New Catalog! And Happy Birthday Canada!

Today is a big day - not only is it Canada's Birthday, but today the new Stampin' Up! catalog goes live! There are so many exciting new products, stamp sets and accessories in this catalog! And not only that, but there are over 1000 items at $25 and under! How amazing is that!

For the first time, Stampin' Up! has an ALL CANADIAN stamp set! Glorious and Free is now available for only $31.95. Put your Canadian mark on all your projects. For the month of July, Stampin' Up! is also introducing the 'Deal of the Week'. Once a week, a new deal is revealed. This week, save 30% off the Scallop Edge Punch:
This very versatile punch is great for adding a little something to all your projects. But hurry, this deal is only available through July 5th. A new deal will be revealed on July 6th! View all the new items in the catalog in my Online Store and be sure to purchase your punch at 30% off today!

Enjoy browsing the new catalog and Happy Birthday Canada!

3D Cards! Combining some old with some new...

This month, Stampin' Up!'s demonstrator magazine had a few pages dedicated to 3D cards. Well, after seeing this 3D pop-up card I knew I had to make one! Luckily, my Father-in-Law's birthday was yesterday so I made one for him. This type of card is great for pop-out elements such as the scallop Happy Birthday. You could do many more pop-out elements but it was my first time doing it and I didn't want to over do it!

Seeing that we're going to be switching catties in a few short days, I combined some old with some new, including my favorite DSP from the last cattie - Parisian Breeze - and my favorite new In Color - Rich Razzleberry. The cardstock that makes up the main part of the card is Soft Suede - also a new In Color. I wanted to include a space to write a little something so I used the Big Shot to make an enevelope into which a small greeting card can be placed. So I guess it's a card within a card ;) To tie it all together (and keep it together) I made a belly band using Baja Breeze (my fave old In Color) textured cardstock and the new polka dot Rich Razzleberry ribbon. As an aside, I LOVE the new In Color ribbons! You can either use the polka dot side OR the plain underside. I used sticky strip in a few spots where I thought the card may need a bit of extra holding power. Take a peek and let me know what you think :)


The card recipe for my 3D card includes:
Stamp Sets: Crazy for Cupcakes, Teeny Tiny Wishes, So Many Scallops (retired)
Cardstock:Soft Suede , Rich Razzleberry, Baja Breeze Textured Cardstock, Whisper White, Parisian Breeze
Ink: Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, VersaMark
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, VersaMarker, Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss Powder, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Big Shot, Scallop Envelope Die, Rich Razzleberry Ribbon, Stampin Dimensionals, Sticky Strip

Crazy for Cupcakes!

I love cupcakes. I probably ate too many of them during my pregnancy :p And it's no surprise I finally ordered this stamp set in my 8th month (I'd been eyeing it for about 7 months at that point!) I immediately mounted it and made these cards. I wanted to play with some retired DSP that I had as well (Berry Bliss from the SS 2008 Catalog). After playing with this stamp set I love cupcakes even more than before. But I absolutely LOVE making birthday cards with it! It's so fun, so versatile, and there are so many possibilities - these cards are clearly just the beginning! You can add glitter or Crystal Effects to the sprinkles, cut out the candle or cupcake top to add texture, play around with the greetings and do many many other things!


I'll be back with more soon as I've been busy making some new cards for Belly Laughs. In the meantime, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

A Gift for My Midwife

I'm once again resurrecting my blog. I've had my baby, he's now 6 weeks old and I'm trying to get back to this blog! I had my discharge appointment with my midwife this week and I made her a pregnancy shadow box to show her my gratitude for the wonderful care she gave me and my baby. The practice will be getting a new clinic space in the near future and I thought something new for their walls would be nice.

I made the background of the shadow box by weaving two pieces of Designer Series Paper together. I had never done this technique but I just love it and I'm hooked! It's definitely time consuming, but worth it. I also took advantage of my Big Shot using the Bigz Top Note Die (an SU! exclusive) and I dry embossed it with the Big Shot Texturz Plates. Here's the shadow box - my midwife loved it, hope you like it too!

Full shadow box:
Picture only:
Detail of paper weaving:
The recipe for my shadow box includes
Stamp Sets: She's All That and Everything Baby (both retired)
Carstock: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Green Tea (retired) and Parisian Breeze DSP
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Paper Piercer, Flower Fusion Too, Fire and Ice Rhinestone Brads, Corner Rounder Punch, Slit Punch, Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon, Big Shot, Top Note Die, SU! Texturz Plates

Keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Watercoloring - Blending and Shading

Stampin' Up! recently put out a training video for demos regarding watercoloring. It was perfect timing because having just gotten my Watercolor Wonder Crayons (WWC) I was looking forward to trying new techniques with them. This video focused on blending colors to create different shading effects. The idea is to start with the lightest color and then darken edges which would appear darker with the light hitting them. Then you create a shadow effect with a complimentary color on the outside of image.

I tried these techniques with two different stamp sets. The set of WWC that I have are Rich Regals. So I did one image in blues, one in pink/red. I think they turned out pretty well for my first try. What do you think?

For this card, I used Bordering Blue for the lighter color and Ballet Blue/Brocade Blue for the blending/shading. For the outer shadow I used Night of Navy. I also finally got to use my Chunky Sprinkles glitter and my Sale-a-Bration Polytwill Certainly Celery Ribbon. Love them both!

The card recipe for my sock monkey includes:
Stamp Set: Sock Monkey
Cardstock: Kraft, Brocade Blue, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Chunky Sprinkles, Tombo Mono Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals, Polytwill Certainly Celery Ribbon, Mini Glue Dots

And for the second card. Yes, I know that I've used the Fifth Avenue Floral yet again but I LOVE it, and it's a great set for watercoloring, especially blending/shading. I used Regal Rose for the base color and Rose Red for the darker blending/shading. For the outer shadow of the rose, I used Brocade Blue. I also got inspiration to use various Designer Series Papers together on the same card from a stamping friend of mine. Finally, I think the Very Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware completes this card well :)

The card recipe for this Fifth Avenue Floral Card includes:
Stamp Set: Fifth Avenue Floral, Fresh Cuts
Cardstock: So Saffron, Parisian Breeze DSP (retired), Whisper White, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Basic Black, VersaMark
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Tag Corner Punch, Very Vanilla Hodgpodge Hardware, Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Hope you like these cards! Do you have any watercoloring tips/ideas? Be sure to share them! And don't forget, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity :)