Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I just ran to the store to pick up some special treats for my favorite little niece who is coming by to trick or treat. Since she is two, I had to get a few non-candy treats for her. Of course one of them is something with Dora!
Here is a card I made for her. It is in my new favorite card size, that fits in our Small Open-End Envelopes. I love making cards in different sizes.

The ghost comes from Holiday Blitz. I used my square punches and did some paper piercing around the largest square I cut out with my Punches Plus classy brass template. The background is from the Pumpkin Pie Prints Designer Series Paper. The greeting is from the Three for You Punch Box. The finishing touch was the Black button with linen thread.







Here is another Halloween card made with Holiday Blitz. This time the colors are Eggplant Envy and Old Olive. The background of the card, I stamped with Aida Cloth background stamp. The side of the card was punched using our spiral punch. The greeting comes from Everyday Flexible Phrases. The finishing touch is some Eggplant Envy grosgrain ribbon attached with a paper clip.






Lastly, I will admit I'm falling a little behind in my posting. Here is another card that I've been meaning to share with all of you. It was from my swaps at Fall Fest, our regional Stampin' Up demonstrator event. We get the best swaps at these events. Here is a Halloween card from Laura Davis. She used the Creepy Crawly Designer Series Paper. She made the swirl on the side with our Cutter Kit. She punched circles in front of the card. She put the Batty for You guys on the inside of the card, so they peaked through the front. The finishing touch was the googly eyes. How great is that!
Enjoy the day and try not to eat too much chocolate!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Priceless Box


Here is another box made with the same template that I wrote about the other day. Click here to learn how to make this box and to see another sample made with the same template.

This box was made with my must have stamp set from the Fall Winter Collection, Priceless. I found that I was just not making as many samples as I should have been with a set that was number one on my list to buy in July. So here is a box made with the set along with the coordinating jumbo wheel So Swirly and the greeting comes from Fundamental Phrases. The background of the box was wheeled. The tag corners were rounded with the 3/16" corner rounder. The butterfly was stamped and the punched out with the 1 3/8" circle punch and mounted on a piece of punched Scalloped Circle. The strips of paper pierced pretty in pink (say that 5 times fast :) finish the tag and some Dazzling Diamonds on the butterfly. The last touch was to tie pretty in pink taffeta ribbon.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Chipboard Coasters


Here is a great project I made for everyone in my family so they have a picture of my niece for their desks and homes. It is picture frame made from chipboard coasters. The background is the So Saffron Prints Designer Series Paper and So Saffron Card Stock stamped with the Polka Dot Background Stamp. The large flowers were stamped with the In the Spotlight stamp set and punched out with the 5 petal flower. The little flowers were punched out with the Spring Flower Bouquet Punch. The middle of the flowers I added a gold brad. Julie was stamped with the Short Order Alphabet and punched out with the Key Tag punch. The corners of the background card stock and the photo were rounded with our 3/16" Corner rounder. I used my crop-a-dile to punch the holes through the chipboard. I added the white grosgrain ribbon on the background as well to keep the frame together.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

November Open Workshop

In November we will be making 5 cards at my Open Workshop. Here are the cards we will be making. The $12 fee will be waived with any purchase of $35 or more.

I will be holding the event on two dates: November 11th at 12:30 p.m. and November 12th at 7 p.m. Please RSVP as soon as possible for all events so that the card stock is ready for everyone to start stamping when the event begins.

Featuring stamp sets (in order as they appear on this entry): Holiday Blitz, Three For You Punch Box, Garden Silhouettes, Artfully Asian, Serene Sunflower, Event Full, Polka Dot Background Stamp, Priceless and Sincere Saluations


Saturday, October 27, 2007

Holiday Workshop

On November 5th at 7:00 p.m. and November 11th at 3:30 p.m., I will be hosting my holiday workshop. You will make 3 great projects! The cost of the workshop will be 15$. RSVP as soon as possible so enough card stock will be cut up so that you can start stamping as soon as you arrive.
Featuring stamp sets (in order as they appear on this entry): Perfect Presentation, Short Order Number and Alphabet, Calendar, It's Snow Time, Tags for All, In the Spotlight, Holiday Blitz

Holiday organizer - perfect to organize your to do lists, receipts, November & December calendars, wish lists
Gift tag holder with tags made from the Tags for All stamp set



Holiday jar filled with chocolates!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Spent some time with an old friend


I just made a few projects with Cool Carribean, last year's Stampin' Up In Color. Playing with color was like spending time with an old friend. I just love this year's line of In Colors, but I have to say Cool Carribean was a really great color. It all started with needing to make a gift box for a gift certificate and wrap a book that I bought for them as well for the birthday receipant.

So I started to look at my Designer Series Paper and choose Petals and Paisleys. I covered the book with the Designer Series Paper. Next, I made the box. The top of the box was embellished with my 5 petal flower punch and the Spring Bouquet Flower Punch with a silver brad in the middle. I then stamped Happy from Polka Dots & Paisleys and took the birthday from Happy Everything and punched it out with the Key Tag punch.

Here are the steps on how to make the box. In my case, I covered the top piece of cardstock with the Petals and Paisleys paper and then did my scoring.

How to Make a Gift Box without Templates
-Cut a piece of 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock in half so that both pieces are 8-1/2" x 5-1/2".
-Cut 1/4" off the short side & the long side of one of the halves. This is the bottom of your box. - It will now measure 8-1/4" x 5-1/4"
-Next score 1" on each side of both pieces of paper.
-Cut from the SHORT edge to where the folds intersect.
-Fold sides up & put Sticky Strip on the end parts that you are going to fold in.
-Fold pieces in & repeat process for the other piece of cardstock. Embellish as desired.

Next I had to make a good bye card for someone who is leaving the company. I made the card with my Polka Dot background stamp and Think Happy Thoughts stamp sets. I used the slit punch to make the scallop edge. I used my circle punches and scallop circle punch on the greetting. Lastly Grosgrain Ribbon was added to the card.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Simply Amazing Office Accoutrement

I have to say one of the best things about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is all the people I have meet and the people who have become my friends. The other day I came home to find this wonderful present that my friend Debbie made me. She emailed me telling me the gift was on it's way, but no way was I prepared for what I received. Here is an office set that she made for me. How amazing is this!

There's a calendar, notepad, post-it note holder and file folder. The are all made with the Notations No. 2 Designer Series Paper and the Little Reminders No. 2 Accents and Elements. They are just beautiful. Here is what the inside of the file folder looks like. It a regular folder just folded in half. How great is that. It is held together with River Rock Double Stiched Ribbon and Pewter Eyelets.

Here is the inside of the post-it holder. The slit is made with our Word Window punch. It felt like Christmas morning opening up these goodies. One was more fabulous to the next. Debbie really creates some really amazing projects, click here to be brought to her blog to view some of her creativity. Thank you again Debbie for my presents.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Sunflower Gift Tags

Here are some sunflower gift tags I made for my customers to put inside with their orders. I love giving a homemade card or tag to put with their purchases. Who doesn't like a homemade tag or card that they can give to someone else?

Here I used my favorite stamp set, Serene Sunflower and Stamp of Authenticity. The flowers were stamped in Really Rust and Chocoloate Chip. The leaves were done in Old Olive. Both the flowers and the leaves were cut out and then adhered to the tag. The background was stamped with Stamp of Authenticity randomly and overlapping on the background. The strip of Chocolate, I applied the stamp pad directly to the paper, the technique is called direct to paper. Lastly, I distressed the edged of the chocolate chip card stock. The two Earth Elements brads were attached. The top of the tag, Wide 5/8" Chocolate Grosgrain was added to the top after a hole was made with the horizontal slot punch.








Tuesday, October 23, 2007

October Open Workshop Projects

Here are two more projects that we will be making at my October Open Workshop. The first is a Fall lantern to add to your Fall decorations. It is looks like a little pumpkin. Something you can't see is I added two leaves to the top of the ornament. It is made with our Pumpkin Pie Prints Designer Series paper and Holiday Blitz stamp set.

The second is a Happy Fall Card using our Happy Everything and Letterpress Alphabet. It also uses our Rough Texture Jumbo wheel, Apple Cider Designer Series Paper, Twill Tape and Earth Element Brads.

Click here to see the 12x12 page spread that we will also be making.

Want to learn how to make these projects and go home with them? Stop by my open workshop on Thursday, October 25th at 7:00. The class fee is $12 and will be waived with a 35$ order. Email me to reserve your spot.

Monday, October 22, 2007

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Part 2

Here is the second part to my blog entry, It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Here are a few more Holiday paper craft projects of things I saw at Fall Fest, our Regional Stampin' Up event for demonstrators. I hope you enjoy them and they provide you some inspiration for the holidays.

The first project is the JOY wall hanging. It is made with some Dashing Designer Series Paper and On Board Simon Upper Chipboard. Red Grosgrain and Certainly Celery Grosgrain keep it together as well as embellish it.

The next project is a ornament. It is just gorgeous. It uses the LeJardin Designer Series Paper. Vicky Wu was demonstrating how to make these ornaments at Fall Fest. It was a lot of paper cutting and straight pins into a Styrofoam ball. Some River Rock Double Stiched Ribbon and Very Vanilla Tafetta Ribbon pull the item together.
The next is the Holiday Happiness Snowflake card. What a fabulous idea to stamp snowflakes inside the Dashing Paper. The big polka dots have been overwhelming me and I wasn't quite sure what to do with them. This a great way idea of how to use the big polka dots in the designer series paper. The snowflakes come from the Snowburst stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalog. The colors are River Rock and Old Olive.

The last item is a Chore Chart made with our On Board Clipboards. What a great idea for a teacher or make one for your home. The designer series paper to cover the clipboard is our Flowers for You. Then the strips of So Saffron, Almost Amethyst and Wild Wasabi were stamped with the stars from the Background Basics stamp set. From what I can see that the bottom were attached with mono adhesive and the brads on the top which makes for a nice little slot to put the chores and the photos of who will do the job.

Seeing this chore chart brings me back to my childhood, except we used our calendar to mark who was going to do the dishes. For some reason, I was always doing dishes. My brother and sister would say "It's not my day. I did them yesterday." So beware, put the chart way up high when you go to post it. There is always someone who is going to get out doing their job. :)

Sunday, October 21, 2007

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Part 1

The next couple of paper craft projects are all great ideas for your holiday card making and homemade gifts and decorations for the home. The first is card made with the Jolliest Time of the Year stamp set. The colors are Real Red, Old Olive and Certainly Celery. Santa was beautifully colored in. White snowflakes were stamped in the background and some white craft ink was sponged in the corner. The card stock on the side of Santa was paper pierced and some Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon was added to finish the card off.






Next is a Snow sign made with On Board Simon Lower chipboard and our Wintergreen Designer Series paper. The little embellishment in the middle was made with Blue Bayou Double Stiched Ribbon, Snowburst punch and pretties.

Lastly, is the All in the Family ornament. The family was stamped on with Stazon ink and then colored in.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Fall Themed Paper Craft Projects


Here are some fall themed paper craft projects from Fall Fest. The first one is the Boo card. The pumpkins from Year after Year stamp set were maded into mummies! How great is that. The Orange circle was cut out from our Coluzzle and the bats were made with our Round Tab punch. The letter B comes from our Headline Alphabet stamp set. Googlie eyes on our mummies finish the card off.


The next card is a beautiful watercoloring job done with Autumn Apparitions stamp set. The greeting comes from With Gratitude stamp set.


Lastly, there is the Fabulous flower card sample. The flower was colored in with our Stampin' Write markers and then edges were sponged on ink from our ink pads. The center of the flower, some dazzling diamonds was added for a little bling. Then the Ticket Corner punch was used on all the corners and some vintage brads were added. The Outlaw designer series paper was used on the background. The card was finished off with some Groovy Guava double stiched ribbon and vintage brads.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Punch Art

Here are some projects made with our punches that were displayed at Fall Fest. Can you figure out what punches were used for what? I can't wait to make some hats. I love the hat card!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Simply Scrappin' Winter Bright

Here are two projects made with the Simply Scrappin' Winter Bright that were on display at Fall Fest, our regional event. One is an altered 5x5 On Board 5"x5" Art Journal and the second photo shows an alternate cover for the 5x5 journal. Simply scrappin' kits are great. All you need is a paper cutter and adhesive. Embellishments and punches are optional, but who doesn't love embellishments! With the chipboard journal some gingham and grosgrain ribbons were added to the sprial binding as well as some rhinestone brads. The spiral punch matches the spacing in the spiral binding of our journals so card stock can easily be adhered to the pages and the cover and put on our journals.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Altered Items


Here are a few altered items created by Stephanie Rogers. One is a Welcome sign made with wood letters you can find at your local craft store. They have been altered with the Treehouse designer series paper that was from our last Stampin' Up catalog. She embellished the letters with some grosgrain ribbon and Hodgepode Hardware.
The next item is a bulletin board. The letters come from our On Board Simon Lower chipboard. The paper comes from our Porcelain Prints Designer Series. She embellished the chipboard with grosgrain ribbon, buttons and Hodgepodge Hardware.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Punch Pal Homemade Card Ideas


Here are some homemade card ideas made with the Punch Pals stamp set. These were all taken from the display boards at Fall Fest. I apologize for the crazy angles the photos were taken, but I swear I was doing the best I can. Everytime I touched something on the table, something came toppling off. So to not disturb the display, I had to do some creative picture shooting. As in yesterday's post, here are 3 different designs with the same stamp set and 3 different unique styles.

The first one is done in Soft Sky, Blue Bayou and Whisper White. The tis the season greeting was done with the scallop circle and the varying circle punches. The snowflakes were stamped in blue bayou followed by some white embossing with irdescent ice. There is a strip of Soft Sky designer series paper with Blue Bayou double stiched ribbon. They also inked the edges for a distressed look.

The next one uses the designer paper from the Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit. The colors are Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue ad Real Red. The Pengium is colored in with the Stampin' Write Markets and a Rhinestone brad was added to his scarf for a little bling. The edges of the white card stock were inked up in Real Red. Again, the 'Tis the season was done with the scallop circle and the varying circle punches. The added embellishment was a strip of Double Stiched Groovy Guava.
The last card is made with The Dashing Designer Series Paper, Whisper WHite, Very Vanilla, Real Red, River Rock and Old Olive card stock. The tis the season was done with the scallop circle and the varying circle punches. The Merry Christmas greeting comes form the Holidays & Wishes stamp set. Some Vintage Brads put the finishing touches on the card.
Since these are all photos taken from the display boards, I unfortunately can not give credit to who made them. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share with you some fabulous samples using the Punch Pals stamp set and to help you get some ideas for your holiday card making.





Monday, October 15, 2007

Season of Joy Samples

Here are some Season of Joy samples that were on the display boards at Fall Fest. Three different cards with different color combinations that give three totally unique styles.

The first one is a tent card paired up with Soft Sky and Blue Bayou color combination. It also uses the Snow Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel and the greeting comes from Many Merry Messages stamp set. The white stamping was done with the white craft pad and embossed. The embellishments are the snow flake made withe circle punches and the Soft Sky double stiched ribbon.



The next card uses the Dashing Designer Series paper, River Rock, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla card stock. The tree was stamped in Old Olive and the corners were rounded on the very vanilla and chocolate chip card stock and the edge of the vanilla was sponged.


The Merry Christmas is stamped in white. The finishing touch is the Chocolate Satin ribbon.


The last card uses our In Colors, Wild Wasabi and Purely Pomegrante. The swirls and little flowers were stamped and the Wild Wasabi double stiched ribbon was attached. The poinsettas were stamped and then cut out and adhered to the card. The corner were done with our Ticket Corner.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Handmade Birthday Gift Bags

I just got back today from another fabulous stamping event with my Inkredible group. I am telling you are going to be floored when I start posting pictures from this event. Until I can get organized and figure out what to post, here are some handmade birthday gift bags I made for my niece's birthday presents. Let's start with the background of the first bag which was made with the So Swirly wheel that was rolled onto the Purely Pomegranate card stock. It was paired up with Pretty in Pink card stock and scalloped Pretty in Pink bottom border made with my slit punch and some paper piercing.

Now for the tag, the stamp sets were Priceless, Headline Numbers and Amazing to Zany. The colors are: Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegrante and Wild Wasabi. The accessories on the card were my Pretty in Pink brad, Purely Pomegranate double stiched ribbon and Dazzling Diamonds applied with a glue pen. The flower and the butterfly were adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals to the tag.

The next bag is a special treat for all of you and it sneak peaks a new stamp set that will be available in the Spring and Summer Collection 2008 from Stampin' Up that will be available January 2008. It is the Enjoy Every Moment stamp set. As demonstrators we were able to earn this stamp set by reaching a sales goal and I was happy to say that I earned it! So the stamp set just came in the mail and I couldn't wait to play with it. When I saw the flower in the set, I just had to pair it up with the floral background from the Cutie Pie designer series paper set. So here is the second gift bag.

Again let's start with the background. The background uses the Cutie Pie designer series paper. It is paired up with Whisper White strip for the top border and a scallop Whisper White for the bottom. I added 1/4" So Saffron punched out circles to the large flowers to tie in the So Saffron to the top of the bag.

The top portion of the bag, I stamped the word Enjoy and then I used the little yellow flower from the stamp set and with the 1/4" circle punch I punched the flower out and attached with a Stampin' dimensional. Next I stamped the flowers in Certainly Celery and cut them out. I used the same 1/4" circle punch and punched out So Saffron for the middle of the cards and attached them with a dimensional. Next I took the Certainly Celery and stamp the little circle images in the background. Lastly I layered the top with So Saffron, Certainly Celery and Whisper White card stock. Lastly I attached a Whisper White taffeta bow with a mini glue dot.

With both bags, I attached the card stock with mono adhesive as well as pieces of sticky strip to ensure the card stock would not fall off.

Stayed tuned tomorrow for fabulous projects that I took pictures of at Fall Fest!