DIY Paper Creations

Dude, I love you!

The ultimate clean and simple card!  The image reminds me of a file folder stamped with "Secret" or even "Top Secret" on the cover.  I'll admit it.  I always wanted to see what was inside those files...so this card is just begging the recipient to open it to see the love note that is written inside.

After working with this stamp from the "Dude, You're Welcome" Kit, I've found that laying the stamp on a work surface and tapping the ink pad onto the stamp is the best way to get full coverage.

 

Stamp set:  Dude, You're Welcome

Ink:  Basic Gray

Card Stock:  Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White and Red Glimmer Paper

Tools:  Heart to Heart Punch (retired) - the Hearts a Flutter Framelits would work very nicely had I remembered to use them, SNAIL and Dimensionals

Bling:  Basic Gray 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Nature Walk - From the Archives

This card makes me think of Spring!  Which considering it's January in Ohio, that's a beautiful thing to be thinking about.

My clubs made this card back in April of 2011 and they were all very pleasantly surprised by how easy the technique is. Everyone left the meeting with a card that they were proud to send to a friend.

Getting a handwritten card in the mail is getting to be very rare (sad to say). What do you do when you get one in your mail?  Tear it open immediately or savor the moment and open it last?  I savor the moment.

Stamp set:  Nature Walk

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze and Jet Black StazOn; Always Artichoke and Baja Breeze reinkers

Card Stock:  Baja Breeze, Basic Black and Whisper White

Tool:  Clear Block "D", Sponge Daubers

Bling:  Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon

Cherished Relationships

Wow, that would be a really great name for a stamp set or Simply Scraping kit!  Really, wouldn't it?  However, that's not what I'm talking about.  Last week Stampin' Up! held their annual Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida and what an amazing week it was! Our days were packed with classes and presentations which were at times informational, funny, inspiring or heartwarming.

The nights belonged to the Pals and we had a blast!  In the photo above we were caught in our PJs leaving the Stampin' Up! Pajama Party on Friday night. The Stampin' Pretty Pals are the virtual group that Mary Fish formed for those that sign up under her and those Pals are the "Cherished Relationships" that mean so much to me.  We get together whenever and where ever we can and squeeze every minute of time out of the day to spend together.  It might be coffee at 7 am, chillin' by the pool at 4:30 or drinks at 11 pm; if there's Pals at an event you'll find us gathered together laughing about something.  Who needs sleep?  I can run on "Pals" energy.  What an amazing group of talented, generous and fun friends.  I'm so very lucky! 

We need to get Brian King some slippers!!

My Paper Pumpkin kits

New from Stampin' Up!  My Paper Pumpkin kits!  Each month the kit will be delivered to your door and take you on a creative escape.  Just imagine yourself making things like cards, 3-D projects and more!  Inside each kit you'll find the stamps, ink pad, paper and embellishments - everything you'll need to create projects that you'll love to share with family and friends.  All you'll need to add is adhesives.  The first kit ships in mid March so subscribe TODAY!  To get more details, click here.

What a fun idea!

And a great way to package up those last minute gifts!  

Stampin' Up! Concept Artist Christina N. came up with this fun idea.  She took apart one of our Kraft boxes and used temporary adhesive to adhere it to some scrap card stock (or whatever you have handy) with the inside of the box facing up.  Then she used spray paint to add color to the inside of the box.  She noted that for some colors you might need to use a primer first.  Use bright, fun colors!  Allow the paint to dry and stamp an image on the inside of the top flap using Whisper White Craft Ink (use your heat tool to dry the ink).  Reassemble the box using Sticky Strip and decorate the outside using some fun Glimmer Paper or maybe some buttons and ribbon.

Enjoy!

Everything that Glitters

Have you ever been just cruisin' the blogosphere and stumbled onto a card that was just "you" and you just had to make it and share it with the world?  That's what happened to me when I saw this card that Sharon Burkert shared on her blog. It's simple, it's elegant...in my humble opinion it's downright stunning.

Stamp sets:  Bold Snowflake and Greetings of the Season

Ink:  Jet Black StazOn and Illuminate Glimmer Watermark Stampin' Pad (very cool stuff)

Card Stock:  Red Glimmer Paper, Silver Glimmer Paper, Champagne Glimmer Paper, Whisper White and Basic Black

Tools:  Heat tool (to aid the drying process of the Illuminate Glimmer ink), 1" Square Punch, Postage Stamp Punch, Merry Minis Punch Pack, Small Heart Punch, SNAIL and Dimensionals

Bling:  Basic Black 1/" Scallop Dots Ribbon

 

Save up to 80% on Stampin' Up!

Starting TODAY, Stampin' Up! has added 300 additional items to our Clearance Rack at savings up to 80%.  New clearance items include punches, card stock, ribbon, stamps, ink pads, Big Shot dies and more.  Great holiday gifts for yourself or others! 

• Order on-line before your favorite items get sold out - Products are only available while supplies last.
• Only on-line orders qualify for this promotion, but feel free to order both Clearance Rack and non-Clearance Rack items on the same order.
• It's okay to go nuts!  However, no minimum purchase is required.
• Check out all of the NEW Clearance Rack Blitz items in My ON-LINE STORE

Sneak Peek Video!

 

Check this out! Stampin' Up! has released a video featuring the new Simply Scored Borders Scoring Plate which will be available on January 3 in the 2013 Spring Catalog. Did you see all of the designs that you'll be able to easily score into your project?  Very Cool!

Next week I'll share a great way to store your growing collection of accessories for the Simply Scored line of products.

Now, enjoy the video and imagine the possibilities!

Welcome Christmas - From the Archives

All that is missing is the hot chocolate and a cozy fire.  My clubs made this card back in October of 2010 - it was their first attempt at using a brayer.  Everyone was given several pieces of card stock to play with and if I remember correctly a fair amount of wine was consumed that evening.

Stamp sets:  Welcome Christmas, Lovely as a Tree and Short & Sweet

Ink:  Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Going Gray, Always Artichoke and Jet Black StazOn

Paper:  Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake, Shimmery White

Tools:  Brayer, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Post-it-Notes, White Gel Pen, Sponge, SNAIL, Glue Dots and Dimensionals

Bling:  Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon

Card-iologist Guest Stamper Jen Richardson

This gorgeous Hanukkah card was designed by the newest member of my Card-iology team, Jen Richardson.  She used the Jewish Celebrations stamp set which is in the Holiday Catalog and Brushed Gold card stock.  I wish you could see it in person...it's a jaw dropper.  Jen is so new that she doesn't have a Facebook or Pinterest page yet, but she promised me that she'd get to work on those soon so you can see more of her incredible cards. I promise to update all of you when Jen has her pages available!

 

 

Pals December Blog Hop

We're so glad you could join us for the final Pals Blog Hop of 2012! Today the Stampin' Pretty Pals are excited to celebrate all of our favorite occasions of the year! And what's a little celebration without some sparkle?!

You've probably hopped over from Susan Lankford at stampandscrapwithsusan, I'm stop number 16 on the Pals Hop and I'm glad you hopped in! I'll help you "hop along" from blog to blog where you'll find great ideas for Stampin' Up! products from the Stampin' Pretty Pals! Should you hop off course, simply click on any of the links in the Pals Hop Line-up below and you'll be back on track.

Who doesn't like a little sparkle during the Holidays?  This card is so easy to make - the Silver Glimmer Paper does all the work for you!

Stampin' Up! products that I used:

Stamp set:  Snowflake Soiree

Paper:  Midnight Muse, Silver Glimmer Paper and Whisper White (on the inside)

Ink:  VersaMark and Midnight Muse (one the inside)

Tools:  Big Shot with Standard Cutting Plates, Snow Flurry Bigz Die, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Silver Embossing Powder, Piercing Tool and Mat, Sticky Strip, SNAIL and Dimensionals

Bling:  Silver Brad

Note:  The best way to adhere the card stock to the Silver Glimmer Paper is with Sticky Strip!  Lots of it!!

 

 

Bonus - Matching Ornament 

I wouldn't mind getting this set as a gift!  The ornament was a little trickier for me because I'm new to making rosettes - other than that this ornament is just as easy as the card.

Stampin' Up! products that I used:

Stamp sets:  Bold Snowflake and Ornament Keepsakes

Ink:  Midnight Muse and Frost White Shimmer Paint

Paper:  Midnight Muse, Silver Glimmer Paper and Whisper White

Tools:  Big Shot with Standard and Extended Cutting Plates, Rosette Die, Scallop Die Die, Blossom Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Dauber, hot glue gun, Sticky Strip and Dimensionals

Bling:  Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon and Basic Rhinestone

Now, on to the rest of the Blog Hop!

1. Dawn Tidd at Tiddbits from Dawn
2. Maxine Conrad at Stamp to the MAX!
3. Kim Czenszak at LiveLoveStamp
4. Julie Trevett-Smith at The Stampin' Affair!
5. Kerry Willard Bray at Stampgoodness
6. Angela Curry at Kindred Stampers
7. Diane Roberts at Score at Four and a Quarter
8. Beth Beard at My little craft blog
9. Debbie Crowley at expressivelydeb...
10. Naki Rager at ...notes from Naki
11. Claire Crotteau-Hutt at Stamp Paper Scissors
12. Shannon Hokanson at My Stampin Blog
13. Nicole Picadura at Scraps & Stamps
14. Patti MacLeith at Papercrafts by Patti
15. Susan Lankford at stampandscrapwithsusan
16. Liz Hughes at DIY Paper Creations
17. Peggy Noe at prettypapercards.com
18. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
19. Nicole Watt at Impressions By Nicole
20. Maggie Mata at Maggie Made Cards
21. Sherrie Gross at Stampin Sunshine

Congratulations Ilene B.!

Thank you all so much for sharing your Christmas traditions with me and my blog readers.  I sincerely enjoyed reading what each of you enjoy with your families.

Ilene B. was the lucky winner this time around. Please e-mail me by 6:00 pm on Wednesday and provide me with your address and I'll get your Ornamental Elegance Kit sent out to you on Thursday.

Gift Card Holder with Matching Envelope

This cute little 4 X 4 matchbook style card and matching envelope is just the right size for a gift card.  It seems like money and gift cards are all everyone wants these days. It's sad that after a quick run to the local Kroger store I can declare that my Christmas shopping is done.  Well, it's not really that bad, but it does feel like that at times.  I almost long for the days when I'd linger in the toy aisle for what seemed like hours picking out just the right toys for my nieces and nephew - almost!

The base of this card is 8 5/8" X 3 7/8" - scored at 3 3/8", 3 3/4" and 7 3/4". Decorate however you'd like; they are great for any occasion.

The envelope is a piece of Designer Series Paper that is 6 1/2" X 6 1/2" - scored using the Simply Scored Diagonal Plate at 3" on all four sides.  Trim out the notch where the score lines intersection on all for sides; fold and seal the bottom flap to the side flaps.

Stampin' Up! products that I used to make this card:

Stamp sets:  Merry Minis and Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Gumball Green, Old Olive and Jet Black StazOn

Paper:  Gumball Green, Very Vanilla and Be of Good Cheer Designer Series Paper

Tools:  Simply Scored Scoring Tool with Diagonal Plate, Merry Minis Punch Pack, 1/2" Circle Punch, SNAIL and Dimensionals

Bling:  Very Vanilla Brads, Linen Thread and Real Red 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Happy Hanukkah

Hanukkah, also known as the festival of lights, commemorates the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to impose its culture on Jews and adorn the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem with statues of Greek gods.

The holiday lasts eight days because according to tradition, when the Jews rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem, a single vial of oil, enough for one day, burned miraculously for eight.

For many Jewish people, the holiday symbolizes the triumph of good over evil.

To all of my Jewish friends who are celebrating this Holiday ~ Shalom - Peace to you at Hanukkah and always.

Stampin' Up! Products that I used to make this card:

Stamps sets - Holiday Blitz, Shalom Sayings and Many Merry Messages - all retired

Ink:  VersaMark and Night of Navy

Paper:  Whisper White, Night of Navy and Bordering Blue

Tools:  Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Silver Embossing Power, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Paper Trimmer, SNAIL and Dimensional

Bling:  Night of Navy 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

 

Beautiful Ornamental Elegance Wreath

Isn't this wreath gorgeous?  It was created by one of the concept artists at Stampin' Up!.  I'm sad to report that The Ornamental Elegance kits have already been sold out.  Wow, that was fast!  Please be sure to post a response to yesterday's blog post so you can enter to win one of these kits.  Each kit makes 10 ornaments.

I want to learn how to make that bow!!

Woohoo!! Blog Candy!

My blog hit a major milestone this week - 100,000 hits.  So, I'm giving one lucky person The Ornamental Elegance Kit!  Just in time to make 10 heirloom ornaments or stunning tags to attach to gifts.  The kit includes:

• Die-cut Card Stock Elements
• Cherry Cobbler 3 1/2" Scalloped Tulle Ribbon
• Natural Linen Thread
• Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons
• Large Pearl Basic Jewels

To enter you need to post a response to the following question - What is your favorite holiday tradition?  The one thing that you and your family do every year and it just wouldn't be Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa if you didn't do it.

The rules are simple.  You must live in the U.S. to be able to win!  On Monday (December 10, 2012) I'll use a random number generator to select the winner.  I'll post the winner and they will have until Wednesday December 12, 2012) at 9:00 pm to contact me with their shipping information.  The kit will be mailed out in a Flat Rate box on Thursday, December 13, 2012.

I'm really looking forward to reading the responses!

Life is a matter of moments - from the archives

This is probably one of my favorite cards - ever.  I love the area that was masked and then sponged with Always Artichoke ink, the trees stamped in the background in the same color and that one bird which was stamped using Cherry Cobbler ink to give the card just a pinch of color.  And, that timeless sentiment.  It was a sad day around here when Stampin' Up! retired the Elements of Style stamp set.

Do it yourself tips:

• Use 4 large Post-it-notes to create a mask for the rectangle.  Sponge the area with ink leaving some areas white to give the illusion of light.  Stamp the two trees in the background.
• Use a Stampin' Write marker to color just the bird on the image from the Senic Season Stamp Set.

Stampin' Up! products that I used to make this card:

Stamp sets:  Lovely as a Tree, Scenic Season and Elements of Style

Ink:  Always Artichoke and Early Espresso; Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso Stampin' Write markers

Paper:  Naturals White, Always Artichoke and Crumb Cake card stock

Tools:  Post-it-notes, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, SNAIL

Bling:  Linen Thread

Three Trees

During the holidays we all need time savers - things that go together quickly, but still come from the heart.  This card packs a lot of love, but goes together in under 10 minutes!  Each tree is 1/2 of a 2 1/2" circle (that was punch out using the 2 1/2" Circle Punch) and with just 3 quick folds you'll have a tree! Add a scrap piece of Early Espresso card stock for the trunk and attach the trees to the card front with Dimensionals.  Stamp a sentiment, wrap some Linen Thread around the card finishing it with a bow and use SNAIl to adhere all the layers together.  Oh, you've got to add some bling!  I added a Basic Rhinestone to the top of each tree.

I used the following Stampin' Up! products:

Stamp set:  Petite Pairs

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake card stock; Be of Good Cheer Designer Series Paper

Tools:  2 1/2" Circle Punch, Bone Folder, SNAIL and Dimensionals

Bling:  Basic Rhinestones and Linen Thread

Organizing...the hobby within a hobby

Welcome to Organize it Tuesday! I confess, I love to organize things and given that paper crafting has lots of "things", organizing has become a hobby within a hobby for me.  Organizing doesn't grow my business, make my life more productive or save me money...but give me a day in my studio with my P-touch label maker and I'm a happy woman!

Today I'm going to share with you how I store my punches.  I sure as heck didn't invent this one, but it works.  Being a very visual person, seeing my punches insures that they will get used!  I bought these rails at Ikea, they are called ByGel rails and they are CHEAP!   They come in 18" usable (21 3/4" actual) for $2.99 and 36" usable (39 1/4" actual) for $3.99.  The little wire baskets are $2.99 each.  Given that my studio is in reality my formal living room, I didn't want to put 40 holes in the wall which would have to be repaired in the future.  So, I went to Lowe's and bought a piece of Maple, stained it a color that sort of matched my furniture and had hubby drill 8 holes (not 40) and hang it for me.  Very happy...

Bold Snowflake

Wow, it's already December!  It feels very strange to post this card today because it's 70 degrees here in Cincinnati and it feels more like Spring than late Fall.  

My card today was inspired by a card that Heather Summers posted on her blog.  I love her clean style!  There's a couple of things different on my card though...just enough to make it a "Liz" card. I used a sponge dauber to add some Frost White Shimmer Paint to the Bold Snowflake stamp after dipping it in Baja Breeze ink to give the snowflake that cool, frosted look.  To give it bling I ran a piece of Silver Glimmer paper through the Big Shot using the Tasteful Trim Die.

This is just one of the cards that my club members will be making in December.  If you live in the Northern Cincinnati area and would like to join us, just let me know!  Not local?  Not a problem.  I have club kits available for purchase.  For $65 you'll receive the More Merry Messages (clear mount) stamp set, Bold Snowflake stamp set, Baja Breeze Ink Pad, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Blossom Punch, Sponge Dauber (1) and all of the card stock needed to make 8 cards; plus instructions.