SAB Share

If you are debating the clear-mount stamps, let me put it quite simply: GO FOR IT. I was skeptical as I've used contraband acrylic stamps at other peoples' homes and let's just say I didn't like them. At all. But I love, love, love SU!'s new CM stamps. Why? I don't have to sacrifice the rubber I love. Can I see where the exact image is stamping? Nope. Will I still need the stamp-a-ma-jig? I'll confess -- I used it to put the roof on the house, but mostly because upon closer examination, I did a poor job of placing the sticker on the roof stamp itself. For other images (phrases, for example), stamping them so they're straight is a breeze! I'm sold!

Materials: Good Neighbors stamp set, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White card stock, Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry classic stampin' pads, Melon Mambo polka-dot ribbon, Big Shot, Scallop Circles #2 Bigz Die, SU! Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates

Merry Christmas!

OK, this is from last year's photo shoot, but I just put this page together a few days ago and thought I share anyway! It's uber-simple, but I think it captures the JOY that's gushing out of my daughter...have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Beautiful Butterflies

I don't know how many of you purchased the Beautiful Butterflies Embosslits Die from the mini catalog, but I wanted to share this photo with you so you can see the intricate designs as well as how itty bitty the butterflies are. The butterfly on the top of the right-most column is the one with the vertical stripes.

Gotta' love it!

The new punch design is AWESOME! If you didn't work at least one of the new punches into your stamping budget, then you absolutely MUST do so! This scrapbook page shows off the Scallop Trim Border punch that is part of SAB. I will definitely be using this punch in my classes and workshops over the next three months. It won't take much to sell people on the redesigned punches...all you'll have to do is put one in their hands!

Holiday Decor Blocks

I'm happy to be able to finally share my holiday blocks with you! Our camera bit the dust when we were in Chicago several weeks ago, so I had to wait until we bought a new one to be able to post my latest creation.

I really liked the Decor Blocks right when I saw them. I know -- you're thinking all I had to do was go buy some wood and cut it -- but since Steve's not handy, that would involve purchasing a saw first. Suddenly, it wasn't very cost effective! I'm impressed with the sturdiness of the SU blocks, and they're lightweight, too. At a perfect 3 inches, it was very easy to cover each side of the blocks as desired. FYI, I opted to use Modgepodge and it worked great!

I used all but 4-5 of the images from one sheet of the Holiday Mix Decor Elements, and could have used those as I had room to spare, but I chose to leave the tops and bottoms of the blocks plain for ease of stacking. I stuck with a consistent color theme and used Old Olive Patterns paper to add some extra interest along the way. Beyond some direct-to-paper and background images (like the jumbo Textured wheel), I didn't stamp at all. This one's all Decor Elements, punches, ribbon and a few accessories.

Happy All Hallows Eve!

Today I'm showing my treats that I made for my fellow workers and also my favorite children who will be coming by tonight. These turned out really cute. There are 3 different item: First, I used the Big Shot fancy box die, the other on is a little pocketbook containing candy, and the last sample (pic to the left) the has the candy STAPLED into it (that's my trick!)_ Have a blessed All Saints' Day tomorrow!

Decor Elements on canvas

OK, this is the final Decor Elements post that I'll subject you to (but I hope you've been inspired along the way). This one just takes a simple canvas and any Decor Elements product of your choice. Once again, take your brochure and tape measure to the craft store when you go. It makes choosing the proper size of canvas so much easier!

I think it's pretty self-explanatory, but I will pass on one tip: purchase the smoothest canvas that you can find. There are different levels of texture out there, and the smoother your surface is, the better. My mom had me help her apply two Decor Elements products to a bumpy canvas and though we were successful, we had a rough time getting to the final product. When I purchased my canvas, I was ready for another fight but found that things went so much easier with the less textured canvas. So now I have my eye on the Dasher Level 2 hostess goody...I think he'll make a fantastic addition to my holiday decor this year!

Decor Elements Blocks

Here is my very simple contribution for the Decor Elements Holiday Mix and Blocks which are in the mini catalog.

Monogrammed Box

Here's my next contribution for ways to use Decor Elements... I had purchased the white Ee and used the lowercase e on a picture frame -- I'm sure many of you have seen it on my stamping ledge. Well, I had the capital laying around just begging to be used so once again, with ruler in hand, I found a plain, ugly box at the craft store that I thought would do the trick. A little bit of designer paper applied with modgepodge and just about 30 minutes of my time was all that this project required (and most of that was spent letting things dry). The finishing touch was putting my E to good use. Do I let Emma use her monogrammed box? Are you kidding me? Of course not! But someday I'll entrust her to take care of it well enough that I'll hand it over. Now I have to go buy another box because Benjamin is asking where his B box is =)

Snowflake Block

I've been looking for ways to use the Decor Elements product line that go beyond walls. To get inspired, I spent some time wandering around craft stores with the SU! Definitely Decorative brochure and a tape measure in hand. When I saw the display of kraft blocks at the end of an aisle, I knew I had to try it out. This project uses just one of the 10 snowflakes that come in "Flurry". With one set of snowflakes, you can make 6 of these blocks: 4 that feature a single snowflake and 2 that feature three smaller snowflakes on each block. What a fun--and affordable-- gift for Christmas!

Sweet Cup FLowers

This is an assortment of flowers that the gals made at a workshop using the Sweet Centers Stamp Set and Sweet Treat Cups.

Build-a-Bear

Here's my contribution for a mini catalog submission. Like most of you, I want everything, but it's not in the budget so I started small. (Actually, I built a bunch of stamping classes around mini products so I have a reason to purchase them, but I couldn't get them all at once.)

The first thing I thought of when I saw the new dies was paper dolls. And my mind wandered to a set of magnetic dress-up dolls that Emma has. I put the two ideas together and a magnetic B-a-B dress-up doll class was born. (For info, visit my blog.)

So this is just one little bear in her newest outfit. The skirt is made from the new DSP in the mini. The prints that are part of the paper pack are perfectly sized for little bear clothes. It's just too cute. I was planning on making a set for the kids to play with, but I'm pretty sure they're going to have to fight me for it!

Sweet Treat Cups!

Love the mini !! This is a card using the Sweet Treat Cups and the Sweet Centers Stamp Set. I made the clouds using the oval scallop punch as a template and then applying classic ink with a sponge while I moved the template.

Holiday Mini Night and Day

I don't know about you, but I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Holiday Mini! I love the holidays, and especially fall and winter, Thanksgiving and Christmas! One of the first sets I added to my wish list was Serene Snowflakes. Next came Shimmer Paints, Sweet Centers, Specialty Designer Papers... the list just grew and grew! Well, when the box arrived, first things first! I needed a wedding card, and I needed to see how those Shimmer Paints would work.

The hardest part of design for me is the layout, so I tend to CASE a lot or work from a sketch, especially if I'm short on time and it seems like I am always short on time! If you're looking for a sketch, Stamping 411 is a great site, full of information for beginners or experts and the design team includes many of my favorite bloggers. Using their sketch from Friday, August 14, made creating this wedding card a snap! You may not be able to see the beauty of the Platinum Shimmer Paint in this picture, but when you try it, you're gonna love it! I chose the Night and Day Specialty Paper first, then added the other colors of Real Red, Brushed Silver Metalic, and Basic Black. The largest image from Serene Snowflakes, the sentiment from Kind and Caring Thoughts, Filigree Brads, and Fire Circle Brads add to the "bling" created by combining the shimmer paint and irridescent ice embossing powder.

The Shimmer Paints come in three colors and are just what they say they are - Paint. You can apply them with a variety of tools. They need to be shaken before they are used. Once you've shaken them, remove the lid, and all the paint you will need is in the lid. Some are translucent, some transparent, still they take a very small amount to cover your image or area. I used a sponge dauber to apply the paint from the lid to the stamp. They dry within minutes, but since I embossed with irridescent ice, my heat tool took care of the drying time.

I posted the finished project to my blog and also to Stamping 411, then mailed it off to the bride and groom. Hope they enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it. If you look at the links on 411 for the other cards made from this sketch, you'll see all sorts of interpretations. Several flipped the sketch. I tried that too. Here's the result. I think I like the first one best. How about you?

Swap Card

This is one of the cards I received in the last Inkbig Swap.

Sock Monkey Cards

Here are a few sock monkey cards that I made, trying to incorparate some of the in colors. I just love the sock monkey set. It is hard to see on this picture but I versa marked the bananas on the soft seude, real red & crushed curry pieces. The kids just love the sock monkey too. My soon to be 15 year old daughter loves monkeys so this is one of her favorite sets. I made a sock monkey card for my oldest son's birthday last year (it was supposed to be a joke) and he loved it. It is still up in his room almost 1 year later.

Big Shot Die Question

When you emboss with the texturz plate, do you spritz the cardstock you are embossing with water or do you use another piece of cardstock on the platform as a shim to create a more defined effect? I have customers telling me that Scrapadoodle told them to run all their dies through the Big Shot and when it gets to the end, roll it back toward them.

Funky One

This card is totally not one I would usually do...but I am not totally dissatisfied with it...it is just different...totally:)

Thanks for looking!
Barb

Circle Circus

Hi Fellow Stampers! This is a birthday card I made for my son's 28th birthday which was in July. I used the wonderful Circle Circus stamp set, Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set and modern label punch as well as the circle punchs. I love the strong graphic designs in this set. - Sheryl Diemer

This is very simple piece of artwork made using Designer Paper and the Birds and Blooms Decorative Strip Die Cut in the Big Shot. I can see lots of possiblities .....blue sky, red birds ?

Train Decor Elements

Here is the train that I put up in Robert's room. The train decor element that I bought is the one that retired so it is slightly larger than the ones that we still offer. Also Robert's room walls are textured. I know SU doesn't suggest decor elements on textured things but I thought I would try it because I had read others saying they had success with it. It is a bit more tricky. You have to push down to get it to stick a lot more than on a flat surface and I rubbed it a bit after it was on just to make sure that it was in place. But I didn't have any real issues doing it. The caboose has been on the wall for a week and is still on great. It is really a great addition to his room as it turns from a baby's room to a big boy's room. Sorry the picture isn't better but it was tough to get it all in one shot. His closet is to the back of the train so it looks like the train just drove out of the closet.

Elegant Bouquet

I love the Textured Impressions Embossing Folders. They are so easy to use and inexpensive. This is a card using the new folder, Elegant Bouquet.

Robert's 3rd Birthday Invites

Here is what I did for Robert's 3rd birthday party invites. As you can see getting all 4 parts onto the card was kinda squishy but they are cute. The colors are what his room is becoming as he becomes more big boy than baby (sniff sniff). Hopefully my next post will be the decor elements train in real red going up on the wall in his room. Cross my fingers that all goes well there. Each part of the train is rather large with no real way to section them off into smaller pieces. I do really love this train set though. Unfortunetly I believe that it is retired now. Not postitive though because I have not got my newer retired sets marked yet.

Emerging Embossing

I shared this card with my stamp club a couple of months ago and the technique was a big hit. If you have not done the emerging embossing technique before, here's the quick rundown:

Stamp your image(s) using a dark color(s) of ink. Choose a focal point. Stamp a solid image stamp in VersaMark over the focal point and emboss using clear embossing powder. After you have finished embossing, ink a brayer with a lighter color of ink than you stamped your image in. Cover the entire piece of card stock with the lighter ink color. Use a tissue to remove any excess ink from the embossed area. Note: if you do not have a solid image stamp, then use a piece of scrap card stock and a punch to create your solid image -- simply place the scrap card stock with your punched image over the focal point and ink with VersaMark by applying the pad directly to the card stock.

Supplies: Flight of the Butterfly stamp set, Pixie Pink, Pink Passion, Barely Banana, Whisper White card stock, Pixie Pink and Pink Passion classic pads, VersaMark pad, embossing buddy, heat tool, clear embossing powder, 3/16" corner rounder, white 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, 1" circle punch

Thank You gifts

Here are thank you notes, paint cans & gift bags that I made for Robert's pre-school teachers. I am in the process of making more for his therapist as he finishes up his different therapies.

Sorry that the pink is one of the retired in colors but

I love that pink pirouette. The cards I saw in the new catalog by

the fresh cuts notes stamp set. I stamped the big square over a

fresh cuts notes card then punched the flowers out and glued a piece of dsp behind it.

The paint can is a smaller sized paint can (that I bought at Jeffrey Alans). I used modgepodge to put the dsp onto the can. I used ribbon (sorry again retired) to make the handle. I just glued it under the top piece of dsp.

Then to decorate the bag I just used the thank you stamp set, much appreciated (again retired) and stamped all over it in the two colors that I had used for decorating the can & the cards.

Chef

You know I love the Big Shot!! This Chef is made using the Top Note and Butterfly Dies. Isn't he the cutest even though he looks a little cross- eyed? Does anyone else have something they have made using the Big Shot?

Fun Decor Elements

Finally, I am getting back into the swing of things. Sorry I am a week late posting.

This is my most recent project. When I saw this phrase in the new Definitely decorative catalog I knew I had to order it. I actually just ordered a few different decor elements. This will be the first of 3 that I am putting up in our house.

The little guy next to the toy box/bench is my youngest, Robert, who will be 3 a month from tomorrow. One of the other decor elements that I just bought is the train. We (my husband will be

helping with that one) are going to try and put it up in Robert's room for his birthday. It matches the invitations that I am making (which I will post as soon as I have one put together).

The decor elements (as Dawn said in her previous post) are super easy to put on once you have it all figured out. I definitely suggest cutting the bigger ones into smaller manageable pieces.

Definitely Decorative

Definitely Decorative is the bomb! I have been lamenting that all of my walls are textured since the day SU! released this product line, so the silver lining in all of the flooding is that when we took down walls and put up new ones, I was able to have smooth walls. Hooray! The wall of our new storage closet was just begging to have the "Tree, Thoughts & Prayers" displayed, so I went right to work. If you haven't worked with these products before, I really encourage you to try them out. It's really quite simple (though I must admit the tree can be time-consuming as each leaf must adhere individually) and I LOVE the results! I even got a little crazy and cut apart the phrase to arrange it in the way I wanted rather than the way it came. Now my head is spinning with all kinds of ways that I can put the Definitely Decorative line to use! I hope you'll all make it to an Inkcited event so you can see this in person. =)

And before I close, let me apologize for not getting anything posted last month. None of the USB ports on our computer are working, so getting photos from my camera to the computer has been a real challenge. And of course, there's never a good time to send your computer in for repairs, is there? We're doing our best to tough it out until we go on vacation. Then we'll cross our fingers that it can be repaired while we're away.

Bye Bye In-Colors

The June demo WICKED challenge on Splicoaststampers called for using Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black, and, I have to be honest, I would not have gone to this color combo without a nudge. It really is too bad I didn't know about this color combo sooner as I really like it! I will have to try it with old olive, pretty in pink and rose red.

Because it is the end of this In-Color run, all I had left were scraps. Thus this "scrappy" card was born.

Thanks for looking!

Barb

Stamps: Goody --Goody Gumdrops

Paper: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Riding Hood Red, StazOn Jet Black

Accessories: White Taffeta Ribbon markered black,

Sensational Scallops

More cards for the June SS contest -this one is to use scallops on a project. My favorite of the two is the top one but it is the same color scheme as the other contest card! What if I win both LOLOLOLOL!

Anyway, I am sending in both of these together. Am I on the right month with these contests? I am feeling a little lonely!

Happy Creating!
Barb

Try a New Technique

This is for the demo challenge to use the Wrinkle Free Technique found here.

Although I struggled a little with the technique, it came out enough to use. When I was looking at my cut distressed piece, I saw the green looming in sight like a piece of grass, so, I stamped the rooster right there. Then looking at the piece I felt like the rooster was floating but I didn't want to disturb the technique. To anchor the poor floating rooster, I added a line of paper piercing.

Thanks for looking!

Barb

Stamps: Rustic Rooster

Paper: Manchester DSP, Always Artichoke, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla

Ink: Cloase to Cocoa, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke

Accessories: Crafter's Tool Kit, Twill Ribbon, Corner Rounder

Pick A Petal Love You Much Cards

Last week I mentioned that for my bible study group I had made punch animal book marks and had put them in a hand made card. This is the card that I made, using Pick-A-Petal and Family Phrase stamp sets. Card stock was Whisper White and Old Olive, Regal Rose and Pacific Point, and coordinating ribbons. The base of the card is whisper white cut at 11 x 3 and scored at 5 1/2. The color card stock is cut at 4 1/4 X 2 1/2 and the small whisper white is cut at 3 7/8 x 2 3/16. Very easy card to make and very cute. I saw this idea on Angie Juda Kennedy's blog, ChicnScratch.

Butterfly Contest Card

Well, I have stuck myself out in contest land and made this card for the June SU butterfly contest. Although I used to do it on a regular basis, I haven't submitted a card to the SU contest for awhile and for some reason it is scary! There are so many talented stampers and the contest cards really do WOW me.

For what it is worth, I have not won any contest, however, two of my cards were featured on Stampers Showcase.

Thanks for looking,
Barb

PS For some reason my picture looks more redish, like burgundy, but in real life this Rich Razzleberry Color has a dark rich purplish tone.

The details of this card - Stamp: Wings of Friendship Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White Ink: Rich Razzleberry, StazOn Jet Black, VersaMark Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Heart to Heart, Eyelet Border and Horizontal Slot Punches, White Gel Pen,

Catty Copy

I am back after a short time out for family...i.e. graduation and focusing on a senior before he leaves. I know it is not my week but I got to play yesterday so I thought I would make up for lost time and post!

One of the demo challenges on Splitcoaststampers was this:

1. Find a layout in the catty to copy
2. Find a color scheme on a different page and use that with the lay out you selected
3. Use a stamp set from a different page.

I chose the layout on page 42 with the color scheme from the true friend card on page 101. The stamp set is rustic rooster.

The reason I chose that color scheme is that it is the closest to the retiring Manchester DSP that I am trying to use up. But, as I was going to do the card I was scared of the bravo burgandy in the mix. It turned out fine though and I like it enough to try it again sometime.

Thanks for looking!

Punch Animals

I made these punch animal book marks (aren't they cute!!) for the last session of my bible study. We were studying Beth Moore's "Love Well", and had to write a love note to each member of the bible study. I made "Love You" cards (I'll show those under a separate post) and put the punch animal book mark in each envelope. I'm also showing the punch pages that I created . This would be quick and easy punch class! - Sheryl

Scrapbook Pages

This is the 2 page layout for my May Scrapbook

Club. Yes, I do love the So Tweet Chipboard :)

Vow Renewal Programs

Here they are...the vow renewal programs that have been taking over my life...ok maybe not but I did want to make sure that I shared them with you. I think they came out great. My mom loves them so that is the most important.

So Tweet

Does anyone else love the Owls and Birdies in this catalog? I wonder if they will have more of them in the new catty! Can't wait to see it. I used the Owl from So Tweet Chipboard to make this card. Isn't he adorable ?

National Scrapbooking Month

I wanted to share this scrapbook page with you because I've committed to doing at least one page each week to celebrate National Scrapbooking Month. The photos are from 2006 (it's never too late to preserve those memories!), so please forgive me for featuring the now-retired Autumn Fest stamp set...it was current when I originally intended to work with these photos...but I did manage to work in Jumble Alphabet. Love it!

Materials: Jumble Alphabet, Calendar Alphabet & Numbers, Autumn Fest stamp set, Night of Navy, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Old Olive card stock, Earth Elements textured card stock (More Mustard), Ruby Red, Old Olive, Really Rust classic pads, Very Vanilla craft pad

Reinker Spread Watercolor

Morning Soft is my stamp set of choice for this watercolor technique called Reinker Spread, or Watercolor Floating. You've probably seen the beautiful roses that everyone has been doing with Fifth Avenue Floral, and I've done those too, but then I have to design a card to put them on! Morning Soft is a card in itself. This sample is done using black stazon, clear emboss, perfect plum, pale plum, barely banana, old olive and always artichoke reinkers with the aqua painter. The image is stamped on shimmery white with black stazon, clear embossed and then painted. The key to success is plenty of water, and patience. It isn't always pretty until it's air dried. Try it, you'll get lots of ooohs and aaaahhs!