A Simple Beautiful Christmas Card

I recently conducted a class where the attendees were half beginning stampers and half experienced stampers.  What project should I do?  I didn't want the beginners to feel overwhelmed with "fancy" tools like the Stamparatus or the Big Shot.  I didn't want the experienced stampers to be disappointed in a "too simple" card.    This is the card we made:

We used stamps from Winter Woods, a Stampin' Up! stamp set.
1.  Stamp the center tree in Shaded Spruce.
2.  Stamp the greeting in the upper right corner in Shaded Spruce.
3.  Stamp the other two trees in Mint Macaron.
4.  Adhere the card to a Mint Macaron mat.
5.  Adhere this to a Shaded Spruce base.
6.  Adhere 3 white sequins.  
Done with the front--easy, but beautiful!  Beginners were pleased and so were the experienced stampers.

Inside of card.  Some simple stamping on the inside in Shaded Spruce.

Give this card a try!

Thanks for stopping by.  Feel free to leave a constructive comment.  Contact me if you have a question.  Happy stamping!

Stampin' Up! has Shimmer Paint!!!

I arrived home from Seattle last night (a long weekend trip to visit my son's family in Bothell) to find that the UPS had paid a visit while we were gone.  Yay!  It's always fun to open one of those boxes!

I found a another new favorite from the Holiday Catalog!  Shimmer Paint--LOVE IT!  It's found on page 38--four colors:  Champagne Mist, Bright Copper, Frost White, Vegas Gold.  I bought only the Frost White.  After using it this morning, the other three are on my Wish List. 

I also got the Winter Woods stamp set and In the Woods Framelits which I bought in a bundle saving 10%.  Another favorite already!

A big thanks to Lisa Curcio for her wonderful You Tube presentation:  Three Shimmer Paint Techniques!  I am sharing two of them on my blog this morning.

I stamped two trees from the Winter Woods set in Shaded Spruce on two pieces of Whisper White card stock (2 3/4" x 4") using my Stamparatus.  They are beautiful just as they are, but the Shimmer Paint added a beautiful, subtle shimmer and shine.  My phone camera doesn't show the shine, but it's there!

For one tree I used a sponge dauber:
Shake the shimmer paint jar and listen for the clicking of the shaker inside. 
Dunk the sponge into the LID of the paint jar.
Starting at the bottom of the tree, slide the dauber back and forth working towards the top of the tree.  The ink color will blend a bit.
The dauber can be washed with soap and water and be used again.
Allow the tree to dry, run it through the Big Shot with its matching framelit, and you have a beautiful tree to use for your project.

For the second tree I used a Stampin' Up! Spritzer:
Shake the shimmer paint jar.
Unscrew the top of the spritzer and drop two drops of the simmer paint into the tube.
Add rubbing alcohol to the tube.
Put the lid back on and shake the spritzer well.
Spray the tree.
Allow to dry.
Run it through the Big Shot.  Another beautiful tree!

Both methods were easy to do and the results were beautiful.  The colors vary a bit.  The one closest to the catalog was done with the sponge dauber.

Thanks for stopping by!

Masculine Birthday Card

Masculine Birthday Card

Good morning, all!    Happy October.  

What's the use of making cards unless you send them-- right???  At the beginning of each month I check my list of birthdays and gather cards from my stash, address the envelopes, and lightly pencil in the date of the birthday in the corner where the stamp will go.  I keep these on my desk until it's time to mail them. Sadly, I need several masculine cards this month, and I have none!  So......

I CASED (copy and share everything) a card I saw on Facebook.  Thanks to craftylittlepeach.blogspot.com. for the inspiration.

Supplies:

Card Base:  Crumb Cake cardstock, cut to 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4"
Background:  Very Vanilla cardstock 4" x 5 1/4"
Circle:  Soft Suede
Happy Birthday Banner:  Very Vanilla 1" x 4 1/2 "
Background Banners:  4" of the 5/8" Burlap Ribbon
                                     Wood Textures designer series paper--3/4 " by 3 1/2"
Ink:  Mossy Meadow and Soft Suede
Adhesives: Multipurpose liquid glue, Stampin' Dimensionals, and Snail adhesive
Stamp Sets:  Perennial Birthdays, Rooted in Nature

Prepare the pieces:
Emboss the very vanilla background piece with the Big Shot using the pinewood planks embossing folder and then sponge over the surface with soft suede ink to highlight the embossing. Adhere this piece to the card base.  (The multipurpose liquid glue is my "go to" adhesive because it gives me some wiggle room to make adjustments if I don't get a good placement the first time.)  Snail adhesive works well too.
Cut a Soft Suede circle with the Big Shot using the Layering Circles framelits and emboss with the pinewood planks embossing folder.

Stamping with Mossy Meadow ink:
Stamp a tree on the envelope.
Stamp the two trees on a scrap of Very Vanilla card stock and run it through the Big Shot using the Nature's Roots framelits.                        
Stamp Happy Birthday (from the Perennial Birthdays stamp set) on the Very Vanilla  banner and "flag" the end.                      

Construction:
Adhere the burlap banner along the bottom of the card.
Adhere the wood textures banner just above the burlap banner.
Adhere the trees to the brown circle with dimensionals
Adhere the brown circle with liquid glue or snail overlapping the background banners a little.
Adhere the Happy Birthday banner with dimensionals.

Stampin' Up!  Products and item numbers:
Big Shot  143263
Pinewood Planks embossing older  143708
Layering Circles framelits  141705
Nature's Roots framelits 146341
Perennial Birthdays stamp set   145760
Rooted in Nature stamp set  146482
Wood Textures designer series paper  144177
Very Vanilla card stock  101650
Crumb Cake card stock  120953
5/8 " Burlap ribbon  141487
Sponges  141337
Multipurpose liquid glue  110755
Stampin' Dimensionals--mini  144108, standard size  104430
Snail Adhesive 104332

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have found this post helpful.  Feel free to leave me a comment.  I am a beginning blogger and would like constructive feedback.

Favorite Items in the Stampin' Up!2018 Holiday Catalog

I have a list of favorites a mile long, so I could continue this series for awhile!  However, this is the last installment.  Contact me if you would like a copy of your own catalog.

Merry Christmas to All Bundle (page 5) and Buffalo Check (page 38) were the first two items I ordered from the new catalog because of their versatility.  I will use them for years to come!

Samples from the Merry Christmas to All Stamp Set and the Merry Christmas Thinlits       

In addition to the four script cutouts, there are two frames:  stamp  a greeting and run it through the Big Shot with the die cut frame.  Quick and easy!     

Combine the die cut greetings with the stamps in the set to create a myriad of holiday greetings.

The Buffalo Check stamp is a large background stamp that has endless possibilities for color combinations!  I love it!

Thanks stopping by!

Take Your Pick Tool

Stampin' Up! 2018 Holiday Catalog Favorites

Have you ever struggled with picking up small embellishments or sequins when working on a project?  I do--my little sausage fingers aren’t as nimble as they were when I was younger!  Stampin’ Up! is introducing a new fun and HANDY multipurpose product called the Take Your Pick tool (item 144107 on page 30) in the new 2018 Holiday Catalog.  I had to get one right away, and I have found lots of uses for it.

A tacky putty end helps you easily pick up smaller elements.  The other end has four interchangeable tips which give you more options for your crafting needs:  piercing tip, spatula tip, large and small stylus tips.  A second putty end refill is included, and more refills are available.

The putty end is GREAT for picking up small elements, but it is NOT an adhesive.   Let’s say you are embellishing your project with sequins:

 Put a tiny drop of glue where you want to place the sequins.

Touch the putty end of the tool on the sequins..

 

Woo hoo--sequins sticks!

Place sequins on the drop of glue.  Easy and no mess!

I really like the larger stylus tip for scoring.  See what I mean about sausage fingers?  LOL

I am fairly new to blogging and welcome constructive comments.  Thanks for stopping by!

I'm back....It has been over a year since my last post. How did that happen?

Three months until Christmas--can you believe it????

“Stampin’ Up!’s new holiday catalog is here! There are seven new product suites to celebrate the holidays, from Halloween to New Year’s, and countless bundles and stamp sets to enjoy during this crafty season.  You can order from this catalog from now until January 2. 

If you haven’t seen the Holiday Catalog yet, let me know and I will get one to you.

One of my favorite sets in the catalog is found on pg 50:  Takeout Treats Bundle. 

What a versatile set!  It can be used for year around stamping:  Halloween, Christmas, Valentines, Weddings, Parties of all kinds.

When you  buy the stamps and the Thinlits as a bundle, they are 10% off.

Here are some of the little takeout treat boxes (approximately 2” x 2 ¼”) I made this morning:

We are making the Halloween box in my September classes…so cute!

Can't you just see these little favors on a wedding reception table?

In the next few weeks I will be sharing more of my favorites from the new holiday catalog.  Thanks for stopping by!

Card Making Technique:  Sponging 3

 I made this card using three sponging techniques:

I stamped the leaves in crumb cake, cut them out on the Big Shot, and sponged them first with crushed curry followed by pumpkin pie, Cajun craze, and real red.

I placed a 3 x 3 piece of vanilla card stock on my workspace and then taped the mask over the top.  Using the same four colors, I sponged in circular motions over the mask.

I removed the mask and sponged around the outside edges with real red.

Using the same four colors, I sponged around the edges of the 4 x 5 1/4 vanilla card stock and sponged the edges in real red.  I then stamped the background splatter and the checked pattern.

I finished the card by layering the leaves and tying a Linen Thread bow around the stems, adhering them to the 3 x 3 sponged piece, and mounting that piece to the card with dimensionals.  I used Teeny Tiny Tiny Wishes for the greeting.

Stampin' Up! Products Used:

Inks

Crushed Curry 131173

Pumpkin Pie 126945

Cajun Craze 126965

Real Red 126949

Crumb Cake 126975

Stamp Sets

Vintage Leaves 138802

Teeny Tiny Wishes 127802

Timeless Textures 140517

Touches of Texture 143251

Other

Linen Thread 104199

Classic Punch 141491

Pattern Party Decorative Masks 144103

Sponges 141337

Dimensionals 104430

I hope you have picked up a tip or two in these sponging technique blogs.  Thanks for stopping by!