Welcome to my little corner of the world wide web and this month’s edition of the Stamper’s Dozen Blog Hop.

This month, our theme is Thankfulness and/or Gratefulness.

This is a theme that is fairly easy for me to express. I always try to let those around me how thankful I am for them. But, there is a small population of three that I often forget to thank. Those are my kidlets. But, they aren’t such kidlets anymore. They are all grown adults.

Throughout their growing up years, we had many adventures. I am so thankful for the memories those trips provided us. One time, we went to visit some friends in Toledo, Ohio and went to the Toledo Zoo. While visiting the polar bear exhibit, our friend was holding my oldest son (Dell) up in a window so he could see the large polar bear across the water. Dell was about 3 years old at the time. Next thing we knew, the polar bear spotted Dell and raced across the water and smashed into the glass. Scared Dell so bad he fell backwards, screaming and crying, into the arms of our friend. That was when my motherly instincts kicked in. I told Dell the polar bear was trying to kiss him. Thankfully, he believed me and calmed right down. It was many years before he discovered that was probably not the case. Now, Dell has a kidlet of his own and completely understands why I had basically lied to him all those years ago.

First, here is a cute picture of Wayland Luka Cantrell just for reference.

Next, is my card that I created.

The moment I saw the Artic Bears Stamp Set in the July-December 2021 Mini Catalog, I thought of the polar bear trying to kiss Dell. He says trying to eat him… But still… polar bears will always remind me of that. I used a purple color scheme, including the last scraps of the Penguin Playmates Designer Series Paper that was available during the August-September Sale-A-Bration period. (I am sorry for using paper you can’t get anymore, but there are plenty of other designer series papers that would work great!)

Along with the Wink of Stella’d die cut icicles from the Polar Bears Dies, I added a Mesh Ribbon bow and some of the beautiful Opal Rounds to add interest to the card front around the polar bears on the card front.

Here is the inside of the card. It is sort of like a peak-a-boo card. The inside sentiment slides down when you open the card up. I used a tutorial by Srushti Patil and altered it just a bit.

Welp, that’s all i got for you this fine day…Here is the list of hoppers so you may continue on to find more great ways to show you are thankful!

Stamper’s Dozen November 2021 Blog Hop

1. Donna Burk Schneidtmiller – Donna Stamps
2. Jodi Petersen – Jodi’s Card Designs
3. Rose Grunewald – Country Cards by Rose
4. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s – Stamping in My Flops
5. Judy Garza – Creativity Released
6. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
7. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps
8. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
9. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place
10. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping!
11. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped
12. Kelly Acheson – A Stamp Above

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Hello and welcome to this month’s edition of the Stamper’s Dozen Blog Hop!

This month is all about a specific technique. It’s called the chalkboard technique. While some of you might not remember having a chalkboard in your classroom, I bet that a great many of you do. I loved getting to stay after school and clap the erasers!

This technique is simple yet produces gorgeous results. It is usually white ink on black card stock. But, I can’t be usual! For the majority of my childhood, I remember having green chalkboards! So I did the technique on Mossy Meadow card stock.

This first card is a quick and easy birthday card for the man who raised you. The base is Early Espresso. The background is one of the wood patterns from the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper. And the White Craft Ink images and sentiment are from the A Good Man stamp set.

This technique also makes gorgeous Christmas cards! The base is Real Red Cardstock. The background layer is from the Gingerbread & Peppermint 6×6 Designer Series Paper. And the sentiment and images are from the Peaceful Deer stamp set in the new Holiday Mini Catalog.

Well folks…. That’s all I have for you today. It’s time to hop along…

Stamper’s Dozen October 2021 Blog Hop

1. Kelly Acheson – A Stamp Above
2. Donna Burk Schneidtmiller – Donna Stamps
3. Jodi Petersen – Jodi’s Card Designs
4. Rose Grunewald – Country Cards by Rose
5. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s – Stamping in My Flops
6. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps
7. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
8. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place
9. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping!
10. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Welcome to the August edition of the Stamper’s Dozen Blog Hop.

I am not sure about you, but this summer has been busy, busy, busy! I have been constantly on the move. So, the theme of this months hop fits perfectly into my life! It’s all about cards that move.

Here is the first card I made. It may not look like it moves, but just wait.. it’s not your normal gatefold card!

The ornament slides. I know right! How crazy! LOL Okay, it may not be that exciting, but it’s pretty cool.

It slides completely off. This is called a “slide and lock” card. It holds the gatefold card shut in lieu of a band.

To create the sliding lock, it takes four pieces of the same shape. Two are folded in half and sandwiched between the other two. I really should have taken a photo, but I forgot!

I didn’t think that was enough movement to consider this a card that moves.

It’s a shutter card too! And, since this was my first attempt ever at a shutter card, I didn’t use a small enough sentiment to show completely though the shuttering. I am sure who ever gets this card will understand the sentiment and appreciate the thought!

I decided to try again. This is the same design, but turned.

It was made with a larger sliding lock and a bunch of paper peppermints.

This time, the sentiment fits, but just barely. So, my tip is to use a smaller sentiment!

That’s all I have for you this month around! Here are the links to the other gals… Get moving! LOL

Stamper’s Dozen August 2021 Blog Hop

1. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping!
2. Donna Burk Schneidtmiller – Donna Stamps
3. Rose Grunewald – Country Cards by Rose
4. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s – Stamping in My Flops
5. Judy Garza – Creativity Released
6. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
7. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps
8. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
9. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place

Until next time… keep it simple, stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Well… Hello there! Welcome to this month’s edition of the Stamper’s Dozen Blog Hop!

This month, we will be focused on TOOLS! And, you have to admit, Stampin’ Up! has given us some amazing tools!!!

While it sometimes changes from day to day, my favorite things right now are punches. I mean, come on now… Punches are so easy to use. The are portable. And, Stampin’ Up! gives us a great selection of them.

I don’t really have any true project for you today, but instead, I am going to share with you a life-changing tip for the Pick-a-Punch punches. I originally saw this on Nigezza Creates. I am not sure if the idea originate with her or not, but it was not my idea… Just one I hadn’t seen before and thought maybe you hadn’t either.

Let me ask you… What is the worst thing about the Pick-a-Punch?

I have only be able to find one negative! Sometimes, you want to punch something that is too small to feed into the punch! You grab your piercing tools, maybe even your Take a Pick tool but nothing you have on hand can help punch that sentiment at just the right spot.

Well, here is your solution…

A little feeder arm. I made it out of a stripe of Window Sheet. Just cut it to the width and dab a wee bit of Tombow Multipurpose glue at the tip of it and let it dry. This provides a sticky spot for the sentiment you want to punch, but not too sticky that it ruins the sentiment.

See how you can easily slip it into the punch now! Genesis.. I know, right!

So, right about now I bet you are asking yourself how I was able to measure it so that it wouldn’t punch off the sentiment or be too long, especially given the fact that it seems a little off center.

Well, I created these templates for each size of the two Pick-a-Punch punches I have: Banners and Lovely Labels. (Again… I saw Gez made these and thought they were brilliant!)

Each of these punches has two different end shapes in three different sizes. That means each punch has six different options.

I used the window sheets and Basic Black cardstock. I cut the Window Sheet to 3-1/2″ wide. Then I cut off strips 1/2″, 3/4″, and 1″ wide. I cut four of each width for my punches.

I then cut the black cardstock into the same widths and punched two of each available option. I then used Tombow to glue the tiny punched ends that are usually discarded to the strips of window sheet.

To use, just lay it over the stamped sentiment and line up one side of it with the template. I used a pencil to mark that end then used the Paper Snips to trim it off. Then you can slide it into the punch.

Once you punch one end, line up and mark the other side.

These will also help line up the layers as well.

Well, that’s all I have for you this month.

Here are the links to the other ladies’ favorite tools….

Stamper’s Dozen June 2021 Blog Hop

1. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
2. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place
3. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping!
4. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped
5. Donna Burk Schneidtmiller – Donna Stamps
6. Rose Grunewald – Country Cards by Rose
7. Jodi Petersen – Jodi’s Card Designs
8. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s – Stamping in My Flops
9. BJ Peters – Create & Feel Great
10. Judy Garza – Creativity Released
11. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
12. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Who’s excited for as new Stampin’ Up Catalog?

This girl right here!

And my favorite set from it is the Flowers of Friendship!

Let me be perfectly honest… I whipped out this card in about 15 minutes.

It’s simple stamping at its finest!

Here are the links to see what favorites the others have chosen…Did yours make the list?

Stamper’s Dozen May 2021 Blog Hop

1. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps
2. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
3. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place
4. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping!
5. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped
6. Kelly Acheson – A Stamp Above
7. Donna Burk Schneidtmiller – Donna Stamps
8. Rose Grunewald – Country Cards by Rose
9. Jodi Petersen – Jodi’s Card Designs
10. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s – Stamping in My Flops
11. BJ Peters – Create & Feel Great
12. Judy Garza – Creativity Released
13. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers

🙂 Joanne

Welcome to the April edition of the Stamper’s Dozen Blog Hop!

This month is a very sad month or a very happy month… or a combination of both. We are saying so-long too some great stamp sets, designer series papers, and other beloved products. But, that’s just to make room for new and even better stuff!

So, here is a little something that you may not know about me. In my spare time, I am a dog breeder. Yup! That’s right! We have 11 miniature dachshunds that live in our house and nine of them are part of our breeding program.

So I bet you can guess which retiring set is my favorite? Yup… It’s Hot Dog.

Here are a couple cards I made with it.

This card was CASE’d from the catalog. The Designer Series Paper is from the retiring Well Suited Designer Series Paper and the dogs were stamped onto retiring 2019-2021 In Colors. I sure will miss these ones – especially Pretty Peacock and Seaside Spray.

Here I used more of the Well Suited DSP. I added some of the Real Red Ribbon from the retiring Playful Pets Trim Combo Pack and some bones from the retiring Playful Pets Trinkets.

This card uses a piece of the retiring Neutrals 6″ x 6″ DSP. For the “Cone of Shame,” I used black Staz-On ink on Vellum. The sentiment is layered using the Double Oval Punch. It’s not retiring (Phew!).

This card… I made it for my husband. I used a bunch of the stuff already mentioned from the Playful Pets Suite. I left it on his pillow as I left town for about 10 days! This sentiment fits perfect with the slogan for our breeding hobby…

I bet you can imagine that this stamp set will not be leaving my collection anytime soon. That would most definitely be a winning bet!

Well that’s it from me this month. Hop along and see what the other gals will have a hard time saying goodbye to!

Stamper’s Dozen April 2021 Blog Hop

1. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
2. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps
3. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
4. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place
5. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping!
6. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped
7. Kelly Acheson – A Stamp Above
8. Donna Burk Schneidtmiller – Donna Stamps
9. Rose Grunewald – Country Cards by Rose
10. Jodi Petersen – Jodi’s Card Designs
11. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s – Stamping in My Flops
12. BJ Peters – Create & Feel Great
13. Judy Garza – Creativity Released

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Happy Birthday!

There is something great about birthdays. I don’t care how old I get… I love celebrating my birthday… my birth week… my birth month! LOL

But honestly, you know what I love more than celebrating me? Celebrating my friends and family!

What better way to celebrate a birthday than with a card? Of curse you think that’s a great idea… that’s why you are here, right!?!

Well, then… on with the show!

Simple, yet stunning. This card is perfect for the beginner stamper. It features the Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper which is gorgeous an doesn’t need any thing to hide it.

Here is a peek at the inside

Simple layering adds interest but is quick and easy.

Maybe you need a little more. Same card base, same Designer Series Paper… same sentiment. But, this card has been stepped up just a hair for the more casual stamper. The Oval Occasions Stamp Set is perfect when paired with the Double Oval Punch. In fact, the two were designed to compliment each other and can be found bundled together in the 2021 Jan-Jun Mini Catalog.

And, yes…

… the inside was stepped up just a hair as well.

That lovely Bumble Bee striped paper is also from the Dandy Garden paper pack. In addition to a couple additional layers, I added a little bow using the Bumble Bee Gingham Ribbon, a couple Bumble Bee dots from 2020-2022 In Color Enamel Dots, a small Bumble Bee dragon fly punched using the Dragonflies Punch… and just so that I can add the word additional one more time… I tossed on a couple of the cute little Ladybug Trinkets for additional interest just for you avid stampers.

Here is the inside just in case you were wondering how I stepped that up even more!

That is all I have for you this month! It is time to hop along…

Stamper’s Dozen March 2021 Blog Hop

1. Judy Garza – Creativity Released
2. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
3. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps
4. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
5. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place
6. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping!
7. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped
8. Kelly Acheson – A Stamp Above
9. Rose Grunewald – Country Cards by Rose
10. Jodi Petersen – Jodi’s Card Designs
11. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s – Stamping in My Flops

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Hello and welcome to this edition of the monthly Stamper’s Dozen Blog Hop! This month is all about fun folds! Who doesn’t love a good fun fold!!!

One of my favorite fun folds is the Z-FOLD.

The basic gist of this fold is that the card is in the shape of the letter “Z”. Makes sense, huh!?! This is done by starting with a simple card base – portrait or landscape with one scored fold in the middle.

To make the “Z”, you just score the card front (usually in half) and fold it in the other direction. For a normal elemental Z-FOLD card, you would score the landscape at 2-3/4″ and 5-1/2″ or the portrait at 2-1/8″ and 4-1/4″

Here is another variation…

This is the point where I apologize for the ink smears on my cards…

In case you don’t recognize it… this is not my typical stamping place! My craft room is a partially insulated room above the garage – we have not gotten around to insulating the floor! And, while I have two heaters… the electrical needs redone and I can only run one at a time. If you know anything about me… you know I am the one that wears hoodies in the middle of the summer! I like my heat! With these freezing cold temps we are experiencing here in Extreme Southern Illinois, it’s just way to cold to be upstairs. So, I grabbed what I needed and came back into the house. You will be happy to know I only needed to make three more trips for those things I forgot! LOL

Here are some more Z-Fold cards… featuring the Zany Zebras Stamp Set. So, here are some Zany Zebra Z-Folds…

This card has a 3″ x 9″ piece of Basic Black scored at 6″ and 3″. We will ignore the fact that once of the pieces of DSP was adhered crooked! TYhis is considered a DOUBLE Z-FOLD. So that makes this one a Zany Zebra ZZ-Fold!

And the last one…

Since today is Valentine’s Day, I would be remiss if I didn’t use the “Wild About You” sentiment from the stamp set to make my husband a card! The Double Z-Fold here is created by adding a 1-1/2″ x 11″ strip of Basic Black that was scored at 5-1/2″ and 8-1/4″ (or 2-3/4″ depending on if you want to flip that extra measuring piece out or not!).

Oh yeah… in case you didn’t recognize everything, I used Basic Black, Real Red and Basic White cardstock. The inks are Memento and Real Red. The DSP is from the Berry Delightful Designer Series Paper – which is part of the Berry Blessing Bundle in the Sale-a-Bration brochure… FREE with $100 purchase. And, both the Black/White Baker’s Twine and 1/8″ Real Red Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon make up the Playful Pets Trim Combo Pack.

That’s all I got for you today. I am going to snuggle back under the blankets where it is nice and toasty. It’s time for you to hop along to go see some more fun folds! Here are the links…

Stamper’s Dozen February 2021 Blog Hop

1. Judy Garza – Creativity Released
2. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
3. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
4. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place
5. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping!
6. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped
7. Kelly Acheson – A Stamp Above
8. Donna Burk Schneidtmiller – Donna Stamps
9. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s – Stamping in My Flops

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Hello and welcome to this month’s edition of the Stamper’s Dozen Blog Hop! This month we are Sale-a-Brating our favorite time of the year… SALE-A-BRATION!

The new January-June Mini Catalog is now available with tons of great new products just begging for attention. The Annual Catalog is that wonderful resource that is hiding in the background to supply all your stampin’ needs. But then there is the Sale-a-Bration Brochure where everything is not only awesome… but everything is FREE (with purchase).

So, if you haven’t checked out the Sale-a-Bration brochure…. here is a link!

SALE-A-BRATION

Oh, and while you are at it… here is the link to the Jan-Jun Mini as well!

JAN-JUNE MINI

Now… on with what you came here to see. I created three simple cards using three of the sets from Sale-a-Bration brochure.

Here is the first…

Sometimes, all you need is a simple birthday card. This one features the Approaching Perfection stamp set that is FREE with a $50 purchase. I used Night of Navy, Seaside Spray, and Basic White cardstock which matches the floral pattern from the Paper Blooms Designer Series Paper from the Sale-a-Bration brochure! I used the Balloon Bouquet Punch to punch out the two balloons and attached those to some of the Misty Moonlight/Silver Baker’s Twine found in the Flowers for All Seasons Ribbon Combo Pack.

This card features a Sale-a-Bration stamp set called Corner Bouquet. I stamped it in Bumble Bee ink on Bumble Bee cardstock for a tone-on-tone background layer. I added one of the sentiments from Grace’s Garden Stamp Set. A few pearls and the beautiful Bumble Bee Gingham Ribbon adds the extra touch needed against the Garden Green card base.

This simple sentiment for this card comes from the Heal Your Heart Stamp set from Sale-a-Bration. And, as a bonus… I used the Small Blossom Punch that was introduced during last year’s Sale-a-Bration and carried over into the 2020-2021 Annual Catalog to punch out one of the flower images found in the Basket of Blooms stamp set. The gorgeous background pattern comes from the True Love Designer Series Paper in the new Mini Catalog. I added a bit more texture from using the Sprig punch.

That’s it for me this time around… Hop along now to see what the others have in store for you!

Stamper’s Dozen January 2021 Blog Hop

1. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s – Stamping in My Flops
2. BJ Peters – Create & Feel Great
3. Judy Garza – Creativity Released
4. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
5. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps
6. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
7. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place
8. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping!
9. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped

Until next time… keep it simple, stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Welcome to this month’s edition of the Stampers Dozen Blog Hop.

Here we are just two weeks-ish before Christmas. And, when I think Christmas, I think red and green. So, I did a little playing with the gorgeous Toile Tidings Designer Series Paper which made an encore appearance in the August- December Mini catalog.  I absolutely love this paper!

This first card features the Christmas Gleaming stamp set which was also a returning favorite. I added a little extra oomph using the rectangle die from the Nature’s Thought die set and one of the rectangles from the Stitched So Sweetly die set. 

Since the two rectangles didn’t layer quite right, I used the Real Red Double Stitched Satin Ribbon to cover the empty space. I used Real Red and Garden Green Stampin’ Write Markers to color the holly sprig then fussy cut it.

This card uses the mosaic technique with the Tailored Tag Punch. I was careful about how I punched them out and placed them on the card so that the pattern stayed lined up. 

TIP: I let the tag edges hang over the edge when I glued (I used TomBow) them down. Then I used my Paper Snips to trim them off. 

I used the Merry Moose Stamp Set as well as the coordinating Moose Punch to add a little more pizzazz. 

I hope these cards give you a little inspiration to get you over the last Christmas hurdles! Now hop along…

Stamper’s Dozen December 2020 Blog Hop

1. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s – Stamping in My Flops
2. BJ Peters – StampinBJ
3. Judy Garza – Creativity Released
4. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
5. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps
6. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
7. Rachel Yurkanin – Rachel’s Stamping Place
8. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping
9. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped
10. Kelly Acheson – A Stamp Above

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne