from my ink pad to yours

Tufting, Scallops and Bows

This was such a fun card to put together. Lots of bows and scallops.

You can expand the usefulness of the Wishing You Well stamp set by adding another set of words to it.  One of my favorites is a set that was new to the annual catalog this past June.  It's called Itty Bitty Greetings and is similar to large set of small greetings that we had in the past but with an updated look and fresh fonts. They are perfect for stamping  your greetings on small scraps though I also incorporate them on larger panels.

• I stamped the bow from Wishing You Well randomly about 9 times on the front of an scored but unfolded Whisper White card. Make sure some of them go off the page.You will be covering up the left side of the card so you don't have to go over the score line.
  
• Then I added several bows stamped in Pool Party. You can stamp these 2-3 times before reinking and fill in all the spaces.  You do want to reink your stamp each time you stamp off the page our you will get a line where your stamp has more ink on it. I hope that makes sense.  Some people call this second or third generation stamping. 
• I basically just grabbed some scraps and unused elements from my scrap drawer to finish off this card:
• 1 1/2" x 5 1/2" leftover piece of Pear Pizzazz that had been embossed with the Tufted embossing folder (it looks like it had white craft ink in it - this helps give kind of a realistic look to the tufting. 
• I layered a Pool Party scallop die cut with Layering Seasons thinlets underneath the tufting piece.
• Best Wishes was stamped on a 4 1/4" x 3/4" scrap of Whisper White and attached at the bottom of the card.
• A Pear Pizzazz Shimmer ribbon was tied vertically to tie all these elements together both visually and thematically, I guess.
  

I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

***If you need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I would love to have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

---

If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the December hostess code,  2APHPF9M, I will send your choice of any annual catalog item up to $10 in value. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my special Christmas thank you surprise.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Product List

Wishing You Well Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[147864]

Itty Bitty Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[146667]

Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad

[147107]

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad

[147104]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Pear Pizzazz 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[131201]

Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[122924]

Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies

[143751]

Tufted Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

[146335]

Big Shot

[143263]

Pear Pizzazz 3/8" Shimmer Ribbon

[144153]

We Need a Little Sun

There's nothing like a little Daffodil Delight to add sunshine to a dreary December Day!

This is another Wonderful Romance preview from the Occasions catalog: I watercolored a bunch of these bouquets as I was getting to know this set. When I started playing around with the Gingham Gala paper this all kind of came together.

• This is a watercolor card, one 6" x 9" piece folded in half for a 4 1/2" x 6 card.  The watercolored layer is a half sheet with the left edge die cut with the darling scallop/stitched edging die that is part of the Be Mine Stitched Framelits. Isn't that edge sweet?
• I listed all of the colors I used for watercoloring as refills in the product list below. I usually just use the ink pads or squeeze some refill into the lid.
• Do the light wash of Balmy Blue first, taking care to avoid the flowers.  The greens and purples will cover the other areas if you get the wash on them.
• I initially did the small leaves in Mint Macaron and the larger leaves in Pear Pizzazz, then I decided to warm them both up a little by putting some Granny Apple Green over the top.
• The Daffodil Delight Gingham and sequins are part of the Gingham Gala (butterfly) suite.  The ribbon, which I wrapped and tied double for an extra dose of sunshine, is from a pack of organdy ribbon that matches the Gingham Gala DSP.  This ribbon is a free item with a $50 order from the Sale-A-Bration promotion which runs January 3- March 31, 2019.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by my little place in the stamping world. I hope that you are finding some sunshine in your own world today too.  Let me know what you think and come back to visit soon!

Chris

***If you need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I would love to have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog. Please keep in mind that the stamps, dies, gingham paper, ribbon and sequins will not be available until January 3.

---

If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the December hostess code,  2APHPF9M, I will send your choice of any annual catalog item up to $10 in value. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my special Christmas thank you surprise.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Product List

Wonderful Romance Cling Stamp Set

[148632]

Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad

[101406]

Watercolor Paper

[122959]

Gingham Gala 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[148554]

Gingham Gala Adhesive-Backed Sequins

[148561]

Organdy Ribbon Combo Pack

[149623]

Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[147162]

Granny Apple Green Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[147163]

Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[147167]

Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[147168]

Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[138331]

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[131160]

Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies

[148527]

Big Shot

[143263]

Let's Take Geared Up Garage Out For a Test Drive

Masculine Valentines can be a challenge.  Does your special guy like cars - motors - gears and such?  The soon to be released (January 3, 2019) Classic Garage Suite might be right up your alley! Here is a Valentine I whipped up using this week's Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge:

Measurements:

5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Smoky Slate card base, folded

2" x 6" Classic Garage Designer Series Paper

2 1/8" x 5 1/2" Basic Black

2 3/4" x 4 1/4" Basic Gray

Scraps of Lovely Lipstick and Basic Black

• Emboss the DSP with the Hexagon embossing folder and trim it down to 5 1/2". Layer this onto the Basic Black Strip and attach to your card base about 1/2" from the left edge.
• Die cut the Basic Gray piece with the multi gear die and lightly sponge a few edges.  This should be irregular - don't bother to try to make it even. Attach the gear piece partially on and partially off the hexagon layer.
• Stamp "YOU jump start my HEART" with Black ink on Lovely Lipstick scrap and die cut with corresponding die.  Cut another of this die shape from basic Black scrap. As you will note this is a 2 part die. The inside will separate from the frame allowing you to mix colors for this element.
• Adhere the black frame over the Lovely Lipstick Frame and attach in lower right hand area of card as shown. Use Stampin' Dimensionals to attach the greeting inside of the frame.
• Color 3 sizes of epoxy hearts with Dark Real Red and Dark Lovely Lipstick Blends.  Or - just be patient and use 2-3 coats of Dark Lovely Lipstick. One coat is just a bit to pink for this card.  Attach these to the card approximately as shown or somewhat randomly.
• Masculine card accomplished - You got this!
  

Whether you are new to papercrafting, someone who crafts with all kinds of products, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the online stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

***If you need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I would love to have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

---

It's December!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the December hostess code,  2APHPF9M, I will send your choice of any annual catalog item up to $10 in value. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my special Christmas thank you surprise.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Product List

Geared Up Garage Cling Bundle

[150610]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

Classic Garage 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[148482]

Smoky Slate 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[131202]

Basic Gray 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121044]

Lovely Lipstick 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146970]

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

Dark Lovely Lipstick Stampin' Blends Marker

[147028]

Real Red Dark Stampin' Blends

[147934]

Heart Epoxy Droplets

[148583]

Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

[143231]

Big Shot

[143263]

Stamping Sponges

[141337]

Getting to Know Wonderful Romance

Today I'm blog hopping with Kylie Bertucci's demonstrator group.

I wanted to get to more familiar with an upcoming suite of products called the Floral Romance Suite so I started off like I did yesterday by making a simple card.  This is a quick technique I've done for at workshops:

• I chose to use Petal Pink ink for my card because I wanted to try out the delicately colored variegated ribbon. You just stamp the image towards the top of a card sized piece of cardstock leaving 1-2 inches blank at the bottom.
• Get a paintbrush or q-tip wet and run it 1/4 to 1/2" or so below your image to soften the fibers. Once it has had a few seconds to sink in, tear your cardstock along the wet line.
• Set aside for the edge to dry a bit.
• Stamp your greeting at the bottom of a card in the same color ink as your image.
• Sponge the torn edge with this same ink.
• If you like tie a ribbon around the torn edge layer just below your image.  For this card I chose to line up the tie at the base of the bouquet.
• Adhere the torn layer so that the message shows at the bottom.

Then I saw a new color challenge over at Splitcoaststampers I decided to mix them all up together and this is what I got:

The colors in the challenge are Petal Pink, Mint Macaron and Highland Heather, plus neutrals. After experimenting with cardstock scraps I decided to use Sahara Sand and Whisper White as my neutrals.  I thought it was kind of a challenging combination but was pretty happy with the way it turned out.

• I stamped the same bouquet in Sahara Sand and colored it with Mint Macaron, Petal Pink, and Highalnd Heather Blends. Then I cut it out with the coordinating framelits from the Wonderful Floral die set.  These will be available in a bundle when the Occasions catalog goes live on January 3rd.
• I tried out the Lace Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder by tapping the inside of the side labeled with Stampin' Up! with White craft ink and running it through the Big Shot with a piece of Sahara Sand cardstock.  You could leave off the craft ink but I like how it makes the pattern pop and look a little aged at the same time.
• This piece was trimmed down to 3 1/8" x 5 1/2" and then I lined one edge with a strip of Petal Pink so that about 1/8" shows through. "Thinking of You" from the stamp set was stamped in Sahara Sand and again layered with a bit of Petal Pink cardstock.
• I popped the bouquet up with mini dimensionals and added a few Artisan pearls for good measure.

Here are the two cards together:

Now it is time to continue on the blog hop:

 

Whether you are new to papercrafting, someone who crafts with all kinds of products, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the online stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

***If you need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I would love to have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog. Under Shop Now you will then see the retiring Holiday catalog merchandise and also a group of discounted products.

---

It's December!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the December hostess code,  2APHPF9M, I will send your choice of any annual catalog item up to $10 in value. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my special Christmas thank you surprise.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Floral Statements Thank You Notes

Are you ready to move on from Christmas cards to having a few Thank You cards on hand? Or maybe just thinking about it? Well Here are some variations I did for Kylie's International Highlights page today.

They have a Thankful/Gratitude theme going on today and I haven't had this set, Floral Statements out for a while. If you would like to head over there, check out the other beauties and maybe even vote for me please click here.

I thought it would be fun to stamp up a variety, simple to not quite so simple since this is such a beautiful, classic image that is very capable of standing on its own.

  

These are all simple Very Vanilla Notecards, with just a bit of the rose stamped onto the corner of the envelope. The second has a skinny strip of Basic Black Cardstock added at the bottom.  The second is colored with Watercolor Pencils in Melon Mambo and Old Olive. I used a Blender Pen to quickly spread the color around a bit.

I used a fresh floral arrangement from a new shop, A Pocket Full Of Posies, that just opened up in my neighborhood (Lowertown/St Paul Skyway) and a favorite black and white striped bowl for inspiration when it came to coloring some of the cards:

The card on the left is relatively unembellished. It simply has some thin Basic Black cardstock and an inch or so of Quilt Top embossed "stitching" for texture - very flat for mailing, as are all the notecard versions:

Of course I wanted to try a dolled up version too. This has the main panel cut out with the soon to be released Stitched Rectangle Thinlets, Basic Pearls and a bit of Very Vanilla Lace Trim, tied into a bow.

I used the 3rd largest rectangle thinlet  from the Rectangle Stitched Thinlets (#148551) to cut the main panel.  I'm going to love this group of thinlets. You will want them at the top of your list when the Occasions catalog goes live on January 3rd.

I used a fresh floral arrangement from a new shop, A Pocket Full Of Posies, that just opened up in my neighborhood (Lowertown/St Paul Skyway) and a favorite black and white striped bowl for inspiration when it came to coloring some of the cards.

Whether you are new to papercrafting, someone who crafts with all kinds of products, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the online stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

***If you need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I would love to have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog. Under Shop Now you will then see the retiring Holiday catalog merchandise and also a group of discounted products.

---

It's December!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the December hostess code,  2APHPF9M, I will send your choice of any annual catalog item up to $10 in value. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my special Christmas thank you surprise.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

 

 

I'm just popping in with a quick post today as I have a few Christmas preparations to take care of in the next few days.

This is one of the cards we did in a recent downline Facebook event. It features the Butterfly Gala Bundle (stamp set plus Butterfly Duet punch) and sequins with adhesive  from the upcoming Occasions catalog along with some of the Botanical Butterfly DSP which is one of the Sale-A-Bration freebies during January 3 - March 31. I particularly like that on one side there are colorful butterflies and botanicals and the other side you find a variety of black and white patters. 

• The "L" shaped border on this card is similar to others I've shown.  If you haven't seen it already check out this video on my Facebook page that shows how you can cut 14 of these borders from one piece of 12" x 12" paper.
• The butterflies are stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with Mango Melody and Daffodil Delight Blends. The trim paper is Melody Mango.

Whether you are new to papercrafting, someone who crafts with all kinds of products, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the online stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

 

 

Buffalo Check is Going to Stick Around for a while

Hurrah! I'm so glad to see that Buffalo Check will carryover.

Doesn't it seem to go with almost everything? Here I've used with with Healing Hugs.

Measurements:

Whisper White Thick card base: 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" folded

Whisper White Thick 1/4 sheet (4 1/2" x 5 1/2") for stamping leaves and roses

Whisper White 1/4 sheet (4 1/2" x 5 1/2") for stamping Buffalo check; You can get 3 cards from one sheet using a strip that is just shy of 1 1/2" each.

Hints:

• Ink the rose with Petal Pink ink first and apply Calypso Coral ink the the center and petal edges if you wish. Then you can stamp the Calypso Coral Rose without needing to clean your stamp. Stamp 3 leaf images. Trim.
• Ink your Buffalo Check stamp with the image side up.  I like to lay my 1/4 sheet down on top and cover with a scrap paper or tissue before firmly rubbing all over.  I almost always get good images this way. Use a rubber brayer if you have one. Whisper White Ultrasmooth gives the best impressions with this stamp. Using with colored cardstock works though sometimes you may get a more homespun look if the paper isn't quite so smooth. Trim this into 1 3/8" or so strips so you can get strips for 3 cards.
• Stamp your greeting before adhering the roses and leaves so that you know you will have enough room.
• I added the Calypso Coral rose and 2 leaves with regular adhesive (mono or liquid glue) and then tie the ribbon over these.
• Determine where you will want to put the final pair of leaves so that you can leave room to slide them in after attaching the top, Petal Pink rose with dimensionals. Attach the 3rd pair of leaves as desired with a non-dimensional adhesive.
• Add Grapefruit Grove faceted dots (sequins would also work) as desired.

Whether you are new to papercrafting, someone who crafts with all kinds of products, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the online stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

If you need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I would love to have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog. Under Shop Now you will then see the retiring Holiday catalog merchandise (without the Buffalo Check Stamp - yay!) and also a group of discounted products.

---

It's December!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the December hostess code,  2APHPF9M, I will send your choice of any annual catalog item up to $10 in value. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my special Christmas thank you surprise.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

 

Product List

Healing Hugs Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[146530]

Buffalo Check Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[147794]

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad

[147104]

Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad

[147101]

Petal Pink Classic Stampin' Pad

[147108]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[140272]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Calypso Coral 1/4" Ombre Ribbon

[144235]

Sponge Daubers

[133773]

Faceted Dots

[146910]

Last Chance Items

The Holiday Catalog Retiring List is out and guess what? Buffalo Check is NOT on it! Yay!! You can see the whole group in my shop. That way you see the pictures, not just the names.

Unfortunately a few of my favorites are on it.  Lucky for you: a few of them are discounted! You can see that group in my shop too.

Here are a few I think you should especially pay attention to:

The Blizzard die or wood set of stamps: What a great way to easily get lots of snowflakes of different sizes with one pass through your Big Shot. And the stamp set! This has by far my favorite stamps for stamping a “watercolor” background. No watercolor paper needed! The 5 greetings included are lovely and only one is holiday related.

Seasonal Chums is NOT retiring at this time but I want to point out the Pool Party background from the Blizzard set. It adds the perfect touch so quickly!

Great Joy stamp set: I've pointed out in earlier posts that the color-book style images are great for watercolor, Blends, or even on their own. As you can see I've also done some paper piecing with the stocking.  I've had so much fun with this set! Also, keep in mind that my thank you gift for orders over $50 in December is any annual catalog item up to $10.  That could be a Blends combo pack!

Whether you are new to papercrafting, someone who crafts with all kinds of products, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the online stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

If you need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I would love to have you shop with me!

---

It's December!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the December hostess code,  2APHPF9M, I will send your choice of any annual catalog item up to $10 in value. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my special Christmas thank you surprise.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Sweet Trio in Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green

I've had this little stack of Nothing Sweeter images that I colored back in August just waiting for the perfect idea to pop into my mind. 

I'm on  a mission to get them out of their current home, a cello bag hangin' out on my idea board, onto card that will soon be in the mail...

Most of the images were colored to be used in groups of three but I was having trouble coming up with layouts. Well, today I found some grand inspiration in the form of the Fusion Challenge.

Measurements:

Whisper White

    5 1/2" x 8 1/2" card base, folded

    3 3/4" x 5" for main layer

    1 1/2" x 3 3/4" for greeting strip

    2" x 5 1/2" strip to stamp gifts

    4" strip of grid paper

 Basic Black

    5 1/16" x 3 13/16  - just 1/16th" larger than main layer.  You could certainly use 5 1/8" x 3 7/8" for a     slightly larger border.

The images in my pile were all colored as I was getting to know my new Blends colors last summer,  These used just the Granny Apple Green and Poppy Parade combos plus the Color Lifter to make the light colored dots on the green package. They were cut out with the matching dies and, to let the coloring do the shining on this card, I didn't add any of the fancy stitching that also comes with this set of thinlets. 

The skinny little border on greeting layer is made by coloring in a 4 inch row of squares on the grid paper, cutting it down the middle with the Stampin' Trimmer.  Black and White striped or checked paper or even hand drawn stripes would also work. This is what it looked like before I cut it:

Whether you are new to papercrafting, someone who crafts with all kinds of products, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the online stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

 

If you need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I would love to have you shop with me! Stay Tuned: Stampin' Up has a sale starting on tomorrow, December 5th!

---

It's December!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the December hostess code,  2APHPF9M, I will send your choice of any catalog item up to $10 in value. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my special Christmas thank you surprise.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

 One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up now and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 5th! What a Christmas gift that would be! I'd love to have you join my he'Artstringstamper team.

 

 

Product List

Nothing Sweeter Photopolymer Bundle

[149955]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[147274]

Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[147275]

Stampin' Blends Color Lifter

[144608]

Grid Paper

[130148]

Stampin' Trimmer

[126889]

Big Shot

[143263]

Butterfly Gala a la 2 Challenges

I'm just popping in with a pretty little Butterfly Gala card previewing one of the sets that is part of the Occasions catalog which will premier on January 3rd.  It includes 4 different butterfly designs in 2 sizes that can be punched out together with the Butterfly Duet punch.

I used the sketch from this week's Freshly Made Sketches 365: 

Today's CAS challenge on Splitcoaststampers also inspired me to try out the pressed wood Butterfly elements which will be a free item during Sale-A-Bration which runs from January 3rd until March 31, 2019. Here is a close up:

• Since I knew I would be working with wood tones, I decided to pull out Pool Party and Bermuda Bay to complement brown wood tones. I tried just stamping on colored cardstock but ended up liking the variation in tones that I got by using the dark shades of Pool Party and Bermuda Bay Blends. It turned out that butterflies nestled into the wood butterfly "frames" didn't seem to be enough.  What is a butterfly card without the 3-D wings?
• I dabbed on a little Early Espresso ink onto the wood elements which come in more of a light natural color.
• One last detail - add a linen thread bow!

Whether you are new to papercrafts, someone who crafts with many brands of  supplies, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

 

I would love to have you shop with me!

---

It's December!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the December hostess code,  2APHPF9M, I will send your choice of any catalog item up to $10 in value. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my special Christmas thank you surprise.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

 One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up now and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 5th! What a Christmas gift that would be! I'd love to have you join my he'Artstringstamper team.

---

The Butterfly Gala Bundle will be available to order on December 5th if you are a demonstrator or January 3rd if you are ordering as a customer: #150599. The Butterfly Elements can be ordered as a free item with a purchase of $50 (US) during January 3 - March 31, 2019. Use the order # 149711. Demonstrators can earn Sale-A-Bration items with their December orders. 

Product List

Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad

[147114]

Bermuda Bay Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

[144579]

Pool Party Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

[144594]

Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack

[144177]

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[144237]

Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

[143706]

Linen Thread

[104199]

Piece of Cake: Minnesota Gopher Style

Lately my husband's birthday card usually seems to be me experimenting with new stamps.  Maybe you recall his favorite hard cider bottles from last year.  This year I'm playing it safe with birthday cake but thanks to our new Merry Merlot color I'm doing up the Minnesota Gopher's color in a big way.

I had fun playing around with the stamps and punch from the Piece of Cake bundle.  Though it looks kind of frilly, you can see I made a fairly masculine looking card here.

I followed the general idea this week's Global Design Challenge's sketch:

Pointers:

• I stamped so that the cake and punch could be punched separately, though I'm sure you could stamp them together, maybe with the Stamparatus® so that they could be punched together. 
• I was really happy with the way my Blends combinations worked out.  Light Cherry Cobbler + Light Rich Razzleberry = Merry Merlot and Dark Mango Melody + Light Crumb Cake = Crushed Curry.
• I layered the cake and stand on 2 more layers punched from Merry Merlot. They are attached to the card with regular Snail adhesive.
• I used the numbers from Make a Difference, punched them out with a 1/2" circle punch, layered it with two other circles and trimmed the bottom so it was flat.
• The Happy Birthday message is from Piece of Cake. I slightly bent the photopolymer message so that it would fit into the banner from Birthday Banners. Both were stamped with Merry Merlot.  I used the "Crushed Curry" blends to add some color to the edge of the banner. You don't have to worry about the stitches blurring since they are stamped with dye ink.
• I repeated the stitches from the banner by hand drawing stitched around my partial circle on the Stripe pattern from the Regals DSP.  (I had to get all the colors of these - they work on everything!)

I'm off to get ready to go to, what else, a Gopher game.

---

It's the last day of November! I'll be back tomorrow with a new host code for December.  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the November hostess code,  SNY9YGYC, I will send your choice of any current roll of ribbon plus 2 handmade Snowflake Showcase cards, shown below.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Did you know...you can order your choice of stamping supplies, including the Snowflake Showcase as part of your kit when you sign up to be a demonstrator during the month of November.  One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up during the month of November and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 5th! What a Christmas gift that would be! I'd love to have you join my team.

    

---

Whether you are new to papercrafts, someone who crafts with many brands of  supplies, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

I would love to have you shop with me!

The Piece of Cake Bundle is not yet available.  You can order it on January 3 2019 using the number 150579. The following products are available now:

Product List

Birthday Banners Photopolymer Stamp Set

[141506]

Make A Difference Photopolymer Stamp Set

[146676]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

Merry Merlot Classic Stampin' Pad

[147112]

Cherry Cobbler Light Stampin' Blends Marker

[144576]

Rich Razzleberry Light Stampin' Blends Marker

[144584]

Crumb Cake Light Stampin' Blends Marker

[144582]

Mango Melody Dark Stampin' Blends

[147944]

2" Circle Punch

[133782]

Bunch Of Banners Framelits Dies

[141488]

Many Marvelous Markers

[147154]

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

[141897]

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[144237]

Merry Merlot 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146979]

Regals Designer Series Paper Stack

[138436]

1/2" Circle Punch

[119869]

Taking Needle & Thread Out for a Spin

This morning I decided I should take the Needle & Thread Bundle out for a test drive by participating in the Ways To Use It Challenge over at Splitcoaststampers.  It's a recipe challenge calling for 1 word + 2 stamps + 3 colors  + leftovers if you have them.  I went looking  for a set with a single word and Needle and Thread was one that would work. I ended up using a total of 3 stamps  = 1 word + 2 images. Let's just call that artistic license! 3 colors: Poppy Parade + Pear Pizzazz + Soft Sea Foam. Leftovers: some scraps of lace.

Other things I've had in mind were to look for other things in my stash that would work with this set, such as the Cable Knit embossing folder, thinking the  stitched look of the Distinktive needlework images would mix with the cable to give the idea of sweater with embroidery:

Cardstock measurements and cutting directions measurements:

8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Very Vanilla card base, folded

3 7/8" x 5 1/8" Very Vanilla

4 1/4" x 5 1/2" Soft Sea Foam

5 1/2" long scrap of Pear Pizzazz to  trim the diagonal.

2" x 4 1/4" scrap of Very Vanilla

1 x 3" scrap for greeting

Scraps of  Very Vanilla lace - optional

Directions:

1. Stamp the largest flower in  Poppy Parade at one end of the larger Very Vanilla scrap. Stamp foliage stamp with Pear Pizzazz at the other end of the same scrap.  You want these far enough apart so that you can die cut them at the same time without the dies interfering with each other.
2. Arrange the stamped piece and the 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" piece of Very Vanilla on your Big shot with the flower and foliage dies and the stitched die. Use a cutting sandwich and cut all 3 pieces at once.
3. Emboss the Soft Sea Foam piece of paper with the Cable Knit embossing folder. Trim this to 3 7/8" x 5 1/8". Cut a diagonal from approximately 1" in from the top left to 1" up from the lower right corner.  I just eyeballed this. The measurement does not have to be exact. Attach your strip of Pear Pizzazz so that it peeks out just a bit from the Cable Knit diagonal edge.
4. Adhere the stitched Very Vanilla piece to the back of the Cable knit piece so that you get a 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" layer. Trim an excess from the Very Vanilla layer. Attach this piece to your Very Vanilla card base with Stampin' Dimensionals, making sure to put some in the center so that the layer doesn't sag in the middle.
5. Adhere the flower to the foliage stamped image. Embellish with scraps of lace as desired.
6. Experiment with your placement of the greeting and stamped image so that you know you aren't going to cover any of the greeting before you attach them.  Apply the greeting with your choice of adhesive.  Attach the flower/lace piece with dimensionals.

Here is a close up of the needlework effect with these stamps:

Aren't they fun? This stamp set and coordinating dies will be available beginning January 3, 2019 when the Occasions 2019 catalog goes live. Demonstrators can preorder them beginning next Wednesday, December 5th. There is still time to join my team of demonstrators, the he'Artstringstampers, before then.  You can even get in on our pre-preorder virtual meeting on December 3rd.  Contact me if you are interested - I'd love to have you join us!

---

There are less than 2 days left in November!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the November hostess code,  SNY9YGYC, I will send your choice of any current roll of ribbon plus 2 handmade Snowflake Showcase cards, shown below.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Did you know...you can order your choice of stamping supplies, including the Snowflake Showcase as part of your kit when you sign up to be a demonstrator during the month of November.  One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up during the month of November and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 5th! What a Christmas gift that would be! I'd love to have you join my team.

    

---

Whether you are new to papercrafts, someone who crafts with many brands of  supplies, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

I would love to have you shop with me!

Needle & Thread Bundle is not yet available.  You can order it on January 3 2019 using the number 150626. The following products are available now:

Product List

Poppy Parade Classic Stampin' Pad

[147050]

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad

[147104]

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[144237]

Pear Pizzazz 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[131201]

Soft Sea Foam 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146988]

Cable Knit Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

[143537]

Very Vanilla 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Lace Trim

[141672]

Big Shot

[143263]

November's Top Ten International Highlights Blog Hop

A great big thank you to everyone who voted for my card during Kylie Bertucci's International Highlights for November.

I won a spot in the top ten so here we are hopping again and this one is for you!

I originally earned a spot in this hop with this card which was "cased" from a card I made several years ago. Today's card is also based on one I did several years ago:

Because of some of the supplies I wanted to use, it called for more modifications.

Initially I made this card which is a little closer in layout to the original but it didn't seem quite the look I had in mind:

 

Since I was determined to use my beloved Night of Navy Gingham ribbon, which has a little different impact than the Very Vanilla Seam Bindingin the original card, some changes were in order.

• Since I now wanted to use the card for this blog hop I needed to change up the message.  What could be better than the "Thanks for joining us" message from All Things Thanks.  Do take a peek at that set because it has great messages for specific events that would be so nice to follow up with a special thanks.
• I needed to make the scallops part of the actual Whisper White card base and back them up with Night of Navy scallops. The scallops were made with the Seasonal Layers Thinlets.
• I had already determined that the gingham bow needed be close to the wreath because they seemed to compete too much if they were apart.  For my remake I moved the wreath lower so that the bow would be at the bottom, like it was in the inspiration card.
• Since I didn't have the detail of the embossed scallops in the original card I decided to add the Night of Navy Stripes from the Neutrals DSP pack.  Any of those Night of Navy patterns would look good with the scallops.
• I still missed the dimension those embossed scallops added so I embossed the Foliage Frame  Framelit onto the card base using the Big Shot Embossing Mats.
• Since I had the thinlet set out anyway, why not add a few leaflets.  I tried Night of Navy leaflets first but they seemed to heavy, so I switched to Whisper White leaflets, some of which have been lightly sponged with Night of Navy ink.

Here are a few more views:

I've been traveling a lot during November, meaning flights and waits etc, and not much actual stamping time.  Well I've discovered that flights go by rather quickly when I spend them drawing out card sketches. This is one of about 30 that I came up with for the Wishing You Well stamp set as I flew home from Orlando after Onstage. While I've seen so many beautiful cards with that set, most of us seem to be using more or less the same few sketches.  I thought that if it is going to be around a while longer a fresh perspective would be welcome.

Check out the other winners on the hop and make sure you visit me again to see some of those other Wishing You Well cards. I've also got some Occasions preview cards that will be showing up in the coming weeks.  You know I was sketching out ideas for those sets too! 

Whether you are new to papercrafts, someone who crafts with many brands of  supplies, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

I would love to have you shop with me!

---

It's November!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the November hostess code,  SNY9YGYC, I will send your choice of any current roll of ribbon plus 2 handmade Snowflake Showcase cards, shown below.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Did you know...you can order your choice of stamping supplies, including the Snowflake Showcase as part of your kit when you sign up to be a demonstrator.  One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up during the month of November and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 5th! What a Christmas gift that would be! I'd love to have you join my team.

    

 

 

 

Product List

All Things Thanks Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[143097]

Wishing You Well Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[147864]

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

[147110]

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

[101731]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100867]

Neutrals Designer Series Paper Stack

[138435]

Night Of Navy 1/2" Gingham Ribbon

[144232]

White Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109132]

Heat Tool

[129053]

Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies

[143751]

Foliage Frame Framelits Dies

[146353]

Big Shot Embossing Mats

[146327]

Big Shot

[143263]

Sponge Daubers

[133773]

10% off Tools and Inks

We've been enjoying a long Thanksgiving weekend in New York City with our daughter, Emily. No stamping but I've been filling my sketchbook and am anxious to get back to my little stamp studio.

While I've posted Stampin' Up!'s Online Extravaganza on my Facebook page I'm going to add 3rd and final part of the sale: Tools and Ink here on my blog.  There are a few exclusions for this part of the sale and I thought it would be best to list them here.

If there is something on your wish list here it is best to order early as once items get down to a certain level in inventory they can be shut off so as not to be completely depleted. Maybe it's time to pick up your favorite color group in the new ink pads. Or maybe add to your acrylic block collection?

Let me know if you would like me to set up a host code for you.  This would allow you to place an order to take advantage of today's sale and then place other orders within 30 days and have them added together to earn you hostess benefits. A $50 order  would also be eligible for either the November special, your choice of a ribbon roll or my December special which will be announced at a later date.

This is a list of exclusions  (Click Shop Now above to see the Tools and Inks that are available with discounted prices

Item #   Description
100082 STAMPIN’ WRITE MARKER BASIC BLACK
102283 VERSAMARK PAD
102300 BONE FOLDER
102845 BLENDER PENS
104331 ADHESIVE REFILL SNAIL PERMANENT
104332 ADHESIVE SNAIL PERMANENT
119850 PUNCH CIRCLE 1-3/4" (4,4 CM)
119868 PUNCH CIRCLE 1" (2,5 CM)
138292 PUNCH TRIPLE BANNER
141491 PUNCH CLASSIC LABEL
141822 UNINKED STAMPIN' SPOTS™
143263 BIG SHOT
143706 BIG SHOT DYNAMIC TEXTURED IMPRESSIONS SUBTLE
143717PUNCH STARBURST
145372 BIG SHOT FRAMELITS STITCHED SHAPES
146276 STAMPARATUS (IMPERIAL MEASUREMENTS)
146321 PUNCH BUILDER TWINKLE
146824 BIG SHOT THINLITS BOTANICAL TAGS
146826 BIG SHOT FRAMELITS CHASE YOUR DREAMS
147146 CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD TRANQUIL TIDE
147277 UNINKED STAMPIN’ PAD & WHISPER WHITE REFILL
120279 CLEAR BLOCK CADDY
127551 STAMP CASES WOOD-MOUNT FULL
127552 STAMP CASES WOOD-MOUNT HALF
144202 ALBUM 12X12 (30.5 X 30.5 CM) FAUX LEATHER BLACK
144203 ALBUM 6X8 BASIC BLACK
144204 PHOTO POCKET PAGES 12X12 VARIETY
144205 PHOTO POCKET PAGES 6X8 VARIETY PACK
144206 12X12 TRADITIONAL POCKET PAGES
144764 ALBUM 6X8 KRAFT
126995 STAMPIN' TRIMMER CUTTING BLADES
147034 STORAGE COPPER TEA TINS

I will be back with more stamping projects very soon! Happy shopping!

Wishing You Well Duo

Let's start this week off right with a couple of Wishing You Well cards.  I've shown this set from the Holiday catalog earlier and now I'm happy to pass along to you that it will continue to be available while the Occasions catalog is in effect this winter and spring, well into May.  I've been thinking that there really should be more layouts or ways to use it so I sketched out over 2 dozen more card ideas during my flight home from Orlando last week.

I tried out 2 of them while playing along with a couple of Splitcoaststamper challenges today.

Today's featured stamper challenges features the gallery of Crystal Komara and I chose this cutie as inspiration for my card:

I used similar colors, gingham and the get well occasion of her card to create this:

I trimmed this down to a 4" x 5 1/2" card - just because I like the proportion of gingham better by trimming it off. It still fits into a regular A2 envelope. Base is a Very Vanilla card. I was hoping to hear that the Buffalo Check background stamp would be carried over during into the Occasions Catalog like the Wishing You Well set was but alas it doesn't seem to be.  While we will have some adorable gingham DSP time may be running out for the Buffalo Check. By choosing the right colors this will have such a great springtime look.  Don't hesitate if you haven't put this one on an order yet.

• The Wreath is stamped with Crumb Cake and cut and layered using the Layering Circles Framelit Dies.
• The little Petal Pink flowers adorned with Basic Pearls are a sneak peek from the upcoming Occasions Catalog which will go live in January.  They are made with one of the punches from a set of 4 punches, Bitty Blooms Punch Pack: 3 flowers and a center/leaf punch. These punches will be available January 5, 2019.
• The "Wishing You Well" greeting is hand trimmed and "weathered" with the Paper Snips and sponged with a little Powder Pink ink.
• The Mini Ruffled Ribbon in Powder Pink peeks out from behind the gingham just perfectly!

While the Wishing You Well stamp set will carry over, as far as we know the Buffalo Check background stamp will not be available after January 2, SO HURRY UP AND GET ONE!  I hesitate to use retired items in my blog and Facebook Live projects but Buffalo Check might be an exception.  It gives a fresh new look to almost everything and now that I've seen the new sets in the upcoming catalog I wish it was in there with them.

Product List

Wishing You Well Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[147864]

Buffalo Check Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[147794]

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad

[147116]

Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad

[147147]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Powder Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[144244]

Powder Pink 3/8" (1 Cm) Mini Ruffled Ribbon

[146949]

Pearl Basic Jewels

[144219]

Layering Circle Framelits Dies

[141705]

Paper Snips Scissors

[103579]

 

My second card was inspired by a dress from a site featured on Splitcoaststampers Inspiration Challenge:

As usual, with foil it isn't always easy to get a good idea of the shine and polish this adds to a card.  Here is a close up of the bow.  It is shinier in real life but you can get an idea of the shaded detailed look this DistInkTive stamp gives.

• This card has a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card base.
• The front of the white card is stamped with the little flowers from Wishing You Well using Stazon Black.
• The Basic Black layer is angle cut by scoring the top of a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece at 1 1/2" from the upper right corner and 1 " from the lower left corner.  These two score lines are then lined up on the Stampin' Trimmer and cut to give the diagonal shown.  A narrow layer of Gold foil paper is used to accentuate the black.
• The greeting is embossed with gold embossing powder in the lower right corner of the black layer.  I use white craft ink when stamping on black so that I can see better on the black cardstock. Versamark ink would work too.
• Add the Black and gold layers to the stamped white card base.
• The bow is stamped with Black Stazon ink on gold foil paper and trimmed with the paper snips. Attach to the card as shown with a glue dot.

Product List

Wishing You Well Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[147864]

Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad

[101406]

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

[101731]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

Gold Foil Sheets

[132622]

Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109129]

Heat Tool

[129053]

Paper Snips Scissors

[103579]

Stampin' Trimmer

[126889]

 

Whether you are new to papercrafts, someone who crafts with many brands of  supplies, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

I would love to have you shop with me!

---

It's November!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the November hostess code,  SNY9YGYC, I will send your choice of any current roll of ribbon plus 2 handmade Snowflake Showcase cards, shown below.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Did you know...you can order your choice of stamping supplies, including the Snowflake Showcase as part of your kit when you sign up to be a demonstrator.  One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up during the month of November and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 5th! What a Christmas gift that would be! I'd love to have you join my team.

    

 

Kylie's Blog Hop: How to Make a Metallic Gold Color

...with your Blends alcohol markers, that is.

Hello everyone! I'm back from hot and humid Orlando where I helped celebrate Stampin' Up!'s 30th Anniversary - back to January like weather in St. Paul, MN with a bit of snow on the ground. And...

Welcome to the November Blog Hop for Kylie's Demonstrator Training! I am going to share one of my favorite Holiday catalog stamp sets and let you in on my secrets for getting a gold metallic type color when using Stampin' Up!'s alcohol markers, the Blends.

Great Joy was one of the first sets that I played with because I had just purchased new Blends combos and I took the images with me on a road trip we took last August to visit my daughter in Missouri. I wanted the bands on this beautiful Christmas ornament to look like metallic gold - not as yellow as Daffodil Delight but not as brown as Crumb Cake. 

Cardstock Measurements:

• 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" Whisper White Card Base
• 4" x 3" Whisper White  for the ornament. Trim after coloring.
• 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" Mint Macaron ( Trim down to 4" x 5 1/4" after stamping greeting and embossing with the Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder)
• 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" Basic Black

Stamp your ornament with Tuxedo Black Memento ink.

Color as follows. I usually start with my lightest colored areas first and work to the darkest. Save the red areas for last.

Gold Metallic areas: Apply Light Crumb Cake followed by a layer of Light Daffodil Delight. Finish by adding more light and dark Crumb Cake to add dimension.

Blue sections of ornament: Pool Party Combo Pack

Greens: Granny Apple Green Combo Pack, Light Call Me Clover 

Green Bow: Call Me Clover Combo Pack

Red Sections of ornament: Real Red Combo Pack, Light Cherry Cobbler

Fussy cut your ornament most of the right side of the ornament untrimmed since you will cut that part off.

Attach the ornament after the Mint Macaron has been stamped with the greeting and embossed with the Subtle embossing folder. Attach so that you will just barely cut off any of the greens when you trim off the ornament flush with the cardstock edge.

Layer the Mint Macaron layer onto the Basic Black layer and then attach to the Whisper White card base as shown.

 

Then I decided to get one more card done for today.

The round ball ornament has been calling me to complete it in black and white.  I decided to add a little crumb cake to the white areas to give it more of a Mackenzie Childs look and then added a little red bow as small as I could tie it. The subtle diamonds on the card base are sponged with one of the patterns from the Delightfully Detailed Laser Cut Paper used as a stencil.

I will be showing both of these cards on my Facebook Page, From My Inkpad with Chris Smith, at 7 PM CST tonight (11/13/18). Maybe you can join me after you have checked out the rest of the blog hop.

Time to check out all the other great blogs on this blog hop!

---

 

 

I would love to have you shop with me!

---

It's November!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the November hostess code,  SNY9YGYC, I will send your choice of any current roll of ribbon plus 2 handmade Snowflake Showcase cards.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Did you know...you can order your choice of stamping supplies, including the Snowflake Showcase as part of your kit when you sign up to be a demonstrator.  One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up during the month of November and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 5th! What a Christmas gift that would be! I'd love to have you join my team.

 

Whether you are new to papercrafts, someone who crafts with many brands of  supplies, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

---

Product List

Great Joy Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[147846]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[138337]

Call Me Clover Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[147282]

Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[144601]

Real Red Combo Pack Stampin' Blends

[147935]

Light Pineapple Punch Stampin' Blends Marker

[147029]

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[147274]

Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

[143706]

Clear Block E

[118484]

Clear Block G

[118489]

Real Red 3/8" (1 Cm) Cotton Ribbon

[146925]

Itty Bitty Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[146667]

Basic Black Combo Pack Stampin' Blends

[147942]

Happiness Surrounds Thank You

Today I am participating in Kylie Bertucci's International Blog Highlights for November.

Her theme is so appropriate: a thank you to Shelli Gardner as we celebrate Stampin' Up!'s 30th Birthday.  Everyone playing along is being featured on Kylie's blog today and you can go there to vote for your favorite. Maybe you will go there to vote for me?  I think the link should be live after 3 pm on 11/6/18 CST.

Anyway, I know that Shelli is a little bit partial to a shabby chic sort of style so I drew on one of my own favorite layouts to create this card with the Happiness Surrounds stamp set and the coordinating Snowfall Thinlet dies. There are 20 thinlets in this set of dies and almost limitless ways to combine them.  Kind of addicting I'd say.

Measurements/Description

• 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" Whisper White card base. You will want to do 2nd generation stamping to get the pale Crumb Cake images on the card base.
• 2 - 1 1/4" x 6 inch strips to cut the Delicate Lace Trim
• 6" x 6" piece of Crumb Cake to emboss with the Tin Tile embossing folder; Trim this to 2 1/4" x 5 1/2" after embossing.  I find that doing it this way allows for the paper to shrink a little due to the embossing and lets me center the pattern if desired.
  
• 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" sheets of Crumb Cake, Whisper White Thick and Pool Party.  Cut out as many shapes as you can from one sheet. There are 20 dies in the Snowfall thinlets and you will want to play with them all. For this card you will want to get 3 each of the larger Whisper White "flower" shape. I also used three each of the Crumb Cake sprigs.
• Small Whisper White Thick scrap to make a tag. I used the Wood words/thinlets though you could easily use the Beautiful Bouquet if you have they or make your own little tag.

Check out my Facebook page, From My Inkpad to Yours with Chris Smith. There will be a 11/6/18 video with hints on using ink with the embossing folder plus previews of my Onstage Swaps.

Whether you are new to papercrafts, someone who crafts with many brands of  supplies, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

---

It's November!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the November hostess code,  SNY9YGYC, I will send your choice of any current roll of ribbon plus 2 handmade Snowflake Showcase cards. (This card and the Showcase card posted on November 3)

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Did you know...you can order your choice of stamping supplies, including the Snowflake Showcase as part of your kit when you sign up to be a demonstrator.  One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up during the month of November and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 1st! What a Christmas gift that would be! I'd love to have you join my team.

---

 

Product List

Happiness Surrounds Photopolymer Stamp Set

[149744]

Snowfall Thinlits Dies

[149692]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[140272]

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[120953]

Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[122924]

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad

[147116]

Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad

[147107]

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

[101731]

Pearl Basic Jewels

[144219]

Wood Words Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[143928]

Wood Crate Framelits Dies

[143730]

Beautiful Bouquet Photopolymer Stamp Set

[143666]

Bouquet Bunch Framelits Dies

[143659]

Pool Party Light Stampin' Blends Marker

[144595]

Silver 3/8" Metallic-Edge Ribbon

[144213]

Linen Thread

[104199]

Delicate Lace Edgelits Dies

[147053]

A Little Christmas Spirit

I did my first Facebook Live Saturday, just as I said I would in Saturday's blog post! Today I'm going to share one of the cards I shared in the Live as I showed ways to use your trimmer to save paper, especially DSP and specialty papers.

This little gem features the Seasonal Wreath, a greeting from Star of Light, Gold Metallic edged ribbon, Gold foil paper, and the Stampin' Trimmer, all from the 2018-2019 annual catalog.

It was hard to get a photo that showed both the beautiful embossed wreath and the metallic edging, ribbon and embossed message so here are a few more.

Measurements:

Very Vanilla Card Base: 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" folded to make a 4 1/2" x 5 1/2" card

Very Vanilla Layer: I start with a full quarter sheet 4 1/2" x 5 1/2" and trim it down after embossing the Seasonal Wreath. I trimmed mine to 3 7/8" x 5 1/8".

Gold Foil paper: 4 x 5 1/8"

It wouldn't take much to adapt this card for another occasion. But don't you think "A little Christmas Spirit brightens all the world." is perfect for the little bit of gold in this card.

This is really a pretty simple card to put together. The main technique here is to conserve your foil paper by cutting out the unseen center of the paper to use for another project. Very similar to the technique I did in the Facebook Live. If Facebook isn't your thing, these additional photos give you an idea how I used our trimmer to make a  wide frame.

Make a cut 1/2" from the top edge down to 1/2" from the bottom edge.

Turn your paper 90 degrees counter-clockwise and repeat...

...until you have a frame.  Use this as a bottom layer and no one will know that it isn't a full layer, well unless they dissect your card.

I actually used the inside of the gold foil frame to make the Snow is Glistening card I showed you last week.  Here the two are together:

This "frame" has a 1/2 inch border compared to the one I used for the border card which used a 3/4" partial frame. 

 

---

It's November!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the November hostess code,  SNY9YGYC, I will send your choice of any current roll of ribbon plus 2 handmade Snowflake Showcase cards.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Did you know...you can order your choice of stamping supplies, including the Snowflake Showcase as part of your kit when you sign up to be a demonstrator.  One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up during the month of November and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 1st! What a Christmas gift that would be! I'd love to have you join my team.

---

 

Product List

Star Of Light Photopolymer Stamp Set

[142110]

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[101650]

Gold Foil Sheets

[132622]

Versamark Pad

[102283]

Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109129]

Heat Tool

[129053]

Stampin' Trimmer

[126889]

Seasonal Wreath Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

[146833]

Gold 3/8" (1 Cm) Metallic-Edge Ribbon

[144146]

Glue Dots

[103683]

Smitten with Santa's Workshop

I was late to the party ordering the Santa's Workshop Specialty Designer Series Paper but it arrived this week and I must say I. am. smitten.

Some of my all time favorite colors are in this fun Christmas gift wrap style paper: Poppy Parade, Garden Green, Coastal Cabana/Pool Party!  It reminds me to the jumbo rolls you would get to wrap the really large gifts. Several of the sheets have white flocking, including the candy stripe pattern shown below. I've mostly used it in small amounts in today's cards but it truly is inspiring.

This first card was done for two challenges: This week's What Will You Stamp Challenge to use Stampin' Up's Seasonal Chums stamp set...

... and today's Inspiration Challenge at Splitcoaststampers.  Their featured website is Christmas Central and I chose this candy themed snowman.

Measurements: This is an A2 card, measuring 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". 

• Whisper White layer is 3 3/4" x 5".
• Basic Black layer is 3 10/16" x 5 1/16" - just a smidgen larger than the Whisper White layer
• The candy cane print could be a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" layer though I cut it back to an inverted "L" shape to save paper.  Make sure you follow my Facebook page.  Within the next few days I will be doing a video showing you an easy way to get many "L"s from one 12 x 12 sheet.

Other notes:

• The snowman is stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento and colored with the Poppy Parade Blends Duo, Smoky Slate Duo, Basic Black Duo, Crumb Cake Duo, Dark Mint Macaron.
• The Seasonal Tags Framelits has a die to cut out the snowman.  This stamp and die actually cut a front and a back (which makes adorable tags) so I just trimmed away the back part of the snowman
• I used the cloud of snow type stamp from the Beautiful Blizzard set to stamp a 2nd generation Pool Party background on the Whisper White layer. 2nd generation stamping refers to stamping off onto scratch paper before stamping on the Whisper White layer. This gives a lighter color than if it stamped full strength.
• I die cut the smallest snowflakes from Snowfall thinlets from a piece of White Velvet paper. Both these dies and the paper are part of the Snowflake Showcase promotion. These products are available while supplies last during November. Since the white stripes on the DSP are flocked it was nice to be able to have the snowflakes carry this idea on.

My second card was made after I was playing around with a bunch of Snowfall die cuts done more or less from the same colors that are represented in the Santa's Workshop Specialty DSP.

Measurements: Please note that I use some measurements to the 1/16ths. Cuz ... I like having skinny borders. This is easy to get used to if your trimmer is marked to 1/16ths. Or you can just trim as you go an eyeball it.  That works too!

• Card Base is 1/2 sheet 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock folded into a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card.
• Crumb Cake is 3" x 5 1/2" dry embossed with Tufted embossing folder and trimmed to 2 3/4" x 5 1/2".
• Whisper White layer for Greeting is 15/16" x 3 3/8".
• Poppy Parade finished layer is 2 7/8" x 5 1/2". I started with a 4 1/4" x 1 1/4" piece and trimmed it down.
• Poppy Parade dotted DSP is 1 1/8" plus x 3 3/8". I actually trimmed this slightly larger than 1 1/8" since I used the dots to guide me.
• Scraps of Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, plus Garden Green.

Other Notes:

• I applied White craft ink to the inside of the embossing folder - the side with the Stampin' Up® logo. I used my retired rubber brayer though you could lightly apply this with the stamp pad.  I think the sponge brayer wouldn't allow you to keep the "diamond" lines crisp.
• I stamped the greeting from Happiness Surrounds with Poppy Parade ink on a strip of Whisper White as described above.
• I stamped the 6 petaled flower from Happiness Surrounds with Garden Green ink on the Garden Green scrap before die cutting.  I then cut this in half between petals to give me 6 "leaves".
• The Coastal Cabana Flower is popped up with dimensionals though the others are adhered directly to the card.
• Each flower is embellished with Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels which are considered part of the Santa's Workshop Suite, though they are also in the Annual catalog. Which is a good thing. Think Valentine's Day!

Whew! As you can see I am loving the Snowflake Showcase products.  They are so much fun to layer and play around with colors - one of my favorite things to do. I've looked back at pictures of some of my favorite cards from the past and it seems I could recreate so many of them with this suite.  So, I really wish we would have this available for you all year, but as I've mentioned before it is only available as long as supplies last during November 2018. 

Whether you are new to papercrafts, someone who crafts with many brands of  supplies, a Stampin' Up devotee, or fellow demonstrator,  I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

---

It's November!  If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the November hostess code,  SNY9YGYC, I will send your choice of any current roll of ribbon plus 2 handmade Snowflake Showcase cards. (The last card from today plus one I will post on Tuesday, November 6.)

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Did you know...you can order your choice of stamping supplies, including the Snowflake Showcase as part of your kit when you sign up to be a demonstrator.  One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up during the month of November and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 1st! What a Christmas gift that would be! I'd love to have you join my team.

---

 

Product List

Snowfall Thinlits Dies

[149692]

Happiness Surrounds Photopolymer Stamp Set

[149744]

White Velveteen Sheets

[149619]

Beautiful Blizzard Clear-Mount Bundle

[149921]

Seasonal Chums Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[144948]

Santa's Workshop 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[147809]

Poppy Parade Classic Stampin' Pad

[147050]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad

[147089]

Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad

[147107]

Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[147275]

Dark Mint Macaron Stampin' Blends Marker

[147021]

Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[145058]

Pool Party Light Stampin' Blends Marker

[144595]

Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[144601]

Basic Black Combo Pack Stampin' Blends

[147942]

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[120953]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

Poppy Parade 8-1/2" x 11"" Card Stock"

[119793]

Coastal Cabana 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[131297]

Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[122924]

Garden Green 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[102584]

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

[101731]

Seasonal Tags Framelits Dies

[144685]

Tufted Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

[146335]

Big Shot

[143263]

Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels

[146924]

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

[144108]

Happy Halloween ... and onward

Happy Halloween!

I posted this card with my mega Halloween post a few weeks ago, but just before getting the cards to their recipients I thought I needed to get another photo of this one.  It was by far my favorite with the glossy black paper, Galvanized Metallic and Black Glittered Organdy Ribon. So I kept working on photos to get some shots to use on my Instagram and Facebook pages today. Just imagine how fun it would be to use these same specialty papers and embellishments on your next 50th birthday card, or maybe even an elegant New years greeting?

Product List

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[140272]

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

Black Foil Sheets

[147898]

Galvanized Metallic Paper

[147805]

Stazon Cleaner

[109196]

Spooky Sweets Clear-Mount Bundle

[149973]

Layering Circle Framelits Dies

[141705]

Black 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Glittered Organdy Ribbon

[147897]

Moving on to November...and the Snowflake Showcase. Every part of this suite is fabulous and you need to know that it is only available in November and while supply lasts.

Here are a few more cards I've done with this set.  As always check the sidebar to see other posts with these sets.

I did this for a Splitcoaststamper's Inspiration challenge based on Studio E fabrics.  I chose this dramatic print. 

• The card features the Snowfall Thinlets along with Merry Christmas to All Bundle. I just love the snowflake swirls in this thinlet set.
• The simple supply list includes Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock along with Gold Foil paper.
• The black layer measures 5 1/4" x 1 3/4". It was actually a mistake to cut it 5 1/4" wide instead of the full card width of 5 1/2".  But as I worked with the pieces I decided that having the little white border around the sides and bottom added interest to quite a simple design.

 

Product List

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

Gold Foil Sheets

[132622]

Snowfall Thinlits Dies

[149692]

Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Bundle

[149952]

This next card was inspired by a layout that Dina Kowal used here. I didn't try her technique this time around.

• The tree trunks (Winter Woods) were stamped with Stazon Black ink on watercolor paper.
• I watercolored with Pool Party ink and added a little Crumb Cake to the trees for realism.
• The off center circle is cut from a 5 1/2" x 4" piece of Pool Party using the Layering Circles Framelits.
• For You is from Snow is Glistening.
• The snowflake is cut from Whisper White using the Snowfall Thinlets.
• The silver Snowflake Trinket with a tiny rhinestone already in it finish the look.

You can start ordering everything from the Snowflake Showcase tomorrow:

Product List

Snowfall Thinlits Dies

[149692]

Snow Is Glistening Photopolymer Stamp Set

[149742]

Happiness Surrounds Photopolymer Stamp Set

[149744]

Snowflake Trinkets

[149620]

White Velveteen Sheets

[149619]

---

It's the end of October! If you are the process of placing an order with October's hostess code with a minimum $40 order go ahead and complete it and I will send you the metallic pearls. If not, you can go ahead and start using the November code:

Wrap up those gifts! If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the November hostess code,  SNY9YGYC, I will send your choice of any current roll of ribbon.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gift but you will also get your own hostess benefits.  

Did you know...you can order your choice of stamping supplies, including the Snowflake Showcase as part of your kit when you sign up to be a demonstrator.  One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up during the month of November and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 1st! What a Christmas gift that would be!

---

Whether you are new to papercrafts, someone who uses many brands of papercraft supplies, a Stampin' Up devotee, or another demonstrator,  I thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world.  Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris