My Stampin' Up! Classes

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Make a wish!

This card is absolutely the sweetest in real life. The soft designer paper (from Summer Picnic) has little white polka dots on it and is layered on the Bashful Blue card, while the other side of the paper has big olive and blue flowers (you can see a strip of it under the main image.

At a recent event, I had several customers remark that they didn't care for the She's All That stamp set until they made this card. And Monday, June 30, is the last day to order it! How sad....

This card has blue taffeta ribbon knotted around the designer paper strip, and a clear rhinestone brad is the flame on the candle that's on the birthday cake. Also, a few holes are pierced in the top right corner to add texture. This card was CASE'd, but I can't remember from where/whom.


Happy Thoughts...

I love the stamp set Happy Thoughts because, well, the thoughts ARE happy! I used the 1/2" circle punch to get this small Ruby Red flower (from Three For You Punch Box) the same size as the head of a build-a-brad. The "happy thoughts" circle is punched out with a 1 1/4" circle punch and layered onto a Ruby Red 1 3/8" circle.

The branch is from Embrace Life and is stamped in Basic Brown ink and colored in with an aqua painter and Groovy Guava and Ruby Red ink pads. A double-stitched River Rock knot is on the left, and the card has a strip of Ginger Blossom designer paper to finish it off.

Easy punch card...

I haven't gotten nearly the use I think I should get out of a Level 3 hostess set like Older & Wiser. Especially since I love turtles/tortoises!

I was inspired by another demo named Diane with this card - and using punches! It's easy to use whatever scraps you have of whatever designer paper to punch out 1 3/8" squares that make up the background. Then the Word Window punch handles the sentiment nicely.

The tortoise was stamped in Basic Gray and colored in using an aqua painter and the Wild Wasabi and Soft Sky ink pads.

Tortoise trivia: 95% of a Desert Tortoise's life is spent in underground burrows. (Source: http://www.desertusa.com/june96/du_tort.html)

Friday, June 27, 2008

Winds of Grace...

Summertime around here means sailing. And Winds of Grace is just the stamp set for a masculine-looking sailing card.

The boat is stamped in Basic Brown ink and watercolored slightly with an aqua painter and Soft Sky ink pad (push in the lid with your thumbs to get a small pool of ink inside the lid). I sponged around the edges with Chocolate Chip ink.

I stamped Sanded in Soft Sky ink over the top of the entire white piece and layered it on Chocolate Chip card stock. The hodgepodge anchors the top left corner with a few inches of double-stitched Soft Sky ribbon.

The "for you" is from One of a Kind. I used a Chocolate Chip marker to ink the stamp and placed it inside a hodgepodge piece with brads.

The designer paper is Afternoon Tea, from the Occasions Mini. It's only available till Monday, so let me know this weekend if you'd like me to order some for you. It's my favorite, right along with Summer Picnic paper, which is also in the mini catalog.

Enjoy a great summer weekend coming up!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

She's All That...

She's All That is on its last leg - you can only order it thru June 30. Silhouette stamps are HOT right now. Look for more in the upcoming Fall-Winter Catalog.

These swaps were both stamped by Olivia. The silhouette is embossed and sponged, uses designer paper and background stamping. I love the "Life is Good" sentiment. It's a good reminder for us all.

And on the star card, you punch the small star first, then the big star around it to get this look. The bursts behind each star is embossed (I don't think the shininess comes across too well in the photo, sorry). This card also uses the My Way arrow punch and red striped grosgrain ribbon.



Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Flower fusion...

Have you used the felt flowers in the Flower Fusion box yet? They all have holes in the center so it's easy to add layers and brads for that extra bling. Brandy used the standard-sized Perfectly Pretty wheel, All Holidays and Felt Fusion on her swap below.

I love the double-stitched ribbon knotted along the left side of the layered sayings from Many Happy Returns. This was Michelle's swap.





A fruity card...

Sherry used Tart & Tangy and Make It Count (a Level 1 hostess set you can earn with a $150 order) on this bright card. I love the way the build-a-brad bubble accentuates the circle next to "Friends."

Markers were used to color in the letters of the word, as well as the cherries and strawberry.

There's only a week left to purchase the fruit set, so if you want it, let me know now!

Enjoy your day....

Heartfelt Thanks...

I thought this swap by Frankie was well done. The colors are striking and the black really makes things "pop." Heartfelt Thanks is one of the few 2-step stamp sets Stampin' Up! carries.

The sentiment is from Curvy Verses.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Final days of Carte Postale...

Sherry provided this make & take with her newly-acquired Carte Postale stamp set. The Always Artichoke grosgrain covers the seam left by the designer paper (notice the flower slide on the ribbon too).

We used three punches on this card - the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, as well as the ticket corner punch.

If you'd like to order Carte Postale or any set off the retired list, please contact me before Aug. 10. That's the last day possible to order anything from the Spring-Summer Catalog.



From the Garden...

This From the Garden make & take was provided by Brandy. I ask for volunteers to provide make & takes at our demo meetings and my group never disappoints!

This stamp (Level 1 hostess stamp) was inked in Basic Brown ink and watercolored with an aqua painter and watercolor crayons. I used the ticket corner punch and added aged copper brads in each corner, with a knot of the Old Olive polytwill on the left side.

The "for you" is from All Holidays.

Got Fresh Cuts?

Louise swapped a pretty Fresh Cuts card at our weekend meeting. There's just one more week (till June 30) to order the stamp set (already die-cut, no trimming necessary) and 15 laser-cut notecards with envelopes ($5 if you order the stamp set or $8.95 alone).

Remember, you'll be seeing this stamp set in the Fall-Winter Catalog, along with many more fun and wonderful things!

Brag book pages....

Here are a few more brag book swaps. The great thing about doing these on a monthly basis is that you can fill up an album in no-time! And, if you have more time and photos, you can turn them into 8 1/2" x 11" or 12" x 12" pages.

These pages were put together by Sherry (far right), Michelle (Celebrate page), and Louise.






Sunday, June 22, 2008

Fun demo swaps...

I was happy to receive a couple of brag book swaps at our demo meeting to celebrate the Fourth of July. Holly's (below) has a lot of elements that will help any photo "pop" and Olivia's (right) is a very doable page for beginning scrappers.

It's hard to believe the holiday is a couple of weeks away!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Holiday Blitz...

For easy scrapbooking, Holiday Blitz works well. It's got stamps in it for just about every occasion. Here, flip flops. Who doesn't love flip flops?

My girl was being a goofball at the park the other day, so I thought this fit well.

I love the wide vanilla grosgrain ribbon with the designer paper. And it's hard to see, but there's Soft Sky card stock behind the photo and flip flops.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Shiny shiny...

After seeing a bracelet on a blog (sorry, can't remember which one!), I bought a $1.99 bracelet at Michael's the other day and decided to use only Stampin' Up! build-a-brads and circle rhinestone brads to embellish it.

The only tool I used was the pliers from the Crafter's Tool Kit. I cut part of the legs off and used the pliers to curl the ends under slightly and around the bracelet links.

This is another of the Better Your Best projects.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Hinged chipboard...

This was a Father's Day gift for my hubby. These photos make me laugh. I took them on a walk around our neighborhood. The kids were being silly, acting like animals growling and clawing the air, perching on rocks, ready to attack... you get the idea.

This is 2 pieces of Stampin' Up!'s 9 3/8" x 9 3/8" chipboard. I covered them with Western Sky designer paper using a glue stick and sanding all around the edges. Some double-stitched blue bayou ribbon is knotted on each piece.

I covered a chipboard star with paper from the same pack, as well as punched out two different sized stars for added decoration. There are rub-on stars on each side, along with some jumbo eyelets on the bottom left.

I purchased the hinges at a local hardware store and used gold brads instead of the screws to attach them to the chipboard.

I'd love to see what you're doing with chipboard, so share please!


Sunday, June 15, 2008

Terrific teacher gift...

I saw a photo of a card organizer and thought, "I can do that." So this is my version, with the Boho Blend Simply Scrappin' Kit. It will be an end-of-the-year gift for my daughter's teacher.

I put jumbo eyelets on each cover and 2-pocket page, though in my second version, I only put in jumbo eyelets on the front and back covers. Another lesson I learned was to not attach the cover to the first page of pockets. If you do, it makes it so you can't full access the first pocket, which is exactly what you want to do since there's a card and envelope in there.

I also used some of the designer paper in the pack to make a pocket on the inside of the back cover for postage stamps. So the teacher can write down her friends' and family's birthdays and have a card and envelope in pocket AND stamps in the back to send it off when she thinks about it. I think this is my problem - I make the cards - lots of them - but don't often get them sent out on time!

I took photos of some of the pages with cards I made also using the same scrappin' kit with random stamps. You can get a lot of mileage out of those puppies! I also added some ribbon originals to hold the organizer together.













There's a monthly calendar on each pocket (12), and I used patterned paper at the top just for a quick and easy decoration.



Saturday, June 14, 2008

Hubba Bubba Afternoon Tea...


I had a few of my downline Better their Best in sales last month and am rewarding them with six projects. This is one of them! I wanted to keep a couple fairly quick and easy because the others are more involved.

This is a Hubba Bubba Bubblegum tin covered with Afternoon Tea designer paper. The chocolate polytwill ribbon is stuck onto the lid with sticky strip. The flower is punched out using the 1 1/4" circle punch, layered with the 1 3/8" circle punch, and then layered again on a chocolate chip scallop. All three layers are then adhered to the front of the tin with Stampin' Dimensionals.
A clear bubble from the build-a-brad tin highlights the middle of the flower and adds a little bling. (Did you know you get quite a few extra bubbles with each build-a-brad tin? It's great!)

Spring Song...

I love this chubby little bird from Spring Song. It just makes me happy!
This is stamped in Basic Brown ink (so is the sentiment, which comes with the set), and colored in with Earth Elements watercolor crayons and an aqua painter.
The card is finished with a strip of polka-dotted paper from the Boho Blend Simply Scrappin' Kit, and has a piece of 7/8" chocolate grosgrain knotted to finish it off.
We have so many big and little birds singing to us daily - I love it! Have a wonderful weekend.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Pretty in Pink Fresh Cuts...

These laser-cut notecards are so fun to play with! I punched out the larger petal, and stamped a bit of the big stamp from Fresh Cuts in Regal Rose. My stamp club Monday night loved the project AND the hostess received the stamp set and notecards FREE because the orders hit $400!

I pierced a hole in the center of the flower and inserted a clear rhinestone brad from the Pretties Kit. I adhered a Pretty in Pink flower to the back (covering up the legs of the brad) with the 5-petal punch. The largest stamp was inked in Pretty in Pink and stamped inside the card. It's not easy to see, but it's very lovely seeing the text through the front petals.

Pink taffeta ribbon is knotted on the left, and the card is finished with a square 4 1/16" piece of Pretty in Pink card stock adhered behind the entire card.

The "for you" is from the stamp set and is stamped here in Basic Gray.

If you don't care for the stamp set, you can still purchase the notecards for $8.95! They're truly wonderful.

Have a fabulous day!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Absolutely Fabulous...

I feel very blessed to have the friends I have. This beautiful card was made by my talented friend in Minnesota, Dawn Olchefske. It uses one of my new favorite stamp sets, Absolutely Fabulous, as well as True Friend (in the scallop).

The designer paper is from Berry Bliss, and 7'8" Regal Rose grosgrain is knotted in the front. The little flowers are on one stamp in the Boho Backgrounds stamp set.


A reminder: Stampin' Up!'s day to eScape from cell phones, computers and other electronics is coming up June 25... but there's nothing saying today wouldn't be a great day to sit down and send a card to somebody who means something to you! It's great getting GOOD mail.


Friday, June 6, 2008

Sneak Peek: Fresh Cuts...

This is a gorgeous birthday card Louise made for me! I love purples!!!

This 4" x 4" laser-cut notecard does go through the mail (some people will say it doesn't, but I pulled it out of my mailbox today). The square-shaped image over the flower is the largest stamp in the Fresh Cuts stamp set, which is die-cut so you can put it together and start stamping in a couple of minutes!

There's some designer paper behind the laser-cut flower, as well as a big silver brad and oval piece from the hodgepodge hardware kit in the Occasions Mini.

Louise dyed white taffeta ribbon with Almost Amethyst reinker. It's lovely.

All month long, you can earn the Fresh Cuts stamp set + 15 laser-cut notecards FREE with a $400 order/party, or when you buy the stamp set, you can order the notes for only $5 (includes envelopes). There are 5 stamps in the set, including two phrases - "for you" (shown) and "Thank you."

So what are you waiting for? Shoot me an e-mail and I'll hook you up with this fabulous stamp set. It'll be in the Fall-Winter Idea Book & Catalog 2008!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Mini flip flops!

While searching for the larger flip flops, I came across these little ones.

The layout is much simpler than the big ones. I used a 12" x 12" piece of Spring Break designer paper cut in half. Each piece is scored every 4". One panel of each piece is adhered together, and then embellished with other designer paper, felt flowers, rhinestone brads, double-stitched blue bayou ribbon, etc.

The flip flops themselves have sticky strip and chunky blue glitter on the straps, Pretties flowers and felt flowers for decoration, along with some Three for You punched flowers with half pearls.

This little album would look terrific on a mantle, shelf, etc. You should try it!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Flip Flops Album...

Louise had a group of us over to her house Sunday night to make this fabulous flip flop album. It uses real flip flops (that cost only a buck)! What a great summer gift.

We used Bali Breeze designer paper, along with loads of flowers from the Pretties Kit, felt flowers from Flower Fusion, a chipboard flower with a sticky circle (punched from the excess on sticky letters sheets), a couple of big silver brads from the hodgepodge kit, and rhinestone brads.
There were also lots of punch-outs to add - everything from 5-petal flowers and tags, to scalloped circles, photo corners and tiny flowers from the Three for You punch. We used ribbons, lots of dimensionals and Crystal Effects. Basically, you could add whatever you wanted to your album to make it yours.

We literally pulled the straps out of the flip flops so we could add the designer paper to the top of the flip flop, then put the straps back in. We put strips of sticky strip down the middle of each strap, then added chunky glitter.
I got a chance today to add photos of my family from a recent trip to the beach. I love it! I'll be hanging this on my studio wall. It's definitely a keeper.


Another kit card...

This is a Boho Blend Simply Scrappin' card with zero stamping on it. There are so many fun patterns, sayings and more to play with!

In The Stars...

Depending on the colors you select, a star card could be used for males of all ages and for any occasion.

This card features chipboard (the largest star) covered with East Coast Prep designer paper, the big star punch (red with a fire circle rhinestone brad), little star punch (More Mustard with a red brad), as well as the In The Stars stamp set (Occasions Mini).

A strip of Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon separates more designer paper from the key-tag-punched sentiment from One of a Kind.

Boho Blend kit...

A lot of people think Stampin' Up!'s Simply Scrappin' Kits are only for scrapbooking. The truth is, you can make a lot of fabulous cards quickly regardless of whether you own the stamp set that coordinates with it or not!

This textured Old Olive card uses elements from the Boho Blend Simply Scrappin' Kit. I added the jumbo eyelets and polytwill Old Olive ribbon, as well as the stamped "U Rock" sentiment. Everything else comes from the kit - the designer paper, the patterned strip and the star.

You can get approximately 60 cards from each Simply Scrappin' Kit. At $20 per kit, this means you're only spending 33 cents a card. All you need to add are envelopes.



Sunday, June 1, 2008

For Father...

This Brocade Blue card features Print Pattern, For Father (Occasions Mini), and A Little Birthday Cheer.

The ink colors are Basic Brown (and the main image is colored in using watercolor crayons and an aqua painter), and Brocade Blue.
The card is finished off with a little More Mustard grosgrain knotted around a hodgepodge hardware wing-ding.

Celebrating Dad...

Father's Day is fast approaching, so I thought I'd make a few man cards appropriate not only for that day, but birthdays and other occasions as well.

The Print Pattern background stamp is used in Brocade Blue on Brocade Blue card stock for the top part of the card. A strip of 7/8" wide chocolate grosgrain is adhered for a solid masculine impact.

The "Happy Dad's Day" comes from the stamp set Dad's Day and is punched out with the Designer Label punch and backed with a More Mustard 1 3/8" circle. Two Earth Elements brads hold those two layers together. The sentiment at the bottom comes from Absolutely Fabulous.

Trivia: Just like Mother's Day, Father's Day is celebrated in every part of the world. In the United States, Canada and most countries in Asia, Father's Day is the third Sunday in June. Although Father's Day is not observed on the same day in some countries (like Spain and Belgium where Father's Day falls on March 19th, Sweden on the second Sunday of November, and New Zealand on the first Sunday of September), expressing gratitude and appreciation for dads with a special day seems to be universal.

Today, Father's Day is not only a day to honor fathers, but one to show respect for all father figures. Families honor grandfathers, stepfathers, uncles and other adult male figures that are special to them.

Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, of Spokane, Washington, was 27 when she listened to a Sunday sermon about Mother's Day in 1909 and wondered why there was no corresponding day for fathers. She was just 16 when her own father, Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was widowed when his wife died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his five other children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state.

Sonora Dodd began her campaign after that sermon. She believed that the nation did not show enough respect to fathers, citing such popular songs of the day as "Everybody Works But Father," she promoted Father's Day out of love for her father.

She persuaded the Spokane Ministerial Association and local YMCA to pass a resolution in support of Father's Day, and the first local Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910,in Spokane, Washington. Mrs. Dodd wanted Father's Day to be celebrated on the first Sunday in June, her father's birthday. However, the Spokane council could not get the resolution through the first reading until the third Sunday in June.

States and organizations began lobbying Congress to declare an annual Father's Day. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea, but it was not until 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to "establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations." In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day. (Source: http://www.inspirationline.com/Brainteaser/fathersday.htm)