Still Stamping

Clean and Simple - DSP Takes Center Stage

I am a big fan of clean-and-simple cards.  First of all, they are generally easy to create.  Secondly, they are restful and uncluttered.  This was a card at last weekend's Birthday Bash card class I taught here in Hanover, PA.  A square punch, the postage stamp punch, two shades of ink from the Neutrals Collection, and two colors of card stock from that same collection, two stamps, and one embellishment - that's it.

Can you see this done in bright colors?  Or in Spring pastels?  Think of all of the gorgeous Designer Series Paper scraps you have stashed in your craft room.  This could be a stash-buster!  Change the colors, the sentiment, even the punch shape (can you envision circles instead of squares?) and you'd have a very versatile layout that just may become your "go-to" layout.

And if not, keep it in mind for when you are indded rushed, or when you just can't bear to throw away those scraps of amazing DSP. 

Specifics: Stamp Sets - Fresh Vintage (Sale-a-Bration) and Happiest Birthday Wishes (hostess only)

DSP: Neutrals Stack, Soft Suede (two strips, use both sides of each for four patterns)

CS: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede      Classic Ink Pads: Crumb Cake (for stamping), Soft Suede (for sponging)

Add a silver brad and some dimensionals, and Voila!  Birthday greetings.

 

My Digital Scrapbook - Create your own layout

Did you know that Stampin' Up!'s digital paper crafting software, My Digital Studio, has the option to create scrapbook pages using pre-designed templates, photo only templates, and start from scratch?  I'm usually into the quick-and-easy mode, so I choose one of the pre-designed layouts.  But tonight I decided to participate in a scrapbooking challenge on Sudsol (a Stampin' Up! demonstrator online group), using the challenge sketch.  That meant I had to start from scratch and use the "Create Your own" option.  It wasn't hard at all, and I love the way this turned out. 

The challenge sketch used square photo boxes, but these pictures didn't lend themselves to square cropping, so I kept the rectangular shape.  I will go back and add some other embellishments (digital ones, that is) and fix an alignment mistake I see, but all in all, this turned out great, I think, for a very speedy page. 

I can also see potential for using MDS (My Digital Studio) as a project planner, then recreate the page with actual paper, photos, card stock, ink, stamps, and embellishments.

By the way, the photos are of my son Michael, daughter-in-law Danielle, and granddaughters Ava and Charlotte.  Aren't they an adorable family?

Birthday Bash - Calypso Butterflies

I know it seems as if I haven't been stamping.  That is so not true.  I have tons of new things to show you, but actually getting them posted is my weakness.  I taught a class last week, though, with six birthday cards that I think you'll enjoy seeing.  So I'm going to post the series for you.  And at the end, you will have the opportunity to purchase the tutorial for all six cards. 

The stamped floral image on the butterflies is the Fresh Vintage stamp set, an exclusive Stampin' Up! Sale-a-Bration product.  I love it and have found it so very versatile.  But don't delay- if you love it, you only have until March 31 to get it.  And the good news is that it is free with a $50 purchase.  Hostesses can earn it for free as a part of a fantastic bundle of products, too!  Click here to view the SAB catalog, then place your order on my online store. (See the Order Now button?)

See you tomorrow with another of our Birthday Bash creations.  Until then, Happy Stamping!

Start your 2012 Family Year-in-Review Photobook Now!

The sample I'm sharing today is at the end of the post and was created by a Guest Artist.  Wait until you see her beautiful page!

Why wait until 2013 to start your 2012 "yearbook"?  With My Digital Studio, you can start your album now, save it, and work on it little by little throughout the year.  Advantages:

• You don't have to get out tons of supplies and photos, work a while then pack it all away to finish another day.
• You can journal while the event is fresh in your mind, so that you can capture the feelings, a little quote, a special memory.
• You won't feel overwhelmed by the thought of getting an entire year's photos into a book with a deadline, because you've worked on it all year long.
• You'll save money by not printing photos that end up not getting used in the finished book.  You'll be using the digital version, and can pick the very best photos.

If you are a digital scrapbooker already, you may have some other ideas to share.  Write a comment and I'll add your idea to the list of "Why You Should Give Digital Scrapbooking A Try."

And if you have already been considering it, there's no better time to get started than now.  Remember, Stampin' Up! is going to let you try the fanatastic "My Digital Studio" for 30 days at no cost.  During that time, you can even get your 2011 Year in Review book done, if you are inspired to do so.

Today's share is a fabulous page from my friend Judy Jackson's 2011 In Review Family Photobook.  By creating it digitally, she was able to complete it in very little time and have multiple copies printed for her children and grandchildren.  What a wonderful keepsake for them.  I've started doing the same for my grandkids, and they love looking at "their book".

 

Jump Start your Scrapbooking with My Digital Studio

If you are like me, you take lots of pictures, have good intentions of getting them into wonderful scrapbooks, but never find the time to get it all done.  Stampin' Up! has a solution for busy scrappers: digital scrapbooking with My Digital Studio.  Here's a page I designed in a few minutes and can share on the Internet or via email, add to a slide show and burn a CD, have printed as an independent page to add to my ongoing album, or save and add to an all digital book to have printed for myself or as a gift.

The program, affectionally known as MDS, is extremely user-friendly, easy to learn and to use, and still full of features.  Plus, it's infinitely expandable; Stampin' Up! releases new images every week for you to choose to purchase if you wish. 

And the exciting news is that you can try it for 30 days...for FREE!  You read that right, FREE to try out on your own computer for a full 30 days.  This unbelieveable offer will begin on February 1, 2012.  I will have more details for you in the next few days, along with some additional samples I've created to share with you.

 

Easy Events: Variations on a Theme

I have a monthly Stampers Six Club meeting at my house.  This was one of the samples we made at a recent get-together.  I liked it so much that I decided to do it in two different sizes.  Once you’ve designed a card, it’s a pleasant challenge to see how many variations you can create by changing up one or more elements: colors, accessories, embellishments, layout, or in this case, size.

The card on the left is a standard A2 size, and the little one is 3”x3”, also called a Love Note.  Although the little one can’t be mailed in such a small envelope (the Postal Service requires a larger size for the minimum to mail), it is perfect for tucking into a package, a lunch box, a loved one’s briefcase or coat pocket for them to discover later.

I wouldn’t be putting a “Thank You” note into a lunch box, probably, but this design could easily be changed by substituting a different sentiment.

The stamp set is Easy Events.  It’s such a versatile set, with eight stamps.  Each includes a whimsical design and a sentiment, but they can be used separately from one another as well.  The designs are open and simple, ideal for quick coloring with your favorite medium: watercolors, pencils, pastels, markers.  Here I’ve used the blender pen and markers to give a very soft pastel coloring to these spring flowers.  The color palette is Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze, Pretty in Pink, and So Saffron. Crystal Effects was applied onto the blossoms only and allowed to dry to a dimensional shine.

This is a great card to show the versatility of the Big Shot, too.  The bottom panel is textured with the new Stripes embossing folder.  The yellow frame is part of the Bigz XL die, Perfect Pennants.  And both the pink and white circles were cut out with the Circles #2 die.  All of that makes for quick cutting, leaving you more time to make more cards!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing them.  Send me any pictures of cards you’ve done using this stamp set, I’d love to see them and I promise to share them on this blog.  Happy stamping!

 

One Last “The Open Sea” Sample for you

When I started this series of cards, I’d planned to publish them on the last three days of August.  As I write them, I’m visiting my parents in western PA and don’t have Internet access (can you imagine?).   My Dad’s been ill for the last few days, though, so I’m extending my stay a day or two until he can see a doctor.  Because of that, I think that this post will be published after the end of August, and the stamp set I used won’t be available.  I’m sorry about that – but it helps to reinforce the fact that when you fall in love with a product in one of the Stampin’ Up! mini catalogs, don’t delay, buy it right away.  It may never be available again, and you’ll have it to enjoy.

I didn’t design this card, and I’m not sure who did.  If it was you, I want to thank you for the inspiration.  It was one of the make-and-take cards we made at a local Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators’ group meeting earlier in the summer.  Stampin’ Up! provides demonstrators with many opportunities for training and many avenues of inspiration.  I’m a member of the Proverbial Stampers here in central Pennsylvania, but it’s an enormous group and includes demonstrators from lots of other states, too. 

If you love Stampin’ Up! products and would like to be a part of a fantastic company and a supportive local team, I have all the information you need to get started right away.  There’s a “Join Now” button on this page, or you can call or email me with your questions on how to become a demonstrator today.  I’d love to have you join our team.

By the way, in case you're interested, today is my birthday!  Happy Birthday to Me.

Sailing Away on a Late Summer’s Day

Don’t you just love sunny summer afternoons? I live near a large Pennsylvania State Park (Codorus State Park) with a beautiful lake, Lake Marburg.  It’s nice to see the sailboats on the lake, so peaceful, tranquil

 

 

I  also associate the summer with patriotic colors.  From Memorial Day in May, Independence Day on July 4, and until Labor Day in September, I see folks displaying flags and yard décor representing patriotism.  It’s typically red, white and blue, of course.

I’ve taken the color scheme for these two cards from Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper, Nautical.  It is so wonderful to not have to fuss over choosing just the right shade of red or blue; Stampin’ Up! artists have done that for us.  Featured here are Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler and Night of Navy.  Another beautiful blue in the collection is Not Quite Navy.  I’ve paired them with crisp Whisper White and the red and white Baker’s Twine.

The stamp set, Sail Away, as well as the Designer Series Paper, will not be available after August 31, so don’t delay – visit my online store now to purchase some for your own nautical cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earthquake Shakes Up Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator in Hanover, PA

Last Tuesday’s East Coast earthquake surprised but didn’t really startle me as I sat at my kitchen counter and watched the hanging candle swing back and forth and hear glassware rattling in the cabinet.  I thought it might be a big construction vehicle going by; those have been known to rattle the windows of my little house in York County, PA.  Then I thought that it might be my dishwasher pumping out the water and I had never noticed the associated vibrations before.  In a few minutes a friend sent an email with Earthquake? as the subject line, and as rare as such syzmic events are in this part of the country, it caused quite a stir and became the topic of conversation for days around town.

And how does that relate to a Stampin’ Up! blog that has been long neglected?  I guess the earthquake shook some sense into my head and made me realize that my blog posts were soon going to be even more rare than earthquakes.  So, it is with humble apology that I post today and try to get you caught up on what I’ve been working on these past few months.   Some of you must have wondered if I had given up stamping altogether.  Heavens, NO!  I am, I assure you, “still stamping”, just not posting.

Let’s get started with why you visit my blog in the first place – to see what creative endeavors I’ve been up to.  As August comes to a close, I will be sad to see “The Open Sea” stamp set retire.  I will return to use that set often in the future for my own needs, though, because it is a perfect fit for masculine cards, in my opinion.  Here is an easel card that my Stampers Six hostess club did earlier in the summer.

  

I’ve already used this card for several men in my life and for different occasions – Father’s Day, birthday, thinking of you, get well soon. 

Do you recognize the Big Shot die and embossing folder?  It’s the Scallop Square die for the base and front panel of the card, and the front panel was texturized with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  The main image is stamped and sponged in collage style.  The card stands open for display because of the clever fold, and the compass inside the card is popped up on a dimensional to act as a “stop”. 

I’m visiting my parents right now in Slippery Rock, western PA, and I was pleased to see that Dad still has the Father’s Day card displayed proudly, along with his birthday card using another stamp from the Summer Mini catalog, Sail Away.  I will share that one with you in the next post. 

Blog Tour Today!

Thank you for visiting my blog today while you click through the fabulous blogs on today's SUDSOL Blog Tour.  Demonstrators, f you want to see for yourself why I love SUDSOL (Simply Unique Demonstrators Sharing On Line), click here or on the button to the right. 

The first project I'm sharing with you today is a wonderful Tea Bag Holder.  A complete tutorial for this project can be found in the Patterns & Templates library on the Sudsol website, along with modifications to make it a gift card holder!  How versatile can you get?  Click to see it for yourself.  My version is updated - it features two items you can purchase (or earn for free!) now:  Springtime Vintage DSP (Occasions Mini Catalog) and Punch Bunch (Sale-a-Bration brochure).

 
My second project is a trio of fun birthday cards stamped with Create a Cupcake and punched out with the coordating punch.  What a time saver that is!  Both are in the current Occasions Mini Catalog.

 

 The card on the right (also pictured below) was based on one I found online.  That card used the scallop rectangle Clearlit for the Big Shot, but I substituted the new Extra large scallop circle punch.  After I'd made that sample for my Stampers Six monthly club, I had extra bits and pieces on the table, so I challenged myself to make two more cards using the same supplies.  I hope you like the results.

      Click on any of the samples to see them in a larger version.  If you have any questions about the projects I've shown you, please ask in a comment below or email me.   And be sure to visit again after the tour.  Also, take advantage of the opportunity I'm offering for a two-week free trial membership in Sudsol.  It's an awesome resource for your Stampin' Up! business. 

CONTINUE on the Blog Tour
SUDSOL	Judy Elting

 

 
Carol Taggart, Hanover, PA