Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference...

Here's to the dreaded "after lunch" class with Bonnie Thurber! The toughest class for the attendees and the presenter. But Bonnie Thurber rocks! She made us laugh (several times), gave us great information and truly inspired me. Thanks to Bonnie and her Title benefits class, I now have a six month plan! I am spending the weekend in San Antonio but a part of me really wants to get back and begin putting that plan in place. What more can you ask for from a Leadership Conference?

Valentines - Stampin' Up! Style...

I am still hanging out in San Antonio until Monday but thought I would share a card from last Saturday's workshop.




This is a center step card featuring the Take It To Heart stamp set and the Hearts Collection framelits from the Occasions mini catalog. Here are all the items you will need to make this card.

Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White
Inks: Basic Black Craft and Pretty in Pink, Cherry Cobbler, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede and Chocolate Chip Classic inks
Stamps: Take It To Heart, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ribbon: Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain
Punches: Scallop Border, Modern Label, Word Window, Small Heart
Other: Silver Glitter Paper, Rhinestones, Clear Embossing Powder

If you haven't done a center step card before, keep an eye out in the next few weeks for a Technique Tuesday to show you how. In the meantime, happy stamping!


Click on SHOP NOW to order any of the items used in this card.

Technique Tuesday - Smoothing Out Stamped Images...

Hi there and welcome to Technique Tuesday.  Do you ever stamp an image on your card and it just doesn't end up smoothly inked?  Don't you hate that?  Do you wad up that cardstock, throw it away and start over?  Now you won't have to - I will show you how to easily smooth out those splotchy images.  Let's get started.....

  

Here's what you will need:

• Your solid stamp (I used the flowers from Upsy Daisy)
• Classic Ink of your choice (I used Not Quite Navy)
• Blender Pen
• Cardstock

 Ink your stamp and stamp your image.  Here's the point that you say "Oh rats!", wad up that cardstock and throw it away.  But wait!  Keep reading and you won't be wasting that piece.....

See here where my image isn't very nice.  In fact, there are several areas of this image that are not inked well.  The first thing to do - although you need to do it BEFORE you stamp - take your sanding block and gently sand the rubber working left to right and then up and down.  This removes a light coating on the top of the stamp image and the ink adheres better.

Take your ink pad while it is closed and squeeze the center of the pad so you place some ink into the lid of the ink pad.  Open the ink pad and pick up some of the color with your blender pen.  Color the image where you need to fix it.

 Here you can see that the four flowers in the top left have been fixed.

 Continue working until your entire image has been fixed.

Here's my completed card.  On More Mustard cardstock, I stamped the same image using Versamark to get the subtle repeat of the image.  I used the new Edgelit die and Adorning Accents Embossing folders from the Occasions Mini Catalog at the bottom.  A button from the Regals color family and some pearls finish this card off.



Adorable Hobby Horse Using Stitched Stockings

Today's card is the final card from the December workshop. I hope you ordered the Stitched Stockings stamp set and the Stocking Builder punch from the Holiday mini catalog because this adorable welcome baby card is made using the stamp set and punch. Thank you to Jackie Topa for seeing a hobby horse in a Christmas stocking!
 
Here's what you will need for this card: Stitched Stockings and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets Very Vanilla, Marina Mist, Soft Suede and Cherry Cobbler Cardstock Beau Château designer series paper Marina Mist 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon 3/8" Twill Tape Square Lattice Embossing Folder Vintage Trinkets Cherry Cobbler 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon Stocking Builder, Word Window and Scallop Border punches

Up, Up & Away Stampin' Up! Way...

Today's card is another from a December workshop but is a birthday card for anyone.



The card was made using the Up Up and Away and Happiest Birthday Wishes stamp sets. The card is a Top Pocket card which I will show you in an upcoming Technique Tuesday. Here's what you will need to make this card as shown: Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz & Wisteria Wonder Inks: Wisteria Wonder, Melon Mambo, & Pear Pizzazz Stripes Embossing Folder Fancy Fan Letterpress Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon Pear Pizzazz Marker Punches: 1 1/4" circle, 1 3/8 circle", 2 3/8" scallop circle Circles #2 Big Shot Die

Technique Tuesday - Satin Ribbon Flowers...

I am back with a new Technique Tuesday for you.  Over the holiday, I compiled a list of several techniques and cards to show you so - hopefully - I will have something for you each Tuesday this year!

Today, I am going to show you how to make flowers from Stampin' Up!'s 1/2" satin ribbon.  These are really beautiful and easy to make so let's get started......

 Here's what you will need:

• Heat Gun
• 15" of Stampin' Up!'s Satin Ribbon (I used Real Red)
• Circles #2 Die
• Sticky Sheet (not shown) and coordinating color cardstock (not shown)
• Vintage Brad
• Paper Piercer & Mat Pack

 Start by cutting your ribbon at 1" intervals up to but not all the way through the ribbon widthwise.  Leave about 1/8" as shown.

 Your ribbon will end up looking like this.

 Cut a circle from the Circle #2 die out of the Sticky Sheet and the cardstock.  I used the second to smallest circle which is 1 1/2" wide.  Remove one side of the sticky sheet circle and begin placing your ribbon around the circle starting at the outside, folding the ribbon to make a circle.

 Continue moving inward with your ribbon.

 When you are finished, trim off any excess and your ribbon should look something like this.

 Remove the other side of the sticky sheet backing and place your cardstock circle on the sticky sheet.  You will need to do this before heating your ribbon; otherwise, your flower will not stay round.

 Using your paper piercer, make a hole in the center and add your brad.  You can do this step at the end but I found it worked better to place it before I began heating the ribbon.

 Beginning at the outside of the flower, begin heating the edges until they melt and fold up a bit.  Continue to move around the outside of the ribbon until the entire outside is melted and folded up. 

 Then begin to move inward and melt the other portions of the ribbon.  As you can see in my example, one portion of the outside didn't fold up much and isn't round.

 Just return to that area and heat it some more.  You can use your paper piercer to guide the melting process as well.

Here's the card that I made using the flower which I think turned out beautifully.  Thank you to Dawn Olchefske for showing me this technique.  For this card, I used Cherry Cobbler cardstock and the 1 1/4" Cherry Cobbler Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.  The embossing folder is the Elegant Lines folder and the sentiment comes from the Thank You Kindly stamp set.  Note:  I did not tie a knot in the ribbon as that would add too much bulk with the flower.  Just lay them next to each other and use a bunch of glue dots to hold it in place!

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. I certainly did! We just sent Cassidy back to Montana last night so now I am back to blogging for you. To catch you up, today's card is one from one of my December workshops. You probably are tired of Christmas cards but this card can be altered for any occasion. The cool thing is that you can add a picture to personalize this card. Thank you to my friend Becky Roberts for the inspiration of this card.
 
The card is made using the Pines & Poinsettias stamp set and the Holly Berry Bouquet designer paper. Both of these items, unfortunately, are no longer available but I am sure that a creative person like you can find another set and paper that will work.

When you untie the ribbon, you open the Top Note portion of this card. Here, I stamped a sentiment from the Snow Swirled stamp set but here is where you can use a photo by just running the photo through your Big Shot using the Top Note die.

Finally, here is the inside of the card which includes a sentiment from the Delightful Dozen stamp set.