I am going to miss that Ballet Blue color. Ballet Blue is one of the current Stampin' Up colors that will be leaving us. I really wish it could have been incorporated into the Brights collection. I will have to order more card stock and a reinker so I can continue to get my Ballet Blue "fix" over the next few years.
Today's Fast Friday card utilizes the Curly Label punch. I punched a curly label from white card stock and Ballet Blue card stock. I stamped a little elephant from the Out of the Box stamp set (hostess set, IB&C), added a blingy brad, and then bumped it up with a dimensional.
I wrapped a pretty matching ribbon around my card & stamped a wee little message on the Ballet Blue curly label (you cannot tell what it says because of my excellent photographic skill, but it says "thank you so much" from a SAB stamp set. The label is trimmed & adhered under the ribbon.
Have a great weekend! I have a terrific weekend planned, and it includes some stamping!
Color Palette:
Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Old Olive, Ballet Blue, Close to Cocoa
What you need to make this card:
Cs: Perfect Plum, Ballet Blue, Whisper White
Dsp: Old Olive patterned dsp (I have used an Old Olive pattern from a retired dsp, but look through your dsp packages, even retired ones, to see what designer papers you may have that you can use on your cards!)
Stamp sets: Good Neighbors (SAB 2010 retired), Congrats (SAB stamp set 2009 - retired)
Inks: Classic Stampin’ Pads – Old Olive, Basic Black, Ballet Blue; Stampin’ Write Markers – Close to Cocoa, Pale Plum, Old Olive
Other: Dimensionals, Old Olive ¼” grosgrain ribbon, glue dot, mat pack piercing kit
How did I make this card?
I began with a Perfect Plum 4 ¼ x 5 ½” card. The dsp is cut to 4” x 4”. The Ballet Blue strip is sized to fit beneath the dsp, yet allow for a border around it.
First, I adhered the dsp and Ballet Blue cs strip. Next, I punched two circles from Ballet Blue cs using the ½” circle punch, and I adhered the circles to both ends of the Ballet Blue cs strip. I stamped “Congratulations” from last year’s SAB set called “Congrats” in Old Olive ink onto Whisper White cs, trimmed it closely and then adhered it to overlap the Ballet Blue circles.
A large circle cutter is used to cut the Whisper White circle. If you sometimes have difficulty lining up images, I would recommend using a Stamp-a-ma-jig for the stamping of the house, clouds & tree. It isn’t necessary, but can be helpful. I first stamped the house in Basic Black ink, then stamped the roof in Perfect Plum. The siding on the house is colored in with a Pale Plum Stampin’ Write marker, carefully. I took care to stay inside the lines so the black ink didn’t smear. You can use Black Stazon ink so you don’t need to be so careful if you want to. I colored the window panes and border around the door using the Close to Cocoa Stampin’ Write marker fine tip end. For the clouds, I use a very simple masking technique – covered over the roof of the house with a small piece of scrap paper & stamped the clouds in Ballet Blue ink.
The top portion of the tree is inked with an Old Olive Stampin' Write marker and the tree trunk is inked with a Close to Cocoa Stampin' Write marker.
A mat pack and paper piercing added more interest to the circle piece. The entire circle is then adhered with dimensionals.
Lastly, I tied Old Olive ¼” grosgrain ribbon into a pretty little bow & adhered it with a glue dot.
Just when you pull open the front of this card, you discover that there is ANOTHER card front to open. Surprise. I folded a piece of dsp, slightly smaller than my card, in half and scored it about 3/4" next to the fold. It helps to make a nice crease with a bone folder on both score lines of the dsp.
After folding the dsp around the card, I opened the card & laid the card front only (both layers lined up) on piercing mat. Three holes are then pierced between the score lines down the side of the card fronts. Insert brads (the flower brads are such a nice match to this dsp!) through both card layers. When done, you should have the brads inserted through everything except the back of the card.
Add decorations or stamped images to the front of the dsp. I added a cute little metal-edged flower tag from my bottomless embellishment box that seemed just right for this card. A button makes a sweet center for it. So, when you open up the front of this card, there's a surprising second card front to open! And, when you use double sided designer series paper, the inside cover is a new color and pattern!
I think this message is very sweet. It says, "There is nothing wrong with the world that a sensible woman could not settle in an afternoon." The stamp set called Favorite Thoughts has stamps about women that every woman will love! Check this stamp set out in the Summer Mini Catalog on page 19. If you don't have a copy, you can view this new catalog on the Stampin' Up website beginning May 1!
This card is super easy when you use a Top Note diecut. Just cut the diecut dsp in half & it is transformed into a lovely little planter! You can punch some shapes in it (like the little hearts punched using the 3-heart punch) or leave it as a solid piece.
Stamp a few flowers, adhere a scallop edge punched dsp piece, and then wrap and tie a ribbon bow around the entire thing! I also colored in the flower centers with a Pink Passion Stampin' Write marker!
Don't these colors remind you of summer?! The Pink Passion paired with Pumpkin Pie make me happy! I love, love, love this color combination, and I also love the stamp set (retired, boo-hoo) called "Life's a Breeze". It finds its way onto my desk every spring & summer. Since the colors are summery (is that a word?), the watermelon seemed like a good fit, especially with the bright pink cs!
I stamped the watermelons with Mellow Moss classic ink & colored in the melons with a Melon Mambo Stampin' Write marker. I also scallop edge punched the white cs.
Next, I found a scrap of Pumpkin Pie dsp & adhered it onto the card front, adhered a punched flower, & a Pumpkin Pie message for the flower center! If you don't have any little circle messages, consider making that your next stamp acquisition! I love little messages that I can punch out with various sizes of circle punches & then they add a little POP to the center of a flower!
Speaking of summer, I have some great ideas for summer stamp camps, including an all-day stamping retreat! Be on the lookout for more information!
Today I am celebrating the return of Baja Breeze for Think About Color Thursday!!!! Somehow I missed posting yesterday, so today you will be lucky enough to read two posts all in the same day! I am thrilled, as our several of my customers, that Baja Breeze will soon be one of Stampin' Up's core colors when the color renovation takes place. So, this week's color combination is.......drum roll, please......
Baja Breeze
Chocolate Chip
Basic Brown
A"fresh-cut note" is the base of this card. For that extra special card, these die-cut notes are just perfect. The recipient of this card will wonder how in the world you were able to make those precise, perfect cuts to get a beautiful flower on the front of the card. In fact, the cutting is done for you by Stampin' Up! Just pop out the pieces you won't need (just like paper dolls, but much easier) & you're ready to adhere a coordinating color of cs or dsp behind the peek-a-boo holes. I cover up the mechanics with a piece of white cs cut to the same size as the card itself - adhere that white cs & the card is totally white inside.
Back to Baja Breeze - I stamped flowers from the Vintage Vogue stamp set in Baja Breeze, a flower line with Chocolate Chip, and a smaller flower with Chocolate Chip in second generation inking.
I adhered Basic Brown cs inside and covered it with white cs, as I said before. Then, I stamped an extra little flower, cut around it & adhered it with dimensionals to the center of the flower.
The ladies at last week's Stamp Camp stamped some cards and stamped beautiful tumbled tile trivets and coasters. Here is a sample of what they made:
This project is soooo easy. Depending on the type of inks used, sometimes these tiles need to be baked in the oven or heat treated or sprayed with sealant. I didn't want to bother with those steps, so we used Stazon inkpads instead. Stazon ink makes these tiles waterproof. After stamping with Stazon ink, we used sponge daubers to daub ink onto the stamped images.
Here is a closeup of the matching gift tag:
Try stamping on tumbled tiles some time! You can create lovely gifts.
Sponge Ink onto a Dry Embossed Image to Wake it up
When you want a dry embossed cs image or embossed background to "wake up", dab a sponge lightly onto an inkpad & rub the sponge lightly onto the embossed pattern or image. Apply as much color as you want to achieve the look you want. I also punched the left edge of the embossed cs with the scallop trim border punch.
The stamp set "Three Little Words" and the Sale-a-Bration 2010 stamp set called "Whimsical Words" are both used for this card.
The designer series paper on this card is from the Sweet Pea stack. I have discovered by trial and error that some of the colors in this paper stack actually match some of the returning In Colors! Though it may not be an exact match, it coordinates well. I have stamped flowers with the flower stamp in the Hello Again stamp set, both in Baja Breeze and Ruby Red. If you have this paper stack, take a second look at some of the papers - Baja Breeze is definitely in there. Do you think Stampin' Up was thinking ahead? Hmmmmm.
After adhering the dsp, I ran white cs and Ruby Red cs through my diecutting machine with the Top Note die. I cut across the white top note cs & used fancy scissors to cut across the Ruby Red top note cs.
The flowers are punched out with a circle punch & adhered across the "top note flower box".
Here's a Perfect Plum cs base card. That color can work with the Razzleberry Lemonade dsp! I've adhered three strips of that dsp at the top of the card. I then made a quick bow by forming another strip of Razzleberry Lemonade dsp into a bow, fastening it together with ds tape, and then adhering & wrapping another coordinating piece of dsp around the bow.
The message is a Lots of Tags diecut stamped with a SAB message. I used a Build-a-Brad and the same dsp is punched with the 3 flower punch. A tiny flower is adhered inside the Build-a-Brad. The piece is then adhered with dimensionals.
Last night I had a terrific stamp camp. The ladies had a fantastic time stamping cards, as well as a tumbled tile trivet or coaster and matching gift tag. I must say that everyone's tiles and cards looked especially beautiful! It was such fun! Next month at card camp we will be stamping a Father's day card, graduation and wedding cards, a birthday card, and a couple more that I still am working on. Why not email me to register for this stamp camp while you are thinking about it!? The date will be Wednesday, May 12 at 7pm.
Today I stamped the little glass jars with flowers from the Country Morning hostess stamp set onto watercolor paper. I outlined the line drawings with Stampin' Write markers in the color combo for day:
Brilliant Blue, Crushed Curry and Green Galore
I guess you could say it's a fond farewell to Brilliant Blue and Green Galore (probably not the last farewell I will make to them). The Aqua Painter tool enabled me to pull the color into the open areas. If you haven't tried watercoloring, consider getting some watercolor paper and Aqua Painters. Those two tools can be used with inkpads, Stampin' Write markers, watercolor wonder crayons, among other mediums and techniques! They really are fun to play with! It sends me back to being a child on a rainy, lazy day with a coloring book and a box of new crayons!
Green Galore cs is the base for stamping "so very sorry" from the Three Little Words stamp set. Then, I punched the saying with the scallop oval punch. I markered the edges of the scalloped oval with a Crushed Curry Stampin' Write marker, though it may be difficult for you to see.
The card is a Brilliant Blue cs that has been dry embossed with an argyle embossing folder. A few dimensionals are all this card needed for both the flower image and the message. I wanted to keep it simple.
I decided to play with that beautiful Sending Love Designer Specialty Paper today. So, I started out with a Very Vanilla card and two of the patterns from that dsp package (it is in the Occasions Mini Catty).
I rounded the corners on the red dsp layer & adhered a piece of Pink Pirouette striped Grosgrain ribbon to the front of it. Speaking of Pink Pirouette, are you happy to see it return in the new Color Renovation?
For the focal point of this card, I stamped 3 hearts onto Very Vanilla cs & punched the grouping out with the scallop circle punch. The method of stamping those hearts is direct to rubber with Stampin’ Write markers. I drew onto the rubber in a different pattern each time I inked up the heart. The heart is from the Hello Again stamp set. Cute!
I punched a wide oval from Real Red cs, cut it in half, and then adhered each half so it stuck out to the side of the scalloped circle. Then, I adhered the entire piece with dimensionals to the card front.
The “hello” is stamped in Real Red ink onto the front of the card directly on the dsp. That stamp is also from the Hello Again stamp set.
Pop! Bling! Wow! Every once in awhile a card screams that. This one does.
Plain and simple, but the glitter sure shines!
I have stamped "hello" with the "Hello Again" stamp set - a very economical stamp set that is also quite versatile. Today is the first time I have opened up the set. It just showed up on my doorstep the other day. I earned it FREE during Sale-a-Bration (so sad it's over). Remember those stamp sets on the inside back cover that could be substituted for the SAB products? This stamp set was one of them!
The glitter can be applied several ways. I have just discovered a product that I hadn't used before. It's called Sticky Pages. It works similarly to "Sticky Strip", which is my favorite adhesive when I want an absolutely, never-fail, never come apart, permanent bond. Sticky Paper can be sprinkled with glitter so it becomes glittery paper! It can even be diecut into a glittery shape! For this project, the die is cut into the card front, and the glitter is applied to the Sticky Page separately. So, run your open card with the "little leaves" die positioned evenly onto the card front only through the Big Shot machine (you don't want a hole in the back of your card). Any Sizzlits die will work. You will then have a diecut shape on the front of your card - a peek-a-book hole.
To make the glittery part, peel the liner sheet from a small piece of Sticky Page & sprinkle it with glitter. The glitter sticks like velcro! You'll need to lay a scrap of paper over the top of it & press lightly to make sure it stays put for best results. Then, shake off the extra glitter & funnel it back into the jar.
You will want to precut another piece of cs in the same color as your card - it needs to be the exact size as the front of your card. It'll cover up the inner workings when you're done. You'll want the glitter to show through the little leaves design on the front of the card, so adhere the piece of sticky, glittery paper on the inside cover of the card so it peeks through the holes. I dot on some 2-way glue pen all over the inside cover before I cover it up with that extra piece of cs.
That's it! Easy peasy. Finish the card off with a matching bow tied around the front of the card. I used grosgrain ribbon in Basic Black to match the Basic Black ink.
For an extra special letter or monogram on a card, scrapbook page, or handmade gift item, give our Sticky Cut Letters a try. They are sure to add a WOW!
It's time for that Urban Garden dsp again. I don't have much of it left, so we'll have to treasure the cards made with this designer paper!
This map can spotlight the designer series paper, combining two patterns along with a coordinating solid color card. See how the busy and bright designer series paper "pops"when it's adhered to the dark colored card?
I added several punched circles for interest to pull out the Kiwi Kiss color even more.
Oh, there's one more thing that I did to this card to make it spectacular. I adhered both the rectangular cs piece and the definition with dimentionals. So, there are three levels of depth on this card.
Hello! I know I am supposed to be on a blog break, but I just couldn't wait to share some fantastic news with you! Stampin' Up has announced a complete Color Renovation! The decision was made after two years of research, and the details sound very exciting.
This major renovation will be effective in the new Big Idea Book & Catalog that will be introduced in July. A new organization of colors will be called "Color Collections" and will include some current colors from the current "color families", five brand-new colors, ten reintroduced favorite prior "In Colors", plus new In Colors that will have a two year lifespan.
As you may be guessing, the remaining colors in the "color families" will retire. Don't worry, though, since all of the products in retiring colors will still mix and match in to your projects and can still be used by you. You just won't be able to purchase products in those retiring colors after the end of June.
Here's some scoop about "In Colors". Many customers have been asking Stampin' Up to bring back some of their favorite "In Colors". Well, once again, Stampin' Up listens to us! Ten of our favorites are going to be core colors in the "Color Collections"! Plus, each year five new "In Colors" will be introduced for a two year period, not one year as had been previously done. So, since five "In Colors" will be only half-way through their lifespan when five more "In Colors" are introduced, in the future there will always be ten "In Colors" for us to create with!
The "Color Collections" will be named "Brights", "Subtles", "Regals", and "Neutrals". Oh, and one of my favorite cs colors (Kraft) will be introduced as one of the new core colors (it'll be called "Crumb Cake")! We now will be able to get an inkpad and embellishments, as well as papers and cs, in that color! It is with mixed feelings that I accept this changing of the guard - Close to Cocoa will be retired (insert sad face here). But, with the additions of cool new colors into the line, I think all will be just fine.
Since many of us already own the "In Colors" that are being brought back as core colors, we won't need to purchase them! If we want to update our inventory of products in any of the new colors, Stampin' Up is making it affordable. They are assembling small, economical kits that will make our inventories current and up-to-date with the new program. More information on that in the near future!
In the meantime, I am looking forward to this change that will help to keep Stampin' Up current and relevant in an ever-changing stamping arena.
Today's card map is a great one for a large stamped image. Here's a cute little bluebird card that sets the stage for Springtime! I have stamped with the big birdie in the Good Friend stamp set. The sun in the sky is actually a stamp in that stamp set too! You can add either a small punched circle or a yellow brad for the sun's center.
I stamped the bird once onto white cs and then stamped just the wing once onto Pacific Point cs and cut around the wing. It's called "paper piecing" - just adhere the wing with dimensionals onto the bird & you'll have a 3-D effect!
Prior to layering the white cs onto Pacific Point cs, I pierced a triangular pattern in the upper left corner with the mat pack, sponged the background, and added a "puddle" under the bird's feet. Either a blender pen, partially wiped off, or an aqua painter, can be used to pick up a slight amount of color to appear translucent & look like a puddle of water.
I did some corner rounding with the corner rounder punch. Then the white cs is layered onto Pacific Point cs, a thin strip of non-S U dsp is adhered for interest, and then a eyelet-punched strip of Pacific Point is tucked between the white card & the Pacific Point layer.
This week's Fast Friday post is a pocketbook card for a friend. Once again, when I need a quick card, I pull out some pre-punched pieces of cs and dsp that are in my scrap box and piece together a card. What fun!
The purse is created with several punches: small and large oval, and the tab punch. To make the handle, punch the small oval punch on a piece of cs. Now, use the negative part of that small punched oval (the oval "donut hole" part) & center the large oval punch around it. Punch out the "hollow oval"handle. Fold another small oval dsp over a punched tab, insert a brad, adhere the "handle" behind it and, viola, you have a fashionable tote, aka purse or pocketbook.
The scallop trim border punch (another SAB FREEBIE!) decorates the edges of the blue cs. The message is from the True Friend stamp set.
CLOSE TO COCOA, REGAL ROSE, PRETTY IN PINK, WHISPER WHITE
I used a Whisper White jumbo metal grommet as a buckle through which I threaded pink cs through. The image is the birthday cake from the Sale-a-Bration Happy Moments stamp set. I will be sad to see Sale-a-Bration end this evening. The good news is that the Sale-a-Bration stamp sets and punch that I earned FREE will be treasured and stamped with for years to come!
If you're wondering about the designer series paper, it is some veeeerrrryyyyy old dsp. As a matter of fact, I think it was available before I was ever a Stampin' Up Demonstrator! There is such beauty in the Stampin' Up standard color families - I can save any designer papers & use them one, two, or five years later, knowing that it will coordinate with the inks and cs, even ribbon!
The cake is colored with Stampin' Write markers, and the modern label and corner rounder punches finish off the card.
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