Diva Coffee Break Designs Challenge # 162

I am finally on the uphill mend from one nasty cold that is going on 3 weeks now.  I am not there yet, but yesterday was a semi-decent day, so I took some time to stamp instead of crawling into bed early.  I needed an extra jump start to my mojo since it has been almost 2 weeks since I last stamped and what a great way to do it, with this weeks Color Challenge!  It is a fabulous set of colors.

It was the perfect challenge to get me back into the stamping mood.  I got to use many of my recently acquired stamping goodies all in one.  I used the new chocolate chip epoxy brads from the mini catalog, the new designer series paper stack, new clear mount stamps and the oh so fabulous clear blocks, a die and some ribbon that has been around for a while but I just got my hands on them.  This really was a fun card to put together.  Have I mentioned how much I love the new clear blocks, they are sooooo comfortable and so easy to use.  If I only had all of the time in the world I would probably unmount the many retired stamp sets that I have that I refuse to part with, but as for now there just isn't enough time.  Wow I got sidetracked there, here is the card that I came up with for the challenge.  This card uses a lot of dimensionals.  I have the center white layer up on dimensionals, which I may end up taking out because I do not really like the way that you can see the rose layer peeking out from under it since it is raised up.    The regal rose flower has double layers of dimensionals to make it stand up higher than the teal flowers which are on one dimensional each.  Each flower is sponged with chocolate chip ink.  The large flower has an awesome chocolate chip epoxy brad and the smaller ones have vintage brads in them.  I hope you enjoy, and soon I hope to get back on a regular posting schedule!

Don’t forget to head over to the Diva Blog to check out the awesome samples from the other divas and play along too! 

Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Well Scripted

Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose and Taken with Teal

Paper:  Regal Rose, Whisper White, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack

Accessories:  Elementary Ribbon Originals, Dimensionals, Chocolate Chip Epoxy Brads, Vintage Brads

Tools:  Clear Blocks, Big Shot, Scallop Oval Frame Bigz die, Sponge

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Helping Haiti

Stampin’ Up! is such a great company to “work” for.  Last week they announced a program to donate a portion of sales of the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund.  I will also donate 100% of my profit of this stamp set as well as 50% of my profit from any purchase from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

 

 

Help make a difference in the lives of those who
continue to suffer from the effects of the devastating
earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12. From now
until February 28, 2010, Stampin' Up!® will set aside
$2 from the sale of every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set
and donate it to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief
and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well established
in Haiti, and this money will be used
to provide immediate relief and long-term support
through supplies, technical assistance and other
support to help those in need.

Product Name	Item #	Price
I {Heart} Hearts – clear-mount  (block D recommended)	118571	$18.95
I {Heart} Hearts – wood-mount	117010	$26.95

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Diva Coffee Break Designs Challenge # 161

This weeks challenge is a sketch challenge.  It is a great sketch as it is very versatile and can go so many different ways.  In fact, due to life getting in the way, I have not had the chance to actually sit down and stamp since receiving the sketch but I found something I made at the beginning of the month which practically uses the sketch.  Here is the sketch itself:

This is a card that I am still on the fence about.  I am not sure whether or not I actually like it.  I was playing around with some of the new SAB designer series paper.  It is from the Welcome Neighbor Designer Series Paper Pad, which is a pad of 72 sheets of Stampin’ Up! designer paper, which you can earn absolutely free now until March 31st. 

I like the color combo because it is not something I would traditionally use so it has that new and different feel for me.  I also really struggled with adding a sentiment.  I tried adding something on all different types of layers and all over the card and I was not really happy with any of them so I just stamped it above the house with the heart since it seemed fitting.

Don’t forget to head over to the Diva Blog to check out the other great samples and play along too! 

Stamps:  Whimsical Words

Ink:  Basic Black

Paper:  Welcome Neighbor Designer Series Paper Pad, Bermuda Bay

Accessories:  Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Ribbon, Stampin Dimensionals

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Diva Coffee Break Designs Challenge #160

At first glance this color combo did not look too bad, but when I sat down to do it, man it killed me.  I kept wanting to add more, but I could not.  Here is the challenge:

Really, no colors, just neutrals.  I chose to use basic gray because that is what I had the most of.  This is a card that turned out completely different than I had envisioned.  I was going for a vintage-y card because I thought that would be one of the easiest ways to use the colors.  But then I inked up the wrong texture plate and everything changed from there.  Here is what the card ended up looking like:

I am pretty happy with the way that it turned out.  The sentiment was created by stamping the whole image in my basic gray ink pad and then coloring the word heart with my basic black marker.  I created the basic gray and black polka-dotted paper by brayering some basic black ink onto the small polka dotted texturz plate, then you just put your sandwich together like normal and run it through the big shot.  (I did put a piece of computer paper between my basic gray and the rubber embossing mat thing to protect it from the black ink.)  I really love the new scalloped edge border and corner punches, it is so awesome that the border punch is free but I am bummed that it wont be around forever because it is totally my favorite.  I am also just noticing that I need to change the blade in my paper cutter because there is a little fraying on the top left edge, but I will go back over that with my sanding block to fix it easy peasy. 

Ok so I finally got that card done, and I had a really hard time refraining from adding a touch of color, so many different colors would have worked.  So I quickly made a second card with a little bit of color thrown in.

 

Don’t forget to head over to the Diva Blog to check out the other great samples and play along too! 

Stamps:  Whimsical Words

Ink:  Basic Black pad and marker, Basic Gray (and on the 2nd card real red marker)

Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Gray, Basic Black (2nd card also has real red)

Accessories:  Whisper White Taffetta ribbon, stampin’ dimensionals

Tools:  Scallop Trim border and corner punches, full heart punch, big shot and texturz plate, brayer

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Rag Quilt Purse

Ok so today I do not have any stamping to show you but my project does relate to Stampin’ Up!  Last week a friend contacted me and told me about this purse that she had seen on a stamping blog and asked if I could make one for her daughter.  I took a look at how to make it and since I had the tools needed I said ok.  As I was working on it, my 7 year old watched in amazement as it came together.  She had a birthday party to go to on Saturday and asked if I could make one for her to give as her present because she thought it was so cool.  So I went and made another one.  Now she is asking for one herself.  Here is the one that she brought to her party.  We filled it with girly bath/spa type stuff, shower gel, nail polish etc. 

I am not sure exactly how much fabric is needed at this time to make the purse as I was just using scraps from other projects.  I am not a talented sewer by any means, in fact until this past Christmas Break I had never sewn anything that was not a straight line.  Luckily this bag is all straight lines.  I used the big shot and the clear scallop square die.  It was so easy I cannot believe it. 

Tools: Scallop Square Clear Die, Big Shot, Fabric, Batting, Button

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I am hooked!

I am so in love with the clear mount stamps from Stampin’ Up!  I had preordered a few of them and was using a cassette tape case since I didn't own any acrylic blocks.  I should be getting my SU! acrylic blocks sometime tonight as soon as the UPS guys makes it here.  But in the meantime I had found a set of 4 Fiskars Acrylic Blocks at a garage sale for 50 cents that I figured would make life easier while I waited.  An oh the difference it made.  The clear mount stamps are fabulous.  Now they are not clear stamps as there is still the quality foam and the usual red rubber that Stampin’ Up! is known for.  I was so skeptical at how much I would like stamps that I had to assemble every time I used them but I was still going to be getting them for the storage option.  But I think it will be clear mounts for me from now on!

This is a 3x3 card and I love the way it turned out.  This is the new vintage vogue stamp set and it is so pretty and versatile, I have used it to make so many cards already. 

Stamps:  Vintage Vogue

Ink:  Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry

Paper: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry Textured Cardstock

Accessories: Stampin’ Dimensionals

Tools: Crop a dile (3/8th inch puncher for the flower centers)

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Calendars

I have had several people ask me if I would sell the calendars.  The answer is yes.  I am still trying to find the perfect quotes for a few of the months.   This is a 12x12 calendar and it is $34.95 plus tax per calendar.  It will be printed from SU!’s high quality print vendor.  And as a bonus I will pay for shipping costs of the calendar.  I will update my blog with the finished quotes asap but you can purchase them with or with out quotes.  Let me know if there is anything else that you would like customized and depending on how difficult or time consuming it is I can probably do it for you.  Also it is Sale A Bration time, so if you purchase $15.05 more worth of product you will get to pick a free item from the SAB catalog. 

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A 2010 Calendar

I was inspired by Patty Bennett to create a calendar using some of the pictures I had taken over the last year.  I love how simple it was to create using the My Digital Studio program from Stampin’ Up!  This calendar practically threw itself together and I love it.  I have yet to figure out how to export the calendar pages as they would appear in an actual calendar so I will show you each month side by side.

 

I think I am going to go back in and add a quote to each page.  This year I plan to take a picture of the kiddos for each month page and create a scrapbook calendar of the little life events that happen. 

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Diva Coffee Break Designs Challenge #159

Today’s challenge was a sketch challenge.  The sketch was a hard one for me and I ended up just going with sketch as it was originally drawn.  Here is a picture of the sketch:It might have been the butterflies throwing me for a loop, I am not sure what it was.  I used one of my new clear mount stamp sets called  Vintage Vogue.  Here are what the new clear mount stamp sets look like:

The stamp sets come in DVD size cases with the images of the set on the cover!

After you mount your stamps this is what it looks like when you open the stamp case.

This is the case opened up looking through the back cover.  This is the image that you see through the clear block while you are stamping!

  This is the spine of the DVD case.  I love how there is an index of the stamps on the spine.  This new mounting option is a wonderful help since I have lost my stamping room and all of my storage space. 

Ok, now back to my card.  I absolutely love the look of the Vintage Vogue stamp set.  It is so pretty and elegant and couldn't wait to use it so I made it work for this challenge.  The colors that I used are old olive, crushed curry and rich razzleberry. 

All of the flowers are cut out and the main flower is popped up with dimensionals as well at the curry layer.    Don't forget to head over to the Diva Blog to make sure that you check out all of the other samples and then play along yourself, you have a week to get a card done. 

Stamps: Vintage Vogue

Ink:  Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry

Paper: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White and Crushed Curry Textured

Accessories:  Vintage Brads, Stampin Dimensionals

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Just in case you haven't heard…

A lot of new and exciting things are going on today.   I finally got to stamp again for the first time in a few weeks.  I took a long break for the holidays to spend time with family and take care of holiday related business.  It was a wonderful time but it is also good to get back to stamping! 

Today starts the Stampin’ Up! Occasions Mini catalog and the SAB  (sale-a-bration) catalog.  There are so many new and exciting products in these two booklets, I am just so excited and cannot wait to get my new order that I placed in the wee hours of the morning today. 

First off, Stampin’ Up! is offering clear mount stamps!  At first I really did not think that it was a big deal and ordered a few sets for Christmas to have under the tree.  You do still have the option of regular wood mount but I chose some clear mount because they were cheaper.  They are still made out of the same great RUBBER as the wood stamps that we have always carried and they have a label that sticks to the back.  Silly me, I didn't order any clear blocks so I had to go searching around the house to find something to make it work.  (I was not about to go out and spend some money on contraband block at a local store because I know SU! are going to be fabulous.)  Anyways I ended up with the case of a cassette tape and that worked enough to get the job done.  And I am really in love with these new version of stamps.  I just know that when I get the clear blocks from SU! that I will love them even more. 

Secondly, we are now in the SAB promotion period.  For every $50 product order you place with me you will get a free item from the SAB catalog.  There are tons of stamp sets, some new and exclusive to the SAB brochure (even clear mount option) and some that are in the main catalog, there is a new punch and even a designer series paper stack. 

Third, this was kind of mentioned in the first one but you can now order from the Occasions mini catalog.  This catalog is full of all sorts of fun new stuff.  One thing that I really appreciate is that the clear mount stamps will take up so much less room and so will the new punches.  Oh did I mention that they have changed the punch style?  They lock in a closed position and are just so cool.

Fourth, there is a new fabulous insert for the Definitely Decorative brochure.  I am so excited about the new chalkboard decor elements.  They look like so much fun, the hard part is trying to decided which one I want the most!

Fifth, there is a fabulous new product offer for a limited time only.  With the popularity of the treat cups and stamp set in the Holiday mini catalog, Stampin’ Up! created a set just for Valentine’s Day and special heart shaped treat cups.  You can click the links on the left side bar to see all of these new additions.

Sorry to spend so much time talking and not showing any stamping.  You will have to wait until tomorrow to see my first sample with the new clear mount stamps, because I made the card for the Diva Challenge. 

I had the need to make a bunch of masculine birthday cards.  When I sat down I realized that I did not have a single current masculine stamp.  Somehow they all retired and I didn't pay any attention as I put them all away.  So here are a few of my attempts to create masculine cards.

 

Most of these use retired DSP.  I know that I probably cased ideas from people but I made these a month ago and I don't have a clue as to where I have seen them. 

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