Saturday, January 31, 2015

Stampin' Up! Leadership

The past three days Stampin' Up! had its Leadership event in Orlando, Florida. I was very sad that I wasn't able to attend, but they did stream the general sessions live, so I was able to see the stamping presentations (always a highlight at SU events).


WELL.......Katie Adams positively knocked my socks off with her presentation about our stamps. She "accidentally" used the back side of the Sheltering Tree photopolymer stamp, the side you would normal place against the clear block. I was so taken with the effect that I had to run into my craft room and try it! She stamped off once (I think she was using Wild Wasabi), but I went for our lightest green, Pisctachio Pudding, and used it full strength. Then I flipped the stamp over and used the Wild Wasabi (stamped off once) for the individual leaves. A couple of punches with the Confetti Hearts Border Punch, and I had all the hearts I needed for the tree. Sooo quick and cute!

Now I'm looking at all my other photopolymer sets and wondering what other cool things I can do with the "wrong" sides!

STAMPS: Sheltering Tree
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Real Red, Red Glimmer Paper, Stacked With Love DSP Stack
INK: Soft Suede, Pistachio Pudding, Wild Wasabi, Real Red
ACCESSORIES: Confetti Hearts Border Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Multipurpose Glue


Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Butterfly Basics Birthday


Butterfly Basics Birthday....as always, alliteration allays apathy. (Sorry about that. Well, not really. Heh heh.)

The Butterfly Basics Bundle is a stamp set and Thinlits bundle in the new catalog that made me squeal with excitement when I saw it. I love butterflies as much as I love snowmen, which is lucky for me because the seasons don't overlap.....I have something to get excited about all year long! And to have coordinating Thinlits so I don't have to fussy-cut the butterflies made me very happy indeed! The bundle is available with wood-mount or clear-mount stamps, or in totally clear photopolymer!

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=139323&dbwsdemoid=2054459

Something Borrowed DSP is full of fabulous neutral patterns of Sahara Sand and Whisper White, which coordinate with just about any of our colors. I chose Chocolate Chip (which I've been kind of neglecting since Early Espresso came along), and added Calypso Coral for a pop of bright color. The Pearls Basic Jewels were colored with the middle shade of Calypso Coral Blendabilities and the doily from the Artisan Embellishments Kit was sponged with Calypso Coral ink.

Now I need to get this in the mail to someone very special!

STAMPS: Butterfly Basics
CARDSTOCK: Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip, Something Borrowed DSP
INK: Saraha Sand, Chocolate Chip, Calypso Coral, Calypso Coral Blendabilities
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Butterflies Thinlits Dies, Artisan Embellishment Kit, Best Year Ever Ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels, Stamping Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals, Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Rectangles Dies (non-SU)

Sunday, January 25, 2015

For You Valentine


Here's a simple little Valentine that didn't use any stamps! The "for you" is one of the dies in the Mini Treat Bags Thinlits Dies, which has a bunch of cute elements to use, not only on the treat bag, but cards, scrapbook pages, and treat boxes, too!

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=137547&dbwsdemoid=2054459
I tried using just Crisp Cantaloupe for the greeting, but it didn't look right, so then I tried Real Red, and it wasn't quite right either. Then inspiration struck and I layered them........just right! The heart confetti was punched from scraps using the Confetti Hearts Border Punch.

STAMPS: None!
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Crisp Cantaloupe, Gold Foil Sheets, Red Glimmer Paper, Stacked With Love DSP Stack, Window Sheets
INK: None!
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Hearts Collection Framelits, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, Confetti Hearts Border Punch, Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Baker's Twine, Shaker Frames, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mulitpurpose Glue

Friday, January 23, 2015

Moon Lake Manliness


Masculine cards are always popular with my stamping ladies, so next month is another Five Card Stud class. No, we aren't playing Poker - we will be making five manly cards for the studs in our lives!

When I saw the new masculine stamps in the Occasions catalog I let out a whoop, because I knew making those sometimes-challenging guy cards was going to be a snap! (I may have even done a happy dance, haha.)
From Millan.Net
So I've been busy designing the cards and decided to show a little sneak peek, for the purpose of enticing more stampers to join us in the class. Notice the "grass" peeking out behind the top of the image? That's little pieces of White Jute Ribbon, colored with Old Olive Blendabilities. I used the lightest and darkest for contrast.

I hope you can join us for this class! And if you can't come next month, maybe you can make it to the Open House this Sunday. You'll get to do a couple of make and takes, see a LOT of the products in the Occasions Catalog, and Sale-A-Bration goodies, too!

STAMPS: Moon Lake, Butterfly Basics, Petite Pairs
CARDSTOCK: Naturals White, Watercolor Paper, Pear Pizzazz, Night of Navy, Lost Lagoon
INK: StazOn Jet Black, Pacific Point, Night of Navy, Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
ACCESSORIES: Aqua Painter, Blender Pen, Stamping Sponges, 1-1/4" White Jute Ribbon, Paper Piercing Tool, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Stampin' Pierce Mat, Stampin' Dimensionals

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Hello Life Valentine


A stamping friend (and new demo!) needed some ideas for Valentines using the products she already has on hand. She has a group of friends interested in making cards, so I got a list of what she has and went to work designing a couple of cards. It was fun and a bit of a challenge, because I wanted to use ALL THE STUFF I have, but that wouldn't have been very helpful to her.

I hope she likes the designs, and her friends do, too! I got my inspiration for this card from Deb Currier's card posted January 1st.

STAMPS: Hello Life
CARDSTOCK: Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black, Stacked With Love DSP Stack, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red

Monday, January 19, 2015

Love Is....So Sweet


Here is another card using the Love is Kindness a la cart stamp but with soft, vintage-y feel. This is a totally different look from the bold look of the card posted last week. I did use the same Washi tape masking technique, though. (And remembered to remove it before stamping this time - yay me!)

The new Pink Pirouette and Wild Wasabi Blendabilities are a welcome addition to the bolder colors of the previously released assortments! In addition to the Pink Pirouette and Wild Wasabi, there are also Bermuda Bay and Soft Sky assortments available now!


I hope that eventually most, if not all, of the Stampin' Up! colors will be available in the alcohol markers. I just love to color, and feel like I get the best results (read - no streaking) when I use them!

STAMPS: Love is Kindness, Hello Life
CARDSTOCK: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Typeset Specialty DSP, Gold Foil Sheets
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black, Baked Brown Sugar, Pink Pirouette and Wild Wasabi Blendabilities
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Happy Heart T.I.E.F., Stamping Sponges, Blender Pen

Thursday, January 15, 2015

HELLO!


Isn't this just the sweetest card to brighten someone's day? Just one of those little 'Hey there, I'm thinking about you today!" cards that is sure to bring a smile to the recipient.

One of the fun things my stamping team does at our monthly meetings is swap card fronts. It's a great way to get ideas using stamp sets we might not have (and invariable leads to wanting said stamp set, lol). We have a different theme each month, and this month it was "anything from the Occasions catalog and/or Sale-A-Bration." I managed to use something from each and the annual catalog, too!


The "lace" is one of the stamps in Petal Potpourri, stamped in VersaMark on White Vellum Cardstock, and heat embossed with white embossing powder. Having a punch to match that stamp set makes it a snap to cut it all out!

This is one of my favorite color combinations when I'm looking for something that really pops. Yellow and black are really eye-catching colors, which is probably why highway departments use them for warning signs.

Handy hint: When using Thinlits dies, such as the greetings in this set, or the butterflies in this set, use this "sandwich" for best results - From the bottom up start with the platform, a clear cutting pad, a dryer sheet, the cardstock, a sheet of waxed paper, the Thinlits die (face down), second clear cutting pad. This makes removing the die-cut cardstock sooo easy! (Thanks to Patty Bennett for the idea!)

If you'd like to learn more about how much fun it is to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, and more of the great benefits of joining my stamping team, contact me for more info!

STAMPS: Petal Potpourri, Everything Eleanor
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Stacked With Love DSP Stack, White Vellum
INK: Wild Wasabi, Daffodil Delight, VersaMark
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Hello You Thinlits Dies, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Flower Medallion Punch, Best Year Ever Accessory Pack (SAB button and ribbon pack), Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

LOVE


Love is Kindness, that is. This is one of the a la cart stamps in the the Occasions catalog that I just adore. It is so quick and easy to color with the Blendabilities markers, and depending on the colors used and other card elements, it can take on many different looks.

This stamp has the greeting attached, so I just masked it off with a bit of Washi tape, inked it up with Memento ink, and then stamped, after removing the Washi. Of course, the first time I did it, I forgot to remove the Washi before stamping, and had an ugly inky blob where there wasn't supposed to be! (Note to self......remove Washi before stamping!)

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=137131&dbwsdemoid=2054459

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Pretty Painted Petals

 

The new Painted Petals stamp set is just so soft and pretty.....I can see using it for so many occasions! It's in the new Occasions catalog that just started yesterday, and this is what the complete set looks like:


Best of all, this set is available in wood-mount, clear-mount, AND photopolymer!!! So whatever your preference of stamp type, we've got you covered!

The last of my local family left yesterday for Tennessee *sniff*. We hope to follow them as soon as DH can retire, but meanwhile we're stuck here while our kids are clear across the country.

From Millan.Net

STAMPS: Painted Petals (clear mount, wood mount, photopolymer)

CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz
INK: Pear Pizzazz, Crushed Curry
ACCESSORIES: Stampin' Dimensionals, Crushed Curry ribbon (SAB Best Year Ever Ribbon pack)