Thursday, August 30, 2012

Christmas Keepsakes

Do you know why I love Christmas?  Well, besides the importance to me of the meaning of the celebration, it gives me an excuse to indulge the sentimental, sparkly side of my personality, without appearing maudlin or garish.  So I go for it!  I love shiny, colourful things, but I'm a bit too conservative to give myself permission to show that side of my nature very often. 

Christmas card making is my perfect excuse:

 
 
See what I mean?  I can't hold back, sorry!  There are a couple of things to note on this card.  First, I'm using Sahara Sand!  I never use Sahara Sand, and who'd have thought I'd start on a Christmas card of all things!
 
Notice that the Sahara Sand panels have been embossed and I bet you're wondering which embossing folder I used to get that design.  Well, it was... get this...the Holiday Frame folder.  I just used one of the sections of it for these little rectangles.  I also paper pieced the top of the ornament with the Silver Glimmer paper.  I paper pierced (read carefully) the Tempting Turquoise panel.  And one of my favourite parts of this card is the little bow at the bottom.  I like to call it a little Amanda fork bow, because I learned how to make it from my Stampin' Up buddy and sideline, Amanda Turner.  Here's a link to her blog instructions for this bow.  It's so easy and looks so cute!
 
 
 
This is my first time using the Ornament Keepsakes Bundle from the Holiday Mini catalogue, but I know it won't be my last.  They are so versatile, and there is such a great discount on the package.  It consists of the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set and the Holiday Ornaments framelits.  You get 15% off when you order both, and it's so good to have the framelits to match the stamps. (Framelits are used with a Big Shot die cutting machine to die cut your designs.)
 
I created this for The Paper Players Sketch Challenge #110.  Here's the sketch designed by LeAnne Pugliese:
 
Now, go out and make something sparkly!
 

Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes (w128048; c128051); More Merry Messages (w126400; c126402)
Paper: Sahara Sand (121043), Tempting Turquoise (102067) and Whisper White (100730) card stock; Silver Glimmer paper (124005)
Ink: Classic Stampin' Pads in Tempting Turquoise (126952) and Sahara Sand (126976) for sponging
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter (102023); 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Whisper White (109070); Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246)
Tools: Holiday Ornaments Framelits (127816; or bundled with the stamp set w129949; c129950)Holiday Frame Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (127820); Paper Piercing Tool (126189); Stampin' Pierce Mat (126199); Essentials Paper Piercing Pack (126187)
Holiday Frame Embossing Folder
Ornaments Keepsakes Bundle
Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter
Silver Glimmer Paper 
 


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Sleighbells Ring....

There's something just wrong about posting a Christmas card when it is still August, but today I'm doing just that.  You see, I'm planning some projects for my Christmas Stampers' Dozens, the first of which takes place in two and a half weeks.  So I have to wrap my head around some Christmas ideas and try to get into the holiday spirit.  You can't create a true Christmas card until you've managed to work up at least a smidgen of Christmas spirit!

Here's my first sample, based on the MOJO Monday sketch for this week:

Here's the MOJO sketch:
It's Round or Square week and I chose square as usual.  I'm going to have to try round one of these days.  I was quite proud of this one because I tried two new ideas.  One was using the Holiday Frame Embossing Folder to emboss one of the window shapes, from the new Window Frames Collection Framelits.  The reason I was so pleased with myself is that the Holiday Frame Embossing Folder is oval shaped and you wouldn't think of using it for this window shape, but it works very well, especially on the Core'dinations card stock - Early Espresso used here.  I also stamped on ribbon for the first time - using the new 7/8" Cotton Ribbon and the Border Banter stamp set, made just for this purpose.

 
 
I used a framelit two sizes smaller, to cut a piece of Very Vanilla card stock and stamped it with the Traditional Touches single stamp, inking it up with Stampin' Write markers in order to get the different colours.
 
The second vertical flag was made from Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations card stock, embossed with the Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing folder and sanded with a new Stampin' Up Sanding System block to bring out the lighter coloured layer of card stock underneath.  I added a little bow made with 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Real Red and topped it with a little Gumball Green Dahlia.
 
So, Ho Ho Ho!  There you go!
Stamps:  Traditional Touches (w128018); Border Banter (w128927; c128930)
Paper: Be of Good Cheer (126896) and Snow Festival (126908) Designer Series paper; Core'dinations card stock in Cherry Cobbler (127846) and Early Espresso (127848), Gumball Green card stock (126840)
Ink: Classic Stampin' Pad in Cherry Cobbler (126966), Stampin' Write Markers in Gumball Green (Part of In Colour collection: 126856), Early Espresso (119680)
Accessories:  Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246); 1/8" Taffeta ribbon in Real Red (119251); 7/8" Cotton Ribbon (127844); In Colour Dahlias (127556)
Tools:  Window Frames Collection Framelits (129021); Holiday Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (127820); Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (127749); Stampin' Sanding Block (129367)

Holiday Frame Embossing Folder
Window Frames Framelits
Traditional Touches
7/8" Cotton Ribbon
Snow Festival DSP
 

Sunday, August 26, 2012

I did it!!!

Well, I've done it!  I've accomplished one of the goals I made at the Stampin' Up Convention this year, which was to start making and posting Video Tutorials on my blog.  So I've just created my first video tutorial and was too excited about it to wait until Tuesday to post it.  I know I'll get more polished as I do more of them, but it's not bad for a first attempt.  I really hope it gets easier, though.  It took me all day.  I had to design the title photo for the video on MDS 2 (My Digital Studio 2)!  That was sooo much fun to do, let me just say!  I had to pick out some catchy music for the theme.  And then there was the taping itself....oh my!  THAT was an experience in itself!  And what to do with my nails... I'm no hand model as you will undoubtedly see in the video.  Finally, editing a video always takes a long time to do well.

The video was on the Faux Linen technique I highlighted a couple of posts ago.  Here is the card I made:


I cased it from one I made with my upline, Tamara.  She, in turn, had cased it from Wendy Weixler.
I just wanted to mention here, before I post the video, that I used a new embossing folder called Lacy Brocade on the white panel.  The stamp set is called Stippled Blossoms, one of my very favourites!

And without further ado, here is my first Crafty Clues by Heather video tutorial, on the Faux Linen technique:

 
Hope you like it!
 
Stamps: Stippled Blossoms (w126745; c126747); Teeny Tiny Wishes (w115370; c127802)
Paper: Always Artichoke (105119), Whisper White (100730), Island Indigo (122923) and Glossy White (102599) card stock
Ink: Classic Stampin' Pads in Always Artichoke (126972), Pool Party (126982) and Island Indigo (126986)
Accessories: Pearl Basic Jewels (119247); 5/8"  Organza Ribbon in Whisper White (114319)
Tools:  Stampin' Sanding System (129367); Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (127819); Labels Collection Framelits (125598); Modern Label Punch (119849); Stamping Sponges (101610)
Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
 
Stampin' Sanding Block
5/8" Organza Ribbon 


Saturday, August 25, 2012

Changing It Up

You may have wondered, as you clicked on my blog link, if you had the right address.  It does definitely look different around here.  First of all, I designed a new blog header using MDS2,  My Digital Studio 2.  What a lot of fun I had, experimenting with the new program!  It is very easy to use, and no mess to clean up afterward.  You can choose background papers, text, stamps, embellishments like brads and ribbons. and punches!  What do you think?  You've got to try it, too, and the 31% off some digital products continues until September 14!  So you still have time to order it, download it and play with a project, then have it printed, all with the discounts.  31% off printing applies to cards, tags, photo books, and individual pages!

Here's my first project:


I also wanted to change the name of my blog, since I haven't been sharing any of my plays, but using this blog specifically for my cardmaking and paper crafting, so I changed the name to "Playing with Papercrafting" from "Plays and Papercrafting".  The URL is the same though, so you won't need to change that.  I will start another blog to share my drama scripts in a while.

Lastly, I needed to change the template to one that matched the header.  So, a brand new look for the fall. And now that that is accomplished, I can start a new enterprise:  Posting Tutorial Videos.  Look for my first one soon.

And I wanted to share a card with a new background technique that I will be using at my September Technique Classes.  The background technique is called "Frosted Filters" and a good photo tutorial can be found here,  at Splitcoast Stampers site.


The card base is Early Espresso card stock and the next panel is made by dropping some drops of about 3 different re-inkers randomly on a plate, spritzing them with some water and dropping in a coffee filter to soak the colours up.  (Here I used Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, and Tangerine Tango because,well, those were the only re-inkers I had!  I just got two new sets, though, yesterday and will have some lighter choices for my Technique stampers.)  I dried the filter with the low setting on the fabulous new Stampin' Up heat tool and then wrapped it around some Whisper White card stock and adhered it, after adding some More Mustard Scallop Dots Ribbon. 

I used the Gently Falling two-step stamp set on some Naturals White card stock, die cut using the Labels Collection Framelits.  I used Crumb Cake ink for the solid background stamp and Soft Suede for the outline stamp on top.  The sentiment was created using the Curly Cute stamp set in Early Espresso ink. The next sized Labels Framelit was really too big for the card, so to create a matte for the Naturals White panel, I just cut out an Early Espresso version of the same-sized framelit. I then cut it in half horizontally and then adhered it to the stamped panel so just a small border was visible on the top and bottom.  The sentiment covered any area that had no border, because of the cut.
Some Rhinestone Basic Jewels added the finishing touch.

Here's another version of that technique:


Before I leave you, I will just remind you that there are only a few days left in August to take advantage of the special Spooktacular offer from Stampin' Up for those who are ready to join the Stampin' Up family.

Won't you leave me a note to tell me what you think of all the new changes?  Your feedback means a lot to me.
 
Stamps: Gently Falling (w123802; c123804); Curly Cute (w117014; c120510)
Paper: Early Espresso (119686), Whisper White (100730); Naturals White (102316) card stock; ordinary coffee filters
Inks:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Early Espresso (126974), Crumb Cake (126975) and Soft Suede (126978); Classic Stampin' Ink Refills in Cherry Cobbler (119778), Old Olive (100531), and Tangerine Tango (111841)
Accessories:  Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246); 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon in More Mustard (124140)
Tools:  Labels Collection Framelits (125598)
Gently Falling
Curly Cute
More Mustard Scallop Dot Ribbon
Stampin' Up Heat Tool



Thursday, August 23, 2012

Paper Piercing or is that Piecing?

I consider myself to be a good reader.  I've always loved reading, but I do less of it now that I am stamping so much!  Perhaps that is why I almost committed a major faux pas this week as I considered my entry in the Paper Player's challenge this week.  I thought the challenge was to include paper piercing.  As I perused the samples created by the Design Team, I kept wondering where the paper piercing was, but I assumed it was too small a detail for the cameras to pick up.  It wasn't until I went to one of my favourite Design Team Member's web site that I realized my reading error!  It wasn't paper piercing that was required for this challenge, it was paper piecing!  Quite a difference! 

I was thankful that I hadn't had time to create and post an entry, because I would have been really embarrassed!

Now, looking at the samples, everything made sense.  The Design Team used Designer Series Paper to fill in open stamps!  I'd never tried that technique before, but it looked like fun.  I don't have many open stamps because I don't particularly enjoy colouring them in, but I dug down and found an old favourite, Fabulous Florets, which would suit this challenge to a T!  Here's what I did:

 

You can see how I used DSP from the Fan Fair collection to fill in those florets.  I stamped the flowers three times each, once on Very Vanilla card stock, and once each on the two different pink DSPs.  I fussy cut each petal separately and alternated the 2 patterns on each card. 

The background was made to satisfy the requirements for the Pals Paper Arts Challenge #141:  a sketch by Margaret Moody.  I cut 1" x 4" pieces from 2 Fan Fair patterns and 1 from Comfort Cafe series DSP (Design Series Paper), as well as one from the Natural Composition Specialty card stock.
The card base is Early Espresso card stock and the next panel is Crumb Cake.  The background leaf image is stamped in Early Espresso on Very Vanilla.


The embellishment is one of the bronze buttons that I love so much, found in the Holiday Mini.

Here's the two challenges:
I considered adding some paper piercing, too, just to be on the safe side, but time was short today and I didn't want to take away from the paper piecing.

Here's the recipe:

Stamps:  Fabulous Florets (w123025; c123027); Teeny Tiny Wishes (w115370; c127802)
Paper: Fan Fair DSP (126918); Comfort Cafe DSP (126898); Natural Composition Specialty paper (126917); Early Espresso ( 119686), Crumb Cake (120953) and Very Vanilla (101650) card stock
Ink: Classic Stampin' Pad in Early Espresso (126974)
Accessories: Brushed Bronze Designer Buttons (127833)
 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Look of MOJO Linen

Have you ever heard of Nakusp, B.C.?  I didn't think so.  But we have, because my lovely daughter, her hubby and baby son just moved there!  What a pretty little village on Arrow Lake!  We were there for a few days, helping my daughter and son-in-law paint in the house they just bought.  A very big job, especially when you have to paint kitchen cupboards.  But it is going to look wonderful when they are all finished.  Keep your eye on her blog, At Home, to see the before and after photos when they are all done.

I got home, dying to stamp again, and thought I'd try something new for the MOJO Monday #255 sketch, designed by Teresa Kline.  One of the stamping buddies I met at convention, Sarah Naber, showed me how to do the "Faux Linen" technique.  I loved how her card looked and I was looking for more background techniques to use for my Technique Classes in September.  This is what I came up with:


Linen is such a lovely summer fabric, except for the annoying fact that it wrinkles like crazy!  Otherwise, I would wear it all the time in the summer.  It's light, cool and it has such a nice texture to it.


I don't know what possessed me to choose Elegant Eggplant for this challenge, since none of the DSP's have the slightest hint of purple in them, but I hadn't used purple for a long time and it caught my eye.  I paired it with Rich Razzleberry, which was a bit of a risk.  I'm not sure if it was a good choice, but I wanted to use my new stamp set, Stippled Blossoms, which is a two step stamp set, meaning I needed two different tones to stamp it with, and there wasn't enough contrast with either Perfectly Plum or Wisteria Wonder.  Any way, it is what it is!


The linen look is achieved by using medium sandpaper on Glossy White card stock, sanding vertically, then horizontally, and then either sponging on colour or using a brayer.  I tried both methods and found sponging to work better.  Use a light hand, in order to bring out the "linen weave" more clearly.  After this, I stamped on my image and its stippled overlay using a Stamp-a-ma-jig to position it exactly where I wanted it.  That is SUCH a handy tool.  Works like a charm. 
If the hue and cry is great enough, I will attempt a video tutorial of the Faux Linen technique. Let me know if you are interested in seeing it. 


This is the MOJO Monday sketch I was working from:



And that's a wrap for today!

Stamps: Stippled Blossoms (w126745; c126747); Loving Thoughts (w125846; c125845)
Paper:  Polka Dot Parade DSP (126902); Elegant Eggplant (105126); Perfect Plum (101889); Rich Razzleberry (115316) and Whisper White (100730) card stock
Ink: Classic Ink Pads in Elegant Eggplant (126969); Wisteria Wonder (126985); Always Artichoke (126972); Rich Razzleberry (126950)


Accessories: 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon in Elegant Eggplant (124143); Pearl Basic Jewels (119247)
Tools: Delicate Designs Embossing Folder (127023); Finishing Touches Edgelits (127010);  Labels Collection Framelits (125598); Big Shot (113439); Modern Label Punch (119849); Word Window Punch (119857); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049)


Stippled Blossoms Stamp Set
Delicate Designs Textured Impressions Embossing Folders
Stamp-a-ma-jig

Saturday, August 18, 2012

My Digital Studio

Okay, I want to issue two challenges to you...



First challenge:  I have just purchased My Digital Studio 2 from Stampin' Up and I am going to be playing with it over the next month to learn how to use it!

I want you to join with me in learning how to create the most beautiful cards, scrapbook pages, party favors and invitations, photo books, calendars and you name it - all for free.  You can try MDS 2 (My Digital Studio 2) for free for 30 days.  Watch a video showing the versatility of MDS2.

Not only that, but Stampin' Up is offering 31% of 31 digital items during August.  See the details here.

Join me in learning how to use this awesome software!  Ask me how!

Second challenge:  I am looking for people who want to be able to afford lots of Stampin' Up products, who like to help others release their creativity, who are looking for a profitable home based business to join me in the most fun I've had in years!!  Our Stampin' Up Starter Kit is only $125 and it will give you $155 worth of any Stampin' Up products you choose!  Even if you do nothing else, you will receive a 20% discount on your orders for 3 months, plus a bonus 30% off on your first order after receiving your kit.  How sweet is that?  Join my team!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Catching Fireflies

One thing on my bucket list is to catch fireflies in a mason jar!  I've never even seen a firefly in real life.  I don't even know where to go to catch fireflies!  But one day, I'm going to do it.


Catching fireflies is the inspiration for this next card I am going to show you:




I love the Perfectly Preserved Stamp set in the new Holiday Mini catalogue!  It is so verasatile, just like real mason jars.  They can hold everything from flowers, food to fireflies and look so pleasant while they're doing it!  The other stamp set I used is called From My Heart, from the main Idea Book and Catalogue.  I love the vintage feel of these 8 stamps.  I created this card to enter in The Paper Players colour challenge #108. 

Ann Schach challenged us with these 3 colours:



And where do the fireflies come in?  As I added the little flower clumps to the jar, they totally made me think of fireflies in a mason jar, so I added a few tiny rhinestones to make them light up!  I used the owl punch to make the tiny Cherry Cobbler hearts.

The background is made with Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations card stock.  I embossed it with my favourite embossing folder, Fancy Fan, and sanded it to bring out the lighter core of the cardstock.  It does such a nice job of enhancing an embossed design.  This is a new product in the Holiday Mini.


I popped the mason jar up on dimensionals.  I originally tied a piece of Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine on the lid cover of the jar, but decided it looked better without.

So, before you go, can you leave a comment telling me where I can go to catch fireflies?? 

Stamps: Perfectly Preserved (w126690; c126692); From My Heart (w126555; c126557)
Paper: Crumb Cake (120953); Cherry Cobbler (119685); Not Quite Navy (101722) card stock;  Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations card stock (127846)
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Not Quite Navy (126971) and Cherry Cobbler (126966)
Accessories: Rhinestones Basic Jewels (119246); Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon (122322)
Tools: Owl Builder Punch (118074); Fancy Fan Embossing Folder (127751); Stampin' Sanding System (129367)

Perfectly Preserved
 Fancy Fan Embossing Folder
Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon
Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations card stock
Stampin' Sanding System





Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Some Convention Photos

If you're reading this, it means I didn't get back from my camping trip in time to get my usual Tuesday Mojo post out.  We will have been camping on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, near Sechelt.  I'm anticipating some great weather, but there is usually a fair bit of precipitation in that area.  I think "Sunshine Coast" means "Liquid Sunshine Coast".

I thought I would share some photos of the display boards at convention.  They were pretty inspiring and perhaps you'll get some great ideas looking at them.  Enjoy!









Don't those just make you want to drool?  There are almost too many ideas to wrap your mind around.  I wanted to have the time to look more carefully and get good pictures, but time was a scarce commodity at Convention.  Congratulations to all the talented demonstrators who had their cards displayed.  Maybe one of mine will be up there next year.  One can always dream.....