Encre, papier, ciseaux

Kids!!!

I love to buy magazines of all sorts, especially crafting magazines. Truthfully, though, while I read them all, I don't really use them for inspiration as much as I should. A while ago, I went through the whole stack to try and organize them. I gave some away, and I put some aside with little post-it notes of projects I wanted to CASE. This page is inspired by one of the projects I had flagged. 12 x 12 is usually my size of choice, mainly because by sticking to one format, I can have all of my pages pertaining to one subject in the same album, but I do love to switch format once in a while for stand-alone pictures.

The original page was in shades of pink and blue. My color combo was mainly dictated by the pictures and my stash of retired cardstock, which I'd like to slowly deplete. That is how I ended up pairing Cranberry Crisp (remember that color? First year of In Colors...) with Kiwi Kiss, Bermuda Bay and Marigold Morning.

To make the big scallops at the bottom of the page, I drew a pencil line and used my Circle Coluzzle to cut half-circles following that line. I then picked a stamp from the Circle Circus set and added an image in each scallop. I used this set on the Marigold Morning cardstock as well, and I punched the bottom edge of that cardstock using the Spirals punch.

The title gave me a little bit of grief. I was looking through my rub-ons and stickers to find something suitable to create the title when I stumbled unto a kit of sticky rub-on letters that you cover with glitter. The glitter in the pack included green, teal and copper, so I thought it would work perfectly. Anyway, I don't know it those are old and losing their "sticky" over time, but I couldn't get the glitter to cover half of them. I also had trouble getting them to stay down, so some of the letters either moved or even ripped the cardstock off. Very disappointing! To try and salvage the letters, I pulled out my Pearl Ex powders, found matching colors and rubbed the pigment on the letters using a dry brush, which helped some.

Notice the scallop border of the left edge of my top picture? Those were stamped using the doily from the Kindness Matters set, which is one of the current SAB offerings.

 

 

Color Combo: Marigold Morning + Cranberry Crisp + Bermuda Bay + Kiwi Kiss

 

Supplies
Stamps: Circle Circus, Kindness Matters
Cardstock: Marigold Morning, Kiwi Kiss, Bermuda Bay, Cranberry Crisp
Inks: Cranberry Crisp, Marigold Morning
Accessories: Circle Coluzzle, Pearls, Chipboard stickers, Bermuda Bay polka dot ribbon,
stitching rub-on, Letter rub-ons, glitter, Pearl Ex, Markers, Letter stickers, Spirals punch,
glittered chipboard, Scallop Edge punch, white gel pen, Corner Rounder punch

 

Total Bliss

I try to keep a variety of cards on hand at the office and noticed I didn't have any Non-Valentine love cards anymore. So I looked through my stamps and picked this sheep couple from the Ewe Complete Me set to pair with the TCP color combo and Verve February sketch #1 challenges.

The TCP combo was Aqua + Spring Moss + Pink and the first papers that came to mind when I read the combo were the Holiday Happenings DSP that used to be part of a hostess kit a few years ago. I'm down to a few scraps, but I had enough left to make the card and matching envelope. The main image was stamped in Versamark and embossed with gold powder on watercolor paper and I used my Watercolor Wonder crayons to color it. I used to be so in love with those crayons when I first bought them. Back then, I couldn't control inks the way I wanted when watercoloring, so those crayons allowed me more control over the finished look. I think I started to use them less when SU! started issuing In Colors, which didn't have WW matches. That's when I turned to watercoloring with inks and mastered this medium through trial and errors and the WW crayons sort of fell on the wayside. I did invest in the color upgrade kit and when I pulled them out the other day, I wondered why I had stopped using them in the first place! They are great!

Anyway, back to the card - I wanted to use textured ribbons to match the sheep, so I layered some clear tinsel (that I scored from the Clearance Rack a couple of months ago) over a piece of Chocolate felt ribbon (one of my favorite SU! ribbons ever). I added a Baja Breeze button from the Twitterpated pack on top of the tinsel bow. For the sentiment, I looked at my sentiment binder and found one that said "Total Bliss" in an older hostess set that was called Des mots chaleureux, so I stamped the words on a scrap of Design paper and punched them out with the Word Window punch. I then added two pink rhinestones from the Flower die-cut kit (in the Occasions mini) and I decided to add an additional rhinestone to the flower center as well.

Finally, I used the hearts embossing folder from the Occasions mini at the bottom of the card and added Dazzling Details to each heart.

 

 

Inspiration: Verve February Sketch #1 + TCP #198

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Ewe Complete Me (Cat's Pajamas), Des mots chaleureux (SU!)
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze, watercolor paper
Design paper: Holiday Happenings
Inks: Versamark, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Gold embossing powder, Watercolor Wonder crayons, blending pen, dies,
Stampin' Dimensionals, hearts embossing folder, clear tinsel, Twitterpated button,
Word Window punch, pink rhinestones, Chocolate Chip felt ribbon, Dazzling Details

 

Best Birthday Wishes

I drew inspiration for this card from the February Verve sketch #2 on SCS and the Colour Queen combo #125. I was short on time and decided I wanted to keep the design simple and I am actually happy with how that one turned out (which isn't always the case when I try to make something simple). I think this could make a great masculine birthday card.

I stamped the panels with the Every Little Bit set, which I hadn't used in a while. The gift were clear-embossed and the stars were silver-embossed. The fun sentiment comes from the Happiest Birthday Wishes hostess set. Isn't it fun? This set went straight on my wish list the minute I saw it. We can never have too many birthday sentiments, since those are the ones I use the most. I used markers to ink the various letters and I added a brad to dot the "i". Using the Mat Pack, I added a row of piercing underneath the sentiment. The background papers are from the Twitterpated paper pack.

The cQc colour combo uses Dusty Durango, which is now retired, but if you wanted to recreate the look, I would simply advise you swap this colour for Cajun Craze, which would look equally good. (I initially considered using this colour, but then I thought it would be a good opportunity to use my retired stash.)

Three brads lined up using the Mat Pack complete the look.

 

 

Inspiration: February Verve Sketch #2

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Every Little Bit, Voeux multiples (Happiest Birthday Wishes)
Cardstock: Dusty Durango, Lucky Limeade, Basic Grey, Whisper White
Design paper: Twitterpated
Inks: Dusty Durango, Lucky Limeade, Baja Breeze, Versamark
Accessories: Paper piercer and mat pack, White envelope, Markers, Brads,
Embossing powders (Silver and Clear), Dusty Durango polka dot ribbon

 

Happy St. Patty's!

Last week, I was looking through my clear-mounted stamps and notice I tend to forget about those since they are kept separately from my wood-mounted stamps (and I am still very much a wood-mount girl). So, I pulled out a couple of stamp sets that I hadn't used in a while and left them on my desk for future inspiration. One of those sets is Gift Givers, which was part of the last mini. I did use it a few times while the mini was still available, but I mainly focused on the winter images. I hadn't used the St. Patrick stamp yet and it is SOO cute that I wanted to make sure it had seen ink at least once.

Then, when I saw the February Verve sketch #4 on SCS, I thought it would work perfect with the circle image I was hoping to use. The sketch is very simple, so I knew I had to find a way to make the large background interesting somehow. Then came the idea to do a woven background using strips of various green papers, so I looked into my paper scraps and put this together, adding a couple of ribbons here and there.

The main image was stamped on watercolor paper in Black StazOn and watercolored with inks and a blending pen. Once everything was dry, I added a bit of Dazzling Details around the leprechaun to give him a "magical" look. I wanted to mat the image to give it more presence on the card, so I used the 2-3/8 Scallop Circle punch, but I thought it still looked a little bare, so I pulled the Lucky Limeade organza ribbon from the Everyday Enchantment SAB embellishments pack and used the Spirelli technique Suzanne showed us at our team Christmas party. (My team and I meet every month to share techniques and ideas. You should make sure to sign up during SAB to enjoy the wonderful promotion and join in the fun!) Then I added small pearls where the ribbon didn't cross.

Finally, I added a strip of cardstock to mimick the sketch. It felt a little bare so I was thinking of adding dry embossing with a folder but I thought it might be a little too much against the busy background. Then, I thought I could try to find a heart stamp to create a four-leaf clover. (In retrospect, as I am writing this, I realize I had a few shamrocks image in my collection, in last year's SAB set and in the Every Little Bit set. Duh!) Anyway, I couldn't find a small enough heart to recreate the look, but thought I could do it with the Heart to Heart punch and create a tone-on-tone, faux embossed look. So I stamped the background with the hearts from the Confetti set and then I assembled my shamrocks using the punched hearts, adding a stem with a marker. I tore the end of the strip and added a border punched with the Pinking Hearts punch, in Soft Suede. Then I went looking for a Happy St. Patrick's Day stamp and found one in the retired En toutes occasions (old hostess set). I thought we had one in the Teeny Tiny Wishes set, but apparently, the French version doesn't include it.

Once everything was put together, i added a last-minute detail by covering the shamrocks with Dazzling Details and I'm glad I did because it really gave life to the card.

I hope you'll all wear green on March 17th!

 

 

Inspiration: February Verve Sketch #4

Color Combo: Pear Pizzazz + Soft Suede + Always Artichoke + Soft Sky

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Gift Givers, En toutes occasions, Confetti
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, Soft Sky, watercolor paper
Design papers: Holiday Harmony, Wintergreen
Inks: Black StazOn, Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Pear Pizzazz, S
oft Sky, So Saffron, Peach Passion, Blush Blossom
Accessories: Soft Suede polka dot grosgrain ribbon, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon,
Heart to Heart punch, Pinking Hearts border punch, 2-3/8 Scallop Circle punch, Pearls,
Lucky Limeade organza ribbon, marker, blending pen, Dazzling Details, Stampin' Dimensionals,
1-3/4 Circle punch

 

Spring is in the Air

Not really, as it has been snowing last night and I just had to go move my car so that the snow plough could take away the snow in the parking lot, but Spring is what I feel my card today inspires. Wishful thinking, maybe? The initial inspiration for it was the new hostess set that is showcased in the Occasions mini called Up in the Air. I was really looking forward to scoring a copy of it for myself and this is my first time inking it. The cute birdhouse was my favorite part of the set. I also looked online for sketch and colour inspiration and used the Deconstructed Sketch and the Play Date Cafe challenges as additional inspiration.

Another new item I tried out on this card is the Fancy Fan Letterpress plate I finally decided to get. I have *got* to include this item in a future class so you can give it a try because it is really fun! I was pleasantly surprised at how even an impression I got with it and how easy it was to use. It produces a completely different result from the embossing folders and it is so elegant! Since Craft ink is recommended to get the best results, I had the idea of adding Iridescent Ice powder on it before the ink dryed after I was done embossing. Gorgeous!

The main image was cut with the Labels Framelits and I used a tiny needle to add piercing around it. I stamped the birdhouse in Baja Breeze on a second piece of cardstock, used the handheld punch to punch the hole, colored the hole with a Basic Grey marker on the original piece and then layered the new birdhouse using Dimensionals. It really looks as if you can see inside the birdhouse! I added a tiny butterfly using the Beautiful Wings embosslits.

The sentiment comes from the Happiest Birthday Wishes hostess set and was embossed in white on a Baja Breeze strip of cardstock, whose ends I curled using the needle on my paper piercer to do so. I added two glimmer brads from the In Color pack at the top and I used my circle punch to create two notches at the bottom of the cardstock, which I used to tie some Baja Breeze seam binding around at the bottom. I added a matching button from the Twitterpated pack threaded with White baker's twine.

 

 
Inspiration: Deconstructed Sketch #40 + Play Date Cafe #120

Color Combo: Peach Passion + Pear Pizzazz + Baja Breeze

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: C'est dans l'air (Up in the Air), Voeux multiples (Happiest Birthday Wishes)
Cardstock: Peach Passion, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, watercolor paper
Designer paper: Pear Pizzazz
Inks: Baja Breeze, Versamark, Pear Pizzazz
Big Shot: Labels Collection Framelits, Fancy Fan Letterpress plate, Beautiful Wings Embosslits
Accessories: Baja Breeze seam binding, Twitterpated button, White baker's twine, Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Embossing powders (White and Iridescent Ice), paper piercer, Basic Grey marker,
In Color glimmer brads, Stampin' Dimensionals, 1-in. Circle punch

 

London at Night

When I received the new Simply Scrappin' from the Occasions mini, it inspired me to do some scrapbooking. I seem to have a pattern where I get so involved with Christmas projects at the end of fall that I don't get any scrapbooking done at all for months and then when January rolls around, I want to work on something different so I get inspired to crank out pages.

This page was made with a picture that my sister took when she went to London to visit a friend who was studying there. I thought the colors in the picture matched the colors of the kit nicely, and I used one of the February Page Maps sketches as additional inspiration.

I had first planned on adding my title to the right side of my picture, but when the letters moved on the page and created sort of an arc, I thought they would look better as a banner at the top. You can see I used the awesome Letter It set to create the first part of the title, and I completed the rest using the Spencerian Lower Alphabet. I embossed the words with the Pewter embossing powder (which is being carried over from the Holidays mini) and I found the letters didn't pop enough on the patterned paper so I rubbed some White Frost shimmer paint over it using a sponge dauber.

The cute little yellow tickets are from the Vintage Attic journaling blocks kit. Aren't they darling? I didn't think they would be this mini, which makes them even cuter! They were just the perfect touch to finish this page.

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Spencerian Alphabet Lower, Letter It, Merci beaucoup,
Everything Eleanor, Textured wheel
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Basic Grey
Simply Scrappin' Kit: Spring Fever
Inks: Versamark, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Buttons, Pewter embossing powder, brads, Vintage Attic journaling blocks,
White embossing powder, markers, rhinestones, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Scallop Ribbon punch, White Frost shimmer paint, dauber

 

Queen for a Day

I am really excited about the card I am showing you today. It started out with a sketch and I pulled out my Color Coach and played around with colors to find something something fresh and vibrant.

Since I had pulled out the Forever Young set earlier this week, it was still on my desk and I had the idea to use the portrait inside of the frame from the Elementary Elegance SAB set. So I started by embossing the frame in white on Coral Calypso paper (from the gorgeous Everyday Enchantment SAB assortment). I cut the frame out with a circle cutter and used the Curly Label punch to punch out the centre. On a separate piece of Peach Passion cardstock, I stamped the silhouette in Basic Grey craft ink and covered it with clear embossing powder.

 

Tip: If you do want to get craft ink so that you can emboss in various colors, you should have a look at our Stampin' Spots assortments. They are an inexpensive option to add a variety of colours to your ink arsenal, they don't take up a lot of room and they already come in a box ready to be stored. Always make sure you store your Stampin' Spots upside down so that the ink stays on top of the ink pad. This way, your Stampin' Spots will always be juicy when you use them.

 

After stamping the silhouette, I spotted the crown in the SAB set and thought, Hmm, I wonder if it's the right size to add on the girl's head... And it is! I wanted the crown to be sparkly, so I stamped it in Versamark (using the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to line it up) and embossed it with Iridescent Ice powder. Then I remembered we carry a stamp that says "Queen for a Day" in the You're a Gem set so I added this sentiment in Versamark at the bottom and embossed it with the Pewter powder. I made sure the sentiment would fit in the frame by laying it on top of the image and using the Stamp-a-Ma-jig to line up the sentiment properly. Then, I punched the image out with the 2-1/2 Circle punch and added it underneath the frame using Stampin' Dimensionals.

The So Saffron background was stamped with the flourish from the Fresh Vintage set (another SAB freebie) and embossed with clear powder. As you can see, I was on an embossing mission here and pretty much used all of my embossing powders! I then matted my image using the Paper Doily die and added some Pool Party paper from the Sweet Treat pack.

The left border was created by adding some Pool Party ruffled ribbon to the side of a piece of Coral Calypso textured cardstock (don't forget to add textured cardstock to your creation, it really adds dimension!) and I stamped the edge with the border stamp from the Fresh Vintage set. I then used the 3-Way Flower punch to punch three shapes out of Whisper White cardstock and I stamped the flower from the Fresh Vintage set in different colors on them, then I accented the centres with glimmer brads. (Note: We don't have glimmer brads in all of the colors I was using but some of them were close enough match to work. I used Bashful Blue to go with Pool Party and Gold to go with So Saffron.) I also added the new bigger-sized pearls on the right side of my main image.

 

 

 

Color Combo: Peach Passion + Coral Calypso + So Saffron + Pool Party

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Fresh Vintage, Mon trésor, Élégance élémentaire, Fine Flourish, Forever Young
Cardstock: So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Peach Passion, Whisper White
Design paper: Sweet Shop
Inks: Basic Grey, Versamark, So Saffron, Pool Party, Peach Passion
Accessories: Glimmer brads, 3-Way Flower punch, Paper Doily die,
Pearls, Embossing powders (Iridescent Ice, White, Pewter), Stampin' Dimensionals,
Pool Party ruffled ribbon, Ticket Corner punch, Circle cutter

 

She Turned Her Can'ts Into Cans

One of the M&Ts at Leadership included a quote sheet made with MDS that was supposed to be turned into a frame. I knew that I didn't have room for a frame at home and thought the page could be turned into a nice scrapbook page, so I looked at my pictures to find something suitable and I added the 8½x11 MDS page to a 12 x 12 page.

The flowers you see on the page are all mostly from the flower die-cut pack that is sold in the Occasions mini, along with the pink rhinestones. Had you noticed it?  Everyone I show my Leadership M&Ts to ask what those flowers are, so I guess most people hadn't noticed them.

The page was originally white, but as per M&T instructions, I used a sponge and the Tea stain ink spot from the Distressing Kit to distress the page. It looks really cool! To fill in the bottom of the page, I added a piece of rickrack die-cut with my beloved Tasteful Trims die and added some gathered seam binding on top. To gather the ribbon, I picked up a thread in the center of the seam binding and pulled on it to gather the ribbon and then I glued it in place on the page using Sticky Strip. The right border of the page was stamped with a flower from the Mixed Bunch stamp set using the Tea stain ink again.

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Mixed Bunch
Cardstock: Blushing Bride
Inks: Tea stain (Distressing kit)
Punches: Blossom, 3-Way Flower
Big Shot: Tasteful Trims die, Fun Flowers die
Accessories: Baja Breeze seam binding, sponge, brads, Daffodil grosgrain ribbon,
MDS page, rhinestone, Brights button, Blossom Builder die-cut kit,
rhinestones, Marker, Distressing tool (Cutter kit)

 

Create & Keep Creation

Another item that has been on my wish list and that made its way onto my second Occasions mini order was the Create & Keep kit. I just thought the colours were beautiful and I loved the green envelopes! Let me tell you, this kit didn't disappoint! I think you can create quick, beautiful card in minutes if you use the elements from the kit, but you can also transform the cards into something more intricate if you add elements from your stash and stamped images to them.

To illustrate my point, let me share you a card I made with the kit. I started with an Early Espresso card and paired it with the beautiful Vintage Attic papers. I rounded the edge of the paper using a circle cutter and added our frilly Pool Party ribbon around the rounded edge.

The main image was created using the journaling block stamp from a new upcoming set we received as a gift at Leadership called Everything Eleanor. I stamped the block in Daffodil Delight, then I inked the flourish from the same set in Calypso Coral, stamped the ink off on a scrap of paper first and then added the flourish on the edges of the block before cutting it out. I then stamped and embossed the sentiment from the Il faut bien le dire (Occasions) SAB set in the center and colored the letters using a Calypso Coral and Poppy Parade markers.

I used some sticky die-cuts from the Create & Keep kit to accent the patterned paper. I added two flowers and a scallop border, which I then decorated with pearls. (On a side note, those pearls are probably the one item from the catalogue that I use the most. I remember when the pearls were part of the Pretties kit, how I wanted to put them on everything but had to pace myself since they could only be bought as part of the kit... Now that I can restock on them any time I want, I put them on everything!)

The card base was stamped with the same flourish from the Everything Eleanor set and I added two die-cut flowers from the kit, which I accented with punched flowers (punched with the Itty Bitty punch set) with a pearl center.

The beautiful green envelopes come with the Create & Keep kit. I decorated one with punched flowers and to make the center, I took one of the die-cuts from the kit that had "hi" on it and hid the words using a brad from the SAB pack. Don't forget you can always hide English words with accents or punched pieces to use your packs to the max!

 

 

Let me also share the beautiful box that comes with the kit. It comes in two separate sections that you have to glue together with Sticky Strip. There's even a velcro closure that's already in place - very neat! The box is already multicolored and beautiful, but I thought I would add some stacked flowers to the front to make it even more beautiful. I stacked a flower from the Blossoms Builder die-cut flower pack, then a second punched with the Blossom punch and a third flower punched with our 3-way punch in the center and a big Designer button threaded with Coral Calypso baker's twine. LOVE my baker's twine, especially the new In Colors that are now available!

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stanps: Il faut bien le dire (SAB), Everything Eleanor
Cardstock: Whisper White
Simply Sent kit: Create & Keep (Occasions Mini 2011)
Designer paper: Vintage Attic
Inks: Daffodil Delight, Coral Calypso, Early Espresso, Soft Suede
Accessories: Pearls, Pool Party ruffled ribbon, Boho Blossom punch, Bitty punch,
Daily Enchantment brads, Clear embossing powder, Markers

 

On the Swing at Sunset

This is my latest creation, done with the Twitterpated Suite products. I wanted to use catalogue stamps for a change and after looking at my collection, I chose to pull out the Forever Young set. I stamped the tree in Basic Grey craft ink on pink Twitterpated paper and embossed it with clear powder, then I used a sponge and some Blushing Bride and Coral Calypso ink to create a gradient look in the sky behind the tree. I cut the image out with a circle cutter and matted it with the Scallop Circle #2 die.

For the background stripes, I used the Ribbon Lace border to punch stripes out of Baja Breeze cardstock and layered them over a piece of Baja Breeze DSP from the Twitterpated pack. On the bottom strip, I added a piece of Blushing Bride pleated satin ribbon and added a Build-a-Brad at the left. (Those are retired, but you could use the 3/8 in. brads for a similar look). I punched a circle to add on top and covered it with Crystal Effects. Pearls were added to the two top rows.

The sentiment block was created using another catalogue set called Four Frames. I stamped the frame on patterned paper and punched it out using the matching Decorative Label punch, then used a sentiment from the SAB Il faut bien le dire set and punched this one out with the Large Oval punch. I then added a flower made with the Boho Blossoms punch and Bitty punch with a Twitterpated button in the centre.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Forever Young, Il faut bien le dire (SAB), Four Frames
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz
Design papers: Twitterpated
Inks: Basic grey, Island Indigo
Punches: Decorative Label, Lace Ribbon, Circle, Large Oval, Boho Blossoms, Bitty punch pack
Big Shot: Scallop Circle die
Accessories: Circle cutter, Build-a-Brad, Crystal Effects, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Clear embossing powder, Pearls, Twitterpated button

 

Quick and Easy Scrapbook Page

This 8x8 page is another M&T from Leadership. It was simple and easy to do, but I like how it turned out. I made it after I got back home since I had to pick a picture to put on it, and I found this old picture of my sister and I from her first year of university, when she was living in Quebec City with me. Good times...

The page can be created in minutes since the flowers all come from the die-cut flower pack from the Occasions mini (p. 18) and therefore, all you have to do is take the flowers out of the 12x12 sheets and assemble them on the page. The banners are also from the same die-cut kits, and I clipped one in place on a flower using our mini clips, decorated with a bow made out of the SAB organza ribbon.

At left, we created flags using brochette wooden sticks cut to size and paper that was punched with the Pennant punch. The hearts weren't part of the original design, but I had some leftover hearts that I had punched at the Regionald that were the right color and I thought they added a nice touch, especially with the rhinestones. The patterned paper is from the Twitterpated pack, and the buttons are from the Brights pack (which you can get for free during SAB!). The background was stamped with a flower from the Mixed Bunch set that we received at Leadership.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Mixed Bunch
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Designer paper`: Twitterpated
Ink: Baja Breeze
Accessories: Blossom Builders Designer Printed Kit, Rhinestone basic jewels,
Markers, Brights buttons, Lucky Limeade organza ribbon (SAB), Pennant punch,
Heart punch, wooden sticks

 

Another Cowboy Creation...

Didn't I tell you Cowboy Kid is my go-to set? Before I left for the Holidays, a coworker asked for a birthday card for her grandson. She said he loves trucks and Woody from Toy Story. Although I do not have a Woody stamp, I figured the cowboy from Cowboy Kid would appeal to a little boy just the same. I also kept thinking about the "To my Grandson" stamp from the new Loved Ones set I had just preordered so I was happy to have a chance to use it right away.

I looked through my extensive paper stash to find something bright and masculine and found these old Chatterbox paper scraps. I just noticed looking at both pictures that I love giving him a striped shirt. I think this might be because Cowboy Kid reminds me a little of Calvin from the comic Calvin & Hobbes... 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Cowboy Kid, Êtres chers (Loved Ones)
Cardstock: Blue, Orange
Patterned papers: Chatterbox
Accessories; Envelope template, Baker's twine, Grosgrain ribbon, Circle die,
Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Hey There, Cowboy!

A work colleague requested a birthday card for a little boy who was turning three. She told me that little boy loves coybows, so that was a great excuse to get my retired Cowboy Kid set out. I don't think I could have predicted how much use I'd get out of that set when I first bought it. I find it's my main go-to set for masculine cards.

I looked through my papers for something bright since this card was destined for a kid and I found the retired Creative License Simply Scrappin' kit. I love those kits because they allow me to whip up a cute card in no time. This card took an hour at the most. The sentiment comes from the Petite Pairs set and was stamped on one of the die-cuts from the kit.

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Cowboy Kid, Quelques lignes (Petite Pairs)
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Soft Sky
Simply Scrappin' Kit: Creative License
Inks: Basic Black, Not Quite Navy
Accessories, White envelope, Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals, Pumpkin rickrack,
Brad, Paper piercer and Mat Pack

 

Framed Flowers

The neat thing about this card is that it was entirely made with leftover and recycled pieces. The vellum image was cut for our last club project. One of the participant stamped the flowers with the wrong ink and swapper her piece with my demo piece. We had been talking about dry-embossing  part of an image on vellum, so I decided to use the scrap to demonstrate how it was done using the stylus from my Simply Scored tool. That was the starting point for this card. I had also shown the club members how to use the new border dies, hence the green scallop piece, and the pink cardstock with the pinked edge was a discarded piece from a card that didn't work out like I had envisioned.

At the top of the Pear Pizzazz cardstock, I stamped one of the stitching row from my unmounted In Stitches wheel and added small pearls on each flourish. The center panel was embossed using the Big Shot and the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.

I decided I wanted to frame my flowers, so I embossed the rectangle frame using the Designer Frames embossing folder (free during SAB!) and punched the center out using my square punch twice. I then added various lengths of Lucky Limeade organza ribbon (free during SAB!) and added a bow. I then added pearls to the center of my flowers and voilà!

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Bordering on Romance, In Stitches wheel
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Vellum
Inks: Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Stylus, Pearls, Border die and embossing folder,
Designer Frames embossing folder, Square punch, Lucky Limeade Organza ribbon (SAB),
Ticket Corner punch, Pinking Hearts border punch, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder

 

Bright Blooms

One of the perks from Leadership is that we received two exclusive upcoming sets. One of them is called Bright Blooms and it matches the beautiful bag we received at the event. I was really excited to put some ink on it when I came back home and so I created this fun, fast card using it. Although this set is not available for purchase just yet, the sentiment set I paired with it is: it's from Occasions, one of the stamp set you can get for FREE during Sale-a-Bration!

The color combo was inspired from the beautiful colors of the fabric used on our bag, except that the original combo used Real Red and I chose to go with Poppy Parade since it will be retiring soon and I want to use it as much as possible before it does. I like the modern feel those colours have together.

I was playing catch-up with old Mojo sketch and used #225. To break up the squares a bit, I layered punched circles on them and voluntarily added some of them off-center to make it more whimsical.  The sentiment was embossed with white powder on Tempting Turquoise cardstock and I used a matching marker to color in the "Thanks."

I used the circles included in the set to create a polka dot background, and I added two 3/8'' brads on the sentiment panel. To decorate the envelope, I used some of the flower die-cuts that can be found in the Occasions mini. Easy-peasy and super pretty!

 

 

Inspiration: Mojo Monday Sketch #225

Color Combo: Tempting Turquoise + Lucky Limeade + Poppy Parade + White

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Bright Blooms, Il faut bien le dire (Occasions - SAB)
Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Inks: Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Tempting Turquoise, Versamark
Accessories: Markers, White 3/8'' brads, White embossing powder, Circle punch,
Stampin' Dimensionals, White envelope, Flower die-cuts

 

Vintage Frame

This is another card I made using the beautiful Rue des Fleurs set. It is CASEd from a Leadership swap but I unfortunately don't know who to credit for the original idea because I didn't receive this swap myself, I just saw it in my friend Maggie's swap collection. The original used flowers as the main image, but I changed it for the flowery corset instead, which I inked with markers and decorated with small pearls.

The frame was created by using the new Framelits dies and embossing the centre with one of the Designer Frames folders (which you can get for FREE during SAB, by the way!).

The background was stamped with another Rue des fleurs image and I added the border alongside the Bravo Burgundy cardstock. The Elegant Eggplant cardstock was embossed using the Big Shot and the Vintage Wallpaper folder. The scallop border was die-cut with the Tasteful Trims die.

To finish the card off, I ruffled some lace trim at the bottom and added a Springtime Vintage rose ornament (which I think are still available in the Clearance Rack). The sentiment was stamped with the Perfect Pair set and punched with the Jewelry Tag punch.

 

 

Color Combo: River Rock + Elegant Eggplant + Bravo Burgundy + 
Soft Suede + Very Vanilla

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Rue des Fleurs, Quelques lignes (Petite Pairs)
Cardstock: River Rock, Elegant Eggplant, Bravo Burgundy, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Inks: River Rock
Big Shot: Framelits, Designer Frames embossing folder,
Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Tasteful Trims die
Accessories: Markers, Jewelry Tag punch, Victoria Lace Trim, Springtime Vintage rose accent,
Vintage brads, Pearls, Stampin' Dimensionals



Under My Umbrella

One of the things I added to my next order when I came back from Leadership was the Vintage Attic product suite. I bought the stamp set, the papers and the matching journaling die-cuts. It is all so beautiful! I am particularly fond of that umbrella image - so elegant! 

I started this card by layering a few Design papers. I wanted to add a frilly border to my red panel, so instead of using my border punch, I decided to use the border stamp from the set, stamp it on Vanilla cardstock, cut it out and then cut it down the middle to create two borders. 

The umbrella was embossed on white paper and colored with markers. Be careful if you do that because the ink that rests on top of the embossing will not dry (emboss-resist effect) so you might want to rub it off gently using a tissue BEFORE you handcut your image or else you will have fingerprints everywhere. Ask me how I know...

The panel used for the sentiment comes from the Lace die-cut cards I showed yesterday. I used my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to center my sentiment on it. The sentiment actually comes on two separate stamps: you have the Thank You stamp and two other sentences that can be paired with it. Here, I chose the "Thanks for looking over me" one. Since the sentiment is broken up in two stamps, I didn't have to use markers to get the two tones.

The cute umbrella image is one of the die-cuts from the Vintage Attic journaling die-cuts, on which I added pearls. Speaking of pearls, I also added one on the sentiment block and you'll notice it's the new bigger size that is now available in the Occasions mini.

I am really pleased with how this one turned out. I think the colours in those papers are just so beautiful together. I can't believe the last year's In Colors (including Poppy Parade, which you can see here) will be leaving us soon. You might have already heard that there will be a slight shift in the catalogue program, and that means that the current catalogue will end in May instead of June. Therefore, the 2010-2012 In Colors will retire soon, so make sure to stock up on reinkers, cardstock and ribbon before they are gone!

 

 

Inspiration: MFT sketch #58

Color Combo: Pool Party + Daffodil Delight + Poppy Parade

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Grenier antique (Rue des Fleurs)
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Pool Party, Very Vanilla
Design papers: Vintage Attic
Inks: Poppy Parade, Versamark, Soft Suede, Pool Party
Accessories: Markers, Vanilla envelope, Pearls, Vintage Attic journaling die-cuts,
Lace die-cut cards sentiment block, Embossing powder, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Got Love?

Free stamping time has pretty much been non-existant throughout the last month, as you might have figured out by the radio silence on my blog lately. I *have* done some stamping, but it has all been business-related. This weekend, I decided I would try out some of my new stuff that came in this week. I had placed a moderately small Occasions mini preorder in December and waited until after Leadership to decide if I would like to order some more stuff (oh, who are we kidding...) what I would like to add to my collection.

Thanks to SAB freebies, I was able to score some of those fab die-cut lace border cards. Aren't they gorgeous? Half of the work is already done for you when you use those pretty cards. They come with matching die-cuts that can be stamped with a sentiment of your choice, so I pulled out the "Bons baisers" from Notes manuscrites (from the 2011 Holidays mini) to add to one of those tags.

The patterned papers are from the popular Twitterpated Design paper pack. I used different patterns to paper-piece the balloons. I also used some additional paper from the First Edition paper pack (one of my faves!) to paper piece the bouquet so that it would look like the flowers are wrapped in newspaper.

I already had the Blushing Bride pleated ribbon on hand, but after seeing the other fabulous colours in person at Leadership, I decided to splurge on the Riding Hood Red as well. (All bets are off on whether I'll cave and get the other colours, too, before the mini ends...) I used a piece of it to trim the edge of the card.

The Cat's Pajamas Valentine blog hop was the inspiration behind this card. I hope you like it!

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Got Love (The Cat's Pajamas), Notes manuscrites (SU!)
Cardstock: Whisper White
Design papers: Twitterpated
Inks: Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler
Simply Sent cards
Accessories: Nestabilities, markers, pearls, Rhinestone brads, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Rhinestones, Sponge 

Tour du minicatalogue Occasions 2012

This post can be read in English HERE.

Le nouveau minicatalogue Occasions est arrivé et est rempli de fantastiques nouveaux produits! Si j'en juge par la réaction que les démonstratrices ont eu à sa sortie, j'ai bon espoir que les clientes l'adorent elles aussi! Il est rempli à craquer de nouveaux articles et il y en a pour tous les goûts. Voici donc un tour rapide de ce que le mini a à vour offrir.

 

1) Framelits et Edgelits : Un nouveau type de découpes

Maintenant que Sizzix a ajouté de nouvelles découpes minces de métal à sa gamme, nous avons pour vous de nouveaux designs exclusifs! Vous pouvez les voir en pages 6 et 7 du mini. Les Framelits sont super car ils vous permettent de découper un coutour de couleur pour une même forme et puisque le centre est ouvert, vous voyez où vous placez votre découpe, ce qui vous permet de contrôler la coupe effectuée.

Les découpes Edgelits vous permettent d'ajouter une bordure spéciale à un projet - où vous voulez! Et mieux encore : nous avons des plioirs à gaufrage assortis qui vous permettent d'ajouter une bordure embossée le long de votre coupe. Et si ce n'est pas suffisant pour vous impressionner, nous avons même un jeu d'estampes pour aller avec ces découpes! Ce jeu s'appelle Bordering Romance et vous pouvez le voir en page 11 du mini.

J'ai eu la chance de jouer avec ces nouveaux articles et je suis déjà en amour avec eux. Mon conseil lorsque vous les utilisez (qui m'a été prodigué par une autre démonstratrice, Tracie St-Louis) est d'utiliser un notocollant Post-It pour faire tenir la découpe ou le plioir en place à l'endroit désiré. Cela empêchera le tout de bouger lorsque vous placez votre sandwich dans la Big Shot.

Si vous vous demandez à quoi peut bien servir la découpe Bigz de la page 12, elle découpe des pétales servant à former un cercle lorsqu'assemblées. Vous pouvez en voir un exemple dans le cadre illustré en page 13. Cette découpe pourrait servir pour faire des napperons, un pied de sapin de Noël, un appliqué sur une courtepointe ou même un arrière-fond pour une page de scrapbook.

La découpe Napperon de papier n'est pas une nouvelle sorte de découpe, mais un format plus large des Sizzlits qui étaient précédemment offerts. Vous devez absolument utiliser une feuille brouillon pour ajouter de l'épaisseur à votre sandwich et vous assurez que tous les motifs sont bien découpés. Il sera quand même nécessaire d'utiliser le bout de votre perce-papier ou de votre stylet pour enlever les détails du napperon, mais le travail en vaut la peine car le résultat est d'une élégance sans pareil.

 

2) Du brillant!

Quatre de nos populaires produits sont maintenant présentés dans de nouvelles couleurs : Pluie irisée (maintenant en Cerise carmin), le vaporisateur Smooch Spritz (maintenant en Fleur de cerisier), le papier crêpon (très élégant en Murmure blanc) et la ficelle à rôti bicolore (maintenant offerte dans les cinq teintes In Color 2011-2013 ). J'avais particulièrement hâte d'essayer le Smooch Spritz et il est encore plus beau en vrai parce qu'il a une petite touche métallique que les photos ne capturent pas bien!Nous avons aussi de nouvelles perles dans un format plus large!

 

Un autre produit qui fait son effet sont les cartes et enveloppes Design vendues en page 9. Les cartes ont des détails découpées au laser qui ressemblent à une fine dentelle! En plus, ils s'accompagnent d'enveloppes de couleur (Fleur de cerisier), une autre nouveauté!

De nouvelles breloques font également leur apparition à la page 26. Ces décorations peuvent être utilisés pour vos projets ou encore avec notre gamme de bijoux.

 

3) Les deux font la paire

Je sais comment vous aimez nos produits assortis... Moi de même! Pour celles qui aiment les combos étampes-poinçon, vous trouverez le jeu Mixed Bunch et son poinçon assorti à la page 17. J'ai ramené ce jeu du Leadership, alors attendez-vous à voir des échantillons passer bien vite!

 

Tel que précédemment mentionné, le jeu Bordering Romance est conçu pour s'agencer avec les découpes Edgelits et les plioirs à gaufrage. Nous avons également une magnifique gamme de produits appelée Roses en Liberty qui inclut des papiers Design, des tissus Design, un jeu d'étampes, des boutons et du ruban de satin à plis (offert en quatre teintes différentes).

 

Notre seconde gamme de produits s'intitule Vide grenier. Cette gamme inclut un jeu d'étampes, des papiers Design, une nouvelle couleur de galon et des étiquettes pour petits mots, qui peuvent être utilisés autant sur une page que sur une carte.

 

Le jeu Art floral est le parfait complément pour la collection de Framelits Étiquettes.

 

Avez-vous remarqué le nouvel accessoire présenté en page 31? Des labyrinthes!! Qui n'a pas joué avec un labyrinthe dans sa tendre jeunesse? Imaginez le plaisir qu'auront vos récipiendaires à ouvrir une enveloppe et découvrir non seulement la jolie carte que vous leur avez concoté, mais également de quoi s'amuser! Les labyrinthes s'agencent avec le jeu Totally A-maze-ing, mais ils peuvent être utilisés indépendamment en ajoutant simplement du papier à motifs en arrière-fond.

 

Une autre adorable collection est la gamme de produits Délices craquants, qui inclut des autocollants, des étampes (Sweet Cake et Mouthwatering), des papiers Design, de magnifiques attaches parisiennes et des Décor Elements.

 

J'attire votre attention sur l'ensemble Simply Sent de la page 42, qui inclut une boîte, un assortiment de cartes et d'enveloppes et des découpes assorties. Avez-vous vu, d'autres enveloppes de couleur! Vous pouvez utiliser les découpes fournies pour créer de jolies cartes rapidement ou utiliser les bases de carte avec des décorations et des étampes de votre collection pour créer des projets plus élaborés.

 

 

4) Affaire de famille

Le jeu Êtres chers est l'un de ces jeux qui demeurera un classique pour les années à venir. Je suis si contente qu'il soit offert en français! Vous y trouverez tous les membres de la famille dans des polices de caractère différentes et amusantes. Pensez à tous les usages que vous pourrez en faire : personnaliser des cadeaux ou des cartes, ajouter de l'info sur vos pages d'album, l'utilisez sur un cube décoré de cadeaux (comme celui réalisé à mon cours de cadeaux de Noël)...

 

5) Un délice visuel

Avez-vous remarqué parmi la tonne de produits offerts notre nouvelle poudre à embosser parfumée? J'ai commandé celles à la Vanille et à la cerise, en me disant qu'elles auraient une légère odeur... Pas du tout! Le parfum est soutenu, sans toutefois être trop fort, et l'odeur se conserve très bien même après avoir fait fondre le tout. Mes clientes qui l'ont utilisées sont tombées en amour avec le produit! Ces poudres offrent une option peu dispendieuse pour ajouter une touche inattendue à vos cartes! Utilisez-les avec le nouveau jeu Mouthwatering ou encore avec le jeu Button Buddies (dans le catalogue), qui inclut lui aussi une image de cerise.

 

 

6) Ensemble ou à l'unité

Les quatre images de la page 39 peuvent être achetées séparément (11,95 $) ou à un prix réduit lorsqu'acheté conjointement (36,95 $). Assurez-vous d'utiliser le code d'article 127337 - Packed for Everything lorsque vous achetez les quatre images afin de pouvoir bénéficier du tarif réduit.

 

 

7) De beaux et bons biscuits

Avez-vous eu la chance d'essayer nos presses à biscuits? Ils sont super pour enjoliver vos biscuits rapidement et une bonne façon de cuisiner avec vos enfants. Trois nouvelles images sont offertes ce printemps, incluant un lapin, un trèfle et une fleur. À vos fourneaux!

 

(Vous remarquerez que les jolies boîtes kraft sont encore disponibles. Ils ont une belle grandeur pour emballer des biscuits, des bonbons ou de petits cadeaux.)

 

N'oubliez pas que Sell-a-Bration bat son plein et que tous vos achats de produits provenant du minicatalogue Occasions comptent pour recevoir des primes gratuites! Profitez-en!

 

2012 Occasions Mini Tour

Ce message peut être lu en français ICI.

The new Occasions mini is here and it is fabulous!! It is jammed-packed with new stuff and judging from the elated reception it got from demonstrators, I expect customers to love it as well! It is filled to the brink with all kinds of new stuff, so there is something for every tastes! Here is a quick tour of the new mini.

 

1) Framelits and Edgelits: A New Kind of Dies

Now that Sizzix has come up with new thin metal dies, we have some exclusive designs to offer you! You can see them on pages 6 and 7 of the mini. The Framelits are great because they allow you to mat your image with a bigger version of the same shape and since their center is open, you can place it exactly where you want on your project to have control over where you cut.

The Edgelits allow you to cut a fancy border - anywhere you want! Better yet: we have matching embossing folders that allow you to emboss a matching design on your border. Want to hear something even better? We have a stamp set that matches those borders! It is called Bordering Romance and you can see it on page 11 of the mini.

I've had a chance to play with those new dies and embossing folders and they work beautifully. My tip to you (which was shared by my demo friend Tracie St. Louis) is to use Post-It notes to hold the die or embossing folder where you want it on your project. It helps keep everything in place where you want it.

In case you are wondering what the Bigz die on page 12 is used for, it cuts petals that can be sewn together to make a circle shape. You can see an example in the frame shown on page 13. It would work great to make place mats, a tree skirt, an applique on a quilt or even a background to a scrapbook page.

The Paper Doily is not a new kind of die, but it is a larger size of Sizzlits than those offered before. You need to use a shim with it to make sure all of the cuts are done properly and you will need to use the tip of your paper piercer (or a needle) to get the details out properly, but it is quite stunning and well worth the little bit of work.

 

2) More glitz!

Four of our popular past products are making a comeback in new colours: Dazzling Details (now in Cherry Cobbler red), Smooch Spritz (now in Blushing Bride), waffle paper (now in elegant Whisper White) and Baker's twine (now offered in all five 2011-2013 In Colors). I was eager to try out the Blushing Bride spritz and it looks gor-geous! The pearls are also back in a larger format - the perfect addition to the existing pearl basic jewels!

 

Another elegant product is the Designer cards and envelopes sold on page 9. The cards are laser cut and they look just like lace! Plus, they come with colored envelopes (Blushing Bride), something we didn't have before!

We also have some new charms as well: the Cupid collection on page 26. Those could be used on a project or with our jewelry.

 

3) Matchy-Matchy

I know how you all love your matching products... So do I! You'll find a new flower punch and stamp set combo (Mixed Bunch) on page 17. I'll be coming back from Leadership with this set, so watch out for new samples!

As previously mentioned, the Bordering Romance set matches the Edgelits and embossing folders set. There is also a beautiful collection called Twitterpated which includes Designer paper, Designer fabric, stamp set, button and gathered satin ribbon (offered in four different colours).

 

We have a second collection with more of an antique feel called Attic Boutique. It includes Designer paper, a stamp set, seam binding and journaling blocks, which could work on a page or on a card.

 

The Apothecary Art set is a perfect match to the Framelits Tag die collection.

 

Have you seen the fun new accessory we carry on page 31? Mazes! Who hasn't played with one of those before? Just think of the fun your card recipient will have when they open the envelope and find you have not only sent them wishes, but a little game to play as well! The mazes match the Totally A-maze-ing stamp set, but can be used on their own if you want to simply add cute patterned paper on the back.

 

Another sweet collection is the Sweet Treats collection, which includes stickers, stamps (Sweet Cake and Mouthwatering), Designer papers, gorgeous Designer brads and Decor Elements.

 

We also have a Simply Sent boxed set on page 42, which includes a matching box, embellishments, set of cards and assorted envelopes. Colored envelopes again! You can use the provided embellishments to create quick cards or use the card set as a base for more intricate cards that include embellishments and stamps from your collection.

 

 

4) Family Matters

The Loved Ones is one of these sets that you will pull out and use for years to come. I am so happy that it is also offered in French! It includes every member of the family, in fun, varied fonts. Think about everything you can use it for: personnalize cards, add info to scrapbook pages, use on a photo cube (like the one we did at my Christmas gift class)...

 

5) So Sweet!

Oh my word... Have you noticed amongst all that fabulous new stuff that we now have scented embossing powder? I ordered the Vanilla and the Cherry one, thinking they would have a faint scent... The scent is right on, even after the powder has been melted! I used the Vanilla powder first and got a wonderful whiff of vanilla every time I worked on the computer (by which I had left my finished card). They are such a wonderful, inexpensive way to add an unexpected twist to your cards! Pair them with the new Mouthwatering set to have matching images or with the Button Buddies set (from the catalogue), which includes a cherry image.

 

 

6) Separately or as a Set

The four images shown on page 39 can be purchased separately ($11.95) or at a discounted price when bought as a set ($36.95). Make sure to use the item code 127337 - Packed for Everything when purchasing all four to benefit from the preferential pricing.

 

 

7) What's Cookin', Good Lookin'?

Did you have a chance to try out the cookie presses? They are a great way to make some fun cookies quickly and a great way to include the kids and let them help. We have a set of three brand-new images offered for Spring, including a bunny, a shamrock and a flower. Let the fun continue!

 

(You'll notice the kraft boxes are still offered. They are a great size for any kind of treat or small gift, but are a great way to package your stamped cookies as well.)

 

Don't forget that Sale-a-Bration is on right now and that everything you purchase from the Occasions mini can count towards earnings you free gifts! Have fun shopping!