Stampin' Up!

CCMC234 By The Tides

January 10, 2013 By Connie | 8 Comments

Have you been enjoying the announcements of the Create with Connie and Mary Guest Designers this week? We have one more for you tomorrow and then the regular Design Team on Saturday! However, today it is time for our challenge…it's a pretty COLOR challenge this week!

I actually ended up making a couple different cards using this color combination…very soft and pretty looking, I think! I used By the Tides for this one! The other one will be my SUDSOL swap card at Leadership, so you'll see it when I return!

Here are the details!

The base is 4 1/4 x 11 of Pink Pirouette folded in half to form base card.
I added a layer of 4 x 5 1/4 Whisper White and stamped on the lower right corner with the script image in Pink Pirouette several times.
On the bottom left, I added a 2 1/4 x 2 3/4 rectangle of Print Poetry Designer Paper.
I added Midnight Muse ribbon and secured it to the back of the Whisper White, then added the layer to the front of the Pink Pirouette base.
I stamped Thinking of You from Sassy Salutations in Midnight Muse in the upper left corner.
The sea fan image is stamped with Versamark on Pink Pirouette and embossed with White Embossing Powder. I added Pink Pirouette ink with my sponge dauber around the image to make it pop and around the edges of the Label Framelit I cut.
The sea horse image was stamped twice on Whisper White with Midnight Muse and cut out, the placed with Stampin' Dimensionals on the label.
I stamped the Nantucket image in Midnight Muse and punched with the 1" Circle punch, and placed on the front with a Stampin' Dimensional, too.

Early Bird registration is going on NOW for Create with Connie and Mary Spring Occasions 2013! You don't want to miss out! Sign up today before the cost savings goes away! With over 30 projects with step-by-step PHOTO instructions at an Early Bird price of $29.95 US, you can't go wrong…that is less than $1 per tutorial! These are perfect for your classes and stamp camps! But…customers are welcome, too! We will be starting January 20th…hurry and sign up today over at Create with Connie and Mary!

Hearts a Flutter

January 7, 2013 By Connie | 2 Comments

It's Day 2 of our Guest Designer Announcements on Create with Connie and Mary! Our designer today is using LOTS of hearts on her project for the Spring Edition 2013! She shows off a card today with her introduction…go check out WHO it is at Create with Connie and Mary! We know you LOVE her work (and hint…so does Stampin' Up!)

I used Hearts a Flutter on my card today to celebrate her heart theme!

Can you believe I JUST opened my package of More Amore Designer Paper! I don't know what I was waiting for…I love the patterns in it. AND…useful for more than Valentine's Day projects! See that chevron pattern at the bottom…love it! And the linky pattern in one of the hearts…love it, too! Here are the details:

The base is Pool Party cut 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 and folded in half.
I layered on 4 x 5 1/4 Very Vanilla cardstock.
At the bottom, the heart pattern from More Amore DSP measures 1 1/2 x 5 1/4, then I cut a 1/2 x 5 1/4 strip of the chevron pattern to go on top.
I hid the seam there with a piece of Sycamore Street Ribbon (Pool Party)…it's one of the new Sale-A-Bration packs coming soon!
In the upper right corner, I pierced the Heart image with the Essentials Paper Piercing Pack. Then punched the Full Heart from DSP.
Next I stamped the Hearts A Flutter heart image with Black Stazon on Primrose Petals cardstock and cut it out with the matching Hearts a Flutter Framelits.
Finally, for some major bling, I thread the Calypso Coral Bakers Twine thru a Vintage Faceted Designer Button and placed it in one of the small Soda Pop Tops…that I ran thru the Big Shot to smash.
I stamped Be My Valentine from Delightful Dozen stamp set in Pool Party ink.

Do you like it? I do! Make sure to check out Create with Connie and Mary blog to see who our Day 2 Guest Designer is…

We have opened the Early Bird registration for Create with Connie and Mary Spring Occasions 2013. You don't want to miss out! Sign up today before the cost savings goes away! With over 30 projects with step-by-step PHOTO instructions at an Early Bird price of $29.95 US, you can't go wrong…that is less than $1 per tutorial! These are perfect for your classes and stamp camps! But…customers are welcome, too! We will be starting January 20th…hurry and sign up today over at Create with Connie and Mary!

CCMC233 Oh Whale!

January 3, 2013 By Connie | 9 Comments

Woohoo!!! Did you notice that we have opened the Early Bird registration for Create with Connie and Mary Spring Occasions 2013? You don't want to miss out! Sign up today before the cost savings goes away! With over 30 projects with step-by-step PHOTO instructions at a price of $29.95 US, you can't go wrong…that is less than $1 per tutorial! These are perfect for your classes and stamp camps! But…customers are welcome, too! We will be starting January 20th…hurry and sign up today over at Create with Connie and Mary!

And…it's Thursday…and that means we have a NEW challenge! We are doing a sketch challenge this week on Create with Connie and Mary…and it is a FUN one so we hope you play along! Since I had my Oh Whale! stamp set out already…I decided it use it again for my challenge card this week!

And here is my Oh Whale! card! As I mentioned yesterday, I love the greetings in this set! This one is perfect for Valentine's Day!

Here are the details:

I took my colors from the upcoming Sale-A-Bration Designer Paper, Sycamore Street! I thought the swirls in the one pattern looked like waves.
I cut three rectangles of the wave DSP to 1 x 3-1/2 and layered them on 1 1/8 x 3 5/8" of Pool Party cardstock.
I cut the medallion print at 1 3/4 x 5 1/2, then cut the flag end. It is layered on 1 7/8 x 5 1/2 Pool Party, and matched the flag end.
I stamped the whale from that cute Oh Whale! stamp set in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White and cut it with the clearlit die. I added a rhinestone for the eye and tied Pool Party Bakers Twine in a bow around the tail.
I made a pennant banner from Summer Starfruit, folding back the ends, and stamped the greeting, Whale you be mine? in Rich Razzleberry on it. I added rhinestones on each of the ends, too.
Finally, I placed the whale and banner on the front with Stampin' Dimensionals, then stamped the heart "spout" with Rich Razzleberry directly on the designer paper.

I must admit…I was SO wrong about this set. I really do LOVE it! I didn't know if I really would get much use out of it, but it is so whimsical, I can see me reaching for it quite frequently!

Make sure to check out the rest of the Challenge Team designs this week over on Create with Connie and Mary! We each have very different looks using the sketch! AND..while you are there…don't forget to sign up for the Spring Edition 2013!

Oh Whale!

January 2, 2013 By Connie | 3 Comments

WOOHOO!!!! Time to play with NEW Spring Mini products! This is one of the cards that my Spring Card Class will be doing next Monday, January 7th! Come join us if you are in the Columbus, Ohio area! We'll be doing 4 cards using NEW products from the Spring Mini…6:30 PM…see my events page for more information.

I used the sketch over on Splitcoaststampers today to start my card. I thought the layout was perfect for waves under my whale!

Here is my interpretation using the fun new set, Oh Whale! I love that it has the greetings in with the set…four different options with clever sayings like the "Whalecome"!

The base of the card is 4 1/4 x 11 Whisper White folded in half.
I added a Bashful Blue 3 3/4 x 5 layer of Bashful Blue and embossed with the new Cloudy Day folder.
I added waves with the Tasteful Trim XL Die in Bashful Blue, Marina Mist and Not Quite Navy.
A 1/2 x 4 1/4 strip of Whisper White is stamped with the "Whalecome" greeting in Primrose Petals ink.
The whale is also stamped in Primrose Petals and cut with the Whale framelit die.
The 1/8" Marina Mist bow is tied and applied with a Mini Glue Dot on the tale of the whale.
I embossed a scrap piece of Whisper White with the Cloudy Day folder and cut out one set of the clouds, popped up on the front with Stampin' Dimensionals.
The waterspout is stamped with Not Quite Navy ink on the background.
Finally, some Rhinestone Jewels across the bottom waves and for her little eye.

Isn't this sweet???? I love how it turned out. I'm SOOOO excited to be back in my stamp room today…it is all cleaned up and ready to play and work on Leadership swaps!

We've started the Early Bird Pricing on our new SPRING OCCASIONS EDITION 2013 over on Create with Connie and Mary! The 5 week session will feature items from the Spring Mini catalog…a little Valentines, Spring AND Sale-A-Bration projects featuring those Spring Mini products! Right now you can sign up for $29.95…that is $5 off the regular subscription price of $34.95…for over 30 step-by-step tutorials at less than $1 each! Don't miss out! Check out the Create with Connie and Mary site for more information!

CCMC232 – Happy New Year

December 27, 2012 By Connie | 8 Comments

We have a beautiful color challenge for you this week on Create with Connie and Mary! I've actually used this color combination a lot during the holidays and it is especially perfect for New Year's!

I love the single stamp, Happy New Year, that Stampin' Up! came out with before the holidays! I don't do a lot of New Year's card, but I have had occasions once in a while. I'll be keeping this stamp in my supply, just because I think it is very unique!

Here are the details:

The base is 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 of Whisper White cardstock, folded in half to make the card.
I layered on 4 x 5 1/4 Pool Party that I embossed with the Lacy Brocade folder.
I added a 2 1/2 x 4 strip of Silver Glimmer Paper down the center.
I stamped the Happy New Year image with Versamark on Whisper White and embossed with Silver Embossing Powder. Then I colored in the numbers with Pool Party marker.
I cut out the image with the Apothecary Accents and used the Essentials Piercing Template around the edges.
Finally, I added a bow of Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon adhered with Mini Glue Dots.

I love how elegant it looks! Make sure to check out what the rest of the Challenge Team did with this special color challenge over on Create with Connie and Mary.

Did you see our new banner over on Create with Connie and Mary? We've started the Early Bird Pricing on our new SPRING OCCASIONS EDITION 2013! The 5 week session will feature items from the Spring Mini catalog…a little Valentines, Spring AND Sale-A-Bration projects featuring those Spring Mini products! Right now you can sign up for $29.95…that is $5 off the regular subscription price of $34.95…for over 30 step-by-step tutorials at less than $1 each! Don't miss out! Check out the Create with Connie and Mary site for more information!

Fun Flower Magnets

December 24, 2012 By Connie | 2 Comments

I recently had a request to make an order of Fun Flower Magnets for someone who wanted them for Christmas stocking gifts! Here is what I did. I used some metallic paper I had in my stash…and the Fun Flower die. AND…I have a sneak peek at one of the new items in the Spring Mini…BOTTLE CAPS…in the center!

I cut the flowers with the Fun Flower die out of non-SU Metallic Paper and stabilized them.
I ran them thru the Big Shot again with the Lacy Brocade embossing folder and lightly sanded them to bring out the textured design.
The two different flower shapes were adhered together.
I stamped the flower from Jolly Bingo Bits in different colors on Whisper White and punched with the 1" Circle punch. I added a Rhinestone Jewel to the center of each.
I adhered the punched flowers inside the flattened bottlecaps, then to the center of the flowers.
I curled the edges of the petals slightly for some dimension!

Need to finish up my wrapping…I made the cutest little gift card holders thanks to Patty Bennett's idea. I'll show those off the day after Christmas…don't want any of my family getting a sneak peek of them!

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve day!

Snowman Charger Plates

December 17, 2012 By Connie | 7 Comments

Well, that was certainly a BUSY weekend for us! We hosted my husband's holiday party for his direct reports here on Friday night. About 16 people here…a nice sized crowd. But a lot of food preparation, cleaning and setting up to do. I was exhausted. Then we had shopping to do and writing our Christmas Letter. Still need to add ribbon to about 1/2 of my Christmas cards! Hopefully will get that done today. I also made gifts for his direct reports. Here are the charger plates I made…inspired by Jill Olsen.

This is a picture of one table. I made 12 of them, and still have pieces and parts to make a few more for other gifts.

And here is a closeup of one of them. You can see I used some retired Stampin' Up! Designer Papers (and non-SU papers) because I needed patterns with Whisper White in them, not Very Vanilla. I wanted Whisper White snowmen! And, I was surprised to find that a lot of Stampin' Up!'s Designer Papers for Christmas have Very Vanilla in them! I found the chargers on sale at the M place…$1 for the plain ones and $1.50 for the decorated edge ones. They didn't have enough decorated edge ones for me to do everyone's, so I used the plain ones. Quite a reasonably priced gift! The stands I included (purchased at the W place) cost more than the entire plate did to make!

Here are the details:

For the circle of Designer Paper in the background, I found a dessert plate that fit in the center, traced around it with pencil and then cut it out. It is glued with Snail to the charger.
The banner was made in MDS and I printed it on Whisper White, cut to 1 3/4" wide and cut flag ends.
I layered it on a 2" x 12" strip of Silver Glimmer Paper and cut flag ends to match it. I used green Glimmer Brads to hold the two pieces together, and attached it to the charger plate with Stampin' Dimensionals.
The snowman is the three largest circles from the Circles #2 die out of Whisper White. I ran it thru the Big Shot with the Northern Flurry Embossing Folder, too, then sponged around the edges and snowflakes with Crumb Cake ink.
The hat is a 1 1/4" Square Punch trimmed on an angle for the sides, then a Word Window of Basic Black for the brim. I added a flower from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack of Silver Glimmer Paper with a rhinestone in the center.
The eyes are two medium sized pearls, colored with a black Sharpie pen. The nose is a triangle of Pumpkin Pie. The mouth is a row of the rhinestone jewels, colored with Black Sharpie pen and curved for a smile. I used three individual rhinestones for the buttons…colored with black Sharpie, too.
I used the Gumball Green Sweater Trim for his scarf, knotted on one side.
The arms are thin branches, adhered to the plate and under the snowman with Mini Glue Dots.
I cut the snowflakes from the Snow Flurry Die with Silver Glimmer Paper and added Red Glimmer Centers with the 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4" Circle Punches. I adhered them with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Overall, this is so sparkly and pretty! Everyone loved their gift and I was quite pleased with how they turned out! I plan on making a LOT more, including one for my house!

Christmas Blessings

December 10, 2012 By Connie | 3 Comments

So…how do you like my new winter blog look? I thought it was time for the fall theme to come down. I don't know about you, but the holidays are arriving MUCH too quickly! I have a long list of things to get done today. We'll see if I accomplish them all!

This is one of the cards my October Christmas Card Class did. I used some of the elements from a Control Freak swap card I received from Joey Hartman using this set and then added some other things. I thought it was VERY elegant with the gold embossing. It is also mass producable…a must for large amounts of Christmas Cards, but I don't think it lacks the wow factor!

Here are the detals!

The base is 4 1/4 x 11, folded in half.
The layer is 4 x 5 1/4 of Sahara Sand, embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots folder.
I added a horizontal 1 1/4 x 4 piece of Whisper White to go across the front, and added the greeting in Cherry Cobbler ink.
I also added a 1 1/4 x 5 piece of Snow Festival Designer Paper to go down the right side.
I cut the 3rd from smallest Window Frame framelit from Cherry Cobbler cardstock and popped it up on the front with Stampin' Dimensionals.
I stamped the Christmas Blessings poinsettia in Versamark on the Whisper White, then embossed with Gold Embossing Powder. I punced it out with the 2 1/2 Circle Punch to fit inside the Window Framelt.

Enjoy your Monday! Be back tomorrow with some GLITTERY fun!