Stamp Happy

Cuttlebug Crayon Resist

My class at the store this month is featuring different resist techniques, and here is another card that my customers are making in the class.  When I planned this class, Crayon Resist was going to be one of the techniques I was going to use.  You know... stamp the image, highlight certain areas with a white crayon, apply ink and you're done.  Well, I just wasn't feeling inspired by that technique... couldn't find a stamp I liked to use for the card, etc.  So I went to the online Bible of stamping (Splitcoast!) and searched the gallery under "crayon resist."  Well, thanks be to the stamping Gods that I stumbled upon this card by Stephanie Severin!  (Check out Stephanie's awesome blog, too!)  Not only was this technique the coolest, but Stephanie also used my favorite blossoms from Creative Impressions, too!  So with her permission, I pretty much just CASE'd her card to prep for my class (and yes, my customers know that!  I'll take a little help wherever I can get it when things are crazy-busy!)  What was really fun during the class was that I put out all the Cuttlebug folders and let customers choose which one they wanted to use.  I think only one person used the Paisley like I did!  Be sure to check out Mel Stampz blog who is the original "inventor" of this cool technique!  In fact, you should grab a cuppa whatever your favorite drink is and plan to sit for awhile to check out her blog... this chick has got some awesome ideas up her stamping sleeves!  Stephanie did something a little different on her card and used Memories Mists inks instead of sponging on ink, so I did the same and found it to be a great alternative to sponging color all over the piece.  I love those Mists, too!  I plan to get more colors soon!

So, go steal some crayons from the kids and give this a try!  You will LOVE it!

Here are direct links to the techniques on Mel's blog, but I highly recommend you check out all her work!

Cuttlebug Crayon Resist

Cuttlebug Crayon Rub

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

 

Stamps:  sentiment (Inkadinkado)
Cardstock:  Parakeet, Lemonade (Bazzill Basics), white (The Paper Cut)
Inks:  Colorbox Scarlet pigment ink (Clearsnap), Orange Juice, Mango Lemonade Memories Mists (Stewart Superior)
Accessories:  Perfectly Paisley Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft), flowers and brad (Creative Impressions), corner rounder (EK Success), crayon

Sketches by Tamara #58

Here is the sketch for the challenge at the Sketches! by Tamara blog for today!  It's a fun layout, and the designers all had terrific ideas for it!  You can check out all our cards by going directly to the blog.  I hope you'll find time to give it a try today or sometime soon!

I made my card for one of the girls at the store.  Today is her last "official" day of work before she heads off to college.  She's going to stay with us as an employee and plan on working during holiday breaks and hopefully next summer, but for now she's heading off into the big world and I'm going to miss her a lot.  She's a very valuable employee and can really be counted on!

Have a great day!

 

 

Stamps:  The Landing Pad, Pretty Birds (Kim Hughes Collection for Cornish Heritage Farms)
Inks:  Versafine Onyx Black, Versamagic Jumbo Java (Tsukineko)
Cardstock:  Old Olive, Kraft (Stampin' Up!), Quartz, Pomegranate Smoothie (Bazzill), designer paper (My Mind's Eye)
Accessories:  oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), brad, rick-rack (Creative Impressions).

A Thoughtful Butterfly

I made this card this morning before I left for work because I was really itching to try the Color Challenge from yesterday on SCS.  It seemed like such a beautiful combination, and after completing this card, I think so even more!  I also used the Sketch Challenge for today on SCS!

My butterfly is from a new Kitchen Sink Stamps set called 3-Step Butterfly!  Isn't it gorgeous?  The first layer on this was stamped in Blush Blossom ink.  I inked the second layer with Ruby Red but stamped it off once before stamping over the first image.  The third layer was inked with Ruby Red, and then before stamping I applied a little bit of Versamagic Jumbo Java ink around the edges.  After all three layers dried, I stamped the third layer once again using Versamark, then heat embossed with clear embossing powder to really punch up the detail!  My sentiment is from another new Kitchen Sink set called Vintage Words.

Just a little note, in case some of my readers arent' aware... anytime you see words in my blog posts that are in color, those are direct links.  They will take you to other web sites pertaining to products I've used or other blogs I might reference.  For instance, if you click on "Color Challenge" up above, the link will take you to the Color Challenge on the SCS forum.  If you click on "Vintage Words" the link will take you to the Kitchen Sink Stamps store where you can see the actual stamp set, (and purchase it, if you'd like!)

I HOPE you like my card!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Stamps:  3-Step Butterfly, Vintage Words (Kitchen Sink Stamps); Cardstock:  Close to Cocoa, Blush Blossom, Ruby Red (Stampin' Up!), designer paper (My Mind's Eye); Inks:  Blush Blossom, Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up!), Versamagic Jumbo Java (Tsukineko); Accessories:  circle, scalloped circle, label die Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (Creative Impressions), brads (Making Memories).

Color Throwdown #7

We are up to week #7 of the Color Throwdown already, and this week's colors were chosen by LeAnne Pugliese!  My first thought when she told me the colors was "baby card" so that's what I made!

My life has been topsy-turvy lately and I just got home after 9:00 tonight from having a full class of customers at the store (yay!) so my card is super simple!  I don't really have anyone in mind to send it to, but now I've got a baby boy card if I need it! 

I was really happy to find this striped paper from Paper Salon in my stash that matched the colors so nicely so I ran with it.  I also added this old SU! ribbon for an extra punch of color! 

Check out the Color Throwdown blog for the cards from the other designers, or just check out their blogs directly by clicking on the links below!  Remember if you don't have these exact Stampin' Up! colors just use whatever you have that is similar.  We just want everyone to have fun!  Post a comment on the CT blog with a direct link to your card, and if you upload to SCS please use the keywords CTD7.

LeAnne Pugliese

Kisa Peters

Cathy Indelicato

Broni Holcombe

Tracy Durcan

Happy stamping!

 

Stamps:  Green Thumb (Papertrey Ink); Cardstock:  Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal (Stampin' Up!), white (Gary Burlin), designer paper (Paper Salon); Inks:  Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal (Stampin' Up!); Accessories:  clear dew drops (Robin's Nest), ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder (ProvoCraft), rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders).

Faux Brads and Page Pebbles

 Just a note to let you all know, the idea for the faux brads and page pebbles I mentioned in my Seize the Cupcake post from Saturday is credited to Andrea Walford.  (Click on her name to see the tutorial on her blog.)

Many thanks to my blog reader Christa Harrell for pointing me in the right direction!

Spooky Greetings

Here's a quick card I made up over the weekend using the new release from My Favorite Things called Monster Squad.  Aren't those little trick-or-treaters cute?

I kinda' used the MFT weekly sketch for this.  I had already used the slit punch, eyelet and yellow twill ribbon on the upper left corner of the main panel, so I put the one piece from sketch underneath instead of on top, and eliminated the extra embellishment that the sketch called for.  This card is actually on it's way to a new stamping/blogging friend!  Hmmm... who could it be???  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Stamps:  Monster Squad (My Favorite Things); Cardstock:  Summer Sun (Papertrey Ink), Pink Passion (Stampin' Up!), Teal (Bazzill), white (Gary Burlin), designer paper (Doodlebug Designs); Inks:  Adirondack Pitch Black (Ranger), Versamagic Jumbo Java (Tsukineko), markers (Copic); Accessories:  Summer Sun twill ribbon (PTI), slit punch, triangle eyelet (Stampin' Up!).

Tie-dyed Tee

Somewhere along the postal route between Wisconsin and Smithville, Ohio there may possibly be a postal worker who likes Gina K stamps as much as I do because they're missing!  Thankfully Gina is a huge sweetheart, and sent another package with the stamps I ordered last week and they arrived on Thursday!  I've been so anxious to play with Melanie Muenchinger's new stamp set Little Tees because of this idea I had!

How do you like my cool Tie-dyed tee?  I just couldn't wait to get these stamps and give this idea a try!  I created this effect using the Wax Paper Resist technique, and a Kaleidacolor pad in Spectrum.  It was so much fun to do!  My customers will be making this card in class this coming week, as I'm doing 4 cards with different resist techniques.  Stay tuned, and I'll show you the rest of the cards over the next few days.

I linked Gina K's site above for you to find the Little Tees set, but of course if you're in Northeast Ohio, remember you can get this at Toyrifix, too!  :)  I'm so anxious for class tomorrow, and I hope my customers will like this card as much as I do!

Have a great day!

Stamps:  Little Tees (Melanie Muenchinger design for Gina K Designs); Cardstock:  Squash, Limeade, Cupcake, Black OP (Bazzill), glossy cardstock (craft supply); Inks:  Kaleidacolor Spectrum ink pad, Jet Black Staz-On, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko); Accessories:  brayer (Ranger), silver brads (Gary Burlin), Nestabilities label die (Spellbinders), ribbon (craft supply).

Blog Candy Winner!

Sheesh, I'm not just a little late... I'm incredibly late!  It's way past 9:00 p.m. so lets see who wins the Cuttlebug folders?

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

29

Timestamp: 2008-08-18 04:23:36 UTC

And the winner is....

One of my favorite ways to fix zucchini is to slice up both green and yellow zucchini and onion and saute it in a tiny bit of olive oil seasoned with Lawry's seasoning salt. Yummy! We also like to make zucchini bread with a recipe that has pineapple and nuts in it.

Posted by: Carol P | August 16, 2008 at 09:05 AM

Carol, please email me as soon as possible so we can discuss what Cuttlebug folders you would like!  (There's a link to email me right under my picture.)  If I don't hear from Carol by Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. ET, I'll draw a new winner!

Thanks everyone for visiting and commenting!  The last time I gave out blog candy was to the 2000th commenter.  I think in the very near future, I might just randomly pick a comment number and do another giveaway, so stay tuned!

Have a great week!

Seize the Cupcake!

Here is a card I designed for a class at the store last month.  The focus of my class was little tricks and techniques... little "extras" that add Wow! to your card. 

So for this card, I showed customers how to punch out circles from cardstock and designer paper and apply crystal lacquer to create their own faux brads and page pebbles.  (I actually made them up a few days before so they'd be dry enough to use on the cards in class, but had all the supplies available so everyone could give it a try!)  We just punched out 1/4" and 1/2" circles, applied a glue dot to the back and stuck them down on wax paper.  Then put the tip of your crystal lacquer bottle in the center of the circle, and squeeze and swirl the lacquer around until the circle is covered.  Let them dry overnight.  Or instead of wax paper, save the paper that your glue dots come on and use it!  I read about this technique on someone's blog, but unfortunately I didn't "star" it in my Google reader to know who to give credit to.  (If you know who I'm referring to, please let me know!)  Another little accent idea that I showed customers (and often don't remember to do!) is to stamp one word from the sentiment on a scrap, as seen here with the word "seize."  And a third little "extra" on this card is the green scalloped border along the edge of the designer paper.  Instead of cutting each of those scallops with a corner rounder, or decorative-edge scissors (I NEVER get a straight line with those things!) I showed customers how to use the large rectangle Nestabilities to cut a border.  (Credit to Sharon Johnson for that great trick!)

Here are a few close-ups of the faux brad and page pebbles!

This was one of the most fun cards from our class!  One of my customers had a great time teasing me about the fact that this card has no ribbon!  (They know me so well!)

Hope you're having a great Saturday!  Happy stamping!

 

 

Stamps:  Cupcakes (Hero Arts); Cardstock:  Pomegranate Smoothie, Parakeet, Lemonade (Bazzill), white (The Paper Cut), designer paper (Basic Grey); Inks:  Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Tombow); Accessories:  1/4" and 1/2" circle punches (EK Success), Crystal Lacquer (Sakura), Nestabilities (Spellbinders).

Lazy, again!

I have to scoot off to work today, and don't have any new stamping projects to show you at the moment, so I thought I'd get my lazy arse in gear and take care of thanking some stamping/blogging friends for some recent blog awards today!

Becky Givans (aka tggrfriend) has got to be one of the sweetest stamping/blogging friends I have!  Even though she's had the craziest of lives lately with sick family members, she still takes time for blogging and commenting and generally making others feel special!  She gave me this award a few weeks ago, and I appreciate it so much!  The rules for awarding this one state...

1. Only 5 people allowed.
2. 4 have to be dedicated followers of your blog.
3. One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to whoever gave you the award, quite simple really it is a way of saying thank you to those who take time out for wonderful comments to boost your day.

So I'm awarding this to

1.  Darlene (One of my bestest friends and cheerleaders, and she just started her own blog so please go check her out!)

2.  Barbara (She recently jumped into the stamping and blogging world with both feet and hasn't stopped running since!  And check out this card she made using my card for inspiration!)

3.  Alex (A fellow Sketches by Tamara DT member, she always has the nicest things to say about my work, and never misses a beat!)

4.  Curt (Curt also always has the nicest things to say, and I love checking out his blog to see stamping addiction from a man's perspective!)

5.  Gisela (I believe Gisela is from Germany, and has been a regular participant in our new Color Throwdown challenges each week.  It's so fun to see her creations each time!)

Then, last week another of my bestest friends Cindy at Pinky Inky's Island gave me the same award!  After months of giving me grief about being a blog trafficker, she finally started blogging, too!  So be sure to send some traffic her way for me today, OK!?

The same rules apply, so I'm going to extend this award to...

1.  Barb (Another fairly new blogger with some really cute work!  Be sure to check her out!)

2.  Kimberly (It was so fun to have her as a guest designer for the last Pink Cat release, and I can't wait to see what she keeps coming up with!)

3.  LeAnne (What a great friend she has become!  Since we live in neighboring states, I hope we get to meet someday!)

4.  Vickilyn (She always leaves me the nicest comments, and I just love her blog design!)

(and since I don't know of anyone else that is new to my blog and from another part of the world, I choose....)

5.  Jennifer G (I just LOVE her blog and because she frequently features my stamping projects in her Friday Favorites, she always makes me smile!)

Don't forget about the BLOG CANDY!  Leave a comment on this post from yesterday to be entered!