Sketch Challenge 4X4 Card

That new Sending Love DP is so sparkly and pretty that I want to make sure I use every little scrap, which is just what I did with this card. The sketch is from Our Creative Corner -- I simply turned it on its side for this 4X4 square card.

After tearing my DP and adhering it to the base, I layered a Very Vanilla oval (formed using my Large Oval Punch and sponged with Rich Razzleberry and Pretty in Pink) underneath an "On Board" chipboard oval covered in DP with the edges softened by my Sanding Block. A sweet daisy and creamy half pearl from my Pretties Kit are popped up with a Stampin' Up! dimensional.

My sentiment is from the Tiny Tags clear-mount stamp set, easily created with my new Tiny Tag punch. A little snip of silver cord tops it off.

Remember that Sale-a-Bration is going on,
with free goodies for every $50 you spend.

Here's the sketch if you want to give it a try. Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

Make a Difference in Haiti!

From now until February 28, 2010, for every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set you buy, Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The stamps are available with sentiments in English, Spanish, or French.

I {Heart} Hearts - clear-mount, Item #118571, $18.95

I {Heart} Hearts - wood-mount, Item # 117010, $26.95


Help to make a difference -- you can order the I{Heart} Hearts stamp set and other lovely Stampin' Up! delights online 24-7 through my online website.

Sending Love Mason Jar

Time for some Valentine's Day preparations -- soon this will be filled with dark chocolates and taken into the office to share with colleagues. I wanted to play along with the Pals Paper Arts challenge, which was to make anything *but* a card. As soon as I opened up my pack of the new Sending Love Designer Paper from the Occasions Catalog I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it!

For my hanging tag, I stamped the intricate heart from my "Always" stamp set in Very Vanilla craft ink, sprinkled it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder and embossed it with my trusty Heat Tool. After cutting it out, I distressed the edges with my Distressing Tool, then layered another heart stamped on a different sheet of DP behind it to give it more dimension.

Then I just started punching and layering hearts all over. For the gold heart, I took one of my "On Board Hearts" chipboard pieces, covered it in Versamark, poured Gold Stampin' Emboss powder and heat embossed it -- it's super shiny in real life.

For my lid, I simply layered circles, then stamped the new Tiny Tag stamp in Real Red and layered two hearts on top of it. The new Tiny Tag punch and Little Heart punch are also both in the Occasions catalog in the new sleeker (i.e. take up so much less space) punch design. Some sweet pink taffeta ribbon and gold cording add a finishing touch.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping!!

all Stampin' Up! supplies available 24/7 through my demonstrator website!

Sponging Technique Video

Hi friends!! I haven't had a chance to do much stamping the last few days but I did find this great sponging tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers which I thought you might find helpful. Sponging can make a dramatic difference in the look and texture of a card, as you'll clearly see in this excellent video. Hope you enjoy it!

Oh yeah, and here's a peek at why I haven't been doing much stamping -- having too much fun with the new kittens. :-)



Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Vintage Cottage Wall

Stamps: Vintage Labels, Eight Great Greetings, Short & Sweet
Paper: Cottage Wall Designer Paper, Rich Razzleberry card stock, Whisper White card
Ink: Rich Razzleberry marker, Versamark for embossing
Embellishments: White 1/4" ribbon, White embossing powder
Tools: Scallop Border Punch, Large Oval Punch, Heat Tool
Etc.: SU! dimensionals, Snail Adhesive

Got on a roll with the Cottage Wall designer paper -- told you you'd be seeing it again. :-) This card features the new Vintage Labels stamp set from the Sale-a-Bration catalog (meaning it's FREE with any $50 purchase) along with the neat line art hearts from Eight Great Greetings. I gave a bit of extra dimension to my oval by layering two together to add depth. Next time I have to remember to use my Embossing Buddy to remove the static from the paper before pouring on the embossing powder -- you can see a few stray flecks...

Thanks for looking and happy stamping!

all Stampin' Up! supplies available 24/7 through my demonstrator website!

Friend to Friend

Happy weekend, everyone! Kids out with Dad means a little stamp time for Mom, LOL! For this thank you card, I used the Cottage Wall Designer Paper for my birds and branches as well as my layered sentiment (I have a feeling you'll see more of this paper in my Valentine's -- coordinates with Rich Razzleberry and Orchid Opulence) . I absolutely love the new Bird punch from the Spring Occasions catalog, not only for its beauty but also for its sleek, streamlined shape, making storage a snap.

The "friend to friend" stamp is from Pocket Silhouettes and fit perfectly with my little birdies. I used a sponge dauber to add a little Rich Razzleberry to the image, and wrapped it in Rich Razzleberry ribbon.

Thanks for looking and hope you get a chance to enjoy some stamping therapy this weekend too!

all Stampin' Up! supplies available 24/7 through my demonstrator website!

Thanks "For All You Do"

Continuing on with the thank you notes for Christmas. This one uses the "For All You Do" stamp set. I love it because it has a range of stamps, including background, nature, butterfly, and sentiment -- sort of the whole kit-n-caboodle, which makes it easy when I don't feel like scrounging around in my collection, LOL.

I stamped the butterfly image in Versamark, sprinkled on my Heat & Stick Powder, hit it with my Heat Tool, applied Dazzling Diamonds liberally, and zapped it again with the Heat Tool to make it adhere. Then I just snipped it out and popped it up with two SU! Dimensionals. Voila!

Here's a close up of the sentiment, made extra purty by lots of layers made super easy with my SU! Punches -- base is Scalloped Oval, then Small Oval, then Modern Label, and finally I stamped the sentiment in Not Quite Navy and used the Word Window punch. A few stamps of the pretty little flower from the set and it was good to go.
SUPPLIES:
Paper: Bella Bleu Designer Paper; Card Stock in Very Vanilla, Kraft, Old Olive
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, Versamark
Tools: Punches: Scalloped Oval, Small Oval, Modern Label, Word Window; Heat Tool; Heat & Stick Powder; Dazzling Diamonds
Embellishments: Very Vanilla 1/4" ribbon

My New Stamping Studio!!

It was time... in fact, more than time... that I found a real retreat space for creativity and stamping. My boys are old enough that I no longer feel compelled to stamp in the playroom basement with them, so I commandeered a spare bedroom (used to be the nursery, sniff sniff...) and put together a nice space where I can stamp solo or with a friend, listen to my music (no more Star Wars or Kidz Bop!), and spread out. Take a look! Baskets were 50% off at Michael's (plus a 20% coupon) as were the cube organizers. I'll probably move them around as I continue to get used to the layout, but I think for now it's pretty darn wonderful!!

A Few Thank You Notes

We had such a wonderful Christmas and so many friends and family to thank for making it special. My first two cards were especially fun to make because I "deconstructed" the main images from an old Christmas card that my parents up in Maine had sent to me. Those little loons that I cut out made their way to two separate cards and are now *back* up to my parents in slightly different shape, LOL. The Stampin' Up! designer paper is retired "Cerise" -- I had some scraps I was determined to use up before starting with new red paper for Valentine's Day. Use what you got, that's my motto! :-)

Here are a few more cards I put together. Thanks for looking!

Happy New Year Stamp Friends!

I hope that 2010 brings each of you many good things, including time for Stamping Therapy! To help you out in this area, of course there's a new Occasions Mini Catalog which you can download from the Stampin' Up! website.

To further the addiction (and mine, LOL!), it's also time for the annual Sale-a-Bration promotion where if you spend $50 in SU! merchandise (pre-shipping and tax) you can earn one FREE product of your choice from the Sale-a-Bration catalog (and as a bonus, they've also added a bunch of stamps from the main catalog that you can select from as well!!) There's no limit to the number of great Sale-a-Bration products you can earn.

So what's stopping you? It's time to shop! :-)