The Envelope Is The Card

There are so many clever paper crafters out there in the blogosphere.  I'm so grateful that they share their ideas so that we can all be inspired by their creations.  One of the things I've been seeing lately is the "envelope is the card" card made with the Envelope Punch Board (item #133774 $19.95).  You may know that I'm not an "early adopter" of Stampin' Up tools.  I remember saying, "Why would I need a bone folder? I can just use a spoon or my fingernail." For one thing, you can't curl the edges of the Petite Petals with your fingernail.  And now I can't imagine how I ever lived without the bone folder (item #102300 $6.95)!

So when the Envelope Punch Board was announced and demonstrated at convention last year all the demonstrators (except me) were all like, "OOOO" and "AHHHH," and I was all like, "Meh." And then people started making some really clever things with the Envelope Punch Board.  Patty Bennett was the one who won me over with her file folder cards. Click on the link. Aren't they the cutest?!! IKR??!! And, Patty has included a video on how to make these. (Patty is AWESOME!!)

You can watch Brian Piling demonstrate the Envelope Punch Board. 



You have to have it now, right??!! I only have one caution, well, two. First, if you're going to use our designer series paper, you need to use a light touch when you're scoring (ask me how I know) and second, you may become addicted to it!

So here's a little 3" by 3" the envelope-is-the-card that I made using my Envelope Punch Board. Here's the outside:

(Accessories: Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper, Very Vanilla Seam Binding, Envelope Punch Board)

And here's the inside of the card.  I fussy cut the arrows and the greeting.

(Stamp Sets: Hello Lovely, Gorgeous Grunge; Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Pool Party, Tangerine Tango; Card Stock: Tangerine Tango, Whisper White; DSP: Retro Fresh, Silver Glimmer Paper; Accessories: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Envelope Punch Board)

How About a Snow Day Color Challenge? (CC462)

I was pretty productive last week during our mini snowmageddon. I checked Splitcoast Stampers for some inspiration and saw the color challenge for the week: a wild blushing primrose (CC462). In other words: Wild Wasabi, Blushing Bride, and Primrose Petals. 

Love, love, love, these colors together. And wouldn't you know it? These are the colors I had in mind when I started down the path to create something with my new Petite Petals stamp set and matching punch (until I was distracted by Connie & Mary's color challenge).
 
This time, instead of cascading the flowers, I just randomly adhered them around the greeting. I used my bone folder to curl the petals and popped up the flowers on dimensionals.  I used the tiniest pearls from the basic pearls in the center of each flower and on the greeting label. The "dessert" part of the challenge was to add a button with something, like a pearl, on top. So I did just that! 

(Stamp Sets: Petite Petals, Timeless Talk; Inks: Wild Wasabi, Blushing Bride, Primrose Petals; Card Stock: Wild Wasabi, Blushing Bride, Primrose Petals, Whisper White;Accessories: Primrose Petals Stitched Satin Ribbon; Petite Petals, Modern Label & Word Window Punches: Basic Pearls; Whisper White Designer Button; Adorning Accents Edgelits and Embossing Folder)

There are loads of stamping challenges on the various stamping sites. You should never be without inspiration! I hope my little blog inspires YOU!!

Take a Bite! (CAS256)

Last week I was off on Monday for the Martin Luther King federal holiday and got a bonus day off (well, I had to take vacation time) on Tuesday because we were fixin' to have a blizzard. What's a girl to do? Why, stamp, of course! 


Last Monday's Splitcoast Stampers Challenge was a clean and simple challenge in which you had to use scallops in some way.  I made my clean and simple card and thought it turned out right cute, but then I realized there was no scallop. "Oh well," I thought,"it's still cute and I'm sure my thousands of blog followers will love it!" Then I had a flash of inspiration and realized I could use a scallop in a unique way. Yep! That's the ticket. It's even cuter now, IMHO.

(Stamp Sets: Birthday Cake, Yippee-Skipee!; Ink: Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point; Card Stock: Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White; Accessories: Brights Candy Dots, Clear Embossing Powder, 1-1/4" Scallop Punch)

Sale-a-Bration Starts Today!!!

It's that time of year again! Sale-a-Bration time! From now through March 31st, you earn a FREE item from the Sale-a-Bration catalog with every $50 you spend. Oh my goodness! If you've been on my blog in the last week, you've seen some of the yummy SAB products. I promise more in the next few days, but now I need to tell you ALL about Sale-a-Bration.

There are three ways to take advantage of Sale-a-Bration. Flip through the SAB catalog over there on the left side of the website. Once you see the amazing SAB freebies, you'll want to shop so that you can earn them! Just click on the "shop" button in this post and you'll go straight to my online store.



I have a few dates open if you'd like to host your own event so you can earn and additional $30 with a qualifying party. Contact me TODAY to schedule your event!


And now is a great time to join Stampin' Up as a demonstrator. You'll get to choose $150 worth of products for only $99!  You'll get me as your fabulous "upline" and you'll receive the bi-monthly Stampin' Success magazine with great ideas for workshops and new techniques. Ask me today why I'm a demonstrator and why I LOVE IT!! Or, just click on "join" and go right to the sign up page!

St. Agnes Holiday Craft Night

 

One of my wonderful friends from church works with the St. Agnes Breast Center in Baltimore, Maryland.  Every year they host a different fund raising event and I've helped out in small ways--donating baskets of stamping supplies or stamped projects for their auctions. This year, they decided to host a holiday craft night for their patients. The idea was to have the patients make a few small items that they could give as gifts during the holiday season. Many of the women brought their children or grandchildren.

I decided I'd make a little project I'd seen on Splitcoast Stampers in their Weekly Inkling tutorial. I made one of these as a pillow gift for my BFF's first convention and it was quick and easy, and ever so cute! I thought it would be an ideal project for the guests at the St. Agnes holiday craft night. (I'm not including a supply list because just about everything is retired.) The boxes are filled with a small tube of hand cream and the cutest snowman emery board!


I'd love to show you the ladies and kids making all the projects, but I didn't ask them if they would mind having their pictures on my blog. So for privacy's sake, here's a picture of our set up, with our guests kept anonymous. My project is on the left. My BFF Lynn's project--covered notepads--is on the right.


I hope we can do this again next year--it was fun and rewarding!!

So Lovely

I'm in love with the lovely Sweet Sorbet designer series paper that's one of the items you can get for FREE during Sale-a-Bration!! I wish it weren't a Sale-a-Bration DSP 'cause I could use this paper from here until, well, until the new catalog comes out in July.  I love the patterns in the paper and I love the pastel colors--with a pop of Basic Black.

This card uses a sheet of Crisp Cantaloupe paper--you'll have to wait for some new projects next week to see other patterns in this DSP set. They're really yummy! This card also uses the "You're Lovely" Sale-a-Bration set. I usually don't go for sets like this--you know, ones that need to be colored, 'cause I really don't like to color and I'm never quite satisfied with the results. But I think I pulled it off on this one, particularly since there's no much coloring. I like how the two main images in this set coordinate with the Deco Labels Framelit Dies. The Deco Labels Framelits are my faves! I used the SAB Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, which I also wish would stick around 'cause I really, really love it. Sometimes wishes come true...a girl can dream!

(Stamp Set: You're Lovely; Inks: Basic Black, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding; Card Stock: Pistachio Pudding, Basic Black, Whisper White; DSP: Sweet Sorbet; Accessories: Blender Pen, Decorative Dots Embossing Folder, Deco Label Framelits Die, Whisper White Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon)

You Are My Sunshine!

I've been wanting to try the sunburst technique, but it looked like "too much tension."  Lyssa Zwolanek shared an easy-peasy, no measuring tutorial on her blog (ALL Lyssa's tutorials are FREE).  I followed her directions and came up with this design.

(Stamp Set: See Ya Later: Ink: Island Indigo; Card Stock: Pool Party, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White; DSP: Quatrefancy Specialty Paper; Accessories: Large Oval Punch)

My card uses the Quatrefancy Specialty Series Paper and a stamp the so sweet Sale-a-Bration stamp set, "See Ya Later!" By following Lyssa's instructions, you can make four sunburst cards in one fell swoop. So quick. So easy. So cute--if I do say so myself! 

You can earn this set FREE with a $50 purchase during Sale-a-Bration. I can't show you a picture of the actual product yet, but I can let you know the other sayings in the set: 

• See Ya Later, Alligator--Already Miss You!
• Once in a Lifetime You Meet Someone Who Changes Everything
• I Don't Believe That It's Your Birthday--You Don't Look a Day Older Than Last Year

Chalkboard Pennants

I love having a snow day to spend in the stamping room. I actually had TWO days in a row to sleep in AND stamp--federal holiday and a snow day. I sure got a lot done! 

Today I tried the chalkboard technique--not such a hard technique--simply stamp in Whisper White onto Basic Black card and there you are. I also used the new banner punch from the upcoming (soon!) Sale-a-Bration catalog. You can earn this sweet punch with a $50 order during Sale-a-Bration! The Cherry Cobbler piece is embossed with the Arrows Embossing Folder from the Occasions catalog. The banners are hung from gold baker's twine, also from the Occasions mini. I tied an extra piece of gold baker's twine around the whisper white ribbon and untwisted the gold from the twine so that the spiral sticks out. I love playing with new stuff!!!

(Stamp Set: Perfect Pennants: Ink: Whisper White; Card Stock: Crushed Curry, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black; DSP: Kaleidoscope; Accessories: Arrows Embossing Folder, Banner Punch, Chalk Talk Framelits, Whisper White Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Gold Baker's Twine)

Trying My Hand at Clean & Simple (CAS #30)

The Addicted to CAS challenge is hosted this week by one of my fave stampers, Shana Gaff. Each week the challenge uses a keyword. This week the keyword is NEW. I decided that I would play along using a NEW stuff from the NEW Occasions mini catalog.  I used the "You & Me" and heart stamps from the NEW Perfect Pennants set. These are stamped on a piece of Very Vanilla cut with the NEW Angled Tag Topper Punch which is tied with a piece of the NEW gold baker's twine.  I used a few strips of the NEW Gold Watercolor Wonder Washi Tape to finish off the card. I started off just using Baked Brown Sugar ink on the tag--one heart is stamped off first--but the card was just a little too monochromatic for me so I added a pop of real red. Yep, that was just the POP this card needed, IMHO!!

(Stamp Set: Perfect Pennants; Inks: Baked Brown Sugar, Real Red; Card Stock: Baked Brown Sugar; Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Washi Tape, Gold Baker's Twine, Angled Tag Topper Punch)

Color Challenge! CCMC286

I'm always looking for inspiration. I subscribe to a couple of online stamping groups and I follow several stampers and design teams. One of the design teams I follow is Create with Connie and Mary.  These gals--and their design team--do beautiful work. You should check out their website! 

Connie and Mary also host a weekly color challenge and this week's colors are to die for! I was already planning this card in my head with a different color scheme. But when I saw this color challenge, I changed it up because these colors are so yummy.  This week's color challenge is Perfect Plum, Island Indigo, and Smoky Slate. Wowza! There are some beautiful cards on the site using these colors! 

My entry features the Petite Petals stamp set and matching punch from the Occasions mini catalog. After punching the flowers, I used my bone folder to curl the edges to give them more shape and dimension. The flowers are attached using a dimensional and each has a medium rhinestone in the center. I stamped the Just For You stamp from the Label Love set once in Island Indigo and again in Perfect Plum. I cut out the middle of the Perfect Plum piece so I could do a two-tone sentiment. A piece of silver ribbon rounds out the card nicely, I think.

(Stamp Sets: Petite Petals, Label Love; Inks: Island Indigo, Perfect Plum, Smoky Slate; Card Stock: Perfect Plum, Smoky Slate, Whisper White; Accessories: Petite Petals Punch, Artisan Label Punch, Basic Rhinestones, 1/8-inch Silver Ribbon, Framed Tulips Embossing Folder)

Good As Gold

The Good As Gold Simply Sent kit that you can earn for FREE during Sale-a-Bration allows you to quickly create a set of cards that are as "good as gold." The multi-color polka dot card base is eye-catching--especially the gold foil dots! There are several greetings to choose from in English, German, and French! Gold foil arrows and stars and gold cord and Coastal Cabana bakers twine accessories are also included. The kit also contains gold foil envelope liners which are the perfect finishing touch. The only thing you need to create these cards is adhesive. You could make all 8 of the cards in 30 minutes! And did I mention that you can get the entire kit for FREE with a $50 purchase during Sale-a-Bration? Contact me to place an order--or place an order in my online store. Or contact me to attend any of my Sale-a-Bration events. Or contact me to host your own SAB workshop or event! I'd love to come stamp with you and your friends.

For my version, I had to add a button embellishment from my stash. I couldn't help myself. (Buttons are not included as part of the Simply Sent kit.)

Coffee Time!

I'm planning a stamp-a-stack for one of my dear customers who always hosts a stamp-a-stack during Sale-a-Bration. I feel like I'm "cheating" a little because I'm using cards I created this fall, so they're not "new." But they're new to Sara and her guests--unless they've been following my blog.

I decided to update one of the cards I made this fall. The previous card uses the Sweater Weather designer series paper from the Holiday mini catalog (which I still really LUV) and it uses "fall" colors. For the update, I used the same set and the same basic layout, but I used the Retro Fresh DSP from the new Occasions mini catalog, which uses "springier" colors. I still wanted to keep that coffee "flavor" (see what I did there?) so the card base is Baked Brown Sugar--reminds me of my daily caramel machiatto! I embossed the Calypso Coral strip with the Square Lattice embossing folder and added some Coastal Cabana Ruffle Stretch Trim as a "skirt." I also embossed the Coastal Cabana "shadow" piece behind the greeting. The coffee cozies are paper-pieced using the Retro Fresh DSP.  I think I like this updated version a little better than the original. Which do you prefer?
 

(Stamp Set: Perfect Blend: Ink: Baked Brown Sugar; Card Stock: Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral, Very Vanilla; DSP: Retro Fresh: Accessories: Artisan Label Punch, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Coastal Cabana Ruffle Stretch Trim, Natural Trim)

Kute Kard for Stamp Kamp

What's with all the K's? Well, my name is Kathy Kartak, or K2 as they call me at work. But really, if you check yesterday's post, you'll see that I used to be part of Lynn and Kathy's Kute Krafts. Now I'm part of Lynn andKathy's Annual Stamp Camp Kamp.

Yesterday, I shared my 3D project with you. Today I'm sharing the card you will be making at our annual Sale-a-Bration stamp camp using loads of product that you can get for FREE with a $50 order during Sale-a-Bration (one SAB item for each $50 you purchase). There are some sweet items in the SAB brochure--I think I have almost every one of them! Fortunately for me, as a demonstrator I can preorder items to prepare for stamping events AND I make back what I spend during SAB so these items really are FREE to me! Ask me how YOU can become a demonstrator and how you can earn extra money and free product!!

(Stamp Sets: Perfect Pennants & Banner Blast; Inks: Real Red, Crumb Cake; Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Real Red, Pool Party, Very Vanilla; DSP: Fresh Prints DSP Stack, Champagne Glimmer Paper; Accessories: Banners Framelits Die, Banner Punch, Decorative Dots Embossing Folder; Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine, Boho Blossoms Punch)

The Sale-a-Bration products I earned for FREE and used for this card are: Banner Blast stamp set and matching banner punch, along with the so cool decorative dots embossing folder.

Wanna come to the stamp camp? You know you do! The details are here.