Using scraps

This week's challenge was to use scraps. I added the challenge of using designer paper scraps and using the DSP in an unusual way, not just as a layer.
My card is actually a challenge trifecta! I used Patty's sketch from last week, my scrap challenge this week, and last Friday's 3-D challenge, which is Angie Tieman's paper rosette. Additionally, the cardfront is the only cardstock that was not from my scrap pile!
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Love You Much; Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Muirfield DSP; Ink: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss; Accessories: Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon, blender pen, white gel pen
Happy stamping!

Great gift idea

I decorated this frame for my SIL, Angela, for Christmas. The photo is of her son (my nephew) Teddy "helping" my son Daniel play video games. Teddy just turned 4, and he is learning all kinds of interesting things from his cousin! Last year, he and Daniel watched a "bad guy movie" (James Bond) together, and he talked about it for weeks.
Anyway, this is a frame I got at the Target Dollar Spot a couple of years ago. I think it was Fathers Day when they had them, and I stocked up. They hold a 4X6 photo. I chose Muirfield DSP to cover the frame because I think it's very masculine. These 2 prints are on the same sheet, so I cut an 8X10 piece (I think) then cut it into 2 pieces with one a little bigger than the other. I flipped one piece over then adhered the 2 pieces together with a 1/2" overlap. I used Mono Multi adhesive to stick the paper to the frame. If you use this, let it sit a little and get tacky before really trying to adhere the paper; I found it didn't stick properly when I first applied it. To cut out the area for the photo, I traced the center opening onto the paper and then used a scissor to make a hole and cut inside the line I traced so I would have an edge to stick down. I added the Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon to hide the seam in the paper.
Happy stamping!

December WICKED challenge card

First of all, I hope you all had a very merry Christmas! I certainly did, and that's why I'm so late posting today. I had planned to go visit family on Christmas eve and then come back on Christmas morning to take care of my dog. At the last minute, Daniel found someone who could take care of the dog for us, so I was able to stay until today.
I made this card using Vera's awesome sketch and color combo for the December WICKED demo challenge on SCS. It's a very unusual color combo: Basic Black, Always Artichoke, Bordering Blue and Tangerine Tango. I would have never thought of it myself, but I like the way it looks. The hardest part was finding some ribbon that I could use!
I used faux linen on the focal image: stamp your image on glossy cardstock, sand in 2 directions then lightly sponge on some color to emphasize the "threads" that you created by sanding. I cut out the image and mat with my Coluzzle. Please notice the dry embossing on the right side of the card! I just love the Floral Frenzy classy brass template, and the edge of it is the exact size of the short side of a standard card. Genius!
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Warm Words; Paper: glossy white, Basic Black, Bordering Blue; Ink: Always Artichoke, Tangerine Tango, Bordering Blue; Accessories: Coluzzle, black narrow grosgrain ribbon, sanding block, empressor, Floral Frenzy classy brass template
Happy stamping!

No more Christmas cards!

I don't know about you, but I am tired of Christmas cards! (Not receiving them, just making them.) So today I am posting a non-Christmas card. And I think I came up with something new all on my own! Whoohoo! (At least, I haven't seen this posted anywhere yet.)
I made a flower using the new Heart to Heart punch! It was easy-peasy.

I started with a 1" circle and 8 of the biggest heart from the new punch. I punched these from Parisian Summer DSP. I folded each one in half to give it some dimension and make it look a little more like petals. I adhered 4 of them by the tips using a dot of MonoMulti adhesive. I placed them at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock, and I left a little space in the center.

Then I filled in the other 4. So easy! I added a filigree designer brad to the center.

The mellow moss piece of the card is faux suede. I crumpled it up and then ran it between my thumb and bone folder a bunch of times. Then I peeled the layers apart. Because it was such a big piece, it didn't pull apart in one big piece, but I was able to get it all apart. Then I stamped one of the Boho Backgrounds on it in So Saffron craft ink; it's really hard to see, but it's there! So Saffron polytwill and some hugs and kisses complete the card.

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Fundamental Phrases, Boho Backgrounds; Paper: Kraft, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla, Parisian Summer DSP; Ink: Bravo Burgundy, So Saffron craft; Accessories: 1" circle punch, Heart to Heart punch, filigree designer brads, So Saffron polytwill ribbon, Styled Silver hodgepodge hardware, bone folder

Happy stamping!

More Love You Much

This is the first card I made using the new stamp set and DSP. I think it was for one of Beate's sketch challenges. Notice that I stamped 2 of the images right onto the DSP. It's a great look that I don't often think of doing. I colored in the word Love with the white gel pen.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Love You Much; Paper: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Candy Lane DSP; Ink: Basic Brown; Accessories: white gel pen, Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon, 1" & 1 1/4" circle punches
Happy stamping!

Love You Much sneak peek!

I made this card for my training buddy, Alyssa, for her 25th birthday last weekend. It uses a new stamp set and DSP from the upcoming catalog! The stamp set is called Love You Much, and the DSP is called Candy Lane. There is also a 3-heart punch that coordinates with a stamp in the set!
SU is offering these 3 items bundled together at 20% off as a sneak peek for the new catty! The bundle is available for $41.48 from 12/23 through 1/31. So if you order it on 12/23, it can qualify for the free shipping promotion for a $70 order. Please contact me if you would like more information about the bundle or the free shipping promotion.
On to the card details! I started with a Close to Cocoa cardbase and stamped Sanded with Pretty in Pink craft ink. For the focal image, I stamped the big heart onto Very Vanilla with Basic Brown ink and colored it with Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red ink using a blender pen. I popped it up onto a square of Candy Lane DSP on a Pink Pirouette mat. I added a scalloped border of Candy Lane DSP at the bottom and tied some Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon around it. The scalloped circle is another Love You Much stamp punched out with the scalloped circle punch. (This set works with TWO punches! Yay!) I added a Close to Cocoa circle on top and then an oval label holder with the sentiment from the stamp set. (I got this great layering idea from Mary Fish's blog, Stampin' Pretty.)
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Love You Much, Sanded; Paper: Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red textured, Candy Lane DSP; Ink: Basic Brown, Pretty in Pink craft; Accessories: scallop border punch, scallop circle punch, small oval punch, 1" circle punch, Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon, Styled Silver HPH
P.S. I can show this now because SU just changed their policy on promotions. Previously, we were not allowed to advertise or show images from promotions until they were available to the public. As of today, we are able to publicize them in advance.
Happy stamping!

My Christmas cards are done!

Here is the final result! I'm so happy with how they came out. And somehow it's a one layer card, which I usually have so much trouble making.
As you can see, it's similar to the card I made before. There are a couple of differences. First, I stamped the snowflake in white craft ink all around the edges for a more solid look; random just looked odd. Then for the focal image, I used the baby wipe technique just like on my gift card holder (same colors). But before I inked up the stamp, I inked it with VersaMark. Then I embossed the image with Irridescent Ice EP to add sparkle. You can use this technique to emboss with any classic ink; just ink with VersaMark first. The VersaMark won't hurt your classic ink pad in any way.

Here's a side view to show some of the sparkle!

Happy stamping!

Star tag/ornament

Yesterday, I saw this cool ornament posted on Shelli Gardner's blog (www.soshelli.com) as well as on Jackie Topa's blog. Jackie posted instructions that I used as a guide for my project.
Jackie's instructions call for 6 squares of DSP that are 4"each. I made mine 3" each so I could use my Patterns Pack that is a level 1 hostess set. My ornament is about 4 1/2" when open, and I think that is plenty large enough.
For the outer pieces, I used the center punched from a 2 1/2" square of Real Red textured cardstock using the scallop border punch. (I used this same technique here and here.) I ended up trimming the points off the corners because they got in the way when the ornament was opened.

Here is what it looks like when the ornament is closed. I would use this as a tag, I guess, rather than a card since it's so small. On both sides, I stamped the snowflake from Scandinavian Season in white craft ink onto shimmery white cardstock then embossed with Irridescent Ice EP and punched it out with the 1 1/4" square punch.
On Shelli's blog, she explained that the button holds the piece in place whether it's open or closed.

Here are the 6 pieces of DSP after they are folded. Jackie's directions are very easy to follow!

Here is a close up of one piece.

Here are all of the pieces adhered together before I added the ribbon and button.
Happy stamping!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful!

This was the view from my kitchen window this afternoon. It hasn't gotten any better! We are under a blizzard warning until noon Monday. The mall closed, they pulled the city buses, and school is already cancelled for tomorrow. Daniel went into work anyway. He is a cashier at the local grocery store and walks about 5 blocks to work. I'm hoping I won't have work tomorrow so I can finish my Christmas cards! (I worked on a different project today. Look for that one tomorrow!)

Card from PattyB

Look at the gorgeous card I received from PattyB! She is my co-hostess for the workshop wow demo challenge, and she is also in charge of keeping the demo challenge hostesses in line. That's a pretty tough job!
I've been looking the card over, and I think she used More Mustard to look like gold. It's so pretty! IRL, there is some glitter on the tree, but it's hard to see in the photo. I'm so happy that Lovely as a Tree didn't retire!

Quick card with retiring sets

First of all, I'm happy to report that I only have 8 sets that are retiring! Canvas and Floral are the ones that I'm sad to see go. Hopefully, SU will have some awesome new background stamps coming because they retired quite a few!
I needed to make a card to post for you because I've been stamping with stuff I can't show you yet. The card needed to be quick, so here's what I came up with. This only took about 10 minutes.
I started with Perfect Plum cardstock and stamped Floral on it using Basic Brown. Then I stamped an image from Take Three onto Very Vanilla using Perfect Plum and Chocolate Chip ink. So Saffron brads add pop to the flowers.
I used the horizontal slot punch to make an opening in the side of the card for the So Saffron polytwill ribbon. Instead of tying a knot, I cut a V in one edge and just wrapped the ribbon around the card, adhering both ends securely. I attached the focal image with dimensionals.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Take Three, Floral; Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Basic Brown, Perfect Plum; Accessories: So Saffron brads, horizontal slot punch, ticket corner punch, So Saffron polytwill ribbon
Happy stamping!

Retiring list!

The retiring list is out, and here it is! For the first time that I can remember, Stampin' Up! is offering a 10% discount on retiring sets! Whoohoo! The discount is only good through December 23, so get out your wish list now.
Update: SU is also offering free shipping on all orders $70 or more also through December 23.

Christmas ornament

Here is the Christmas ornament we made at the workshop last week. It is very easy to make, and because it's flat, you can easily include inside of a Christmas card!
Does it look vaguely familiar? If so, it's because it's very similar to the focal image on my burnished velvet card. As I said previously, I got the idea for that from Taylor VanBruggen at Taylored Expressions. Then I saw that Crystal (blog link on the right) made it into a Christmas ornament. Fabulous idea, Crystal!
I started with a 2 3/4" square of Brushed Gold cardstock. I punched the scallop border punch once (centered) on each side. Next I took 2 squares of Riding Hood Red cardstock, each 2 1/2", and did the same thing. The center comes out, and I attached them on each side of the gold piece. Next I stamped the image from Baroque Motifs twice onto Shimmery White cardstock using VersaMark and embossed with gold EP. I punched them out using the scallop circle punch and layered those on top of the RHR piece. (You could also cut out the image if you want more of the red layer to show.) A piece of gold cord and Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon completes the ornament.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Baroque Motifs; Paper: Shimmery White, Brushed Gold, Riding Hood Red; Ink: VersaMark; Accessories: gold EP, scallop circle punch, 1/16" hole punch, scallop border punch, Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon, gold cord
Tomorrow the retiring stamp set list is posted. Check back here to see it. If you're one of my regular customers, I'll be e-mailing it to you if I have your e-mail address.
Happy stamping!

Two awards!

Kathy gave me an award! Thanks, Kathy! Be sure to check out the gorgeous ornaments on Kathy's blog. If you've got clear glass ornaments at your house, grab your reinkers and glitter and get busy!

I also got an award from Lorien! I "met" Lorien on SCS when she hosted a swap I did, and we have both been in Crystal's swaps together. She was running a Christmas Cardapalooza on her blog earlier, so head over there for great card ideas for the holidays.

According to Lorien's blog, this award means that this blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY- nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming.These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends.They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.

Thanks, Lorien!

I think most of my blogging sisters have gotten awards already, so if you haven't gotten one, consider yourself awarded and pass it on!

Happy stamping!

Tis the season to give gift cards

Last night, I had a workshop at Louise's house. Louise moved to Two Harbors, so she hasn't stamped with us for a while. We really missed her, so we had the workshop at her place last night. Since we had to drive about 1/2 hour to get there, I decided to keep it simple with 2 fun projects.
This card is a gift card holder. I've seen lots of them around, but not too many of them are standard card size. This one is!
The tree image is stamped using the baby wipe technique. I used a stack of baby wipes as an inkpad and covered it in drops of Old Olive, Real Red and Chocolate Chip. The key is to make sure that all of the drops touch so there are no blank spots when you stamp.

I started with a 12X12 piece of cardstock and cut it down to 5 1/2 x 12. (My cardstock was not quite 12"; it was more like 11 15/16, so measure before the next step to be sure!) Next, I scored at 4 1/4" from each end and then scored in the center. Fold it like a W and then adhere the middle parts together so it looks like the above picture. Don't use adhesive along the center fold line, though, because that's where the slot for the gift card goes.

Next, I marked where the slot would go on that piece that is sticking out in the middle of the card. I centered the gift card and made little pencil marks on each side.

If you click on the picture above to enlarge it, you should be able to see the pencil mark inside the opening for the word window punch. Notice that I only put the cardstock in halfway. It took 3 punches to make the full slot.

Here is what the gift card looks like inside the slot.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Scandinavian Season; Paper: Confetti White, Old Olive, Real Red textured; Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: ticket corner punch, word window punch, Alpine ribbon originals
Happy stamping!

They can't all be fabulous

I thought about not posting this card, but I need to post something and this is what I've got. I guess you can tell by the title and my opening sentence that I'm not in love with this card. I made this for this week's workshop wow. The theme was using ribbon in an unusual way, so I thought we should make ribbon roses. Easy peasy, just do a running stitch along the bottom of the ribbon and gather it up to make a flower. First I tried it with the So Saffron polytwill, and it just didn't work. I think the ribbon is too supple, so it wouldn't hold a good shape. Fortunately, I already had this Regal Rose flower made.
Then I wanted to try color blocking, which is one of the WICKED demo challenges this month. (If you're a demo, get over to SCS and check out Vera's challenges and samples; they are jaw-droppingly awesome!) I used my coluzzle to cut a circle out of the center of the Parisian Summer DSP then I cut the DSP into 4 equal pieces and attached them to Basic Black. It came out okay, I guess, but I think I can do better. I'll have to try it again.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Heard from the Heart, Sanded, Tres Chic; Paper: Pink Pirouette, Basic Black, Parisian Summer DSP; Ink: Basic Black, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette; Accessories: Coluzzle, Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon, So Saffron brad, crafters tool kit, linen thread

Holiday Extravaganza sale!

Stampin' Up! has some amazing bundles on sale! Check out the flyer here and e-mail me to order! They are available until December 1 while supplies last.

Burnished Velvet

Last week's workshop wow was to make a card using burnished velvet. (I'm not sure why it's called burnished velvet because it doesn't use velvet, and I don't think it looks like velvet.) For burnished velvet, you cover sticky strip with glitter and then rub the glitter into the strip. On my card, it's the strip on the right.
I started out with a 4 1/4 X 11 piece of brushed gold cardstock scored at 5 1/2 and put an inch of sticky strip on the end of the card. My idea was to use the scallop edge punch to make the edge scalloped before adding the glitter, but the punch wouldn't go through it. So I cut 1/2 of it off. Then I covered the sticky strip with purple glitter. I covered it with a piece of paper and used my bone folder to burnish (rub) the glitter. (The original directions said to burnish it with your finger; I don't know if that makes a difference or not.)
I decided to add the wow factor by embossing on the burnished velvet strip. I covered the rest of the card front with a scrap and stamped the large swirl from Baroque Motifs onto the strip using VersaMark. Then I re-inked and stamped the same swirl on the card front. I poured gold EP over all of it and heat embossed both images at the same time.
For the medallion, I used a 2 3/4 square of Elegant Eggplant and punched the scallop edge punch on all 4 sides. The shimmery white piece was made the same way using a 2 1/2" square (the center falls out of the square). I got that idea from Taylor VanBruggen at Taylored Expressions. I used my stampamajig to stamp the square image in the center of the shimmery white square using Elegant Eggplant craft ink. I embossed it with Irridescent Ice EP.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Baroque Motifs; Paper: Shimmery White, Brushed Gold, Elegant Eggplant; Ink: VersaMark, Elegant Eggplant craft; Accessories: gold EP, Irridescent Ice EP, sticky strip, fine cosmo glitter, stampamajig, scallop edge punch
Happy stamping!