Delightful Decorations Stamp-A-Stack

  Well here is the second card we did on Tuesday night.  I was very excited when the Delightful Decorations set made it into the big catalog this summer.  I got it when it was in the mini last year and only got to use it a few times so it was fun to be able to use it again. 

  The Christmas tree branch is actually the tall pine tree from Lovely As a Tree and is stamped using Wild Wasabi ink.  Using a craft knife I cut a small slit along one of the branches to thread silver tinsel trim through. 

  For the ornament I pulled a little trick out of my sleeve.  On the first sample that I made something was missing.  Even with the tinsel trim it was a little blah.  Then I remembered a technique with the shimmer paint that was popular when it first came out.  Mix a few drops of shimmer paint with a few drops of reinker.  Take a sponge dauber and lightly apply the shimmer paint/reinker mixture directly to your stamp.  You don't want to over load your stamp as it will make your image muddy and you'll lose some of the details as the ink mixture will puddle in the negative spaces.  Then stamp on your cardstock as usual. 

  Look at how shimmery it is!  Punch out your image with the ornament punch (remember my witch pencil topper a few posts ago?  Same punch!).  Wrap one end of the tinsel trim around the top of your ornament and then thread the other end through the slit cut with the craft knife.  I found that the tinsel kind of kept sliding down the wire as I tried to thread it through so I just folded that end over on itself before poking it through and that seemed to work.  Attach the ornament to the base with dimensionals.

  Trim the corners with the ticket corner punch, attach the top panel to a Perfect Plum panel and adhere all of that to the Sahara Sand base.  Add a sentiment to the inside (we used Four the Holidays set at the Stamp-a-Stack) and you're finished.

  Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Lovely As a Tree

Ink: Wild Wasabi, Perfect Plum (reinker)

Paper: Sahara Sand, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Silver Tinsel Trim, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Ornament punch, Ticket Corner punch, craft knife, dimensionals

Northern Flurry Stamp-A-Stack

  Last night I held my last Stamp-A-Stack of 2010.  Can you believe we are already approaching the end of the year?  I better get a move on with my Christmas cards!  Anyway, this is one of the 2 cards we did last night.  Each lady made 5 of each design.  I made this one so it would be more winter themed than Christmas in case people wanted to use it for after Christmas thank yous, or winter birthdays, or even Christmas.  I had a variety of sentiments for them to choose from so they could make the card just how they wanted it.  They could choose from these sets for their sentiment; Full Calendar, Thank You Kindly or Define Your Life.  These stamps fit nicely into the Decorative Label punch.

  I love these colors together.  The base of the card is Whisper White, then a layer of Not Quite Navy (I tended to overlook this color until the Color Renovation this summer and then I found all sorts of new combinations to use it in...it's the Dynamic Duo for Baja Breeze so it's perfect here!).  We ran the Baja Breeze layer through the Big Shot using the new Northern Flurry embossing folder (it's in the Holiday Mini).  Then for the tricky part!  You don't want to have too juicy of a white craft pad for this as we found out last night!  To make the embossed snowflakes stand out we gently tapped or rubbed the white craft pad over the raised image, just enough of the ink stuck to make the snowflakes look kind of white.  You don't want to tip or tilt your craft pad but hold it nice and parallel to your cardstock.  If any of the corners touch the cardstock you'll get a white blob!  Practice makes perfect here.

  Now on to the top layer of details.  A simple strip of 5/8" Whisper White satin ribbon anchors the Simple Snowflake stamped in Not Quite Navy and punched out with the Extra Large Snowflake punch.  The center of the snowflake is dressed up with a pearl and the whole shebang is adhered with a gluedot.  For my sample I stamped "December" from Full Calendar (this is a great set for scrappers!) in Baja Breeze and punched it out with the Decorative Label punch then I sponged the edges with Not Quite Navy ink.  That's popped up on dimensionals of course!

  I'll be back tomorrow with the second card we did!  Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Simple Snowflake, Full Calendar

Ink: White Craft, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy

Paper: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Northern Flurry embossing folder, 5/8" satin ribbon, Snowflake punch, Decorative Label punch, pearls, glue dots, dimensionals

Happy Birthday Teacups

  I made this card last week for my mother-in-laws birthday.  She LOVES the color purple so I always try to make her card using purple.  She also really like tea so I wanted to use the Morning Cup stamp set.  The layout is from Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge 302 from last week.  The color combination is from Create With Connie and Mary Challenge 120.  This was a hard combination for me since I wanted the Elegant Eggplant to be prominent but the other colors are very strong as well.  Hopefully I pulled off some kind of balance and didn't totally butcher either challenge!

 The base of the card is Naturals White.  I stamped the little tea bag in white craft ink onto the Elegant Eggplant layer.  I used a strip of Whisper White 5/8" satin ribbon (again, LOVING the ribbon share and having all the colors to play with!) and used some retired Tempting Turquoise buttons at the top and bottom.  I just stuck them on using a glue dot.

  To do the tea cup panel I just stamped the stack of cups 3 times with Stazon onto watercolor paper and it was very easy to line up with the clear mount stamps and blocks.  I then watercolored them with my Aquapainter and ink squished from my ink pads onto the lids.

  I stamped the Happy Birthday on a piece of scrap paper and then just lined it up in part of the Decorative Label punch and got myself a cute little tab to stick under the tea cup panel.  I sponged the edge a little with some Tempting Turquoise.  All of that is layered on a rectangle of Wild Wasabi that was run through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.

  A little satin bow down on the corner finishes off this card.  Hope you like it!  I'm off to do a little more preparation for my Stamp-A-Stack tonight!  For any of my local stampers; if you are not attending tonight but would like to place an order please let me know as soon as possible!  Look forward to seeing everyone tonight!


  Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!


Stamps: Morning Cup, A Little Birthday Cheer (retired)

Ink: White Craft, Stazon, Pumpkin Pie, Elegant Eggplant, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi


Paper: Natural White, watercolor, Elegant Eggplant, Wild Wasabi


Accessories: Whisper White 5/8" satin, buttons (retired style), Aquapainter, Decorative Label punch, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder

Pencil Topper Halloween Treats

  My sons preschool does a Halloween carnival every year for the kids.  They have food, and games where they can win small prizes or candy and the kids get to come in their costumes.  The school asks that the parents donate the prizes for the games and of course I have to make something!  Last year I made these magnets from dominoes and from what I heard they were a sought after prize.  So this year I again wanted to do something stampy/crafty because you know I'm not going to just go out and buy some candy....it needs to be something cute! 

  I found some Halloween pencils in the Target Dollar Spot and they all had cute little Halloween pictures on them.  I decided I would make toppers for the pencils using the pictures as my inspiration.  I think I made 28 pencils-- there were 2 skull & crossbones pencils that I just didn't think were for the 3-5 year old crowd.  I made witches, cats, bats, jack-o-lanterns, and candy corn toppers.

  Here is a photo of all of them...

  They are all punch art except for the candy corn.  I basically made them all, added an extra panel on the back for support and stuck them to the top of the pencils with sticky strip.  All of the pieces are adhered with my 2 way glue pen (great way to get all these little pieces stuck where they needed to be).

 
Here is the little bat.  I used the instructions found here for the body and wings.  For the eyes I used the owl punch and for the fangs I used the tips from the small star punch.  I sponged the edges with white craft ink.

Supplies used: Black & Whisper White cardstock, owl punch, large oval punch, 3/4" circle punch, small star punch, white craft ink

   I know a lot of people don't like candy corn but I do....I mean I'm not going to eat an entire bag but I like the colored sugar enough for a handful or 2!

  For this one I adhered Daffodil Delight & Pumpkin Pie cardstock to a strip of Whisper White and then used my paper trimmer to cut the triangle shape.  I used the corner rounder twice on each corner to round them off...no one likes sharp edged candy right?


  Supplies used: Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White cardstock, paper trimmer, corner rounder

  The pumpkin is the same as the one I made here on my 2 Tags Treat basket and I just added the Jack-o-Lantern face from the Autumn Harvest stamp set.

  Supplies used: Pumpkin Pie & Old Olive cardstock, black ink, large oval punch

  For the kitty I followed the instructions here but changed him to black and used the photo corner punch for the ears.  I also used the heart from the owl punch and trimmed it down for the nose.  This little guy is so cute and chubby...not really a Halloween cat but I didn't want to scare the kids!


  Supplies used: 1 3/4", 1 1/4" & 3/4" circle punches, owl punch (circle for nose &  heart for mouth), photo corner punch (ears), large oval punch (tail), googlie eyes, black ink (sponging)

          

  For the witch I got inspiration from all over and kind of combined different ideas using the punches I had on hand.

  The top of the hat is the large heart punch with the edges cut off and the word window punch for the brim.  The head is the ornament punch (so cool!  this punch can be used all year round, not just at Christmas!).  For the face I again used the circle from the owl punch and trimmed a little off the bottoms for the eyes and used the smallest circle for the pupils.  The nose is the same 2 circles--a witch has to have a wart right?  The mouth is hand drawn with my black marker.  The hair is the scallop oval punch cut in half.

  Supplies used: Black, Basic Gray, Whisper White & Certainly Celery cardstock, Large heart punch, word window punch, ornament punch, owl punch, scallop oval punch

And here is how all the pumpkins look attached to the pencils.  Hopefully the kids like them but even if they don't I had a lot of fun making them.  It's funny how each separate punch art piece has it's own little personality even though they are made out from the same materials!

 

  I hope everyone has a great weekend!  Happy Stamping & Thanks for looking!

Little Birdie Love Notes

  Just a quick post today before I have to go pick up the boys at preschool.  I made this little set of 3x3 cards to stick in my husbands luggage when he traveled a few weeks ago for work.  I always try to make a few cards to tuck into his bags to let him know that we're missing him and that we love him.  They usually aren't very elaborate cards since I tend to wait until the last minute to make them but I think these came out pretty cute anyway.  I might have to make another batch just to have them on hand for quick little notes to tuck in with a gift or as a small thank you.

  Sorry for the dark picture...It was hard getting all 3 cards in the right light at the same time.  Like I said these are all really fast and the only extras are the rounded corners and the brads at the tops of the cages.  I stamped the sentiments on scrap paper and punched them out with my word window punch. Since all of these sentiments are on a larger stamp with lots of phrases I wanted to be sure I got the words where I wanted them (another benefit of the clear mount stamps---you can see right where you're stamping!!).  This way I didn't get the whole card made and then goof it all up by stamping crooked or not in the right spot.  If you're tight on time better safe than sorry right?

  I have some cute (if I do say so myself!) Halloween treats to show so stop back tomorrow and check them out!

  Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Aviary, So Many Sayings (retired)

Ink: Black, Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie

Paper: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: brads, jeweled brad, corner rounder, word window punch

Welcome Baby Charlie!

  Our next door neighbors (she's also one of my Stamping Ladies!) just welcomed their 3rd child into the world.  Charlie is a little sweetie and he's got this great head of dark hair.  Since she now has 2 boys and I have 2 boys along with a few other little boys in the neighborhood we're looking forward to some crazy rough and tumble days ahead of us.  So I thought it was appropriate to make a baby card with a truck on it.  Here's what I came up with!

   I used the Color Coach for the color combination of Pumpkin Pie, Night of Navy and Cherry Cobbler.  They aren't traditional baby colors but it's the fall now and I was itching to keep with the season.  I stamped the truck on watercolor paper with Stazon ink then watercolored with my Aquapainter and Pumpkin Pie ink.  I used my Watercolor Wonder crayons to do the tires, hubcaps, bumpers and lights.  I stamped the "C" for Charlie in Night of Navy and then cut it out and put it in the truck bed.  A boy truck has to be hauling something right?  I added some Crystal Effects to the hubcaps to make them shiny.

  For the scalloped frame around the truck I just punched out several strips of Cherry Cobbler with my scallop edge punch and just lined them up around the edges and snipped off the excess (someday I'm going to have to spring for the Big Shot scallop square dies!).  I ran the base of my card through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.  I added a quick 5/8" satin bow to sweeten it up since Charlie isn't quite ready yet to play in the mud with the big boys.  I just did a ribbon share with my stamp club and I took one of the shares and let me tell you....I am LOVING having ribbon in all 13 of the colors it comes in.  I'm going to have to offer another one soon so I can get some of the other ribbon varieties as well.  I think I'm spoiled now!

Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Loads of Love, Defining Alphabet

Ink: Stazon, Pumpkin Pie, Night of Navy

Paper: Watercolor paper, Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: 5/8" satin ribbon, scallop edge punch, Aquapainter, Watercolor Wonder crayons, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Crystal Effects

Morning Cup File Folder Card

  So back when I was a working woman (for an actual paycheck, not just the love and joy of cleaning up after my 2 boys) I had several co-workers that this card would have been perfect for.  They were all about their morning coffee and heaven forbid if the wrong person made the coffee in the morning it would just ruin the rest of the day for them.  So, pair the stamp set Morning Cup with a file folder style card and you've got the perfect card for a co-worker!

  I saw this style of card a while back (don't even remember where) and thought it would be a good "Fun Fold" card to teach my stamp club so I wrote the idea down.  When I tried to find instructions I didn't find too many instructions so I took what I could find (again, have no idea where) and went to work.  Needless to say, several sheets of Very Vanilla cardstock were sacrificed to my total ineptitude at making a file folder card.  I kept cutting the wrong side so my tab never lined up where it was supposed to.  I persevered like the diligent stamper that I am and finally came up with this!

   Isn't it cute?  I loved my job before I had my kids but if I had file folders that looked as cute as this one I would have loved it even more!  Once I worked out where I needed to cut and where I needed to use the corner rounder it was all good.  I used some retired Sweet Pea DSP and my Color Coach to get the color combo of Rose Red, Elegant Eggplant & Baja Breeze.  The coffee pot was colored with reinkers & a blender pen and I added a little rhinestone to the lid.

  Here is the inside....See how I was thinking of alternating the colors of the mugs all the way across?  See how that didn't quite happen?  The 4 year old at my elbow and his never-ending questions about items in my stamp room kind of distracted me.  I know some of you out there understand that!  =)  But even if my coloring leaves something to be desired at least it's a good view of file folder shape!

Maybe once I can master this card on my own I'll be able to teach it at stamp club!

Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Morning Cup

Ink: Stazon, Rose Red, Baja Breeze, Elegant Eggplant

Paper: Very Vanilla, Elegant Eggplant, Sweet Pea DSP

Accessories: corner rounder, blender pen, Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon, circle punch, scallop circle punch, rhinestones

Two Tags Treat Basket

  I made this cute little treat basket as a customer thank you for anyone who ordered in September.  I ended up making about 16 of them.  The basket is really easy to make and I followed this tutorial on Dawn Olchefske's blog. 

  I wanted to make mine with a fall theme and decided to do a "pumpkin patch".  First I cut out my 2 tags with the Two Tags Die and my Big Shot using Old Olive cardstock.  To make the vines I stamped the large swirl stamp from Baroque Motifs with Old Olive ink.  I made the pumpkin by punching out 3 large ovals, sponging the edges with Pumpkin Pie ink and then stacking them up and adding a little stem.  This one is my prototype but for the final project I made the stems out of Garden Green since in this one the stem just blended into the background when I used Old Olive.

  I made the name banner out of scrap Very Vanilla (you know me and my scraps!) and sponged the edges with Old Olive.  I used my Early Espresso marker to hand write the names (hopefully my customers could tell it was their name as I have horrible handwriting!).  I adhered the banner with dimensionals.  For my customer baskets I used Old Olive brads to attach the handle since I didn't have enough of the metallic ones for 16 baskets.  I tied a few pieces of hemp twine around the handle to give it some more personality.

  And finally I filled the baskets with 3 Ghirardelli chocolate squares.  Yummy!

Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Baroque Motifs

Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Paper: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Two Tags Die, hemp twine, brads, dimensionals, sponges, large oval punch, marker, CHOCOLATES!

September Stamp Club Swaps

  Just a quick post today to share the swap cards I received from a few of my Stampin' Ladies (that's what my 4 year old calls my stamp club) in our swap last month. The first is Andrea's card....Isn't this a great color combination using the Woodland Walk DSP?  I love the circles and the popped up butterfly.  Great job cutting out the butterfly don't you think?

Andrea's Card

    Here is Holly's card.  This is one of my favorite color combinations since Rich Razzleberry was introduced.  The eyelet border punch along the one edge is really sweet!  Great friend card!

Holly's Card

  And here is Liz's card.  I really like how she just stamped the tops of the trees from Trendy Trees.   The rounded corners at the top are a really nice touch too!  I always feel I have to match all 4 corners but I need to remember to try it this way too.

Liz's Card

  Thanks for checking out my talented Stampin' Ladies!  Happy Stamping!

Happy Harvest September Swap

  Here is the card I made for my September stamp club swap.  I hadn't used any of the new In Colors up until this card and wanted to rip that plastic off the ink pads and cardstock and get busy.  The layout was from some challenge that I saw.  I have no idea where as I just scribbled the sketch on scrap paper and piled it up on my desk so when I needed a starting point I would have one to go to.  Unfortunately I didn't write down where the layout was from.  If someone recognizes it please let me know so I can add that info.

   First, I stamped the right hand gourd in Stazon on Whisper White, then stamped the left hand gourd.  I masked both gourds and then stamped the pumpkin in the middle.  I used an Aquapainter and some ink on the lid of my ink pads and watercolored the images.

  I stamped the "Happy Harvest" from Loads of Love Accessories and  punched it out and sponged some Peach Parfait on the edges.  Behind this layer I used a strip of Pear Pizzazz that was embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and I added a few black strips that were punched with the Scallop Trim border punch.  And few black brads tossed in for good measure.

  Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Autumn Harvest, Loads of Love Accessories

Ink: Stazon, Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz


Paper: Whisper White, Black, Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait


Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Scallop Trim border punch, 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" circle punches, brads

Stamp Club Altered Notebook & Pen

Here is the third and last project we did at September Stamp Club.  This is a really easy project and looks so neat when it's finished.  Who doesn't like a matching pen & mini notebook?

  We covered the notebook with Baja Breeze cardstock for the spine and Elegant Soiree DSP for the front & back cover as well as the pen.  To decorate the front (cause you can't leave it naked right?) I showed the ladies how to make a mat for behind the new Decorative Label punch.  I used the tutorial found here on Angela McKay's blog.  Really easy to do but is much easier to watch the quick video than for me to try and explain--she does a great job so check it out!  We blinged out the Decorative Label with some pearls then added the initial which was punched with the 1 1/4" circle punch then mounted on a 1 3/8" circle punched from Baja Breeze.

   This would be a great project for little Christmas gifts if you have the need to give something but don't need to give a great big gift.

Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!


Stamps: Defining Alphabet

Ink: Soft Suede (marker)

Paper: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Elegant Soiree DSP


Accessories: Decorative Label punch, 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" circle punches, pearls, sticky strip, mini notebook (non-Stampin' Up), RSVP pen (non-Stampin' Up)

Vintage Autumn With Brayering

  Just a quick post today to show the second project we did at stamp club last week.  I told my ladies to be nice and make friends with the brayer =)  I am intimidated by the brayer when I see cards like this by Michelle Zindorf.  She is a brayer master and makes the most wonderful works of art (she is well beyond "cards"!) with the brayer.   But my card here is quite simple so there is nothing to be afraid of!

  Can you see that the embossed background is more defined?  Well that's the brayer at work!  First we ran our Cajun Craze cardstock through the Big Shot using the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  Then we inked up the brayer with Cajun Craze ink and rolled it over the embossed pattern; just don't press too hard or you will get some ink on the non-embossed parts.

  For our focal image we just inked it up using the More Mustard & Old Olive markers and stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock.  We tied a length of Early Espresso taffeta ribbon around it, secured with a knot.  Then finished it off with a button.  The button has some hemp twine threaded through the holes so it doesn't look naked!

  A very quick and easy card and just one more cool thing you can do using the Big Shot & embossing folders.


Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Just Believe

Ink: Cajun Craze, More Mustard (marker), Old Olive (marker)


Paper: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze


Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, brayer, taffeta ribbon, button, hemp twine

Morning Cup of Coffee

  Hi All!  It's been a while since I've posted....with being away on vacation the week before last and trying to get settled in back at home after vacation, having stamp club last Tuesday and then heading to Baltimore on Friday for Stampin' Up! Regionals I've been very busy and haven't had a chance to post any projects.  Well I'm back and have a lot of things to share this week.  Today's post features one of the projects we did at stamp club last week.  This card used the Morning Cup set and it is super cute and perfect for those coffee and tea lovers out there---just think of the personalized cards and gifts you could make for Christmas!

  There are 3 cool things about this card that I taught at stamp club.  1) Tent topper card!  The base is 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" square and then you add a little topper to make it taller.  It still fits into a regular A2 envelope.  Just another option instead of the A2 rectangle.  You can never have enough interesting folds and sizes in my opinion.

2) The Rich Razzleberry rickrack---now you may be thinking, "Gee, I didn't see that ribbon in the catalog!?!?"  It's is cardstock!  Use a 7/8" wide strip of cardstock, punch one side with the scallop edge punch, flip it over and stick a sticky note on the scallop side to give you a better hold (those small or narrow pieces of cardstock can still be used with the punched, you just need to use a sticky to hold it!  It works great!).  Now instead of starting to punch at the same point as you did on the first side, just move the cardstock down about half a scallop and continue to punch all the way down.  Now you have a piece of rickrack just by staggering where you begin punching on each side.  It might take a few tries to get it right but it is really neat once you do.  

3) Watercoloring with blender pens.  Coloring with blender pens is really easy....just pick up some ink from the lid of the ink pad and color away,  to switch colors just scribble the tip on your scrap paper until it runs clear and repeat with the new color ink pad.  It's easy to go back and add some shading and details by add more ink in certain areas. 

  Here's a close up of the coffee pot & rickrack....isn't the rhinestone on the coffee pot lid really cute??  A little bling to go with your caffeine!


  Thanks for looking!  Happy stamping!

Stamps: Morning Cup

Ink: Stazon, Rich Razzleberry, Tempting Turquoise


Paper: Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: Scallop edge punch, Sm. & Lrg. Scallop Circle punches, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, blender pen, rhinestone jewel