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Spring Colors – Summer Smooches!

Aloha, all!

     I originally created this post for a Blog Hop that had Spring Colors for a theme.  For my project for the hop, chose some products from the Stampin' Up! Summer Smooches suite of products.  Products from this suite are available to Stampin' Up! customers this month (April), and then not again until the 2012-2013 Idea Book and Catalog is published on June 1st.  The button brads are ONLY available this month and will NOT be in the new catalog.  So if you like them as much as I do, now's the time to snatch them up!

     Today's project is a box for a half dozen or so cards I plan to make with the Summer Smooches Designer Series Papers and the Bright Blossoms Stamps.  The original designer of this particular box is a fellow demonstrator, Sandy McIver.  She is one talented lady, and I've made this box – as well as some boxes where I've modified the design a bit – many times.  I like that it neatly holds six greeting cards and six A2 envelopes quite nicely.  

     Doesn't that whirlwind of fanciful flowers remind you of all the flowers that bloom in the Spring?  I know the name is "Summer" Smooches, but it all feels like Spring to me!  There are many colors in this paper, and I chose to focus on Tangerine Tango for my box.  But I have two other boxes to share with you – made by two ladies in my class just this Friday morning!

     Lucy made the box on the left, with another of the patterns in the Summer Smooches Paper Set, focusing on the Island Indigo color; and Gala made the box on the right with yet a third design from the set, highlighting the Rich Razzleberry color.  (Other colors in the set are Lucky Limeade, Real Red and Daffodil Delight.)  All of us used Lucky Limeade card stock for the leaves.  We used two punches for the floral decorations – the Blossoms Punch from the 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog for the flowers (there are two layered up), and the Blossom Petals Building Punch, featured in the 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog, for the leaves.

     All three of us chose to use one of the Summer Smooches Fabric Designer Brads for the centers of our flowers, which had been stamped with the Mixed Bunch Stamp Set, also from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  The brads are so much fun to use, especially with the stamps from Mixed Bunch, and I'm really sorry they're no longer available!  Oh, and I do hope that the Mixed Bunch stamp set is one that is carried over to the next big catalog!

         If you stop back here now and then next week, I'll be showing off some of the cards that I made to go in my box.  At least two of the cards will feature some of the stamps from the Bright Blossoms Stamp Set, which is also a part of the Summer Smooches Suite.  And I'm already working on an updated video for making this box using the Stampin' Up! Simply Scored, including the diagonal plate that's now available for it.  I'll be sharing this with people on my newsletter mailing list, so be sure to Subscribe to my list if you'd like to see the video!  I'm traveling beginning next week, but I'll certainly have the video ready before the end of May.

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Monochrome for a Sketch Challenge

Aloha, all!

     Today I did some work with a sketch challenge from the online group, Stampin' Up! Late Night Stampers.  Lots of history with that group's name, but suffice it to say that the group is made up of stampers who love Stampin' Up! products.  It's not just for demonstrators, either.  So, if you'd love to get some ideas – and share your own! – about using Stampin' Up! products, it's a pretty fun group to which to belong!

     I should show you the sketch first, so you'll know from where I started.  And this is where I stopped, too!  I am so not into blue and orange these days, so I had to get out some color quickly to erase this from my mind!

     The color I chose was Melon Mambo.  And the reason was that I had my Melon Mambo ribbon out because I had considered using it with my last project (cute dragon!).  So I grabbed my Melon Mambo ink and started stamping teacups.

     And boy did I get carried away with the Melon Mambo!  As you can see, it's everywhere in this card.  It started with the teacups from the stamp set, Tea Shoppe (in the current mini catalog, Occasions Mini), proceeded into the rectangular background and just kept going!  And, yes, I finally did get to that ribbon – the Melon Mambo 1/2 Inch Scallop Dots Ribbon.  In between I punched some vertical scallops with the Scallop Edge Border Punch and also used that punch to form the ends of the little strip on which I stamped today's sentiment (also from the Tea Shoppe stamp set).  The Designer Series Paper that I used for this project came from the Hostess Designer Series Paper Set, Cheerful Treat.  And I think that this card is, indeed, cheerful!

     For the most part, I really like to use more than one color in a project.  But I think that I might like doing some more projects with just one color.  Hmmm.

     But definitely NOT blue or orange!

     As always, I had fun with this project, and I hope you're having fun with whatever you're doing today!  And check out the Stampin' Up! Late Night Stampers Yahoo Group!  It's free – and fun!

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A Fun CASE for a Baby Card!

Aloha, all!

     I had a blast yesterday with the project I'm showing off today.  I'm a member of a Toastmasters club where one of our members is expecting a baby soon, and she made the point that this baby is going to be born in the Year of the Dragon, "the mightiest of the signs in the Chinese Zodiac!"

     Well, a baby is hardly a "mighty" being, babies being more on the "cute" side.  Nonetheless, the members of the club asked that I make a card for a party that they had today that somehow featured a dragon to go with the club's gift.  Not being the punch-art creative type, I went off looking for a dragon to CASE.  It didn't take long to find a video by Tami White and the cutest dragon you EVER saw!  I knew immediately that this would be my inspiration, and all I had to do was figure out my colors and how to deal with a few punches that had retired since the video was made over a year ago.

     When I was making the card, I had no idea (still don't have) whether the baby is a girl or a boy.  I thought a combination of Pink and Blue would work just fine and started punching.  You'll find the complete instructions on Tami's video, but I'll include some supplemental information about changes that I made.

     The first change that I had to make was to use the Sizzix Stars #2 die (sold by Stampin' Up!) instead of the Star Punch (now retired) for the "horns" and back scales.  Tami had used the smallest oval die (retired) for the teeth or fangs, and I substituted the smallest image from the Boho Blossoms Punch. Otherwise, I used her instructions.  OK, so mine's not put together quite as perfectly as hers; but he's still "stinkin' cute."

     The colors for this cute guy are Marina Mist and Regal Rose, along with some Basic Black accents.  My card is also an unusual size – we needed plenty of room for lots of people to sign their best wishes, so I made a card that's 5-1/2" wide by 8-1/2" high.  For the sentiment, I used a stamp from the stamp set, Curly Cute.  Aha, there's that word – "cute"!  I knew I'd find that in the Stampin' Up! product line somewhere!!  I also used the last of my stash of Marina Mist Brads from the Subtles collection of brads. 

     And as I love to do, I tied everything together with some fab Stampin' Up! ribbon, this time the Marina Mist 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon.

     I can't imagine that you could have as much fun with what you're doing as I did making this little guy.  But be sure to try to have lots of fun anyway with whatever you're doing!

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Hello Spring!

Aloha, all!

     Today I'm welcoming Spring in my role as a member of the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge Design Team!  But I'm also taking a challenge from one of my online Stampin' Up! Demonstrator groups, SUDSOL, to make a card using only those Stampin' Up! products that you can find in the New Demonstrator Starter Kit.  The one big thing that this particular challenge meant to me was that there was to be no use of the Sizzix Big Shot or such fab Stampin' Up! tools as the Simply Scored!  Whoa, that slowed me down a bit!  But then I refocused and realized that this was a challenge to be clean and simple with my design.  Really clean!  No sponges or sponge daubers, either!

     But there were plenty of stamp sets and colors from which to choose!  I chose for my project colors from the Stampin' Up! Subtles Collection of colors and the Stamp Set, Easy Events.  A new demonstrator can choose 4 stamp pads and two Markers.  Oops!  I used 3 markers!  Man, that challenge was harder than I thought!  Well, I'm going to just assume that the new demonstrator who did this project for a workshop already had some Stampin' Up! products in her craft room ; ) .

     Another product that could be used for this card was a punch, and I used the default punch that was on the list – the Cupcake Punch.  I have seen so many people using the frosted part of the cupcake to make clouds, and now I had an opportunity to do it myself.  Woo-hoo!  Before I punched the clouds, though, I used the "hello" stamp that was on one of the stamps in the Easy Events set, though not on the stamp with the flowers.  Each of the 8 stamps in that set has a picture and a greeting.  As there are many times such as these that I want to use an image with the greeting from another stamp, I cut the greetings apart from the images.  If you're using the clear mount stamp set, it's easy to just cut the greeting and mount it on a clear block when you're ready to use it.  For my wood mount stamp set, I mounted each of the greetings on the end of the wood block on which I mounted the image. 

     And I was so glad that ribbon was in the Starter Kit!  Because you know I love to tie my cards all together with a ribbon!  For this card, I chose the Pretty in Pink 5/8" Satin Ribbon.  To get the bow oriented in the direction I wanted, I cut a 5" strip of the ribbon and wrapped it around the top two layers, adhering it on the back with Stampin' Up!'s monoadhesive, SNAIL (yes, it's in the Started Kit!).  Then I cut a longer length of ribbon and tied a bow around the strip of ribbon on the front.  Another nice feature of this way of constructing a bow is that you can slip it up or down on the straight piece until you get it right where you want!

     This was my first project of the week, and it certainly provides a bright beginning for Spring!  I hope your Spring is bright and that you'll have a great week with your own paper crafting!  And if you're in Australia or New Zealand, where this is the first day of Autumn, I certainly hope that you're enjoying cool days and gorgeous colors to brighten your days, too!

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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!

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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!

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One of a Kind Flowers!

Aloha, all!

     In its 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog, Stampin' Up! promotes its Blossom Builders Kit as one that will allow us to layer up one-of-a-kind flowers.  So, with today's card, that's just what I did! 

     I also made the card in response to the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition Sketch Challenge today.  While I rarely take a sketch challenge literally, this time there were two flowers in the sketch, and I used that as my opportunity to use the heretofore unused (at least in Robin's Craft Room) Blossom Builders kit!

     Besides the Blossom Builders Kit, I also used the Hat Pins, some of the Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine, the Mixed Bunch Stamp Set, and the Blossom Punch – all from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  Oh, and I can't forget the Labels Framelit!  I can't stop using them!!!  The colors in this card are predominantly Poppy Parade and Lucky Limeade, so I decided to use the Poppy Parade Stitched Poly Ribbon for the ribbon accent.  Poppy Parade is a 2010 – 2012 Stampin' Up! In Color, so it won't be around for many more months.  I'm going to try to use as much of this as possible before it's retired the first of June this year.  Lucky Limeade will be around for another year, but I still used some of the Patterns Designer Series Paper in that color for the paper on the right side of the card.  Fun stuff, that Patterns paper!

     The addition of the Baker's Twine to this card is an idea that I got from looking at the samples in the Occasions Mini Catalog.  Using the samples in the catalogs is a great way to get your creative juices flowing when they seem to be stagnating a bit as mine have been this week.  Now I'm ready to go at some more projects – including my project for the Create With Connie and Mary Occasions Edition Week 4 next week!  It's not too late to subscribe to this fantastic edition of Create with Connie and Mary!  You never miss a project – they're all there for you from day 1, no matter when you sign up! 

     So – off to finish up my blog post for Monday, my assigned day for the Occasions Edition.  You just don't know what you're missing if you haven't subscribed!

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A Bit Over the Top – and Blog Candy!

A special Aloha to all!

     Today is the day that I get to be featured on the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition blog!  And that means that today is the day I get to pick names for blog candy!  All you have to do is leave a comment aboutmy card for today and your name will be included in the drawing for a FREE subscription to the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition!

     But first my card – after all, you have to have something about which to comment, don't you!  

     As the title of my blog says, it's a little bit more "over the top" than I usually make.  But, as this is a special "occasion" for me, I thought, "More is better!"  And with all the fab products in the Stampin' Up! 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog, that's easy to do!

     With this picture of my card, you are only beginning to see the "more."  But it's still a lot fussier that I usually make my cards, don't you think?  On the other hand, I had so much fun "fussing" with this, that I may just do more of that. There's that word, "more," again!

     I'm sure you can see that the whole card is cut with the largest of the hearts in the Hearts Collection Sizzix Framelits now offered by Stampin' Up!  I discovered in making this that the framelits will cut through two thicknesses of card stock.  That's a bonus if you're trying to make a card with as many panels as this one!

     From this photo of the front of the card you can see quite a few products from the Occasions Mini Catalog. 

• First and foremost is the Stamp Set, "P.S. I Love You."  The stamped heart in the very middle (which is actually on the back panel of the card), as well as the sentiment and the stamped frame around it, are all from the same stamp set, as are several sentiments inside the card.
• Then there are the delightful Twitterpated Designer Buttons (in Blushing Bride and Baja Breeze)
• And the Twitterpated Designer Series Paper
• And finally the Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon.

     Now for the inside of the card – yes, there are FOUR panels to this card, with all of them including a stamped image or sentiment from the "P.S. I Love You" stamp set!  The final panel has a bit of an addition from another Occasions Mini, images from the Stamp Set, Take It To Heart.  All of the Designer Series Paper on the inside is also from the Twitterpated Designer Series Paper Set. 

     I had so much fun with this card that I'll be making several for really good friends (and my very own sweetheart) for Valentine's Day this year!   In fact, I've been having a lot of fun with ALL my projects for the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition, and I'd love to share them all with you!  But I can only do that if you're a subscriber to the Occasions Edition.  The Occasions Edition is now in Preview and there's an Early Bird Special price if you sign up this week!  And of course you can always try to win a FREE subscription by commenting on this blog post today!

     I'm not the only one offering blog candy this week.  Keep an eye out for others who are offering it by checking the Create with Connie and Mary blog the rest of the week.  Did you see that gorgeous card that Artisan Award Winner Elizabeth Price showed off yesterday?  Was that not the most fabulous card??  I can hardly wait to see her projects for the Occasions Edition – or to see what the rest of the team has to offer.  You don't want to miss the projects either.  So leave a comment and then head over to Create with Connie and Mary!

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Fun and Quick!

Aloha, all!

     With all that I'm doing the next few weeks, I decided I had to take some time this morning to show off some of the products from the brand new Stampin' Up! 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog.  On the other hand, it had to be quick because I'm already behind on so many new year's projects and it's only the 4th!!!

     Believe me, this was quick – and it was fun on top of it!  The basic card design was one that was featured in this month's magazine for Stampin' Up! Demonstrators as something we could easily demonstrate at a workshop.  They were right, even though I had to think for a few minutes because I wanted the colors and design just a tad different from those in the magazine.

     What really makes this easy are the two brand new products from the Occasions Mini Catalog that I used:  the stamp set, Mixed Bunch, and the brand new punch made just for the stamp set (or is it the other way around??), the Blossom Punch.  There are three big flowers in the stamp set, and this shows off just one of them.  I'll be getting to the other two before long, I hope!

     The card base is Sahara Sand, and the colors that I used to stamp the flowers were (left to right) Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, and Tangerine Tango.  I stamped the Peach Parfait and Tangerine Tango flowers on So Saffron Card Stock, and the Poppy Parade flower on Peach Parfait Card Stock.  The center image on each flower is also from the Mixed Bunch Stamp Set and cuts perfectly with the 1" Circle Punch. 

     To finish this quick and easy card off, I punched some Whisper White Card Stock with the Scallop Edge Border Punch, then quickly colored in some circles using Poppy Parade Stampin' Write Marker, the Paper Piercing Template from Stampin' Up!'s Mat Pack.  I trimmed the Whisper White Card stock and mounted it on a strip of Poppy Parade Card Stock.  The sentiment is from the stamp set, Petite Pairs, and I just had to punch it with the Postage Stamp Punch.  I've been dying to do that to a sentiment with the word, "Sending," in it!  I tied on a little bow with Linen Thread.

     The one thing that's not quite evident from the photo is that I made my card base 5-1/4" wide rather than 5-1/2" so that I could let the flowers hang off the edges a bit, yet still allow the card to fit in a standard A2 envelope (Stampin' Up!'s Medium Envelope). 

     OK – I've had my fun for the day, now back to work.  Hmmm.  Actually, my "work" IS fun!  How many people get to say that?  It's easy when you're a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!  Hope you're having fun today, too!

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It’s Time for Thank You Notes!

Aloha, all!

     Aaaaahhhh!  While I do love Christmas, it is SOOO good to have it over and be able to relax a bit.  Actually, I did a lot of relaxing over the weekend.  I put away the last of my Christmas Card making supplies and tools on Friday night, and did not touch a thing related to paper crafting until this morning.  In fact, I was so relaxed about everything that I forgot to give my husband the very special card I'd made for him weeks ago!  If I had gone into the craft room I would have seen it lying there.  But at least I remembered before Christmas Day was over.

     And of course now that Christmas is over, it's time for Thank You notes!  This is also the day for the bi-weekly Stampin' Up! Only Challenge, and this is the card I made for the challenge to make a punch the center of attraction on a project.  I looked at all those fancy punches that Stampin' Up! has been putting out lately, but then decided on a really simple one – the 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch. 

     Usually I have an item punched with that as the background for something else.  This time, though, I was inspired by the fan-style design in the new set of paper, EverydayEnchantment Designer Series Paper, that Stampin' Up! will be giving away as part of the 2012 Sale-a-Bration Event, which begins a month from now.  So, since that paper inspired me, I decided to use it, as well as the coordinating Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad Pack.  I thought that the brad with the scallop shape on it was perfect for the center of the punch feature.  To help it stand out a bit more, I used a second punch, the Boho Blossoms Punch, to make the little flower behind the brad.

     The colors in the Designer Series Paper – and the colors of Card Stock that I used to accent it – are Lucky Limeade, Peach Parfait, and Pool Party.  Oh, and Very Vanilla is in there, too!

     To make the Scalloped Punch element, I drew lines on the back of all three colors that I punched out and then snipped along the lines from the indentations to the center point (where the lines all crossed).  To find the center of the Very Vanilla piece, I drew a couple of lines on the back of it, too, and used the Paper Piercer to punch through a pinpoint hole which is there the points of the cut pieces all met.  Once I glued on all the cut pieces, I enlarged the hole to allow the brad to fit through easily.

     The scallop circle in the background is a die-cut image from the Sizzix Scallop Circles #2 die, which I also texturized with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.

     The Thank You Stamp is also from the Sale-a-Bration catalog – one of the 6 stamps in the Outlined Occasions Stamp Set.  Love those outline-style designs that I can color in!  I wrapped each end of the greeting element with the ribbon from the ribbon pack.  I adhered both the greeting and the punched scallop to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals to give the card just a bit more, well, dimension!

     I hope you had a lot of fun during your holiday celebrations!  And I hope you'll have as much fun as I'm having now that I'm back in my Craft Room again!

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