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.

Stamp Club Projects

The Fall/Winter 2008 round of Stamp Clubs has begun. The Saturday group met and had a great time making the projects, getting to know each other and looking at all the new Stampin' Up! stuff. Thanks, Julia for bringing the cookies. Yum! The Thursday group will meet next week. Both groups are full so if you're thinking of joining a Stamp Club let me know. The next round will be groups of 6 that will meet for 6 months and will begin in February 2009 with the next Stampin' Up!Spring/Summer '09 Idea Book & Catalog.

Here are the two projects for the first meeting.


Stamps: Upsy Daisy (15% off through Sept 30th)

Ink: Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Real Red, Whisper White

Other: Bella Rose DSP, Scallop edge punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, Piercer and mat from Tool Kit, Filgree Brad, daubers.

The color on the flowers is created with a coloring technique using ink pads and daubers that I saw at the Stampin' Up! convention.

Here is a close up of the new Filgree Brad and the scallop edge made with the new scallop edge punch. I love the new scallop edge punch and these new brads are wonderful!

The second card is made with the bleaching technique to create the white images in the background. I got the idea for this card from the card on the bottom of page 91 in the Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter 08 Idea Book & Catalog.

Stamps: Eastern Blooms (15% off through Sept. 30th), Canvas

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Old Olive

Other: Bella Rose DSP, Pink Gingham ribbon, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Scallop Edge punch, Trio Flower punch, mini glue dots, bleach.

Blessings,
Barb

Things are finally setting down - at least for the time being - so it's back to stamping! Here is one of the swaps I took to the Stampin' Up! Convention. I came back with lots of wonderful new samples for my display boards! You can access the recipe for this card on my Stampin' Up! website by clicking here.

Enjoy,

Barb

Sew Cute!

These little sewing kits are so cute! I made these a long time ago for a ladies brunch. I updated the design on the cover and used the new Pink Pirouette In-Color cardstock (available beginning Aug. 11th) for the folder. I'm making a bunch of these as one of my 3-D swaps for the Stampin' Up! convention.

Sneak Peek - Flower Power

Here's a sneak peek at the new Stampin' Up! Simply Sent card making kit - Flower Power. It will be available in the new catalog beginning Aug. 11, 2008. I made the 9 cards that the set is designed to make. I did tweak one design slightly so I wouldn't use so much of the designer paper. I had enough textured cardstock and designer paper left over to make 3 more cards and I still have half of a sheet of designer paper left. I got a little paper-snip happy and cut out around the self-adhesive die-cuts to add some embellishments to the extra cards. There is also a small stamp set - Wow Flowers - 4 stamps - that coordinate with this Simply Sent Card Kit. The stamp set is sold separately. I love the color combination of Perfect Plum, Rose Red, More Mustard and Old Olive. I have never thought of putting those colors together. I can see this being a class this fall.