Easter carrot

How cute is this carrot? I found the template on the Stampin' Up! demonstrator web site and I knew I had to make this one of my Easter decor class projects.

To make the carrot all I had to do was print the template onto pumpkin pie card stock, stamp the outside of the card stock with itty bitty backgrounds, fold and glue according to the template (I used sticky strip for a nice strong hold) and tie it together with some double stitched wild wasabi ribbon. As a final touch I stamped the bunny from the Wildlife Reserve set n basic gray on a piece of whisper white, added the Easter wishes greeting from Loads of Love in pumpkin pie, and used my blender and wild wasabi ink pad to to add the grass. I punched out the image with the small tag punch, layered it onto a piece of wild wasabi card stock punched with the large tag punch and attached it to the carrot with black hemp twine.

This project is so fun and easy! It would be a perfect project to do with the kids and use as party favors for your Easter guests.

Happy Leap Day!

The 29th of February only comes once every 4 years, so it's a pretty special occasion. I wanted to make a card to celebrate, but who in the world would I send a happy leap day card to? So instead I settled for a "Happy 29th" card. I used the chef and birthday cake from the Voila set so it's obviously intended as a birthday card. Inside it will say "Again!" And it will just be our little secret that it was really created to celebrate the 29th of February, OK? Pretty sneaky on my part, don't you think?

I was so happy to take out the Voila set again -- it's been a while since I used it. I really love that chef and I love paper piecing his coat and hat. This time I used the so saffron prints designer paper. I think it makes him look pretty dashing.

So why is it that I want to celebrate the 29th so badly? Because I'm offering a leap day special, of course!

What's the special? Well, all orders of $50 or more submitted to me tomorrow, Friday, February 29th, between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., will receive a free gift in addition to the free sale-a-bration product. Yes, you're reading that right, with every $50 order not only will you get your choice of 5 sale-a-bration stamp sets or a pack of sale-a-bration rub ons, you will also receive an additional free gift from me!

What's the gift? Well, that depends on the time you submit your order and the number of total orders. The gift could be $5.00 in free merchandise, $10 in free merchandise or a free level 1 hostess set! Every order will receive at least $5.00 in free merchandise, but there is a chance you could be one of the lucky winners of the other two options. The earlier you order, the better your chances to receive a higher value gift!

To qualify, e-mail your orders to me between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) at stampwithdiane@comcast.net. In your e-mail please provide your shipping address, your order and your choice of free products (1 choice for free $5.00 product(s), 1 choice for free $10 product(s) and 1 choice of level 1 hostess set.

I will get back to you at the end of the day with your total (including shipping and tax). Payment must be made via credit card or paypal. Local customers may pay with check of cash if payment is delivered to me no later than March 1.

Don't miss out on this chance to double dip on benefits. Sale-a-bration is already a fabulous deal and now, for one day only, the deal can be even sweeter! So what are you waiting for? E-mail me your order now, before the special leaps away!

By the way, here is the recipe for the card:

Stamps: Voila, Happy everything, short order numbers

Ink: ruby red, pumpkin pie, so saffron, river rock, blush blossom, basic gray

Paper: ruby red, river rock, whisper white, prints so saffron double sided designer series paper

Accessories: aquapainer, stamping sponge, slit punch, rich regals brads, pumpkin pie striped ribbon.

Easter Bliss

Here are a couple more projects that we'll be making at this Sunday's Easter decor class. The little basket is made out of berry bliss double sided designer paper. I can;t take credit for it -- yet another wonderful idea I picked up at Glenda's stamp camp. It's really adorable and just the perfect size for a bunch of jelly beans or one large cadbury egg -- yum!

The little bunny is a Hershey nugget holder. I got this idea from SCS. I again used the berry bliss designer paper for the small ovals in her ears. the real funny thing is that neither of these projects involve any stamping! It's all folding and punching. But they are so cute, I couldn't pass them up!

Before I go, I wan tot let you know that I will be offering s leap year special this Friday -- a really cool way to double dip during Sale-A-bration. Check this space tomorrow night for details and then be ready to place your orders between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Friday!

You crack me up!

Tonight's card was designed by Glenda Travelstead and I had the privilege of making it at Gelnda's stamp camp this month. I absolutely fell in love with it, so this will be one of the projects we'll be making at my Easter home decor class this Sunday. The card makes a fun decoration and there's a lot of room on the back that could be used either to write out a message or as a place to post the menu or place card.

If you missed yesterday's deadline for registering for this class, I have good news. I'm extending the registration deadline to Thursday and you can pay me on the day of the class. Woo Hoo! Hope to see you Sunday to make the pop-up card and several other fun Easter themed projects.

Also, don't miss my chocolate and stamping opportunity night this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Dip into the chocolate fondue, make a chocolate themed project and get answers to all your questions about the totally sweet deal on the starter kit and what's involvedin being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. Fun, Fun, Fun!

spring bride

Tonight we had our stampers in stitches Occasions mini shoebox swap. This was the card I designed. At first I was going t do something with sweet and tangy, but in the end I had to go with a line art stamp. I guess I was just in the mood for coloring. This image is from a new set called "Big on Spring" It's kind of like Big on Christmas, except for spring occasions. It's really super cute and I know I will have a lot of fun with it!

Stamps: Big on Spring, Simply Said
Ink: basic black, pretty in pink, almost amethyst, certainly celery bashful blue, apricot appeal
Paper: almost amethyst, pretty in pink, whisper white
Accessories: pretty in pink grosgrain ribbon, signo white gel pen, dazzling diamonds, 2 way glue, glue dots, paper cutter with scoring blade

Inspired Friendship

As I mentioned in my last post, yesterday we celebrated Bill's Uncle G's 80th birthday! We had a fantastic lunch at Opa! restaurant in Vernon Hills. The food was terrific, the company was better, and as you can tell from this photo, age has got nothin' on uncle G. He still has it going on!

Of course, stamping geek that I am, even in the midst of such an important celebration I got inspired by stuff I saw around me. But really, can you blame me? Just look at the shirt Aunt D. is wearing! Remind you of anything? Take a closer look:

When I saw this pattern I immediately thought of the Friendship Blooms sale-a- bration set. It's like the Stampin' Up! artists were moonlighting for the clothing manufacturer! I just couldn't wait to get home to work on this card, but didn't actually have a chance to until this morning. Truth be told, after the party last night we went to see the movie "In Bruges." I mean, seeing as how we had just been in Bruges a few months ago, we could not pass it up, especially since it got some really good write ups. The verdict -- we loved it! We really loved the fact that it was very obviously really filmed in Bruges (and not in Prague, as we half feared) an the movie itself, while rather quirky and dark, was actually quite good and a nice change of pace from the standard Hollywood fare. Now, if you don't care for movies with a lot of violence and offensive language and other subject matter which is not geared towards young audiences, this may not be the film for you, but otherwise I'd say check it out. But I digress. I'm sure by now you really wan tot see the card.

Well, here it is. It turned out really well, didn't it? It looks just like that darned shirt! How fun!

I do have a confession to make. Since I didn't have a stamp that would give me the right black and white texture, I did use one flower rub-on from the Anchored pack and Another flower from the Love & Happiness Sale-A-bration Rub-ons. But I think the card would have worked well even without those additions, so you could make it using just the Friendship Blooms set.

To make the card I started with a basic black base, which I dusted with the embossing buddy to make sure I didn't have a lot of stray powder on the card. The embossing buddy takes away the static and prevents the embossing powder to sticking to anything on the card but the stamped surfaces.

I then used my versamark pad to stamp the various flowers, leaves and the sentiment. I used my white embossing powder to emboss this first layer. I continued to use the versamark pad with a piece of whisper white card stock to stamp one large flower and the three small flowers, which I embossed with black embossing powder and trimmed out by hand. I used my snail to adhere the trimmed out flowers to the card front and added the one rub-on. As a final touch, I wrapped a piece of black gingham ribbon around the whole card front.

I love the final result and can;t believe all I needed to make it was black and white card stock, black and white embossing powder, a versamark pad, some black gingham ribbon and a stamp set I earned for free with this month's purchases. That is just too cool!

More Merci

Tomorrow night I will post another card inspired by a piece of clothing -- this time a shirt that my aunt wore today to Bill's uncle's 80th birthday party -- but tonight it's just another very simple card stamped with my free Merci Sale-A-Bration set. The main image and the sentiment were stamped with basic black on whisper white card stock. I colored the image with apricot appeal, almost amethyst, certainly celery and pretty in pink stampin' write markers. I added an apricot appeal mat and tabs made out of almost amethyst pieces punched with the small oval punch. I used a pretty in pink card base and covered half of it with a piece of certainly celery prints double sided designer paper. I added a pretty in pink and a certainly celery brad to the tabs so that they would be close to the opposite color on the card. I finished the card by punching out the sentiment with a small oval punch and adding a large oval almost amethyst mat. Super easy card with a nice spring look!

Primary Colors

Tonight's card was kind of a personal challenge for me. The goal was to use all bold bright colors with no white and only neutral inks. I almost managed it, but I did cheat a little. Can you tell where?

If you look closely at the picture, you'll notice that I used my only orange stampin' write marker to color in the spots on the butterfly. I suppose I could have done something like paper piecing and stayed within the rules but, frankly, I didn't think of it until now.

The card is a bit unusual for me, but I needed a change of pace. Plus it gave me a chance to use my new Merci set, which I got for free with my Sale-A-Bration order. Woo Hoo! I just love free stamps, don't you?

Couple more things before I give you the card recipe. I want to send a shout out to Michelle and Linda, new members of my Stampy Nation demonstrator team. I also want to send a big thank you to Wendi for inviting Michelle to join the group! Woo hoo! If you're interested in joining our demonstrator group and taking advantage of the awesome deal on the demonstrator starter kit, be sure to stop by for a night of chocolate and stamping in Itasca this Thursday, 7-8 p.m., or in Bartlett on March 3, 6:45-9:45 p.m. E-mail me at stampwithdiane@comcast.net to RSVP and get directions! And Wyatt, if you're reading this, I totally meant everything I said -- I think you would make an awesome demonstrator!

And now, without further ado, the card recipe:

Stamps: Merci

Card Stock: Only Orange, Real red, yoyo yellow, tempting turquoise, basic black

Ink: basic black classic ink pad, going gray stampin' write marker, only orange stampin' write marker, versamarker

Accessories: ticket corner punch

I have the best upline!

Today I saw my friend and upline, Jen, for what will probably be the last time in a long while, because Saturday she's moving to Colorado. I will definitely miss having her here in the same town, but I know we will keep in touch via e-mail and phone and I'm excited for Jen about the opportunities this move represents for her.

Of course, in the midst of packing and running all the other last minute errands that one runs when moving out of state, Jen still thinks about her downline. So when I stopped by to see her today she had a gift for me! Yes, you can see it in the picture. A whole gigantic bag of scraps of every SU color! Now maybe this would not be an exciting gift for some people, but you know me -- I LOVE SCRAPS! And Jen was so cute -- she even put the lovely regal rose bow on the bag!

I had to take another picture so that you could see how many scraps were in the bag! Wow! Soon all of these are going to get sorted and placed into my scrap filing system. Can you think of anything more exciting? I know, I know -- I'm a scrap geek. LOL!

Not that I wouldn't gladly trade all these scraps and all my other scraps to have Jen stay in town, but I gotta hand it to her, she definitely softened the blow with this perfect present.

I'll miss you, Jen! Have a safe trip to Colorado and make sure you keep in touch! And don't forget to recruit Travis!

Still more glitter

This was a very simple card from Saturday's glitter class. This card was all about using heat and stick powder to adhere our cosmo fine glitter to fine line images. The flowery heart image from Simply Said is exactly the kind of image made for this technique. No way could anyone get glitter to adhere to this detailed image with conventional adhesives. Yet with only a versamark and some heat and stick powder, you can easily achieve the sparkly heart and sentiment.

Paper: Rose red, going gray, shimmery white, rose red prints double sided designer paper

Ink: Versamark, rose red (for sponging the edges of shimmery white)

Stamps: Simply Said, Holidays & Wishes

Accessories: stamping sponge, heat and stick powder, cosmo fine glitter in rose pink

Sweet

I've been thinking about chocolate covered strawberries lately. How come? Well, with this fantastic Sale-A-bration demonstrator starter kit promotion going on right now, many people are interested in purchasing the starter kit, so next Thursday I'll be hosting an opportunity night and I'll be breaking out the new electric fondue pot Bill and I got for Christmas.

It'll be a fun evening of stamping and dipping all sorts of yummy stuff in chocolate as I answer questions about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and about my Stampy Nation demo team. If you're in the Chicagoland area and would like to come, e-mail me at stampwithdiane@comcast.net for details.

Since I've been thinking about chocolate covered strawberries, I decided to make some. These are almost better than the real thing because they look just as yummy but have no calories! I stamped these with a set that will be available in the Occasions mini catalog on March 1. I first colored the strawberry stamp with my real red and garden green stampin' write markers and stamped it on whisper white (repeating this step three times) and then covered each strawberry with a layer of "chocolate" in the form of the chocolate chip stampin' write marker and crystal effects. Once the crystal effects dried I layered the strawberries on a piece of very vanilla card stock stamped with a background from itty bitty backgrounds in real red ink. I rounded the corners of the very vanilla card stock and added a cheater bow made out of wide chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon.

I added a garden green mat, also with rounded corners. I layered a strip of real red card stock stamped with another backgrounds form itty bitty backgrounds in chocolate chip onto the chocolate chip card base. I attached the main stamped image. I stamped the word "sweet" into very vanilla card stock in real red, punched it out with the small oval punch and layered it onto a large oval punched out of chocolate chip card stock. I added two real red brads and adhered the sentiment to the card.

I think maybe next time I might stamp a few more strawberries, but overall it's a pretty sweet card.

Sparkly!

I couldn't capture it in a photo, but in real life this card is so incredibly sparkly! It was another card we made in the glitter class. This card illustrate the use of two way glue and tombow mono multi to adhere glitter to a card. We used the pick a petal stamp to stamp a large polka dot flower in orchid opulence, with the petal outlines stamped in tempting turquoise. We then used the two ways glue to color in the polka dots and sprinkled turquoise cosmo fine glitter on the card. We stamped the five petal flower around the edges in tempting turquoise and sponged gable green over the whisper white card stock. Last, but not least, we used two way glue to fill in the flower centers and the fine tip on the tombow mono multi to outline the petals, and sprinkled the card with orchid fine cosmo glitter. Then the image was just matted onto a piece of gable green card stock and attached to the orchid opulence card base.

I admit, this card is a little loud (what a contrast to that shades of gray pick a petal card I did not too long ago, huh?) but it's also so much fun! I mean, who doesn't love glitter?

Fun Birthday Card

Take a look at this fun and easy birthday card I got to stamp at Glenda's stamp camp this weekend. I love it! It's so cute and so easy to make. The base is real red. Layered at the top is apiece of wild wasabi card stock and layered over that a piece of designer paper from the east coast prep assortment. I really, really love the colors and patterns in that assortment. A lot!

Anyway, the sentiment from the smarty pants set was stamped in versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. The image from so many scalloped SAB set (can you believe you get this set free with a $50 purchase? What a deal!) was stamped once using stampin write markers to get the multi-colored look and then stamped again in tempting turquoise for the scallops. The happy birthday sentiment and candles were punched out using the 1 1/4" circle punch and layered onto a 1 3/8" circle punched out of real red card stock, which was layered onto the scalloped circle. Super easy and unisex. Bill liked it too and wants to give it to his uncle this Saturday for his uncle's 80th birthday. He especially loved the quote from Ward Cleaver!

2-4-6-8

Here's a little 2-4-6-8 box I designed as a make and take for an upcoming workshop. I wheeled old olive card stock with the texture wheel and old olive ink. I then added a strip of rose red prints double sided designer paper and folded the box together. I used the five petal flower punch and the boho blossoms punch to create the focal point flower out of old olive, pumpkin pie and rose red card stock, with a round fire rhinestone brad in the center and attached it to the front of the box with a dimensional. For a final touch I punched two 3/16 in ch holes at the top with my crop-a-dial and threaded through some striped pumpkin pie ribbon. Easy peasy and looks good to boot!

Chunky glitter card

I guess despite really trying I just can't stay away from the One of a Kind set. It's hard when it just happens to be the perfect set for a technique I want to feature at my glitter class tomorrow. At tomorrow's class we'll be talking about different ways to adhere glitter to a card. We'll do a glitter window card, a card using heat and stick, a card using 2 way glue and last, but hopefully not least, this card, showcasing the use of glitter with sticky strip and glue dots.

I decided to use the white chunky glitter with this card and I really like the subtle effect. It's not as shiny as dazzling diamonds and it doesn't glisten so much as it glimmers. The larger glitter chunk actually give more of a glassy appearance. Kind of classy and elegant.

Here's the card recipe:
card stock: purely pomegranate, close to cocoa, pretty in pink, chocolate chip
ink: purely pomegranate
stamps: one of a kind
accessories: scalloped circle punch, slit punch, 1/16th handheld circle punch, pretty in pink taffeta ribbon, sticky strip, pop up glue dots, mini glue dots, white chunky glitter.

P.S. In case any of you are wondering, I chose the stuffed French toast combo with blueberry topping and over easy eggs (Bill got my bacon :-) -- his lent hasn't started yet). It was delish!

Hope you had a Delightful Valentine's Day!

Hi Everyone! Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you had a chance to spend it with whoever is nearest and dearest to your heart, and if you had to be apart from your loved ones then I hope you will be able to be together soon!

I've always been very neutral on the subject of Valentine's Day. I don't hate it, like some of my girlfriends, but it's not my favorite day of the year for romance either. For some reason being romantic on Valentine's Day just seems so artificial. For me, the most romantic day of the year is 4th of July! Being out on a warm sunny evening and cuddling under the stars as you wait for the fireworks to begin and then watching the most amazing light show ever -- that's romantic! Valentine's day just means crowds. So Bill and I spent tonight at home, and tomorrow we'll head out to dinner, but hopefully to a place that will not draw a large Valentine's crowd -- IHOP! That's right, IHOP! Since it's lent and I can't have any meat tomorrow, and since I love breakfast for dinner, Bill is taking me out for pancakes (or maybe waffles or crepes -- I haven't decided yet). I can't wait!

Anyway, my card for tonight is not exactly a Valentine, but it is cute and I suppose if you found your sweetheart delightful there would be nothing wrong with giving him or her this card. I finally got my first February order and was able to play with my So Many Scallops Sale-A-bration set. And wouldn't you know, I reached right for the Christmas stamp. However, I used my close to cocoa marker and the omitting technique to stamp just the dotted outline on that stamp onto a piece of pretty in pink card stock, and punched it out with the scalloped circle punch. I really love that dotted outline and how you can use it year-round with your other stamps. very cool!

Next I took my 1/16th inch handheld circle punch and punched a hole in every scallop. I then took the "delightful" image from It's All Good stamped in close to cocoa and punched with the 1 inch circle punch, and added it to the center. Wanna know a secret? That image was actually the starting point that I built my entire card around. Last fall my friend Linda let me borrow this set for a few days and at the time I was unable to make many cards with it, but I stamped a bunch of images for use in the future and tonight seemed like the perfect night to take them out.

I mounted the assembled "flower" with a dimensional to a piece of designer paper from the Berry Bliss pack. Since the paper is double sided, I folded over an edge, punched it with the horizontal slot punch and added some pretty in pink taffeta ribbon.

Next I used the floral circle from the "One of a Kind" set with pretty in pink ink to create a tone-on-tone design on the card base. I used the same stamp with pretty in pink ink and card stock to punch some scalloped flowers with my boho blossoms punch and create a 3-d design on the triangular piece of chocolate chip card stock. I love the fact that I used just one stamp for both the flowers and the pretty in pink background, and also that the scalloped flowers carry through the scalloped circle theme from the main image. It's a very simple card, but I think all of the repetition of various elements is pleasing to the eye. Kind of delightful, doncha think?

Isn't color coordination great?

Earlier this week I received an e-mail from Kathy, a reader who enjoyed my last post regarding the colors that coordinate with Stampin' Up!'s double sided designer papers and wanted an update for the papers featured in the Spring Summer Collection. Well, Since there's nothing I love more than color coordination, of course I'm happy to help. So here is the list of the colors that coordinate with the designer Papers in the Spring Summer Collection, as well as in the upcoming Occasions Mini Catalog (available March 1).

Azure: Brilliant Blue, Very Vanilla
Bali Breeze:Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Taken with Teal
Berry Bliss:Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate,
Cutie Pie: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron
East Coast Prep: More Mustard, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi
Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Soft Sky, Sahara Sand
Flowers for You: Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise
Ginger Blossom: Cameo Coral, Groovy Guava, Ruby Red, River Rock
Jersey Shore: Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi
Le Jardin: Always Artichoke, Bashful Blue, River Rock, So Saffron, Very Vanilla
Notebook: Kraft, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla
Olive Press: Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Porcelain Prints: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi
Spring Break: Blue Bayou, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Sky
Spring Fling: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow, So Saffron
Spring Silhouettes: Certainly Celery, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi
Western Sky: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Ruby Red, Soft Sky

Occasions Mini:
Afternoon Tea: Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi
Summer Picnic: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red

January Book of Me layout

The cold I caught at the end of January put me a bit behind on the Book of Me Scrap Club designs, but I am finally ready to send out the first two packs. Tonight I'll show you the January pack. Inside the large cellophane bag is everything you need to make your January book of me layout. As promised, the January theme is snowflakes, which is stamped as a background on the sky blue card stock using the snow flurries set. But fear not if you never see snow in your part of the country. You can always flip the card stock over and use the plain side or not use it at all. If you remember the Book of Me scrap club rules, there are no rules. Anything goes as long as you are willing to make one 2-page layout per month.

It may not be obvious from the picture, but the January pack comes with coordinating card stock in blue bayou, river rock and sky blue, coordinated stamped pieces to make the title, punched shapes, double stitched ribbon some brads, and metal edge tags. You should have enough of everything to be as creative with your layout as you want to be.

So what are the possibilities? Well, I think my book of me pages (after I choose and print the photos) will look something like this. I know the January isn't straight, but that's because it's not adhered to the page yet. You see, I try not to adhere things just in case the layout changes after I pick and print the photos. Also, I wanted to be able to show you a couple of different ways you can use the pieces in your kit.



And this is another possible layout, for those who prefer landscape orientation. You'll notice that on these pages I chose not to use the sky blue background, just to show you that this is a perfectly good option. And it does give the pages a different look, right? So when you get the packet don't be afraid to experiment -- have fun with this. The layouts definitely are not carved in stone.

The one thing that I did not do in the packets is score and tear the photo mats or punch them to take the ribbon. If you like this look you will need to score and tear yourself, and then use either the horizontal slot punch or the handheld rectangle punch to punch holes for the ribbon to go through. If you do not have the punches, you can just wrap the ribbon around the entire mat.

If you did not sign up for the book of Me club but would like to participate, there is still time. You can join at any time of the year, but each month's layouts will only be available for 45 days after the end of that month (so the last day to order January 2008 packets will be March 16). Also, for those who join after the end of the month they want to purchase, the price will be $15 per packet, instead of the $10 per packet price for members who pay before the end of the month (all shipping and tax included in the price). So you do get a 33% discount for joining and paying early. And while I would love for all members to complete the entire year, there is no penalty for skipping a month (except for the extra fee you'd have to pay if you changed your month and wanted to purchase a previous month's packet).

If you would like to join the Book of Me scrap club or have any questions, please e-mail me at stampwithdiane@comcast.net.

Scrap!

Believe it or not, lately I've been designing more scrap layouts than cards. I know, it's hard to believe given how rarely I actually scrap, but it's true!

This was a layout I designed for a class I was teaching earlier this month at the Itasca Community Library. Originally my upline, Jen, was going to be the instructor, but she is in the midst of planning an out-of-state move so she asked me to fill in. Now let me tell you -- hers are pretty big shoes to fill. After all, I started stamping at one of her library classes two years ago. But I said yes despite my trepidation and I think the class went OK.

As you can probably guess, the theme was Valentine's day, but the class description said the card and page would be useful for Valentine's Day or other occasion, so I had to convey the feeling of Valentine's Day without necessarily backing myself into a corner. I think the layout I came up with fit the bill. There's no question that this page would be great for scrapping Valentine's Day photos, but the Love You title is general enough to be used for other occasions as well.

The base of the page is real red. I used the love wheel to create the regal rose background on an 8.5x11" sheet of whisper white, which served as a large mat on the page. I added the title stamped with the big deal alphabet in real red on whisper white card stock and matted in basic gray. It's hard to see in the picture but to the left and right of both parts of the title I stamped the butterfly from Happy Heart Day (I just couldn't resist repeating the "love you" sentiment) in basic gray directly on the real red card stock. Finally I added photo mats of regal rose and photo corners created with the photo corner punch out of real red and basic gray card stock.

more boho backgrounds

Another card using the boho backgrounds stamp set and a combination of chocolate chip, regal rose and rose red. What can I say? Once I get into a groove (sounds so much nicer than rut, doesn't it?,) I tend to stay in it.

We made this card at the marker techniques class as well. It features multi-color stamping (again, hard to see in the photo by thte center medallion is stamped in both regal rose and rose red) and omitting. I added a little interest with the fire round rhinestone brad and the chocolate chip taffeta ribbon.

I promise that tomorrow and all next week I will be stamping with all sorts of different sets. It is high time to switch up the color palette and the stampset selection!

Basic Marker Techniques 101

This morning I held my Basic Marker techniques 101 class. We made four cards using 4 different marker techniques. With a lot of stampers taking advantage of my stamp club this month, I thought it would be a good idea to show them different way they can use their new markers! Next month I will do another marker techniques class in which we wil learn some more advanced techniques.

Since I actually put together instructions for this class, I decided all stamp club members will get the electronic version of the instructions, so even if you could not attend the class and get the hands-on experience and finished projects, you will still have a writen techniques reference.

If you'd like to take advantage of the marker club and get a free sale-a-bration product of your choice in addition to the standard marker club goodies, you must contact me at stampwithdiane@comcast.net by February 17. You can read more about the marker club here or e-mail me with any questions.

As for this card, it features the most basic marker technique -- coloring with markers. Also, it's a little hard to see in the photo, but the card also features the smackin' acetate technique for the background on the whisper white card stock. I used certainly celery and bashful blue for the smackin' acetate technique and I found out quickly that these colors make a very light backgroud that is super difficult to photograph. Sorry!

Anyway, here is the card recipe:

Card Stock: bashful blue, pretty in pink, certainly celery, whisper white
Ink: basic gray classic ink pad, bashful blue, pretty in pink, certainly celery, almost amethyst stampin’ write markers
Stamps: Simply Said
Accessories: Almost Amethyst prints designer paper, narrow pretty in pink grosgrain ribbon, ticket corner punch, dimensionals.

Newsletter card sektch

For those of you who subscribe to my e-newsletter in text and cannot view this month's sketch, here it is. The black thing on the left side of the card is supposed to be ribbon. I actually got this sketch idea from a card designed by my up-up-upline, Glenda Travelstead. You can see the card Glenda designed here. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Blogging Friend!

Thank goodness I'm nosey! If I wasn't I never would have found out that Diane (dd2njoy) started a blog. And wouldn't you know it -- today is her birthday! So if you get a chance stop on over by her blog and wish her a happy birthday!

Of course, since I didn't find out about her birthday until today, I cuoldn't send a card in time, but I quickly scurried up into the stamp room and whipped one up for her. I'll send it out tomorrow but figured I might as well post it here for her (and everyone else to see). Because of the short notice I reached for the Fun and Fast notes stamp set since, well, I needed to make something fun and fast.

I chose rose red, regal rose and chocolate chip as my pallete. Looking at this card I have a great feeling of Deja Vieu. I bet if I went through my old posts I would find this layout, maybe even in these colors. But since I was going for fun and fast, I'm not surprised my brain steered me towards the tried and true.

My favorite thing about this card are the hearts in the corners. They match the hearts obove the candles and are just perfect for someone with a February birthday. I've already posted a tutorial here about how to make the larger corner hearts with the scalloped circle punch and the idea is the same here, only I used the scalloped flower from the boho blossoms punch to get the smaller heart look.

So Happy Birthday, Diane! Hope it was a good one!

Shades of Gray

This is a bit of an unusual card for me. It's definitley out of character for me to do a card just in shades of gray and leaving the center image subtle is totally not my regular style. Still, I couldn't help but make this card tonight, because when I got my Coldwater Creek catalog in the mail today there was this shirt in it, and it just begged to be translated into a card desing.


So what do you think? Don't you just love this shirt? I absolutely adore it! Although I normally love wearing bright colors, the lack of color on this shirt doesn't bother me at all because of the texture of the fabric. It's really, really cool!

I tried to duplicate that texture on my card by first sanding the going gray card stock I used to stamp on. I stamped the central image with a stamp from Pick a Petal in versamark ink, and then added an outline and center stamped in whisper white. I then sponged on going gray, basic gray and whisper white ink, to further try to match the texture of the shirt. Finally I stamped the petals of the corner flowers in basic gray ink and added some basic gray taffeta ribbon in the upper right hand corner to mirror the diagonal line on the shirt. The "for you" sentiment from All Holidays stamped in basic gray ink on whisper white card stock punched with the small oval punch and layered on a large oval piece of basic black card stock compelted the card.

I know it's unusual, but I really like it. Hope you do too!

Circle punch tricks

Yesterday I promised to show you some punch tricks that can help you make word window punch and keytag punch shapes without actually using those punches. The secret? It's using the right size circle for the shape that you need.

In this first picture you can see how I can get a rounded edge on a narrow strip of whisper white card stock by inserting it into a 1/2" circle punch from the center out.

Once you punch one side, simply insert the strip into the same punch from the center out into the other direction and punch again. What you end up with is a ssape that resembles the word window punch, but can be slightly wider and also can be as long as you need it to be.

To create a mat for your newly punched shape, you need something like a keytag punch. However, if you don't own this punch yet, you can create a similar look with one of your circle punches. Here I took a 1 inch wide strip of tempting turquoise card stock and inserted it into the 1 1/4" circle punch from the center out.

After the first side is punched, I insert the strip into the 1 1/4" circle punch from the center out into the other direction and I layer on the word window shape to see the exact length I will need in my keytag shape. Then I punch again and I have the perfectly layered sentiment.

This same trick would work with slightly wider or narrower strips of card stock, though you may need to adjust which circle punch you are going to use to get the correct rounding shape at the edges.

And if you want the ticket corner look but can't find your ticket corner punch? Well, the 1/2" circle punch comes to the rescue egain. Simply insert the corners of your card stock so that the very tip of the corner is in the center of the circle shape. Punch and repeat on the other corners.

Keep in mind that unless you mark the edges of your circle, this method leaves a lot of room for inaccuracy, so sometimes your ticket corners may not all be event. That's why I'm not advocating this as a replacement for a ticket corner punch. But it will do if you're in a pinch like when your ticket corner punch chooses an unfortunate moment to play hide and seek in your stamp room.

birthday whimsey card

What do you do when you've been preparing to teach a stamping and scrapping class at the local library all day and you didn't have a chance to stamp anything for the blog? You reach for your favorite Sale-A-Bration set, of course, and make a quick, simple card.

I used my favorite bold brights combination -- gable green, tempting turquoise and orchid opulence. I also used some punch tricks to get the ticket corner look (my ticket corner punch was still in the car along with my other class supplies) and the word window/keytag punch look, since the happy birthday greeting is actually too long for the word window punch and I do not own the keytag punch (Gasp! -- I know!). No time to do a tutorial tonight, but I promise I'll show you my tricks tomorrow!

boho blossom punch tutorial and over 14 looks from one stamp

If I said you could get over 14 different looks from just one stamp using several punches, would you believe me? I had a hard time believing this myself, but I discovered yesterday that the boho backgrounds medallion is truly the most versatile chameleon of the Stampin' Up! catalog. That single stamp is absolutely amazing in the number of different looks it can produce. And I'm about to show you how create some (though by no means all) of them.

The first 7 looks are not amazing in technique, but are a great way to showcase how the look of a stamp changes just by using different punches in combination with the stamp.

Basically I just stamped the medallion several times and each time used a different circle punch to punch out the image. As you can see, there is no wrong circle punch to use with this stamp -- they all look different and great! And, of course, these are just solid circles. You can get a bunch of other new looks by making frames using two different sizes of circle punches. Totally awesome!

And now for the cool technique part and the tutorial. The technique was originally discovered by another Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Dannie Graves, who was experimenting with her scalloped punch one day and figured out how to make a new shape with that punch simply by punching the shape twice, slightly offsetting the image the second time. I know that may sound confusing, but watch how I applied this technique to one of the flowers in the boho blossoms punch, and I think it will become very clear.

First, stamp the boho backgrounds medallion image on a piece of card stock. It can be a scrap piece, just as long as the image that you want to punch out with the flower of your choice (in this case the largest flower) is all on the card stock.

Insert the stamped image into your boho blossoms punch and punch it out as usual.

Now use temporary adhesive or a very small piece of regular adhesive to attach the flower to a piece of scrap thin paper, such as typing paper. The thinness of the paper is very important, because you will be punching through both with the boho blossoms punch again and the punch will not go through two pieces of card stock.

Insert the piece of paper with the punched flower attached into the boho blossoms punch using the same flower image, but shift the flower slightly to the left or right so that the "points" of the petals fall in between the previous points. Hopefully the photo will make this a little clearer.

Punch out the new flower.

What you are left with looks like this photo when you put the new punch flower on a piece of colored card stock. Now you need to separate the card stock flower from the typing paper.

And this is the shape that you will be left with. It will have twice as many poionts as the original for a toally new look. Cool Huh?

You can do this with the scalloped circle punch, of course, but also with each of the flowers in the boho blossoms punch. So here is a chart showing images stamped with the boho backgrounds medallion and punched with the scalloped circle and boho blossoms punch on the left, and the punched twice on the right. And, amazingly, all of them look absolutely great!

So there you go. A new way to use your boho blossoms punch and a multitude of ways to use the medallion stamp from the boho backgrounds set. If you ask me, that one stamp alone is worth the $15.95 price tag of the boho backgrounds stamp set but, of course, the set includes 3 additional stamps, all of which are pretty cool! So is this the very best set in the new Spring Summer Collection? You tell me.

Boho Backgrounds

Believe it or not, for tonight's card I only used 2 stamps from the boho backgrounds stamp set. I just love that set and how well it coordinates with the berry bliss designer series paper as well as our boho blossoms and various circle punches. And I sure used a bunch of punches on this card!

I think the card pretty much speaks for itself, so I'll just leave you with a recipe:

Paper: close to cocoa, purely pomegranate, pretty in pink, berry bliss designer series paper

Ink: close to cocoa, purely pomegranate, pretty in pink

Stamps: Boho backgrounds

Accessries: scalloped circle punch, boho blosso,s punch, 1 1/4, 3/4 adn 1/4" circle punches. fire round rhinestone brads, chocolate chip taffeta ribbon, dimensionals.

Return to happy heart day

Just because the Happy Heart Day set is no longer on special doesn't mean we have to put it away, especially since Valentine's Day is still a couple of weeks away. Here's a real simple card you can make for your honey in a juffy!