Oops! Pretend it's Friday!

I just noticed that I didn't post on Friday. Oops! So you'll get posts 2 days in a row. Well, I think this card was worth the wait, don't you? It's not often that I'm as happy with a card as I am with this one. It's just like the picture in my head, maybe even a little better! This was the first card I made for the demo challenge to make a fall card without using Earth Elements. The cut-out leaf has Dazzling Diamond Dust. I used sponge daubers to make the leaves multicolored.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: With Sympathy, Refuge and Strength, Sanded; Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron, Only Orange; Ink: So Saffron, Kiwi Kiss, Only Orange, Real Red; Accessories: Irridescent Ice EP, designer label punch, Styled Silver HPH, Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla satin ribbon, sponge daubers, photo corner punch

One layer card for fall

The Workshop Wow challenge I posted this week was to make a fall card without using Earth Elements. (For demos Down Under, it was make a spring card without using Soft Subtles.) I was called mean and evil! Hey, it's supposed to be a CHALLENGE, not something easy! LOL Someone jokingly said I should make a second card to give them some more inspiration. I took the challenge, and this is actually my second card. (I'll post the first one on Friday.) I don't really consider this a wow, but it was a fun card and only took about 15 minutes to make since I already had the oval shape cut for my mask.
I used reverse masking to create the oval shape. I took a piece of cardstock with an oval already cut out of it and used it like a stencil on the card. I sponged Sahara Sand around the edges of the opening onto the Kraft cardstock. Then I removed the mask and stamped the branch of flowers first in White StazOn and then in Always Artichoke and Bravo Burgundy. I used the Stampamajig to stamp slightly out of alignment. (This is called faux dry embossing. Even though I used StazOn, I would recommend using white craft ink as it will stand out more. I was just too lazy to heat emboss.) I used the same technique for the sentiment. I tied on the ribbon, tore off the edge of the cardfront and ran my Sahara Sand spot over the torn edge. I paper pierced a border, and the card was done!
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Wonderful Words; Paper: Kraft; Ink: White StazOn, Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy, Sahara Sand; Accessories: Coluzzle, Bravo Burgundy narrow grosgrain, crafters tool kit, Stampamajig

A color challenge card

I made this card for Julie's color challenge last weekend. The color combo is Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy and Garden Green. I have to say that I am loving Baja Breeze, and for some reason I have been using Garden Green more recently. So this combo was right up my alley.
In Julie's post, she mentioned blue flowers, and that made me think of Garden Whimsy. I LOVE this set, but for some reason, I never seem to use it. I inked the tulip stamp with Baja Breeze and Garden Green then used a sponge dauber to add NQN around the edges of the flower. That was a tip I read about from Convention. The sponge dauber gives good control, and you can really load it up with ink too. I used the Coluzzle to cut out the image and mat and then used the corner rounder punch to scallop the edge of the mat. I used my ink spot and sponge dauber to color the ribbon in NQN; it looks darker in the picture than it does IRL. For the card base, I used a scrap of cardstock to make a nice edge when I was stamping the random ladybugs. Then I tied the ribbon along that line and stamped the sentiment in Garden Green.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Garden Whimsy, Refuge and Strength; Paper: Whisper White, Garden Green, Baja Breeze; Ink: Baja Breeze, Garden Green, Not Quite Navy; Accessories: Coluzzle, corner rounder punch, Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon, sponge dauber
Happy stamping!

Bookmark card

This weekend was Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) on SCS. It is 2 days of fun challenges scheduled every hour. I wasn't able to play too much this time, but I did get one challenge done: a bookmark card. I've been wanting to make one for a long time. The one I chose to make has a bookmark attached, and the recipient just tears it off. I decided to make a masculine card, although I think it would work for a woman too.
Here is the template for my card.
Here is the inside of the card.
Here's a better view of the bookmark. I decided to do the moonlighting technique on both the card and the bookmark. I'll be demonstrating this technique at my October workshops.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, So Many Sayings (retired), Hugs & Wishes; Paper: Confetti White, Kraft, Not Quite Navy; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Not Quite Navy, So Saffron; Accessories: cutter kit, 1 3/8" circle punch, sponges, Cropadile, metallic eyelets, Always Artichoke narrow grosgrain ribbon
Happy stamping!

Got my new stuff!

My new stuff came today! Whoohoo!! I didn't have a lot of time, but I just had to make something. Thankfully, it only took about 5 minutes to mount my stamps since they are die cut. I wanted to use this branch from Eastern Blooms and my new Urban Garden paper, so I decided to make a Z fold card. I embellished the card with embossed flowers and a little ribbon knot.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Eastern Blooms; Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Basic Gray, Urban Garden DSP; Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy; Accessories: ticket corner punch, double rectangle punch, Flower Frenzy classy brass template, Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla satin ribbon
It's Virtual Stamp Night at SCS this weekend, so check it out!
Happy stamping!

CASEing the catalog

I love the new catalog! Not only is it full of awesome new stuff, it also has great projects in it. I've already gone through the catalog and made a list of projects that I want to CASE. When I saw the card on page 86 made with Bloomin' Beautiful, I knew right away that it would also look great with Heartfelt Thanks. So I sat down and made it! I used the faux linen technique for the focal image; I haven't done that one in a while and I just love the look of it! Sanded background added to it even more. The other change I made was the ribbon I used on the right side of the card; the original used a strip of DSP. I didn't use any stitching on my card either; I'm not into sewing plus I think the technique added plenty of texture.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks, Sanded; Paper: glossy white, Bashful Blue, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip; Ink: Bashful Blue, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel; Accessories: 1/2" circle punch, Pretties kit, Bashful Blue narrow grosgrain ribbon, Kraft taffeta ribbon, sanding block, sponge, Stampamajig
So when you're in need of inspiration, just grab your catalog!
Happy stamping!

Using a brass template

Here is a card I made on Friday. What do you think of the color combo? It's different for me, and I really like it! It's Bashful Blue, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie and Garden Green. I got it from SU's list of color combos using the new In Colors. The card layout is a sketch from SCS; I think it was SC 168.
I used my Priceless brass template on the flowers. I can't believe how easy it is to use one! I don't have a light box, and you don't even need one if you have an Empressor stylus. It has a bigger tip and doesn't damage the cardstock if you go over an area that's outside of the design. (I didn't take pictures because I don't think I could get good still shots. If I ever get a video camera, I'll make a video.)
In this case, I stamped the flowers first. Then I lined up the brass template over the stamped image. I held it in place while I turned the cardstock over. Since I had my hand there, I knew what area to start in. Then I just moved the Empressor around. You can kind of feel the edges as you move it.
I think the hardest thing about making this card was not using patterned paper! I don't have anything current and didn't want to use retired. It's amazing how spoiled I've gotten having the DSP to rely on instead of just stamping!

Here is a close-up of one of the flowers so you can see the embossing a little better.

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Priceless, Heard from the Heart, Sanded; Paper: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Garden Green, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Black textured; Ink: Bashful Blue, Garden Green, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie; Accessories: Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon, circle punches ( 1 1/4, 1 3/8, scallop), Priceless classy brass template, Empressor

My order arrives on Thursday, so I will have patterned paper again as well as a new brass template to play with. Maybe I'll try to take pictures just to see if I can get anything decent. Hopefully, I'll be inspired by my new stuff; I think the heat has killed my mojo!

Happy stamping!

Heat & Stick Powder tutorial

Today on SCS, someone was having trouble with Heat & Stick powder. It can be a little tricky to use at first. That made me think I should do a tutorial. I think I already did one, but it was pretty lame. I think this one is much better! Hopefully, you will agree.
Heat & Stick powder is basically a granular glue that melts when heated. It comes in a little jar like embossing powder. The grains are larger than EP, and it tends to clump but the clumps break apart easily.

I keep all of my EP, glitter and Heat & Stick in plastic containers like the one shown above. This allows me to hold my cardstock or chipboard over the container. I use a little scoop to cover the item, and all of the excess falls right back into the container. It doesn't totally eliminate the mess, but it is greatly reduced!

Now, on to the tutorial. For this card, I will be covering a chipboard heart in glitter.

Step 1: Coat the chipboard well with VersaMark. I don't just give it one tap into the pad; I smoosh it if possible. Notice how shiny and well-coated the chipboard is in the above photo.
Step 2: Pour on the Heat & Stick powder and shake off the excess. Step 3: Heat the powder just until it melts and turns shiny. Don't overheat it! Notice that mine still looks grainy. It's okay if it doesn't melt totally. It's better to underheat than overheat.
Step 4: Pour on the glitter. Tap off the excess. Heat again briefly to set the glitter down into the glue. That's it!
Card details: I watercolored the monkey with ink and aquapainter. "Just for you" was stamped with Chocolate Chip craft ink. I used Mono Multi to adhere the twill tape.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Sock Monkey, Sanded; Paper: Confetti White, Rose Red, Close to Cocoa; Ink: Black StazOn, Close to Cocoa, Rose Red, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip craft; Accessories: On Board Basics (retired), fine cosmo glitter, Heat & Stick powder, heat tool, cutter kit, scallop border punch, aquapainter, twill tape
Happy stamping!

Shadow embossed butterflies

I made this card for this week's Workshop Wow challenge. We are in our last week of summer re-runs, and this week's re-run is shadow embossing. I wish you could see this card in person; it's hard to see the shadow part of it in the photo.
Here's what I did: I started by stamping the focal image in Close to Cocoa craft ink. Then I masked it off and stamped the butterflies all over the card in VersaMark. I embossed all of the images at once using clear EP. So the butterflies look like shadows, get it? The reason I masked the focal image is because I wanted to color it in, and I didn't want the butterfly images to get in the way of that. I used Ruby Red and Mellow Moss ink and a blender pen to color. I stamped the butterfly with Close to Cocoa craft ink on a scrap, embossed it with clear EP, colored it and attached it to the knot of the ribbon with Mono Multi.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Dreams du Jour; Paper: Pink Pirouette; Ink: Versamark, Ruby Red, Mellow Moss, Close to Cocoa craft; Accessories: scallop border punch, Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon, clear EP, blender pen
You will find a link over to the right for the new Stampin' Up! catalog. I will warn you, though, that it's a PDF instead of the usual online catalog. That's because SU will be offering online ordering in the near future.
Happy stamping!

Another wicked card

Here is another card from the SCS WICKED challenge. This card uses Jan's sketch and her moonlighting technique. My focal image is a little larger than the one in the sketch, but I made it work. The color combo is So Saffron, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip and Perfect Plum.
For the moonlighting technique, stamp your image and color it in. Punch out a circle from a post-it note to mask off the moon. Sponge all over the image then color in the moon if desired. A great tip I read on SCS was to use the post-it note left over from punching out the circle for coloring the moon neatly.
I colored the ground Always Artichoke and the tree trunks Chocolate Chip then I sponged Perfect Plum and a little Chocolate Chip over the whole thing. I sponged some So Saffron onto the moon.
Instead of ribbon, I used a strip of Perfect Plum cardstock with a line of paper piercing.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Sanded, Weathered; Paper: Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum; Ink: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Always Artichoke, Perfect Plum; Accessories: sponge, small oval punch, crafters tool kit, watercolor crayons, aquapainter, 1 1/4" circle punch

Don't forget about my stamps for sale!

Don't forget that I have retired/retiring stamps for sale in this post. There are some great bargains to be found!

Faux tearing

This week's workshop wow challenge is faux tearing. I've never tried this before, but it was a lot of fun! I'm not sure if this card is a wow, but the technique certainly is!
I started by sticking 2 long post-it notes together so they would be longer than my cardstock. Then I tore along the sticky edge, making sure the whole edge was still sticky. I used 2 more post-it notes to mask off the rest of the card. I stamped the Floral background with Old Olive ink onto my Certainly Celery base. For the next step, you are supposed to move the post-it note a little and then sponge to simulate the torn edge. Luckily for me, there was a blank area along the torn edge that did not get stamped, so all I had to do was sponge without even moving the post-it note!
Here's what it looks like after I removed all of the post-it notes. Pretty cool, huh? I wanted the rest of the card to be pretty simple, so I stamped the sentiment onto Very Vanilla cardstock with Old Olive ink and sponged it with Certainly Celery after I punched the corners. I adhered that to a layer of Pumpkin Pie and added 3 layers of Flower Fusion held in place with a brad from the Hodgepodge Hardware kit.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Floral, Heard from the Heart; Paper: Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery; Ink: Certainly Celery, Old Olive; Accessories: ticket corner punch, Flower Fusion, Styled Silver HPH
Happy stamping!

My first WICKED challenge card

As I posted on Monday, we had our first WICKED challenge on SCS. Here is the card I made for the color combo. The colors are So Saffron, Perfect Plum, Tangerine Tango, and Kiwi Kiss. This is definitely out of the box for me! I did the Emerging Color technique. I think it's really cool-looking. I dyed the vanilla taffeta ribbon by putting it into a sandwich bag with a few drops of Kiwi Kiss reinker and a little water. I smooshed it all around until the ribbon was totally colored, blotted on a paper towel and then dried it with my heat tool. (Be careful with the heat tool, the ribbon crinkles up very easily!)
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Refuge & Strength; Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron, Perfect Plum, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss; Ink: VersaMark, Perfect Plum, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss; Accessories: clear EP, brayer, ticket corner punch, heat tool, Styled Silver HPH
Gotta run and read my new catalog!!
Happy stamping!

There's a new blog in town...

And it belongs to Shelli Gardner! Yes, the founder and CEO of Stampin' Up! has started her own blog. It's called So Shelli, and the address is http://www.soshelli.com/. Shelli has a beautiful shabby chic style; she will also have her own line of products with SU beginning with the Holiday Mini catalog! Be sure to check out her blog. She is hosting a monthly challenge; the link is on the left side of her home page. I can't wait to see what she has to show us!
Happy stamping!

Better late than never, right?

Sorry for the late post! I usually schedule them in advance, and I totally forgot! I guess posting over the weekend threw me off. That's my story, anyway! Plus there's all kinds of hubbub in stamping land with the SU convention just ending and the new catalogs shipping. The catalogs ship directly from the printer, so SU doesn't have a tracking # to give us. So every year, the first person in the US to get their catalogs goes onto SCS and posts their reference #. Then we can use the reference # and our zip code to track the packages. Well, some demos got their catalogs today, AND THERE'S NO REFERENCE #!! What?? All of the demos on SCS are just freaking out. It's scary and funny at the same time. Also, we started a new demo challenge today: the WICKED stamper challenge. (In case you are wondering, WICKED stands for Wonderfully Inspiring Challenges Keep Educating Demos. And wicked also means cool these days!) We're featuring a demo each month who will create some challenges for us. Our first WICKED stamper is JanTInk! Can you believe it?? I almost passed out when she said yes! As JulieHRR would say, SHUT UP!! AND she created a technique just for us. Check out her blog to see the technique and tutorial. She is hilarious! We had a teaser thread going, and she posted that she thought it was about a chair because she thought it said wicker. I almost fell off my chair laughing. So anyway, I had to get the new challenge thread ready to go. So it was a busy weekend, plus I even cleaned my stamp room a little bit! (Is that enough excuses for forgetting to schedule today's post?)
On to today's project! This is a double pocket bag. It's made from a sheet of 12 X 12 DSP. It's super easy, and it's really cute. I have to confess that when I first made one, I hated it! I thought it would be a little bigger, but I got over it. Here is the SCS tutorial complete with pictures and measurements. I have another confession: I didn't really measure anything when I made this. I kind of measured part of it. So if you don't like to measure, you'll like this bag! The finished size is 4 3/4" tall by 5 1/4" wide. I did measure that! And as the name implies, it has 2 pockets.
If the piece on the front of the bag looks familiar, it's because I took it off a card I had made. (When I say I took it off the card, that is literally what I did.) I made the card at Sandi's and then CASEd it for a swap. I posted the card here if you want to take a look back.
Happy stamping!

Retired/Retiring Stamp Sets for Sale!

I have finally gotten a list of my retired/retiring sets ready to go! Check it out here. Retiring sets are not available until August 11. All shipping is USPS Priority Mail; the amount depends on what size box I need to ship in. If I know you personally, I will accept your check. If I don't know you, I accept PayPal.
I'll likely be keeping this post at the top, so scroll down for newer posts.
Happy stamping!

Rickrack tutorial

Is it ric rac or rick rack? I just looked it up online, and it appears to be one word. Rickrack is preferred with ricrac secondary. Now you know!
Anyway, here is a tutorial on making rickrack using the new scallop border punch. Let me say up front that this punch is a little tricky when you are punching long strips. That's because once one end is punched, it gets a little wobbly. Look at the right end of the Baja Breeze strip, and you can see where it was a little off.
For the kraft strip, I started with a 1" strip of cardstock, and for the Baja Breeze piece, I started with a 7/8" strip.

The key to getting a good strip of rickrack is to start the first side with the edge of the cardstock lined up right where one scallop starts. In this photo, I've lined it up on the left side. (In case you are wondering, only the part that is on the top of the punch is what punches. The bottom part is a guide for lining up the scallops when punching multiple times in a row. It's hard to see in the photo, but there is a measuring guide along the bottom edge of the guide. This is great for centering your scallops on a piece of cardstock!)
Here you can see the punched scallops aligned with the scallops on the guide. I usually turn the punch over to look and make sure I didn't move the cardstock too far. I don't want to goof it up!
After I've punched the entire first side, it's time to do the other side. MAKING SURE YOU ARE USING THE EDGE THAT STARTS WITH THE FULL SCALLOP, line the edge up in the MIDDLE of one of the scallops on the guide.
Sometimes when I'm at the end of a strip, I turn the punch over and check that the scallops line up correctly in the punch. Like I said, the strip gets a little wobbly when you get to the end.

The big news from the SU convention yesterday is that SU has teamed up with Sizzix to carry the Big Shot. SU will also carry quite a few of the dies, and some of the dies will be made exclusively to match SU stamp sets. It will be available at the beginning of September.

Happy stamping!

Glitter window cards

This week's Workshop Wow challenge was a repeat of the glitter window. The traditional glitter window is where you cut a hole in cardstock, cover it with packing tape and coat the sticky side with Dazzling Diamonds. Then you put a stamped image behind it.
The two cards I've shown here use a different glitter window. See my previous post here for a tutorial.
The card above started with a 3" Barely Banana circle (it's actually slightly smaller than 3") that I cut with the Coluzzle. Then I punched the five petal flower punch twice and covered the opening with clear packing tape. I stamped the flower image from Priceless using Barely Banana and Garden Green, punched that out with the 1 1/4" circle punch and added a Rose Red brad to the center. I put it in the center of the sticky opening and poured Rose Red fine cosmo glitter over it. The glitter covers all of the sticky part, and you just pour off the excess. (For some reason, I could see through the glitter on this one, but you can't tell once you adhere it to your card.)
I adhered the circle to a 3" square of Garden Green; I'm not sure if I've ever used that cardstock before! I used a 4 1/4" square Barely Banana card base, adhered a 4" square of Bali Breeze DSP, and attached the Garden Green square on the diagonal. I decided to stop there because I like how it looks just as it is.
This color combo as well as the one for the next card came from the SU Color Coach. I used the glitter colors as the starting point.

For the second card, I started with a 3" square of Barely Banana cardstock, punched the tab punch out twice to form the circle in the center, and covered the opening with packing tape. I stamped the same Priceless flower in Perfect Plum and Not Quite Navy and punched it out with the 1 1/4" circle punch. I adhered the circle in the center of the opening and poured on the Bashful Blue fine cosmo glitter. Again, I could see through the glitter, so I adhered the whole thing to a 3 1/4" square of Bashful Blue. The card base is Whisper White with a 4" X 5 1/4" piece of Pale Plum on top with the Priceless swirls stamped in Not Quite Navy and Perfect Plum.
Try these glitter windows. They are so fun!
The Stampin' Up! convention is in full swing; those lucky demos have the catalog and some new stamp sets to play with. If you want all of the scoop, there is a convention forum on SCS where all of the details are being shared. Three things that excited me: the edge of the catalog is scalloped; new Flower Fusion in Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette and Baja Breeze; and a new scallop square punch. There's also a curvy label punch and new oval punch that we already had sneak peeks for. All of these punches have coordinating stamp sets! I also heard that Shelli Gardner is starting her own blog as well as a line of products that she personally loves; those will debut in the Occasions Mini. The new catalogs start shipping today. I hope to have mine by next Friday.
Happy stamping!