January Stamp Club Cards

I finally have a few moments to get a blog post in!  Here are the cards that my club ladies made this month.

For this first card, I used the Watercolor Wonder designer series paper that's in the Celebrate the Everyday catalogue.  The banners are from the upcoming Sale-A-Bration set, Banner Blast, which has a coordinating punch!  I used Gumball Green, Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango, Smoky Slate and Crushed Curry for the colours. 

This next card uses the Painters Tape technique, which I now love!  I CASEd this card from one shown to me by my upline, Winona Semler, which I know that she CASEd from someone else but I don't know who!  I stamped the image from Serene Silhouettes in black StazOn.  Then I put a strip of painters tape into my Crisp Canteloupe ink pad and pressed it down.  After that, I pressed the tape onto the stamped cardstock, pressed it all down, then peeled it off.  The ink stays on the cardstock in a streak!  LOVE IT!  I did the same thing with Soft Sky and Smoky Slate ink.  To finish the card, I stamped some texturing with the Gorgeous Grunge set in Smoky Slate and added some Calypso Coral baker's twine (which goes amazingly well with Canteloupe) before layering the stamped piece onto Soft Sky and Smoky Slate cardstock.

The final card is a Valentine card using the Flowerfull Heart stamp.  I stamped it in Real Red and cut it out with my heart framelits.  I spritzed a paper doily with Coastal Cabana ink (fill a spritzer 3/4 full with rubbing alcohol and add a few drops of re-inker).  It curled nicely with the moisture, and I crinkled it even more to give it some texture.  I layered those onto some Coastal Cabana cardstock with some Fresh Prints designer series paper.  Some Real Red Stitched Grosgrain ribbon finished off the card, which is on a Whisper White base.

Blessings to you,

Happy Valentine's Day from Mario!

My friend, Noelle, asked if I could come up with a Mario-themed Valentine's Day card for her son, who is in love with all things Mario.  Here's what I came up with:

I found an awesome tutorial by Jessica Lewis for making the Mario out of punches.  Check it out for complete instructions.  For this Mario, you'll need the following punches: 1-3/4" Scallop Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, 1/2" Circle, Bitty Circle (from Bitties punch pack), Scallop Oval, Ornament, Small Oval (or Word Window), and I used the circles on the Owl punch for the eyes.  I changed a few things - I used the Small Oval punch for the front of the had (I know it's retired, but it was easier than cutting down the Word Window punch!). 

I also thought it would be cute to make the "coins" that sit on the pipe out of red glimmer hearts in honour of Valentine's Day.  I used the Small Heart punch for those.

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone,

February Stamp Club Cards

I apologize for not posting for awhile.  I got called in to substitute teach for my son's class for most of last week, so my home chores have fallen by the wayside!  My Stamp Club ladies are meeting tonight, and here are the cards we'll be making:

Of course, we have to make a Valentine's Day card, so I used the Hearts a Flutter set and More Amore designer series paper to CASE a double-fold spring card made by Kathy House (it's not online - I received the card from Kathy in a swap).  I used the 1-1/4" circle punch to make the peek-a-boo holes for the hearts, which are stamped in Pool Party, Real Red and Primrose Petals.  The side panel is embossed with the Sale-A-Bration vine embossing folder.  I added some Primrose Petals stitched satin ribbon and a jumbo rhinestone to finish off the card.

This card is one that was shown at Leadership (I wasn't there, but some ladies in my group brought back lots of photos!).  It uses the baby wipe technique with Midnight Muse, Pumpkin Pie and Lucky Limeade ink refills.  I scored the edges with the Simply Scored tool.  The stamp set is Feeling Sentimental (a Sale-A-Bration free set).

The final card is CASEd from the one in the Spring Catalogue.  I added a layer of Early Espresso to the Summer Starfruit layer, on which I stamped the Swallowtail butterfly image in VersaMark and embossed it with Pool Party embossing powder.  I then painted over the embossed image with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint.  To finish it off, I added some Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon and a neutral brad before layering it on a Crumb Cake card base.  The sentiment is from Bloomin' Marvelous (another Sale-A-Bration set).

Here's a close-up of the butterfly with shimmer paint:

Blessings to you,

January Stamp Club Cards

These are the cards my Stamp Club ladies made this month.  It was so nice to make some Spring cards!

For this first card, I ran some watercolor paper through the Big Shot in the Manhattan Flower embossing folder.  Then I coloured it in with my Aqua Painter and some Rose Red, Summer Starfruit and Bashful Blue ink.  Just squeeze the ink pads together so the ink pools in the lid of the pad, then use the Aqua Painter to pick up some ink from the lid and paint in the embossed image.

To finish it off, I added one of Stampin' Up!'s new Designer Builder Brads with some Rose Red cardstock in the center, along with some Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta ribbon.  The card base is Rose Red, and the watercoloured piece is layered on some Basic Black cardstock.  I stamped the sentiment from Petite Pairs in Basic Black.

Our next card is a Valentine's card using the new Happy Valentine single stamp (available in the Valentine Treat Bundle until January 21).  I started with a Basic Gray card base.  The next layer is Primrose Petals Core'dinations cardstock, run through the Big Shot in our new Honeycomb embossing folder (LOVE this!).  I then sanded the cardstock with our sanding block so the white core shows through.  The "lace" heart and heart-covered heart are both from the More Amore designer series paper.  I stamped the image in Pool Party ink and punched it out with the coordinating Full Heart punch (along with the designer paper heart).

The Pool Party ribbon is from the upcoming Sale-A-Bration ribbon & button pack, which you can earn for free with a $60 Sale-A-Bration order beginning on January 22 (more info to come)!  The pack also comes with Island Indigo and Tangerine Tango ribbon, plus Island Indigo, Pool Party and Rich Razzleberry buttons.

For this next one, I CASEd Debbie Kolberg's card.  The card base is So Saffron, with Island Indigo and Very Vanilla for the layers.  She used Tea for Two designer series paper and a Tea Lace Paper Doily as well, then tied some Natural Trim ribbon (from the Spring Catalogue) around the center piece.  There is a piece of So Saffron punched with the 1-3/4" Scallop Circle punch and embossed with the Lacy Brocade embossing folder.  I adhered this with dimensionals over the ribbon.  Finally, the stamped piece is from Collage Curios, stamped in Sahara Sand, Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade (the rose stamp is inked with Stampin' Write markers).  This is punched with the 1" Circle punch and adhered into the large Soda Pop Top (these are so cute!).  The Pop Top is adhered with mini glue dots.

As a bonus project, the ladies got to make a card using the My Little Valentine bundle, which includes the stamp set and the Sealed With Love simply sent card kit.  We tied some Pool Party Sale-A-Bration ribbon around the card.  Then we stamped the "for you" in Real Red, punched it out with the Small Oval punch, added a small rhinestone jewel and adhered it to the card with a dimensional.

Hope you enjoy these projects!

Blessings to you,

Happy Valentine Heart

I LOVE the Happy Valentine Heart stamp that Stampin' Up! introduced this month.  It is so cute, and it coordinates perfectly with the Full Heart punch.

This is such a quick, easy project that you can make tons of for kids' classes or for your friends at work. I punched out some Pool Party cardstock with the 2-3/8" Scallop Circle and embossed it with the Lacy Brocade embossing folder.  The image is stamped in Regal Rose, punched out with the Full Heart punch, and attached to the Pool Party circle with some dimensionals.  I also discovered that the little heart on the Owl punch fits perfectly into the little heart on the stamp, so I added a little Pool Party heart to it!  The whole piece is adhered to the bag of jelly beans with some mini glue dots.  I finished it off by tying some Pink Pirouette taffeta ribbon around the bag.

I found some yummy pink strawberry jelly beans at Bulk Barn, but you could also fill the bags with a Valentine pencil, other candy, packets of rockets or other Valentine treat.

Blessings,

Awesome Valentine's Specials!

How adorable are these Valentine's Stamps!?

The Valentine Treat Bundle is an amazing deal.  You get the Happy Valentine Heart stamp for only $7.25, plus a  package of fifty 1 x 8" cello bags for free!  You can make tons of treats for your kids' classes and your friends at work!

The My Little Valentine bundle is also a great one!  When you purchase the 4-piece stamp set, you get the Sealed With Love Simply Sent card kit for free!  It includes enough designer series envelopes, notecards, twine, paper buttons and dimensionals to make 10 cards (and it includes instructions)!

Contact me to order your Valentine's bundles or order online.  They are only available until January 21!

Blessings,

Coral Valentine

I love the Sweet Shop designer series paper in the Occasions Mini Catalogue, especially the Calypso Coral paper with the embossed hearts on it!

As such, I came up with this non-traditionally-coloured Valentine to incorporate that gorgeous paper!  I used Chocolate Chip as my card base, layered with some Calypso Coral that is tied with some Chocolate Chip polka-dot ribbon.  I stamped En Francais in Chocolate Chip on Whisper White, then cut it out with the Labels Framelits dies. I adhered the smaller label to the Coral paper, then added the frame around it popped up on dimensionals. 

To complete the card, I added some hearts - the paper that inspired the card, plus one stamped with a stamp from Take it To Heart in Chocolate Chip, and finally a little "love" heart, all cut with my Heart Framelits.  The sentiment is from Sweet Cake.

Happy Early Valentine's Day!

January Scrapbook Club Layout

This month we did a Valentine's Day layout using the new Hearts Framelits dies for the Big Shot.

I love the new Twitterpated product suite, so we used the designer series paper, pleated satin ribbon and buttons for the layout as well.  The Take it to Heart set, of course, coordinates perfectly, so we embellished the keepsake envelope with that set.

January Stamp Club Cards

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  I'm such a bad blogger - I don't think I posted once all of December!  Perhaps one of my New Year's resolutions should be to blog more consistently... I'll see if I can find the time!

Anyway, here are the cards my Stamp Clubs will be making this month.  I'm loving all the new products in the Occasions mini catalogue, so we're using lots of them!

I CASEd a card created by Julia for this one.  She showed a cool technique using re-inkers and alcohol that I had to share with my club ladies.  You put a few drops of rubbing alcohol in a container (I use empty SU! brad containers), then a few drops of re-inker in the alcohol.  Then use a sponge or cloth to dab the colour over glossy white cardstock for this cool background.  I used Rose Red, So Saffron and Perfect Plum.  Then, I stamped all over it with the small flower from Flower Fancy in black Staz-On. 

The big flower uses a cool technique that I've learned a few places (including Julia), where you punch out the shape and run a bone folder over it several times until the paper starts to come apart at the edges.  Gently peel back the top layer to get a cool faux-suede-looking flower. 

The ribbon bunch is super easy - just put some sticky strip down and press the ribbon into it as you "loop" it across the front of the card.

I really wanted to use the heart treat cups this month to make a Valentine card, so here's what we're doing.  I borrowed this layout from Cindy and changed up the colours and the method for making the slider.  I like making treat cup cards that you can get the candy out of without ripping the card apart!  This one has the slider tab that you can pull out and get the candies out through a hole in the inside of the card.  (It will be filled with red & white M & Ms if I can find some for my club!)  I used the gorgeous new Real Red glitter paper for this one!  Isn't it pretty?  It goes so nicely with the Early Espresso.

And what Occasions mini stamp club would be complete without the new Petals punch and matching stamp set?  I had to pre-order this as soon as I saw it!

This card uses the Patterns paper from the Filled with Love bundle, along with Rose Red, Blushing Bride, Regal Rose and Certainly Celery.  I used Pretty in Pink satin ribbon across the bottom of the card, but I've ordered Rose Red seam binding which I hope will be here in time for my club on Monday because I think that would look better!

I hope the ladies like them!  Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings to you,

Love You Make & Take

I am thrilled to have been asked to prepare a make & take for our large group meeting this month.  Donna Wizniuk, who is in charge of the make & take committee, suggested I CASE this card by Kimberly Van Diepen.  So here is my only slightly modified version of it.

 

So now I get to prepare enough materials for 200 people to make this card!  I just hope they enjoy it!

Blessings to you,

February Scrapbook Club Layout

Happy Valentine's Day!  I wanted to use the Sending Love designer series paper for this Valentine's layout.  It's a bit busier than my layouts usually are, but I just thought I'd cover it with hearts, so I pulled out all my heart embellishments! 

The title is stamped with Lovely Letters in Real Red and punched out with the Full Heart punch.  I then stamped the triple heart from I {Heart} Hearts in Real Red craft ink and embossed it with Iridescent Ice before punching it out with the Heart to Heart punch.  (Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to disaster relief in Haiti with every purchase of this stamp set!)

To embellish, I added more Heart to Heart hearts in Real Red, some embosslit heart die cuts (punched out with the Big Shot), some Real Red gingham ribbon and a Very Vanilla 5/8" brad.

We're meeting tomorrow night, so hopefully the ladies will enjoy this layout!  I have one spot available in my Scrapbook Club, so if you're in my area and would like to join for the rest of the year, let me know! 

Blessings to you,

January Stamp Club Projects

Happy New Year Everyone!

It has been a long time since I've had a chance to do some stamping or posting.  It's been a crazy few months.  We put our house up for sale last June and have been busy cleaning and hoping for it to sell.  It hasn't sold, but we've decided to start building our new house anyway, so now it's been a whirlwind of deciding what flooring, lighting, paint, cabinetry, etc. we want in the new house, along with school, workshops, stamp clubs, church, Awana, Bible study, and all those other activities, I've barely had time to think, let alone stamp!  Maybe if I didn't spend so much time on Facebook...

So over the Christmas holiday, I at least had one afternoon of stamping.  I've planned my January club projects (ahead of time too!).  They all feature products from the new Occasions Mini Catalogue.  Here's what we're making:

I completely CASEd this card by Michelle Zindorf.  When I saw it on Splitcoast, I knew I had to make it!  What a unique technique.  I've never seen this before, and I know my Stamp Club ladies will love it!  I used Apricot Appeal, More Mustard, Dusty Durango and Real Red Ink, along with the new Vintage Vogue stamp set in Basic Black ink. Michelle gives a wonderful tutorial on this technique, so check out her blog if you want to see how. 

This second card is a matchbook post-its holder based on this tutorial on Splitcoast.  I wanted to make it more Valentine-y so I used the Love Bandit stamp set.  The image is stamped in Basic Black with Melon Mambo sponged around the edges.  I coloured this little guy in with my In Color Stampin' Write markers.

I have not used Melon Mambo very often, so I thought it was time to christen that ink pad and paper package!  I paired it with some Razzleberry Lemonade designer series paper, Basic Black and Black gingham ribbon.  The eyelet border punch makes a great edge at the bottom of the matchbook, and I punched a little slot with the Horizontal Slot punch to tuck in one of the eyelet border pieces so the book stays closed.

This third card is yet another CASE, of this card by Debbie Naylor.  I thought it was just stunning when I saw it on Splitcoast.  I used Pretty in Pink with Rich Razzleberry, along with Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon.

I used the Elegant Bouquet Textured Impressions folder with my Big Shot for the top layer, adding some purple Fine Cosmo glitter in the center of the flowers.

The heart stamp is from the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set, punched with the Full Heart punch.  There is a paper clip behind the heart, attached with a dimensional, that I tied the ribbon around.  The sentiment is from Well Scripted, stamped in Razzleberry.

Thanks for stopping by today!  I have more cards made that I'll schedule to post through January so that it looks like I'm blogging more!  Hopefully I'll be able to blog more regularly in the New Year!  One of my resolutions is to spend less time on Facebook and more time on more important things (like blogging!).

Blessings to you,

Shannon

January Stamp Club Cards

I've been wanting to try this dryer sheet technique for awhile, and I've seen a few done with the Lovely as a Tree (I think I may cry if they discontinue it!) set that look stunning, so here is my take on it. I am in love with the candy cane striped ribbon! I'm so sad that it won't be available after next week! I stamped the tree in Always Artichoke and Mellow Moss for the shadows, then covered the image with a dryer sheet, using glue stick, then sprinkled some Dazzling Diamonds glitter over it. I love the shimmery look! I used Riding Hood Red to complement the ribbon and greens.

I also want to highlight the Valentine bundle this month, so I made the next two cards using the Love You Much stamp set. I saw this heart wreath on Jen's card, and I fell in love (and subsequently CASEd her card)! This is made using the new Heart to Heart punch and layering the hearts (Rose Red and Pretty in Pink). I added a little Pretties flower with a pink brad to the middle of the wreath. I layered that onto some Candy Lane designer series paper that I had wrapped with Rose Red ribbon. Then I made the little heart badge with markers and my 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches.

I CASEd the second Love You Much card from this card by Jaydee. I used the Big Shot Scallop Envelope with Real Red cardstock. It's pretty simple - tied with Whisper White taffeta ribbon and adhered to some Whisper White cardstock the I embellished with red eyelets. The sentiment is from Holidays & Wishes.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings to you,

Love You Much Confetti Flinger

This is a card I CASEd from my former upline, Sarah Hunter (a very talented stamper!). She got the instructions for the confetti flinger card from Rachel Korpi. I have included them after my card recipe.

I used the Love You Much bundle to make this card. I love the new Candy Lane designer series paper! The stamp set is, of course, Love You Much, stamped in Basic Brown and coloured in with blender pens in Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss ink. I matted the "Love You Much" image on Close to Cocoa". Then I stamped the triple hearts in Riding Hood Red on Pink Pirouette and punched them out with the Three Heart Punch. The Candy Lane paper is matted on Pink Pirouette as well.

You can see on the inside of the card that there is a "flinger" for confetti. It actually springs out when you open the card and throws confetti! Here are the instructions for that (if you would like a printable copy, just email me and I'll send it to you):

1. Create a standard-sized card.
2. Cut coloured cardstock to 6 1/2 x 2" for the flinger.
3. Score 1/4" in from the edge of each long side.
4. Score at every 1 1/2" from the short side. This will leave a 1/2" tab on the end (your score marks will be at 1 1/2, 3, 4 1/2 and 6").
5. Cut notches at all intersections of teh scored lines.
6. Punch a 1/8" hole at the first and third intersections of the scored lines (the tab section being the bottom, and therefore the fourth intersection).
7. Fold in the 1/4" scores and adhere.
8. Fold in to create a box. Use the 1/2" tab to adhere it closed (you will have a box with no sides).
9. Press the box flat and attach a #2 rubber band through the punched notches.
10. Create a pocket using a 2 3/4" square of designer paper. Fold in the corners to create a 2" square. (This will hold your confetti.)
11. Adhere the bottom of the box, using sticky strip, to the inside of the card (towards the bottom right). The highest point of the rubber band should be toward the fold in the card, and the bottom of the rubber band should be toward the opening. This allows the flinger to fire in the right direction.
12. Adhere the pocket to the top of your box.
13. Fill with confetti and close the card.

I hope this makes sense! Thank you to Rachel Korpi for these instructions!

Blessings to you,

A Pretties Valentine

Here's a card I made for Splitcoast Stampers' Sketch Challenge 161. I thought I'd make it into a Valentine's Day card, since that's what I'm in the mood for!

I finally broke into my Pretties kit for this one. I'm such a hoarder of supplies. I got the kit months ago, but I couldn't bring myself to use them. I always wait for just the perfect project because I don't want to "waste" my supplies! Anyone else like that? I finally just decided to go for it. There really are a ton of flowers in the kit, and I'll have to use them eventually!

Anyway, I started with the designer paper and went from there. This is from the Bali Breeze designer series paper. I decided to go with Purely Pomegranate and Pretty in Pink to accent it. I dyed the big flower with my Pretty in Pink Stampin' Write marker and the little flower with my Purely Pomegranate ink pad (I just smooshed it into the pad!). The rhinestone brad is also from the Pretties kit. The sentiment is from Holidays and Wishes, stamped in Pomegranate.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you all have a great weekend! It's finally starting to warm up here, so I'm hoping to get out of the house this weekend!

February Stamp Club Projects

Of course, for February, I wanted to do Valentine's Day-themed projects, but I also realize that some people detest Valentine's Day! So, how do you find a balance? Okay, I didn't do a very good job of that (I love Valentine's Day)! But, my Stamp Club ladies will have the option of turning these into non-Valentine's projects by changing which sentiment stamps they use. Fair enough?

This first card uses the faux silk technique that was shown on Splitcoast Stampers. As soon as I saw the tutorial, I knew I had to try it! It's super-easy!

I went with Almost Amethyst, Blush Blossom and Sage Shadow for this one, with some Elegant Eggplant for contrast. For the "silk" piece, I stamped the hearts from Simply Said all over some white tissue in the three Soft Subtles colours. Then I layered it over some Whisper White card stock. I matted this piece on some Blush Blossom and wrapped some Eggplant ribbon around it.

Then I stamped the hearts on a white square and matted that on Sage Shadow. I adhered this piece to the "silk" piece, then attached the whole thing to the card. I finished by stamping "love" from Wonderful Words across the bottom in Eggplant.

For those who don't want a Valentine's Day card, Wonderful Words also has "celebrate", "friendship" and "thanks"!
All of you Stampin' Up! demos will recognize this Love Box from the cover of the February issue of Stampin' Success! I had to try it as well! (All of the dimensions are on the SU! demo website.)

It was really easy - a strip of Real Red cardstock folded into an open-ended box! I used my mat pack and a white gel pen to do some faux-stitching across the top and bottom of the front of the box.

Then I stamped the l, v and e from Big Deal Alphabet in Pretty in Pink and Real Red. The flower is from Priceless, punched out with the 1 1/4" circle punch. I adhered these to the box with dimensionals. I tied some Whisper White taffeta ribbon around the top, then some linen thread around that to hold the tag. The tag is just a rectangle of Whisper White, stamped with the sentiment from Holidays and Wishes in Real Red and punched with the 1/16" circle punch.

When we do this at Stamp Club, the ladies will get some small cello bags to fill with candy that they can put into the box.

The final project is this Double Accordion Gate Fold Card. I found the tutorial here on Leslie's blog (Running With Scissors). If you haven't checked out her blog, you must! Hers is the first blog I subscribed to when I first entered this blogging world. Her work is amazing. You can see another of her Gate Fold Cards here.

For this one, I used Close to Cocoa Prints designer paper for the card base with Purely Pomegranate for accents. This one is not a Valentine's Day card (but it does use Valentine colours!).

The balloon is from the Birthday Whimsy Sale-A-Bration set and is stamped in Pomegranate on Whisper White, then cut out. I attached it to the Cocoa scallop circle with a dimensional, then matted that with Pomegranate and more Cocoa. The sentiment is stamped in Cocoa as well. It is held closed with a pewter hodgepodge hardware piece.

On the inside, I put a stamped Whisper White rectangle so that you can write in it.

Valentines Swaps Finally Finished!

I finally finished my cards for Candace's Valentines swap. This is the first swap I've participated in, so I was very nervous, hoping my cards would be good enough! I hope these are alright. The swap is for 3 x 3 valentine cards using current SU! products.

I started with Whisper White as the base, then layered on some Pretty in Pink that I had dry embossed with the flower on the Priceless classy brass template. I put some Real Red grosgrain ribbon across the front. The stamped image is from Happy Heart day, stamped in black Staz-On. I coloured it in with Real Red and Pretty in Pink Stampin' Write markers.

The only place I cheated a little bit was with the flower that I put through the heart - I would have used the flowers from the SU! Pretties kit, but I didn't have enough for all eleven cards, so I just used some little flowers I found at Michaels. But I would have dyed the little flower with Pretty in Pink ink had I used the Pretties kit. It's attached with a silver brad. Then I layered the stamped piece onto some Real Red and attached it to the card with dimensionals.

There you have it! I'm looking forward to seeing what other people made for this swap.