Happy Father's Day!

Hi Stampers,

I hope that everyone is enjoying their Father's Day!  A special shout out to my own dad and to my husband as well, both great dads!

Today I'm sharing 2 cards both made with the recently retired Dapper Dad set from the Occasions mini catalog - different colors, but the same stamp (I apologize for the cards being cut off a little bit - something is up with my scanner):

This one uses Gumball Green, Basic Black & Very Vanilla,  the Chevron Embossing Folder, the Delightful Dozen and Patterned Plaids Stamp set and the recently retired First Editions DSP as well as the card base which is Crumb Cake.

This card is Midnight Muse, Cherry Cobbler and Sahara Sand.  The watch is again from Dapper Dad and this time I used the Argyle Embossing Folder and Oval Framelits.  I added a Rhinestone on the watch as well.  The greeting is from the recently retired Best Dad Ever set.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Hi Stampers,

I've been really busy this week preparing for my next Stamp Camp and I'm excited to be starting a new job on Monday, but I wanted to take time to share another project with you.

I made this card for a friend who recently lost her father.  I used the Love & Sympathy stamp set.  The colors are Certainly Celery, Whisper White and Wisteria Wonder.  I used the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder on the White background piece and then the Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and the matching Edgelit die for the Big Shot to cut and emboss the Wisteria Wonder piece on the side.  I colored the leaf and flower with the matching markers and stamped the greeting in Wisteria.  I finished the card with some Baker's Twine in Wisteria Wonder.

I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Coming in April

Hi Stampers,

Just wanted to share a project with you that uses some brand new products that will be available in April for all of you. One of the perks of being a Stampin ' Up Demonstrator is that you can pre-order new products early and that's the case with the "Summer Smooches" promotion in April. Most of the items in this promotion will be part of our new Stampin' Up catalog.

I made this project for my Demonstrator meeting last week (another great perk of being a Demonstrator in my group is the great fellow demonstrators you get to meet with each month). This month's shoebox swap was "Flowers" so this new set and DSP fit right in. The colors for this card are Daffodil Delight, Real Red and Island Indigo. First I took my Daffodil Delight cardstock and scored it at 5.5". Then Cut the front of the card at 2.75" just for something different. I stamped the leaf image down the right side in Daffodil Delight in. The left side of the card is Summer Smooches DSP - I scored it 1/2" from the right to fold it back and expose the back side of the DSP. I also added some of the new Daffodil Delight Seam Binding. The main image is several of the stamps from the new stamp set Bright Blossoms, which I used Stampin' Write markers to ink up in the same colors as my card. The vase and leaf stamp is separate from the flower stamp because you have several choices of flowers for this set. I used a dimensional to pop it off the page. The flower vase image is attached to a piece of Island Indigo that I ran through the Big Shot using one of the Designer Frames Textured Impressions folders - these are still FREE with a $50 order through March 31 when Sale-a-bration ends. I trimmed the Island Indigo before I attached it to the front of the card using Dimensionals.

It's not too late to place a Sale-a-bration order or join my group of Demonstrators - contact me today!

Keep Stamping,

More for Fall...

Hi Stampers,

Well despite the very warm temperatures this week I am continuing with another project I did at my Fall Fun Stamp Camp in September.

This card uses the Countryside stamp set. The pick up truck is a perfect image to watercolor. The colors in this card are Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Garden Green and Crumb Cake. I stamped the truck on Watercolor Paper in Black StazOn so I could watercolor - I used Classic Ink and blender pens to watercolor. I also used the distressing tool for both the watercolor paper and the Not Quite Navy piece. For the Cherry Cobbler piece I attached a strip of DSP from the Well Worn collection and then ran the whole thing through the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. I love that technique (Embedded Embossing). I didn't add a greeting but this could be used for a Masculine birthday card or for many other occasions.

Hope you're enjoying the fantastic weather!

Keep Stamping,

Another Challenge for Summer

Hi Stampers,

I decided to make a few cards last night for some challenges this week - the first is for this week's Create with Connie & Mary Sketch Challenge.

This card uses the On the Grow set from the Summer Mini Catalog. I wasn't sure I wanted to get this set, but as usually happens, I'm glad I did. The colors I used were Very Vanilla, Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry. I stamped the image in Black Stazon on Watercolor Paper so I could watercolor it with ink and Blender Pens. I used Razzleberry for the flowers, Old Olive for the leaves and Tempting Turquoise for the jar -such an easy image to watercolor! After I finished watercoloring, I punched out the image with the 2.5" punch and attached it to the Razzleberry piece I used the Scallop Circle Big Shot die on. The Old Olive piece underneath is punched with the Scallop Border punch. I used the soon to be retiring Old Olive wide grosgrain ribbon and two punches with the new Bouquet Bouquet Triple Punch in Razzleberry as well. The card itself is Very Vanilla and the "Thinking of You" is also from On the Grow.

Keep Stamping,

Saying Thanks!

Hi Stampers,

Hope everyone is enjoying the Memorial Day weekend! I was reminded by a post from a friend of mine whose son is a Marine serving in Afghanist
an right now what we're really celebrating this weekend and that is to thank our brave servicemen and women around the world and especially those who have given their lives so we can live our lives in freedom (Thanks Dee for that reminder).

With that in mind, I created the card I'm sharing with you using one of my favorite techniques - Inlaid Embossing. The colors for this card are Night of Navy, Whisper White, Real Red and Silver Metallic. The card base is Silver and then I used the Big Shot Stars #2 die to cut out the stars in Red and White. Then I attached them to a piece of Night of Navy cardstock and used the Perfect Polka Dot Embossing folder and actually made it Inlaid Debossing by turning the single "So Many Thanks" stamp. I used another favorite technique for this stamp. I inked up the whole stamp in Night of Navy and then used a cotton swab to take the Navy ink off the parts of the stamp I wanted Real Red and then colored them with the Real Red marker. Such an easy way to get two colors on a stamp.

So Thanks to all those who are serving or have served our country in the military! Hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend!

Keep Stamping,

Happy 22nd!

Hi Stampers,

Well, seems like spring is not here after all, but winter is back - I don't know about you, but in Chicago I am sick of turning the heat back on - not to mention that last week when it was 85 degrees, I decided to put all the winter hats, gloves and coats away, only to need them Saturday when we went to my son's track meet.

Anyway, on to better news and that is that my oldest son's birthday is today so Happy 22nd Birthday Jordan! The card I'm sharing with you is the one I sent to him. I decided that one of the perks of making cards is to tailor them to the person you are sending them too and so the DSP I chose for this card reflects his interest in history (soon to be his Bachelor's Degree in History). The colors I used are Basic Black, Real Red and Very Vanilla. The DSP is from the Newsprint collection and I sponged Real Red around the outside. I attached that to the Basic Black and Real Red card base and then attached a ribbon of Real Red across the front. The HB is from the Engraved Greetings stamp set and I colored the stamp with Real Red and Basic Black Markers. In order to get the shapes for the greeting and backing piece, I used the 2.5" circle punch for the greeting and then cut off the top and bottom of the circle. I did the same for the Basic Black piece, using the 3" Big Shot Circle Die, but I attached the Very Vanilla piece to the Black Circle before I cut the top and bottom off to make sure I didn't cut off too much. I sponged the greeting with Real Red and I was finished.

Hope everyone has a great day and especially Jordan!

Another Challenge Completed

Hi Stampers,

Taking a break from preparing for my Collage Frame Stamp Camp next week to complete another Create with Connie & Mary Challenge.

This time I used Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze and Very Vanilla to create a card with the new Strength & Hope stamp set, which is in the Summer Mini (so only available to Demonstrators at this point). $2 from each set sold goes to Breast Cancer Research Foundation, so I hope you will want to purchase this set for yourself and help donate to a great cause. I used the Rock and Roll Technique on the Butterfly - first I inked up the stamp in Baja Breeze and then rolled it in Not Quite Navy - you never get the same image twice with this technique, which is kind of cool. I stamped the words from the set in Baja Breeze on Baja Breeze cardstock and attached them to a piece of Very Vanilla that I used the Scallop Border punch on. Then I cut out the butterfly and attached it to the Baja Breeze piece with Dimensonals. I used the Finial Press Embossing Folder and my Big Shot for the front of the Not Quite Navy card, tied a bow with the Baja Breeze seam binding, and put it all together for this card.

Enjoy your weekend!

Fall Continued...

Hi Stampers,

Well the weather here in Chicagoland has felt more like June than October, I want to share another fall project with you today.

This was another of the projects from my "All About Fall" stamp camp in September and it was inspired by something I saw on Stampin' Connection, Stampin' Up's Demo Only site for ideas. The colors are Concord Crush, Old Olive, More Mustard and Cajun Crush. First I took a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and used sponges to put color randomly all over the top of the Vanilla. Then I took a stamp from Autumn Splendor and sprayed it with Stampin' Mist and stamped it on the cardstock. It almost gives a faded bleachy effect because it pulls the color off. I used the Square Lattice Embossing Folder for the bottom of the card with Old Olive Cardstock. The greeting is from Perfect Punches and is punched out with the Wide Oval punch and attached to the Concord Crush strip with Dimensionals.

Happy Fall - hope we can turn the A/C off for good soon!

Keeping You Organized..in style.

Hi Stampers,

I think that being organized is always a goal for me and this great portfolio will help you do that. This was a project that everyone who came to my Customer Appreciation in March got to make. It uses the Thoroughly Modern File Folders from Stampin' Up. There have been lots of versions of this on the web and this is the one I came up with.

You score and cut the file folder (these folders are really sturdy and great for this project because they are coated). I won't bore you with the directions, but if you want them you can comment below and I'll send them to you. I used the Serif Alphabet to add the initial to the front. I did round the corners with the Corner Rounder Punch and add a Corduroy Button to the front. The closure is Velcro.

The picture to the right shows the inside of the folder - I have made jr. legal pad holders before and always like to use a piece of DSP to cover up the unattractive top of the jr. legal pad. You use ribbon to make a loop for the pen and I used the great XL Flower punch (I used part of the file folder I had cut to make the flowers). I also used several circle punches and the Trio Flower punch as well. I used Pop-up Glue Dots to attach the two flowers around the Giant Paper Clips for the Bookmarks - I had the paper clips in my drawer for a while and never got around to making the bookmarks.

I also sold some of these at a fundraiser I participated in last weekend for Relay for Life. I think they are great for teachers, for moms,anyone who wants to be stylishly organized.

Grab Bag Gift

Hope that you are enjoying all of these holiday projects! The next one is something I created for my SU demonstrator Christmas Dinner this week - a great part of being an SU demo is all the great people in my group! We all bring a grab bag gift that we made to exchange. I created 3 sleeves for a jar I had recently purchased. This one is for Christmas and uses the Christmas Cocoa DSP and Real Red. I used the Snowflake punch and punched out circles from the opposite side of the DSP with the 1" circle punch.

The second sleeve is for Halloween and I used one of the Window Sheets from the Night & Day DSP as well as Only Orange cardstock. I stamped Little Boo in Versamark and then heat embossed it in Black. I punched out Little Boo with the 1.25" punch, the Pumpkin Pie circle in 1 3/8" circle punch and the Black with the 1.67" punch. I used the Timeless Type Big Shot alphabet for BOO!

The third sleeve is for Fall/Thanksgiving and I used my favorite fall set Autumn Splendor from the Holiday Mini. I heat embossed the leaves in Gold after stamping them with Gold Encore ink. I added the Chocolate Chip wide stitched ribbon and Autumn Meadows DSP.

Hope you've been inspired to make something for a gift!

Build-a-bear Pumpkin!

I happened to find myself in the Build-a-Bear store a few weeks ago and I found this costume which matches the one of our new Big Shot dies. The Build-a-Bear is made for Stampin' Up and was only available to those of us who attended this year's convention. This treat box is one of the items we made my Shape Up stamp camp last Saturday. The Old Olive Box is made with the new Favor Box Big Shot Die (thanks to one of my downline Barb for the idea and letting me borrow the Favor Box die). A piece of DSP from the new Night & Day DSP is behind the Close to Cocoa Bear and of course the Kooky Spooky pumpkin die in Pumpkin Pie. I used a piece of Basic Black for the jack-0-lantern face and Chocolate Chip and Real Red for the face of the bear. I love these Build-a-Bear dies!

Enjoy your weekend! It's Homecoming at York this weekend and even though it rained (actually it poured buckets), the Sophomore Dukes won again to keep their undefeated record! I'm glad to be home where it's warm and dry after sitting out there watching my son's team play for a few hours - I guess it's fall in Chicago since we've had our A/C and our heat on this week!

Manhattan Style

Hope everyone enjoyed the fact that the spring weather seems like it's here to stay. Today's sample showcases the style of my next stamp camp - Manhattan Style. This is from this year's Stylewatch section in the Catalog - pages 8-9 in the Spring/Summer idea book. We will be making projects in this style on May 29 - join us! Details are on my website - link from the Upcoming events tab on my blog. This is a card we made at my Big Shot stamp camp a few months back. It uses Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze and Whisper White cardstock, the Manhattan Big Shot Embossing folder and the 5th Avenue Floral Stamp Set. I also used Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain for the bow. It's not too late to sign up for this camp - contact me today!

I just want to wish everyone a very Happy Mother's Day. I thought I'd try this Flowerpot card, which I've seen many differet places over the past few weeks. It's perfect for Mother's Day. The Flowers are attached to the inside card which is in the Flowerpot "pocket". It uses the Simple Flower Embosslit in Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink and So Saffron, as well as the 5 Petal Punch in Certainly Celery. The Flowerpot is Close to Cocoa with CandyLane DSP. The Mother's Day sentiment is from Blooming with Love and is on 1" and 1.25" circles in Vanilla and Certainly Celery with a Pretty in Pink brad. The brad on the Pretty in Pink flower is from the Jumbo Brads in Chocolate Chip and the ribbon is the Wide Vanilla grograin. Hope that you all enjoy this weekend!