Crazy Cupcake Birthday

Here's another one of the cards we made at Technique Club this month. This card highlights one of the birthday stamp sets that is on sale for only one more day! See the flyer HERE.

This card uses the set Crazy for Cupcakes. Stamp the cupcakes with black StazOn ink on glossy white paper, and then color with blender pens and ink pads (for the Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette) and Going Gray marker. Next add glitter to the cupcake frosting by first adding Crystal Effects and then pouring Dazzling Diamonds Glitter on top and tapping off the excess.

The scallop border is actually 6 Scallop Square Punches glued together. You can also create a scallop border with the Scallop Edge Punch of course, but this just gives you another option. :-) Use the Slit Punch and a silver brad to create a fun little closure for the card. Happy 20th birthday to Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Ink: Black StazOn, Going Gray marker, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Blender Pens
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Glossy White
Accessories: Scallop Square Punch, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Slit Punch, silver brad, dimensionals

Creepy Crawly Acetate

This is one of the projects that we made this month at Technique Club. I got the idea from a challenge that I had seen awhile back on Splitcoaststampers to make an acetate box. To see the original challenge and the pdf for directions by Susie McCormick, click HERE.

I used those directions for the acetate part of the box, but then did something a little different for the top and bottom. I used a piece of 3 1/2" by 3 1/2" Pumpkin Pie Patterns Designer Series Paper scored at 3/4" on all 4 sides. I trimmed the edges and glued to create the top and bottom part. The ribbon on top was threaded through slits I created on either side of the lid with my cutter kit. I ran the 1/4" Basic Black grosgrain ribbon through the slits and tied the bow.

The technique for this month was glitter, so I figured a glittery spider would do the trick. :-) The spider was made with the 1 3/8" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, 1/4" circle punch, and strips of paper folded for the legs. The Chunky Essentials Stampin' Glitter was added to the body and head by using Heat & Stick Powder.

If you haven't used Heat & Stick Powder before, it basically acts just like embossing powder. You start by using Versamark, pour the Heat & Stick Powder over, tap off excess and then melt with your Heat Tool. Pour the glitter over, tap off excess and then heat set with the Heat Tool for another second or two. An easy way to add glitter to your projects!

Ink: Versamark, Basic Black marker
Paper: Pumpkin Pie Patterns Designer Series Paper, Acetate, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1/4" Circle Punch, 1/4" Basic Black Grosgrain Ribbon, Heat & Stick Powder, Black Chunky Essentials Stampin' Glitter, Cutter Kit, Heat Tool, Sticky Strip

Bold Birthday

Can you tell my Big Shot has been getting a workout lately? :-) This is another project using the Top Note Die and the Big Shot. We made this at a workshop I did last Friday. We ran the So Saffron paper through the Big Shot and then scored and folded in half.

A really cool thing with the Top Note Die. . . . For this project we folded the short way and used the small cello bags. But, if you fold the other way (long way) you can use the medium cello bags. Don't you just love how everything works together so well. ;-)

So after we folded the Top Note and filled our bags with candy, we stapled it shut and tied around the Pacific Point grosgrain ribbon. Next we used the set Big Bold Birthday to stamp the bottom part of the cupcake. (This is one of the sets that is 20% off. . . see the flyer HERE.) The scallop circle punch was used to make the top part of the cupcake. The small flower was punched with the Boho Blossoms punch.

Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
Ink: Pacific Point
Paper: So Saffron, Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Big Shot, Top Note Bigz Die, small cellophane bag, stapler, Tempting Turquoise brad, Pacific Point 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/16" circle hand punch, dimensionals

Happy Halloween Frankie!

I just love all of the Frankenstein cards that everyone has been making! I saw and adorable one by Karen over at Karen's Korner, and then saw some more over at Splitcoaststampers that used the Top Note Die and the Big Shot. So, I of course had to make one too. :-)

I took a couple pictures of the Big Shot as I was making the card. The first one shows how you layer the Cutting Pad, then the Die, and then the paper. On top you put another Cutting Pad and then you are ready to roll it through the Big Shot.

For this project, I wanted the Frankie face (Kiwi Kiss paper) to be the card base as well. So, I cut and scored my card stock and put the folded edge just below the top part of the die so that the edge wouldn't cut. (Can you see that in the picture? If not, click on the picture to see a larger version.) The last picture shows the base after it goes through the Big Shot and before I added the face.

The face was mostly just made with punches. The mouth is free handed, and the highlight on the eyes were added with a white gel pen. Feeling ready for Halloween now? :-)

Stamps: All Holidays (to stamp 'Happy Halloween' inside)

Ink: Kiwi Kiss (to sponge around edges)

Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Lovely Lilac, Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories: 1" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Round Tab Punch, Big Shot, Top Note Bigz Die, sponge, White Gel Pen, Basic Black marker

Rock Star

Here's a quick sampling from another one of the Simply Sent Card Elements Kits that are on sale right now. This set is called Rock Star--what a fun name, huh? :-) I only had time to make up a couple cards, (just found out I have company coming tonight!) but still wanted to do a really quick post.

The card on the right is one of the 3 cards that the kit gives you directions for. The card on the left was inspired by Laura. Click HERE to see some other adorable samples Laura made with this kit! You'll notice I copied one of her cute layouts. :-)

Remember that these kits are on sale right now--20% off! But, the promotion only lasts until Oct 11th. Contact me if you would like to order any of the Simply Sent Card kits. You can see samples made with the Flower Power kit HERE.

Ok, I better start cleaning my house . . . . :-)

Stamps: A Little Birthday Cheer
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Old Olive
Paper: Rock Star Card Elements Kit (Old Olive, Bashful Blue, More Mustard, Designer Paper)
Accessories: Rock Star Card Elements Kit (5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/4" More Mustard Grosgrain Ribbon, More Mustard Buttons)

Scary Pillows!

I can't believe Halloween is almost here! I've been having fun playing with my new Halloween set from the Holiday Mini Catalog--Eat, Drink & Be Scary. I loved the samples shown in the Mini Catalog with this set, so I used those to inspire me and went from there. You can see what I came up with. These are two of the projects that we will be making this month at the non-profit class that I teach at my church.

For the top pillow box, I used markers to color directly on the stamp, stamped, then punched out with the Wide Oval Punch. I cut the black layer with the Coluzzle Cutting System. Oh, and since I wanted to give the pumpkin a little more dimension--but I didn't want to actually cut it out :-)--I used the 3/4" circle punch. It was pretty close to the right size--close enough anyway! Also, for the ribbon I put it through the hole on the first side, knotted, pulled it around to the other side of the box, through the hole, knotted again, and then trimmed.

Last time I posted some pillow box projects, I had people ask a couple questions . . . I did use the Premium Crease Pad to cut out the pillow boxes. Also, these are smaller than you may guess. If you leave them flat, you can just barely slide a gift card inside. So that gives you a rough idea of how big they are. Perfect for a little treat, rolled up money, etc. Such fun little boxes!

Stamps: Eat, Drink & Be Scary

Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie marker, Basic Black marker, Kiwi Kiss marker

Paper: Kraft, Tangerine Tango, YoYo Yellow, Lovely Lilac, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black

Accessories: Big Shot, Pillow Box Die, Wide Oval Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Coluzzle Cutting System, Crop-A-Dile, Star Punch, Pumpkin Pie ribbon, Basic Black Ribbon, Dimensionals

Flower Power!

Did you know there is a World Card Making Day? To celebrate, Stampin' Up! is offering 20% off all their Simply Sent Card Elements and Simply Sent Card Kits. Click HERE or on the link at the right to see the flyer. You can also see the kits on page 176 of the catalog.

The picture above shows cards you can make from the Flower Power Simply Sent card elements kit. The kit comes with:

2 sheet of 8 1/2" by 11" designer paper

6 sheets of textured card stock (2 each of Rose Red, Old Olive, and Perfect Plum)

1 sheet of self-adhesive die cuts

5 feet of Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

3 1/2 feet More Mustard 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

6 buttons

5 brads

The instructions that come with the kit show you how to make the 3 cards shown above. You can make 3 of each of those cards (9 total), and/or you can be creative and make your own designs! I had a lot of fun making up these cards and it was fun to have all the colors (paper and accessories) already coordinating and ready to go. I saw a set of 12 cards by scrapperaddict on Splitcoaststampers with this kit, so I used a couple of her ideas to jump start my creativity for my own card set. This kit coordinates with the Wow Flowers stamp set, so I used that as well as the four coordinating ink colors.

All of the pictures in this post show the 10 cards I made from ONE Flower Power kit. AND I had left overs! When I was done with these 10 cards, I still had one full sheet of designer paper, approximately 1 sheet of textured card stock (combined of the 3 colors), a couple feet of ribbon, about 1/4 of the self-adhesive die cuts, and 3 buttons! The only thing that I added to the kit (other than the stamps and ink) was about 1 1/2 sheets of Whisper White card stock and adhesives.

After using one of these kits myself, I think they would make a great gift for a new stamper. Or, if you make up the kit yourself, you have a set of coordinating cards--which would be a wonderful gift to give someone as well. Can you tell I'm starting to think about the holidays and who I need to give gifts to? :-) Also, If you'd like a quick and easy way to make your own Christmas cards this year, you'll want to check out the Handmade Holiday Card Elements set.

Let me know if you'd like to order any of these kits. Remember that this is a short promotion and only lasts from Oct 4-11th!

Stamps: Wow Flowers, Hugs & Wishes, Sincere Salutations

Ink: More Mustard, Rose Red, Old Olive, Perfect Plum

Paper: Flower Power Cards Elements kit, Whisper White

Accessories: Buttons, ribbon, and brads from the Flower Power Cards Elements kit

Check it out!

Wow, well this is an exciting day! With the new month here, there are LOTS of new promotions and products available from Stampin' Up! The picture above shows one of the new products available--Phase 2 of the Decor Elements.

Anyone who has been to my house in the past month has probably already seen this. :-) I was lucky enough to win this "Season of Thanks" Decor Element at convention from the Prize Patrol! I just had to get a shadow box frame and a garland so that I could make up the idea they showed us at convention. This was a really fast project. I added the paper to the back of the frame, filled the frame with the leaves, pine cones, and flowers, and then applied the Decor Element to the top of the glass.

So what is a Decor Element? It is self-adhesive vinyl art. (Kind of like large rub-ons.) You can apply the Decor Elements to walls, mirrors, windows, etc., or like I did above, picture frames. Very versatile! If have questions about Decor Elements, or you'd like to order this Decor Element or others, please contact me.

Other Promotions!

***Stampin' Up! is celebrating its 20th Birthday! In celebration they are offering 20% off select birthday stamp sets with a minimum $20 purchase. Click HERE or on the flyer to the right for more information.

***The birthday flyer also shows a special product offer. While supplies last, you can buy a single large-tip Aqua Painter for only $7.25.

***If you've thought about hosting a workshop, now is the time! During the month of October and November, if you host a workshop totaling $350 or more, you can choose any stamp set in the Catalog Sampler for free! This is in addition to your regular hostess benefits! Click HERE or on the Sampler at the right to see the sets that you can earn for free. Contact me today if you would like to schedule a workshop.

***Also, the Holdiay Mini Catalog is here! Click HERE or on the right to check out all the fun new products and stamp sets that will get you ready for the holidays.

Catch all that?!? Let me know if you have questions about anything! Happy October!