Monday, December 22, 2008

Blogging Vacation

You've probably noticed that I've taken a bit of a break from my blog. With all of the preparations for Christmas, I have decided that it's more important to focus on my family (and my sanity!) and get back to the blog after Jan. 1st. So check back after the 1st of the year for even MORE fun projects than ever before! If you're in desperate need for some inspiration before then, check out some of my favorite bloggers sites and hopefully they will keep you going until I get back in the groove again. Thanks for checking in!

Andrea Walford

Jill Hilliard

Jenn D.

Laurie


Happy Stampin'!

Judy

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Punches need sharpening????

You have got to see this video if your punches need sharpening! Linda does a "Myth Busters" for the stamping world, and she did an episode on how to sharpen your punches. I haven't actually tried this yet, but I'm going to do it over the Thanksgiving weekend. See for yourself, and if you're brave you might want to give it a try!

Ornamental Snowflakes



I got the idea for this card from Jill who has so many amazing cards and projects on her blog! I just loved her card and made just a few changes to it. I used different colors, and I also made a little awning for the top of the card (it looks sort of like a window cornice or valance). It's really easy, and the only think that took any time at all was embossing the snowflakes, and tying the little bows on the ornaments. This one would be really easy to mass produce and would be a great card to WOW your Christmas card recipients with!
To make the awning, I cut the cardstock 2 1/2 x 4 1/4 and then used the scallop edge punch. After the scallop edge has been punched, score with the FLAT side of the paper at 7/8 and again at 1 1/16. To secure the awning closed I used Pop Up Glue dots.
Recipe: Stamp Set: Snow Burst; Cardstock: Old Olive, Eggplant Envy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White; Ink: White craft, Baja Breeze; Accessories: Circle Punches - 1 3/4, 1 3/8, 1 1/4, White Embossing powder, Gold Cord, Pop Up Glue Dots, Scallop Edge Punch.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Another Christmas Card


Here's another card that was quick and easy to make! I saw so many blogs with people who used these party hats from the Party Hearty stamp set as Christmas trees. I don't know who the first person who did it was, but it was brilliant! Again, the Designer Series Paper does most of the work on this card, which I love! And the little Felt Flurry with the Rhinestone brad is like icing on the cake. Recipe:
Stamp Set: Party Hearty; Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Confetti White; Ink: Old Olive Craft; Accessories: 5/8" Chocolate Grosgrain, Little Felt Flurries, Pretties kit (rhinestone brad), Iridescent Ice Embossing powder, DSP Ski Slope.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas......


I usually hate the fact that the stores start pulling out their Christmas Decorations the day after Halloween. Whatever happened to the Harvest Season, Thanksgiving and just fall decorations? This year I wasn't as upset seeing all of the Christmas Decor on Nov. 1st. I think that with everything that's been going on in this world, we can all use a little Christmas Spirit in our hearts. Making the cards for my stamp camp really got me in the mood, plus I even made a few Christmas cookies for my Campers to snack on while they were working. Baking Christmas cookies DEFINITELY put me in the Christmas spirit!!


The first card we made is one of my own designs, and I just love the Christmas Cardinal stamp set with it's amazing detail. The color is a bit off in my phot, but here's the recipe so you can tell what the paper colors are: Stamp Set: Christmas Cardinal; Ink: Red Riding Hood, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Staz On Black; Cardstock: Certainley Celery, Red Riding Hood, watercolor paper; Accessories: Paper Piercing Tool and Template, Aqua Painter, White Gel Pen, Scallop Edge Punch, Holiday Treasures DSP, Red Riding Hood Taffeta Ribbon, Olive Olive Wide Grosgrain.


The second card is a gift card holder. The card base was taken from Cami's blog, and I just love the Holiday Treasures paper on this card! Recipe: Stamp Set: Punches Three (Level 1 Hostess Set); Ink: Old Olive; Cardstock: Old Olive, Red Riding Hood, Confetti White; Accessories: Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, Scallop Square Punch, Holiday Treasures DSP.


This 3rd card was a CASE from my friend Robin. Isn't this scene through the window just amazing? What a brilliant idea! The snow and ice on the windows really make the card pop, and the curtains with their draped look add so much dimension. I just love it!

Recipe: Stamp Set: Sleigh Bells Ring: Ink: Brocard Blue, Garden Green, Ruby Red, Basic Gray, Close to Cocoa; Cardstock: Kraft, Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Paper Crimper, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds, 1 1/4 square punch, watercolor paper, Natural Hemp, Key Tag Punch, DSP Ski Slope.


Sorry about the less than stellar pictures.....my camera is acting hooey and I used my son's, which is quite different than mine!


If you have any questions about how the cards were made, or would like more information on ordering products, leave a comment and I'll be sure to help out.


Happy Stampin'!


Judy

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Cutie Patootie Christmas Card....


My downline Robin made this card for a swap a few weeks ago and I just thought it was so cute. And because I have spent the last week making Christmas cards for my Christmas Card Camp, I've been too busy to post a card of my own! This card is made with the Level 2 Stampin' Up! Hostess Set "Deer Friends" and I just love the cute cut out at the top of the card. Thanks for the blog material Robin~

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Scrapbooking!


Last night was my Scrapbooking class and it was great! We made 7 12x12 scrapbook pages using sketches, and the attendees got all of the elements to make an 8th page at home using a sketch (like homework, but more fun!). To give them incentive to do the homework I asked them to send me a picture of their finished pages and I will give them a 20% off coupon for any 1 item in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini-Catalog, PLUS I am going to publish their pages on my blog! I can't wait to see how their pages look.....all of them have the same materials, so it's going to be interesting to see how different the pages look. Here are the 7 that we made in class.....All of the pages are using current Stampin' Up! supplies!!
FALL pages recipe: Stamp Set: Autumn Harvest; Ink: Sage Shadow; Cardstock: Chocolate Chip Textured, Sage Shadow, More Mustard, Really Rust; Accessories: Autumn Vine DSP, Coluzzle, Sizzix Naturally Serif, Sizzix Leaves #2, 1/4 circle punch, scallop edge punch, Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker
SNOW page: Stamp Set: Scandanavian Season; Ink: Craft White; Cardstock: Real Red Textured, Old Olive, Real Red; Accessories: Ski Slope DSP, 1/4 circle punch, Felt Snowflakes, Lots of Letters Chipboard, heat and stick powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter.
HALLOWEEN PAGE: Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White; Ink: Black Craft, Pumpkin Pie Craft; Accessories: Ghostly Greeting DSP, Black Brad, Chipboard Frame, Heat and Stick, Dazzling Diamonds.
FAMILY PAGE: Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Basic Gray, Confetti White; ink: Black Craft; Accessories: Urban Garden DSP, Loads of Letters Chipboard, Filigree Designer Brads, Tag corner punch.
WISH PAGE: Stamp Set: Wish Upon a Star; Ink: Tango Tangerine, Bashful Blue; Accessories: Large Star Punch, Star Punch, Frosty Day DSP, Scallop Edge Punch, Designer Star Brad, Loads of Letters Chipboard.
We finished the pages in just over 2 hours, which is great considering that we enjoyed great conversation while we were working.
My very favorite product that we used is Stampin' Up!'s double sided DSP. This really enabled each scrapbooker to make the page their own and it was fun to see how different people utilized this product. My second favorite is inking the chipboad letters and then covering it with Heat and Stick and Dazzling Diamonds. This really makes the page pop! The Sizzix die cuts were a hit too! The leaves were die cut in DSP, and then we also die cut chipboard with the Leaves #2 die and then glued the DSP leaf to the chipboard to add some dimension to the page. Gotta love that Big Shot and the Stampin' Up! Exclusive dies.
The hardest part for me was cutting all of the paper and keeping track of all of the little pieces that each person got. I didn't do too bad. The scrappers were only missing two pieces of paper
which I quickly cut. I love that in planning this class I also got a lot of my own scrapbooking done.
Whoo Hoo! Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!
Judy

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Merry and Bright!


I just love this cutie little stamp set! The images are so sweet and easy to use. To get the embossed snowflakes on the Chocolate Chip CS I used the Cuttlebug Snowflake folder. This is just about the easiest Christmas card that you can make, as the embossed snowflakes and the Ski Slope Designer Series paper do all of the work!
Recipe: Stamp Set: Merry and Bright; Ink: Baja Breeze, Red Riding Hood, Basic Black; CS: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Red Riding Hood, Whisper White; Accessories: 1 3/8 circle punch, 1 1/4 circle punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Real Red 5/8 Grosgrain, Cuttlebug Snowflake Embossing Folder, Ski Slope Designer Series Paper, White Gel Pen, Word Window Punch

Thursday, September 25, 2008

I get to play!



My friend Joelle is coming over to scrapbook for a few hours this afternoon, and I'm very excited! It's not very often that I have a someone over in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday to play with paper, so I'm psyched! I have to say that I should be getting a few other things done (like laundry and cleaning - bleh!), but when the opportunity comes along to play with paper you have to grab it by the horns.


That being said, I have lots of stuff to get ready before she arrives, but I wanted to do a quick post. Here are a few cards that we made at my 8 cards for $10 camp. We had such a fun time! I'm so fortunate that all of the ladies I stamp with are such fabulous people. We swap stories, talk about kids, local news, and of course the men in our lives! I look forward to hanging out with these women every month.


The first card is made with the Fresh cuts stamp set and Haiku DSP. The card base is So Saffron, and the ink Basic Brown. We colored the 'spotlight' in with Tangerine Tango and Garden Green, and used the circle punches to punch it out. Very Vanilla wide grosgrain finished it off.
The second card was made with the Party Hearty set, and I used the Birthday embossing folder with my Big Shot to emboss the Brocade Blue Paper. The ovals were cut out using the Coluzzle, and the Frosty Day DSP is from the NEW Holiday Mini-Catalog (Available on Oct. 1st!!!). The candles on the bottom were stamped in Versamark on the Kraft Cardstock. Finished off with Brocade Blue wide grosgrain and some Natural Hemp. I always struggle to make cards that will work for a male or female birthday, and I think that this one is pretty generic and can go either way.
Hope you're all having a FABULOUS FALL and enjoying the beautiful weather (at least here in the Chicago suburbs it's beautiful!).
Check out my website for more project ideas and as always.....Happy Stampin'!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

A Cardinal Christmas


I've spent 5 hours today stamping cards to get ready for my 8 Cards for $10 stamp camp tomorrow night.......I'm amazed how the time flies when I'm working (smile) and how long I can stamp without EVER getting tired of it. This is the first time since my kids started school this fall that I actually spent the whole day in my craft room, and I hope that there are many more! After doing many multi-occassion cards for my Camp I thought that I would pull out one of the stamp sets that I pre-ordered (one of the many perks of being a Stampin' Up! Demo!) and get busy. "A Cardinal Christmas" is another set that fufills my current need to watercolor. I can't believe how beautiful it is and how easily card ideas just started to pop into my head. I'm normally a person who works from a sketch, but this layout was inspired by the stamp set. The colors were pulled from the new "Ski Slope" DSP (another mini-catalog pre-order....don't worry, you'll all be able to order from the mini catty too starting on Oct. 1st!), and they remind me of the 1950's. Love them!

Recipe: Stamp Set: A Cardinal Christmas; Ink: Black Craft, Riding Hood Red - Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Blue, Summer Sun Re-Inkers; Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Baja Blue, Whisper White; Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Blender Pen

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Boo!


I never used to make Halloween cards....not until I saw how much my kids enjoyed getting them from other people! I know it's only September, but I just got this Autumn Harvest Stamp Set and I had to give it a try. I have been on a real watercoloring kick and it seems like every stamp set that I get now-a-days is one that is dying to be watercolored. It's the very first thing I learned to do as a SU! customer, and now it's one of my favorite things to show my customers. I'm not the greatest watercolor artist, but really, who can mess up watercolors? It's so relaxing and it makes me feel like a kid, just playing with paints and a paintbrush.....gotta love that, right? The little pumpkin on the right is cut out and popped up, and so is the oval greeting. Easy Peasy!
Recipe: Stamp sets: Autumn Harvest, Everyday Flexible Phrases; Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel, Bashful Blue; Cardstock: Confetti White, Basic Gray; Accessories: Oval Punches - Large and Small, Aquapainter, Ghostly Greetings DSP, Black Brads, dimensionals, scallop punch - edge.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Finally.....time to stamp!





I have barely had time to think lately, much less stamp! My family (all 19 of them) left yesterday after a 4 day family reunion at my house. We had two occassions to celebrate, my brother's return from Germany (where he was stationed in the Army), and my 40th birthday! It was a rockin' good time, but I'm exhausted! After a solid week of cleaning, list making, grocery shopping, and house child proofing (my brother with 3 year old triplets and an 18 month old stayed with us), I am ready to drop. It couldn't have gone better, other than a small trip to the emergency room for my 3 year old nephew Mason to get stitches! We had a family kick ball game, where we had a few pulled muscles and a little cheating went on, but it was all good. Since all of my immediate family (I have 4 brothers and 1 sister and then my parents, nieces and nephews) all live out of state, I don't get to see them as often as I would like. I will miss them all!


I did spend 2 hours in my stamp room today and made 8 cards! They are for an upcoming class, so I'll share them after my class gets to make theirs. I do have a really fun mini-scrapbook that my stamp club made last week. It's made with 2 cardboard coasters held together with Natural Hemp. The paper was Bella Rose DSP, Kiwi Kiss, Red Riding Hood, and Whisper White, Stamp Set - Dream Du Jour, and Kiwi Kiss Ink. The holes were punched with the Crop-a-dile, and then I used the 1 1/4, 1 3/8 circle punches, and the scallop circle. It was such a quick and fun project and the ladies loved them!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

When in doubt CASE


I had swap cards to make, and as usual had little or no time to come up with something. I love the fact that the ladies in the stampin' world share their work and give me something to CASE! This cutie card was copied from Dawn, another Stampin' Up! Demonstrator with an AMAZING blog. She not only shares her work, but makes HOW TO videos to show you exactly what to do!! I don't know how she finds the time, but I'm sure glad that she does. In this case I took the card and just switched stamp sets and added some ribbon instead of paper piercing to make the card even easier. I just love the new SU! Pirouette Pink! Paired with Basic Black or Basic Gray it's just FABULOUS! I used the Dreams Du Jour which is a new favorite set of mine. I just love the butterfly in this set! The accessories I used were the Scallop Edge Punch and Pretty in Pink Taffeta ribbon.
Happy Stampin'!
Judy

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Sock Monkey


Sock Monkey is addictive! I just love this little guy. The fact that he looks best watercolored is very appealing to me......I'm loving getting back to some of the basics like using watercolors and chalks. And that new Baja Breeze paper...Love It! It looks so good with Not Quite Navy (which is a very under used paper color in my stash)

Stamp Set: Sock Monkey; Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze CS; Watercolor Wonder Crayons; DSP Bella Rose; Pewter Brads; Chocolate Taffeta; Basic Brown Ink; Scallop Edge Punch

Monday, August 11, 2008

Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter Catalog Ordering!

I just love this time of the year! The Stampin' Up! Catalog is officially open for business! I'm taking orders as we speak so start your wish list now by going to my website and clicking on Products to pull up a copy of this gem of a catalog!

A new Stampin' Up! Catalog is at the top of my list of favorite things......even above icecream and chocolate! When the new one comes out I look at all of the new stamp sets and accessories on my first run through. My second run through is all about the artwork and projects. I just can't get enough of it! It comes with me everywhere, from dance classes to the park, I can hardly put it down for almost a month. Then comes the list, or many lists depending upon what I have handy to write on at the time. I make lists of stamps sets that I love, and then I break that down into the practical ones that will be used the most and bought first, and the 2nd part of the list has the ones that I don't know what I'm going to do with but I want them "just because". The accessories come next and I break them down the same way, but I usually fudge a little with this list because you can ALWAYS find a project to use the accessories on. The Designer Series Paper makes my mouth water (told you, better than chocolate), and I'll get all of it at some point or another. Like I said, this is one of the best times of the year. I'm busy working on projects to post, so hopefully in the next few days I can show you some really fun projects! Check back soon!

Happy Stampin'!

Judy

Saturday, August 2, 2008

I'm back and ready to STAMP!!






I can hardly believe that our vacation is over! We had such a fabulous time and AMAZING weather. We fished, swam, ate, went tubing, read, paddleboated, eagle watched, visited with family, fed baby cows, turtle raced, and so much more! I think that the lakes in West Central Minnesota are one of the most beautiful places I've visited. Lush and green, with water around every turn. I highly recommend it for a vacation spot. We're so fortunate that my parents have a cabin there because it's truly the most relaxing spot on the planet to be. Not to mention the fact that I get to spend a lot of time with my Mom and Dad which makes it that much more special.


Onto some exciting SU! stuff.............NEW SPIRAL BOUND CATALOGS, NEW BIG SHOT SIZZIX MACHINE WITH EXCLUSIVE SU! ARTWORK DIES (and I've seen the dies and they are unbelievable.....WAY better than anything I've ever seen for sale in stores), NEW DECOR ELEMENTS (you HAVE to get some of these.....I can't believe how cool they look!), and on top of that all of the NEW STAMP SETS AND PAPERS! This has to be the greatest catalog EVER!


To give you a peek at some of the products I made a few cards while on vacation......I had VERY limited supplies.....only items from the new catalog (and a little ribbon) and I just love the way these cards turned out. I used ONLY the new IN COLORS and they are exquisite! My favorites are the Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, and Riding Hood Red. The other three colors are amazing too, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze (they are two different blue colors) and Tangerine Tango. LOVE THEM! The stamps that were used are 2 new sets.....the first is Dream Du Jour and the 2nd is Sock Monkey. Both are amazing with our new Bella Rose Designer Series Paper. I just can't wait for you all to see this stuff in the catalog!! So here are the 3 cards that I made!
Happy Stampin!
Judy



Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Another Fabulous Fold



Hi Everyone! I had a quick minute (and only a minute!) to post and I thought I'd show you another one of the folds that we made in my Fabulous Folds Class. This one is the Gatefold Card that is made from Beate's tutorial on SCS. This is such an easy fold, but it makes the card look completely different that a card that's folded normally. The oval piece on the card keeps the card shut and it's so easy to open. It's made with one of my favorite sets Baroque Motifs, and Old Olive cardstock. The center medallion piece is covered in Versamark and then Iridescent Ice Embossing powder to give it some shine. I also used Sahara Sand as the Mat color and the Medallion is stamped in Sahara Sand too.
The 2nd picture show a little different angle of the card with the front open.
I'm off on vacation for 2 weeks, so if I get the chance I will post while I'm gone. I got all of the new In Colors to play with and I can't wait!!

Sunday, July 6, 2008

So I may have lied......


I just wrote that I may not be able to post as often, and here I am posting an hour later! I just had to show you another one of the sketches that I finished from the Got Sketch 101 class that I took. The class is now over, but I'm still working on projects using the sketches that we were given. I haven't scrapbooked this much in years! Gotta love having something that motivates you to do even more papercrafting! So here's my layout of my nephew Max's baptism...It was over a year ago and I'm so happy to finally get these pictures in an album. Hope this inspires you to get out your scrapbooking stuff and get your memories down on paper! The only things that I used for this layout were a retired Simply Scrappin' Kit Friends and Flowers, and the Rub on's from Sale-A-Bration. The title was stamped with foam letters that I got on super sale at Hobby Lobby for $3! Gotta love a good deal......

Happy Stampin'!


Judy

Another Fabulous Fold




I've been crazy busy again and haven't had time to even think about posting the past few days. I have a Stamp Camp coming up and a Stamp Club meeting, so I've been busy creating, but haven't got anything that I can post because I want my campers and clubbers to see the items first! ALSO, and this is the most exciting news........my MIL and FIL gave me a BEAUTIFUL antique dresser that used to belong to my husbands great grandmother AND they are giving me 3 beautiful wood cabinets that are big enough to store ALL of my stamping/scrappin' supplies in!!! And you guessed it, I'm decorating my crafting room!! I'm painting the cabinets white and leaving the antique piece as is, and I got some beautiful Moss Green paint at the Home Depot for only $5!!!!! It was a mixing mess up, but their loss is my gain! So until things get finished up there, you may not see as many posts.


AnyWho.....here's the Fab Fold that we made with the Always Stamp Set (Another of my FAVS). The first image is with the card open, and the 2nd is with it closed. It's hard to tell, but there is a crystal from the Pretties kit tied on the ribbon and it looks very elegant. Also, the pink center on the Chocolate heart were punched out with the 1/4 inch punch and then adhered with a mini glue dot.
Recipe: Stamp Set: Always; Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink; Accessories: 1/4 circle punch, Pink Taffeta ribbon, mini glue dots
Hope y'all had a fabulous 4th!
Judy

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Wild Roses



I've always liked the SU! Wild Roses stamp set. It's so beautiful and can be used for so many different occasions and I'm sad that it's retiring. Two Step Stampin' Sets always looks great, you just can't mess them up and this card is one of those cards. The layers aren't placed perfectly but somehow they actually look better that way. The colors are just stamped off 1 time for the lighter shade and then full strength for the darker outline, and 1 stamped the Rose 3 times and cut it out twice making each subsequent layer smaller. I love how clean and elegant it looks! The funny thing about this card is that I imagined it in my mind as soon as I saw the DSP in the Ginger Blossoms pack and just KNEW at some point I would make it with the Wild Roses set. Here we are 4 months after I imagined it, it's finally down on paper. Better late than never!
Here's a closeup of how the Rose looks from a side view. You can see a little better how the 3 layers actually look. I used Dimensionals to really make the flower stand out.
Recipe: Stamp Sets: Wild Roses, Hugs and Wishes; CS: River Rock, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla; Ink: Groovy Guava, River Rock, Basic Gray; Accessories; Photo Corner Punch, Silver Mini Brads, Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Paper Piercing tool and Template.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Is Today Wednesday??






Today is Wednesday, right? O.K., O.K., I know I'm a day behind, but I have a really good excuse. I was gone from 8am until 8:30pm, only coming home long enough to make dinner and then head out the door again. Then I was busy placing orders until about 10pm because my Stamp Club ordering deadline was yesterday. By the time I got done I was beat and couldn't wait to sit down and relax for a few minutes and I completely forgot about my post.






I've got both my 2 page Got Sketch scrapbook layout AND the card from my folds class to post, so at least I'm sharing lots (even if it is a day late!). This card was a favorite, so I decided to post this one. We made a total of 6 cards and I'll share them one at a time. This was made with the Flowers for You paper, and the Priceless Stamp Set. It uses Beate's Tutorial . Loved using the Build a Brad's....they really made a difference in how the card looked.


I added the scalloped circle to the back of the brad to hide the prongs and really love how it looks. Everyone's card ended up looking different because they all used a different piece of the paper from the DSP package. We had such a great time, and I just love it when people come over to stamp.


The only thing that I wish I did different is to use the WIDE grosgrain instead of the thin. I think it would have fit the card a bit better.



This scrapbook page is from my Got Sketch 101 Class. I just LOVE IT. My son made his First Communion over Memorial Day weekend and I had so many pictures that I thought I would need to do a mini album to fit them all in a scrapbook. Valerie Salmon to the rescue! She designed a page that has an awesome element that allows you to put up to 9 photos on this layout (I only used 8 because I wanted a 5x7 photo of Hunter on the main page). Want to know how to make this page? Sign up for the Got Sketch 101 class and you can do it too! I would share the recipe, but it's copyrighted so you have to take the class to see it!!!! I used a retired Stampin' Up! Simply Scrappin' kit and retired holiday paper from the SU! Holiday Mini from last fall. The letters were cut with my Cuttlebug.
Happy Stampin'!
Judy

Monday, June 23, 2008

Watch for new posts on Wednesday!!

Things have been CRAZY around here lately! The boys are winding down their baseball season with tournaments this week. Not to mention the fact that all of the kids started swimming lessons and Avery has 2 dance classes. AND on top of the kids activities I've been getting things ready for my Fabulous Folds class that is tomorrow!! I've been a stampin' fool for the last 3 days and have some great projects for all the ladies that are headed over here tomorrow. I'll post one of the cards after the class so you can see all of the fun that we have at Stamp Camp....maybe even some pictures of the stampers if they'll let me :)

All of this to say that I have no new project to post today! BTW, my Got Sketch 101 class is still going on and I've got to play catch up on sketches 5 and 6. I did finish a 2 page layout that I'll post on Wednesday with my Stamp Camp card. Still loving the class! If you haven't done so, you can still sign up and get all of the 'assignments'. It's only $21 and it's well worth the cost!! Click on the Got Sketch blinkie on the 2 previous posts and start Scrappin'!

Check back on Wednesday, and in the meantime.......

Happy Stampin'!

Judy

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Be Inspired Challenge #18



Beate's blog has amazing challenges, but this is the first one that I loved so much that I just had to do it. Having a Martha Stewart item was sure to peak my interest....I just love Martha! Everything that her company produces is so simple and beautiful that I wish that I could have my home decorated by her 'people'.
This cake absolutely took my breath away! Can you imagine a summer outdoor wedding with this for your cake? It has so many of my favorite things... cherries, ric rac, vines and flowers, who wouldn't be inspired by this?

I think it took me all of 5 minutes to decide what I was going to do and gather my supplies. Using the 'wedding' theme I decided to make a card for my brother and his fiancee for their wedding (which isn't until next May, but it never hurts to be prepared!).
I just love the colors together! This was such a simple card to make and it makes me happy just to look at it.
Recipe: Stamp Set: Warm Words; Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Real Red, Whisper White; Ink: Certainly Celery, Real Red; Accessories: Boho Blossoms Punch, Watercolor Vine Wheel, Real Red Grosgrain, Hodgepodge Hardware pewter, Oval Punches - Small and Large, corner rounder, paper piercing tool.
Check out Beate's Blog for more inspiration pieces and get busy creating!
Happy Stampin'!
Judy

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Got Sketch Class Page


I just love having a reason to scrapbook. One thing that taking this class has provided me with is an excuse to get more scrapbooking done..... I think that's the hardest thing about this hobby is actually finding the time to do it. With the sketches that Got Sketch provides us with as a part of the class, you almost feel like it's homework and you make yourself do it. It's the best homework EVER! I can hardly wait to get in my crafting room every day after checking out the sketches, tips and make & takes we're giving. It's hard to judge your own work, but I do think the class is really helping me with balance and proportion on my pages. I know for sure that the inspiration that it provided by all of my on-line classmates has made me so excited to get to work! This page is my take on the 2nd sketch that we were given. Recipe: Creative License Simply Scrappin' Kit (retired), On Board Chipboard Letters, 1 3/8 circle punch, 1 1/4 circle punch, spiral punch.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I'm going to school!!

Well, scrapbooking school anyway! I signed up for a class at Got Sketch? and I just LOVE IT! Thanks to my friend Michelle J. who passed along the class info and got me to sign up. It's only $21 and Oh! the ideas that I've already gotten and it just started yesterday! The thing that really hooked me with this class is that all of the projects are made with Stampin' Up! products. I hope that this really enhances what I already know about scrapbooking. I see so many amazing scrapbook pages out there and I want my work to be like that too! I know that some people just scrapbook to get the memories down on paper, but for me it's also an artistic outlet and an area of crafting that really gets me excited.
I can't share the sketches with you because they're copyrighted, but they are allowing us to share our personal work with our blog friends. If you want more information on the class click on the Got Sketch Blinkie Below, or if you'd like to see some of Valeries work before signing up, check out her blog. She's an amazing paper artist.
Here' is the first project that I made with one of their 'pre-class' teaser projects. It's a little book that will hold all of the sketches that we get in class. They even gave us a PDF with adorable index cards to print out and paste our sketches to them....these girls have thought of everything! I used a $1 photo album that I had sitting around from the Dollar Store and I removed the plastic cover and to adhere the DSP I used sticky strip. I love how it turned out! The tabs at the top are to oraganize the sketches into the number of photos that they're designed for. Our first sketch had 3 photos on it, so that's filed under 3, etc. I also have a clip that I'm attaching to the front cover to hold the sketches while I'm working on them. So I just pick the sketch, pull it out of it's little protector, and clip it on the front of my standing book so that I don't lose it in the mess that I call my desk! Too Cute! Thanks Valerie!
Sketches are a great way to get ideas for scrapbooking and cardmaking and I encourage you to make a little book of your own to file yours away in. It's nice to have a little inspiration at your fingertips!
This little book was made with ALL Stampin' Up! products (except the tiny numbers...I don't have any little number stamps!). The DSP is retired and I don't remember it's name. Other ingredients are: Olive 5/8 grosgrain, Apricot Appeal CS, Old Olive CS, Passion Pink CS, Very Vanilla CS, Photo Corner Punch, Tab Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Guess what the man in brown brought??


FRESH CUTS!! That's right, I finally got my delivery of this spectacular stamp set and laser cut note cards and am LOVING IT!! I sat down today to do a little stampin' while the kids were playing and I can't believe how many ideas I got from this set! Usually it takes me a while, with a few detours and cards that just aren't balanced and don't work, but not this time. I sat down and right away stamped out this first card within 10 minutes! It helped that I knew that I was going to use the Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky, but other than that I just jumped right in. I happened to have a CardMap printout sitting on my desk (see the PDF archives for March 2008), and VOILA! Two of the cards were made using the CardMaps, but the other two came from my little 'ole head. Oh what fun it is to stamp when the creative juices are flowing and there are no children interupting!

My favorite of the four is this one that used a CardMap, but I'm pretty proud of the way that I interpreted the design. I masked off part of the large square background design to make if fit the card, and the ribbon is threaded through a hole that I punched using the 1/4" hole punch. Very simple, very elegant.


The card size is 4 1/4 x 4 1/4, which I picked because that was the size of scrap Soft Sky paper that I found in my stash. All Supplies from Stampin' Up! Recipe: Stamp Set: Fresh Cuts; Cardstock: Soft Sky, Whisper White; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky; Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Paper Piercing Tool, Paper Piercing Template



This card couldn't have been any easier, and I love the way the the little sprig stamped in Choclate Chip looks like a DSP frame! This is card crafting at it's easiest and really made me think about how sometimes the simplist card makes a big statement. Recipe: Stamp Set: Fresh Cuts; Cardstock: Whisper White; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky; Acessories: DSP Soft Sky Print Patterns, Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon....and that's it!



I've seen so many of these types of cards on Splitcoast, and I thought that they looked like they really took a lot of time to stamp and put together.......I was wrong! Totally easy peasey......I just stamped the large background stamp in the Soft Sky ink after removing the die cut petals, added a Chocolate Chip Flower BEHIND the notecard, put some Soft Sky cardstock behind that, then added the Boho Blossoms mini flower with the brad. The Thank You was stamped last and then the ribbon tied on, and Badda Bing! Recipe: Stamp Set: Fresh Cuts; Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky; Ink: Soft Sky, Choclate Chip; Accessories: Fresh Cuts Notecards, Taffeta Ribbon, 5 Petal Flower Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Mini Brad From Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardward.



This last card was made with my buttons, my hoarded, barely used because I don't think most projects are worthy of them, buttons. I treat buttons the same way that I do paper....I collect it and deem whether or not a project is worthy of it. I have pieces of paper that I got 8 years ago and I'm still waiting for that perfect project to come along that I feel that I can 'let go' of the piece of paper for. Buttons hold the same sick appeal for me....I've collected them since I was a little kid and I have thousands of them. I am starting to realize though that the more that I use them, the more it gives me an excuse to buy more of them. So, my Stampin' Up! Neutrals buttons were the first victims, and some lucky person will get them on this card! All ingredients are the same as the other cards, with the exception of the buttons, and the scallop edge....for that I used the small corner rounder with the guard removed. Remember that FRESH CUTS are available as a Sneak Peek....$21.95 for the Stamp set, and the die cuts cards are only $5.00 if purchase with the stamps (or $8.95 if purchased by themselves). A super great deal! Remember that if you want to get the Note cards for $5 ($3.95 savings!) you must purchase before June 30th! E-mail me at judes3@sbcglobal.net for more information and to get yours today! Happy Stampin'!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Teacher's Gifts





I always struggle with what gifts to get teachers at the end of the school year. I see so many cute 'survival kits' and clipboards, etc., but I always think that if a teacher has been teaching long enough, they must have a million of those. I always apply the 'what would I like to get' rule to gifts that I buy, and I try to pick things that anyone would like to get. I finally came up with three of my favorite things; icecream (in the form of a Dairy Queen gift card), Grahams chocolates (I've tried a lot of chocolate in my 40 years and Grahams absolutely beats all others), and a candle (warm apple pie scent to go with my apple theme).
The only non-perishable item that I added to this was a pen that each of my children helped make using the micro-bead technique by Sarah Moore on SCS. It fit right in with my theme, and I figure that all women can use a cute pen for their purse! I made a small charm using Shrink Plastic, the apple stamp from Tart and Tangy, Real Red Craft Ink, Black Gingham ribbon, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1/8" circle Punch, and a jump ring. Instead of using the Avery label with images stamped on it like the instructions show, I used a piece of Summer Picnic DSP. To get the DSP to stick to the pen I just covered it in SNAIL and it worked really well. The apples on the paper didn't show up very well once they were covered in beads, but the overall look was still pretty cute. My kids loved rolling the pens in the beads! I couldn't find the RSVP Pens at my local store (and with gas prices the way that they are I certainly wasn't going to drive around looking for them!), so I found these Pilot pens that worked just as well. My daughter liked the one that she made so much that she wanted to keep hers, but because she loved her teacher, she was willing to give it up.

The basket and candle were a great purchase from Wal-Mart, and the Polka Dot Satin Ribbon was a 40% off deal from JoAnn's. I used sticky strip in three different places to adhere the ribbon because I wanted the teachers to be able to remove the ribbon in order to reuse the basket. The band on the candle was made with the Summer Picnic DSP, and of course the cutie apple was from the Tart and Tangy SU! stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalog. Can I just say how much I LOVE this stamp set? I can't remember the last time I used a stamp set as much as I've used this one. I did Mother's Day gifts with it, thank you notes, planned a stamp camp with it......and the list goes on!


The card was a version of one I made for a Retirement stamp camp last year, and I just replaced the stamp set (a few of you may remember it, it was Black and Olive, and there were flowers stamped from the 'In Full Bloom' set). Easy Peasey!
I'm pretty excited about the way everything turned out....especially since I procrastinated until the point where I seriously considered a handmade card with a gift card. My kids had such great teachers this year that they deserved the extra effort.