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At last, a new look for my blog! It feels so much lighter although it will take a bit of getting used to. You'll notice a new Class Kit button on the left: it's not active yet---or should I say, there's nothing there yet. I'm working on that. As soon as I figure it out, I'll have a new, recent, realistic photo installed too. I started letting my 'colored' hair grow out in August and it's now its natural, sassy, spikey white. I wish it wasn't such a challenge for me to figure out how to install a new photo, but it is. Patience please.
REMEMBER.......TODAY IS THE FINAL DAY TO SECURE A
SALE-A-BRATION
STAMP SET, DESIGNER SERIES PAPER OR THAT FABULOUS NEW PUNCH!
Don't miss out. The best way to reach me today is via email or leaving a message on my phone. I have some local running around to do between 8.45 and 3 p.m. Pacific Time. And you can always click on the ORDER ONLINE BUTTON (the *new* one!) on the top right of this page. Just be sure to designate me as your demonstrator or you'll "get" to pay a higher price for both your stamps and your shipping. Besides, by choosing me as your demonstrator you can also come to me for product support and assistance. Now can you beat that???
I was going to put up a photo of a few things I've been working on and once again my current uploads have disappeared from my iPhoto Gallery, so I have none. UGH. As I went to grab a few just now I made the gruesome discovery. To say I'm frustrated and crushed isn't strong enough. I've spent hours on the phone with technical assistance over the past weeks (yes) working on this problem. And now to have it start anew when it wasn't even resolved! Yikes. Enjoy my new signature for now. That's the bright side. :)
Don't miss out! Have you selected that FREE Scallop Trim Border punch yet? Or the fabulous Whimsical Words stamp set? What great greetings are in that set! And how about those charming Vintage Labels that match 3 of Stampin' Up!'s punches. Or the delightful Happy Moments? I haven't even had a chance to post some samples from that cute set. And the Good Neighbors stamp set with its coordinating Welcome Neighbor 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper Pad?
Today is your last chance to get any of those items for FREE. Well, one is free with each $50 order of regular Stampin' Up! merchandise. Don't miss out please!
There are three ways you can order your Sale-a-Bration set/s today:
Email me (blythe@stampinwithblythe.com) with your order and I will place it immediately.
Call me (209.352.1059) with your order and I will place it immediately.
Go to my online store and place your order yourself, immediately.
AND TODAY MARKS THE END OF MY BLOG LOOK AS YOU'VE KNOWN IT.
My new look will appear sometime this morning and I'm so excited. I hope you like it. It was created by the very talented and efficient Michelle Laycock. She created the original look about 2.5 years ago. It's really time for a change.
Now for some fun.........
Here's what I made yesterday afternoon:
Isn't she just so inviting? I love Tote-ally Tess! I had some thin wooden door hangers in a 'to-do' box on a shelf in our garage. It was well overdue that they be brought upstairs and into my stampin' headquarters.
I attached the paper (from the Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Pack in the 2010 Mini Catalog) onto the wooden piece using Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive, p. 192 in the Idea Book & Catalog), large end. I set it aside to dry securely for about 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, I stamped Tess on a scrap piece of Whisper White Textured card stock using Basic Brown Classic Ink. I colored her using Watercolor Wonder Crayons (had to get them OUT and USE them) (p. 154, IB&C) and my Blender Pen (p. 192, IB&C). By the way, I created a 'mask' of Tess's elbow: I stamped just the greater elbow area of the Tess stamp, cut it out carefully, and placed it over the elbow of the stamped Tess on my Whisper White card stock. Then I stamped her stampin' tote bag, resting it on her hand. When I removed the mask, the tote was behind her elbow rather than right on top of it.
I'M GOING TO WORK ON MY FIRST VIDEO THIS AFTERNOON--MAKING A MASK AND THEN USING THE STAMP-A-MA-JIG TO POSITION AN ITEM ON THE STAMPED IMAGE. WISH ME LUCK AND COURAGE! --Actually I'll work on the video on Wednesday or Thursday.
Back to my door hanger: After stamping the tote, I layered the stamped piece onto a piece of Taken with Teal card stock, punched a 1-1/4" circle from a Taken with Teal scrap, folded it in half and then attached that circle to the side of the stamped and layered piece with Snail adhesive. Then I attached the stamped piece to the door hanger. I attached a Pretty in Pink button (from --UGH-- a retired container of SU! buttons) using a Mini Glue Dot. I tied two pieces of Rose Red 1/4" grosgrain to the edge of the door hanger cut out. And finally........with my Big Shot and the Naturally Serif Sizzlits decorative strip die I cut out some Rose Red letters and attached them to the door hanger with Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive (small end). Whew. Done. It was such a fun project to create and I'm looking forward to doing them in a class soon.
I have to say that it's so much fun working with all of the coordinating colors created by Stampin' Up! This seemed to be a Rose Red and Taken with Teal day. It's so nice not to have to worry about my cardstock, ribbon, and markers matching.
REMEMBER: SALE-A-BRATION ENDS AT 11.59 P.M. ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31st!
Don't wait till the last minute to place your final S-A-B order!
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I've been wanting to do this type of card for several months now and just haven't remembered to do it when I'm parked at my stampin' table. When I was getting Sarah started with her Branch Out card on Thursday, I suggested this method. She went for the simpler card, so I went for the three panels on Friday while she and her family were up skiing. When she saw the card upon her return, it was her aha moment.......... "So that's what you were talking about!"
(Remember, you can always click on the photos to make them larger.)
I left the punched out oval on the card on the left blank so that when I'm ready to use the card I can decide what I need or want to say......birthday, sympathy, thinking of you. I made six of these cards on Friday and sent four out, two as 'glad to meet you' and the third as a 'thank you' with the "Life's a Picnic" sentiment (Hostess Level 2 in the 2010 Occasions Mini). The fourth one was sent out as a Thinking of You card for my cousin who just lost her 17 year old dog Abby. The message can make this card/set be what you need it to be.
TECHNIQUE:Direct to Stamp--with your marker. Use your Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink and Mellow Moss markers to color the trunk and leaves. After you have it all colored, then HUFF on the rubber. The moisture from your mouth will reactivate the ink from the markers and make the colors fresh and bright.
Try a three panel card AND the direct to stamp (with your markers) technique card. It's so much fun. For your three panel card, you could just stamp a flower, say from the Greenhouse Garden stamp set. Place your finished panels on the card front with Dimensionals, add a piece of ribbon below and perhaps a greeting and, viola (pronounced our family's way as the stringed instrument), you have a delightful card!
See you tomorrow with something fun! One more thing: I'll be sporting a new blog banner soon, so, if you come upon another look when you get to this page, fear not, it's still me! I'm really ready for a change.
Sarah wanted her second card to be spring-y with perhaps some blossoms. The set that came right to my mind was Branch Out. UN-fortunately, I realized as I was sitting here to share the card, the stamp set was on the 'endangered list' (Dormant List) and the entire list was given the discontinued status in January. I still want to share this lovely card which you could adapt using the Thoughts & Prayers stamp set and coloring in the leaves with a marker. I'll work on a card using that set to share in a few days.
TIP: When stamping the leaves and blossoms in the tree, ink up your stamp with either the Gable Green, Pixie Pink or Pretty in Pink, and then stamp each color several times, moving it among the branches, without re-inking. This will give you various shades (or intensities) of each color which adds even more interest. I call that stamping off or first and second generation stamping.
I love Sarah's card and hope you do too. She even has her bluebird of spring resting is different branches in the tree.
Have a great day.........(Remember, Sale-a-Bration ends at 11.59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 31st--don't wait till the last minute!)
My friend Sarah and her family, from the San Francisco Bay Area, came to visit us Wednesday for a final ski day at Dodge Ridge, just 30 minutes 'up the hill' from us. Yesterday afternoon, taking a break from deleting computer content, she and I went out to my stamp room to create some cards. She wanted to have a few on hand for upcoming events. First I had her look into my Leadership swaps basket for inspiration, we chatted a bit for and away she went.
This is her first card, based on a Crushed Curry swap card:
This is another card that you can look at and pretty much just figure out. Here are the ingredients:
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White (100730), Old Olive (100702), Rich Razzleberry (115316)
INK: VersaMark (102283), Old Olive (102277)
ACCESSORIES: Embossing Buddy (103083), Clear Embossing Powder (109130), Heat Tool (100005), Square Fire Rhinestone Brads (109112), Stamping Sponge (101610), Ticket Corner Punch (107214), Scallop Oval Punch (114889), 1/2" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon: Rich Razzleberry (115613), 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon: Old Olive (111368), Dimensionals (104430), Snail adhesive (104332) All supplies are from Stampin' Up!'s 2009-10 Idea Book & Catalog.
By just changing up the greeting you have a "card for all reasons". If you have any questions about this card, don't hesitate to ask, either in a comment to this post, or via email.
.......this little rubber guy is changing my mind. Crazy! Here's another card idea using the $7.95 Chocolate Bunny (116980) from the 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog.
This is actually quite an easy card to create:
STAMP SETS: Inspired by Nature (111656), Chocolate Bunny (116980-Occasions Mini)
ACCESSORIES: Embossing Buddy (103083), Clear Embossing Powder (109130), Heat Tool (100005), Felt Flowers-retired-sorry-Pretty in Pink), Square Ice Rhinestone Brads (109113), Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon (109067), Pretty in Pink 5/8" Satin Ribbon (117289-Occasions Mini), Dimensionals (104430), Mini Glue Dots (103683), Big Shot Die-Cut Machine (113439), Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder (117335-Occasions Mini), Scallop Trim Corner Punch (118870-Occasions Mini)
And now for my 'note to the teacher': My iPhoto Gallery went pooey a few weeks ago and I've been working with great on-line Mac/Apple technicians to get it straightened up. Each step went deeper into la-la land and finally I lost everything! E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g in my iPhoto Gallery. Then came 3 solid days (in between life) working on the issue. I'm still waiting for the final fix but I did manage this morning to upload pictures of things I've been working on the past few days into an empty gallery. It worked. So, I'm going to be working this morning preparing a few extra posts as I continue to work on the problem. With assistance. There are lots of funny/peculiar things that have happened along the way. Good news is that I DO have all of my photos backed up on Time Machine (Apple Router/backup). Goofy news: until I can delete about 7 GB of content, I can't import them. Goofier news: some photos and movies have imported up to 10 times and once I find them and delete them I'll be good to go. It all takes way too much time out of my already busy days.
And.......the countdown has begun.......only 6 more days left to take advantage of this year's Sale-a-Bration catalog.
If you want any of the items from this catalog, be sure to place your order (with me of course) of $50 or more by 6 p.m. on March 31st. There will most likely be a rush of last minute orders. You can place your order online, via the Shop Now button on my Stampin' Up! website (upper right side of this blog), or email (left upper side of blog) or call me (blog banner at the top of blog).
With technology on my side, I'll see you all tomorrow! :)
My sister and Stampin' Up! downline, Janet, made this bright and cheery birthday card using the Happy Moments Sale-a-Bration stamp set, as well as Well Scripted stamp set from the 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog. She also used the Corner Punch and the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder (also from the 2010 Occasions Mini).
Cardstock used is Crushed Curry and Bermuda Bay In-Colors as well as Whisper White. The ribbon is Bermuda Bay 1/2" Polka-Dot Grosgrain. And finally, a ribbon slide from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware (p. 178, IB&C)
(Remember---there are less than 2 weeks of Sale-a-Bration left. Don't miss out!)
Last Saturday my daughter came to spend a day with me. We worked in the a.m. and played--like skied--in the afternoon. One of the morning bits was her pronouncement that the green metal 'country loft' shaped thing* that I have hanging on the entry door to my stampin' playground, was not a welcoming piece. It was covered with various magnets and photos, very haphazardly positioned, and not changed or updated forEVER! To be honest, I didn't even SEE the metal sign any more. And Andrea (daughter) saw it as an unwelcoming MESS!
So........I pulled everything off (after she left), washed it, and covered it with Stampin' Up!'s new Chalkboard Vinyl and wrote a welcome to my afternoon's class participants:
I used part of one of the vinyl sheets. I did have to piece it. You might be able to see a bit of the 'overlap' just above the letter "M" from March. To position the 'windows and door' and the slant of the roof, I slipped the vinyl under the metal piece and marked the cut out places with a pencil. Then I placed the vinyl on a large self-healing cutting mat and cut it with a small exacto blade and ruler. It was very quick and easy. After removing the backing from the vinyl, I positioned the chalkboard. It was easy to pull back to re-position as necessary. And then writing on it (with sidewalk chalk) was a 'piece of cake'. When I go out to my Stampin' Loft later this morning, I'll remove the class name and just leave the WELCOME.
* * * * * * * * *
You can find these vinyl sheets, in Bashful Blue, Basic Gray, Black, Certainly Celery, Chocolate, Clear and Dark Gray by going to my Demonstrator Website, clicking on Shop Now, clicking on Home Décor on the left column, then Raw Materials, and then on the Vinyl Sheet selection of your choice. Here's the product information:
Make Décor Elements your own by creating your own vinyl
images using the Décor Elements sheets and your Big Shot.
■ Each
package comes with two sheets of vinyl, along with two sheets of
transfer tape (approximately 14-1/4" x 24" )
■ Instructions for use
are included in the package
*This metal sign, along with the sign you see over the entry door into the garage and then into my Stampin' Loft, were salvaged from a hardware store that was located in Sugar Pine, the 'wide spot in the road' just below the Mi Wuk Village 'wide spot in the road'. When the fire department purchased the building and my husband was working out there on the conversion from hardware store to fire department 'home', he found these signs stashed away in the back of a storage area. After a few "mother may I"s, the signs found a new home at our house. Hence, my stamping area is now known as My Country Loft.
I'll be at a scrapbooking crop/Expo in Pleasanton, CA today. Hopefully I have enough of whatever it takes to send a blog post tomorrow.......something from the crop. I've been working on the s-a-m-e family camping scrapbook for 3-4 years. :) I think that this year, with my experience with My Digital Studio, I'll have a much better grip on what I want to accomplish and how to go at it. See you then.......
Eggcellent Eggs Kit (p. 23, 117179, 2009 Occasions Mini--sadly this kit has just been sold out)
2" x 6" piece of Gable Green cardstock
2" circle of Gable Green cardstosck
Red Sticky Strip (p. 192, 104294, 2009-10 Idea Book & Catalog)
Paper Snips (p. 191, 103579, 2009-10 IB&C)
Bunny: Chocolate Bunny stamp, p. 43, 116980, 2009 Occasions MIni
Close to Cocoa cardstock, about a 3-1/2" square scrap
VersaMark stamp pad, p. 190, 102283, IB&C
Clear Embossing Powder, p.188, 109130, IB&C
Heat Tool, p. 188, 100005, IB&C
Apply a 1 inch piece of Sticky Strip to one corner of the 2" x 6" Gable Green cardstock. Using your Paper Snips, and cutting up no more than 1 inch, cut 'grass' along one long edge.
Remove the Sticky Strip and wrap the cardstock around, creating a little egg stand. Take two strips of the 'egg stands' from the Eggcellent Egg Kit and attach them with adhesive end to end. Do a test wrap around the Gable Green egg stand and trim to size, leaving enough to about a 1" overlap. Then run some Snail adhesive along the two long edges and attach to the Gable Green piece. Decorate with flower and leaf pieces from the Kit. Be sure to add a bit of the rhinestone bling!
Apply SNAIL adhesive to the edges of the 2" Gable Green circle. Set the 'grass' piece on top of this circle and push gently to attach it. This is a tricky process and isn't entirely efficient. You could also cut out a 2-1/4" circle, snip around the perimeter about 1/4 inch from the edge toward the center, apply adhesive to these tabs, fold tabs up, set inside the egg cup and attach to the sides. I haven't gone back to do it this way yet but I know it will probably work better. :)
Bunny:
Stamp Chocolate Bunny image, using the VersaMark ink pad. Sprinkle with Clear Embossing Powder, shake off excess, heat with Heat Tool. Trim Bunny with Paper Snips, leaving a wee bit of Close to Cocoa cardstock outside the embossing.
Carefully set the bunny inside the egg cup on top of some grass (and jelly bellies or jelly beans maybe).
HINT: As you are working on projects, and you come up with little skinny skinny shreds of cardstock, save them. I have an old empty plastic stamp box quite full of a multi-colored trim bits. And those are what I used under my little bunny.
Do YOU need a break? A reading break? How about a simple book mark to keep your place?
At my Stampin' Class yesterday afternoon I gave each of my participants a bookmark (that I'd made over a year ago with now retired Designer Series Paper--you can check it out here and here) that was 'hung' over the cover of the Occasions Mini Catalog and held a business card. This original bookmark, I was thinking, was just a tad small and often fell OFF of the page it was saving. So, here's my update, made from a 6" x 6" sheet of the Hostess Level 1 Patterns Pack Designer Series Paper III.
Everything I used was on my worktable, left-over in one way or another, from my afternoon's class. Except the pad of Designer Series Paper which I had to go fetch. Here's how I made it:
ABOVE: Select a full 6" x 6" sheet of DSP from the Hostess Pack. Select one that has quite a contrast between sides.
ABOVE: Fold it in half, burnishing (drag flat edge of bone folder over the fold) fold line with a bone folder. Turn 180 degrees, fold, and burnish again.
ABOVE: Cut off two pieces as shown.
ABOVE: Fold one of the squares over the diagonally trimmed square.
ABOVE: Apply Snail adhesive to all four (look close) outside straight edges of the remaining square. Fold over the first square and secure.
ABOVE: Using the cut off square, punch out images with the Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch. You'll only need the bird. Punch only a wing from the triangle remnant (or from a remnant of the turned over square). You want the contrasting wing to have the "point" on the right side. Save the leftover punched pieces in a cello bag or container of choice.
ABOVE: The branches for these two bookmarks were in my clear box of leftover punched pieces. The bird and the wing were attached with Dimensionals.
My original bookmarks were made with a 4" x 4" square, thus allowing you to make 9 bookmarks from a single sheet of 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper. I still like that size but needed to try this larger one. Try a 5" x 5" remnant of DSP and see what you can come up with. Share it with us by posting it in the comment area below.
Have fun! :) And remember, Sale-a-Bration ends on March 31st!
