Stampin' Up!

Elements of Style

May 28, 2010 By Connie | 5 Comments

Stampin' Up's Elements of Style stamp in the Summer Mini is such a pretty set. I've used it for wedding, vintage, contemporary and now very soft looks. It works with it all! The color combination of Pretty in Pink, Basic Gray and Whisper White just popped into my head when I was looking at this set to make up my card for Stamping 411's weekly sketch. I love how it turned out! Hope you enjoy it, too!

I'm sending this card to our best friends' mom…she found out about a month ago that she has Pancreatic Cancer and it is pretty far gone. I feel so bad for them…she could use your prayers!

I started with the base of Pretty in Pink and layered on Basic Gray that I distressed with my Cutter Kit Distressing Tool. I ran the Whisper White layer thru the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder and gently distressed the edges of it, too. For my focal element, I stamped the large rose vine with Basic Gray on Whisper White and distressed the edges. I layered it on more Basic Gray and then Pretty in Pink with distresssed edges (I think I was channeling Tiffany this week!) If you look closely, you'll see that I used Itty Bitty Background stamp with Pretty in Pink Classic Ink in the corners. I wrapped some Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon around and tied. This was all popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Then I stamped Thinking of You in Basic Gray on Pretty in Pink cardstock and punched with the Modern Label punch. I added two Square Fire Rhinestone Brads on the edges (I had to trim the legs with my scissors so they wouldn't show). I added more Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere the label to the card.

Have a wonderful weekend! Check out the rest of the Design Operators over on Stamping 411! I've got plenty to keep me busy this weekend…need to do a little clothes shopping for our trip to Cancun!

Bloggers Challenge – Red/White/Blue

May 28, 2010 By Connie | 17 Comments

Our Bloggers Challenge today is the color combination of Red/White/Blue in honor of Memorial Day. I want to thank the men and women who honor us by their service to our country. May God Bless them!

Pretty simple card today…I wanted an understated look. I started with the card size of 3 x 6 in Brilliant Blue cardstock. I pierced a row of holes along the top of a strip of Real Red cardstock and layered it on the base. Then I added a strip of slightly wider Whisper White over the bottom edge of the Whisper White. I stamped the star from Stampin' Up!'s July Fourth stamp set in Brilliant Blue and Real Red on Whisper White, then punched with the Large Star punch. I popped them up on the front of the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. I added the word Remember from In A Word, a stamp set in the Summer Mini in Basic Black in the lower right corner. Finally, I used the Itty Bitty circle punch with Brilliant Blue cardstock, and added a Bitty Button Circle on top and placed it with a Mini Glue Dot.

I'm off today to work over at Mary's house (of Create with Connie and Mary!) on my wedding favors. Hope to get a good chunk of them done. The final assembly will be made onsite in Cancun. I'm sure we will also be discussing the NEXT session of Create! Have a great weekend!

Stamping 411 Reveal!

May 27, 2010 By Connie | 4 Comments

Did you have a chance to go over and play the Stamping 411 guessing game in celebration of our One Year Anniversary of Stamping 411 Sketch Blog? It's been a fun year! Selene came up with the idea for us to post one of the other Design Operator's cards on our blog, and have the readers guess whose card it might be from the style. She'll be posting the Blog Candy Winners soon…so check it out!

I must have fooled a lot of people because guesses for me were way over the board, even from the Design Operators! I hope that means I have a very eclectic style! I think I confused everyone with Gretchen because she had posted the scallop envelope the week before…my card was already in the mail and I didn't know it! But now for the Big Reveal…here is MY actual card.

I started with a base of Bashful Blue cardstock and layered along the bottom the diagonal strip pattern from Travel Journal Designer Paper. The top Kraft layer, I stamped randomly with Night of Navy Classic Ink and the Sentimental Jouney Stamp Set. I also used Itty Bitty Backgrounds for some added speckles of Night of Navy ink. I wrapped two pieces of Night of Navy Grosgrain Ribbon around to the back to secure and hide the seam.

I ran the Scallop Envelope die thru the Big Shot with Night of Navy cardstock, then ran it thru again with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder to emboss it. I placed it on the front with a small Bashful Blue card inside that I stamped with Stampin' Up!'s Wonderful Favorites stamp set in Night of Navy Classic Ink. Finally, I stamped the compass from Sentimental Jouney in Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink and punched with the 1" circle punch. I added an Vintage mini brad in the center and adhered it to the envelope.

We sent our cards off to Selene to photograph…she did a mini swap and mailed them out randomly to the other Design Operators…I wonder who got mine?

I hope you have a wonderful day! My Stamp Clubs meet tonight…need to finish up getting ready for them and CLEAN my room! lol!

July Fourth Again…

May 25, 2010 By Connie | 1 Comment

Since I had Stampin' Up!'s July Fourth set out on my desk already, I decided to use it again for the Stampin' Connection Sketch Challenge (SCCSC18) this week. Stampin' Connection is an online resource similar to Splitcoaststampers, but it is JUST for demos! LOTS of creative ideas there! This was a fun sketch…a square card!

I started with a base of Real Red cardstock and wrapped my Real Red Striped Ribbon across the bottom third of it. I cut a square of Brilliant Blue cardstock and stamped the small trio of stars randomly on it with Brilliant Blue Classic Ink. I then ran it thru the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. It was layered on Whisper White. Then I inked the Happy 4th of July greeting with my Real Red and Brilliant Blue Stampin' Write Markers and stamped in the lower left corner of the Whisper White panel. I stamped the large star image in Real Red and Brilliant Blue, then punched with the Large Star Punch. I popped them up on the Whisper White with Stampin' Dimensionals and layered it on Brilliant Blue.

Finally, I used the Itty Bitty Round Punch and Bitty Round Buttons in the upper left corner of the card. Fun card and a fun sketch!

We are starting on our last week over on the Create with Connie and Mary subscribers site, but remember the site stays up long after the session is done, so you can refer back to all the projects. We have been featuring the Summer Mini stamp sets and products. There is a new project posted every day and several fabulous tutorials each and every week. You are welcome to use our ideas and projects in your classes and camps, we just ask that you do not submit our ideas to magazines, publications or contests, including Stampin' Up!'s challenges and So Shelli creative challenge. For more information and to see a few samples, check out our Preview Week projects at Create with Connie and Mary!

Remember…

May 24, 2010 By Connie | 9 Comments

Good morning! Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was nice and relaxing…just how I like it! I actually was able to spend some time sorting thru my HUGE pile of cardstock scraps and get them organized by color. Now, just need to put them in the sleeves of my binder and I'll be good to go! Such a big job, and one I always put off. You'd think I'd learn just to sort them as soon as I finish the project! lol!

Pals Paper Arts has a Memorial Week theme challenge (PPA43) going on and I finally got a minute to make up a card to thank those men and women who serve or have served our country. I also combined their challenge with Technostampers Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge (TSSC123)…loved her sketch!

Over on Create with Connie and Mary this week we are featuring the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini stamp sets July Fourth, King of the Grill and Sweet Scoops. I purchased July Fourth because I felt it would be good for all the patriotic holidays that occur during the summer and service projects for the troops.

For this card, I used the large star image in July Fourth and stamped it in Real Red Classic Ink and Brilliant Blue Classic Ink. I punched them out with the Large Star Punch, along with a Whisper White star. (Isn't it great that the star fits perfectly in the Large Star Punch?) I adhered the stars with Stampin' Dimensionals on a 2 1/2 Circle made with the Circle Scissors Tool and Sahara Sand Cardstock. I ran the Whisper White layer thru the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder and scalloped the bottom edge. I placed the rectangles of Real Red and Brilliant Blue Cardstock over the Whisper White. I wrapped the Real Red 1/4 Grosgrain Ribbon around to the back to secure, then added a bow on the front, adhered with a Mini Glue Dot. I adhered the Whisper White to the Brilliant Blue layer, then to the base card of Real Red. FInally, I stamped Remember from Stampin' Up!'s In A Word stamp set in Basic Black in the lower right corner. I added a Real Red circle punched with the Itty Bitt Shape circle punch and a circle Bitty Button to the Whisper White star.

Bloggers Sketch Challenge

May 21, 2010 By Connie | 19 Comments

Today's Bloggers Challenge is a sketch! As you know, I LOVE sketches! This card came together pretty quickly using it. I used Watercolor Trio again as it is one of the three sets we are featuring this week over on Create with Connie and Mary…Watercolor Trio, Bouquet Bunch and A Little Bit of Magic from Stampin' Up!'s Summer Mini.

I decided to turn the sketch on its side so my flowers would fit a little better. I started with a base of Certainly Celery cardstock and layered on Cameo Coral, one of the retiring colors! I used a strip of the Sahara Sand Polka Dot pattern from Thoroughly Modern Designer Paper in the background. On the Very Vanilla cardstock, I stamped the three flower/leaves images randomly in Certainly Celery, Sahara Sand and Cameo Coral Classic Inks.

I wrapped some Certainly Celery Satin Ribbon around and tied a bow. In the lower right corner, I used three 1/2" circles in Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla and Certainly Celery for the accents. I stamped Birthday Wishes from Watercolor Trio on Sahara Sand and punched with the Large Oval Punch, then layered on a Certainly Celery Scallop Oval punched piece. It was popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals! I love this color combo…will be sad to see that pretty Cameo Coral go away.

It certainly is not too late to join Create with Connie and Mary Summer Edition! At $24.95, it is certainly a bargain for all the ideas you'll get to make gifts or host stamp camps or classes for your customers. There is a new project posted every day and we have a minimum of two fabulous tutorials each and every week. Our site stays up long after the session is done, so you will plenty of time to access the site and refer back to the tutorials. For more information and to see our Preview Week projects please visit at Create with Connie and Mary!

May Tour de Freaks!

May 19, 2010 By Connie | 19 Comments

Woohoo! It's here! The May Tour de Freaks! I can't wait to see what these fabulous girls have done…what about you? You've just arrived from my friend, Lisa Martz's Blog…aren't her projects wonderful? LOVE that Tropical Party set and Island Oasis paper!

Stampin' Up!'s Sweet Scoops is a favorite of mine from the Summer Mini! My Technique Class did this card earlier this month using an old favorite technique…SHAVING CREAM! Doesn't the background just remind you of some melted ice cream? And…a double scoop of Vanilla and Strawberry ice cream on a sugar cone! Yummy!

If you haven't done the Shaving Cream Background, it is very simple! I use an old cookie sheet, spread regular shaving cream on it (I use unscented) and then place a few drops of 2-3 complimentary reinkers in the shaving cream, swirl around with a spoon and then place your Whisper White cardstock on top of the mixed shaving cream. Lift off the cardstock, take a spatula and scrap off the extra shaving cream…it leaves behind a beautiful marbled look on the cardstock! I used the reinker colors of Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink and Barely Banana. Let it dry, then layer on the base card of Pretty in Pink. I stamped the Cone with Creamy Caramel Classic Ink on Whisper White and the first scoop with Pretty in Pink. I stamped the Barely Banana scoop of ice cream on scrap paper, cut it out and adhered on top of the bottom scoop. I layered it on Pretty in Pink cardstock, then Certainly Celery. Across the top I used the Scallop Edge Punch on a piece of Barely Banana cardstock, and wrapped Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon around it and tied with a knot. I finished by stamping the greeting with Chocolate Chip Classic Ink.

You may remember for March's Tour de Freaks, I did a carrot made from the Large Scallop Circle Die. I decided that I could use the same thing to make an Ice Cream Cone! I cut the large Scallop Circle die from Creamy Caramel cardstock, then ran it thru the Big Shot with my Square Lattice Impressions Folder to give it a waffle look. I wrapped it into a funnel and secured with Sticky Strip. I used some of the left over Shaving Cream paper I made above and punched the Scallop Circle from it. I also punched So Saffron and Pretty in Pink Scallop Circles. I adhered them to the inside. I added the Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon in a box on the front. Then used my Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker to stamp the "Have a sweet celebration" on Whisper White and punched with the Wide Oval punch. I highlighted the sweet with So Saffron marker and sponged the edges with Pretty in Pink. I think this turned out CUTE! I haven't seen an ice cream cone done with the Scallop Circle. Inside I filled with Tropical Jelly Belly candies! FUN!

Next stop is the fabulous, Mary Brown! I know you'll love her projects!

Watercolor Trio

May 19, 2010 By Connie | 2 Comments

I combined two challenges today…the sketch challenge (SC281) on Splitcoaststampers and the color challenge on Color Throwdown! I loved both of them and this card came together really quickly! The colors of the Color Throwdown 93 (CTD93) incorporate two colors that are being brought out of retirement with the new Stampin' Up! catalog in July…Baja Breeze and Pink Pirouette! WOOHOO! I'm glad to see them return!

For my card, I started with a piece of Whisper White cardstock and randomly stamped the flowers from Watercolor Trio in Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette and Melon Mambo Classic Inks. LOVE this stamp set in the Summer Mini! I layered it on Melon Mambo cardstock and wrapped Melon Mambo Polka Dot Ribbon around it and tied. For the background on the right, I used a piece of printed paper from Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Paper and layered that on Pink Pirouette cardstock. I stamped the greeting that is also in Watercolor Trio stamp set in Basic Black on Pink Pirouette and punched with the Large Oval Punch, then layered it on a Scallop Oval of Baja Breeze. Finally, I stamped the butterfly in Melon Mambo Classic Ink and added a small clear rhinestone that I removed from the setting and added to the body of the butterfly. Pretty quick and easy card to pull together! I'll be using this sketch and color combo again!

Remember, tomorrow is the 20th of the month and time for the Tour de Freaks…brought to you by the fabulous Control Freak Swappers! You won't want to miss out on the fabulous projects you'll see featuring the Summer Mini! See you tomorrow to take the tour!