Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers

Alliteration:  that's when a whole string of words begin with the same sound. See?? "Same Sound" is such a sweet sample!  But today, we are not using "SSSS" as our alliterative letter.  Today's post is brought to you by the letter "P"!

You see, I happened perchance upon a paper project at Pals Paper Arts this past week, and I was primed to participate.  Presenting the picture:

The stamp sets I used are Pleasant Poppies and Papillon Potpourri and I wanted to keep it plain and poignant! 

And that's about as far as I can carry that gimmick!
Seriously, though, I loved this sketch by Margaret Moody (Ack!  More alliteration!):

and I was dying to try out my new background set Pleasant Poppies and the lovely butterflies that are part of the Papillon Potpourri, as well as the coordinating punch, Elegant Butterfly.

I wanted to use the spotlight technique, in which you stamp a background in black and white or in one colour, then you add a circle that matches the background, but you give it more colour and punch.  I did that by using a darker circle card stock - Early Espresso (on the lighter Crumb Cake panel) and heat embossed the image using Tangerine Tango embossing powder.  I used the same embossing powder on the butterfly image only on a Crumb Cake background.  The Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon (is there no end to the alliteration today??) adds a sweet note and the sentiment, stamped with Early Espresso ink is from the One in a Million set.

Well, I hope that pumps you up to play with paper today!  Practice your P's.  (But warn me, so I am out of the spray zone!)  Pip! Pip!

Stamps:  Pleasant Poppies (w 126480; set of 1; $21.95); Papillon Potpourri (c 123759; set of 7; $17.95);  One in a Million (w 126380; set of 10; 32.95) 

Paper: Early Espresso and Crumb Cake card stock

Ink: Early Espresso Classic Ink Pad (126974; $7.25); VersaMark (102283; $9.95)

Accessories: Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon (122976; $13.50); Linen Thread (104199; $5.95), Pearl Basic Jewels (119247; $6.50)

Tools:  Embossing Buddy (103083; $7.50); Stampin' Up Heat Tool (129053; $36.95)

Pleasant Poppies

Papillon Potpourri

Elegant Butterfly Punch



Muggy

I don't like muggy weather.  I feel like I can't breathe.  Today feels like it needs a thunderstorm to clean itself up!  I hope we get one 'cause I love the DRAMA! 

My little grandnephew is going to be 1 year old on Monday, and from the latest post on Facebook by my nephew, it looks like he's pretty close to walking!  How did that happen so fast?  He's the cutest thing, with big blue eyes and curly red hair and the biggest smile ever!  I made a card for him, but was stumped for awhile because I haven't many kid-oriented stamps.  I finally came up with this:

I tried out a lot of my new goodies from the 2012-13 Idea Book and Catalogue like the Argyle Textured Impressions embossing folder, the World's Greatest stamp, (which is another stamp available in my Start Stampin' Bundle Workshop Offer).  The pennants are from the set Pennant Parade and this set coordinates with the Petites Pennants Builder punch.  The cake is from the set Make a Cake and was stamped several times in different colours, then cut out and assembled.  I used glitter brads in Real Red to anchor the Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White Baker's Twine.   The paper is Baja Breeze for the base and embossed panel and Summer Starfruit for the bottom portion.

What really grabbed me was signing the card "Great Aunt Heather"!  My goodness - that sounds old!  Much worse than Grandma!  Sheesh!

Have a Happy Birthday, little Randy!

Stamps: World's Greatest (w 126270; set of 1; $11.95); Pennant Parade (c 122742; set of 13; $20.95); Make a Cake (c 126742; set of 7; $14.95); Family Reunion (c 122712; set of 24; $31.95)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Summer Starfruit and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Midnight Muse Classic Ink Pad (126860; $7.25), Summer Starfruit Classic Ink Pad (126991; $7.25); Real Red Classic Ink Pad (126949; $7.25); Baja Breeze Classic Ink Pad (126960; $7.25)
Accessories: 3/8" Brights Glimmer Brads (121006; $6.50); Baker's Twine Cherry Cobbler (123125; $3.95)
Tools: Textured Impressions Argyle Embossing Folder (127750; $9.95), Petite Pennants Builder punch (122361; $22.95)

Summer Time, and the Livin' is Easy!

Do you recognize the title?  It's a jazz number that always evokes summer time images for me!  Today is the first day of official summer, and the first day that has actually felt like summer for ages around here.  June is usually an unsettled month in these parts, with lots of rain, but this year has been really wet and flood warnings are in effect all over BC as the temperatures rise and the higher than normal snow pack begins to melt.  Down by beautiful Okanagan Lake, the beach has disappeared and the willows are standing knee-deep in water.  One friend posted on Facebook that the Revelstoke Dam opened its spillway for the first time in 15 years!  You see the massive amounts of water thundering through and you've got to be thankful that you live in a country with an abundance of clean drinking water, when in so many places on earth, people are dying daily for a lack of it!
But, by August, we'll be hot, dry and wishing for a little rain, I'm sure.

Speaking of water, nothing is as comforting and down-home as a nice cup of tea!  Don't you agree?  Everything looks a little better as you cradle a warm, steaming cuppa in your cold hands!  Here's a card I created while waiting for Grandbaby #2 to decide to show up!

This card involves some layered stamping and emboss resist techniques and took a while to make, but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.  I used the Framelits Labels collection and die cut a label in Very Vanilla.  I used Crumb Cake ink to stamp the background stamp, En Francais, then sponged over it randomly with Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral and Pool Party.  I then used Versamark ink to stamp the tea cup and the little violet-like flowers around the outside.  I covered them with clear embossing powder and heat set the powder for a clear finish.  Then I sponged Soft Suede ink over the whole label, which brought up the tea cup design beautifully, but leaving some of the background of the En Francais still visible.  The heat embossed areas resist the Soft Suede ink and it only colours the areas that are not embossed.

The Calypso Coral cardstock in the background was dry embossed using the Fancy Fan embossing folder (mmmm!  love it!) and I used some Very Vanilla Seam binding ribbon and some Paper Daisies to embellish, along with some Basic Pearls.  The sentiment is also part of this Tea Shoppe stamp set and it was punched out using the Modern Label punch. 

Looks like I'm on a kind of Calypso Coral kick right now, and why not?  It's such a great colour! I'll have to switch gears for my next blog, I think.  Have a wonderful Summer Solstice, everyone! 

Stamp Sets: Tea Shoppe, En Francais

Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Calypso Coral and Very Vanilla cardstock

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Calypso Coral and Pool Party

Accessories: Very Vanilla Seam Binding ribbon, Paper Daisies, Basic Pearls

Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan embossing folder, Framelits Labels Collection, Modern Label Punch, Boho Blossoms punch

Fancy Fan Embossing Folder

Tea Shoppe Stamp Set

En Francais background stamp

Kindness Matters

I have been working on some new workshop projects, and since I have a workshop deal for new stampers, to get what they need to actually start stamping, I used a set called Kindness Matters, which is one of the stamp sets that is part of the deal.  I chose it because of the lovely images, but also because it includes some sentiments and it is one of the more affordable sets that Stampin' Up offers.

I've been dying to use more Calypso Coral, because coral is one of my all time favourite colours, but I have been searching for some other colours to coordinate with it in a combination that I like....and it came down to Basic Gray again.  But I do like this palette, so take a look at the project and see what you think.

Those little butterflies are so lovely and this set has such nice flourishes.  I used the new Fancy Fan embossing folder with the Big Shot to give the Calypso Coral some appealing texture.  I used the Framelits Labels Collection for the main image and the Basic Gray matte.  The designer series paper in Basic Gray is from the Twitterpated collection.  I love how the Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon adds more texture.  The main image is popped up on dimensionals, and a few Basic Rhinestones add some bling!

Stamp Sets:  Kindness Matters
Paper: Basic Gray, Calypso Coral and Whisper White Cardstock
DSP: Twitterpated
Ink: Calypso Coral and Basic Gray
Accessories: Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Stampin' Dimensionals
Tools:  Big Shot, Fancy Fan embossing folder, Framelits Labels Collection, Modern Label punch

Don't forget the great deal that Stampin' Up is offering Hostesses of Workshops held in June and July. 

For a qualifying workshop (total orders before shipping and taxes of $525 or more, the Hostess earns $150 in free Stampin' Up products plus one item at 50% off. (That's an extra $60 over the usual rewards!)  You could earn a BIG SHOT!  How awesome is that!  Call me right away to book a workshop.  My slots are filled in June, but I still have some available in July!

Listen to that Little Voice!!

Do you ever hear that little voice in your head??  The one that tells you, "Don't do that!  You'll be sorry if you do!"  I heard that little voice today, and I'm sorry to say I didn't heed the advice it gave.  I was making a card for the MOJO Monday #246 challenge and things were going very well!  I had attempted the brayer again, after a few months where I didn't have the nerve to give it another go.  (The last attempt a using a brayer had a sad result!)  I was really pleased with the way the background looked.  The colours were going together well, the images were solid and well-stamped!  Yay!  Then....I decided I needed a sentiment, and I was going to stamp it right on the background!  I know how risky that is, and the little voice was getting bigger and bigger: "Don't do it! Don't do it! DON'T DO IT!"  But did I listen?  No!  And at first, everything was okay!  I didn't overink the sentiment stamp with the new format stamp pad, the image stamped straight and clean! "HA!" I thought to myself, "What's all the fuss?  Nailed it!"  Ah, but pride goeth before a fall, and after I adhered the panels to the card base, I turned it over to burnish a little to get good adherence.  I turned it back to the front.....and HORROR!  The ink had smudged on the sentiment!  So, a word to the wise, from someone with a sad tale to tell,  give your ink from the new pads a bit longer to dry than you are used to!  So I had to do the old "cover-up" technique and it all turned out okay in the end.  It's like Sonny in "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" would say.  "It will be okay in the end.  If it isn't, it's not the end!"

Here's the card:

I used the Just Believe stamp set, because it seemed perfect for this layout:

I am also entering it in The Paper Players 100th Challenge party!  I chose the same sketch as Ann Schach, because her card was so inspiring.  It was Challenge #16!

I used all the new In Colours for 2012-14 in this card.  I used Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals and Summer Starfruit for the background of the vertical panel using the brayer.  Gumball Green was the card base and also one of the circle stamps, and Midnight Muse for the silhouette and the mattes for the panels.  The DSP is from a Simply Scrapping Kit. 

So there it is.  Hope you like it! And always heed the "Little Voice"!

A Quick Post

One of my favourite crafting blogs is written by Dawn Olchefske.  I love her creativity, but most of all, her tutorials, which are clear and easy to follow....and she has such a nice-sounding voice!  Her latest post introduced a technique she calls "Triple Time Stamping"  and she created a beautiful card that I decided to CASE.

One of my daughters is going through a particularly difficult time right now and I wanted to let her know how much she is loved and thought about.  This elegant card seemed to be the right touch for this instance.

I used Raspberry Ripple, a rich and beautiful new In Colour, both in the card base and mattes and as the ink for the images.  Two of the stamps sets, Papaya Collage and One in a Million are new to the 2012-2013 Idea Book and Catalogue.  The background stamp is from an old favourite, Creative Elements.   The card is created by cutting the three panels of Whisper White cardstock and temporarily adhering them with a small spot of Snail adhesive, then stamping on them like they were a single sheet.  You then take them apart and adhere them permanently on their mattes except for the largest one.  Before adhering that one, you add the Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon and cut out the sentiment and it's matte using the smallest and next to smallest Labels Framelits.  I popped these up by mounting them with Stampin' Dimensionals, and added some Basic Rhinestones on the flourishes.  By the way, I got the flourishes on the sentiment panel by using a Crumb Cake Stampin' Write marker on the tips of the Creative Elements sentiment frame. (See below).

I used a single piece of Whisper White, stamped again with the flourish from Creative Elements and the rose from Papaya Collage, along with the sentiment from Word Play, for the inside of the card.

I'm hoping that it lifts her spirits, as she has lifted the spirits of so many others in the past.

Here are some of the Stampin' Up products used today:

One in a Million Stamp Set

Papaya Collage Stamp Set

Creative Elements Stamp Set

Framelits Labels Collection

Have a Stampin' Sunday!

Card Swapping

Here in the paper-crafting world, people really get into doing card swaps.  You get a group of anywhere from 4 - 40 crafters and each crafter makes enough of 1 design for everyone else. Then you share so that everyone gets 4 - 40 different cards for their sample file or to give away.  Kinda like a cookie exchange, only in paper.  It's a great way to share creative ideas and get every one's mojo flowing.  Of course, you are expected to do your best work, and therein lies the anxiety.  What is good enough?? Is my work good enough?  This unease is amplified if you have time and/or budget constraints. 

We were doing a card swap at our monthly team meeting yesterday and I wanted to create something special, but I had only one day, after other deadlines were taken care of, in which to complete 8 cards.  I was also trying to do a colour challenge for The Paper Players this week.  I started out with quite an involved design using Papaya Collage, a new stamp set from the 2012-13 Stampin' Up Idea Book and Catalogue.  Unfortunately, it involved a BUNCH of fussy cutting.

 Also, the new Holiday Mini was just posted on the Demonstrator Website, (a sneak peek for demonstrators only*) and, of course, I HAD to spend some time looking at that.  So by the time I really got down to work, I knew I could never finish in time for the event, and I had to do some simplifying!

I cut the three roses down to one and used a different embossing folder for the Lucky Limeade panel, and here is what resulted:

I'm not sure which one is better.  I like the cluster of three roses, but I also like the background of ginkgo leaves.  Hmmm!  Which one do I submit for The Paper Players 99 colour challenge?

(*If you want in on the new catalogue sneak peeks, pre-orders, discounts and many other benefits, ask me about joining my team.  It is very affordable and the perks are amazing! )



M.I.A. No More

Hi, everyone:  Remember me?  I know it has taken forever (well, a week feels like forever) to get a new blog post up!  Finally, I've had some time to play and create and use some of my new stamp sets from the new catalogue.  As soon as I saw it, I knew that Clockworks would become one of my new favourites, and, as my DH needed a retirement card for his former boss, I realized that this was the perfect time to use it!

I also have been dying to try the faux patina technique for a background and this seemed like the right time to give it a shot! 

Here's how I did it:  I dry embossed a 5 1/4 x 4" piece of Tempting Turquoise cardstock using the Houndstooth embossing folder and the Big Shot.  I sponged over the embossed area with regions of Summer Starfruit, Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler, intermixing in some parts, then I sponged over all of it, including the edges, with Soft Suede, all to bring out the embossed design and to age the background.  I then lightly rubbed a Versamark ink pad over the top of the embossed design, leaving some areas free of Versamark.  I had a bit too much on though, so really go easy with it if you're trying this technique.  I only had silver embossing powder so I covered the sticky areas with that and heat embossed it, using my new Stampin' Up heat tool.  (It's a great heat tool, because it's the only one I've seen that has 2 heat settings, one for drying ink and one for setting embossing powder.)  The silver was too shiny for this project, so I sponged over the silver after it cooled, with more Soft Suede.   That worked to age the effect.

Using the two awesome background stamps in this set, and Crumb Cake and Tempting Turquoise ink I created a vertical panel (2 x 3 3/8") of Very Vanilla and added some of the great gear stamps to it.  I stamped the gears once in Soft Suede and again offset a bit in Versamark.  I covered them with the silver embossing powder again and heat set it.  This created a kind of shadow 3D effect.  I sponged the edges of the panel and the Soft Suede and Tempting Turquoise mattes with Soft Suede ink, added two metallic brads and some linen thread at the top and that panel was completed.

The main image was stamped on a  2 1/2" square piece of Very Vanilla cardstock in Versamark and silver embossing powder added and heat set. Before this, I again used one of the background stamps in Crumb Cake ink to provide the interesting background pattern.  I stamped the Roman Numerals and the clock hands in Early Espresso so they would show up.  Does anyone use Roman Numerals any more except on clocks?  I distressed the top right corner so I could separate the paper plies and curl them, and sponged all the edges in Soft Suede and added a metallic brad.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny wishes and I used a background stamp in Crumb Cake to add a bit of texture behind it.  I punched it using the Word Window punch and punched a Modern Label shape from Tempting Turquoise to mount the sentiment on, before adding 2 metallic brads and mounting it using 2 dimensionals.  Before I forget, the square main panel is mounted using Snail adhesive on the left side and 2 dimensionals on the right because of the height of the rectangular panel.  All layers were sponged in Soft Suede.

Clockworks Stamp set:

Have a Happy Monday!  Hope I'll have another post tomorrow, with the weekly Mojo challenge!

The New Catalogue is Here!

Today is the first day that you can order from the new 2012 - 2013 Idea Book and Catalogue.  I know you're going to love all the new products.  The layout is a little different, but clearer, I think. I put in an order for a new paper cutter!  I'm so tired of the blades of my old one getting dull and ripping the paper.  It was so old that I couldn't buy replacement blades for it anymore.  My up lines all recommended the table top cutter - guillotine style - because of all the cutting one has to do as a demonstrator.  I also ordered one of the new heat tools.  It is new and improved with two heat settings!

You can download the new catalogue with one click here!

Make sure you check out the newly redesigned "Firm Foam" Classic Ink Pads.  I am a big fan of them.  So much easier to ink up your stamp completely.

There is so much more exciting news from Stampin' Up today.  First, if you book a workshop in June or July, and your party qualifying order is $575 or more (excluding shipping and taxes), Stampin' Up is giving you another $60 to add the the $90 plus 1 item at 50% off!  Wow!  That's a total of $150 plus 1 item at 50%. You can spend those Hostess Dollars on anything in the Catalogue!  How great is that?  You could earn a Big Shot if you wanted one! Contact me to book a workshop in June!

(Click on here to see details.)

And if that wasn't amazing enough,  if you have decided that you want in on all the demonstrator benefits: discounts; preorders; bonuses and more, there a new low price of $125 to sign up to becomce a demonstrator. This can be spent on anything in the catalogue you want (to a value of $155).  Not only that, but Stampin' Up will also give you an additional $60 in free items from the Patio Party Suite!  

 Just click on the link to my Stampin' Store at the top right of this page and go to "Join the Fun" to find out the details!!  Joining my team has never been SO worthwhile.

Okay, take a deep breath...KEEP CALM and KEEP STAMPIN'!