Stampin' Up!'s Upsy Daisy Set....

I am preparing for an upcoming Necessities Bag organization fundraising workshop on April 9.  Here's my first card that everyone will be making.  All of the cards will be "Thank You" cards which will be donated to the organization.  I love this color combination - Baja Breeze & Early Espresso - right on trend these days!

Stampin' Up! Two-Step Bird Punch...

Today's card was CASE'd from a card I swapped with at Leadership and I thought it would be a great "Thank You' card for my Necessities Bag donations.  The retired Elegant Greetings set worked perfectly - I wish they didn't retire that one!  The silver embossing on the bird gives the effect of the bird's wing.

Technique Tuesday - Rolling Marbles...

Here we are again on Tuesday with another technique for you.  Today's technique is the Rolling Marbles technique which makes a very interesting background for your cards.  You will need:

Plastic container with smooth bottom - I used the lid of a stamp set box
3 or 4 marbles
Cardstock for background
3 or 4 reinkers - I used Sahara Sand, More Mustard, Soft Suede and Always Artichoke

First, take the lightest color refill and put 3 drops in the lid of the box (you cannot use the bottom of the box because of the Stampin" Up! logo).

Next, put two drops of the More Mustard, one drop of the Soft Suede and one drop of the Always Artichoke refills in the lid as well.

Next, add your marbles and close the box.

Then begin rolling the marbles around the box spreading the ink out over the lid of the box.

Continue to roll the marbles around until most of the ink drops are dispersed into all areas of the box and not concentrated in the area where you placed the drops.

Turn the box over so the marbles drop into the bottom of the box and remove them.  Place your cardstock on top of the inked lid and smooth to insure the entire piece is covered.

Remove from box and trim to the size you desire.  Clean up is easy - just rinse the marbles and box out in the sink.

Here's the card that I made using this technique.  I thought the little dog riding on an ATV required a camo background.  Hope you enjoy the tecnique. 

Stampin' Up! Convention Make & Take Card...

Every year at Stampin' Up!'s Convention, we have a session for Make & Takes.  Usually I am so tired by then (I select an afternoon session) that I end up sitting and visiting with other demonstrators instead of making the card.  That means I end up with the card materials back at home with me.  During a recent craft room purge, I came across the materials for making this card so I thought I would finish it up.  I think it is a very effective way of using the crimper tool.

SALE-A-BRATION Ends Soon!!!!

Sale-A-Bration ends in five days!  Place your orders soon to take advantage of this great promotion.  I mean, really, who doesn't LOVE free stuff????  If you miss out, you will have to wait a whole year to take advantage of this promotion again.  Call me, email me, or place a customer order online -- just don't miss out, okay?

Technique Tuesday - How to Use Scallop Border & Corner Punches

Today's technique is how to use the Scallop Border Punch and Scallop Corner Punch together.  There are a few things that you need to remember when using these punches together.  First, you cannot dictate the exact measurements of the finished piece.  The individual scallops will do that.  Second, you need to start with a piece of cardstock that is at least 1/2" larger than your approximate finished size.  You will need:

Scallop Border Punch
Scallop Corner Punch
Paper Cutter
Cardstock cut to at least 1/2" larger than your desired finish size

 First, using the Scallop Corner Punch, place the cardstock into the punch lining it up with the straight edges of the punch.  Do not push the cardstock into the punch as far as it can go.  Punch the corner out.

 Next, using the Scallop Border punch, line up the punched corner with the image on the left or right side of the base of the punch.  Make sure that the cardstock is pressed tightly against the bottom edge on the other side of the punch.  Punch out the scallop border all the way to the end.

 Next, determine which scallop will be your turning point on the cardstock.  Using the Scallop Corner punch, align the scallop up on the left side and punch out the right side.  As you can see in the picture above, the cardstock cannot be seen on the left because it is lined up correctly.

 As you can see, there is a left over area which needs trimming.  Place it in your trimmer along the straight edge of the area you will be trimming off as shown below.

 Trim away the excess and line up again using the corner image on the Scallop Border punch.

 Punch down to the end of the row again.

 Repeat the process with the Scallop Corner punch.

 Trim away any excess cardstock again.

 Use your Scallop Border punch to the end again.  Punch your final corner as shown below.

 Finally, take your Scallop Border punch and line up the corner image on either the left or right side and punch the center section.  Be sure to keep the piece straight since you no longer have the excess edge.

 These punches take some practice but after a few times of working with them, you will see great results.  Let me know if you have any trouble with them.

Inspired by Nature - Stampers for Others February Challenge....

Today's card is one I submitted to the Stampers for Others February Challenge with the card below being our inspiration.  I used Stampin' Up!'s Elements of Style and Fast & Fabulous stamp sets as well as the Springtime Vintage DSP (again!).  I have been playing around with the Crochet Trim and finally found a card that works for making a flower out of it with some Rich Razzleberry Taffetta ribbon as well.  So, do you think I captured the inspiration given to us?

Stampers for Others February Card Swap....

Today's card is the card I swapped in the Stampers for Others February Card Swap which had an "Inspired by Nature" them.    The Springtime Vintage DSP works in perfectly with the theme.  See, I told you before that I am loving this paper!  The stamp sets are "Autumn Days" and "Teeny Tiny Wishes".   I am definitely getting a lot of mileage out of the Teeny Tiny Wishes set!  It is perfect for just about any of the punches.

Stampin' Up!'s Beautiful Wings Big Shot Embosslit...

Today's card is one that we made a few weeks ago at a workshop.  I am loving the Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper from the Occasions Mini Catalog - I wish they would continue to offer it in the new catalog when it comes out in July.  This card uses so many different supplies but yet remains clean & uncluttered which I love.  Here's a list of everything I used - can you see all of them?

Beautiful Wings Embosslit

Beautiful Butterflies Big Shot die

Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel

Scallop Trim Border Punch

Pearl Jewels

Paper Daisies

Linen Thread

Springtime Vintage DSP

Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon

Frost White Shimmer Paint

Modern Label Punch

Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set

Technique Tuesday - Pulling Pastels...

It is Tuesday and time for another technique!  This week's technique is Pulling Pastels.  I have no idea why it is called "Pulling" Pastels but here goes!  You will need:

Pastels (also know as chalks)
Versamark pad
Heat Gun
White embossing powder
Embossing Buddy
Black cardstock - or another dark color
Stamp

 First, use your Embossing Buddy to remove all oils from your cardstock.  Since you are using white embossing powder, it will show up if you have little specks of powder left on the cardstock.  Next, stamp your image using the Versamark, cover with white embossing powder and heat set with your heat gun.

 Using your Pastels, color the white embossed image using vibrant colors.  Do not worry if some of the pastels show up on the cardstock.

 Continue to color the entire image using your Pastels.

 Using a dampened Q-tip (not saturated), clean off the cardstock around the image.  It does not need to be perfect.

 That completes the Pulling Pastels technique - easy peasy!!!! 

Stampin' Up!'s Build A Blossom & Blossom Petals Punch...

Inspired by a swap card I received from Lisa Lange at Leadership (thank you Lisa!), I switched up the colors for spring.  I used Daffodil Delight and Poppy Parade to make this bright card.  I think it will bring a smile to the recipient's face, don't you?

Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration Gets Put to Good Use.....

That's the newspaper headline for today's card!  How many Sale-A-Bration items do you see on this card?  There's three - the Sweet Summer stamp set, the ribbon and the buttons.  I also incorporated the Daffodil Delight Pompom Trim from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  The color combination should brighten someone's day who is feeling down - Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive and Pacific Point.

Stampin' Up!'s Fun Flowers Big Shot Die....

I love this card but the best part about it is how it ended up in my hands!  A fellow demonstrator and really nice lady, Robin Merriman, gave this card out as a swap at Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference.  My upline and friend Stella MacKay received it from Robin and then used it at our February downline meeting for a Make & Take.  Thanks Robin for such a beautiful idea and thanks Stella for sharing it!  The card uses the Elements of Style stamp set  and the Apple Blossoms hostess set, as well as the Fun Flowers die, Framed Tulips embossing folder and the vanilla Rosettes from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

Stampin' Up!'s Fun & Fast Notes.....

An older but a goodie!!!  Fun & Fast Notes has been around for a long time and I had to dust mine off to make this card.  I wanted to work with my watercoloring using the Aquapainter to see if I could get better at shading, etc.  I think it turned out pretty well.  Do you like those pink centers on the embossed flowers?  Are you wondering how I did that - just use permanent markers on the pearls!

Technique Tuesday - Faux Metal

Today's technique is Faux Metal using embossing powders.  The supplies you will need are:

Piece of cardstock larger than image you want to make
Metallic embossing powder - I used Stampin' Up!'s Silver embossing powder
Versamark Pad
Heat Gun
Stamp of your choice - do not choose too fine of an image - I used the circle from Just Believe
Punch a bit larger than your image - I used the 1-3/8" punch

First, ink the entire cardstock using the Versamark pad and cover with embossing powder.  You can leave a corner area clear for holding onto the cardstock.  Emboss using heat gun.

Repeat the process two more times - inking the entire area, covering with embossing powder and heat setting.  By the third time, you should see that the embossing powder is becoming fluid and moves a bit.

Take your Versamark ink pad and ink your image well.  Press hard to get into the recessed areas of the stamp.  This will keep the stamp from sticking in the embossing powder.

Reink the cardstock one final time, cover with embossing powder and heat set.  Keep the heat on it until it is very fluid.  Quickly take your stamp and press it into the fluid embossing powder.  Hold it there for a few seconds and then remove.  Be careful not to wiggle it too much.

Your image will then look like pressed metal. 

Take your punch and punch out your image.

Now design your card and place your faux metal piece onto your card.



Stampin' Up!'s Engraved Greetings....

Today's card is one that I made for donating to the Necessities Bag Sacramento.  Just like last Friday's card, I headed to my Designer Series Paper scraps for this card as well.  The stamp set - Engraved Greetings - is one of the stamp sets from the current Idea Book & Catalog that Stampin' Up! is offering for free during Sale-A-Bration.  Now that's what I call economical - free stamp set and using scraps!

Stampin' Up!'s Elements of Style....

Today's card combines one of my favorite stamp sets - Elements of Style - with one of my favorite color combinations - pink & black.  I headed for my Designer Series Paper scraps for the printed paper which was a great way to use up some of those leftovers.  I ended up making this card in a couple of other color combinations using scraps from several sets of DSP.  Challenge of the day - go into your scraps and create something using your scraps too!

Stampin' Up! - Just Believe!!!

This card was CASE'd from a birthday card I received from my good friend and fellow demonstrator Christine Pyrch.  I met Chris at Stampin' Up!'s annual convention in 2008 and we have kept in touch since.  For those of you who are demonstrators, you MUST go to convention - it is a blast and you meet so many wonderful people like Chris!  Based upon the wonderful surprises Stampin' Up! provided for us at the Leadership Conference this year, I can't wait to see what they have come up with for Convention this year!

For those of you who are just interested in the card, it is a quick & simple card using the Just Believe and Perfect Punches stamp sets & the 5/8" grosgrain ribbon.