Good "Love Impressions" for Valentine's Day...

This card is all Blushing Bride and Basic Gray - right off of the Love Impressions specialty designer paper. I ran Whisper White card stock through the Two Tags die for the Big Shot, sponged around it witih Blushing Bride, added a big designer button with dimensionals, and a knot of that fabulous Blushing Bride 1/2" stitched-poly ribbon. The three hearts are from a single stamp from the I "Heart" Hearts set (page 46 of the big catalog), punched out with the 3-heart punch and adhered with dimensionals. This card was CASE'd from Andrea Walford with changes. Oh, and the "love you" is from the Short & Sweet set in the big catalog, stamped in Basic Gray ink.

Blowing Kisses your way for valentine's day...

Blowing Kisses is such a sweet stamp set. This card is all Crumb Cake and Pretty in Pink. The 2" x 5-1/2" strip is from the Love Patterns dsp pack. It's layered on a strip of sponged Crumb Cake that was punched with the Scallop Trim Border Punch. I tied a knot of Crumb Cake seam binding (new in the Occasions Mini), then added a piece of linen thread to hold on a neutral button. The image was colored with an aqua painter and ink pads. I CASE'd this card from Ilina Crouse.

A valentine with XOXO Hugs & Kisses and sparkle...

I love the colors in this valentine. I started with a Crumb Cake card, a layer of Basic Black (punched with the Scallop Border at the bottom), a strip of Love Letters dsp, and a Very Vanilla scallop envelope (die for the Big Shot). I got this idea from Andrea Walford. The big Riding Hood Red heart in the envelope was die cut with the Hearts & Brackets die, while I used the Full Heart Punch and glimmer paper for the smaller one. I used the Crop-a-dile to make the hole for the square fire rhinestone brad. The sentiment is from the XOXO stamp set in the Occasions Mini. It was stamped in black, then I added a small bow of 1/8" Basic Black taffeta with a mini glue dot.

A candy purse for the sweetest day ever...

My Valentines class last night was so much fun! There were 16 women making four cards and this purse (I had M&Ms for inside). I bought a purse - with candy in it - from Target, took it apart and used it for a pattern for my class. I used Pink Pirouette textured paper for the purse and Melon Mambo ink. The small heart came from the Hearts & Brackets die for the Big Shot. The big heart was punched from the Filled with Love stamp set and embellished with a vanilla rosette from the Occasions Mini. The sentiment is from the Something Sweet stamp set, punched with the Modern Label and embellished with rhinestones. I used 1/4" Pretty in Pink grosgrain for the handle. I need to go pick up my girl from school! I'll post the cards later. Thanks for looking!

Kimono Kids for color challenge...

The colors of River Rock, Peach Parfait and Pink Pirouette presented a serious challenge for me. I sat at my desk and pondered how to put them together. I hadn't used Kimono Kids before, so I thought I could bring all the colors together in the girls' dresses. I bought the stamp set primarily for the phrase you see on this card. I stamped everything in Early Espresso ink and used markers in the challenge to add color. The girl on the right has pearls for the middle of her flowers.

 

Sharing My Digital Studio scrapbooking pages...

I want to share a few pages from a 22-page album I finished yesterday for my mother-in-law and her hubby. I had 16 pages done in just a couple of hours months ago, but needed some information to add journaling to several pages so the book will be special to them.

I used a designer template from My Digital Studio and added my photos. I deleted items here and there so I had room to add what I needed to. Only the middle page is exactly the way the template originally had it. I just added four photos. For the bottom page, I wanted just one photo with my "Made with love by Terry." It's at the end of the book. I can't wait to send this off to the printer! I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.

It's birds, birds, and more birds...

I admit I took the easy way to make a bird card for a theme challenge this week - by using a design already on a sheet of Botanicals Gazette dsp. I added some watercolor crayon with an aquapainter on the bird, then a few neutral buttons and some natural hemp. That's it! And one more reason I love Stampin' Up! products - you don't need to take an hour to make a nice card.

Cupcake and bird birthday cards...

I had my Birthday Card Stamp-a-Stack last night and 14 women showed. It was fun! You make two of each card, and there are five different designs. The first card above uses the Nature Walk stamp set, Botanicals Gazette dsp, Not Quite Navy ink and a sentiment from Upsy Daisy.

This card uses Peach Parfait and Pear Pizzazz (punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch), along with the Take a Spin stamp set and game spinner hands, which are very easy to use.

This card uses First Edition dsp, which feels thin like newspaper, and the birds from Clearly For You. The birds were stamped in Bashful Blue, then we used a Marina Mist marker to make the middle bird darker. The sentiment is from the On Your Birthday stamp set.

This card uses the Birthday Bakery Level 1 hostess set with Pawsitively Prints II dsp and Crumb Cake card stock. The colors are Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz and Tempting Turquoise. The stamped image was punched out with the 1-3/4" circle punch and layered on the 2-3/8" scallop circle.

I do have a fifth card, but the photo didn't turn out well. I'll try to get a better photo later today, but I've gotta run for now! Have a great day.

Antique tags with Artistic Etchings and crochet trim...

My sister asked me to make some tags for her antique items she is selling next month. She asked for a little "French" - hence the Eiffel Tower from the Artistic Etchings set - and a bit antique looking. These tags are very soft. She can write the item and price directly over the stamping. She's just going to use regular string to attach the tags to her items. My friend and neighbor Beth helped me assemble these. Beth had some retired designer paper I ripped and sponged, and she colored the pearls. The smaller tags were leftover card stock from cutting the bigger ones!

Come back tomorrow. I'm hosting a Birthday Card Stamp-a-Stack tonight, so I'll put those cards on the blog Thursday. Have a great evening!

Petal Cone with Sweet Stitches fabric brads...

I learned a couple of things when I used the Petal Cone die for the Big Shot - 1) you need to run two pieces of card stock through the die, one at a time, so you get the nice score lines with the crease pad on top instead of a cutting pad; and 2) creating a petal cone project for a class is a lot of work!

I cut the Sweet Stitches designer paper down to smaller rectangles so I could get the most possible out of each 12" x 12" sheet. It takes four scalloped pieces for each cone if you put it together like I did before.

What's really cool? The fact that the new Sweet Stitches fabric designer brads match the dsp! I took a closer photo to show that below. The white strip is also on the die. I sponged around it with Melon Mambo (same color as the petal cone) and stamped a phrase from Teeny, Tiny Wishes on it. The last step was adding the 5/8" Whisper White satin ribbon for a handle. Hope you like it!

Easter Blossoms embossed pearl card...

This Pretty in Pink card features the Easter Blossoms stamp set, along with words from the Bring on the Cake set. Both sets are available in the Occasions Mini Catalog. I borrowed this idea from Lisa Young. I stamped the image in Jet Black StazOn and used the Uni-bal white gel pen to color in the blossoms. The card front is embossed with the Framed Tulips embossing folder (also in the mini catalog).

Sketch challenge with Nature Walk stamps...

I love the way this Nature Walk card turned out. It's actually the first time I've used the set. I started with Very Vanilla, then Early Espresso and Botanicals Gazette dsp. I had a couple inches of crochet trim and a big button for the left side of the card. The words - a close-up is shown below - are from the Hodgepodge Happiness stamp set.

Many layers have been distressed with the Cutter Kit, and sponged. I masked the bird so the Old Olive cage wouldn't show through the Early Espresso body. Did you notice the dry embossing? It's difficult (impossible!) to show on my photos, but I used a stylus to outline the bug bodies on the designer paper. The card looks and feels very cool in real life. See the Sweet Stop Sketch I used below and join in!

Plane & Simple for Stamping 411 sketch challenge...

I had fun creating this birthday card using the Plane & Simple stamp set in the Occasions Mini Catalog. You can see how I punched part of a scallop circle below to sponge the clouds. I used Bashful Blue ink for the sponging, and Not Quite Navy ink for the plane and compass. The designer paper is from the Blueberry Crisp package.

I used the Stamping 411 sketch shown below. This card takes me back to when I was new to stamping - I used sponging and tearing a lot because these techniques are cheap and easy!

A key to my heart fits color challenge...

I started with a Sahara Sand card for this week's color challenge that I chose, with a layer of Poppy Parade dsp and card stock. I just received the Trinket Keys and had to use one of those cuties! The "Key to my Heart" phrase from the You're a Gem stamp set fits perfectly with the little hearts from Tiny Tags. I punched out five hearts with the 1/2" circle punch and adhered them with dimensionals. I used the sketch below from Technostamper.

Vintage flower adornment on Springtime Vintage card

Card club members made this beauty on Monday. I CASE'd it from here. I added the vintage flower adornment with mini glue dots. The card was first run through the Elegant Lines embossing folder in the Big Shot, then we added a strip of Always Artichoke, a layer of Baja Breeze and a strip of Springtime Vintage dsp. I love the new Baja Breeze seam binding - knotted here under the flower.

American Ink make & takes...

By Michelle

I shared our group swaps yesterday, so today I thought I'd share the make & takes. I always take volunteers for these, so it was great that so many brought ideas for everyone to make. My make & take was the Be My Valentine gatefold card posted earlier.


By Barb - Faux Silk Technique



By Kimberly

By Mary Ann

American Ink swaps for January...

Our American Ink team gathering was super fun Saturday! We had lots of make & takes, tons of great food, good fun and fellowship. Our next gathering is the 2nd Saturday of February, also at my studio. If you'd like to join us as a guest, please email me at ericandterry@comcast.net. You can see the wide variety of styles, and many Occasions Mini products used, in the swaps below:


By Kimberly

By Mary Ann

By Michelle

By Karen

By Frankie

Be My Valentine gatefold card...

I started with a 4-1/4" x 8-1/2" piece of Basic Gray card stock for this gatefold card, scoring at 2-1/8" and 6-3/8". The pieces of Love Impressions dsp are 1-7/8" x 4" and sponged around with Basic Gray ink. I stamped Be My Valentine in Real Red and cut it out, then adhered it with dimensionals to a 3" circle (new die in the Occasions Mini) that I ran through the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. I added a few rhinestones to the middle of the flowers on the heart, and a big red button to hold the front closed.

I added a 4" square piece of Whisper White inside the card, stamping the little heart from the XOXO stamp set, and the sentiment from Word Play. This is my make & take for my American Ink gathering today.

Hugs & Kisses XOXO card...

I decided to go with a Valentine theme for my swap for tomorrow's American Ink demo gathering. I used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, some 5/8" Real Red satin ribbon, and a Full Heart punch of the Red Glimmer paper. I used two stamps from the XOXO set - the sentiment and the little heart, which was punched out, and 1-1/4" squares from the Love Impressions dsp. I love my group get-togethers! I'll be sharing more swaps and make & takes tomorrow.

All that glitters and XOXO...

I just received my Red Glimmer Paper and Love Impressions dsp from the Occasions Mini, along with the XOXO stamp set, so I had to use those. I started with a Whisper White card base. I used the glimmer paper to punch a Full Heart, as well as for a few layers. There's a rhinestone on the "o" in Love too.

I just added a Valentines Class on January 27 at 6 p.m. at my studio. If you'd like to attend, please email me at ericandterry@comcast.net by January 25. Thanks!

Another Things I Love card...

My Things I Love class was fun last night. I posted one card yesterday. Here's another one we made. It's Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait and Not Quite Navy. There's a rhinestone on the chocolate, and the Big Shot was used for the Two Tags die and the embossing folders (Perfect Polka Dots above and Square Lattice below).

Fun new digital downloads for My Digital Studio...

Item 121821 Love Impressions Designer Series Paper $2.95

Item 124009 Love Impressions Embellishments $3.95

Item 124016 Cupcake Punch $0.95

Item 124017 Create a Cupcake Stamp Brush Set $5.95

Item 124013 Artistic Etchings Stamp Brush Set $3.95

Item 124014 Notably Ornate Stamp Brush Set $3.95

Item 124490 Love Bandit Stamp Brush Set $5.95

Item 124015 Bring on the Cake Stamp Brush Set $7.95

Item 125158 Chat Room Love Stamp Brush Set $5.95

Item 125159 Chat Room Occasions Stamp Brush Set $5.95

Item 124012 Love Letter Designer Series Paper $4.95

Item 123601 XOXO Stamp Brush Set $1.95

Item 122169 Botanical Gazette Designer Series Paper $3.95

Item 123603 Nature Stamp Brush Set $1.95

Item 123602 Vintage Flowers Embellishment Kit $1.95

Item 122172 Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper $4.95

Item 123604 Sewing Stamp Brush Set $3.95

Item 122170 Sweet Stitches Designer Series Paper $3.95

To order any digital download, please go to my Stampin' Up! website - http://therubberroom.stampinup.net/ and click on "SHOP NOW." These are under Digital Crafting. If you need help or have any questions, please feel free to contact me!