My First Stampin' Up! Love

I have to tell you when I first put my hands on a Stampin' Up! catalog back in 1998 I instantly fell in love with Two Step Stampin'.  Specifically, my very first love was the stamp set called Flashy Florals.  That set and the Victorian Lace background stamp were my very first SU! purchases.  My second order/purchase was my kit!

Currently in my abundant stash of stamps I do not have any floral stamp sets that are designed for a darker detailed image to overlay a lighter more solid image.  So, I decided to give two step stamp carvin' a try.  I mimicked a retired set from several years back and added a greeting image to complete my latest collection of hand carved stamps.  The greeting is my attempt to copy something from the Beautiful Today download for My Digital Studio.  I know it's a bit rough and my "H" is looking pretty wonky, but it's mine and hand crafted.  I will say that now, 16 years after I joined SU!, I still love two step stampin' but I also have a BIG crush on the Undefined.

My card base is only 4" wide so that my pieces that overhang the edges will fit in an envelope, a lined envelope that is.  I based my card with Pistachio Pudding Coredinations card stock and lightly sanded it with an embossing folder.  Just tuck an open TIEF under your Coredinations card stock and sand the top with a sanding block.

I know my last Monday Montage post featured the Undefined product carving kit, but I decided to share my latest creation because it was also my latest class and most recent stamp project.  This past week I offered a class in which everybody received their own kit, we carved a floral set, and then stamped this card.  It was quite entertaining to see how each set was the same but so totally different.

From Dara Gloden

To Julie Warnick

Creatin' With This and That

We have a super cool sketch challenge to offer over at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  It's one of those sketches that allows so many options.  I say, "who says each layer shown in a sketch has to be created with paper?"  So, for my take on the design I incorporated a stamp image for the bottom long rectangle piece to the sketch.  To put my card together I pulled out some products I hadn't worked with since last Fall.  I grabbed This and That Epic Day DSP and Designer Stickers (I forgot how awesome they are).  Along with those I used the Butterfly Punch and the Oh, Hello stamp set.

Saying Good Bye/Buy

The retiring lists are out!  All the stamps and accessories on the lists being retired are available while supplies last so get them while you can!  

• Retired list of stamps

• Retired list of accessories

And here is the best news of all--

That's right all orders placed from April 21st to April 25th 5:50 p.m. PST

• One click to shoppin'

Basket Style Packaging

Combine a few fabulous Stampin' Up! products to create perfect packaging with a basket style.

1. Stamp a Tag a Bag Gift Box with Melon Mambo and Whisper White ink and the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set.
2. Fill package and add clear acetate sleeve that comes with the gift box.
3. Cut (3) zig zag Tasteful Trim pieces, (2) from Gingham Garden DSP and (1) from Silver Glimmer Paper.  Glue to the (2) DSP pieces together to make them heavier weight to better match the weight of the Glimmer Paper.
4. Weave the zig zag trims together and attach them to the outside of the clear acetate sleeve with Mini Glue Dots.
5. Cut tag from Whisper White card stock and stamp with Gorgeous Grunge and Remembering Your Birthday stamp sets.
6. Make accent pieces for the tag using the Artisan Label and Dotted Scallop Ribbon punches. 
7. Tie a six loop bow to the handle of the box with Basic Gray 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon.
8. Add tag to the bow with Whisper White Bakers Twine.

Introducing Project Life by Stampin' Up!

Vivid Vases

Just a quick post to share a Vivid Vases card that is "easy on the eye."  A simple swipe here and there to watercolor the floral stems and some Crystal Effects on the vases create the perfect focal point for this "whole lot of wonderful" card.  I love the two details that set the stage for the vases, the two tiny banners and the hexagon background.  To make the background I layered my Hexagon Hive Thinlet on a piece of Blushing Bride card stock as a mask and then spritzed a mixture of rubbing alcohol and ink refill.  Cool huh?

Undefined - Carve Your Own!

I had the best time the other day. I busted out my Undefined stamp carving kit and made my very own "one of a kind" set of stamp images. Here is the crazy thing. While testing my new images I made the biggest mess. I was so into it that there was no way I was going to get up and wash my hands to get rid of the ink that I was getting all over, seriously the ink was getting everywhere, but I was in my element and I wasn't about to stop the fun.

I must share the fun of all this so, if you are in the San Jose Bay Area and want to learn to carve your own stamps come to my hands on workshop and party. The class is being offered on Friday, April 25th at 6:30 p.m. A full Undefined Kit and all paper supplies will be included in the $25 class fee. Email me if you are interested.

For my first card I wanted to add a bit of dimension, so I hand cut my own flower to match the simple floral image that I carved. To make the flower it couldn't be easier. I punched one circle and made snips inward. I made the leaves with the same circle punch. To finish the flower I added a Jumbo Rhinestone to the center. That single one seemed a touch out of place so I added Basic Rhinestones and then I was happy with the look.

Supplies for both cards includes:

• Stamps - Undefined Carving Kit, Another Thank You Photopolymer
• Inks - Calypso Coral, Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, Basic Grey, & Jet Black Staz On ink pads
• Papers - Whisper White, Basic Grey, Calypso Coral, Old Olive, & Bermuda Bay card stocks, Silver Glimmer Paper
• Accessories - Jumbo and Basic Rhinestones, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Silver Bakers Twine, Deco Label Collection Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals

Now click on over to Julie's blog and see what's next for today's Monday Montage Blog Hop.

From Dara Gloden

To Julie Warnick

Watercolor Wonder Weekend

Happy Saturday morning!  For this weekend I have just a few more Watercolor Wonder cards to share.  This first card is based on one of the Watercolor Wonder Designer Notecards.  As I have mentioned before, my favorite paper to add to theses Notecards is Watercolor Paper.  It's the perfect match in texture, weight, and color.  Along with a hand stamped greeting, from Everyday Occasions, I added some scalloped circle flowers and gems (some of my favorite things).

These next two cards are both 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" with top folds.  I kept it real simple by starting with a piece of Whisper White card stock which I then covered just the front with a piece of Watercolor Wonder DSP.  No extra layering, no extra strips of paper here or there, just one layer of DSP yumminess.

Springtime Hues

The grassy springtime hues are the colors featured in Hand Stamped Sentiment's color challenge. These three colors together are a breath of fresh air and because they are analogous they easily blend for an easy breezy soothing feel.

• Quick Tip:  Wet Watercolor Paper with an Aqua Painter and then add ink color and allow the inks to wick together.

Watercolor Wonder'ful' Fan Garland

If you know me well you know that I had to make a garland with the Watercolor Wonder DSP, because I make them with just about every pack of designer paper I buy. Garlands are probably my number one favorite thing to make and here's why. You can display them across your mantel or along a mirror in your home and people think they are cool and totally impressed when they find out you made them. I mean if you were to display all your hand made cards they might think you're a bit kooky. And let's face it as stampers and paper crafters we like to see what we have made.

For my mantle this month I have it fully loaded with with the Celebration Basics Kit, the Calypso Coral Add On Kit, and my "convertible fan garland" made the Watercolor Wonder DSP and the Bow Bigz Die. More about that below.

• Quick Tip:  For a huge kapow of gold shine, coat each of the celebrate letters with fine Gold Glitter. Press each letter on a Multi-Purpose Adhesive Sheet and then cover with glitter--no mess, no fuss, totally gorgeous.

Now for the coolest detail about my garland. I mentioned it was convertible, well here is what I do. I simply turn the garland around, reposition the bows, and then I have a completely new look. Don't you just love it when you can double dip? I always love getting a bigger bang for my buck.

• Quick Tip #2:  Score an entire 12" x 12" sheet of DSP at 1" intervals, accordion fold on the scorelines, adhere all the folds on one end and flair the folds on the opposite side for an easy EASY dimensional pennant, totally perfect for a garland.
• Quick Tip #3:  Hot glue velcro pieces to the bows and garland to be able to reposition the bows from one side to the other.

Watercolor Wonder'ful' Gift Box

Welcome to another installment of Watercolor Wonder'ful' and a bit of a fun idea for gift packaging.  I have made a simple basic box which a wrapped with Watercolor Wonder Designer Notecards.  Two notecards glued end to end make a perfect and stylish belly band for a 7" wide x 3" deep x 3 3/8" tall box.

I have tied a six loop floral bow to give the box a festive look.  From that I have added a SEVEN layer tag.  Seven you ask?  I like to count the dimensionals as a layer as they provide actual depth and then to that the overstamping creates visual layers to make for a simple yet full weighted tag that looks so rich.  I love the addition of the Platinum Embossing Powder, the Silver Glimmer Paper, and the Silver Bakers Twine--so gorgeous!

Watercolor Wonder'ful' Pouches

These are the most charming 3D boxes perfect for a truffle or small treat.  They even look great as a namecard/favor added to a place setting at a dinner or party.  I shared a very similar pouch from earlier where you can see how I put them together.  The difference with this style pouch is that I used the Deco Label Framelits instead of the Apothecary label Framelits.  Both of today's pouches are fairly sturdy in that I used the Watercolor Wonder Designer Notecards for the fronts and backs and then combined Watercolor Wonder DSP for the side panels.

I am totally thrilled with the combination of the green with the Calypso Coral floral bloom cut with the Spiral Flower Die.  And I love the positioning of the roses on the white box.  It just barely fit with the Deco Label Framelit, but it worked and turned out perfect.  The Perfect Pennants Stamp Set images were just the right looks for adding salutations.

For the green pouch I adhered the bottom flaps to a separate square piece of Watercolor Paper.

For the bottom of the white pouch I used a fifth Deco Label Framelit cutout. This turned out to be a sweet look that adds just a bit more scale to the appearance of the finished box.