Technique Tuesday Bonus!!! - Punched Tulip....

Here's your bonus Technique Tuesday!  Here's how to make a spring tulip using the Build A Blossom, Owl & Bird punches.

 You will need the three punches, some ink, a post it note and a sponge.  Using the Build a Blossom punch, punch two large leaves from Old Olive cardstock and one large leaf from Daffodil Delight cardstock.  Using the Owl Punch, punch one owl out of Daffodil Delight cardstock.  Finally, punch the twig from the Bird Punch out of Old Olive cardstock.

 Cut the feet off the Owl and sponge the edges of the cardstock.

 Sponge the edges of the Daffodil Delight large leaf and attach it to the front of the owl piece.  Trim off the little tip of the leaf.

 Your tulip will look like this.

 Attach your twig to the back of the tulip as shown.

 Cut a strip off your post it note and attach it to the side of one of the Old Olive leaves as shown.

 Insert back into the large leaf area of the Build a Blossom punch but place it so you get the curve on the leaf as shown.  Repeat this with the other leaf and attach to the stem.

Here's my card which incorporates the Framed Tulip embossing folder and the punched tulip.  Hope you enjoyed your bonus today!

Technique Tuesday - Framed Tulips Embossing Folder & Punch Tulip....

Today's technique shows you how to use the Framed Tulips Embossing Folder on pieces of cardstock which are not the exact size of the embossing folder.  The card that I made also uses three punches to make a tulip flower so there will be two techniques today but they will be in separate posts.

 For the Framed Tulip Embossing Folder technique, you will need a piece of cardstock, the embossing folder and your Big Shot.  You will not be able to dictate the exact measurements of your finished piece so cut a piece a bit larger than your desired size.  The end result will be within about 1/4"-1/2" of your desired size.

 Place your cardstock in the folder in the top left position in the embossing folder.

Place it in your Big Shot and run it through.

 You will end up with the embossing on two sides of your cardstock.  Place your cardstock in the bottom right of the embossing folder.

 Close the folder and turn it over and make sure that the embossed cardstock is lined up perfectly in the embossing folder as shown above.

 Place in the Big Shot but only run through part of the way - just enough to emboss across the bottom of the cardstock.

 Your cardstock will now be embossed on three sides.  Again line up your cardstock with the embossing folder.

 Run again through your Big Shot only far enough to emboss the final edge.

 Your cardstock will then look something like this.  You can see in the bottom left corner, the embossing does not look right.  We will fix that now.  The other three sides should look right.

 Align the cardstock up with the corner that needs correcting in the bottom of the embossing folder.

 Make sure it lines up properly on both sides as show above.

 Turn your embossing folder sideways and run into your Big Shot just enough to emboss the corner.

 Trim off any excess edge on the cardstock.

Your finished embossing folder will look like this.  Give it a try and be patient.  It may take a couple of tries before you get it right.  Look for my next post today to make this tulip flower to put on your card.

Stampin' Up!'s Baroque Motifs & Perfect Punches stamp sets...

Today's card uses the swirl stamp from Baroque Motifs stamped in Daffodil Delight on Daffodil Delight cardstock.  The strip of cardstock is from the Presto Patterns Specialty designer paper.  I colored it with black ink and wiped the embossed image off with a lightly dampened paper towel.  The border along the bottom was made by placing the paper in the Curly Label punch but only about 1/2" into the punch starting on the left.  I then moved over and aligned the left side of the punch with the edge of the cardstock and continued to punch across.  I used a pencil on the bottom of my punch so I kept the cardstock straight.  I think it turned out pretty cool.

Stampin' Up!'s Build A Blossom set and punch....

This card was one I designed for using at an upcoming breast cancer fundraiser that I am cohosting with one of my customers.  Karen has graciously opened her home to raise funds for Necessities Bags Sacramento.  I met Karen at a previous cardmaking fundraiser for the organization and she was excited to do one as well.  The card uses some old DSP from the Spring mini catalog but it can be substituted with any of a number of current papers. 

Another card inspired by Stampin' Success Magazine Using Strength & Hope....

Ah, a stamp set dear to my heart!  This card uses the butterfly from the Strength & Hope stamp set which is featured in the Summer Mini Catalog.  Stampin' Up! is donating $2 for each stamp set sold to the Breast Cancer Research Fund which is such a generous thing to do, especially in this economy.  Click on my Shop Stampin' Up! Now! link on the right and order your stamp set today and know that you have helped find a cure for this disease.
The card is made with So Saffron, Peach Parfait and Baja Breeze ink on a base of Blushing Bride cardstock with a Blushing Bride ribbon.  Rhinestone jewels add a little bing to the card.

Inspired by Stampin' Up!'s Stampin' Success Magazine....

This card was inspired by one featured in a recent issue of Stampin' Up!'s Stampin' Success magazine.   It is a very simple card but it sure uses a lot of items - an embossing folder, a texturz plate, an sizzlet, a Bigz die, a punch, a brad, solid cardstock, designer series paper and a stamp!  Wow!

Technique Tuesday - Felt Ink Pad Technique....

Today's technique is the felt ink pad technique.  This technique works great when you want areas of a stamp to be colored differently but you don't want to use markers.  It works best with images that have good separation between the different colors.

 Here's what you need:
      Stamp set - I used Funky Four
      StazOn ink - the color doesn't matter
      Reinkers - multiple colors (I used Pumpkin Pie, More
                           Mustard, Chocoloate Chip & Old Olive)
      Felt
      Cardstock to stamp on

 Ink your image with the StazOn ink and stamp onto the felt.  Clean your stamp.

 Your felt will then look like this.  If you are not using a clear mount, you may want to trace around the outside edge of your wood block with a Sharpie on the felt so you can align it better later in the technique.

Place a piece of plastic, wax paper or cling wrap under your grid paper so you don't get ink on your table or wherever you are working.  Using a reinker, color over the first portion of the image.

 Repeat the process using the other color reinkers on the felt.

 Take your stamp and press it onto the felt lining up the image so you get each color ink on the various portions of the stamp.

Remove from felt and stamp onto your cardstock.

 Your stamped image will look like this.  Since the felt holds the ink, you can make several images before you need to reink the felt.

Here's my card using this technique.  It is a simple technique but very effective!

Stampin' Up!'s Elegant Always stamp set....

Did you get this stamp set free during Sale-A-Bration like I did?  If so, or if you had this set already, pull it out and try this cool technique and card.  I stamped the image with Versamark ink and embossed it with white embossing powder on one oval and with black embossing powder on another oval.  I then cut the pieces down the center and then switched them up to get the black/white combination which is a hot technique right now. 
To make sure that the two embossed images lined up, I traced around the first oval on my grid paper so I could place the second oval in the exact same location.  I then used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to place the image in the correct location on the oval.  I left the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig in place for the second oval.  All I had to do was to place the oval in the exact spot again which was easy since I had outlined it with the first one. 
The other trick I used was with the Word Window Punch.  I wanted my sentiment to be matted but there isn't another punch to work with the Word Window punch so I made my own.  I punched out a piece of Basic Gray cardstock and a piece of Basic Black cardstock with the Word Window punch.  I then cut the Basic Gray piece in half and attached it to the back of the sentiment leaving about an 1/8" showing on either end.  I then took the Basic Black piece and cut it lengthwise down the center.  I then attached these to the back leaving about an 1/8" showing.  I think it mats the sentiment really well, don't you think?

Stampin' Up!'s Fifth Avenue Floral and new embossing powders....

Today's card is another one from Connie's recent workshop.  I chose to highlight the new Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo and Tangerine Tango embossing powders from the new Summer Mini Catalog.  Here's how to recreate these beautiful flowers:
First, go to Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors Ice Cream.  Trust me, there's a reason!  Ask for a taste of any one of their ice cream flavors and hang onto that little spoon!  It is the perfect size for picking up small amounts of embossing powder which is exactly what you need to do next for this card.
Once you are home after having that double scoop of Pralines & Cream or whatever your favorite flavor is, stamp your image with versamark ink.
Next, take that little B&R spoon and scoop out a little of the Melon Mambo embossing powder and drop a little bit on three different spots on the stamped flower.  The amount should be about the size of an eraser head.  Next repeat with the Tangerine Tango and Wild Wasabi embossing powders.
Finally, tilt your paper around in several directions until the entire stamped image has been covered with the embossing powder.  Shake off the excess and use your heat gun to emboss.
This technique would also be cool with silver, gold and black embossing powders.

Technique Tuesday - Criss Cross Card....

Today I am going to teach you how to make a Criss Cross card.  They are really easy and are great for a card and a gift certificate or gift card.  Here's what you will need:
Wild Wasabi cardstock cut to 4 1/4"x11" and scored at 5 1/2"  (You need 2 of these)
Beyond the Garden DSP cut to 4"x5"
Pacific Point cardstock cut to 3 3/4"x 5 1/4" (for insert)
Whisper White cardstock cut to 3 1/2" x 5" (for insert)
So Saffron cardstock cut to 1 1/2" x 12 and score at 5 5/8" and 11 1/4" (for band)
Corner Rounder for Insert
Ribbon - I used Pacific Point retired ribbon - I hope Stampin' Up! offers some in this color in the new catalog!
Round Tab Punch
Flower Brad
Sticky Strip Adhesive
Whisper White cardstock for image
Melon Mambo embossing powder and VersaMark ink
Wild Wasabi Classic Ink
Fabulous Florets stamp set

 First, cut one of the Wild Wasabi pieces from the middle score line out to the bottom left corner.  Next, cut the other Wild Wasabi piece from the middle score line out to the bottom right corner.

 Fold along score line and place adhesive to the rectangle section of one of the two pieces making sure that the points are at the bottom.

Stack the rectangle portion of the two pieces so they adhere together.

 Cut the Designer Series Paper on the diagonal.  Adhere to the front corners of your card with alternating patterns on the two sides.  See the finished card if this doesn't make sense.

 Attach Sticky Strip along the bottom of the rectangle and fold in the right side and adhere.

 Attach Sticky Strip to the left side along bottom and approximately 2" up the diagonal side.  You may want to measure this.  You do not want it to adhere to the inside of the card.

 Fold left side and adhere to front of card.

 Corner round the top of the insert Pacific Point and Whisper White cardstock.  Ink image and "stamp off" once and then stamp image onto Whisper White cardstock.

 My finished card has the bottom end of the band punched with the Eyelet Border punch but my pictures were taken before I did that so if you like that look, make sure you punch the border before you fold and adhere the band together.  (Again, technical difficulties with my camera caused this confusion - hopefully it will be solved soon!)  Fold band along score lines and adhere with short tab on the inside.  You  make want to check to make sure the band will slide onto your card before you adhere it together.

 Attach ribbon and tie knot.  Slide band onto card and embellish as desired.

 Here's my card all finished.  I added the Round Tab from Wild Wasabi cardstock, using one of the pieces that was trimmed off the card as well as the embossed flower and one of the flower brads.

Stampin' Up!'s Medallion Stamp....

Did you miss me the last few days?  Every time I tried to log onto my blog to update it, the site was down for maintenance!  But I am back with today's card which came from my friend Connie's workshop last week.  This card is made using the Joseph's Coat Inside Out tehnique.  Quite a name, don't you think?
The card is made using the swirl from the Baroque Motifs stamp set and the Medallion stamp set.  The technique is down on my list for an upcoming Technique Tuesday but if you can't wait, you can find the technique out on the internet.  The picture doesn't really do the card justice....
Supplies:
     Cajun Craze cardstock for the card
     Cherry Cobbler cardstock for the matting
     Whisper White cardstock for the technique
     Inks:  Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Bravo Burgundy, Early
                 Espresso, Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie
     Clear embossing powder
     Versamark ink
     Seam binding ribbon - crumb cake
     Oval All stamp set for the sentiment
     Early Espresso & Cherry Cobbler markers for the sentiment
     Oval and Scallop Oval punches
     Crumb Cake and Early Espresso cardstock for the sentiment
     Sponge daubers