Wow – get a FREE Big Shot or up to $100 in FREE products!!

You can choose the FREE Big Shot, or up to $100 in free product – over an above your starter kit! It’s the perfect opportunity for a hobby stamper who loves our products,  to test drive Stampin’ Up! products and benefits, through March 31, 2012.  There’s NO obligation to purchase or sell anything further.

Click the link below to join my team! As a bonus for joining my team in October, you can choose another $25 in free products (this is my personal special, not a Stampin’ Up! special).  Call or email me to discuss this exciting opportunity!

Vintage Halloween…

Love the set Greeting Card Kids! It just says “vintage”…and that’s the treatment this card got.

 

This card started with the Halloween image from Greeting Card Kids. I stamped it in Black Staz-On onto our awesome watercolor paper (item 122959). I then colored it with Stampin’ Up! Write Markers (I used Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, Rich Razzleberry, So Saffron, Old Olive, Basic Black, and Daffodil Delight). I then aged it by sponging Early Espresso on the edges and surface (my FAVORITE color to age cards). I also “doodled” some grass under the pumpkin, so it doesn’t appear she’s floating. 🙂

Then the building began! The middle layer is made of Chocolate Chip and Wild Wasabi. I used the distressing tool on the edges of both, before sponging with more Early Espresso. The paper layer is from the Spice Cake Designer Series Paper pack (item 124003). I aged it, using our new Simply Scored Scoring Tool (item 122334 – a MUST have!). I folded the score lines back and forth a little, to distress the paper and make the lines a little more pronounced, before sponging. The corners were punched with the Ticket Corner punch and the card stock layers were dressed with some Antique Brads.

The card base is Crumb Cake. I used the Simply Scored Scoring Tool again, this time to give the base a ‘frame’. This was then sponged with more Early Espresso.

The sentiment is from the Hostess set “Tagtastic”. Each sentiment is designed to coordinate with one of our punches! I thought the “Just for You” really had that vintage look I was going for, especially when stamped in Wild Wasabi onto Very Vanilla. I used the Extra Large Oval punch to cut out the sentiment, then aged with with more Early Espresso. This was mounted onto a piece of Crumb Cake card stock, punched with the Decorative Label punch (and sponged, of course!)

So, a lot of steps to this one. However, with all the great tools we have – like the scoring tool and the punches – it made this card quicker to put together!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Stamps: Greeting Card Kids, Tagtastic (Hostess)
Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, SU! Watercolor Paper
DSP: Spice Cake (Holiday Mini)
Ink: Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi, Black Staz-On
Markers: Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, So Saffron
Punches: Decorative Label, Extra Large Oval, Ticket Corner
Big Shot: Circles #2
Tools: Simply Scored Scoring Tool
Accessories: Antique Brads, Dimensionals

Christmas Window…

Yes – I did it! A Christmas card… (sigh) But with all the new goodies in the Holiday Mini Catalog, I just couldn’t help myself! 🙂

This one uses several new goodies from the Holiday Mini. First of all, the little window that says “Merry Christmas” uses our new Shaker Frames (item 124155, $4.95). These are great! You get 36 frames (they come nested) that will work with all sizes of our circle punches! I uses the 1″ circle punch for the window and the 1 1/4″ circle for the Crumb Cake layer. They have handy adhesive, so you don’t get any “spills”.

Inside the window are our new Mica Flakes (item 124115, $3.50). These come in a huge jar. They are chunky and very sparkly! The mica mimics the look of snow…great for all those winter scenes. And for the price, an outstanding value!

The third feature from the mini catalog is the Frostwood Lodge Designer Series Paper (item 124002, $10.95). This paper pack has a wonderful, down-home feel. It reminds me of sitting by the fire, sipping hot chocolate with my family. Just warm and rustic.

The base of this card is Cherry Cobbler. The frame is done with Garden Green. For the Crumb Cake layer, I used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder (item 120175, $7.95). Then, I used a sponge with some Whisper White craft ink to lightly highlight the texture.  I think it works well with the rustic feel of this card. Crumb Cake seam binding (item 122332, $6.95) and a few vintage brads finish up the look!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Stamps: Petite Pairs  – Item 122495 (wood), 122497 (clear)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White (craft)
DSP: Frostwood Lodge
Card stock: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Punches: 1″ circle, 1 1/4″ circle
Big Shot: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder
Accessories: Shaker Frames, Crumb Cake seam binding, window sheet, Mica Flakes, Vintage Brads, dimensionals

Sweet Treats….

For an upcoming Stamp Camp, we are making these adorable matchboxes, filled with decorated Hershey Nuggets.

This sweet box is made using the Matchbox Bigz Die for the Big Shot. Super easy to make, thanks to this easy die. It’s decorated with images from the Spooky Bingo Bits stamp set (see yesterday’s post for more of these cute images!)

The “Boo!” is also from Spooky Bingo Bits and was punched out using the new 1 inch square punch and layered on Basic Black that was punched with the Postage Stamp  punch. I love how these punches look together!

Some Natural Hemp twine completes the look and gives it a fall feel.

Inside the box, the Hershey’s Nuggets are decorated with the It’s a Wrap Holidays set. These are perfect for any holiday. If you have this set, and the It’s a Wrap Occasions set, you are ready for any celebration! The stamps fit onto a standard Avery address label perfectly, but I didn’t tell you that. (Note: Hershey’s does not allow the labels to be stuck directly to their product.)

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Stamps: Spooky Bingo Bits (wood: 123944, clear: 123946), It’s a Wrap Holidays (wood: 122770, clear: 122772)
Card Stock: Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie
Punches: 1″ square punch, Postage Stamp punch
Big Shot: Matchbox Bigz XL Die (item 114890)
Accessories: Natural Hemp Twine, Hershey’s Nuggets (not sold by Stampin’ Up!)

 Spooky Bingo Bits (wood: 123944, clear: 123946)

Birthday Bird…

My son turns 18 tomorrow! For his birthday, I wanted a special card that was masculine.

I used a base of Crumb Cake, run through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. I layered a piece from the Pocket Full of Posies DSP pack (this paper is eligible for the buy 3, get 1 free promo going on until 8/31!). I used the ticket corner punch on the corners and shaded both the card and the DSP with Early Espresso Ink.

For the “bird” layer, I again used the Big Shot to cut out the large scallop in Crumb Cake from the Scallop Circle #2 Die  and the circle in Very Vanilla from the Circles #2 die. I layered this with the bird and branch, made with the Bird Builder punch. The branch is in Old Olive and the bird is in Baja Breeze.  All of these were also sponged on the edges with Early Espresso ink.  I used my paper piercing tool to punch holes around the edges of the scallop and to create an “eye” for the bird. The bird and the wing are each popped up on dimensionals, for that 3-D look.

Close-up:

The sentiment from the Hostess set Happiest Birthday Wishes was stamped in Chocolate Chip on Very Vanilla, punched with the Modern Label punch, and the edges sponged with Baja Breeze. The Baja Breeze piece was punched with the ticket corner punch and sponged with Early Espresso.  An antique brad and some Crumb Cake seam binding complete the look!

Enjoy!

Baby Bundle x2 (twins!)…

Made this for a co-worker who is expecting twins late this summer. 

This card uses the fabulous Baby Bundle stamp set. I masked the baby stamp so I could have the second one peeking around. The coloring was done with Stampin’ Pastels, for a soft effect. Dazzling Diamonds glitter and metallic brads dress up the carriage. Since my co-worker has opted to not find out the gender of the babies, Certainly Celery and So Saffron work so well (sometimes, you just can’t beat a classic combo!). The Framed Tulips embossing folder for the Big Shot gives this a nice “frame”.

The sentiment was punched with the Word Window punched and layered onto the Certainly Celery layer, which was punched with the Modern Label punch. This was dressed up with a single silver brad and mounted on dimensionals.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Stamps: Baby Bundle
Card Stock: Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron
Accessories: Framed Tulips embossing folder, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Stampin’ Pastels, Metallic Brads, dimensionals
Punches: Modern Label, Word Window
Technique: Embossing Folder for Big Shot, masking

Pink Christening…

Our great-niece, Cadence Ann, is getting Christened tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don’t have any baptism stamps! What’s a girl to do? Improvise!

The idea for the card was borrowed from one I saw on SCS. That idea was adapted from a “onesie” card that has been seen many different ways. I free-cut the dress from a regular A2 card shape. I then ran it through my Big Shot with the swiss dot Texturz Plate and punched the bottom and sleeves with the Eyelet Border punch. However, I wanted to include some pink touches, and not just make this an all-white card. So, with some help from Pretty In Pink taffeta ribbon around the middle and Pink Pirouette card stock, this pretty little number was given a punch of color. The neckline was punched using the 1 3/8 circle punch and the corners were rounded with the Corner Rounder punch. To add some detail, a mask was made using a strip of scrap paper and the Scallop Border punch. I then sponged some Pink Pirouette onto the matching card stock.

Not having any suitable stamps, the inside was computer generated, then printed onto Whisper White card stock. It was then hand-trimmed to fit into the card.

OH – our meeting today was FABULOUS! *waves to Sarah, Cathy, and anyone else visiting* I will have pics of our amazing make and takes, in addition to some adorable (and incredible!) samples. My upline and up-upline are simply inspiring. Today was such a positive, informative, fun time. I’m really lucky to be in this group!

Enjoy!

Gray Dreams…

This is a card I made a few weeks ago, but I’m not really sure about it. I thought I’d share it anyway.

I used Dreams Du Jour with a very different color pallete than what I’ve typically seen. It kind of gives this floral piece a masculine edge. This one has a Basic Gray base, which was textured with the harlequin pattern from the Stampin’ Up! Texturz Backgrounds I set for the Big Shot. I layered that with a strip of Basic Black and Not Quite Navy, that was stamped with a stamp from Itty Bitty Backgrounds. A piece of Whisper White tafetta ribbon and some silver brads accentuate that layer. The focal point was stamped on Whisper White with Basic Black with the large stamp from Dreams Du Jour, then colored very lightly with a blender pen and pastels, in the same colors. Basic Gray ink was sponged onto the edges. This was then layered onto Basic Black and Not Quite Navy. The ticket corner punch was used to accent two of the layers.

I’m not sure if I like it or not – however, I’m posting it to encourage you to try using stamp sets with “non-typical” colors. You just might find something that works! 🙂

Enjoy!