Everyday Occasions Fabulousness!!!

Happy Monday!!

I had the most FABULOUS weekend!!! 4 stamping "gigs" in 3 days!! Yes, I was a *bit* of a stress case Friday morning but once things got rolling it alllll came together without a hitch! I helped 300 elementary children make a little bookmark Friday morning, I stamped with a friend Friday night, I helped a 10 year old celebrate her birthday with 5 of her friends on Saturday and I had a relaxing Christmas Stamp-a-Stack with a great group of ladies on Sunday! I figured by Sunday afternoon I would be ready to drop in my tracks and never want to touch a stamp again ... but I was wrong!!! I was pumped and ready for more ... so here I am to share something I'm REALLY excited about!!!

 A new kit that ROCKS - MY - WORLD!!!

I've always loved crafts. Having an older brother, from the age of about 9 years old I pretty much had to play by myself. My brother would only agree to play Barbie's with me if Barbie was kidnapped by GI Joe and kept as his prisoner ... I wanted them to get married ... so we didn't play. I know. It's sad :(

That's when crafting came into my regular Sunday afternoons. As mom was busy doing "mom stuff" I kept busy with crafts ... that's when KITS came into my life. I LOVED kits - paint by number kits, rug hooking kits (am I dating myself here???), knitting kits and cross stitching kits. Nothing made me happier than a cold, rainy (or snowy) Sunday ... and being able to sit down at the kitchen table and have everything I needed to make something all by myself ... with the smell of Mom's roast beef cooking in the oven! ahhhh .....

Fast forward 37 years ... now stamping is my love. For the 8 years I've been in this business I have always wanted to have an "all-in-one" kit that I could offer customers. A kit that has all the pre-cut supplies, embellishments, inks, stamps ... everything!! Yyyyyyyep. You guessed it ... there is now such a kit available!!! (*insert sound of me squealing here*). WAIT! It gets better! Stampin' Up! HAS had kits offered in the past .. there are kits to make 8 cards, there is the Paper Pumpkin which offers little projects and/or kits to make 4 cards .... but that wasn't enough for me!! I wanted a BIGGER kit ... one that makes MORE cards, with MORE variety and with a better value for money. Yyyyyyep. You guessed it again ... there is now such a kit available!! (*insert the sound of me squealing here ... again ...*)

This kit is THE kit to get if :

• you are a new'ish stamper
• if you have tried stamping, like stamping but don't know where to start with purchasing a few basic products to try out at home
• if you LIKE to stamp but don't have all the tools you need to creat a variety of different cards
• if you are on a tight budget
• if you don't have the space to store a lot of supplies
• if you have a child in your life who likes to craft
• if you HAVE all the supplies you need but don't always have the time or energy to haul it all out, start cutting paper and creating something from scratch (this describes me ... when the kids want to make cards I often don't WANT to start cutting and prepping something for them!)
• if you have family or friends who like to stamp and you are looking for a GREAT Christmas present for them

This kit ROCKS!!!

OK ... enough build up ... wanna see what you get ... $55 worth of crardmaking joy for the CRAZY LOW PRICE of $36.95???* (drum roll please ...)
* plus s/h/gst)

I introduce to you the Everyday Occasions Kit (woo hoo! ... fist pumping, whistling and applause are sounding in the background ... feel free to say *ooooo ... ahhhhh* ... and/or squeal!)

OK ... so the picture doesn't do it justice *lol* ... click here to see the flyer with a FULL picture of everything that comes in this kit ... as well as 20 card samples! (assuming I got the link working!)

YOU GET:

• Cardstock and envelopes for 20 cards ... 20 CARDS!!!!!!
• Twine, buttons, and clips
• Full-color Tips & Tricks brochure
• A cool, storable, giftable box to keep them in or give them away in
• Die-cut paper embellishments
• Stampin' Spots (mini ink pads)
• Seven-piece Occasions Stamp Set & clear block
• **notice that adhesive and scissors are NOT included in the kit ... so I lied a little ... it doesn't have EVERYTHING you need ... but I think everyone has a glue stick (or tape) and a pair of scissors lying around (and if you don't I know a great Stampin' Up! Demonstrator who can hook you up with some *lol*)

You can make cards for All Occasions (... hence the name *lol*). The stamps in the set have these sentiments:

• Happy Birthday
• Congratulations
• Love
• Thinking of You
• Thank You
• For You
• and one more ... that I can't quite make out on the flyer ...but it looks like a "Made for you" stamp for the back of your cards

Yes. This kit was announces Friday morning. 10 minutes after I read about it my order was placed and it is now wingings its way to my door. Bring on a cold, rainy Sunday - Mamma's doin' some crafting!!

I am placing an order in the next 2 weeks - drop me a line or click here if you would like to scoop up one of the AWESOME kits!!!

That's it for now! Until next time - have a stampy day!!
 

Tamara

Embossing Folder Stamping - Magical Season

Happy Thursday!!!

Typical Thursday around here ... I've been accomplishing a LOT of seriously unimportant things whilst procrastinating on prepping for my events this weekend.  Although I DO feel good that my overflowing recipe book is now somewhat organized ... I PROBABLY should have spent my time doing other things.  That recipe book has been a work-in progress since ... umm ... July ... of 2012!!!  In hindsight I'm thinkin' THAT little gem could have waited another day or two.  Hopefully the 670 children at Leo Nickerson School will appreciate my organizational skills tomorrow when their "Make & Take" project is more of a "Look & Walk Away" project *lol*.  

Meh ... you know me ... it will somehow all come together (not really sure WHEN since I've been awake since about 2:30 am, desperately need a nap and tonight is "Rebecca Night" meaning we will be baking ... not prepping!! ... but it'll happen ... somehow ...)

SO!  Rather than going down to prep NOW I figured prcrastinating another half hour wouldn't hurt ... so I'll share a fab little card I put together last night (the girls and I were SUPPOSED to be making a banner for Alicia's birthday party next weekend ... but while they fiddle farted around coming downstairs I managed to squeeze in a card ... oh ... but we DID start the banner so stay tuned for THAT project in the next 2 weeks!) ... hmmm ... a little more rambly and *Squirrel*y today than usual, aren't I?  ... Good thing I can type as fast as my mind switches gears .....

Here's the card:

 LOVE it!!!!  It's just a plain, simple, classic Christmas card in traditional colors.  Hmmm ... the red in the picture is brighter than in person ... my lighting must be off a bit ... ANYway ... it was a fun card to make and not at all what I set out to do.  Once I cleaned the mess off my desk and could actually SEE the desk top I spotted  the new single stamp I bought last week "Magical Season".  I opened it and assembled it not even remembering what it said or looked like.  Hmmm.  I liked it ... no wonder I ordered it *lol*  Looking at it I figured the sentiment could stand alone without too much fussing ... so I stamped it in Real Red on some whisper white and cut it out with one of my oval framelits.  So far so good.  I looked for some DSP as a background but it was all too "strong" ... I wanted soft and subtle.  I looked at my embossing folders ... hmmmm ... mayyyyyybe ..... The few I gravitated towards were all a little too "busy", even for embossing.  I kept heading back to the new Stylish Stripes folder (in the holiday mini) ... Ya ... embossing it might look good ... but what about something even more subtle (the stripes DO emboss fairly deeply and I wasn't sure that was the look I was going for).  I decided to try the Embossing Folder Stamp Technique again (see my Alphabet Ppress Birthday Card from a few posts back).  I didn't want all the stripes the same color ... and I wanted traditional Christmas colors ... so I grabbed my Real Red and Old Olive ink pads and finger daubers and daubed ink directly onto each stripe:

This process took about 5 minutes ... which is too long for my attention span ... so I wouldn't mass produce this particular card ... but it turned out great nonetheless and I highly recommend you give it a go!

Once the folder was all inked up I simply turned it over and used it like a stamp on my whisper white layer.  In order to get an even, firm pressure across the whole image I rolled my brayer over it a few times:

ooooo .... look at the pretty nails!  Yet another *really important task* that had to be taken care of before prepping :)

*Squirrel*?

When I lifted the folder this is the background I ended up with:

LOVE it!  It's vintage / rustic imperfection is exactly the look I wanted (although I didn't know it until I saw it *lol*).  I actually added just a SLIGHT bit of red to the edge of the piece with my dauber ... just for a relly subtle hint of red for a frame.

I added a frame of Old Olive using one of the Deco Labels Framelits, added a strip of Real Red scrap that was sitting in front of me, popped the sentiment up on dimensionals and added a few rhinetones.

Love it!

Give the Embossing Folder Stamp Technique a try!  It's fun!  I think I'll try the new Pretty Print Tectured Impressions folder soon ... that will give a great vintage feel ...

Here are the supplies I used:

Whisper White Card Stock - item # 100730 - $9.25
Real Red Card Stock - item # 102482 - $8.50
Old Olive Card Stock - item # 100702 - $8.50
Stylish Stripes Textured Embossing Folder - item # 132174 - $9.95
Magical Season stamp - item # 134777 - $7.95
Clear Block D - item # 118485 - $11.50
Real Red Ink - item # 126949 - $7.25
Old Olive Ink - item # 126953 - $7.25
Deco Labels Framelits - item # 130102 - $30.95
Ovals Framelits - item # 129381 - $32.95
Dimensionals - item #104430 - $5.50
Basic Rhinestones - item # 119346 - $6.50
Finger Daubers - item # 102892 - $14.50

Click here to place an online order and have your items shipped directly to your door!

OK ... I guess I should go prep something ... unless something *urgent* comes up on the way downstairs, of course ;) 

Until next time ... have a stampy day!


Tam

Frankie Flip Card

Happy Monday!!

What a BEAUTIFUL weekend we had!  I'm happy to say that except for the half hour I popped down to the craft room to whip up today's project, I managed to spend the weekend NOT working!  Although I was ITCHING to get downstairs and start prepping for the 4 stamping gigs I have over Friday, Saturday and Sunday I kept my priorities straight and spent time with my three favorite people :)

Today I'm sharing the CUTEST little card I've seen in a very long while ... and it only took 15 minutes to put together!  Mind you ... I didn't actually come up with the idea at all ... I 100% CASE'd it from Jeanetter Valenciana.  I found her card on Sandy Hancock's blog sandystamper.typepad.com.  Check THIS out:

LOOOVE it!!!  I could sit and flip this card over and over ... and I just MAY have been doing that for the last two days *lol*

This was rediculously easy to make, thanks to the new Circle Card Thinlits Die (item #133480 - $40.95 Canadian)!

Here are the supplies used:

• Label Bracket Punch, Small Oval Punch, 2 1/2" 1 3/4" 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Circle Thinlit, Tags 4 You set. Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Black and Whisper White card stocks, Pumpkin Pie ink and a black marker, dimensionals - oh, and a finger dauber to shade the nose!

I don't think I really need to describe what to do ... it's just a matter of punching the pieces and taping them on ... but I WILL give you some dimensions to help.  To make the card base you need a piece of card stock that is 6" x 5 1/2".  That is the size of the Circle Thinlit that cuts and scores the paper for you.  You just fold on the score lines and you're half way done!  The hair is 2 pieces.  The first piece is 4 1/4" x 1 1/2" and then you just use your paper snips to randomly snip triangles out for the hair.  The second piec is 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" for the hair that is taped to the inside of the card.  In order to get the hair to line up when the card is closed is simply layed the small black piece behind the cut large black piece and made the same snips.  When it's closed the hair lines up perfectly.  That's really all there is to it!  Punch out your circle pieces, tape them on, draw a scar and the mouth and Wa-low!  You have a Frankie Flip card. 

Thanks for sharing your project, Jeanette - it's fabulous ... and is the third project for a birthday party I'm doing for a 10 year old and her friends next weekend.  Perfect!

Pop in again soon.  Until then - have a stampy week!


Tam

Christmas Star

Happy Sunday!!

Can you say aaaaaaaahhhhhh?  I can ... after a night withOUT children - woo hoo!  They both were off to sleepovers leaving Craig and I to have an evening ALONE!  What a treat to actually start a movie before 10:00 pm and be able to stay awake for the whole thing!!  Sadly Craig is still sick with a cold so it wasn't the romantic evening one dreams of sans children ... but it was nice to be able to just spend quality time together ... like the old days!

So today I'm sharing the secong Christmas card I made Friday.  Here she is:

 I bought the single "Christmas Star" stamp last week.  I wasn't sure I loved it ... and wasn't sure what I would do with it but I really like this simple layout.  It's actually slightly 3-D ... I stamped the star directly on the Very Vanilla card front (in Crumb Cake) and then I stamped it again on some scrap and cut it out (yes, by hand!)  I then scored all of the lines and folded accordingly which pops it up and makes it 3-D.  To attach the start I layered two dimensionals on top of each other ... and a little snail on the star tips to secure it a little more.  I'm not sure it's a great card to mail ... it will get a little squished ... plus the jumbo rhinestone in the middle really bumps up the cost of postage ... but it's a great one to hand deliver!  I used Cherry Cobbler card stock and inks and a bunch of basic rhinestones for some bling.  For the rhinestone in the centre I used the jumbo rhinestone and then colored it with a red Sharpie.  The red was REALLY red and I didn't have a "Cobbler" colored Sharpie ... so I grabbed my brown Sharpie and colored over the red and it made it a beautiful ruby / *almost cobbler* color.  The Peace on Earth sentiment is from a carried-over stamp set from last year - Greetings of the Season.  It's a great *keeper* set.

Here are the supplies I used:

Very Vanilla Card Stock - item # 101650 - $9.25
Cherry Cobbler Card Stock - item # 119685 - $8.50
Christmas Star single stamp - item # 134813 - $11.95 (you need clear block "F" for this stamp)
Clear Block "F" - item # 118483 - $22.95
Greetings of the Season set - item # 128033 - $14.95 clear; item # 128030 - $19.95
Cherry Cobbler Ink - item # 126966 - $7.25
Crumb Cake Ink - item # 126975 - $7.25
Large Rhinestones - item # 129324 - $6.50
Basic Rhinestones - item # 119246 - $6.50
Dimensionals - item # 104430 - $5.50

Click here to place an online order and have your items shipped directly to your door!

So that's it!  I need to go walk the Doodle Dog so until next time ... have a stampy day!!


Tam

A Merry Little Christmas Washi Style

Happy Saturday!!

So last night I go out for the evening (thanks Wanda - it ws a riot!!) ...  I left Craig in charge of the kids.  Mmm Hmm ... perhaps that was a mistake.  This is what they got up to ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ya.  Awesome.  These are the children who are afraid of using a butter knife ... yet they will play with real saws, hammers and spikes.  On the bright side Rebecca IS wearing safety goggles.  *Sigh* ... you wonder why I rarely go out for the evening??!!??  My mom will have a stroke when she sees these pictures! *lol*

Before I headed out and left the children in the hands of their sick and twisted father I managed to hit the craft room for a few hours and came up with two Christmas cards.  I love this one ... although I think I will do it again ... maybe with an embossed background and the strips of Washi Tape a little longer.  Even so, I love the clean look of this:

Fun!  I used the Season of Style Washi Tape for the background, the Merry Little Christmas set from the holiday mini, the Merry Mini Punch Pack punches, the Chalk Talk Framelits and some rhinestones and dimensionals.  For the sentiment I stamped it in Old Olive ink, took my blender pen and REMOVED the Olive Ink from the word "Merry" and then used my Cherry Cobbler marker to ink it in Cherry.  I also used my finger dauber to ink the edges of the punched out piece.  (Oh, the star is in Crumb Cake).  Quick, clea and easy.  Love it! 

Here is the list of supplies, item numbers and Canadian prices:

Whisper White Card Stock - item # 100730 - $9.25
Old Olive Card Stock - item # 100702 - $8.50
Crumb Cake Card Stock - item # 120953 - $8.50
Cherry Cobbler Card Stock - item # 119685 - $8.50
Old Olive Ink - item # 126953 - $7.25
Cherry Cobbler Ink - item # 126966 - $7.25
Cherry Cobbler Marker - item #  119681 - $4.50
Blender Pen - item # 102845 - $12.95
Merry Little Christmas set - item # 131829 - $13.95 clear; item # 131826 - $16.95
Merry Mini Punch Pack - item # 126882 - $22.95
Chalk Talk Framelits - item # 129983 - $30.95
Finger Daubers - item # 102892 - $14.50
Dimensionals - item # 104430 - $5.50
Mini Glue dots - item # 103683 - $5.95
Basic Rhinestones - item # 129324 - $6.50
Season of Style Washi Tape - item # 132155 - $6.50

Click here to place an on line order and have your items shipped directly to your door!

Pop in again tomorrow to see my second Christmas card!  Until then ... have a stampy Saturday!


Tam

Thanksgiving Treats

Happy Thursday!

OK.  PLEASE ... the next time I mention that I'm thinking of setting up playdates for the girls at our house someone kick me in the head until I come to my senses!!!  GAWD!!!  5 children aged 7 - 10 ... (4 girls and 1 boy) is WAAAAAY outside my noise tolerance range!!!  2 hours later the twitching in my left eye has started to subside *lol*

I had visions of lovely, well behaved children playing quietly in their playroom whilst I happily crafted away in my *happy place*.  Ya no.  On the bright side, the children seemed to have a good time and I DID manage to craft for 1 hour and 15 minutes ... just long enough to crack off 28 of these cute little Thanksgiving Treats for my customers this month:

You know what I'm going to say .... LOVE it!!!  Of course it took me three attempts and about 2 hours to come UP with the idea for these little guys but I got there in the end!  As I need to make more and more little treats for the bags each month I need to keep them quick, easy and fairly inexpensive.  My previous attempts either took too long to make, required more supplies than I had on hand and/or cost to much to mass produce.  These treats were PERFECT!  Inside the little folder are 3 Swiss Delice Chocolates ... a bag at Costco is (I think) $13.99 or so and you get around 200 chocolates per bag.  Perfect!  Here's a shot of the inside:

... and the back ...

These are SO easy to make!  The base is a 4" x 5" piece of Very Vanilla card stock run through the Top Note Big Shot Die:

The beauty of using these dies is that you can run more than one piece of paper through at a time.  You CAN run 4 or 5 sheets through but I like to keep it at just 2 maximum as any more than that and you get a bit of a lip on them.

Once you cut out the die you score it.  Using your Simply Scored Scoring tool is a MUST for these kinds of projects.  What use to take an hour to score now take about 10 minutes.  No measuring, no rulers, just line your paper up in the appropriate grid line and score away!

You just need to make sure that your card stock is straight.  See where my finger is pointing?  That just indicates that the lower point is in the same track/grid as the top point.  I lined up the top point on the 4" mark (it doesn't matter which mark you use ... I just picked the 4" mark) - and then I scored a width of 1/4".  See the markers along the top of the Score Tool?  They are 1/4" apart.  Oh!  Did you notice one is red and the other is blue?  No, they don't come those colors - I colored them with Sharpies.  Why?  If I am working on a project that requires scoring on more than one side of the project I use different colored markers to show my customers where to score ... so, for example, the red will indicate where they score on the long side of a card and the blue indicates where they score on the short side of the card.  Keep confusion to a minimu!

Now your project is scored - fold on the score lines:

Now you can stamp on the front, back and/or inside.  I used the wheat image from ... what else ... Wetlands!  (Have I convinced you that this set is a must have yet???)  I stamped it in Baked Brown Sugar.  I wanted to use the images from "Truly Grateful" ... the fabulous set in the mini ... but it hasn't arrived yet ... so I had to look elsewhere ... and the Wetlands set worked beautifully!

Open up the folder ... add a strip of snail to the inside and attach 3 chocolates to help hold them in place:

Close your folder and tie a 9" piece of the Baked Brown Sugar 3/8" Ruffled Stretch Trim.  This Trim is FANTASTIC!  Because it is elastic you can stretch it tight and tie it in a not securely without any fiddling or slipping.  It's the bomb!!

I then used my Tags 4 You set and Label Bracket punch to punch out the sentiment.  I used Cajun Craze.  I added a dimensional to the RIBBON and attached the sentiment to THAT so the ribbon could be removed easily to get at those chocolates.  If you attach the sentiment to the card stock it's trickier for the recipient:

Attach the sentiment and there you have it!

Seriously,  28 in 1 hour and 15 minutes! 

I have used this idea before ... a few years ago I used it for Christmas treats with a little snowman set and a bellyband instead of ribbon.  This was easier thanks to the ribbon!  I also made a Halloween one yesterday but decided to go with Thanksgiving this month and Halloween next month.  It's a great little treat for any occasion - it doesn't take much time to put together and doesn't cost a fortune.  Give it a try and hand some out.  Who couldn't use a little shot of chocolate in their day??

Right!  It's Rebecca / Mommy night tonight.  We're going to make her witch skirt for her Halloween costume so off I go!  Pop in soon to see some Christmas cards (which I HOPE to work on tomorrow!)  Until then ... have a stampy night!


Tam

Stencil Stamping Polka Dots

Happy Tuesday!

OK .... I thought I'd crack off this quick post before heading to bed last night and schedule it post this morning (I was killing time waiting for the girls to brush their teeth etc).

Just a few quick pics today ... I made a few different versions of my "Stencil Stamping" Technique card from a few days ago.  Here was the original card:

I obviously used the Chevron stencil for this card.  When I was teaching the technique to my class on Friday night I decided to try using the polka dot stencil and I LOVE how it turned out!

 Here is another version ...

That one is my favorite!  I used the stencil from the Build a Banner Kit and my finger daubers.  It was actually less messy than with the chevron stencil as I didn't have to keep moving the stencil and wiping it clean when I changed colors.  The daubers are just the right size to cover the dots without too much ink getting on the stencil.  I love the fun colors ... and I seem to be in a circle / dot phase this week!  The sentiment from the birthday set is retired ... and I can't even remember the name of it ... but it works really well with this card!  I used more of my cute clips and ended up with a quick, fun card.

That's it for today.  I now have to spend a few days making Christmas cards for my Stamp-a-stack in 2 weeks so stay tuned for those projects in the near future!  Until then ... have a stampy day!


Tam

Sassy Birthday

Happy Monday ... again!

OK ... so apparently a "few hours" in my world equates to 11 hours in "real time"!  SHEESH!  I have been going full out for DAYS now.  Seriously!  I had this card done last Monday or Tuesday and have not had the half hour to spare in order to post it!!!  I actually only have 12 minutes now, as it is "Alicia / Mommy" night ... so I better crack on!!!

Here is a CUTE card I made for my Kit Klub for September:

CUTE!  It seriously took less time to make than this post is going to take!  I've been in a perky, polka-dot kind-a mood lately so this card totally fit the bill!

I used a Whisper White base and a whisper white layer of 5 1/4" x 4".  I simply punched out (4) 1 3/4" circles in Regal Colors ... Elegant Eggplant., Rose Red, Crushed Curry (there's that color again ... loving it!) and Island Indigo.  I then punched out the same 4 colors using the 1 3/8" circle punch.  I then taped the circles into position:

... and then flipped it over and trimmed the overhanging parts.  I popped the white layer up on dimensionals then added a 4" x 1 1/4" strip stamped in Black Staz-on with the sentiment from Sassy Salutations.  I made a dovetail on the strip.  Do you know the quickest way to make a fairly even dove tail?  You cut a slit in the middle of your strip ... then cut from the corner of the strip to the end of your cut mark.  Do the same from the other corner to the cut mark.  Does that make sense?  I'll post some pics one day ... but not today ... I'm down to only 5 minutes left *lol*.  I added some Regals Candy Dots to the card, popped the sentiment up on dimensionals and was done in no time.

I made an alternate version that looks virtually identical:

Can you spot the difference?  It's the candy dots.  I planned to use this card for my Stamp-a-Stack yesterday but that would require a LOT of candy dots ... so I improvided (always more than one way to skin a cat, right?!)  For this version I just punched circles out using my Owl Builder Punch ... the little circles that are used for his eyes were a pretty close size ... but still big enough to use with a mini glue dot because, let's face it ... life is just a little too short to try to get snail on something that small *lol*

OK ... I have 2 minutes left so I'm not going to list all the products, item numbers and costs today .... you're just gunna have to look 'em up yourself this time ;)  .... 1 minute to spare ... now ... what to DO ....

Pop in again tomorrow(ish) to see another version of my Stencil Stamping card I showed you a few days ago.  Until then - thanks for being patient with me in getting this post out ... and have stampy night!


Tam

Just a few more hours ....

Happy Monday!

Hang in there ... I'll finally be posting later today (I've only had it TO post for a week now ... I just haven't the half hour need to do the actual posting!!!)

Pop back later to see my fun birthday card ... Or two ;)


Tam

Wetlands Birthday

Happy Wednesday!

Well ... I'm happy to report the Jenny scale was my friend yesterday.  I'm down a total of 8 pounds in the first month.  While it's not the 10 I was aiming for I have to acknowledge that I didn't follow the plan exactly for about a week ... so I can't expect to loose when I cheated!!  Of course I'm thrilled that I'm down the 8.  The goal is another 22 pounds before Vegas in November.  The goal is to lose 2 pounds a week - that should get me there!!

ANYway .... onto another card we made in class last night.  I can take no credit for this whatsoever - it's 100% CASEd from Julia Carmichael over at www.paperintolove.com .  I saw it on Pinterest and HAD to make it.  It's one of the cards we will be making at my Stamp-a-stack on Sunday .. and I plan to change the colors and stamp set and work it into a Christmas card ... I love the layout!  Check it out:

It's SO quick and easy!!  I used Pool Party as the base and Whisper White for the layer.  The stamp set is Wetlands and the ink is Early Espresso.  I punched (3) squares using the 1 1/4" square punch, stamped the images on scrap and punched those out with the 1" punch.  Both layers of Squares are popped up on dimensionals.  The finishing touch for this card are the 3 embossed lines made with the Simply Scored Scoring Tool.  The lines are 1/4" apart (i.e. leave one grid between each score line)

That's it!  Quick, easy and great for virtually any occasion.  Here are the products I used for this card:

Pool Party Card Stock - item # 122924 - $8.50
Whisper White Card Stock - item # 100730 - $9.25
Early Espresso Ink - item # 126974 - $7.25
Wetlands Stamp Set - item # 126697 - $20.95 clear; item # 126695 - $26.95 wood
Dimensionals - item # 104430 - $5.50
1 1/4" square punch .... ahhh nuts - it's retired?!?!  Poop.  Sorry :(
1" square punch - item # 124094 - $21.95
Simply Scored Scoring Tool - item # 122334 - $38.95 (and worth every penny!!)

Click here to place an on-line order and have your items shipped directly to your door!

Thanks for popping in.  Until next time - have a stampy day!


Tam

Thankful For You

Happy Tuesday!!

I'm happy to say I have everything prepped and ready to go for class tonight ... so I have time to post another project for you today!!  This is one of the cards we will be making tonight:

You know what I'm gunna say, right?  Yep ... LOVE it!!  I'm hoping it's not to fiddly for some of my "virgin stampers" ... there are a few more steps to it than I like for new stampers ... but it's just so darned cute!!  It's not hard, just a lot of Big Shotting ... Big Shotting??  New word for the day :)

I used a base of Very Vanilla.  I then stamped the Woodgrain stamp on it, inked in Sahara Sand ink.  I then punched out the leaves with my Autumn Accents Die using Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze and old Olive card stock.  I ran the leaves through the Bog Shot again using the Woodgrain Embossing folder.  The "Thankful" was made with the Expressions Thinlit, and the paper I used was the Sweater Weather DSP from the holiday catalogue.  I was a little worried that the delicate paper wouldn't work well with the intricate framelit but it did fine.  The main trick to using these thinlits is to make your Big Shot "sandwich" using a piece of was paper between the cardstock and the framelit.  It makes getting the paper out a LOT easier.  Yes, it's a little fiddly to apply the 2-way glue to the word but nothing us crafters can't handle!!  Finally I stamped the "for you" from the Itty Bitty Banner set (page 30 of the main catalogue) and punched it out using the coordinating Bitty Banners framelits.  I still haven't decided if life is too short to be botheres using the framelit to punch out the banner ... paper snips are just as quick ....  I popped the For You up on a dimensional and for the finishing touch added a Chocolate Chip Candy Dot to the green leaf.  So not HARD, but we do use the big shot 4 times for one project! 

Here are the products I used for this card:

Very Vanilla Card Stock - item #101650 - $9.25
Crushed Curry Card Stock - item #131199 - $8.50
Cajun Craze Card Stock - item #119684 - $8.50
Old Olive Card Stock - item #100702 - $8.50
Cajun Craze Ink - item #126965 - $7.25
Autumn Accents Bigz Die - item # 127812 - $26.95
Itty Bitty Banners stamp set - item #126257 - $14.95 clear; item # 132022 - $19.95 wood
Bitty Banners Framelits - item #129267 - $18.95
Expressions Thinlits - item #132171 - $30.95
2-way glue pen - item # 100425 - $5.95
Neutrals Candy Dots - item #130934 - $7.95
Dimensionals - item #104430 - $5.50

That's it for now ... I'm off to my Jenny Craig weigh in this morning.  Fingers crossed the scale likes me this week!!  Pop in again tomorrow when I have another card to show off from tonight's class.  Until then - have a stampy day!


Tam

Witches Shoe Tutorial

Happy Monday!

OK!  Today is the day!!  Rather than doing my prep for this week I spent some time working on a tutorial to make the CUTEST STINKIN' Halloween Favour EVER!!!  Check this out!!!

 

    

Awesome, yes???  I love, love, LOVE these!!!  I'm sure once you make one you'll love it to!

I have a LOT of pictures to help you along but before I show those I'll list all the steps in one shot ... and then repeat them with the photos.

My first attempt at this project took me about 45 minutes ... but I was flying blind, just figuring it out as I went along.  I was very close to the "life is too short to make more than one of these no matter how cute it is" stage ... but I thought I would make a second one, tweaking what I had done and learning from my mistakes the first time around.  The second shoe inly took me about 15 minutes from start to finish.  THAT helped keep it in the "yes, I have to mass produce these" category!!

I found this project on www.skiptomylou.org (Cindy is her name) and on that site she gave credit for the shoe templates for this project to Ellen Hutson's - her website is www.ellenhutson.com   I give full credit for this project to Ellen and Cindy - thank you for sharing, ladies!!!

So first ... here are all the steps:

• Download the shoes template here and the shoe lining template here
• Cut out the templates
• Trace the lining template onto your Halloween DSP (I used a black Sharpie)
• Trace the shoe template onto black card stock (I used the White Chalk Marker)
• Cut your template out
• Score your templates.  For the shoe lining I CUT on the score lines rather than score on them.  I found that the lining never fit QUITE right so cutting the lining into 3 pieces removed a lot of time and a lot of frustration!
• Fold all score lines.
• If you are stamping anything on the shoe do it now.  I used White Craft Ink to stamp my sentiment from the retired "Humour in High Heels" set.  You could also use White Staz-on
• Tape the centre piece of the lining to the black shoe piece
• Apply adhesive to the back of the shoe and to the heel.  Tape together the back first, then the heel.  I used snail but to ensure it stays taped you may want to use a small strip of sticky strip.  The bottom of the heel is open so you are able to put your finger in the heel and firmly squeeze the pieces together to ensure a firm hold. 
• Using 2-way glue or Multipurpose glue, apply glue to the back-of-the-shoe flaps and adhere to the shoe.
• Using snail, adhere the other 2 lining pieces to the shoe.
• Using snail (or glue, or sticky strip) to the toe flap and adhere together.
• Use a strip of ribbon to make a bow.  I did the old-fashioned "make two bunny ears and criss-cross them together" technique)
• Attach the bow with a glue dot.
• Add treats and Wa-low!  The cutest favour ever.  EVER!!!

Now for the picture tutorial ...
Download the shoes template here and the shoe lining template here

Cut out the templates

Trace the lining template onto your Halloween DSP (I used a black Sharpie)

Trace the shoe template onto black card stock (I used the White Chalk Marker)

Cut your template out

Score (and fold) your templates. For the shoe lining after I scored it,  I CUT on the score lines. I found that the lining never fit QUITE right so cutting the lining into 3 pieces removed a lot of time and a lot of frustration!

If you are stamping anything on the shoe do it now. I used White Craft Ink to stamp my sentiment from the retired "Humour in High Heels" set. You could also use White Staz-on

Tape the centre piece of the lining to the black shoe piece

Apply adhesive to the back of the shoe and to the heel. Tape together the back first, then the heel. I used snail but to ensure it stays taped you may want to use a small strip of sticky strip. The bottom of the heel is open so you are able to put your finger in the heel and firmly squeeze the pieces together to ensure a firm hold.

Using 2-way glue or Multipurpose glue, apply glue to the back-of-the-shoe flaps and adhere to the shoe.

Using snail, adhere the other 2 lining pieces to the shoe.

Using snail (or glue, or sticky strip) to the toe flap and adhere together.

 Use a strip of ribbon to make a bow. I did the old-fashioned "make two bunny ears and criss-cross them together" technique *lol*

 

Attach the bow with a glue dot.

Add treats and Wa-low! The cutest favour ever. EVER!!!

So there you have it!! 

Here are the products I used for this project:

Basic Black Card Stock - item # 121045 - $8.50
Witches Brew Designer Series Paper - item # 132185 - $13.50
White Chalk Marker - item # 132133 - $4.50
White Craft Ink - item # 101731 - $9.25 or
White Staz-on Ink - item # 106960 - $15.95
Glue Dots - item # 103683 - $5.95
Snail - item #  104332 - $9.75 and/or
Sticky Strip - item # 104294 - $8.50 and/or
2-way Glue - item #  100425 - $5.95 and/or
Multipurpose Glue - item # 110755 - $5.95
** the ribbon I used is not Stampin' Up (I KNOW!! ... I hang my head in shame!  I didn't have the delicious Pumpkin Pie Chevron ribbon (I AM on a budget, you know!!) - the Chevron Ribbon is item # 130015 - $12.50
Stamp Set - retired (sorry!) - Humour in High Heels (how PERFECT is this saying???!!!)

 Click here to place an on-line order and have your items shipped directly to your door!

This project was SO fun to make!!  I'm glad I made them sooner rather than later .... now I can avoid a *little* of the Halloween chaos that always hits around October 29th!!  That's it for today - pop in again soon.  Until then - have a stampy day!!!


Tam