Life has been a circus lately! We had so much fun in Virginia that I really didn’t have any time to blog at all. So I decided to just enjoy the time off…good thing I did because on our way home we got stranded in Maryland for three days while my car was fixed, we came home to cat urine on my daughter’s bed(bought her a new one), the cat lost part of his tail (don’t know what happened with that?), the washing machine broke (I fixed it), and with all the stress I had a stiff neck for the past few days!!! Now that things are getting back to normal I am hoping to get back into blogging every day this month…

So, for my first blog post this month I would like to share with you  a make-n-take from my “New Catalog Open House” on the 1st, which was supposed to be posted here before I went on vacation. This card was inspired by a card created by Dorothy Cates.

The card base is Basic Black, layered with Rich Razzleberry, and black again. Each layer is ¼” shorter than the one below. The main whisper white layer is stamped randomly using Staz On Ink (Staz On prevents bleeding when coloring with markers). The small circles are colored in using the NEW Rich Razzleberry Marker.

Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Ribbon was tied around the Whisper White layer. The greeting was stamped with Rich Razzlebery ink on whisper White Card stock and punched out with the Small Oval Punch, and layered over a Basic Black Large Oval. This was adhered to the finished card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

That’s it! This is a very quick and easy card and a very versatile stamp set…I can’t wait to show you the other make-n-take!

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

Stamps: Circle Circus, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Staz On, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Ribbon, Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Dimensional, SNAIL Adhesive, Rich Razzleberry Stamp n Write Marker

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Happy Stamping!

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!

As I promised yesterday, here are some pictures of my Convention Make-N-Takes. This year there were two Make-n-Take sessions. Each session consisted of 4 projects. This bookmark was the first project I completed and it is my favorite. This will definitely be a project in a future stamp camp! Sorry no specifics tonight guys, I am very tired!The Scallop Square is from our On Board Essentials (Chipboard). You may not have seen the new Designer Brads, make sure you take a peek. They are so beautiful. The silver pieces in the center of the flower and at the end of the ribbon are Designer Brads from the Filigree Assortment. In case you didn’t notice, the ribbon is our NEW Pacific Point In Color Striped Ribbon! I love this color combination!

This “Note of Thanks Box” was fun to make. It is a basic box with scallop punched DSP added to the top. Very basic, no big deal. The fun part was making the rosette. It is made with our new Pink Pirouette 1 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon. Using linen thread I stitched along the edge of the Ribbon with stitches about 1/4″ apart. Then I pulled the thread and gathered the ribbon into a circle to make the rosette. I tied a knot at the end to hold it together. The glitter is added to the end of the ribbon with crystal effects!

This is project #3 which I didn’t get to finish putting together at the MNT session. I just barely stamped everything, LOL! This is the “For You Mini Album” made with Love Notes Cards and Envelopes! LOVE IT! This is going to be one of the projects at my open house this weekend. This picture does not show it clearly, but there are little orange beads attached to the front with crystal effects. I swear I don’t use that stuff enough! Lots of great ideas at Convention this year!

OK, so this project was not even made by me! My friend Kathy White completed the dry embossing for me because we really had to go. The image is created by lightly using the brayer on the debossed side and accenting with the white signo gel pen. Thank you Kathy for stamping this so I could put it together later!!

You may be asking yourself…why didn’t you get to finish your projects? Well, I played mother hen for a little while. I went to convention with a wonderful group of women that love to spend time with! Most of them live an hour away from me and we don’t get to stamp together very often. I was trying to get everyone together at the same table to stamp together. (Staying together is virtually impossible at Convention without a cell phone. Then if you have a cell phone it is almost that impossible to hear it ring over the 5-6,000 people that are there!) Anyway, I started stamping a little later than everyone else because I was trying to find everyone that was separated from the group. I really had a great time at Convention this year and hope we can do it all together again next year! You guys ROCK!!

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….