Friday, May 20, 2011

Stampin' Celebration #52



It's hard to believe that this is Stampin' Celebration challenge #52 this week--one year of challenges!  I don't have anything to share with you right now (I realized hubby is out of town with the camera!), but make sure to take a minute and go check out what the other members of the Design Team created with this inspiration piece--there are some pretty cards.

And then it's your turn! Create something inspired by these pictures and link it to the Stampin' Celebration website.  This time you have plenty of time to participate as the Stampin' Celebration Challenge will be taking a summer break!  Although this break comes at a good time for me (less than 1 month to baby day!) I will miss the excuse to create at least once a week.  :-) 

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Stampin' Celebration #51


It's time for this week's Stampin' Celebration Challenge!  This week the colors really drew my eye, so I pulled out Old Olive and Marina Mist (a suggestion from the Color Coach) and went to work using my new Summer Splash stamp set from the Summer Mini Catalog.  


This is the 'card' and 'envelope' all in one.  This crimped envelope idea is one I learned a long time ago, and haven't used forever.  The best part is it's really simple.  :-)  Start with an envelope--here I used a Crumb Cake envelope--seal, and cut off one of the short ends.  I cut off 1 3/4" on mine.  Then take the bottom half of the envelope and run it through your crimper.  (When was the last time you pulled out your crimper?)  By crimping just the bottom half, it is now just narrow enough for the top section to slip over easily.  

To embellish my envelope, I sponged with Crumb Cake, tied around Marina Mist taffeta ribbon and Hemp Twine, and added some surfboards. When you take off the top section, it looks like this:  


I used my 1" Circle Punch to take out a little notch--that lets the recipient know there's more inside.  And here's a look at what's inside:  


So there it is!  I kept it pretty simple and didn't do a lot of embellishment.  I used my markers to color the surfboards different colors before I stamped.  I distressed the edges, sponged Crumb Cake, and matted onto Old Olive.  

I think this would be an adorable invitation idea for a summer birthday party!  It would also work great for almost any occasion such as birthday or 'hi'.  As a side note, this style of card also works really well as a way to give a gift card. 

Thanks for coming by!  Make sure to head over to Stampin' Celebration to see who the Party Guest Designer is this week as well as the work from the other Design Team members. 

Stamps:  Summer Splash
Ink:  Marina Mist, Old Olive, Crumb Cake
Paper:  Old Olive, Whisper White, Crumb Cake envelope
Accessories:  Crimper, Cutter Kit, 1" Circle Punch, sponge, Marina Mist Taffeta Ribbon, Hemp Twine

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Nautical Expedition Tins


Today I'm back with some more photos and details for the second project that I posted during the Stampin' Addicts Summer Mini Blog Hop.  You can see my original post HERE.  Today I'll show some close ups of the Mini Scrapbook Tin that I made showcasing the Nautical Expedition Designer Series Paper that is found in the new Summer Mini Catalog.  

Above you see the outside of the tin. These tins can still be purchased from Stampin Up--but only on the Clearance Rack in the online store--meaning only while supplies last.  I added a belly band to the tin with a 2" strip of Basic Gray card stock, a 1" strip of Nautical Expedition DSP, and some White Baker's Twine.  The center globe image is from the stamp set The Open Sea--a coordinating set.   I hand cut around the globe image and then layered it onto a Cherry Cobbler circle I punched out with the 2  1/2" Circle Punch.  

When you slide off the belly band and open the tin, this is what you see:  


I think that ship image--again from the set The Open Sea--is one of my favorite.  I love how much detail is has, and yet how crisp it is.  Notice the little Tab Pull in the top right that is a small piece of Twill Tape looped.  When you pull on that you see:  


And a closer look at the pages of this mini scrapbook: 
The pages are 4 3/4" tall and 4" wide.  I started with two pieces of Whisper White card stock that were 4 3/4" by 12" and then scored at 4" and 8".  I accordion folded them and adhered the last section of one to the first section of the next to make a continuous accordion fold.  I used Sticky Strip to adhere the card stock to the tin.  

Thanks for coming by!  These little Mini Scrapbook Tins are easy to make and make great gifts.  I hope this gave a better look at this project.  You should be able to click on any of the pictures for a closer (enlarged) look at the projects. 

Stamps:  The Open Sea
Ink:  Early Espresso, Basic Gray
Paper:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Nautical Expedition DSP
Accessories:  Tin, White Baker's Twine, Early Espresso/White Baker's Twine, Cutter Kit, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval Punch, Round Tab Punch, 2 1/2" Circle Punch
 

Monday, May 9, 2011

Nautical Expedition Cards



I'm finally back with some more photos and details for the projects that I posted during the Stampin' Addicts Summer Mini Blog Hop.  You can see my original post HERE.  Today I'll show some close ups of the Card Set that I made showcasing the Nautical Expedition Designer Series Paper that is found in the new Summer Mini Catalog

Above shows the outside of the folder that holds the cards and envelopes.  The outside measurement is 5 1/4" wide by 6" tall.  Below is a close up of the Antique Brad and Early Espresso/White Baker's Twine that I used as a closure.  There is a matching brad on the back side of the folder.

 

When you open the folder, you see this:


Each side holds two cards and two envelopes.  It's hard to distinguish the envelopes since I used Crumb Cake envelopes (same color as the folder and the card bases).

To make the folder, I started with an 8 1/2" by 11" sheet of Crumb Cake.  I scored at 5 3/8" and 5 5/8".  Then along the long side I scored at 2 1/2" (folds up to make the pockets).  I hand cut a little slice out in the middle of the two pocket sections to help the folder close easily.

Note:  The strip of Designer Series Paper across the top of the pockets adds interest, but also hides the back of the brads that you see on the front.  The brads are what keep the pockets in place--I didn't use any other adhesive.

And some pictures of the cards:



The squares were punched out using the new Postage Stamp Punch that can be found on page 10 of the Summer Mini Catalog.  Here's a close up of how I tied the squares together using the White Baker's Twine for the card on the left (above). 



And the other cards in the set:  



Note: I used dimensionals to pop up all of the postage squares of the Nautical Expedition DSP.

Other than tying the postage squares together for the one card, this was a really easy set to put together.  I'm planning to choose some various Designer Papers and make up some more coordinating card sets to give as end of the year teacher gifts.  

Thanks for coming by!  I hope this gave a better look at this project.  You should be able to click on any of the pictures for a closer (enlarged) look at the projects. 

Stamps:  Trendy Trees (for thank you sentiment)
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake (for distressing of folder edges)
Paper:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Nautical Expedition DSP
Accessories:  Antique Brads, White Baker's Twine, Early Espresso/White Baker's Twine, Postage Stamp Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Stampin' Celebration #50



The weeks just keep flying by!  Another Thursday and another Stampin' Celebration challenge!  I loved the bright bold colors from this week's inspiration piece as well as the sharp edges.  

A fairly simple card for this week. . . . I started with a sentiment from the stamp set Word Play.  Did you know that this is one of the stamp sets on sale for 30% off this month?  To see the flyer with all the sets on sale this month as part of the National Scrapbooking Month Promotion click HERE.  To see two other cards I've made with this same stamp set, click HERE and HERE

I punched out the sentiment with the Decorative Label punch and then did a second punch from Real Red card stock.  I cut the Real Red punch in half lengthwise and adhered half to mat the top of the sentiment layer and half to mat the bottom.  

To add the ribbon, I ran Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight, and Real Red grosgrain ribbon through the Big Shot with the Tasteful Trim die to create custom ric rack. A simple wow technique!  Hint:  I  found it best to use the Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets to back the ribbon, and then run it through the Big Shot.  Then you peel away the backing and you have a ribbon sticker ready to adhere directly to your project.  How cool is that? 


To see some more samples using the decorative edge ribbon technique that I presented last fall at the Fort Worth Regional SU conference, click HERE.  

Anyway, lots of explanation for a simple card!  Make sure to head over to Stampin' Celebration to see who the Party Guest designer is this week as well as what the other Design Team members created with this same inspiration piece.  Then please play along--we'd love to see what you create!  

Stamps:  Word Play
Ink:  Night of Navy
Paper:  Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Accessories:  Tasteful Trim Die, Big Shot, Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight, and Real Red grosgrain ribbon, Decorative Label punch, dimensionals