Misty Daisies

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!

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 ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!