Paper Pumpkin June 2026 - Hooray for Birthdays! AHSC #692 challenge

Here is the latest Atlantic Hearts weekly sketch challenge.  It's AHSC #692.  There are some wonderful samples from entrants and the Design Team on the AHSC blog, so I hope you'll check them out using the link.  And, if you're up for a challenge yourself please enter, it's fun and easy to participate.  

Here's My Card:  

I stayed pretty close to the sketch design and theme of this week's challenge, mainly because I wanted to make some cards using the July 2026 Hooray for Birthdays Paper Pumpkin kit.  Here's my rendition.....

This spring, Stampin' Up! launched five new incolours, and one of them, Hydrangea Hue, has quickly become one of my favourites. Although it is primarily blue, it carries subtle mauve-purple undertones. 

I used some blue cardstock from the kit and layered it with a white hexagon featuring a silver border. Finding the hexagon a bit too plain, I embossed it with a floral embossing folder called Cute Crochet, which added a lovely touch to the otherwise dull white background.

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Hooray for Birthdays -Paper Pumpkin July 2026
• Birthday Wishes for You #145742 (R)

Cardstock and Designer Series Paper (DSP):

• Basic White card base 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" 
• White Hexagon from Paper Pumpkin kit embossed with Cute Crochet 3D EF
• Paper Pumpkin July 2026 - Hurray for Birthdays 
• 3 3/4" x 5" for front matte and 5 1/4" x 4"
• Hydrangea Hue matte for card front 3 7/8" x 5 1/4"

The phrase "With Many Wishes Just for You" originates from a retired Stampin' Up! collection called Birthday Wishes for You. I really like how the words flow and the frame around them. It’s stamped in Pear Pizzazz, though looking back, I might have chosen Garden Green instead. Oh well.

Ink and Blends:

• Hydrangea Hue sponged around flowers 
• Pear Pizzazz

Accessories:  

• Cute Crochet 3D Embossing Folder
• Brushed Brass Butterflies small and medium 
• Sponge Dauber
• Dimensionals
• Glue Dots 

I hope you found this week's challenge card interesting. Let me know, your feedback encourages me to continue taking part in sketch challenges. It would make my day if you I would would leave a comment or ask for information on how to participate in card challenges. 

Concerning feedback, my entry for AHSC #691 was chosen as one of the top three, along with Joanne James, The Crafty Owl, and Christy Stanford. I received some wonderful remarks from the Design Team about this card, which I sincerely appreciated.

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop

Masculine Birthday - Fishing AHSC#691

 

My morning started off wonderfully when I saw that my entry for last week's challenge was selected as one of the Top 3. That truly made me happy. Congratulations also go to Birgit for her amazing baby card that I would love to CASE, and to Patti from PS Paper Crafts for her impressive masculine card. I really admired both of their creations.

Now, the AHSC challenge is underway from today until Sunday, July 26th. If you want to join in or simply want to view the Design Team and participants' cards for AHSC #691, click on the link. Exciting!

Here's My Card:

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Gone Fishing #161535(R) Stamps - Lures and water
• Perennial Postage #161607 - white postage stamp pieces - cut four
• Rolling Waves - sentiments "Happy Birthday"and "Hoping your Day is Perfect"
• Best Catch #148598 - Fisherman and Hat
• Delightful Wishes Die #164707 - sentiment layer 

Cardstock and Designer Series Paper:

• Basic White 
• 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 Basic White cardbase scored at 4 1/4"
• 5 x 3 3/4" matte for inside card 
• Postage stamp pieces cut 4 from scrap
• Misty Moonlight 
• 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" matte for front layer
• 5 1/4" x 4" matte for inside layer 
• 1 1/2" x 2 3/8" rectangles to matte postage stamp layers cut four 
• Designer Papers: 
• Let's Go Fishing DSP # 161534 4 x 5 1/4" waves for front matte, ephemera
• Waterside Retreat DSP #167920 - fish ephemera 

Ink:

• Misty Moonlight
• Real Red
• Pecan Pie blend
• Cajun Craze
• Wink of Stella for fish

Accessories:

• Brass Dragonflies - Stampin' Up!
• Dimensionals 

Thanks for dropping by my blog today and checking out my sketch submission.  I hope you found it inspiring and that you want to try out this sketch yourself.  Let me know if you're starting to play along with these sketch challenges,  I'd love to know.  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Love Birds Anniversary Card #AHSC690

What a busy weekend.  We had our annual summer garage sale at our housing complex and the whole week was taken up with prepping.  I intended to hold my sale on my driveway, but woke up to heavy rain for the day, so had to go to plan B and hold it in my garage.  All in all a good day, but I was too tired to  finish my card for the sketch challenge.  

Here's this week's fun sketch from the Design Team at Atlantic Heart's Sketch Challenge site.  There's lots going on in this sketch, so if you're unsure how to approach it, make sure you take  a look at the AHSC Design Team's card samples.  They're super inspiring and fun! 

Here's My Card:

Since I seem to constantly need anniversary cards, I decided to create one using a designer paper called Flight and Airy that was part of a Sale-A-Bration release in 2021. This great sketch from AHSC allowed me to showcase the papers, mattes and focal piece in a unique way. 

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Cheers & Sips (R) #165588 -sentiment It's Your Day
• Sunset Coastal # 167775 - sentiments Happy Anniversary and Wishing you a Lifetime of Joy
• Stylish Shapes Dies #159183

Cardstock and Designer Series Paper (DSP):

• Cardbase Bubble Bath 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scraps for three 11/4" x 1 1/4" squares, 1 3/4" circle and 1 3/8" x 7/8" rectangle for sentiment matte. 
• Boho Blue (R) matte for front 4" x 5 1/4", inside matte 5 3/8" x 4 1/8", and three 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" squares for dsp. 
• Scraps of Whisper White for circle and tag on card front, 3 3/4" x 5" matte for inside card. 
• Flight and Airy Designer Paper, 6 1" x 1" squares, birds and flowers from DSP for decoration. A piece of dsp measuring 3 3/4 x 5" was flipped to Pecan Pie design side to provide some contrast between the Boho Blue and Bubble Bath cardstocks.   

Ink:

• Misty Moonlight 
• Bubble Bath (for decorative mask design on white stitched circle). 

Accessories:  

• Basic Pattern Decorative Mask 2020/21
• Sequins:  Pinks self adhesive sequins

I'm not really into a lot of fiddling and I have to be honest with layering the squares, measuring their distance when mounting and adding pieces of ephemera, I found this card quite fiddly.  That being said it was worth it to see the finished card.  

Thanks for checking out my rendition of this challenge and I hope you were able to play along this week.  It's such a cool sketch!   Until next time......

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006 

 

Click here to visit my 24/7 online shop 

Top Three For AHSC#689 Challenge.... Woo Hoo!

It's super nice to be acknowledged.  I just learned that I was amongst the top three for the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge last week for this card:

You can't wipe the smile off my face.  A huge thanks to the AHSC Design Team who left me lots of encouragement with their awesome comments and congrats to Vicki Burdick and Joanne James who were the other two picks.  Awesome cards ladies!  This was such a fun and easy card to make! 

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up Demo Since 2006 

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Fun With Scenic Coast for Special Occasion Cards

I’ve completely fallen in love with the Scenic Coast suite collection showcased in the new Stampin’ Up Catalogue on pages 26 and 27. Having spent most of my life on the West Coast, nothing beats watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean and seeing the sailboat silhouettes as the day comes to a close.

I’ve been trying out this Sunset Coast stamps and dies as well as the Scenic Coastal 6 x 6 designer paper, and wanted to share some of the cards I’ve recently made with it. 

If you’re interested in purchasing this suite or the bundle, it’s currently out of stock due to its popularity, but you can join a “watch list” to be notified when it becomes available again.

Here Are My Cards: 

The idea for this card was actually inspired by Melissa Faust, who made a short video on YouTube. I wanted to CASE her design and experiment with her blending techniques. 

What you’re looking at is essentially a remake of her card. The only differences are the ink colours used for the water and sailboats, as well as the windows in the lighthouse, which I filled in using some additional blended cardstock.

Once I got the hang of how everything worked I created this card shifting the sentiment to the top, added extra dimensionals behind the lighthouse to make it stand out. 

I used stamping and blending techniques to create a sandy layer at the card’s base, speckling the sand using a small detail stamp from the Rolling Waves stamp set. 

I die cut the fishnet and shells using a beautiful die from the all inclusive Rolling Waves die set and coloured the shells with pastel blue and brown blends.  Once they had dried I  applied Nuvo iridescent drops to give them a subtle shiny finish. Blue iridescent self-adhesive backed sequins were added for some additional shine.

Previously, I shared my deep love for sunsets, so for this next card, I moved away from blending and stamping to focus on the background paper called Scenic Coast.

I must admit, when I first saw cards made with the Scenic Coastal suite, I was more attracted to the designer paper than to the stamps and dies. The paper made me want to "have it all," and I'm happy I chose to do so.

I have to say I'm in love with this card.  The layers of waves, seafoam and shells  were die cut using the Rolling Waves bundle. 

I've been experimenting with various retired papers, foils and blending to achieve the layering I wanted for the waves meeting the beach sand.  

This card showcases sentiments from the Scenic Coastal stamp set, the Rolling Waves dies, and a retired Stampin' Up! paper called Simply Marbleous DSP. The designer paper only required some blending around the die-cut waves to enhance the sense of movement. Tip: Don’t hesitate to explore your stash and incorporate older products that complement your project.

This is my latest card created for the Freshly Made Sketches #744 challenge, which ended on July 13th. I cut out the lighthouse for this sample and used a retired Embossing Folder named Smooth Sailing to make the background matte. It was a lot of fun!

Finally, my last card was designed as a special birthday card for a woman who adores everything related to outdoor living and nature. 

I combined various dies, mattes, and blending techniques to create this beachy scene. The gal on the towel was made using the July 2022 Day at the Beach kit by Spellbinders.  The palm tree is from a set called Paradise Palms, while all the other images come from the Scenic Coastal suite. I love how this card turned out.  

Paradise Palms Stampin' Up! Retired

So I've had fun playing with these beachy sunset cards, but that's all for the moment.  I hope to have more time soon to experiment with this suite's lovely papers, stamps, and dies. Such fun!  

If you enjoyed these cards or have any questions about their creation, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. If you live in the Abbotsford area and are interested in making any or all of these cards let me know.  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Sunset Coast Retirement Card - FMS #744

Welcome to my blog.  This week's sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches hosted by Donna has been published and you can enter until January 13th. Here's the sketch: 

Here's My Card:

Supplies and Instructions: 

Stamps and Dies:

• Sunset Coast Stamps #167775
• Sunset Coast Dies #167780
• Stylish Shape Dies #159183 square 

Cardstock and Designer Series Paper:

• Basic White cardstock for base 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Scored at 4 1l4".
• scrap  for Lighthouse 3 1/2 x 3 1/2
• Front matte 5 1/4" x 4" and inside 5" x 3 3/4"
• Secret Sea front matte 5 3/8" x 4 1/8", 5 1/4" x 4" for inside matte,
• 3 3/4" x 3" piece for front square and strip 1/2" by 4" for front
• Scenic Coast 6 x 6 designer paper cut to 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" centered on sunset in scene. 

Ink:

• Secret Sea

Accessories:

• Smooth Sailing Embossing Folder for white matte on card front 
• Shiny Adhesive backed sequins mauve 
• Dimensionals. 

Thanks for taking time out of your day to drop by my blog and check out my entry for this week's FMS sketch challenge. I hope you enjoyed my take on it and will come back again. Until next time.....


HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 online shop 

Baking Encouragement AHSC #689

Hello and welcome to my blog for this week's Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #689.  This sketch was designed by Michelle and digitalized by Brandi.  Here's their sketch: 

I would love to have you join in so f you want to play along visit their website and read the rules.  They're pretty simple.  The challenge is open from July 7th to July 12th, 2026.  

Here's My Card:

This was a fun and easy card to make.  I decided to go with squares rather than rectangles, and initially was going to make a slim line card, however changed to a standard A2 size.  

I created this card for one of my amazing neighbours, who is consistently thankful and kind. She frequently bakes creatively and often stops by with delicious treats. Her goodies are always tasty and seem to come just when they’re most appreciated. I believe she should consider a side business with her baking because it’s truly excellent! Cheers to you, V!

Supplies and Instructions: 

Stamps and Dies:

• More than Autumn #164228 stamps and #164075 dies

Cardstock and  Designer Papers:

• Basic White Cardstock for base -81/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4"
• Basic White matte for inside 5" x 3 3/4" 
• Pecan Pie matte cut two 5 1/4" x 4" 
• DSP -Painted Illusions PoM 5" x 3 3/4" 

Ink:

• Stampin' Up! Blends: 
• Pecan Pie
• Strawberry Slush
• Timid Tiger
• Pretty in Pink
• Flirty Flamingo 
• Momento Black Ink

Accessories:  

• Nuvo Drops (brings a beautiful glaze to the donut icing)
• Neutrals Adhesive Backed Sequins - Copper
• Dimensionals
• "I AM"  Simple Stories - sentiment sticker 

I hope you liked my interpretation of this week's sketch. Thank you for spending some time on my blog, and I would be grateful if you could leave a comment. It really helps to understand whether people enjoy my work and if it encourages or inspires others to create. Until we meet again...

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to shop in my 24/7 Online Shop