FM161 Stampin' Up! Thoughts & Prayers

This week Sara is treating us to some trees on the Friday Mashup.

Photo Source

Here's your Mashup Challenge:

1. Create a project with "Trees".
2. Create a project with "Heat or Dry Embossing".
3. Or Mash it up and create a project with "Embossing and Trees".

I tried practicing some watercolor techniques for this card.  I went through several different iterations before landing on this one, inking and spritzing the stamp with water.

The little blossoms are dogwood blossoms made with the retiring Itty Bitty punch pack.

So how did I make those?  After punching the four-petal flower, I punched the edges with a small circle hand punch.  Sponge the edges just a bit with Sahara Sand ink.  For the center, I rolled up some Pear Pizzazz card stock and grated it on my cheese grater, a trick learned from Jackie Topa.  A little bit of Tombo mono glue and you have some homemade paper fluff for the center.  Cool, eh?  What was left of my little rolled up strip became some distressed grass.

This card is make-up for not mashing it up with Lisa's layout last week.  I didn't feel like tying my card down to a specific sentiment, so I skipped it.

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers; Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Epic Day DSP, Gingham Garden DSP, Watercolor paper; Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip marker, Soft Sky reinker; Accessories: Itty Bitty punch pack, Fringe scissors, Aquapainter, Water spritzer, Sponge, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

Fabric Scissors Holder & Retired List Blowout Sale

I have to confess.  I have been hoarding Stampin' Up fabric, and I am just overflowing with it.  I've always want to hold a fabric class, but I am surely not an expert.  And there is a logistical issue of everyone needing a sewing machine.  Hence, it never seemed to happen.  Maybe someday...

In the meantime, I have fabric volume to reduce, and I always make a club appreciate gifts at the end of the season.  This task was hanging over my head, and I wasn't sure how I would find the time to do it.  The day before club, I finally got going, and it wasn't too bad.

This is my prototype, using the video instructions from Laura Milligan.  I found that adding the felt in the middle of the fabric sandwich, on top of needing twice as much fabric adhesive, made the holder too thick for my taste.  I opted for just adhering two pieces of fabric together.

Reducing the amount of fabric adhesive saved me a trip to the fabric store.  Then the assembly line work began... cutting, ironing, Big Shotting, sewing, threading, gluing...  Whew!  It was a sweat shop in here for a while, and my sewing machine was fighting me the whole way.  But I did it!

Wouldn't you know it... Missy asked for one too.  I used her fabric and the last of my fabric adhesive to squeeze out one more.

Supplies: Candy Cane Christmas & Springtime Vintage designer fabric, Candy Cane Christmas & Springtime Vintage buttons, White baker's twine, Petal Cone die, Fun Flowers die, Big Shot, Fabric adhesive.

Get excited! Starting TODAY, we will be offering a 25% - 50% discount on many of the retiring products. Act fast, as this special offer is only available until June 4, 2014. If you missed out on a product the first time, this is your last chance to get it before it's gone for good!

Retiring Lists:

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

Couple More Items to Know About...

50% Off June's Paper Pumpkin Kit -

Shelli wanted us to send this quick video invitation especially for you!

To get this exclusive deal, visit MyPaperPumpkin.com/signup and subscribe before May 23. Just use this code: SHELLIDEAL.  Make sure to choose me, Heidi Baks, as your demonstrator when you sign up.

Or, call 1-800-STAMPUP and our agents will help you take advantage of this opportunity.

Retired List Blowout Sale - 

Get excited! Starting tomorrow, May 22, we will be offering a 25% - 50% discount on many of the retiring products. Act fast, as this special offer is only available until June 4, 2014. If you missed out on a product the first time, this is your last chance to get it before it's gone for good!

Stampin' Up! Hexagon Smile & Weekly Deals

This past weekend we gathered in Syracuse for the semi-annual shoebox swap.  What fun, as always!  I finally got to meet my design team buddy Holly IRL!

We were trying to think of how long we have known each other.  It's been at least four years.  Computer buddies are the bestest!

This is the card I put together for my shoebox project.  We had to gather supplies for 24 cards, and the card had to take 10 minutes or less to make.

The layout came from another hexagon card on Pinterest, but I switched up the rest.  I used Quatrefancy paper, which is retiring, as is all paper in the catalog.  The "smile" came from the Walk in the Park II digital download.  The biggest challenge is getting those hexagons spaced correctly.  A fun, clean, simple and quick card.

Stamps: Walk in the Park II MDS download; Paper: Island Indigo, Whisper White, Quatrefancy DSP; Accessories: Rhinestone jewels, Hexagon punch, e-cutter.

Got ribbon?  Don't miss this week's Weekly Deals!  Lots of great ribbon, and two downloads, on sale.

1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon Price: $7.95 $5.96 Basic Gray 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Price: $4.95 $3.71 Blushing Bride 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Price: $4.95 $3.71 Early Espresso 1/8 Inch Taffeta Ribbon Price: $5.95 $4.46 International Bazaar Photobook Template - Digital Download Price: $14.95 $8.97 Made From Scratch Recipes Designer Template - Digital Download Price: $17.95 $10.77 Pear Pizzazz 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon Price: $6.95 $5.21 Whisper White 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Price: $4.95 $3.71 Wild Wasabi 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Price: $4.95 $3.71

Control Freaks Catalog Preview Blog Tour

Welcome... It's time to hop along with the super fabulous Control Freaks group!  We are reviewing all the exciting previews of the upcoming catalog, which is available on June 2.  You've probably arrived here from Julie Davison's blog.  She is just so creative!

To start off, I'm in need for a graduation card or two this month.  I thought it would be fun to morph the cute octopus in the Sea Street set into a graduate.  He is graduating from school... the school of fish!  Ha, get it?  :)

I applied a watercolor wash to the background, followed by the salted background technique for some irregular dimension.  The grad cap was hand-cut using a My Digital Studio download, sized to fit, and the tassel is white baker's twine, dyed with Hello Honey ink.

Stamps: Sea Street, Gorgeous Grunge, Bravo; Paper: Hello Honey, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Watercolor paper; Ink: Lost Lagoon, Pool Party, Hello Honey, Blackberry Bliss, Crumb Cake, Black Sharpie; Accessories: White baker's twine, Silver mini brad, Aquapainter, Sponge.

I was practicing with the new In Colors and watercolor techniques, and I made a card I loved so much, I remade it with the new Work of Art set.

The technique calls for inking up the stamp and then spritzing with water to get it pretty wet.  Stamping on watercolor paper allows the ink to bleed a little and soften the edges.  The word cut-out comes from the Walk in the Park II digital download.

I didn't stop there.  I used the negative image of the word to create a stencil and sponged Versamark through the stencil.  I used the ink & spritz method on this card as well to help blend the colors a bit.

Both cards have ink splatter to round out the messy look.  I even splattered some Gold Encore ink on the first card.  I also colored pearls and rhinestones, respectively, with Blendabilities markers.  This opens a whole new world of color coordination!

Stamps: Work of Art; Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Watercolor paper, Champagne glimmer paper; Ink: Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist, Blackberry Bliss, Gold Encore, Versamark, Coastal Cabana & Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities markers; Accessories: Pearl jewels, Rhinestone jewels, Gold Sequin trim, Clear embossing powder, Water spritzer, Aquapainter, Owl builder punch, Hearts Collection framelit, Walk in the Park II digital download, e-cutter.

Skip on over to my buddy Mindy's blog to check out the goodies she has made for us. 

MDSM67 Another Acadia Vacation

As you know, Stampin' Up! has teamed up with Becky Higgins to bring us the Project Life product line with Stampin' Up! colors and flair!  There are traditional elements, as well as digital ones, along with many previously-released pocket card downloads.

In this vein, Beth brings us a Project Life layout challenge this week for MDS Monday.

            

Here's my page -

I would say I am still a novice at putting together an attractive Project Life page, but sticking with one pocket card kit really helps.  The good thing about a digital layout is you can span multiple pockets with an element, such as an arrow.  I was also able to reduce the opacity of the upper left frame.

Edit to add: I was really short on time this week, and I had one hour available to start this page.  Well, I picked photos, started, and finished in that time frame.  Project Life, along with sticking to a kit, makes for super quick and easy pages!

Make sure you check out all the design team samples; those girls really rock!

MDS Elements: This Makes Me Happy Pocket Cards, Rhinestone Jewels, KG Skinny Latte Font.

The Stamp Review Crew: Wetlands

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 fun, natural and even masculine set Wetlands.  If you are hopping around in a circle, you have just come from Rita's blog.  Rita has such a clean, fun style!

Wetlands has such wonderful images for all sorts of background techniques.  I've done some brayering with the sand piper images in the past, and last month for the Watercolor Wonder class, we used the watercolor wash technique.

After stamping the image, brush on two or three watered-down refill colors for each segment of the image (sand, water, sky).  When you are happy, use a Stampin' Spritzer to spray water on the image and let the colors blend.  You can go back and add more color and spritz more, as desired.  I did use a post-it note to mask off the skyline for a crisper line.

Stamps: Wetlands; Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Modern Medley DSP, Watercolor paper; Ink: Black Stazon, Crisp Cantaloupe, Soft Sky, Pool Party, Marina Mist, Bermuda Bay, Island Indigo, Crushed Curry, Crumb Cake reinkers; Accessories: Linen thread, White gel pen, Aquapainter, Stampin' Spritzer.

I changed up and remade a past card, although I am not sure I shared it back then.  It uses the Bordered Sentiment technique.

I won't lie to you; this simple layered card isn't easy to get right.  It took my five tries before I was happy.  But that being said, I love the clean look.

• To guarantee no ink smearing, use Black Stazon ink and give a moment to dry between stamp images.
• Stamp-a-ma-jig is a must!
• Temporarily adhere your panel to grid paper when drawing the bordered sentiment lines with a ruler
• Be very careful to not pick up stray ink marks on your stamp edge or ruler.

Stamps: Wetlands, Summer Silhouettes; Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White; Ink: Black Stazon, Basic Black marker; Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig!

Make sure you check out the next stop to see what creative and fun goodies Nancy at iguanastamp 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.