Constantly Stamping

Thanksgiving Sweet Treat Turkey Tutorial

After several attemps, I finally managed to film and upload a tutorial for the Sweet Treat turkey. Hope you enjoy!

SSSC37 Fifth Avenue Floral

I think that just about every other Stampin' Up! demonstrator and customer on the planet has already used the heck out of their Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set. However, this is actually my first project ever with this beautiful and versatile set. If you asked my husband, he would tell you that I probably own every stamp set that SU has ever made, but because I have been at this for ten years, it only seems that way. Yes, I do have quite a collection of stamps, but not a large number of current sets. So when I won Shellie's Creative Challenge a few months ago I picked Fifth Avenue Floral as my free set. Some of my downline thought I was crazy for not choosing one of the more expensive sets in the catty, but I wanted this one. This is my entry into Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge this week.

It has been raining in Nashville for the past few weeks and I was wondering if I would ever seen sunshine again. I think that is why I chose such a bright color to work with for my flower. I love the elegant feel of this rose, so when I want elegant I usually opt out for black & white. Night & Day DSP (#116768) from the new mini catalog was the perfect choice. Now, some of the papers in the collection definitely have a more "frightful" feel to them, while others are incredibly perfect for a project like this.

I stamped the flower in Basic Black Craft Ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder on Shimmery White CS. I water colored the rose with Yoyo Yellow and Summer Sun re-inkers and an aqua painter. When it was all said and done it looked a little flat, so I stamped and colored two additional flowers, cut away some of the petals, and layered them on top with dimensionals for a 3D effect. The rose still looked a little lonely, so I borrowed some leaves from the Flower Fancy set, water colored them with Green Galore and Glorious Green re-inkers and added them behind the rose.

I don't know many people who can stamp a sentiment with white ink onto black card stock and make it look good. I personally think it almost always takes away from the finished product. That's why I chose some Chit Chat rub-ons for the sentiment. I finished everything off with a pretty satin ribbon and there you have it. I think I may eventually make another one of these using a red flower, but for now, I am done!

The Catty Cruise this past weekend was a big success. All the CC gals did a wonderful job presenting their projects. If you haven't already taken a look, be sure to scroll down to Thursday's post and get started. The links should remain active for a while and you can hop on the cruise at any port. It will make a complete circle, so if you start here, you will eventually end up here. Thanks for looking!

Hope you have a beautiful day filled with happiness and sunshine.

Quick Update on Tom Turkey

Oh my! I have received several e-mails requesting how to make the fun little turkey from the Catty Cruise. I made this little fella several weeks ago and set it aside for the Catty Cruise, so I had to stop for a few minutes and think about how he is made. I am not in the position to post a photo tutorial today, but I will at least list the supplies needed. Hopefully this will help those of you who want to get started right away. (All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise stated.)

-Sweet Treat Cups

-Two small wiggly eyes (purchased from any craft store)

-Small scrap of Summer Sun CS for the beak.

-Candy (I used Autumn Mix Jelly Belly jelly beans because of their small size)

-Two (2) 2.5" circles cut from Chocolate Chip Card Stock
On one of these you will use a 1.75" punch and cut a circle slightly off-center to make the turkey body. Save the punched 1.75" circle to cover the back of your treat cup. Also, reserve the second 2.5" circle to cover the back of the project when complete.

-Five (5) Scallop Circles cut from Chocolate Chip CS
You will use your 1.75" circle punch to cut away five (5) of the scallops on each on each of the scalloped circles.

-Stamp five (5) Tail Feathers using the petal stamp in the Sweet Centers Stamp Set and cut these out with scissors.
(Tip: I usually use my sanding block to finish the edges after I have hand cut an object.) I used the rock-n-roll technique and the following ink combinations (optional): 2 Pumpkin Pie rolled in Really Rust, 2 Yoyo Yellow rolled in Summer Sun, and 1 Ruby Red rolled in Real Red.

Update: There is now a video tutorial available here.

My Digital Studio...a digital papercrafting solution

Catty Cruise II

Welcome to the second edition of Catty Cruise 2009. If you are on track, you should be have just arrived from visiting Lynn Weiss at L.W. Designs.
This cruise is jam-packed with lots of fabulous ideas from the current Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalog by some of the best creative Stampin' Up! demonstrators around. So let's get started.

OFF THE WALL WITH DÉCOR ELEMENTS HOLIDAY MIX

My first project features the Holiday Mix Real Red Décor Elements (#117675). When I first sat down to work with this vinyl wall art, my first instinct was to try to use the entire sheet in one project. But as things progressed, I quickly found several ways that I could create with just one sheet. Now, I will admit that I almost ran to OEX and ordered at least one more set of a different color, but having only the one set of red forced me to be a little more resourceful.

To create this fun and inexpensive wall art I made a visit to a local discount store and found this wall plaque for only $2. I'll let you in on a little secret...it has some Halloween artwork on the other side...so instead of painting it, I just flipped it over and decorated the back side. Now, if I were going to give this away as a gift, I would probably take the time to paint the front, but since this one is just for me, I have decided to cover it with felt so that it doesn't clank around when I hang it on the door.

I thought it looked a little odd for it to just say "snow" so I used my new "My Digital Studio" to create a small tag to complete the thought. I added some rhinestones and used the new Mistletoe Ribbon Originals (#116792) to create a hangar and there you have it!

MORE DÉCOR ELEMENTS

After I finished the last project I was wondering what I could do with all of those fabulous left-over images from Holiday Mix Décor Elements, so I decided to make some coasters. (These pictures turned out really bright red, but in real life they are a little more subdued that this.)

I had enough pieces to make a complete set of 4 coasters using tumbled tiles from my local hardware store. I suggest you add a felt backing, felt pads, cork, or something to keep the tiles from scratching the table. This is a super fast and easy holiday gift that truly took almost no time at all. I tied everything together with some Mistletoe stitched grosgrain ribbon (#116792) and created a tag in My Digital Studio (available October 1st). I printed the tag on glossy photo paper and punched it out with the new Ornament Punch (#116794). Soooo fast and easy!

QUICK AND EASY TAGS WITH MY DIGITAL STUDIO

Here is just another quick and easy gift favor idea for your holiday gatherings. I purchased some inexpensive knit gloves, (you know the ones that are really small and look like they would fit a small child), and tied them together with some gorgeous Striped Grosgrain Ribbon in Basic Black (#115615). I added an expensive floral pick and attached a tag that I created in My Digital Studio. How fun would this be to give to each guest at your holiday parties. You could even stuff some candy sticks into the top of the gloves and put one on each place setting at your dinner table.

Now don't run off because I have one more fun treat idea for the kids.

SWEET CENTERS THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Here is a fun idea for little favors for the kids (and kids at heart) at your Thanksgiving get together. I used the Sweet Treat Cups (#116802), the Sweet Centers stamp set (#116521) and my punches to create this adorable little turkey. I just filled the treat cup with some holiday mix jelly beans. If you like this little fella, be sure to check back later this week because I have another fun little sweet centers treat favor to share with you (wink).

Now, now head on over to see the stunning projects by the lovely and talented Kay Kalthoff at Stamping to Share.

Heart "Felt" Greeting Card

I received a lot of nice comments on the felt flower gift card holder so I thought today I would share with you a card I made using the Big Shot, felt, rhinestone brads, and a little Tombo Multi.

I used the Scallop Square Bigz Clear Die to cut a card base with Basic Black card stock. Then I used the same die to cut a piece of black felt. I cut several flowers with the Baskets & Blooms die using several brightly colored pieces of felt. The little leaves are actually the inside of the loopy flower. I attached the flowers to the felt using rhinestone brads then glued the black felt to the card front with Tombo Multi-adhesive. I glued the leaves on afterward. I added some matching rhinestones to fill in some of the background and add a little more "sparkle".

I used Hello Again and Kind & Caring Thoughts stamp sets to create a coordinating panel to the inside. I love the way this card turned out. A picture just doesn't do it justice.

Don't forget...the next Catty Cruise is Friday, September 25th! Don't miss it!

Big Shot Felt Gift Card Holder

There are times when I don't feel like stamping (gasp) but still feel creative. At SU convention back in August I received a lot of inspiration to step outside of my comfort zone and take a different look at ways to use my Big Shot die cutting machine. I have been playing a lot with with fabric and creating projects for an upcoming craft fair, so today I thought I would share with you. If you don't mind doing a little sewing, then you are going to love putting together some of these.

For this project I used the SU Baskets & Blooms Bigz XL die to cut the gift card holder from brown felt. I trimmed the extra flap portion from the die cut pieces and then used a sewing machine and straight stitched the sides and bottom together. Then I turned the stitching to the inside. I used gold thread to blanket stitch along the top edge for decorative purposes only. Now here's the best part...no more sewing or gluing. I cut two smaller flowers from the same Baskets & Bloom die from gold felt, one larger flower using the SU Blossom Party die, and three moss green leaves with the Leaves #2 die. I punched holes in each piece and everything is attached to the bag with corduroy brads. Couldn't be easier.

Now, I want to hear from you. Would you like to see more projects like this one? Leave me a comment and let me know, but please do so politely. Thanks!

Another Digital CASE

 

Here is another card that I CASEd from my friend Nancy Riley and re-created it digitally in MDS. You can see Nancy's card here. I changed the colors and made it monochromatic. One of the best things about creating a card in MDS is once you have your basic design you can come back later and use the same template to create a card/scrapbook page using different elements to achieve an entirely new look like this one below.

 

Digitally CASEing Nancy Riley

One of the best Stampin' Up! card designers I know is my friend Nancy Riley. She has a keen eye for color and she know how to pull it all together. I don't think I have ever seen Nancy do a "so-so" card...everything is top notch. That's why when I set out to CASE a card in My Digital Studio I picked one of hers. (BTW, Nancy gave me permission to use her card as a sample.) I chose this card in particular because I knew that I had most of the elements included in the basic MDS software. You can see Nancy's original card here. Here is my digital CASE of her adorable card. I think it turned out rather well. (Please forgive the photography today...one of the lights is out in my light box and it is rainy & dreary day here in Mt. Juliet.)

This card is a little more advanced than a basic beginner card only because of the nonstandard size. Other than that, it was an easy card.

Here is a second digi-card that I made that is very similar, except that I made it a standard 5.5"x4.25" card base and changed a few of the elements. (This is a JPG file exported from MDS not a photo.) I have always thought it was "funny" when someone says "a little birdie told me today was your birthday". The great thing about creating digital cards in MDS is that it is so easy to add exactly what you want to say. MDS uses the fonts that are already on your computer, so if your are a font freak like me, you are only limited by your imagination.

 

One of the things I love about MDS is that once you create your basic template, it is easy to change out backgrounds, papers, and elements to achieve a new look. Here is a card that used the original template that I reworked to achieve a more masculine look. Of course, when I do a hybrid card, I take a photo so that you can see the details. Here I printed extra of the two elements, cut them out and popped them up with dimensionals.

My Digital Studio will be available for purchase on October 1st. I have years of experience with a similar software program and let me tell you, this one is much easier to use that alot of other products on the market. I am currently working toward receiving my certification on this program and will have lots of ideas to share with you using this amazing program. Now that doesn't mean that I have given up stamping...on the contrary, this is just an additional creative outlet. You will still be seeing my stamping and paper crafting projects here on my blog, but now you will see projects made using MDS as well.

Halloween Sweet Centers

I was playing around with the new Sweet Centers stamp set and came up with these two projects. Not that I think either of these will win any awards, but they turned out OK and I thought I would share.

The first project is a simple card that I made using circle punches. I thought it really needed to be tall and skinny (something that I am not) and so I chose to make the card base 3"x6". This isn't a difficult card and if you were doing a class on punches it might actually be a good card for a workshop.

This second project is very basic except that I added some black tulle around the edges to give it a little more interest.