Oldies but Goodies

June 1st (in 2 days!!!! But I'm not counting :p) Stampin' Up! will announce which stamp sets and accessories, including wheels, Designer Series Papers and embellishments, will be retiring. In most cases, though I may be disappointed that some items and stamps are retiring, I KNOW that Stampin' Up! will provide us with brand new items we'll love just as much and in some cases more :)

A couple of weeks ago, within 36 hours, I found out three women very close to me are pregnant. Of course they need a sweet card to commemorate this special time and I used this week's Mojo Monday Challenge as well as retired only products (except the Crumb Cake CS and Chocolate Chip mat). The sketch this week was TOTALLY out of my box by the way ;) This week's sketch was a 'Round or Square' sketch - I chose 'square' :)

I couldn't think of a better stamp to use than She's All That. It was in the 2008 Occasions Mini and retired never making it to the 'big' cattie, much to my chagrin. The DSP is Parisian Breeze, retired in 2009. I loved it, it was textured, soft and good for both masculine AND feminine cards! So glad I still have some. 

To make the frame, cut four pieces of card stock or DSP, same lengths and widths (I used 4-3/4" x 1-1/4" pieces here). To get my 45 degree angle, I flipped the strips over to the 'bad sides' and measured out 1-1/4" horizontally at the top (since the strips were 1-1/4" wide). I then drew a line from the bottom corner to the 1-1/4" mark. I did this for all sides of 2 pieces (so 4 times). This gives 45 degree angles on the card stock. Put this over top of the straight pieces to avoid the gaps I have. Wish I learned that sooner but I have two more cards to make, right?

For the embellies, I used Chocolate Chip Taffeta ribbon (retired last year) as well as the Baja Breeze Vintage Flower Adornment, retired in the 2011 Occasions Mini. I really hope Chocolate Chip ribbon makes a comeback this year. I like the Early Espresso ribbon, but want Chocolate Chip ribbon too!

So there you have it, a mostly retired items card. What are your fave retired stamp sets/embellishments? I'd love to hear all about our 'goodie oldies'! And, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

My Very Underused Brads...

Yesterday's Pals Paper Arts Challenge asked us to use an element of style, brads, in our project. I must admit, though I love brads, when the adhesive rhinestone and pearls made their debut last year, I've been more likely to reach for them, rather than brads. Why? Well, simply put, I'm lazy :p  They're so easy, you just grab 'em, stick em on, and done.  But, there's something about brads. You can get them in different colors, you can get rhinestone brads and you can get flower brads. The adhesive jewels just don't do all that. So I'm glad I was 'told' to dust off my brads this week and rediscover my love for them :)

I still had to come up with a card for my Father's Day class, something simple enough for kiddies to do, but still elegant. I used the Best Dad Ever set in the Summer Mini as well as the Nautical Expedition DSP and Espresso Baker's Twine - both accessories are part of the class fee :)  To make it easy for the kiddies, I simply stamped the greeting on the card, but to make it less plain, I used brads to accentuate it, like a little label.

Don't the Pewter Brads just make the Happy Father's Day greeting stand out? I love it! And hope my stampers do to!  I still have two spots available - sing up at stampingmonica@gmail.com. We'll be making THIS lovely Father's Day frame. It's a great mom and me class or come on your own, you'll be in good company either way :)

Hope you're having a good stampin' day and keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

A Cool Thank You

It's Victoria Day in Canada today, which means 3-day week-end :) Of course, I couldn't take the day off from the Mojo Monday Challenge though. Today's sketch was so cute, and the bottom scallops reminded me of water. I thought it would lend itself perfectly to the 'Sunny Fun' stamp set.  This is how I start all my cards and scrap pages... I pick a stamp set and a sketch and run with it - it's the method that works best for me :)

I'm also embarrassed to say that even though my son's 2nd birthday party was on April 30th, I have yet to send out 'thank you's'. So I made a point to use today's sketch the thank you card as well. They turquoise in the 'Play Date' Designer Series Paper is summery and fresh and I used the 'Tasteful Trim' Bigz XL die to make the 'waves' at the bottom of the sketch, instead of the scallops. Isn't it fun?

I love the 'Sunny Fun' stamp set but I find a lot of people are afraid of line art. They think they need to color it all in... but why not just spot color? It saves a lot of time, looks great, and lets you use those gorgeous line art stamps you've been eyeing.  I do this with most of my line art stamp sets and I'm no longer afraid of buying them. Are you wondering how I split up the "that was so cool of you... thanks" greeting? I inked the words I wanted with a Chocolate Chip marker! Did you know the ink in them is the same ink that is the ink pads? This means you can stamp with the ink in the markers, too :) First I made sure the stamp was really clean by cleaning it on the Stampin' Scrub and stamping off on spare card stock. I inked up the words I wanted, stamped and punched out the oval. Then I cleaned and stamped off again and inked up the 'thanks' which I punched out with the Jewelry Tag Punch.  Nice and easy way to split up greetings!

Hopefully I can get a few more of these cards made and sent out shortly... keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Father's Day Frame Class

Are you looking for that extra special gift for your child's daddy? Or maybe you'd like to make something personal for your own Dad. Consider making a lovely Father's Day Frame with the Nautical Expedition Designer Series Paper.

Come to the Father's Day Frame Class on June 5th and for only $30 make the frame below! Come alone or with your child (maximum one child per adult). You'll get to make a Father's Day card to go with the frame too!

Be sure to register for this class by May 25th. You'll get half a package of Nautical Expedition DSP as well as a whole roll of Chocolate Chip Baker's Twine to use on your project! You'll have enough left over to make more projects at home.

I hope this project has got you thinking about Father's Day crafts and I hope to see you on June 5th so we can craft together!  Keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Simply Sketchy

Today I had a very simple but cute sketch to work with from the great gals at Pals Paper Arts. The minute I saw it, I knew I was going to use the Blushing Bride Polystitch Ribbon for the two side borders.  But what to put in the middle?

With the Victoria long week-end in Canada I didn't have much time to make my card today so I decided to keep it simple. The Flower Fest stamp set in the Summer Mini is great because most of the stamps coordinate with Stampin' Up! punches. I also used the Paisley Prints DSP which will be in the new catalogue on July 1st.

For the 5-petal flower and butterfly, I watercolored. Using CLASSIC INK!!! It will run if you try to do too much blending and such. But if you just want to add some light color, gently water color using your aqua painter, without too much water and you'll create a nice, soft effect on your images :)

Enjoy and hope my Canadian readers have a great long week-end. Keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Let's Mojo with Polka Dots!

Another Mojo Monday today :) I have my Playful Polka Dots Class on Thursday May 19th at 7:30 (yes, that's THIS Thursday, a few spaces still available!) so I decided to use this opportunity to make another card for my class :)  I love this sketch, but I wanted a vertically-oriented card, so I flipped it around and added a few things.

I also love this scrappin' kit. It's soooo fun!  I love the colors, the stamps and punches it coordinates with (Fabulous Florets and Build-a-Blossom Punch). For this card, I used the simple line art floret. I also used the Tiny Tags stamp set and coordinating punch for the 'Friend' greeting.  And who could forget the Baker's Twine!  Did I mention how much I LOVE this lovely cost-effective accessory?  Almost as much as the rhinestones :)

I've also got a little sneak peek of my third card. It uses all of the super cute DSP in the Playful Polka Dots Simply Scrappin' Kit as well as the Postage Punch :)  Join us on Thursday, make 6 cards for $20, you'll get half the Simply Scrappin' Kit to make your cards and you get to take the leftovers home!  If you sign up for the Playful Polka Dots Scrapbooking Class on June 12th you'll get the card class for only $10!!!

Hope these cards have inspired you to use a scrappin' kit for cardmaking and keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

70th Birthday Card

Today is my Dad's 70th Birthday. For this very special milestone, I made him a very special card. I wanted something that was simple, but very special. And since my mom told me this is her favorite card that I've made, I think I did a good job :) (My dad, the very important birthday 'boy' liked it too!)

Although I typically make the standard A2 cards, this one is a 5-1/4" x 5-1/4" card. I wanted silver on my card, but didn't have any Brushed Silver card stock. So I pulled out a Designer Series Paper that I haven't used in a while, Presto Patterns. After cutting out a large scalloped square with my Big Shot, I used sponge daubers to apply Silver Shimmer Paint to the square.

Wondering how I put together the glittery numbers? It's easy peasy! I adhered the Multipurpose adhesive sheets to two small pieces of Basic Black card stock. I wanted the adhesive to face upwards, so I could adhere glitter to it. so I cut the numbers on the Big Shot with the adhesive face down. I have found that it's much easier to have the numbers in place before putting on the glitter, so I adhered them with dimensionals to the white circle. This way, I could just peel off the protective paper from the numbers and put glitter on both numbers. If you don't, it can be messy and odds are you'll take some of the adhesive off the numbers with your fingers.

You may also be looking through your SU! catalog for the ribbon I used. It is SU!, but it's retired. It's the Basic Grey Satin Ribbon, and I love it - I hope it comes back! I especially love it because it's got a 'silver' look to it.

That's it from me today :) I also made him a gift card holder, but I'll share that in the next day or two. Hope you enjoyed this project and keep letting stamps bring out your creativity :D

Simple Daisy Thank You

I love my Big Shot because with a quick crank of the handle, I can make a simple yet stunning card. That's how I feel about this card. I got the original idea for it from my upline, Marlayne Hardy. And it's perfect for this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge, where we were challenged to create something wedding related with inspiration from the photo to the left. 

For anything wedding related, I love Stampin' Up!'s Confetti White card stock, which I used on my card. It has that classic wedding feel. Pretty and Pink and and a hint of Certainly Celery, like in the picture, completed the look. This card could be used as a 'Thank You', 'Congratulations to the Newlyweds' or even as the invitation itself!  Sometimes simple is beautiful, and better!

Hope you enjoyed this week's PPA card and keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

A Little Digital Mojo with Digital Frame Tutorial

I'm doing a half-hour My Digital Studio Presentation at my upline Marlayne's Spring Fling this week-end. I will be presenting a scrap page as well as a card. This week's Mojo Monday sketch has borders, layers and a nice clean design. It is a great card to show my audience how to use the various stamps, punches, Designer Series Papers and embellishments that MDS has to offer.


What I especially love about working digitally is that I can use stamps and embellishments I don't have at home. On this card, I used the Big Bold Birthday stamp set as well as Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon - neither of which I have in my stash at home.

Another great thing about MDS is that our favorite papers, colors and embellies never retire!  I loved the My Sweet Pea suite of products in the 2010 Occasions Mini and I still love them. I often use them in my digital crafting so it's no surprise that I used them for this card.  Those felt embellies are gorgeous accents for any girly project. I also just downloaded the Sweet Stitches Big Buttons (just retired from the 2011 Occasions Mini) which coordinate beautifully with the My Sweet Pea motif.

One thing I struggled with in this card is the top scallop punch length. There is no way to 'cut' a punched element or stamp with MDS (there will be an email going to SU! with this suggestion shortly...). So how did I create the frame? I couldn't figure it out but I got my solution on the My Digital Studio Forums. First you add the top scallop trim border that you need 'trimmed'. Place it where you need it. Create a page layer with the same cardstock or designer paper what is underneath the punch and put it over the area you want hidden. Here I show it in Daffodil Delight, so you can see it, on my finished card it's in Early Espresso. The first image shows the punch over top, the second image shows the Daffodil Delight over top of it.

Another limitation I found with MDS is changing the color of a layer. You can't, as far as I can tell, unless it's the card background. So if you think you'll want to change the color of the layer, do a square punch, adjust the size to what you need and then you can change the color anytime. If you have Designer Paper in the background, you can easily match the design on the paper by double clicking on your layer or punched image and moving it to where you need it on the DSP sheet. See the MDS screen shot below to see what I'm talking about ;)

I hope you've enjoyed this card and this has helped you a bit with your digital creations. I love My Digital Studio for all the reasons listed and know you will too!  Keep letting stamps (and digi stamps) bring out your creativity!

Easy Butterfly Pansy Tutorial

Another Pals Paper Arts Challenge awaited me this week and it was a Celebrity Color Challenge. Our projects were to use Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz and Peach Parfait. I'd be lying if I told you I loved Poppy Parade, I haven't really used that color in the last 10 months. And that color combination isn't really 'moi'. But that's why it's a challenge, right? So here's what I came up with :)

I also promised you that I'd show you how to make those adorable butterfly pansies. They're very easy to make!  I can't take credit for them though, I learned how to make them about a month ago from a fellow Demonstrator :) First, using Stampin' Up! Shimmery card stock (because it soaks up water better and also adds a little shimmer to your flower), punch out two butterflies with the Butterfly Punch. You can also use Whisper White or Very Vanilla card stock but the water may not soak in as easily.

Next, spritz your butterflies with water until very wet. Using SU! reinkers, drop one or two drops of your chosen colors (here I used Poppy Parade and Peach Parfait) on a paper towel. Pick up ink with an Aquapainter and 'paint' the wet butterflies. Place ink where you want it and let the colors run together. You will get a 'tie dye' effect. Let your butterflies dry.

Once dry, use a coordinating color (Concord Crush on my pansies) to draw the lines on the pansies. Put a little adhesive in the center of the bottom butterfly and adhere the butterflies together. I added a green rhinestone brad in the center of my pansies to add a little glimmer.

As you can see, these are very easy and take only about 10 minutes to make! Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

A little Anniversary Mojo

Tomorrow is my and my husband's 9th Wedding Anniversary. I can hardly believe it! To celebrate this special day I of course made my hubby a card. Mojo Monday had a gorgeous sketch that I thought would work well with the Artistic Etchings Stamp Set and Trinket Key I was planning on using for my card. This Anniversary post is also very fitting because this is my 100th blog post!!!  I can't believe it!

I used the Newsprint Designer Series Paper in the current IB&C as well as the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder to emboss the top piece of DSP.  Stamping on textured card stock isn't always my thing, but it worked well with the Eiffel Tower. As I started putting it together I worried it was a bit busy with the layered Newsprint DSP. In the end though I think it worked well! Although everything on this card is Very Vanilla, Early Espresso and Basic Black, I did the scallop circle in Cherry Cobbler to make it pop a bit. This really pulled the card together.

I love the Trinket Keys to add a little "je ne sais quoi" to those extra-special cards. Keys can be symbolic in many ways but on this card it symbolizes the "key to my heart".  Pretty darn sappy, eh?

Enjoy - next time I'll show you how to make those adorable pansies from last Monday's Mojo Challenge! In the mean time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!