Another card with leftover homemade Designer Paper

 Are you all sick of seeing this Circle Circus designer paper that I made a few weeks ago?  2 sheets of each design really went a long way!!  To see the other projects I made with this paper see this post and this post.  This card was made with the design that used the Rose Red combination.

 This layout was one that I got from my blogging friend Barb.  It is one of her Sunday Sketches.  Check out her post here and scroll all the way down to get to the sketch.  Now that I've sent you to links all over the place I guess I should show you the card already!

  I used 3 of the large butterflies from the Beautiful Wings embosslit in Chocolate Chip and added a small flower to each one from the Flower Fusion (retiring) felt flower kit.  The brad holds everything together. 

  The lower edge of the homemade designer paper is punched with the scalloped edge border punch.  I balanced the row of butterflies with a 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon knot (even if a layout is asymmetrical I have to try to keep it balanced....I think it's a disease or something!).  A Happy Birthday sentiment stamped in Chocolate Chip finishes the bottom.

  Let me know what you think!  And I'd love see your own version of homemade designer paper!

  Stamps: Circle Circus, A Little Birthday Cheer

  Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Old Olive, So Saffron

  Paper:  Whisper White, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip


  Accessories: Beautiful Wings embosslit, grosgrain ribbon, Flower Fusion felt flowers, brads, scallop edge border punch

New Color Coach Combination

  I just LOVE the new color coach that Stampin' Up will have available in the new catalog.  It is like a deck of cards with the combinations on the back and a really good sized sample of the color on the front.  When I was designing the projects for my last Stampin' Tuesday event I decided to check out some of the new combinations and make a card with them.  I wanted to use the Sweet Scoops set (Summer Mini) so I decided to use a combo that would work for ice cream.  This is certainly not a combination that I would have come up with on my own but I do like it and I'm looking forward to playing with a lot more of the suggested combinations.

  First, I inked up my ice cream with Pumpkin Pie ink and then stamped it directly on the "texture" stamp which takes some of the ink from the ice cream leaving little lines that makes it look just how a scoop of ice cream looks (very cool).  After stamping on the texture stamp I stamped it on the paper and then used a mask over it to then stamp the cone.  Add the cherry on top and put a little drop of Crystal Effects on it.

  Another fun thing on this card is the vanilla Smooch Spritz that was applied to the Rich Razzleberry layer.  It's kind of hard to see but it really does sparkle.


Stamps:  Sweet Scoops

Ink: Creamy Caramel (retiring), Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry

Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White

Accessories: Vanilla Smooch Spritz, Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon (retiring), Crystal Effects

New Colors for Father's Day

  I know Father's Day is over and done with for this year but I think this card could be used all year round for all different people and not just for Dad's.  I wanted to finally cut into the sample pieces of the new cardstock colors that Stampin' Up sent out to demonstrators (a great perk of being a demo!) shortly after they announced the Color Renovation.  I had been hoarding this paper just looking at it and trying to decide what to do with it since I only had a small amount I didn't want to waste it.  I figured that my husband was worthy enough to receive a card made from the new colors and I went to work! 

 Since this is a guy card it couldn't be fussy or over the top (and let's face it....you get about the same reaction from a guy whether you spent 4 hours or 4 minutes making them a card) so I went with some basic bands of color defined by black brads, black ink and a really narrow strip of black cardstock.

  I ran the Marina Mist panel through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice embossing folder.  The Cherry Cobbler (Yummy!) panel was distressed by running my bone folder across the one edge.  The Daffodil Delight was paper pierced and then a narrow strip of Basic Black cardstock topped off the last layer. 

  I inked up just the sentiment from one of the stamps in the Totally Tool set with my Basic Black marker and stamped it above the colored panels and finished off the bottom corner with 3 black brads.

Stamps: Totally Tool

Ink: Basic Black

Paper: Sahara Sand, Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler. Daffodil Delight, Basic Black 

Accessories: Square Lattice Textured Impressions embossing folder, paper piercer, bone folder, brads

Customer Thank Yous - Vintage Vogue Bookmarks

  Here is a quick little project I made as a little thank you for my Stampin' Tuesday ladies who placed orders last month.  Since they made a bookmark pocket card to maybe give to someone I thought I would make them their own bookmarks using the 2 Tags Die and Vintage Vogue stamp set.

  I made 8 of these in no time at all....well after the Crystal Effects dried that is but we'll get to that in a minute. 

  I ran pieces of Kraft (soon to be Crumb Cake! With a matching ink pad!!) through the Big Shot with the 2 Tags die and punched a small hole in the top middle of the tag for the Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon to go through.  I then punched out scallop circles in Old Olive to layer onto the Kraft.

  I stamped the large flower from Vintage Vogue in Rich Razzleberry ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and then the vine stamp in Old Olive ink onto the Kraft tag.  While watching TV I cut out the Rich Razzleberry flowers with my paper snips....It really doesn't take much time at all!

    Next I covered each flower with a healthy layer of Crystal Effects.  I didn't use a brush or anything, just the fine tip that comes on the Crystal Effects bottle.  If you're careful when applying it, the CE will pool right to the edge of your cardstock and not run over so you have a nice clear raised layer over the flower.  Check out that shine!! I let them dry overnight and the next day adhered the flowers to the Old Olive scallop circle.  The CE will slightly change the color of the ink when it dries so keep that in mind when planning your projects.  It might be a good idea to do a test run before doing a large batch at once!

  I ended up having an extra bookmark that I get to keep for myself.  My husband will think I'm crazy sitting there in bed supposedly reading but really admiring my beautiful bookmark!

  Stamps: Vintage Vogue

  Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive

  Paper: Kraft, Old Olive, Very Vanilla

  Accessories: Big Shot, 2 Tags Die, Scallop Circle punch, Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon, hand held circle punch, Crystal Effects, Paper Snips

Homemade Designer Paper Scraps

  After making the card organizers for my sons teachers I had some scraps left from my homemade designer paper and being the thrifty gal that I am (remember I don't throw out any scraps!!) I turned some of them into this card.

 The layout was one that my blogging friend Barb posted a few weeks ago as her first Sunday Sketch.  Thanks for sharing Barb! I cut the strips from some of my leftovers and matted them on Chocolate Chip cardstock.  I busted out my Circle Scissors Plus for the sentiment layer.  I don't know why I don't reach for my Circle Scissors Plus more often but it's so easy to use I really need to work with it more. The circle panel is popped on dimensionals.

  After making this card I realized that it must really be time for Stampin' Up's Color Renovation.  I used 3 different blues on this card and didn't even realize it until I was getting ready to mail it out!  Since I had the scraps already stamped I kind of forgot that I had used Taken With Teal on the designer paper...then I used Tempting Turquoise for the card base and on the sentiment panel.  Oops!  The next day when I wanted to send the card out I needed to stamp the envelope...(My stamp club ladies can hear me saying now, "You can't send a naked envelope!") so remembering that I had needed to use Taken With Teal and NOT Tempting Turquoise I reached into my big pile of retiring stuff for my TWT inkpad....I stamped my envelope and then went downstairs to fill out the card and pop it in the mail.  I looked at the envelope and I had grabbed the wrong inkpad again!  I used Bermuda Bay instead!  Definitely time for some of these colors to be gone so I can have a chance at using the right one for all parts of my card!!!

Stamps: Circle Circus,So Many Sayings (retired hostess set)

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Taken w/ Teal, Bermuda Bay (envelope- not shown), Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron

Paper: Tempting Turquoise,  Chocolate Chip, Whisper White


Accessories: Circle Scissors Plus, 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain, dimensionals

Father's Day Vintage Fish

 With 2 dads, 1 stepfather, 1 grandfather and my husband I always have a lot of Father's Day cards to make.  I had a few masculine cards already made that I will be using but I still needed to make a few more.  The first one I tackled was for my grandfather.  He's a fisherman and travels all over trying to find the best spot to catch fish so of course I had to have fish on his card!

  I seem to have problems doing the "vintage" look but I thought I would give it another go!  I am using retired stuff on this card but the blue is Baja Breeze which is coming back on July 1!  First I stamped My Itty Bitty Backgrounds small splatter-looking stamp on the Sahara Sand cardstock base using Sahara Sand ink.  I think this will be my most missed retiring set from this year.  I love this set and use it to add some subtle texture to cardstock.  Next I ran my strip of Manchester DSP (retired) through my Big Shot using the Square Lattice embossing folder (Summer Mini- yay this is current!).  I hadn't used this embossing folder on Designer Series Paper yet and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it kind of distresses the paper by wearing away some of the color on the raised parts....very cool if you're going for vintage/distressed and I need all the help I can get.

  For the fish panel I somewhat randomly stamped this little fish from Just Beachy using Sahara Sand ink on Very Vanilla cardstock.  I used my bone folder to rough up the edges (just run your bone folder along the edges until the layers start to peel apart) and then layered that onto Always Artichoke.

  The "Celebrate" is layered on an Always Artichoke wide oval punch that I used the Faux Suede technique on.  To do the Faux Suede technique, run your cardstock between your bone folder and your thumb, just like you're trying to curl ribbon with scissors.  Keep doing this going back and forth in different directions and on the front and back side.  Your cardstock will start to peel apart into 2 layers, just help it along and when you're finished you'll have 2 pieces of cardstock that each have a fuzzy, rough texture. Faux Suede!

  I threw on some brads (since I don't have any manly ribbon!), a few small star punches and layered the photo corner punch to finish off my try at vintage.

Stamps: Just Beachy, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Fundamental Phrases

Ink: Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke

Paper: Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Manchester DSP

Accessories: Square Lattice embossing folder, small star punch, wide oval punch, large oval punch, photo corner punch, bone folder                                                 

End of the Year Teacher Gifts

  For end of the school year teacher thank you gifts for my sons teachers I made each of them a card organizer and 12 cards to go with the organizer; one for each month.  I've made these organizers before and they are super easy to do using 6 sheets of DSP (see this and this post for more details).  To make the 12 cards I used a cool technique called One Sheet Wonders or OSW for short.  Basically you print out a template onto a sheet of neutral cardstock (I used Whisper White) and then you stamp on the opposite side until the whole sheet is covered randomly with your images.  Then you cut apart the cardstock following the printed guide lines and use the subsequent pieces when making your cards.  Here is the link that I used for my OSW template.  This great template was graciously shared on Splitcoaststampers by a fellow demonstrator LeeAnn Greff.  This template creates 10 cards and LeeAnn also shared templates for how to cut the other cardstock pieces for the other layers on the cards (I actually didn't use these guides as I wanted to use up a lot of the scraps that I already had).

  I stamped 2 full sheets of Whisper White for each gift set.  One sheet was for the cover of the organizer and the other was for the cards.  Since my covers didn't use a full sheet I used the leftover pieces to create my final 2 cards since the template only makes 10 and I needed 12 (and I still had some scraps left which I made into more cards....you'll be sick of seeing these colors and patterns when I get through!).  It was really fun using the Circle Circus stamp set to make my own DSP.  You just pick a stamp and an ink color and stamp away then switch to a different stamp and ink color and repeat.  You can go back and add more of one image if you want and it doesn't matter if they are overlapping at all, just fill up that paper.  I used colors that went with the DSP that I choose for each organizer.  The Sweet Pea DSP pack had so many cool colors that I could make each organizer look different just by changing my paper choices.

  I got a late start on this project and only took a picture of one set of cards....it's not a great picture so that's probably why I didn't bother trying to take a picture of the other set but you can see how each card is different and how it uses the custom DSP in the layouts.  I had coordinating envelopes for each card and stuck one card in each of the pockets inside the organizer.

Stamps: Circle Circus, Defining Alphabet

Ink: Organizer 1: Rose Red, So Saffron, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
       Organizer 2: Taken w/ Teal, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Only Orange

Paper: Sweet Pea DSP (for organizer pockets - not shown)
          Organizer 1: Rose Red, So Saffron, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
          Organizer 2: Taken w/ Teal, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Only Orange, Whisper White

Accessories: OSW template, binding machine, binding combs, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Chocolate Chip satin ribbon    

Tropical Sunset Pocket Card

Happy Saturday!  Here is the 3rd and last project we made at my last Stampin' Tuesday class.  As soon as I saw the Tropical Party set in the Summer Mini I knew it was one that I would get.  I didn't have any fun summer images and I just love the palm tree, coconut drink and the flowers in this set.  I had recently gotten the 2 Tags Die for my Big Shot so I wanted to make a bookmark card using the scallop tag and the Tropical Party set.  I thought this card would be great to give to someone who is a reader that has a summer birthday (with a new book!)...or you could change the sentiment for someone going on vacation.  Everyone needs a new bookmark for those beach reading books!

  The base of the card is Pink Passion (almost retired!). To make the pocket, center your word window punch in the center of your top layer (my top layer is from the Kaleidoscope DSP) and slip the paper down as far as it will go into the punch.  Punch out the shape and then line up the punch again with the hole and move it slightly to the right so just a bit of paper is showing in the back of the punch and punch then move over to the left and punch out another small amount of paper.  This makes the opening for the pocket wide enough for the bookmark to slide into; just a single word window punch isn't big enough.  Then stamp the palm tree in Pink Passion at the bottom of your DSP.  Make sure when you adhere the DSP layer to the base that you only put adhesive around the outer edges so your pocket doesn't get closed up.

  To make the book mark just run a strip of Pink Passion through your Big Shot with the scallop tag die and stamp the smallest flower in Pink Passion ink.  Use your markers to color the coconut (I used Only Orange, Pink Passion andClose to Cocoa) and huff on it to re-moisten and then stamp on Whisper White.  Punch it out with the scallop circle punch.  It's hard to see in this picture but the rim of the coconut and the umbrella are covered in Dazzling Diamonds.  Pop your scallop circle up on dimensionals and adhere it to the bookmark.

  I really like the little "Happy Birthday" banner since it uses up some of those smaller scraps that I can never bear to throw out.  If I think I can get even the smallest punch out of a piece of cardstock I don't throw it out and it shows in my scrap binders which are over flowing.  If you have a great layout or project that uses scraps I'd love to hear about it! Anyway back to the banner....Just stamp your sentiment and then use your paper snips to cut the end into points.  Since I didn't design this card with ribbon (I know!!  No ribbon???!!) we used a Build-A-Brad and another design from the Kaleidoscope DSP for the center.  If you haven't used the Build-A-Brad it's a really great item to have on hand for those cards that just need 'something' and ribbon or a smaller brad just won't do.  You can stamp a small image and then punch it out or just use a piece of DSP and adhere it to the brad base and then cover it with the clear bubble to make an embellishment that will perfectly match whatever project you're working on.

Stamps: Tropical Party, A Little Birthday Cheer

Ink: Pink Passion, Only Orange (marker), Close to Cocoa (marker)

Cardstock: Pink Passion, Whisper White, Kaleidoscope DSP


Accessories: Word Window punch, Scallop Circle punch, 2 Tags Die (Big Shot), Build-A-Brad, Dazzling Diamonds

Ornament Punch Fish - May Stamp Club

 This is the 2nd of 3 projects we did last week at my Stampin' Tuesday club.  I always like to show how to use a tool or product in a different way than how it first appears.  The totally cool ornament punch came out in the Winter Mini in 2009....but you can use it all year long!  I am not the first to come up with this idea, there are a lot of great cards over on Splitcoaststampers but this is my version of the ornament punch fish. The ornament punch isn't listed in the catalog but it is still available for purchase!

  To make your fish, punch out your ornament, and in a different color punch out a scallop oval and the hearts from the Heart to Heart punch.  For this card I used the textured cardstock and flipped some pieces so the smoother side was showing.  Turn the ornament on it's side, adhere 2 of the hearts - one for the tail and the smallest one for the side fin.  (I used SNAIL adhesive to attach all the parts)  Cut the scallop oval in half and attach one half to the back of the fish at the top so just a little bit shows and then repeat with the second half scallop oval on the bottom. 

  Use your Crystal Effects to glue down a googlie eye and then use a matching marker to draw a smiley face. 
Repeat for a second fish, just make this one facing the other way.


Stamps: Fundamental Phrases

Ink: Tempting Turquoise

Paper: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise (textured & smooth), Gable Green (textured), Cameo Coral (textured), Kaleidoscope DSP

Accessories: Ornament Punch, Scallop Oval punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Scallop Border punch,  markers, googlie eyes (non-Stampin' Up), Crystal Effects

Ink Pad Storage Measurement Correction

I have had a ton of responses regarding the ink pad storage post from Sunday.  I just wanted to let everyone know that one of the measurements listed was incorrect.  I have edited the original post but wanted to make sure that everyone saw it.

The middle piece should be 18.5 (18 1/2) inches and  NOT 18 1/5.  So sorry for the typo!

If you build an ink pad storage using these directions my husband and I would love to see a picture of your finished version.  Just send an e-mail or post back to this link.

Thanks!
Amanda & Matthew