I'm Loving Priceless!

Last night, I attended a class at my up-up-upline Sandi's house. This month's stamp set was Priceless. I love it, and it has a TON of stamps in it. (OK, 11 but that's a lot!) The cards we made were great. The card in the upper left is Naturals Ivory, Blue Bayou and Close to Cocoa. Great color combo, and the Tres Chic bg is fantastic. The card in the upper right is Basic Black and Groovy Guava. It uses the jumbo wheel that goes with Priceless. The bottom card is Whisper White and Soft Sky. It's hard to see in the photo, but we used the Priceless classy brass template on the white piece. I love how she had us punch out the flower with the 5-petal punch; I would have never thought of that!
It was so fun to just hang out with my friends and stamp!

Z-Fold Card in My Favorite Color Combo!

Beate's weekend sketch challenge this week is a Z-fold card. Basically, the card front is scored in the center and folded back on itself. I've been wanting to make one of these since I saw it in the Technique Junkies newsletter, but I hadn't gotten around to it yet. (If you aren't a subscriber, you are missing out! Check out Pat Huntoon's website: http://www.patstamps.com for more info.)
I decided to combine the sketch challenge with this week's Color Combo Challenge: Basic Gray, Purely Pomegranate and Soft Sky. What's not to love about that?
I sponged Soft Sky ink onto Shimmery White cardstock. I stamped the image from Stem Silhouettes in Basic Gray and used a dauber to add the Purely Pomegranate to each flower. (I got that idea from the always awesome JanTInk.) I attached the hardware to the Soft Sky paper before adhering it to the card base to hide the prongs of the brad.
Tomorrow night, I have another class at my upline Sandi's house. We are using Priceless. Look for the projects later in the week!
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Stem Silhouettes; Paper: Shimmery White, Soft Sky, Basic Gray, Purely Pomegranate, Charbon, Soft Sky Prints; Ink: Soft Sky, Basic Gray, Purely Pomegranate; Accessories: sponge, dauber, ticket corner punch, Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware

Awesome Rockin' Concert!

Last night, we went to a fantastic concert here in Duluth. Thousand Foot Krutch, BarlowGirl and TobyMac played at the DECC. It was in the arena where they usually hold hockey games. All of the floor area was standing only. There were about 4000 people there, which was one of their biggest shows.Linda, Sean, Daniel (hiding behind Sean!), Linda and Joe

Thousand Foot Krutch. I couldn't get a good photo of them, unfortunately. They were hard-rocking!

BarlowGirl. They are sisters and play their own instruments. For this particular song, the drummer is out singing. The sister on the right plays both guitar and keyboard, often in the same song!

TobyMac had an awesome stage set-up. At one point, a ceiling tile fell down onto the stage!

Toby is second from the left. All of the band members are so talented! They dance as well as sing, and some of them rap. It was full out for an hour and a half. Toby is my age, and I loved when they did a medley of songs from the 70s: Play That Funky Music White Boy, LeFreak, That's The Way. I felt like I was back in junior high!

This is a great shot of the stage and crowd. During the encore, the lights spelled out Jesus Freak.

One Layer Card

The Ways to Use It challenge on SCS yesterday was masking. I decided to do a one layer card using reverse masking. I am not a one-layer-kind of gal! Anyway, reverse masking is where you have an open area in the middle instead of a regular mask where you cover up one specific item. Luckily, I already had a piece of cardstock that I had cut an oval out of the center using the Coluzzle. I used Confetti White cardstock for my base, and I decided to use Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke and Bravo Burgundy for my color combo so I could use my new Always Artichoke ribbon. My plan was to tie the ribbon around the card up against the fold. However, I forgot to center my oval on the cardfront, so when I sponged in the ink, the oval was to the left of center. To fix that, I cut a little of the right side off and used the corner rounder (with the guard off) to make the scalloped edge. I stamped the image from Stem Silhouettes in all 3 colors, using the stamp twice for each color without reinking. The Sahara Sand image looks like a shadow!
Since I couldn't tie the ribbon at the fold, I had a hard time deciding what to do with it. I finally just made a small bow and adhered it at the base of the oval with a mini glue dot.
The one unfixable mistake was the sponging along the side of the card. I wanted to emphasize the fact that the right edge was scalloped, but I had to sponge too much to fill in all of the scalloped area.
Overall, though, I'm happy with the card! If you make a one layer card, post a link here so I can check it out!
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Stem Silhouettes, Fundamental Phrases; Paper: Confetti White; Ink: Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy; Accessories: sponge, Always Artichoke narrow grosgrain, Coluzzle, retired corner rounder punch

Paper Clip Bookmark

This is the time of year that I start to think about gifts. I love giving little homemade gifts such as this bookmark. Of course, this wouldn't be the ONLY gift unless the person is on the naughty list! LOL
This bookmark is made from a jumbo paper clip. I got a package of 15 at Walmart for 97 cents. For this particular bookmark, I used 2 pieces of chipboard. They held together and to the paper clip with a pop-up glue dot. (Think of it as a sandwich: chipboard, glue dot, paper clip smashed into the glue dot, chipboard.) The flower piece is covered with Almost Amethyst craft ink. The circle is covered with So Saffron Prints designer paper then has a flower center from Pick A Petal stamped on top. I also sanded the edges of the paper to make it fit the circle and then inked the edges with So Saffron ink. A Certainly Celery button with linen thread tied through it is attached with a mini glue dot. A piece of Certainly Celery narrow grosgrain add a decorative touch and mimics leaves.
These are fun and easy to make! Just make sure your chipboard is not too big. Otherwise, it won't fit into a book! You could also substitute punched piece, such as the scallop circle, for the chipboard.

My Second Favorite Color Combo

I am loving this color combo of Soft Sky and Blue Bayou! It is second only to Basic Gray and Purely Pomegranate (see the Spotlighting card a couple of posts down). I CASEd this card from another SU demonsrator; SU posted it on their website. I added the clear button to the center of the flower. It's hard to see in the picture, but IRL it adds a nice dimension. One of the things I love about this card is the stamping on the patterned paper. Why don't I ever think to do that??
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Pick A Petal, Hugs and Wishes; Paper: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky Prints Designer Paper; Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou; Accessories: Soft Sky double-stitched ribbon, clear buttons, Bella fiber

Weekend Sketch Challenge Revisited

After I finished my spotlighting card and posted it last night, I realized that I didn't follow the sketch! (*blushing and smacking forehead*) The horizontal piece is not supposed to go all the way across the card base. So I decided to give it another try and actually FOLLOW the sketch this time.
I started with the idea that I wanted to use the chocolate chip satin ribbon as a mat. And I wanted to use guava. The scraptitude color combo website isn't working, so I pulled up my 2007-8 Color Combo chart from Stampin' Up. (If you don't have this chart, send me an e-mail, and I will e-mail you a copy.) I found a combo with Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron and Close to Cocoa. I substituted Chocolate Chip for the cocoa.

I stamped the flower from Looks Like Spring twice onto So Saffron cardstock, once each in Groovy Guava and Chocolate Chip. I cut them both out (this is really easy if you use paper snips) and used the CropADile to put a jumbo eyelet in the center. Helpful tip: The CropADile works best if you actually follow the directions that come with it! Then I put a rhinestone brad in the center of the eyelet. I did not come up with this idea myself; I've seen it lately on SCS. Whoever thought of it is a genius!

For the horizontal piece, I used the argyle stamps from Looks Like Spring. I used the Stampamajig to line them up. I cut the satin ribbon in half and adhered it to the top and bottom of the cardstock. When I tied the Wild Wasabi ribbon around the horizontal piece, I made sure it was loose enough that the satin ribbon would stay flat. I put a little adhesive under the Wild Wasabi ribbon so it would lay flat also.

I don't like this card as much as the spotlighting card. It looked better in my head! But I did follow the sketch this time.

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Looks Like Spring, True Friend, Canvas; Paper: Confetti White, So Saffron, Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi; Ink: Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi; Accessories: paper snips, CropADile, pewter jumbo eyelets, Ice circle rhinestone brads, mini glue dots, Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, Wild Wasabi double-stitched ribbon, ticket corner punch

Spotlighting

The tutorial on SCS this week was for spotlighting. This is where you stamp an image in black (or, in this case, gray) and then spotlight one part of the image with color. I combined it with Beate's weekend sketch challenge. She also wrote the tutorial.
I decided to use Basic Gray because it's so pretty and not as harsh as black. It also gave me the opportunity to use my Charbon designer paper. I used a blender pen to randomly color some of the dots with Pomegranate and Wasabi. I chose textured cardstock for the card base so there would be a subtle pattern but it wouldn't distract from the main image. I am loving Stem Silhouettes! You could probably tell that by the fact that I've been using it a lot lately... lol.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Stem Silhouettes; Paper: Shimmery White, Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Basic Gray textured, Charbon designer paper; Ink: Basic Gray, Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi; Accessories: 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" circle punches, Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware, Wild Wasabi double-stitched ribbon

Wanted Again!

I originally saw this card at my up-up-upline Sandi's house. I don't think the colors were the same, but I definitely remembered the focal image. It was so stinkin' cute! I love how the hemp twine through the eyelet looks like a coil of rope. I chose the colors because they seemed like cowboy colors. When I saw this card, I wanted this set for the first time! Thanks again to Rhonda for letting me borrow hers.

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Wanted, It's Your Birthday; Paper: Whisper White, More Mustard, Brocade Blue, Real Red; Ink: More Mustard, Brocade Blue, Real Red; Accessories: pewter jumbo eyelet, CropADile, natural hemp twine

Emboss Resist in Blues

When the new In Colors came out in July, I didn't care for Blue Bayou, but it has really grown on me. It's especially great paired with Soft Sky. This card was for Sketch Challenge 145 on SCS last week. Although it's hard to see in the photo, a portion of the card front is cut off of the right side, allowing the inside of the card to be seen. I stamped the same image in Soft Sky along the inside of the card. Emboss resist is a fun technique, and I got the idea for sponging 2 different colors over the image from reneejul1's blog.

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Stem Silhouettes; Paper: Glossy White, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Soft Sky Prints designer paper; Ink: Versamark, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou; Accessories: Crystal Clear embossing powder, Soft Sky double-stitched ribbon, ticket corner punch, sponges

Something A Little Different

This is a gift bag made out of a sheet of designer paper. This is all the rage on SCS, and it was a 3D Demo challenge a couple of weeks ago. I was all excited, thinking it sounded really cool. Now that I've made the bag, I'm wondering what the heck I would use it for. The bag is 5" across by 4" tall. A CD won't even fit into it. Plus, it's actually a tube folded in half so there's 2 sides to the bag. It seems a little weird to me. What would you put in it? I would love your suggestions! I think I'm going to try to modify the directions to make it bigger. I'll keep you posted!

Wanted: Happy Birthday

Stampin' Up puts out this awesome demonstrator planner that is like a regular DayTimer but has extra stuff to help demonstrators. For each month, they have 2 sketches and 3 color combos. The color combo I chose was Confetti White, Kraft and Really Rust. I cheated a little by using Creamy Caramel ink because there is no Kraft ink. My friend, Rhonda, was kind enough to let me borrow her Wanted set to make 2 cards. Thanks again, Rhonda! I've used this set 3 times now, and I'm starting to think I HAVE to have it. (The medallion fits into the scallop circle punch! And there's a punch for the star!)
I got a few things made last night, so I will definitely have stuff to post this week.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Wanted, It's Your Birthday; Paper: Confetti White, Kraft, Really Rust; Ink: Creamy Caramel, Really Rust; Accessories: Cutter Kit, natural hemp twine

Stampin' Up! November Special

Wow! I just found out today that SU will be having a special in November: Buy 3 packs of Double Sided Designer Paper, Get 1 Free! What an awesome deal! You've got plenty of time to spend poring over the catalog to decide which ones to get. I highly recommend Cutie Pie and Dashing. I already have those, so I've got some decisions to make myself!
I have craft night at church tomorrow night, so I'll have some new projects to post after that.

Joseph's Coat for Autumn

Let me start off by saying that I got the idea for this card from someone's blog. I have no idea whose it was. If it was you, please e-mail me so I can give you credit.
I've done the Joseph's Coat technique before, but I didn't really like it because you use black as the top color. When I saw a card using brown instead, I decided to give it another try!

Start by applying multiple colors of ink to glossy cardstock. Here, I've used the Pumpkin Patch Spectrum pad and a brayer. Next, stamp your images with Versamark.

Apply clear embossing powder. (You can see what that looks like in this photo.) Heat just until melted. Don't overheat or it will vanish!

This photo shows what you'll see after the EP is melted. Next, brayer over the entire piece with a dark color. In this example, I used Basic Brown. Allow the ink some time to dry, and then buff the embossed images with a paper towel to remove excess ink.

This is the finished piece.

I really love how this turned out, although I'm not totally happy with the card. It looked better in my head!

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: With Gratitude, Canvas bg, So Many Sayings; Paper: glossy white, More Mustard, Old Olive; Ink: Versamark, Pumpkin Patch Spectrum, Basic Brown, Old Olive; Accessories: brayer, Crystal Clear EP, ticket corner punch, word window punch, More Mustard narrow grosgrain ribbon

Photo Wallet Revisited

I decided to make another photo wallet for my friend Rosa. Last September, we went to the Minneapolis Regional together. What a blast! Anyway, I decided to use Double-Line Doodles since that is the set we got that day. I did the journaling as though Rosa was doing it. The hardest part for me was to fit the photos on those little cards! They are 2 3/4 X 4, and I tend to make my photos close-ups.

This week, I'm hoping to make a card using the Joseph's Coat technique as well as one of Beate's file folder cards, since I haven't done that yet. Plus I need to get a demo planner challenge card done, and I have a card of Jenn Balcer's to CASE. Not to mention whatever challenges that SCS has. Oh, and my MIL has asked me to make 20 lip balm holders for her. (Go Avon!) So keep checking back as I should have some good things for you to see.

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Double-Line Doodles, Doodle This; Paper: Marigold Morning (retired), Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Rose Red, Basic Black; Ink: Basic Black, Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive; Accessories: black brads, Basic Black narrow grosgrain ribbon, 1/16" hole punch, 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" circle punches, scallop circle punch, white gel pen, Whisper White mini envelopes, Stampin' Dimensionals

Sandi's Projects

On Monday, I went to a class at my up-up-upline, Sandi's house. It was so great to be able to just sit and stamp! I didn't have to cut or demo anything, what a great change of pace for me! The set we used was Fundamental Phrases; you can see the words on all 3 of the cards. The Soft Sky card with the bear on it has 1 1/4" cut off of the front of the card, and that edge is pierced and folded up 1/4". The pink card is a 3X3 card; it uses Priceless. That is the set for next month's class. I already signed up for it too, and I told myself I wasn't going to get that set. But it has swirls AND a flower AND a butterfly. How can anyone resist that??? The card on the right is my favorite. It uses Wanted and the Sanded background. I've been resisting Wanted too, but after making this card and seeing the card Beate made with the horse yesterday, I know I'm going to cave!

What Would Beate Stamp?

This card combines this week's Sketch Challenge and Color Challenge on SCS. If you've seen Beate's work, this color challenge is all her! So I decided to make a card in her style. Did I succeed? Oh, I know she would have gussied it up a little more, but I think it turned out pretty well!
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Garden Whimsy, Whimsy jumbo wheel, Fundamental Phrases, Paisley bg, Canvas bg; Paper: River Rock, Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Blue Bayou; Accessories: round tab punch, Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, cutter kit, sponge

True Friend CASE

When I saw the Holiday Mini, I knew right away that the one stamp set I wanted was True Friend. A girl can never have enough flower stamps, right? This card is a CASE of a card by Inkalicious on SCS. (CASE means Copy And Share Everything. It's giving credit where credit is due!) Check out her original card on her blog, http://alittleinkalicious.blogspot.com . Her original card used pomegranate for the card base and ribbon as well as patterned paper for both layers. For mine I used the Chocolate Chip ribbon and cardstock. That ribbon is super-soft! The patterned paper is Apple Cider; both that paper and the ribbon are also from the Holiday Mini. (The ribbon is also in the Theater Ribbon Originals in the big catty.) For the other patterned layer, I stamped the Paisley bg onto Guava. To add some texture, I sponged all of the layers with Chocolate Chip. That's a tip I picked up from Beate.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: True Friend, Paisley; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi; Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Apple Cider; Accessories: Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, ticket corner punch, sponge