Song of My Heart Stampers

31 Days of Doilies--Day 31!

Whew! We made it! it is my pleasure to bring you the FINAL installment in the 31 Days of Dollies summer blog series. We're going out with a bang today, because I've saved the number one most-requested project from my Convention 2011 presentation on the Flirtatious suite from Stampin' Up to share with you.

However, due to the photo tutorial including our brand new scoring board (Simply Scored) I cannot post the tutorial until midnight tonight when the Holiday Mini catalog goes live. But, I have it all set up to auto-post--so here are some pictures to whet your appetite! Be sure to come back tomorrow (or stay up ate!) to see the tutorial.

This final doily project (after this month, I may never post another doily project again! LOL! My attention span is way too short for this 31 day nonsense!) is an Accordion Envelope Stationery Set using the Flirtatious DSP, Whisper White Notecards and Envelopes, and the Delicate Doilies and Perfectly Penned stamp sets. You can get one whole set from a single sheet of Designer Series Paper, so it is an excellent and affordable gift project, for sure!

Some of you might be able to figure it out just from these photos, but for the rest of ya'll, there will be complete measurements and step by step photos in the tutorial tomorrow. In fact, if you like photo tutorials for cute projects, I am having a Back To School Tutorial Blitz this coming week--something for all of us giddy moms who are so happy to have our regular schedules back after a fun but crazy summer!

Love the doilies... I hope the past 31 projects have shown you just how incredibly versatile the Flirtatious Suite can be. It is SO MUCH MORE than I thought when I first saw it--especially that gorgeous Hello Doily stamp--my first reaction seems laughable to me now.

I also hope that you've seen the value of a good demonstrator in showing you fun, affordable and unexpected things to do with a single group of products. If you don't have a local demonstrator, you can find one by putting your ZIP code in the Demonstrator Locator at www.stampinup.com. I would also be honored to assist you in any way through my shopping website at www.lyssa.stampinup.net. If you live locally to me, please use the contact form underneath my photo above, and I will put you on my local email list to be notified of classes and specials.

Thank you so much for joining us on the 31 Days of Doilies series. In the past month there have been over 26,000 views--that just boggles my mind! How energizing it is to me to read that you are finding fun inspiration here. I appreciate you!

NEW! Announcing "Try It" Tuesdays this fall

I'm offering a super fun new evening on selected Tuesdays this fall, where you get to come and try out some of the hottest new products from the Holiday Mini Catalog, risk free! Cost is just ten dollars per person, totally refundable if you purchase the featured bundle for the evening!

We'll be making three projects at each event, showcasing the versatility of the featured products. By the end of the evening, you'll know whether or not to make the investment--and either way you'll go home with three cute projects!

Check out these dates and RSVP today! All events start at 6:30 p.m. and will be at my house. Class size is limited to eight, so don't wait.

• Tuesday, September 27th--Stocking builder punch & Stitched Stockings stamp set (shown above)
• Tuesday, October 11th--Gently Falling stamp set & Spice Cake DSP
• Tuesday, October 25th--Frostwood Lodge DSP & Christmas Lodge stamp set
• Tuesday, November 29th--Simply Scored tool & Stampin' Card Keeper

Don't have a Holiday Mini Catalog and can't see all these tantalizing new products? Shoot me an email and I'll get one to you right away. Then don't delay--RSVP today for the events you don't want to miss!

31 Days of Doilies--Day 30

Day 30... we're almost there! Thanks so much for coming along on my summer blog series, the 31 Days of Doilies. I have loved showing you the amazing versatility of the Flirtatious Suite from Stampin' Up's new Idea Book & Catalog. It's been fun watching you all succumb and order pieces of the suite one by one, or jump in with both feet and order it all!

The Flirtatious Suite project I chose to showcase today got a lot of attention at my demo booth presentation at Convention 2011. This crayon roll is really simple to make, and is a wonderful gift from both the child AND the parent's point of view! These are great to keep in your purse to pull out and quietly entertain a kid in the doctor's office or church pew.

This one took me about half an hour from start to finish, but it will be even faster for you since you are not designing as you go. Here it is shown rolled up and tied, and the photo below shows it unrolled.

For some reason I didn't get a photo taken with the crayons all inside, but you can imagine a Crayola in every pocket. Like I said, easy to make--here's some tips!

Start with two pieces of fabric that measure 15.5 inches by 5 inches, plus one of interfacing. Iron the interfacing to one of the pieces if it is the iron-on kind.

Cut an additional piece of either contrasting or matching fabric to 15.5x6 inches and fold it in half lengthwise and iron down. The folded edge will be the top of the pockets. Pin that as shown below, making fourteen even pockets one inch apart:

Sew down each of the pockets, backstitching to reinforce the top edge as that will get a lot of stress from the crayons sliding in and out.

Next, lay the two long strips right sides together and sew down three sides (the two long sides and one end). Turn it right side out through the opening. Iron it all down flat and topstitch the open end shut with 18 inches of ribbon folded in half and tucked in.

Embellish as desired! You can get about six of these from each package of fabric. And of course, you should order the Flirtatious DSP that matches this fabric, so you can alter composition notebooks or junior legal pads to give away along with these little cuties.

Last day of doilies tomorrow! After that I don't care if I ever see a doily again : ) Hee hee! Be sure to pop in for the grand finale, and don't forget to leave your comment on my Blog Candy Celebration post in order to be entered in the Scallop Dotted Ribbon drawing, if you haven't already. Thanks for your loyal readership!

Surprise Card Shower

My adorable 5th-level upline Kristen Bryant arranged a surprise card shower for me. I was so touched and delighted! Some of the group had even designed cards with my Demonstrator of the Year numerical ranking, like my 4th-level upline Jessica's fantastic Real Red Glimmer Paper 83 above.

Kristen also made me a Simply Adorned bracelet with a little 83 charm. I felt really appreciated and honored--thanks, everyone! I hope I am as encouraging and inspiring to you guys as you are to me.

31 Days of Doilies--Day 29

 
Good morning and welcome to Day 29 of my summer blog series, 31 Days of Doilies! I know the Blossom Boxes have generated a lot of excitement amongst Big Shot owners, so I wanted to showcase a few more ideas for them, using the Flirtatious Suite of products from Stampin' Up.

This first one is an upside-down Blossom Box (instead of leaving the "petals" of the box closure convex, you push them down into the box so they are concave and you have a flat bottom so your box doesn't wobble around like a Weeble.) That leaves you with a nice flat top to play with.

I decorated mine with a homemade accordioned paper flower that I made on my new Simply Scored--available to order September first! I almost made a BIG boo-boo and posted a photo tutorial for you this morning, but I just realized I can't show you the Simply Scored tool online until it goes live. You were wondering what I was going to do to top the 31 Days of Doilies, weren't you? Stay tuned for a "Back to School Tutorial Blitz" the first week of September!

The second Blossom Box for today is used upright, with a matching scallop circle punch flower in the same pattern of Flirtatious DSP. The flower is easy to make--two of the largest scallop circle punches, snipped in the valley of each scallop, topped with three crunched-paper circles (I believe I used the one-inch circle punch but it could have been the 1.25 inch). They're all stacked with a mini glue dot between the layers and topped with a button.

TIP: The flower is attached with a self-adhesive velcro dot, so it can be pulled off and the box opened and closed without ruining it. You will find it easiest to attach the velcro if the box is already filled with your chocolate. You ARE filling it with chocolate, right?!

Couple more doilies here--this one is for a gift bag. I made an accordioned paper flower with a Melon Mambo laser-cut doily from the Flirtatious specialty DSP pack, topped with a Doily Triple-Layer Punch stamped with the smallest doily from the Delicate Doilies stamp set. Whew! I think I win the prize for typing the word "doliy" the most times in one sentence!

Join us again tomorrow and Wednesday for the last two days of the series, and if you're a newcomer to my blog, be sure to peek back over the month of August 2011 to catch up!

First Day of School 2011

Sometimes the Lord just reaches down and touches your schedule. I was supposed to be on my way to Vietnam this morning, headed towards Cambodian orphanages, and instead I was combing hair, finding shoes, packing lunches, and taking pictures. My calendar belongs to Him, though, so I chose to trust that our postponed trip will happen if it is meant to be, and enjoy the quieter, less flashy moments of my ministry as a mommy instead.

Aren't my babies getting big? I can't believe they are in fourth and second grades now. Where on earth did the time go? Another year, new shoes, new lunchboxes, new glasses...

Getting too big to show his excitement now that Dan knows it's not cool to like school... Mommy was excited, too. And hard put not to skip out to the van after dropping them off this morning! My to-do list is as long as my arm!

31 Days of Doilies--Day 28

Howdy! Welcome to my summer blog series, the 31 Days of Doilies! We're almost done--can't believe how the month has flown by. Hope you've been enjoying the ideas and inspiration for projects using the adorable products from the Flirtatious Suite in Stampin' Up's new Idea Book & Catalog.

Today's doilies once again come from the Flirtatious Designer Series Fabric line, and once again I have two projects to show you (told you I have been waiting a long time for a decent sewing machine, and look out world, because I finally invested in a great one!). The pattern I used to cover this French-style memo board is my favorite of the three that come in the package. You could easily duplicate this with the Delicate Doilies stamp set for a "One Sheet Wonder" set of cards.

The board was easy to cover, using a staple gun. You can use any canvas stretcher frame or old bulletin board, with a layer of batting over it. I used the cute Scallop Dotted Melon Mambo ribbon and added Antique Brads to cover the staples where the ribbons crossed. I even remembered to back it with brown paper so the backside looks nice, too!

Last, I added several different melted-circle flowers made from layers and layers and LAYERS of Flirtatious fabric, interspersed with layers of synthetic chiffon, which melts and curls up when you heat it with the embossing gun. They are very fun to make--you will find yourself looking around for more fabric to run through the Big Shot with the Circles #2 die so you can make more of these little cuties.

I had some teeny-tiny scraps left of fabric, just enough to cut four of the Scallop Squares Duo die on the Big Shot to make this pinwheel pincushion. Isn't it cute? I cut a square of the lighter pink fabric and folded each scallop square in half and sewed them down in a pinwheel pattern. Then you just turn that piece into the front of a little pillow, stuffed with batting. I had a little too much fun with the embellishments on this little guy, digging into my Simply Adorned jewelry charms in pearl and pink rhinestone, and adding a Vintage Key and a Jewelry Tag Punch tied on with Baker's Twine.

Ok! Three days left! What could I have saved for the end, you say? We've covered all the products in the suite rather completely! Well, I promised you more Blossom Boxes, and I also have two photo tutorials planned for the two most asked-after projects I shared in my presentation at Convention 2011. I also will be randomly selecting the Blog Candy winners and five lucky ladies will win a ten-yard sampler pack of my favorite Scallop Dotted ribbon! So hold onto your hats, my fine friends, for a flashy finish to the fabulous finale!

31 Days of Doilies--Day 27

Welcome back to Day 27 (*ahem) of the 31 Days of Doilies! Yeah, yeah, I know, the date on this post reads August 28th. You didn't honestly think I'd be able to do the same thing 31 days in a row without forgetting once or twice, did you? If you did, well, now you know better! Organization and consistency are not my friends. I keep chasing them around, but they outrun me all the time!

Anyway, I have two cute fabric projects involving the Flirtatious Suite to share with you for Day 27, so I hope you will pretend with me for a moment that it's still Saturday...I mentioned before that I made a round bucket-style Scallop Square tote bag with the Big Shot. It was pretty simple, just sew 6 squallop squares in a straight line and then join the ends (after first attaching any pockets you wanted to include. Then measure the diameter across of the circle and cut a circle that size plus one inch seam allowance. I lucked out because my salad plates were the perfect size! Sew that around the bottom of your circle of scallop squares.

You'll also want to cut a matching cardboard circle for the bottom to make it sturdier (I used the backing of a package of DSP) and I covered mine with Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet and more fabric. The circle is removeable so you can wash the bucket if needed. Then just finish off the bucket with handles and embellishments as desired. I like to make a little homemade seam binding or bias tape for the top edge to finish it off nicely.

The second doily project for today is a little business card holderslash gift card holder (Yes, it holds both!)  made from Flirtatious Designer Series Fabric that has been backed with Whisper White cardstock, using the afore-mentioned Multi-Purpose Adhesive Sheet Apply the adhesive sheet to the cardstock first, then peel off the backing and smooth your fabric over it. Lay the piece paper side down on your Petite Pockets die and run it through the Big Shot.

Make the pocket up just like you would if it were made from cardstock alone. I closed mine with a quarter Velcro dot and embellished it with Scallop Dotted Melon Mambo ribbon and a flower from the Blossom Party Big Shot die and one of the new Pool Party printed brads.

If you've never tried Stampin' Up's fabric line before, throw a selection on your next order! You'll be pleased with the quality and the amount you get, and you'll enjoy the versatility and novelty of having textiles to work into your papercrafting projects. Not sure which pattern to get? Check them out on page 196, but I recommend the Flirtatious Suite as a good one to start with. Can't beat those doilies!

See you "tomorrow" for Day 28 of our 31 Days of Doilies summer blog series!

Well Worn DSP on special through 31st

Wanted to make sure you all saw the great Buy 3, Get 1 Free special on packs of Stampin' Up Designer Series Papers before it's too late! August 31st is the deadline. Click here to view the specials on my shopping website, www.lyssa.stampinup.net

I made this card for Create A Card Club in Fort Atkinson this week to showcase the cool vintagey-distressed papers in the Well Worn collection. A fun thing to do with DSP is to emboss it in the Big Shot, like we did here with one of the new Designer Frames. I dsocvered by happy accident that the rectangular frame just fits the rectangular background stamp from the Clearly for You set. Stamp it first, then put the clear embossing folder over it so you know where to put the frame.

We also got to play with the Beveled Windowpanes, a very fun way to focus attention on the focal point of a project. This was also the first time I figured out that the Curly Label punch was just perfect for the square windowpanes (I'm a slow learner). The windowpane would have been cute by itself, but having the frame behind it just really brought it out.

Give me a holler if you need to order DSP before the special ends! It's also the tail end of the Summer Mini catalog, so make sure you don't miss out by leaving it too long. I am accepting orders to be entered on September first for the gorgeous new Holiday Mini Catalog, too. Take advantage of the local group shipping by emailing me your order at zwolaneks@att.net.

31 Days of Doilies--Day 26

Thanks for coming along on this fun summer blog series! If you're just joining us, every day this month I have posted a project using the Flirtatious Suite of products from Stampin' Up's new Idea Book & Catalog. I did a presentation at Convention 2011 on the Flirtatious Suite, so many of the projects came from that, but some, like today's card, are just bonus! So be sure to look back over the month and enjoy.

You probably figured out my favorite-all-time-ever way to use the Hello Doily Background stamp is with heat embossing. If you haven't tried it yet, you are really missing out! After I embossed this one, I very lightly sponged Crumb Cake ink onto the center of the doily, heavier in the middle and with a light touch on the edges to give the illusion of depth.

One of my favorite moments as a designer is when I see the recipient run their fingers over the doily, because they just can't believe it isn't made from real crochet thread. And when you combine a stamped doily with our Victoria crocheted lace trim, then you really have the trompe l'oeil look that makes people do a double-take!

See you tomorrow for more doily inspiration!