fun dies.

I am really happy with how this project turned out. I started with a card base of Granny Apple Green. My layer is Basic White cut to 3 3/4x5.

I used Lemon Lime Twist and a Blending Brush to add a layer of color to rest behind the floral image. I used a Dark Granny Apple Green Blend to flick some color over top of that. I think it adds a bit of depth to the design.

I used my favourite colouring technique, that I have named ‘Lazy Watercoloring’. You simply smash your ink colours of choice onto a block and use a Water Painte4 to layer on the color by adding water to the ink and painting. I like to do a light wash of color first and then go back and add in some darker color. I used Berry Burst for the flowers and Lemon Lime Twist for the leaves.

It's FAST and makes me feel like I have some artistic talent! Behind the image I added some Crumb Cake Twine. I added a Berry Burst ‘ticket’ cut from the Boardwalk Fun dies. I cut it into two pieces so I could tuck each end on either side of the floral image.

I stamped a couple extra leaves on Granny Apple Green card stock to expand the floral image.

I decided I wanted the sentiment to pop so I embossed it with White Embossing Powder on some Basic Black card stock and added it to the floral with Dimensionals.

A few gems from the Pearlized Faceted Circles (my favourite embellishment of the moment!) made this card complete. I am so happy with it and plan to recreate it using a variety of different color combos!

We are welcoming to the Hop this month my fellow Artisan Alumni, Tatiana Tobin. I love everything she makes! You can also go backwards too see what Bonnie has designed—she is a seasoned stamping vet and blog hop contributor!

Click on Next Stop to see what Tatiana has made for March! Make sure to visit everyone and please feel free to leave a comment!

Looking for something fun to do this summer? Melanie and I are co-hosting a Craftin’ Fun in the Sun Cruise at the end of July/August. We would love to have you join us. DM for details!

Color Fusers--February 2026!

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I am so happy to be back on the Color Fusers Design Team! I took a little hiatus for personal reasons and now I am committed to creating and hopping along with this awesome group on the first Monday of each month.

We use a color challenge each month to inspire us and I was really excited about the February color scheme—Fresh Freesia, Bubble Bath and Balmy Blue.

I knew immediately that I wanted to create something using the Beach Time stamp set.

I started blending a section on my Basic White with Bubble Bath ink and then stamped some of the star fish from the Beach Time stamp set over top. I finished this step off by flicking my dark Bubble Bath Stampin’ Blend over top.

I used one of the Lovely Doilies as an accent piece. The doilies come in Real Red and Bubble Bath and the backsides are white. I used this side with Fresh Freesia ink and a Blending Brush to create a custom doily.

The sentiment is stamped in Fresh Freesia and is layered on a coordinating circle. In between the layers I added the new Balmy Blue Gingham Ribbon that I cut into half before adding it behind my sentiment.

The Balmy Blue ticket die is from the Boardwalk Fun die collection. I added it along with a puffy sticker from the Beach Boardwalk Puffy sticker collection as accents to my sentiment. The puffy stickers also have some little coloured circles that I added along with a couple retired Bubble Bath gems. I also wanted to add the word ‘fun’ so clipped it apart from the rest of the sentiment.

This whole panel is set on top of some Balmy Blue card stock and then mounted on a Basic White card base.

I really love how this card turned out and it inspired me to create a coordinating scrapbook page that I will share in a separate post.

This blog hop is full of some absolutely amazing designers which is why you need to make sure you hop all the way through. You can go backwards from me to see what Lou Kitzelman has designed. Just click the button below.

You can also go forward and see what Melissa Kerman has designed. I know you will find a ton of stampin’ inspiration along the way,

If you have enjoyed my project and feel inspired, please consider shopping with me so I can continue to love what I do!

12 Days of Christmas--Last day! Day 12!

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Can you believe we are wrapping up 12 Days of Christmas already? I hope you have enjoyed all the ideas that Melanie and I have shared with you again this year. I really look forward to this experience with her and for crafting up special projects just to share as a part of this blog hop!

My final project needed to be another scrapbook page as that is my favorite things to spend my creative time on and I love how this page turned out.

A few Christmases ago I had gone on a Target road trip prior to the holidays and found this Target store themed gingerbread house kit. Summer and I had so much fun putting it together and I can promise you it looked better than the one on the box cover. In fact, we felt that we had ‘nailed it’—hahaha!

I started with a White Willow 12x12 as my base and I added two 1/2x12 strips of this really old random red & white striped DSP (the back is the same pattern but Garden Green). I knew I had hung onto it for a reason, and the reason was this page! Hoarding of crafty supplies is a real thing!

The other DSP on this page is from the Christmas Tags & More 6x6 stack. I like this paper because its my favorite color combo for the holidays. And of course I had to add in some Pool Party and Coastal Cabana elements. The strip of Pool Party DSP is from the Floral Impressions collection.

The little clip above my photo is from the Just a Note Dies and they are a keeper. Adding the sentiment “Baking Spirits Bright” with some Real Red & White striped bakers twine behind was perfect for this little corner of my page with a cute mini gingerbread man and candy cane.

Once again combining both of our featured bundles!

I made my own oversized tag to buddy up beside my gingerbread person. My character is stamped on Crumb Cake paper and embossed in white. I enjoyed how the stamp set provided different expressions to add to your gingerbread. I punched out mini circles to add to my tag for texture and interest and ran some of the new Real Red Shiny ribbon through the top with a bit more twine.

The sentiment Its Beginning to Taste like Christmas is double stacked on two circles (from the retired Layering Circles Framelits). And once again I fussy cut out the word ‘taste’ in Garden Green and elevated it with mini dimensionals. I love this little trick to highlight a word in a larger sentiment.

The gingerbread man popping out of the oven mit might be my fav thing on this page!

I hope you have been inspired by the two scrapbooking pages, the cards and treat giving ideas shared by. myself over our annual blog hop. I know I enjoyed curating them for all of you!

Make sure to finish off the hop by visiting Melanie today and go back and catch up on anything you may have missed!

And if you need to place an order to make any of these fabulous projects and you are in Canada, please consider shopping with me so I can continue to do what I love!

See below for a complete list of supplies used to make this page!

Fancy some sunshine and crafting! Join Melanie and I in July/August of 2026 for a caribbean getaway!

12 Days of Christmas with Brenda & Melanie

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Hi friends welcome back to our annual 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop! This year Mel and I are going to feature a variety of projects using the Homemade Treats and the Gingerbread Man bundles! Today we will each share a project and then we will alternate days and on the 12 day each share a project! So over the course of the next 12 days you will get piles of inspiration using these bundles!

For my first project I wanted to share a scrapbook page as I love scrapbooking and I wanted to share a fun idea with how you can use this fun bundle to create a scrapbook page.

I started with a base of Pecan Pie Two Tone card stock and used the light side. The reason for this was so that when I die cut the gingerbread men out of the card stock you would see a contrast in the shapes. I love how it turned out!

I dug out an older picture of Summer where she is putting together a Gingerbread House as its a fun memory I want to keep. This is a reminder that we are never caught up in our memory keeping—its not a linear hobby!

The photo mat is Coastal Cabana and this color lends itself so well to this general color combination of Real Red, Garden Green and Pretty in Pink.

As mentioned Melanie and I are going to be using both the Homemade Treats and Gingerbread Man bundles over our 12 Days of Christmas Shares so I wanted to design this page to showcase how to use both on this project.

I absolutely. LOVE the dies from the Gingerbread Man Bundle —especially the candy cane. I cut it out to have both a red and white candy cane and a Pretty in Pink candy cane.

TOP TIP: This is easy to do with the dies as you just flip the paper over to the backside to have the candy canes going in opposite directions.

 

The sentiment Sugar & Spice is from the Gingerbread Man stamp set and the ‘tis the Season for Baking’ can be found in the Homemade Treats stamp set.

I had fun adding in the little gingerbread man and gumdrops to act like embellishments on this page.

I wanted the oven mitt to act like a stocking in a sense with things popping out of the top of it and falling down the side of the photo.

Adding the wrapped candy, rolling pin and the Peppermint Embellishments made this little section so fun. The Garden Green and White Chevron ribbon is a sneak peek of a new ribbon coming out this month with our newest Online Exclusive release. It’s a perfect ribbon to add to this page along with the Real Red Shiny Ribbon at the top.

I hope this page inspires you to use these bundles together as they really are perfect partners! You can now head on over to Melanie’s blog—Mels Inky Fingers to see what she is sharing today. Click on the image below to go straight to her blog.

Then check back with her tomorrow as she is going to share on even days and I will share again on the odd days (so Nov 3rd) and we will each share on day 12!

If you are inspired and live in Canada, please consider shopping with me so I can continue to love what I do!

And if you didn’t hear the fun news we are hosting a crafting cruise in 2026 and would love you to join us! Our blog hop will give you an idea of our crafting styles plus you can check out our social channels as well! If you would like to join our Craftin’ Fun in the Sun Facebook group, please let me know or search it to join!

You can follow me on Instagram @stampwithbrenda