S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G

Children, I’m not sure what to say in my defense. It seems as if the Spring Fever is spreading and along with the lovely pollen (not) and I’ve apparently succumbed to a major shopping bug! Okay, I know. I had to try and pretend that it was something out of the ordinary for me, but alas… He breathes. He shops.

I’ve just received an order of about (13) fantabulous sets of Stampin’ Up! rubber stamps. I completed my three color families of Stampin’ Up! Stampin’ Pads (Bold Brights, Earth Elements, and Rich Regals), as well as the coordinating re-inkers. I have a couple of inks from the Soft Subtles family (and I’m sure eventually I’ll get them all), but somehow there’s just not much about me (or my crafting) that is soft or subtle.

I also caved in and placed my first order with Papertrey Ink. Which raises the imponderable question: Exactly how many stamps, inks, and papers does one man need to fully function in society? (Don’t answer that! My shrink and I are currently hashing that one out, lol.)

Another little excursion saw me picking up the new 7 Gypsies Binderie Punch, and while I haven’t had a lot of time to play with it as of yet–what I have done with it is very promising. It’s a great little portable tool for those of you that like to make your own chipboard books, word books, and mini-albums. I’ll hopefully have a feature next week using it.

I also bit the bullet on the ProvoCraft cartridge offer for Home Decor and Jubilee. Of course, I had to get in on the one payment option to get the Cricut Jukebox. It’s something I’ve considered in the past but never decided that I “needed” it. This deal was just too good to pass up.

On a completely non-craft related purchase, I’ve discovered Scentsy and my wallet may never forgive me.

I’ve worked for the past two days on a set of cards for one of my Cricut Message Board Card Swaps–and I’m really pleased with the end results. I have another set of card fronts to work on this weekend and hopefully I’ll share pictures of those two projects with you next week as well.

Whatever your plans for the upcoming weekend, I hope you find some time to shop, craft and spend a little quality time with yourself. Have a great weekend and Keep Crafting!

P.S. I would like to send a very special cyber shout-out to The Pink Stamper on the momentous occasion of her 100th video tutorial. ROBYN, you ROCK girlfriend and your provide so much information and assistance to crafters everywhere (and I for one, never miss an episode)! Big Hug!

Fabulous Friend

Hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend with family and friends. Mine was quiet, but I did have dinner with my Mom, my sister and her family on Sunday evening.

I worked on several card projects this weekend as well. I also started a new list of items I want to order on my next Stampin’ Up! order. Apparently, the madness never ends.

Today’s card project uses the following materials list:

–Stampin’ Up! Oval All Stamp Set (#113790)
–Stampin’ Up! Large Oval Punch (#107305)
–Stampin’ Up! Scallop Oval Punch (#114889)
–Stampin’ Up! Classic Stampin’ Pad in Garden Green (#102272
–Stampin’ Up! 8 1/2″ x 11″ Cardstock in Kiwi Kiss (#111353)
–Stampin’ Up! 8 1/2″ x 11″ Cardstock in Whisper White (#100730)
–7 Gypsies Decorative Paper; Nottinghill Collection
–Stampin’ Up! Simple Flower Embosslit Die (#114514)
–Stampin’ Dimensionals (2)
–Stardream Mica Fuse Cardstock in Serpentine
–Prima Center Kiss Jewel in Deep Emerald
–Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen in Clear
–Scotch ATG714 Gold adhesive

For this card project, I tried out some new toys from the new Occasions mini-catalog from Stampin’ Up! Specifically I used the stamp set called “Oval All” which was designed to work with the large oval punch and the new scallop oval punch. For the card base I chose a piece of Stampin’ Up! cardstock in Kiwi Kiss and cut it down to a standard A2 size, 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″. I chose the stamp that said “Fabulous Friend” on it and stamped it on Whisper White cardstock with Garden Green Ink. I then used the large oval punch to punch out the sentiment. For the backing scalloped oval, I used a small piece of mica cardstock in a light green color with an exquisite shimmer to it called Serpentine. As I have lamented in the past, this beautiful cardstock from Italy does NOT photograph well, but it is a must-see in person. I purchase my mica cardstock from California Paper Goods.

As a Cuttlebug fan, I’ve never really played with any Sizzix products. However, there is a set of exclusive to Stampin’ Up! embosslits dies that are made for use in the Big Shot in the current catalog. I ordered a couple of them in hopes that they would work with my trusty Cuttlebug–and they do work beautifully. These dies are small hinged rounded squares that cut and emboss the design at the same time. I simply put the paper (in this case more Stardream mica cardstock in several colors) and placed the die between the two B plates and ran it through the Cuttlebug. I used both dies I have currently and numerous color shades and played way too much as evidenced by my virtual flower garden.

Needless to say, I’ll save all my flowers for various projects. I chose to use one cut from the Simple Flower die in the Serpentine mica cardstock for this project. I also chose a piece of decorative paper from the 7 Gypsies Nottinghill Collection cut to 3″ x 5 1/2″. I adhered to decorative paper off center to my base cardstock with my ATG714 adhesive gun. I also adhered the oval sentiment to the scallop base. I adhered the scalloped sentiment to the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals to give it lift away from the cardbase and create more visual interest. For my flower embellishment, I adhered a small Prima Center Kiss blossom to the flower’s center for just a pop of darker color. I then adhered the flower to the card. For a final touch, I used a clear Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen to outline the flower and the edges of the decorative paper (which again does not photograph well).

Well, I hope you get a bit of inspiration to surprise one of your fabulous friends with a card when they least expect it. Every now and again, we can all use a bit of pick-me-up when it’s least expected.

Have a great Monday–and Keep Crafting!

Garden Greetings

Well, hello there!

I bet you thought I’d finally been confined to that psychiatric hospital for the craftily insane hung up my ATG714 adhesive gun and called it quits. It’s been so long since I’ve posted that I forgot my own password! I really have no excuse for my absence other than laziness–and a period of lack of inspiration.

The good (?) news is that I’ve found my mojo again. I’m really going to make a concerted effort to post more of my projects and keep the blog fresh. So, I hope you will bear with me.

Recently, I finally succumbed to the temptation (after spending the equivalent of the GNP of a small developing country) and became a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. I know, I know… It seems like everyone and there mother is a demonstrator these days. But, give me a bit of credit–I’m a MALE Stampin’ Up demonstrator (lol). Seriously, I’ve been so impressed with the products and company that it is an honor to be a demonstrator. I know you have many options when looking for your Stampin’ Up! products, but I hope to provide great service, perks and fun along the way. So if you are in the market for something, please keep me in mind. But enough about that. Let’s make something.

I was itching to try a project with one of my new stamp sets–and yet wanting to do something “different”. So, this is the card I came up with:

Materials List:

–Stampin’ Up! Garden Greetings Set (#113716)
–Stampin’ Up! Stamp Pad in Basic Black (#101179)
–clear transparency sheet
–mica cardstock
–decorative paper
–brads (4)
–adhesive
–EK Success corner rounder punch
–Tim Holtz piercing tool

To begin the process, I choose a lovely and large bloom stamp from the Stampin’ Up! Garden Greetings set. Using the Basic Black Stampin’ Pad, I cut a piece of clear transparency into a 3″ x 4 1/4″ block.

I then stamped the image several times in random places on the transparency and allowed it to dry completely.

The base of my card is going to be a standard A2 size. Therefore you need a piece of cardstock measuring 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″. I chose to use a beautiful piece of mica cardstock that has an incredible sheen to it (that unfortunately does NOT photograph well). For the element pieces of my card, I needed a decorative paper measuring 3″ x 4 1/4″ (to mount my transparency stamping on). The paper I chose was from the Basic Grey Two Scoops collection. It has lovely pinks in it that compliment the base cardstock and the swirls provide a great backdrop to my blossoms.

To attach the transparency film to my decorative paper block, I decided to use brads–in this case four (4) Doodlebug Sugared brads (two pink, two white). Not only will the brads hold my elements together, they’ll do double duty as stamen in my flowers. For easy attachment, I used my Tim Holtz piercing tool to make holes through the transparency and decorative paper where I wanted my brads to attach.

Once all four brads are in place, the element is ready to be adhered to the card base.

As a final decorative touch for my card, I decided to round the corners of my card using an EK Success punch.

Here’s a look at the final card and a close-up of the detail.

Well, I hope this inspires you to think Spring! I know the weather is not cooperating in many parts of the country, but it’s definitely time for us to put some flowers into our lives!

See you soon…and keep crafting!