Archive for the ‘Challenges’ Category:
Taking a Break to Play!
Aloha, all!
As those of you on my newsletter list know, I've been hip deep in boxes in the Craft Room getting all my retired "stuff" ready for my New Catalog Open House a week from Saturday.
But this morning, there was a Chat & Challenge on my SUDSOL (Stampin' Up! Demo) group, so I took a break to make a card.
This card is a mix of new and continuing products. The "new" is the Pear Pizzazz Card Stock, the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder that I used for the card front, and the Early Espresso color of the background card stock and the ink. Continuing from the last catalog are the Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon and Card Stock, the Scallop Circle Punch (though now it's being offered in the new punch style) and the Lovely Letters Alphabet Stamp Set. Nice combo, I think!
Here are a couple of the techniques that I used to put this card together:
- I measured and cut the top (Pretty in Pink) and bottom (Pear Pizzazz) card stock so that, together, they made up the 5-1/4" x 4" central layer. Then I used standard transparent tape to hold them together at the back. Then I took this entire piece and ran it through the Sizzix Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper embossoing folder. So everything is nicely lined up.
- Rather than use Stampin' Dimensionals to raise the scalloped motif up from the background paper, I cut 4 pieces of Pretty in Pink Card stock and glued them all together with Crystal Effects to make a thick element to apply to the background. With that raised embossing on the card, I didn't think that the dimensionals permitted the motif to stay on so that it looked even.
- I used a sponge and some Early Espresso ink around the edges of the monogram motif and around the Pink/Pear layer. I think it gives it a nice "vintage" look. Next time I may try inking the ribbon, too. But it's so pretty by itself!
- I embossed the monogram letter. I first stamped the letter in Early Espresso. Then, using my Stamp-a-ma-jig I stamped over it with VersaMark, then applied clear embossing powder and heated it to a shine.
Now I have the beginning of some stationery – and one of the projects for my techniques classes that will be starting in the fall!
Here are the layout measurements for this card. Have fun making your own! As always, if you make a card using one of my sketches, I'll be happy to feature it in one of my blog posts!
Subscribe to the comments for this postA Fun Daisy Wreath!
Aloha, all!
By golly, I got to play in my craft room TWICE today! Well, it's pretty late in most places on the mainland. But I'm still posting here on June 30th. Not to worry, though – everything that's in this fun project is also in the brand new Stampin' Up! 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog. It's still not "out there" for me to link to; but check back later on July 1st, and I'm sure you'll find a link to it right over on the left of this blog post!
One of our FCE club's fund raisers every year is a rummage sale. BIG rummage sale! As I was helping set up and, of course, browsing through the goodies, I came across a stack of Card Maker magazines from a couple of years ago. Score! No one else had a chance at those babies.
A project that caught my eye as I leafed through them this past weekend used one of the Sizzix Big Shot dies to make a wreath. The die they used was the Stars #2 die (guess what just got added to my July 1st order list!). Not having that die, I worked through some of the other dies trying to make a similar wreath. The Stampin' Up! Beautiful Butterflies die makes one that's to die for! But it's more scrapbook page size than greeting card size. While I'm sure that I'll show that off before long (think some new designer series paper with some round pages!) I really wanted to show off a card. So the Flower Daisies #2 die it was!
I took some more time out today (yes, I did get some chores done, but I was really not that into housework today as you can tell) and made this card. My Stampin' Up! demos group, SUDSOL, had a great sketch challenge this week, and this fit right in.
New colors: Pear Pizzazz and Daffodil Delight. New Designer Series Paper: Greenhouse Gala. New Ribbon: 1/8" Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon. Not new but still fun stamp from the set On a Pedestal.
Here is a set of instructions for making the Daisy Wreath! As soon as I get my hands on the Stars #2 Die, I'll make a sample using that and update the instructions!
Have fun with this!
Still Hanging in There!
Aloha, all!
Oh, my, am I tired! But today I managed to squeeze in enough time in the craft room to actually design and make a whole greeting card! Where did I get my energy? From reading the Stampin' Up! website and realizing that tomorrow is the brand new Stampin' Up! year. And I've managed to lose the last two months of the last year. I'm really hoping that it won't be too long and I'll be back in the craft room on a daily basis, especially as I'll have all kinds of new toys with which to play!
Among the new toys are the new Designer Series Papers for which Stampin' Up! is deservedly famous. We had a few from the new catalog that we were able to pre-order to show off as teasers. Well, I sure haven't been showing off much. But today I really needed a break and broke open the pack of paper called Newsprint. There was a design challenge today that called for a project using some of the Stampin' Up! Decor Stencils. Like many of you, I was a young homemaker when stenciling was all the rage. We stenciled walls, dressers, cabinets, chairs – if it was in the house and didn't walk, it got stenciled!
And now here I am stenciling cards. Lots more fun and lots less work for sure. "Vintage" is the word around Stampin' Up! these days, and this cards has lots of it. The stencil is from the set, Vintage Ornaments I; the stamp set that accents the card is Vintage Vogue; and the old style Newsprint paper and the distressing all around contributes to the "vintage" look. Oh, and one last thing: I used the Color Spritzer Tool to blow a bit of Cherry Cobbler ink onto the Newsprint, also.
The colors that I used for this card are both brand new colors: the red is Cherry Cobbler, which is one of the newest colors in the Stampin' Up! permanent collection. The other is Pear Pizzazz for just a touch of accent color. This color is one of the newest In Colors for 2010-2012 (yes colors will last for two years from now on!). I would love to have accented the Hodgepodge Hardware frame with some Cherry Cobbler brads. But those won't be available for us to order until July 1st (oooh, that's tomorrow!)
Overall, this is a very simple layout for a card. It's great for highlighting Designer Series Papers of all kinds. You may see it more as the summer goes on and I try out all the new papers from the 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog!
Thinking of You…
Aloha, all!
Finally – here I am back in my Craft Room and feeling as if I have a little bit of time to really play. I've decided that today the lunch dishes can wait until I've made a card or two.
Thanks to all of you who have sent good wishes, thoughts and prayers our way as my husband has been dealing with his illness. Thankfully, he came through his very extensive surgery well, and is now at home recuperating. I hope you never have the experience of having to be away from home to be with a loved one who is in the hospital as long as I had. Instead of going home each night for a month to rest and recuperate among familiar surroundings to be able to face the next day, I had to go to a hotel room. I realized then how much value there is in one of Stampin' Up!'s programs, which is to support Ronald McDonald houses around the country. So many parents have to travel away from home to be with their children in such a situation. I wish there was something like that for us dealing with an adult.
Meanwhile, I really was "Thinking of You…." I really like sharing what I do with you, and it would have helped if I could have been able to do something creative and then spend some time in the late evening sharing it. Even now, though we've been back home for almost week, it's been a very tiring one as I try to get all the household chores done myself. Yup, those lunch dishes are still there. But today I really got into my craft room and set some crafting goals for myself. Over the next few days, I'll share some of what I've done and really make an effort to get back into my groove.
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As always, I look to my SUDSOL online demonstrator group for some inspiration. Yesterday, I had a challenge to make a card with 8 separate steps. It involved the number of colors of card stock and ink that we had to use, the number of layers to be included, the number of stamp sets to be used and the number of embellishments to finish it all off.
And this is a sneak peek of sorts, too! One of the three colors I used is Stampin' Up!'s newest yellow in the core collection – Daffodil Delight. Such a pretty yellow for summer! and the coordinating Daffodil Delight Ribbon is one of thirteen new 1/8" Taffeta Ribbons. What a nice size for an accent. Finally, I textured the Daffodil Delight layer using Stampin' Up!'s newest Sizzix Textured Impression Embossing Folder, Vintage Wallpaper.
A special thanks to fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Celona, who help me out by getting the list of retiring products posted over to the right. Nothing in this card is going to retire except for the Not Quite Navy brads – part of the Earth Elements collection of brads. This set of brands is still available, but there are other items that are selling out already even though June is just half over!
One thing you may have noticed in the list of retiring accessories is an asterisk in the column "Being Reconfigured." What this means is that some or all of what's being retired is still going to be around. For example, those Earth Elements Brads are going to be "reconfigured." Some of the colors of brads will still be around, just in different groupings. And the brad groupings going forward will be in sets of 6, not just 4. If a color is a retiring color, the brad will definitely be retiring. If you have any other questions about any of these lists, please be sure to let me know!
More creativity tomorrow!
My {Current} Favorite Papers!
Aloha, all!
Now that the fall and winter holidays are past, I'm ready to move on to SPRING! OK, so perhaps I'm not as ready here in Hawaii as those of you who've been dealing with the winter weather in the mainland USA and Canada. But the days are getting longer, and I'm tired of Red! Until the Fourth of July – but that's another time and place.
So far, my favorite Designer Series Paper for Spring is Tea Party, and I'm spending some time in the Craft Room this week playing with a brand new pack of Tea Party that was delivered to my home on Saturday. My first card with it was the result of a sketch challenge (the sketch is at the end of this post). What fun this was because we were to make a tall and thin card – or short and long – but I chose the former.
One of the best features of Stampin' Up! products is how well everything goes together! This printed sheet from Tea Party matches the So Saffron and Pretty in Pink accent card stock just perfectly. Not only that, the Sizzix Stampin' Up! exclusive Embosslit, Sweetest Stem, carries out the same design features that are in the flowers in this paper. Is that not just the best!
Even more – those So Saffron and Pretty in Pink Brads just set everything else off so nicely that I just can't keep my eyes off the picture. Of course, the Certainly Celery Ink matches the Certainly Celery Card Stock that I used for the embosslit flower in the background. What more could a stamper ask for?! Oh, the money to buy it all, of course! Lacking that, I'll work with what I have and enjoy the heck out of it.
Here's the sketch for this card. I didn't use plain card stock as a card base for this project as the other side of this printed paper is light enough to hold a handwritten greeting just fine, though I may just slip in a folded note.
Another Valentine Challenge
Aloha, all!
Usually when I talk about "challenges," I’m talking about the kind that happens when someone on a website challenges crafters to make a card or scrapbook page or some other papercraft using a particular set of parameters, such as a sketch for a card or scrap page.
My challenge today, however, was of a different kind. You see, I’ve been in and out of my craft room all week trying to get a ton of different kinds of projects done for a variety of deadlines. On top of that, I’ve had some non-stamping business to attend to, and my husband has been out of town for two days so I’ve had to take on dog-walking duties and make sure I close up the house when I leave to take on such chores and grocery shopping. The result???
This.
And I had to get at least 5 more Valentine cards done this weekend!!! Have you ever SEEN such a mess???
The good news is that I have my craft room well enough organized that I knew where everything went. It just wasn’t there, and I figured I’d better get it there pronto!
Half an hour later, I was ready for the Valentine card project. Whew!
Tomorrow I’ll show off the cards that I was able to complete once I had things more under control.
Lots of Layers – and Happy Birthday, Deb!
Aloha, all!
Friday was my Sister-in-Law, Deb’s, birthday. She and I are both "of a certain age" and no need to talk about what certain means! Of course, as she is my Stampin’ Up! downline, I sent her lots of Stampin’ Up! goodies, one of which was this birthday card.
I made the card to play in a challenge last month, but didn’t want to show it off until Deb had it in her hot little hands. One part of the challenge was to have lots of layers. I can’t remember how MANY layers, but I can tell you that this card has a ton of them – 10 to be exact. I really enjoy cutting lots of layers for a card, as long as I only have to make one or two of the same card. I just love how a teensy layer, just showing off 1/16" of color all the way around the layer above it, can really make a design look so very finished.
And all of the layers in this card are 1/16" different from the layer above. To make that 1/16" difference, you just cut the next layer 1/8" narrower and shorter than the previous layer. Here is the sketch I made to follow when I’m making this card. I really like the layout, and you can use it to show off coordinating Designer Series Papers so nicely..jpg)
The papers for this card are from the Designer Series Paper Set, Cottage Wall, with some 5/8" Old Olive Satin Ribbon and a Whisper White Jumbo Grommet to set it all off. The stamps are from the Sale-A-Bration set, Happy Moments, a set YOU CAN GET FOR FREE with a $50 Stampin’ Up! purchase through the end of March.
A Challenge for YOU!
Aloha, all!
Just a quick note today to make an announcement – I’d like to FEATURE YOUR CARDS on my blog! Have you used one of my templates, either from recent posts or from any of my tutorials? If so, just e-mail me a picture and I’ll be glad to post it here for my blog followers to ooh and aah over! And believe me, they will. I know that I look at some of my cards and think, "Oh, that’s just an ordinary card." But they I get a compliment out of the blue and remember that everyone is different. I may have made the same basic card several times, but there are those of you out there in blog land who’ve never made a card like that! We all love any ideas that we can get our hands on. Of course, there are those that make us want to drop everything and go create. I find those to be rarer. But I learn something new from EVERY card I see (well, unless it’s a totally complete copy of another card – and that really doesn’t happen that much). When I hold a class, even when I cut papers ahead of time and put the same inks and embellishments out for everyone, every card ends up being different – and interesting!
So e-mail me a photo (or photos) of your creations, and I’ll showcase them here!
So now I realize I can’t just put out a pictureless blog post! So here’s an idea of how I worked with a card that ended up having two slightly different looks. I’m still not sure which one I like best, but both make me think a bit as I look at them.
Here’s the first card. The paper is from the Designer Series Paper set, Razzleberry Lemonade. I really enjoy looking at the paper. But I have found it hard to use much as a background because there’s just so much color and design in it – everything else is overwhelmed – including that blank piece of Melon Mambo Card Stock! Hmmm. But now that I look at it again, maybe it’s not so bad….
On to the modified version. I slipped in another strip from the background paper. What do you think?
Fabulous New Stampin’ Up! Products – and the Stamping 411 Challenge!
Aloha, all!
I love these times during the year when I get my first shipment of brand new Stampin’ Up! products! Now that it’s December and we’re less than a month away from TWO great new mini catalogs, we demonstrators get to pre-order some of the products so that we can be ready to show them off and answer any of your questions when it’s time for you to start placing your orders.
So here I am the day after I get my first pre-order for the 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog and the annual Sale-A-Bration brochure, and I have a great challenge from Stamping 411 to help me show them off!
This Christmas Card features the brand new Scallop Trim Corner Punch (from the Occasions Mini Catalog) and the brand new Scallop Trim Border Punch from the Sale-A-Bration brochure. Yes, you can get a punch FREE during the 2010 Sale-A-Bration! (And there’s more to this punch than meets the eye. Later this week I’ll tell you more about Stampin’ Up!’s newest punch style! For a few days, though I’m just going to share some of what I’m doing with the new products!)
I’m still learning how to use the new punches correctly, but I’m getting there! I’m sure that by the end of the month – when customers can start ordering these – I’ll be in a great position to share tips and tricks for making perfect punches!
Oh, and there’s another beautiful new product on this card–the luscious 5/8" Satin Ribbon - in this card, I’ve used the Old Olive ribbon to accent the paper from the Christmas Cocoa Designer Series Paper set.
And that brings me to a reminder: the Holiday Mini Catalog products – including the Christmas Cocoa papers, the Petals-A-Plenty Textured Impressions Folder, and the Patterned Pines Hostess Set – are still available. There are so many wonderful Christmas products for making those perfect cards and gifts! You’ll want to make sure that you don’t miss out on this catalog, as many of its products won’t be available once the catalog expires on January 4th! You can order online any time of the day or night, any day or night of the year!
Playing with the Sizzix Big Shot!
Aloha, all!
With all the Christmas Cards I’ve been making, I’ve hardly made my Sizzix Big Shot crack a sweat at all. That’s going to change over the next couple of weeks. December will be here in just two days, and I’m going to be into making Christmas Cards and gifts big time! Except that I just looked at my schedule, and I’m not sure when I’m going to have time to breathe this week! I’m sure that I will, though. And I’m sure that I’ll take some time to make stuff 
So–with the Big Shot this current weekend, I made my card for the weekly Stamping 411 challenge. I used the Movers and Shapers die with the insert piece that coordinates with Stampin’ Up!’s Ornament Punch. The stamp from the Delightful Decorations set is actually stamped inside the card. The window through all those layers was made with the Sizzix. I actually used the Sizzix Movers and Shapers die twice–once to cut through the top two layers and then through the card itself, with the bottom three layers attached to it. While the Sizzix can cut through many, many layers, I thought that this required a bit more finesse that just chopping through everything.
The papers are all from what’s become one of my favorite Designer Series Paper set of late, Holiday Lounge. I just never thought of using Taken with Teal and Ruby Red as "my" Christmas colors. But they’re working on me. The poinsettia is from the stamp set, Berry Christmas. I added some Rhinestone Brads to give that necessary "bling" to this card, and some Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon.
Don’t forget–November 30th is the last day of the big Stampin’ Up! Thanksgiving week sale!! If you need to stock up, now’s the time to do it!!
