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Just Two More Weeks for the Occasions Mini!

Aloha, all!

     It seems like just last week that we greeted the 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog!  But that was back in January, and here we are nearing the end of April and also the end of the Occasions Mini.  Sniff!   And many of us are hoping that some of the stamp sets and embellishments in this mini catalog are carried over into the new 2012-2013 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog.  It's hard to predict, though, as Stampin' Up! introduces its new type of Annual Catalog as well as a new type of Mini Catalog later this summer.

     So the Design Team at the Stampin' Up! Only Challenges blog decided to give one last shout of Hurrah! for this Mini Catalog by sharing some of their favorites products that may only be available for two more weeks!  In my case, while I've considered the stamp set, Apothecary Art, a "favorite," I'm almost ashamed to say that I've been admiring it from afar.  Until yesterday morning, I'd not even broken the rubber out of its pack! 

     But now it's all mounted and ready to use!  Oh, I hope it stays in the new catalog (wish, wish, wish!)   But even if it doesn't, it will remain a favorite.  And I used another favorite Occasions Mini Stamp Set – Loving Thoughts – for a greeting to set off the Apothecary Art stamp.

     Along with these Occasions Mini Stamp sets, I broke out my last few sheets of the Twitterpated Designer Series Paper (the Baja Breeze and Blushing Bride sheets are truly a favorite), some of the Large Basic Pearl Jewels, and a strip of the Riding Hood Red 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon.   Oh, and I can't forget the Labels Collection Framelits!!!  Surely they will stay in the catalog (wish, wish, wish!)

     There are a couple of techniques that I used in my design of today's card.  After I'd stamped and colored in the flowers on the Apothecary Art stamp, and then cut it out with the 3rd smallest size of the Labels Collection Framelits, I colored in the white space between the stamp and the cut edge with a Baja Breeze Stampin' Write Marker.  I thought that this helped coordinate the stamped layer with the Baja Breeze Designer Series Paper Sheet.  While I stamped the flower image using Basic Gray Classic Ink, I wanted the edge of the stamp to be a bit darker than the rest.  So I used the small end of my Basic Gray Stampin' Write Marker to trace the edge – but after I colored with the Baja Breeze marker.  I had no idea if there would be any bleeding.  There wasn't, but I didn't want to chance it.

     The green color used in the stamped image is Pear Pizzazz.  Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz are colors that will retire this year from the Idea Book and Catalog, leaving space for more colors to be added as 2012-2014 "In Colors."  Can hardly wait to see what they are!

     I hope that you'll find something that you really love from the Occasions Mini to use on a project this week!  If you're anything like me, look around to see if there's something you bought "way back when" and haven't yet used!  And if there's something you still need from the Occasions Mini, well you have another two weeks to buy it!

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Back Making Cards!

Aloha, all!

     Where have I been all week?  All over Hawaii's Big Island!  We have family visiting and my husband and I have been playing tour guide.  Of course, this is play and not work.  There's so much to see on our island, and I love showing it off to people who are new here, and I always learn something new myself along the way.

     But also along the way, I had some time to make a card for the first weekend challenge of the Create With Connie and Mary Occasions Edition!  On the other hand, I was almost late with it because, well, I haven't had much craft time!  So when I got that reminder on my computer that it was due in 2 hours, was I surprised – and panicked!  But it all turned out well because I had all the "stuff" from the 2012 Occasions mini out that I'd been using to make my projects for the subscription.  (It's still not too late to subscribe!  Everything is available to everyone who subscribes – you never miss a thing no matter when you subscribe!)

     But I digress (happens to me more than most, I think).

     I'm not sure which part of this card is my favorite.  OK, I'll confess that I really loved cutting up the front of the Designer Cuts Card and doing something different with it.  I actually did something different with the Designer Cuts Cards in my Week 1 project for the Occasions Edition, but this wasn't it.  So I've been having fun with them – and not using them in any traditional manner at all!

     I have to tell you that I'm loving using Riding Hood Red!  Up until Christmas, I hadn't been using it much at all.  Then Stampin' Up! started making it a part of some gorgeous Designer Series Paper sets, and I was hooked on the color all over again much as I had been when it first came out.  This time around, I am so loving the look in the printed papers that are part of the Twitterpated Designer Series Paper set.  This is actually the first time that I used the darker of the floral patterns in a project.  I liked the pastels so much that I've been overlooking this print.  Now I wish I had more sheets of it!

     This is also the first time that I've matted the Labels Collection Framelits like this.  I cut the same size for the mat as for the stamped layer, and then cut the mat in half and have it peeking out at the top and bottom of the stamped layer.  With a little more effort I could have made it peek out at the sides, too.  But I'd put in just about as much effort as I could for this project before I had to go play tour guide again!

     Except for the card stock and the Little Leaves Sizzlit, everything in this card is from the Occasions Mini Catalog!  It's a great mini catalog, and I'm really looking forward to using more and more of its products as the next couple of months go on!  If you don't have a copy of the mini, yet, be sure to let me know and I'll get one right out to you!

     We're off doing our last weekend of touring this morning – to the south side of the island, hopefully to see some green sea turtles basking on the black sand beaches of Punalu'u.  I love living in Hawaii!  I hope you love living where you are – and will have lots of fun with whatever you're doing this weekend!

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The Great Tea Cover-Up!

Aloha, all!

     Today's project is one born, if not out of necessity, at least out of a desire to hide something.  Well, not something important, but something that just felt out of place.

     Yesterday afternoon, my dear husband came home from a business meeting carrying this lovely box of tea bags.  I have ALWAYS wanted to have one of these boxes to present to people to select their own teas!  I just love it when I'm at a restaurant and the "tea steward" (well, wine has stewards, why not tea?) comes to the table with a box and elegantly opens it to display all kinds of tea bags.  Of course I never think of these boxes when I'm anywhere that might actually have them for sale.  So all these years I've gone without.

     Until yesterday!  Oh my – was I thrilled to have it!  Except.  Except that there was a BIG brass plate smack in the middle of the outside cover that advertised the not-very-elegant company that made the gift.  Rats!  And then I thought of all that paper and ink in my craft room – AND the brand new stamp set, Tea Shoppe!  Off I went this morning to do the great cover-up of the day!

     Because I'm currently working on a project for the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition that requires use of the Sale-A-Bration papers, Everyday Enchantment, I decided to stick with that for the Tea Box.  Both the main background paper and the Poppy Parade print that serves as the mat are from this paper set.  The mat for the sentiment is the same paper, and the two brads are from the Everyday Enchantment brads, also in the Sale-A-Bration catalog.

     There are two products from the Stampin' Up! 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog in this cover-up:  The stamp set, Tea Shoppe, and the papers cut with the Labels Collection Sizzix Framelits.  I have been going to the framelits daily since they first arrived in my craft room, and I can tell you that you'll be seeing a lot of them from now on!

     I mentioned Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition – which is still in its Preview Week!  I hope you won't miss a one of the fab card ideas as well as a few tutorials that are around this week for EVERYONE!  And there's Blog Candy to be given away.  You should check out the delightful Connie Babbert's creation today, because SHE is giving out today's Blog Candy – a free subscription to Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition!  But hurry over to the Create with Connie and Mary blog for the link today, because you have to comment on her blog today to be entered into the Blog Candy giveaway.

     As I'm sure you can see, I had fun with my cover-up project.  It was quick and easy, too!  I hope all your projects for the week are just as fun, quick and easy as mine have been!

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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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Something New!

Aloha, all!

     One of my hobbies used to be painting with watercolors.  I took several years of lessons, but that was ages ago, and I probably have forgotten more about how to use watercolor than I remember.  Nonetheless, I have had the Stampin' Up! Watercolor Wonder Crayons in my craft room since back when you could buy all the colors at once in a big tin (awhile ago!).  And even though I hadn't used them in a long time, when the new Stampin' Up! color families came out in 2010, I went ahead and ordered the updated colors of the crayons.

     Yesterday, for the first time since I ordered them, I opened them up.  In fact, when I went to the drawer in which I keep the crayons and the Watercolor Pencils, I was surprised to have to remove the paper from the packaging and then find that there were only 3 or 4 crayons in the boxes I opened!  It took awhile to remember that that's how they came back when we were able just to purchase updates for our collections.  So I think that I'm comfortable with my Stampin' Up! Only Challenge entry for the week!  The challenge was to use a new technique – or one that you've not used in a long while.  Using Watercolor Wonder Crayons with an Aquapainter certainly meets that criterion!

     The stamp set that I used for my card is one that cries out to be watercolored!  It's the set, Bordering on Romance from the Stampin' Up! 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog, and its line art is perfect for this.  For my stamped image, I combined two of the stamps to make an L-shaped image and then went after the watercolors.  I started the pink flowers with Pretty in Pink and then started adding in a big of Riding Hood Red.  I let the Riding Hood Red bleed into the Pretty in Pink for the start, and then added just a bit more at the centers when the paint had dried.  For the leaves, I laid down a base of Wild Wasabi and then some darker accents with Always Artichoke.  For the blue, I started with Baja Breeze and, just in the larger flowers, accented that color with Night of Navy. 

     It's a lot of fun making card fronts with the new Sizzix Framelits with their wonderful curves and overall shapes!  For this card, I used two of the shapes from the Labels Collection Framelits.  They cut into the Watercolor Paper beautifully – just in case you were wondering!  I accented the card with the larger lable framelit and Riding Hood Red (nice touch to bring out the Riding Hood Red in the coloring). 

     I tied the whole thing together with ribbon (what a surprise), this time Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, and accented that with one of the Trinket Hearts, also from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

     Fun card!  I hope whatever you do with your crafting today, you have just as much fun!  And maybe you can even share a project with the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge Team!

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Filling a Heart with Balloons!

Aloha, all!

     The first card I made today was totally unplanned.  But deep in my memory bank was the idea that the balloons in the stamp set, Up Up and Away would make a nice heart shape!  Add to that a challenge from one of my online groups to make a card with a stamp set that had never seen ink in my studio, and off to find that very stamp set.  When I brought it to my work table, there was the Hearts Collection of Stampin' Up!'s new Sizzix Framelits sitting right there waiting for me!

     In an instant I remembered that thought about the balloons and the heart shape, and this card just kind of took itself over.

     Besides the challenge to use a never-before-used stamp set, we were given the option of using a specified set of colors – Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, and Tangerine Tango.  Now that was easy given that hot air balloons are among the most colorful creations on earth.  I should know because I spent many years living in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area, and their October Balloon Fiesta is amazing with hundreds of balloons in the air at the same time.  So off I went to gather stamp pads and markers, and here's the card that resulted!

     Now that I've been using the Hearts Framelits for awhile, I've found that there is a new storage need in Robin's Craft Room – storage for all the hearts that get cut out of card stock or paper to make an opening like the one on the front of this card.  So off I went again – this time in search of a Whisper White heart the same size as the window.  It didn't take long to locate what I needed, and the card was almost finished.  I had a time limit on this card (supposed to be finishing it during an online chat) so I looked at my ribbons and immediately found the 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon in Tangerine Tango.  So, as frequently happens with my cards, I tied this one all together with a bow!

     Now I'm back to working on my creations for the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition – preview week starts next week!!  I guess I should have some of the projects done by that time, huh?  One will be finished tonight as I just received my Stampin' Up! shipment with one last piece I need for it.  The other awaits yet another last minute purchase which will arrive on Monday.  I think they're really cool – and I hope that you'll be among those that enjoy them as they are exclusive to Create with Connie and Mary and I can't share them here!  Click on the link at the top of the column on the right to visit their web site for more information – and to meet this edition's guest designers!  I'm humbled to be in the same group as all of these wonderful ladies!

     Know what the best part about all of this is?  I'm having FUN with it!  I hope you, too, are having fun with whatever you're doing today!

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A Hanukkah Card for Janet!

Aloha, all!

     Every year at this time I make dozens of Christmas cards, but only one Hanukkah Card – for my close friend, Janet.  I was so glad when Stampin' Up! included a Hanukkah stamp in their 2011 Holiday Mini Catalog – and as an A la Carte stamp, so I didn't have to buy a whole set.  Janet's friendship is definitely worth spending the money for a whole set, but it was nice that I could get just one.  Today's card also fits well with the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge theme:  Merry and Happy and Joyous!

     As a quick aside, those of you who may have seen the picture of the stamp in the catalog and are familiar with Hanukkah may have wondered about the accuracy of the symbols on the driedels pictured.  If you thought they were wrong, you were absolutely correct!  But Stampin' Up! corrected the actual stamp; so what you get when you order the stamp will be correct.  I learned this by researching this stamp on the internet while trying to figure out my own design for a greeting card.  The letters are in the correct order to say, "A great miracle happened there."  Thank you fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator Yapha Mason for that.

     Now for the design – if you think that I've gone off the wagon and am no longer using Stampin' Up! Only products in my projects, you'd be wrong!  There are exciting new products coming in Stampin' Up!'s 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog on January 3rd.  One of them is Stampin' Up!'s own line of the new Sizzix Framelits!  I can hardly wait to show them to you come January 3rd.  But for the next couple of weeks, I hope you'll enjoy some of the projects that I'll be making using them.

     Looking back at the Hanukkah Stamp, as I said it's an A la Carte stamp, which means you can purchase it as a single stamp.  The stamp itself has the stars and driedels hanging from the word "Hanukkah" as if they were ornaments.  I decided to leave the strings out of the stamped image also based on comments by Yapha Mason, who seems to know what she's talking about!  I inked the stamp using a Night of Navy Stampin' Write Marker and just didn't ink the strings.  It helped that this was the first time I used this stamp so there was no lingering ink anywhere. 

     For the colored driedels, I first just tried coloring the driedels in with Daffodil Delight Markers but decided they weren't bright enough.  So I restamped just the driedels onto Daffodil Delight Textured Card Stock and added them to the stamped image with Mini Glue Dots.

     The other colors in this card are Whisper White (not a color, I know – but it's there!) and Marina Mist.  Of course, I had to use some Stampin' Up! ribbon to tie the card together – this time some Daffodil Delight 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon.

     I'm almost done with my Christmas cards – just about a half dozen to go, and I'll be sharing them with you as the month goes on!  I hope you're having as much fun with this holiday season as I am!!

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