Birthday Messages

Hi everyone! I hope that you are having a great week. This week I am busily preparing for the Stampin' Up convention that I will be attending next week. I am stamping swaps as fast as I can. :-) So, today I pulled a card from my files that I haven't shared before.

I actually created this for my sister-in-law's birthday in January. This card uses the set Messages for Mom . . . which isn't only for Mother's Day. The idea for this card came from a swap I received from the talented Paula Wright. I did change the stamp sets, but other than that I stayed pretty close to her card.

I ran the Old Olive layer through the Big Shot with the Perfect Details texturz plate, and stamped the Rich Razzleberry layer repeatedly with an image from the set Vintage Vogue. To color the flowers, I used blender pens. I also added some Dazzling Diamonds to the center of the largest flower.

The card opened:


Stamps: Messages for Mom, Vintage Vogue
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Basic Black
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Perfect Details Texturz Plate, Big Shot, Blender Pens, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds

Stampin Celebration #10

What a great inspiration piece this week over at Stampin' Celebration! I think this may be one of my favorites to date! And how perfect that we are celebrating weddings. I decided to double-dip this week and not only create something for the challenge, but also design my sister's bridal shower invitations at the same time.

I chose Basic Black and Barely Banana for this week. I will use this same layout and design for my sister's invites, just change all of the black to Certainly Celery. This invitation is 3 3/4" by 8" and fits perfectly inside a standard size business type envelope. Part of the reason that chose this size invite is that I will be able to make all of them using scraps left over from the invitations. I will barely do any cutting (saving lots of time) and also not let all those paper scraps go to waste.

For the texture, I used the new Vintage Wallpaper Textured Embossing Folder. After I textured, I also sprayed with Vanilla Smooch Spritz giving it a nice shimmer.

I also wanted to make up some simple thank you notes that my sister can use after the shower. I took the design of the invitation and simplified a bit. The sentiment is from the new hostess set Because I Care, and is stamped with Basic Black Craft Ink and embossed with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder. The finished card size is 3 1/2" by 5" and again I'm just using the paper scraps from the invites. And of course I'll also change the black to Certainly Celery to match her wedding colors.

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to head over to Stampin' Celebration to see what the other members of the Design Team have created using this same inspiration piece. And while you are there, check out the Top 3 from last weeks challenge.

Stamps: Because I Care
Ink: Basic Black Craft Ink
Paper: Barely Banana (now discontinued), Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper EF, Big Shot, Basic Black Satin Ribbon, Basic Black 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Heat Tool, Clear EP, dimensionals

Wedding Annoucements

As promised, here is a picture of my little sister's wedding invitations. This past weekend my mom and sister flew in to help make all of the invites. We didn't finish all 600 (nope, not a typo) but we made very good progress. We completely finished 300, and all of the cutting and hole punching for the others. We probably could have finished all of them, but we decided to take some time to have fun too. Can't have all work and no play. :-)

As we started making them, I was SO glad that my sister chose such a simple invite. She sent a picture of the style that she wanted and picked the colors (Barely Banana and Certainly Celery), so I didn't even really have to design anything, just order the paper and ribbon. :-) My mom even had all of the (embossed) printing done professionally so I didn't even have to worry about that.

I didn't think to take a picture of the progress of the invites until we were boxing them up. So here you go, one of the largest Stampin Up boxes, full to the top with invitations!


Now to make the invites for her bridal shower. . . .

Finished size is 5 1/2" by 8 1/8".

Paper: Textured Barely Banana (now discontinued), Certainly Celery, White, Vellum
Accessories: Certainly Celery Satin Ribbon, Crop-A-Dile

Open House Card

I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. This past weekend was a little (ok, VERY) busy, but oh so much fun! Not only did I host a New Catalog Open House, I also helped my sister make her wedding invitations. Check back tomorrow for more about that. :-)

So this card was the make & take at the Open House. I decided on this card as it is quite simple, yet shows off several of the new products from the catalog. The stamp set is Friends Never Fade, and the Designer Series Paper is Greenhouse Gala.

To stamp the image, I showed a simple technique called 'rock 'n roll'. I inked the stamp with Daffodil Delight, gently 'rolled' in on my scratch paper to remove the yellow ink off just the edges of the stamp, and then carefully 'rolled' the stamp in the Marina Mist stamp pad. Then I stamped the image on Whisper White paper and you get this fun two-toned imaged. This is a simple technique that has fun results. Just make sure to always start with your lighter ink first, and then move to your darker ink so that you don't ruin a stamp pad.

After stamping, I punched out the image with the 1 3/8" circle punch, and then layered it onto the NEW 2 3/8" scallop circle punch. yay! The ribbon on this card is Marina Mist grosgrain ribbon and the new Daffodil Delight 1/8" taffeta ribbon.

This color combination Marina Mist and Daffodil Delight is one of my new favorites. It looks great with Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Old Olive, or Night of Navy. Talk about some versatile colors. And yes, I've actually made projects with all these combos--BUT I can't show them yet. . . .

Based on some samples I sent in earlier this year, I was picked to be a Make & Take Display Stamper for Convention. I was honored to be picked! So what does this mean? It means I spent the last few weeks of June stamping away and creating projects using new products, AND many of these items will be on the display boards at Convention later this month! It was a lot of work, but it was tons of fun!! I really enjoyed playing with the new colors and finding my new favorite combinations. Starting after July 25th I'll be able to start sharing these projects with you. I can't wait. :-)

Stamps: Friends Never Fade
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist
Paper: Whisper White, Marin Mist, Greenhouse Gala DSP
Accessories: 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Marin Mist grosgrain ribbon, Daffodil Delight 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Cutter Kit, dimensionals

New Catalogs!

The new catalogs are here! If you haven't seen them already, take some time to browse through. You won't be disappointed!

2010-2011 Catalog:

Click the catalog to download in .pdf format!

Click here to download the 2010-2011 Catalog Supplies

Definitely Decorative

Click the catalog to download in .pdf format!

Click here to download the Catalog Supplies

Celebrando Creatividad

Click the catalog to download in .pdf format!

Click here to download the Catalog Supplies

Stampin' Celebration #9

This week over at Stampin' Celebration, we're celebrating the 4th of July, or Canada Day, as the case may be. :-) I love the inspiration piece this week, and I decided to go with the star theme in the bottom right photo.

This week I made a treat holder that fits a candy bar or other small gift. My club members will recognize this idea from the Valentine treat holders we made in January. The idea for this came from Leadership 2010. Unfortunately I didn't keep track of who showed us this project--if some one reading this happens to know who to give credit to for this great idea, please let me know!

I started with a 4" by 10 1/2" piece of Real Red card stock. I ran the card stock through the Big Shot with the Movers & Shapers Die with the star magnetic piece in place. Make sure to keep the punched out star to use for the tag. Then I added score marks at 1/2" along each of the long ends, and 1/2" away from the shorter, center score mark from the Movers & Shapers Die.

Along the top of the box I distressed the edge and added the paper piercing. I also added paper piercing around the star. The center of the star tag has a rhinestone brad to add a little bling.

It just so happened that I didn't have a candy bar on hand to wrap in coordinating paper and slip inside the box, so I grabbed some tissue paper and stamped a few stars instead.

I hope you've enjoyed this project! Make sure to stop by Stampin' Celebration to see what the other members of the Design Team made using this same inspiration piece.

Stamps: Nursery Necessities (star on tissue paper)
Ink: Night of Navy
Paper: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot, Movers & Shakers Die, Star Punch, Large Star Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Fire Circle Rhinestone Brad, Cutter Kit, Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Linen Thread