Stamping Made Easy

Make a bookmark for your new catalog

For my Stampers' Club last month, we created these bookmarks to use in our new catalogs. I like these bookmarks because they are long enough to fit in any book I've found (e.g. text books, catalogs, regular paperbacks, cookbooks, etc.), but they are light weight and don't take up much room. They are great gifts to make for just about everyone.

Here's how to make one:

1. Die-cut a small scallop circle with the Scallop Circles #2 die and Big Shot from chipboard (I like to use the backs of the designer paper packs) and from Raspberry Tart designer paper (for the back).
2. Color the chipboard using Old Olive Craft ink and a sponge dauber. Set aside to dry.
3. Stamp the flower (I used Heartfelt Thanks) in Pink Pirouette and the outline in Rose Red on Whisper White card stock and cut out close to the image. Curl the flower petals with your fingers or scissors.
4. Apply sticky strip to the back of the scallop chipboard circle close to one edge. Attach a 20" piece of Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon to the sticky strip.
5. Cover ribbon and chipboard with the designer paper scallop circle you cut in step 1 (I like to use glue stick to get glue to all of the edges of the chipboard, but this still leaves me some "wiggle" room to get the edges of the scallops aligned perfectly).
6. Punch a 1 3/8" circle from the Raspberry Tart designer paper. Attach to front of colored chipboard.
7. Attach flower to circle using mini glue dots. Attach pearl half (from Pretties Kit) to flower center using a mini-glue dot.
8. To weight the bottom of the bookmark, place a strip of sticky strip along the edge of the ribbon. Slide on a piece of hardware (I used some retired hodgepodge hardware buckles here) and wrap ribbon around and attach to other side of ribbon with the sticky strip.

Here's a close up of the flower:

The new catalog has some fabulous new products you could use to make these bookmarks; be sure to check them out soon.

All Dressed Up

I've seen this technique a number of places and finally had to make my own version.

I think these dress cards are just too cute, and so easy to make. Simply cut a scallop circle using your Big Shot. Then cut a shape from one side of the circle to form the side of the dress. Using this piece you just cut off, flip it over and cut off the other side (this makes both sides even). How simple is that? Here's how I made my card:

1. Using Big Shot, die-cut a scallop circle from Raspberry Tart designer paper.
2. Create the dress as described above.
3. Cut a 4" piece of white grosgrain ribbon and wrap around the "waist" of the dress. Adhere to the back of the dress.
4. Add a clear rhinestone brad as a decoration on the belt.
5. Create the Pink Pirouette card (5 ½" x 8 ½" folded in half).
6. Attach a 1 ¼" x 5 ½" strip of Raspberry Tart designer paper to the left side of the card, along the fold.
7. Add dimensional to the back of the dress and attach to the front of the card.
8. Stamp sentiment from Sweet Serendipity (retired) with Rose Red ink on Whisper White card stock. Punch out with the Key Tag punch (retired) and sponge the edges with the rose ink.
9. Attach sentiment to front of card.

You could make these in so many different colors and textures – I can see this card made up in whites and vellums for a bridal shower card. I might have to make one in some funky paper for my daughter's upcoming sweet 16. What do you think?

Stamps: Sweet Serendipity
Ink: Rose Red
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Raspberry Tart designer series paper
Accessories: ¼" white grosgrain ribbon, clear rhinestone brads, key tag punch, dimensionals, Big Shot, Scallop Circle die, paper piercing tool

Deal of the Week

I don't want you to miss out on this week's deal of the week.  Check it out:

Check out the new Idea Book and Catalog Now and the Deal of the Week!

For those of you who have been patiently waiting, the new 2009-10 Idea Book and Catalog is finally here! If you pre-ordered your copy, you can come pick it up anytime. There are all new stamp sets, the new In Colors (yummy!), new designer series papers, Simply Scrappin' kits and lots of new accessories. I have had so much fun just leafing through my new book and loving the full-color pictures of the collections – so many fabulous ideas!

And to make the start of the new catalog even better, Stampin' Up! has a special Deal of the Week starting this week (one per week through July). This week's special is 30% off the scallop edge punch! That's a fantastic deal; one you will definitely want to take advantage of if you don't already own this punch (or a great gift for your paper crafting friends). Click on the picture below to order online and have it direct shipped to your house.

If you don't have your new catalog yet, you can order one at my store (item #117733 - click on Shop Now in the upper right hand corner) for only $9.95, or better yet, contact me about hosting a party and get your Idea Book and Catalog for FREE!

Create a little matchbox gift, quickly and easily

So is there anyone else out there that likes to "play" with matches, especially the old-fashioned matchboxes?  Okay, perhaps I'm a bit weird (perhaps, you say?), but I lvoe matchboxes.  They are so cute and fun to play with.

And I love this Matchbox die for the Big Shot! It is so much fun – and I have to admit – quite addicting! :-) Do you know how many little goodies you can pack into one of these matchboxes? They actually hold a lot more than I realized. You can get 3 Chap Stick style lip balms in there, chocolate nuggets, tic-tacs, jelly beans, a whole lot of gift tags – hmm, might have to make this up in Christmas colors and give little gifts of Christmas gift tags. I like it!

Here's a little box I created for my workshops this month:

When I created this, I didn't realize that most of the colors would already be sold-out, but you can easily reproduce this in your favorite colors. I love the window in the top of the box sleeve. I don't think you can see it, but it has a window sheet behind the opening, so nothing from inside the box will fall out.

The matchbox itself is a breeze to cut and assemble - just run your choice of card stock and/or designer paper through the Big Shot with the matchbox die and voila!  Your box is perfectly cut and scored for you.  Wouldn't this make it so easy to create favors for a wedding, shower, party, etc?

To create the window, punch a hole with the large oval punch in the top of the window sleeve (before you assemble it).  Put a piece of window sheet (I cut mine 2"x 2 1/2") behind the opening.  Next, punch a large oval from a scrap piece of Pacific Point card stock.  Then take the scallop oval punch and center it over the oval opening you just created.  Punch this to create a little accent that you will put on top of the window opening (I prefer glue stick for this, since the piece is so small).  Now assemble your sleeve with SNAIL or preferably sticky strip.

To make the little tag (with the Matchbox Messages stamp set), I inked up the stamp in Basic Gray, then used a cotton swab to remove the ink from the little heart. I then used my Rose Red marker to add some color to my tag. Cute, don't you think? I punched out the image with the 1 1/4" circle punch and matted it with a 1 3/8" Baja Breeze circle punch. I then used my retired 1/8" cirlce punch to create a hole in the top which I threaded the Kiwi Kiss ribbon through.

Stamps: Matchbox Messages

Ink: Basic Gray, Rose Red marker

Paper: Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Walk in the Park DSP

Accessories: Window Sheets, 1 ¼" and 1 3/8" circle punches, 1/8" circle punch, Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, cotton swab, Big Shot, Matchbox die

How Do You Create a Basket From an Envelope?

Just like you, I love to learn new tips/tricks/techniques for my stamping and scrapbooking. As a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, my friends, family and customers look to me to provide new ideas, which can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. :-) Well, luckily Stampin' Up! demonstrators are a very friendly, helpful bunch and I had the opportunity to take a demonstrators-only class from a very talented demonstrator from Nebraska – Jennifer Thomas.

This adorable little basket is just one of the 8 projects we made at this stamp camp.

I was a little confused a first, but once I figured it out, this was rather easy to put together.

How to make it:

1. Cut 2 Scallop Envelopes from So Saffron card stock (using the Big Shot).
2. Cut a piece of So Saffron card stock 1 ¾" x 7 ¾".
3. Score this piece at 2 ¼" and 5 ½".
4. Fold the 2 envelopes with the side and bottom flaps folded in and the top edge (scallop edge) folded out.
5. Put sticky strip on the side and bottom flaps of both envelopes. Remove the red liner and attach 1 envelope at a time to the So Saffron card stock strip. Now you have the bottom of your basket!
6. Decorate the front as desired.
   1. We stamped the Eclectic Circles in Really Rust on Very Vanilla card stock and punched with the 1 ¼" and ¾" circle punches. The smaller circle was popped up from the larger circle with a dimensional. Attach the circles to a So Saffron scallop circle and attach this to the front of the basket with a colored brad.
   2. I used a piece of Apple Cider designer paper that was cut 1 ½" x 12" and wrapped it around the base of the basket.
7. Cut the handle from So Saffron card stock 1"x12"; use a Stampin' Around Wheel to decorate if desired. Attach to inside of basket with Sticky Strip.

I haven't had a chance to take pictures of the other projects yet, but I will definitely share as soon as I can.

If you try this project, please let me know and it would be wonderful if you shared a picture! I love seeing all of the creative projects you are working on.

Happy Stamping!

Tri-Shutter Card Challenge

I forgot to share this card with you a couple of weeks ago when I played along with the SCS Technique Lover's Challenge #221. This is a fun card to create, once you get the hang of it. You can find the challenge and instructions here.

Here is the front view of the card.

And from the "side" so you can better see what the card looks like when opened:

And a top view:

Isn't this a cool card?! I used Not Quite Navy and the Bella Bleu designer papers to create this card. I also used Travel Post, which is retired, but I love the vintage look it adds to this paper. Wouldn't this be fun to receive in the mail? I love interactive cards! And this card does fit in a normal A2 size envelope – how cool is that?!

Stamps: Travel Post (retired), Matchbox Messages, Full of Life

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Creamy Caramel

Paper: Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla, Bella Bleu DSP

Accessories: Big Shot, Matchbox die (for the tags), sponge, ticket corner punch

Capture Your Friends’ Hearts with This Whimsical Birdhouse Card Holder and Colorful Card Set

Have a fun flight of fancy creating this adorable birdhouse box and coordinating cards using bright colors and the versatile Good Friend stamp set!

With this tutorial (or class kit), you will make one Birdhouse Box to hold cards and four coordinating cards with envelopes. The whimsical style and bright colors in this project are sure to make you smile.

This project uses the Good Friend stamp set and circle punches (plus a good pair of scissors – I highly recommend our Paper Snips).

For a slightly different look, here is an alternative project layout using the same directions and templates!

 

Choose from the tutorial instructions alone, or order the class kit which includes all of the card stock, ribbon and brads - you supply the stamp set, ink pads and punches.

 

Choice of Tutorial or Kit

Tutorial Only $6.95Class Kit (includes priority mail shipping) $14.00

Big Shot Floral Cards

One of my customers created these adorable cards using her new Big Shot and the Circles #2 and Flowers #2 dies. She also used Whisper White and Bold Brights card stock along with the Seeing Spots stamp set. Didn't she do a fabulous job?!

Be sure to click on the picture to bring up a larger view.

Raspberry Tart Designer Desk Set

The Designer Desk Set is one of my upcoming classes this month and I held this class for my downline last month. Here is the desk set that Sheri created using the Raspberry Tart designer series paper. I love how she used Basic Black to make the colors pop!

There are only a few days left to register, so be sure to sign up soon. You can see more pictures and register online here.