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!

Flashback Friday

Believe it or not, I'm already looking for to and planning for September's Stamp Camp! So, I thought it would be fun to share a post from a past September Stamp Camp where I shared a card made with a very popular Hostess Set. I think you'll agree this was quite an adorable card and stamp set!

I'm so excited for the upcoming Stamp Camp! After a nice Summer break which brought many changes - including moving and sending my youngest off to kindergarten! - I am ready to get back to creating and sharing with others. Our Stamp Club is starting up again soon, also, so check back for those projects in a couple weeks.

For now, let's get on with the show! You want to see the cards, don't you? I am once again excited about the cards we will be making for Stamp Camp. The first one uses the Carry On Hostess Stamp Set. With Summer winding up and our lives all settling back into a routine with school and Fall we could all use some a calming reminder. This stamp set plays off of the Brittish WWII reminder to "Keep Calm and Carry On". There are several options to play around with the saying using this stamp set. You can pair the "Keep Calm and" set with "Eat a Cupcake", "Stamp On", "Shop On", "Cry a Little {if needed}" or the traditional, "Carry On" along with some coordinating little images like the cupcake or umbrella. So fun! 

Since this set is a Hostess set it is only available with the Hostess dollars you recieve when you host a party. If you're interested, let me know!

Stamp Set:

Carry On Hostess Set

Paper:

Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Very Vanilla, Orchard Harvest Designer Series Paper

Ink:

Raspberry Ripple, Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo

Accessories:

1" Square Punch, Postage Stamp Punch, Dimensionals