Elegant Leaves

Hi Stampers!

I am back this month with a fall card.  I can’t believe it is almost the end of August!   Even though it is technically still summer, I always decorate for fall in September and that is coming up fast. .  I am  not ready for cooler weather at all.  I’m a summer kind of girl.  I don’t like being cold.

I created three different cards with the Elegant Leaves Bundle that will be available on September 1st in the September to December Catalog . They are all similar yet different in one way or another.  And I like some more than others.  I’ll let you decide which you like best.

This was the first card I made with the bundle.

This card didn’t involve too much stamping. Just the sentiment is stamped.  It did involve a lot of die cutting though.  Which just goes to show, you can create a pretty card with just the dies and a sentiment from another stamp set.  In this case, the other stamp set is the Radiant Sunflower set which will also be available on September 1st.  I ran both the Cajun Craze layer and the cut out circle through the Stampin’, Cut and Emboss machine with the Timber 3D Embossing Folder.  The colors I used are Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Crushed Curry, Crisp Cantaope, and Golden Glow.

This second card was a little unconventionally made.

This card has a plaid background that I made using rubber bands.  I saw this technique done by another demonstrator and thought I would give it a try.  I wrapped three thick rubber bands around a long and narrow clear block lengthwise.  I used clear block I but it is no longer available through Stampin’ Up!  I made sure they were evenly spaced.  I even used a ruler!  I inked the rubber bands with Blackberry Bliss ink and stamped across a 3-3/4″ x 5″ piece of basic white card stock.  Once I was done going down the sheet in one direction, I turned the card stock a quarter turn, and stamped in the other direction.   When I was finished stamping with the thicker bands, I removed them and added one thinner rubber band lengthwise and stamped the thinner line in Berry Burst.  I had to re-ink the rubber bands before stamping each time.   I have to say that it was a messy process.  Ink not only gets onto the rubber band but the clear block as well.  That means you have to be very careful not let the block touch your paper.  You can see by looking close up that I wasn’t so successful in doing that.  And my thinner lines are totally straight.  But, once I covered everything with the cut out circle, it didn’t look so bad.  I used the stamp set as if it were a two-step set stamping the leaves with Berry Burst first.  Then I stamped the veins in the leaves with Blackberry Bliss.  The third smaller leave is cut out of Fresh Freesia with Berry Burst Veins.

And my third card…

My third card is my favorite card!  I used the Stampin’ Up! hot foil system to create this card, and I once again used the stamp set as if it were a two-step stamping set.   The foil brick work was done using Echo of Details Hot Foil Dies.  I also used a piece of August’s Product of the Month which is the Glow of Harvest DSP.  In this card I stamped the solid leaf images in Crisp Cantalope and Golden Glow ink onto a piece of Very Vanilla card stock.  Then I stamped the vein of the leaves in Cajun Craze and Crushed Curry ink.  I used the brick-work hot foil die on the Cajun Craze card base toward the right side and added a 1-1/2″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Glow of Harvest DSP to the left side of the base.  The card base is 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ folded in half at the 4-1/4″ mark.

I hope you enjoyed your visit .  As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Until next time…

Happy Stamping!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Touch of Fall

Hello Stampers!

I’ve been away for awhile, so I thought it might be about time to visit with you again.  So far, summer has been very busy for us in our household.  In June my children, husband and grandchildren traveled back to Ohio for a 95th birthday party for my mom.  All of her grands and great-grands were there which is what we were hoping for and it worked out perfectly.  We were gone for two weeks.

Once we got home, we hit the ground running as the remainder of June and all of July were pretty busy with something scheduled almost every day.  There were a few minor home improvements and repairs done along the way.  Some doctor appointments too as they seem to be inevitable once you reach our age.  🙁  My sciatica had been bothering me for about a month so I finally started having that looked into.  A week’s worth of steroids has helped with the inflammation and pain, but an MRI of my spinal column is in my future.  There is nothing worse than sciatica back pain.   I would say that it is worse than going to the dentist…OR…labor pains!

I have managed to get some stamping done and held my monthly Cards & Coffee in May and July with another scheduled for August. My July creations included the use the Cutest Crew stamp set once again, along with Balloon Festoon, Fern & Flora, and Relaxing Waterside.

I created my own background DSP on this card by using blending brushes and ink; Crumb Cake and Misty Moonlight.  I was please with how it turned out.  I used the Relaxing Waterside bundle for this card.  I think this card makes an excellent masculine card.

 

My Balloon Festoon birthday card is great for a kid.  I used  retired Lighter than Air DSP on this card and once again stamped the background.

 

 

Another card we made at July’s club was this sympathy card using the Fern & Flora bundle.  The sentiment comes from the Something Fancy stamp set.  I love the simplicity of this card.

The fourth card we created was this one using Cutest Crew.  This set is so adorable!  We’ve used it for the last three months!

If you have any questions on what I used on each of these cards, feel free to ask and I will let you know.

 

Now for a new card I created with a touch of fall flair is this one.  And it seems appropriate too because once August hits in Colorado early mornings start to get chilly.  It was in the 60’s this morning when I got up and I had to use a blanket as I drank my morning coffee.  This is a new set and designer series paper that will be coming out in the September to December catalog.  I used quite a bit from  the  Radiant Sunflowers suite  to create this slim line card.  I also used the Sunflower 3D Embossing folder for part of the background on this card.

That’s about all for today.  I hope you enjoyed your visit.  Until next time…

Happy Stamping!

 

 

 

 

&n

bsp;

Recipe Book using Flip Flaps

Hi Stampers!

I’m back from Stampin’ Up! Onstage in beautiful Long Beach, California and I’ve got a lot of great news to share with you!

There are a few new changes coming to Stampin’ Up! That I’m really excited about.  The first being new ink pads!  I don’t know about any of you, but I and many of my customers often struggle with opening our current ink pads.  Our new ones will now be magnetic and they are awesome.  The tops lift off easily and are easily replaced.  They are starting small and only switching to the new pads with the 2026-2028 In Colors so the transition will be a gradual one.

Another new change is Stampin’ Up! Will no longer offer a larger annual catalog, but they will offer 3 smaller catalogs through out the year along with their online exclusives.  The catalogs will run from January to April, May through August, and September through December. The first of these three catalogs will be available in May of this year.

New In Colors will be available in May as well; Barely Blush, Crisp Cantelope, Golden Glow, Hydrangea Hue, and Peaceful Pine.  Oh, be still my heart!  Peaceful pine looks like black in this photo.  Rest assured it is a beautiful pine colored green.

Along with these changes are some others relating to products and joining as a demonstrator that I am not now at liberty to share.  Just know there are some really good changes coming.

I also want to share my latest project with you.  But first, here’s how I came up with the idea.  I was searching through my “recipe book” which consists of a gallon size zip lock bag stuffed with recipe cards and sheets of paper looking for a cookie recipe my mom gave me. As I was searching  I said to myself for the millionth time that I need to get my recipes organized.  Actually, who doesn’t?  I found the recipe I wanted, made the cookies, and they were delicious.  Even if I do say so myself.

Later that day I was looking through the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog when I noticed the flip flaps they offer for scrap booking.  That’s when the idea hit me.  They have more than one purpose. Not only are they great on a scrap book page to add multiple photos, but some of them are the same size as a 4” x 6” recipe card.  Then the creative wheels started turning and I thought I would make a recipe book to hold my recipes!  I am making one for each child as well with copies of family recipes to pass on to them. How cute would something like this be as a bridal shower gift!  Unfortunately, Stampin’ Up! Doesn’t have a cooking stamp set other than the retired one I found on Ebay  called Perfect Mix.  I did find a few others on Amazon, along with 4 x 6 recipe cards.  I thought the fruit design on the recipe card would go well with the retired Mediterranean Blooms DSP.  Another DSP that would make a great recipe book cover is retired Berry Delightful DSP or retired To Market DSP.  I’ll be using Berry Delightful in my tiutorial video.  There is also be a printable tutorial available.

The retired products I used in this project were Mediterranean Blooms and Berry Delightful Designer Series Papers and Perfect Mix and Citrus Blooms stamp sets.  Enjoy!

 

 


 

Until next time!
Happy Stamping!