Looking for some cute ideas for a summer theme party? Look no further!

Check out these cute projects! I made them recently at a Demonstrator Extravaganza in Framingham, MA. These projects were all created by Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and Artisan Award winner, Robin Desko. I love everything about this set for a summer party. The invitation is so easy to put together and it is so bright and cheery that everyone will HAVE to come to the party!

Here is a close up of the pinwheel. Let me just tell you that this was a lot easier to make than I originally thought. This is just a decorative pinwheel and doesn’t actually spin, but so cute to use in a centerpiece at your party… I’ll have to make up a tutorial for that one real soon!

Last but certainly not least…the cute little party favor made with the Big Shot. The bucket was created using the Baskets and Blooms die.

Here you will see a close up of the decorative strip that runs through the center of the basket/pail. I used Crystal Effects to accent the sunglasses that were stamped across the Pumpkin Pie strips.

Check out this cute little shovel which was created entirely with Stampin’ Up! punches…

The handle of the shovel is created with the Word Window punch and the Horizontal Slot punch. That piece is glued to a strip of paper, which is then glued to a piece punched using the Tag Punch. The shovel is tied onto the basket/pail with a cute bow. Finally the sun is accented with Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.

All of these projects were very quick and a lot of fun to make. Thanks Robin for my new summer party set up!!

If you would like to recreate these projects…here is the recipe:

Stamps: Life’s A Breeze, Hugs and Wishes
Paper:Barely Banana, Ballet Blue, Whisper White,
Ink: Barely Banana, Ballet Blue, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: 1/4″ Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Lazy Days Jumbo Wheel, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals, Paper Piercing Tool, Paper Trimmer, Silver Brad, 3/4″ Punch, Wooden Skewer/dowel, Big Shot, Baskets and Blooms Die, Small Tag Punch, Word Window Punch, Horizontal Slot Punch

Click Here to Order your Stampin’ Up! Products Online 24/7

Happy Stamping!

Each year I let my girls help me design their birthday invitations. Let me tell you I have gotten some really good color combos out of them! This year Emma picked pink for her color. Well, at first she picked every color in the rainbow and wanted each kid to get an invitation made with their favorite color, but I reeled her in by limiting her to her own favorite color.

I ordered the “Crazy For Cupcakes” stamp set special for her birthday this year after I learned this really cool technique from Donna Centamore a while back to make puffy frosting or snow. I thought this technique would be perfect for Emma because she loves to eat the frosting off cupcakes! She really got a kick out of the puffy frosting!

How about a tutorial?

Supplies:

• Crazy for Cupcakes Stamp Set (#111618)
• Hugs and Wishes Stamp Set (#109383)
• Chocolate Chip Card Stock (#102128)
• Pink Pirouette Card Stock (#111351)
• Whisper White Card Stock (#100730)
• StazOn Ink Pad Jet Black (#101406)
• Pink Pirouette Classic Stamp Pad (#111838)
• Close to Cocoa Classic Stamp Pad(#10139), re-inker(#102444), or Marker (#100072)
• Creamy Caramel Classic Stamp Pad(#103220), re-inker(#101478), or Marker (#100078)
• Going Gray Classic Stamp Pad (#103274), re-inker(#102521), or Marker (only in neutral pack #109126)
• Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker (#100052)
• Aqapainter (#103954)
• Pink Pirouette re-inker (#111843)
• Heat Tool (#100005)
• Salt and All-Purpose Flour

Gather your supplies and Pre cut your card stock pieces as follows:

• Pink Pirouette (5.5″x8.5″)
• Whisper White (5″x3.75″) and (2.75″ x 4″)
• Chocolate Chip (3″ x 4.25″)

Step 1: Random stamp balloons all over card front using Pink Pirouette Classic Ink.

Step 2: Using StazOn, stamp images on Whisper White Card Stock (2.75″ x 4″). I used Timber Brown StazOn, which has been retired from our catalog. the StazOn resists bleeding when you watercolor the cupcake bottoms. You can also use Basic Brown Classic Ink or Jet Black StazOn for the cupcakes and Chocolate Chip Classic for greeting.

Step 3: Stamp invitation information onto whisper white insert (5″ x 3.75″) using Chocolate Chip Classic Ink.

You can barely see it in the picture, but I also stamped a large cupcake in the center with Pink Pirouette Classic Ink. This will look like a watermark behind your writing.

I used my Chocolate Chip Stampin’ Write marker to write in the rest of the information.

Step 4: Now for the fun part! Take a small container and add equal parts of All Purpose Flour and Salt. I used a Sponge Dauber to measure. Mix well.

Add a few drops of water and mix to the consistency a little thicker than school glue. Add 3 drops of Pink Pirouette Classic Ink to this mixture.

Step 5: Color each cherry with a Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker. Color the stand with Going Grey, and the bottoms of each cupcake were watercolored using an aqua painter, Creamy Caramel, and Close to Cocoa Classic Ink.

When watercoloring, I very quickly and lightly colored each bottom with creamy caramel starting at the top left hand corner and working to the right. You want white spots here and there so don’ worry about that. Then do the same with Close to Cocoa Classic Ink to add a shadow. You can see the detail in the next picture.

Step 6: Using a small spatula or screwdriver, carefully place the salt and flour mixture on each cupcake. You only need a little frosting on each cupcake, just make sure you push it from the center out to the stamped outline.

Using a heat tool dry the backside of the card stock until the mixture turns from shiny to matte finish. Then use the heat tool on the front of the card stock and heat each cupcake until the frosting puffs up.

Step 7: Assemble your card, and don’t forget to use your personalized name stamp on the back of your card so the receiver knows it was handmade by you!

I hope you have fun playing around with this technique. I suggest using some of those card stock scraps that you have lying around to play with this. If you add too much mixture It might not dry in the middle. If you add too much water the puffy accents might crush because they are too delicate.

Come back for more tutorials soon!

Happy Stamping!

Yeah I am finally done with my sister-in-law’s wedding invitations. I am really happy with how they came out. I actually finished a few days ago, and they have already been mailed out, but I have been very busy lately so didn’t have a chance to post. So, for those of you who have been watching…here is the front of her invites:

Erin’s wedding colors are Chocolate, Celery, and Gold. The gold is just an accent color, and I was looking for a way to add just a hint of gold in her invitations, but couldn’t figure out where. I don’t know if you can see it in the picture, but the Monogram is attached to the Certainly Celery Ribbon with Gold Cording. It seems to have just the right touch!

I would also like to direct your attention to the nicely tied bow! Yes, you guessed I tied 140 of those babies! I used to be very inconsistent with my bow tying. They would come out different every time. Well, lets just say I don’t have that problem any more…LOL! At some point in time I am going to create a bow tying tutorial with a little tip for how to tie a nice tight bow! They would always slip on me before, but not any more!!

Here is a picture of the inside of her invites. Sorry, I had to distort some of the information since the wedding hasn’t happened yet. Everything you see here was printed at home. I formatted all the inserts and invitation in Microsoft Word and printed in Chocolate Chip Ink to match the Chocolate Chip Card Stock!

SO, what do you think? I just wish I knew how to do this when I got married (way back when…LOL!)

Oh, I almost forgot! Here is what 140 Pocket Fold Invitations looks like when they are done! I hope you enjoyed following me throughout my Adventures with Wedding Invitations.

I would love to hear what you think, so leave a comment below!

Happy Stamping!

I am past the half way point with my Sister-In-Law’s Wedding invitations!

I just finished creating the Monogram for the front. In my last post I showed you how I used embossing to add a little WOW to the invite. Well, here is another one for you! I wanted to emboss a frame for the monogram with Certainly Celery (her wedding colors are celery, chocolate, and gold), but I do not have a Certainly Celery Craft Pad. How did I do it? By using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig of course!

Using the clear plastic sheet to position the stamp correctly was going to take way to long, so I had to be a little creative for mass production. Here is what I did:

First I cut pieces of Very Vanilla card stock that were the same size as the wooden block of the stamp I was using. Then I stacked up all 140 squares and ran a highlighter down one corner. This was the corner to place in the Stamp-a-ma-Jig. You will see why I needed to do that in just a minute.

To stamp the frame in celery, I placed the pink corner of the card stock next to the Stamp-a-ma-jig and stamped the image with Certainly Celery Classic Ink. I made sure to have the Stampin’ UP! copyright on the wooden block facing the same way each time I stamped.

Classic Ink will not stay wet enough to emboss with, so I needed to stamp with VersaMark directly over the image again. First I ran the Embossing Buddy over the Card Stock, and then placed the pink corner next to the Stamp-a-ma-Jig. Using VersaMark Ink, I stamped the frame directly over the certainly celery image. Again, I made sure that the copyright was facing the same way each time.

Since I placed the paper and the wooden block next to the Stamp-a-ma-jig the same way both times there is no need for a clear plastic sheet because the stamp and the image will line up perfectly every time.

Clear Embossing Powder was poured over the image, and then heated with the Heat Gun.

I stamped the Monogram in Chocolate Chip Classic Ink, and cut out the frame with my Paper Snips. Here is the finished product!!

This picture doesn’t really show the embossed image very well, but wait until you see the completed invitation! Let’s hope they will be done tomorrow!

Happy Stampin!

As promised I am posting a very quick tutorial on how to heat emboss an image. I am sure most of you have tried embossing before, but for those of you who haven’t …you don’t know what you are missing! Embossing is a very simple process and it sure does add a WOW to your project.

First of all there are a few basic supplies you will need (all products can be found in the Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalog and I have page numbers listed for you):

• Card Stock (pages 162-166)
• VersaMark Ink (page 193)
• Embossing Powder (page 190)
• Embossing Buddy (page 190)
• Heat Tool (page 190)
• Powder Pal Tray (page 190)
• Rubber Stamps (can be found throughout the catalog)

Step 1: Rub the Embossing Buddy across the Card Stock to reduce static. This prevents the Embossing Powder from sticking where you don’t want it to.

Step 2: Stamp the image on Card Stock using VersaMark Ink.

Step 3: Hold your stamped Card Stock over a Powder Pals tray. Pour Embossing Powder over the stamped image, then shake off the excess.

Step 4: Heat the stamped image, using a Heat Tool, until it turns shiny.

Here is a better picture displaying the raised, shiny image…

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and that it inspires you to try heat embossing. If you would like to see the items used in this tutorial Click Here to view the Fall-Winter Idea Book and Catalog.

As always contact me anytime if you would like to place an order. I can ship your embossing supplies directly to your door anywhere in the U.S.

Happy Stamping!

Lately I have been very busy making Wedding Invitations for my Sister-In-Law. I offered to make her Invitations as a wedding present. I really had so much fun designing for her and I am really happy with the result. Today I am going to show you the start of my journey.

I am making Pocket Folder invitations. This is what the finished portfolio will look like:

I am using one full 8 1/2″X 11″ piece of Chocolate Chip to make each portfolio. The stamped image is from the “Together Forever” stamp set, and is heat embossed with VersaMark and Clear Embossing Powder. (I will be posting a separate tutorial on embossing)

And here is what 140 Invitation Portfolios look like before they are assembled:

I am using Sticky Strip to adhere the tab you see on the bottom of the picture, in order to make the pocket.

Well, that is the first step on my Invitation Journey. Check back soon for a tutorial on embossing as well as more pictures of my Sister-In-Law’s Invitations!

Happy Stamping!

OK, it looks like my computer is fixed! So, I finally have time to show you my card for last weeks Splitcoast Stampers Color Challenge. I hope you like it….

This weeks challenge was to create a project using Almost Amethyst, Wild Wasabi, and So Saffron. As I was unpacking the my stamping cart from vacation, I grabbed the first stamp set I saw…Eat Cake. This stamp set is great for any birthday, so if you like it make sure you contact me soon…It is going to retire on August 10th! The card I came up with is actually very simple to make and has a little bling to “Kick It Up A Notch”.

The card base is So Saffron cardstock random stamped with So Saffron Classic Ink using a sparkly stamp from the set. “Happy Birthday” is stamped in the lower right-hand corner with Wild Wasabi Classic Ink. Wild Wasabi Striped Grosgrain Ribbon is tied around the card with a basic knot.

This stamp set is a 2 Step-Stamping set, which means, you use two or more stamps to create the completed stamped image. 2 Step-stamping is so much fun a very versatile. To make the presents on the front of this card I first stamped them on Whisper White Cardstock with Almost Amethyst and Wild Wasabi. Then using Versamark Ink I stamped the decorations over the present, added Heat-N-Stick Powder, heat embossed, then sprinkled with Silver Glitter. I used Paper Snips to trim around each present and attached them with dimensionals to the card front.

I just love how the glitter sparkles in the sun! I hope you liked this one. Make sure you come back tomorrow…the retired accesories list will be announced tomorrow and all items listed are only available while supplies last! See you tomorrow….