Unfrogettable Stamping!

Inspiration and a birthday card

My Techniques club member Wanda celebrated a birthday earlier this month and when she was at my house for our club meeting I noticed her cute little camera case.  I had not made her birthday card yet and thought - WOW!  I was completely inspired by the color and texture of it and wanted to create a fun card similar to it.  Naturally, I pulled out my Big Shot (can't imagine ever crafting without it!!) and used the Top Note die to give me the shape of the flap.  I then used the faux alligator technique with regal rose cardstock and created the outside of my card.  What do you think?  Did I pull it off?

For the inside, I used the "A Rose is a Rose" stamp set, one of my favorites, and spotlighted the flower image with my Stampin' Pastels.  I took a post it note, popped out a 1-3/4" circle with my punch, and then used it as a mask to sponge the pastels around the inside of the circle around the flower.  I finished it off with chocolate chip ink and the "A Little Birthday Cheer" stamp set.  Easy!!  I hope she liked her card.

This just goes to show how inspiration for a card or scrapbook page can be found anywhere... just open your eyes and take a look around!

 

Thanks for stopping by... hope you all have a very Happy and safe Halloween!

My Digital Studio focus for Fabulous Friday

Our product focus today over on the Sisters In Stamping blog is My Digital Studio (MDS), a digital design studio software package released by Stampin' Up! this month. 

My contribution for the week was to create a new blog banner for the site.  This is what I came up with, using elements from the "Happy BDay" design kit.  I started with a blank page and added designer paper, punches, flower embellishments, brads and the text.  I also created a button for each of my "Sisters" to put on their personal blogs to link to the SIS blog and that is below.  I took the same flower embellishments, designer paper and colors to create it.  I'm just so amazed at all you can do with MDS!!

I find it incredible that this entire software package, jam-packed with so many features, is priced at $79.95!  Any hostess who has a $400+ workshop through November 30th, can get MDS for just $39.97 with her hostess benefits!  WOW - that's 50% off!  For anyone wanting to join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator, there is even a new Digital+ Starter Kit priced at $185. I have details on that kit at the end of this post.  AND *I* have a special offer in place for any of my customers who purchase My Digital Studio from me this month - choose one $10 or less item for FREE!  But hurry, this offer ends on October 31st!! 

Here are some of the details about MDS, courtesy of the Stampin' Up! website:

Exclusive Stampin' Up! Content

• Stampin' Up! artwork and accessories available in a digital format.
• Stampin' Up! colors allow for perfect coordination when embellishing professional print projects with traditional embellishments. Add depth and dimension when you combine digital with handcrafted.
• With My Digital Studio, your favorite images and colors need not retire--you can keep using them for years to come!

Software

• My Digital Studio starts with nearly 2,000 unique elements--stamps, embellishments, templates, kits, punches, Designer Series papers, card stock, borders, and more.
• Intuitive design for easy navigation and project creation.
• Plenty to do for more advanced users including
  • Customizable stamps and embellishments
  • Photo, background, accent, and page editing
  • Multimedia features including music, videos, and links
• Automatic photo fill for effortless design.
• Program is on 2 DVDs, making downloading quick and simple.
• The program is stored on your computer, not on the web, so you can take it with you.
• PC and Mac compatible.
• Training and quick start materials available to help you learn more.
• Use My Digital Studio as a design tool--create projects digitally before crafting it in paper, or create flyers to print or e-mail to customers.

Digital Downloads

• Download new embellishments, stamps, kits, and templates to My Digital Studio on a regular basis. Digital downloads are also compatible with other design tools.
• Digital downloads feature exclusive Stampin' Up! artwork and colors.
• Embellishments are true to size, making it easier to combine digital projects with paper crafting.

Print

• Professional print service available--print your photo albums, calendars, and cards. Professional printing for individual pages will be available soon.
• Stampin' Up!'s professional print services ensure that printed colors match with our paper products. Because personal printers and other print services use different settings, their prints may not match Stampin' Up!'s exclusive colors within acceptable tolerances. Stampin' Up! has worked to make sure that our professional print services match our colors perfectly!
• Don't limit yourself to print projects! You can also create digital projects like DVDs, interactive albums, and e-cards.
• With My Digital Studio, you can print your projects from your home printer (depending on your printer's settings, printed colors may not match Stampin' Up!'s exclusive colors).
• Stampin' Up!'s professional print services use only the highest quality products--papers, album covers (linen, leather, and photo covers).
• My Digital Studio is competitively priced at $79.95.

 

With the introduction of My Digital Studio, Stampin' Up! is now offering an all-new business opportunity with the Digital+ Starter Kit. Priced at just $185, the Digital+ Starter Kit contains

• My Digital Studio software
• Party Hearty and Petal Pizzazz stamp sets
• Whisper White card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
• Earth Elements assorted card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
• Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, and Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pads^®
• Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, and Real Red Stampin' Write^® markers
• Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain ribbon
• Real Red 1" double-stitched grosgrain ribbon
• Button Latte Designer buttons
• Stampin' Dimensionals^®
• Mini Glue Dots
• SNAIL Adhesive^®
• Business supplies (product catalogs, order forms, training DVD, and other supplies)

Combining My Digital Studio with traditional embellishments and other Stampin' Up!^® products allows you to not only effectively showcase hybrid projects, but also demonstrate projects using non-digital elements. Contact me today to get started!

Halloween Gifts for the Teachers

I really appreciate all that my kids' teachers do and to say "Thank You!" I try to send in little goodies throughout the year.  Since Halloween is right around the corner, I beaded some cute Halloween earrings for them and packaged them in Big Shot matchboxes that I created and embellished with Cast-a-Spell DSP and the Little Boo stamp set.  You'll notice that one of the 3 boxes above has white dots on the scallop circle - that is because it is for my son's teacher and is a little different.  I delivered them to school today while I was there for lunch with Brandon - he was named "Kid with Character" this week and was allowed to eat on the stage... fun!

Here is a shot of the gift for Kelsey's 5th grade teachers - she has 2 main teachers and a student teacher.  They received jack-o-lantern earrings, since I had exactly 6 of those beads, along with a caramel Ghirardelli chocolate (everyone needs chocolate on Halloween!).  I made a little notecard to go inside the box, too, using the Little Boo stamp.  I love this stamp - and it's from the "Under $10" page so is very affordable!

Here is a picture of Brandon's 2nd grade teacher's gift - I had 2 witch's hat beads and made earrings with them for her.  I found out today that she has a sign on her door that says "The Witch is in" and she loved them... even put them on for the rest of the day.  I gave her a white mint Ghirardelli chocolate - yum!

I love my Big Shot and don't know how I ever lived without it before!  It is so easy to put a package together to throw some candy or other small gift in... just check out the box that my downline Lori came up with below.  She was kind enough to give me one when she borrowed my Fancy Favor Box Big Shot die to create her prototype (hers had not come in yet).  Believe it or not, she made 25 of these for her son's classmates.  She also made 25 of these boxes in the shape of Frankenstein's head using lots of punches for her other son's classmates.  What a Mom!

Thanks for stopping by... I hope you've been inspired to make a Halloween goodie for someone you appreciate or care about!  Be sure to stop back by tomorrow... it's Fabulous Friday and our product focus this week on the Sisters in Stamping blog is My Digital Studio!!!
 

Scrapbook Club projects for October

Each month my Scrapbook Club gets together to turn in their orders and complete two 12 x 12 layouts.  The hostess gets input on one of the pages - she can choose the theme, a color scheme, stamp set or Big Shot item for it. 

My hostess for this month, Jettie, had also hosted an in-home private class this past weekend to add to her club orders bumping up her hostess benefits (something I urge my club members to do - you get quite a lot of freebies this way!).  She decided she'd like a "family" page.  I used the colors from her class 6x6 project to create this page so she could use it in a 2-page spread with the larger page I had given her (shown in yesterday's post here).  In addition to the Falling Leaves and Warm Words stamp sets used for the decorative border strips, this page incorporates the All in the Family stamp set.  Each club member was able to personalize her own family - I only put my kids on my page along with our two dogs.  Somehow Amanda's arm was stamped all wonky and up in the air so I thought, hmmmm - embellishment opportunity (a saying Missy Shipman shared during her session at Convention).  I thought the "thankful" leaf looked sort of like a balloon so I stamped it on the end of Amanda's arm. 

Here's a close-up of the collaged decorative border piece... I really like making these instead of always reaching for DSP.

And last, here is a close-up of the word "family."  Since the chocolate chip letters were sort of lost on the not quite navy background paper, I took my Uniball Signo white gel pen and added some lines to highlight the letters.  It really makes it pop!

* * * * * * *

The second layout I created for the club this month is an "All About Me" page.  If you're like me, there are very few pictures of you with your family because you are always the one behind the camera.  Will our children and grandchildren know who we are?  Right now at this point in our lives?  I thought by doing an "All About Me page" we could share this chapter of our lives with our family - who we are, what we love, etc.  I read somewhere that it is a good idea to photograph our every day lives.. the technology that we use, the ordinary details that make us who we are.  I need to photograph my beloved laptop, a giant cup of coffee and my stamps - those are the things I love!!  The journaling box was created with a piece of whisper white cardstock and the spiral punch and then stamped on with the sentiment from "Things I Love" stamp set with melon mambo ink.  The only other color on this layout besides basic black is bermuda bay - I love these colors together!

The daisy embellishment was created with the Big Shot.  Check out the corduroy button - I dyed it with melon mambo ink.  How cool - now you can have corduroy buttons in a plethora of colors!  It is a bit messy, though.  And be sure you give them ample time to dry (I pre-dyed mine before the club meeting).

To add some interest to this relatively simple layout, I used background stamps on my melon mambo (En Francais) and bermuda bay (Pretty Posy) mats.  The title was stamped using the Taffy Alphabet in bermuda bay ink.  I'm hoping the journaling and photographs will help my children know what kind of person I am when they look at this page years from now.  Who knows, they may laugh out loud at the outdated technology I'm using today... think back to those huge cell phones 10 years ago and you'll know what I'm talking about!

Thanks for stopping by... I hope you take some time to scrapbook about yourself!!

Jettie's class projects

My hostess for Scrapbook Club this month, Jettie, hosted a private class with her friends this past Saturday and I wanted to share the projects that they made.  Since Jettie is a scrapbooker she asked that I create a 6x6 layout for her friends to stamp and a Christmas card, because who couldn't use a hand-stamped Christmas card!

Here is the fall layout that I came up with... it features the Falling Leaves stamp set and is inspired by a card I made at a shoe box swap during Convention that was created by my fellow "Sister" Rachel Yurkanin.  You will find a photo of that card here.  You can probably tell from the photo that this 6x6 is part of a larger scrapbook page.  I thanked Jettie for hosting the class by giving her a full 12x12 page that incorporated this 6x6 layout.  The full page photo is below.  On Jettie's page I actually stamped and cut out 5 leaves for the bottom right-hand corner portion of the layout but as many of you know, I am not a huge fan of cutting out lots of tiny stamped images so I just recreated my border strip for my personal page.  Colors used are all from the Earth Elements family:  not quite navy, old olive, pumpkin pie, chocolate chip and ruby red.  The "grateful" word is from the Falling Leaves stamp set and is punched out using the modern label punch.  The words "happiness" and "cherish" that are part of the collaged border are from the Warm Words stamp set.

* * * * 

This is the Christmas card that I have been featuring at all my private card classes this month.  Isn't it great?  It features so many wonderful punches (modern label, word window and ornament) and impressions folders (finial press and elegant bouquet) for use in the Big Shot!  I CASE'd a card that I received from my friend Lisa Freeman at Founder's Circle last month... she did a fabulous job with this card!  I just love our Real Red with whisper white - it's such a clean and simple color combination!  The stamp set used is Teeny Tiny Wishes and there are so many wonderful sentiments in this set that you could make this a card for a birthday, thank you, or other occassion and just leave off the ornament.  Do you notice how the ornament punch has a wire behind it?  I got this look from reading Patti Lee's blog - she posted an idea to use a paper clip behind the ornament.  So clever!  Tie on a strip of white taffeta ribbon and you're done!  The whole thing is popped up with stampin' dimensionals.

As the hostess of this class, Jettie got to choose a brand new stamp set from my hostess goodies basket.  Would you like to earn freebies also?  Contact me to book your class!

Thanks for stopping by... I will be posting our scrapbook layouts from the club meeting tomorrow so be sure and come back for another visit!

 

Mixing my hobbies again!

I posted some earrings a while back that I created using the filigree flower designer brads because I love to stamp and I also love to bead and whenever I can mix the two I am a happy camper!  Well, I am doing it again... this time a little differently.  The Stampin' Up! product comes into play in the packaging of my beaded jewelry. 

My 3 children swim competitively year-round on our local YMCA swim team.  We are having a spaghetti dinner fundraiser in a few weeks and always hold a Chinese Auction.  They are looking for donations of items for the auction and I am donating a Stampin' Up! product bundle as well as a set of earrings/bracelet that I made using my kids' school mascot and colors:  Brookville Bees, maroon & gold.  I had to package them creatively so you know I reached immediately for my Big Shot!!

 I attached my earrings and bracelet to a piece of white cardstock and placed them in a small cello bag. I then created this handheld box using the Fancy Favors Bigz XL die and crushed curry cardstock.  The "BHS" letters were cut out using the Naturally Serif sizzlits decorative strip die and bravo burgundy cardstock.  The handle was made using a strip of bravo burgundy cardstock that I attached crushed curry polka-dotted ribbon to and then attached to my box with 5/8" silver brads.  In order to view the bracelet and earrings inside, I punched out a window using the 1-3/4" circle punch.  I then wrapped the entire thing in a really large cello bag and tied it off with 5/8" bravo burgundy grosgrain ribbon.

 

I hope some of the young girls on the swim team like this bee jewelry and bid on this package!  The products used are pictured below... if you'd like to place an order for any of these products to be able to make your own please either do so online via my demonstrator website here or contact me and I'll be happy to assist you with your order! 

 

Crushed Curry 1/2" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon Color: Crushed Curry Item: 115614

$9.95

Neutrals 5/8 Inch Brads
Item: 112533
 

$6.95

Bravo Burgundy 8-1/2X11 Card Stock

Color: Bravo Burgundy

Item: 105123
 

$5.50

In Color 12" X 12" Card Stock
Item: 115314
 

$8.95

Naturally Serif Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die
Item: 113453
 

$19.95

Fancy Favor Stampin' Up! Bigz Xl Die
Item: 115965
 

$39.95

1-3/4 Inch Circle Punch
Item: 112004
 

$15.95

And don't forget, when you purchase $50 in product with me you'll get a spot on my $50-50 board.  I just was able to award a $50 gift certificate to Carolyn North for having lucky #7 and my board is beginning to fill up again... the next winner could be you! 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're inspired to turn to your stamping supplies when packaging your gifts this holiday season!!

Fab Friday Fall scrapbook page

It's hard to believe that it is Friday already - where did the week go?!  Our Fab Friday product feature this week over on the Sisters in Stamping blog is the Texturz Plates for use with the Big Shot.  I decided to kill two birds with one stone and combine my Fab Friday project with my monthly downline swap that is due on Monday... our theme this month is a Fall 6" x 6" scrapbook page, but with a twist... there has to be some sort of texture on the page.

I decided to use my Big Shot to die-cut some leaves using soft suede, crushed curry and dusty durango with the Leaves #2 originals die.  I then ran these leaves through the Big Shot on the Texturz Plate that looks like bark from the Texturz Kit #4.  To really make the texture pop, I ran a Versamark pad over the entire leaf and clear embossing powder.  Once heated, the leaves took on a glossy look - I really like how these turned out!

     

The base of the page is a piece of 6" x 6" kraft cardstock and then the next layer is a 5-3/4" x 5-3/4" piece of very vanilla.  I ran my Bright Blessings jumbo wheel across the bottom of the vanilla piece using soft suede ink and my wheel guide to keep it straight (love my tools!).  The photo mat is a piece of kraft cardstock that I embellished with a strip of dusty durango polka-dotted ribbon.  I layered a couple of the leaves down the side of the page and VOILA - done!  Now to just make 8 more of these before Monday night's meeting!!

Thanks for stopping by... be sure and check out the rest of the Fab Friday projects on the SIS blog here later today!  Jacque is our hostess today, and since she's in Hawaii the posting may be a little later than Noon EST (we don't want her waking up at 6 am just to get our blog updated, do we?!).

Techniques Club projects this month

My Techniques Club met earlier today and the featured techniques were chalk lines, faux framing and tie-dye.  Each month we get together and my club members learn 3 new techniques and make a card with the technique as well as create a 6x6 page complete with directions so that they can eventually have a techniques book full of great ideas.

Here is my card using the chalk lines technique - very easy to do!  Rub stampin' pastels onto cardstock and erase lines into it to get the grid look.  I used the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set to complete the card with regal rose and lovely lilac.

This is the card I did for faux framing - it is a CASE of this card here by Debra on the SplitCoast Stampers site (it may be in a demonstrator only section, if so I am sorry!).  We used the Big Shot to cut out the scallop circle which was used as a mask to create the frame.  I just love the A Rose is a Rose stamp set - the colors are pulled from the Cottage Wall DSP:  pale plum, orchid opulence, rich razzleberry and old olive.

This last card features the tie-dye technique... it's a twist on wax paper resist.  I just love my Extreme Guitar stamp - I've used it so much that the wood block is almost black on the underside. 

Thanks for stopping by... be sure to check back tomorrow for my Fab Friday project featuring the Texturz plates!!

Wonderful, caring downline - pt. 2

I was very sick last week with what ended up being Bronchitis (I should have gone to the doctor a lot sooner than I did!) and spent a lot of time sleeping on the couch, not feeling like cooking.  My friend and downline Lori Subosits was a sweetheart and brought me chicken noodle soup for lunch one day last week - it was the BEST soup I have ever eaten and I managed to eat it for two meals since she brought so much!  To let her know how much I appreciated the kind gesture, I stamped the following card to send to her:

 

The cute little turtle image is from the Very Thankful stamp set (page 209).  I love using this set for thank you cards and feel good using it knowing that my purchase of this stamp set is helping the Ronald McDonald House Charities.  Every year Stampin' Up! designates one stamp set as the RMHC set and with each purchase of that set donates $2.00.  Over $800,000 has been donated over the years - isn't that fantastic?  I have 2 downline who have stayed in the Ronald McDonald House in Washington, DC when their sons were in DC Children's Hospital this past summer and it is a very worthy cause.

I cut my bermuda bay card out using the Scallp Circle bigz die on my Big Shot - I just made sure the fold didn't go outside of the circle.  I then used my Clear Circle bigz die to cut the whisper white piece as well as the half-circle from the Thoroughly Modern DSP.  I attached a melon mambo strip to hide the seam and cut it to match the curves of the circle.  Next, I colored the turtle image using an aqua painter and the following In Colors - bermuda bay, melon mambo, crushed curry and soft suede (these were inspired by the colors in the DSP).  Inside the card is another circle of whisper white that I wrote my note to Lori on... I hope she likes the card!

  
  
Thanks for stopping by... have you got some thank you cards to send?  I highly recommend this Very Thankful stamp set!  And at just $14.95 it's a great deal and helps a very good cause!

Wonderful, caring downline - pt. 1

Last week my favorite Uncle died unexpectedly and my wonderful friend and downline, Darlene Crockett, was so kind to send a sympathy card to my parents (he was my Dad's younger brother) and to me.  I wanted to share that card with you all because it is so beautiful and very much appreciated.

 

Darlene used very vanilla for the base of the card and ran a piece of elegant eggplant through the Big Shot using the SU! Backgrounds I texturz plate.  The big bush image from the Pendant Park stamp set is stamped with always artichoke ink on very vanilla and matted with a piece of always artichoke cardstock.  She embellished that piece with 3 silver brads.  The "Thinking of You" sentiment is from the Sincere Salutations stamp set and is heat embossed with silver powder on a very vanilla piece which is punched out with the large oval punch and matted with a wide oval punch in always artichoke.  The entire oval piece is popped up with stampin' dimensionals.

 

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you are inspired to stamp a card and send one to a friend today... it means so much!  I vow to get more cards in the mail to my friends and family to spread a little sunshine.