silhouette portrait

Today I really wanted to stamp with my "She's All that" set. I don't think that there are any people out there who are indifferent towards this set -- everyone pretty much either loves it or hates it, and I'm squarely in the "Love it!" camp.

I find it really unique and very versatile and I hope it will make it back to the big catalog either in August or next January.

For this card I decided to use the preggo lady image, but only from the chest up. I inked the stamp with my chocolate chip stampin' write marker and stamped the image on a piece of groovy guava card stock. Using my coluzzle cutting system, I cut an oval shape around the stamped image. I also cut out a larger oval from a piece of Afternoon Tea designer paper that I waned to serve as a mat for my image -- sort of like a frame for a painting.I added a picture hanger from the aged copper hodgepodge hardware and tied a bow with my groovy guava double stitched ribbon at the top. I attached the picture hanger to the back of the designer paper using a mini glue dot.

I decided to use soft sky for the card base, and added a strip of chocolate chip and a strip of Afternoon Tea designer series paper. I specifically used the design that reminded me of a wallpaper design, because I wanted to create an illusion of a wall. I then attached the "frame" to the "wall" using mini glue dots.

To finish off the card I stamped the sentiment on a piece of groovy guava card stock and punched it out using the large oval punch. I secured the punched piece inside a large oval aged copper hodgepodge hardware piece using crystal effects and added two pieces of groovy guava ribbon on either side of the label holder. My final step was attaching the label holder to the card front using mini glue dots.

I think this card has a very sweet and a bit old fashioned look to it. Hope you like it.

By the way, you have to come back tomorrow to see lots and lots of ideas for using Stampin' Up!'s new product line - decor elements. I won't go into details now, but suffice it to say I think you'll be most pleased! So y'all come back now, y'hear?

Blue Dream

I thought I'd give dry embossing a little break today. Not that it's not great, but variety is the spice of life. So for today's card I went back to the Live Your Dreams set and the Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper, both of which are going to be gone after Monday (the Afternoon Tea paper, especially, has no chance of coming back,because it features this year's in colors, which are retiring in August.)

This is another very simple layout that you could use with a lot of different sets and colors. I chose Bayou blue, soft sky and river rock. I started with a standard bayou blue base. I then added a rive rock piece of card stock that didn't quite cover the whole card front and overlayed it with a piece of the afternoon tea designer paper.

I stamped several images from the Live Your Dream set on whisper white card stock. I used the rock and roll technique to achieve the two-tone look on the large flowers, which I stamped one at a time. I cheated a little on the small flowers and used my night of navy stampin' write marker to add to the centers of those little flowers.

Once everything was stamped I punched the images out with my 1 1/4" circle punch, added a 1 3/8" circle blue bayou mat and a scalloped circle river rock mat. Then I just arranged all four images on my card front. Very easy and a great layout to feature a bunch of smaller images!

more dry embossed dots

I'm loving this new dry embossing with the paper piercing template so much, I decided to make another card using this technique. I haven't stamped a lot with the For Father set yet, and I absolutely love the images in it, so I decided to use it tonight, before the Occasions mini expires and this set is possibly gone forever (a few select sets from the mini catalogs do make it into the permanent catalogs, but the number is so small I've learned not to count on the future availability of any set, because I'd be mostly disappointed).

I chose the puppy dog image and, because the images in this set just beg to be water colored, I dug out my aqua painter. I stamped the image in basic brown on watercolor paper and colored it in using old olive, close to cocoa, creamy caramel, more mustard and pumpkin pie inks. I also lightly sponged the edges with chocolate chip ink and added a more mustard mat.

And that's when the paper piercing mat and stylus came into the picture. I'll be completely honest -- when I used this technique yesterday it didn't even occur to me to use the smallest dots -- I was quite happy just using the medium and large sizes. But when Amber left a comment that she had successfully done it with the small dots, I knew I had to try it as well, so I added a small dot dry embossed border around the old olive mat. And while I wouldn't recommend using this technique for dozens and dozens of swaps, using it on just card and just for a border on a small piece of card stock actually was not too bad. As you can see in the detail photo below, I had some trouble lining up the dots in a couple of the corner, but that's more of a function of the paper size than the technique. Overall I'm pleased with how it came out.

Once I attached the image to the old olive mat, I started dry embossing a strip of chocolate chip card stock with the large circle. This was much faster and easier! I attached the chocolate chip strip to the summer sun card base and stamped the get well sentiment in chocolate chip ink in the lower right hand corner. I thought this was a perfect sentiment for this image -- doesn't the little puppy just looks so forlorn because his master is too sick to take him for a walk?

As a final step I attached the image to the card base. I wanted to keep a masculine feel in this card, so I opted not to add any ribbon or embellishment (beyond the dry embossing, of course). And yes, I know it's almost the same layout as yesterday's card. I guess that's my other kick lately -- doing several different cards with the same layout. Anyway, I think it turned out very nice indeed. Hope you do too.

Dotted Rhino

It's a return to kid birthday card land! No, not really, though this certainly is a kid birthday card. But never fear, I'm not about to start posting 12 new kid birthday designs. This is it, and the only reason I used the Zoofari set is because it was fresh on my mind and I needed an image that wasn't too complicated. That plus the rhinoceros fit the main cool thing about the card -- the textured mellow moss strip.

I think the photo captured the dry embossed dots on the mellow moss strip pretty well. You want to know how I did it? It was so easy you'll laugh, and perhaps, like me, wonder why you haven't thought of it before. I simply used my embossing stylus and the Stampin' up! mat pack!

Yup, I used the medium size holes on the paper piercing template as an embossing template. I started on one edge and embossed all the medium holes on the template, then lined up two already embossed rows into two rows on the template and continued to dry emboss the remaining holes. I repeated this process until the entire strip was covered with dry embossed dots. They kind of remind me of a leathery rhino skin.

So what do you think? Pretty neat, huh. I knew there had to be another use for that template beyond paper piercing and eyelet setting. But I never would have found it on my own. It was actually my downline Giuli who planted the idea in my head when she mentioned how much she liked the dry embossed look created with a crop-a-dial, but hated the fact that lining up the dots was so tricky. That's when it struck me that the paper piercing template would be a great dry embossing template as well with all the spacing figured out for you!

I won't bother describing what I did on the rest of the card because I think it's pretty self-explanatory. Here's the recipe:

Card stock: Blush Blossom, mellow moss, perfect plum, whisper white

Ink: Basic black, perfect plum, blush blossom

Stamps: Zoofari, Amazing to Zany

Accessories: paper piercing mat pack, stylus, soft subtles button assortment, mellow moss gingham ribbon, large and small tag punches, glue dots, dimensionals.

Taken with White Wasabi card

It's been a really long time since I did a challenge on SCS, but today's color challenge looked particularly though so I decided to give it a go. The challenge was to make a card using the following three colors: wild wasabi, tempting turquoise, and whisper white. Now that's a color combination I never would have come up with on my own!

I started with a wild wasabi base and almost immediately reached for the taken with teal and white designer paper from the Bali Breeze assortment. Since that pattern looks very stitched, I naturally reached for the stitched exotics stamp set next. I stamped the greenery first, using the stamping off technique for the lighter leaves. I then stamped the five petal flower twice, the first time using full strength and the second time stamping off. I trimmed out the full strength flower by hand and punched the light flower with my 5 petal flower punch. I used 2 way glue to add some glitter to the bottom flower. I layered the two flowers together and added a 1/2" circle center punched out from another designer paper from the Bali Breeze assortment.

I added a wild wasabi mat to the main image and then ran a a piece of taken with teal card stock though the paper crimper in both directions. I made a faux knot with whisper white taffeta ribbon and added a square teal rhinestone in the center, then wrapped the ribbon around the waffled taken with teal piece, before adhering the whole thing to the front of the card. I attached the main image with dimensionals and the challenge was complete.

Emboss Resist Sympathy

Before everyone asks, I did not create this card with anyone specific in mind. I know there are two schools of thought when it comes to Sympathy cards. One school says that you should never have any of these on hand and should only stamp them on an as needed basis. The other says that when you need a sympathy card you may not be in any shape to stamp one, so you should stamp them in advance so they're there when you need them.

I'm not sure which camp I fall into. On the one hand, I can totally understand wanting to make this personal of a card from scratch for the recipient. On the other hand, I could also see potentially having a hard time summoning up the stampin' mojo at a sad time. So I guess this is a compromise. I stamped this sympathy card for sale at my December craft fair, but it will be in my stamp room until then, so if I do need it I will have it.

I don't know the name of the technique I used tonight. The effect is a bit like Joseph's coat, but the colors are very targeted. I suppose the technique is really emboss resist, although typically that technique is either done with plain versamark or just one color. So I'm not really sure.

In any case, to make this card I used two of my craft stampin' spots -- certainly celery and barely banana. I used the stampin' spots kind of like markers to ink up just certain portions of the stamps. After I was done adding both ink colors to the images, I stamped them on whisper white card stock and embossed them with clear embossing powder. Then I used my brayer to add perfect plum ink over the entire stamped image. After several passes in all directions the whisper white card stock was an ancient memory. As a final step I used a tissue to wipe off the ink from the embossed images. Pretty cool!

The rest was simple. I added a barely banana and certainly celery mats to the image and sentiment, punching four ticket corners on all layers. I positioned both on a mat of pale plum whose corners had also been punched with the ticket corner punch and adhered the pale plum mat to a perfect plum base. I wanted to accentuate the corners but I did not want to use brads, as the prongs would have been visible on the inside of the card. I could have used 1/8" or 1/4" punched circles, but I wanted more dimension. the beads seemed like a perfect compromise. Dimension with out prongs! I attached the beads to the perfect plum card base with tombow mono multi adhesive and I was all done.

I wouldn't exactly call this card "fun," but it did satisfy my urge to do something different after all those kid birthday cards.

The last of the kid cards

I know, I know. It's Sunday and I haven't posted a pillow CASE yet. Mea Culpa! I just haven't had the time today to do one and I'm not sure I'll have time during the week either. I guess I'll just chalk this up to a pillow CASE vacation. But, in lieu of a pillow case, I'm showing you not one, not two, but three of my kid birthday cards.

These are all made with the same sketch, and the sketch is perfect for using up -- what else? - scraps! This time it's designer paper scraps. Each of the designer paper squares you see on these cards is 1.75" square, so all you need is two 1.75x3.5" pieces of designer paper that go reasonably well together and you can make a cute card! Don't you just love that? I sure do! This is yet another sketch that I know I will use over and over again in the future, as I sure manage to accumulate lots of little pieces of designer papers.

Anywho, the first card is my favorite of the three. The main image is the turtle from the Older and Wiser set -- so cute! I love how his shell coordinates with the cutie pie designer paper. (The striped Certainly Celery paper is from the Flowers for You assortment.) He is stamped in basic black ink on a 2x2" square piece of whisper white card stock and matted with a2.25" square piece of ballet blue card stock. I colored him using my so saffron, bashful blue, ballet blue and certainly celery stampin' write markers. I positioned him in the center of the four designer paper squares mounted to a so saffron card base and added the sentiment from All Holidays stamped in basic black on a strip of certainly celery. Fun, easy, quick and cute!


For the second card I started with a tempting turquoise card base and added four squares of Flowers for You designer paper. I stamped the elephant from Year After Year (Get this set before it retires in August!) in basic black on the whisper white card stock and added the certainly celery mat. I colored the elephant with my lovely lilac, certainly celery and tempting turquoise markers and mounted the elephant to the card by centering him between the four designer paper squares. the I added the sentiment from A Little Birthday Cheer stamped in basic black on a piece of regal rose card stock. Another quick and cute card.



I confess this last card is probably not a pure kid card. There's no reason why you couldn't give this card to an adult, maybe even a guy? On the other hand, there's no reason not to give it to a kid either, and by this card (number 12) I was running out of kid ideas and images that would fit this sketch, so here it is. The candles are from Older and Wiser an they're inked up with my old olive, bashful blue, real red, only orange and basic black stampin' write markers before being stamped on the whisper white card stock and mounted on a old olive mat. The designer paper is from the Summer Picnic assortment (available only through the end of June from the Occasions mini) and is mounted to a real red base. The sentiment is also from Older and Wiser, stamped in basic black on a strip of bashful blue. Simple, clean-cut and appropriate for just about anyone. Woo hoo!

Now that the kid cards are done, tomorrow we're moving on to something new and different. What will it be? Even I don't know! Be sure to tune in tomorrow to see where my stamping adventures take me.

Two more film strip cards

I misspoke yesterday when I said I showed you 6 of the 12 cards from the kid birthday stamp-a-stack. I actually showed you 7 -- I forgot the zoofari film strip card that I posted quite a while ago. Well, obviously I needed two more film strip cards for the class (to keep with the 3 cards from one sketch theme) and here they are.

For the first card I started with a soft sky base and a east coast prep designer paper mat. I added a strip of basic black card stock that I punched with the spiral punch to resemble a film strip. Then I took my 3 panels of whisper white and started stamping. The top and bottom panels were filled with kids and animals from the All in the Family set. This is such a cute set -- I don't know why I haven;t used it sooner! I don't yet own the accessories for this set, so for the center panel I needed another image that would scream "Birthday" and what better image than the cake from Fun and Fast notes? All images were stamped with black stazon ink and then I used my blender pen ans soft sky, wild wasabi, more mustard, creamy caramel and blush blossom inks to color the images. I attached the images to the basic black strip to finish my "film" strip. I used my stampin' write basic black marker to ink up just the "birthday wishes" portion of the sentiment from fun and fast notes and stamped it on whisper white, then punched it out with the small oval punch making sure that the words were as far to the left as possible. I punched a large oval from basic black card stock, and place the white oval on top to see where I needed to make the cut so that both would be even with the edge of the designer paper. Once the ovals were cut I attached the black oval to the card front, edged the whisper white oval with my more mustard stampin' write marker and attached it over the black oval with a dimensional.

My third film strip card was inspired by Nikki Bond. Recently she made a similar card featuring the animals from the Pun Fun set (see Nikki's card here). With Nikki's permission I copied the idea for my stamp-a-stack. I only change the card up a little bit -- moved the animals around and changed the colors to match my designer paper. The construction was pretty much the same as for the other film strip card except I used full strength stampin' write markers in Sahara sand, rose red, bashful blue, certainly celery, basic gray and so saffron to color the animals, used a Pun Fun sentiment, punched it out with the word window punch and edged it with the certainly celery stampin' write marker. Thanks for the inspiration, Nikki! The punny animals love being film stars!

Two more kid cards!

Two more tonight and more to come. I've only shown you 6 so far, after all, and there will be 12 to make at the Stamp-a-Stack tomorrow.

Anyway, tonight's cards are made using the same sketch as yesterday's Zebra. It's a fun and versatile little sketch -- I'm sure I've used it on some cards before. What I especially liked about these three cards is that I got to use the three wide striped ribbons that come in the various ribbon originals collections. I definitely have not used the set enough -- you'll probably see a lot more ribbon originals on my cards after I get done with the kid cards.

The first card uses one of my favorite sets -- the Older and Wiser Level 3 hostess set. I love this monkey and the whole set and I am so glad I was able to get it and stamp with it before it retires in August. It's adorable!

I stamped the monkey in basic brown on whisper white card stock. I colored his hands and face with creamy caramel marker, his parachute with mellow moss marker, his pant and collar with brocade blue marker and his shirt with so saffron marker. I stamped the second part of the sentiment at the bottom with basic brown ink (of course I custom mounted my set, so the bottom sentiment can be used alone if I want) and added some moss gingham ribbon in between. I added a creamy caramel mat and a wide brocade blue striped ribbon tab attached with two brocade blue brads. I took a mellow moss base, added a strip of brocade blue, layered a strip of the argyle prints so saffron designer paper, and then attached the main stamped image over the top with a couple of dimensionals.

For the second card I used my Pun Fun set. This set is so cute! Unfortunately I've been too busy to really play with it, so I was very glad to have this excuse to take it out and finally make some cards.

I stamped the rocket and the "you're a blast" sentiment in basic black at the top of my whisper white piece of card stock, and added the happy birthday sentiment from Older and Wiser at the bottom. I colored the rocket using stampin' write markers in certainly celery, bashful blue, so saffron and rose red. Then I tied some bashful blue gingham ribbonbetween the top image and bottom sentiment, addeda rose red mat and a wideso saffron striped ribbon tab attached with two bashful blue brads.
I attached a strip of the cutie pie designer paper to a certainly celery base and attached the stamped image over the top with dimensionals.

And there you have it. Two more cards. I have to admit that I'm enjoying the challenge of coming up with different cards using the same sketch. It always amazes me how different cards can look even when one element (such as layout) is exactly the same. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself! Find a sketch you like and make three totally different cards using that sketch. You'll see for yourself how much fun it really is!

zebra fun

And here it is -- the fringed zebra! Thanks to Kathy for sharing this awesome idea! For this card I stamped the zebra from zoofari in basic black on whisper white card stock. I then used my stamping write pumpkin pie marker to color in the stripes and to dye some black gingham ribbon. I trimmed off a piece of the ribbon and made the fringe for the zebra mane. I used the threads I pulled off to make the zebra's tail -- pretty cool, huh? No waste! Then, just for good measure, I wrapped a piece o the dyed gingham around the whisper white card stock between the zebra image and the happy birthday sentiment from Eat Cake (can you believe the Eat Cake is retiring? How sad!)

The rest of the card was pretty easy. I added a bashful blue mat to the image and a tab of the wide striped ribbon from a ribbon originals collection and a couple of black brads. I took a brilliant blue card base and added a strip of jersey shore designer series paper. Then I attached the main image to the card with a couple of dimensionals. Once again a cute kid card that can be put together pretty quickly yet is still unique. Fun!

kids birthday cards

This Saturday I'm doing a kids' birthday cards stamp a stack. I've had requests for this class from moms whose kids get invited to lots of birthday parties and who therefore have a constant need for little people cards. I thought this was a great idea because it would give me a chance to design several different cards that I would have for the kid parties we get invited to. A total win-win for everyone.

I decided that the eyebrow guy from last night had to make the kid birthday card cut, and so I made two more cards using the same sketch (we'll be making 12 cards at the stamp-a-stack, using 4 different sketches).

The first card also uses the pick a petal set. This time a petal serves as a candle flame. What a neat idea, right? Not mine, of course. Someone else on SCS came up with this and I just CASEd the idea. I used bits of the jersey shore designer paper for the candles -- this, by the way, is a great way to use up your small designer paper leftovers -- and drew in the wicks with my black stampin' write marker. I added a bashful blue mat and attached the image to the card base, to which I previously attached a strip of brilliant blue and a strip of the jersey shore designer paper. The I just stamped the make a wish sentiment from "A Little Birthday Cheer" in basic black and the card was done. Fun and Cute!

For the next card I used the elephant from the Happy Heart Day stamp set. I inked him up with my basic black stampin' write markers so that I could omit the heart above his trunk and the words around him. Once the elephant was stamped, I added the presents from the Loads of Love Accessories set. I colored the image in using Stampin' Write markers and the colors form the Bali Breeze designer paper I knew I wanted to use as an accent on the card. I took an old olive card base, added a strip of taken with teal card stock and a strip of designer paper, then added a pumpkin pie mat to the main image and attached the image to the card base. I stamped the happy birthday sentiment form Eat Cake and the card was done.

In the process I learned that I really liked this sketch. Don't be surprised if you see it pop up again once in a while.

Wishing on an eyelash

Did you ever wish on eyelashes? You know -- you find a stray eyelash, place it on the tip of your finger, close your eyes, make a wish and blow? And then, if the eyelash is gone when you open your eyes your wish will come true! I used to do that all the time when I was little. Not so much anymore, but it's a fun memory.

So why am I talking about eyelashes and wishes? Well, because tonight I happened to think of another way to use the grosgrain fringe (see yesterday's post for the tutorial). That's right, eyelashes.

I can't take the credit for the pick-a-petal guy -- he was inspired by numerous cards I saw on SCS (and, by the way, how clever was the person who first thought to use the pick a petal set to make this face? That's what I call real creativity!) I can take credit for his fringe eyelashes made out of our narrow basic black grosgrain. I love the way they turned out! It was a little hard to glue them in place, but nothing crystal effects couldn't handle.

I'm having fun with the whole fringe thing. Next I'm going to try the zebra mane idea that was suggested by Kathy in a comment to yesterday's post. That's pretty clever too!

Anyway, here's a recipe for this card:

stamps: pick a petal, birthday hugs and wishes
ink: basic black, real red, bashful blue
paper: bashful blue, certainly celery, real red, whisper white, basic black, summer picnic designer series paper
accessories: 1/4" circle punch, basic black narrow grosgrain ribbon, crystal effects

Fancy Fringe

I was going to do something a little different today, but ran out of time, so instead I will share with you my obsession with fancy trims. The pillows you see in this picture are all from my bed. A few years ago, when I still sewed and did not stamp, I absolutely fell in love with this dragonfly fabric and wanted to sew a whole bedding ensemble with it.

Fortunately, around the same time, we happened to find a comforter, dust ruffle and shams in the same color family with the same luxurious feel (you can see the comforter underneath the pillows) so I didn't have to put those together myself. However, I still wanted to use the dragonfly fabric so I made some window treatments with them and sewed some accent pillow cases. I was, and to this day am, very proud of these. I'm not an expert seamstress by any stretch, and these were not exactly simple pillows. Add to that the heavy weight of the fabric and the trim, and the darned things pretty much killed my sewing machine and me.

But I think you can tell from these pillows that I'm a trim fanatic. Rope trim, fringes or tassels -- it doesn't matter. I love it all! So you can imagine how excited I was Sunday when I figured out how to add fringe to my pillow CASE card! And just in case some of you are interested and as visual as I am, I created a tutorial to show you how you can add fringe to your cards as well.

You start with a simple length of grosgrain ribbon. I used the narrow grosgrain, but you could use the wide grosgrain as well if you needed a longer fringe.

You may want to cut the length of the ribbon to the length of the perimeter of the image you want the fringe around, plus another 1/2 inch.

You then want to snip away the "binding" on one of the edges of the ribbon. You can see about 1/2 inch of the binding snipped away in this photo. Keep going until all the binding is gone, cutting as closely as possible right to the edge of the binding (so that the fringe is the same length all around).

After the binding edge is cut away, you can use your fingers to pull off the long lengths of fibers. You can throw these fibers away or use them on another project by turning them into a tassel or tying a knot in them or whatever else you can think of.

This is what your ribbon will look like after the long strands are pulled off. Pretty cute, but lacking in color.

To color my fringe I just used my stampin' write markers. I started with the lighter color and used the brush tip to dye the fringe.
I then used the writing tip of my darker color to dye some of the fringe, making sure some lighter color showed through.
After the fringe dried (it's a pretty quick drying process) I used SNAIL to attach it to the very edge of the image, making sure that the other binding edge was hidden underneath the card stock.

And this is what it looked like on my pillow "case" card. Please note that to get the right look for all corners, I actually started attaching my fringe in the center of one of the sides instead of in one of the corners. I think it turned out pretty cool. If I had to do it over again, though, for this pillow I might make 2 or 3 strips of fringe and layer them one on top of another. I think that would have made the "pillow" look even more realistic.

So now you know how to make your own fringe. How many other uses can you think of for this technique?

Boho Pillow

Happy Father's Day everyone! I hope you all had as wonderful of a day as we did.

I know I should be posting a Father's Day card here, but to be completely honest for once I actually used a card from my stash that I stamped previously and already posted, so this pillow case card will have to do instead.

I do hope you like it. I certainly do, mostly because it kind of took on a life of its own after I chose the inspiration pillow. At first, I thought this would be a fairly simple challenge (a good thing, since my time to stamp today was somewhat limited). I grabbed my ruby red ink and my boho backgrounds set and stamped the medallion in the center of a square piece of so saffron card stock. Then I stamped the flower background in the corners. I know the corners in the inspiration pillow are a little it more solid and less airy, but the general idea is the same.

Once I had the main image stamped, I thought I would just add some mats, stamps a sentiment and be done. But the card didn't look right. And then I realized that what made the inspiration pillow so cool was not just the pattern and colors, it was the trim! I loved that really cool full dual colored fringe! But how to duplicate that look on a card using Stampin' Up! materials? I was in a pickle.

Then I remembered that you can actually fringe our grosgrain ribbon. The only problem is that when you fringe it the remaining fringe is white -- not exactly the trim I was looking for. But I remedied that fairly quickly using my awesome stampin' write markers. In a few minutes I had some great saffron and ruby red fringe to add to my "pillow". Now I could add my two mats and mount the main image to a really rust card front.

For the sentiment I decided to stick with the boho backgrounds set. I stamped the You Make me happy sentiment and added a flower on either side, then rounded the edges with the word window punch. To mirror the main image I added two mats of ruby red and so saffron and attached the matted sentiment to the card front. I should also note that the sentiment is actually attached to the mats with dimensionals and that the center flower of the medallion was also stamped a second time, punched with the boho blossoms punch and attached to the front with dimensionals. The added dimension just gives the card a little more oomph in real life.

So what do you think? Did I do a good job on this week's pillow CASE? And are you ready to head out there and do a pillow CASE of your own? I think if you try you might be surprised how easy it is to get inspiration from all the pillows out there! Good luck!

Small Flip Scrap Book Class by mail

It's finally done! I've had the idea for this small flip book for quite some time but didn't have time to sit down and finish my sample until today. This small flip scrap book is similar to the flip books I've made before, except that it's smaller in size (the finished book is 5.75 x 4.25") and it flips and closes a little differently. But you still will get lots of pages to fill with photos and journaling, making this a perfect keepsake for yourself or a fantastic gift!

I really like how this book tuned out. I think the colors of the jersey shore designer paper are fairly gender neutral so the book can be used for someone of any age and any gender. The book also has some fun pull out sections for either photos or journaling and has a fun and whimsical feel to it. And, believe it or not, it's actually not that difficult to put together, especially when you get my step by step instructions with color photos!

The photos I'm posting tonight show the book in various stages of "openness" so you can see all the decorations.

The class by mail will include evenmore photos tohelp you assemble the project plus everything you need to make this project such as pre-cut and pre-scored card stock and jersey shore designer paper, ribbons, aged copper hodgepodge hardware pieces, punched pieces and stamped title.

The kit will also include an envelope holder specially designed to fit this book. The envelope can protect the book from dust or can serve as a gift-wrap if you'd like to use this project as a present.

You can even add an address and postage to the envelope and mail the completed book to the intended recipient (please note that due to the bulk of this item it should be hand-canceled and might require shipping at parcel rates as opposed to regular mail rates). You can see how the book will fit into the envelope in the last photo, though I'm afraid the envelope shown here is still very plain as I have not had a chance to decorate it yet.

The cost of the class will be $20.00 per kit plus $4.80 shipping and handling for up to 2 kits shipped to the same address. If you'd like to have more than 2 kits shipped to the same address please let me know and I'll get you a shipping quote.

This class will be available now through July 15, 2008. Orders received by June 20th will ship out on Monday, June 30. Orders received between June 21 and July 5 will ship out Monday, July 14. Orders received between July 5 and July 15 will ship out Monday, July 28. I accept payment via cash, check, master card, visa, discover, and paypal. Please contact me at stampwithdiane@comcast.net or at 847-452-8285 with any questions or to place your order.

US Customers only, please! Thanks!

One More For Good Measure -- Wild Rose Kit

I know all month long I've been talking about the 6 set-specific kits that have now all been posted here, but while I was cleaning up my stamp room last night I came across my Wild Rose set and thought it, too, would make a pretty cool kit. Well, seven is a lucky number, so I decided to add one more kit to this month's bunch!

The Wild Rose kit will also feature two card designs using only the coordinating stamp set plus some accessories and two colors of ink. I know it looks like I used at least 4 different ink colors, but that's not the case. Instead, I used the stamping off technique with both my blue bayou and wild wasabi inks to achieve the two-tone effect.

This stamp set is such a gorgeous two-step stamping set ad makes such lovely and lush cards! But I have this bad feeling that we'll see it's name appear on the retirement list this Sunday. I hope I'm wrong, but it not then you really should add it to your collection before it's gone. There's just nothing like it for making absolutely beautiful and elegant rose cards.

The Wild Rose card kit will include all pre-cut card stock, ribbon, mini glue dots, envelopes and step-by step instructions to make 4 cards (2 each of both designs). The kit will not include the wild wasabi and blue bayou classic ink, adhesive or the Wild Rose stamp set. To make these cards you will also need paper snips or other scissors as you will have to cut out some images for the large rose card. A stamp-a-ma-jig is the perfect tool to achieve perfect 2 step stamping alignment with this set, but I did not use it to make the sample cards and as long as you have a fairly steady hand and mount your images well you should be able to make the cards without it.


This kit will be available through the end of June at the special price of only $5.00 with the purchase of the Wild Rose stamp set (regular shipping and tax will apply to the purchase of the stamp set). There is a limit of 1 specially priced kit per Wild Rose stamp set purchased. The cost without the purchase of the coordinating stamp set will be $10.00 per kit, plus shipping.

As I mentioned previously, 1 design from each kit will be featured at my eScape stamp camp on June 25. I know this stamp camp was originally only going to feature 6 cards, but I didn't want to break the kit tradition so since there is an extra kit this month there will be an extra card at the stamp camp as well. The Wild Rose card featured at the stamp camp will be the second card (with the three rose buds).

eScape stamp camp cards

I know I've been talking about this in my kit posts, but for ease of reference I thought I would show a photo of the 7 cards we'll be making at my eScape stamp camp on June 25, 6:30-9:00 p.m. in Itasca, IL.

The cost of the stamp camp is $20. Club members may elect to apply their class credit to this calss and attend for only $5.00. Non club members (or club members who used their class credit on another class) may take $5.00 off the price of this stamp camp with the purchase of any stamp set used to make these cards. Class fee and registration due on Monday, June 16.

Live Your Dream Kit

Today's kit is the Live your Dream kit. It's the sixth of 6 set-specific by mail card kits that I'm offering this month. Each kit will feature two card designs using only the coordinating stamp set plus some accessories.

This set is one of my all-time favorites. I love the Henry David Thorough Quote included in this set and the additional "thanks" sentiment, which is ever so useful. I also love that these floral images are bold (so there's no need to color) yet still delicate. And the variety in image sizes means that you can use the set for any card, with or without punches. Also, while the set is designed to coordinate perfectly with the Afternoon Tea designer series paper (which I also LOVE!) it goes beautifully with other designer papers as well, like the ginger blossoms designer paper I used on these cards. It really is just the perfect stamp set - a must have for my collection.

Your Live your Dream card kit will include all pre-cut card stock, punched/cut ovals, designer paper, ribbon, half pearls, mini glue dots, envelopes and step-by step instructions to make 4 cards (2 each of both designs). The kit will not include ruby red and river rock classic ink, adhesive or the Live your Dream stamp set. To make these cards you will also need a stamping sponge or a similar ink applicator to apply ink to edges of card stock.

This kit will be available through the end of June at the special price of only $5.00 with the purchase of the Live Your Dream stamp set (regular shipping and tax will apply to the purchase of the stamp set). There is a limit of 1 specially priced kit per Live Your Dream stamp set purchased. The cost without the purchase of the coordinating stamp set will be $10.00 per kit, plus shipping.

As I mentioned previously, 1 design from each kit will be featured at my eScape stamp camp on June 25. The Live Your Dream card featured at the stamp camp will be the second card (with the ruby red base).

Office Accoutrement Kit

Today's kit is the Office Accoutrement kit. It's the fifth of 6 set-specific by mail card kits that I'm offering this month. Each kit will feature two card designs using only the coordinating stamp set plus some accessories.

What I love most about the office accoutrement kit is that even though it has no traditional sentiment, the calendar image (used on the card on the right) makes it super easy to create a custom look for any occasion. I also really like the office look of this set -- perfect for making cards for co-workers.


Your Office Accoutrement card kit will include all pre-cut card stock, punched pieces, designer paper, ribbon, brads, envelopes and step-by step instructions to make 4 cards (2 each of both designs). The kit will not include real red and more mustard classic ink, adhesive or the Office Accoutrement stamp set. To make these cards you will also need paper snips or other scissors (there is quite a bit of cutting on these cards, but isn't that the perfect activity to take with you to summertime sports practices?) and a 1/16" handheld hole punch or another way to punch the holes for the brads.

This kit will be available through the end of June at the special price of only $5.00 with the purchase of the Office Accoutrement stamp set (regular shipping and tax will apply to the purchase of the stamp set). There is a limit of 1 specially priced kit per Office Accoutrement stamp set purchased. The cost without the purchase of the coordinating stamp set will be $10.00 per kit, plus shipping.

As I mentioned previously, 1 design from each kit will be featured at my eScape stamp camp on June 25. The Pick a Petal card featured at the stamp camp will be the second card (with the real red base).

If you can't make it to my summer classes due to your other commitments, this and the other kits available through the end of June will keep you stamping all season long. The sooner you order the sooner you can start stamping, so contact me to place your order today!

Woo Hoo! Anne took up the Pillow CASE challenge

How exciting! My customer Anne decided to take me up on my pillow CASE challenge and she found the perfect inspiration right in her bedroom. She used the Embrace Life stamp set to duplicate the border pattern on the pillow and framed the birthday sentiment from All Holidays in the center of the card. It looks great -- even more beautiful than the actual pillow (photo below).

Fantastic job on the pillow CASE, Anne! Wasn't that fun? Keep looking around and I'll bet you'll find lots of things to inspire you to stamp, from pillows, to jackets, to napkins, to who knows what?

And don't forget to sign up for my summer Stamping program. With this card you're 1/3 of a way to earning your first raffle ticket! For details please see this post.

Pick a Petal Kit

Today's kit is the Pick a Petal kit. It's the fourth of 6 set-specific by mail card kits that I'm offering this month. Each kit will feature two card designs using only the coordinating stamp set plus some accessories.

The problem I had with this kit was choosing the two designs. I've seen so many cool designs made from the images in this set, from surfboards and trees to dogs, mice and bunnies to cars and snowmen. And, of course, many, many different flowers. I decided to choose two different flower cards because I really wanted to limit the ink colors and keep the cards relatively simple so they can be stamped and/or assembled on the go this summer. Believe me, though, that these designs are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pick a petal's possibilities, and that's without even getting into the coordinating classy brass template and chipboard assortment!

Your Pick a Petal card kit will include all pre-cut card stock, designer paper, ribbon, brads, buttons, glue dots, envelopes and step-by step instructions to make 4 cards (2 each of both designs). The kit will not include so saffron and certainly celery classic ink, adhesive (except for the glue dots) or the Pick a Petal stamp set. To make these cards you will also need paper snips or other scissors, a stamping sponge or any other type of sponge applicator and a 1/16" handheld hole punch or another way to punch the holes for the brads.

This kit will be available through the end of June at the special price of only $5.00 with the purchase of the Pick a Petal stamp set (regular shipping and tax will apply to the purchase of the stamp set). There is a limit of 1 specially priced kit per Pick a Petal stamp set purchased. The cost without the purchase of the coordinating stamp set will be $10.00 per kit, plus shipping.

As I mentioned previously, 1 design from each kit will be featured at my eScape stamp camp on June 25. The Pick a Petal card featured at the stamp camp will be the second card (with the certainly celery base).