Stamping Around the Clock

Last Chance to Participate in January Challenge!

Would you love to win a Gift Certificate for Stampin' Up products? 

See THIS POST for challenge details!

Just make 5 holiday cards and email me a photo of them this weekend before midnight on Sunday, and you will be entered in a drawing for a $5 Stampin' Up Gift Certificate. 

We will have monthly drawings for $5 Gift Certificates; plus a Grand Prize drawing on New Year's Day for a $50 Stampin' Up Gift Certificate!

You must participate all 12 months to be eligible for the end-of-year $50 drawing.

Above is another inspiration card for you, featuring three (3) techniques: Faux Torn Paper, Emboss Resist and Crayon Resist.

Emboss Resist & Faux Paper: I tore a piece of scrap paper and laid it on the bottom 3/4 of the Whisper White card front.  I stamped the snowflakes in Almost Amythest Craft Ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.  Then, I used a brayer to apply Bashful Blue ink over the snowflakes, and wiped excess ink off the snowflakes with a paper towel. 

Crayon Resist: I stamped the focal image and colored it with a white crayon.  Then, I used the other half of the torn scrap paper to apply Almost Amethyst Classic ink on the bottom section in the same way, and again wiped off any excess ink with a paper towel.  I added a little more color on the snowman with Blender Pen and Classic Ink Pads.  

Happy Stampin'!

Holiday Card Challenge - January Inspiration

I designed this 6x6 card in My Digital Studio (MDS) as this month's inspiration card for our Holiday Card Challenge.

(All the details for the challenge are in the Challenge Post, pinned to the top of this blog's main page-click the blog banner if you do not see the challenge info at the top of this page).  

I love our Christmas Cocoa DSP that was in the Holiday Mini Catalog.  Even though it is no longer available, I can still use these great papers because I purchased and downloaded our Christmas Cocoa II kit for MDS!

The snowflake is a faux version of the popular Coke can snowflakes (and other die cuts) that have been made by cutting and rolling out a Coke can, then running it through the Big Shot with one of our Sizzix dies. 

I simply added a "snowflake punch" to my card, then used our paper-fill option with the red and white flocked paper (at least the real version is flocked).  I opened the crop tool to adjust the placement of the paper a little, to get the best balance of red and white.  That's it!  No cleaning Coke cans.  No sharp edges. 

I then copied that snowflake and pasted it to the left-inside page of the card.  I wanted it to be much more subtle than the one on the front, so I reduced the opacity to about 10%.  Then, I copied and pasted the image over and over, placing the snowflakes exactly where I wanted them, including "off the page."

For the right-inside of the card, I pasted a few more snowflakes down the edge of the "paper," and added a sentiment stamp from Season of Cheer digital stamp set (in Chocolate Chip).

Other elements used on the card front were more Christmas Cocoa II DSP, Real Red "textured" card stock, Alpine "ribbon," a scallop square "punch" and a Chocolate Chip "brad." 

Don't forget to make your 5 holiday challenge cards, take a photo of the group, and email it to me No Later Than this Sunday, January 31st, to be entered into this month's drawing! 

If you complete your cards every month this year, you will also be entered into my Grand Prize Drawing for a $50 Stampin Up Gift Certificate!

Happy Stampin' and Digi-Creatin'!

Stamp Club Valentines

Look at this fun little treat holder Club Members made this month!  It is a tiny version of a holder that was popular last year at this time.  The original of this smaller version was created by Monika Davis.  She used our Scallop Square Sizzix Die to create the square that gets folded for this little project.  It is so quick and easy!  I'm even going to make them for two of the kids' classes.  Of course, I've been told we need to make some in "boy" colors, so the boys won't get anything pink.  ;) 

Here is a view from another side.  I decorated each side with different heart shapes in different coordinating card stock and designer papers. 

Here's a top view.  Each side is only 1 3/8" square.  I plan to put tiny erasers in them for the kids and wrap them in a cello bag.  But, you use a few tootsie rolls or any small candy.  They would also be really cute as wedding favors with little chocolates or nuts inside a mesh bag. 

Need the Scallop Square Die?  You can get it right HERE!

 

We also made the Valentine card below.  I CASE'd it from a similar card made by Linda Rodenberg.  It's so simple, but fun to make.

Contact me today for information on joining one of my Stamp Clubs.  Our next round begins in March!

Happy Stampin'!

Happy Thanks Card

I love this quick and easy card!  It is a card I designed for a trial virtual stamp session. 

Eileen and I had lots of fun stamping together, even though she lives in Connecticut and I am in North Carolina!

Stay tuned for future virtual stamping opportunities!

Here is a close-up of the flower elements.

Using Stampin Up!'s versatile punches made these little guys so simple.  You can quickly make a stack of these cards to keep on hand.

Happy Stampin'!

Small Business Owners' Stamp Camp

Click the fliers for larger, more clear images.

Click HERE to order your tickets today!

Sweet Pea Digi-Birthday Card

Stampin' Up! has released more digital kits for My Digital Studio!  This birthday card is 100% digital, and features Designer Series Paper from our brand new Sweet Pea 12x12 pack in the Occasions Mini.  I love all the paper in this pack - it's twice as big as our regular DSP packs!  And, it's already available in digital format! 

This is the inside-left, of the card. For some reason I remember to digitally stamp inside my cards more than I remember to stamp in the real ones.  ;)

There is a light gray frame around these two inside images.  I added that in Adobe, just for posting, because the all-white "paper" doesn't show up with my white background.  It is not on the card itself and I will be sure to send the correct version to the printer.  ;)

 

And, here is the inside-right.  I also don't usually remember to add decorative paper to the inside of real cards, but it is SO easy with MDS!

I plan to have these printed through our print services, so the colors print true to SU colors.  They are only $2.95 each, and come scored and with envelopes.  

Happy Stampin'!

New Card Challenge with Prizes!

I thought I would share our Christmas card (left).  I had a hard time deciding what to do this year, but was inspired by a card (below) that I saw on Splitcoast Stampers by mlnapier.

I love SU!'s Winter Post stamp set.  It's a great vintage holiday set, plus our first "date" was ice skating, so I love the little skating couple.  I used that one last year, but this time went with incorporating some of the element stamps with Dasher, the clock from Sense of Time, the Medallion Background stamp, and the holly leaves from Good Cheer. 

The colors I used were Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Mellow Moss.  I love this color scheme! 

The scallop square was made with our Sizzix Scallop Square Die.  I just trimmed one scallop off one side to flatten the edge.  

This year, I also included a photo collage of the kids' school portraits, which I made with My Digital Studio.  This was such a fun little project.  Once I finished it, I realized that I could have just made that into a card, printed all I needed through our printing service, and they would have come scored and with envelopes.  Well, I had lots of fun stamping these, but I might just go the digital route next Christmas.  Here's the collage -

I love that I was able to incorporate my little ice skater couple to represent me and Tom, since we have Winter Post in digital format now too!

Making more than 65 cards this year was fun, but this year I want to work on designing a digi-card or starting to hand-stamp cards early - very early. 

So, I will design one Christmas/holiday card each month, and post it here. 

My challenge for you is to make at least five (5) Christmas/holiday cards every month. They can be hand-stamped or digital, but must represent any major holiday celebrated in December. 

Once you have completed your 5 cards, email me a photo of all five No Later Than the last day of the month.  They can be the same design each month or different, it's up to you. 

Each month, your photo must include ALL completed cards to date.  If you make 5 cards every month, then your January photo will have 5 cards; your February photo will have 10 cards, and so on.  If you do not participate every month, just be sure to include all previous challenge cards.  Each card must be visible enough to verify the count and theme.

I will hold a random drawing every month, which will include anyone who sends me a photo of that month's completed cards. 

If you make 5 different cards in a given month, you may send a photo of each along with the group photo, so we can see them more clearly; but this is optional, not necessary for entry in the drawing.

Each monthly winner will receive a $5 Gift Certificate on a purchase of Stampin' Up! products through me, and have their cards posted here! 

On New Year's Day 2011, if you complete this challenge all 12 months, you will be entered in another drawing for a $50 Stampin' Up! Gift Certificate! 

I will share my January Christmas card in the next few days.  So, get those holiday stamps back out and let's get a stampin' jump on 2010! 

Your January photo of 5 holiday cards is due NLT Sunday, January 31st.  Feel free to CASE any of my cards too!

Happy Stampin'!

Mrs. Beaudette's Kindergarten Class Christmas Card

This was a crazy, but fun week in the kids' kindergarten and 2nd grade classes.  Part of that fun was making this card with Thomas' kindergarten class on Wednesday.  (I would have been in 4th grade too, but thought Emily would be too embarrassed.  I found out later that I was wrong, so I'll have to do something with them in the New Year.)

I pre-cut the Bashful Blue card stock pieces and stamped them in Not Quite Navy with "let it snow" from our Big on Christmas stamp set.  I used our Note Cards and Envelopes, so they were all pre-cut and scored (two less steps for me - yay!).  The kids stamped the circle snowflake from our Punch Pals set on the front of the card, and one on the envelope.  They also got to sponge some Not Quite Navy on the Bashful Blue card stock.

On the inside of the card, we helped the kids make this little finger-print snowman with some Bashful Blue ink (thanks for the idea Kelli!). They also stamped the "season's greetings" from a retired set.

I made the little hats ahead of time from a 1/4" square punch of Basic Black card stock, plus a little hand-cut strip of the same.  Mini glue dots are the perfect size to stick these on the snowman's head.  I drew the little faces for them with a black pen and my Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Write Marker. 

We all had lots of fun, and the kids did a great job of sharing supplies!  Once we were finished, the other parents arrived and we all made gingerbread houses from milk cartons.

Christmas, stamping, kids and candy, gotta love it!  Although, I was glad the candy was after the stamping.  LOL!  

Happy "Holliday" Stampin'!

Brand New Stampin' Up!

I am so stinkin' excited!  My pre-order of our new Mini Occasions and Sale-a-Bration products arrived yesterday! 

We have new stamps, the option for unmounted stamps, a new punch style and bunches of new paper and accessories!

I had so much fun playing with this paper from our new, huge Sweet Pea paper pad, along with new Chocolate Epoxy Brads, and our Tote-ally Tess and Vintage Vogue stamps sets. 

I stamped and paper-pieced Tess with different papers from the Sweet Pea Pad.

All the stamps I bought in this order were unmounted.  They come in DVD-size plastic cases, with the images on the front of the case AND the spine.  Plus, each set comes with image stickers that fit right over the static cling foam, so you can also see the images through the back of the case!  I'll try to post photos of the cases soon.

I can't wait to share more samples with all these fun products!  You're just going to love it all!  

The Occasions Mini and Sale-A-Bration items will be available for purchase on January 5, 2010. 

Be sure to schedule your Winter Workshops today to earn lots of FREE items during Sale-A-Bration! 

Sale-a-Bration is also a great time to join Stampin' Up! as a Demonstrator!  You'll receive 15% off the cost of the Starter Kit (standard or digital+ version), PLUS a free stamp set of your choice (value up to $47.95)!

Contact me today for workshop dates, joining SU!, and more information on these fantastic new products!

Happy "Holliday" Stampin'!

MDS Thank You Printed

This is another card I had printed through Stampin' Up's printing service. 

The photo didn't quite capture the colors, but they are true to SU colors: Bashful Blue & Rose Red.

MDS Christmas Card from the Printer

I posted this card way back in September.  You can see the post HERE.  Well, I finally sent it to our printer, and I am thrilled with the result!

Before sending the digital card through MDS to our printing service, I decided to add a little pizazz to the inside of the card.

 

Here's what I decided to do.  I added a few digi-stamped images, a digi-stamped Christmas sentiment, and typed "Merry Christmas" with the text tool and a font from my computer.  I love that each page can be as simple or elaborate as you'd like, with just a few clicks.

 

This is a photo of the back of my card.  All cards printed through our printing service will look like this (without the copyright in the upper corner - I just added that for posting purposes).  

The back page is the only one that you cannot decorate or alter.

Card Request for Soldiers

Calling all paper-crafters!  This is a little short notice, but I'm working with Girl Scout Troop #472 (Emily's troop) to collect as many holiday and all-occasion cards as we can between now and November 21st. 

We will send these cards to forward-deployed soldiers, so they have special cards to send loved ones back home for the holidays, or for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

If you have any cards that you would like to donate, please contact me as soon as possible.

Also, on November 20th, I will help the Troop host a card-making party where they and other scouts will make as many cards as possible in two hours.  We will add all these cards to those we collect.  The card above is one that I designed specifically for the girls to make.  It's simple and easy, but oh so cute.  Here is another one they will make:

I'm going to design at least one more holiday card, and a couple more for different occasions.  We plan to have up to 40 girls, ages 7-17.  I would love for them to each make at least 3-4 cards during the party. 

I have already purchased some of the supplies for our party; but, if you would like to make a donation of Stampin' Up supplies or a monetary donation toward the purchase of more supplies, that would be great too. 

Please contact me today for more information or to make a donation of cards, supplies or funds. 

Happy "Holliday" Stampin'!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  We're almost ready for trick or treating!  While we wait, I thought I would share the Halloween card I made for all the kids' teachers.

They are 5"x5" cards with Whisper White as the base.  I used the Baby Wipe technique with Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie re-inkers for the Sweet Treats image.  On this version, I re-stamped the center of the image by inking it with Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black markers, then punched it out and ran the Old Olive marker around the edge of the circle.  The whole image is mounted on Basic Black.  The other papers are from Razzleberry Lemonade and Cottage Wall.  I love how these different paper packs coordinate so well!  The medallion is actually the Top Note Die run through the Big Shot once, then turned a quarter turn and run through again.  That die is just so versitile!  "Happy Halloween" is from the All Holidays set.  I stamped it in Basic Black, punched with the Modern Label punch, inked the edge with the Rich Razzleberry marker and mounted it on the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I forgot to photograph the inside of the cards, but I stamped the "Trick or Treat" from our Hostess Set called Holiday Best, using Rich Razzleberry ink; and the kids signed them with the Rich Razzleberry and Perfect Plum markers.

I put the cards with a Halloween-themed notepad and an RSVP pen in which I inserted a piece of Cast-A-Spell Designer Series Paper.  I tied it all up with our Black Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.  Sorry, no photo of that either.  I was lucky to get them all out the door with the kids! 

I had so much fun with these cards, and they have definitely gotten me in the mood for making cards and gifts for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Happy Stampin'!

A New Look and Club Mini Cards

How do you like my new blog banner and colors?  I made the banner in My Digital Studio!  It was really fun and easy, like a mini scrapbook page.

I'll work on a tutorial for some of the things I did, like using layers to create new colors of paper.

This month at club, I threw everyone a little curve ball.  ;)  They each got three 3x3 cards with envelopes and created their own designs.

Everyone had fun playing with colors and images, and just enjoying some creative time.

Take some time this season to just "play" and enjoy everything the holidays have to offer!

Happy Stampin'!

My Digital Studio - Disney Birthday

This is such a fun card!  We don't carry any Disney products, so I made  "Minnie" in My Digital Studio with a few simple punch images.

This is so easy to do in MDS.  I just added a circle punch, colored it black, copied it twice and sized the copies to make the ears.  I arranged the circles and added a Mambo Melon grosgrain bow. 

The other elements (all digital) are Whisper White and Mambo Melon card stock, Night of Navy grosgrain ribbon and bow, Night of Navy brads, Heard from the Heart stamp in Night of Navy, text typed in Night of Navy, white stitching and Scallop Edge Punch.

I also added the red, green and vanilla Designer paper from our Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit, and colorized it "blue" to get the blue and white stripped paper.  

Order your copy of My Digital Studio HERE and see what you can create!

Happy Stampin'!

Yuletide Scallops

I love all three cards we made at last week's stamp-a-stack.  I think this one is my favorite, though.

See the pretty red and white paper?  It's flocked!  I love working with textured papers, and this one is really fun.  It's from the new Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper, found in the Holiday Mini Catalog.

With just a little stamping, punching and die cutting, you can make this fancy card in no time!

Here's what you need: 
100702 Old Olive Card Stock 8 1/2" x 11" $5.50
102128 Chocolate Chip Card Stock 8 1/2" x 11" $5.50
100730 Whisper White Card Stock 8 1/2" x 11" $5.50
116770 Christmas Cocoa Specialty Paper 12x12 $11.95
103133 Real Red Classic Ink Pad $5.95
100052 Real Red Stampin' Write Marker $3.25
100079 Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker $3.25
116855 Yuletide Christmas Stamp Set $22.95
114889 Scallop Oval Punch $15.95
115950 SU! Exclusive Sizzix Scallop Square Clear Die $21.95
113439 Sizzix Big Shot Die-Cut Machine $99.95
106959 Table Top Paper Cutter $45.95 or 104152 Paper Cutter $24.95
104332 SNAIL Adhesive $6.50
104430 Stampin' Dimensionals $4.95

Happy Stampin'!

Christmas Snowflakes

Here is card #2 from last week's stamp-a-stack.  It features Serene Snowflakes from our Holiday Mini Catalog and Heard from the Heart in the main Idea Book & Catalog.

I actually CASE'd myself for this one.  I made the original card last year (click HERE to view), but wanted to update it with current products.  So, I changed our the snowflake stamp set and substituted Certainly Celery, Real Red and Pretty in Pink for the Wild Wasabi and Riding Hood that I used last year.  

I love this card, but come back tomorrow to see my favorite in this stamp-a-stack trio!

Here's what you need to make this one:
115438 Serene Snowflakes $20.95
111644 Heard from the Heart $22.95
100730 Whisper White Card Stock 8 1/2 x 11  $7.50
105125 Certainly Celery Card Stock 8 1/2 x/ 11  $5.50
100459 Pretty in Pink Card Stock 8 1/2 x 11  $5.50
(or substitute Celery & Pink packs for 105568 Soft Subtles Card Stock $7.95 which contains both)

102482 Real Red Card Stock 8 1/2 x 11  $5.50
105217 Certainly Celery Classic Ink  $5.95
101301 Pretty in Pink Classic Ink  $5.95
103133 Real Red Classic Ink  $5.95
104403 1 1/4" Circle Punch $15.95
104401 1 3/8" Circle Punch $15.95
104430 Stampin' Dimensionals  $3.95

Happy Stampin'!

Holiday Bling

Over the next few days, I will share with you the cards we made in last weekend's Stamp-A-Stack.

This first card measures 3"x6", and fits in our Small Open End Envelopes.

Here's what you need to make this card:

100867 Night of Navy Card Stock $5.50
115316 Rich Razzleberry Card Stock $5.50
115671 Cottage Wall 12x12 Designer Paper $9.95
116586 Many Merry Messages $34.95
116628 Jumbo Snowflake Punch $15.95
112091 Scallop Edge Punch $15.95
103683 Mini Glue Dots $4.95
104332 SNAIL Adhesive $6.95
107286 Small Open-End Envelopes $7.50
109114 Pretties Kit $29.95 (or 113144 Clear Rhinestone Brads $10.95)

SHOP HERE to order your supplies today and get started on those holiday cards!

Happy Stampin'!

Digital Christmas Card

Here is one of the first cards I made with My Digital Studio (MDS).  Once you design a card (or any project) in MDS, you can use that design as a guide or scrap map to create a traditional card, or you can print multiple copies of your creation.  

Tomorrow, I will show you a sample of creating a card front with MDS and turning it into a hybrid card.

Happy Stampin'!

Cutie Snowman Thanks

Don't you just love this little guy?!  He's one of the new stamps in our Holiday Mini Catalog, Simple Seasonal Thanks (Item #111548). 

If you haven't received your Mini yet, email me today!  You won't want to miss this little guy and all the other fun items we will have available on October 1.

The background paper is also in the new Mini, and is called Christmas Cocoa Specialty Paper (Item #116770), and has both shimmery papers and flocked papers.

I stamped and cut out the snowman, then stamped, colored, cut and adhered the scraf and the top of his hat.  I used a Real Red and Soft Suede Markers.  I added some Real Red Brads to his scraf for a even more dimension. 

He's mounted on a quarter sheet card, a piece of Real Red card stock cut to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" with the Specialty paper cut to 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".

This cutie is a great way to get kids involved in making their own thank you cards for holiday presents.  They can even cut and color him themselves!

Happy Stampin'! 

Little Boo Halloween Card

Did you know that our Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog now has individual stamps?  They are on the last page of the catalog, and just as cute as they can be! 

I used Little Boo on this card.  Not only is he super cute, but he also fits perfectly inside our 1" Circle Punch with no border, and in our 1 1/4" Circle Punch with a thin border (as seen here).

The pattern paper is from our Cast-A-Spell Designer Series Paper.  The colors in that paper are Basic Black, Lovely Lilac, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie.  I also used Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Lovely Lilac card stock with our various Circle Punches to frame the letters.  The "b" is from our Jumbo Outline Alphabet. 

You can purchase all of these items in my Stampin' Up! Store (CLICK HERE).

Schedule your October Workshops and make this fun card with all your friends!

Happy Stampin'!

Lancaster Creations: Snowflake Thanks

Believe it or not, I still have projects and cards to share with you from our Lancaster trip!  This thank you card incorporates more of the snowflake paper I made and used on the previous card, both on the background and on the snowflake (Sizzix Die).  I just sponged on a little Soft Suede ink to help distinguish the snowflake from the background. 

The "thanks" is framed with an element from our Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware.  You can view another card using this combo on the Stamping Around the Clock Facebook Page, HERE.

I also used a half-back pearl from the Pretties Kit, some Blue Taffeta Ribbon, and a piece of patterned paper from Thoroughly Modern.

To order these supplies and more, visit my Stampin' Up! Store, HERE!

Contact me today to schedule a workshop where you and your friends can learn how to make your own patterned paper and more!

Happy Stampin'!

Lancaster Creations: Glittery Tree

More fun with faux!  This one has some holiday bling for you!  It's hard to see all the glitter here.  Just click the photo to enlarge it, and you should be able to see the glitter much better. 

Happy Stampin'!

Simply Scrappin' Card

I created this super fast and easy card with some patterned paper and a card stock sticker from our Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit.

The card base is Whisper White layered with a strip of Soft Suede card stock and this pretty patterned paper from the kit.  I cut them a little short, so the white would show at the top and bottom, but you could make them just a tad bigger to fill the entire space.

I actually attached the paper strips to each other, and tied the 1 1/4" Old Olive Striped Ribbon around them before attaching to the card.  Once the whole piece was on the card front, I just added the sticker.  That's it!

You can make a ton of cards from just one Simply Scrappin' Kit! 

Order Christmas Jingle today and get a head start on making your Christmas cards!

Happy Stampin'!

The Versatility of Service & Sacrifice

Service & Sacrifice is one of our new military stamp sets, and another favorite of mine.  I took it with me on our recent Florida trip, and this is the card I made while we were there.  I love that the sentiments in this set are perfect for just about every military card you would need.  But, these sentiments can also be used for police officers, fire fighters and more.  In addition to that, some are great for anyone; like the one featured here.  I combined it with a tree from Lovely As A Tree, and papers from Thouroughly Modern DSP and the hostess paper pack called Patterns Pack III.  I also used the Rock'n'Roll stamping technique on the tree with Old Olive and Soft Suede Classic Ink Pads.

Happy Stampin'!