Sent with Love

I haven't had enough time to play with the Sent with Love bundle, and it is already time for it to leave us.  I'm so sad.

I used Fab Friday #17 to help create this card.

Stamps: Sent with Love, Hearts A Flutter; Paper: Pool Party, Real Red, Whisper White, Sent with Love DSP; Ink: Real Red, Real Red marker, Island Indigo marker; Accessories: White baker's twine, Itty Bitty buttons, Small Heart punch, Heart-to-Heart punch, Petal Cone die, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

Don't forget, the Sent with Love special bundle offer ends today!  Get yours here now.

Thanks for stopping by!

Epic Day This and That Journal

Tomorrow's the last day to grab the Epic Day This and That bundle for 15% off.  The bundle includes:

• Epic Day journal
• Epic Day designer series paper
• Remember This and That rotary stamp
• Epic Day stickers
• Epic Day washi tape

Some suggested add-ons are:

• Additional a la carte bundle items
• Glue sticks
• Hung Up shaped clips

We are going to get together May 16 to decorate the front and a two-page spread.

We've got some kiddos coming too, for a semi-mother/son and mother/daughter crafting night.  My daughter will be taking the class as well too... she's so excited.

You can purchase your bundle HERE now.  Thanks for stopping by!

FM107 Sunny Soaring Easel

This week's Friday Mashup involves an easel card.  Can you believe I've never made one?  Wait, I think I have at a shoebox swap, which was already designed and scored, but not one from scratch. 

Here's your Mashup Challenge:

1. Create a project showcasing "Sunshine".
2. Create an "Easel card" project.
3. Or Mash it Up and create an "Easel Card project with some Sunshine".

Here's the front.

I created the sun by masking with successively larger die-cut circles and sponging.  If you look closely, there are rays emanating from the sun as well.

For the easel fold, I followed a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.

I went back a bit for an interesting Retro Sketch challenge that I didn't get a chance to play with.  [For shame, ending with a preposition... how very Midwest of me.]  I mean, a challenge with which I hadn't had a chance to play.  :)

Stamps: Send Me Soaring; Paper: Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Bashful Blue DSP; Ink: Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler, So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Summer Starfruit, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Soft Suede; Accessories: Cherry Cobbler baker's twine, Pool Party baker's twine, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, Sponges, Square Lattice EF, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!

3-D Thursday: Happy Hello Treat Box

Hi Everyone,  From the recent Sale-a-bration season, I collected enough Happy Hello Simply Sent card kits to bring as my shoebox project at the recent Ilion (Utica), NY swap.  Yay Sale-a-bration!  I wanted to do something different than a card, so I looked around for some instructions to create a box.

How cute is this?

Here's the short story:

• Score at 1-1/8" from each edge on the long sides.
• With the non-printed side on your left, score at 2" (only from 1-1/8" score lines to the outer edges) and 5-3/8" (full width).
• Cut and trim as shown in Julie Davison's photo.

And here is the link to Julie's video instructions.  This can be used for other standard card base sizes or other Simply Sent kits as well, so keep that in mind for the future!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Retirement Lists Are Here!

It's the time of year again to say good-bye to the retiring stamps and accessories. Selected accessories are up to 60%, so you'll want to grab them before they are gone! And don't forget that all but stamp sets are while supplies last, so don't delay! Click here to order online now.

Last Chance Stamp Set List (click on photo):

Last Chance Accessories List (up to 60% off):

The retiring accessories list will be updated daily, so check back here through May for items that have sold out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hot Trend: Divided Pages

Divided scrapbook pages, aka Project Life pages, are a hot trend right now.  They are perfect for the every day Facebook and Instagram photos to tell the story of the recent week or month.  This past Saturday, we got together to scrap the For the Record Simply Scrappin' Layout in the Spring catalog.  I've been dying to play with some divided pages, so this get-together gave me a perfect excuse.

Some of the elements of my pages are copied from the demo magazine Stampin' Success, and I had to punt for the others.  Once the elements were done, I just gathered and printed a bunch of photos from kindergarten.  I have a couple more spots available for photos from the rest of the year.  With the Simply Scrappin' Layout, this came together super quick!

With all the coordinating papers and card stock, it is so easy to put together pocket cards.  I can't wait to work on the next one.  Note to self: Get more divided page protectors!  :)

Supplies: Paper: Summer Starfruit, Riding Hood Red, Island Indigo; Ink: Black journaling pen; Accessories: For the Record Simply Scrappin' Layout, White baker's twine, Corner Rounder punch, Spiral punch, paperclips.

Thanks for stopping by!

Technique Tuesday: Swallowtail

The Swallowtail stamp in the Spring catalog is such a great stamp for so many techniques.  I finally caved and bought one to feature in a recent class.

The first card features embossing resist and was inspired by Chris Smith's beautiful card.

Stamps: Swallowtail, Secret Garden, Perfectly Penned; Paper: Crumb Cake, River Rock, Whisper White; Ink: Crumb Cake, River Rock, White Craft, Versamark; Accessories: Crumb Cake seam binding, Clear embossing powder, White embossing powder, Aquapainter, Sponges, Secret Garden framelits, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

You can't look at this stamp and not think it would be perfect for some watercoloring.  I let the butterfly be the focus of the card and kept the rest simple.

I added a few gel pen dots for added dimension and detail.

Stamps: Swallowtail, Itty Bitty Banners; Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White; Ink: Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Versamark; Accessories: Signo gel pen, Black embossing powder, Honeycomb EF, Bitty Banners framelits, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

My last card is a mixed media project.  I took some music sheets I got from a library sale, glued them to Very Vanilla card stock, and applied gesso over the entire layer.

Other than mixed media, the technique used here is masking.  This card was inspired by 'mamaxsix' on Splitcoaststampers.

Stamps: Swallowtail; Paper: Island Indigo, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla; Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Island Indigo, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Versamark, Crumb Cake marker; Accessories: Linen Thread, Antique Brad, Black embossing powder, Sponges, Petal Cone die, Big Shot, Gesso, Music sheet.

Thanks for stopping by!

MDSM12 Happy Retro New Year

Time for another MDS Monday challenge.  Holly has a fun sketch for us and a challenge to use the Brush Tool somewhere on your page.

Here is my page.  I didn't use any special tricks with it, just straight-forward.

I started with the Happy Hour ensemble, and I ended up with this retro feel.  Funky but I kinda like it.  Love the "champagne bubbles".  Seems fitting because when visiting my in-laws in the Netherlands, lots of decor, furniture, and color schemes have a retro feel too.

I cheated on the Brush Tool technique.  The champagne glass looks colored, but there was an accessory in the ensemble that came that way.  ;)  Edit to add: Now that I see the other DT samples, I see I was suppose to use the "freeform" function of the program, not the coloring tool for stamps.  Oops!  You'll do better than me, right?

Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment; Paper: Whisper White textured; Color Palette: Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, Raspberry Ripple; Accessories: Happy Hour ensemble; Font: Bodoni MT Condensed, Arial.

Thanks for stopping by!

FM106 Wisteria Plum Lilacs

This week's Friday Mashup involves color and a challenge to get us to get it in the mail.

Here's your Mashup Challenge:

1. Create a card using the colors "Sahara Sand, Perfect Plum & Wisteria Wonder".
2. Create a card " and Mail it to someone".
3. Or Mash it Up and create a card with "Sahara Sand, Perfect Plum, Wisteria Wonder & Mail it".

The color combo screamed lilacs to me.  I asked my mom to bring her Blossoms Abound stamp set over so I could play with it.  I'm a huge lilac fan!  Although we have a lilac bush in the front yard, every May we go to Vermont to enjoy the wonderful lilac smells.

Stamps: Blossoms Abound (retired); Paper: Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Flirtatious DSP; Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum, Sahara Sand; Accessories: White baker's twine, Perfect Polka Dot EF, Vine Street EF, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!

3-D Thursday: Gone Fishin'

Do you remember this card from the Stampin' Addicts Spring Catalog Blog Hop?

I thought a coordinating 3-D fishing bag would be fun.

I sent hubby out for the fly fishing lure and gummy worms.  It was a no-go on the lure, so he made one for me with feathers from the back yard and a bit of fluffy from Little Missy's stuffed animal (shhhh, don't tell her!).  How sweet!  I said, "So you have a new occupation, and we know what to do with all those stuffed animals."  :)

Stamps: By the Tide, Netting BG; Paper: Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Parker's Patterns DSP; Ink: Cajun Craze, River Rock, Always Artichoke, Soft Suede, Black Stazon; Accessories: Linen thread, Silver brad, Scallop Dotted Ribbon border punch, Aquapainter, Sponge, Argyle EF, Square Lattice EF, 3-1/2 Circle die, Petite Purse die, Big Shot, Wooden skewer, Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!

Scrappy Snorkeling at Pennekamp

I thought I would also share with you a traditional scrapbook page I made with the set By the Tide.  I'm not a huge scrapbooker (excluding MDS), so this page was big for me.  What a labor of love... took all day!

I printed "Pennekamp" with My Digital Studio before I started stamping the page.  I love all the touchy-feely details!  :)

This page depicts our visit to John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo in January.  It was my daughter's first snorkeling trip away from shore.  There was a little trepidation, but she did great!

Stamps: By the Tide, Morning Post Alphabet; Paper: Pool Party, Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Watercolor paper, Tea for Two DSP, Sent with Love DSP; Ink: Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink, Calypso Coral, Bashful Blue, Pool Party, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Versamark, Early Espresso marker, Black journaling pen; Accessories: Natural Trim, Designer Silver Basics button, Linen Thread, Aquapainter, Clear embossing powder, Crystal Effects, Color Spritzer Tool, 1" Circle punch, Happy Whale clearlit, Big Shot, Sewing machine, Thread, Jump ring.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pool Time Progressive Digi Page

I haven't done a terribly copious amount of stamping the last couple weeks.  In fact, not much at all.  But I have been enjoying some digi-scrapping while watching The Bates Motel and Duck Dynasty.  Why are the beards so addicting?!

So Beth Rush linked up the Splitcoaststamper's progressive digital scrapping challenge on her blog.  Don't know how I missed it for nearly a year, but it sounded interesting.  Here's the premise:

The object is to complete one page over the course of four weeks by following instructions given in tasks posted each week. 

I've started on April's challenge, and I like it so much I went back and did March's (challenge 10).  Here's a pictorial view of how my page evolved, and as I've said about challenges, you end up with something cool you would never make on your own.

Task 1 - background paper and background photo

Task 2 - add a photo, filmstrip of photos, and embellishments.  Seeing as I had starting with my main photo as the background, I had to figure out a way not to cover it up.  I just added the same photo again to highlight it.

Task 3 - Add paper swatches behind photo strip, long strip of paper, and some ribbon

Task 4 - add a title and done

This challenge didn't disappoint with respect to trying to figure out how to layout the elements with each successive task.  I normally would never have used so many swatch layers... how fun!

MDS Elements: Stamps: Day in the Life frame; Paper: Baja Breeze textured, Sycamore Street DSP; Color Palette: Tangerine Tango, Island Indigo, Pool Party, Baja Breeze, Whisper White; Accessories: Mis-stitched, Sycamore Street ribbon, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, Smitten Alphabet.

Thanks for stopping by!

The New Catalog is Coming...

May 31 is the day for the new catalog!  It will be here before you know it.  If you don't currently have a demonstrator, I would be happy to send you a copy of the 2013-14 annual catalog for $5.00.  Get yourself on the list now; catalogs start shipping from Stampin' Up on May 1.

{Buy Now link expired}

Make sure you use or include your correct U.S. mailing address within the Paypal process or make a note of your preferred U.S. address.  I will use Paypal information unless otherwise noted. 

This link will be available through June 30.  And BONUS - when you order $50 of product through me, I will refund your cost for the catalog.  Win-win!

This just in... Stampin' Up! announced a hostess and recruiting special today.  Here are the exciting details.

Hostess offer: Host a $350 party and earn an additional $30 in FREE products!
Recruiting offer: Join Stampin' Up! and receive an extra $30 in the Starter Kit! That's $155 worth of ANY products for only $99, including shipping!
Dates: April 15-May 30, 2013 (yes, it ends the day before the last day of the month)

Contact me to schedule a party or private class or join now.  Thanks for stopping by!

MDS Video: Editing Shaped Clips

You may remember this digital page I did back in March.

Notice the heart-shaped clip in the lower right corner of the photo.  I love paperclips and shaped clips, but it drives me batty if they don't look "clipped", KWIM?

One possible way to crop within MDS would be the crop-embellishment-with-a-punch-shape trick.  This method would work if you can get the inside of the clip to fit inside a heart punch or custom punch.  It didn't quite work for me here.

So I went with option B; I used my photo editing software to complete the job.  The software I used is Photoshop Elements, and other programs may work as well.  This key is that your finished edited file be a .png file type.

I created a video so you can see the process.

Thanks for stopping by!

FM105 Patio Birthday Party

Erica's got a cute sketch and useful challenge for us this week at the Friday Mashup.  Who doesn't need a birthday card on hand?

Sketch by: Erica 

Here's your Mashup Challenge:

1. Create a project using the "Sketch".
2. Create a "Birthday" project.
3. Or Mash It Up and create a "Birthday project using the Sketch".

I'm not one for a traditional birthday cake-kind-of-card, but I am quite happy with how this turned out.  It feels like yummy eye candy to me.

I did have to move the main panel a little off-center.  I just couldn't center it... just couldn't.  Sigh.

Stamps: Make a Cake, Something to Celebrate (retired); Paper: Baja Breeze, Midnight Muse, Whisper White, Patio Party DSP; Ink: Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit; Accessories: Island Indigo baker's twine, Itty Bitty clear button, Clear embossing powder, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, Aquapainter, Blender pen, Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!

Graduation Spring Card

I made the graduation spring card last April as part of the Friday Mashup, and I received a lot of questions on how to make it.  I thought it would be a good card to use for my first stamping video.  Well, I didn't stamp on video, so let's call it paper crafting video (scroll to bottom).  For those who like PDF instructions, the spring card fold can be found here.

Recall I used black linen paper from the Taste of Textiles Specialty paper pack for the cap (check out the nice texture of the paper), text paper for the rolled diploma, colored a 5/8" brad with a sharpie, and created the tassel from crochet thread.

The backside of the cap has a space for a personal message,

and the card folds flat for mailing.

Stamps: Word Play, Something to Celebrate; Paper: So Saffron, Basic Black, Whisper White, Taste of Textiles Specialty DSP, First Edition DSP;  Ink: Basic Black; Accessories: Basic Black taffeta ribbon, 5/8" brad, Black Sharpie, Crochet thread, Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!

Twisted Tea

I attended the Ilion (Utica), NY shoebox swap last weekend, and one my favorite swaps at these gatherings is the twisted swap.  Gotta love a little edgy humor!  Well my swap is a bit tamer than in the past, but still falls under humorous.

The saying comes from a retired stamp set, Favorite Thoughts.  I wish I had bought it when it was current.  Especially since my printer seems to be on the fritz.  The sewing machine is too.  I think these little machines are ganging up on me!  I've been gluing these little pieces, and I can't tell if the sentiment is in focus.  I think so....  :/

I rotated Fab Friday sketch #15 for this card.

Stamps: None (uh-oh); Paper: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Afternoon Tea DSP; Accessories: Baker's twine, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, Honeycomb EF, Always Time for Tea die (MFT), Big Shot, Sewing machine, Thread.

Thanks for stopping by!