Sale-A-Bration Samples from a Friend!

One of the great perks of being a stamper and Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is the opportunity to join not only a nationwide but a worldwide family of Stampin' Up! demonstrators and customers. I have had the pleasure of corresponding with stampers in a number of countries from Holland to Australia and have guests visit my blog from all over the world! How cool is that!

I did a little favor for a fellow demonstrator /friend Barbara from NJ who I have met at the Stampin' Up! Convention at least twice and she blessed me with TWO Thank You cards! How sweet she is! She is a wonderful stamper and we are both in a small online group of stampers where we share ideas and stamping samples.

Here are the two cards Barbara sent me; both use Sale-A-Bration stamp sets.

The top one uses the Polka Dot Punches SAB set as well as the SAB Delicate Dots Designer Paper. The flowers are stamped then punched out with the 5 Petal Flower Punch. The flourish frame behind the "Thank You" is from the Yummy SAB stamp set. The wonderful new Eyelet Border Punch gives a polished finish to the card!

The second card Botanical Blossoms, another SAB stamp set. What a great color scheme; it looks so fresh and spring-y, and love the two step stamping on those sweet flowers!

Thanks, Barbara, for these two lovely cards! I've enjoyed sharing with my customers and friends!

Margaret

Washington Apple Pizzazz

It has been so gray and cold here this weekend with an early spring ice and snow storm! When I saw the Washington Apple Designer Paper, I just knew that I wanted to use this paper with it's vibrant warm colors of pumpkin, red and saffron!

The large flower from the Petal Pizzazz set is stamped in Pumpkin Pie then cut out. I did the swirlies on the flower with the Signo White Gel Pen. The center pieces of saffron, red and pumpkin were cut with punches, layered, centered with a gold brad and applied to the flower with a Dimensional. The Bashful Blue card stock was run through the Big Shot with the Eyelet Texturz Plate before applying to the card. I used the sheet of colorful squares DSP and the coordinating striped red grosgrain ribbon to finish it off. Pretty, easy and colorful!

Stamps: Petal Pizzazz, Hugs and Wishes
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Pumpkin Pie
Paper: Washington Apple Designer Paper; Bashful Blue, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, So Saffron card stock
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain ribbon, Gold Brad, 1/2" circle punch, 1" circle punch, Snow Blossom punch, Signo White Gel Pen, Dimensionals

Thanks for visiting and come back soon! Hope you can work in some fun stampin' time soon!

Margaret

Sneak Peek: Eight Great Greetings!

One of the sets available in the upcoming Occasions Mini Catalog Sneak Peek is this versatile all-occasion set, Eight Great Greetings! I used this week's sketch challenge from Mojo Monday and the cute little bunny from this set to make a Happy Easter card.

I stamped the image and colored with markers and blender pen. The pink background was embossed with the Large Dot Texturz Plate and the Big Shot. The stripe paper is from the Afternoon Tea Designer Paper pack and is layered on Amethyst. The wonderful Certainly Celery polytwill ribbbon finishes it off; it has such a nice smooth feel and is great to work with.

Stamps: Eight Great Greetings
Inks: Basic Gray pad; So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst Markers
Paper: Afternoon Tea Designer; Basic Gray, Pink Pirouette, Almost Amethyst, Whisper White, Certainly Celery card stock
Accessories: Celery Polytwill ribbon (SAB), Blender Pen, Eyelet Border Punch, 1/4" circle punch, Big Shot, Large Dot Texturz Plate

For some reason my photo is rather muted but the colors look good IRL; so sorry. I really like this sketch and think I'll be using it again in the future!

Thanks for dropping by! Have fun stampin'!

Margaret

TSSC #62 Butterflies Butterfies!

I'm a day late this week for Mary Jo's Monday Sketch Challenge, but finally had time to get to it this morning! Wow! #62 already! We've been having fun with these challenges for over a year already! Here's the one for this week:

For some reason when I saw this sketch, I thought of using butterflies. I've been wanting to use my new Butterflies Die for the Big Shot and thought this sketch would work well with it. So here's my card:

For the right side panel, I used the stripe from the Urban Garden Designer Paper and stamped the butterfly from Dreams Du Jour directly on it repeatedly. On the left side of the kiwi card base, I stamped the long stitched "swirly" several times. I put a strip of the Baja Breeze ribbon at the left edge of the striped panel and laid the circle punches on that. (I just love this beautiful Urban Garden DSP; the colors are so pretty together and it looks so soft and spring-y, yet with some pizazz.)

The three butterflies were die cut from the Designer Paper and attached with Mini Glue Dots to the circle and a small button was adhered to the center for accent. The sentiment was stamped in Kiwi on white then punched out with the Word Window Punch then layered on another punch-out of Basic Grey cardstock. This was then added to the striped section.

Stamps: Dreams Du Jour (butterfly), Trendy Trees (sentiment), Stitched Exotics (swirly)

Ink: Kiwi Kiss
Paper: Urban Garden Designer Paper; Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Basic Grey
Accessories: Fresh Favorites I Button Asst., Baja Breeze 5/8" Striped Grosgrain ribbon, Mini Glue Dots

Tools: Big Shot die cutting machine, Sizzix Butterflies Die, 1 1/4 and 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Word Window Punch

I hope you enjoyed this card; it was fun to make. Visit Mary Jo's blog here and see what the other team members have done with this challenge. Thanks for visiting my blog; hope you can find some time to have some fun stampin' yourself!

Margaret

Classic Sketches Tile

I've always been drawn to classic styles so it was natural that I would be immediately drawn to the new set in the Stampin' Up! Spring/Summer Catalog, Classic Sketches; I knew right away it would be great to make some marble tile coasters for our family room.

These are the 4 x 4" Bottichino tumbled marble tile available at Home Depot. They are not glazed and are really quite easy to do. First I clean my tile with rubbing alcohol to remove oil from fingerprints and marble dust. Second, stamp my chosen images with CRAFT ink. This is different from the Classic ink in that it has pigment in it and is opaque. I used Close to Cocoa Craft Ink on these tiles. I also used a Stampin' Sponge wedge to softly sponge more Craft ink on the sides to enhance the aged look. Third, bake them in a 350 degree over for 15 minutes to set the Craft ink. Let them cool (they will be very hot, and hold the heat!), adhere rubber or felt feet to the back and enjoy!

If you wish, you can spray the tile with a sealer once they are cool, but be aware that your tile won't be as absorbent if you seal them. If you use any water-soluble media such as chalks, watercolor crayons or pencils, etc., to add color to your tile, they will definitely require sealing. I have also used Staz-On Ink for stamping on marble tiles. Since I wanted brown for these, I chose to use the Craft ink which works quite well.

In addition to the Classic Sketches, I used a couple of images from a new Occasions Mini Catalog set, Sense of Time, which also has an antique/vintage look. Customers may begin ordering from the Occasions Mini on April 1st (no joke!), except for the three sets which I posted here earlier (which have the cutest images for Easter) which may be ordered now. One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you have opportunities for pre-ordering from the catalogs!

I hope you have an enjoyable weekend! Thanks for dropping by!

Margaret

A Yummy Little Top Note Purse

We ladies do love our handbags, don't we! Here's a cute idea for using your Big Shot Top Note Die to make an adorable little purse that will hold small goodies for gifting, table favors or even place cards at the table.

First I die cut two Top Notes out of the polka dot Sweet Slumber Specialty card stock then used the Large Oval Punch to punch out the handle. Take a small bag, like a miniature grocery sack, cut it down to fit between the bottom of the handle opening and the bottom of the die. Attach it to both the front and back die cuts with good adhesive. All that's left is to embellish it and/or add a tag!

I used the Sale-A-Bration set Yummy, stamped it in Riding Hood Red ink on coordinating Baja Breeze card stock and trimmed it out with my Paper Snips (those are the best ever for fine cutting!). I punched out a little RH Red heart with the small heart in the Heart to Heart punch and attached it to the front label. The inner sack was filled with red foil wrapped chocolate kisses and a tie was added on the handle with Baja Breeze Stitched Grosgrain ribbon. Viola! Done! A darling little gift container that is so easy, inexpensive and yet memorable!

Have you purchased one of those wonderful Big Shot die cutting machines yet? I am enjoying mine so much and it really has expanded my creative possibilities, to say the least! Stampin' Up! will also continue to bring out new dies to give us unlimited opportunities for cardmaking, scrapbooking, 3D items and more! I'm putting together plans for a Big Shot club where my customers can purchase the Big Shot over a period of time because I want them to be able to enjoy it as I do. If you don't already have a demonstrator, you are welcome to contact me for details.

Thanks for visiting today! Come back soon!

Margaret

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Everyone!

Happy day to all my Irish friends! Are you wearing green so you won't get pinched today?! lol! I'm wearing a little shamrock pin a friend made years ago. : )

St. Paddy's Day always comes around before I'm ready... I almost get "heart" fatigue by making so many Valentines and before I know it, it's too late to order any stamps for today. However, with the "luck of the Irish" for us, we can improvise...(stampers/crafters are famous for that!!) My card today features punchies made into a mischevious lil' leprechaun and a four-leaf clover. There are a number of versions of this little guy around and mine is similar but different...with my own little touch. The four-leaf clover is made with the heart stamp (yikes, another heart!) from Polka Dot Punches (FREE Sale-A-Bration set!) and punched out with the Full Heart Punch. The stem was cut from a curved remnant of cutting out a Top Note Die with the Big Shot; I just trimmed it to suit my need here and added some green dots with my Stampin' Write Marker.

Do you see the dots on the background? (You can for sure if you click on the picture to see the larger version). They were made with the Large Dot Texturz Plate and my Big Shot. Love those Texturz Plates!

An oval punch out was used as a template to draw his mouth with the Black Stampin' Write Marker, and just add the little marks at the end. This is so helpful if you want a symmetrical mouth or if your hand shakes and you want a smooth line.

On the inside I used the "L" definition ("lucky") from Define Your Life and "Happy St. Patrick's Day" from a retired set, All Year Cheer III.

Stamps: Polka Dot Punches
Ink: Glorious Green, Black Marker (for mouth)
Paper: Glorious Green, Whisper White, Really Rust, Blush Blossom, Basic Black, Summer Sun card stock
Tools: Punches: Full Heart, Ticket Corner, Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" circle, 1/2" circle, 1/4" and 1/8" circles, Word Window (hat brim), Key Tag (trimmed off for top of hat), Large Oval. Paper Snips, Large Dot Texturz Plate, Big Shot
Accessories: Sponge Dauber, White Jumbo Brad

Have a fun day! Thanks for dropping by! I always appreciate your visits!

Margaret

TSSC #61 Friends 24/7

It's Monday again and time for Monday Sketch Challenge #61. This is a simple sketch with a couple of interesting details. It has lots of possibilities for many different types of stamps, and especially larger images.

I used my new set, the lovely Friends 24/7 and the coordinating wheel Friendly Words. The background is Bordering Blue wheeled with Friendly Words then layered on olive. The large scallops were punched with the Rounded Tab Punch. I stamped the bird and branch with Basic Brown on Bordering Blue cardstock then watercolored with a Blender Pen, AquaPainter and ink refills, then cut out.

The sentiment is the new Oval All set of 4 images which fit the Large Oval punch. This was colored then layered onto a scalloped oval, which was punched out with the brand-new Scalloped Oval Punch. This is one of the items from the new Occasions Mini Catalog which will be available for order on April 1st (demos get to pre-order this month).

Stamps: Friends 24/7, Oval All, Friendly Words (jumbo wheel).Inks: Bordering Blue, Basic Brown, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard.

Paper: Bordering Blue, Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip

Tools: Rounded Tab Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Large Oval Punch, Scalloped Oval Punch, Paper Snips

Accessories: Rich Regal Brads, Dimensionals.

You can go to Technostamper's blog to check out the others who have made cards with this sketch, and try it yourself too!

Thanks for visiting! Come back soon, and take some time to smell the flowers (and to stamp!) :)

Margaret

TSSC #60 Game Night Jackpot!

I'm finally getting my card posted for Mary Jo's Technostamper Monday Sketch Challenge! It's Friday? Oops!

Let's see, income tax preparations, etc. have gotten in my way lately of having fun stamping! Plus I have to say this sketch was challening... well, that's the point, right? lol! I thought and thought and nothing came to me right away; just yesterday did I have the "Aha" moment to use these new Game Night and Card Games sets! Then I had to use the fun and coordinating Jackpot Designer Paper with them too!

I stamped the "Jackpot" image twice and the other image I inked up with markers and stamped, all these on white. I also used the red marker to color around the "jackpot" image. I trimmed all these and layered them on a piece of black cardstock. A piece of red striped grosgrain ribbon was doubled and adhered to the back of the rectangle.

For the medallion, I stamped the "king" image in red and punched it with the 1 1/4" circle punch then layered it on a red 1 3/8" punch. The black layer was punched with the Scallop circle punch, then using Dotto temporary adhesive, I adhered a long narrow scrap of cardstock as a handle to that scallop and inserted it into the Scallop punch again, turning it about 1/8" to where the inside points of the scallop punch punched right in the middle of the existing scallop, giving it a totally different look. I hope that is clearer than mud! lol! That was layered onto a white 1 3/4" punch. This was layered onto a 2" black circle I punched with a non-SU punch I've had for years; I can't wait until I can get the new Circle Scissors so I can make circles of ANY size from 2 to at least SIX inches!!

Stamps: Game Night, Card Games
Inks: Basic Black, Real Red, Real Red marker
Paper: Jackpot Designer Series Paper; Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White card stock
Tools: 1 1/4", 1 3/8", 1 3/4" Circle Punches, Scallop Circle Punch, 2" Circle Punch
Accessories: Real Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Snail Adhesive, Dotto Temporary Adhesive.

Thanks Mary Jo, for a challenging challenge! lol! You can see Mary Jo's card here, as well as links to other cards made with this sketch.

Thank you for dropping by; I appreciate your visits and your comments too!

Have fun stampin',
Margaret

Polka Dot Punches Birthday!

I'm really enjoying the FREE Sale-A-Bration products and seem to be using the Ribbon Bundle, the Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper and the Polka Dot Punches set quite often! They go together so well and that makes it eeeeasy! With eight designs and sixteen sheets of 12x12" paper in the SAB Designer Paper package and ten yards each of two different ribbons in the SAB ribbon bundle, you can make a lot of pretty projects and save a bundle too!

Here's one of the cards I've made with that terrific trio. The blue dotted design is one of my favorites and I like how it looks combined with the stripe and the saffron too. The luscious Certainly Celery polytwill ribbon sets it off perfectly.

I stamped the flowers in VersaMark, embossed them with white embossing powder then punched them out with the 5-Petal Flower Punch. The Birthday Wishes sentiment is from the Sincere Salutations set, which has eight great greetings useful for a wide variety of occasions; it is punched out with the Wide Oval Punch. All of this is on a white card base.

Stamps: Polka Dot Punches, Sincere Salutations
Ink: Basic Gray, VersaMark, Bliss Blue
Paper: Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper; Whisper White card stock
Tools: 5-Petal Flower Punch, Wide Oval Punch
Accessories: Certainly Celery Poly Twill Ribbon (Sale-A-Bration free product), Stampin' Sponge

I appreciate you coming by today, and always appreciate your comments. Have a good evening and hope you get to stamp a little (or a lot!)

Margaret

Heartfelt Thanks Revisited

It's good to visit old friends occasionally, and that's what I'm doing today. Heartfelt Thanks is such a beautiful set and I wanted to use it again while it is still current in the catalog. I also dusted off my Watercolor Crayons which have been neglected for awhile but yield lovely results with not a lot of effort!

To stamp the flower, I used my AquaPainter to pick up pigment from the end of the Pretty in Pink crayon and apply it to the blossom area of the stamp, then did the same for the stem and leaves with a different AquaPainter and the Old Olive crayon. I then lightly misted the stamp and stamped it on a piece of Naturals White cardstock. I laid this aside for it to dry a little while I worked on another part of the card then came back to it. Using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, I stamped the sketch lines in Basic Brown over the flower. I "clipped" one lower corner with the Eyelet Border Punch, layered it on a Chocolate Chip piece and added a pink rhinestone brad to the corner. A small bit of Kiwi Kiss underneath adds just a touch of needed green accent.

A piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock was stamped with Pink Pirouette using the single bloom stamp; it's very subtle and you can barely see it in the photo. The Eyelet punch adds a lovely bottom edge and shows up so well when the pink was layered onto a card base of Chocolate Chip. Pink grosgrain was tied around the pink before adding the image layers.

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks
Inks: Basic Brown, Pink Pirouette
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Naturals White, Kiwi Kiss
Tools: Eyelet Border Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Aqua Painter, Water Mister
Accessories: Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Fire Round Rhinestone Brad (pink)

I designed this for a Make n Take at a workshop a few days ago and I also needed a birthday card for my granddaughter, so I used that sentiment inside. I hope she will enjoy this card as much as I enjoyed making it! : )

Thanks for dropping by today! I always appreciate your visits and comments!

Have a great day; have fun stampin'!

Margaret

So Tweet Owlie!

My third card in the series of On Board So Tweet Chipboard creations is "Owlie" the Owl. This chipboard owl is a great size, fits on a card or looks great on the front of a bag or box or on a scrapbook page!

I used that great Good Morning, Sunshine Designer Series Paper for the background and to cover Owlie. See yesterday's post for the method of adhering the Designer Paper to the chipboard and again I used the Craft Ink Spots for coloring his beak, eyes and feet. I added wings by punching one Scallop Circle out of Chocolate Chip, cutting it in half then layering on him like I wanted and trimming off the excess.

For the moon behind him, I used a circle of So Saffron layered on a large scallop circle of Kiwi Kiss, which picks up one of the colors in the DSP. The card base is So Saffron cardstock, layered with Pacific Point and then the Good Morning Sunshine DSP. For the branch, I took a scrap of Chocolate Chip and ran it through the Big Shot with the "Distressed" Texturz Plate and it gave it a great rough look of bark! Gotta' love that Big Shot and Texturz Plates! Cool! I just cut it by hand into the branch. Easy!

Ink: Earth Elements Craft Spots: Summer Sun, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip (#105438, set of 12, pg. 154, $25.95)
Paper: Good Morning Sunshine DSP (#113966, p. 160, $9.95); So Saffron, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Pacific Point, Sahara Sand cardstock
Tools: Big Shot (#113439, p. 193, $99.95), Scallop Circle Die (#113468, p. 197, $19.95), Circle Die, Scallop Circle Punch (#109043, p. 184, $15.95) , 1/2" Circle Punch (#104390, p. 184, $5.95), Sizzix Texturz Plates Kit #4 (#114531, p. 203, $9.95 set of 6 textures on 3 plates).
Other: On Board So Tweet chipboard (#113893, p. 182, $14.95, 80+ pcs.)

If you don't already have a demo and wish to order any of these products, just go to my Stampin' Up! website by clicking here and then click on the "shop now" button. If you need any information, just email me from my website. Thanks!

Hope you get some time to be creative this weekend! It's de-stressing and good for your health!

Have fun stampin'! Thanks for visiting and come back soon!

Margaret

Good Morning Sunshine, So Tweet!

I am having so much fun using the new On Board So Tweet chipboard assortment from the SU Spring Summer Catalog! It has oodles of images (there are more than 80!) just waiting to be decorated and used for cards, scrapbooks, 3D projects and whatever else you can think of ! The oh, so popular bird images are just adorable and they have branches and flowers to accompany them on your projects! There are eight of each image in the package so you can just chip chip chip away non-stop! How fun!

Here's a TIP: Covering your chipboard is so easy, even a caveman can do it! lol! Really though, you just lay your selected chipboard down on your paper, pencil around it, then cut it out. I use SU Glue Stick (which is SO easy and inexpensive, and it bonds wonderfully well!) and cover the backside of my paper and the front of my chipboard, then place the paper onto the chipboard and smooth it out with my fingers. The glue dries fast so make any placement adjustments quickly. Use a sanding block to smooth the paper edges. Done! Then embellish to your hearts content!

On today's project I used the smaller bird, the branch and one flower from the package. The card is 6x6" Chocolate Chip Textured Cardstock. Wow, is that cardstock wonderful! I layered Baja Breeze cardstock that had been run through the Big Shot with the Flourish Texturz Plate onto the chocolate. Here's a great thing: the Texturz Plates are wide enough to texturize a 5 3/4" square piece of cardstock!! Wow, that's huge!

I used the Craft Ink Spots to cover the bird's feet, legs and beak then also the branch. The Craft Ink dries more slowly than the Classic dye ink, so you can set it aside while you do other things, OR you can dry it with the heat tool that you usually use for embossing. I then covered the little bird and flower with Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper and punched out a "sun" from the same, layering that on Summer Sun (that was appropriate! lol!)

I took a strip of the small dots paper and clipped it finely all across for "grass" and adhered it to the base of the card. I ran one of the tag dies from the Sizzix set Lots of Tags through the Big Shot on three different cardstocks so I could layer the sentiment on coordinating colors.

The only other thing was to just put it all togeter! I used Mini Glue Dots to adhere the chipboard images to the card so they are stuck well! :) Oh, did I mention that this chipboard coordinates with some of SU's stamp sets (Cheep Talk, pg. 90, Good Friend, pg. 91 and goes great with Owl Together Now, pg. 14)? How smart is that! No more struggling to "make" things work together when they are already designed to! Love that!

Stamp set: sentiment from Upsy Daisy set
Ink: Old Olive Classic; Old Olive, Summer Sun and Creamy Caramel from the Earth Elements Craft Ink Spots set (#105438, set of 12, pg. 154, $25.95)
Paper: On Board So Tweet Chipboard (#113893, p. 183, $14.95), Good Morning Sunshine Designer Paper (#113966, pg. 160, $9.95), Chocolate Chip 12 x 12 Textured cardstock; Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Summer Sun, Pacific Point card stock
Accessories: Fire Round Rhinestone Brads, Big Shot, Flourish Texturz Plate, Lots of Tags Sizzlit die, Glue Stick, Circle Punches, Mini Glue Dots

If you don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, you may order any of these products online through my Stampin' Up! website here. Just click on the "Shop Now" button and go for it! Need help? Contact me through my website or leave a comment here.

Hope you enjoy! Have you used any of the OnBoard Chipboard yet? It is so much fun! Tomorrow I'll be posting an owl from the same So Tweet assortment and Good Morning Sunshine DSP.... stay tuned...

Happy Friday! TGIF!

Margaret

Petal Pizzazz Tres Chic

One of the new sets in the Stampin' Up! Spring/Summer Catalog is Petal Pizzazz. It consists of seven stamps, five of which are bold flowers. This is a great set to create bright splashy flowers, or in the case of this card, much softer flowers...depending on your choice of colors and papers.

I stamped the flower in Cameo Coral onto white cardstock and punched them out with the Scallop Circle Punch. I inserted a white jumbo brad into the center of each, applied glue with the Two-Way Glue Pen and added Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. Three leaves were stamped in olive and cut out; this was laid aside.

Tres Chic was stamped in rose red onto the coral cardstock and adhered to the Rose Red card base. A strip of Raspberry Tart Designer Paper was placed at the bottom and a strip of white cardstock that had been punched with the Eyelet border punch adhered over that. Rose Red grosgrain covers the seam and a bow finishes it off.

The sentiment is a rub-on from the Chit Chat package which has over a hundred sayings in it! These work great on so many surfaces, including ribbon!

Stamps: Petal Pizzazz, Tres` Chic (background)
Ink: Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Old Olive
Paper: Raspberry Tart Designer Paper; Whisper White, Rose Red and Cameo Coral card stock
Accessories: Jumbo white brad, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Two-Way Glue Pen, Scallop Circle Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, 1/4" Rose Red grosgrain ribbon, Chit Chat Rub-Ons, Mini Glue Dots.

Thanks for dropping by! I appreciate your visit and comments! Have a good evening!

Margaret

TSSC59 Kiwi & Pears & Chocolate, O My!

It's Monday so time again for Technostamper's Monday Sketch Challenge! Here is the sketch for today: simple and straightforward.

In mentally searching for just the right focal point I went through a number of ideas and stamp sets, a couple of which I have on order and not here yet, so they were out, lol! I also considered a Big Shot flower which would be 3D and give some dimension, but again, the one I had "in my head" is on order. :) I glanced over at my So Tweet Chipboard just waiting for me... Aha! That's it! I was taken by the pears and the cute birds in this chipboard the first time I saw it in the catalog so just "had to have it." This is actually the first time to use this chipboard collection and I have to say, it is so much fun! As an added bonus, the Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper was designed to coordinate with it so out that came too! What bright cheery colors! I'm havin' funstampin' now! lol!

I covered the pear and leaves with the Good Morning Sunshine DSP using SU's Glue Stick. It is wonderful glue for adhering paper to chipboard; it adheres great, is inexpensive and dries fast. A little sanding with the sanding block left the edges smooth, and I sanded enoiugh to get the white edges I desired to help define their shapes. I added a little blush to the pear using a Sponge Dauber with just a smidgen of Cameo Coral ink; I used my Chocolate Chip Craft Stampin' Spot for the stem. I adhered these chipboard pieces to a piece of Kiwi Kiss which had been run through the Big Shot with a Texturz Plate then layered on Chocolate Chip cardstock.

The card base is Summer Sun then a layer of Chocolate Chip. Two different but coordinating pieces of Good Morning Sunshine DSP were layered on that and a piece of Chocolate Chip grosgrain was added over the seam. The image piece was layered on that. A sentiment from the Chit Chat Rub-Ons found a home right below the pear on the chocolate; Lately I find myself using those frequently because they are so easy, there is a huge selection of sayings in that set PLUS they go on dark or rich colors and show up so well! There is also a sheet of the same sayings in Chocolate for lighter color papers in the same package. Great product!

Stamps: none
Inks: Cameo Coral Classic, Chocolate Chip Craft Ink
Paper: Good Morning, Sunshine DSP; Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss card stock
Accessories: Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon, Chit Chat Rub-Ons
Tools: Big Shot, Texturz Plates, On Board So Tweet Chipboard, Sanding Block, Sponge Dauber, Paper Snips

You can order any or all of the products needed to make this project at my Stampin' Up! website at http://margaret.stampinup.net/ Remember that we are in Sale-A-Bration until March 31 so you can receive a free product with every $50. merchandise purchase until then. See details here.

Thanks for dropping by; I appreciate the visit. Don't forget to check Technostamper's blog to see Mary Jo's card and the other players also. Try the sketch youself and share what you come up with!

Have fun stampin'!
Margaret

TSSC #58 Card Games Jackpot!

I'm really late in posting for Mary Jo's Technostamper Monday Sketch Challenge, but it's been a week.... however, here's my card. Be sure and check out Mary Jo's card and the other players this week at the Technostamper blog.

The Sketch, #58:



Two of the new sets in the Spring/Summer Idea Book and Catalog are Card Games and the coordinating Game Night sets. Along with that same theme we have the fun Jackpot Designer Series Paper with its eye-catching color scheme of Real Red, So Saffron, Basic Black and Whisper White.

I stamped the king card image from Card Games, then made my mask, placed it over the first image and stamped it twice more so it looks like three cards. I cut this out and layered it on Basic Black cardstock and used that ingenious little tool, the Layer Ease, to mark a matching border all around the cards, then cut it out. I was really sorry to see that handy tool retire when it did!

I cut a strip of the Jackpot paper and layered it onto black and adhered to the So Saffron layer which I had run through the Big Shot with a texture plate. It looks really cool in person! (you can see it better if you click on the photo to see the larger version). I tied the black & white gingham ribbon around that, added a knot then layered the cards on with Dimensionals. I decided the two circles could be poker chips so I punched two 1-1/4"circles from the red diamond pattern of the Jackpot paper, punched 1/2" circles out of red cardstock, then punched those circles out with the 1-1/4" circle punch. I adhered the this all together for my poker chips.

I stamped the words from the Game Night set and punched them out with the Word Window Punch and layered it onto a black piece punched with the same WW punch.

Stamps: Game Night, Card Games
Inks: Real Red
Paper: Jackpot DSP; Real Red, Whisper White, So Saffron, Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot machine, Texturz Plates, Black Gingham Ribbon, 1 1/4", 1/2" Circle Punches, Word Window Punch, Layer Ease (retired).

Hope you enjoy, and you get a little time to stamp and play. Try out some of these sketches too, but most of all, have funstampin'!!

Margaret