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Archive for the ‘Challenges’ Category:
Twisted is a Good Thing!
Aloha, all!
"Twisted" is, indeed, a good thing when it's paired with "Easel Card"! And that's my project for today!
I have a couple of challenges that I was working on today. One was to use a tutorial from the library of my Stampin' Up! Demo group, SUDSOL. The other was to show off my favorite color combo of the week! So what I have to show off for you today is a Twisted Easel Card using the colors Pool Party and Lucky Limeade. These just happen to be two of the colors in the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration Everyday Enchantment suite of products, and that's pretty much what you see in this card!
The paper here is from the Designer Series Paper set, Everyday Enchantment, and the brads and ribbon are from the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack. Both the paper and the ribbon/brad pack cannot be bought! Nope; you get each of them for FREE when you buy any Stampin' Up! products and your purchase totals $50 or more. You can get either of these products for spending $50 and you can get BOTH of the products FREE for spending $100! And these are not insignificant sets of products. For the paper, you get 12 sheets of double-sided printed paper, and for the ribbon/brad pack you get two 10-yard spools of ribbon AND a pack of 30 designer brads. Such a deal!!
The Twisted Easel Card is one that's featured in lots of tutorials around the Internet, so I won't bore you with the details of the fold (really simple, though!). What I will give you, though, is the set of measurements for the front piece of my card in case you want to copy that for yourself. No sketch – it's a square! So:
- First layer is 4" square Lucky Limeade Card Stock
- Second layer is 3-3/4" square Pool Party and Lucky Limeade Print
- Third layer is 3" square Pool Party Card Stock
- Top layer is 2-3/4" Very Vanilla Card Stock.
I first stamped the image from the Sale-A-Bration Stamp Set, Elementary Elegance in the center of the Very Vanilla Card Stock layer, then I adhered all the layers together. I stamped the greeting in Soft Suede on a scrap of Pool Party Card Stock and punched it out with the Curly Label Punch. This fits perfectly into the center of the stamped image.
To make the "bow," I cut a 22" piece of the Lucky Limeade Ribbon and folded it in half, then in half again, and so on until it was 2-3/4" long. Then I opened the brad and set it over the middle of the "bow" and then closed the brad points over the ribbon before inserting it into a hole I made in the corner of the layered card stock.
Using instructions you'll find online for the Twisted Easel Card, adhere this to the front (diagonally folded) side of the card and decorate the rest of the card as you wish.
If there are enough of you who read my blog who don't know where (or wish) to find the instructions for the Twisted Easel Card, let me know in a comment on this blog post and I'll videotape a quick tutorial next week!
This is actually going to be one of the projects in my class this weekend, so I'd better get going and make sure I have all my supplies ready! I know I'm going to have a blast with the class, and I hope you have something fun in the way of paper crafting planned this weekend, too!
Subscribe to the comments for this postGot Green?
Aloha, all!
Yes, here I am today with another "green"challenge! This time the challenge is for the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge blog! Before I chat about my card, please know that entry into this challenge is for EVERYONE who makes cards using Stampin' Up! products only. And they don't have to be current Stampin' Up! products. Lots of my own customers have dozens and dozens of Stampin' Up! stamp sets and embellishments and inks and papers and…. Well, you get the picture. And you may well be one of those people with a stash that goes back years! So make up a card or scrap page or other project, and enter it in the challenge. The one thing you do have to have is a place to post it on the web. If you don't have a blog or other website, Split Coast Stampers is a great place to post a picture of your project. You don't even have to pay a subscription fee if you choose not to. Any questions about this, just send me an e-mail.
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You might remember from the last card I posted that I said I would show off both of the Pear Pizzazz prints from the Twitterpated Designer Series Paper. For Sunday's card, I used the paper with the floral-type print, and today I'm using that again along with the plaid-type print from the Designer Series Paper set.
As you might have been able to figure out by now, everything (but one!) on this card is either Whisper White or Pear Pizzazz! The one product that is not is the Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine that's holding the greeting tag. But there's so much white in the Baker's Twine that it's really hard to tell that it's not Pear Pizzazz.
The stamp set that I used for this card is Got Treats. I keep forgetting I have that stamp set and I hope Stampin' Up! doesn't retire it this year because I totally forgot to use it for the winter holidays this year! But I'll give this particular stamp some use in the next two weeks!
And this time – for the first time in months! – I have a sketch for you! I've been CASEing cards so much lately, that it's a treat for me to have my own design to sketch out! But before I post that, you have to know that, once again, I tied my card together with a ribbon from Stampin' Up!'s fabulous ribbon collection – and of course it's Pear Pizzazz Stitched–Poly Ribbon! I think I'll be using this color a lot in the next two weeks, too!
Here's the sketch – it's a fun and simple one, and I'm sure you'll enjoy using it!
Black and White and Read All Over!
Aloha, all!
Do you remember that riddle from when you were a kid? If you're as ancient as I am, I'm sure you do. Today's younger generation might not get it because newspapers are no longer the primary source of news and current event articles as they were back in my younger years!
It wasn't until I finished today's card that the "B&W and Read All Over" line came to mind. It was happenstance that had me using Poppy Parade from this year's Sale-a-bration Catalog along with the white (well, Very Vanilla) and Black (Basic Black in Stampin' Up! terminology).
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And there's another piece of antiquity shown on this card – who among us still has a typewriter lying around the house or office. Oh, I'm sure there are some, but a MANUAL typewriter??!! My fingers ache just thinking about how hard I had to press on those keys to make the type make an acceptable image on the paper. And heaven help me if I ever made a mistake. It was erasers – or typing a big "X" over the mistake – yuk! How spoiled I am being able to back space and delete with the lightest of taps on the computer or tablet keyboard!
But enough of reminiscences about the "good old days" (not!). Here today I have a card made with lots of Stampin' Up! products from three different Catalogs:
- There's the First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper (the newsprint), the Basic Black Satin Ribbon, some Basic Black Card Stock, Antique Brads, Sizzix 3" Circle Die, and the Circle Scissors Plus (which made that 3-1/4" Basic Black mat behind the Very Vanilla 3" circle), along with the Scallop Trim Border Punch, Very Vanilla Card Stock and assorted inks and adhesives from the 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog.
- Then there's the Stamp Set, You're My Type and the new Blossom Punch from the 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog.
- And finally the Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper from the 2012 Sale-a-bration Catalog.
I did have a lot of fun making this card while still trying to stick with the sketch that started this whole project off. The sketch originated with the blog, DeconstructingJen and this week's Deconstructed Sketch. Then we were encouraged to use it as part of a challenge on one of my groups for Stampin' Up! demonstrators, SUDSOL. So here I am killing two birds (poor birds!) with one card!!
The one part of this card that deserves a "tip hint" is the newsprint (First Edition Specialty DSP) paper in the typewriter.
- I first die-cut the 3" circle out of Very Vanilla Card Stock with the Sizzix Big Shot.
- Then I stamped the typewriter on the circle using the Stamp-a-ma-jig (because that typewriter just barely fits on a 3" circle).
- Finally, I again stamped the typewriter on the First Edition Specialty Paper and cut out along the straight edges around the paper image before glueing it onto the typewriter stamped on the Very Vanilla Card Stock.
I've been working on lots of challenges this week, but I'm also doing some of my own designing again, which is really the MOST fun! For the rest of the day today, I'll be working on some 3-D projects and I'm hoping to get some new video tutorials done to share with you this week. It should definitely be a good week! I hope it's the same for you, too!
A Week for Green Cards!
Aloha, all!
I can't believe that St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner! And this year I'm going to make LOTS of St. Patty's Day cards because I completely missed Valentine's Day with being sick. Not happening with the Green!
For my first card of this "season," I CASEd (Copy And Share Everything) a card by fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, Phyllis Strickland. Her card was a Valentine's card, and I could just see the shamrock in the shape of the hearts that she made for her central motif.
The whole layout of the card caught my eye, with the heart layer seeming at first to be off center. Actually, it's centered between the folded edge of the card and the embossed scallops made with the new Stampin' Up! Adorning Accents Textured Impressions Embossing Folders from Sizzix. The scallop isn't just a plain scallop, either; there's some texture throughout the line of scallops – hard to see on this dark color, but it really looks wonderful up close!
The lighter green in this card is Pear Pizzazz, and the Designer Series Paper that I used for the hearts is from the Twitterpated Papers, featured in the Stampin' Up! 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog. With the way the paper is displayed in the catalog, all I saw at first were all the pinks and blues. But there are two papers that are made completely with the Pear Pizzazz color. On Tuesday, for another challenge, I'll be showing off the other Pear Pizzazz sheet. Nice to spot that before St. Patrick's Day got past me!
To make the hearts that form the shamrock shape, I cut the Designer Series Paper with the smallest of the Heart Framelits (also in the Occasions Mini Catalog). I cut two of the hearts for each overall heart shape, and adhered them to the background squares with the folded edges up against each other. At first I didn't want the darker blue and red patterned paper to show; but then I realized that it really did a nice job of providing a shadow for the shamrock! So I didn't glue the hearts shut as I was going to do (good choice, Robin!). The darker green in the card is Garden Green, and I love how it provides an accent for the Pear Pizzazz color!
The greeting is from the stamp set, Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched with the Modern Label Punch, and accented with Garden Green Brads. And here I go again tying a card together with a ribbon – this time with a ribbon I haven't been using much, the Whisper White 5/8" Organza Ribbon.
Now off to finish up that card for Tuesday. It will be for the SUO Challenge (that's Stampin' Up! Only). I'm having so much fun having a crafting weekend, I wouldn't be surprised if I get half a dozen cards done today! I hope you have as much fun this weekend as I plan to have.
A Good Time in the Craft Room!
Aloha, all!
Boy, did I have a great time in my Craft Room today! There's been so much to catch up on in terms of household chores that didn't get done while I was out of commission for a couple of weeks that I've just not given myself much play time. But the chores are done and I'm in for a weekend of playing!
One of my fun projects today was a challenge from SUDSOL, the online Stampin' Up! Demonstrators group to which I belong. The challenge was to CASE (copy and share everything) something of my own. Now, I do have a stash of cards in a box on my work table, so it was no problem to go through the box and find something that I wish I'd done a bit better the first time around.
The little card at the left was one I made back during the Thanksgiving season using products from the Stampin' Up! 2011 Holiday Mini Catalog. I actually made it as part of a challenge program that I was running back in November. What I ended up not liking so much about this card was that there were those big pieces of card stock with absolutely nothing stamped on them and no texturizing. So, for today's card, I worked at fixing that.
The layout for the new card is identical to the original card. The big difference was that I texturized both pieces of card stock on the front of the card. The Peach Parfait vertical layer was texturized with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, and the So Saffron horizontal layer was texturized with the Stripes Embossing Folder. Of course, I had to change the greeting, too. For this card, I used two different stamps from the Hostess Set, Tagtastic. The frame – sized for and punched with the Curly Label Punch – is a stamp in itself. The greeting is part of another stamp in the same set. I just used my Wild Wasabi Stampin' Write Marker to color in the greeting, and I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to center it on the other stamp.
The Designer Series Paper in the background is Just Add Cake, and I just love this particular design for a background. And here I am again tying a project together with some ribbon – this time with the Peach Parfait 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon.
I hope you're going to have as much fun this weekend with your crafting as I'm planning to do! I already have a couple of other cards made to show off this weekend and into the next week. So I may be blogging away all week – for a delightful change!
Oh, and a quick aside – no sketch layout for this card because I've done one before! And you'll find it in my 2011 Greeting Card Layout eBook, available on CD and on Amazon for Kindle! Just click up on the right for more information about the eBook!
A Touch of Vintage!
Aloha, all!
Most of you know that "vintage" is not really my strength when it comes to greeting cards. Scrapbook pages, maybe. But my brain has trouble wrapping itself around taking beautiful papers and making them look old. So when Stampin' Up! comes up with some papers that are basically vintage in their style, I can do a bit better with coming up with a more vintage look than I'm used to!
The brand new Designer Series Paper set, Attic Boutique, is one of those sets. I have to tell you that my first – yes, even my second – Occasions Mini Catalog order did NOT include this set. I kind of danced around it until I had no choice but to spring for a set of the papers. The "no choice" part was that this week at Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition was the week for the vintage designs. That's how they work their subscription programs – every week we designers have a theme with which to work, and Connie and Mary suggest the stamp sets and embellishments we should use. I loved the project I made for them this week, and I kept the Attic Boutique paper out for this week's sketch challenge, too. I even used the same stamp set that I used for my Occasions Edition project – Tea Shoppe!
That large tea cup on the card is the largest stamp in the Tea Shoppe Set, and I've only used it once before, and that was with a darker color than I used in today's card. For today, I inked up the stamp with Daffodil Delight, and then used a Blender Pen to wipe the Daffodil Delight ink off the flowers. Then I used my Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker to color in the flowers on the tea cup, adding in a bit of Soft Suede to accent the flower stems.
And I sponged the heck out of everything in the card – every edge got some Soft Suede ink sponged on it! I may just have to buy more sponges if I'm going to do too much more of this!
So, yes, I can have fun with the vintage look – and I hope that you can, too. If you haven't tried it, just pick up some plain card stock and start stamping and sponging on it. I'll bet you'll have fun with it and may even learn a look you haven't tried before (like I did!)
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And now for one last pitch for the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition! The Occasions Mini Catalog still has more than two months to go! So, even though the Occasions Edition is now officially completed, it's definitely not over! The projects that we've all designed for this edition are the best ever, and I know you'll love getting the 36 tutorials that are all completed and online – just waiting for you to subscribe! And even when the Occasions Mini Catalog is finished, the projects are still going to be totally useful because you can use all kinds of stamp sets and papers and fabrics and embellishments for ALL of them! So, as we get ready for Easter, just hop like a bunny over to Create with Connie and Mary and subscribe today! It really is worth every single penny!
A Bright and Colorful ‘Happy Birthday’!
Aloha, all!
I spent most of last week working on projects that really needed to have subtle colors for them to feel right to me. So, this week when it was time for the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge biweekly project, I decided that I just had to have some bright primary colors to work with! And one of the newest stamp sets – in the Stampin' Up! 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog – gave me just the canvas on which to work with those bright colors!
Does this wake you up when you look at it! For sure "Celebrate" is definitely the word that comes to mind with all those wonderful Birthday Party images that are in the stamp, Packed for Birthday. My favorite image is the Pinata and I started off coloring her in and then used the same colors to color in all the rest of the images.
Can you tell that I couldn't make up my mind what color should be in the background? So I just put them all together and used the Patterns Designer Series Papers in Real, Red, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, and Pumpkin Pie. Oh, there is a bit of Garden Green and Pacific Point in the stamp colors. But you can only put so many papers in the background of a card, no matter how colorful you want it to be!
As most of you know, I really like tying up my greeting cards with a bit of ribbon to finish them off. But, again, I couldn't decide on which color to use. So I pulled out a bunch and wrapped them all around the card and used the Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon to tie the bunch together. I didn't let any of the ribbon go to waste as I used the trimmings to accent the card when I took its picture!
So finally I'm feeling like I'm over whatever it was that laid me up most of the month of February, and this card made me feel even perkier! Even if you don't feel the need to be perked up by something as bright as I made, we'd still like to have you join in the challenge over at the SU Only Challenges Blog! All you have to do is make a card, park it in a gallery online somewhere, and link it to the SUO Challenge Blog with the link tool at the end of the blog post. I'd love to see some more of my regular readers join us!
Fun with a Color Challenge!
Aloha, all!
Oh, no! Another color challenge! Create with Connie and Mary has another color challenge for those of us participating as designers in their Occasions Edition. You have to know that color challenges in which I am required to participate are my worst fear. It's like the feat that I had as a kid, worried about coming home with an "F" on my report card!
And that's what it's felt like all week as I've tried to work the colors Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder, and Soft Suede into this week's "Summertime" theme at the Occasions Edition. I almost had it all pulled together with some ice cream cones on the top of this card – envisioning the lacy bottom as a table cloth. But at 10 one night I said, "The heck with it," and left it until the next morning. Then when I got up the next morning and eased myself over to my craft table with cup of coffee in hand, I realized that I had my design all done – because there sitting right next to it was the stamp set, Loving Thoughts, and I could instantly see Wonderful You stamped in Soft Suede as a simple greeting on this card with the paper from the Designer Series Paper Set, Sweet Shop, in the background.
I whipped out the Wisteria Wonder ribbon and brads and a few more mats and, Voila! My challenge card was done! Whew! The best part was that my husband walked past my desk as I was finishing up the card and said, "Wow – those colors look great together!" No "F" on this report card!!!
The most fun I had with this card was with the scallops. The stamp is from the Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog set, Bordering on Romance, which was cut with the Sizzix Edgelits Die, Adorning Accents. There is a Textured Impressions Embossing Folder that goes with this Edgelit die, also. But, when I tried to add that it to this design, it just seemed to be too cluttered. I'll try to get that out and play with it a bit later in the month and show it off a bit, too.
Meanwhile – don't forget that the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition is still available! The Occasions Mini Catalog will be active for over 2 more months – until the end of April! There's plenty of time to use the wonderful designs from this subscription using the Occasions Mini products – and even more time to use with with all other kinds of Stampin' Up! products. For all of the 6 weeks of the program, there are 6 fabulous projects with fully illustrated tutorials to go along with them! That's 36 great projects in all. And these aren't just greeting card layouts. Oh, no! These are a fantastic variety of 3-D projects and gifts using all of the products in the Occasions Mini Catalog. I'm just amazed at the creativity of all of the designers. Even if you start today, you'll still get access to the entire subscription blog, and you'll continue to have access to all the projects for a full year! I highly recommend it as a great resource for your spring and summer projects!
I hope you're having a great weekend – as am I as I'm getting ready to post my final project for the Occasions Edition!
Thank You!
Aloha, all!
And thank you all for your patience with my slow response to comments and e-mails over the last week and a half. I'm a bit better today and even managed to make a card in my craft room! I didn't have the energy to clean the craft room up before I did, so now I have an even bigger job! But I finally feel up to it. In fact, by the time you read this, I should be back with everything put away or thrown away and I'll be working on my last project for the Create With Connie and Mary Occasions Edition! I'm so sorry I'm not able to share these project with you because I think they're among the best I've ever done. But you have to be a subscriber to get to them.
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For this card, I used just two colors. Two colors was the challenge for the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge Team this past week, and I missed that because I was sick. And it was supposed to be a Valentine, so it's a bit late for that. But I'm sure that, if you're working on a two-color project this week, we'd love to see it over at SUO Challenges anyway!
The two colors that I used are Calypso Coral and Island Indigo, both a Stampin' Up! "In Color"" for this year. Nice combo! The Island Indigo colored Designer Series Paper is from the "Sweet Shop" Specialty Designer Series Paper set, from this year's Occasions Mini Catalog.
I made this Z-fold card with the cut out using the Sizzix Movers and Shapers Die from the Punch Windows Die Set. It's been awhile since I've made one of these, but I thought to use it because I had a customer ask me about this style card this past week. Fun to make – and so easy with the Sizzix Big Shot! The stamp is from the set Oval All and I stamped the little butterfly on a scrap of the DSP and cut it out to tie the stamp together with the background. I forgot to take a photo of the other side – but I made a Calypso Coral butterfly there from stamping on a coordinating piece of the DSP. Fun little thing to do!
I always try to tie a card together with some ribbon, and this time I used some Calypso Coral 3/8 Ruffled Ribbon. It makes such a nice knot or bow. I kept it to a knot this time to keep the card simple.
If you've got a type of card that you'd like me to make, just let me know. I'm starting to feel like being creative again, and I'm up for suggestions!
It feels like I'm going to have a better week this week – and I hope you are, too!
Starting to Feel Alive Again!
Aloha, all!
Have you noticed a distinct lack of activity around Robin's Craft Room this week? So has my dog, who has been able to lie anywhere he likes in there without my tripping over him several times an hour. Yes, I was slammed to the ground by a nasty virus, and I'm wondering if it's ever going to give up!
There was a little bit of a break yesterday when I pulled out a few Stampin' Up! tools to make my weekly challenge card for Create With Connie and Mary. The break was that I looked at a piece of chocolate and actually considered eating it!
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A Really Quick Commercial Break!
I've only been involved in three sessions of Create With Connie and Mary – and I have to tell you that
this is the BEST ONE EVER!
I certainly hope you'll visit Create With Connie and Mary and subscribe – and it's not too late! Every project in the whole 6-week series AND the preview week is available to subscribers for a FULL YEAR! I can't think of any one of the projects that could only be made with the current mini catalog's products, and you will just love so many of them for classes, stamp camps, or just for your own fabulous gifts! And they all come with fully-detailed tutorials!
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The pieces of chocolate in question are this year's Valentine M&Ms, which are cherry flavored – and actually Cherry Cobbler and Riding Hood Red in color! How perfect is that for a Stampin' Up! Card. Well, as you can see, I never did get up the strength to pull out the Cherry Cobbler for this project. But there's plenty of Riding Hood Red, along with some Blushing Bride and Whisper White.
Of course any treat card I made this season just HAD to be made with the Hearts Framelits featured in the Stampin' Up! 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog. And then there was also that oh-so-pretty Paper Doily Large Sizzlit Die and the darling stamps from P.S. I Love You. A true Occasions Mini Treat Holder!
To make this, I first cut the doily and got all of the little pieces out of it. How, you might ask, did I manage that whilst not feeling well! Easy to sit with a pin and some paper snips to get the last bit of the pieces out when you don't have the energy to get up and do something else! Then I cut the Doily and a piece of Whisper White Card Stock using the 2nd to the largest Heart Framelit, and then the some Blushing Bride card stock using the largest of the Heart Framelits.
I mounted the white heart on the pink one, and then set about fitting a 3" x 5" Cellophane Bag with not too many M&Ms in it behind the Doily Heart. I attached the heart to the bag using Mini Glue Dots, and also use the Mini Glue Dots to hold the corners of the bag back behind it to fit the heart shape. Before I attached the heart covered bag of candy, I cut a long piece of Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, knotted it at the top to form a loop for hanging and then made a bow at the bottom. I added the greeting, and then used Sticky Strip to attach the candy to the background heart.
Now it's ready to give to a good friend on Valentine's Day! I'm hoping that I'm going to be well enough to go out and take some Valentine greetings to neighbors on Tuesday. For now, I'm going to take a rest! You'd think I'd been logging instead of Blogging!
I hope you'll have a great weekend – and send some good thoughts my way!
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