Movers & Shapers Curly Label Card

If you notice on these cards I used the same Designer Series papers as I did for my Fancy Favor box. (Day & Night Specialty, Holiday Mini, page 11)) I just love how a little sponging in the middle of the flowers and some matching ribbon make the card. I used Whisper White card stock and ran it through my Big Shot using the Movers & Shapers die with the Scallop oval for the cutout. Now you know that many of our punches that match the window punches nest inside each other, how cool is that? This is one of my favorite dies (aside from the Top Note) and you can see it on page 201 of the IBC (Idea Book & Catalog). These are my thank you cards I will be sending out soon.

Stampin' Up Clearance Rack!!!!!

Stampin' Up! now has a Clearance Rack. This is a permanent sale of retired & discontinued items, up to 80% off! Only available while supplies last and you must order through my website/online store. So check it out.

Halloween Thank You

My card base is Pumpkin Pie card stock and I used a small piece of the Cast a Spell Designer paper for this card. Have you tried this new 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain ribbon yet? OMG, this ribbon is so yummy! It ties such a nice knot or even a bow. I used the Twick or Tweet stamp set and colored in the pumpkin and the hat with markers. Simple but cute card.

Fancy Favor Box, Kicked up a notch!

I was reading my emails a bit ago and came across a post from Laura Zaraza. She made the cutest box from the Fancy Favor Box, but it didn't look like the Fancy Favor Box. Know why? Because she put two of them together and made a long box. So I knew I had to give this one a try. Thank goodness I just got this die. It was one of my freebies for promoting to Sr. Supervisor from Patty Bennett. Did I mention, she spoils us......

I cut out 2 of the Fancy Favor boxes in the new Night & Day Specialty papers in the mini (page 11, it comes with 2 window sheets too.) I glued the 2 boxes together with sticky strip and added a piece of the cardboard that comes in the designer papers to the bottom to give it more stability. I then used a sponge dauber and added some Dusty Duringo to the centers of the flowers (thanks to Patty for this great idea). I cut out 2 pieces of Black 1 1/4" x 12 and used the eyelet punch on one side. Added the Dusty Duringo ribbon and then the flower. This is the Flower Folds flower, (page 201). I cut the flower using Dusty Duringo card stock and ran it through Finial Press embossing folder (page 195) which gave it lots of texture. Not done yet. Then I sponged with the dauber and the Dusty Duringo ink on all of the embossed images and spayed the flower layers with Frost White Shimmer paint. I also sprayed the whole box with the shimmer paint. The black strip on the bottom really shimmers, but you really can't tell in the photo. Click on the photo to see it better.

This was really fun to make and I can see a lot of possibilities for the holidays too. I will be making more of these boxes thats for sure.

Build a Bear Card

I finally took time to play with my Build a Bear stamps and dies. This card is for a friend's 2 year old birthday. I stamped the Beary Best Friends with Stazon Black ink and colored in with a blender pen and classic ink on Watercolor paper. The card base is Pretty In Pink and matted on Old Olive and then I used the Pawsitively Prints Designer papers. The saying is from Beary Nice Wishes. I then wanted her to have a bear to play with so I cut the bear from Close to Cocoa with the Stampin' Up! Bigz die. Also used the Stampin' Up! Beary Essentials die & the Stampin' Up! Sizzlits die. These are all exclusive dies to Stampin' Up!

These bears are sooo addictive. You can find all the bear dies in the Holiday Mini Catalog.

I got the photos in the wrong order.......sorry about that.

Acrylic Christmas Album

This month my Stamp Club decided they would like to make a Christmas Acrylic Album. So here is what we made. I used the Sizzix exclusive Stampin' Up! Scallop Square die to cut out the squares using the Thick Window Sheets (page 158). You get 2, 12 x 12 sheets per package. So you can make 2 albums from one package. And since I love the Christmas Cocoa Designer papers in the Holiday Mini (page 21) we used these papers and Real Red & Soft Suede card stock. We cut the flower and snowflakes with the Shimmery White card stock. On the red snowflakes we sponged on some of the Frost White Shimmery paint (page 27 in the mini) and also on the ornament on the second page. Love these new paints. I think all my gals did too. We used several Christmas stamp sets, Four the Holidays, Serene Snowflakes, Delightful Decorations, (all from the mini) , Tree Trimmings & Christmas Greetings.

Don't forget to click on the photos to see them larger. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to help you in any way I can. These albums are fast and fun. We had 7 gals and they finished in just about 2 hours. Now that is while sharing all the stamp pads, punches, stamps and you get the picture.

Extreme Thank You

I love these stamp sets. Finally a "Man" card, no flowers allowed.....Last week-end my Son and his Girlfriend came over for the day and brought all the ingredients to make lunch for us and my Daughter and her family. They bbq salmon & ribs with all the fixins'. It was such a nice surprise and a great day with our kids and grandkids. My Son is in a band (he plays the drums) and thought this set was perfect to send him and his Girlfriend a thank you card. I received both these sets free for my promotion to Senior Supervisor.

The background is the Extreme Elements stamped in Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay & Crushed Curry. The guitar player was stamped in Black with the Extreme Guitar stamp. I originally stamped the guitar player on Whisper White and thought it was too stark and then did another card and stamped on Kraft card stock which is the same as the card base. I roughed up the edges using the distressing tool from the Cutter Kit, (page 191) and sponged the edges. I spritzed the Rich Razzleberry using the Color Spritzer Tool, (page 192). Then to make the guitar player stand out a bit I spritzed with the Frost White Shimmer paint. You can't really see him all shimmery, but he is. Now I'm sure you want to know how to spritz the shimmer paint; I took one of the 2 oz spray bottles and filled it up half way with rubbing alcohol, added 8 drops of the shimmer paint and shook it up and sprayed it on my project.

I found the spray bottles and dropper at one of the Big Box Stores in town. Very inexpensive for an impressive look. Just remember to shake before you spray as the shimmer paint settles to the bottom of the bottle. Your card stock dries pretty fast because of the alcohol.

Happy Birthday Carol!

So tomorrow is Carol's 71st birthday (she is my adopted Mom). And we usually have Panera's on Thursday's when I have my grandkids. This has been a tradition for almost 4 years. Well this week my Mother-in-law was in the hospital until yesterday so we had our lunch today. I used the Fancy Box die and the Thoroughly Modern Designer paper and and the flower is the Blossom Party die. Inside the box I put 2 Vanilla Fields cologne. (I didn't take a photo with the cologne in the box). They fit perfect. And Vanilla Fields is her favorite. Next the card. I made the Pop Up cake in the same papers. I embossed part of the front and the butterflies. Then I added some Shimmer paint, Champagne Mist. It really made the butterflies sparkle. I love this stuff. So far I have 2 of the colors. What was I thinking? Of course I need the other color too.......Anyway, she loved the card and the Fancy Favor Box. My Granddaughter's made her a cake. They each decorated a round cake for her with sprinkles. Miss Carol is like a grandma to them too. They love her so much and greet her with hugs and kisses as soon as they see her. As Carol says, It just warms my heart when they do that. Click on the photos to see them better. I also wanted to point out that I used the Medallion stamp for under the cake. Now I wish I would of embossed it, as you can't really see it. Love using it under the pop up cake or the pop up Christmas tree, kind of like a skirt.

Stamp-a-Stack Cards

Here is my last card from last week-end. I did this one by placing my folded card stock in Real Red in the Scalloped Square die just under the scallops on top. Ran a piece of Garden Green card stock through the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder (from the mini) added a piece of Merry Moments Designer Series paper over that and used the Curly Label punch to make the opening. On the inside of the card is Whisper White card stock that I stamped the sentiment from the Christmas Punch, level 2 hostess set in Real Red. Added the 3/4" Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon. As you can see, no Polka Dots. I just turned the ribbon over to get the solid red with the white stitching. Cool, don't you think? Two different ribbons for the price of one. Yeah!

Christmas Wreath from Paper??????

At convention this year they demoed this cute wreath. Then someone on one of my email lists posted a photo of one they made. So I thought it was time for me to make one of these beauties. All this is, is cut up Christmas Cocoa Designer Series paper. Simple, yet gives you a WOW! Watch for a upcoming class.

Stamp-a-Stack Cards

Here are 2 more from my Stamp-a-Stack last week-end. The first one seemed kind of blah to me, so I changed the card base from Kraft to Real Red card stock and liked it much better. I stamped the Dasher (under $10 stamps in the back of the catalog) in Real Red on the Christmas Cocoa Designer paper. (Holiday Mini). The ribbon is also from the mini, and called Sleigh Bells. The saying is from the level 2 hostess set Christmas Punch. Added a Real Red Scallop punch behind the Kraft saying. This card uses the Delightful Decorations stamp set, Ornament punch & the Holiday Windows Movers & Shapers die. The card base is Bordering Blue. Stamped the ornament in Whisper White craft ink for the cover and Bordering Blue for the ornament on the inside of the card. The Silver Cording was used to attach the ornament to the top of the card. The Whisper White is punched with the scalloped edge punch and sponged with Bordering Blue.

Three Ideas in One project!

Okay, so I wanted to do several things that I saw on a couple of blogs.

1st: Wanted to change the Box #2 into a gable box Like Julia Bettencourt did.

2nd: The roses that are in the Stampin' Up! Table Setting Die.

3rd: Elegant cards that are simple.

So I made the Box #2 from Bella Bleu Designer Paper and then added another top to make the gable box. So simple. Then the roses, I cut out just the spiral from this die and rolled it up and used a big glue dot to secure it. Also attached it with a glue dot and added the leaves cut in Not Quite Navy. The ribbon is Chocolate Taffeta. Added the mini clip, done.

For the 3 x 3 cards and envelopes, I embossed the cards with Elegant Bouquet and the envelopes with Finial Press. I wanted to add a little bit of shimmer. So I used our new Shimmer paint in Frost White. Just added a bit on a sponge and sponged on the whole card front and the envelope flap that is also embossed. If you don't have this shimmer paint yet, you need it. It is so awesome. Click on the photos to see the shimmer. A little bit goes a long way. You can find the Shimmer Paint on page 27 of the mini, #116854. We also have 2 other colors, Champagne Mist, #116806 & Platinum, #116807.

Not sure I like the roses on this small box, but they stay for now. This would make such a nice small gift for anyone. I forgot to add that I stamped Thank you in Gold. The Thank You is from the Fresh Cuts stamp set.

Stamp-a-Stack Cards

Here are the first two cards from my SAS on Saturday. The First one uses the Holiday Lounge Designer papers and was cased from Dawn Griffith. I just used a different stamp set. I love how you have a little window to the inside of the card. I used Sweet Season, Heard it from the Heart & the snowflakes are from Christmas Punch, level 2 stamp sets. I stamped the snowflakes in Bermuda Bay on Bermuda Bay card stock.

The second card was totally cased from Kimberly Van Diepan. This is my all time favorite card and will probably make this my Christmas cards this year. We used the Petals a Plenty embossing folder for the first layer of the card in Vanilla. The card base is Soft Suede. The stamp set is Tree Trimmings, I love this set. I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to add the ribbon to the ornament. I can't tell you how many years I had that tool and didn't use it. Its a must for this stamp set. Also added some Soft Suede Grosgrain ribbon. Very easy and elegant too! Not sure why this photo turned out so yellow, as I took it at the same time as the card above.

Serene Snowflakes

I was inspired by Kimberly Van Diepan's card on her blog. She used the matching rub-ons, but since I didn't have them I embossed my snowflakes in white over the Soft Suede ink on the Soft Suede card stock. The snowflakes are from Serene Snowflakes in the Holiday Mini. For the large snowflake I stamped with Soft Suede on Whisper White cardstock and then used my Versamark pen over the part I was going to cut out and embossed with clear embossing power. I have a piece of the Christmas Cocoa Designer paper under the large snowflake. I also used the distressing tool that comes with the Cutter Kit (page 191) to distress all the edges and then sponged them with Soft Suede. Click on the photos to see them better.

Decorated Wood Basket

Here is the basket after you put your goodies inside. I used a small cello bag and put 3 Ghirardelli Squares inside and tied it up with Sleigh Bells ribbon in the Holiday Mini. The tag is from Christmas Punch Hostess level 2 set.

Basket from the new Wood Sheets

Did you know that Stampin' Up! sells Wood Sheets? They do, check out page 158 on the Idea Book & Catalog. You get 4 sheets for $9.95. I've never been a basket maker, but this video changed my mind.

Now my basket is only 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 2 1/2", but big enough to put a little treat inside a cello bag with a cute bow. Considering this was my first one, it turned out pretty cute!

I cut the wood using my table top cutter. Cut through it like butter! Warning: You need lots of mini glue dots.

I also used the vintage brads to go all along the top. I love how in Linda's video she shows you how to stain your wood piece at the top. You just use your Aqua Painter & Chocolate Chip re-inker, easy peasy.....

Put these wood sheets on your next order and make one of these beauties yourself.

Pumpkin out of The Pillow Box die, What?

I've seen these cute pumpkin baskets on several different blogs and knew that I had to try and make one of these guys. You aren't going to believe what you use to make the pumpkin with......the Sizzix Pillow Box die. You cut out 3 boxes, cut off where the folds are except the one on the side. Use that one to sticky tape them together. Now for the bottom, I used the large scallop circle and scored at every 5 scallops all around. It almost matches the envelopes perfectly. Secure it with sticky tape. It was a bit of a challenge to get the bottom on. Wish I could take credit for that idea, but not so much. One of my fellow demonstrators thought that one up. Then I just added a Old Olive handle, 12" x 1", secured it with brads and added my face & sponged on all the edges. For the leaves, I used the leaf die and ran them through the distressed Texturz plates and sponged them as well. Added the bow. Made out of Raffia.

Edited: In my original post I stated you used the Envelope die. Should be the Pillow Box die. What was I thinking? So sorry about that.

Build a Bears are Here!

These Build a Bears are so fun to work with. Here I used the new Pawsitively Prints Designer Series paper with the Stampin' Up! Beary Essentials dies, Stampin' Up! Bear and also the Stampin' Up! Beary Girl Sizzlits die. These are all exclusive to Stampin' Up! and you can't buy them anywhere else. But why would you? Because you get all my expertise when you purchase from me. Here I decided I wanted to make mine kind of like paper dolls with the exception I adhered my card stock or dsp (designer series paper) to magnetic sheets and then ran them through the Big Shot. I know you are probably going to ask about what I've stuck them to, right? Well I found these stand up metal boards in my closet. I believe I found them in the dollar section of one of our big box stores in town. (Trying to stay in compliance with SU). But you know the one I'm talking about. Anyway I bought these around Valentine's Day because they had red Valentine sparkly heart magnetics when them.

So what are you waiting for? You know you want these cute little guys, so contact me so we can get them ordered for you, or you can place an online order here. Go to the Shop Here button on the top right hand side. We also have a few exclusive rubber stamps. You can download the mini catalog here. Or contact me and I will mail you a copy of the new Holiday Mini Catalog.

My Fish Card

Can you tell what punch was used to make the fish or his fins? The Ornament & Modern Label punches. The ornament punch is in the Holiday Mini catalog. But seriously, isn't he cute? I wish I could take credit for him, but I can't. My Sister sent me to this blog. He was very easy to make with a couple of other punches. 1/4",1/2" circle punches, Modern Label punch and the scallop edge punch. For the "bubbles" I first punched the 1/4" circle punch and then used the 1/2" circle punch around the first punch. Clear as mud? Shoot me an email if you have any questions.

Tip: for the half circle on his face, I used the 1 3/4" circle punch. I punched out a scrap circle and used that as my guide to get the perfect half circle. Just trace around. Kinda clever, don't you think? I thought of that all by myself.......

Don't forget to click on the photo to see it better.

Hostess Promotion

Sweet Rewards Hostess Promotion

Earn even more free products with our limited-time hostess offer!   From September 1-November 30, host a $250 Stampin' Up! workshop, and choose any one item* from the Holiday 2009 Mini Catalog for just $10! Choose from our award-winning stamps, beautiful new Simply Adorned jewelry, exclusive Build-A-Bear Workshop products, or latest dies for the Sizzix Big Shot. With so much to choose from, you'll feel like a kid in a candy shop! Best of all, this amazing offer is in addition to the already fantastic benefits we offer to our hostesses. Make plans today to host your own Stampin' Up! workshop and enjoy this sweet reward.