More Milwaukee regional projects

This project is a cello bag holder. It's pleated at the bottom so it can stand up.

This is a Sending Love Note from the Occasions Mini. I think it would make a great piece on a card front. The glassine envelopes are in the Occasions Mini also.

I have been in Florida the past 2 weeks for work, so I haven't been able to stamp. I also scheduled these posts in advance. Thanks for your patience with me!

Happy stamping!

Last set of Milwaukee regional swaps

These 3 swap cards were done by my friend Sarah AKA Superglew. She participated by mail since she wasn't able to go to the regional. I met Sarah on SCS, and then I met her IRL at the Minneapolis regional last year. I'm hoping we'll get to stamp together someday!
Her first card uses the Big Shot and one of my favorite stamps, Medallion.

What a great job watercoloring, and I love the wheeled paw prints!

This card uses faux cloisonne on the flowers. That stamp set reminds me of the opening of the Partridge Family TV show!

Even more Milwaukee regional swaps

These cards are by Sharon Bukowski AKA tat2girl. I love the use of punches on this one. That bird punch is awesome!

What a fun layout! The big layer is solid, and the piece with the tree opens up like a card.

This is a buckle card. I love these extreme stamps, and notice that dual-colored mat!

Still more Milwaukee regional swaps

These cards are all by Carla S. (I don't know her full name, sorry!) What a great masculine card!

This is so simple but so elegant!

I love the motion of the basketball on this combined with the round hardware.

More Milwaukee regional swaps

These swaps are from Dawn Flowers AKA mycattracks. I already want the Big Shot (I think I'm the only SU demo left that doesn't own one!), but this card almost has me convinced to spend the money!

This card makes me think of my mom because she loves this color. It got posted on the swap board at the regional!

I am really going to miss this Sending Love DSP. I have actually used a lot of it--a great accomplishment for a hoarder!

Milwaukee regional swaps

The last set of swaps is by Robin Nett AKA rmnett. I just love the shape on this card as well as the bright colors. Wouldn't it be a great invitation?

This card has a different fold: The cardfront just has the chess pieces on it. The area with the rows of dice is on the inside of the card.

This would be such a fun card for a child!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the swap. They were all awesome!

New Core Colors with Comparisons to Current Colors

Happy stamping!

Using what you have

The card on the left is one that I made at Regional. I wanted to do it at Wednesday's workshop, but I don't have the Old Olive buttons. I have Tempting Turquoise buttons, though, so I redid the card in a different color combo to use the buttons I had. The color combo (from the color coach) is Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery and Apricot Appeal (plus Soft Suede). Everyone loved it!
We had a great time! We also made a card using the fork bow, which is a bowmaking method that was demonstrated at Regional. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the card before the workshop, and my sample did not make it home with me.
I'll be back on Saturday with a post showing the new core colors and how they compare to current colors.
Happy stamping!

Regional project # 1

I made 5 projects at the Regional in Milwaukee. (Haven't done the scrapbook page yet) All of the projects used Vintage Vogue, which I just love. Don't forget it's available until April 30, and it will also be in the new catalog in July!

This is a 3X6 card. The base is Kraft (soon to be called Crumb Cake) spritzed with Soft Suede. I now need the color spritzer and markers! The square is Old Olive with the F stamped in Rich Razzleberry. The finishing touch is Crushed Curry ribbon tied to a clip.

Happy stamping!

P.S. Got my Stampin' Success magazine today with the new core color samples. Wow, are they gorgeous! I'll take color comparison photos and post them on Friday.

Color Renovation

Hi stampers!  I just got back from the SU Regional in Milwaukee.  What an awesome day!  I made 5 projects using Vintage Vogue (so handy for my upcoming workshop), and I got lots of great ideas.

Everyone there was abuzz about the color renovation that SU announced last week.  They are changing from the color families plus neutrals to four color collections: Brights, Neutrals, Regals and Subtles.  Quite a few colors are retiring, and some old favorite In Colors are returning!  I am so excited about this, and I won't miss too many of the retiring colors.  I'm thrilled to welcome back Baja Breeze, Pacific Point and Wild Wasabi (sorry, no Kiwi Kiss).  There will be 10 colors in each of the collections for a total of 40 core colors.  In Colors will still be around, but there will be 5 new In Colors each year, and each set of colors will stay for 2 years.  That excites me too!

I got to see the new color collections in person in Milwaukee.  Would you like to see them too?  Well, OK, I guess I can share...

This is the Regals collection: Riding Hood Red, Bravo Burgundy, Elegant Eggplant, Night of Navy, Not Quite Navy, Garden Green, More Mustard, Cajun Craze (new), Cherry Cobbler (new).  Not pictured: Always Artichoke.

This is the Subtles collection: Baja Breeze, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Perfect Plum, Marina Mist (new).  Not pictured: Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery.

Here is the Brights collection: Regal Rose, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight (new), Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red.

Here is the Neutrals collection: Chocolate Chip, Soft Suede, River Rock, Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake (previously Kraft), Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Early Espresso (new).

SU will be offering packages of markers, spots, pastels and watercolor crayons in the new colors as well as the returning colors (except markers in this year's In Colors).  I'll have samples of the 5 new colors soon, and I'll post photos with color comparisons.

What do you think of the new collections?

Happy stamping!

Milwaukee swap # 2

When I saw the new Awash with Flowers stamp set, I knew right away that it would be a great set to use for the chalkboard technique.  For the chalkboard technique, start with dark cardstock (I use black or navy).  Stamp a solid image in Whisper White and color it with chalk; I use a cotton swab with a dabbing motion.  I try not to swirl it too much so I don't rub off the chalk I've just put on.  Then stamp the outline over the chalk image using Whisper White.  Doesn't it look just like it was drawn on a chalkboard?  TIP:  I did the Bashful Blue flowers first including the whte outline so that when I stamped the Rose Red flowers, the BB flower stem would disappear behind the RR flower.  (Learned that one the hard way, LOL)

As for the rest of the card, this is a shadowbox card.  It's 3-D but flattens for mailing, and it's a standard card size.  Cut your 2 pieces of cardstock to 4 1/4 X 5 1/2.  Then score 1/2" and 1" from each end.  After you've completed your stamping and cut the hole out of the front piece, adhere the 2 ends using Sticky Strip.  (I also folded along the score lines before adhering.)

To cut the hole out of the center, I used my standard paper cutter.  Don't forget that the piece that holds the cutting blade also has a ruler on it, so you can start and stop the cutting blade anywhere you want!  I made a 1/2" frame all the way around, so here's how I cut it.  First, I lined up the cardstock with the long side up against the top.  Then I lined up the edge at 1 1/2" and cut from 1/2" to 3 3/4".  I flipped the cardstock 180 degrees and repeated the same cut.  Next, I lined up the cardstock with the shorter side up against the top, lined up the edge at 3 3/4" and cut from 1 1/2" to 4".  Flip the cardstock and repeat.  It is really easy to see where the cut lines stop and start so you can match them up.  I also found that I could feel when the cutting blade hit the cut line.

Happy stamping!

Ribbon flowers

This week's workshop wow challenge is to make fabric or ribbon flowers.  I didn't have time to go looking for my fabric stash, so I whipped up these ribbon flowers.  It really only took about 20 minutes to make all 3.  To make a ribbon flower, just grab a needle and thread to make a running stitch (just in and out, not too close together) along one edge of the ribbon.  Pull the thread tight to gather up the ribbon and tie a knot to hold it together.  These are not flat, so this is a card to give in person unless you mail it in a padded envelope.

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Awash with Flowers; Paper: Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP; Ink: Basic Gray, Crushed Curry; Accessories: scallop border punch, ribbon (Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo), filigree brad, jumbo brad, Hodgepodge Hardware brad

Happy stamping!

Milwaukee swap # 1

I'm making 3 swap cards to take to Milwaukee for a really small SCS swap (only 6 people).  The nice thing about only making 6 is that I can put a little more effort into them and use stuff I couldn't use on a larger number of cards.

This card started out totally different and evolved as I worked on it.  The one thing that stayed the same was the color combo.  I wanted to use the eggplant rickrack again, and my friend Sarah suggested Sage Shadow and Elegant Eggplant.  The card base is Sage Shadow stamped with Sanded in the same color.  I tied on Whisper White satin ribbon with the rickrack.  The focal image is from Eastern Blooms.  I used watercolor crayons with the direct-to-stamp method.  I colored directly on the stamp then misted it with water before stamping.  (The Whisper White piece is 2 1/2 X 3 1/2.)

You may be wondering what that layer is underneath the focal image.  It's a 3 X 4 piece of Bride specialty paper sponged with Elegant Eggplant ink.  The shiny pattern resists the ink!  Isn't that cool?  You can brayer it too, but I like how the sponging turned out.  I did it a couple of times to get the amount of color I wanted.

FYI:  There is a new set of specialty paper in the Summer Mini (starts May 1) that works just like the Bride paper.  I can't wait to get it!

Happy stamping and Happy Easter!