Product Focus: Printed Window Sheets

In the Holiday mini, Stampin' Up is offering Printed Window Sheets, printed with snowflakes (pg. 27). I finally got a chance to play with these, and you can get some pretty cool effects with these.

Here is a swap card I received from Lyssa Zwolanek (GWTWJunkie). She used the Snow Swirled stamp set and a window sheet for the peek-through window (click card for close-up view).

Another cute swap card, from Jean Ockerman. These window sheets make a good night time sky! Stamp set: Cold & Cuddly.

One of the Make & Take cards from the Syracuse Shoebox Swap, designed by Linda Tarolli. Stamp set: Level 1 Hostess Set Patterned Pines.

The window sheets also make a cool snow globe. I just finished this one up, and I was excited to share it (inspiration Sarah Wills). Some fancy details: the Whisper White background is embossed with the Texturz Plate Background I. I brayered the night time sky with Brilliant Blue, Almost Amethyst, and Bashful Blue classic inks. The snow globe and the window sheet were cut with the Coluzzle, and I sponged the edge of the window sheet with Craft Whisper White ink. The snow is a torn piece of Shimmery White cardstock, and the edge has Dazzling Diamonds glitter on it.

A close up look. Stamps: Dasher; Paper: Brilliant Blue, Brushed Silver, Whisper White, Shimmery White, Basic Black; Ink: Basic Black, Brilliant Blue, Almost Amethyst, Bashful Blue; Accessories: Wide oval punch, 2-way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Background I Texturz Plate, Big Shot, Brayer, Silver Elastic Cord, Crystal Effects, Coluzzle, Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!

VSN Fun

I was able to play along with Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) on Sunday. The theme was a Masquerade. Here are my challenge cards; all card recipes can be found in my VSN gallery.

The challenge was to take a holiday stamp (Halloween here) and use it for another holiday (Christmas), i.e. a holiday stamp masquerading as another holiday. This was a super cool challenge to think outside the box!

This is a single layer card - can you believe it?? This challenge was "removing the layers", as in removing the mask. I have to say this is the most complex single layer card I have made, and it has given me lots more ideas for the future.

Here we had to be inspired by a clip from the movie Masquerade, the Phantom of the Opera theme. Well, there was a ballroom of people dancing and singing, with a lot of black and white dress, and there was one mask that caught my eye that looked just like the Split Negative technique - so there you go!

This card uses the new flocked paper from the Christmas Cocoa DSP pack - really beautiful paper!

A masking challenge (of course, since a masquerade is about a mask). I will use this card for an upcoming birthday, and it is always nice to have a reason to sew on a card.

Another out of the box challenge - create a card that wears a mask, an accent - one that enhances the main image without hiding it. Stamping on the acetate with white craft ink was part of the challenge, and I love it!

Again, VSN challenged me to create something totally new and different, something I would never have created on my own. It is a great creativity boost. I hope you enjoyed looking!

Party Kits Ideas

Week #4: Deals of the Week

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Special Price
116214	174	Princess Party Kit	$15.95	$9.99
116213	175	Pirate Party Kit	$15.95	$9.99

Sale is in effect until 10/31/09 10:50pm MT.

Shoebox Swaps

We just got back from the Syracuse Shoebox Swap. We had a fabulous time, and there were too many Make & Takes to even finish there! Here are my swaps:

My demo quality swap. Stamps: Autumn Harvest; Paper: Dusty Durango, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, More Mustard, Very Vanilla; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel; Accessories: Durango ribbon, Aquapainter, Earth Elements watercolor crayons, Sponge, Big Shot, Backgrounds I Texturz Plate.

My ATC - an attempt to CASE 'parkerquilter' on SCS and a Stamper's Anonymous stamp. Stamps: Branch out, Clockface by Inkadinkado; Paper: Basic Black, Tangerine Tango, book page, Glossy White; Ink: Bordering Blue, Basic Black, Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie reinker, Really Rust reinker, Versamark, Basic Black marker; Accessories: Brayer, Sponge, Alcohol, Cotton Ball, Course salt, Water spritzer, Black embossing powder, Color spritzer tool; Technique: Polished Stone + Salted Background.

My technique page swap. Stamps: Embrace Life; Paper: Real Red Textured, Basic Black, Very Vanilla; Ink: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Close to Cocoa spot & marker; Accessories: Aquapainter, Crimper, Dimensionals.

And here is an ATC I made for a SCS Halloween Swap, again inspired by 'parkerquilter'. I love spooky ATC's, and there were a lot of fun, spooky projects yesterday. Love it!! Stamps: Graveyard Gala, Branch Out; Paper: Basic Black, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla, Cast-a-Spell DSP, Book page; Ink: So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, Close to Cocoa; Accessories: Brayer, Scallop edge punch, Sponge.

Thanks for stopping by!

Some Baby and Birthday Cards

I thought I would share some baby and birthday cards I made recently. I made a couple while camping at North-South Campground for my birthday weekend. It was cooollllldddd, but beautiful!

Since I didn't bring a lot of supplies, this was my own personal "limited-supplies" challenge. Stamps: Buggies & Booties; Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Regal Rose, Regal Rose DSP; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink; Accessories: Sponge, Ribbon, Crop-o-dile, Cutter Kit, Dimensionals.

And here is a birthday card for my biking buddy. Stamps: Hit the Road; Paper: Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Accessories: Aquapainter, Earth Elements Watercolor Crayons, Sponge, Paper piercer, Cutter Kit, Ribbon, Dimensionals.

A card for my niece using the Faux Paper Lantern technique. I used this technique for my swap at the Syracuse shoebox swap this Saturday, so I will post and describe soon! Stamps: Embrace Life, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper: Mellow Moss, Chocolate Chip, Always Apricot, Very Vanilla; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss; Accessories: Oval punches, Crop-o-dile, Ribbon, Soft Subtles Watercolor Crayons, Aquapainter, Sewing machine.

A birthday card for a buddy who doesn't mind me expressing and sharing my darker mood. Stamps: From the Crypt; Paper: Basic Black, Almost Amethyst, Glossy White, Night & Day DSP; Ink: Almost Amethyst, Versamark, Almost Amethyst reinker, Perfect Plum reinker, Basic Black marker; Accessories: Black embossing powder, Alcohol, Cotton ball, Color spritzer tool, Scallop edge punch, Paper piercer, Ribbon, Sewing machine, Dimensionals; Technique: Polished Stone.

And for my buddy who also likes to camp. I've made a similar card before (April 09), but it is so much fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ways to Use It

I thought it would be fun to have a "Ways to Use It" post for the embellishments on sale this week.

A make & take scrapbook page from Convention, using a Jumbo Grommet as a flower.

This is a card I received in a swap, made by Kelly Spivey. You can use a grommet to anchor your ribbon knot. This adds interest to the card.

The make & take scrapbook page from Virginia Regionals uses a Mini Library Clip - little details on a scrapbook page go a real long way!

This swap card from Laurel Matthew uses the 1/2" Library Clip.

And another swap card from Gayla Noel, using a 1/2" Library clip combined with ribbon.

I hope this helps give you some ideas. Thanks for looking!

Week #3: Deals of the Week

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Special Price
114348	179	Basic Jumbo grommets	$6.95	$4.49
109857	179	Mini Library clips	$12.95	$8.99
112571	179	Circle Designer brads	$5.95	$3.99
112581	179	1/2" Library clips	$6.95	$3.99

Sale is in effect until 10/26/09 9:50am MT.

Sweet Centers

For the recent Fall Festival, I made some Sweet Centers samples with the Sweet Treat Cups from the Holiday mini, pp. 6-7. Someone on SCS has figured out a way to make a slider door on the back of the cup, so you don't have to ruin the card to get the candy out - very ingenious! This set is super cute for children's parties or for a festive card for co-workers!

Sunflower

The Jelly Belly Halloween lollipop we made at club in August.

Christmas ornament filled with Buffalo snow. This sample also uses patterned paper from the Christmas Cocoa DSP pack. It has a shimmer to it - very pretty! The snowflakes are from the Snow Swirled set, and the ribbon is also from the Holiday mini, Mistletoe pg. 33. Shhhhh, here is a secret - we are going to use lots of Holiday mini accessories at Stamp Camp on November 10.

Valentine's treat - I filled the cup with bits of metallic wrapping paper, just for something different.

One of my favorites - a Happy Birthday balloon with Shaving Cream background. This was my first time with Shaving Cream, and I am hooked! Haven't tried it? Fill a container with shaving cream and flatten out with a wooden stick. Add a few drops of classic reinker (Bashful Blue here) and swirl as desired with your stick. Put your Whisper White cardstock facedown into the shaving cream, remove and wipe off with a paper towel. It's that simple! Play with the colors, but for my tiny sampling, I found that mixing two dark colors together (e.g. Old Olive and Perfect Plum) may give you a muddy look that isn't so desired. It seems staying with pastel colors or just one color may be a safe bet to begin with.

Most of these cards were partially CASE'd from samples on SCS. You can check the gallery out for many more ideas!

What other ideas can you think of for filling these cups? Candy corn and Jelly Bellies are great choices since they are so colorful... A simple way to make a shaker card... A clean way to make a gel card... The sky's the limit!

Thanks for stopping by!

Edit 10/15/09: Hot off the presses... another one with blue hair gel and Animal Stories stamp set. You don't have to have the Sweet Centers set to have fun! The waves were made with the 3/4" circle punch. I also used Brocade Blue, Basic Black, Whisper White, and the gorgeous Organza ribbon. I love this idea - thanks to Lydia (aka Understand Blue) for it! This is a perfect birthday card for my swimming friend! :)

Side view.

Edit 10/17/09: I can't stop playing with these stamps and cups! More ideas for you...

Here is a little 3 x 3" card with festive and colorful candy corn, and this card has a slider pull-out so you can get the candy out without destroying the card. Colors: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Basic Black.

And this stamp reminded me of a cute idea I saw at Virginia Regionals last year. Remember those little toys where you have to get all the little BB balls into the holes? Well, I made a little BB toy box myself. Working from the bottom, it has a Rich Razzleberry box base, then layered on Basic Black, Cork, and Whisper White stamped with Old Olive and Basic Black ink. The top of the box is made with acetate, and then the box sides are finished off with Rich Razzleberry polka dot grosgrain ribbon.

Here is the sideview of the box. Fun to make!

Edit 10/25/09: One of the Make & Takes we made at the Syracuse shoebox swap yesterday, designed by Kris (Conductorchik). The tail feathers are a slider to get the candy out.

What ideas do you have for this set? I'd love to make some more things!

October Club

Here are the projects we made at October club. Club sign-up is coming up again after December. If you like these kind of projects and would like to join us, just contact me!

This card is called the tri-shutter card, which is all the rage on SCS. We used the wet watercolor crayons technique. The basic method is to color directly on your stamp with Watercolor Wonder Crayons, using a couple colors for dimension. Then spritz with a water mister 1-2 times from 6-12" away and stamp directly onto Watercolor Paper. It gives the stamped image a soft watercolor effect. The edges were sponged for additional antiquing.

Here is the card opened. Everyone loved this card - it is a nice heavy weight after attaching all the layers.

Stamps: Autumn Leaf Prints, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Soft Suede, Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Watercolor Paper, Autumn Traditions DSP; Ink: Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Raffia, Word Punch, Sponge, Watercolor Crayons, Water Spritzer, Paper Piercer.

For our second card, I really wanted to use the Santa image from Wandering Words (in the Holiday mini). Well, brayered background seems like the best technique choice, but I was very nervous about using this technique on regular cardstock for club. Thank goodness everyone seemed to do well with it. It just required a little bit of patience.

After masking off a moon with post-it notes, we inked up the brayer with Bashful Blue classic ink and rolled the brayer back and forth in the horizontal direction. Reink and go in the vertical direction. Reink again and brayer diagonally. Just keep inking and working the background until it evens out. Any slight imperfections were covered up with sponging with Brocade Blue ink. I used a dabbing technique *with the pad of your finger to avoid nail marks* and then a swiping motion. You may even want to "stamp off" on paper before sponging your background to give yourself just a light amount of color to blend. Again, be patient and keep blending. I finally sponged with Night of Navy on the top 1/2", and with this color it is important to stamp off first since it is very dark. Just keep working and blending until you are satisfied, and then finish up your card.

Stamps: Wandering Words, Branch Out; Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White; Ink: Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, Basic Black; Accessories: Post-it notes, Circle punch, Sponges, Brayer; Semi-CASE of 'stampspaperglitter' on SCS.

After all those techniques, we needed an easier 3-D project. We made sour cream containers with Halloween Designer Series Paper and Halloween stamp images (ghosts, bats, crows, spiders, etc.). The directions for this one is in SCS Resources, and it is super quick, easy, and fun. They would be great for party favors. I chose to put a window in my sour cream container so the colorful candy corn peeks through.

Stamps: Halloween Frights; Cardstock: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Cast-a-Spell DSP; Ink: Basic Black; Accessories: Circle punches, Circle Scallop punch, Window Sheet, Sticky Strip, Crimper, Pumpkin Pie ribbon, Linen Thread, Candy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Perfect Setting Die

I wanted to find out what projects have been created with the Perfect Setting die... to find out if this die is something I just couldn't live without. Well, if you have kids' birthday parties in your future, or you are a huge cupcake lover, this one may be for you.

The cupcake holders are made with this die, and check out the 'scallop edge' embellishment on the invitation - also from this die. The scallop piece can also be embellished to make napkin rings.

Here is another example of the cupcake holder. These would be really cute with Designer Series Paper, such as Halloween DSP for a Halloween party. Also shown is the Sweet Centers flower with a Sweet Treat cup. I recently made a collection of Sweet Treat samples for the Fall Festival, so I hope to get those posted for your viewing pleasure tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

Week #2: Deals of the Week

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Special Price
115961	200	Perfect Setting Bigz XL die	$42.95	$25.99
114515	195	Flower Burst Embosslits die	$11.95	$5.99
116760	201	Pop-Up Three Tier Cake Bigz XL die	$39.95	$25.49

Sale is in effect until 10/19/09 9:50am MT.

My Digital Studio Fun

I have been playing with the new program My Digital Studio this week. I am new to digital scrapbooking, so this is totally cool! Insert photos without having to run to CVS, Stampin' Up colors, RESIZE STAMPIN UP STAMPS!!! Haven't you ever wanted to do that? Design a Christmas card and just hit print 200 copies? That one is tempting! Anywho, here's my first output from this new program.

Thanks for stopping by!