Constantly Stamping

AWW - Twice as Nice

Welcome back to the Artisan Wednesday WOW Blog Hop. I don't know about you, but these are anything but the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Well...maybe the crazy part is right. Life doesn't slow down one little bit for me this time of year. So when I can find a way to save time, I am one happy gal. That is what is so nice about the card I am sharing with you today.One of the ways this card saves time is that you can do it all with one pass through the Big Shot Machine. Start with two sheets of coordinating designer series paper. You will need two patterns/designs that work well together but don't overpower one another. I used the new All Abloom DSP Stack. There are several possible combinations that work well together in this stack so it is a great place to start. Next, stack the two pieces of 5.25"x4" DSP directly on top of one another and die cut three circles with just one pass through the machine using the Circles Framelits dies. A magnetic platform is a great way to keep everything lined up and in place. Then, just take the die cut circles from one piece of dsp and put them in the openings created on the opposite piece. Adhere everything to a piece of scrap copier paper and give it a quick trim. Mount the trimmed piece on a piece of Whisper White cardstock. Add some linen thread and then attach the card front to the card base with dimensionals.

Another reason this card is twice as nice is because you can make a second card with the remaining pieces, so there is no wasted DSP.

I basically used the same design (with some minor modifications) for both cards. I just love that I can die cut once and make two cards. The greeting on both cards is from the Hi There stamp set and stamped with Lost Lagoon ink. The flowers were created with the Pansy Punch (large flower) and the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (small flower). The leaves were cut with the Bird Builder Punch. Add some basic pearls, linen thread, and maybe a button and you end up with two really great cards.

Have I totally confused you yet? Maybe if you see the cards side-by-side it will make more sense.

See...they are the same, but different. Much like identical twins but with two different personalities. Why not give it a try and put a link in to your project in the comments below? I would love to see what you create.

I hope you have enjoyed today's project as much as I enjoyed sharing it. Now head on over to see what my very talented friend, Erica Cerwin, and the rest of the design team have for you this week.

 

AWW - Patriotic Celebration Banner

Welcome back to the Artisan Wednesday WOW Blog Hop. This is our final month to create as the 2013 Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team. A new design team will be announced at Awards Night at Convention in just a few weeks. It has been an incredible year...one that I will cherish forever. I love my ADT sisters and I am confident that we will always be great friends. Some of the current team will be going on to serve on next year's team but I am not one of them. Although I am sad that this incredible year is coming to an end, I am excited to see what God has planned for me. I am looking forward to my son's senior year of high school. We will be wrapping up our homeschooling experience and making plans for his future...so I will have plenty to keep me busy.

Enough of this sentimental stuff, let's move on to today's project...

We are definitely what you would call a patriotic family. With my husband, his brother, and his sister-in-law all serving in the military you might say that our blood runs red, white, and blue. The first time I saw the Celebration Basic Banner Kit I knew immediately that I needed to create a patriotic version. So let's get started and I will show you how to customize your very own banner.

The kit comes with white letters to spell out the words "celebrate" so you can leave them white, or you can add some bling. It would be easy to just add glitter to the letters, but I opted to trace and cut them from some of the new Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper. If you do this, be sure to place the letters face down on the back side of the glimmer paper and trace them with a pencil. Then just cut them out with scissors or an exacto knife.

For each completed star you will need to die cut two stars from cardstock using the new Stars Framelits and the Big Shot Machine. I used the largest star in the set. I wanted to dress them up a little, so I decided to give them the illusion of depth without actually making them pop up. One of the two stars needs to be darker than the other. This was easy to achieve with the red stars...I just used Cherry Cobbler cardstock to create the shadow and Real Red for the lighter areas. Making the blue stars was a little more of a challenge. I have Night of Navy cardstock for the lighter pieces, but the Midnight Muse recently retired...so I had to improvise. I pulled out my handy dandy brayer to layer on Night of Navy ink. (Note: My brayer is stained black from several years of use.)

Next, turn over the lighter star and label each section lightly with a pencil. This will be EXTREMELY helpful when you add the pieces to the darker star base. It also helps to draw a line from each tip to the opposite indention. Do this for all five section. Now you are ready to cut it apart. You will use the "A" pieces to make the lighter portion of the stars. (Save the "B" pieces and you can use those by flipping them over. If you do this, be sure to erase the pencil marks.)

Now you are ready to assemble your star. Apply the "A" piece to the right side of each point using Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue. This will give you a few seconds to make adjustments. It is also great because you can use an adhesive eraser to remove any stray glue after it dries completely.

Now you are ready to assemble each section of your banner. I wanted my banner to have a slightly vintage feel, so I inked the edges of the stars and pennant pieces with Early Espresso ink. I also used Crumb Cake ink to ink the letters. Attach a star to the center of a pennant with Dimensionals. Use mini glue dots to attach the letter to the center of the star. Punch small stars to scatter on the background and attach those with mini glue dots.  When you finish, you should have something that looks like this. This star is red, but you get the idea!

Next, use the twine that comes in the kit to string together the pennants. I didn't have any navy ribbon, so I used some fabric from the "homespun" section of the fabric store and cut it into 1"x22" strips. Tie a bow between each pennant and trim off any stray strings.

Finally, find the perfect spot to hang your banner for all to enjoy. I am displaying my banner on the fireplace mantel this Independence Day, but it is great to have around all summer long.Now head on over to see what my very talented friend, Erica Cerwin, and the rest of the design team has for you this week.

 

Artisan Wednesday WOW - Hey There Buds Kraft Gift Box

  Welcome to our weekly Artisan Design Team Blog Hop.  We are creating projects this week with stamps and embellishments from the new annual catalog. Yes, you guessed it...another round of "flower fest". LOL! In case you are wondering what I am referring to, go back and check out last week's post. I did hear from quite a few of you and it seems like most of you don't mind that I like flowers...so thank you very much for your kind comments. Besides, I don't think of "Hey There Buds" so much as a flower stamp...it is almost like a woodcut design to me.

One of the color combos I really like is just black on kraft. I think it looks very elegant without being too fussy. So I decided to use Hey There Buds and stamp on some of our Kraft Gift Boxes. The trick to stamping on boxes is to carefully take them apart and lay them out flat. I stamped with Memento Black ink, but just about any black ink will work for this project.

Don't expect a totally clean image when you do this. There will be gaps where the folds are, but that is okay...you can camouflage that later by sponging Early Espresso ink along all the edges of the box. The image itself will be "speckled" too, but I think that adds to the rustic feel of the box. Also, I felt like I needed to fill in the spaces a little between the images, so I used an eraser from the end of an ordinary pencil and stamped some polka dots.

All that is left is to use a strong adhesive like sticky strip to reassemble the box, distress the edges with some sponging and then wrap it several times with some linen thread. The sentiment is actually part of the stamp, but I cut it off and remounted on a spare wood block so that I could use it separately. I created a tag with one of the dies from the Hearts A Flutter Framelits. I wanted it to match perfectly, so I sacrificed the inside flap from another box.

That's all for today. Now head over to see the awesome projects Erica Cerwin and the rest of the team have made this week.

 

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.

Artisan Wednesday WOW - Blessed Easter Card

Welcome back to another Artisan Design Team Blog Hop. If you are joining us for the first time, then let me give you a brief overview of what to expect. Each month the Artisan Design Team receives a box of product from the Stampin' Up! home office to create with. We can add in some things as long as it is current Stampin' Up! product, but the primary focus needs to be on something from that month's box. We usually receive a MDS digital download as well. This month our blog hop button was created by fellow Artisan DT member, Cindy Schuster, using the new Blossom's Abound download. It is also what I used to design my new blog header. Anyway, be sure to check out everyone's projects.

 With all of the cold weather we have experienced this winter, it finally looks like Spring has finally arrived here in Nashville. I've been seeing hints of yellow and white popping out everywhere so I used that as my inspiration for this week's project. I really enjoy card making, but I really haven't been doing much of it lately. Our April box of goodies has a wide range of product, so be prepared to see just about every style you can imagine. As for me, I tend to be a little more "classic" in my style, but I do like to add some trendy touches like messy stitching and some banners to give my cards a more updated look.

Can you believe that this started out as a one-layer card? That only lasted about a minute. LOL! I do love layers!!! The DSP is from the Eastern Elegance collection. I love how it gives the card the look of lattice that is just perfect for this time of year. The die cut panel was made with the Labels Collection Framelits. I cut a piece of Whisper White card stock and did all of the stamping on it and then placed it in the opening. Then I cut two frames to go around the opening and layered them on top of one another to give it a little extra depth.

The stamp I used is called Easter Blessings. The words are part of the design, but I cut them apart so that I could stamp them separately. I immediately fell in love with this stamp when I saw the Spring catalog, so I am excited to finally get to use it. I stamped it in Basic Gray ink and colored it with Stampin' Write markers in Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz. I started with a light application of color and then used the same marker to give some shading. I also stamped and colored some additional flowers and then layered them on top so that the flowers are actually lifted off the panel. For the background I sponged on some Coastal Cabana ink for the sky and then went around the edges with some Early Espresso ink. For some finishing touches I added a butterfly that was die cut with a Beautiful Wings Embosslit die and scattered on some Basic Pearls.

I hope you have enjoyed today's project. Now be sure to hop on over to see what Erica Cerwin and the rest of the design team have created.

 

Artisan Wednesday WOW - Ombre Paper Lantern

 
I am so excited to share today's project. I told you that flowers are my favorite thing to paper craft, so I just couldn't resist adding them to this project. This project sat half-finished on my desk for several weeks but then one day all the pieces came together and the results are so very pretty.

I started with a plain white paper lantern that I purchased at the dollar store. I used the Stampin' Spritzer that comes in the Calypso Coral Celebration Add-on Kit. I put some 91% Rubbing Alcohol along with some Calypso Coral re-inker in a small jar and made a light mixture of the color. Then I used a dropper to fill the spritzer and lightly sprayed the lantern being careful to avoid the very top of the lantern. I let that dry and then I added a few more drops of re-inker to the mixture and sprayed it again, this time only spraying the bottom half. Then I added more re-inker and sprayed the very bottom. If you wanted to make several of these at one time I would do all of them at the same time, then darken the mixture, spray again, darken the mixture and spray again so that they are all similar. Keep a paper towel handy to catch any drips.

I used the designer series paper from the Calypso Coral Add-on Kit (#133431) along with the Pansy and the Petite Petals punches to create the flowers. Each of the large flowers has 4-5 layers. The leaves are cut from Gumball Green and Pear Pizzazz with the Secret Garden Framelits dies (#129372).

I purchased some Wilton Assorted Flower Stamens for the flower centers. Everything was attached with a hot glue gun. I needed something to stabilize the lantern on the table so I used a ring from the canning jar lid. That way I can set a battery operated candle in the bottom, or you can add it to a string of lights and hang it. These would be beautiful for a wedding.

I hope you have enjoyed today's project. Now be sure to hop on over to see what Erica Cerwin and the rest of the design team have created.

Artisan Wednesday WOW - Hardwood Card plus Bonus Project

I am so glad that you are joining us this week for our Artisan Wednesday WOW blog hop. Just in case you are joining us for the first time, let me explain. Each week the ten members of the Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team post projects that are created primarily from a box of goodies we receive monthly from Stampin' Up! Our blog hop makes a complete circle. At the end of every post there is a "next" button that will take you to the next blog until you end up back where you started. If you are hopping, then you should have arrived here from Cindy Schuster's blog. I am totally loving the March box. It has been difficult to narrow down what to do because there were so many wonderful things to choose from. I actually have two different types of projects for you this time, so be sure to read all the way through.

  A few months ago I was helping one of my downline design some cards for her stamp-a-stack class. We were short on time and I had just injured my shoulder from falling on the ice. So I came up with this card because it is what I would call "low prep". We were able to hand the participants some card stock and they did most of the work themselves. This is a stepped-up version, but it is basically the same. Just stamp the Hardwood background stamp with Crumb Cake ink on a Crumb Cake card base. The sentiment uses the Chalk Talk stamp set and the flowers are from the Flower Shop set. The basic color combo was Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, and Old Olive.

You don't need to be a paper crafter to enjoy this next project. I don't know how to knit and I am fairly limited on my crocheting abilities, but I found this cute pre-made cap at the craft store. Even better than that...it was on sale. Woo Hoo! I knew immediately what I wanted to do...add felt flowers. I used the new Spiral Flower die and cut two different colors of felt (yellow & gold) and then loosely rolled them to create the flower. I used the Circle #2 die to cut the leaves.

The care directions on the cap said "spot clean only" so I decided to stitch everything directly to the cap. That way you don't need to worry about scratching or irritating their precious little head. I just totally love how it turned out and it was super fast and easy. I am at the phase in my life when it seems like I know several couples who are expecting. I am convinced that you can never have too many baby gifts on hand.

I hope you have enjoyed today's project. Now be sure to hop on over to see what Erica Cerwin and the rest of the design team have created.

Leadership 16 - You're Lovely Scrapbook Page

When we do display stamping, Stampin' Up! asks us to only use pictures of our immediate family. So, if I want to make a feminine page, that means I have to use a picture of myself. That is probably one of the hardest things for me to do...scrapbook myself. It just feels strange to me. I used the "You're Lovely" Sale-a-bration stamp set. BTW, don't forget that Sale-a-bration ends on March 31st, so be sure to get your order in before then if you want to get free merchandise like this stamp set.

This page is 8"x8" and used Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper and the Stippled Blossoms stamp set. There is definitely some fussy cutting going on here. I tried to mimic the floral pattern found in the DSP for continuity. I love this suite of products, and with spring just around the corner, don't be too surprised if you see me using it again soon.

Here is a list of the other Artisan Design Team blogs. Be sure to check out their inspiring projects!

Cathy Caines - In The Cat Cave
Connie Collins - Constantly Stamping (You are here!)
Erica Cerwin - Pink Buckaroo
Jane Lee - Jane Lee's Cards
Jeanna Bohanon - Stamp Time Somewhere
Cindy Schuster - Nutmeg Creations
Jennifer Timko - Stampin' on the Fly
Alanna Wharf - Sleepless Stamper
Becky Cowley- Scrap Junkie
Mercedes Weber - Paper Creations by Mercedes