Keeping Warm with a Card

Yes! My computer issues are over! Back to work.

As a demonstrator I am apart of a great Stampin' Up! group called the Shamrock Stampers, headed by the fabulous Erin Barker. She had a meeting with us a little while ago and we did a shoebox swap. For those unfamiliar with this, its when you design a card, then bring enough materials for each person to make the card as well.  This is the card that I designed for our swap! I have seen a few "fireplace" cards, but I wanted to do my own version.  This is a pretty time consuming card, but not hard at all.

Here are the measurements of card stock you will need.
1 - 5 1/2" by 8 1/2" scored in half of Early Espresso
1 - 5 1/2" by 1" of Early Espresso - all edges rounded with corner rounder punch (top of fireplace)
1/2" strips of Cajun Craze and Cherry Cobbler - cut into sections for the bricks
Scrap of black - slightly more then 1 1/2" by 2" - so that it is even with the 3rd row of bricks
A couple scraps of Early Espresso - crumbled and rolled into logs

Fold the large portion of Early Espresso on the scored line - this is your card. I cut my strips of cherry cobbler and cajun craze to brick sizes then used some cajun craze ink and sponged the edges. This gives the bricks more dimension.  Wear gloves if you don't want inky fingers!  I can be a bit "obsessive" about my cards (my friends will probably roll their eyes at me now..) so I laid out my bricks before I glued them down. I used a glue stick or liquid glue so that it dries. Snail will stay perpetually sticky and if you don't cover it with a brick, your card will stick! I laid out my bricks and my black square so that everything was even. Don't forget that for a true brick look, you don't want your brick spaces to match up - as in where there is a space on the lower line of bricks, make sure a whole brick is above it. I then took the rounded corner piece of early espresso - crumbled it up, flattened it out, then took some early espresso ink and kind of roughed it up. Its hard to see in the picture, but it gives more dimension to the fireplace top. Glue that down, with a piece of Bakers twine tucked into the sides. This hides the end of the bakers twine and helps it stay put. Take your early espresso scraps and roll them up and squish a little to make logs. Use some more mustard and pumpkin pie scraps and cut out flames using the Build a blossom punch (different flowers) then sponge some pumpkin pie ink on the edges. Glue them down, then glue down your logs. Use various DSP and colors to make your stockings, and punch out with the Stocking Punch. Use dimensionals to adhere the stockings to the card, then use the mini clothespins to make it look like the stockings are hanging on the string. Put some TomBow glue along the top and sprinkle Mica Flakes on. I then used scrap pieces of Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon to make bows for the sides where the string is tucked back. I then used Dazzling Details to add some bling glitter to the flames and the stockings. I LOVE Dazzling Details. Its so easy to use, thick or then, it adds just the right bling!

I hope you enjoy this cozy card! And look forward to more posts as my computer is back up and working!
Craft on!
Jean

Can't wear this onsie!

For my September Stamp Camp, our theme was Fall and Babies! It seems like everyone I know is having a baby this fall! So I thought how nice it would be to do a baby card. I LOVE Onsies. I think they are just the epitome of babies. And I love our new Button Buddies stamp set! I used the Button Buddies set for the pacifier and used Subtle Buttons with Lucky Limeade and Wisteria Wonder ink. The bear and blocks came from the Little Additions stamp set, with Chocolate Chip, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, and Wisteria Wonder inks.  The first thing I did was searched the net for other peoples templates. Why reinvent the wheel right? Well I found a billion of them! So, I looked at what was easiest, and which ones I saw the most. So here are the easiest instructions I found!  1. Cut out your paper (I used the Nursery Nest DSP) to 4 1/4 by 11", then score at 5 1/2". Fold in half. 2. Measure down from the fold on both sides and make a mark at the 1 3/4" point. Then from those marks, measure in 3/4". Cut in to the 3/4", then down diagonally to the corner. This gives the shape of the onsie. I used my paper cutter to do the diagonal cut, then paper snips to cut the straight part in (armpit part). 3. Use your 1 3/4" circle punch to cut out the neck hole, then at the bottom corners for each leg hole.  Since I used DSP, these punch will cut through both sides at the same time. Using card stock liked hat is not so much fun, as it doesn't usually go through cleanly.  To make the ruffles in the arm and leg sections, I punched a 1 3/4" circle in Lucky Limeade and Wisteria Wonder paper, then used my large Scallop Circle punch and centered the hole in the middle of the scallop circle punch and punched. This gives you a ruffle that will perfectly fit the holes! I was able to use to circles for one card.  My middle section I cut a strip of paper about 2 inches wide and used the scallop trim border punch on both sides. I glued it to the card and trimmed off the extra. Stamp away and TaDa!!

Hope you enjoy! More to come later today..
Craft On!!

Pockets, Scratchin', and Sniffin'!!

Sounds weird huh? Well they come out to be two pretty neat cards! The first card is one that my wonderful upline Anne did for a workshop. She changed it from a pocket card in the new Idea Book and Catalog. I then altered it a bit since I didn't have the same ribbon or embossing folder.

The card stock used is Very Vanilla, cut to 4 1/4" by 5 1/2", the measurements of our envelopes. Then you need to seal a Very Vanilla envelope. Then trim off the side so that it opens on the side. Turn it so that it goes the long way, and through the new opening cut out a 1/2 circle using the 2 1/2" circle punch, but only on the front side of the envelope. Then run through the Big Shot using the Elegant Lines embossing folder. We then cut out the large flower from the Fun Flowers die using Spice Cake DSP, and the daisy looking flower from the Blossom Party die using Very Vanilla. We layers them then poked a hole in the middle using the paper piercer and put a Vintage brad through it. Punch a small hole in the top of the cut piece of Very Vanilla CS and tie a ribbon through. We used half a strip of striped cross grain. I used Chocolate chip, a retired color, but Anne used Early Espresso. Then slide the card stock into the envelope pocket. Put a large glue dot on the back of the flower and position it in the 1/2 circle space so the glue dot doesn't touch the envelope, but keeps the flower on the outside of the envelope, while actually being attached to the card stock!  Hence pocket card! The card slides into the envelope pocket!  I then used some new Dazzling Details to add some bling!

So my next card is a scratch n' sniff card. I did a pretty popular summer card, the popsicle card. I have seen many variations on this. I used Real Red and Pool Party for mine. I also did my scallop circle larger then a lot I have seen because I wanted to use the Cherries from the Button Buddies set. So the first thing is the card is cut to 4x 5 1/2  then scored down the middle. I then rounded the corners and used a scallop circle to put the "bite" in.  The bite is on both sides. I punched one side, lined them up then punched the other. DONT punch both at the same time, it won't work!  I dabbed my cherry stamp into Versamark, covering only the cherries. I then used Garden green marker to color the stem. Stamp it onto a piece of Whisper White. Cover the cherries with a mixture of 1/2 sugar free cherry drink mix (like Sugar free kool aide or something like that), and slightly more then 1/2 clear embossing powder. I have a little scoop I use, and I did 1 1/4 scoop of embossing powder and 1 scoop drink mix.  Cover the cherries, tap off the extra, and then heat with the heat gun until it looks glossy. Cut the cherry out using the large scallop circle punch. Then glue it to a 2 1/2 punched circle of Pool Party. I used dimensionals  to attach to the card.  Now scratch the cherries and you will smell cherry!

Hope you enjoy!!
Craft on!!!
Jean

Happy Birthday Cupcake!

Here is a super cute card I created for a workshop that I did today for my friend Nickie. Have  I mentioned I love cupcakes?

The colors I used for this card are Whisper White, and all the new In Colors, Wisteria Wonder (the purple), Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Pool Party (the light bluish), and Calypso Coral. I love these colors! I also used a bit of our Red Glimmer paper which I am happy happy to say has made it into our new Catty! To make the shape of the card, I cut a 5x10 card, folded it in half, and placed it on the Clear Scalloped Square die for the Big Shot. But when I placed it on the die, I did not put the fold over the edge of the square, instead I sort of had it right underneath where it would cut, that way when I put it through the Big Shot, it only cut on the 3 sides, leaving the fold!  The whisper white piece on the inside and the outside is the same size, 3 3/4 x 3 3/4. I then use my Build a Cupcake punch and cut out one cupcake from each of the 5 In Colors. Then just mix and match pieces, gluing them onto the white piece.  I had some hang off, some sideways, get creative! I used Calypso Coral ink and our Swirls and Curls Summer Mini Hostess Stamp set to stamp Happy Birthday at the bottom. I trimmed off all the cupcakes that were hanging off the white piece. Then I ran it through the Big Shot with the polka dot embossing folder, with the dots popping up. I glued a small washer underneath the embossed cupcake/white piece before I glued it to the card. Then I used Lucky Limeade and the larger scallop circle punch, layerd that with Island Indigo and the 1 3/8 circle punch. I think punched out two more cupcakes for the cupcake in the middle on the circle and scallop circle. I glued a magnet on the back of the middle cupcake piece so that it comes off and is a cute magnet! Thats why it is popping off of the card!

Let me know if you have questions, hope you enjoy!
Craft on!!
Jean

Fathers, Hope, and some Bling!

 I know its about time right! I posted these on Stampin Connection awhile ago and just haven't gotten to posting them here! I created these for my May 28th camp. Wow was it crazy! There were 11 fabulous ladies! We had tons of fun but it was quite hectic.

So our first card is for Fathers Day! I used Versamark, the splotch stamp from French Foliage (but others used just a Versamark  marker to make dots and splotches by hand) and black embossing powder, then used the heat gun to emboss. The colors I used were Not Quite Navy and Basic Gray I used aluminum foil, the big shot, and the diamond Impression Plate to make the one side of the swing card, then crumbled up a piece of Basic Gray and sponged it a little with matching ink for the other side.

 I got my swing card instructions from splitcoaststampers.com.

For my Hope card I used Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla and Pink Pirouette. I used the Mother of Pearl technique for the butterfly, H Hope, and side Vanilla piece. It is so easy! You just scrunch up some plastic wrap, dab it in some Frost White Shimmer paint, then dab onto the paper!  I then used some Pink Pirouette ink and sponged it on the butterfly, but its kind of hard to see in the picture. I also roughed up the edges of the middle vanilla piece, but those are hard to see has well.

Our last project was fun and the younger girls loved it! I don't currently have a Crop a dile, so I had to purchase bottle caps with holes already punched in. But you can do these with any bottle caps! I then used the 1 inch punch to punch out some DSP, used a little Crystal effects to stick it to the bottle cap, then covered the inside well with the Crystal effects. I put a pinch of glitter, then gently put a rhinestone on top. I let it dry overnight. Don't put the Crystal Effects too thick or else it won't dry clearly. Then used some seam binding ribbon as the necklace part!

I will be posting some cute bookmarks soon so stay tuned!

Craft on!!
Jean

Mom's, Fun Fabric, and a Birthday Twist!

 I feel like it has been forever since I posted anything! Here are the 3 projects we made at my April 30th Stamp Camp. We made a bright flowery Mothers Day card, a fun birthday card, and a decorative plate for a pillar candle. 

For the Mothers Day card I wanted to use the new DSP from the Summer Mini Catalog, Beyond the Garden.  I love this paper! But since it is so bright and beautiful, it is challenging to try and use it all together! Love it, but definitely a paper to use more solids with than prints.  However, I did discover that by placing some of the bolder patterns with one of the more gentler patterns, it looked great!  I paired the paper with So Saffron for the main card, Wild Wasabi and Rose Red for the background pieces behind the DSP, and Rose Red and Garden Green for the tulip.  I used the Blossoms Petal Punch to make the tulip. The measurements/instructions for making this cute trifold card look hard, but are very easy! 

Main Color - 10 1/2" x 5 1/2" - place long side parallel to your cutter, and placed at the 1/2" mark, then cut from the 1 3/4" line to 8 3/4" line.  Flip and do the same on the other side. This gives you the pop part in the middle. Then score just the middle section (inside of cuts) 1 3/4" in from both sides. Score the entire length 3 1/2" from both sides. When folding - follow picture - its just folding the opposite way for each section.

2nd + 3rd Color - cut 2 at 1 5/8"x1 3/8" and 1 at 1 5/8"x 5 3/8"

DSP 1 and 2 - cut 1 at 1 3/8" x 5 1/8" and 2 at 1 1/4" x 1 1/2"

DSP 3 (middle section) - 2 at 1 3/8" x 3 3/8"

The candle plate is super easy! I love adding fabric to plates and bowls to jazz them up for parties and make nice decorations. For this, I measured my candle plate, and it is 6"by 6", so that is what I cut my fabric to.  I used spray adhesive to coat the back of the glass plate. I placed the fabric, right side to the glass, in the corner, and then stretched the fabric over the bottom, then stretched the fabric over the rest of the plate. The fabric may go over the edge slightly, just trim it.  Then I used glossy modge podge and painted it on the back, sealing the whole thing, including the edges. This keeps the fabric safe and hand washable, and seals the edges so they don't fray.  I did 3 layers. If you do this with a plate that sits up, you can also use more layers and some sand paper to smooth it out more if you want to make it smoother. This is sitting flat so no need to get fancy! I used the Spring Vintage Fabric and it looks great in my living room!

The last thing we made was a birthday card. I got the inspiration for this card at http://walkruncraft.blogspot.com/2011/04/birthday-present-card.html. I found it through a great website for Demonstrators. Mine is slightly different in size and design, but hers is way better. I just saw the picture and recreated it on my own because I had some extra stuff I wanted to use, but her instructions are great! 

I plan on trying out doing a video tutorial soon! I am 1 of 2 Junior Class sponsors at the high school I teach at. We have prom this weekend, so I am a bit crazy with that. But soon, very soon, I will be breaking out my camera!

I am also getting super excited about Convention! Myself, and my two uplines are going to the Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City in July! I am getting so excited, especially now that hotel and plane stuff is all situated. Yay!

I promise to update more often as I will have lots more time soon!

Craft on!!

Jean

April Stamp Camp

I am really excited for my April Stamp Camp. First, I wasn't able to have my March one, which really was awful because that is my favorite month!
So in Winchester, which is where I work and is right around the corner from where I live, we have a festival every year called Apple Blossom. Its a BIG deal here. We even bring in famous people for Grand Marshals and such. Last year we had Val Kilmer! So this month we are doing an Easter Card, an Easter Treat, and an Apple Blossom flowers pin!

The ADORABLE cupcake bunnies and chick are a CASED item from http://www.simplysimplestamping.com/ 
I loved them so much that I didn't even change much! I really like Pink Pirouette right now, so instead of using the pink she used, I chose the lighter Pink Pirouette. These are super easy because it is just using the Big Shot and the Top Note die and a variety of punches! They are fairly inexpensive as well - especially if you buy the larger packs of cupcakes. I used the Happy Easter sentiment to cover up any of the sell by dates printed on the package.

The flower is like some of the others I have posted, using the Big Shot, Fun Flowers Die, buttons, fabric glue, starch, and a hot iron. Cut out your fabric, spray starch the flowers, then use a hot iron on them. While hot and damp, crinkle them up. Let them dry, then glue together! I love these! I have many different kinds, and I use them for pins and hair bows!

I wish I could say that this is all mine because it is soo cute! I wanted to do another punch card, because they are so fun and easy. And I wanted a bunny card, so I started playing with punches, but at the time I just didn't have the right ones. Its hard to visualize when you don't have the right tools! So I went searching on this great website for Demonstrators. And looky what I found! I changed it up a bit- it was originally a much more flowery and bright card, and the bunny was brown. I wanted to use the Sew Suite Paper shown here because it looks like little radishes! I also wanted to use the Good Egg stamp set. So, looking at her card, which she cased as well, I figured out which punches I needed!

I will post specific punches and such needed for the projects at another time. For now, I have assignments to finish grading!

Craft on!!!
Jean

March Stamp Camp!

As all my friends know, St. Patty's Day is one of my favorite holidays! Couldn't be because I am Irish could it?  Here is what we will be doing this Saturday!

The candle is super simple! I love the new Bliss set that you can get for free during Sale-A-Bration!!! But hurry it ends March 31st!  Anywhoo, I stamped my image in Marina Mist first, then rolled the edges in Perfect Plum, then a quick dab onto Perfect Plum, This created the variation in color. Then I stamp it onto tissue paper.  Cut the image out. Place the paper against your candle, then wrap wax paper around it, and pull tight and smooth.  Then use your heat tool to heat the wax paper until its shiny (the wax has melted). Then just carefully pull your wax paper off and tadaa!

The next thing we will be doing is a St. Patty's day pocket to hold a cute crochet pin. No, for those of you coming, you will not have to make the pin! I have done that for you!  To make the pocket, you use a small square envelope and seal it. Then I used Versa Mark, the Good Luck Stamp from the Sale-A-Bration set, So Happy for You, Heat and Stick Powder, Celery glitter from the Cosmo set, and a heat tool, and I stamped/glittered all over the front.  Then I used Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, and Certainly Celery markers to stamp the fabulous Lucky Shamrock stamp from the Occasions Mini Catalog. I love to use markers to make my stamps different colors. Then I used the scallop edge punch to cut the side of the envelope off. I used a crimper and Certainly Celery paper to crinkle the paper, then just used scissors to cut some pieces off for the stuffing. Too lazy to go to my shredder!

Last but not least is the card. I did my measurements for the main card for the square 5 1/4 by 5 1/4 card, in Certainly Celery. Then you need a piece of Peach Parfait, cut to 4 3/4 by 4 3/4, and a piece of Whisper White, cut to 4 1/4 by 4 1/4. To make the clover, I used the large heart punch on Garden Green card stock, and the wider heart from the 3 Heart Punch, in Wild Wasabi. I used matching ink to sponge the edges, giving a nice dimension to them.  For the Pot of Gold I used the 1 3/4 circle punch, then trimmed the bottom, and the Word Window Punch for the top, and 5 scallops from the scallop circle punch for the gold. Next I used a variety of circle punches to layer Rose Red, Peach Parfait, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, and Perfect plum card stock. I used 1 3/4, 1 3/8, and 1 inch circle punches, using two colors per punch, going larger to smaller, glued together, and then cut them in half. For the cloud I used the top of the cupcake from the Build a Cupcake punch and sponged Bashful Blue on the edges. Finally I used the Lucky You part of the Lucky You stamp out of the Hostess set Afterthoughts. Sheesh it doesn't seem like that much work until I type it out!!!

Feel free to ask any questions if I was not clear! I hope to see lots of you at camp Saturday!

Craft on!!  
Jean