Topnote Scarecrow Card

We're making this guy at our next Caring Card Class.  But I don't think he'd scare any crows away...

Cut one 8 1/2 x 11 piece of Very vanilla in half along the short edge (pieces will be 4.25 x 11)

Fold in half and place folded edge slightly below the cutting edge on the TopNote die.  This placement assures you will have an intact card rather than 2 TopNote cuts.

 

Cut a decorative piece of paper using the Top note (this will make 2 hat TOPS) and then cu in half.  To create the "brim of the hat" you'll cut a decorative piece of paper into a 1" strip and then into a 4" length.  I trimmed the edges with a corner punch for a little interest. 

 

The nose was made using the 1" square punch (a scrap of Cherry Cobbler) , cut in half

and the eyes (basic black) were made using the same punch-cut in half and

then in half again to get the smaller triangles.

I used a Basic Grey marker to create the stitching on the eyes and nose and drew on a squiggly mouth.  Googly eyes completed his sweet face.

 

I glued raffia strips behind the hat and then attached the hat to the TopNote base.  THEN i trimmed the raffia to assure I got the look I wanted! 

A Bird punch in More Mustard finished him off!

 

I did not edge the very vanilla TopNote base...but I think I will go back ad add that for some additional interest!

 

 

Love and Laughter

Recently our Card club was gifted TONS of card stock, stamp sets, ribbon and embellishments.  Thank you Kathy!  One of the cards I created from the stash used some ribbon printed with the LOVE Verses from 1 Corinthians 13.  The card is triple mounted and embellished with a couple of punched flowers and some glitter glue.  So Simple, So Elegant!

Googly

I made this Card for a recent swap. 

I love the Cottage Window for it's versatility

and the Googly's are just so darn cute and fun to use. 

 

 

This card has a Very Vanilla Base and I

embossed Pumpkin Pie with the NEW Wood Grain embossing folder. 

The cottage window is stamped with Basic Black, as are the bats. 

I bent up the bat wings to give the illusion they were in flight. 

Frankie is stamped with Lucky Limeaid to coordinate with the ribbon,  BOOO is stamped with Pumpkin Pie and mounted on a black scallop. 

 

You'll be seeing a lot of these stamp sets on my cards in the coming weeks!

 

 

 

Papaya Sympathy

I've been practicing with the PAPAYA COLLAGE stamp set recently.  I struggled a bit with the stams to find a look that was pleasing to me but once I found my groove I was hooked. 

 

This 3 layer card is stamped on Very Vanilla and Basic BLack.  It is stamped with Basic Black, Soft Suede and Crumb Cake .  I cut out the butterflies and mounted them with a dimensional, folding up the wings just a bit to give them some definition.  I added a couple of pearls to their bodies and added a Crumb cake ribbonto complete the look.   VIOLA!  What a Beautiful card. 

 

I'll post some of my other attempts at using this stamp set in the next few days.  Stay Tuned!

 

Button Buddies

I had received a cute button buddies card front in a swap I recently participated in and used that as the basis for an upcoming stamp class.

Each card base is 3.5 x 3.5 inches
the "middle" card stock layer is 3 x 3 and the stamped layer is very vanilla cut 2.5 x 2.5
I inked most of the edges of the very vanilla with a coordinating color to create depth and interest. Each sentiment is stamped using the Teeny Tiny Wishes set (expensive but very versatile and a must have for serious stampers!) the modern label punch and the word window punch.

 

This little piggy is ready to party!  His hat was created using Pennant Parade.  Card stock is Melon Mambo and Lucky Limeade.  I made the button nose using Sweet button embosslits die.  Cute Huh?

 

What a cute way to say...slow down!  Colors are Marina Mist and Garden Green.  This one uses a real button from the Regals collection.

Get well wishes uses some non-Stampin' Up stickers, Cajun Craze and Crushed Curry (retired) papers. 

 

I love this corduroy button as an embellishment!  I added a punched pat that I had "glitterized" to another card I made!  Very cute!

Here are the remaining cards...

and as a set

Happy Stampin"

Diana



 



Changes

Overview of the catalog changes:"In a nutshell, starting June 1, 2012, Stampin' Up! will release one annual catalog, comparable to (but smaller than) the current Idea Book & Catalog, and two seasonal catalogs, comparable to (but larger than) the current mini catalogs."

The current Idea Book and Catalog 2011-2012 will expire at the end of May instead of the end of June as originally planned.  

• The Occasions, Summer, and Holiday Mini Catalogs will be replaced by two seasonal catalogs called the Holiday Catalog and the Spring Catalog.
  • The first Holiday Catalog will run from August 1, 2012 through the beginning of January, 2013
  • The first Spring Catalog will run from the beginning of January, 2013 through May 31, 2013.
• The seasonal catalogs will be larger in both size (8 1/2" x 11") and page count (about 40 pages) than the current mini catalogs.

Items that will be discontinued as of June 1st, 2012:
Décor Elements and Simply Adorned
Decor Elements and Simply Adorned is being announced now as they are complete product lines not individual product that is being discontinued. This way if you love the line, you can still pick up items before they are no longer carried by Stampin' Up!.

There may be other retirements/items discontinued (which is normal at the end of a catalog time frame), and these will be announced later in the year.  

Re-purposed Candy Jar

I took an old jar I had in the basement and added a band and a label set for a cute NEW candy Jar.

I envision all kinds of uses for "Gifts in a Jar" using the Label framelits by Stampin up!  Baby, Housewarming, recipes, college kids, and of course...candy!

The band is 2 inches wide by the circumference of the container plus 1 inch. 

Sale-a-bration!

Can you hear the drums beating in anticipation of Sale-A-Bration, Stampin' Up!'s biggest promotion of the year? From Jan. 24 through March 31, 2012, customers will earn a free Sale-A-Bration gift for EVERY $50 they spend on Stampin' Up! products (including the clearance rack). Spend $150 or more and you will receive both Sale-A-Bration gifts AND earn Hostess Benefits too!

Season of Friendship Perpetual Calendar Tutorial

Season of Friendship calendar Tutorial

Trim  1 ½ inches from the LONG side of a piece of 8 ½ x 11 inch piece of whisper white card stock.  Final Size will be 7 x 11 inches.   Score at 5 ½ inches to make a fold.  THIS IS THE BASE

Cut 4 base pieces from colored card stock of your choice into 4 x 5 ¼ inch pieces
 I used the following colors
Pool Party for winter (January-March)
Melon Mambo for spring (April-June)
Real red for Summer (July-September)
More Mustard for Fall (August-December)

Cut 4 pieces  2 ¼ x 5 ¼ inches each using the same colors above for the calendar mounting

You will have 2 pieces of each color, one measuring 4 x 5 ¼ and one measuring 2 ¼ x 5 ¼ inches each for a total of 8 pieces of colored card stock

 Cut 4 pieces of Whisper white into 3 ¾ x 5 inch pieces.

Use a sponge dauber to apply a coordinating color to each edge of the small pieces of white

Island Indigo for winter (January-March)
Regal rose for spring (April-June)
Garden Green for Summer (July-September)
Cajun Craze for Fall (August-December)

 Stamp your images using “Season of Friendship” onto the sponged 3 ¾ x 5 inch pieces of whisper white in a manner pleasing to your eye.

Mount images on large colored card stock

I stamped multiple leaves on scrap card stock and affixed using glue dots to stamped image to give some height contrast for interest.  I also decorated the cut images with dots of glitter glue (not Stampin’ Up) at the base of each leaf set.  Allow to dry completely before continuing with mounting of these images. 

 Stamp the sentiment (If desired) on a scrap of whisper white and sponge with coordinating inks.  Mount using a stampin’ dimensional

Mount your completed stamped images on the coordinating card stock.

Mount calendar (I search internet for free images) on the small piece of colored card stock

Use a scrap of whisper white cut into 1 x 3 inch section and score the short edge at 5.5, 1.5 and 2.5.  This will create a “stand” for the calendar. 

 Now you are ready to mount your Mount the winter image and the spring image on the same side of the base with the TOPS of the image at the center (fold line).  Turn the BASE over and mount the summer and fall images in a like fashion.  When mounting the stamped images it is BEST to allow your STAND the room to easily slid under the image so you do not have to lift up anything when you switch to the other side mid-year!

Happy Stampin’

Viola!    A perpetual 2012 calendar!

Have a blessed year!

WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER!

No, I didn't win a chicken dinner but I did win $25 for the submission of my perpetual calendar! 

A tisket, a tasket and Pretty Petal Cone Die Basket

I had the opportunity to play with my new Stampin' Up PETAL CONE DIE this weekend trying to create some 3D items for an upcoming class.  I am so happy with the way these turned out!
I decided to first create a traditional MAY POLE basket with a Valentine Theme. 

Cur one 2 petal cone dies from double sided paper.  Fold on score lines, add adhesive strip and construct the Box.  Adhere the scalloped half circles and decorate as you desire.  Add some crinkle filler paper...Beautiful!

Here the box is filled with candy kisses before closing (the tabs overlap to create the closure).

This is decorated using the Fun Flowers Die.

Each basket was embellished with assorted flowers, tags and rosettes. 

I'll fill these with chocolates and give to my beloveds!

Stay Tuned for the Easter Version of Petal Cone Dies Containers!

2-step Bird Punch

My next Stamp Camp will use the 2 part bird punch to create a Valentine, Sympathy or all-occasion card.

The Card Recipe

create a standard card base (5 1/2 x 4 1/4) inch of Very Vanilla

layer with Chocolate chip (cut 1/4 inch smaller - 5 1/4 x 4")  Tear the right edge

Cut a 5 x 3 3/4 piece of Very Vanilla (this will be the piece you stamp on)

tear the right edge and sponge with Melon Mambo

Stamp your sentiment on the middle of the page in chocolate chip ink

Spritz with the new Smooch!

Punch 2 birds-one from chocolate chip and the other from a coordinating piece of DSP

Arrange chocolate chip bird slightly offset from the DSP bird to give contract

(this card uses retired DSP)

Affix the bird in a pleasing arrangement at the lower right corner. 

Add random branches made of scrap greens (this uses lucky limeade and always artichoke)

I added flowers using random pieces of pink and added some dazzling diamonds in their centers. 

I'll post the Valentine Card tomorrow!

Happy Stampin'

Diana

Valentines

This card is made using new products from the Occasions Mini.  The stamp set is Candy Conversations and is only $8.95.  The paper is a new DSP that will be available during sale-a-bration.  Isn't it beautiful? 

Punching out the other stamped hears was easy using using the small hear punch which is only $5.95. 

Here is another card that used only ONE change in INK color to highlight the message I want the recipient to focus on! 



And I have other plans doe this stamp coordinating it with the Gnome Sweet Gnome set , also from The Occasions Mini!  Stay Tuned and join me on January 18th to make these great cards!

Occasions Mini Catalogue 2012 is LIVE!

You're gonna LOVE IT


View the Occasions Mini Catalog pdf

Occasions Mini Catalog (Flash player version)

Calendar-Season of Friendship

I made this desk calendar recently using the Season of Friendship stamp set which I modified to reflect the different seasons.The calendar was printed off the Internet. 

It stands on the desk, is double sided and was fun to create!

We'll be making this calendar on January 9, 2012