So Much Happy Bundle

 Hi Stampin' Friends,

I hope you aren't struggling these days but if you are, I hop my post today will perk you up and chase away the blues. It can be a tough time to be happy, truly content, these days. I'm using my love of stamping to foster "happy" in my life and then sending out some cards to sew seeds of "happy" in other peoples' lives too. How about you? There's so much we can do much about, but I can choose my attitude and how I spend my time. I'm working on "happy". 

This is a fun bundle in our Annual Catalog. I appreciated the samples in the catalog to give me some help and inspiration. Here's what I ended up with after playing this morning:

It's no secret that dogs make me happy so my first card was a dog theme with the Playful Pets Designer Series Paper as my background. I die cut the "happy" with the easy to use die from the featured bundle and then had to do some extra cutting to angle it in between two pieces of DSP. You basically make a way oversized piece and then cut it down to what you need, if that makes sense. I grabbed a scrap of black foil paper and punched out my dog and then made some happy balloons, again with the dies included in the bundle. I hope you can see the Real Red banners. They are not real prominent but they are sure cute!

For this card, I grabbed the "happy" stamp and then used my Stamparatus and the hinge method to stamp my "happy" several times, in Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay and Pretty Peacock inks. I stamped and die cut some balloons with Poppy Parade and Mango Melody, hand drew the strings with a Stampin'Write marker and then added a ribbon and some sequins. As a dash of texture, I added some Shimmery Crystal Effects to the top of my balloons. That always adds a little pizazz and the only caution is let it dry! Don't try to touch it too soon!

I went back to the lovely "Flowers for Every Season" DSP for my next idea. I cut the 6"x 6" piece down to 4" x 5-1/2" and used the back of the remaining 2" strip to cut my "happy" out of.  That doesn't always work, but it worked great this time. I used the one of the "Prized Peony" stamps for my flower and attached some ribbon.  I stamped the flower in Misty Moonlight ink and then colored it with Stampin'Write markers, Seaside Spray and Just Jade.

I've been using a lot of the Plaid Tidings DSP lately and so that's what I went to next. This time, I adhered the plaid paper to a Seaside Spray card stock back and then ran it through the new Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine with one of the stitch border dies included in this bundle. I went horizontally and vertically and the plaid helped my align the die without any issues at all. I hope you can see the fabulous stitching in the background. I cut my "Happy" out of Melon Mambo card stock and added some bows, ribbon and a sentiment. This is a cheery card and the color scheme will be a hit with any friend that I send this to.

I love this bundle. It's fun for cards and would be perfect for party favors, tags and more. Because the main part of the theme is "happy" it's easy to morph it into weddings, anniversaries, a baby card, or anything where you want to express some happiness.  You can get the bundle and the rest of the supplies by clicking on the pictures below and it will take you to the online store.

I truly hope you have a few reasons to be happy right now and that you are thriving and not just merely surviving, though I acknowledge it is tough. I have noticed that my attitude goes up and down from week to week. I never thought this isolation would be going on 7 months later. Remember back when we thought it would be a couple of weeks? Well, that didn't pan out did it. Hang in there. I am having a few struggling days but stamping has become even more therapeutic than it ever was in the past. I invite you to join me and make a stamping investment in your happiness ;)

Keep Calm and Stamp On!

Sarah