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Did I Mention I {Heart} Watercolor?

Aloha, all!  No, I didn’t use the new stamp set, I {Heart} Hearts, in my watercolor class!  But now that I think about it, I believe I shall have to watercolor a Valentine while there’s still some time!

But I did demonstrate one more card using one of my "old" favorite sets, Flower Fancy.  A few days I showed off a Get Well Card using this set and some watercoloring.  Today’s card is a card for any occasion: Get Well, Birthday, or even just "Thinking of You."  Stamp a greeting from my other "old" favorite set, Sincere Salutations, and you’ve got yourself a complete card!

While I used quite a few different colors on the earlier Flower Fancy card, for this card I stuck with a bright pink that’s very nicely accented by some Melon Mambo 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon and a couple of Fire Square Rhinestone Brads.  I layered up some Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo card stock, and made the basic card using Confetti Cream card stock, which I think nicely accents the off-white of the Watercolor Paper.  (Question:  why do they call the heavy stuff "paper" and the lighter stuff "card stock."  Just rambling.)

When I sent my newsletter out this week, I was still feeling pretty achy, and I managed to make a couple of typos, including one in the "sketch" of the card that was the main part of the tutorial.  That’s what comes of not being able to sit for long enough to proofread properly!  Anyway, I thought I’d use a blog post to make the correction.  That got me to thinking (a dangerous occupation for me right now).  As long as I had dimensions already made for my class participants, why not share them with you as I post my cards?

Here, then, is the sketch for today’s card.  Note that the small squares are so EASY because they use PUNCHES!!

Tomorrow I’ll share some more sketches from recent cards.

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Workshop Project I: 2-Step Stampin’ with the New Mini

Aloha, all!

One of the first stamp sets that I bought when I started using Stampin’ Up! products (years ago) was a set that used "2-step stamping."  I had been a rubber stamp addict in my younger years, and loved it when I could use my old stamp aligner to put two stamping images just where I wanted them on the paper.  Now here was Stampin’ Up! with stamps just made for that little bit of left brain activity that I crave sometimes. 

Now, I have the Stamp-a-ma-jig and STILL have 2-Step Stampin’ sets available!  This card is one that I made to demonstrate at last night’s Workshop.  The stamp set is Flower Fancy, and is turning into one of my favorite sets. It is SOOO versatile.  I actually think that I could get away with owning just this one set, along with a couple of greeting sentiment sets.  But, addicted as I am to stamp sets, it’s probably not going to happen any time soon.

You’ll certainly want to know about the papers and colors!  The paper is from the new set featured in the Occasions Mini Catalog, Walk in the Park.  This is my absolute favorite sheet from the set, and I’ve already just about used it up.  Hmm.  More purchases on the way!  The colors are Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Cameo Coral, and Whisper White.  I stamped the flower outline in Basic Gray, then used a Cameo Coral marker and a Blender Pen with a Baja Breeze Classic Stampin’ Pad, to color the solid layer. 

And, as with so much of what I make now, the Sizzix Big Shot came into play.  I cut two pieces with the Top Note Die:  one in Basic Gray, and one in Whisper White.  I trimmed the perforated edge from the Whisper White die cut, and layered it over the Basic Gray.  There’s Baja Breeze Card Stock at the back of everything, and an oval from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware set to finish it all off.  I love it!!

Now–about that Occasions Mini Catalog!  I can hardly wait to continue to show off some of the cool new products that are already in the Craft Room–and I’ll be ordering up some more this week for sure!  AND THIS MONTH’S STAMPIN’ UP! SPECIAL:  Order $40 in products from the Occasions Mini Catalog, and you can pick one of the "Under $10" sets on page 208 of the 2009 Spring/Summer Catalog–FOR FREE!!

Don’t have an Occasions Mini yet?  Let me know (808.854.6145 or e-mail me) and I’ll get one right out to you!

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Happy Birthday, Deb!

Aloha, all!

My sister-in-law and super downline, Deb, has a birthday this week.  Today and tomorrow I’ll be featuring a card and a gift that I made for her for her birthday.  They’re going to get to her late as I’m using them as samples at my Stamp Club meeting this afternoon.  But I’ll add in a couple of nice extras to make up for it!

This is her Birthday Card.  You’ll recognize the stamp sets (Flower Fancy and Sincere Salutations) and punch (the ticket punch) from the last card that I posted, on February 2nd.  The materials were still out on my table in the Craft Room, and I decided to use them again.  This time I added the second stamp of the "2-Step Stamping" set to create a flower that was filled with color.  Then I added the new Stampin’ Up! Flower Brads and some 1" wide grosgrain ribbon.  The colors are Pretty in Pink and Rose Red.  "Birthday Wishes" came from the same versatile stamp set as the "Thinking of You" stamp in the February 2nd post.

I feel so good when I can create a hand-made card that I know will be appreciated!  You can, too, with all the fantastic stamps and accessories that Stampin’ Up! has in its catalogs.  And don’t forget that, this month and next, for EVERY $50 you spend, you can select a stamp set or accessory from the Sale-A-Bration brochure–FREE.

Don’t have your catalog or brochure?  Just call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me and I’ll get one out to you for just the cost of postage.  Want to place an order?  You can call or e-mail me, too, as Stampin’ Up! does take credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, and Discover).  OR you can order online directly from Stampin’ Up! through my website.  If you order through the website, you can order a FREE IDEA BOOK AND CATALOG, AND you can choose your free Sale-A-Bration stamp set or accessory.

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A Bit of a Diversion

Aloha, all!

I actually had some time this past weekend to spend in the Craft Room!  Wow, that’s twice in one week.  What is the world coming to?!  Well, there may be a few dishes that need washing and a bit of laundry.  But I had the time to be creative.

One thing that spurs me on to be creative is a challenge from any Stamping group to which I belong.  This weekend, I took on the challenge to make a card with JUST BLACK AND WHITE.  I’ve tried this before on my own, but always have ended up putting on a bit of Real Red or Tempting Turquoise or Summer Sun to accent the black.  Not this time!  I took the challenge from the group called, SUDSOL (Simply Unique Demonstrators Sharing On Line–a group for Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators only) and made this card. 

The stamp set from which this flower is taken is called Flower Fancy, and it is a stamp set that you can use for just about any kind of card you can imagine.  Last year at the Stampin’ Up Convention 2008, this set was included in one presentation as one that is extremely versatile.  In fact, I think that I’ll use it to make a Valentine Card later this week and start showing off more of its versatility!

Besides the stamp from the set, I used one of the greeting stamps from another very versatile set, Sincere Salutations.  In fact, I’ve used these two stamp sets together on a number of occasions.  I do believe that I could make any greeting card I needed just with these two sets.  Hmmmm.  That sounds like a challenge to myself!  Oh, and I used the Ticket Punch on the top 3 layers, and accented the card with Whisper White Satin Ribbon.  The white images on the black paper were stamped with Versamark and embossed with White Stampin’ Emboss Powder.

Embossing is a technique that I especially like to teach.  The first time anyone sees that embossing powder liquefy and pop off the paper is amazing!  Have you tried it?  If not, I’d be glad to give you a quick lesson, and I guarantee that you’ll be hooked into it as a way to stamp on dark paper.

So call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me and we can get started!

More later this week.  Got to get ready for my stamp club on Wednesday!

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