FM157 Minnie Ears!

OMG... this is totes adorbs!  Cindy is bringing us a fancy fold Friday Mashup challenge with polka dots.

Photo Source 

Here's your Mashup Challenge:

1. Create a project with "Polka Dots".
2. Create a project with a "Fun Fold".
3. or Mash it Up! and create a "Fun Fold project with some Polka Dots"!

Well, I was drawing a complete blank.  I love polka dots, yet rarely use them.  They say party to me, bright colors, or a sunny day.  I just couldn't come up with a fun fold, combined with polka dots, that was floating my boat.  The perils of crafting by emotion, I guess.  What else could I think of that uses bold, bright polka dots?  Summer dresses... or... Minnie Mouse!

Ok, a shaped card isn't quite a fancy fold, but we'll just skip past that part.  ;)  I created a card base and mouse ears card front in My Digital Studio with circle and half circle punches.  The bow comes from the That's a Wrap download.  All items were traced and cut on the e-cutter.  Wouldn't this be the perfect card for a Minnie fan?

Paper: Basic Black, Polka Dot Parade DSP; Accessories: My Digital Studio punches, That's a Wrap MDS download, e-cutter.

Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscriptions & Weekly Deals

Prepaid Paper Pumpkin subscriptions are now available!  They can also be added your order workshop (or any) order.  Woohoo!  Want to try Paper Pumpkin and let your hostess get credit for the purchase?  Try it!

With  Mother's Day just around the corner, it's a great time to take advantage of these prepaid subscriptions that can be bought as gifts. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

Item	Paper Pumpkin Prepaid Subscription	Price (Shipping Included)
137858	1 month	$19.95
137859	3 months	$59.85
137860	6 months	$113.70 -- save $1 per month
137861	12 months	$215.40 -- save $2 per month

How It Works

1. When you use the above code to place your order (online, workshop, etc.), you will receive an e-mail with instructions on how to redeem the prepaid subscription.
2. Go to www.mypaperpumpkin.com and enter the redemption code.
3. Start enjoying their monthly Paper Pumpkin project kit the very next month!
4. Input your payment information when redeeming the prepaid subscription to continue receiving the monthly kit after the prepaid subscription ends (optional).

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Here are this week's Weekly Deals - and don't forget about FREE SHIPPING, which ends Friday.

2013-2015 In Color Core'dinations Price: $11.95 $8.96 5/8 Inch Crochet Trim Victoria Price: $6.95 $5.21 Afternoon Daydream Kit - Digital Download Price: $9.95 $5.97 Afternoon Picnic Designer Series Paper Price: $10.95 $8.21 Large Pearl Basic Jewels Price: $4.95 $3.71 Naturals Designer Buttons Price: $4.95 $3.71 Pacific Point 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Price: $4.95 $3.71 Rich Razzleberry 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Price: $4.95 $3.71

MDSM63 Cherry Blossoms & Retiring Lists

Joan has a fun page sketch for us for this week's MDS Monday challenge.

This reminds me of the log cabin quilt pattern my mom used to make.  I have to admit I had trouble thinking of a design and matching photo.  This pattern could be used for tiles, marble, bricks, iris pattern, labyrinth, even a boardwalk.  Yet I didn't have any photos to match these ideas.  I finally went with a bamboo pattern to match some cherry blossom trees.

I pulled in the bamboo paper pattern from the Spring to Life kit into another page, recolored it to Old Olive, and exported as a jpeg.  That pattern was then applied to this page using grouped photo boxes.

MDS Elements: Spring to Life kit, Very Vanilla Textured CS; Font: Bernard MT Condensed.

Retiring Products: The retiring lists are here!  It's the time of year to retire the old and make way for the new catalog.  All, including stamps, are while supplies last.  Grab them before they are gone.

Dates: April 21-June 4, 2014 (all items available while supplies last)

Free Shipping: April 21 - 25!  Everything qualifies for free shipping, including MDS print products.  Grab your products now and save 10%!

Retiring Lists:

• Retiring Stamps 
  • PDF
  • Excel file
• Retiring Accessories 
  • PDF
  • Excel file

The Stamp Review Crew: Six-Sided Sampler

Welcome to another Stamp Crew Review Blog Hop!  We share our take on a selected stamp set every first and third Monday.  Today will investigate the versatility of the fun stamp set Six-Sided Sampler, which coordinates with the hexagon punch.  These hops result in such a variety of ideas; don't you love them?

If you are hopping around in a circle, you have just come from Dawn's blog.  Dawn has such a fun paper crafting style!   To get myself warmed up with Six-Sided Sampler, I started with a clean & simple card for Easter.

I cut the egg shapes on my e-cutter using the egg punch from the Everything Easter download.  I then stamped the patterns from the hexagon stamps to create fun and colorful decorated eggs using last week's Friday Mashup color combination.  This card was a great excuse to pull out my Fringe Scissors again.

It is a little late to begin Easter cards, although maybe there is some of you out there?  You can try this technique of stamping patterns on any e-cut/die-cut/punched shape you can imagine, as you will see in the next card as well.

Stamps: Six-Sided Sampler, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper: Pool Party, Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Whisper White; Ink: Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzazz, Wisteria Wonder, Soft Suede; Accessories: Everything Easter MDS download, Fringe Scissors, Cupcake builder punch, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Square Collection framelits, Big Shot, e-cutter, Dimensionals.

I love making shaped cards, so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for a hexagon card.

Using the Hexagon punch from My Digital Studio and an e-cutter, I designed and cut the Early Espresso card base and Crushed Curry card front.  I ran the card front and stamped Six-Sided Sampler images through the Hexagon Hive thinlit to create the hive die-cuts.  The sentiment came from the Six-Sided Sampler download with a small offset around the word for ease of cutting.

Stamps: Six-Sided Sampler, Field Flowers, Six-Sided Sampler MDS download, Flores Suaves MDS download; Paper: Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla; Ink: Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Sahara Sand; Accessories: Hexagon punch MDS download, Aquapainter, Hexagon Hive thinlit, Big Shot.

Make sure you check out the next stop to see what creative and fun goodies Kerry at Peonies and Paper Chains put together with the set.

ETA: You may experience some inconsistent ability to get to some of the links. TypePad is having issues and some of our blogger's posts will be available for a short time, then "crash" again. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.  Please visit the Stamp Review Crew landing page to continue on.

 

FM156 Sketchy Ombre

Ombre or hombre?  How do you pronounce "ombre"?  There was a discussion thread on this topic on Splitcoaststampers recently, which was quite amusing.  This week's Friday Mashup challenge is using the ombre technique.

Sketch by: Lynda

Here's your Mashup Challenge:

1. Create a project using the "Sketch".
2. Create a project with the "Ombre' Background Technique".
3. Or Mash it up and create a project an "Ombre' Background & The Sketch"

• The stamp image comes from the 2012 Stampin' Up! Convention stamp set I Am..., and I used the Chalkboard technique to create the main panel.
• I was going for a black & yellow color scheme, and used a Chocolate Chip frame to simulate woodgrain.  I also added coordinating, subtle woodgrain texture to the background.
• To satisfy the ombre requirement, I brayered a background panel with three different yellows. 
• I grabbed some script from the Walk in the Park II download, added a 0.2" offset, and cut it out with an e-cutter.  

Stamps: I Am...; Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Patio Party DSP; Ink: Daffodil Delight, Summer Starfruit, Crushed Curry, Whisper White Craft, Versamark; Accessories: Summer Starfruit twine, Chalk marker, White embossing powder, 2-3/8" Scallop Circle punch, Brayer, Sponge, Woodgrain EF, On Film framelits, Big Shot, e-cutter; MDS Elements: Walk in the Park II.

Happy Birthday, Janneke!

Last week Little Missy had a small play date to celebrate her birthday before enjoying Spring Break this week.  Originally we had planned on going to Hawaii for her birthday, and since that plan was changed, she had asked for a Hawaiian party.  I'll share a couple of the crafty items we included in the party.

The invitations -

Of course I was playing along with Mix-Ability #49, Happy Little Clouds. Janneke did all the stamping and coloring, and I made clouds for her with acrylic paint.

Stamps: Do the Hulu; Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White; Ink: Marina Mist, Basic Black, Soft Sky reinker; Accessories: Sponge, White acrylic paint, Colored pencils.

There were Hawaiian decorations and music, leis, pineapple and coconut drinking cups (with Hawaiian punch), drink umbrellas, and Hawaiian-themed fruit.  We played Pin the Tail on the Pig (in honor of the Hawaiian pig roast).

We also made this Easter bunny craft.

We sent our friends home with thank you bags filled with Hawaiian-themed goodies.

Stamps: Tropical Party MDS download, Oh, Hello MDS download; Paper: Pacific Point, Whisper White, Island Oasis II MDS download; Accessories: Daffodil Delight taffeta ribbon.

And the thank you cards.  I was advisor, and Janneke did most of the work.

Stamps: Tropical Party, Thanks & Hello; Paper: Whisper White, Island Oasis DSP; Ink: Old Olive, Gumball Green, Early Espresso; Accessories: Colored pencils, Dimensionals.

Project Life & Weekly Deals

Hot off the presses, Stampin' Up! just announced they are partnering with Becky Higgins to bring Project Life to Stampin' Up!, with all the wonderful designs and coordination SU offers!

Starting May 1, a selection of products will be available for purchase (below), with even more items in the main catalog on June 2.

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And don't forget about this week's Weekly Deals, available through Monday, April 21.

Adorning Accents Edgelits Die Price: $9.95 $7.46 Anywhere Glue Sticks Price: $3.95 $2.96 Floral District Photobook Template - Digital Download Price: $17.95 $10.77 Natural 5/8" Chevron Ribbon Price: $6.95 $5.21 Needlepoint Border Textured Impressions Embossing Folders Price: $7.95 $5.96 Night Of Navy 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Price: $4.95 $3.71 Outer Space Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel Price: $8.50 $6.38 Venetian Romance Designer Series Paper Price: $10.95 $8.21