Stamp Camp Fun

(ETA:  DATE CHANGE to November 8th!)

This evening I've got a great group of women coming over for a stamp camp with the request we do Christmas cards. I love Christmas cards! With the extra bling and sparkle, they're definitely one of my favorites to stamp.

These are the three cards I've come up with for tonight.

Bells & Boughs

This first card uses our new clear mount stamp set Bells & Boughs and Deck the Halls Designer Paper both from our Holiday Mini.

It may be a little hard to tell, but I embossed the designer paper with my Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and my Big Shot.  I love how it not only adds some texture to the paper, but gives it a bit of a worn look for a vintage feel.

 Winter Wonderland

I've kept the design of my 2nd card very simple.  I've used one of my favorite "go-to" stamp sets, Lovely as a Tree.  This set has been around for awhile, but it's still a favorite for anytime of year.

Even though the main image only requires one stamp, with the reverse masking and a lot of dazzling diamond glitter, this card is guaranteed to catch your eye.

Perfect Pinwheel

This third card requires very little stamping but with our gorgeous designer papers they can handle being the main focus!  This pinwheel technique is one I only recently learned.  It's so quick and simple!

Once again I used my Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and scrunched the ribbon to add some texture to the card.  I finished it off with a single Rhinestone jewel.  LOVE those!!!

Would you be interested in making these cards as well?  I will be offering another stamp camp on Monday, November 8th where you will have the opportunity to come stamp all three cards for only $10!

RSVP with Class Kit fee by October 18th* to reserve your spot and allow me time to order and prep all project materials.  Class Kit includes all precut cardstock, embellishments, adhesive* and full instruction.

Happy Stamping!









*Class kit fee is non-refundable after October 18th as I will have ordered the kit project materials. If you are unable to attend the event, you will still receive your class kit materials to take home or you may "sell" your class spot to someone else - just let me know so I can add their name to my list.

*Adhesive is only included if you are in attendance of the class.

Sweet Treat Candy Wrapper

This morning I received an order that I've been checking the UPS site daily patiently waiting for and was thrilled when I heard it dropped on my doorstep! I hardly had the box in the house before ripping off the packing tape!

One of the items I'd ordered was the new Candy Wrapper die from the Holiday Mini Catalogue and I couldn't wait to try it out. I have a weakness for little boxes and when I saw the die in the catalogue I knew I'd have to order it at SOME point!

If you haven't had a chance to see the new Holiday Mini yet, let me know and I can get you a copy or you can view it online here.

The new Candy Wrapper die looks like this:

Candy Wrapper Bigz Die  # 120890  Price $43.95

Of course I had to cut one out and assemble it immediately!  The wonderful thing about these dies is they cut and score everything perfectly for you!  It took a couple minutes for me to figure out how to fold the ends properly, but once I figured out how to "twist" them, they closed perfectly and I know the next one will be a snap!!!

Here is the first one I've done:   Click on the pics for a closer peek!

 
How adorable is this!  Can you imagine your guests delight to sit down to a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner with you this year and find this waiting on their plate????

I cut this one from our Cherry Cobbler cardstock (one of my absolutely FAVORITE new colors!!!!).  I added a Very Vanilla belly band that I embossed with my Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder.

 I stamped the image from our Bells & Boughs clear mount set also from our Holiday Mini and water colored it with a variety of our classic inks and a blender pen.  I added a little shine to the bells with our Moonlight Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink.  I cut out the image and layered it on  a piece of our Old Olive grosgrain ribbon adhering it with our Stampin Dimensionals and adhered it to the top of the box.  SO cute!  The finished box is 2" x 1-3/8" x 1-3/8" (not including the twisted ends)

Here it is next to one of our regular size ink pads to compare the size.

These adorable boxes could be used for party or wedding favors, gift toppers, stocking stuffers, table place settings, small gift boxes, etc!  I can't wait to make more!

To order any of these project materials or any of Stampin' Up!'s other great products, visit my online store by visiting my website at www.cfindlay.stampinup.net and click on "Shop Now" or give me a call!

Happy Stamping!










Cardstock:  Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla
Ink:  Early Espresso Classic, Cherry Cobbler Classic, Daffodil Delight Classic, So Saffron Classic, Bravo Burgundy Classic, Soft Suede Classic
Stamps:  Bells & Boughs (Holiday Mini Catalogue)
Accessories:  Moonlight Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink, Stampin' Dimensionals, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools:  Big Shot, Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder, Candy Wrapper Bigz Die,  (Holiday Mini Catalogue) Paper Snips, Blender Pen

Behind the Scenes...

 (I am offering this card as a mini workshop in my home on September 27th - see the bottom of this post for details!)

Whenever I have a workshop, class or other type of event, I almost always have my display board available. On it, I have a collection of cards showcasing different stamp sets, color combinations, stamping styles, techniques, etc. I'm often asked if I stamped all the cards myself. While I'd like to take the credit for them, I'm honest and say that a number of the cards were stamped by other demonstrators which I received by participating in a "card swap".

 
The way a card swap works is a number of demonstrators will sign up and then each demonstrator makes one card x the number of participants.  Once everyone is done, we "swap" the cards so we all go home with an assortment of cards.  Most of the time, the card swaps are pretty general and I can stamp anything I want. I recently joined a card swap with the request that some of the products be from our upcoming Holiday Mini Catalogue (available to customers September 1st). There are 12 demonstrators signed up plus I wanted to make a few extra for a couple of my downline who had decided to pass on this swap, so that meant I had 15 cards to make.

I thought it would be fun to let you in on some of the "behind the scenes" work of a swap. What I didn't realize was that the card I designed would take up a LOT more time than I thought and I forgot to take a few pictures of the steps along the way! OOPS! Oh well...I'll try to explain it.

The first thing I do when designing a card is choose a stamp set. I know, sounds like a pretty obvious thing, right?  For me, I can spend a day or more debating what type of card "look" I'm going for and to be successful, it really depends on the stamp set I choose.

For this swap, I hadn't preordered any new stamp sets from the new mini (just some accessories), so I went with one of my favorites, Greeting Card Kids. I started by stamping the imagine 15 times....then, because I decided it would be nice to add some extra dimension to the card, I stamped 15 more with the idea to cut out and "pop up" the additional image.  I absolutely LOVE that Stampin' Up! is now offering clear mount as an option.  It was SO simple to line up and stamp the images close together to save paper! ;)  (Click on all images for a closer peek).

After stamping the images, I decided it would be nice to watercolor them.  I just used my classic ink pads and my aqua painter.

Once the watercoloring was finished and dry, I started to carefully cut out every.single.image. (Just a note - keep in mind this is the start of my THIRD evening working on this swap)

 After cutting out about four or five images, I seriously began to wonder WHY I ever thought this was a good idea.  Do I enjoy the cramping in my hand from holding my tiny scissors?  Maybe it's the headache I wanted from squinting at the delicate detailing knowing that with a single slip I could accidentally chop off this little paper doll's hand or foot?  Oh, and remember how I wanted extra dimension???  Not only did I have to cut out 15 little paper dolls, I then had to cut out 15 jackets and 15 Christmas trees!!!


After an eternity 2 days of cutting, I was finally finished!!!!  (Day FOUR working on my swap cards)

Now it was time to start working on the rest of the card.  I cut out 15-3" circles using my Circle Scissors Plus.  Oops, forgot to take a picture of that step.  Then, I stamped the image in the center of each, watercolored the sleigh and sponged around the edges.

After that, I cut out 15 scallops using my Big Shot and my Circle Scallop #2 die.  SO quick and simple!!!  I'd actually forgotten to take a pic of this step, but was short one scallop, so I took a pic of the LAST scallop I cut! ;)

I sponged around the edges for a little more definition and color.   TIP:  I staple a piece of colored cardstock to the top of my sponges so it's easy to identify which sponge is for which color!  I don't have a sponge for every single color, but use one sponge for browns, one for blues, one for reds, etc.

 

After sponging, I adhered my Vanilla circle on top and started to layer on the "pieces" with dimensionals.

TIP: Those thin border pieces around the edge of the Stampin' Dimensional sheets are AWESOME for popping up small or narrow images!!!

Once my paper dolls were in place, (day FIVE!) I added some color to the tree with my Stampin' Write markers.

Ahhhhhhh....look at those lovely layers...

Ok, so I guess by this point I was tired and just wanted them done 'cause when I downloaded my pictures from my camera last night I realized I didn't have any more from this point on except the finished cards!  Oops!!!

HERE THEY ARE!!!!!!!!!!  I realize there are only 12 in the picture.  One has already been given to one of my downline and the other two are still waiting for their finishing touches.  I was short a couple pieces of cardstock, so the last two will be finished shortly.

I added a small bow using our Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon and some Champagne Glass Glitter (available Sept 1st) under her feet and sleigh.  I stamped the Navy and Vanilla cardstock with a snowflake image, punched the bottom edges, tore the top edge of the Vanilla layer for some added texture, added a thin strip of Champagne Waffle Paper (also available Sept 1st) to the bottom edge and stamped my greeting.  After 6 days of working on them, I was THRILLED with the way they turned out.  Yes, they were a LOT of work, but if I had only been doing one card instead of 15, it wouldn't have been that bad.

Do you like this card?  Would you be interested in making your very own???  I am offering this card as a "mini workshop" event in my home on Monday, September 27th, 7:30pm.

This card is not difficult, it's just a little time consuming, so even if you're new to stamping, this is a card you will be able to accomplish.  

Class cost is $8 (or FREE with a $25 order) and will include all precut cardstock, adhesive, dimensionals and our new accessories!!!

Please RSVP by September 13th to reserve your spot.  Seating IS limited!


 Happy Stamping!!!

Dual Duo

Saturday night I had invited my downline over for a stamp & chat night. It was just a very casual evening for the group of us to get together, stamp a few projects I'd prepped and just talk stamping!

The two cards I'd designed for us to stamp are below. This one uses a water-mist technique to give the stamped image a soft look.

The second card uses the the spotlight technique.

If you're interested in hosting a workshop, attending a class or joining a club to learn these techniques, give me a call! I'd love to show you how!

Happy Stamping!

Card 1:

Stamps: Just Believe, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink: Early Espresso Classic, Old Olive Classic, Stampin' Write Markers: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Self-adhesive Pearls, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin Dimenstionals

Fun Tools: Eyelet Border Punch, Mat Pack, Spray Bottle, Paper Snips, Stampin' Sponge

Card 2:

Stamps:  Elements of Style, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock:  Garden Green, Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Ink:  Early Espresso Classic, Garden Green Classic, Stampin' Write Markers:  Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, So Saffron

Accessories:  Self-Adheisve Pearls, 5/8 Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon

Fun Tools:  Scallop Edge Border Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Mat Pack, Paper Snips

Happy Together

Seven years ago today my hubby and I exchanged "I Do's". I can hardly believe how quickly the time has gone!

With three young kids now, there's no chance of a romantic weekend getaway anytime soon, so dinner out this evening will have to do. ;)

Of course I had to stamp a card for the occasion but after dinner clean up and getting the kids to bed, it was late by the time I actually got into my craft room last night.  Once again, masculine cards don't come easily for me, so this card probably took a lot longer than it should have to create as well. I'm mostly happy with it.

Nothing too extravagant with this one.  I knew I wanted to use the double bike image from the set Pedaling Past from the current summer mini catalogue.  This set is only available until the end of August.  Because the image is smaller, I stamped it on one of the tags I'd cut with my Matchbox bigz xl die.  I finished it off with a little Chocolate Chip satin ribbon (instead of Chocolate Chip, we now carry Early Espresso satin ribbon) and two small hearts punched from our Cherry Cobbler cardstock with my Heart to Heart Extra-Large punch. :)

It didn't quite turn out the way I'd hoped, but my hubby was happy with it, so that's all that matters. ;)

Happy Stamping!









Stamps:  Pedaling Past, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Artistic Etchings
Ink:  Early Espresso Classic, Garden Green Classic, Soft Suede Classic, Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker
Cardstock:  Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla,  Woodland Walk Designer Paper, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories:  Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon (retired), Stampin' Dimentionals
Fun Tools:  Corner Rounder, Mat Pack & Paper Piercer, Bigz xl Matchbox die & Big Shot, Heart 2 Heart Extra Large Punch, Scallop Border Punch, Stampin' Sponges

Butterfly Tags

Here's a quick and simple project you can create to add some color and interest to a gift bag or wrapped gift. I made a few gift tags in only minutes using my Big Shot, my Beautiful Butterfly Bigz die, some chipboard and some designer paper!

Aren't they adorable?!  I also stamped the "thank you" using a new set called "Just Believe", cut it out and popped it on the butterfly with a couple dimensionals.   I added the initial by stamping and punching out with a couple of my oval punches.


A quick and simple way to personalize a basic paper gift bag. :)

Happy Stamping!










Supplies:
Stamps: Just Believe, Alphabet Set (Retired)
Ink: Soft Suede Classic, Early Espresso Classic
Cardstock: Chipboard, Designer Paper (Retired), Whisper White
Fun Tools: Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Crop-o-Dile, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Paper Snips

Two for One

Yesterday I posted a card I'd made for a workshop using my Aviary set. Here's another card that uses the same card sketch, but slightly different colors, different accessories and a different stamp set. I think just those few changes gave me a completely different looking card. My Birdie Birthdays card is a little more fun and whimsical while this card is a little more "grown up".  This set is called Artistic Etchings and was only released last month and is available in both wood or clear mount.

I embossed the Marina Mist layer with my Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and my Big Shot, tore one edge and sponged it with a little Early Espresso ink and finished it off with two silver brads.

I popped up the Effiel Tower with dimenstionals and added a piece of Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon. I also used three of our new self-adhesive pearls along the bottom and used our corner rounder to round the bottom edges of the card.

Hope you like it!

Happy Stamping!










Stamps: Artistic Etchings
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Rose Red, Very Vanilla
Ink: Early Espresso Classic, Marina Mist Classic, Rose Red Classic, Soft Suede Classic
Accessories: Silver Brads, 5/8" Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Stampin' Up Dimensionals
Fun Tools: Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Paper Snips, Mat Pack & Paper Piercer

Birdie Birthday

Here's a card I came up with this afternoon using a few of our fun embellishments.  Once again I used one of my favorite stamps sets - Aviary.   I just can't get over the adorable little owl! ;)

This card uses one of our Early Espresso Designer Buttons from our Neutral Collection, some of our 5/8" Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon & 3 of our Rhinestone self-adhesive jewels!  I just love a little extra bling on a card!!!  I also used our Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder with my Big Shot and distressed the folded edge on the turquoise layer for a little added texture.  I could have stamped, cut and popped up the bird cages, but decided to skip it as I wanted to keep this one on the simpler side. :)

Happy Stamping!









Stamps: Aviary, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla
Ink: Tempting Turquoise Classic, Chocolate Chip Classic, Old Olive Classic, Rich Razzleberry Classic
Accessories: Early Espresso Designer Button, Linen Thread, 5/8" Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon, Rhinestone Jewels
Fun Tools: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Sponge Dauber

Pumpkins & Broomsticks

I am not a Halloween fan. I don't decorate my home for Halloween (other than carving a pumpkin) or throw lavish parties. Sure, we'll dress up the kids and take them out trick-or-treating to a few neighborhood homes, but that's pretty much the extent of it. When the cooler weather hits, my thoughts turn to Christmas.

SO, when the new catalogue comes out, I usually just skim over the Halloween stuff. Of course, every so often a set will jump out at me that I just HAVE to have. One of the sets I've already mentioned is the Greeting Card Kids. I just fell in love with those adorable little children! One of the stamps in the set is a little witch and is not one I would have purchased had the stamps been available individually (even though she IS adorable). Of course, when I buy a new set, I try to use each image at least once. SO, last night I decided to sit down and stamp a Halloween card. It will most likely be the ONLY Halloween card I stamp this year! ;)

The original colors I'd planned to use were Basic Black & Pumpkin Pie. When I started watercoloring the little girl's dress, I decided I didn't want to go with a traditional black, so decided to try blue instead. 

I stamped and colored her twice and used dimentionals to pop her up off the pumpkin a bit. A little sponging and some paper piercing helped finish it off.

I tore the bottom edge and embossed the Always Artichoke cardstock with my Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and sponged over the top a bit with my Early Espresso classic ink. This helped make the embossed areas pop a bit more.  I then layered that over a piece of Early Espresso cardstock I'd punched with my Scallop Edge Border Punch.

I absolutely love that we now carry twill tape on a spool and dressed it up with a little 1/8" Early Espresso taffeta ribbon and a clear rhinestone brad.

What do you think?  Hope you like it!

Happy Stamping!

Stamps:  Greeting Card Kids, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock: Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie (textured & smooth), Always Artichoke, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla

Ink: Pacific Point Classic, Pumpkin Pie Classic, Early Espresso Classic, Sahara Sand Classic, Blush Blossom Stampin' Write Marker

Accessories: 3/8" Twill Tape, 1/8" Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon, Clear Rhinestone Brad, Stampin' Dimensionals

Fun Tools: Big Shot, Top Note Die, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Sponge Daubers, Aqua Painter, Paper Snips

A KISS Card

I have a difficult time making simple cards. Sounds ridiculous, right? But it's true! I always want to keep adding additional layers, embellishments or techniques! A fellow demonstrator used the term "KISS" (Keep It Simple Sweetie) for some of her cards and so I thought I would challenge myself and make a KISS card.

I wanted to use another new set I recently purchased called Pedaling Past from our current Holiday Mini catalogue. I loved the little tricycle as soon as I saw it. :)

Here's my card: (Click the image for a closer peek)

Wouldn't this make an adorable card for a new little baby boy?  I wrapped the top with some of our linen thread and added a small knot using a piece of our twill tape.  I could have stamped or even dyed the twill tape, but I was supposed to keep this one simple, so I left it as is. ;)

The tricycles are stamped using our Crumb Cake & Marina Mist Classic ink and the cardstock is Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla.

The "Congratulations" is from the set Well Scripted which I realized after I used it that it's no longer available!  It was in our Occasions Mini from a few months ago.  Oops.  There are a few current sets that could easily replace that stamp such as Curly Cute or A Word for You.  Both sets are available in wood or clear mount.

Happy Stamping!

Fee fi fo...film?

With the wet weather outside, I knew I wouldn't be leaving the house today, so I wanted to spend some time in my craft room. I pulled out a brand new set I'd received as a gift from Stampin' Up! that I hadn't used yet. It's the hostess set called Because I Care. 

This is an exclusive hostess-only stamp set that is not available for purchase, but can be earned FREE with a qualifying party.  If you'd like the opportunity to earn this set, give me call!

Once again I was browsing the Mojo Monday blog for inspiration and came across a sketch from May.

When I saw the color blocks, I remembered an awesome technique I'd learned at one of the demonstrator get-togethers I'd been to.  It's called the Faux Filmstrip technique.  I thought it would work perfectly for this card sketch.   Originally I had something super bright and whimsical in mind, but when I started pulling colors together, my idea changed.  This is what I came up with.  Click the image for a closer peek.

I am SO happy with the results!  I used one of our flower designer brads on the ribbon and one of our new self-adhesive rhinestones to add a little extra sparkle. 

It may be hard to see, but I used our textured Rich Razzleberry cardstock for the first layer.  I absolutely LOVE the look of an image stamped on textured cardstock - it just has a slightly aged/vintage look to it.


The film strip is just a strip of our Basic Black cardstock and punched along each side with our spiral punch and then three Whisper White blocks punched with our 1-1/4" square punch!  So simple!  Can't you just see this on a scrapbook page using photos instead of white blocks?  How adorable would that be!

If you try your hand at this technique, I'd love to see what you come up with!

Happy Stamping!