Breezey Bows

It's been a little while since I've stamped anything new since I've been busy with classes and commission work, so I thought I'd do a color challenge to get myself back into it! I went over to Splitcoaststampers, and saw that the color challenge for today is Really Rust, Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze. Great combination!

So, this is what I came up with. It ended up being a super simple card to make! I used the dotted circle stamp from Think Happy Thoughts to stamp on Very Vanilla card stock in the 3 colors for the challenge. I tore the top edge and then grabbed my 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon. I wanted to do something a little unique since the rest of the card was pretty simple, so I also grabbed one of the wide clips from the Clips Assortment. I've already used a lot of the other two styles of clips (wire clip and small library clip) from the assortment, so I have a small supply of these wide clips laying around waiting to be used. I'm not sure that they were meant to be used as a bow holder, but it works, right? :-)

Anyway the 'bow' is simple and the pictures below show how I did it. I used a 7" piece of ribbon to create the bow part--just fold it back on itself twice, lay it on top of the other piece of ribbon (6") and clip them both together! How simple!

Stamps: Think Happy Thoughts

Ink: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze

Paper: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla

Accessories: 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Wide Clip (Clips Assortment)

Big Shot Pillows

Well, I finally decided to get the Big Shot! If you are wondering what the Big Shot is, it is a personal die cut machine. So far I have been very impressed! I'll definitely be posting more projects in the future that use the Big Shot. If you want to see more about the Big Shot and the available products, click HERE or on the link in the right column of this page.

This project was another one we made at Technique Club this month. We ran the Designer Paper through the Big Shot using the pillow die and it comes out all cut and scored. Very cool! These make for really quick projects. Tie the ribbon around (*hint--you can tie the ribbon around the box when it is still flat--makes it a little easier) and then add the tag.

The tags use the faux metal technique. Stamp on Brushed Silver card stock with Versamark ink and then heat emboss with Silver Embossing powder. Then punch out with the new Curly Label punch. The sentiments were embossed with with Silver Embossing Powder and then punched out with the Small Oval punch and popped up with dimensionals on top of the silver tag. Fun little projects for Christmas or anytime!

Stamps: Curly Label Punch Bundle, Fundamental Phrases
Ink: Versamark
Paper: Bella Rose Designer Paper, Kiwi Kiss Patterns Designer Series Papers, Brushed Silver, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Big Shot, Curly Label Punch, Small Oval Punch, Kiwi Kiss/Vanilla Satin Ribbon, Ridding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, dimensionals

Wedding Happiness

Here's a card that was one of the projects we made a my Technique Club class this past week. It uses the Heard From the Heart set--another one of the sets 15% off until the end of Sept! I thought the sentiment "wishing you happiness today and always" sounded perfect for a wedding card, so I set out to design something appropriate. I must admit that wedding cards have always been very hard for me, but hopefully this one turned out ok.

The base is Very Vanilla card stock (finished size 3" by 6 1/2") and then layered with Pink Pirouette card stock, designer paper, and last vellum card stock. The Designer Paper is from the Parisian Summer set, and then the sentiment is embossed on the Vellum card stock with Silver Embossing Powder. (Note: If you are embossing on vellum, I would suggest using the Vellum Card Stock as opposed to the Vellum Paper.) I tied around the 1 1/4" Pink Pirouette grosgrain ribbon and then added the hatpin and beads from the Pretties Kit. The card fits into one of Stampin Up's small open-end envelopes.

Happy weekend everyone!

Stamps: Heard From the Heart
Ink: Versamark
Paper: Card Stock Vellum, Parisian Summer DP, Pink Pirouettee, Very Vanilla
Accessories: 1 1/4" Pink Pirouette Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretties Kit (hatpin and beads), Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Silhouettes Gift Card Holder

Here's another quick gift card holder. I made this up after I took pictures of the tutorial the other day. Since I already had the base done, I figured I could just quick embellish. :-) This is what I came up with. The stamps are from the Pocket Silhouettes set (15% off through the end of September!) and the belly band uses the 1" Double-Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon. There is actually a strip of card stock under the ribbon though to help give it support so that it will slide on and off easier.

The tag is tied on with linen thread and uses the faux metal technique. Oh and if any club members happen to see this today. . . yes, this is one of the projects we are making at Technique Club tonight. :-)

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes

Ink: Really Rust

Paper: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Accessories: 1" Double Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, Word Window Punch, Round Tag Punch, 1/8" Circe punch, Cutter Kit, dimensionals

Gift Card Holder Tutorial

Here it is! This is the tutorial for the gift card holder I posted last week (HERE). Since black paper is hard to photograph, I used different colored paper, but of course the idea is the same. . .

Start with a 4 1/4" by 11" piece of paper. Score at 3", 5 1/2", and 8". Then fold so that you have an "M".

Fold in half and use the Word Window Punch to punch out half of the oval shape. Repeat on the other side.

Here I used the top part of the Round Tab punch to punch out a little more and connect my punches from the Word Window punch. Although, you could use a circle punch, tag punch, etc.
***Note--if you want your corners rounded as I did on the graduation card, do that at this point. Do not glue (the next step) until the corners are rounded.***

Open the card and use either Tombow Mono adhesive or Sticky Strip to glue just the edges of the 3 sides of the middle as shown. Don't glue in the middle as this is where the gift card needs to fit.

After you glue, the base of the gift card holder is ready to go! Now you can embellish as desired.

Here's the inside of the Grad card again:
On the graduation card, I used a belly band as my closure. The yellow band is 1" by 7". The silver band and the scallop square are Brushed Silver card stock.

To make the scallop square, I found these great directions by MJ Albright on her blog Beauty Lies Within. Her tutorial about making different sized scalloped squares with the Scallop Edge punch can be found HERE. MJ did a lot of work for us in figuring out the correct sized paper to start with to get perfectly rounded scallops on the edges! For the graduation card I started with a 1 15/16" square piece of card stock. Just make sure you read all her directions (like I didn't the first time!) and don't push your card stock all the way to the back of the punch. Just line it up with the edge of the scallops on your punch.

And finally, to add the yellow to the Designer Brad (Star Assortment). . . .This is a trick that I saw at Convention and finally got around to trying out. All you need is a Craft Pad and your Designer Brad. Here I used Yoyo Yellow.


First just dip the brad face down into the ink. Take a paper towel and wipe it off. I found it easiest to leave the paper towel flat on the table and rub the brad that way. Then dip again and rub it off again. Repeat about 3 times total.What happens is the ink stays in the depressed areas on the brad and rubs off on the rest. Then just let the brad dry and you have a custom colored brad!

Open House Projects

Well, the gift card holder tutorial is still in progress, so I thought I would post the two projects that we made at my New Catalog Open House in August. Neither of these projects was my idea, but I thought they were both just too cute to pass up. I just made couple minor changes here and there.

The first one shown above is one of the cute popsicle cards that a lot of people have been making. When I received one of these popsicle cards from LeeLa Smith as a convention swap, that's when I decided to used it for my open house. They are even cuter in person! The only change that I made from LeeLa's was that I added the Kiwi Kiss Designer button in the middle and the Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain ribbon on the stick. Here's a picture of the inside. Stamps: Think Happy Thoughts
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Corner Rounder, Horizontal Slot Punch, Designer Buttons, 5/8" Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, dimensionals, popsicle stick



The second project is my version of a project that was shown during Demonstrator Theater at Convention. I was glad to be reminded of the simple, yet pretty technique to sponge directly on your stamp to add a second (or third, as shown at convention) color.

This technique is very easy. All you do is first ink the stamp in the lighter color (here Pink Pirouette) and then use a sponge duaber to add a second darker color in select places. Here I added Rose Red. Then when you stamp the image you have a two-tone effect. I used the scallop edge punch along the bottom of the flowers and the top right side is just a 1 3/8" circle punch folded in half. I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch through all 4 layers of card stock and then tied the ribbon through. This layer is up on dimensionals. Oh, and the final size of this card is 5" by 4 1/4".

By the way, Upsy Daisy is one of the stamp sets that is on sale 15% off until the end of September! To see a flyer of all the sets on sale, click HERE. If you would like to order this or other sale sets, contact me or just click the button at the top right of this page to go to my demonstrator website where you can shop online.

Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Crop-A-Dile, Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, sponge dauber, Dimensionals

Scalloped Congrats

It's not really the time of year for graduations, but I've had the idea for this card in my head since convention, and I finally got it on paper--so to speak. :-) I saw this cute way to fold a gift card holder a little while ago. I'm not sure who the origional creator is, but what a fun idea! I'll be working up a tutorial for this card to show not only the unique fold, but also how I added the yellow to the Designer Brad (something I learned at convention). So, check back later!

Stamps: Say it with Scallops

Ink: Basic Black, YoYo Yellow Craft

Paper: Basic Black, YoYo Yellow, Brushed Silver, Whisper White

Accessories: Large Star Punch, Star Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Designer Brads-Star Assortment, 3/16" Corner Rounder Punch, Word Window Punch, Round Tab Punch

Online Ordering is Here!

Awhile back Stampin' Up! announced that soon customers would be able to order online--and that day has come!  Now you can shop for Stampin Up products online anytime and have your order sent directly to you.  You'll just need to first click through a demonstrator website.  Visit my Stampin' Up! website and click on the "Shop Now" button at the top right of the page.  The button at the top right of my blog will take you to my Stampin Up website too.  If you want to go directly to my Stampin Up webiste, the address is http://allison.stampinup.net.  Easy to remember, huh?  ;-)  

Also, you can earn Stampin' Rewards (same as hostess benefits) once your merchandise total is $150 or more.  Even if you want to just browse through the catalog, this where you want to go.  It is easy to search, and you'll definitely want to check out the projects section to get your creative juices flowing!  

Of course you can still order directly through me, but this is just one more option!  And I am still here to help teach you about stamping products and techniques whether you order though me or online.  So, go check out the new online catalog--you'll be glad you did.  :-)    

Bashful Tango

The other day I ran across a Color Challenge over at Belinda's blog stampwithbelinda.com. The colors were just so fun that I just had to join the challenge! Follow this LINK to see the post about her color challenge and the pillows that gave Belinda the inspiration.

The colors Belinda chose were Bashful Blue, Tangerine Tango, and Basic Black. To me these colors are bold/funky. Since that isn't my 'usual' stamping style, I had to take a long look at my stamp sets to see what could work. And Wow Flowers came to the rescue! My card is very simple and litterally came together in a few minutes once I had the idea. The card base is Glossy White cardstock. I hope I still qualify for the challenge even though I used very little black (only for the sentiment). I tried to add more, but it just didn't seem to fit. :-)

By the way, the 5/8" Tangerine Tango Striped Grosgrain Ribbon that I used here is part of my Accessory Sampler that you can order before Sept 18th. Check this link for details.

Stamps: Wow Flowers

Ink: Bashful Blue, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black

Paper: Glossy White

Accessories: Tangerine Tango 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

Stationary Box Class

Come learn how to make these adorable stationary boxes! I will be holding a class to make these on Thursday, September 25th at 7:30pm. The original idea for these stationary boxes came from Jackie over on Addicted to Stamping. The link to her tutorial is HERE. Go visit her blog and leave her a comment so that she knows we appreciate her wonderful idea!

At my class, you can choose to make either the Bella Rose box (pictured above) or the Hawaii Papaya box (pictured below). The pictures show the box closed with the lid on, the lid off and the box open, and the cards, 3x3 cards, and tags that go in the box. The box also features an address book, postage stamp holder, and pen holder. With the holidays coming up, I think this is a perfect gift idea!

Class details:

--Thursday, September 25th at 7:30pm at my place

--Class Fee is $15 and includes everything to make one box (of your choice) and detailed instructions

**If you register AND pre-pay by September 18th class fee is only $13**

--Additional kits can be ordered for $12 each

--RSVP today to reserve your spot!

Class by Mail details:

If you can't attend or live far away, you can still participate! Kits can be ordered for $12, and shipping will be $5 (priority). If multiple kits are going to the same address, I will of course combine shipping. The kit will have everything cut, scored and ready for you to stamp and assemble. All of the accessories (ribbon, brads, etc.) are included, and I will email you the pdf file with the instructions.

If you make these on your own, listed below are the supplies you will need in addition to the kit. Let me know if you need to place an order for some or all of these items.

Bella Rose Box:

Dream du Jour stamp set ($18.95)

Pink Pirouette stamp pad ($5.25)

Chocolate Chip stamp pad ($5.25)

Riding Hood Red stamp pad ($5.25)

Rose Red marker ($3.25)

Certainly Celery marker ($3.25)

Scallop Edge Punch ($15.95)

Tag Corner Punch ($6.95)

Adhesives--You'll need a strong adhesive such as Mono or Sticky Strip and dimensionals

Hawaii Papaya Box:

Eastern Blooms stamp set ($18.66 if ordered before Sept 30th, $21.95 after)

Versamark stamp pad ($7.50)

Tangerine Tango stamp pad ($5.25)

Chocolate Chip stamp pad ($5.25)

Scallop Edge Punch ($15.95)

Tag Corner Punch ($6.95)

One sentiment stamp of your choice

Adhesives--You'll need a strong adhesive such as Mono or Sticky Strip and dimensionals

New Catalog Accessory Sampler

I don’t know about everyone else, but I have been LOVING all of the new ribbons and accessories from the Fall-Winter catalog! So, if you haven’t tried these new items yet, I’d like to offer you a New Catalog Accessory Sampler.


Here’s what’s included in the Sampler:


-- 1 yard of each type of ribbon listed below (total 7 yards):


Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon
Baja Breeze Double Stitched 1” Ribbon
Tangerine Tango 5/8” Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Pacific Point 5/8” Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Pink Pirouette 1 ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon
7/8” Poly-Twill Ribbon
Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon


Also included:


--A random selection of 5 of the Designer Buttons (you’ll get at least one of each of the 4 colors)
--1 of each type of clip from the new Clips Assortment (total 3 clips)

--1 large and 1 small Designer Brad from the Star Assortment

--1 large and 1 small Designer Brad from the Filigree Assortment (includes the brad too)

--9 Flower Fusion Too flowers (3 of each color)



The total price for this is $12. This allows you to try LOTS of new accessories at cost, and find out which are your favorite! If you need the Sampler shipped directly to your house, please add $2 to the total. If multiple Samplers are going to the same address, I will of course combine shipping.


Contact me today (allison.ohran@gmail.com) to order your New Accessory Sampler! I will be placing the order for all of the Samplers on September 18th.


And here's the best part! To celebrate my new blog, I'm offering a Blog-only Special! If you order this Sampler by the 18th and mention that you saw it on my blog, I will add 1 yard of 1/4" Rose Red grosgrain ribbon and 1 yard of 1/4" Old Olive grosgrain ribbon for FREE! Don't miss out on this great value!

Faux Embrace

Although I actually designed this card a while ago, I just finished making some more of these a few days ago for a special order that I had from a friend. Since I had everything out, I thought I would take a few pictures of the process. This card showcases the faux silk technique. I first saw the faux silk technique over on Splitcoaststampers, and just had to try it out. There is a great tutorial HERE. If you haven't ever tried faux silk before, you should as it is really quite simple, and the results are very elegant! Begin by stamping (and coloring if desired) on a piece of tissue paper. A couple of hints--start with a piece of tissue paper that is slightly larger than what you want the finished size to be. Also, when you stamp/color on the paper, make sure there is scratch paper underneath as it will bleed through. Here I used Basic Gray ink to stamp the image from the set Embrace Life, and then colored with a Lavender Lace marker.

Next, crinkle your tissue paper into a little ball and then carefully open it again. Take your glue stick and completely cover your piece of card stock. Adhere the tissue paper to the card stock. You'll want to smooth the tissue paper a little to make sure it sticks, but don't smooth out all the wrinkles as that is what gives the silk look. Trim the excess tissue paper.

Add you desired embellishments. Here I layered the Whisper White card stock onto Basic Gray and then added the Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon, Hodgepodge Hardware frame (now retired), and the sentiment. The sentiment is from the set Fundamental Phrases. I stamped the sentiment first and then used the Small Oval Punch to punch it out.

This card also has a unique fold to create a pocket on the inside. I did not come up with the idea for this particular type of unique fold. I know they showed this unique fold at at least some of the Stampin Up regionals this year. Anyway, to make the base of the card, start with a 4" by 12" piece of Lavender Lace paper. Score at 4" and 8", and then score diagonally connecting the lines. The black lines show where I scored.

Next, fold the right side of the paper down, so that it goes behind the rest of the card stock. You'll want to adhere the two triangles together. Then, fold that bottom section up and use a very small line of adhesive to glue the left side of the right (back) panel to the middle of the card. This creates the pocket. It sounds confusing, but once you try it, it is actually quite easy!
Then add the front to your card (the faux silk panel) and a note to go in the pocket. This also works really well as a nice way to give a gift card!

Stamps: Embrace Life, Fundamental Phrases
Ink: Lavender Lace, Basic Gray, Lavender Lace marker
Paper: Lavender Lace, Whisper White, Basic Gray
Accessories: tissue paper, glue stick, Basic Gray taffeta ribbon, pewter HPH frame, Small Oval Punch, Round Tab Punch, sponge
Technique: Faux Silk, Pocket Card

I've Been Featured!

When Jen C. over at Crazy Stamp Girl sent me an email asking me if she could feature my ribbon tutorial on her blog, I about fell off my chair! Seriously. :-) I am so honored! Talk about making a girl's day! The post that caught Jen's eye and is now featured on her site is THIS ONE.

This all came about because I left a comment on Jen's blog on her Scalloped Baby Banner Tutorial post, and she found my blog from there. Go check out THIS POST on Jen's site to see the baby banner--it is SO cute! Jen is very creative as she figured out how to make the ever popular banner without the Big Shot--she just used her scallop punch!! Jen has lots of other great projects as well, so go check her out by clicking HERE. You may even want to leave a comment. *wink, wink* :-)

And just for fun, I asked Jen to tell me a little about herself so that I could introduce her to all of you. Here is what she said:

"I first started stamping after the birth of my first child 4 years ago. Just on & off--nothing serious.

After awhile, I was invited to a Stampin' Up! party (my very first) by a mom from our playgroup. And, I must admit, I was hooked from the beginning. From there, I booked & hosted my own stamping workshop (and earned lots of free goodies). Not even a month after that, I signed up to become a demonstrator! It's been almost 2 years since I signed up and I am still hooked! I love Stampin' Up!, I love their products and I love getting to meet and stamp with new people. It's a great way for me to enjoy a little time away from my full time job as a mom of three."

Again, Jen's blog is Crazy Stamp Girl--go check her out! Thanks Jen for bringing me a month's worth of smiles!

Tic Tac Toe Anyone?

A while ago I was at Target and noticed that they had some fun travel games for kids that came in little tins. It got me thinking that it would be fun to make something similar, and this is what I came up with. I started with an empty Accents and Elements Tin (the larger kind that the Flower Fusion come in). I chose Real Red and Brilliant Blue since they seemed like perfect colors for a children's game, and I used the new stamp set Wow Flowers. After you slide off the belly band, you open it up and there's storage on the right side for all the pieces and the left side is where you play. I drew the lines with a Sharpie poster paint marker that just happened to be the perfect color.

Here is a side view of the game piece. I started by stamping the images in Brilliant Blue and Real Red on scrap Whisper White paper and then punching them out with the 1 3/8" circle punch. I put them face down in Xyron adhesive (I didn't use the Xyron machine, just the adhesive) and then stuck them to the flat side of the vase fillers (found at Target). Since the vase fillers aren't perfectly round, I trimmed where necessary around the edges. Then I attached the magnet with a large glue dot.

I think this would be a perfect gift idea for any child. Even though my son isn't quite old enough to understand the idea of Tic Tac Toe, he still loves playing with the magnets and having a little tin to carry them around in!

Stamps: Wow Flowers
Ink: Real Red, Brilliant Blue
Paper: Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White
Accessories: A&E Tin, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, corner rounder, large vase fillers, large glue dots, magnets, Sharpie poster paint marker, Xyron adhesive

A Little Blog 'Bling'

I had a pleasant surprise over the long weekend . . . Dragana Skoro over at Happy Inker gave me a blog award! Thank you so much for making my day! :-) Go check out her blog!

So here are the rules of the award:

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog
2. Link the person you received your award from
3. Nominate 7 other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you've nominated.

So here's my list (in no particular order):
1. Vera from http://www.verastamps.com/
2. Kim from http://kimsstampinroom.blogspot.com/
3. xiumaiyuki from http://xiumaiyuki.blogspot.com/
4. Steph from http://stephsstampinstuff.blogspot.com/
5. Angela from http://aninkandasmile.blogspot.com/
6. Natasha from http://palmtreesandpogosticks.blogspot.com/
7. Kristin from http://sunshinesmilesstamps.blogspot.com/

So, go check out some of these blogs! I'm off to let these great girls know I've nominated them. Thanks again Dragana for the smile. :-)