Constantly Stamping

Springtime Happiness

Hi Everyone! Whew, I have been very sick over the past five days and just now starting to feel a little better. At first I thought it was my springtime allergies gone rogue, but I am starting to think it was a miserable virus now that my son is beginning to show the same symptoms. I haven't felt this lousy in a long time. It wasn't as bad as the flu, but close.

Today I want to share a card that I made a few weeks ago. I started with a Simply Sent Everyday Elegance card with a beautiful pre-cut border and worked from there. This is one of the products that you can select for free during Sale-a-bration, or you can purchase it from the main catalog (#122377). The set comes with eight printed, embossed, die-cut cards, 16 self-adhesive tags, and 8 white envelopes.

This card uses lots of products from the Occasions Mini catalog. I covered the top portion of the card with Twitterpated DSP (#125406), added some Blushing Bride 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon (#125570) and stamped a greeting on the pre-cut tag using a sentiment from the Loving Thoughts stamp set (#125845). One thing you may notice is that I added a bow made with Pretty in Pink 5/8" satin ribbon. The ribbon colors aren't an exact match, but honestly, it really looks fine together.  I die cut some little butterflies using the Beautiful Wings Embosslits die (#118138) from Pretty in Pink card stock to add some balance to the layout.

Now let's talk a little about the stars of the show, the beautiful flowers. Sometimes I just sit and make flowers and other embellishments to use on my projects later. I made these flowers almost a year ago, not really knowing how I would use them. I would much rather make my own embellishments than pay for some of those expensive flowers from the scrapbook store. It is a much more time/cost effective way and I can be sure that my colors match my other Stampin' Up! products. I have a big box of pre-made flowers that I keep next to my stamp area. When I am working on a project, I can just pull out the box to see if there is anything that I can use. I made these particular flowers with a combination of the Blossom Party die (#115971) and the Birds & Blooms retired sizzlits 4-pack dies. The last time I checked the sizzlits were on the Clearance Rack over in the online store. I gave the flowers a little spritz of of homemade shimmer mist that I made using rubbing alcohol and Frost White shimmer paint.  (#116854). Be sure to let everything dry completely before adding the pearls or they may not stick well.

OK...that's all for today. Even thought I have been sick, I have several projects already made and waiting to show you. I just need to find time to photograph them and prepare the posts, so be sure to check back soon.

 

Under the Weather...Way Under!

Hi there. I am feeling really terrible today. My springtime allergies have finally caught up with me and now I have a sinus infection, sore throat, and have partially lost my voice. But life goes on, so I have been trying to run my errands, as usual. I have a doctor's appointment later today, so hopefully I will be feeling better soon.

In the meantime, here is a card that I made a few weeks ago. It was going to be my card for the Artisan FB gallery, but after I made it I saw some cards out there in blog land that had a similar look and feel, so I decided not to save it for another day.

Just briefly, I used Soft Suede card stock, Attic Boutique DSP (#125407), Apothecary Art stamp set (#125527), and I stamped everything in Soft Suede ink. After stamping, I cut out the image with the coordinating Labels Collection Framelits die (#125598). I created a mask for the center portion of the sentiment and then used a sponge dauber to apply Daffodil Delight ink around the outside border. I colored everything with a blender pen. As long as you dab your blender pen instead of sweeping it, you can color the image without smearing. I added a big, beautiful bow and that is pretty much it. I think I will take a couple of days off of blogging until I feel a little better. See you soon.

 

Tea for Two - Gift from a Friend!

I can't believe that neglected to share this great gift I received from my leadership roommie, Natasha Zandbergen. Isn't it just adorable! It's an altered tea tin. She used the Everyday Enchantment dsp along with the Tea Shoppe stamp set (#125547) from the Occasions Mini. I love it so much that I haven't opened it yet...but soon. I can't wait to try a cup! Here is a picture of the top of the box. I hope you hop over and visit her blog. She is such a talented Canadian demo with lots of great tutorials for sale. Thanks, Natasha.

Occasions Mini Artisan Facebook Gallery

Guess what? The Artisans are being featured again today over on the Stampin' Up! Facebook Page. Today's projects feature products from the Occasions Mini Catalog. My card was inspired by one I saw in a magazine. The paper ruffles are so romantic and was just perfect to use with the Attic Boutique DSP (#125407) and the Apothecary Art stamp set (#125525/125527). I know that this is a super frilly card, and most likely it will be hand-delivered or mailed in a padded envelop, but it really is beautiful and worth the extra postage.

I created the paper ruffles by spritzing water on paper strips and finger-gathering one edge. Let dry throughly before adhering to card with a strong adhesive like Sticky Strip.

I wasn't sure at first if I would like the Attic Boutique dsp, but now that I have used it, I really like it alot. It has some gorgeous patterns and colors. Yes, there are a few pages that don't excite me, but that is the way it is with every paper collection on the market. Be sure to head over the the Artisan Gallery, here, to see what the other talented Artisans have created.

 

CASEd Leadership Display Card

Most of the time I like to be original in the cards that I make, but when I saw this card on display at Leadership, I knew I MUST CASE IT! I love everything about this card...the colors, the layout, its cheerful feel. I literally stood there and studied this card for at least a couple of minutes, if not longer. The designer of this card used paper from the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' kit (#124006). It is just about the only paper that SU carries that I don't already have. (It just occurred to me now that I have finished the card that this paper is available as a digital download...duh!) Anyway, I was bound and determined to make a card as close to the original as possible without buying another thing. I am so incredibly blessed with paper that there is no way I will ever use it all, so here is what I came up with.

So, what do you think? Can you spot the differences? For starters I used Cheerful Treat DSP (Hostess #122381), the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Everyday Enchantment brads (SAB), and the Delightful Dozen stamp set (#122652). For the center of the flower I used the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch, 1" Circle Punch and some Brights Patterns DSP. I decided to change out the flower center mainly since the DSP didn't have as much punch as the original DSP. I needed to get some of that beautiful Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight into the flower somehow and it had to be in a big way.

So what do you need to know about making this card. Well, for starters, you need lots and lots of Stampin' Dimensionals to lift that entire piece of Whisper White card stock away from the base. You also need a lot of pieces around the opening of the flower and some teeny tiny pieces to support the little pointed pieces that go toward the flower center. Another thing that you may not notice unless I point it out is that I used the back side of the flower button because the color is more vibrant on the back. Oh and yes, I changed out the sentiment, since I am hopefully a l-o-n-g way off from being a grandmother. That's about it. I am very pleased with how it turned out and now I have my Mother's Day card already done. Now I just have to make cards for in-laws...but I am off to a great start.

Leadership Make-n-Take Sample #5

Today's project is the final make-n-take display sample that I made for Leadership. I think this was my favorite because I had to really stretch my creativity. Of course, I have already told you that they wanted us to use only the kit contents. So here is how I made this entirely from the kit.

I used a button box lid and cut holes in the top to stabilize the flowers later in the process. I know that sounds a little difficult to understand, but I didn't want my flowers falling around all over the place so it was sort of like I made a flower frog that fit snuggly into the tube. I covered the outside edges of both parts of the button container with sticky strip and wrapped a 3"x8 1/2" piece of white card stock around them with one plactic piece on the top and the other on the bottom.

Here is what the tube looked like before I covered it. It definitely wasn't pretty, but then I covered it with DSP and made it about an inch taller so that you wouldn't see the plastic when it was finished.

The kit also included four wooden skewers, so I cut them into two pieces for the flower stems. I even shredded pink card stock for the vase filler. Of course I stamped the flowers with the Mixed Bunch stamp set (#125537). Each flower has three layers of petals. I gave the flowers fullness by curling the petals with a bone folder and assembling the layers with dimensionals.

Just like yesterday's project, this one was on display somewhere at leadership because I have seen pictures that others took...but I'll be darned if I know where it was. Oh well, thank goodness I took pictures at home.

Make-n-Take Project #4

I am back today with another make-n-take display sample from leadership. Like I mentioned before, we were asked to use the kit contents (and only the kit contents) to make five projects of our choice. I created a small pizza-style-box using Twitterpated DSP. Then I created the flower with the Blossom Builders kit. I used a Poppy Parade ink pad to stamp the sentiment, but there wasn't any matching CS...so I made my own using Whisper White CS and a Poppy Parade ink pad. I also sponged the flower with the same ink to give it a richer color.

I didn't even know this project was on display. Somehow I missed some of the samples. I just happened to see some pictures that somebody else posted on our demonstator website. I was like "Hey! I didn't see that there." I still don't know where it was displayed. If you were at Leadership and know where these were, I would love for you to let me know. OK...well that's all for today. See you tomorrow!

Another Make-n-Take Display Project

Here is another one of the projects I made for the Leadership M&T display. Bear in mind, that our supplies were very limited, and by the time I got around to making this card, I was really starting to get a little desperate for ideas.

Afterall, we only had 30 days to make 24 projects and mail them AND it was smack dab in the middle of the holiday season. So, this is probably not my favorite card that I have ever made, I suppose it was pretty good under the circumstances. I do love that Twitterpated DSP and the stamp sets (Mixed Bunch and Loving Thoguhts) from the Occassions Mini are wonderful! Oh yes, and I think I cheated and substituted a Cherry Cobbler button for a Real Red one (wink) because it works much better with that particular DSP. Also, I used Island Indgo ink for the flower and the sentiment.