Song of My Heart Stampers

Pleasant Poppies

I just got a background stamp I have been eyeing for a long time--since this catalog debuted back in summer!--and delightedly sat down to play with it. I came up with this simple card we will be making at the 10-10-10 Event on Saturday. I haven't used my Blender Pens in a while and I'd forgotten how easy it is to color and shade with them! They were the perfect tool to give my poppies a "handpainted" look. They are crisp and modern, and I liked the way the Curly Cute stamp set font went with them.
TIP: Did you know a bunch of Stampin' Up background stamps now come in clear-mount? If storage is an issue for you like it is for many, you'll also love the cost savings, too--clear-mount background stamps are just $13.95 instead of $17.95. You'll still get the same rich detail of our red rubber stamps, with the convenience of cling-mount. Clear Block F is reccomended for clear-mount background stamps. Click here to visit my online store and view our great selection of stamps, including our brand new clear photopolymer stamp set, Designer Typeset!

What to do with the Tangerine Tango diagonal?

Yesterday I sat down in the stamp room and said to myself, "I'm not getting up until I have at least three ideas for that crazy loud Tangerine Tango striped paper!" Well, I made two... dinner time interrupted. But two good ideas is better than no ideas at all, right?

This is part of the fun and bright Sycamore Street Designer Series paper pack you can get for free right now during Sale A Bration, with any $50 order. The patterns are colorful and bold, and while they didn't grab me at first, I have been really enjoying them and have discovered a couple new favorite color combos, too.

But... the Tangerine Tango diagonal stripes just eluded my mojo! Other then using tiny bits on a banner or pennant, I hadn't used them at all. So yesterday's rather un-Valentine-like challenge to myself was to come up with ideas for it. I think when you are working with bold patterns, the key is to pair warm with cool colors to take the tone down a notch (I used Pool Party and Basic Gray with a nice bright Whisper White) and to use it in small doses. I tried it with the pattern on half a card and it really is still too overwhelming for me. These two cards both use two by four inch pieces.

I used the super cute Patterned Occasions stamp set on both of these cards, another one of those great Sale A Bration freebies. If you haven't heard about our big annual sale, click here to view my shopping website and get all the deets! And I'd be happy to snail-mail you a catalog, too--just ask!

So what do you think? Did I successfully come up with a way to use this crazy bright pattern? Well, if not--never fear! Each side of Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up is double-sided. So if you're not crazy about one side, just flip it over, and there's a world of inspiration on the other.

Mini Photo Tutorial: Baby Wipe as ink pad technique

I've been having a little too much fun rediscovering an OLD technique... so much so that I have at least two posts' worth of samples to show you with it! It's a simple and fun "no mess" technique that only requires ink refills and some baby wipes. I mentioned it before when I was showing you these treats I made for tonight's demonstrator meeting...

... and I stopped and took some photos of the actual process so I could share that will those of you who haven't seen this fun technique before. It's also a very cheap WOW--baby wipes are inexpensive, and you're only using a few drops of a $2.95 ink refill, which can also make your Stampin' Up ink pads last for years beyond the lifespan of a craft store pad.

Fold a couple of babywipes into a small pad on top of something non-porous, like my stamping tile, or a plastic plate or stamp case lid. Then drip ink refills onto the pad either randomly or in a pattern. I often use a circular pattern for flowers, but you can do stripes for fun solid stamps, too, like I did on my Valentines above.

Put enough ink on the wipe to cover an area a little larger than your stamp. Then just use the wipe as an ink pad and stamp away! You'll be able to stamp 20-30 times before the "ink pad" gets all muddied and the colors tend to get yucky as they blend too much. Then you can just pitch it!

The top card is a much busier card than I normally make, but I think it all works because of the color scheme. I sponged the Sale A Bration patterned paper with Pool Party ink to tone down the contrast and send it into the background a little more.And there's another Sale A Bration freebie on there, too--do you see it? The sentiment is cut apart from Vintage Verses, my favorite of the exclusive SAB 2013 stamp sets!

Pop back in and visit me tomorrow for four more card ideas made with this same technique and the Secret Garden stamp set and coordinating Framelits for the Big Shot! All use the same color scheme of Pool Party, Primrose Petals, Pink Pirouette and Raspberry Ripple.

Fancy that!

I soooo wasn't going to buy this bundle!! I thought the All Dressed Up stamp set (#129171-W, #129174-C) and coordinating Big Shot dies and Framelits (#130101) were super cute, but just not something I really needed. Fast forward a month or two into the Spring 2013 Occasions Catalog, and here I am, making my very first card with them. LOL!

We made this version at Barb's party this week and it was a big hit. I am kicking myself for not taking a photo of the matching scrapbook page some of the girls made before I gave it to Barb as part of her hostess gift. Oh well! I will definitely be making more pages with these cute accessories.We all agreed the pearls and the flower at the waist just gave it the fancy trim the demure little print dress needed. I can't WAIT to play more with this stamp set.

TIP: Did you see how well the new Ovals Collection Framelits (#129381) look with the Holiday Frame embossing folder? You would never know that is technically a Christmas folder--it looks like lace peeking out around the rim of the ovals. I hope this folder (from the 2012 Holiday Catalog) makes into the main catalog on June 1st! Lovin' my new Oval Framelits!

Valentine Pockets

Spent a delightful hour in my stamp room making Valentine's to swap at our February Song of My Heart Demonstrator meetingon the 11th. I wanted to use the flat Ghiradelli chocolates for mine, so I used the Petite Pocket die for the Big Shot and these went together in a flash! I am particularly pleased wih the way the little tab turned out. I didn't want to put velcro or ribbon on these to hold them closed, so I used the Word Window punch to make a little tab to stick into the belly band. Problem solved!

Notice the three colors on the stamped image? I used the baby-wipe-as-ink-pad technique, where you fold a couple of baby wipes into a little pad, drip reinker in various colors on it, and then use it as an ink pad. I got thirty little hearts stamped before the colors were too muddied up. Then you just pitch the baby-wipe--no muss, no fuss--my kinda technique!

Scrapbook Marathon Technique Pages

Always like to throw a little vintage in the mix for anyone who has heritage photos to scrap... plus, let's face it, any excuse to use those adorable flowers from the 2013 spring Occasions Catalog is reason enough! This page came about because of the great Midnight Muse journalling box design in the Print Poetry Designer Series Paper stack. I also used the Midnight Muse handwriting design, too, as the vintage style is famous for mixing patterns.

Here's a closeup of the main embellishment on the page. Love that scalloped tulle--hope we get it in a bazillion colors in the next catalog!

We also made this masculine page with the new Ticket punch and That's the Ticket stamp set. It's hard to see in the photo, but there are tickets stamped in Pool Party on the background mat as well. I drew the color scheme for this page from the Sale A Bration papers that you can get for FREE right now with any $50 order. It's just one of 19 different freebies to choose from during Sale A Bration 2013!

TIP: This page was a lot of the Scrapbook Marathon attendees' first time playing with the Core'Dinations cardstock line, so they really enjoyed using our new sanding blocks system. I loved the tone-on-tone look of using Early Espresso Big Shot letters on the same color background and sanding the edges so they stood out. The headline almost seemed carved from wood when we were done. 

More to come! Are you sorry you missed the Marathon? Yeah, I thought so! Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don't miss news and updates and you can join us next time. We got so much done!

Print Poetry Quilt Card

I'm enjoying this fun "quilt" patterned layout we made at a workshop last week for several reasons--first, because it uses up scraps of Designer Series Paper (and who doesn't have a ton of those?); secondly, because of the bright and springy colors of the papers (I used the Print Poetry DSP stack from the 2013 Spring Occasions Catalog); and finally, because I just love cards that remind me of one of my other favorite hobbies--sewing.

I got my first machine around six years old and I haven't really stopped sewing since, except for a couple of sad years where I did not have a working machine. I love my new Baby Loc (which I paid for with my own Stampin' Up money!) and it sure makes my life easier. But let's face it--I stamp a LOT more than I sew, so it's fun to combine the two with fun layouts like this one.

Ready to start? This one looks complicated but is so easy you're going to laugh. Punch out three 1 3/8 inch square punches each, of three different DSP patterns. Glue one down dead center in the cardfront, on it's pointy end like a diamond. Add differently-patterned squares glued so they but right up next to the sides of the diamond, and continue all the way off the sides of the card. That's it! Seriously so easy, and super cute.

TIP: One thing I would note is that for this to look its best and not go all wonky on you by the time the squares reach the edges, is that you really need to use a square punch. The squares have to be PERFECLTY square, and a lot of people do not have a good reliable trimmer that truly makes perfect cuts. Now, if you want a trimmer like that, let me introduce you to our new Paper Trimmer! But for this card, a good square punch is truly a necessity as it removes all margin for human error.

These are the kinds of extremely practical, easy-to-remember card-making ideas that I THRIVE on showing my customer friends how to do! Let's do some at your party. I have two nights in February that we could squeeze in a Sale A Bration workshop!