Stamp with Kat

Simple Butterflies

2011-07-28T21:40:00.001-07:00

I just love punches and coordinating stamp sets! This card is incredibly simple to make, it only takes a few minutes. The hardest part is picking the colors - I chose two of our current InColors, Wisteria Wonder and Concord Crush. The butterflies are stamped from Butterfly Prints, then punched out and mounted on the Wisteria, the middle one is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals. The card is finished with the sentiment in Basic Black, and Whisper White 3/8" taffeta ribbon.

This is a really good basic design, play around with it. Stick with the butterfly them and change the colors, add a background stamp or technique. Add a color for contrast. Try a different punch. Don't have a punch? Cut out small images with paper snips, or punch on squares or circles. Whatever you decide to do, have fun!

Card Ingredients: Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush and Whisper White. Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush and Basic Black. Stamps: Butterfly Prints Stamp Set. Other: Butterfly Punch, Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals.

It's Simply the Nicest Thing

2011-07-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

I love this stamp set (The Nicest Things). For some reason, it reminds me of my six year old granddaughters, even though they look nothing like the girls in the image. They just look so sweet.

The main image is stamped with Basic Black classic ink on Whisper White cardstock and watercolored with Brights Water Color Wonder crayons and an Aquapainter. The little redheads hair was a happy accident, she was going to be a Daffodil Delight blonde like her cousin, but the Aquapainter got a little too close to her Melon Mambo hair bow, I liked the result so I finished her hair that way. The skin tone is also a mix of colors, in this case Regal Rose and and Pumpkin Pie scribbled together on the lid of the crayon box and then used very lightly.

The background is the long flower stamp from the set with Pacific Point ink on Pacific Point cardstock, stamped repeatedly on the diagonal. No accessories on this card as it didn't seem to need it to me.

Detailed ingredients: Cardstock: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise and Pacific Point. Stamps: The Nicest Things. Ink: Whisper White. Other: Brights Water Color Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter and the Scallop Edge Border punch.

Next up for me will be a smaller image stamp set, as I don't like using the same basic layout all the time. What simple cards have you been thinking of lately?

A Simple Challenge to Me

2011-07-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

I've been suffering from a major case of creative stamper's block for months, it's been very frustrating. I spent a couple of hours this afternoon trying to find ideas to get over it. I looked at the catalog and the Stampin' Up website. I searched for cures for creative block. I looked at several galleries. My answer came in a swap I found on Stampin' Addicts, a demonstrator swap for "Workshop Friendly" cards. The requirements include using only one stamp set (a sentiment from another set can be added), only one color family and only one accessory. That sparked a light bulb moment for me - I'm challenging myself to make and post a simple card for as many of my current stamp sets as I can between now and next month when I get new stuff. These will be simple cards, easily recreated, maybe they'll help you when you're stumped for an idea.

Here is today's card:

I chose the Flower Fest stamp set, a set of outlines that can be used in many different ways. I randomly stamped three of the flowers and the leaves on a piece of Whisper White cardstock for the background, stamped the biggest flower on Pretty in Pink with Rose Red ink, and the leaf with Wild Wasabi on Wild Wasabi. The large flower matches our 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch, but I don't have one (yet) so cut it and the leaf out. I sponged the background for the focal image with Rose Red ink, and finished the card off with Rose Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon. Easy peasy, and I even like it.

Ingredients: Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Rose Red, Whisper White and Pretty in Pink. Ink: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Wild Wasabi and So Saffron. Stamp Set: Flower Fest. Accessory: 1/4" Rose Red grosgrain ribbon.

Happy Stamping!

Beary Bubbly Birthday

2011-05-22T17:38:00.000-07:00

There are so many cool techniques out there using reinkers in various ways! Here's another one I found that uses an every day household product - liquid dish soap. It makes a great background.

This will be messy, so do it over newspaper and don't wear good clothes! To make the background: mix 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 cup of waterin a small mug or bowl. Stir them with a straw, then blow bubbles up to the top of your mug. I kept blowing for awhile so they were running over the side to make sure there were plenty. Then carefully add a few drops ofre-inker to your bubbles. Touch your cardstock to the bubbles so that they pop, the ink will stick to your cardstock in an interesting pattern. You will probably need to reblow the bubbles a few times to get the effect you want. Experiment with it, this was my second try. I used Real Red ink which made a really pretty, delicate pink background - not really appropriate for a little boy's birthday card.

Children grow up WAY to fast. My baby will be twenty on Tuesday (her older sisters would probably not appreciate it if I told you how old they are) and my grandson just turned four. This card is for Wyatt. In addition to the Not Quite Navy bubble backgound I used the masking technique to line up the balloons and added Crystal Effects after I colored them. Ingreients: Cardstock: Whisper White, YoYo Yellow, Real Red and Not Quite Navy. Ink: Basic Black classic and craft. Stamps: Beary Best Friends and Beary Best Wishes. Other: Black Stampin' Emboss Powder, Real Red brads, Not Quite Navy, Real Red, YoYo Yellow, Sahara Sand and River Rock Stampin' Write Markers.

I still need to come up with a fantabulous idea for cards for a few daughters' birthdays, think I'll look for some more reinker techniques. Stay tuned!

Second Life for a Dryer Sheet

2011-05-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

I've missed stamping, I've missed blogging. So I'm treating myself to both again. I hope to have some readers, but for now I'll just enjoy the crafting and writing. Here is my welcome back project:

Yesterday I spent awhile looking for technique ideas and ran across the Glittered Dryer Sheet technique. Many, many years ago I'd done the same thing and stuffed a tiny drawer with used dryer sheets just so I could try it out but I never did. Packrat that I am, I still have that tiny drawer full of dryer sheets and finally put them to use.

This is an incredibly simple technique. Just stamp your image on whisper white cardstock. Let the ink set for a few minutes then cover the cardstock with a used dryer sheet and smooth it over the image. Then, sprinkle with Dazzling Diamonds glitter and press it into the glue. Shake off the excess, let it dry for awhile, trim the excess dryer sheet and finish your card. Stunning results, but very simple.

Ingredients: Stamps - Pony Pals and the party hat from Sock Monkey which found it's way into the wrong stamp box. Cardstock - Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White. Ink - Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Wild Wasabi and Melon Mambo. Other - Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Pretty in Pink and Melon Mambo markers, Stamp-a-ma-jig and Early Espresso 1/8" taffeta ribbon.

Have fun trying this technique yourself, let me know if you have any questions, I'd be glad to help. I'll be back soon with more ideas.

Yet Another Birthday!

2010-05-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today my baby is 19. Does that make me officially old? My mind sure feels old. I spent all day yesterday trying to come up with an idea and finally gave up. Today, now that she's out with a sister and good friend I finally came up with one, but I can't give it to her until tomorrow. I hope she'll think it was worth the wait.

I first saw a Tri-Shutter card about a year ago, printed out the directions so I could try them and promptly lost them in my collection of ideas. Today I remember it, and was surprised at how easy it was to make! Just some careful measuring, a few simple folds and cuts. I'd love to show you how, just let me know if you want a demonstration.

Ingredients: Paper: Whisper White Cardstock, Old Olive Textured cardstock and designer paper from Petal Party Simply Scrappin' Kit (retiring). Inks: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Pixie Pink (retiring) classic ink. Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly and Heard from The Heart. Accessories: Butterfly Punch, Mini Glue dots.

Here's a picture of the card open - this is what makes it special:

Pretty Pansies

2010-05-22T16:19:00.001-07:00

I've wanted to try these butterfly pansies, designed by Dawn Olchefske, since I first saw them. My daughter Maggi's favorite color is purple, so they'r perfect for her birthday card. I just wish I'd reread the directions before I put them together ... I forgot to draw the lines on the pansies. Oops! They're still cute, though. And I will definitely be making them again.

They're amazingly simple to make. All you need is Stampin' Ups Butterfly Punch, a little bit of Shimmery White Cardstock, a brad, a water spritzer, two reinkers, an aquapainter and a Stampin' Write Marker. I used Elegant Eggplant and So Saffron ink. First you punch out two butterflies, spritz them down with water (make them really wet so the reinker will float), and drop reinker on the wings with an aquapainter. You can use the aquapainter to encourage the ink in the directions you want it to spread. Then let the punches dry; I helped these along a little with my embossing tool. Once they're dry, curl the punches a bit, punch holes in the center, draw a few fine lines out from the center and put the two punches together with a brad. You'll have a beautiful pansy you can use on a card, a box, just about anywhere.

The card is made with Pure Plum, Elegant Eggplant and So Saffron cardstock. I stamped "happy birthday" from Teeny Tiny Wishes with Elegant Eggplant ink. The strips of So Saffron and Elegant Eggplant were textured with the "Distressed" plate from Texturz Plates Kit #4 and the Big Shot.

If you'd like to see a demonstration of the butterfly pansies, or need to buy any of the supplies please let me know. I'd be glad to help out.

You can't buy this

2010-05-20T21:15:00.001-07:00

The stamp set, that is. But, you can get it free! Stampin' Up treats its hostesses very well, host a qualifying workshop and you will earn one or more limited edition stamp sets AND hostess credit to buy anything you want from the catalog. Don't want to host a workshop, but still want the goodies? That's okay, too. Place a qualifying order by yourself or show the catalog to a few friends and collect orders from them and you can have the gifts, too.

This is a super simple card that uses only the basics, stamps, ink and paper, and a cardsketch from SUDSOL, a demonstrator site I belong to. Stamps: (Hostess Set) Love Bug. Ink: Stazon Black, Creamy Caramel, Ruby Red and Black markers. Cardstock: Ruby Red, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black and Whisper White. 1", 1 1/4", 1 3/8" and scallop circle punches. Ruby Red and Creamy Caramel are both retiring colors, they are both available now, but supplies may be limited.

I like the card the way it is, but it screams to be stepped up a bit. Tonight I need to make a birthday card for one of my daughters, tomorrow I'll try my hand at stepping up this design. Watch for future posts to see how it turns out!

I was wrong about my internet problems, so I may have limited posting access for a bit. I can email pictures just fine, but every time I try to upload one directly to Blogger I lose my internet connection and have to reset my computer, and often my modem and router. It's very frustrating! If you have any suggestions, please pass them my way!

Bibbity Bobbity Boo!

2010-05-20T15:03:00.000-07:00

I have two (absolutely adorable) almost five year old granddaughters, so princess stamps are an absolute necessity for me. At least owning them is. I bought the Princess Time stamp set when this catalog first came out, but hadn't used it until today, and I love the results, so I will definitely be playing with it some more! A very quick and easy card, but rich results!

Used in this card: Stamps: Princess Time. Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Regal Rose, Whisper White and Brushed Gold. Ink: Gold Encore. Accessories: Rich Regal and Soft Suede markers, Versamarker, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon, Stampin' Up Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plate and Big Shot.

I tried to post this last night but had problems uploading the picture. I think I figured out the problem, so I hope to post again tonight. Look for a sample using stamps you'll never be able to buy, coming soon.

Change is in the air

2010-05-17T21:53:00.001-07:00

Change is in the air with Stampin' Up. They're revamping the color palette and it is exciting! It's a big change, 30 existing colors are retiring, but we're getting 5 brand new colors (and 5 new In Colors), and adding 10 previous In Colors to the core collection. I can't wait to play with all the new colors, but for now I'm having fun with the retiring colors.

This card uses two retiring colors, Brocade Blue and Mellow Moss. I wanted to use a piece of Designer Series Paper from the Patterns III hostess pack and chose Mellow Moss because it is retiring. Then I grabbed my trusty color coach and added Brocade Blue and Regal Rose (not retiring). I love my color coach and use it all the time. Of course, with so many changes to the color palette there will be changes to the color coach, too. It's been completely redesigned; it has all the functionality from the current one that we love, and some wondeful additions.

Ingredients: Cardstock: Whisper White, Regal Rose, Brocade Blue, Mellow Moss. Ink: Black Stazon. Stamps: A Kind Word, Teeny Tiny Messages. Accessories: Big Shot, Circles Scallop #2 Bigz Die, Circle Cutter, Oval, Large Oval and Scallop Oval Punches, Watercolor Wonder Crayons and Aquapainter.

The Patterns III Designer Series Pack will be retiring on July 4th. It's only available for free, and will never be available for sale. Host a workshop or place a qualifying order and it's yours. Let me know if you want more information!

They grow so fast!

2010-05-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

My grandson Wyatt's 3rd birthday party is today. It seems like he was just born yesterday! Last year I made him a popup birthday cake card which all the adults loved, Wyatt wasn't impressed at all. (Duh!) I think he'll like this year's card, though. I'm not sure his mom will, but she'll get over it.

Stampin' Up came out with these great Sweet Heart Cups with the Holiday Mini. Foolish me, I didn't try them until just recently. They are so much fun! They come in the original circle shape, and in the heart shape that was featured in the Occasions mini. Both will be in the new big catalog (16 pages bigger than the current one!) that comes out July 1st. I've seen some of the cutest animals and such made from these! And, they are simple to use.

This very simple card uses the Beary Nice Wishes and Beary Best Friends stamp sets, Tempting Turquoise classic ink and Black Stazon ink, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery and Whisper White cardstock and the sweet treats cup. And, of course, the blue M&M's picked out of 1 1/2 little bags. It will be sheer torture to finish those bags off...

Long Time No See - Let's Sell-a-Brate!

2010-01-14T10:16:00.001-08:00

I've been missing in action for awhile, with no good reasons, just a BUNCH of excuses. I won't give list all of them as it would be boring, but I will tell you about my image woes. Just before Christmas my daughter told me my camera wouldn't work. I figured it needed batteries or the memory card was full, so I put the memory card in the card reader of my printer/scanner. I still don't know exactly what happened, it started to download pictures, stopped suddenly and my computer started acting wierd. So I did a shutdown and restart, but it wouldn't ... restart that is. I'm a geek, but I'm not a hardware geek, so I panicked and called the hardware genius from my work. I took the computer, sans printer, to work where it booted beautifully for Jeremy. Then I took it home, hooked the printer back up, and it wouldn't boot again. As soon as I unplugged the printer the computer booted. I still have no idea what's wrong with my camera, but it's spread to my printer/scanner, and now the only way for me to get images to upload is my phone. *sigh* It actually takes pretty decent pictures if I can hold still enough.

Enough about printers, scanners and cameras, though, on to the fun stuff. I meet with several wonderful ladies in Anacortes every month, they've all been enjoying seeing the Big Shot in action. These were the hostess gift and door prizes from our last get together. The flower on the post it note holder was cut using the Simple Flowers Embosslit. The bag toppers are made with Top Notes shapes, stamped with Very Thankful, this year's Ronald McDonald House Charities stamp set. I colored the stamp for the image on the left with InColor Markers, huffed and stamped. The image on the right was stamped with Staze-on and colored with markers. All three items were quick, and I think cute.

This is my favorite time of year for Stampin' Up, it's Sale-a-Bration! Hopefully you've received a Sale-a-Bration mini in the mail from me, if not here are the details: For every $50 you spend on Stampin' Up product in one order between now and March 31st you will receive one of four special limited edition stamps, or a stack of limited edition Designer Series Paper, or a beautiful punch. The stamp sets and Designer Paper will never be available again, the punch will be in the Idea Book and Catalog that comes out July 1st. There is no limit on the number of free items you can receive, so if you were to buy a Big Shot ($99.95) and a glue stick or other small item you would get 2 items. And, for the first time ever, Stampin' Up is allowing you to choose a regular catalog stamp set as your Sale-a-Bration freebie! The list is on the inside back page of the Sale-a-Bration mini, and there is sure to be something there you'll need.

Please contact me if you'd like to have a workshop in your home or place an order. If you can't come to (or host) a workshop, I'll pay the shipping on your Sale-a-Bration qualifying order to make up for you missing the party fun and make-n-takes. Happy stamping!

It's tonight!

2009-10-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

Christmas and Pizza, that is. I hope you're hungry! I've ordered several pizzas, including my favorite gourmet vegetarian. My mouth is watering already.

My granddaughter Leah has been watching me make examples for tonight. She keeps asking me if it is Christmas yet and is hoping several of them are for her. One of them, however, she thinks is "gross." And her 2 year old cousin Wyatt wrinkles his nose and says "Ewwww" about it. What cute Christmas gift would a four year old think is gross? You'll have to be there tonight to find out!

Congratulations to Stefanie, who won the RSVP door prize drawing. There are lots more door prizes available, I hope you win one too.

Simple is Good Too

2009-10-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

I 've been busily Stampin' away getting ready for Christmas and Pizza, so I haven't had much chance to post. I'm getting excited about it, and hope you are too. I mailed invitations on Monday, so if you are on my mailing list you should receive one of these cute postcards any day now, if you haven't already. If you aren't on my mailing list but would like to be, please let me know.

Since this is a postcard it could only have one layer, and no embellishments. That was a challenge for me, but I like how this turned out. I used Confetti Cream cardstock for the base, the Delightful Decorations stampset from the Holiday Mini, Garden Green, Ruby Red, Not Quite Navy and Gold Encore ink. The ornament hangers were hand drawn with the help of a ruler using my Basic Black Stamp and Write Marker.

There will be several other items done with this stamp set on display at Christmas and Pizza. I hope to see you there! Lots of door prizes, gifts with every order and the pizza is on me.

I Was Wrong

2009-10-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

I couldn't finish 20 cards in one evening, especially an evening that involved running errands on the way home, a dinner disaster and transportation complications. I was only able to finish 10 of them. Here is one of them, the other nine use the same stamps and colors but all of them are different. You'll be able to see all ten of them, and a similar set in different colors at my Christmas and Pizza event on October 15th. These cards will be available in a new mini-class/workshop, watch for details!

Here are the ingredients. Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Bravo Burgundy and Brushed Gold. Stamps: Tree Trimmings and Many Merry Messages. Ink: Encore Gold; Bravo Burgundy and Handsome Hunder Classic Inks. Accessories: Bravo Burgundy 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Tag Punch, Small Tag Punch.

Happy Birthday Miss Daisy!!!

2009-09-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

September was a big month for birthday's at work. This card was for "Miss Daisy", our head secretary. It is my first attempt with the Brayered Sky technique. I love how it turned out, and will be using it a lot in the future! I'd love to show you and your friends how to do it, let me know when you are interested and we'll get together for a workshop!

Stampin' Up may need another punch for the oval series. "Birthday Celebrations" wouldn't fit in any of the smaller ovals, so I punched both the words and the black matting with the Wide Oval Punch, then used the edges of the black oval to mark the curve to trim the white oval.

Here is the recipe: Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie and Dusty Durango. Ink: Basic Black Craft Ink; Barely Banana, Pumkin Pie and Dusty Durango Classic Inks. Stamps: Upsy Daisy. Accessories: Brayer, Wide Oval Punch, Dusty Durango Dotted Grosgrain, Black Embossing Powder, Black Stampin' Write Marker and a Flower Designer Brad.

Tonight I'm going to make 20 cards to display at Christmas and Pizza. Does that sound a bit over ambitious? I think I can do it! I'll let you know tomorrow. And, I hope to see you at Round Table on October 15th!

Introducing Snow Bear

2009-09-19T12:02:00.000-07:00

This sweet little girl is named Snow Bear. My granddaughter Leah (even sweeter than Snow Bear) made her in a few minutes this morning out of scraps. If you haven't seen the Holiday Mini yet, Stampin' Up has partnered with Build a Bear Workshop and is carrying Build a Bear licensed stamps and Big Shot dies. We made this using Stampin' Up Bear and Beary Essentials Bigz dies, with some Bravo Burgundy cardstock and a few scraps of retired designer series paper. These bears are so much fun to make, for kids and adults, both, and there are many things you can do with them. I'll be displaying magnet bear paper dolls at my Christmas and Pizza event (October 15th, mark your calendars). Hope to see you there!

If you haven't seen the Holiday Mini yet let me know and I'll get one to you. If you'd like, you can pick one up at the Mostly Mystery Hostess Workshop on Thursday the 24th of September. It will be the last Mystery Hostess Workshop of the year, so you won't want to miss it. I have several samples of cards from the new mini to show you, as well as some cute projects planned. See you soon!

Did you ever have on of THOSE weeks?

2009-09-15T12:37:00.001-07:00

Well, I've been having one and I'm hoping it's almost over. I'm working on a demonstrator Christmas Card swap so I will have many beautiful cards to display at my Christmas and Pizza event next month. It needs to be mailed no later than tomorrow. I had Saturday set aside to work on it, a little time on Sunday and Monday. So, I got started Saturday, designed the card (and like it!), cut out the cardstock and started doing the die cuts. Half way through my Big Shot tipped off the surface I was using and my acrylic sheets and sizzlet slipped away. The acrylic sheets were right there, the sizzlet was no where to be found. I dumped my purse. I moved boxes and furniture. My daughter looked under my bed for fifteen minutes. We looked the same places all over again, and again. I even dug through my yarn bag. No sizzlet. After several hours I started to try to redesign the card in my bed and went to bed sad. Woke up in the morning to the thought that maybe I digging through my yarn bag wasn't enough and I should dump it. And there was my sizzlet. Big sigh of relief and my world is good again. So now I have all the dies cut out, did the stamping and stuff last night and all I have to do is rush through the assembly of all forty cards with their 10 die cuts a piece tonight. I may not get much sleep, but the swap may be done. Now, though, I'm running low on adhesives. I have enough to finish the swap, but we may be using Stampin' Up Anywhere Glue sticks at this month's Monstly Monthly Mystery Hostess Workshop on the 24th. They are great glue sticks, though, so don't worry.

Not only have I been working on the swap, I have two coworkers with birthdays this week, one Monday and one tomorrow. Here is the first card. It was supposed to be black and silver, but have you noticed that Classic Black ink has a purple tint to it? When you apply it to silver cardstock, purple is all you see. It's actually a perfect match for Elegant Eggplant cardstock, so that's what I used. I made the background by brayering the diamonds from Stampin' Up Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates with Classic Black ink, then ran it through the Big Shot on silver cardstock. (The ink rinses off the brayer and Texturz plate in seconds with just water.) The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, stamped with black ink and punched out with the Word Window Punch. That is mounted on a piece of Elegant Eggplant punched with the new Modern Label punch and accented with Silver Brads. I hand wrote Ozzy on a piece of Whisper White, punched with the Small Tag Punch and mounted it on an Elegant Eggplant Tag. I used the silver elastic cord from the Holiday Mini to make it look like a gift, and there it is.

It's a Pink Elephant!

2009-09-09T19:55:00.000-07:00

Animal Story is one of the irresistably cute new stamp sets in this year's Idea Book and Catalog. It consists of an owl, a whale, a giraffe and this adorable elephant. I don't use a lot of solid stamps, so it took some practice to get good images, but I did find a very helpful suggestion - before using the stamp lightly sand it with a sanding block. It worked very well! I've also found that cleaning it with Stampin' Mist and Stampin' Scrub just before using it helps. Stampin' Mist not only cleans your stamps, it conditions them as well.

Have I mentioned how much I like this year's In Colors? I used three of them here, the card base and two of the elephants are Melon Mambo, the third elephant, mat and ribbon are Soft Suede, and the saying (from the Smarty Pants stamp set) is matted on Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo. I embossed the large Soft Suede mat with my Big Shot and the Stampin' Up Perfect Detail Texturz Plate. It is also new in this catalog, and is going to be one of my favorites.

You are invited...

2009-09-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

to see Hannah's wedding invitation. I'd invite you to the actual wedding, but it was ten days ago. The bride was a beautiful as could be, the groom was incredibly handsome, the sun was shining, and the ring bearer (their two year old son) stole the show. He wanted to throw the ring pillow into the river. Is it any wonder we call him Dennis the Menace?

The invitation is one of the simples and easiest cards I've ever made, but it certainly garnered a lot of oohs and ahs. The main part of the card is Shimmery White cardstock, stamped with To Have and To Hold (retired) in Bashful Blue and embossed with the Big Shot and the Stampin' Up Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder. That is mounted on Bashful Blue cardstock and then on a Whisper White cardstock base. I entered the invitation information in Excel and laser printed it on the cardstock before cutting and folding it. I used my Stamp A Ma Jig to line up the words and the frame. That must be one of my favorite tools!

When you do a project like this, it's a good idea to stamp the image before embossing. It helps to position the embossing on the cardstock, and it's really difficult to line the Stamp a Ma Jig and stamps up over an embossed image. (Yes, I tried.)

If you haven't seen one of our embossing folders in use yet, I'll have my Big Shot set up so you can try your hand at it at the Mostly Monthly Mystery Hostess Workshop on the 24th. Hope to see you there! If you can't make it, how about having a workshop of your own? Stampin' Up has an amazing hostess special right now! Host a $250 workshop and in addition to the regular hostess benefits you can buy any one item from the Holiday Mini for just $10. Let me know if you need more information!

I'm Back!!!

2009-09-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

Summer has been hectic to say the least. And just when it started to calm down my computer equipment decided not to cooperate. First my printer refused to turn on. I can live without a printer, but my printer is also my scanner and card reader, so without it I can't post pictures. I really wanted to stomp my feet and scream like a two year old, but instead I spent this weekend reorganizing and decluttering my desk area so the power strip everything is plugged into could be on the top of the desk. (It was under the desk in a very awkward corner that was totally inaccessible to me and my knees.) Fortunately, the printer is fine, the problem was one outlet in the power strip. Whew! So I can scan, and I can read pictures I took. Can't take any new ones until I get camera batteries though. Did you ever feel like the world was out to get you? The camera batteries died at Hannah's wedding. I'm glad mine was not the only camera!

My baby sister's birthday was this weekend. She's starting to catch up to me, I think we both may be "plenty-nine". She loved the birthday cake cards I made my grandchildren and requested a pretty card too. Her birthday was Sunday, this will go in the mail tomorrow ... not bad for me! It comes complete with a popup birthday cake just for her, with a question mark for the candle. She's several years younger than I am, but still a grandmother.

The background is embossed with the Stampin' Up Perfect Details Texturz Plate. I brayered the texturz plate with Pretty in Pink classic ink then ran it through the Big Shot with whisper white cardstock. I love the way it makes the embossing stand out with out being overpowering. The embossed piece is mounted on Pretty in Pink cardstock. The image uses the Upsy Daisy stamp set inked with Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery Stampin' Write Markers. It's stamped on a piece of Whisper White cut with the Top Note Die with the border cut off, and mounted on a Certainly Celery Top Note piece. It's finished off with Pretty in Pink Taffeta ribbon, and a little glitter on the edges and tips of the flowers to make it special (I used our 2 Way Glue Pen). It was a lot of fun to make.

Mark your calendar for the Mostly Monthly Mystery Hostess Workshop on the 24th. (Date changed due to a scheduling conflict.) This will be the last one of the year, as October will be Pizza and Christmas and November and December we will all be busy with holiday preparations. I hpe to see you there!

Sometimes You Just Need a Simple Card...

2009-07-21T14:58:00.001-07:00

This one is super simple and still cute. And I didn't think it was that crooked in real life. Would you believe it has personality?

I love the new In Colors! This card uses Soft Suede Cardstock, Ribbon and Ink, with a touch of Bordering Blue added in for contrast. The stamp set is Totally Tool, a great stamp for masculine cards and scrapping, or for anyone who likes to build things. The words and images share a stamp, but it is easy to separate them and mount them separately. I sponged the edges of the Whisper White cardstock because it "just needed something". Those sponges do come in handy!

Congratulations to Stefanie and Terry who shared the hostess benefits from this months Mostly Month Mystery Hostess Workshop. Mark your calendar for next months, it will be August 20th at 7:00 pm and will feature ideas for the young and the young at heart - pretty much everyone. I hope to see you there!

Perfect for a Little Braggin'

2009-07-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

This is a small gift for my niece who's getting married this weekend. I wanted to make them something, and it had to be small since they don't have much living space. So, I made them a little brag book for some of their pictures from the wedding. The page protectors are clear envelopes and it works great for either just photos or for small scrapbook pages.

These are incredibly easy to make, and make a gift. Splitcoaststampers has an excellent tutorial here. The example is made with 5 envelopes, I put 10 in this and I've seen them with more than that. Stock on some clear envelopes and make a few yourself, you can get a head start on the holidays!

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose and Very Vanilla. Timeless Type On Board Chipboard daubed with Regal Rose Craft Ink, sprinkled with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powderdered and embossed. The Regal Rose cover is stamped with a stamp for Bojo Backgrounds with Versamark Ink. Accessories: Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Large Eyelets, Cropadile, SU! exclusive Top Note Bigz Die. The back is embossed with the small dots Texturz Plate in the Big Shot, but the embossing doesn't scan well on dark cardstock so I didn't scan it. The corners of the envelopes are stamped with the heart stamp from To Have and To Hold (just retired). Here's a small picture of the inside to give you an idea of what it looks like.

A Simple Wedding Card

2009-07-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

My niece is getting married next weekend, a perfect excuse to play with cardstock and ink.

I was looking at my Big Shot dies and realized I'd never actually made a card with the Scalloped Envelope Bigz die, I'm sure the poor thing was feeling neglected. The invitation to the wedding is brown and vanilla with a little pink ribbon, so I'm guessing those are their wedding colors and chose my designer paper from those colors. This is Candy Lane, which just retired as it uses last years In Colors.

The card base is Pink Pirouette (retired), with VeryVanilla mounted on Close to Cocoa. It doesn't show in the picture, but I ran the vanilla through the Big Shot with the Stampin' Up Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates dotted backround. The little card in the envelope is stamped in Chocolate Chip with a stamp from the Only Ovals Stamp Set, I rounded the card to match the shape of the stamp so the scallops and Designer Paper would show behind it. I tied a piece of Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon around the envelope to make it a little fancier. It's a pretty simple card, but sometimes those are the best.

The inside of the card has a pop-up wedding cake in it made from the same DSP, but I didn't want you to get bored with pop-up cakes, so I didn't take a picture of it.

Check back for more ways to use the Big Shot later this week, and mark your calendar for Mostly Monthly Mystery Hostess Workshop on the 16th. You could walk away with free stamps!

Poppin' Granddaughter Birthday

2009-07-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

May and June are busy in our family. My four daughters, three of my grandchildren, several nieces and nephews and my mother-in-law have birthdays between April 30th and June 28th. I kept getting pulled away from my stamps so not everyone got handmade cards, but I did manage to make special cards for all the grandbabies. This was for the last birthday of the season, Leah turned 4 last weekend. She's a little monkey, so it only seemed fitting to use Sock Monkey for her card.

This was a super simple card to make on the outside. I stamped the monkey on Whisper White Cardstock with Jet Black Stazon, then colored him with Watercolor Wonder Crayons. I stamped the balloons and party hat on some of the Designer Paper in the Petal Party Simply Stampin' Kit, cut them out and adhered them to the card. I drew the balloon strings with a black Stampin' Write Marker. By the way, if you need a short straight edge in a pinch, bone folders work quite well. I mounted the white cardstock and image on Pumpkin Pie Cardstock, and used a piece of textured Pixie Pink Cardstock as the card base. The little strip of hearts at the bottom of the page is also from the Petal Party Simply Stampin' Kit.

The inside of the card is what makes this one special. It's a popup birthday cake. It's made with the Big Shot Pop-up Three Tier Cake Bigz XL die for the Big Shot. And, it's a lot easier to make than it looks like it would be. Run the die through the Big Shot with some cardstock (Pixie Pink here, with a few small pieces of Pumpkin Pie for the candles) to make the pop-up pieces; cut some strips of designer paper; put together with sticky strip and you have a cake. Super cute, and everyone loves them.

I'll be featuring the Big Shot at our July Mostly Monthly Mystery Hostess Workshop. I hope you can come! You'll get a chance to make some simple projects with the Big Shot, and see the brand new (and very awesome!) Idea Book and Catalog. Not to mention, you could walk away with some great hostess gifts.

Hinged Cupcakes

2009-05-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

I love Splitcoast Stampers. It is full of swaps, ideas, examples and instructions (not to mention talk about books, tv and current events). It's especially good for inspiration. Lately when I've sat down at my stamp desk my mind has gone completely blank. Lucky for me, Splitcoast has daily challenges.

Today's card is a hinge card, which is Technique Challenge 222, for May 25th. It's actually a very simple technique, I was able to make mine just by looking at the examples and using the measurements in the original post. If you'd like more detailed instructions, though, Wendy Weixler has posted a video here.

Everything in this card is from Stampin' Up. Here is what I used: Paper - Bella Birds Designer Series Paper, Bordering Blue, So Saffron and

Whisper White cardstock. Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes and Boho Backgrounds. Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Bordering Blue, So Saffron, Real Red and Pink Pirouette. Accessories: Blender Pen, Eyelet Border Punch, Flower Designer Brads.

The colors for this card were drawn from the designer paper. I love how perfectly Stampin' Up colors work together. Since May is National Scrapbooking month, Stampin' Up is having a special on Designer Series Paper and 12x12 textured cardstock. It's mix and match, by 3 get 1 free. Contact me for more information, or you can click on one of the links on the right. This promotion runs through May 31 and is valid for workshops, individual orders and web orders. Don't miss out!

Mark your calendar for the Mystery Hostess Workshop on June 18th! It will be a lot of fun, with two projects featuring retiring stamp sets and good company. There will be several door prizes in addition to the hostess credit. And, I just found out that Stampin' Up is having a hostess promotion in June, so if the workshop goes over $250 in sales the lucky winner will get extra hostess benefits! Of course, if you'd like to be sure you get those benefits, you can hostess a workshop yourself. Or, if you need lots of goodies, place an order through my website for more than $250 and you'll also get the extra credit. The promotion runs from June 1 through 30th.

Snow, snow, snow, snow!

2009-05-09T16:06:00.001-07:00

Tax season really wore me out, and then as soon it was over I got sick. What a way to celebrate! I'm starting to remember who I am and other little things like that, and I'm ready to stamp again!

To celebrate the end of tax season I went to Stampin' Up's Seattle Regional seminar, a great activity for demonstrators. We got free stamps, made 6 projects, got to say hi to Shelli and watched some inspiring presentations with all kinds of ideas. I printed the pictures I took the other day and am really looking forward to sharing some of the ideas with you. Check back often for ideas.

One of the projects we did was a cute 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 scrapbook page for a snow picture. We had some pretty memorable snow last year so I had the perfect picture for it, but I don't have an 8 1/2 inch album. I do have a 6x6 book just of grandbaby pages, though. So, I adapted the page to 6x6. The cutie in the picture is my 3 year old granddaughter Leah.

The page uses Pacific Point, Bashful Blue and Riding Hood Red cardstock, Pacific Point classic ink, Old Olive and Whisper White craft ink, a Basic Black Stampin' Write journaler and a VersaMarker. Accessories: On Board Timeless Type chipboard, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, a Mini Library Clip, clear rhinestone brad (from the Pretties kit), a 2" white circle metal edge tag, 1/2" circle punch and 1 3/4" circle punch. I'm still a little intimidated by chipboard, so it was great to have an example to work with. I will be using it a lot more!

May is National Scrapbooking Month and Stampin' Up has two great specials to celebrate. Our beautiful Designer Series Paper and Textured Cardstock is buy three get one free, and you can get as many as you want. (If you are like me, you want them all.) And, there's a sneak peak stamp set from the upcoming 2009/2010 Idea Book and Catalog, the new Jumble Alphabet at 20% off. Contact me for more information.

The first Mostly Monthly Mystery Hostess Workshop is coming up in just a few weeks. Mark your calendars for May 28th at 7:00 pm. There will be snacks, two projects to make, and great company, as well as a chance to win hostess benefits. I hope to see you there!

Tag Punch Starburst

2009-02-22T22:10:00.000-08:00

It's been one of those weeks, and I just haven't managed to stamp. But, I did get to enjoy my one day weekend and make a few things. This is not a ten or fifteen minute card, but it actually very simple. It's called a Tag Punch Starburst, you can find several examples in the gallery at Splitcoast, and the directions here. The starburst is made with a piece of paper (designer or vellum), and 16 punch outlines made by first punching the small tag punch and then punching the regular tag punch around the punch out. It takes a little while to punch and glue all those little pieces, but is pretty simple, and the results are stunning.

Here's what I used. Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Kraft, Whisper White, Delightful Dots Designer Series Paper (the Sale-a-bration set). Stamps: So Many Sayings, a retired hostess set. Ink: Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker. Accessories: Bashful Blue taffeta ribbon, Flower Brads, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Small Oval Punch, Small Tag Punch, Tag Punch, dimensionals.

Where's the Chocolate?

2009-02-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

I guess I'm going to have to try again tomorrow to make my simple card for my personal challenge, this one isn't that complicated, and I could probably duplicate it in 15 minutes, but start to finish is another story. As I've been looking at cards in the Spring and Summer Idea Book and Catalog I've seen several cards with combinations of Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze, occasionally with some Kiwi Kiss thrown in. I love the color combination, and really wanted to try it. It didn't quite work out though. First, I left my catalog at work and couldn't come up with a simple layout idea on my own, so I went to the Sketch Challenge thread on Splitcoast and picked this one. Then I needed some contrasting paper for the card, picked the Sale-a-Bration designer paper, and the So Saffron in the paper kind of took over. The card base is Chocolate Chip, as is the flower branch, but other than that... I'll just have to try again tomorrow. How sad. (Not!)

Stamps: Embrace Life. Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White, Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper. Ink: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip and So Saffron. Accessories: Rich Regal brads, sponge wedge, Blender Pen. I also textured the small strip of paper that runs vertically down the card with the Sizzix Texture Plates. This is my first time trying it. The texture is great, but not as deep as I would like it to be, I think I need to play around a little with the sandwich for the texture plates. Not tonight though, if I'm going to do taxes tomorrow I need some sleep.

Lovin' the new Cattie!!

2009-02-15T21:48:00.000-08:00

I've been having a lot of fun at lunch browsing through my Spring and Summer Idea Book and Catalog, not to look at the stamp sets but at the cards and other items themselves. There are some great ideas in there! I've been marking a lot of layouts that I like and other ideas that I want to use. There's more than enough there to keep me busy until the next catalog comes out! Stampin' Up and I are giving away free catalogs right now, so if you'd like to browse through some of those great ideas, please let me know.

This particular layout is copied from a card using the Friends 24-7 set on page 81 of the catalog. It's simple and elegant and can be used with many different images. I wanted to show you some more of the Sale-a-Bration goodies, this features designer paper from the Delicate Designer Series Paper, and the So Saffron grosgrain ribbon from the ribbon bundle. I didn't have a birthday greeting stamp that would fit the tag punches, so I inked a couple of words from a stamp in the That's Funny stamp set separately with my Basic Black marker to make one. The whole stamp says "a candle for every year might not be such a good idea...happy birthday!" and features the image of a cake weighed down by many birthday candles. The cake on this card though is from Crazy for Cupcakes. It's difficult to tell in the scan, but the candle flame and pink sprinkles on the cake have Dazzling Diamond glitter on them. Cardstock: Whisper White, Certainly Celery and So Saffron. Ink: Black Stazon. Accessories: markers, both tag punches, 1/16" handheld punch, linen thread, Stamp-a-ma-jig, 2-way glue pen and glitter.

Challenging Myself

2009-02-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

I issued myself a challenge today. For at least the next month I want to post 3 or more simple cards every week. Here is the first one, using several Sale-a-Bration sets and a brand new punch from Stampin' Up. The scanner didn't do well on the colors, unfortunately. If I were to make it again I would stamp the sentiments in a different color, probably Old Olive, but possibly Basic Black.

Stamps: Congrats, Polka Dot Punches (both SAB sets). Cardstock: Whisper White, Blush Blossom and Certainly Celery. Inks: Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst and Blush Blossom. Accessories: Certainly Celery Twill Ribbon (SAB ribbon bundle), 5 Petal Flower punch, Eyelet Border punch, markers, blender pen, dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by! Check back often for more simple cards. If you need a quick card idea these are guaranteed to go together fast.

Stamps ... not just for cards anymore

2009-02-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

I've been missing for awhile, and I apologize. I've been stamping, but I've been forgetting to scan and post. I'm hoping to start posting at least a couple of times a week from now on, although tax season may get the best of me.

This is a gift for an online friend, a silver and pink necklace. I really like the way it turned out and hope she likes it too. It's made with a piece of Stylized Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, a flower from the Pretties Kit painted with Burgundy Shimmerz, pink pirouette cardstock, and rose red grosgrain ribbon. The cardstock was cut to fit the frame as I don't have that punch (yet) and stamped and embossed with silver ink and embossing powder using one of the stamps from Itty Bitty Backgrounds. The brad was from my collection, I think it's a Stampin' Up ice brad, but I'm not sure.

Have you seen the new catalog yet? There is dreamy stuff in it! And, right now, Stampin' Up will give you one for free. Just place an online order through my website anytime between now and April 1st. Don't want to order online? That's okay too. If you place a Sale-a-Bration qualifying order directly through me (does not apply to workshop orders) I'll give you one with your order.

Speaking of Sale-a-Bration - Stampin' Up is giving away stamps, designer paper and ribbon. Have you seen the flyer yet? It's great! It's jampacked with ideas for things to do with the Sale-a-Bration gifts, and the gifts themselves are great. I'm making a few birthday cards with some of them and will post them as soon as I can. In the meantime, if you didn't receive a flyer in the mail you can look at it here.

More from Santa's Workshop

2008-12-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

Here are some ideas for quick and easy gift packaging.

The four little bags on the bottom are gifts for my Primary class. They're celophane bags with a few pieces of candy and some Oriental Trading Company toys. The topper is made from Top Note die cuts of Dashing Designer Paper (retired) and Real Red and Old Olive cardstock. They're decorated with the snowman from Deer Friends inked with markers and punched with the 1 1/4" round punch mounted on 1 3/8" round punchies of Old Olive and scalloped punchies of Real Red.

The tins on the top are sold at Michael's in several different sizes. These are filled with yummy chocolate candy, but you can put all sorts of things in them. I covered the sides of the bottom with strips of designer paper and the top with cardstock. I use Stampin' Up's glue sticks when I alter tins like this, it works very well. I cut the cardstock for the top a little bigger than the top and clipped the corners so it would bend over the edges easily. Then I put sticky strip all around the edge to make sure the cardstock would stay down, and put ribbon over that. The tops are decorated with stamped images cut out with the Coluzzle Cutting System and colored with markers, with a line of Gold Stickles on the outside of the image. The one on the left is Elzybell's Sleeping Angel, on the right is Fluffles Stocking.

Hopefully I'll be able to get to church on Sunday to give the kids their gifts. They had to cancel church last week because of bad weather and unsafe road conditions, and its only gotten worse since then. Here's a picture from a coworker's house. You have to remember, we live in northwest Washington state. We generally have one or two snowy days a year, and often don't get enough to build a snowman. There's enough here to build a snow army, but it's too cold and dry to build anything!

Christmas in the Black

2008-12-17T18:52:00.000-08:00

Long before I discovered stamps I was a knitter and crocheter. I haven't done much for years, but started again this fall. I will be keeping it up, I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it, and the results.

I'm doing a Christmas stocking secret sister swap with a group on SplitcoastStampers. The gal that I sent to requested a black stocking, I couldn't find one at the store so I decided to make one. I fell in love with this yarn when I saw it in the store, it really turned out well. She's also a Twilight fan, so I altered a journal and pen set with a Twilight series theme. The journal is covered with black cardstock sprayed with glimmer mist, the rose, from Wild Rose (retired) is stamped on Shimmery White Cardstock and "Sparkle" from Warm Words (retired) is embossed in silver on it. I cheated on the pen, no stamping. It's covered in black cardstock with a rose sticker on it, then covered with Stampin' Up Micro Beads and Sticky Strip.

I still have more stamping and crocheting left to do, so back to Santa's workshop for me...

Shimmery, shimmery Christmas

2008-12-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

I love Shimmerz! So far I only have two colors, Golden Wheat and Burgundy, but those are perfect colors for some elegant Christmas gifts. They twinkle beautifully in real life, my scanner just doesn't do them justice. Shimmerz are so easy to paint with! They're already liquid, easily colored with a paint brush. Unfortunately, I don't have a good paint brush (yet). I used a Stampin' Up blender pen and it worked beautifully.

Stamps: Stampabilities House Mouse - Mouse Elves. Stampin' Up accessories: Purely Pomegranate (retired), brushed gold and whisper white cardstock; gold organdy ribbon (retired); Watercolor Wonder Crayons, aquapainter, blender pen. Other: Shimmerz paints, Palette Noir Black ink.

Now, back to the workshop to work on some more gifts...

Snow, snow, snow...

2008-12-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

A good portion of the country is having some pretty severe winter weather at the moment. We even have an inch or two of snow here in balmy Skagit County, Washington. Wait, did I say balmy? According to the weather station on my computer it's 20 degrees outside. (That's -6 Celsius.) Brrr!

This card isn't going to warm anyone up. But, it's simple and elegant, and great for a last minute card. It also works with many different color combinations, so if you are in a hurry and need to make several, they don't have to all be identical.

The stamp is from Stampin' Up's Punches Three hostess set, which will be retiring on January 17th. Don't miss out on your chance to earn it! The stamp and the background squares are punched with the Stampin' Up Scalloped Square punch. Other Stampin' Up supplies used were Pacific Point, Whisper White and Brushed Silver cardstock; Pacific Point Classic Ink and Versamark Ink with Clear Embossing Powder and an embossing tool, and my favorite new toy, the Sizzix Big Shot. The snowflake brads are non-Stampin' Up from my stash.

The embossed background is done with the Cuttlebug Snowflake Embossing Folder. This is the first time I've tried embossing folders in my Big Shot and I love the results. It makes a great impression in just a few seconds. I'm really hoping Stampin' Up will have some exclusive embossing dies in the new catalog. Only a few weeks and we'll know!

With the coming new catalog we also have a new retirement list. If you haven't seen it yet, hop on over to my Stampin' Up to see it, or let me know and I will email you a .PDF of it. For the first time ever, Stampin' Up is having a sale on retiring stamps, too, so don't let any of your favorites get away. All retiring stamps are 10% off, and Stampin' Up is also giving all orders of $70 or more free shipping. It's a great time to stock up on stamps or supplies!

We interupt our regularly scheduled programming...

2008-11-30T22:17:00.000-08:00

to bring you Achievement Days!

Achievement Days is an activity program in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for 8 to 11 year old girls. I'll be helping them make these two pages on Wednesday. It was a challenging assignment - simple enough for beginners, not too subject limited, and I had to have enough supplies for all the girls to make nearly identical to make. Lucky for me, Stampin' Up's Sale-a-Bration 2007 included a Simply Scrappin' Kit (Just Delightful) and I stocked up on it. The page on the left is for the girls to give their parents, the example features my granddaughter Leah who is now 3 1/2. The page on the right is a total CASE of a page on the Simply Scrappin' Kit label. It's for the girls to keep in their Achievement Days notebooks. It will be up to them whether to make it about a particular activity or Achievement Days in general.

Speaking of SAB - Sale-a-Bration 2009 is coming up from 2009. If you aren't on my mailing list but would like to be please let me know and I will see that you get a mini catalog. Free rubber is always fun!

How Was Your Black Friday?

2008-11-30T19:36:00.001-08:00

Mine was great! What little shopping I did was online in the morning. So, no lines to deal with or parking problems. (Although one site did have a major problem that they're still trying to straighten out.) I relaxed and crafted most of the day. It was great!

Everything here uses predominately retired Stampin' Up product (three different kinds of designer series paper, three stamp sets, and retired In Color ink and cardstock), or non-Stampin' Up. Remember, when you are investing in those stamps that they really are an investment, they'll last forever and you'll get years and years of use from them.

The flower on the journal is from the Stampin' Up Pretties Kit, it's painted with Golden Wheat Shimmerz! I recently discovered Shimmerz paint, through two Secret Sister type swaps I participated in. Both of them requested Shimmerz, which I had never heard of. With two requests in as many weeks I figured it must be a great product, so I had to get one for myself, too. I am so glad I did! I love how easy they are to use, and how they shine! I definitely need some more of these! Lucky for me - and you - Shimmerz has a brand new online shopping cart, and they are celebrating by having a fabulous Black Friday sale now through early Monday evening. Check it out! I know I'll be looking again.

Speaking of Black Friday sales, there is still a day left in Stampin' Up's Holiday Extravaganza sale. I know some of the bundles are already sold out, but there are still some great deals there. If you haven't had a chance, hop on over to my Stampin' Up website and check them out. You'll receive your 2009 Spring and Summer Idea Book and Catalog free with any order over $35.00.

Holiday Extravaganza!

2008-11-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

The Holiday Extravaganza sale is here, and it is awesome! From November 26 to December 1, get up to 50% off select Stampin' Up! products. Find the perfect present for all the stampers and paper crafters in your life - or just stock up for yourself!

Get All in the Family, Family Accessories and the matching wheel for 50% off! This is great for so many cards, kids projects, scrapbooking. The Manly Man's bundle, also 50% off, has many, many sports stamps. Stamp sets for four different seasons and holidays for 40% off. Something every scrapbooker needs - a complete set of upper and lower case letters for 40%. Punches, embossing supplies, designer series paper, chipboard sets - there is something for everyone here! And place your order through my website or by calling me personally, and receive a free Spring and Summer Idea Book and Catalog in January. See all the great deals for yourself by clicking here, or go to my Stampin' Up Website and click on shop now.

You Lift Me Up

2008-11-25T19:57:00.000-08:00

This is another simple card from a sketch layout, this one from Splitcoast SC160. The "You Lift Me Up" sentiment is by Stampabilities, it seemed perfect for a card for one of the most inspiring women I know. And, the layout highlights a large sentiment very well. Other items in the card: Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Taken with Teal, Apricot Appeal and Whisper White; Bali Breeze Designer Series Paper (retired), Taken with Teal Classic Ink. The glittery ric rac is from my stash, I don't know what brand.

The Holiday Extravaganza sale starts at the stroke of midnight tonight (mountain time). I'll post the details as soon as I have time in the morning, but you can find them out by going to my Stampin' Up website even earlier. Stampin' Up will be offering discounts on up to 50% on select bundles, the bundles will be limited to stock on hand, so you'll want to check them soon. And, don't forget, place an order of $35 or more through me or ordering online through my website and you will automatically receive a free Spring and Summer Idea Book and Catalog and free shipping on a qualifying order in January.

Sketch Challenged

2008-11-23T17:05:00.000-08:00

I often have an image I want to play with and then try to find a layout that will work with it. This time I did it the other way around. This particular sketch (Splitcoast Sketch Challenge SC155) has intrigued me everytime I've run across it in my sketch book. I'm usually using a large image that won't work with it, though. So today I decided to start with the sketch and look for stamps it would work with it. This is my first try. I'm going to have to try it again, as it seems to be missing something, I'm just not quite sure what. There are some gorgeous samples in the Splitcoast Stampers gallery.

Ingredients: Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Hugs and Wishes: Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Pink Passion, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip Patterns Designer Sries Paper. Ink: Pink Passion and Chocolate Chip Classic Inks. Accessories: Corner Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch. Everything on this card is a current Stampin' Up product.

Eek, It's a Mouse!

2008-11-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to stamp all week, but just haven't made it to my desk, it's been difficult today, too. But, I got to rock one grandbaby, and read stories and watch a movie with another, so it's been great!

This House Mouse stamp, featuring Amanda and Muzzy, is called "Light Wrap." I have several House Mouse stamps, they are really fun and easy images to watercolor. I stamped it on Stampin' Up watercolor paper with Pallette Noir Black hybrid ink, colored with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and Twinkling H2Os and an aquapainter. The cardstock is Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze. Accessories: 1" Double-stitched Baja Breeze Grosgrain ribbon and non-Stampin' Up snowflake brads.

Check back Wednsday for details on Stampin' Up's Holiday Extravaganza sale. We don't have the details yet, but have been told it will feature great discounts on holiday bundles. You won't want to miss out!

A note from Santa's workshop

2008-11-16T21:09:00.001-08:00

I've been busy this weekend getting little gifts ready that need to go in the mail tomorrow. Now that I see it all in one spot it doesn't seem like as fruitful a weekend as I would have liked, but I didn't take pictures of the laundry and dishes and other stuff I did. (Other than church, everything else was boring!)

Left to right and front to back: A post it note holder and altered "band-aid" tin made with the Secret Garden Simply Scrapping Kit and Groovy Guava double stitched ribbon (both retired). A chipboard star ornament with stamped centers of a snowman and Santa from Holiday Tag Team (retired). A squash book covered with Dashing Designer Series Paper (retired), stamped with
Heritage Holiday on a wreath made with the leaves from the Sizzlet Birds and Blooms dies. A post it pad made with Maine Blueberry Designer Series Paper, stamped with Smarty Pants. And in the very front, a beaded pen and altered lipgloss made with Bella Rose Designer Series Paper and Very Vanilla/Kiwi Kiss double-sided Satin Ribbon. Can you tell I love Stampin' Up's Designer Series Papers?

The second picture is the squash book partially opened. It's a great mini book made from three sheets of cardstock, two coasters or pieces of scrap cardboard (I've used old cereal boxes). They make a great gift, especially for people with limited living space, as they are just 4" square. Contact me if you'd like directions for these, or anything else you've seen here.

Have a great week!

Cardinal Christmas

2008-11-15T12:41:00.000-08:00

It seems only fitting that my very first Christmas card this year should be made with Cardinal Christmas. Stampin' Up had a stamp set in the Holiday Mini a few years ago that had a beautiful cardinal in it, but the stamps had words on it so I didn't buy it, and I've kicked myself for it ever since. I was so excited to see this gorgeous set in this year's mini. I just got it yesterday, and I love it!

This is a very simple card and goes together in just minutes, and would be quite easy to make multiples of. Ingredients: Stamps: A Cardinal Christmas, Itty Bitty Backgrounds. Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Brushed Silver, Shimmery White. Stampin' Up accessories: Silver Elastic Card, Coluzzle Cutting System. Non-Stampin' Up: Pallette Noir Black ink, Copic markers. The elastic makes the silver cord great for a card like this, I tied it tight so it wouldn't hang loose and was still able to move it around easily until I found a position I liked.

Have you started your holiday shopping yet? Now is a great time to shop with Stampin' Up and me. Rubons are 20% with minimum purchase through November 30th, the Country Living Holiday Collection Stampin' Kit available for a limited time only and the Holiday Extravaganza sale coming up November 26th through December 1st. And don't forget, place a $35 order through me or my website and receive your Spring and Summer Idea Book and Catalog free in January, as well as free shipping on a future qualifying order.

Clipboard Picture Frames

2008-11-13T17:52:00.001-08:00

I found these clipboard picture frames on one of my favorite blogs. Erika Marten is an amazing artist. I've learned a lot from reading her blog and recommend it to everyone.

I think these clipboards will make great Christmas presents, I'll be making them for almost every adult on my Christmas list. I CASEd these from the picutre Erika posted, and I'm very happy with the way they turned out. I used the Friends and Flowers Simply Scrappin' Kit (a retired hostess gift) on the one on the right, Lovely Lilac Prints (also retired) with Summer Sun, Lovely Lilac and Always Amethyst cardstock on the left, the flowers were cut using the Stampin' Up exclusive Birds and Blooms Sizzlits Die pack. I love how different they look, and the endless possibilities for decorating them.

A special reward from me to you: Place a $35.00 Stampin' Up order with me personally, in a workshop, or through my website anytime between now and the end of the year and receive a 2009 Spring and Summer Idea Book and Catalog, and free shipping on one $35.00 or larger order in January, 2009. This offer is available to everyone in the United States. If you're local I'll deliver the catalog when I get it, if you aren't I will priority mail it to you. Contact me with your order, or if you have any questions. Happy Stampin'!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-09T13:50:00.001-08:00

Another card created thanks to a cardsketch! This is SC122 from the weekly card sketch challenges on Splitcoaststampers. The challenges are one of my favorite sources for ideas. Check them out, if you haven't already!

Used in this card - cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip Patterns designer paper and Watercolor Paper. Ink: Pallette Noir Black (non-Stampin' up). Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter. Brads from my collection, manufacturer unknown. Stamps: Window Dressing and Holidays and Wishes.

Window Dressing is great set. There are several images that fit in the window besides the still life, a little girl, a cat, flowers and snowmen. I've had a lot of fun with it. And, it's a hostess set - you can only get it free. It will retire with the current catalog on January 18th, 2009, though. Contact me if you'd like to find out how you can get this, or any other of our hostess sets, free.

Morning Happiness

2008-11-08T21:07:00.001-08:00

This card is for a Secret Sister from a swap I'm participating in on Splitcoast. Such fun!

I love the Morning Soft stamp set! It's a beautiful image and perfect for coloring. The size does make it a bit challenging for me, but I like how this turned out.

Stamps: Morning Soft, Warm Words (retired). Inks: Pallette Noir Black, Stampin' Up Bashful Blue. Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Watercolor Paper. Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Brushed Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Bashful Blue Taffeta ribbon, sponge. I don't have a Designer Label Punch (yet), so I trimmed the cardstock to fit the label holder.

Tomorrow I have one more Secret Sister card to make, then I will be concentrating on Christmas for the next several weeks. If there is anything in particular you are interested in seeing, please let me know!

Snappy Bold Birthday

2008-11-02T19:48:00.001-08:00

I love this stamp set! It came out about a year and a half ago. I'm a little slow sometimes, so I just got it. (Which means it will probably retire in January.) That's okay, though, it also comes with Santa hat and "jingle shells" stamps, so I should be able to get lots of use from it over the next two months. And it will be going in to my permanent collection.

This card is for a birthday club I belong to, "Bold Bright Birthdays." Each package is supposed to contain something we made which uses the Bold Bright family of colors from Stampin' Up. It's my least favorite color family, so these cards have been a real challenge for me. In this case, I new what stamp set I wanted to use, decided the crab should be Real Red and looked for a card sketch that would fit the image. I stumbled on a great book that I'll be giving as a Christmas gift, Cardmaking Sketchbook, this layout is from that book. I NEED that book!

Stamps: Crab and Company. Cardstock: Real Red textured cardstock, Yo Yo Yellow and Whisper White cardstock, Azure Designer Paper (retired). Ink: Stazon Black. Other: Bold Bright and Neutral Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aqua Painter and Crystal Effects. The crystal effects don't show in the scan, they're on the crabs eyeballs.

Stampin' Up and Country Living magazine have teamed up again with a great holiday offer. Click on the My Stampin' Up Specials link for details of this adorable set - diecut chipboard and designer paper, cardstock, uncut designer paper, cord, adhesive, inks and stamps all together in one kit. If you'd like more information, please contact me. Also, watch for details on Stampin' Up's Holiday Extravaganza sale from November 26 to December 1.

Happy Halloween Birthday

2008-10-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

I have a very good friend whose birthday is tomorrow, unfortunately she won't get her card until the day after. I really need some belated birthday stamps! I don't think I've gotten one ready on time in months ... maybe years.

I received an October prize package full of Halloween confetti that was the inspiration for this card. I've been picking up and rescuing little plastic spiders, spider webs and circles all month because they were too cute to lose! Most of them were saved for this year, but I had to make shaker card for now. I wish I'd chosen better colors for the cat's body, but it's still cute.

Stamps: Haunting Halloween and Hugs and Wishes. Cardstock: Basic Black, Orchid Opulence, Whisper White. Ink: Black Stazon, Basic Grey. Other: Stampin' Up Markers and Scalloped Border Punch. Non-Stampin' Up Twinkling H20s, Acetate, Halloween confetti, and 1/8" foam adhesive strips.

Happy Birthday Stampin' Up!

2008-10-26T22:30:00.000-07:00

I'm still suffering from major stamper's block. I'm hoping that "forcing" myself to stamp a little every day will help clear it up. I really do love to stamp, but get so frustrated with myself sometimes! Thank goodness for new rubber and card sketches!

This layout was from Stamper's Showcase (a Stampin' Up feature just for demonstrators) several months ago, I've used it several different times with varying colors, designer paper and stamps. It's a great basic layout! The stamp is from Crazy for Cupcakes, which I just got. It's stamped with Versamark and embossed with black embossing powder. I colored it with Copic Markers and Liquid Metal. The cherries are "Candy Corn" Stickles. I used Whisper White, Ruby Red and Not Quite Navy cardstock, the designer paper is Not Quite Navy from the Patterns hostess pack in the current Stampin' Up catalog.

This year is Stampin' Up's 20th anniversary. We're celebrating by giving YOU the presents. There are only a few days left in this sale, it ends Friday. Until then, if you spend $20 on any stamps or other supplies, you can purchase on seven different birthday stamp sets at 20% off. Check out the Stampin' Up website or contact me for details.

Also, there's a super special for hostesses through November 30th. Hostess a $350 workshop and receive your choice of any one stamp set from the fall and winter catalog sampler in addition to regular hostess benefits. When is a good date for you?

Twinkling Halloween

2008-10-21T21:45:00.001-07:00

If any of you know of any cures for Stampers' Block, please let me know, because I've had a terrible case of it!!! I pick up my stamps, inks, paints, paper and tools and can't figure out a thing to do with them. It's very frustrating! So I'm looking for ideas on how to get over it. Please let me know any you have!

I did manage to come up with this fun idea, though. I was given a bottle of Candy Corn stickles and I wanted to use them for a Halloween card. I only have a few Halloween stamps, so there weren't many to choose from. I thought the the steam coming from this cauldron would be perfect. Then I thought some more and decided the whole card needed to sparkle. So, I painted the image with Twinkling H2Os. Cute, but not enough sparkle. So, I did a really light wash of Lime Green Twinkling H2Os on black cardstock and to ink the mini background stamp as well as color in the lettering. Now I want to stamp some more, unfortunately I have to work tomorrow so it's bedtime. Oh well...

Ingredients: Stamps: Stampin' Up Haunting Halloween, ClearStamps Halloween. Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Gable Green. Ink: Stazon Black. Accessories: Not Corner Punch, Aqua Painter, Twinkling H2Os.

This may be a bit overboard...

2008-09-01T16:53:00.001-07:00

But it was sure fun to put together. I'm really loving my Big Shot, it's a good thing it's hard to wear out!

This card uses two exclusive Stampin' Up dies, the Top Note Bigz Die and the flower dies from the Birds & Blooms Sizzlets set. The brads are from several different sets of brads and a couple of different manufacturers, the sentiment stamp is one I received as a gift so I'm not sure where it's from. I cut the Top Note out of both Yo Yo Yellow and Whisper White and trimmed the outside from the white piece. The card base is Tempting Turquoise, mounted with a piece of Tempting Turquoise Print designer paper (retired). The little flowers and leaves were all cut from scraps I'd saved from other projects - a great way to use up cardstock scraps!

Someone asked me for information on the Big Shot over the weekend, she was surprised that it wasn't in the catalog. It will be in the Holiday mini, if you are on my mailing list you should be receiving it around September 20th. The regular items from the mini won't be available for sale until October 1st, but the Big Shot is available now. If you would like information on it sooner please let me know and I will e-mail you a .pdf file with information on the Big Shot.

Misty Daisies

2008-08-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

Upsy Daisy is another of the Never Before Seen Stamps, on sale for 15% off through September 30th. I love this stamp, but I almost didn't buy it. I am so glad I did, it's gorgeous in its simplicity and very versatile.

This was done with Watercolor Wonder Crayons. I colored the daisies directly on the stamp with YoYo Yellow, Only Orange and Old Olive then lightly misted them and stamped them. This is the second try, the first time I used a little too much water. I loaned my Tempting Turquoise stamp pad out and haven't gotten it back yet, so I put a few drops of reinker on a baby wipe (thank you Wyatt!). Ink pads give a much crisper image, and are definitely worth the investment!

Other ingredients: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise and Only Orange cardstock, Tempting Turquoise ribbon, ribbon slide from Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, YoYo Yellow ink, sponge wedge, Sizzix Big Shot and Big Shotz Top Note die. Thanks for looking!

New Toys!

2008-08-25T22:06:00.001-07:00

My new catalog order came today. I have new stamps, new designer paper, lots of new ribbon, enough cardstock to last awhile, and best of all - a new Big Shot with several dies and accessories! So much new stuff, it was really hard to decide where to start. But, since I'd never used a personal diecutting machine before, I started with the Big shot. I had it out of the box and cut my first die at the office on my lunch break today (a really cute scalloped envelope with workstation setup instructions on the inside).

Of course, I had to make something to show you, too. This uses two dies, both of them exclusive to Stampin' Up, the Top Note die and the Birds die from the Birds and Blooms Sizzlits Sets. The Top Note is cut from Riding Hood Red cardstock and then cut in half, the Bird from Riding Hood Red Patterns Designer Paper. The card itself is Whisper White, with Riding Hood Red Patterns Designer Paper and White Taffeta Ribbon. The bird's wing and tail as well as the top note die cut are outlined with diamond stickles.

The Big Shot is so fun and easy to use! Call or e-mail me to schedule a workshop in September and not only will you get to try out the Big Shot, I'll cut Top Notes for you in each of Stampin' Ups 48 colors and this year's In Colors.

The Hardest Card to Make ...

2008-08-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

Has be a sympathy card. This is for an online friend who's husband passed away last week. I wish I could give it to her in person with a hug, but the thought will have to do.

I love Stampin' Up's sympathy set Close As a Memory, but I couldn't come up with a design for it today. So, I went looking at sketch challenges on Splitcoast Stampers. This is a takeoff on SC187, which uses an image mounted on three panels. I found a piece of retired LeJardin Designer Paper that I thought was perfect, it has birds flying upwards with swirls on a light floral background. Unfortunately, the image from Close As a Memory was too big to show the birds with the sketch layout. So, I stamped and embossed it on vellum the size of the triple panel and attached it with brads. The birds don't show unless you hold the card directly under light, but I do like the effect of the vellum on designer paper. Ingredients: River Rock and Soft Sky cardstock, Versamark, River Rock and Basic Grey ink, vellum, clear embossing powder, small flower brads (not Stampin' Up).

A Never Before Seen Stamp Set

2008-08-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

From now until September 30, Stampin' Up! is providing never-before-seen savings on brand-new stamp sets: 15% off select new, die-cut stamp sets from the Fall-Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog - and here is a card made with one of them. Heard from the Heart is a set of four sentiment stamps, the happiness stamp featured here, as well as Christmas, wishes and kindness stamps in the same style.

I love this set, and it's great when Stampin' Up features a sale on something I just have to have. If you just have to have it too, contact me and we'll get it in your hands as fast as possible. There are nine other stamp sets in this special, be sure to check them out, too. One of them is from our brand new Spanish language catalog!

This card is made with the happiness stamp from Heard from the Heart, the Floral and Linen background stamps. I used Baja Breeze and Whisper White cardstock with Baja Breeze ink. I cut the oval with my Coluzzle, and since I don't have an oval paper piercing template I cut an oval a size smaller to use as one. Both the oval and the focal point piece were paper pierced. The card and both layers were sponged with Baja Breeze. It was finished off with a flower from the Pretties Kit and a light blue Circle Ice brad. Hope you like it!

It may be a few days before I'm back. I have an idea for a Halloween project I'm going to submit to Stampin' Up's monthly demonstrator contest that will probably take a day or two and I won't be able to post it. I will have the prototype to show you in October at my Stampin' and Pizza event.

Pretty Purple Post-It Note Holder

2008-08-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

It's hard for me to be creative when it's this hot, but I did manage to squeeze in some paper crafting time before it got too hot today. I've been wanting to make one of these post-it note holders since I saw it on the web one day. (Posted here.) Many thanks to Lori Rider for sharing her talent and directions with us

I used a mini-RSVP pen with a slightly different dimensions than Lori's original, but other than that I followed her instructions. My cardstock was 9 3/4" x 4 1/4", and the score lines for the pen holder were at 2 1/4" and 2 3/4".

I used Lovely Lilac cardstock and Prints Designer Paper, along with Whisper White Cardstock and Lovely Lilac ink and a marker. The base of the holder is cut from the backing of the Designer Paper pack - don't throw yours away, they come in handy! I stamped the design using Boho Backgrounds - I love those little flowers. I used a Basic Gray magnetic snap for the closure.

The Prints Designer Paper did retire with the last catalog, but Stampin' Up has added a new design, Patterns Designer Paper in 14 beautiful colors. I love being able to use coordinating papers that match our cardstock!

I also love the way this pad turned out. It's fairly quick to make and would make a great gift. I will probably make a couple of different ones for my Christmas Pizza and Stamping event in October, maybe they'll even be one in the door prizes. I hope to see you there!

Seething ... Beware Paypal

2008-08-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

I'm venting and trying to regain my calm, but it's not going very well.

This morning I logged onto my bank account and discovered I was a over thousand dollars overdrawn due to some fraudulent activity on my Paypal account. You've probably heard of Paypal, they call themselves the "safer, easier way to pay" on their website. Well, apparently someone else found it the easier way to pay for something with money I don't have. Arghh!!!! I will get all the money back eventually, but that still doesn't make dealing with it fun.

It all started Wednesday evening when I got home from work. I was unwinding in front of the computer when I suddenly got 4 emails from Paypal saying payments had been processed. At first I thought it was a phishing scheme and wasn't going to open them, but due to a nagging feeling that I should, I opened one. It was a payment for 150 Euros to someone I not only don't know, but someone who doesn't capitalize his name when doing business. (Am I showing my age by being picky about that?) So, I logged on to Paypal and sure enough, there were 4 payments that I certainly didn't initiate. I called Paypal right away, the customer service person I spoke to talked me through filing a report in their "resolution center" and told me that Paypal hadn't taken the money out of my bank yet. I got the impression that I wouldn't need to worry about it, so I went about my normal routine.

So much for normal routine. I guess it's a good thing I'm somewhat paranoid and check my bank balance every day. Now I've filed fraud reports with both Paypal and the bank, and emailed Paypal a few times on top of that (Paypal has not responded to my emails). And, it's really a good thing I get paid at midnight.

All I want to do is stomp my feet and scream. And eat french fries. Unfortunately, I don't have any fries, or money, and someone else has my car. Or maybe that is fortunate. Hopefully by the time I get home I'll have recovered enough to partake of some stamp therapy. In the meantime, please send calming thoughts my way. And if you happen to have some spare french fries...

One of a Kind Monday

2008-08-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

Splitcoaststampers posts stamping challenges every weekday. Monday is a Technique Challenge, today's challenge is Stained Glass. It takes some time but it isn't difficult.

There are detailed instructions available on Splitcoast, here's a quick summary. I used 4 1/4 x 11" (card base) and 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" (inside frame) pieces of Rose Red cardstock, a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" piece of Whisper White and a 4 1/8 x 5 3/8" piece of acetate. The card base and inside frame were cut with a 1/2" frame, and the cardbase was stamped with Boho Background using Rose Red ink.

The design, from the One of a Kind stamp set, was stamped on the front of the acetate with Black Stazon ink. Then the fun part - the design is painted on the back with Crystal Effects colored with Barely Banana, Cameo Coral and Rose Red and reinkers. One drop of ink and a dime size amount a Crystal Effects is enough. I used wax paper as a palette, you could also use a piece of acetate or an old CD. Only mix one color at a time, it takes a little while to dry, but gets tacky pretty quickly. Once the acetate is dry mount it on the inside of the card base, and mount the inside frame on top of it. Mount the white cardstock on the inside of the card and stamp the sentiment on it.

It took almost as long to pick a stamp set to use as it did to make the card. I just don't have the variety in flower stamps that I would like to have. It's a good thing there's a new catalog today! Have you had a chance to look at it yet? What are your favorite sets?

A Super Simple Card

2008-08-11T09:35:00.001-07:00

This is a really simple card, but I think it looks great and wanted to share it with you. I used a 6x6 piece of textured Pumpkin Pie cardstock folded in half for the card base. I love the little bit of "oomph" the texture adds to the card. The square punches are all on my wish list, so I cut the window out with my straight cutter, you could also use a craft knife. After I cut the window out I mounted a 3x6 piece of white cardstock on the inside of the card, closed the card and lightly marked the corners of the window with pencil. Then I stamped the images from Heartfelt Thanks and erased the pencil marks.

The inside of the white frame is the same size as the window on the card base, the outside is about a quarter inch bigger. The glitter window is amazingly easy to make. Take a piece of clear packing tape and adhere it to the back of the window frame, sprinkle glitter over it and your ready to put it on your card. Slice an opening in the fold of the card to thread the Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon through, tie a square knot on the front and the card is done. Very simple, and very versatile, and it fits in a standard envelope! Have fun!

P.S. Have you seen the new Stampin' Up catalog yet? If not, click on the link and enjoy. There is some great stuff in there!!!

Gift Sets and Good News

2008-08-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

I've been busy altering clipboards and journals lately. They're a fun and easy gift, and I love working with Stampin' Up's Designer Papers. Both of these sets were made with just two pieces of Designer Paper and some cardstock.

This set is for my daughter's fiancee's grandmother. It uses the new Bella Rose designer paper which I love. I used Certainly Celery cardstock and ribbon on the journal, clipboard and pen. The celery cardstock is stamped with Versamark and Itty Bitty Backgrounds, although the stamping doesn't show in the picture. The cards are made with Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red cardstock and are tucked in Riding Hood Red tote. They're stamped with an old hostess set, The Art of Life. The sentiment is from Holidays and Wishes. Since we don't have In Color markers I made my own, using an idea from Stampin' Up. I took a new blender pen and put six drops of Pink Pirouette ink in one end and Riding Hood Red in the other. It worked great!

You've already seen the clipboard from this set, but I wanted you to see the whole set in one place. It's for a young friend. It uses the Ginger Blossom Designer Paper from the outgoing catalog and Ruby Red, Very Vanilla and Groovy Guava cardstock. Both the Ginger Blossom designer paper and Groovy Guava are retiring tomorrow. I'll really miss this designer paper. Not only is it beautiful, but it coordinates so well with one of my favorite stamp sets, Embrace Life. I was really excited see a similar designer paper in the new catalog using this years Baja Breeze. It will also be fun to use!

And the GOOD NEWS: I have new catalogs, please contact me if you'd like one. Hostess a workshop, and it's free! There are great new stamp sets, designer paper and accessories. I'll be placing an order on Friday so will soon have new toys to share with you. I can't wait to play with them myself and will post as many projects as I can. Who knows, maybe I'll quit making clipboards and make a card or two!

And more good news: Stampin' Up has announced a partnership with Sizzix. We will be carrying the Sizzix Big Shot, several Sizzix dies and some beautiful exclusive Stampin' Up designed dies! I can't wait to get mine and already have several projects planned. I'll have it set up at my Christmas Pizza and Stamping night in October for everyone to try it out. I hope I'll see you there!

I Remembered How to Stamp!!!!

2008-07-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

I'll bet you thought I'd never post again! I was actually wondering if I was ever going to find the ability to stamp again, but thanks to some exchanges and Splitcoast, I'm BACK! I made a couple of cards that I wanted to show you last weekend, but had to mail them before they got scanned. Life gets in the way, you know. I'm learning to can, too, and my canning project took all my spare time. Monday I'm going to can cheddar cheese, I'll let you know how it goes. Until then, I'm going to be playing with ink and paper!

Saying Goodbye to the Old and Hello to the New:

I love making these clipboard and beaded pen sets. They're not too difficult, but people love to receive them. (So much so that even though I've been meaning to make one for myself, I never end up keeping one.) This is what I was doing this afternoon.

The one on the left is made using Ginger Blossom Designer Series Paper and Groovy Guava cardstock stamped with Ruby Red and Groovy Guava ink. I used the Embrace Life stamp set, which coordinates with the paper. Groovy Guava is one of the InColors that will be retiring on August 10th. It's been a great color to work with, as have the other five colors, and I will miss them. But, new colors are coming!

The clipboard on the left is made using the new Bella Rosa Designer Paper from the Fall and Winter Idea Book and Catalog that will be available on August 11th. Look closely at it, if features three of the new InColors, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette and Kiwi Kiss. There's no stamping on this one, just paper and ribbon. I used Certainly Celery ribbon, which is lighter than Kiwi Kiss, but seems to coordinate well with it.

The little blue Nugget Purse (I used Dawn's directions here) are made with Pacific Point and Baja Breeze, two of the other new colors. It's stamped with One of a Kind and uses the coordinating Boho Blossoms punch, and the Tag Punch.

I hope to post more tomorrow, in the meantime, happy stamping to all!

Cased but Heartfelt

2008-03-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

I stole a little more time to stamp today, but tax season has robbed me of the ability to think creatively, so I had to go to Splitcoast for ideas. I cased this card. I changed the stamp sets and made minor changes to the layout, but kept the colors and general ideas. Many thanks to eraymond7978 for filling in the gaps for me!

The card uses Heartfelt Thanks and Pretty Petals, with Real Red and Old Olive Ink, on Whisper White, Old Olive, Real Red and Bashful Blue cardstock. Accessories: Real Red striped grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches, white gel pen.

Only 16 days left of tax season!!! (Don't worry, you can extend if you need to.)

Easter blessings one and all!

2008-03-23T20:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a wonderful day! Easter church is so uplifting, and I have the best Primary class in the world, sharing the Easter story with them was heartwarming. After church my daughter's made a wonderful dinner at Maggi's new house, and I got to be the guest. I spent the afternoon with all four of my daughters and their children, and my sister and nieces and nephew. Great company, and the most work I did all day was rock my 10 month old grandson to sleep. If all my one day weekends could be like this tax season wouldn't be near so tiring!

There are only three more Saturdays left in tax season! Even more exciting than that, only four more Mondays left until I have several months of three day weekends! I'm so looking forward to it. Saturday is a special day, housework, laundry, shopping, making everything ready for the next week. Sunday is for church and family. And Mondays I get to stamp most of the day. Tuesdays may be a little rough...

I even got to stamp today! It's a very simple card using Ginger Blossom designer paper, the Embrace Life and Sincere Salutations stamp sets, white craft ink and white embossing powder. I borrowed the layout from the Stampin' Up Spring and Summer Idea Book and Catalog. (The Princess card on page 77, which uses Stampin' Ups scallop notes.) I made it full size, and scalloped the edge of the designer paper with my corner punch with the guard taken off.

It felt so good to "play with my toys" again. I have to make time for this a little more through the next few weeks, it will make the days go much smoother!

What Are You Doing for the Next 97 Days?

2008-02-04T10:56:00.001-08:00

President Gordon B. Hinckley, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, died Sunday, January 27th at the age of 97. Several of us have taken the challenge to read the Book of Mormon in 97 days as a tribute to him. Would you like to join us?

A Simple Birthday Card

2008-02-03T18:31:00.001-08:00

I have the plague, or at least something closely resembling it ... okay, it's really just a bad cold. But, it's wearing me out and I needed to make a birthday card. It needed to be simple, since this cold has robbed me of all creative ability. So, I grabbed Fun and Fast Notes and my watercoloring box. The cake is painted with Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Twinkling H2Os, and Liquid Metal, with glitter glue added to the flames. The brilliant blue Twinkling H2O is almost an exact match to Tempting Turquoise so I used that for the background, with Groovy Guava as an accent. The ribbon is from the Sherbet Ribbon Originals.

I bought the Pretties kit last summer but have barely touched it. The flowers and pearls and beads are so pretty they intimidate me. But, this needed something, and the beads on the hatpin seemed like the perfect touch. (I did say simple, not plain.) Now I need to find some bubble wrap to pad the envelope I'm mailing it with. It's a good thing I bought some $.17 stamps, I know this one will need the surcharge!

I placed my personal Sale-a-bration order at 12:17 a.m. mountain time on the 1st. UPS says it will be here Tuesday. I can't wait! And the Sale-a-Bration sets are die cut, I'll be able to play right away. Hopefully I won't have too many tax returns to do this week! Have you decided what Sale-a-Bration sets you need yet?

Happy, Happy Birthday!!!

2008-02-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to do much stamping this week and I can't even blame it on work, because I haven't been doing much of that either, my granddaughter shared a nasty bug with me that's really thrown me through a loop. Fortunately, I don't have a lot of work to do, so I'm spending the weekend relaxing and telling the bug to leave. Relaxing to me means playing with paper and inks and punches and stamps, so I may have more to show you tomorrow.

This altered "J" is a birthday gift for a friend of mine. It's amazingly easy to make, and I like the way it turned out. I got the J at Michael's, they have several different types of alterable letters. I cut pieces of Petals and Paisley Designer Paper (which just retired, but we do have some beautiful new designer paper) into 1-1/2" strips and adhered them diagonally with a glue stick. After that set for a bit I turned it over, trimmed and clipped the paper and folded over onto the back. Then I cut a "J" out of turquoise cardstock just a teeny bit smaller than the chipboard and adhered it with the new Tombow Mono Multi Adhesive. I added some flowers made with the 5 petal punch, tempting turquoise and pretty in pink cardstock with tempting turquoise brads, and some tempting turquoise 1/4" grosgrain to finish it off. Hopefully she likes it.

The same friend requested a real life example of a waterfall card. I'd never made one, but I'd been told they're much easier to make than they look, and I was fortunate enough to have an example card that my very first secret sister made me. There are excellent directions for making a waterfall card here on SplitCoastStampers.

I made this with one of my favorite all purpose retired stamp sets, Mini Mates, using Real Red and Brilliant Blue classic ink, and a Real Red marker on whisper white cardstock. The cardbase is Brilliant Blue with a Real Red mat and the individual squares on the waterfall are matted on Real Red, Brilliant Blue and YoYo Yellow. It's finished off with Real Red eyelets and a little piece of Real Red ribbon. If you haven't seen one, as you gently pull on the ribbon the little square flip up one at a time to reveal the bottom message. Here it is fully open:

Simple Enough?

2008-01-27T19:30:00.001-08:00

I was asked to design some simple cards for the Relief Society ladies to make and send out. (The Relief Society is the women's organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.) It's a real challenge for me, as they are primarily non-stampers, and the cards need to be simple to mass produce. I came up with two for this round.

Both cards are made with non-Stampin' Up cardstock, so I won't list the cardstock used. This one uses In the Spotlight (a recently retired hostess set) for the flowers, Itty Bitty Backgrounds for the background, and the sentiments is from Hugs and Wishes. I used Pretty in Pink and Basic Black classic ink. The stamped flower is punched out with the 5 Petal Flower Punch, as is a piece of pink cardstock to go behind it.

This one uses Best Blossoms, which was a 2006 Sale-a-Bration set, Happy Everything, and Little Pieces. I used Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery and Barely Banana classic inks. The corners of the sentiment layers are punched with the Corner Rounder punch. The edges on the Happy Birthday piece are done with Tempting Turquoise direct to paper. The matt under the white is actually a pale yellow, but the color doesn't show well in the scan.

Speaking of Sale-a-Bration ... I've been telling you for awhile now that my birthday was cause to sale-a-brate, and it's almost here. Friday is my birthday, and Stampin' Up is having a six week party to celebrate with me. Stay tuned for details, and watch your mailbox for the official flyer. There are five great stamp sets and some rubons to be had for free!

Happy, Happy Birthday!!

2008-01-20T20:19:00.000-08:00

What a week! Monday I twiddled my thumbs most of the day at work. Now I feel like I'm drowning in work. It's really not that bad, but tax season is definitely here. I ended up working 46 hours this week, and I can all but guarantee I won't work any less until after April 15th.

All that work kind of cuts into my stamping time, though. But I need that stamping time to stay sane. Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch. (Sane? Me?) I need it to stay functioning. So, I spent an hour straightening up my stamping area and made a birthday card. And, I still have one to show you from last week, so you get to see two today.

The House Mouse card is watercolored with Stampin' Up Watercolor Wonder Crayons and Twinkling H2Os (for the balloons). You can't see it well in the scan, but the Twinkling H2Os have mica in them and that catches the light and twinkles as you move the card. They come in 156 different colors, and I think I need them all. It took three different stamp sets to finish the card, Little Pieces, Everyday Flexible Phrases and Warmest Regards. I used Tempting Turquoise, Almost Amethyst and Lovely Lilac cardstock, with Tempting Turquois and Lovely Lilac classic inks. It's finished off with turquoise primas and gold stickles.

This is the card I made today, another WishRAK birthday card. It uses Stampin' Up's Voila stamp set colored with Watercolor Wonder Crayons. I added some yellow glitter glue to the candle flame to make it glow. It uses Elegant Eggplant cardstock and a piece of Rose Red Prints Designer Paper. I finished it off with a piece of Elegant Eggplant grosgrain and a Hodgepodge Hardware circle clip.

Stampin' Up added a new adhesive to their line with this catalog. It's a liquid clue called Tombow Mono, and really strong. It does have latex in it, so if you have allergies, beware. This card is the first time I've used it. I like it, but it's going to take practice. Most of the adhesives I use slide a little, this doesn't, so the layers are a little crooked. It still looks good, though.

I'll be back later this week. I need to design some simple birthday cards for non-stampers to make, with no embellishments. Not an easy task, so I may be asking for your opinions on a couple of different attempts.

It's a Beautiful Thing

2008-01-12T19:53:00.000-08:00

We have a new IT director at my work whose favorite phrase is "It's a beautiful thing." One of the stamp sets in the new catalog is A Beautiful Thing (page 82, it's also in the preview mini), and the two just had to go together. This desk set is a gift from one of our secretaries and me to him. My daughter Katie thinks it's too feminine to give to a guy, I hope he doesn't think so.

The A Beautiful Thing stamp set actually is pretty feminine, the other stamps in the set are all flowers so I couldn't use them. And the phrase stamp says "You make my life a beautiful thing", which was too much. So, I inked it with my Basic Black marker to just get the words I wanted, and used my Stamp-a-ma-Jig to position them. The tree is from Lovely as a Tree (page 98). Everything is mounted on 4 inch coasters and held together with Hemp Twine threaded through Jumbo Eyelets. You gotta love that Crop-a-dile for punching holes and setting eyelets! Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Soft Sky, Le Jardin Designer Paper. Ink: Basic Black Classic ink. Other: Corner Punch, Crop-a-Dile, Hemp Twine, Jumbo Eyelets, Crystal Effects (used to mount the pen/penchil holder on the coaster base).

Stampin' Up will be sending out Sale-a-bration mini's for me this week, so watch your mailboxes. There's great stuff in there! If you don't have one from the end of the month, and you're on my mailing list, please let me know.

Gone But Not Forgotten

2008-01-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

I signed up to be a "Birthday Fairy" on WishRAK, so I get to make several birthday cards a month. It's a great opportunity to play with retired stamps.

Stipple Rose retired two years ago, but it's a beautiful stamp and will be in my collection forever. This is stamped with black Stazon on shimmery white cardstock and colored with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an aquapainter. It's mounted on Old Olive and Regal Rose cardstock. The corners are punched with the corner rounder punch and the ticket corner punch. Believe it or not, the rhinestone brads in the corners are pink. I have no idea how the scanner turned them green.

It'll be interesting to see the February birthday fairy assignments. Do you think I'll get to make myself a card? Whether or not I do, I think my birthday is a great thing to Sale-a-brate, check back often for updates!

Have you seen it?

2008-01-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

The new catalog, that is? To use a much overused phrase, it's AWESOME! Click here to see for yourself.

Stampin' Up has a great special this month, too. A really cute Valentine stamp set, cellophane bags, and ribbon at a special price. Check it out here, or call me for more information.

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T22:29:00.001-08:00

I hope all of you are busy celebrating the New Year in your favorite way as I type this. My favorite thing to do for New Years' is to go to bed at my normal bedtime and so I can get up early and craft all day. Guess that means I'd better type fast and get to bed!

I got a head start on my crafting day by making these two cards today. I belong to a group on SplitCoast Stampers called WishRAK that shares stamped images and other craft elements. WishRAK has a monthly card contest, these are my entries for December.

The first one entry was to use a favorite stamped image. I used an image from Stampin' Up's And Everything Nice, which retired last year. I really like this set, but was unable to get it when it was current, I really appreciate being able to get these images. I colored it with Watercolor Wonder Crayons, and covered the rain slicker, boots and coat with Crystal Effects, although you can't see it in the scan. The designer paper is from Fall Flowers, which is still available.

The second card was a sketch challenge. I like sketch challenges so much that I'm making a book of them for reference, they're great for me because I have a terrible time coming up with new arrangements of images and paper. It uses Punch Pals which is still available, and Dashing designer paper, which just retired. It's accented with glitter glue and snowflake brads that I received from my WishRAK Secret Santa.

One of my New Years' Resolutions is to post to my blog more often. It probably won't happen until after April 15th, but I plan to post at least three or four times a week then, and will aim for at least once a week until then. As a thank you to my few faithful readers for hanging in there even when I seldom post, I have a little contest. The first person to contact me with an order of $25 or more from the new catalog and mention this post will recieve their own copy of the catalog free. The new catalog will be visible on line beginning January 2nd. I only have one copy at the moment, but should have several more next week.

Again, happy, happy New Year! May you have a wonderful 2008!

Christmas Comes Early to Alberta

2007-12-11T22:29:00.000-08:00

The new catalog doesn't become available for another three weeks, but the first copies were sighted today in Alberta, Canada. Some of the ladies who received their catalogs were generous enough to spend several hours sharing the high points of the new catalog. It's going to be a great one! There's a 6x6 pallet of prints designer paper in new colors, only available as a level 1 hostess set, and a beautiful large flower stamp. Several new sets to watercolor (yea!!!!). New sentiments and backgrounds. Striped ribbon. Chunky glitter. New glitter assortments. It's so exciting!

Sleigh Bells Ring...

2007-12-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

I'm learning to watercolor, and I love it. When I had a chance to get this stamp from an online friend I grabbed it right away. I don't know how I missed it in the catalog. I'm really glad it isnt' retiring. It will take months of practice before I get an image that I'm really happy with. This will do for a start, though.

Ingredients: Cardstock: Brushed Gold, Garden Green, Watercolor Paper. Ink: Black Stazon, Garden Green. Stamps: Sleigh Bells Ring, Flannel Plaid Background. Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Hodgepodge Hardware, Real Red grosgrain ribbon, Coluzzle cutting system and corner rounder punch. It's a very simple card, choosing the colors was the hardest part.

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season. I'm having so much fun with my stamps and Christmas ideas. I may make Christmas cards all through 2008.

Jolliest Shaker

2007-12-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

I decided to try something new to me today, a shaker card. Does the snowman look a little blurry? Like you're looking at it through an icy window, or maybe the snow is falling? Its microbeads, which do have other uses than beaded pens. Now that I've done this one I'm going to have to try some different shapes, too. There are several beautiful examples in the Splitcoast gallery if you want to see them.

This one is made with 2 1/2 x 3" pieces of Whisper White cardstock and 2 9/16 x 3 1/16" piece of Real Red. I used my paper cutter to cut a rectangle out of the center of the Real Red leaving a 5/16" border. I attached the acetate* to the Real Red frame with sticky tape, and put 1/4" foam strips (not SU, but available at any craft store) on the edges of the whisper white, sprinkled beads in the box formed by the foam strips and mounted the frame on tope of that. The hardest part is lining everything up, other than that its real simple.

This card uses - cardstock: Real Red, Glorious Green, Whisper White. Inks: Silver Encore, Basic Black. Accessories: 5/8" Real Red Grosgrain, acetate (window sheets, transparency sheets...), silver embossing powder, micro beads, markers, foam tape.

Have fun making your own!

*Stampin' Up! no longer carries acetate, but you can get it at an office supply store or craft store. Or if you know someone who's getting a new computer monitor you can recycle the piece put over the monitor to protect it from scratches, that's where I got this piece. Unfortunately, the monitor is at my work not my house.

I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost!

2007-12-06T22:19:00.001-08:00

This is the next installment in my Secret Sister's Christmas present and a birthday card for a co-worker. The background is made using the Ghosting technique, a really simple one that gives great results. Stamp simple bold images with versamark on Whisper White cardstock, then brayer over it with classic ink. Then stamp some images in a coordinating color on top and you've got a great background. Make sure you use high quality white cardstock with a smooth finish (Stampin' Up's really is the best) and clean your brayer first. Aren't you ladies glad you get to learn from my mistakes?

For this card you need: Stamps: Fun and Fast Notes, Fabulous Flowers. Cardstock: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Whisper White. Ink: Versamark, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum (stamped off once). Other: Black embossing powder, heat tool, white signo gel pen, flowers and rhinestone brads from the Pretties kit.

Apparently the whisper white and colored cardstock have different reflective properties because the ink on the white and the center cardstock are supposed to be the same color. Very interesting.

Can you help me?

2007-12-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

I have a Christmas question. I want to get a movie for my sister-in-law, niece and nephew. My niece is 20, nephew is 17. I'd like it to be something all three of them can enjoy. My plan is to put it in a paint can with some hot chocolate and popcorn packets. I'm doing one for my sister, too, who is raising 3 small children, I got them "Happy Feet" and have collected a bunch of penguin images to decorage their paint can with. Please let me know if you have an idea for a good family movie for a family with older kids.

Lovely as Acetate and Tissue

2007-12-01T11:12:00.001-08:00

Acetate and tissue is a very sticky, somewhat messy technique, and it takes some practice, but it turns out really pretty. You'll need a piece of acetate, a piece of white tissue, whisper white cardstock, Crystal Effects, reinkers and Stazon ink. Cut your tissue a little bigger than the finished piece, wad it up, then straighten it out and save for later - keep it pretty wrinkly. Cut your acetate to the desired size and stamp your image on it with Stazon, turn it over and apply Crystal Effects to the whole sheet and spread it evenly (I used my fingers). Dot a little reinker in the Crystal Effects and spread it around too. You can use more than one color, but don't use a lot. Too much ink will be too dark to see, and if you're using more than one color can quickly turn to mud. Once you have the colors the way you like them, put your tissue paper on top of the colored Crystal Effects and press it down so there are no air bubbles, leave the wrinkles in though. Set it aside to dry. I've used it after it sat for only an hour, but longer is better. Back the image with a Whisper White cardstock, if you put it on colored cardstock the colors in your image will change.

This card uses: Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, River Rock. Ink: Black Stazon, Basic Black, River Rock. Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Hugs and Wishes, Weathered Background. Other: Crystal Effects, Wild Wasabi and Soft Sky reinkers, acetate, tissue.

Dazzling Diamond Dust Birthday

2007-11-26T21:41:00.000-08:00

My step-sister and her husband have birthdays this month. He's plenty-nine, she's a few years younger but plenty-nine, too. Actually, I think it's kind of funny. There was a time when they were quite a bit older than me. Now we're all the same age. This is her card, tomorrow I'll show you his.

I've always wanted to try a lot of different techniques, but never quite got myself going. My secret sister requested things made in different techniques, so I'm making her a book of technique cards, so all of the cards I'm making for the next few weeks will feature different techniques. This card features "Dazzling Diamond Dust", a beautiful sparkly but very sparkly technique. Unfortunately, the scanner doesn't do it justice. To make the focal image, stamp your image with classic ink on whisper white cardstock. Cover the piece of cardstock with Versamark, then pour Iridescent Ice embossing powder generously over it, then use your heat tool to heat it until it shines. Make sure your Versamark pad is clean, the first one I did had pink spots on it.

To make this particular card you need: Stamp Sets: Garden Silhouettes, Hugs and Wishes. Cardstock: Whisper White, Old Olive, Lavender Lace. Ink: Lavendar Lace classic ink, Versamark. Markers: Lavender Lace, Old Olive, Summer Sun. Accessories: sponge, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon.

Stamping is Always Time Well Spent

2007-11-25T10:11:00.000-08:00

Shelli Gardner, owner and co-founder of Stampin' Up, and a very sweet lady, recently sent all demos a gift - a Level 3 hostess stamp set from the upcoming catalog, Time Well Spent. It's a really pretty set, a little on the doodly side, with flowers, a butterfly and a heart and some cute sentiments. I needed to make one more card for my Secret Sister this month and couldn't resist using it. Here's a sneak peak.

It uses Cameo Coral, So Saffron and Tempting Turquoise cardstock and markers, and Cameo Coral, Tempting Turquoise and Basic Black classicinks. It doesn't show well in the scan, but the So Saffron dots and five inside petals have Crystal Effects on them to add dimension and shine. This color combination is straight from the Color Coach, which is a tool I could not function without, and I really like the way it turned out.

The new catalog coming out in January has some really gorgeous stuff in it. I'm really glad my birthday is not to long after the catalog comes out, as I know I'm going to need a lot from it. Call or e-mail me to reserve your copy of the catalog or reserve a date for a workshop!

An Apology, and A Card for You

2007-11-04T19:55:00.000-08:00

I ran into a friend on Halloween who commented on the fact that I haven't updated my blog for a really long time. I couldn't decide to whether to be apologetic or excited. Excited because now I know someone actually reads my blog, or apologetic because I haven't posted for so long. So, I'm offering a public apology to Perry and anyone else who's missed my posts, and I'll just smile to myself while I post this next card.

This card is for my DDSS (a Secret Sister for SU Demonstrators on SCS), so I hope she doesn't read my blog. Her favorite color is turquoise. It's not a color I use a lot, so it was hard to come up with something. I started with a sketch I found on SCS (SC 142, but I changed it quite a bit) and played with my Color Coach to find a color combination I liked. I wasn't real impressed with it's recommendations for turquoise, so I looked around for a combination turquoise as a coordinating color and found this. It's Green Galore with coordinating colors Garden Green, Rose Red and Tempting Turquoise. A simple card, but I like it. And amazingly, my daughter likes the color combination and she usually doesn't like the Color Coach combinations.

Stamps: Fabulous Flowers, Background Sampler, Itty Bitty Backgrounds. Card stock: Tempting Turquoise, Garden Green, Green Galore, Whisper White. Ink: Regal Rose, Rose Red, Green Galore, Taken with Teal and Versamark. Accessories: Tempting Turquoise 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, clear embossing powder, glitter, liquid glue and stamping dimensionals. The flower is Regal Rose rocked with Rose Red, then the petals are highlighted with liquid glue and glitter.

Hope you like it!

Hannah's Journal

2007-10-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

The hardest part of any project for me is coming up with the color/layout. I'd planned on using burgundy and pink florals for this project (Susan's favorites), and I love the hostess set Garden Silhouettes. I had a terrible time coming up with a good layout, though. Splitcoaststampers gallery saved by bacon though, I spent about fifteen minutes looking there, combined elements from a couple different cards, and came up with this. I love it! There's no pink though.

Stamps: Garden Silhouettes. Cardstock: Whisper White, Mellow Musk and Bravo Burgundy. Inks: Bravo Burgundy, Mellow Moss. Accessories: Antique Brass Hodpodge Hardware, Bravo Burgundy grosgrain ribbon, sponge, markers, corner rounder punch, small oval punch, crafters tool kit.

The focal image is inked with markers and stamped, then the edges were sponged with bravo burgundy. The mat is bravo burgundy stamped off once and stamped around the edges. The mellow moss is stamped with two generations of mellow moss ink. The ribbon on the bottom is just a little too far from the edge to use a handheld punch or Cropadile, so I used the anywhere punch from my crafter's tool kit. Fortunately it was in the middle of the day so I didn't wake anyone up with my hammering.

I used to use my Xyron 900 to adhere the covers to composition books when I did these, but lately I've seen too many new stamps I must have so I haven't been able to restock my Xyron. The last couple journals I've made I've used Stampin' Up Anywhere Glue Sticks, and they've worked great. The secret is to be very generous with the glue stick and cover every bit of the back of the cardstock before you adhere it to the journal. One advantage the glue stick has over the Xyron is that you can move the cardstock around for a little while to line it up perfectly which was impossible with the Xyron.

Moving day...

2007-10-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not moving, but my blog is. Unfortunately, that means I lose previous posts, but I will make sure all the samples I've posted get moved.

Right now I'm working on a project for Hannah to give as a gift. It will be a coordinating clipboard, pen, journal and jr. legal pad. I have an idea floating in my head, but am having an awful problem finalizing it. As soon as I do, though, I will post some pics of it for you to see. Until then, I'm off to the gallery at Splitcoaststampers, hoping for some really good ideas using Garden Silhouettes.