Stampin' Up!'s Aviary Stamp Set....

This card was CASE'd from Sarah Wills who is one of my sideline.  I just love the blue/brown color combination and this stamp set is so whimsical!

Stampin' Up!'s Circle Circus stamp set...

Today's card was CASE'd from one that I received at Stampin' Up!'s Convention last summer.  I just loved the layers and the bright colors.  It is a great Birthday card that would work for a man, woman or child.

Stampin' Up!'s Elements of Style & April Promo Set - Four Frames...

Did you notice how the floral stamp which is part of the Four Frames stamp set in April's promotion matches perfectly with the roses from Stampin' Up!'s Elements of Style stamp set?  This is such an elegant Thank You card but would also work wonderfully as a Mother's Day card.  Are you wondering how I made the layers for the Decorative Label Punch?  Here's how to do that - it is really simple.  You will need Stampin' Up's Decorative Label Punch, scissors and some adhesive.

Using the Decorative Label Punch, punch your cardstock in your choice of cardstock colors.

 Cut the first layer using the pencil lines above as a guide.  They do not have to be exact except at the outside corners where you want to start cutting right at the point.

 Attach each piece with a 1/16th-1/8th inch overlap as shown below.

 The completed piece will look like above from the front and like below from the back.

If you want a third layer, cut the third layer in half as shown below and trim the outside edges as shown on the left side. 

 Layer again in the same way you did with the previous layer.

 Your finished label will look like this:

Pretty cool!!  Hey, how did you trick me into teaching you a technique and it isn't even Tuesday?

Technique Tuesday - Magic Ink Background....

You've been waiting for it, right?  Well, here it is - the technique I used on my April 18 blog entry - Magic Ink Background.  We all like the look that alcohol inks make for backgrounds but don't want to invest in a whole lot more inks, right?  And the biggest problem is that they are not in Stampin' Up!'s wonderful coordinating colors!  Well, now you can make them yourself and get that same look using your Stampin' Up! reinkers!

 Here's what you need:

Rubbing Alcohol
Two colors of coordinating reinkers (I used Pacific Point and Old Olive)
A cotton ball
Versamark Ink Pad
Clear or white embossing powder
Heat gun
Glossy cardstock
Stamp image you want to show through the background (I chose Nature's Nest's feather)

 First, stamp your image using Versamark ink numerous times on the glossy white cardstock and cover with clear or white embossing powder.

 Heat set with heat gun.

 Take your cotton ball and pull on the fibers until you made it more flat and square.  Soak it completely with the rubbing alcohol.

 Take one of your reinkers and put two drops of the ink on opposite corners of the square cotton ball.

 Take your second reinker and put in the other two corners of the cotton ball.

 Begin smooshing the cotton ball down on the glossy cardstock.  Do not rub back and forth.  Pick it straight up and move around the cardstock.

 Once you have your cardstock covered with the color as much as you want, heat it with your heat gun.  The alcohol will dry real quickly and set the ink.

 Your stamped images will begin to show up through the colors like my picture above.  If you decide you want more color, you can use your cotton ball again and put down more color until it is the way you like it.  Just remember to use your heat gun to dry the alcohol off the cardstock quickly.

Here's the card I made using this background technique.  I hope you have fun with this one too.

Stampin' Up!'s Designer Series Paper...What to do with your scraps!

Today's card shows what you can do with those left over scraps from the Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper that you have.  I don't know about you, but I have a bunch of scraps!  Choose several pieces that coordinate well together.  Cut the scraps into 1/2" strips at least 4" high.  Take a piece of 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cardstock (scrap too) and cover it with the multipurpose adhesive or any other type of adhesive that can cover the entire piece.  Then begin placing the strips next to each other.  When you are done, run it through your Big Shot with the Top Note die for a great look.  I then added one of the new stamps from the Four Frames stamp set which was part of April's promotion.  It coordinates perfectly with the Top Note die!

Pinwheel Card....

Can you just see the little girl's face when she opens the envelope and pulls out this adorable pinwheel card?  I made the pinwheel using the larger scallop square from the Stampin' Up! Scallop Squares die.  If you don't know how to make a pinwheel but would like to, please email me and I will send you some instructions - they are quite easy!

Stampin' Up!'s Fifth Avenue Floral Stamp Set...

Isn't this such an elegant card for someone's wedding?  I just love how it turned out!  I embossed the rose in the oval using Black embossing powder and then lightly colored it using an Aqua Painter and Basic Gray and Basic Black inks.  I also used the embossing folder masking technique to get a smooth oval in the middle and the textured cardstock on the outside.  Guess I will have to add that to my list of Technique Tuesday ideas!

Technique Tuesday - Secret Fold Card...

Today I am going to teach you how to make a Secret Fold Card.  It is one of those WOW cards that is actually easy to make.  Here's what you will need:

Your Cutter
Two Coordinating Stampin' Up! Cardstocks - Mine are Old Olive & Marina Mist

 Cut a piece of Old Olive Cardstock to 8-1/2"x5- 1/2"  Score the paper at the half way point (4-1/4").

 Score the cardstock again at 2-1/8".

 Flip the cardstock around and score again at 2-1/8".  You should end up with three score lines that are an equal distance apart.

 Turn the cardstock 90 degrees and cut the cardstock at 2-3/4" between the two outside score lines.

 Move the cardstock and cut the cardstock at 1-3/8" between the outside score lines and flip the cardstock 180 degrees and cut again at 1-3/8" between the score lines.

 You will end up with something like this.  I know it is difficult to see the score lines in my picture but hopefully you will get the idea from it.

 Fold along score lines so that it makes an "M".

 Taking a piece of 5-1/2"x 4-1/4" coordinating cardstock and cut in half at 2-1/8".

 On left side of cuts, begin weaving one strip of the Marina Mist cardstock over, under, over under through the left side cuts.

 Then take the other piece and begin under, over, under, over until your card looks like this.

 Cut four pieces of Whisper White cardstock that measure 2" x 1-1/8".  Stamp images on these.

 Turn card around so you have a gate fold front.  Attach stamped images and stamp other sentiments inside

 Fold up as shown above and grab ahold of the green pieces on the left and right side of the middle fold.

 Pull outward to show center of card. 

Decorate the card with the other two stamped images and any other stamping you wish to do.

Decorate the front of the card.  If you attach ribbon like I did, do not put it all the way around the card because it will stop the card from working properly.  Just adhere it behind the matting of your front images.  Good luck - it is such a cool card!

Stampin' Up!'s Aviary Stamp Set...

Today's card is from a workshop this past weekend where we did the Magic Ink Background technique.  Check back in a couple of weeks on Technique Tuesday for how to do this technique.  This particular card does not highlight the technique as well as the card I did for the technique. 
The colors used on this card are Pumpkin Pie and Melon Mambo - definitely spring colors!  What a bright and cheerful card to give to your mother on her special day!

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

Who wouldn't love receiving such a bright and cheerful Thank You card?  Again, we made this card at the Necessities Bag fundraiser.  It was the perfect opportunity to use some of my retired materials.  I really miss the Raspberry Tart designer series paper but you can use any bright and cheerful paper for this card.

Stampin' Up!'s Growing Green stamp set...

Do you ever find that there was a set in the catalog that you overlooked until someone mentions it or you see a card made with it and all of a sudden you are in love?  A fellow demonstrator, Aimee Wayment, put out an email to a group of us to see if someone had this set that she could borrow.  At the time I didn't have it but then looked at it and ended up ordering it.  I made this card for the Necessities Bay fundraising workshop and I love the simplicity of it.  The image was stamped three times without reinking.  This card also gave me a chance to pull out the Top Note die again.  The sentiment comes from Thank You Kindly - a set that I use all the time...

Stampin' Up!'s Sweet Summer set....

Today's card uses items found in my "retired" stuff.  First, the stamp set is "Sweet Summer" which was a Sale-A-Bration stamp set and the DSP is a couple years old but you could use any stripe if you wanted to CASE this card like I did.  Thank you Janice Urke for the inspiration!  See, even I go out to other stampers' blogs and get inspiration from them! This is another card that was made at the Necessities Bag fundraising workshop I hosted on the 9th.   Welcome Spring!!!

Technique Tuesday - Pigment Pastels

Today I am going to show you a technique using your Stampin' Up! White Craft ink and Stampin' Up!'s Pastels.  You will need:

White Craft Ink
Stampin' Up! Pastels
Aqua Painter
Basic Black Classic Ink
Heat Tool
Detailed Image Stamp

First, stamp your image on your cardstock using the Basic Black Classic Ink and heat set.

 Next, take your Aqua Painter and pick up ink from your White Craft Ink Pad.

 Color areas of your image that you want DARKER than others.  Once you have colored all areas, heat set.  Make sure you clean your Aqua Painter right away to remove any Craft Ink.

 Color your image using Stampin' Up! Pastels.  You will begin to see that the areas that you colored with the white craft ink stay darker after you are done.

 This technique works best using the darker pastels.

Here's my card that I made using this technique.  Hope you enjoyed it!