Stamps & Stretchy Pants

Hi friends, here we are finding ourselves at the end of summer. And another time to reflect on what I did not get done over the summer, hahaha. I think this is a trap that many of us moms fall into. However, one thing I did DO this summer was participate in a few card swaps. This brought me alot of joy as during the school year I do not have time for these extra activities. This was one of the cards that I created to share in creativity with others.

I love the Floral Charm suite and new that I wanted to use it to create my swaps and tie in the new Party Banner Dies. I know we can easily use the Party Banner Dies for banners for home/party decor, to add onto scrapbook pages, but I wanted to use them in a fun way as a layer on my card project.

I started with a standard tent fold card ( 4 1/4 x 11, score at 5 1/2) and added a 1 3/4 inch strip of the Floral Charm DSP to the bottom of the card front. This is my favorite pattern from the collection.

I die cut one of the banner dies in Basic Beige that was closest to this standard card size. Please note, you will have to slightly trim your card to be more narrow to accommodate the die as it is not quite as wide as the card base.

I ran the Basic Beige card stock through the Birch Wood Embossing Folder to add to the rustic look.

I stamped the sentiment in Mossy Meadow ink so that it was kissing the right edge of the Basic White card stock. This was to allow the large floral image from Charming Day stamp set to fit on the left. I stamped the image in Memento Ink and then used my favorite coloring technique—Lazy Watercoloring—to color the floral. This technique also has the same feel as the DSP for me. The flower is colored using Petal Pink, Calypso Coral and Old Olive. I added a bit of Wink of Stella over top of the flower as well.

I added two thin strips of the DSP from the same collection to help the sentiment pop. This is also a great way to use up those paper strips we always have!

And no card is complete without an embellishment. I added some of the Basic Beige dots from the Neutral Matte Dots collection above and below the flower.

If you love to craft-I would love to see you on the Crafting Cruise that my friend Melanie from Mels Inky Fingers and I are co-hosting in July 2026. Please join our official Facebook Group ‘Crafting Fun in the Sun’ for details and tell your friends~

Click to join

Thanks for stopping by and if you are inspired please consider shopping with me so I can continue to Love What I Do :)

Hey friends—its been a while. Its been the worst two years of my life. I was not really prepared for the direction my life was taking but now that I am here I am grateful for the things that God was lining up for me before I knew what was happening. It was not an accident, it was a plan designed to save me.

I am thankful for my crafting community, especially those who were in the nitty gritty with me as I cried through teaching classes or needed to vent, who kindly offered me reassurance that I would not be stuck in that space for long. Because that is the thing right—we are never actually in that space for long. No matter what we are always moving forward. For a long time I was coasting along on the tide of life into an ocean where I did not want to be. But now I have the chance to bring myself and my kids into a space where we are meant to be.

I want to get back to share my creativity with others and focusing on creating life long memories with my kids and friends, and capturing these in a paper legacy! I look foward to sharing with you in this space. Including recipes and just general life stuff. One day my kids can look back on this too :)

I hadn’t been to disney since before Covid…its the same nostalgic feeling!

In May I spent a week in Disney with Reese. It was a amazing. Every mom should be so lucky to spend time on a vacation with their son, and in a place as fun as Disneyworld. I could not have asked for a better travel companion! Our first stop in the Magic Kingdom was for a Starbucks and a picture in front of the castle.

I created this page as part of a series for my Scrapbook the Day event that I have been hosting every few months in my Home Studio. Its been fun to take our kits and turn them into other designs, treat people to a homemade lunch and dessert and have happy energy in my crafting studio.

I used the Memories in Bloom kit as the backdrop for this page. Personally I feel like you can use flowers for almost anything. I really loved the colors of the kit and the fact that there was a matching bundle to incorporate. The Pretty Florals bundle was a great add on to bring dimension into my design as I am not prone to just using the pop out images from our kits. My personal style is for things to be more dynamic.

However, I did pull in a lot of other supplies as well to complete my page. I am loving the new Party Banners Dies and the Celebrate Together stamp set is an #addtocart moment if you have not already. I have used the ‘A Day to Remember’ so many times already! It’s a perfect scrapbooking or memory keeping stamp set. Storybook Life is another fantastic memory keeping stamp set and that is where ‘Big Smiles’ is found.

My sentiments are stamped in Secret Sea ink which is such a great alternative to Memento ink.

TOP TIPS:

Combining pop out pieces with stamping and die cuts is a great way to use a kit and bring a design to life. I like my pages to have texture and interest.

Balancing out a busy pattern by layering a solid card stock over top is a great tip when you do not know how to use those busy pattern.

I used one of the large flowers from the Thankful Garden stamp set to fill in some space on the Petunia Paper base (stamping tone on tone). A combination of different embellishments is also fun (use up those random sequins or gems that you have left, it’s a crime they get abandoned!)

I hope this page sparks some new ideas in your own memory keeping!

If you are just starting your memory keeping journey—check out my gallery for a bunch of inspiration and follow me on instagram @stampwithbrenda if you are not already!

And wish me luck on my new journey—as I have been saying Brenda2.0 has just launched! If you are inspired to create this page please consider shopping with me in Canada—this helps me to keep loving what I do!