Halloween RAK (Random Act of Kindness)

I received this cute Halloween card in the mail from an online friend and fellow Stampin' Up! demo, Jane Giggy. Thanks Jane, for thinking of me and sending me one of your cute cards! Jane used the fabulous Big Shot die cutting machine and the Top Note Bigz© die for the black background and the Sizzix pumpkin die, which cuts and scores at the same time, for the pumpkin.

It's always so enjoyable to receive fun mail! Thanks so much, Jane! You brightened my day!

Margaret

Big Shot Bibs!

It's amazing what can be done with the Big Shot and dies! Christie Daugherty demo-ed these bibs at the San Antonio Regional and they were utterly adorable! Include the fact that one of my friends has a newborn baby granddaughter and I couldn't resist trying this myself to make her a bib card! Here is the result:

These are quite easy. The cardstock is folded, placed on the large scallop die with the fold below the cut line then run through the Big Shot. This leaves the top intact for a card that opens. The Wide Oval Punch is then pushed halfway in centered on the fold to punch out the scoop for the "neck." Stamp and decorate to your liking, add ribbon and bows and Viola! A Baby Bib!! Inside I'll stamp "Congratulations" and write a note before sending it off to my friend. I
hope she likes it!

I made a second bib also using Basic Gray ink on Pretty in Pink cardstock for my label. Both bibs are decorated with the bundle of joy stamp from Punches Three and punched out with the Wide Oval Punch.

Stamps: Punches Three (Level 1 Hostess), BoHo Backgrounds (background flowers)
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Pretty In Pink
Inks: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray
Accessories: Big Shot, Sizzix Scallop Circle Die, Wide Oval Punch, Trio Flower Punch, Three For You set (retired), Regal Rose 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals. The tiny pearls were given me by my daughter. : )

Try these yourself and see what you come up with!

Thanks for dropping by! Happy Wednesday, everyone!
Margaret

TSSC 41 Eastern Blooms Haiku

Whoa! It's already Monday again and time for Technostamper's Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge. Today we have another great sketch from Mary Jo (Technostamper) that looks user-friendly and versatile!

So here's the sketch on the left:

I used the Eastern Blooms set and the beautiful Haiku DSP for today's card. The card base is So Saffron with an overlay of the olive chrysanthemums paper with a Tangerine Tango lining. The Eastern Blooms branch is stamped in So Saffron on the same color card stock then overstamped with the Canvas background stamp, also in So Saffron to mute it. This layer was wrapped with a length of olive grosgrain ribbon through a metal hardware buckle.

For the circle element used the large bloom in the set. I stamped it twice in Tangerine Tango on So Saffron card stock then cut them out. I also stamped the small bloom for the center the same way and cut it out. I shaped the petals with the blade of my paper snips and layered the two blossoms with double Dimensionals. A green circle rhinestone brad was added to the center flower which is then placed in the center of the flower. I punched a scallop circle from Old Olive, layered in onto the card and adhered the flower on top of that.The sentiment is from Wonderful Favorites is stamped in Artichoke CRAFT ink and heat embossed in clear ep.


Stamps: Eastern Blooms (#111626, p. 91), Canvas (#104421, p. 35), Wonderful Favorites (#109461, pg. 144)
Inks: Always Artichoke Craft ink; So Saffron, Tangerine Tango Classic Inks
Paper: Haiku Designer Series Paper; So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive
Accessories: Ice Circle Rhinestone brad (green), Scallop Circle Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Heat Tool, Clear Embossing Powder, Paper Snips, Hodgepodge Hardware Antique Pewter buckle (retired), Dimensionals

Thanks for visiting! Check out Mary Jo's card at http://technostamper.blogspot.com/ along with the other team members who are participating today! Try out this sketch for yourself too, and post a link to your card in the comments section here or on Mary Jo's blog!

Happy Monday! Have fun stampin'!
Margaret

To You and Yours

To You and Yours is such lovely set! I love the look of this inviting cabin in the snowy landscape of a winter wonderland. Also included in the set is a beautiful dove stamp and four sentiment stamps! What beautiful Christmas cards as well as other winter occasions this set can be used for. Okay, enough about that... lol! Oh, yes, one more thing, it coordinates with the Handmade Holiday Card Elements kit on page 177 of the catalog, which includes the instructions, photos and elements you need to create quick and numerous Christmas cards! Talk about easy handmade cards, this is it! Now... on to today's card. : )


First I stamped the cabin onto vanilla cardstock with Baja Breeze ink. I made a "mask" by stamping the same image onto a sticky note and cutting out the cabin above the ground line and angled the ground lines out to the sides. I put the mask on the stamped image then sponged Baja Breeze ink lightly all around for the sky. I then used my Signo White gel pen to enhance the snow on the roof and ground. This was layered onto Kiwi Kiss and a silver brad that had been coated with the 2 Way Glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter was added to the left.

The card base of Kiwi Kiss is layered with Baja Breeze that had been stamped in White Craft ink with the snowflakes from the Snow Swirled set. Over this is a panel of Muirfield DSP, Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip. A length of Chocolate Chip Stitched grosgrain ribbon goes from the right edge of the card onto this Muirfield panel then the image panel is adhered over that with Dimensionals.

For the single large snowflake, I stamped White Craft ink onto Kiwi Kiss cardstock then embossed with an equal mix of White and Iridescent Ice embossing powders. This was punched out with the matching Snow Blossom punch and adhered with a Dimensional for emphasis. The final touch is the sentiment stamped in White Craft and punched with the Word Window Punch.

Two things I challenged myself to do (and enjoyed doing) when making this card was to (1) use non-traditional colors and (2) use non-holiday designer paper and make it look holiday-ish. (is that a word? lol!) I am good with how it turned out. What do you think?

Stamps: To You and Yours (#111706, pg. 45, set of 6, $18.95), Snow Swirled (snowflakes)

Inks: Baja Breeze Classic; White Craft pad

Paper: Muirfield Designer Series Paper; Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla cardstock

Accessories: Word Window Punch, Snow Blossom Punch, Chocolate Chip stitched grosgrain ribbon, Silver brad, 2 Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, White Embossing powder, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, White Signo Gel Pen, Stampin' Sponge.

Thanks for visiting today! Have a great weekend!

Margaret

TSSC40 Crazy for Cupcakes (pt. 3)

It's Monday again so it's time for Technostamper's Monday Sketch Challenge #40! Here is the sketch for today:

This looks pretty simple and straightforward but I did have a little time of it making it feel balanced to me. I wanted to use the cupcake from the Crazy for Cupcakes set (#111618, p. 64) since I hadn't used it on any of my cards yet. I also thought the "Celebrate You" circular stamp from Party Hearty would work for the circle. I paired these with a pink and brown color scheme and the floral paper from the Sweet Always Designer Series Paper.

I stamped the icing and candle part of the stamp onto Pink Pirouette card stock in Basic Brown, used the blender pen for some shading (which isn't very visible in the picture), and colored in the candle with cocoa and the sprinkles with chocolate. I then coated the flame and entire "icing" with my 2 Way Glue pen and applied Dazzling Diamonds glitter. This was overlaid on a cupcake stamped on Close to Cocoa and shaded with cocoa and chocolate markers.

The "Celebrate You" was stamped on white with Chocolate Chip Craft ink and embossed with clear ep. The gift image from Party Hearty was stamped in Regal Rose, the gift colored in with a Chocolate Chip marker, then covered with VersaMark and embossed with clear ep. This was punched out and layered onto the scallop with a Dimensional then layered on another scallop circle of Chocolate Chip and attached with Dimensionals.

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, Party Hearty
Inks: Chocolate Chip Craft; Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette Classic pads; VersaMark; Basic Brown Ink; YoYo Yellow (flame), Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip markers.
Paper: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White card stock; Sweet Always DSP

Accessories: 2 Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Stampin' Sponge, Blender Pen, Scallop Circle Punch, 3/4" circle punch, 1/4" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Clear Embossing Powder, Dimensionals

You can see Technostamper's card and a list of the other players this week at http://www.technostamper.blogspot.com/. Join in the challenge and post a link to your card either here or on Technostamper's blog.

Thanks for visiting! Happy Monday and have fun stampin'!

Margaret

Crazy for Cupcakes, um, Balloons!

Here's another card made with the Crazy for Cupcakes set that is on the Birthday Special this month. This time I used the balloon image and paper pieced them for a crisp and colorful look. To do that, you simply stamp the image on your cardstock, then stamp the same image onto the Designer Paper and cut it out. Adhere these cut outs to the stamped image for bold and easy colors!
There's very little stamping on this card and it goes together quickly. The key is the Designer Papers; what a great boon they are when you need a quick card! You could stamp an appropriate sentiment and add it to the front of the card before sending it away!

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Inks: Basic Brown
Paper: Patterns Pack DSP (Level 1 Hostess), Real Red, Whisper White, Kraft card stock
Accessories: Paper Snips, narrow Red Gingham Ribbon

I really like the look of this kraft, red and white color combination! It has a certain sophistication yet liveliness too and is great for cards for both males and females! Most everyone likes red, don't they? Also, I was inspired for the layout of this card by a couple of cards I had seen on Splitcoaststampers.

Thanks for dropping by. Have fun stampin' this weekend!

Margaret

Crazy for Cupcakes!

What a delightful new set this is that came out in the Fall/Winter Catalog! I was taken with it when I saw it at convention and just ordered it recently; it's ON SALE this month!! Gotta love that! Crazy for Cupcakes is one of the eight birthday sets that is currently on sale celebrating Stampin' Up!'s Twentieth Birthday! Click the picture denoting the Birthday Special on the top left sidebar for details!

The polka dot paper from Sweet Always DSP provides the color scheme of Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip. The bottom of the DSP was edged with the Scallop Edge punch. I cut the Pumpkin Pie cardstock Scallop Circle out with the Big Shot then cut a coordinating circle layer out of Pink Pirouette with the Colozzle cutting system. The cupcakes were stamped with Basic Brown then colored in with markers, ink and blender pens. The cupcake icing was then coated with glue with the 2 Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter was added for super sparkle! I added dots around both circles with the Signo white gel pen.

The card base is Regal Rose, then a layer of Chocolate Chip was added before the DSP was added. I stamped the balloon from the set on the right side then added Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon and a small pink button from the Button Bouquet assortment.

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Inks: Basic Brown, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette ink refill; Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Real Red markers
Paper: Sweet Autumn DSP; Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie and Pink Pirouette
Accessories: 2 Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Button Bouquet Asst., Big Shot, Scallop Circle die, Coluzzle, Scallop Edge punch, Signo White Gel Pen, Tabletop Paper Cutter to cut a sliver of chocolate cardstock to go through the button.

If you haven't tried Stampin' Up!'s Tabletop Paper Cutter, (#106959, p. 192), you need to! I finally bought one and I really really like it! Wish I hadn't waited so long! It cuts straight!! And the blade is self-sharpening (how cool is that?!) And you can't cut yourself with it! Plus it's portable but still a great size with a 12" bed for cutting paper and cardstock. I highly recommend it!

Happy Friday everyone! Thanks for dropping by. Have a fun stampin' weekend!
Margaret

Holiday Scallop Envelope Die Box

I looove these little boxes. They are so much fun to make and to give! I gave my first box away almost immediately and wanted to do the next one in a Christmas theme. The Holiday Treasures Designer Series Paper is so very pretty and the Kiwi Kiss looks so festive with this poinsettia print that I just had to use this combination!

First I cut my four Scallop Envelope die cuts in Kiwi Kiss, constructed my box then wrapped a band of the poinsettia paper around it. The Stampin' Up! Gluestick works perfectly for this task; it even gives a little more body to the box! Over this came a piece of the lucious double-sided Kiwi Kiss/Vanilla Satin Ribbon. This stuff is GORGEOUS! Yum!

I cut a background of Chocolate Chip for the front center, rounded the corners then stamped the striped label with red onto pink cardstock and punched it out with the Curly Label Punch. I also stamped in chocolate and cut out the oval stamp with the greeting on it and edged the oval with the 2 Way Glue Pen and glitter for sparkle. Another Curly Label was punched out of red for layering.

I punched out two pointy flowers, covered them with glue from the 2 Way Glue pen and dipped them in glitter. I did the same with a snowflake done with the Snow Blossom punch of pink cardstock, which was then centered with a Fire Rhinestone Brad in pink. These were arranged around the label and ribbon on the front for some holiday dazzle! The front of this is so sparkly IRL. For the inside, I filled a gusset cello bag with Hugs©, chocolate striped silver kisses which complement the box, then tied that with a Chocolate Chip grosgrain bow!

Stamps: Cute and Curly
Inks: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Holiday Treasures DSP; Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Scallop Envelope Die, Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, Curly Label Punch, Snow Blossom Punch, 1/8" hole punch, BoHo Blossom flower punch, 2 Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, double-sided Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, pink Fire Rhinestone Brad. All products ©Stampin' Up!

My previous Scallop Die box plus a link to the directions is here.

Thanks for visiting and have fun stampin'! Sorry I was so slow in posting but I have been sick.
Margaret

The Softer Side of Party Hearty

Here's another card I made at our SSUS online group Shoebox Swap at SU Convention 08. What a wonderful and talented group of ladies! We had quite a group and made lots of cards that evening! It was such fun to meet these ladies in person that I "see" online frequently!

This card designed by Amy Combs uses the same stamps as yesterday's card but the elements are arranged a little bit differently and of course the colors make a big difference also. The colors of Baja Breeze and Pink Pirouette are soft but are kicked up by the punch of Kiwi Kiss. These colors look great together!

A Build-A-Brad featuring the gift from the set centers the "Celebrate You" scallop. The icing from the cupcake is stamped a second time, cut out and mounted with Dimensionals. When I got home from Convention, I added the little silver beads from SU's Silver Beads assortment for the "sprinkles".

Stamps: Party Hearty

Inks: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette

Papers: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette; Designer Paper

Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Build-A-Brad, Baja grosgrain ribbon, Silver Beads Asst.

Thanks for visiting! Happy Saturday/weekend and Happy Stampin' too!

Margaret

Party Hearty in Pacific and Chocolate!

Party Hearty is such a good set for fun cards! A number of the stamps in this set (#111532, set of 11 stamps) can be used on projects with themes other than birthdays too, making it even more versatile.

The card today is one I made at the SSUS (an online group of stampers) Shoebox Swap 2008 at the Stampin' Up! Convention in July/Aug. It was designed by Rose Kerry who chose such a great layout and color scheme. Rose chose two new In Colors, Kiwi Kiss and Pacific Point, to highlight and combined them with the adorable Chocolate Chip and Kiwi Kiss dots patterns from the Bella Rose Designer Paper. At the time of Convention, we didn't have the new InColor ribbons, so I replaced the original white grosgrain with this coordinating Pacific Point grosgrain.

I love the big "Celebrate You" round image which can be punched out with the Scallop Circle punch! So quick and easy. On this card, it is stamped with White Craft and embossed with White embossing powder.. The gift was done the same way then punched out and layered in the center with a Dimensional. TIP: Remember to use your Embossing Buddy on the cardstock before you stamp your image; this reduces the static electricity which makes those annoying little out-of-place specks of embossing powder stick to your cardstock in unwanted places!

The top part of this cupcake, the icing you might say, is also embossed. TIP: Since there are no Craft Inks in the In Colors, the trick for embossing with them is to ink your stamp well with the VersaMark pad then ink it with the colored ink pad by tapping, not rubbing (or you could rub off the VersaMark) on a well-inked pad. Stamp then emboss with clear ep. Another way to do this is to stamp your image with the Classic Ink, let it dry well for a minute, go over the image with a VersaMark pen then emboss; you would probably only want to do this on small images, because this dries fairly fast and must be embossed immediately. The icing is then cut out and layered on with a Dimensional. Love the shine the embossing provides!

Cupcakes are so cute and so popular now! Combined with some of the other images in the set, you can make a wide range of fun and appealing projects! This set is one of eight birthday sets on pages 62 through 65 in the Fall - Winter Catalog that you may purchase at 20% off with a $20 purchase during this month of October to celebrate Stampin' Up!'s 20th Birthday! How cool is that?! We get the presents! lol!

Stamps: Party Hearty
Inks: Pacific Point, VersaMark, White Craft
Paper: Bella Rose DSP; Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point cardstock
Accessories: Clear EP, White EP, Close to Cocoa and Yo Yo Yellow Markers, Pacific Point grosgrain, brads from Earth Elements pack, Ticket Corner Punch, Embossing Buddy, heat tool.

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you get to stamp this weekend!

Margaret

Party Hearty Birthday!

Stampin' Up! is celebrating twenty years in business this October! To celebrate, they are offering twenty percent off! the price of a number of birthday sets (pgs. 62-65) with a twenty dollar purchase! Click the top link on the left sidebar of my blog for details. Birthday cards are by far the most popular cards sent, say the experts, so these sets are sure to be useful additions to your stampin' arsenal!

One of these sets is Party Hearty, (#111532, set of 11 stamps), a fun set with lots of images, terrifically versatile, for young and older, males and females!

This card was a swap made by Gina M. that I received in an organized swap at the Stampin' Up! Convention in August. It has a bold layout and I really like the diagonal lines on it. Another eye catcher is the Build-A-Brad in the center of the "b"! Very cute! Gina chose an attractive color scheme of turquoise, orchid, green and pink passion. This set has a great cupcake stamp in it also, and that is used on the background of the orchid layer.

Stamps: Party Hearty
Card stock: Whisper White, Orchid Opulence, Gable Green, Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise
Inks: Orchid Opulence, Gable Green, Pixie Pink, Tempting Turquoise, VersaMark
Accessories: 3/4" circle punch, 3/4" square punch, 1/8" circle punch, Build A Brad, Mini Glue Dots, Snail Adhesive

I previously posted another Party Hearty card that I received for my June birthday here, and I plan to post some more Party Hearty cards in the next couple of days. Thanks for dropping by! ☺

Have fun stampin'!
Margaret

Technostamper Challenge #38

What a good sketch Mary Jo aka Technostamper gave us to work with this week ! Easy peasey but can be used with intricate stamp designs and papers as well.

I wanted to use this new Holiday Treasures Designer Series Paper because I love the patterns and textures in it. There's very little stamping here because the Sketch Design and DSP carries the card.

The sentiment was stamped in Riding Hood Red onto Pink Pirouette cardstock then punched out with the Square Scallop punch. I used the 2 Way Glue Pen to go over the upper and lower areas of this square (where the red swirls are) then dunked it in Dazzling Diamonds glitter for a holiday sparkle. (You can see this a little bitttty bit if you click on the image to see the larger version). I then used the Scallop Edge punch to make a larger red scalloped layer on which to layer the sentiment. I used a sponge to add a little white craft ink to the edges then added dots with the Signo White Gel Pen.

The corners of the other layers were all treated to the Ticket Corner Punch for interest. A tie of Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon is added for an even more festive look. (love that ribbon!) Now that the card is finished, it has somewhat of a Victorian Christmas look. I love that!

Here is the original sketch for the challenge:

Stamps: Punches Three (Hostess Level I)
Ink: Riding Hood Red, White Craft
Paper: Holiday Treasures Designer; Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette and Chocolate Chip cardstock
Accessories: Square Scallop punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Ticket Corner punch, Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon, 2 Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Signo Gel Pen, Stampin' Sponge

You can check out the sketch for today and Mary Jo's card here as well as the list of other team members who are posting today!

Happy Stampin'!
Margaret