Family Board Book - March 2007

Back in March my upline held a special class where for a small fee we were given a package of Petals & Paisley DP and a board book. We also received the other little pieces of paper that were needed for embellishments.

I still haven't added the pictures to the book but at least it's done except for that. I will be adding the pictures shortly. I am in the process of cleaning the craft room and getting my photos and everything organized in it.

I loved working on the book and though I've only shown you 1/2 the pages the other pages of the book are actually just coordinating paper and the place where the pictures once decided on will be able to go. I also have to do the journaling but I'll wait until pictures have been decided on before I can do the journaling. This is the main reason I have such a hard time scrapbooking ... I can't decide what pictures to put in the book and stuff.

These books are very fun to make and I've since made and put pictures in another book for my cousin's wedding. It was a big hit and I'll post the pictures of that album in another blog entry.

Baroque Birthday - July 2007

I made several of these cards. They were really easy to make and I love the colors together. I also like how versatile it could be as far as making it in other colors. I didn't think I liked this set that much at first but it has definitely grown on me and become a favorite. I love how it can be used for such a variety of things and for a variety of types of cards as well. I think the more versatile a stamp set is the more valuable it can be and therefore I'm more likely to buy it. I hate just buying a stamp for one thing and being limited. This is not one of those stamp sets.

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, It's Your Birthday
Paper: Blue Bayou, Whisper White
Ink: Whisper White Craft Ink, Blue Bayou, Lavender Lace
Accessories: Rhinestone Brad, Dimensionals, Slit Punch

Sneak Peek - Occassions Mini 2008

Starting March 1st - May 31st the Occassions Mini for 2008 will be released by Stampin' Up and available for everyone interested to buy from.

However, Demonstrators can now view this mini online at http://www.stampinup.com/ under My Business>> My Business Resources>>Stampin' Up! publications>>mini catalogs.

Can't wait to see what's in the new mini contact your local demonstrator to see if they've received their copy yet for a sneak peek and to make sure yo'ure on their mailing list to receive your paper copy without any delay.

I know I'm excited by what I see.

Halloween Treats - October 2007

I made a ton of cello bags filled with miniture bite-size candy bars with this topper on them for halloween treats. The majority of the treats were suppose to be given to my husband's Schwan's customers but he had a change of jobs at the beginning of October so we ended up having a ton left over. It's okay. We just took the candy out of the cello bags and used it for other things. I did not eat it though if that's what you were thinking. He took it to his new job. I was so happy that he got a new job when he did though a bit frustrated as well just because I had spent so much time and energy on these darn treat bags just to have him not need them anymore. It's okay though. It's all working out for the best. At least this time he didn't complain the whole time we were making them because he was tired of coloring in all the House-Mouse designs like he did at Valentine's & Easter.

Topper Recipe:

Stamps: Batty For You, Arachnophobia
Paper: Only Orange, Vintage Violet, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Scallop Punch, 1 1/4 Circle Punch
Techniques: Bag Topper
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 1

Directions: To make a bag topper is quite simple and you can make a huge variety of them. I use the small/medium cello bags. They measure about 4 inches across the top. You can fill the bags with just about anything and you can get them from SU, your local hobby stores, and online. I prefer the ones from SU. Anyway... to make the topper it is best I find to use 12x12 paper but you can use other sizes as well. You just end up with extra paper. You start by cutting the paper in 4x4 squares. I then score at 2" and fold in half. Once I do this I put it over the top of the bag and put one staple in the middle. For this halloween design. I took the Batty For You set and stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White paper. I then punched out the design using the 1 1/4" circle Punch. It's easier to stamp and then punch then to try to stamp on the little punched circle. Once I got that done I then punched out vintage violet using the scallop punch. I then attached all the circles to the middle of the scallop punch outs. I put the endorsements over the rough side of the staple so that it can't catch on other things or on the little kids fingers. Just about anything can be used. If you notice from past posts I've attached square images as well as this smaller scalloped image.

December Technique Class - 2007

Another month of Christmas projects created during my upline's technique class.

Working on all these Christmas projects definitely helped me get into the Christmas spirit and come up with some new ideas for next year when I get ready to make some gifts for my friends and family. I wish more of my family understood the hard work and energy that goes into making a gift so that they actually enjoyed the gift a bit more but oh well... such is life I guess.

I think my favorite projects were the gift bags. I think the little bag with the tags is so cute and could definitely be changed to fit any holiday or celebration. The same goes for the big gift bag but the tags were something new to me so I really was in awe by them.

Banner Recipe:

Paper: DP Dashing, Real Red
Accessories: On Board Accents, Ribbons, Dimensionals
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 1

Tag Bag Recipe:

Stamps: Perfect Presentation
Paper: Wintergreen DP, Whisper White, Brushed Silver
Ink: Old Olive, Basic Black
Accessories: Circle & Scallop Punches, Corner Rounder
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 1

Gift Bag Recipe:

Stamps: Jumbo Snowflake, Big On Christmas, Snow Wheel
Paper: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Retired DP
Ink: Silver Encore, Basic Black, Night of Navy
Accessories: Corner Punch, SU Markers, Silver EP
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 1

November Technique Class - 2007

November was another month filled with Christmas projects that would make great gifts.

Though I liked making the gift card holder i found it to be a bit tricky and think that there are other gift card holders out there that would work better and be cuter. That's my personal opinion though for what it's worth. I did like the marble tile and actually bought some of them to try to make some more as gifts. I didn't end up having enough time or the craft ink in the colors I wanted to make them for gifts this year but next year I think I'll be making a few for some different people. I really like the set we used here but I don't know if I would use it for anything else and don't really want to spend the money to buy it for just this one project. I'm sure some of you understand where I'm coming from.

Like the past few months entries. We also made a card using the reverse Joseph Coat technique but I loaned that card to my friend with the others before getting a picture of it. Once I have gotten that card back I'll add it to this entry.

Tile Recipe:

Stamps: Peaceful Wishes
Ink: Craft Ink - Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Handsome Hunter, Almost Navy
Accessories: Marble Tile, Embossing Powder
Techniques: Marble Tile
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 2

Gift Card Pouch Recipe:

Stamps: In the Spotlight
Paper: Au Chocolate DP, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: Build a Brad, Tab Punch, Large Eyelet, 5 Petal Punch, Ribbon
Techniques: Gift Card Packet/Pouch

October Technique Class - 2007

My upline had a Christmas in October Technique Class so all the projects were winter/christmas related. I loved it and was really inspired.

I ended up loaning out two of the projects to another friend before I got pictures taken so once I get those back I'll add them to this post. In the mean time I hope you enjoy the sparkle tag punch burst ornament.

I love this project the most and have made a few more since then. I plan on making a ton more too in the colors of my living room so they can go on my christmas tree next year. I wanted to make them for this year but didn't end up having enough time so it'll have to wait until next year. The other times I've made them I gave them as a hostess gift at my workshop so no picture of that one. It looked the same as this one so you're not missing out that much. The other time I just did the star part and attached it to a wedding card. I unfortunately gave the card away at the wedding before taking a picture of it. I'm going to try to replicate it for another wedding I have coming up so I'll take a picture this time and get it posted in a separate blog entry. This are sort of tricky to make but are actually really easy once you get the hang of it. You'll need both tag punches that SU sells. The easiest way to do them is to punch out the small punch and then punch the big one around it like a frame. Once you get the little punched tags you attached them to the vellum with glue. I got lazy on the engagment card and just ran them through my Xryon machine. This makes it all alot easier but you have to be careful not to tear the frames apart. I will post a tutorial with photos to make these in another blog entry sometime soon.

August Technique Class - 2007

Here are the cards we made in my upline's August Technique Class. It was a month of different techniques using Vellum. I loved this class and even considered using the candles in wine glasses as a center piece for my friends wedding. After talking to her she's decided to use something else so that's not going to happen but I still think these would work really well for centerpieces at weddings or other events. The other card that isn't shown her right now was loaned to a friend before I got a chance to take a picture. Once I get it back and get a picture taken I'll add it to this post.

CARD RECIPE #1:
Stamps: Double Line Doodle
Paper: Vellum, Carol, Doodle DP
Ink: Black Stazon
Accessories: Embossing Stylus, Corner Punch, Ribbon, Crystal Effects
Techniques: Vellum
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 1

WINE GLASS TOPPER RECIPE:

Stamps: Garden Whimsy, Baroque Motifs
Paper: Vellum
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds, Corner Rounder
Techniques: Vellum
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 1

July Technique Class - 2007

I made the cards below in my upline's July Technique Class. We used bleach on all 3 cards and had a fun time.

I was very surprised on how the bleach effected each piece of paper differently. I was also surprised that I didn't get any bleach on my clothes. I'm notorious for ruining whatever I'm wearing with ink, bleach, glue... whatever can get on my clothes and not come out.

My favorite of the 3 cards is probably the Stem Silhouettes card though I'm not a big fan of the Stem Silhouettes stamp set. Not really sure why I don't like this set that well but I don't. I think I will probably try to do another card similar but using the flower stem from a different set. Maybe I'll use the Embrace Life set since I gave in and got it the other day. Clearly you can tell I'm trying to get caught up on my blog posts again since I'm mentioning a stamp set that wasn't available until January 2008 and this blog is suppose to be for a class that I attended in July 2007. Oh well. Eventually maybe I'll get caught up and the blogs will reflect the current stamp sets and not retired ones.

CARD RECIPE #1:

Stamps: Rough Wheel, Stem Silhouettes, Hugs & Wishes
Paper: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Confetti, River Rock
Ink: Basic Black Craft, Pale Plum
Accessories: EP, Brads, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Bleach
Techniques: Bleach
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 2

CARD RECIPE #2:

Stamps: With Gratitude
Paper: Brocade Blue, Baroque Backgrounds DP, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Old Olive, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Bleach, Paper Piercer, Marker, Ribbon
Techniques: Bleach
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 2

CARD RECIPE #3:

Stamps: Doodle This, Print Pattern
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Lovely Lilac
Ink: Encore Gold
Accessories: Gold EP, Pearl Effects, Wild Wasabi Ribbon
Techniques: Bleach
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 2

Floral Coasters for Christmas - January 2008

I love these coasters that I made for my good friend Colleen for Christmas. I know I am really late in getting them to her but she is very understanding and loves them so it was well worth the work and the wait.

I made them using acyclic blocks I got from www.kitchensinkstamps.com. I then used SU Crystal Effects to glue the Dew Drops around the edges and top. I got the Dew Drops at Kitchen Sink Stamps as well. I decided that the coasters needed a little lip to catch the condensation from the cups so I put the Dew Drops on the top edge. I then used my Xyron machine to attach the paper and chipboard coasters to the acyclic blocks. I love the way the flowers turned out. I had seen many different designs where people had stamped an image on designer paper and then cut out the section they wanted and attached that to another piece of paper with the same stamped image. Using this idea I stamped the flower from SU's Embrace Life set onto various colors of the designer prints paper and then cut it out. I then attached it to another piece of designer series paper. I love these coasters and plan on making a lot more for myself and friends in the future. I might also have some on here soon for sale and or prizes for the different challenges.