Masking Tape

Today's cards were created using a masking tape technique to be used on glossy white cardstock.  After playing with the technique for a while, I decided on the color combination of Soft Sky, Pistachio Pudding and Pink Pirouette.  I stamped the image (Morning Meadow) and the sentiment (Express Yourself) with black Stazon.  The next time I stamp on glossy cardstock, I need to remember two things:  ink the stamp better and when stamping on cardstock the stamp moves easily and can result in a blurred image (card on left).  Since SU no longer sells glossy cardstock, I decided to try it on SU's Shimmery White cardstock.  It worked just fine (card on the right) and we will definitely be using this technique at the next card class.  Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time.

New Color Markers Now Available Individually!

For a limited time, Stampin' Up will be selling the new color markers individually.  This is a great way to freshen up your marker sets or even purchase one or two markers in your favorite colors.  In Color markers are excluded. This offer will only be available through October 31st and includes the following markers:    ITEM  PRICE  DESCRIPTION  130034  $28.95 Stampin' Write Marker New Color Kit Bermuda Bay, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky, Wisteria Wonder  131899  $3.50 Bermuda Bay Stampin' Write Marker  131265  $3.50 Blushing Bride Stampin' Write Marker  131902  $3.50 Calypso Coral Stampin' Write Marker  131901  $3.50 Crushed Curry Stampin' Write Marker  131905  $3.50 Island Indigo Stampin' Write Marker  131266  $3.50 Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write Marker  131904  $3.50 Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker  131898  $3.50 Smoky Slate Stampin' Write Marker  131900  $3.50 Soft Sky Stampin' Write Marker  131903  $3.50 Wisteria Wonder Stampin' Write Marker

Clothespin Closure

I have used tiny little clothespins as embellishments, but never before have I decorated a bag using a full size clothespin for the finishing touch!  But yesterday I did just that and look how cute!  The bags I picked up at Michael's and measure approximately 6" x 3-1/2".  I decorated the front of a black bag using Modern Medley DSP and used another pattern for the banner and to cover the clothespin.  The sentiment is from Express Yourself and stamped on Real Red cardstock to match the retired Real Red satin ribbon on the clothespin.  The white bag was covered on both the back and front using Gingham Garden DSP with a coordinating paper to cover the clothespin.  The Island Indigo tag is from the Chalk Talk stamp set and was cut using a Chalk Talk framelit.  Again, I am using retired ribbon, but if you have Whisper White Taffeta, you can make it Daffodil Delight using reinker and water.  Another thing about the clothespin, you can adhere a magnetic strip to the back side and that way the recipient can hang it on the refrigerator and use it to keep notes, etc.  Wouldn't these be cute as favors for a wedding or baby shower?   Have a great day!

Fancy Fan

I have a few Stampin' Up embossing folders that I use on a regular basis.  And then there are a few embossing folders I seldom use, one being the Fancy Fan folder.  So when I received a pack of the DSP stack and noticed that one of the patterns in the paper stacks matches the Fancy Fan folder, out came that Fancy Fan folder .  Today's card uses both the new Marina Mist DSP and that Fancy Fan embossing folder.  To embellish the card, I added a new Candy Dot (an item that I will be purchasing in all the color families) and a Candy Dot brad base to hold a little piece of tulle. The sentiment reminds me of an image in the retired Sincere Salutations stamp set, but it is actually from the new Wetlands stamp set~~a set I purchased for the goose image and when it arrived, I found that I see myself using the entire set often.  Speaking of "wetlands" it is pouring right now!  So keep dry and have a great day!    

Chalk Talk & Modern Medley

I find myself playing with the Modern Medley DSP quite a bit.  On today's card I used the DSP for the two banners combined with a Chalk Talk image stamped in black and cut using a Chalk Talk framelit.  But the card still needed something, maybe a little pop of color. So, I spritzed a SU doily using Coastal Cabana reinker mixed with alcohol, cut the doily in half, pleated it a bit and layered one end of the tag on top of it.  Since there was a little too much "white" space in the lower right corner of the card, a few little half pearls were the perfect way to take care of that little issue.  The inside of the card is lined with vanilla cardstock which was stamped using one of the images in the Flowering Flourishes stamp set.  Do you remember the black and vanilla Family Frame I made a while back?  Well, I up-dated that project by replacing the Close to My Heart black pattern paper with Stampin' Up's Modern Medley DSP.  If anyone is still interested in making a Family Frame, let me know and I will set a date for a repeat of that class.  Have a great day!

Chevron Ribbon

Another quick and simple card, today's post is about the new ribbon in the annual catalog.  This chevron print twill ribbon is 3/4" wide and comes in 12 colors.  I chose the black as I feel it is the most neutral and can be used with a variety of colors.  I embossed the black cardstock using the Stripes embossing folder.  Since the folder wasn't wide enough to emboss in the direction I needed, I first embossed one half and then the other half.  It was rather easy to do since you just have to match up the last embossed stripe.  (I am saying it is easy after I goofed up the first attempt--hahaha!!)  And again, I have used a sentiment from the Express Yourself hostess set.  I must say, I think SU outdid itself in the hostess set choices in this annual catalog.  Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Twins!

A friend of ours was blessed with twin boys, Austin & Ben.  Nicki is a  card designer/maker so I wanted to do something a little different from the usual stamped cards.  So out came my Cricut and the Art Philosophy cartridge last night.  The color combination of Pistachio Pudding and Chocolate Chip sounds yummy and is just perfect for baby boy cards.  I do see that I should have offset a couple of the letters a bit more so that the Chocolate Chip layer edge showed a little more, but all in all, I am happy with the cards. I wanted each baby to have a card for their baby books as they will be sharing a lot for the rest of their lives!  The little tickets and stamp are from the That's The Ticket stamp set and coordinating punch, not a set I use often but it is cute and comes in handy.  After I adhered all the pieces to the cards, guess what?  I dropped the inked stamp on Austin's card!  Not sure that butterflies would look right on the cards, out came the little star punch to hide the oops.   Hope you have a wonderful day!

Baked Brown Sugar ...

...is the one new In Color that has not yet captured my interest.  So I am trying to use it here and there.  Baked Brown Sugar ink was used on both cards in today's post as was the scrolled image from the Morning Meadow hostess set.  The card base for the thank you card is Baked Brown Sugar and when layered with Very Vanilla looks good.  I then stamped the sentiment in black ink.  The "always thinking of you"  card is a one layer Vanilla card with the image and sentiment (Express Yourself  hostess set) both stamped in Baked Brown Sugar.  I did add a layered butterfly (Papillon Potpourri) as the card seemed a little too clean and simple.   Either of these cards can be very easily mass produced in the color of your choice.  Use for your own occasion or as a gift to someone who will be needing a number of thank you cards.  I have done this for baby showers~~25 or 30 thank you cards in the recipient's colors~~presented in a pretty little basket  along with postage stamps.  So the color is growing on me and I can see that it will go with many colors in the SU palette, so maybe you will be seeing more of my cards using this color~~in a small way.  Have a great day!
 

A Coffee Toast

Two stamp sets, Perfect Blend and Happy Hour, were the perfect blend for today's cards.   The coffee cup is an image from the Perfect Blend stamp set, as is the stamped sentiment on the coffee cup to the right.  The two sentiments stamped on the lower right corner of both cards are from the Happy Hour stamp set.  On the Crumb Cake card I crimped the Cherry Cobbler cardstock to add texture to the card and on the Pool Party card, I ran the Crumb Cake cardstock through the crimper to imitate the look of the sleeve you get when you purchase hot coffee to-go.  Next time I am at Starbucks, I will be getting a few stir sticks.  How cute those would be in the lid!  And again, my score tool came in handy when I wanted to add a little texture to the Pool Party cardstock.  One last thing:  I dyed white bakers twine using Baked Brown Sugar reinker and alcohol.  Well, it turned out to look more like Crumb Cake, so I used it on the Cheers card.  Here's to a great day!

Gingham Garden Washi Tape

Two cards of different sizes, both cards are Melon Mambo and White and both cards are embellished with Gingham Garden Washi Tape.  The thank you note card ( 3-1/2" x 5" finished size) was extremely quick and easy to create.  As I added various lengths and patterns of washi tape to the card, I cut little fish tales on the ends.  The sentiment is from the  Express Yourself  hostess set and the card is ready for a handwritten note.  The second card is the  usual card size we create (5-1/2" x 4-1/4" finished size), again embellished with washi tape.  You will notice that the ends of the washi tape on this card are a straight cut.  Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo flowers are from the new Flower Shop stamp set and punched with the new Pansy Punch.  The sentiment on this card is from Sweet Essentials, one of three stamp sets offered at 25% off thru June 30th.  Have a good week and a great Monday!

Old Glory!

I couldn't let the day go by without mentioning that today is Flag Day!

In Color Butterflies

Today's card didn't turn out exactly as I had in mind, but it has many pretty features, beginning with the layered butterflies. The larger butterfly was punched from solid cardstock with the second layer being a stamped image from Papillion Potpourri which was then punched using the Bitty butterfly punch.  The white taffeta ribbon  dyed using alcohol and the Coastal Cabana reinker is more than pretty.  Finally, the curved edge of the white cardstock was achieved by using one of the edgelits.  Without a sentiment the card looked like it was missing something.  With the sentiment, it doesn't look right either.  Oh well--the card is pretty and someone will enjoy it.  Speaking of enjoying, enjoy the weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time.

Morning Meadow Soft Sky

Today's card is one that works for just about any occasion.  Well, I take that back.  Something tells me that my son would think I really lost it if I sent him this card--lol!   I love the color combination of black and Soft Sky and the Soft Sky seam binding adds a little softness .  The image, from the hostess set Morning Meadow, was stamped in black Stazon.  To add texture to this card, the black 4" x 5-1/4" cardstock layer was embossed using the Square Lattice folder.  Also, instead of three brads at the bottom, you might want to use that space to stamp a sentiment.  The next card I create using the Morning Meadow set will be stamped with one or two of the other pretty images included in this particular set of stamps.  Have a great day!

More Modern Medley

For today's cards I used the same card sketch using another of the paper patterns in the Modern Medley DSP collection.  In addition to the same layout, both cards used many of the same tools: the scallop edge and scallop circle punches, vanilla and black cardstock, Versamark, black embossing powder and the Sketched Birthday stamp set.   The sentiment on the black with red card is from the Banner Greetings hostess set and the cake was punched using a 2" circle punch which is not a Stampin' Up product.  The Melon Mambo with black card includes circles punched using the 1-3/4" and 1-1/4" circle punches.  I am so liking this  pattern and actually, I am so liking almost all the patterns in the pack.  As with yesterday's cards,  if you find a card layout you like, make a couple of the same/similar cards using different colors.  If you are going to mess up your crafting table, make it worth while by creating more than one card.  Speaking of messy tables, I need to go clean off my island.  Hope you have a wonderful day!

Masculine & Feminine Modern Medley

Today's cards are quick and simple and made with the musical
notes paper included in the new Modern Medley paper collection.  The Modern Medley pack is a collection of black and vanilla patterns--very pretty.  The "happy birthday" sentiment on the pink card is from the Express Yourself  hostess set while the  "to you" on both cards are words from the Fabulous Phrases set.  (Love my Stamp A Ma Jig!)  As for the musical notes?  Those are from me~~made using the fine tip of the black marker. The Crumb Cake card has a more masculine feel to it and the sentiment (from One In A Million) was stamped on a Crumb Cake tag cut using the Chalk Talk framelits.  Look for more posts with cards and/or other projects using the Modern Medley DSP as the color combination and the patterns offer so many possibilities.  Have a wonderful day. 

Chalk Talk & The Magnetic Platform

I am really liking the new Big Shot magnetic platform.  The ladies used it during card class yesterday and each one was happy with it.  There was only one thing:  the Chalk Talk framelit set includes 4 tag framelits and  three little framelits of various types of holes for the tops of the tags to thread ribbon thru.  Well, for some reason, maybe because of the magnetic pull, when you place one of these little hole framelits on the magnetic platform the little framelit  jumps slightly.  I will have to see if any other demonstrators have noticed this with their framelits and platform.  Today's photo includes a few tags of various colors of cardstock and ink used for the same tag together with a couple of goodie bags with the tag added. Also, if you purchase both the Chalk Talk stamp set and the coordinating framelits at the same time, there is a 15% discount on the bundle and that bundle price is available for the entire time this annual catalog is current.  Just be sure to use the bundle number or ask your demonstrator about that.  A couple of orders from yesterday listed the individual numbers, but those orders were corrected to reflect the bundle amount.  Have a great day and a good week, too!

Lollypop Favors

So how cute are these favors?  And easy to make, too!  Wrapped in tissue paper are See's Candies Lollypops.  These particular "lollypops" are rectangular and flat on the bottom (or is that flat on top?)which is perfect. A little tissue, stars, ribbon and Itty Bitty framelits make for perfect little favors, be it for the 4th of July or for our beautiful little granddaughter's recital!  The red and blue favors have little banners across the stars which were stamped using "celebrate" from Fabulous Phrases.  Since the pink favor was made especially for Sydney after her recital, I needed a banner that said something about being a star.  Since I did not have a stamp, I went into my Word program, typed "you're a star", changed the font and font color to pink, cut it out with my Itty Bitty Framelit and sponged the edge with Melon Mambo.  Colors and die cuts can be changed to fit just about any occasion.  We will be making the Patriotic favors at the next class.  See's candies has a website, www.sees.com where you can shop online or find a location near you.  Have a great day and enjoy the weekend. 

Sketched Birthday

Today's coordinating  items were made using new product--YEAH!  This Crumb Cake and Early Espresso coordinating set came about because I wanted to use the new note size Crumb Cake envelope which measures 5-1/8" x 3-5/8".  I cut cardstock measuring 5" x 7" and scored it at 3-1/2" so it would fit perfectly in the envelope.  The balloons on the envelope and the cake slice on the card  are from the
 Sketched Birthday set is in the new catalog.  Unfortunately, SU doesn't offer a 2" circle punch (necessary to fit the entire image) so I used a non-SU punch.  Maybe the new circle framelits will have a 2" circle~~I hope so.   Back to the card.  After layering the cake on a 2 3/8" scallop circle, I made a couple of banners, one from Espresso cardstock and one from retired Espresso DSP and adhered everything to the card front.  A little Dazzling Details to the flame of the candle adds a bit of sparkle.  I had to try the Chalk Talk stamp set and framelits, so I made the tag which can be added to a gift bag or ribbon.  For those attending Sunday's card class, we will be making this coordinating set along with a few other items.  In the meantime, I will oohh and ahhh over some of the new items I received yesterday.  Have a great day!

Big Shot Magnetic Platform

This video is about a product in the new catalog that really caught my attention.  It is a magnetic platform for use with the Big Shot and framelits.  I have read that it works well (even better than post-it notes).  The price of the platform is $39.95.  Since I use framelits very often and my framelits collection is growing,  the Magnetic Platform is on its way to my scraproom.   I will be reviewing it after it arrives and I have had a chance to try it out.  Have a great day!

Ideas From Catalog

While waiting for the arrival of new stamp sets and other products to create with, today's card was copied (sort of) from page 81 of the new cattie.  The designer paper used is from the Gingham Garden collection.  Since I have quite a bit of Island Indigo retired ribbon, I used that in place of the baker's twine used on the card in the cattie.  I am not a fan of staples on cards, so my greeting (from Pennant Parade) is a little more to my liking.  As you are going through the catalog, do you look at a certain card or project and wonder what supplies were used to make that card?  To answer your question, all you need do is go to the following link and get a list of the supplies: 


http://su-media.s3.amazonaws.com/media/catalogs/NA/20130601_AC_en-US/US_2013_AC_StampinSupplies.pdf

I have printed up the 30-page Stampin' Supplies list and keep it with my catalog and find it a useful resource.  It does not give me the directions to make the card, but it sure takes the guesswork out of which supplies are needed.  Hope you find this link helpful.  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Herringbone Quilt?

I have seen some pretty quilted cards and they are described as "herringbone" quilted cards.  So I decided to try my hand at it.  The card looks cute, but I lined up the strips of paper in the wrong direction and therefore do not think this is really herringbone.
Nonetheless, the color combination is pretty and the paper strips are from the now retired Tea For Two Designer Series Paper.  If you liked the patterns in the Tea For Two DSP, the Afternoon Picnic DSP in the new catalog has the same patterns, but different colors:  Gray, Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla and Wisteria Wonder.  The cute little sentiment is from the Label Love stamp set and punched using the Artisan Label punch.  So while the card is cute, colors are pretty and the sentiment is adorable, I think I need to practice this herringbone quilt technique a bit!  Have a great day!

New Catalog !

For those who have yet to receive a copy of Stampin' Up's New Annual catalog, here is the link to view it online:

http://su-media.s3.amazonaws.com/media/catalogs/NA/20130601_AC_en-US/HTML/index.html




To shop at my online store, click the following link:

www.stampintimesomewhere.stampinup.net

and click "shop now".

If you have questions or comments, send an email or give me a call!

Grab Your Greetings Promotion

With the release of the new catalog, Stampin' Up has just announced their new promotion.  Beginning today thru June 30th, you will receive 25% off three greeting sets that are carried over to the new catalog:  Sassy Salutations, Sweet Essentials and Petite Pairs.   It is a good deal if any of the stamp sets included in the sale are on your wish list.   

Best of Greetings

Just want to share a quick image of the stamps that are included in June's "Best of Greetings" set.  Every month during 2013, SU is combining some all-time-favorite stamps with a new, never-before-seen stamp to create a monthly “Best of” stamp set. Best of Greetings is the June offering, but don’t forget to check out the sets from previous months as well. They’re available all year!  Shop online at www.stampintimesomewhere.stampinup.net or give me a call or email if you have any questions.