Stampin' Up! OnLine Holiday Extravaganza!

Now through November 30, Stampin' Up! is having a huge on-line Holiday sale! Over 40 items and product bundles are on sale 30% - 50% off! Click HERE to shop my Stampin' Up! website.

November Stamp Club Projects

My Stamp Club met yesterday. We had such a great time making these two Christmas cards! The ladies loved the little snowman treat boxes that I made for each of them.

On this card we cut out the Top Note die with the Big Shot! then used the Scenic Season stamp set on the front which we stamped in White Craft Ink and embossed with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. We masked the words and just stamped the trees. Then we just inked the words and using the Stamp-a-ma-jig we positioned the words in closer to the trees. Gotta love that Stamp-a-ma-jig! Before attaching the Top Note we stamped the little snowflakes from the Serene Snowflakes set in VersaMark in each corner and embossed with Iridescent Ice just to add a little sparkle. The bow is just a knot of Organza Ribbon attached with a glue dot. The card corners were rounded with the corner rounder punch.

Inside the card we stamped the sentiment from Seneic Season in Night of Navy. The snowflake is the Simple Snowflake stamp from page 208 in the catalog stamped in VersaMark, embossed with Iridescent Ice and punched out with the Jumbo Snowflake punch. It is attached with SNAIL. TIP: lay your delicate item to be SNAILed on the glossy side of the backing paper from your stamp lables, hold down with one hand and add your SNAIL. The SNAIL won't stick to the glossy paper and make a mess of your stamping area!

         

                                               

The second card we did involved lots of cool techniques! First we used the Big Shot! and the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder to make the Whisper White layer of the front of the card. I used the Oval Scallop Frame die to make an oval template to use with the embossing folder to create the smooth area that we stamped in. Since the oval was just the right size it was perfect to put the frame around. Dasher was inked with VersaMark then Soft Suede, stamped, then embossed with Iridescent Ice. You can't really see the sparkle in this picture. The bow is Kraft Taffeta Ribbon attached with a glue dot.

                                       

We stamped the inside of the card with a sentiment from the All Holidays stamp set in Soft Suede. Across the bottom we placed a strip of Sticky Strip and covered it with gold embossing powder. Don't overheat the embossing powder on the Sticky Strip. You only want to melt the embossing powder...not the Sticky Strip. The Sticky Strip adds a nice clean line!

                            

Here's the little snowman treatbox. It's he cute! I filled him with a hot cocoa packet and candy cane. He was inspired by an idea shared by BJ Peters on the Stampin' Up! demonstrators website. This little guy is made with the Top Note die, corner rounder, 1 1/4" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, 1/4" circle punch and Boho Blossoms punch. The nose is cut free hand. The box that he is attached to is 3" wide, 1" deep and about 4 1/2" tall.

Happy Stamping!

Barb

This cute Christmas card is quick and easy and straight from the Stampin' Success magazine. That's the great monthly magazine Stampin' Up! sends to their demonstartors. It uses the new Delightful Decorations stamp set, coordinating Ornament punch and coordinating Sassy Sparkles wheel from the Holiday Mini catalog. Click HERE to shop my website then click on Shop Now. Don't forget to check out the DEAL OF THE WEEK! More punches!

Enjoy,
Barb

March Stamp Club Projects

Last weekend we met for Stamp Club and made two great projects. Both involved the Big Shot! The first project took a little time and was a bit "fussy" as my friend, Eileen would say. But it turned out great and was a real WOW! card. I cased the idea from this wonderful blog. I decided to go with a black and white card with a twist and a surprise. Twist the ribbon handle and - surprise! there's color! We also did some masking and used Stampin' Pastels (chalks) to color the flowers and stencil the leaves. We used a leaf stencil made with the SU! Little Leaves sizzlit die. Punch out the leaves and use them on another project - use the negative that's left for a stencil. This is a 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" card which fits in the 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" envelope

Stamp Set: Fifth Ave Floral; Classic Ink: Basic Black; Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Brushed Silver; Accessories: Clear Rhinestone Brads, (Half pearls on this sample from Pretties Kit) Piercing tool and mat from Took Kit, Organza Ribbon, Big Shot!, Scallop Circle die, Paper snips, glue dots, Stampin' Pastels, daubers, Lace edge punch (inside card).

The second project was a quick and easy card. It's my new favorite card to make and it looks good in any color. We sponged the edges and middles of the flowers to give them a little more color and depth.

Stamp Sets: Elegant Greetings; Classic Ink: Regal Rose; Cardstock: Pink Piroutte, Whisper White, Barely Banana, Gable Green; DSP Pink Pirouette; Accessories: Lace edge punch, Big Shot! SU! Simple Flower embosslit die, SU! Little Leaves sizzlit die, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, sponge.

Enjoy,

Barb

February Stamp Club Projects

Another round of Stamp Clubs are starting. This weekends projects feature a vellum card that was inspired by a card that my upline, Jan made for a swap. The second card uses an envelope to create a unique and beautiful package for this card. The card and envelope feature Sale-a-bration! stamp sets, ribbons and DSP.

Happy Stamping!

Barb

Sale-a-bration! sample

I made this card for a demonstrator swap that I took part in. I cased the card on page 4 of the Sale-a-bration! brochure. I love the SAB items they have this year! I used the Polka Dot Punches stamp set, Delicate Dots DSP and the 5/8" So Saffron grosgrain ribbon - all Sale-a-bration! items. I also used Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and Barely Banana card stock, Certainly Celery Classic ink, buttons from Fresh Favorites II, word window, 1-1/4" circle punch, 5-petal punch and the scallop circle punches. (Sorry, I forgot which set I used the "thank you" from.)

Enjoy,

Barb

12 x 12 Folded Book

I spent a wonderful day today with about 20 other demos from the group that I'm a part of. We met with my 5th upline, Jan from Arizona. She came, despite the cold, to share her expertise and a cute book project. (I'll share that book another day.) We had a great time and lots of fun! I shared a 3 minute demo with the group. This cute little book that I shared is just one 12x12 sheet of Designer Series Paper scored, cut and folded then, held together with a little Sticky Strip.

Score along one edge at 3", 6" and 9". Turn and score at 2", 6" and 10". I marked the score lines so you can see where they are.

Cut along the 6" score line from the top edge, down 9" to the intersection of the last score line (marked on the right-hand photo above with a solid line).

Place Sticky Strip in corners at each end of 2" scored sections as shown. Fold and adhere edged. These will become the pockets in the book.

Accordion fold the other scored lines and fold as shown. Place Sticky Strip around edge as shown. Fold book in half and adhere tape. Accordion fold book together.

For the binding cut a 4" x 1-1/4" piece of coordinating card stock. Score it longways at 1/2" and 3/4". Fold along score lines. Use Sticky Strip to attach binding along folded edge of book. Book can be held closed with ribbon or a belly band. Decorate cover as desired. Fill pockets with verses, well wishes, pictures, money, etc.

Enjoy,

Barb

The "Basic" Congrats card

For those who know about my nephew, we're proud to announce that he graduated from Basic Training yesterday. Now, he is off to his job training. This is the "congrats" card I sent him. Nothing fancy just simple but nice. The word stamp is from the "Congrats" Sale-a-bration set.

Stamps: The Free and the Brave, Congrats. Classic ink Riding Hood Red, Night of Navy, VersaMark Ink. CS: Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Ballet Blue, Night of Navy, Confetii White. White embossing powder, heat tool, powder pals, embossing buddy.

Barb

Turning My Simply Scrappin' Kit into a few cards...

I finally decided it was time to start writing my thank you notes for Christmas. I needed a bunch of cards and I didn't have a lot of time to spend designing them. I remembered seeing a demonstration by Patty Bennett on a Stampin' Up! video that showed how she took a Simply Scrappin' kit and turned it into a gazillion 4x4 cards (give or take a few). So, I pulled out an old Simply Scrappin' kit that I had gotten for free from the 2007 Sale-a-bration! sale and even had the coordinating Delight in Life stamp set to go with it! I got that free too as part of that Sale-a-bration! sale. I added a few supplies...coordinating ink colors, ribbon, brads, glue dots, dimensionals, marker, a couple punches and started making cards.

I cut the Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, So Saffron and Very Vanilla cardstock into four 4x8 inch pieces with a 4x4 inch piece leftover. I cut the decorative edge strips that came with the Simply Scrappin' kit into 4 inch sections so they would be just the right size for the cards. I also cut the patterned cardstock into 2x4 inch pieces to go on the front of the cards. I cut a few too many so I had some leftover that could have been two more cards if I hadn't cut up all the cardstock!

I got 39 cards out of this Simply Scrappin' kit (I could have gotten 41...oh well). I had a lot of fun and now I have plenty of cards for my thank you notes! By the way the 4x4 cards fit into the regular medium envelopes for mailing. That way they aren't too small and don't require extra postage due to the shape of the envelope.

Here are a some close ups of the cards.

Current Simply Scrappin' kits are on pages 162 - 165 of the Spring/Summer 2009 Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog.

Enjoy,
Barb

The new Stampin' Up! Spring/Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog is here! You can order 24/7 from my Stampin' Up! website just click the link on the sidebar.

Last weekend we celebrated the new catalog with an Out with the Old - In with the New party. This card is one of the Make 'n Take projects. It uses the Love You Much stamp set, Candy Lane Designer Series Paper and the Heart to Heart punch from the Valentine Bundle Special. The little box was the little extra goodie that I gave to those who were there. It also uses the Candy Lane DSP and Heart to Heart punch. Both project were changed a little from their original ideas which came from a couple of fabulous demonstrators. Unfortunately, I can't remember which blogs I found them on. Sorry.

Projects use: Love You Much stamp set, Candy Lane DSP, Heart to Heart punch, Riding Hood Red CS and taffeta ribbon, Pink Pirouette CS, Vellum CS, Basic Black Classic ink, Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker, Boho Blossoms punch, stylus, mat pack, Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon, pillow box die and Big Shot! die cut machine

Here's the other Make 'n Take project. It uses the, now retired, Fabulous Flowers stamp set. Flowers are stamped in Regal Rose, Rose Red and Kiwi Kiss on a scallop circle cut with the Big Shot!. Ribbon and cardstock are also Kiwi Kiss. Bottom edge is done with the scallop edge punch and dots added with the white gel pen. Quick, easy, simple. Just change the stamp set and/or the colors and you have a whole new card! Once again, I found a similar card somewhere along the way and changed it a bit. I really need to write these things down.