So very Charming

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The February Stampin’ Success magazine had an article about combining purple and yellow.  It’s a bold combination that I’ve always loved, though I tend to mute one hue or the other.   I also tend towards monochromatic color schemes, so it was easy to start with Lovely Lilac and Almost Amethyst.

Charming in purples and yellows

  • Charming, Bella Toile and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla, Almost Amethyst and Lovely Lilac card stock
  • Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst and So Saffron Classic Ink pads
  • Styled Vanilla Hodge Podge Hardware, Piercing tool and template, small oval punch
  • Paper snips, So Saffron 5/8″ Grosgrain (last year’s SAB) and Stampin’ Dimensionals

I started defining the Lovely Lilac panel with scoring, but it was just too subtle.  If you know me at all, you know I’m not subtle.  Nope.  I wanted to line up my piercing template with the scored lines, and by using my Grid Paper, I was able to do a pretty successful job of it.  And yes, I did go a little over-the-top on the trimming of the floral spray.  It was just one of those things that had to be done.  Good thing I had a nice sharp pair of snips!

Monkey Be Mine

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The Late Night Stampers issue a challenge every Monday, and yesterday’s challenge was to create a Valentine.  How easy is that?  If we wanted an extra challenge, we could make it a masculine Valentine.  And what could be more masculine than Sock Monkey?  (oooh, I’m gonna pay for that!  I’m talking BOY masculine, not MAN masculine, OK??)

Monkey Be Mine

  • Sock Monkey and Contempo Alphabet stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Ruby Red, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Close to Cocoa card stock
  • Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, and Pretty in Pink Class Ink pads
  • Aquapainter, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Paper Snips and the Heart to Heart punch
  • On Board Essentials chipboard, Sponge Daubers, and the Stamp-a-ma-jig
  • Pretty in Pink 1/4″ grosgrain, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals, and Tombo adhesive

This was Round 2 for the Monkey in the Frame.  Round 1 was so busy it gave me a headache to look at, so I pulled it apart and started over.  I really hate it when I sit and stare at a project and can’t decide what to do with it.  Sometimes that happens early in the project, sometimes it happens late in the project, and sometimes the whole project, well, it shoulda stayed on the back burner a while longer.

By the way…do you have a pair of Stampin’ Up! Paper Snips (#103579, $9.95)?  If you don’t, you really should consider investing in a pair.  Yes, it’s an investment, not a glamorous sparkly kind of purchase, but every time you pick them up you’ll say “Wow!  Why did I wait so long to buy these things?? They’re AMAZING!!”  Tools make the project.  If you don’t have a good pair of Snips, you won’t want to cut out the Monkey (or the flower spray, or the heart, or whatever.)  And you’ll miss out on that satisfied feeling you get when you look at something and realize it’s Just Right because you trimmed it out so well.

Sweet little cards and CASE-ing the mini

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Did I mention  that Kellie and I spent the morning CASE-ing the other day?  We had to put our own spin on things, of course, but these two little cards are clearly first cousins to the note card on page 27 of the Occasions Mini.  We started with a 3×3 card

Vintage Vogue 3 x 3

but quickly realized the proportions weren’t right.  Kellie figured out the card in the Mini wasn’t a square but a rectangle, and I didn’t want to make a card that I couldn’t find an envelope for, so we adjusted the card size to fit in the Scallop Envelope Bigz Die.

Vintage Vogue with Scallop Envelope

  • Vintage Vogue Clear Mount Stamp set
  • Pretty In Pink, Crushed Curry, and Sage Shadow card stock
  • Whisper White (1st card) and Naturals White (2nd card) card stock
  • Chocolate Chip, Crushed Curry and Sage Shadow Classic Ink pads
  • Crushed Curry and Pretty in Pink Stampin’ Write markers
  • Big Shot and Scallop Envelope Bigz die
  • Scallop Trim border punch, paper snips, and Tombo Adhesive

It was so much fun to CASE these samples.  It’s relaxing to copy something, making changes to suit your personality and/or your supplies.  It’s almost like attending a class, except of course you have to cut all of your own paper.  I love designing my own projects, but sometimes I need to just make something instead of THINK about making something.

Have you stamped today?

Top Notes

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If these look at all familiar, then you’ve been browsing your Occasions Mini catalog!  These were fun and easy, although I’m not sure I would make enough to keep in a tablet by the phone.  I could be persuaded to use them for a To-Do list though.  Don’t you think checking things off that list would be more fun with notes like this?

  • Vintage Vogue Clear Mount Stamp set
  • Big Shot, Top Note Bigz die, and Naturally Serif Decorative Strip Sizzlet
  • Naturals White, Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow and Pretty in Pink card stock
  • Sage Shadow Classic Ink pad and Pretty in Pink Stampin’ Write marker
  • Scallop Border punch and a ruler

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of using these notes for a To Do list.  Did you notice that there are only 8 lines on this note card?  I could live with a list like that.  I would have to be very concise with a list that short.

  1. Stamp stuff
  2. Stamp more stuff
  3. Take pictures of stuff
  4. Upload pictures
  5. Post
  6. Hide mess
  7. Fix great dinner for family so they won’t notice mess
  8. Call stamping friends to figure out what to stamp tomorrow.

Off to work on my To Do list!

Kellie’s Journal

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My friend Kellie came over yesterday morning to stamp, and one of the things she brought with her was a journal she’d made.  She told me she was tired of hoarding Designer Series Paper (who isn’t??) and decided to use her Urban Garden paper from last year’s catalog.  She put it together with the Bind-it-All and it is gorgeous!

Kellie's Urban Garden Journal

  • Urban Garden Designer Series Paper (retired)
  • Pretties Kit, Basic Gray Corduroy Buttons, and the Clips Assortment
  • Big Shot and the Little Leaves Sizzlet
  • Retired buttons and rub-ons
  • Non-SU ribbon and the Bind-it-all

You’re really going to love the inside:

Inside Kellie's Urban Garden journal

She used the Top Note Bigz die to create little pages for notes and photos, and turned each Designer Series Paper page up to create a pocket page when she bound it.  Genius!  This set of papers was so beautiful (and it’s not just my bias for Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss, either!) and the entire project is really stunning.  Couldn’t you see this in Cottage Wall? And I have a brand new package of Bella Bleu just waiting to be opened!

CASE-ing the morning away

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Kellie came over this morning to stamp.  We spent the first 15 minutes stalking the Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator Web site, trying to figure out if our shipments were going to make it to Maui today.  The delivery confirmation looked promising, but I’ve been disillusioned by these things before so I remained skeptical.  Kellie, though, is an optimist, and kept checking her cell phone all morning to see if her husband had taken delivery of her order.  Shortly after she left she called to say her package had arrived, and within an hour or so, my package arrived too.

We’d started this card but needed something that came in my box to finish it:

Medallion andVintage Labels

  • Medallion and Vintage Labels (Sale-a-bration) stamp sets
  • Sage Shadow, Soft Suede, and Naturals White card stock; White Vellum card stock
  • Sage Shadow, Soft Suede, and Pretty in Pink Classic ink pads
  • Scallop Circle punch, 1″ circle punch, and hand-held circle punch
  • Paper snips,  Vintage brads, and Tombo multipurpose adhesive

We CASE-d this card (Copy And Share with Everyone, or alternatively, Copy And Share Everything)  from the January Stampin’ Success magazine, a publication sent monthly to Stampin’ Up! demonstrators for training and inspiration.  We changed the color scheme but little else.  I could see this card in a lot of other color combinations.

We had a great morning, and you’ll see more of our projects over the next few days.  Kellie brought something she’d made for me to see, and you’re going to LOVE it – I can’t wait to CASE it myself.

Cheep Love

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Is it just me, or is anyone else having trouble un-sticking the concept of Christmas cards from her brain?  Hmmm…maybe I don’t want to hear the answer to that.

I played with the Color Challenge at Splitcoast yesterday and really liked the combination.  The challenge was to use Certainly Celery, Bermuda Bay and Handsome Hunter together, with an option to add pink – but not pink cardstock.  The Hunter was something of an issue at first, but when I decided to make it a minor accent and bring the pinks to the forefront, everything fell into place.

Cheep Talk Color Challenge

  • Cheep Talk stamp set
  • Whisper White, Handsome Hunter and Certainly Celery cardstock
  • Thoroughly Modern Designer Series paper and an ancient DSP I can’t for the life of me recall
  • Pretty Ink Pink, Certainly Celery, and Bermuda Bay Classic Ink pads
  • Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Bermuda Bay and Handsome Hunter Stampin’ Write Markers
  • Big Shot and SU Perfect Details texturz plate
  • Double rectange punch, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, and the Blender Pen
  • A retired Pretty in Pink button (substitute Sherbet Designer Buttons) and  Mini glue dots
  • the Stamp-a-ma-jig

Kinda used a lotta stuff, didn’t I?   More is more…

I used the markers to add highlights – details on the leaves and a little grid on the birdie wings – and to marker the stamps after removing ink with the Blender Pen.  It’s much faster than trying to color larger areas of a stamp.

My craft desk was kind of a mess after this card but it was worth it.  I don’t mind picking up after my own messes, but everyone else’s?  Well, there’s an obvious answer to that.

Celebrating the new Mini

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Yee haaa!   New stamps and accessories still give me that adrenaline rush!  Today the Occasions Mini Catalog and the Sale-a-bration mini are available for customer orders.  If you haven’t gotten your catalog, take a quick peek online to see what’s in store!

Here’s a little something to celebrate with:

Vintage Vogue Clear Mount Stamps

  • Vintage Vogue Clear Mount Stamps
  • Melon Mambo, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla Cardstock
  • Melon Mambo, Sahara Sand and Soft Suede Classic ink pads
  • Melon Mambo and Soft Suede Stampin’ Write markers
  • Melon Mambo Polka Dot ribbon, Stampin Dimensionals, and a Blender Pen

I’m not usually a big fan of bright colors, but I make an exception for brights paired with neutrals.  I’m really happy with this Melon Mambo and Soft Suede combination.  With the new Stampin’ Up! Clear Mount stamps I didn’t even use my Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the images on top and bottom.  I did make use of the Blender pen to selectively remove ink so that I could marker the areas where I wanted to add contrast to my images.  I also used the stamping off technique to create variety in my background.

Find something to celebrate today.

Same colors, same sketch, new look

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Different stamps and a quarter turn from yesterday yield a completely different card:

Silly Sock Monkey

  • Sock Monkey and Itty Bitty Backgrounds stamp sets
  • Barely Banana, Basic Gray, and Very Vanilla Cardstock; Dusty Durango Designer Series Paper (level I hostess)
  • Barely Banana and Dusty Durango Classic Ink Refills and the Aquapainter
  • Basic Gray Classic ink pad and Stampin’ Write markers;  Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint
  • Trio Flower punch; Stamp-a-ma-jig;  Stampin’ Dimensionals

Watercolor is an on-again, off-again technique for me and in my opinion it’s a little off right now.  Doesn’t stop me, but makes me a little bit crazy.  Or perhaps I’m just crazier than usual.

I wanted to see what happened when I used the same colors (even papers) and sketch for two cards. Looking at today’s card compared with yesterday’s,  I like the difference and enjoy the stretch.  Challenges really make me work, and even when I’m not thrilled with the results I always learn something new.

They’re called challenges for a reason

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I spend some time this weekend playing with some challenges.  The latest Splitcoast Color Challenge was really a stretch for me!  I saw it when it posted on Wednesday and thought I would pass, but after returning to it a couple of times and looking at the gallery samples I decided to give it a shot.  Wouldn’t you think twice about Dusty Durango, Barely Banana and Basic Gray?

  • Upsy Daisy and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Barely Banana, Basic Gray cardstock; Dusty Durango Designer Series Paper (Hostess level I)
  • Dusty Durango and Barely Banana Classic ink pad; Basic Gray Stampin’ Write marker
  • Latte buttons, paper piercing template and tool
  • Gray taffeta ribbon, linen twine, Dusty Durango classic ink refill

Do you like the twine?  I colored it with the ink refill and waiting for it to dry was the hardest part for me!  The floral image was stamped with Barely Banana ink and I removed the color from the stems before applying the Basic Gray marker.  It’s a very easy technique – just remember to “huff” on your stamp to moisten the ink before impressing the image.

This layout is also a Splitcoast challenge layout.  If you check back tomorrow you’ll see the same concept with a completely different stamp set.  Til then!