Unfrogettable Stamping!

Easter stamping with the Lovely Ladies of The Williams Home

I went to The Williams Home yesterday for an Easter class with the Ladies and we had such a great time!  I was saddened by the news that one of our crafty crew recently passed away - I have really enjoyed getting to know these women over the last year that I've been stamping with them.  I don't have my Grandmother any more and they certainly do remind me of her with their Southern charm.  Above is one of two Easter cards that they made.  Everyone was excited about sending this one to a grandchild or great-grandchild!

Here is the second card - it features the Big Shot elegant bouquet impression folder and the Easter Dove stamp from the Occasions mini catalog.  Everyone loved all the glitter on this card!

And our final project was this purse - they filled them with fun-size Easter M&M's.  This purse is created with just half a sheet of card stock that was cut out with a new Big Shot die that debuts next month... the Ladies were so excited to be the first to use it!!

Next time I hope to share pictures of our stamping time together - they really are a fun bunch!!

 

March 2012 monthly downline meeting and swap, pt. 1

I held my monthly downline meeting on Thursday night and encourage members of my team to take a turn doing a presentation for us to share a technique or project that they have seen.  This month's presenter was Angie Kinzie and she shared these really cute baskets made with the Big Shot and the Two Tags die.  She found the idea on the Rubber Redneck blog.  Aren't they cute?

Our swap theme for this month was Mother's Day cards... I shared mine with you earlier.  Here are some of them - I'll share the rest with you tomorrow.  Hope you find some inspiration!!

Gerin Martin, card inspired by Heidi Baks

 

Jennifer Rawlings

 

Kris Sennett

Sherri Gough

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy the rest of your day...

Punch art is Fabulous!

 

This week on the Sisters in Stamping blog we are featuring Punch Art.  I want to do a Mom & Me Easter class soon and think they'll love this candy favor, what do you think? 

The topper for my treat bag features several punches - the chick is made from the wide oval punch (so saffron) and embellished with the Boho Blossoms (so saffron) and Heart-to-Heart (pumpkin pie) punches.  The egg is created from the Big Shot ovals die (naturals white) which I free-hand cut with my Paper Snips for the cracked half and the topper is made with two different frames from the Labels Collections framelits dies (so saffron and pear pizzazz In Color DSP stack).  I used the "Happy  Easter" sentiment from the Delightful Dozen stamp set, which is stamped with marina mist ink on naturals white card stock and cut out with the scallop oval punch.  I embellished it with a scrap of the blushing bride In Color DSP stack for the flower from the Boho Blossoms punch and added a rhinestone to for some fun bling.  All punched pieces were sponged to add dimension and popped up with stampin' dimensionals.  The cello bag is one of our medium clear translucent envelopes which I filled with jelly beans. I attached the topper with sticky strip... voila, a quick and easy Easter treat!!

For even more punch art inspiration, be sure and head over to the Sisters in Stamping blog today!  Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I hope you are having a wonderful Valentine's Day and that your sweetie gave you something nice.  My DH surprised me at midnight last night with a handmade card and gift certificate to my favorite coffee shop!!  I didn't get a chance to make Valentine's cards this year for Brandon's classmates (swim meet this weekend), but I did manage to create some candy bar holders for my kids' swim coaches... they love chocolate and it's always fun to present candy in a more jazzed up way using my Stampin' Up! products.

This project started with a piece of real red card stock cut to 8-1/2" x 8".  I stamped all over the card stock with 2 images from the I {heart} Hearts stamp set using real red and chocolate chip ink.

Next, I laid my candy bar (one of the extra large ones) inside and figured out where my sides would come around (the width is the 8-1/2" side) and put sticky strip along one side and in the center at the bottom.

I sealed up the sides and bottom and then ran the bottom part of the pouch through my crimper to add some texture and security to the base.

After crimping the bottom, I stuck my small oval punch inside the top part of the pouch and punched out a half-oval on one side in the center and then lined it up on the bottom to create a matching half-oval (this makes it easier to pull the candy bar out).  I turned the punch upside down but photographed the punch right-side up so you could see which one I used.

To embellish, I attached an 8" piece of chocolate chip scalloped dotted ribbon to the front of the pouch and then brought it around and taped it down to secure (this will be hidden by the owl).

To create the owl embellishment, use whisper white card stock and punch out with the 2-3/8" scallop circle punch and use the owl 2-step punch with chocolate chip and a scrap of real red patterns stack DSP. 

Glue everything down with Tombow multipurpose adhesive and add some googlie eyes.  Attach with stampin' dimensionals to the front of the pouch.

And you're done!

Robbin's Valentine's Day workshop projects

Robbin invited some of her friends and family over to my stamping studio earlier this week for a fun Valentine's Day workshop.  I demonstrated how to make the altered picture frame above and then gave it to her as part of her hostess gift for having the class.  The medallion was created using the new Designer Rosette Bigz XL die for the Big Shot currently featured in our Occasions Mini catalog.  I showed everyone how I created the embellishment as well as how the rest of the picture was put together.  Here are some close-ups below...

 

Another project that I demonstrated was this easy sour cream container which holds chocolates.  Do you remember seeing it in my post on Thursday when I shared Melody's party projects?  I love it when I can use a project for several stamping classes!!

The last thing I demonstrated was the emboss resist technique with this fun Valentine's Day card that I CASE'd from my good friend Karla Anders (it was her Fabulous Friday project for our Sisters in Stamping blog yesterday - she gave me a sneak peek earlier!!).  This was also the make-n-take for all the guests who attended.  The colors include cherry cobbler, pink pirouette and whisper white along with the Sprinkled Exressions Sale-a-Bration stamp set (FREE with a qualifying $50 order!).

If you are interested in hosting a private class and learning how to make fun projects like these, please contact me to schedule a date.  I have several class options available so please email me for more details!

Hearts galore!

Melody and her friend Mary hosted a Valentine's party for their friends yesterday and asked me to come up with some projects for the guests to make.  Melody had seen my post from Leadership and fell in love with one of the Sale-a-Bration display projects and also requested an easel card and sour cream container to hold some chocolates.  Above is the easel card - it features the red and silver glimmer paper, the Paper Doily sizzlit from the Occasions Mini and several punches.  The only stamping on this card is the sentiment from the Candy Conversations stamp - I cut the words apart from the hearts and double-mounted the set on the wood block to give it some greater versatility.  The cool thing about an easel card is that it closes flat to 4-12" x 4-1/4" for mailing in a regular medium envelope (see picture below)...

In addition to the card, everyone made this sour cream container which they filled with an assortment of Dove chocolates and Hershey Kisses (yum!).  It starts with a quarter sheet of crumb cake card stock that was stamped with the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set and textured with the Houndstooth impressions folder.  The "Be my Valentine" sentiment is from the Delightful Dozen stamp set and fit perfectly in the scallop oval punch (love it when that happens!).  I closed the container with poppy parade ribbon - makes it easier to get to the chocolates inside without having to destroy the pretty packaging.

The next project is a heart pocket made from the Petal Cone bigz die that I photographed from one of the Leadership displays.  Although it looks like DSP, the naturals ivory and calypso coral card stock were stamped with images from the Sale-a-Bration stamp set Fresh Vintage using poppy parade ink.  Pretty, right?!  The "love you" on the tag (also from the petal cone die) is from the Short & Sweet stamp set.  I taught everyone how to make a fork bow with the poppy parade ribbon and a giant fork... they loved it!  Melody had found some large antique keys at a store and we wrapped ribbon around each with a tag that said "Key to my Heart" (from a retired stamp set) and slipped them inside the hearts.  Add a note to your sweetie and this is a great Valentine's gift!!

We had such a good time - the food was wonderful, the ladies were all dressed in various shades of red and Melody had decorated the table with a great Valentine's theme.  There were even fun Valentine's goodies in a heart bucket at each seat.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and feel like even those who had never stamped before had fun making these projects!!  Thanks for a great time, Melody and Mary!!

If you'd like to host a themed party like this one with several make-n-takes, please contact me to find out about pricing and availability.

Ghirardelli chocolates all wrapped up for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is coming up and it's always fun to take little chocolates and dress them up with my Stampin' Up! supplies.  That is the theme for Fabulous Friday over on the Sisters in Stamping blog this week.  My downline Wendy had shown me a picture of a wrapped up Ghirardelli chocolate and asked me to help her figure out how it was made (sorry, I didn't catch a name so can't give credit to the originator of the design).  Above is my version of it.  This one features baja breeze card stock along with riding hood red - both colors are featured in the strip of DSP from the Twitterpated package found in the Occasions Mini catalog.  The heart embosslit is a Big Shot item and so are the scallop envelope die and the finial press embossing folder.  If you would like to purchase any of these products, please click here.  Remember, every $50 you spend earns you a FREE exclusive Sale-a-Bration item now through March 31st!!

I have taken pictures of how to put it together below... I am working really hard to get ready for my Open House tonight so no time to write up instructions.  Hope you can follow along!!

card stock cut 6-1/2" x 4-1/4" scored at 3-1/4"

Don't forget to visit the Sisters in Stamping blog for even more inspiration!!

Trick or Treat... definitely a treat!

Thanks for stopping by today - it is Fabulous Friday over on the Sisters in Stamping blog and this week I chose Halloween candy treats as the theme for our projects.  Who couldn't use a great idea for packaging Halloween treats in a fun way, right?!  And with Halloween right around the corner these are super-easy to put together in a jiffy.

My project this week uses my all-time favorite Big Shot die - the Top Note.  I used it to create the packaging around two Hershey nuggets.  I used the Frightful Sight DSP for both and pulled my colors from it... basic black, whisper white, old olive, cajun craze and basic gray.   The "spooky" sentiment and background spider web image are from the Wicked Cool stamp set... one of my favorite Hallween sets.  Do you recognize the punch used for the ghost - it's the owl turned upside down with the feet trimmed off... cute, huh?!  The eyes in basic black are also from that same punch and the large oval and scallop oval punches complete the embellishment for both.

Here is what the inside of the treat holders look like - I used scraps of DSP from the Frightful Sight pack to wrap around the nuggets.  They are held onto the Top Note die with mini glue dots.  I used my Simply Scored scoring tool to quickly add the score lines (score at 1-3/4" and 3" when the center point is at 2-3/8") to my Top Note diecuts after covering them with the DSP and punched holes for the ribbon using my trusty Crop-a-Dile.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please be sure and hop on over to the Sisters in Stamping blog after Noon EST today for more "tricks" for packaging your Halloween treats!

Have a great weekend!

October 2011 Demonstrator of the Month, part 1

I'd like to introduce you to Delores Wilson - she is my Demonstrator of the Month for October.  I'm excited to share her projects with you - she made quite a few!

First, here's a little background about Delores in her own words...

I started stamping about 6 years ago by taking classes at Michael's in Lynchburg. One of our members started talking about Stampin' Up and had a card she had made using SU stamps. She also told us about Debbie Naylor being a SU Demonstrator and I wanted to know more, so I called Debbie and that's all it took to find out what I was missing by not being with her and Stampin' Up. I started taking classes with her and just couldn't get enough of learning new techniques. Debbie and Stampin' Up makes it so easy to create projects and have fun while you are doing it.

I signed up to become a Demonstrator in 2007 during Sale-a-bration because I love sales. Getting free Stampin' Up products is such a sweet deal during Sale-a-bration, I just couldn't resist. I became a Stampin' Up Demonstrator as a hobbyist at first just to get the discount and soon after I started holding classes with some of my friends. I loved having technique classes using Stampin' Up products and showing how all their products go together. It makes learning so much fun to have everything come together in little effort on our part because Stampin' Up has done the work for us.

I have had to stop holding class for now because I have a family member that I'm taking care of. I do want to start having classes again soon because I do love teaching and sharing Stampin' Up with everyone that will let me.

My favorite part of being a Stampin' Up Demonstrator is the Regional's. I love being with so many fellow SU Demonstrators and learning so much from them. I have so many wonderful friends in my life now because of Stampin' Up and Debbie Naylor. Thanks for all you do for us.

I love that Delores has the flexibility with her Stampin' Up! business to take a break when she needed the time to spend with her family, but that she can easily pick it back up again when things settle down for them.  Thanks, Delores, for sharing your enthusiasm and love of Stampin' Up!  And now I'd like to share a few of her fabulous Halloween treat holders.  They were created using Big Shot dies and punches.

Don't you just love them?!  Who wouldn't want to receive any of these goodies?  They are most certainly a treat and not a trick!

Thanks for stopping by today - please be sure and check back tomorrow!  I'll be sharing her 2-page 12" x 12" scrapbook layout along with some cards.

Halloween Mom & Me class featuring the Owl punch

I hold a Mom & Me class a couple of times a year, usually around a holiday, and this is an opportunity for my stampers to include their kids in a class.  My own kids like to join in on the fun, too!  My Halloween Mom & Me class was this past Sunday afternoon and everyone that came got to make a card, candy favor box that holds chocolates and a 12" x 12" scrapbook page all featuring the super-cute owl punch!  I always cut two sets of supplies - one for Mom and one for her child... this lets the child be more "creative" without Mom worrying about having the projects turn out perfectly.  It helps out a LOT with the stress level and everyone can have fun!  Can you relate?!  LOL!

Here is the card that everyone got to make - I saw it posted somewhere and cannot find it anywhere now to give credit.  I thought it was such a great idea to have the owl punch be a silhouette... not such a spooky card for the younger kids.  The "Happy Halloween" sentiment is from the Haunted Halloween stamp set and the branch is from the 2-step bird punch.

This is a 2-4-6-8 box that holds chocolates - I just love the owl trick-or-treater image from the Warmest Wishes hostess stamp set from the Holiday Mini catalog.  The DSP is from the Frightful Sight DSP package.

This is the scrapbook page I designed... it, too, features DSP from the Frightful Sight package.  I really like this paper and will be sad to see it go.

What do you think of my little ghost?  I wanted to mimic the ghosts in the paper and used the large heart punch to scallop the bottom and the wide oval punch to get the shape of the ghost.  I just used a cajun craze stampin' write marker to draw in the eyes.  The witch sticking out of the cauldron (the owl punch!) is an idea I saw posted by Dena Lenneman.

My next Mom & Me class will be to Celebrate Christmas on November 27th - I only have one spot left if you'd like to join us!  Contact me for details and to register.