Dynamic Duos

I love Dynamic Duos' challenges.  I just like cards without too many colours on them.  In fact, I love monochromatic colour schemes!  I like the name, "Dynamic Duos"  because it reminds me of my younger comic reading days when Batman and Robin were known as the Dynamic Duo!  Then there was the TV show with Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin!  

Great entertainment!  Even the theme music was fun.  Just ask my sister, Sandi, because she would play it over and over, absolutely pounding the tar out of our poor piano. 

So I eagerly look forward every week to a new Dynamic Duo Challenge, and this week it was a subtle pairing (sounds like wine, hmmm!) 

 Pool Party and Pink Pirouette make such a pretty pair, if you'll pardon the alliteration!  Here's the card I came up with:

I used a new stamp that I had been dying to try from the new Spring Catalogue.  It is called "Just Thinking" and it fits well with the Windows Frames Collection Framelits.  And I have reams of the pretty Pool Party ribbon from Sale-A-Bration, so I added a doily, pearl and a bow and "Bob's your uncle"!  I could use the dark Early Espresso brown because it is a Stampin' Up Neutral and neutrals are also allowed for the challenge.  It just does such a good job of showcasing what would otherwise be very pale and washed out colours.  I stamped the stamp once inked in Pool Party and once inked in Pink Pirouette then cut out the pieces and mixed and matched them.  I cut out an additional shape in Pool Party and embossed it using the Square Lattice Embossing folder!

This is a fairly simple card to make and just requires a little fussy cutting, so it would work well for a workshop make and take.

Hope you enjoyed a look back at the Dynamic Duo today!  Holy Embossing Folders, Batman!
Stamps:  Just Thinking (w129940)
Paper:  Pool Party (122924), Pink Pirouette (111351), Early Espresso (119686) and Whisper White (100730) card stock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Pool Party (126982) and Pink Pirouette (126956)
Accessories:  Paper Doilies (129399), Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack (130812)*, Large Pearl Basic Jewels (125577)
Tools:  Paper Snips (103579), Window Frames Collection Framelits (129021), Square Lattice Embossing Folder (119976)

Just Thinking

Window Frames Collection Framelits

Square Lattice Embossing Folder

Paper Snips

Bubble Magic Technique

Just a short post today, with the video tutorial on the Bubble Magic technique that I described on my blog yesterday.

 Here it is:






Hope you enjoy the video and do try the technique!  It will make you smile!

Forever Blowing Bubbles

I had a very unusual Technique Class this week.  We were doing some strange things - blowing bubbles, cutting metal tiles and gluing old dryer sheets!  Yes, sir!  You never get bored at my classes!  We even went on a scavenger hunt!  Here are some photos of the action!

The last two photos are showing the technique that created the background of the next card I am going to share with you.  The technique is called Bubble Magic, and it is seriously the most fun I have had stamping in a long time!  Remember being a kid with chocolate milk and blowing bubble in it with a straw?  Well, that was what this technique is like.  Here is the card we made.  Check out the background:

What you can't see is the shimmer over the whole background from the shimmer paint I added to the concoction.  It is very visible IRL!  What you can see is the bubble outlines of all different sizes all over the background, created by laying your Very Vanilla card stock over the bubbles you blew (delightedly) in the mixture of Bubble Solution (from any dollar store) and Pacific Point reinker (about 10 - 15 drops) and a small amount of Frost White Shimmer paint.  The stamp set used is one of my new favourites, possibly because of the darling seahorse and the Nantucket Post Mark stamps!  Doesn't Nantucket have a romantic ring to it?

I sponged the bottom with River Rock to make the sand, added the script from the set in Crumb Cake, stamped off once, stamped the fish in Certainly Celery, the seahorses in Pacific Point and the coral in VersaMark, heat embossing it with white embossing powder, then sponging just over the coral itself in Pool Party to bring it out better.  

Those cute Designer Builder Brads from the Spring Catalogue give the right look by adding a little Itty Bitty Shape Circle punched out of some Sunshine and Sprinkles DSP. The River Rock Matte for the main image panel was embossed using the Vine Street embossing folder that you can earn free with a $60 dollar purchase during Sale-A-Bration until March 22! I think it looks like seaweed, don't you?

The By the Tide stamp set is very versatile and I think it would make a great card for a fisherman or fisherwoman!  I have filmed a video tutorial with this technique and I will post it on the weekend.

Anyway, go have some fun and blow some bubbles!  You know you want to!!

Stamps:  By The Tide (w129117; c129120); Teeny Tiny Wishes (w115370; c127802)

Paper:  Pacific Point (111350), Very Vanilla (101650) and River Rock (108640) card stock; Sunshine and Sprinkles DSP (126922)

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Pacific Point (126951), Pool Party (126982), Certainly Celery (126958), Crumb Cake (126975), River Rock (126977) and Soft Suede (126978): VersaMark (102283); Frost White Shimmer Paint (116854)

Accessories:  Designer Builder Brads (129329), 1/8" Mini Brads (122941); Stampin' Emboss Powder in White (109132); dollar store bubble solution and straws

Tools:  Vine Street Embossing Folder (130492)*; Big Shot (113439); Stampin' Up Heat Tool (129053); Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309); Modern Label Punch (119849)  *Only available to be earned for every $60 or more order until Mar.22, 2013

By the Tide stamp set

Frost White Shimmer Paint

VersaMark ink

Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack

Designer Builder Brads

Guest Stampers!

I had a birthday three weeks ago, but I seriously almost forgot about it.  I was down in Orlando, Florida for Leadership Convention, but then my hubby got very ill and was in hospital and in the crisis, I totally forgot about my birthday!  We were supposed to be at home by that time, and hadn't planned on celebrating in Florida.  The best birthday present was that Ken was discharged from the hospital that day!

When we got home, I was so happy to receive a beautiful birthday card from my downline, Doreen Austgarden.  She doesn't have a blog yet, but she certainly has the talent to start one.  Here's the card she gave me:

That's just so clever.  I love the way she used the Word Window Punch to make the striped awning!  Her cupcakes are also punched using the Cupcake Builder punch on some Floral District DSP!  And the beautiful Tangerine Tango Ribbon from the Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack - free with a $60 order during Sale-A-Bration, gives the perfect finishing touch.  I felt very special when I received it!  Here's an angled view so you can see the 3D aspect of this card:

I know Doreen would add her voice to mine in reminding you to check out and sign up for some Product Shares!  She is patiently waiting for them to fill up so she can get hers!
 What are product shares?  Well, it's co-operative buying, but I do all the work for you. (That's COOPER-ative buying! lol - Get it??)  Let's say you love Core'dinations paper, but you would like a variety of colours instead of 12 sheets of Pool Party.  In order to get some Real Red or some Primrose Petals, normally you would have to buy 3 packs of it at $9.95 a pack.  That's almost $30.00.  But with a Product Share, 3 people each buy a different coloured pack and then share the colours equally, so you would end up with 12 sheets, but you would have 4 Pool Party, 4 Real Red and 4 Primrose Petals, getting the variety but spending 1/3 of the money.  Now you don't have to find 2 other people, order and divide it up yourselves, I do that work for you.  All you have to do is decide which Product Share(s) you want to participate in and sign up for it.  Once a share has the required number of people (usually 4), I will send you an email invoice (PayPal, etransfer or cheque) and you can pay me.  I will order and divide it up and get a finished package to you.  (The prices include tax and shipping.)

Follow the link above to order, or click on the Product Share button on the top menu bar, and the rest, as they say, is history!

Join me tomorrow for another guest stamper and a sneak peek at the Birthday Card Organizer you will be making if you join me for Birthday Stamper's Dozen on Feb. 21!

I Don't Always Use Dryer Sheets....

I don't always use dryer sheets in my laundry....

                                                                         ...but when I do, I repurpose them in my paper crafting!

Ever wonder what else you could do with those dryer sheets once they've taken the static out of your laundry?  Well, have I got a post for you!   Examine this card carefully:

Do you see a dryer sheet?  Did you guess on the circle over the stamped flower?  Well, you would be right! Fantastic!  So observant!  Turns out that used dryer sheets do a marvellous job of catching Dazzling Diamonds glitter without completely masking a stamped image, and it is so easy to use this technique!  Simply pull that used dryer sheet out of the dryer and rush it right into your craft room!  Stamp your image on any shape in bold colours, or water colour it using any technique you like, but use saturated colours because it will soften any colour on your image.  Cover the entire image panel with glue from your Anywhere Glue stick and press the dryer sheet on starting in the middle and spreading it out firmly, smoothing away any wrinkles. Trim the dryer sheet to the size of the panel, then cover it with Dazzling Diamonds glitter.  Rub the glitter into the dryer sheet gently and tap off the excess.  It's as easy as that!

What I want to know though, is how did someone think of that in the first place?  Were they sorting socks from the week's laundry, when a dryer sheet accidentally fell out onto a card.  Did the glitter happen accidentally, too (What are the odds of that?)  Or did that person say to themselves, "Hmm!  Look at that dryer sheet that fell on my card!  I wonder what would happen if I poured glitter all over it?"

Anyway, however it happened,  it gives us card makers something to WOW you with!  There are plenty of video tutorials on You Tube about it, but let me know if you'd like me to do one anyway.   

This card was created for my Technique Night class and for the Dynamic Duos challenge  #38 using Pretty in Pink and Real Red.

                     

What do YOU do with your used dryer sheets???

Stamps:  Creative Elements (w122645; c122647); Delightful Dozen (w122650; c122652)

Paper:  Pretty in Pink (100459) and Very Vanilla (101650) card stock; Core'dinations card stock in Real Red (129320); More Amore Specialty DSP (129309)

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Real Red (126949)

Accessories:  Dryer sheet; Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter (102023); Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246); 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Real Red (119251)

Tools:  Honeycomb Embossing Folder (129378); Stampin' Sanding Block (129367); Hearts Collection Framelits (125599)

Sympathy and New Video

I have, unfortunately, an addictive personality.  No, I'm not an alcoholic or a druggie, or a gambler, but I think I could have been, given the right circumstances.  It's just that I get SO into whatever I'm doing that I forget to do other important things, like sleep or exercise (oh, how I wish I could get addicted to that!!).  I don't read as much as I would like to because when I get into a book, I keep on reading and reading and reading, past meal times, bed times and past all good sense dictates!  I work so hard on my food -aholism, but if something tastes good to me, I always want more - some just isn't enough!  And don't get me started about the computer!!

But some addictions are useful, like my addiction to papercrafting!  Being able to express yourself creatively is a wonderful outlet and satisfies a need everyone has - that need to create something meaningful!  Besides that, it has become my business (gotta pay for those Stampin' Up supplies, you know) and I get to work every day at something I absolutely love!  How many get to say that?  Another thing I love to do is blogging. Luckily, these two activities work hand-in-hand!  So thanks for reading and giving me a purpose for which to exercise my addictions!

On a sadder note, my friend's father just passed away after a long battle with cancer.  He was such an important part of my friend's life and saying good-bye, even when you're expecting it, is always so hard.  I made this card for her, just to let her know that I'm among the people who care and share in her sorrow.

The layout for this card is the MOJO Monday challenge #279 and the theme also fits with The Paper Players challenge #131, which was to make a sympathy card.  It's sad that I had an occasion to fit this challenge.

I love the colour palette of Pretty in Pink, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso.  I used some DSP from the Fan Fair collection in the background, and even got out my sewing machine to add some stitches.  I keep it threaded up these days so I will use it more often.

I used two stamp sets for the first time in creating this card, Oh, Hello, from the Spring Mini catalogue and Love and Sympathy from the 2012/13 Idea Book and Catalogue.  I thought the little flower from Oh Hello was the perfect touch for the sentiment from Love and Sympathy.  I inked up the rubber with Stampin' Write markers, which allowed the two toned effect.

I added some sponging to the Fancy Fan embossed panel in Crumb Cake.  It made the texture pop!  And don't you love that 1 1/4" Two-Tone Ribbon in Pink Pirouette and Rose Red?  Did you notice the little piece of Natural 7/16" Trim ribbon with the matte of Early Espresso on the left?

I also wanted to tell you that, AT LAST, I've made another video!  In fact, I filmed three yesterday, but only have one edited.  The others I will publish later on.  The first one is a video tutorial on the "Faux Metal Tin Roof Ceiling"  technique that I used in this card.  And in this card:

So, without further ado, here it is:

Hope you enjoyed that!  It was fun, getting back into doing videos again.  Go give that technique a try!  And let me know your results.

Stamps:  Oh, Hello (w130730; c130733); Love and Sympathy (w122795; c122797)
Paper:  Crumb Cake (120953), Early Espresso (119686), Very Vanilla (101650) and Pretty in Pink (100459);  Fan Fair DSP (126918)
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Crumb Cake (126975) and Early Espresso (126974); Stampin' Write Markers in Pretty in Pink (100045), Rose Red (119700 as part of the Subtles collection) and Certainly Celery (105106)
Accessories:  1 1/4" Two Tone Ribbon in Pink Pirouette and Rose Red (129294); Natural 7/16" Trim Ribbon (129287), Pearl Basic Jewels (119247)
Tools:  Ovals Collection Framelits (129381) or bundled with Oh, Hello stamp set (w131102; c131101); Fancy Fan embossing folder (127751); Bitty Butterfly punch (129406)

Bitty Butterfly Punch

Oval Framelits

Love and Sympathy

Oh, Hello

Craft Room Update

Just a quick post today, to let you know that my wood mount stamps are now organized and I am just waiting on my hubby to craft some ribbon storage for me.

Here's my BEFORE photo of the wood mount stamps:

And here's the AFTER shot:

And a closer pic:

Is it making a difference?  Oh, yeah!  In so many ways!  I'm keeping things tidier and I'm not spending so much time searching for what I need.  Here's the whole room now:

In other news, here's the latest from Stampin' Up:

Pack your crafting bags, and get ready for a creative trip with our new Sent with Love products! These all-new travel-themed products are perfect for documenting family vacations, creating unique invitations, or myriad other fun paper-crafting projects!

And here’s the rub: these exclusive products are only available from February 1 through April 30! Buy the Sent with Love Stamp Set or Designer Series Paper separately—or get them both in a bundle with Calypso Coral Baker’s Twine for 20 percent off!

We’re also offering a coordinating digital kit. See below for item numbers and prices.

Item	Description	Price
131847	Sent with Love Clear-Mount Stamp Set*	$21.95
132182	Sent with Love Designer Series Paper*	$13.50
132851	Pretty Bundle* Includes the Sent with Love Stamp Set, Sent with Love Designer Series Paper, and Calypso Coral Baker’s Twine at a 20 percent discount!	$31.50
132914	Sent with Love Digital Kit Coordinates with the Sent with Love products. Not included in the Pretty Bundle.	$12.50

And the latest in the "Best of" Series, celebrating Stampin' Up's 25th Anniversary:

Happy 25th anniversary to us! Every month during 2013, we’re smashing up some of our all-time-favorites with a new, never-before-seen stamp to create a monthly “Best of” stamp set. And what else would you expect from a February set than images that will help you make that perfect Valentine? Share the love with the Best of Love set! 

Note: Clear-Mount Blocks B, C, and D needed for this set. 

Ta-ta for now!