Christmas Fun

I recently sat down to mess around and make some mini christmas cards. I divided an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper into thirds along the long side. The measurements will be 3 11/16", 3 11/16" and 3 9/16". I used the Season of Simple Grace and Scandinavian Season stamp sets.
Some of the cards didn't scan too well - sorry!

These next 3 cards are the traditional 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Christmas Workshop and Giveaway

I'm planning an event the 2nd weekend in December for an evening of stamping and giveaways! We will be making 3 Christmas themed projects, and everyone will go home with free Stampin' Up! products!! For more details please email me, or leave a comment on this post with your contact information (comments are moderated, so no one else will see your personal information).

Fresh Cuts

I made some cards earlier this week using the Fresh Cuts stamp set and the coordinating pre-cut/pre-scored 4x4" cards (and envelopes of course!). They work so well together, it's hard to go wrong!

Samples From a Craft Show

In Color Comparisons...kind of...

This is a chart I made a couple weeks back, that I'm finally posting. It didn't scan as well as I had hoped - our scanner is really sensitive (even with the setting turned down) to lots of color...too much and it scans them really bright.

Hopefully this will give you "some kind" of idea of what the new colors look like compared to others, if you haven't seen them in person yet! And like I said last time, the more I use them, the more I like them!

New In Colors!

I have to admit; it's been really hard for me to post as often as I would like to. It seems that I never have the time. I have good intentions, and will think about it daily for a couple weeks, but I can never seem to find a good time without one of the kids needing me for something. Even as I type this now, Gage is struggling to fall asleep!

To be honest, I didn't know if anything could top last year's In Colors. However, the more I see these new colors, and now that I've used them, I really like them!

The new catalog is available to order from starting today!! There are some great new stamp sets and accessories. Every year the catalogs seem to get better and better. You can check it out here. Once I receive my new catalogs, they will be available for sale for $10 OR you can get one for free by hosting a workshop (where you can also get free stamp sets!).

Stamp Set: Embrace Life, Close As a Memory

Colors: Baja Breeze (NEW), Old Olive and Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Blender Pens, 5/8" Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer (Crafter's Tool Kit)

Stamp Set: Hugs and Wishes

Colors: Pink Pirouette (NEW), Ridinghood Red (NEW), Always Artichoke

Accessories: Pretties Kit, White Embossing Powder, Chocolate Ribbon, Designer Series Paper

Stamp Set: Doodle This, Celebrate Everything

Colors: Pink Pirouette (NEW), Pacific Point (NEW), and Close to Cocoa

Accessories: Textured Cardstock, 1/2" Circle Punch, Neutral Buttons, Pretties Kit

SU!'s Artisan Award Entries

Stampin' Up! has an Artisan Award contest that I entered for the first time this year. Unfortunately, I had some bad luck, and one of my scrapbook pages didn't make it into the box with everything else. I didn't realize it until it was too late.

The winners were just announced, and no surprise, I didn't win. But here's a couple of the cards that I sent in, for inspiration.

Stamp Set: Wanted

Colors: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Creamy Caramel

Accessories: Jumbo Pewter Eyelets, Vintage Brads, Chocolate Poly-twill Ribbon (no longer available), linen thread, Crop-a-dile, Star Punch

**The card is holding a bookmark.

Stamp Set: Embrace Life, Celebrate

Colors: River Rock, Always Artichoke, Groovy Guava, Elegant Eggplant, Summer Sun

Accessories: Scallop Punch, Ice Circle Rhinestone Brads, White Taffeta Ribbon

**This card uses the crayon resist technique on the scallop circle.

Pretty Amazing

Here are three cards I made from one piece of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock (I also did this with the Wildlife Reserve cards below). I made these from a challenge on Splitcoast Stampers: Divide cardstock into three equal pieces. Use only one embellishment on each card, and only one tool per card. Tools were defined as items such as punches, crayons, pencils, paper piercer, blender pens, etc. (Stampin' Dimensionals, scissors, eyelet setter and the like are not considered tools since they are used on almost every card.)

I challenge everyone to try this out, and email me a picture of your creations - I may post them in the near future!


Here are the three cards that I made:

Colors - Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and Not Quite Navy (Chocolate Chip was used as a neutral on one)
Stamp Set - Pretty Amazing

Tool: Markers

Embellishment: Ribbon (with paper clip - I gave myself a little freedom here!)

Tool: Colored Pencils

Embellishment: Rhinestone Brad

Tool: Crop-a-dile

Embellishment: Ribbon (I forgot that the jumbo eyelet is also an

embellishment until after I had the card put together)

Wildlife Reserve

These two cards use the stamp set Wildlife Reserve; normally I like the really girly stamp sets with flowers and hearts and whatnot - but once I started using the set, I got hooked on it! It's the perfect set to make masculine cards with.

Masculine cards can be tough to make for those like myself that love embellishments. For those like me, I have these suggestions:


1. Keep things simple - only one or two stamped images/phrases.
2. Use minimal embellishments. Metals will always work well.
3. Browns and dark colors are the best to use when first starting out. Once you get comfortable, you can start branching out and try using color schemes that incorporate other colors that aren't typically associated with men.

Dahlia Fold

These two projects use the Dahlia Fold technique. It's not at all complicated - you just need patience and tiny fingers!

Binder Clips

I made these as my hostess gift for this month's club meeting. Very easy! I stamped on a piece of white cardstock 1" x 1 7/8" (approx.), colored in my images, then adhered them to clips using SU!'s basic SNAIL adhesive. Add a little ribbon for flare, and voila! - instant picture/memo holder! You can also find giant versions of these binder clips, for even larger holders (this is holding a wallet size photo with cardstock on the back for better "gripping").

I used the Embrace Life Stamp Set, with the colors Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose, and Apricot Appeal. The ribbons are Wild Wasabi double-stitched grosgrain, and Apricot 1/4" grosgrain.

A Change to My Websites

It's pretty obvious by looking at how little I post, but I don't have enough time to keep updating two websites. So I called Demo Support on Friday and cancelled my Demonstrator Business Website. I will be keeping this blog though.

With the baby coming any day now, and our plans to sell our house, I can't imagine my time being any more free than what it has been lately. I will try to update my blog a couple times a month though, with new project samples, and technique instructions.

If you check my blog and see I haven't posted something in a while, PLEASE - let me know. It's easy for time to slip by, and for me not to realize how long it's been since my last update. Also, if there's something specific you'd like to see more/new examples of (providing I have the stamp set/tools for the technique/etc.) let me know, and I'd love to step up to the challenge!

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions or suggestions you have!

Sale-a-bration!!

These are a couple of the cards I've made using the stamp sets from Stampin' Up!'s annual Sale-a-bration. I've also posted pictures of different sets on my demonstrator website (see link to right).

Stamp Sets: Birthday Whimsy, Big Deal Alphabet
Colors: Soft Sky, Taken with Teal, Old Olive, Lavender Lace
Accessories: White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, staples


Stamp Set: Birthday Whimsy
Colors: Going Gray, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Mellow Moss
Accessories: Silver Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals, staples


Stamp Sets: Celebrate Everything, Lots of Thoughts
Colors: Rose Red, Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Scallop Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Markers in coordinating colors, staples
Card Size: 4" x 4"


Stamp Set: Lots of Thoughts
Colors: Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Scallop Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Crafter's Tool Kit (for paper-piercing)
Card Size: 3" x 3"

More Samples

After figuring out why our printer wasn't "talking" with our computers for a few weeks, I was finally able to scan all of my recently made cards the other night.

Here's two of the several cards that I used for additional samples at the Monthly Club Kick-Off:

This card is actually only 3x3". The wings of the butterfly aren't adhered to the paper, so in "real life", the wings pop off the paper. This is a very easy way to add dimension to your projects.

I saw this layout in a Stampin' Up! magazine last year, and finally decided to CASE (Copy-And-Share-Everything) it. I simply swapped out some of the images, and changed up the colors, and stapled ribbon at the bottom. Easy, easy!- just lots of cutting...

And the Winner Is...

The winner of the 2007 $50 Stampin' Up! Gift Certificate is:

Carla Burke

Congratulations!

I will be holding the same contest again this year:

For every event of mine that you attend (class, workshop, stamp camp, etc.), you can enter your name 1 time for a $50 gift certificate at the end of the year (or in January, if I forget again!).

Monthly Stamp Club Kick-Off

Here's a couple cards using the stamp sets that we will be using at the Monthly Stamp Club Kick-Off:

3-D Projects

Creating 3-D projects isn't as hard as it sounds. You've just got to the find right inspiration, then treat it as if it was a typical card/scrapbook page. You want to have a main focal point, and surrounding accent elements.

Here's a couple items that I've made recently:

A picture frame I made as a baby shower gift - I just might make another for our baby!

Another frame; this one was a present to my mom for Christmas.

Coloring Flowers

If you haven't seen the Pretties Kit yet, you're missing out! With pearls, rhinestone brads, hat pins, clear beads, and silk flowers, this kit has everything you need to add that extra touch to your projects.

The kit can be seen on page 188 of the new Spring/Summer Collection 2008. You can view the catalog here, if you do not already have one.

One of the many things you can do with flowers, is color them. You can color them with Stampin' Write Markers or the Stampin' Pastels (chalk). The Pastels will give a much softer color to the flowers, while the markers will be quite bold:

The markers will bleed thru the flower, so you want to make sure you have scrap paper under it. I used outward strokes, from the center to the edges until the entire flower is colored.

Color the flowers using Pastels, in the same manner, using the applicators that come with the chalks when you first purchase them. Here, I colored over my Pumpkin Pie flower, with Ruby Red chalk, adding a very realistic touch the silk flower!

After coloring your flowers, allow a couple minutes to dry, while finishing the rest of your card. I apologize for the poor quality picture; our printer finally broke down, and our old camera was starting to die too, when I took all these pictures!

This is the best close up of the scallop punch/flowers that I could get. Unfortunately, it doesn't show the flower with the chalk ontop of the marker very well. You'll just have to take my word that the technique works really good!