Constantly Stamping

AWW - Easy Peasy Gift Bag

Welcome to the final 2013 Artisan Wednesday WOW Blog Hop. Words cannot begin to express how wonderful this past year as been. Not because of the awesome boxes of product we received each month...that was really great...but wonderful because of the everlasting bonds of friendship that were formed over the past twelve months. Stamping supplies are easy to come by, but true friendships are not. It has been such an honor to work with these incredibly talented young ladies and I will cherish our memories forever.

Now on to today's project. These were featured last Friday over on the Stampin' Up! Facebook page, so I already know how great they are! When we post them on our blogs we are able to give you more information about how they were made along with a few tips & tricks.

Typical DSP is a little stiff and has a lot of body, but the new Typeset DSP is a little more lightweight, which makes it perfect for making cute little gift bags. (The new Gold Soiree DSP works great too!) Honestly, if you can wrap a package, you can make this bag. All you need to do is fold over the top edge and then wrap the DSP around a small box (just like you are wrapping a gift), but you only fold in one end. There's nothing difficult about it except deciding which piece of DSP you use. I used the box that the Alphabet Rotary Stamp came it...it is the perfect size. Just be sure to hide your unsightly adhesive. I used a combination of Sticky Strip for the side and Tombow Multipurpose Adhesive for the bottom.  Make sure you sponge the edges with ink (optional) before you slip it off the box form. I added a piece of cardstock to the inside bottom of the bag to give it a little more stability.

Next, it is just a matter of decorating your beautiful bag.I stamped the greeting from the Hi There stamp set with Lost Lagoon ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and used snips to give the end a banner cut. I also created two more banners the same way with Silver Glimmer Paper and Lost Lagoon cardstock. The flower is made with a combination of the Pansy and the Petite Petal flower punches.

That's all for today folks. Now head on over to see what my very talented friend, Erica Cerwin, and the rest of the design team have in store for you this week.

I am not one who easily sheds a tear, but I have had to stop more than once while writing this blog post to find a tissue to dry my eyes. It reminds of the a quote you probably all know...

We hope you all have enjoyed joining us on our weekly ADT blog hops. We sure have had fun sharing our creativity with you! We've had a little something in the works for awhile, and we are excited to announce that we are going to continue to create together and share with you during our monthly Fancy Friday blog hop! Join us all the last Friday of each month, starting August 29th, for “Fancy Friday” as we are sure to continue to WOW you with some clever ideas you're sure to love! So be sure to check back August 29th!

Just one more thing...I will be working with Mercedes and Alanna to bring you this...

AWW - Striped Scallop Framelits Die...2 Ways

Welcome back to the Artisan Wednesday WOW Blog Hop. There are five Wednesday's in July and with most of us headed to Salt Lake City this week for our annual Stampin' Up! convention, we thought we would have an "anything goes" blog hop. Honestly, it is kind of nice to be set free from the restrictions of our normal blog hop and just create. Of course, our year as the Artisan Design Team ends soon, so several of us will be back to making whatever we want, whenever we want.  I will still be creating from a box...only now I get to choose what is in the box and have to pay for it. LOL!

I am looking forward to spending time with my ADT "sisters" this week. There are a few who can't attend convention, but most of us will be there. Although we have spent countless hours this past year getting to know "way too much" about each other, we haven't really spent any time face-to-face. I can't wait to hug every single one of these incredible ladies (with exception of maybe one who may or may not have a phobia about hugging). XOXOXO

Okay, that is enough chit chat...let's look at today's project, shall we? I finally got my hands on the new Striped Scallop Framelits Die. This is a somewhat obvious way to use the die, but I haven't seen it done yet, so I figured "someone has to do it so it might as well be me." ;)

This is a very special card that I made for our ADT team leader, Jane Lee. Words cannot express how grateful I am to Jane for all of the hard work and dedication she has put forth over this past year. Jane is the most amazing person and I just love her so much. There's no denying that we have completely different styles of stamping, but she has always been gracious about my more traditional style of card making. Jane has invested countless hours with our team and it is largely due to her efforts that we are such an incredibly close team. How much does Jane get paid for all of this? Absolutely nothing! How valuable has she been this past year? PRICELESS!

So, let's talk about this card for a minute. I die cut two pieces of cardstock (Basic Black and Whisper White). I glued the black scallop outline to a second piece of black cardstock. Next, I removed the negative white pieces from the other die cut piece and inserted them into the corresponding openings on the black card. After I had filled all of the openings, I used various colors of Blendabilities markers to color each row. It sounds simple, right? Well, hold on there a minute. Making this card required the patience of Job and wouldn't recommend it unless you have been papercrafting for a while. I know what you are probably thinking..."well, gee thanks, Connie". I know, I know...but after all, I am just showing you what I did...how you choose to use it is entirely up to you. Just remember, you've been warned! One more thing to mention...I stamped the greeting from the Let Your Hair Down hostess set with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I stamped it on vellum cardstock so that the colors behind the greeting didn't get lost.

So what did I do with the leftover white frame? I am so glad you asked! I used it to create a mask for this next card.

I can just hear it now..."Are you sure YOU made this card?" Yes, I did. I will admit it is more clean and simple than most of the cards I make, but I want to focus on the technique. I thought the pattern looked a lot like the ocean and I recently noticed that these flowers from the Flower Patch stamp set reminded me of starfish. Am I the only one who sees it? Anyway, I kept it CAS by mounting it on a plain white card base. The greeting is from the Endless Birthday Wishes photopolymer stamp set (Item No. 137553). (Note: this stamp set isn't in the catalog, but you can order it while supplies last.)

To make the mist I filled two Stampin' Spritzers with 91% isopropyl alcohol and then added Pacific Point reinker to one and Old Olive reinker to the other. The more reinker you add, the more vibrant the colors. (Note: you might want to put your project in an old cardboard box and do the spritzing outdoors. I have gotten a little light-headed in the past by accidentally breathing in some of the fumes from the alcohol...just sayin'.)

That's all for today folks. I will be back soon with tons of news and inspiration from our annual convention. Now head on over to see what my very talented friend, Erica Cerwin, and the rest of the design team have in store for you this week.

Artisan Wednesday WOW - Hey There Buds

 

Welcome back to another Artisan Design Team Blog Hop. I can't believe that is it already June. This month's box was filled with tons of stuff from the new catalog, so who knows what you might see from the Design Team over the next several weeks.

Sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming to get new product every month. It can be so difficult to know where to begin. I decided to start with a stamp that immediately caught my eye called "Hey There Buds". I specifically remember thinking "WOW that is a cute stamp...but I bet it will be difficult to work with". Well, much to my delight, it wasn't difficult at all. As a matter of fact, I have already made a few more projects that I will be showing you here on my blog over the next few weeks.

To create this card I used Stampin' Write markers to color the individual parts of the stamp then I stamped it on Whisper White cardstock. Be sure to "huff" on the image before you stamp. I have always hated that terminology because it sounds like you are doing something illegal (too funny) but all it means is that you exhale warm, moist air from your mouth over the stamp image. The moisture from your breath reactivates the ink before you press it on the paper.

I think this image looks very nice paired with the Gold Soiree Speciality Designer Series Paper when stamped in the same color pallet of Calypso Coral and Pistachio Pudding.

There is a touch of Garden Green in the paper design, so I pulled in that color to ground the card and give it a cohesive look. My goal here was to design an attractive card that would be easy to duplicate in a workshop/class setting. If you want to take this card to the next level, you could add some stitching or distressing.

Now, be sure to hop on over to see what Erica Cerwin and the rest of the design team have created.

 

Artisan Wednesday WOW - Blendabilities Markers

A few weeks ago I told you about the new line of Stampin' Up! alcohol markers called Blendabilities. I am super excited about these new markers. I have always loved to color and these new markers make it so much fun. They aren't available to our customers just yet, but they are coming soon. We received several colors in our May box and I have been having a blast working with them. They do take a little bit of practice, but I can almost guarantee you that you will fall in love with them right out of the box. You can use them in so many different ways which makes them even more of a great value. One of the best things about alcohol markers is that they don't cause your paper to "pill" when you color. Also, our markers are designed specifically to be used with our Whisper White cardstock. You do need to make sure that you use a Memento stamp pad and make sure the image is completely dry before colors.

For this project I used a pocket card from the new Everyday Adventure Project Life Card Collection. Several of the cards in the kit make great backgrounds for greeting cards. They will be available to purchase on June 2, 2014. I trimmed off 3/4" from the top end of the card so it would layer perfectly on a standard A2 card base. Be sure to save that little strip that you cut off. I used mine on the inside to help coordinate the finished look of the card. I also love that this particular design has the perfect place for a greeting from the Lots of Thanks stamp set.

I stamped different flowers from the Peaceful Petals and Secret Garden stamp sets and colored them with the Blendabilities. For some of the flowers I stamped and colored them 2-3 times, cut them out and then put the layers together with Dimensionals. This is a great technique for adding depth and dimension.

One of the great things you can do with these markers is color our clear Rhinestones. I colored several different sizes and added them to the front for some added interest. I also tied on some Linen Thread and a button to give this card an extra touch of texture. Here's one more look at the card.

Now, be sure to hop on over to see what Erica Cerwin and the rest of the design team have created.

Artisan Wednesday WOW...and the winner is!

Hopefully you had the opportunity to enter our big stamp set giveaway last week. I am pleased to announce the winner on my blog...drum roll please...Jo McClain will receive the Big Birthday clear stamp set and some Silver Baker's Twine courtesy of Stampin' Up! As per contest rules, you just need to contact me before next Monday and let me know your mailing address so that SU can get these out to you right away. This is the fifth week of the month, so we didn't really have to create a project this week, but I couldn't resist giving you a sneek peak at one of the incredible new products that Stampin' Up! is carrying in the new 2014-15 Catalog.

You may have heard by now that SU is releasing a line of alcohol markers called Blendabilites.
One of the perks of being on the design team, is that sometimes we get to play with new product before it is released. I love alcohol markers and I have even taken a few classes on how to use them, so this is a dream come true for me. You will be seeing a lot more projects using these new markers in the near future, but today I wanted to share a sneak peak and the amazing things you can do with them. Best of all, they work perfectly with our Stampin' Up! color palette. They are also calibrated to work great with our Whisper White Card Stock. I'm am in serious love with these markers.

Notice that the flowers appear to have shading. Our new Blendabilites are designed in sets of three shades of the same color that work perfectly together. There are several methods of coloring, but for this particular card I worked dark-medium-light. In other words I started in the shadows with the darkest color, then blended in the medium shade, and then finished off the areas that I wanted to be the lights with the lightest marker. They really give the flowers a more realistic look that is difficult to attain with our regular markers. To create this card front I used the masking technique and stamped several of the images from the Peaceful Petals stamp set (only available thru May 31, 2014). You will need to use a Memento ink pad so that the colors don't bleed and you need to give the stamped image time to dry completely before you start to color. I used a heat tool on mine to make sure that it was ready to color.

There is a little bit of a learning curve with our new markers, but I am confident that with a little practice, you will be creating beautiful projects in no time. The trick is to just jump in and play. I started with some individual flowers on some scrap cardstock and then once I was confident I jumped right in and made this card.

Thanks for checking out our hop this week. Don't forget to see if you are a WINNER! Now be sure to hop on over to see what Erica Cerwin and the rest of the design team have created.

Artisan Wednesday WOW - Big Wish Cupcake Box and a Give Away

Oh My Goodness...you have picked a great week to check out our Artisan Design Team blog hop. Why? We have a special surprise for you. Stampin' Up! is sponsoring a give away on each of our blogs this week. That's right...we are talking about ten prizes...one on each blog. It has been a little touch-n-go with my blog over the past few days. TypePad (my blog provider) had a major service attack their system and I really wasn't sure I would be able to post. But apparently all is well, so now we can get this party started!

 

The lucky winner on my blog will win the Big Wish clear stamp set and some Silver Baker's Twine. How exciting is that!!! I am going to put the contest rules at the bottom of this post, so be sure to scroll down all the way to the bottom to see how to enter.

Here is the project that I made using the Big Wish stamp set. This is a modified version of a 2-4-6-8 box (or a milk carton box). I just enlarged it on a grand scale in order to fit a fancy cupcake inside.
The free patterns (one for the box and one for the box insert) are at the end of this post.

I made the box out of Gumball Green Core'dinations cardstock. I had to use two pieces of 9.5" x 12" in order to make the box large enough. The box really isn't that difficult to make, but if you follow these steps it will make things a little easier.  Step 1: cut and score the two box pieces. Step 2: cut four 4.25" squares of Birthday Basics designer series paper and stitch around the edges. Step 3: adhere one of the dsp panels to the front of the box only. Step 3: cut the opening in the front of the box. You will need to fold the side panel for it to fit in the Big Shot. It will leave an imprint on the side of the box, so you will need to cover it with one of the dsp panels. Step 4: cut a frame to go around the front opening and attach it. Step 5: add the acetate window to the inside of the opening using Sticky Strip adhesive. Step 6: adhere the remaining dsp panels to the side and back of the box. Step 7: assemble the box. Step 8: embellish the box.

I wanted to emboss the box, but it was too large, so I decided to do some faux embossing intead. I sanded some of the leftover cardstock and then punched it out with a 1/2" circle punch. To pull this off, I had to make sure that the grain of the cardstock was running the same direction as the box. I only added the dots to the top front portion. You might notice that the balloons are "puffy". To get this look I used a Stampin' Pierce Mat and the end of a small paint brush and rubbed it on the back of each balloon until it created a "cup" effect.

Here is the free pattern for the box. You will need to cut two.

Here is the pattern for the platform that goes inside the bottom of the box to hold the cupcake.

Thanks for checking out our hop this week. Now be sure to hop on over to see what Erica Cerwin and the rest of the design team have created.

 There are four chances on each blog to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Artisan Wednesday WOW - Easter Basket

Welcome to another week of the Artisan Wednesday WOW Blog Hop by the Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team. Doesn't it feel like we are barely into Spring and now Easter is less than a week away? Can you say "longest winter EVER"! Seriously, Easter just sort of came out of nowhere. I really love to craft and decorate for spring, but this year I just haven't been very inspired...until now that is! So please forgive me for not getting to this sooner. Today, I have a fun basket that I made by covering a Tag a Bag Gift Box with Watercolor Wonder DSP.

 

I love the look of stitching on projects, (although it is completely optional), so I cut four panels of DSP and used my sewing machine to stitch around the edges. I purchased some wooden finials at the craft store, painted them white, and then hot glued them to the bottom. It wasn't expensive and it adds a lot of polish to the project. I also added some Crisp Cantaloupe 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim along the bottom edge before adding the flowers to the project.

The flowers were made with the Flower Shop stamp set. I stamped each flower four times and used the Pansy Punch to cut them out. Then I assembled the layers. I used flower stamens by Wilton for the centers. The sentiment is from the Blessed Easter stamp from the Spring mini catalog. I inked the words with Bermuda Bay ink and then stamped them on Whisper White cardstock. I didn't want the background to overpower the sentiment, so I stamped the flowers on a piece of scrap paper first and then onto the cardstock. Then I punched it out with the Extra-large Oval Punch. It fits perfectly inside a frame made from the Designer Frames embosslit and Bermuda Bay cardstock. I hand cut the outside of the frame and attached everything to the box with dimensionals. All that's left is to add a handle and then fill the basket with yummy treats. Just a suggestion...be sure to buy two bags of chocolate, because if you are anything like me, you will need one for the basket and one for the creative process! LOL!

We have some exciting news to share! Stampin' Up! is sponsoring a give away on the Artisan Design Team's blogs starting next week, so be sure to check back for more information on how to win.

Thanks for checking out our hop this week. Now be sure to hop on over to see what Erica Cerwin and the rest of the design team have created.

Artisan Wednesday WOW - Another Great Year Birthday Card

The Artisan Design Team has another great blog hop for you today. Every week I am amazed at the incredible display of talent by my Artisan team mates. I have to tell you that I love these gals. We have become really close and I value their friendship more than I ever thought possible. Sure, we have different styles and personalities, but that is what makes it so great. There is never a boring moment on the Artisan Design Team and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. Yes, it is quite a bit of work to design projects on a weekly basis, but if you are a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and love to share your SU-related creativity with the world, then I encourage you to apply for next year's design team. This year, demonstrators from all over the world are eligible to apply. Everything you need to know is on the Stampin' Up! demonstrator website, but if feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Now, let's look at this week's project...

I made a card made using the Another Great Year stamp set and the Fresh Prints DSP Stack from the Spring Mini Catalog. I love the beautiful colors of this paper stack. I stamped the sentiment in Real Red ink on a 2-1/2" circle cut from Whisper White card stock. Then I stamped the cupcake with Jet Black Staz-On Ink on a scrap piece of paper. I colored the cake with a Crumb Cake marker and covered the frosting with glue and some dazzling diamonds glitter. I punched a little heart from red glimmer paper using the Owl Punch and did a little fussy cutting for the cupcake sleeve. I placed the cupcake above the sentiment using a dimensional and then placed the entire circle on a larger circle cut with the Starburst Framelits Dies.

I love the look of velum on a card, but sometimes it can be a little tricky to attach without the adhesive showing. Here I used adhesive behind the sentiment and then wrapped some linen thread around the card to help secure it to the sides.

This card was actually pretty cute already because of that adorable polka dot dsp background, but I decided to step-it-up another notch and add a fun banner to the top. I gave each banner a gentle curl and glued it to the card at the top of each piece. Then I used some clear, matte adhesive (non-SU) to attach the linen thread and bows.

Thanks for checking out our hop this week. Now be sure to hop on over to see what Erica Cerwin and the rest of the design team have created.