Big Deal Alphabet

I'm in an online swap group and we also do 1 to 1 "challenges" based on a theme. A few weeks ago the challenge was to make a card with a word or words as the focal image of the composition. The person assigned to send me a card was Leigh O'Brien and here is the card she sent me! Aren't I the fortunate one!Leigh's card uses SU's Big Deal Alphabet (set of 24, pg. 193) and Wonderful Words (set of 4, pg. 184). She shadowed her letters with Sahara Sand ink and an AquaPainter™ to give them depth. The scallops were made with the Slit Punch, punched with the 1/4" circle punch, then outlined with the white Signo Gel Pen. The little flowers are from the Just Delightful Simply Scrapping Kit™ that was available as a Sell-A-Bration set, now retired. Leigh sketched the black lines around the white layer by hand using a black Journaling Maker™. Doesn't that add a lot and make the composition pop?! The Bashful Blue background was embossed with a mechanical embossing machine. All products Stampin' Up!™ except the embossing machine.
I was thrilled when I received this wonderful card from Leigh; she is quite an artist!

Wishing you a GOOD day!

Doodle This!

I'm finally getting to make some things with my Doodle This set from the Spring mini catalog! I love this set... it is so much fun with it's whimsical swirls and flowers!

This is a 5 1/4" square card which fits into Stampin' Up!'s™ square envelopes. On the white card base, I layered Tempting Turquoise stamped in Taken with Teal with another swirly stamp from the set. The main images were stamped in Black Staz-On ink for permanent non-bleeding lines when watercoloring, then using my Watercolor Crayons and AquaPainter™ I added the colors. I also stamped, colored and cut out two smaller flowers from the Doodle That set and added them with Dimensionals™. This piece was layered on Taken With Teal and embellished with Certainly Celery grosgrain. All products from Stampin' Up!™

Isn't this a spring-y color scheme? However, it looks great with a multitude of other colors including the darker ones! We will be able to use this versatile set for cards, 3-D projects, scrapbooking... no limit!

Guess the weather put me in the spring-time mood! I just happened to have some little chocolate eggs on the table where I usually take these pictures and thought they matched quite well! Have a good day!

Tags So Much mint boxes

I was having guests for dinner last weekend and wanted some little individual Easter decoration at each plate. Then I remembered I have this cute little bunny juggling eggs in the Tags So Much Hostess set! I figured out the dimensions and made these little boxes to hold after-dinner mints in a variety of SU's Soft Subtles cardstock colors. I colored the bunnies with markers then added a little green at their feet with blender pen and ink from the stamp pad lid. I used both the small and regular tag punches to punch them out and adhere them to the front of the boxes. They were quick and easy to make!

I'm so thankful for the rain! Have a great day!

Big Blooms

Here is another card I made at the SU demo meeting in Texas two weekends ago using Big Blooms from the Spring Mini catalog. Bold, fresh and fun for spring, this set brings impact to your stamping projects! This card uses one of my favorite colors this past year, Cool Caribbean. The background was stamped with the same color ink for some visual texture . The sentiment from Simple Sayings II (set of 4, p. 184) was partially inked, omitting the "smile" word, then stamped on the white cardstock. This was then layered on Chocolate Chip and tied with chocolate grosgrain ribbon.
The bloom was stamped in So Saffron and cut out. One flower of the trio of flowers stamp from the set was inked in Cool Caribbean, stamped on white then stamped with the "smile" portion of the sentiment stamp. This bloom was then punched with the 1 1/4" circle punch, layered on a Chocolate 1 3/8" circle and attached to the center of the Saffron bloom. The resulting flower was attached to the front of the card with a Dimensional. Whew! This was a lot easier to make than to describe! : ) Actually it's a pretty quick and easy card and fun to give or receive!

Hope you've had an enjoyable weekend. They never seem to last long enough! : )

And the winners...

In my general email late last Thursday night, I announced that the first five people who left a comment on my blog would receive a hand-stamped card from me. Just for the record, my purpose was not to ask for compliments (how embarassing!! : O) but in hopes that you would explore that tool for asking questions or perhaps share something also. Also, I love to know who is reading the blog.

Now, the first five people to leave comments were.... (drum roll....) Donna A, Jan A, Darlene S, Diane S and Elizabeth R!! Congrats! I'll have your cards ready this week! And thanks to all who participated!

Glorious Gift!

Glorious Gift! That's the name of this set from the Spring Mini Catalog that is perfect for Easter greetings! I love the "handwriting" font in which this verse from the set is written.

Stampin' Up!™ colors used are Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, Pink Passion and a touch of Lovely Lilac. Watercolor paper was used for the central image. It was spritzed with water before stamping, stamped, allowed to dry and then overstamped with the same image in the same color. The word stamp was then stamped in Basic Black over all.

The full card base of Apricot Appeal was stamped with Fine Lace background in Apricot Appeal then layered over a single layer of Certainly Celery; that's why in the picture the border looks uneven at the upper right and on the open side. I used the tag punch on the top two layers then added Apricot brads from the Soft Subtles assortment to each corner. The Horizontal Slit Punch was used on each side of the Apricot front to make a "notch" for the ribbon; this also allowed the narrow white organdy ribbon to go through the fold of the card and around the back, coming up the other side. The loop of ribbon in the lower front is not connected to the card. ☺

Have a wonderful day! Easter Celebration is only two and a half weeks away!

Happy First Day of Spring!

Happy First Day of Spring to everyone!  We expected Spring Showers today but none materialized here at my house anyway.  This did allow me to get some plants in the flowerbeds and pots however.  Hope you have a wonderful spring!

Recollections Gift Bag

Yesterday I promised you a picture of the gift bag that completes my gift ensemble so here it is! If you didn't visit this weekend these posts will be out of order but that's okay.

Now, the bag. Fortunately I found I already had the perfect cranberry colored gift bag in my stash! Sweet! Then I cut a couple of 3/4" strips of Recollections designer paper and applied them about 1/2" below the top edge of the bag with Stampin' Up! Glue Stick™. I love this stuff for paper to paper applications! I then measured, marked and punched two 1/8" holes, threaded wide olive organdy ribbon through and tied a bow.

Usually when you give or receive a gift, you have to politely rummage around in the sack looking for the card to read before you can open the gift, thereby prolonging the wait! ☺ Instead, use your card not only for the greeting but for decoration as well! Here I cut the top from a Stampin' Up!™ Clear Envelope, added Sticky Strip™ super-adhesive tape to the back of it, applied it to my bag and inserted my card! Viola! Double-Duty for your artwork! And no more searching around in the sack for the card! A unique presentation, and your friends will think you're so clever!

Looks like we have rain the forecast! Take your umbrella so you won't melt!
Margaret

Recollections DVD tin gift set

Here's what I've been working on this weekend: a gift for a friend. I used designer paper to decorate a DVD tin, pen, birthday card and the gift bag. I'll have a picture of the gift bag tomorrow.
Recollections designer paper; Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Cranberry Crisp and Very Vanilla cardstocks; Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke and Cranberry Crisp Classic inks were all used on the tin and card. A ballpoint pen has matching designer paper added to the clear barrel as well as moss grosgrain and cranberry stitched grosgrain ribbons to accent. The greeting on the card was punched with the Keytag punch then layered.

The inside of the tin has the left side lined with the designer paper and a pocket for holding notes, receipts, stamps, etc. In the pocket is a little file folder I made with cardstock and added a tab made with the new Rounded Tab Punch and stamped with "Daily Notes" from the Office Accoutrement set. The tin also contains a jr. legal pad and the embellished ballpoint pen. Click on the picture to see a larger picture.

Sets used for this project include Letterpress Alphabet, swirls from Delight in Life, Simple Salutations for the greeting, Office Accoutrement, It's Your Birthday and the leaf stamp from Carte' Postale (Winter Mini catalog).

These tins are great to carry in bag or car so you always have clean paper to jot down memos, notes, lists... Tomorrow I'll show the gift bag and a unique way to present the card accompanying the gift.

Take care and stamp a little... it's fun and therapeutic!

Can you guess...

...what's in these? They are clever little holders; each is made in a different fashion, but they are equally effective in presenting a little something just to say "you're special" or "thinking of you"! Continue for the answers....

Did you guess right? Gum and candy!! Aren't these just the cutest?! Just the right size to lay on someone's desk at the office or slip in an envelope with a birthday or thinking of you card! Two of these were made and given to me by demo friends and the brown & white Au Chocolat designer paper gum holder was one of the shoebox swaps that I made last weekend! How fun and E-Z to make and what great presentation! I love doing fun things like this in my home workshops (parties)! Such fun!

Thanks for coming by! Have a great Saturday and Sunday!

Doodle This!

Do you Doodle? Do you sit and draw swirls and squiggles while talking on the phone or watching TV? This swirly, free, breezy style is really the "in" trend now in the papercrafting world!! It's also part of the "Bohemian" style that you may hear or read about that is so popular!


Doodle This! (set of 5, Spring Mini) Another card I made at the meeting in Texas last weekend! There are so many different looks you can get from this one set, it's amazing! Gable Green and Bashful Blue paired together are so fitting for spring and the use of the black accent just pops the light colors, don't you think?

The swirls were stamped on the Bashful Blue background in the same color ink for a subtle look. The big flower was stamped in Basic Black then can be colored in with the either the AquaPainter™ or marker. SU Liquid Glue was dotted on the little circles on the petals and Dazzling Diamonds™ added for sparkle! A white grosgrain tie finishes it off! Greeting is from Warmest Regards (set of 6), a current Level I Hostess set.

This is a simple and fast card to make, but fun and attractive. Good when you need a quick card!

Have a sunny day!

Polka Dots and Paisley & Petals Paper

Polka Dots and Paisley is the stamp set that Stampin' Up!™ so generously gave all their demonstrators, mailing it to each one of us right before Christmas! For free! What a lovely surprise! I love great surprises, like free stamps!☺

I just love this new Petals Designer Paper with the Polka Dots and Paisley set! (well, of course it was designed that way! ☺) There are twelve different designs, two of each in the package of twelve sheets! Just a little piece of it can make all the difference in a project by accenting it and pulling it all together! And another benefit is you don't have to stress over a color scheme ...just use the colors in the paper and you have it done in no time!! E-Z!!

The pink flower is covered with Dazzling Diamonds for some bling and the white Signo gel pen was used to accent each paisley. The "Friend" stamp is from Everyday Flexible Phrases.

Both the Polka Dots and Paisley stamp set and the Petals paper are part of the Spring Fever Special this month!

That's Nice!

The new Spring Mini has several new "word" sets; one of these is That's Nice, which has four large stamps in it. I used the "Friends" stamp to make this card in pink and black. The Pretty in Pink background is rolled with Going Gray using the Kindness wheel.

Oh, you say, how did I do the perforating on the left side of the words? With the cool new Spiral Punch just available in the Spring Mini!! You can make things look like they are torn out of a spiral notebook, or, even better, you can make pages to ADD to the spiral notebook! Sweet!

Finishing touches are the black and white gingham ribbon and the "Thanks so Much" from Riveting, a Level 1 Hostess set. I stamped it then punched it with our 1 1/4" circle punch then layered it on black punched with our 1 3/8" circle punch. I stamped another "Thanks" on a scrap of white then punched the center flower out with the 1/2" circle punch and layered it on top using a Dimentional™. Using the 2-Way Glue Pen™, I added glue just to the top flower circle and covered it with Dazzling Diamonds™ glitter for a touch of bling!

Hostess sets are available only for hostessing a workshop. However this can be either an in-home workshop, a personal order of $150. or more, or a "catalog" party where you collect orders from yourself and your friends to equal $150 or more and YOU earn the free hostess set AND the free merchandise! Cool way to get free stamps and products!

There is another new punch in the Spring Mini that I'm excited about and we'll be using in my spring workshops! Maybe tomorrow...

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Doodle This!

Doodles, swirls, curves, dots, the Bohemian look are all the current trend in stamping and scrapbooking. Doodle This has it all! This lovely line art is so free and airy. You are going to love this look; it's a perfect breath of freshness for your spring stamping and scrapping projects!

On the background you see one of the swirls from this set stamped tone on tone. The doodled flower gives a pretty focal point, especially with the center highlighted with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. Wide white organdy ribbon repeats the airy look of this composition. A great card for a friendly pick-me-up to send to someone who needs it. (This is another card from my Texas meeting).

Doodle This (set of 5) is one of the cool new sets in the Spring Mini Catalog. Access it online by clicking on the Stampin' Up!™ link in the right-hand column.

Office Accoutrement

I'm happy to be back! After I got well last week I headed down to the Dallas area for a Stampin' Up! demonstrators get together on Saturday! We got to hear a great demonstrator from San Diego, saw some cool projects demonstrated and then participated in a shoebox swap. No, we didn't swap shoeboxes ☺ but we each took all the ingredients and tools for a card in a shoebox-size container and got to stamp each other's projects! Fun, fun!! So NOW I have some new cards to share with you!

Office Accoutrement is one of the sets in the fab new Spring Mini Catalog! An embellished "office" look is very big in papercrafting now and this set has many components that are perfect for it! On this card only the large flower from this set was used but you'll be seeing more of it and it's coordinating designer paper Notations on future projects. You may recognize our Spring Flowers designer paper on the left side of this card and the French Script stamped on the right background. The large flower was stamped in Chocolate Chip on White cardstock and cut out. After adding cardstock circles punched with SU's 1/2" and 3/4" punches and affixed to the center with a copper brad, it was mounted to the layers with Dimensionals. This was a really easy card to make and it went together quickly! Love that!

You can see the rest of the stamps in this set in the Spring Mini Catalog online. Just click on the Stampin' Up! link in the right-hand column of my blog under "Links" . Or you can drop by and pick one up from me, or contact me.

Have a great day! I see sunshine peeking through my window!

Polka Dots and Paisley

I hope to have the energy to stamp some later today. However, in the meantime, I have a couple of beautiful cards my daughter Robin made that I'm tickled to get to share with you.

FREE stamps! Gotta' love that! This set, Polka Dots and Paisley (set of 6) was sent as a surprise Christmas gift to all demonstrators in December! How generous is that?! It is now in our Spring Mini Catalog for everyone to love!

This is also the set featured in Stampin' Up!'s current Spring Fever Special! When you order this set, the coordinating Petals jumbo wheel and the Petals and Paisleys Double-Sided Designer Paper, you may purchase ANY set in the Spring Mini catalog at HALF PRICE!! What a GREAT sale! (and there are some wonderful new sets in there!)

Robin used four of the six stamps in the set: the paisley for the background, polka dots stamp for the Old Olive band, and the two step flower stamp for the main image. The "Happy Birthday" greeting is from It's Your Birthday (set of 9). The narrow olive organdy ribbon is the perfect finishing touch! This is a great card for a birthday or the greeting could be changed to fit any number of other occasions! Hmm, I may have to "CASE" this (copy and share everything)! ☺

For more information on the Spring Fever Special or any of these products, check out http://www.stampinup.com All products ©Stampin' Up!

Doodle That!

Doodling is very "in" in the world of scrapbooking and stamping: lots of swirls and squiggles looking breezy and fun!

This card is made with Doodle That, one of the fun new sets from the Spring Mini Catalog! Robin used Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal and Vintage Violet cardstocks. Notice the white doodling around the Violet piece that she did with the White Signo Gel Pen (isn't that just the BEST pen?!) which is also reflected in the white stitched violet grosgrain ribbon. By the way, even though this ribbon isn't in the current mini catalog, Stampin' Up! has announced it is still available for order in all three colors (violet, cranberry, thyme)! I'm so glad as I just love that stitched look which is so trendy right now.

She stamped the background diagonally in celery with one of the stamps in the set which is simple but very effective and repeated that behind the focal flower image. The Happy Birthday greeting from the Pretty Princess set coordinates well with this style!

I'm so proud of Robin for being the person she is; she's a great mom, wife and also stamper! I just wish she didn't live so far away so we could visit and stamp together more, but we do every chance we get!

Thanks, Robin, for being my Featured Stamper today and sharing your artwork with us!!

If you need any more information about the ribbon or other items, please contact me at funstampin@cox.net .
All products ©Stampin' Up!

Coming soon...

Sorry for the gap in posts; we've been out of town Thursday through Sunday night. Unfortunately I picked up a "bug" and got quite sick while gone. I had planned to stamp something new to post today but haven't had the energy so hopefully will soon! The new Spring Mini is amazing and filled with wonderful sets and accessories. I'm so eager to share them with you! Stay tuned, and thanks so much for dropping by. Hope YOU stay well!

You can view the Spring Mini Catalog online at www.stampinup.com