Monday, July 30th, 2018 Before I get started, I just want to ask a favor of all of my readers. Please say a prayer for the safety of the firefighters and the people of Redding, which is about 100 miles north of Woodland. The wildfire that is burning there is out of control, has burned into neighborhoods, and so far 5 people have died. It is truly heartbreaking, and much the same scenario as the devastating fire that burned into Santa Rosa last October. Just a reminder... July 31st is the last day to take advantage of Stampin'Up!'s annual sale of DSP. The "Buy Three, Get One Free" event ends at 10:59 our time (11:59pm Mountain Time). If you haven't placed your online order for some of the gorgeous new paper, today would be the last minute, because I'm closing out the July Host Code tonight at 8 pm. That July code is KRAZHKTN. One of the biggest sellers in the new catalog, and one of my favorites, is the Garden Impressions DSP at the top of page 191 (#146289) 48 sheets for 11.00. This is a 6 x 6 stack and it's full of gorgeous designs. Today's card features some of this bright and pretty paper...
If you're someone who often finds herself making a card at the last minute, this is the layout is for you! You simply cut a 3 x 3 inch piece of the DSP, and mat it with a coordinating color of cardstock that measures 3 1/4 by 3 1/4. Add it to a contrasting panel that measures 5 3 3/4, then adhere that to a 5 1/4 by 4 inch panel and glue the finished card front to a white folded card. There's plenty of room below to add a sentiment of almost any size. You can add ribbon, twine, or other fiber to give your card that nice finishing touch. Here I used the cute 1/2 inch gingham ribbon on page 201 (#144232), 10 yards for 7.50. Let me give those measurements again, very quickly: White card base, 5 1/2 by 8 1/2, scored at 4 1/4 Night of Navy panel, 5 1/4 by 4 So Saffron panel, 5 by 3 3/4 Calypso Coral mat 3 1/4 by 3 1/4 DSP 3 by 3 The best thing about this layout is that you can get FOUR cards out of every 6 by 6 inch sheet of DSP, which really stretches your dollar! If you really are a "last-minute" type of person, here's what I'd do. I'd cut some 3" by 3" squares of DSP, then cut the coordinating card stock and assemble the cards. Then when you need a card quickly, you can stamp whatever sentiment you need for a birthday, a get well, a thinking of you, a thank you, or a sympathy card. Having some cards ready to go is almost better than money in the bank. Almost. Be on the lookout for Susan's August Stampin'Up!date which I'll send out on Wednesday August 1st. Meanwhile, enjoy the last two days of July! Stamp on! Susan
Monday, July 23, 2018 Don't you just love playing with new stamps and accessories, not to mention new colors? I thought I would see just how many new products I could use on one card. I've just counted and I will reveal the number at the end of this post. See if you can count all the new products/colors I've used.
I apologize that this appears to be "washed out" by my flash. I really need to get a new camera! Or take a photography class... or maybe both! I used the new Pop of Petals stamp set (page 47) for the flowers and leaves. I stamped them in Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, and Lemon Lime Twist. I punched them out with the coordinating Four Petal Flower Punch (page 210). I embossed the Poppy Parade panel with the Subtle Embossing Folder (page 223). This fabulous folder produces a wonderful textured look to the paper, which closely resembles the textured cardstock that Stampin'Up! once sold. The DSP is from the Brights collection of DSP at the bottom of page 191. These are 6 x 6 paper stacks which come in a cello bag without that adhesive on the side to hold it into a pad. I'm so glad they did away with that format, as this paper doesn't need to be torn off the pad, which makes for a smoother edge and no tears or ragged edges. The ribbon is the lovely 1/2 inch Textured Weave in Granny Apple Green (page 200). The sentiment is from the Stitched All Around stamp set on page 17. I stamped it in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink (top of page 203). I also used the same ink to stamp the centers of the flowers, using a pen with a rubber stylus on the end. The oval panel was cut with the Stitched Shapes Framelits (page 220). How many new products did you count? I counted eight: new Poppy Parade ink, card stock, and DSP, new embossing folder, ribbon, punch, and two new stamp sets.... for a total of 8 new products! I hope you'll agree with me that this bright and happy card would be perfect for a friend's summer birthday... a female friend, that is. It's just a bit too flowery for a guy, but I think you already knew that. May the week ahead be a good one for each of you, filled with some summery delights like lemonade, sunshine, watermelon, a cool morning walk, swimming, grilling on the deck or patio, a trip to the mountains or beach, and whatever other summery things you can cram into each day. Summer, like all good things, won't last forever, so enjoy! Our forecast: Monday 102, Tuesday 103, Wednesday 104. Thankfully the temps go down after that to the high 90's. I sure would love it if you would place an order, using the July Host Code, KRAZHKTN. You could be the winner of a host set of your choice! Right now there are only a couple of names in the drawing, so your chances of winning are very good! Hugs to all! Susan
Monday, July 16th, 2018 Do you find yourself getting bored with the traditional card with the fold at the left or the top? Most of the time I'm fine with that type of card, but every once in a while it's fun to try something different. For those of you who've been my customers for a long time, the card I'm showing you today is not new. We've made cards like this in classes in the past, but it has been a long time since I've made one of these. For want of a better name, I call this a squash card, because you "squash" it closed. It is tied shut with a ribbon. I used the new Varied Vases stamp set and matching punch to create this card. Call me lazy, but I love having a coordinating punch to quickly cut out a shape. It's so much easier than using a framelit and the Big Shot!
This card measures 4 1/4 by 4 1/4 but no worries.... it will fit in a standard envelope and you won't have to pay more to mail it. The base of the card is Coastal Cabana card stock which measures 8 1/2 by 8 1/2. It is scored into 4 equal squares measuring 4 1/4 by 4 1/4. The Daffodil Delight panel on the front is 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 and the white panel for the flowers/vases is 3 1/4 by 3 1/4. The ribbon to tie it closed in 14 inches long. It is simply glued under the front panel, but not glued down on the back because then the card wouldn't open! Here is the inside of the card...
See how the 8 1/2 inch square was scored into 4 equal squares? Then I turned the paper and scored diagonally across two of the squares. The score lines forming the 4 squares are valley folds, while the diagonal line is a mountain fold. Use your bone folder to make each fold crisp and well-creased. The white panels for the inside of the card are 4 inch squares. The flowers on the card are colored with Blends in Light Calypso Coral, Light Daffodil Delight, and Light Old Olive. Don't forget to use a Memento Ink pad when coloring with the Blends. You can find the Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (# 132708) at the top of page 203. You can see this fun Varied Vases set (#146664) on page 45 of the new catalog. If you'd like to have the matching punch, then use this number for the bundle (#148381) and save 10%. The cost for the bundle is $39.50, which is a great bargain for a stamp set that has 34 stamps, including some nice sentiments PLUS the matching punch. The July Host Code is KRAZHKTN. Please use the code when placing an online order of less than $150.00. You will be entered into a drawing to win a host stamp set of your choice! If your order is $150 or over, please don't use the code. You will get to pick freebies, depending on the dollar amount of your order, before shipping and tax. It seems like it is hot, HOT, HOT all over! The forecast for our area is 102 on Monday and 104 on Tuesday, so if you are in Portland, you'll at least be a bit cooler! Here's my advice for these hot days: stay inside with a fan or a/c, pour yourself a tall glass of something cold, then pull out some stamps, ink, and paper and spend an afternoon of creativity! Hugs to all, Susan
July 9, 2018 In our family of 11, summer is for birthdays! In June, July, and August we celebrate a total of 7 birthdays. The remainder fall in October (3) and December (1). So since it is summer, I'm focused on birthday cards and I've got a pretty one for you today.
I was inspired by a card that my upline showed on our team website, so I used the same basic layout, but changed the colors to give the card a warm, bright, summery vibe. The base of the card is Flirty Flamingo card stock. The white panel on the front is 5 by 3 3/4. I cut a large piece of Post-It paper into a strip 1 1/2 inches wide and placed it across the panel as a mask. Then I used stamps from the Perennial Birthday stamp set (page 71) to stamp flowers in Flirty Flamingo, Blushing Bride, and Mango Melody. The leaves are stamped in Granny Apple Green and Lemon Lime Twist. I made sure that I stamped flowers and leaves overlapping the Post-It mask, so that when the mask is removed, you are left with a nice white space to add the sentiment, which is also part of the Perennial Birthday stamp set. I used the Stamparatus (page 207 of the annual catalog) to perfectly stamp the sentiment in exactly the spot I had chosen. I didn't have to worry about getting it crooked and ruining my card. If you haven't seen how the Stamparatus works, here is a video from Stampin'Up that tells you everything you need to know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3teCr7Xo4G8 It really is an amazing tool. You'll wonder how you ever stamped without it! I hope your summer is off to an amazing start! Here are some of my favorite things about summer: traveling, getting outside, swimming, watermelon, ice cream cones, barbecues, taking the grandchildren to the splash park, reading on the lounge chair in the back yard, and stamping cards for summer birthdays. All of these things say "summer" to me. What are your favorite things about summer? I hope that stamping is on your list of favorite things to do in every season of the year! Being creative and making beautiful things lifts the spirit in ways that are hard to describe. Here's to a great summer of creativity! Susan
Here we are in July already! And what a July it has started off to be! We've had triple digit temps over the weekend, and a big wildfire (the Yolo County fire)is making the air very unhealthy to breathe. On Sunday night the setting sun first looked bright orange, then turned to a bright magenta as it got lower in the sky and it was entirely blotted out by a huge bank of smoke before it set. On a happier note, I do have a new card for you today, inspired by one by Jacque Williams that I saw on the internet.
The stamp set is the new Pressed Flowers host set on page 227 of the annual catalog. I have to tell you that the colors I used on this card are much prettier in real life. The base of the card is Basic Gray with a layer of Pineapple Punch card stock, topped with the Whisper White stamped panel. Ink colors are Pineapple Punch, Mango Melody, Mint Macaron, Calypso Coral, and Smoky Slate. The sentiment is from the new Varied Vases stamp set on page 45. The ribbon is the new 1/8th inch grosgrain ribbon in Pineapple Punch. Pineapple Punch is a clear, bright yellow and I apologize that it looks like chartreuse in this photo. This stamp set, Pressed Flowers, is one you could choose if you are the winner of the July Host Code drawing. To have your name added to the drawing, simply place an order of $50 or more, using the July Host Code of KRAZHKTN. I will also add your name to the 50-50 Board for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate from me. May the week ahead be a good one for each of you! I hope you'll enjoy some relaxing time with family and friends over the Fourth of July Holiday. We are keeping our fingers crossed that more fires won't be started by people being careless with fireworks! Stamp something pretty! Susan
