Wednesday, May 25, 2011

New Class - Details for Everyone!

Class details: Friday, June 3 (7 pm) and Saturday, June 4 (10 am and 2 pm).

These projects feature the Flower Fancy two-step stamp set and the Sincere Salutations stamp set along with Watercolor Wonder Crayon techniques that range from simple to sublime!

The cheerful colors and floral designs are perfect to have on hand for occasions of all types.
Get your Aqua Painters and Blender Pens out of your desk - or mine! - and enjoy the fun and beauty of Watercolor Wonder Crayons.
Watercolor Wonder Crayons are acid free artist-quality water soluable crayons. They have a creamy texture that blends easily with water ~ allowing you to create a complete range of shades. Watercolor Wonder Crayons are a neat, affordable, and convenient way to add color effects to projects of all types.
Get started with the tips I'll give you in this new class and you'll love the results!

As always ~~ class size is limited - reserve your spot by June 1!!

Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Springtime Garden Help


Well, it's not really a Garden Help, but it is a Garden Decoration. We made these in our Stamper's Club on Sunday. It was our last get-together for this group, and I can tell you that I'm gonna miss those ladies somethin' awful. They were the mostest fun, ever!!

I CASEd this Garden Stake idea from Laura Haffke, a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator. She even posted a video on how to do this great idea, and I followed her directions. Since then, this has become a very popular item, and I have seen some beautiful renditions of this same idea all over the place. We had a great time making these.


Big Shot, Scallop Circle Bigz Die, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Crop-A-Dile, Rhinestone brads (Fire and Ice Circles), Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Aluminum Flashing, and Sharpie marker, Garden Stakes.

It's just amazing all the materials that the Big Shot can go through. I'm using Cork Sheets next. What will you use?

Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Submission Time

I have finally done it! I have been so nervous about it -- but I have finally done it! I have submitted these two cards to magazines for possible submission. I sure hope they like them. The top one is a Thanksgiving Card, and the bottom one here is for Christmas.

They were cards that I really liked, and so I just kept them. I made the Christmas one about two years ago, and the Thanksgiving card last year.

Let's hope they like them! I have decided to stop procrastinating and get things done ~~ well, I guess that means I had better get to the grocery store!

What have you been putting off? Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

I Can See Clearly Now . . .

I guess that by naming my post something like "I Can See Clearly Now", I'm showing my age, aren't I? Hey -- I can't help it. It is what it is!

I like using the Vintage Clear-Mount Block Background technique because it gives me another great use for the clear-mount blocks that I purchased. If you want to see how to do this technique in person, I'd love to show you and your friends! Just give me a call or shoot me an e-mail, or comment on this post to let me know you are interested. I'll get back to you right away.

After coloring with a marker on the block, it's important to stamp onto a very flat solid surface for best results. For variety, you can create many different background effects by using more than one color of ink. Gotta remember, though, always color from lightest color Stampin’ Write Marker to darkest color.

Another option is to stamp onto a clear-mount block to create a background with solid or line art stamp images. Some good ones to use are the Just Believe stamp set flower with Soft Suede ink.

When you're done, just clean the block off with a soft damp cloth or baby wipe.


Just Believe stamp set; Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, marina Mist and Crumb Cake card stock; Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Marina Mist Stampin' Write Markers; Clear-Mount Blocks "D" and "G"; Marina Mist 3/8" Satin Ribbon; 1/8" Marina Mist Taffeta Ribbon; Silver Brads; Stampin' Dimensionals; Snail adhesive.

Here's the whole card for you. I really like the look of the two ribbons together. This is something that I don't do very often, but I love how it turned out!! Thanks for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

It's So Distresssing!!

I guess I should really call this post, "It's Faux Distressing!", shouldn't I? But then I would sound like I have a lisp or something like that.

So, actually, the technique is called Distressed Faux Fabric Flower. This is a great technique if you feel like getting a little bit of stress out of your life, and who doesn't need that? I know I sure do. Especially when you do the same things over and over again and nothing seems to come of it? Kind like cleaning, you know?
And laundry . . . it just comes back around again ~~ over and over and over like a bad song you can't get out of your head.

Elements of Style and Sincere Salutations stamp sets; Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Whisper White, and Daffodil Delight card stock; Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive Classic Ink; Fancy Flower and 5-Petal Punches; Rich Razzleberry 5/8" Satin Ribbon; Stamping Sponge; Silver Brads; Paper-Piercing Tool; Mat Pack; Mini Glue Dots; Snail Adhesive; Water in a spray bottle.

Here's a close-up shot of the flower. Isn't it great?

For me, today was all about laundry and cleaning. Could you tell? After doing all that, a person needs to crumple up a few things and get some attitude out -- next to grocery shopping on my list of hated things to do is the word "cleaning". I'm awful at it. Good thing it doesn't have to be done every day. What did you do today? Whatever you did, hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Monday, May 16, 2011

The Shadow Knows


Whew! Finally, a little bit of time to sit down!! It's been a run, run, run day. It's wonderful to have a chance to stamp for a little bit and relax. Has to be a quickie card, though, since it's already so late. It's a Shadow Resist technique. This method of stamping is so quick and easy -- yet really impressive when you receive/give this card. Everyone just LOVES it!

Inspired by Nature and Sincere Salutations stamp sets; Old Olive, Soft Suede and Naturals Ivory card stock; VersaMark and Crumb Cake Classic Ink pads; Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder; Decorative Label Punch; Basic Pearl Jewels; Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon; Stamping Sponge; Stampin' Dimensionals; Snail Adhesive; and small binder clip.

A little bit of embossing of the image after stamping with the VersaMark, smudge on the Crumb Cake ink around the embossed image using the sponge, and a beautiful silhouette takes shape. See? It's easy, quick, and impressive.


Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hope you're able to stop during all your busy-ness to relax and stamp for a while.

Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!


Sunday, May 15, 2011

Rainy Day Polished Stone For You


What a wonderful day! I hope you had one, too. We had lots of rain, on and off, all day -- that's not going to get me feeling blue, though!

Accomplishments:
Our older son's car had troubles and my hubby fixed if for a small price by himself (he's the man!!).

The children put on the cutest musical production for the service today . . . doesn't get much better than cute little kids dancing around and singing!!!

I managed to get the grocery list all done and menus for the next couple of weeks -- fun, fun!! I HATE grocery shopping, but it's a necessary evil. After all, we really like to eat in this family.
Now I'm all set for first thing in the a.m.

Okay. Moving on to cards and techniques to share with you. This one is a Polished Stone technique.

Medallion and Elements of Style stamp sets; Baja Breeze, Glossy White, Early Espresso, and Very Vanilla card stock; Baja Breeze Classic Ink refill; Early Espresso Classic Ink pad; Smooth Spritz in Log Cabin and Gold Glow; Color Catcher; 1" and 1-1/4" Circle punches; Baja Breeze Seam Binding; Stamping Sponge; Stampin' Dimensionals; Snail Adhesive; non Stampin' Up! items used were Rubbing Alcohol and cotton balls.


Hope you accomplished lots today. May you be blessed in everything you do. Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Some Black Magic

What an insane week at work. I could really use a little bit of magic to kick me out of this mood . . . I need to get ready for the weekend. After all, Blogspot was down yesterday, so I couldn't post a thing yesterday and it was driving me crazy --Ta Da!!!!!

Love those techniques! This one is called "Black Magic", and it truly is!!

Elements of Style stamp set; Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, and Basic Black card stock; Whisper White Craft Ink; Basic Black Classic Ink; Watercolor Pencils; Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy; White Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen; Basic Black 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Large Oval Punch; Stamping Dimensionals; Snail Adhesive.


All you do is begin with dark card stock, and stamp the solid image onto card stock with Whisper White Craft ink. Allow the ink to dry. You can speed up the drying time by heating the card stock with the Heat Tool. Select your colors of Watercolor Pencils and then color over the Whisper White stamped image with the Watercolor Pencils. The colors will appear to be bright against the dark surface because of the white base. Remember to press firmly but not too hard when coloring. Sharp Watercolor Pencils will work best. What I used were two greens, yellow, pink & orange.

Color large areas of the image with more than one color to create depth. Continue to color until the image is completely colored. You can always test the colors on scratch paper to help select the colors you want to use and to see how they look together.

Use the image as it is or add some magic with a White Signo Gel Pen. Add dots to the tips of the stamped image. This highlights the image and gives a real visual impact. Add dots to the tips of flowers or groups of dots on curved areas of the image. Remember to start with fewer dots and add more until it looks right to you. Allow the ink to dry.

I'm gonna be so glad to be back in the Stampin' Up! world next week and stayin' out of the Patent world. I love being in the office, but my true heart is in creating.

Until next time, thanks for stopping by -- and Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Transferring Texture Today

I can't remember exactly what this technique is called -- okay -- I went and looked it up. It's a super easy one that adds a nice dimension to a stamped image. The technique is called Texture Transfer. All you do is stamp the image onto some textured card stock. Carefully lift the stamp off the card stock so it can be stamped again without re-inking. Without re-inking the stamp, huff on it to moisten the ink. Then stamp the image onto smooth card stock.

The texture pattern picked up from the textured card stock is transferred with the image stamped onto the smooth card stock. This fast and easy technique creates a subtle texture effect perfect for vintage, nature, and masculine themes. It's really nice.


Can you see that Texture? What a simple technique!

Just Believe stamp set; Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Baja Breeze Textured card stock; Early Espresso Classic Ink; Early Espress and Baja Breeze Stampin' Write markers; Early Espresso 5/8" Satin Ribbon; Decorative Label Punch; Stamping Sponge; Basic Pearl Jewel; Stampin' Dimensionals; Snail adhesive.

What new thing/technique have you tried today? Thanks for stopping by -- Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!





Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Thinking of You

It has been such a crazy week so far. I was called in to work at the law firm this week, and so I feel like I'm so rushed when I get home. It's nice to be back at the office, though. I feel very appreciated when I'm there. It's amazing how much I've forgotten! The things I've forgotten are pretty nutty, too -- like how to clock in, how to get a document from Word into PDF format -- simple things. At least I thought they were so simple that I never wrote them down in my notebook. Those things are in my notebook now -- just in case it's another couple of months before they need a sub, and I have to remember all over again!!!

Anyway -- I remember how to watercolor at least! I love, love, love using those watercolor crayons. I feel like I have so much control over the color, method, and all that kinda stuff. With this card, I used the direct to paper technique with the crayon. I put different amounts of color on each flower and then pulled the color either down or up, depending on where I had put it on the flower. This method created a more varied look, more natural look with the flowers.

I also used the blender pen with this card. In most of the other cards where I was using the watercolor crayons the other day, I used the Aqua Pens. With this card, I used the blender pen. I just love how the card turned out, don't you?

Sincere Salutations and Flower Fancy stamp sets; StazOn Black Ink; Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, and Old Olive Watercolor Crayons; Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Basic Black card stock; Wide Oval punch; 5/8" Black Satin ribbon; Snail adhesive; Stampin' Dimensionals.

I was drawing an absolute blank when I was trying to come up with the names of the stamp sets that I used on this card. How crazy is that? I've had these and used them a ton -- still had to go grab the sets to see what they were called. I'm gonna chalk it up to a busy day at the office before blogging.

Note to self -- maybe I should blog earlier in the day . . . well, that's not gonna happen!! At least not while I'm gone all day. (Sigh)

Thanks so much for stopping by and taking a look. Hope you keep on Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Can't Resist It


We're going to be doing some resisting at this Stamper's Club . . . Stampin' Mist Magic Resist that is! And you won't be able to resist this technique for long!! It's fun, versatile, and you should have all the supplies already. You can switch out the stamp sets that you use for this technique. I used the Medallion stamp because -- well, I'm sorta addicted to it. It's got to be one of my favorites of all time.


Medallion and Sincere Salutations stamp sets, Very Vintage Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel and Handle; So Saffron, Glossy Whisper White and Whisper White, Soft Suede card stock; Elegant Eggplant and So Saffron classic ink; Wide Oval and Decorative Label punches; Brayer, and Stampin' Mist spray bottle; Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon; Basic Rhinestone Jewels; Stampin' Dimensionals; Snail Adhesive; Stampin' Sponge; facial tissue or paper towel.

This technique is super cool. When you use the Stampin' Mist on the stamp and use it on the glossy paper, the image appears right away and is a bit on the blurry side. When you use the Stampin' Mist on the stamp and then put the stamp on the Whisper White card stock that is not glossy, the image will appear very slowly, sort of like the Polaroid pictures used to. So fun.

Whatcha think? Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Pulling that Color!

All day long, it was run here, go there, get this done . . . well, you know the drill. I felt like I was being pulled in lots of different directions. Yuck.

I finally got to have some time while taking the younger son to Martial Arts class. I take all the things I need for a project with me in a handy dandy bag thingy, and then I sit there and create my heart out.

I've got some projects all ready for Stamper's Club coming up this month of May. We're talking May flowers here! We've got some new techniques that we're gonna be doin', too. This technique is a Direct To Paper with the watercolor crayons . . .

and then "pulling" the color into the flowers using the Blender Pen.

Pretty cool, eh? I love it. So easy and fun.


Color a portion of an image on card stock or water color paper and pull color from one area to another with a Blender Pen or an Aqua painter. This creates a fade effect that adds dimension.

Whisper White, Basic Black, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry card stock; Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise and Daffodil Delight Watercolor Wonder Crayons; Blender Pen; 5/8" Black Satin Ribbon; Snail Adhesive and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!


Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Garden Gala Mosaic

I felt like it was time for a "springy" flower card today. This design is originally by Alice Golden. She did it with a Sunflower Mosaic, and I immediately thought of this Designer Series Paper, Garden Gala. I love this DSP because it can be used with so many colors of card stock; it's unreal -- you've got Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, and Daffodil Delight, along with Real Red. Quite a selection.

Garden Gala DSP, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizzazz, and Daffodil Delight card stock, Snail Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals.

What took the longest on this card was the cutting. Really, though, it was a card that took about 10 minutes from start to finish. Gotta love that!

Here's something else to love . . . Graham Cracker Brownies. There are only a little over 100 calories in each bite. There are no eggs and no fat, except for the semisweet chocolate chips.

We've been gobbling these down -- in fact, there's only one left! The recipe makes 16 of these tasty brownies.

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 32 squares)
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 can (14 ounces) evaporated fat-free milk

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Spread into a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake at 350 degree for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

I found this recipe in the Taste of Home Brownies and Bars recipe cards digest book. I'm looking forward to making more of the recipes in this book. They look so good -- some of them don't look too good for you, though. I'll have to figure out how to make them better.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!