Terrific Tips Tuesday

Are you as excited about Stampin' Up!'s partnering with Project Life as I am? Here's a quick tip: A big part of PL are the cards that you slip in the pockets in the pages to add embellishments and accents and journaling along with your photos. PL's cards are rounded off. Stampin' Up! decided to keep their PL cards squared off so you can be the one to choose whether to round the corners or not. To help you, Stampin' Up! reconfigured their Corner Rounder punch to match the curve of Project Life's cards. That way, you can mix and match to your heart's content and if you want every corner rounded, go for it! If not, it's your choice! I love that!

Punch Corner Project Life

135346 $7.95

And don't forget! You only have a few more days to take advantage of the Designer Series Paper Sale! This month only, buy 3 get one FREE!

Flashback Friday

Do you know what today is? It's July 25 and that means that Christmas is exactly 5 months away! Wow! You know, if you start preparing a little bit now, you'll be all ready to relax and celebrate when the holidays come. In honor of Christmas in July, I wanted to share one of my all-time favorite Christmas cards using one of my all-time favorite stamp sets, Greeting Card Kids. This set would be perfect to use with Stampin' Up!'s new Blendabilities. Sadly, Greeting Card Kids is now retired, but there are several stamp sets in the upcoming Holiday Catalog that I just know you will love!

This is one PINK card! But, my husband told me this is one of his favorite cards yet, so I know that's quite a compliment!

I just love the stamp set Greeting Card Kids. They make any card absolutely adorable! Who wouldn't smile when they opened the envelope to find this? 

Stamp Sets:

Greeting Card Kids

Tiny Tags

Paper:

Pretty in Pink

Rich Razzleberry

Old Olive

Very Vanilla

Ink:

Bashful Blue

Old Olive

Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Write Marker)

Blush Blossom (Marker)

Daffodil Delight (Market)

Accessories:

3/4" Circle Punch

Ticket Corner Punch

Tag Punch

Scallop Circle Punches

Silver Brads

Tulip Frame Embossing Folder (and Big Shot)

Blender Pens

Sponge Dauber

Terrific Tips Tuesday

Have you heard of Stamin' Up!'s bundles? When you buy stamp sets and their coordinating dies or punches, you can save up to 15%! Check them out HERE today!

And, if you are like me and you love the convenience of Stampin' Up!'s dies and coordinating stamp sets, here's another tip: Stay tuned for an upcoming big Big Shot announcement!

Flashback Friday

Today's flashback was a sweet one, one of my favorites. It's a card with a twist. Well, really, a card with a pocket. You could easily slip a gift card inside. But what I really loved about the card were the colors. It's just a bright and happy card. I hope it will make you smile, too! We made this card at our April 2014 Stamp Camp. The stamp sets have retired,  but I hope they still inspire you!

Are you ready for one more sneak peak? This card is inspired by my up-line, Stephanie Miller. I joined under her when her life got to busy to keep up with Stamp Camps and our Stamp Club. I was sorting through old pictures a few weeks ago when I found the card this one is based on. Another one of our friends had sent it to me after creating it at one of Steph's Camps. It's been a while since I did much different from your typical half sheet of card stock-sized card. This is the same size, but folded just a little differently and attached with brads to form a pocket. Peeking out, you can see the card that pulls out with the sentiment on it.

I also used the Fresh Vintage stamp set from Sale-a-Bration. At first I wasn't sure about this set but I have seen so many wonderful projects with this set that I finally decided I needed (*smile*) it.

Stamp Sets:
Fresh Vintage
Sincere Salutations
Curvey Verses

Paper:
Melon Mambo
Pumpkin Pie
Very Vanilla

Inks:
Melon Mambo
Pumpkin Pie

Accessories:
Brads
Corner Rounder Punch
Decorative Label Punch
Extra Large Oval Punch

Terrific Tips Tuesday

Today I wanted to share one of my new favorite products with you: Washi Tape!

I have had Washi Tape in my supplies for quite a while before I ever tried using it. I recently used it in the Epic Day This and That album and I fell. in. love! I used the Washi Tape on every page and it easily added coordinating color and detail - and I never ran out! 

My tip isn't just about Washi Tape, but all the things you can do with it. There are far too many for me to list, so go check out Pinterest, type in, "Washi Tape" in the search bar and enjoy! A second tip? You may want to have some spare time on your hands before you hop down this rabbit trail. But it will be so worth it!

Flashback Friday

Today I wanted to share a couple projects from a Stamp Club meeting we had a couple years ago. One is a twisted card (so fun!) and the other is an 8x8 scrapbook page. I hope you find some new inspiration from these old projects!

Our Stamp Club started up again last night. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love our club. I am always amazed that these creative ladies come to MY house to learn new projects and be creative together. I love that they challenge me and encourage me and I hope I do the same for them.

Once again, I had so much fun creating these projects. Stampin' Up! gives us demonstrators many resources to help us come up with fun projects and ways to use our "toys". Sometimes I come up with our projects on my own, simply becuase I love color, playing with color and putting it together. Paper and ink make that so easy! But often times I will have half an idea in my head with no real direction how to finish it on paper. So, I go searching. There are many web sites that help, such as Pinterest, Split Coast Stampers and even YouTube. Stampin' Up! also provides a forum just for demonstrators to come together and share thoughts, discussions, questions and, of course, lots of projects.

I already had a couple card ideas in  mind when I sat down to plan this Club meeting. However, as soon as I saw Kelly Gettlefinger's Twisted Greeting Card video (here, on YouTube) I knew it was a card we had to try. It looks complicated, but it's actually quite simple! Her video has all the details and since she deserves the credit, I'll let it speak for itself. What I love about this card, besides the fact that is was simple to make but still looks complicated, is the fact that it will hold a gift card. I put my business card inside to give you an idea in the picture. Wouldn't this be great at Christmas or for birthdays and graduation season? What a great idea to keep in your back pocket! Best of all, it fits in Stampin' Up!'s standard 4 1/2" x 5 3/4" envelopes!

We used the Orchard Harvest Designer Series Paper from the Holiday Catalog along with coordinating Island Indigo, Raspberry Ripple and Very Vanilla Cardstock along with Raspberry Ripple, Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade inks. I think the Window Frame Collection Framelits, also from the Holiday Catalog, are my new favorites. Love that shape! I'm a scrapbooker at heart and I see using these a ton in my kids' scrapbooks. The coordinating stamp set, Friendship Preserves, is also adorable and perfect for many different projects. My favorite stamp in that set simply says, "Hello". Perfect for stamping on an envelope (so the recipient knows something special must be inside) or right on your card or, yes, even in your scrapbook! The inside sentiment is from the stamp set Blessings From Heaven. Another new favorite of mine that's perfect for many different projects.

Our "3-D" project isn't quite 3-D. But it's not a card either. It's a scrapbook page! Surprised? Actually, I've had quite a few requests to do more scrapbook projects for others, so I decided it was time to try. When I ran across this project on (Stampin' Up! CEO) Shelli Gardener's blog, I knew I wanted to give it a try.

I haven't play around with chip board too much, so I took this opportunity to give it a try, along with the Lattice Trillis die and the Big Shot. It turned out pretty cute! It's always worth it to give new things a try. I also wanted to point out the Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper. Don't miss it in the Holiday Catalog! It's a paper pack for 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" DSP that is perfect for mounting photos in a scrapbook or, of course, creating a beautiful card front. Each page is two sided in coordinating paper. And, don't let the name or the fact that it's in the Holiday Catalog fool you: While it is perfect for all your holiday projects, the colors and designs aren't overly Christmas-sy so you can use these beautiful papers all year long! *LOVE*!

Not only is this project a beautiful 8x8 scrapbook page, but you could mount it on coordinating 12x12 paper for a bigger album or frame it or put it in a shadow box for a beautiful addition to your home!

Happy 4th of July! (A little late!)

We had family in town last week, so life was a little crazy. I only had a few minutes here and there to work on June's My Paper Pumpkin kit. The kit contained enough supplies to make 24 of these adorable pinwheels. If you look on Pinterest (My own My Paper Pumpkin board is HERE), you will find some amazing and creative ideas for using this kit to make cards and other projects besides pinwheels. Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest?

And what I also love is that even though I was short on time last week I was still able to make an adorable craft with the My Paper Pumpkin kit - the fairy godmother of crafting! 

I decorated mason jars with coordinating paper and used these as centerpieces at a 4th of July party and at home. I will save two jars for next year.

 The kit came with paper straws to use as the stick for the pinwheel. I used Stampin' Up!'s 1" x 8" Cellophane bags with licorice for 12 of the pinwheels. I took these to the party and they became not only centerpieces, but fun snacks! 

Sneak Peak Stamp Set - Christmas in July!

Stampin' Up! is giving us Christmas in July with the sneak peak of a stamp set from the upcoming Holiday Catalog. It's available for early purchase today! After our long winter I'm not sure I'm ready to think about Christmas just yet, but once I saw how beautiful this set is, my brain already started seeing the possibilities!

Beauty of the Season

Wood Mount 135776 $21.95

Clear Mount 135779 $16.95 

Terrific Tips Tuesday

It's one of my favorite sales Stampin' Up! offers - Buy 3 DSP's Get 1 FREE!!! During the month of July you will earn a free Designer Series Paper pack when you buy 3. The papers included in this special are featured on pages 186-187 of the catalog or you can see them online HERE. Don't miss this special! You can mix and match or buy all the same. And the patterns available are beautiful and perfect for all your card making or scrapbooking needs!

Flashback Friday

Today I wanted to share a couple of my all-time favorite Club projects from May 2012:

We had our May meeting last night,  so I thought I should share our projects with you. I had a lot of fun trying these new techniques.
Our card was a 3-D project in its own right, with a pop-out cake in the middle! And, our 3-D project was a flat coaster!  

I got the idea for the coasters out of our demonstrator's magazine, Stampin' Success. I have actually been looking for just the right coasters for my living room for a while so this was the perfect opportunity to get exactly what I wanted - by making it myself!
First, adhere felt pads to the bottom of the tile to protect your surfaces. Cut paper to fit the tile. For our tile a 4 3/16" square was the right size. If you want, you can even stamp images on the paper for some added design. And, of course, Stampin' Up makes coordinating everything so easy! Use decoupage glue to adhere the paper to the ceramic tile. Brush Crystal Effects over the paper. Make sure the edges are fully covered so the paper does not come up. Allow plenty of time for drying. The nice thing about the Crystal Effects is that it dries slowly so it's forgiving as you work with it and it is also self-leveling so the lines smooth out nicely. I used sponge brushes to apply the adhesives.

I got this card idea by looking at many different cards on our demonstrator web site. I kept the outside simple because the inside was a little more complicated.

Susan Yeager posted a picture of the inside of her card where she shared this pop-up cake on our demonstrator website. She gave some short directions and I took it from there! Below are my version of the directions for this card. 

Pop-up Birthday Cake Card

1.       Start with a card base (Marina Mist) measuring 8 ½ x 5 ½. Use a piece of Whisper White card stock cut to 8 ¼ x 5 ¼ for   the inside that will become the pop-up cake.

2.       Fold the Whisper White card stock in half so it will fit inside the card base.

3.       Place the Whisper White card stock into the cutter at 1” with the folded edge at the top.

4.       Cut to 1 ¾”.

5.       Move the card over ¾” and make another 1 ¾” cut.

6.       Each layer is ¾” wide.

7.       The other cuts are 1 ½”, 1 ¼” and 1”.

Terrific Tips Tuesday

Today is the day that the first sets of colors for Stampin' Up!'s new alcohol based markers are available for order!

I am so excited to try my hand at these! 

Today's tip is a simple one, but very important. These markers can dry out very easily since they are alcohol based. The caps were made to actually snap into place to keep it air tight and so you know the lid is closed. So, make sure you hear that, "snap!" when you put the cap on! And, just because I'm a klutz, I'm going to remind you to be careful putting the cap on so you don't smash the tip of the marker. This is totally something I would do, so I needed this tip reminder today!