Flower Patch Scrapbook Page

Hello Stampin' Friends!

Well, I am closer than ever to get things rolling over here and I hope to get some classes going in the next month! While I have not been "classroom ready" yet, I have been able to do a little paper crafting here and there. So I am going to spend the next week or two updating my blog with some of those projects!

First up, is a scrapbook page I made a couple of months ago using the Flower Patch stamp set and the coordinating Flower Flair Thinlits:

I also used the Butterfly thinlits as well as some of my favorite colors! I have to say, though, probably my most favorite aspect of this page is the Background fence I created using the Hardwood stamp. I stamped the image twice side by side in Soft Suede ink on Sahara Sand card stock, then "nicked" out the top using my triangle punch. Then I scored between each of the boards and folded the creases. This added some extra dimension and allowed me to also sponge on some more Soft Suede ink to complete the look!

All Supplies Used: Flower Patch Stamp Set, Hardwood Stamp Set, Feel Goods Stamp Set, Butterflies Thinlits, Flower Fair Thinlits, Triangle Punch, SU Cardstock (Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede), Classic Stampin' Pads (Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Wisteria Wonder, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Pistachio Pudding, Calypso Coral, Strawberry Slush), Rhinestones colored in alcohol ink markers

The two products above are also available in a bundle at a 15% discount!

"Fall Theme" Altered Frame & Birthday Card

With fall now upon us, I thought I would post this fall-themed frame and card I made for my dad for his birthday!

I used the Autumn Accents Bigz die and several embossing folders (Argyle, Lattice, Houndstooth, and Chevron) for the leaves on the frame: 

For the card, I used the coordinating stamp set, Wonderfall:

Pennant Banner

I made this banner a while back and wanted to share it with you!  It adorns my craft room and it was just a joy to make... one of those things that just came together beautifully. :o)

To make the pennant, I created a template out of chipboard and traced it onto my paper and cardstock to get the size I needed.  I inked all the edges of my pieces with Soft Suede to give it the vintage look I wanted.

I added some additional details that really made a difference and kicked it up a notch on my butterflies: Basic Pearls Jewel Accents, and Dazzling Details iridescent glitter glue:

List of primary supplies used:

Designer Rosette Bigz XL Die

Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder

Beautiful Wings Embosslits

2-1/2" Circle Punch

3" Circle Originals Die

Everyday Enchantment DSP (in clearance rack for $2.19!!!)

Large Lace Ribbon Punch (clearance rack - $11.99!)

Basketball Birthday Card

Here is a birthday card I made for my niece (who loves Basketball) using the Chevron embossing folder and the Great Sport and Grunge Rock stamp sets! 

April Club Projects: Mother's Day

One more post away from getting caught up with my past club projects! :o)  But here are the projects we did in my April club which was geared towards Mother's Day:

First was a very cute tea bag holder, completely inspired and cased from fellow demonstrator Heidi Baks.  You can find her full instructions for this here.

I used the Tea Shoppe stamp set from the 2012 Annual Catalog (digital is still available) as well as the Tea for Two DSP.  And if you missed this beautiful pattern from the Occasions catalog, you can get it in a whole new color scheme in the Afternoon Picnic DSP from the new Annual Catalog or get the digital version!

As our second project, we made a very classy Mother's Day card using the Dress Up framelits and the Flowering Flourishes and Friendly Phrases (retired but still available in digital) stamp sets:

The "Happy Mother's Day" sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set:

"Thanks a Ton!" Lollipop Treats

Here's a set of "lollipop covers" I made from some of my favorite products from the 2013 spring catty: the Oh Whale Stamp set, Happy Whale clear sizzlit die, and Cloudy Day embossing folder:

I used a simple color combo (and an old favorite) of Tempting Turquoise, Real Red and Whisper White. Mr. Whale was stamped in Versamark and then embossed in Tempting Turquiose powder:

The layers were made with the Floral Frames Collection Framelit dies and the 2-3/8" scalloped circle punch.

Posted with Blogsy

Thanks So Much

Here is a card I made as a thank you for one of my customers!

It features the "Oh, Hello" stamp set and (my favorite) honeycomb embossing folder.  The ovals were cut using the Oval framelit dies.

February Club Projects

I know this is long overdue, but here are the club projects from February!  I am slowly but surely getting caught up! :o)

Our first project was a broach for St. Patrick's Day using the Designer Rosette XL Die as well as some ribbon and "smooshed" bottle caps from the Occasions Spring Catalog.  The image in the middle was created using My Digital Studio and the Lucky Shamrock digital stamp!  It was sized to fit perfectly in the bottlecap (1"):

Secondly, we did a scrapbook page using the "Sycamore Street" coordinating product line from the 2013 Sale-A-Bration brochure.  The stamp, "Amazing Family" was debuted in the Occasions Catalog and is still available!  It is such a great scrapbook image because it is so versatile in it's choices of family titles! In fact, everyone in the class got to pick the family title they wished to use for their scrapbook page.  I chose "Brother" to highlight this wonderful pic I have of my two boys!

January Club Projects: Valentine's Day!

In January, we created two beautiful projects for Valentine's using products from the Spring Seasonal Catalog.

First, a vintage inspired gift box using the Tea for Two designer series paper and the Hearts a Flutter, Collage Curios, and That's the Ticket stamp sets (all of which carried over to the Annual Catalog).  Accessories used were:  Soda Pop Tops (small), Paper Doilies, Vanilla Flower Trim, Pink Pirouette/Rose Red Two-Tone Ribbon, and the Large Rhinestone jewels.

The Card we made was created using the More Amore product Suite and the Honeycomb embossing folder (A favorite!).  We used the chalkboard technique as outlined in this video tutorial I put together for the class. I plan to use this technique A LOT in my upcoming projects... especially with the new Chalk Talk stamp set!

November Club Projects

For this month's club we focused on Christmas and projects for gift giving!

First, we made a set of three gift tags (although this design could also very easily translate to a Christmas ornament or and embellishment of the front of a Christmas card!):

Each of the tags were made using the Windows Frames framelit dies and the windows were cut using the Holiday Collection framelits.  Behind each window we used various SU ribbons layered in different patterns or angles. 

Everyone also had the option of using the matching Festive Paper Piercing pack to add an extra flair to their tags:

Our second project was a gift card holder using the Holiday Stocking Bigz Die:

We used several great SU products to pull it all together and give it a perfect vintage Christmas feel:  the Music Notes standard wheel in Always Artichoke ink, Cherry Cobbler Core-dinations cardstock embossed with the Lacy Brocade Embossing folder and then sanded with the new Stampin' Sanding Block, a touch of Champagne Glimmer paper, and finally a bow of our ever-so-stampable Cotton Ribbon also stamped with the Music Notes wheel:

October Club Projects

Yay! I'm catching up... and in this case, the holiday I'm posting for hasn't passed yet! LOL

In October we did some very fall-festive projects!  The first on was a table setting duo that was completely inspired by a fellow demonstrator, Maree Streeter, from Canada!  This project uses several Big Shot dies!  First, the cutlery holder is made from the Petite Pocket die, while the box is made from the Candy Wrapper die.  The labels are from the Labels Collection framelits and the corn and flower images were stamped using the Perfectly Preserved stamp set and then cut out using the matching Cannery framelits set, which can be purchased in this bundle!

We also made a fall/thanksgiving card using the "Triple Time" technique.  You can find an excellent "how to" on this technique here! For our card we used the Wonderfall stamp set from the Holiday mini and the coordinating Autumn Accents Bigz die to cut out our leaves for the front.  Each leaf was embossed in a different embossing folder (we used the Square Lattice, Woodgrain and Perfect Polka Dots folders).

September Club Projects

As usual, I am very behind in my posts!  It always seems like the holidays get that way for me... Plus we have several family birthdays that keep me on my toes making handmade gifts this time of year. :o)

Regardless (and even though Halloween in far behind us), I want to get caught up with my club project posts... and I've got to go all the way back to September to do that! So here are the Halloween projects we made in hostess club!

My favorite has to be the pinwheel corsage I came up with.  And this is another reason why I am still bothering to post this so late... it would be a great project to make for any holiday or special event!  Birthdays, Baby Showers  Bridal showers, graduations... you name it!  I plan to make several more of these in the near future and can't wait to come up with different color combos!

We used the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set and matching framelit dies to make the pinwheel.  After stamping and cutting 9 of them, we just stacked them and punched a 1/16" hole at the top of the ornament then placed a brad through and fanned them out (don't forget to curl up the edges a bit!).  In order to get them to lay right, you need to cut a slit in the top one and slip it over the bottom one when they come around and meet each other.  Once they are fanned out and evenly spaced, just stick the whole pinwheel onto a jumbo sticky round!  We embellished the bottom (attached via the back) with several coordinating ribbons and on the front we used the Ghoulish Googlies stamp set cut out and layered with the Window Frames framelits.

I got the idea for our second project (Bitty Boo Boxes) from fellow demonstrator Brenda Quintana.  These are made using the Petal Card punch and she has an excellent tutorial posted on her blog for them here!    

Lastly, we made a VERY quick and easy project using the Ghoulish Googlies Bundle from the holiday mini.  We embossed the bags with the Spider Web embossing folder and also decorated both sides of the bag with a tag.  On one side, we stamped the Mummy from the Ghoulish Googlies set:

And on the other side, we used the smaller tag that comes with the kit and stamped it with the "Spooky" sentiment from the Wicked Cool Stamp set:

June Club Projects with Tutorials

I never got around to posting the June club projects, so here they are now!

First was a birthday card using all of the new 2012-2014 in-colors: Gumball Green, Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, and Primrose Petals. We used the Patterned Party and Itty Bitty Banners stamp sets with the coordinating Bitty banners framelit die. We also used the Large Scallop Edgelit die:

Click here for the class tutorial in PDF format

For our second project, we used the Clear Mount Stamp Cases and created a notepad holder:

We used the Pleasant Poppies stamp set to create the design for the outside cover along with patterned paper from the Polka Dot Parade DSP and designer series paper patterns stacks. We punched our butterflies using the new Elegant Butterfly punch.

On the inside we created a handy pocket (perfect for coupons) and added a few more butterfly touches with the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die and the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder:

Click here for the class tutorial in PDF format

Posted with Blogsy

Petite Purse Die

I have really enjoyed using the petite purse die! It is so easy to assemble, which is why it has been my "go to" die for a couple of recent projects where I had to make multiples!

These are the thank you gifts I made this month for my club members:

I love using window sheets for my treat boxes whenever I can! I filled these with either jelly beans or m&m's. Since these candies are so small, I used transparent tape at the two bottom side edges to make sure nothing fell out. I also used a small piece to make sure the flap stayed securely closed. With the thicker acetate, it is hard to get it to hold the rounded shape and stay closed. :-)

In place of the handle cut by the die, I chose to use some ribbon instead. The sentiment was stamped and punched using the lovely little labels stamp set and the coordinating little labels punch set.

I used the Boho Blossoms and Bird punches for the flower accents. When making multiple embellishments like these, I like to assemble and layer them like so on a strip of glue dots:

A second project I made with the petite purse die was a set of 80 treat bags for the teachers and staff at my son's school. Inside were a few star peppermints and a coupon for a free class of mine. I made them in all assorted colors coordinating with the Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper:

Posted with Blogsy

Tips & Tricks for the new Paper Doily Sizzlits Die

With the Paper Doily Sizzlits Die (item 125592) you can now create the intricate designs you've grown to love with our Sizzlits Dies, in a new, larger size!

A few tips and tricks:

• Because of variations in materials, you will most likely need to use a shim (such as piece of card stock) when you send it through the Big Shot. 
• The detailed intricacy comes with a little added work. The negative pieces will not come out automatically when you cut the die. 
• It may take a little time to remove all the cut pieces from the die-cut paper. Remove the pieces by poking or punching them out. Carefully, push the pieces through the cut design and remove them from the back. Make sure you work from the front side of the doily (the side that was face-down when it was cut) and push the pieces through; if you try to pull them out from the front or if you push them through from the back side, the doily might tear. To make it easier, gently roll the die-cut paper to pop out some of the larger pieces.
• Push the pieces out using the Paper-Piercing Tool or the small end of the Simply Scored Stylus. 
• The front side will look completely cut through, however, the back side may not. This is normal with this die, and if you follow the directions of removing the small pieces you will find that the die has cut through the paper. 
• Because of the intricate design of this die, small pieces might stick in the foam on the actual die. Clear all small pieces from the die before using it again. This will ensure you get a clean cut every time. Remove the remaining pieces by using your Paper-Piercing Tool, being careful not to tear the foam on the die.
• One of the techiniques I've head about (and used) is to take a lint roller and roll it over the foam to help remove all the small pieces.  While it doesn't always remove all pieces, it definitely helps in cutting down the amount of work! :o)

The most important thing to remember is that with the intricate delicacy and detail comes some added work. The larger Sizzlits dies require a bit more time to use than other dies and there is a certain amount of hands-on effort involved in creating with these detailed designs. However, you will find with the gorgeous finished piece, the little bit of extra effort is totally worth it!