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
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….
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!
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…
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…
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!
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!
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…
Welcome to the November issue of the Stamper’s Dozen Blog Hop!
This month is all about being thankful and grateful… because we are so blessed.
It is often so easy to take for granted all the things we have, even during this time of global pandemic. But, we are often reminded of how fast everything can be taken away from us. That is why is is so important to always let others know how important they are to you.
With that in mind… I whipped up a very simple Thank You card using the Ornate Thanks stamp set.
To create this card, I used the Stamparatus. I stamped the “THANK YOU” in Smoky Slate ink and “ever so much” in Black Memento ink. I added a piece of Plaid Tidings Designer Series Paper and put it on a Basic Card base.
To make sure I was able to line it up on the Whisper White cardstock, I first stamped it onto a piece of the Small Grid Paper. Then I placed the white layer over this, place a magnet on it and started to stamp.
Of course, this wasn’t where I stopped… Just where I started!
This card has a blue ombre color scheme. The ink colors are Black Memento, Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight, Seaside Spray and Balmy Blue. I added a bit of Misty Moonlight Ribbon to give it a little more pizzazz.
This card uses another sheet of the Plaid Tidings DSP on an Early Espresso card base. The ink colors are Crushed Curry, Mango Melody, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, and Early Espresso. “For everything” is stamped in Cherry Cobbler. I dressed it up with the Copper Metallic Ribbon and an Acorn Trinket.
Here is a Christmas Thank You Card. It uses Smokey Slate and Cherry Cobbler ink for the THANK YOUs and Black Memento ink for the smaller sentiment. I used the Sprig Punch to cut the greenery from Shaded Spruce cardstock. The hearts were punched from Cherry Cobbler cardstock using the Dog Punch.
And here is the last card. I saved it for last because I think it might be my favorite one!
The Ombre effect on this card was created using Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Pretty Peacock, and Night of Navy inks. I added a Crumb Cake layer and some Pretty Peacock Scalloped Linen Thread. All this was placed on a Pretty Peacock card base. Oh my… a couple of the new Ladybug Trinkets must have crawled their way onto the card! 😉
So, that is all I have for you this month. Here is the list of the others gals participating in our hop this month… So hop along!
Welcome to this month’s edition of the Ink & Inspiration Blog Hop. We are a group of Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators from around the world that gather here each month on the 4th Thursdays to inspire folks like you to use ink, paper, and rubber stamps in a new way.
This month, our theme is HAPPY HOLIDAYS. Since I am in no where near ready for Christmas, or Thanksgiving for that matter… I decided to share with you a Halloween project I did for my son and his girlfriend to welcome them to their first apartment together.
First… Meet Dell and Emma.
If you have followed my blog for awhile, you may recall that Dell is my oldest son who is in the Navy. Him and Emma live in Maine. They love all things spooky! Essentially, their home has touches of Halloween all year long.
So, when I first saw the Aug-Dec Mini Catalog, I immediately got a thought in my mind.
If your mind works anything like mine, sometimes it is difficult to get those thoughts and pictures out and into a real-life project.
I am please to announce… I think I succeed. I will show you the parts first, then the whole.
This was the first piece that I did. You will see that a major feature of this project is the Hallows Night Magic suite as well as the Magic in this Night Designer Series Paper. For the frame, used one of the Ornate Layers dies to cut out a piece of the Highland Heather Velveteen Paper. I used Basic Black and Blackberry Bliss ink to add more depth to the frame. I stamped used Silver Embossing Powder to add the detail on the bats. For the moon, I used the Old World Paper Embossing folder and added texture with Basic Gray ink.
For this piece of the project, I featured spiders! I used the “tarnished foil” technique to apply gold and silver embossing powder on the Silver Foil that had embossed using the Cobwebs 3D Embossing Folder. I embossed a smaller piece of Vellum Paper with the Cobweb and added Silver Embossing powder. Before I attached the frame to the DSP, I wrapped 1-1/2″ Metallic Mesh Ribbon around it to add more of a spider web feel.
For this piece, I cut the background frame from Silver Foil using one of the Detailed Bands dies. After I cut it out, I used the tarnish foil technique to add texture.
On this piece, I used Black Glitter Paper to cut the borders (Halloween Magic dies) and the frame (Ornate Frames dies).
This is the largest piece of the project. I am sure you are wondering where that ampersand is from. For that and their names, I used the retired Large Letters Alphabet dies. There are just some dies and stamps you won’t part with! This is one of those die sets for me!
If you didn’t notice the ampersand… maybe it was because you were trying to figure out the flowers. Well, they are poinsettias! I used the Poinsettia Dies to cut the flowers and add the veining (in one step). I then sponged the edges with VersaMark and tipped them with Silver Embossing powder. I used Black Staz-on to add the aging to the flowers (and everything else where was needed). In the center of each flower, I added an Iridescent Pearl.
I also added some of the leaves from the Poinsettia dies – tipped in silver as well! and, of course, there has to be spiders and bats all over
The spiders on this piece are cut from the Spider Die included with the Little Treat Box dies. I love how all the paper coordinates to give with a spooky feeling! “Love” came from the Well Written Dies.
I learned it is really hard to come up with an original idea for each piece of this project. They all had to tie together, but be different. So, I used bits from one piece on another piece. On this piece, I added a heart from the Playful Pets Trinkets.
Here, I used those retired dies again (sorry!). I also cut a Sprigs from the Black Glitter paper using the Sprig punch. THe background was embossed using the Brick & Mortar 3D Embossing Folder because it is manly! LOL I then lightly embossed it with Silver Embossing Powder. The Pretty Peacock border was cut using the Ornate Border dies.
This is the final piece of the project. For Emma’s background, I used the REIRED Parisian Flourish 3D Embossing folder – but only because it matched the DSP so well!
Here is the finished project. Because of the size of it, it was hard to take a picture of it without it reflecting the lights off the glass. I decided to put the glass back into the frame because it would keep the 3D items dust free. I am sure my child hates to dust as much as I do!
I sure hope you like this project… I know Dell and Emma do. I hope it is in the very least, somewhat inspiring! I can’t wait to make more poinsettias that don’t look like Christmas flowers!
