10/31/2009

Rolling Marbles!!

Finally I made it back with this technique and a few samples!! More samples to follow over the next couple of days.

For this technique you need the following:

Marbles (10-12 for EACH color)
Reinkers, 3 coordinating colors
Stamp boxes, 3 (the clear boxes you get your Stampin' Up! stamps in) You want one large enough to hold a background size piece of cardstock.
**Note: You want a SEPARATE box for each color of ink
Whisper White or Very Vanilla background size cardstock (generally I use 4 x 5-1/4)
Dotto temporary adhesive

Steps:
In an empty, clean stamp box put 10-12 marbles.
Add 3-4 drops of one color reinker
Close box and roll marbles back and forth through ink.
Place a little temporary adhesive one side of a piece of cardstock and attach it to the inside top of the stamp box.
Close box, turn upside down and roll/shake the marbles across the cardstock until desired amount of color is on the cardstock. Remember you are adding two more colors.
Repeat with next two colors

Let me know if you have any questions on the technique! Following are two samples and hopefully if you click the image it will enlarge and you can see the detail of the marble backgrounds.

I generally start by making backgrounds with colors that I know I've liked together before and build the card from there. This first one uses Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal & Certainly Celery on Whisper White. I took the marbled background, rounded the corners, tied a Certainly Celery wide grosgrain ribbon around and attached it to the Regal Rose card base. The flower stems from Simply Said were stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White and the coordinating colors were added with markers. Corners were rounded, edge sponged with Regal Rose and attached to an Apricot Appeal layer. The verse was stamped in black, sponged with Regal Rose, punched with the Large Oval and layered on a Scallop Oval of Apricot Appeal.

This one has Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery & Elegant Eggplant. See what a difference changing one color can make?!? This one is also on Very Vanilla instead of Whisper White. I took the background here and just tied a narrow Apricot Appeal ribbon around and layered it onto the Apricot Appeal card base. The image from Bloomin' Beautiful was stamped with Jet Black Stazon and colored with Blender pens picking up ink from the lid of classic pads. Layered onto Elegant Eggplant and over the ribbon onto the background. Bloom was stamped in Elegant Eggplant, punched with large oval and layered onto a Certainly Celery Scalloped Oval. The scallop was attached with dimensionals.

LMK if you have any questions. Hopefully this post looks somewhat presentable, Blogger is being VERY difficult! Happy Halloween all, and have a great weekend!!! I need to get some chores started but hope to find some stamping time too!!

10/28/2009

Last two Spot Backgrounds

Flores Suaves is back for these last two Spot Background samples. I did very similar ones to show the different a slight change up in the color combination can make!



First up was this one, using tones of yellow: Summer Sun, Yoyo Yellow & So Saffron. This one has a textured cardstock base of Summer Sun. Note though how the yellow tones all end up blended together in a very muted effect.




Now, take Yoyo Yellow, Orchid Opulence & Tempting Turquoise and look at the difference! This one is on a Yoyo Yellow regular cardstock base but has a completely different feel than the first one.

That concludes our Spot Background series. Next up: Rolling Marbles!!!

Edited to add: The ink used with this technique is Dye ink, on Glossy cardstock. Because of the glossy finish, the ink stays wet long enough to blend it around. Sorry to whoever emailed me that question a while back. I read the email on my phone, but it got deleted in my Spam folder before I could reply on the computer!

10/27/2009

Friends 24-7 Spot

Another spot background card, this one using the Friends 24-7 set.



Card base is Chocolate Chip. Background layer is Creamy Caramel wheeled with the Friendly Words jumbo wheel in Chocolate Chip. 1" Chocolate Chip grosgrain around the center. The spot background was done, again using Glossy Cardstock, with Ballet Blue, Chocolate Chip & Creamy Caramel spots. Bird stamped with Black Stazon and layered onto Ballet Blue.

10/26/2009

Spot Background Cardinal

Next up for techniques in my presentation was Spot Background. You saw this recently on here with this card from my last open house.

Technique refresher: Take a piece of glossy cardstock sized just larger than the image you wish to stamp. Find 3-4 colors that you think will work when blended together. Take the first spot inkpad and dab it directly on the glossy cardstock. Immediately grab a tissue and smudge the color all around the cardstock. Repeat with the other colors. Stamp your main image with Stazon over the color background.

Stamp set used is A Cardinal Christmas. The card base is Old Olive, stamped with the branch image in Old Olive on all four corners. Old Olive striped grosgrain was tied around the card front. The background was done with Creamy caramel, Real Red & Old Olive. The cardinal images corners were punched with the Tag Corner Punch then layered on Real Red. Attached to the front of the card with dimensionals to layer over the ribbon. The Merry Christmas was stamped on the lower corner.

Pretty quick and easy!

Deal of the Week #4

This is the LAST Deal of the Week! This week you will find a special price on our two Party Kits, page 174 & 175 in the catalog. Click the item number below to view online. This DEAL ends with October: 10/31 at 11:50 pm.

116214 Princess Party Kit, regular price 15.95. DEAL price $9.99

116213 Pirate Party Kit, regular price 15.95, DEAL price $9.99

If you have a youngster with a birthday coming up-check these out!!

10/22/2009

Polished Stone with Metallic

This summer I visited the Polished Stone technique with this post and samples done with my club. For my presentation, I did the Eggplant card again, but added the silver Encore (metallic) reinker.

Please remeber: adding the metallic ink requires that you set the ink with an Acrylic spray, unless you prefer rubbing silver off on everything!! LMK if you have any questions, I'm taking the short & simple way out tonight. Tired even though I didn't do much today but run around in the rain.

10/21/2009

Last Two Crayon Resist

It's very nice having a stack of samples here to choose from to create a post! Maybe I should stamp all day every Thursday!!

First up tonight is this one using the Fifth Avenue Floral set with the Tres Chic background. On the glossy cardstock the with flower stamped in Black Staz On, I added accent lines to the petals with the crayon and sponged over. Pink is Pink Passion. Pretty simple!!


Last Crayon Resist sample for now is this one using Lovely as a Tree. I stamped the tree with Black Stazon on the glossy cardstock and added crayon to look like snow. Just on the tips of the branches & ground under the tree. Sponged Always Artichoke ink over. Card base is Always Artichoke with the Texture Jumbo wheel in Craft White going both directions. The first direction didn't come out very nice looking, so I went the other way! Now it looks like a snow storm! Cool!!

Let me know if you have any questions on this technqiue. What's up next?? Hmmmm, we'll see tomorrow! Have a good Thursday!!

10/20/2009

Pirate Fun!

Every year at NEMC there is some sort of game show. This year was no exception and the title was Lucky 7. We had a general Pirate Theme for the whole event and we started off trying to earn a final spot in the show by collecting 7 tokens. We got 1 for checking in, 1 if we presented, etc. Saturday morning we had a SU! trivia competition to see who the final 14 would be. I collected 7, thanks to a giving friend! The finals found us all being given pirate attire in the form of a bandanna, gold earring, necklace & eye patch. I cropped out my fellow pirates, but there were 14 of us who looked like this, so it wasn't too embarrassing!


We were also given a "treasure" sign to wear around our neck. We were all lined up and given a random small treasure chest. We were divided into two groups by what was in our chest, either a Lemon Head (candy) or a pirate head (skull).


Here is the Pirate Head group awaiting our next instruction. A simple elimination round eliminated the other group, and we were the finalists! Each of us was given a key. One key unlocked the grand prize treasure chest.


While I wasn't the winner, and didn't even get to try my key (I was last in line), the lucky winner won a Big Shot. She didn't already have one so it worked out well! All of my team got a very nice gift (all different) of current items from the SU!catalog.

Finally, a shot of myself and customers JoAnn & Sharon who accompanied me for the weekend. A GREAT time was had by all!

More Crayon Resist Flores Suaves

Here are a couple more Crayon Resist technique cards that I made for the weekend. I was trying to show variety with the crayon and what different look changing color makes!

On both the samples below, the butterflies were stamped on Glossy cardstock with Black Stazon. When dry, the butterfly was masked and stamped over with the words image. Then the crayon was applied before sponging any ink over.


This first one uses So Saffron & Rich Razzleberry. The background is Whisper White stamped with random butterflies in both So Saffron & Rich Razzleberry. Scripted word block in Basic Black. Edges sponged with Rich Razzleberry. On this one, I traced the lines of the butterfly with the crayon. So Saffron ink was sponged around the edge & Rich Razzleberry over the butterfly. Razzleberry Ribbon behind the butterfly layer.



This one uses the Melon Mambo in another monochromatic look. Background was done with random butterflies, some full strength Melon Mambo, some stamped off once. Word block again in Basic Black. Edges were sponged. This butterfly has a different look than either of the others because of the crayon application! As I said yesterday, every one's will look different, for a variety of reasons! Everyone has a different touch with the ink, sponge & crayon!

Stay tuned-I'm looking at pictures from the weekend and hope to post a couple soon!

10/19/2009

Crayon Resist Flores Suaves

I have lots of samples I created for my presentation this last weekend at the Nebraska Mini Convention. I had lots of fun and learned several new things!!! I even had to become a pirate for a short while and MAYBE I'll share a picture of that later in the week!

To start sharing, I've decided my make-n-take would be first. I touched on several techniques, but this one used Crayon Resist.


All the attendees had to do was the focal image on here. Actually, they just had to use the crayon for resist, then sponge color over. This stamp set is Flores Suaves from the Spanish Idea Book & Catalog. It is available to anyone!

For the background, I stamped the scripted words on the left side, and the butterflies at varying angles on the right side in Crushed Curry on Barely Banana. For the butterfly, I took glossy cardstock and stamped the butterfly with Jet Black Stazon first. When dry, I masked it and stamped the words over it. To do the technique you need a white or clear crayon ( or any light color). Use the crayon to color on the butterfly wherever you don't want color to be. We sponged Barely Banana around the edge of the words, and Crushed Curry over the center of the butterfly. When done sponging, use a tissue to rub off the crayon and the extra ink from the glossy cardstock. Each one will look different, depending on the amount of crayon, pattern of crayon, and amount of ink applied.

Stay tuned for many more samples!! I have several more featuring Crayon resist, some with Spot Background, and some with Rolling Marble.

Deal of the Week III

Some FUN accessories on sale this week! Get them while is price is GREAT!

114348 Basic Jumbo Grommets. Regularly $6.95, this week $4.49

109857 Mini Library Clips. Regular price $12.95, this week $8.99

112571 Circle Designer Brads. Regular Price $5.95, this week $3.99

112581 1/2" Library Clips. Regular Price $6.95, this week $3.99

Contact me TODAY to place your order. OR, click HERE to shop my online store.

10/14/2009

WCMD IV-In Color Branch Out

I think this is my favorite of the 4 from the weekend! I love this tree and the possibilities it has and really love the tire swing!! The In-Colors also go together GREAT for this fall look!



Card base is Rich Razzleberry with the Woodgrain background stamped on it and the edges sponged. Brown layer is Soft Suede, as is the tree. The leaves were stamped with the "dot" image by inking first with Crushed Curry and stamping 3 times around the tree. Clean the stamp and reink with Dusty Durango and rotate the stamp (so your dots are not in the same place) and stamp 3 times around. Repeat with Rich Razzleberry. Very pretty tree! Oh, and while you have each color, put a few leaves on the ground. Add the bird house in Rich Razzleberry, the boots in Crushed Curry and the tire swing in black. Use the crop-a-dile to punch and set a jumbo eyelet over the tire. Add a saying on the small oval attached with dimensionals, and a Crushed Curry ribbon, either dots up or down-your choice! The ribbon was just a bit wider than the Soft Suede, knotted in the middle and attached to the back of the Suede. The saying is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, and there are several in that set that work will with this size Oval punch.

Whew! It's been a very nonproductive night for me and I have a big presentation looming this weekend. So, I may not be back til after the weekend. We shall see!! Wish me luck. The good news is that I will have LOTS of samples to share next week!!! And I get to spend the weekend stamping with stamping friends!!!

10/13/2009

WMCD III-Autumn Splendor Spot

Here is the 3rd card from the weekend festivities!

Card base is Really Rust. We tore the bottom edge off the front with the tearing edge and added a piece of More Mustard in it's place. To line that up, we set the Mustard inside the card, applied Snail adhesive to the top of the strip, and folded the Rust down onto it. The verse is from Heard from the Heart and is stamped in Not Quite Navy. The background on the Rust is made using the Texture Jumbo wheel and a leaf from the Autumn Splendor set, both in Rust. The main image background is done using our Spot Ink pads. We started with a More Mustard and dabbed the pad directly down on Glossy Cardstock. We immediately smudged the color around with a tissue. Next we repeated with the Really Rust Spot, followed by smudging. Repeat again with Not Quite Navy and more smudging. Add additional of any colors as desired. Once the look you desire is achieved, stamp the large leaf image in Basic Black (or Stazon Black). The image is layered onto a Not Quite Navy that also has a torn bottom edge. Final accent is a Mini Clip with a small know of Linen Thread.

Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks for stopping by, and see you back here tomorrow for the final card from the weekend.

10/12/2009

Deal of the Week II

This week's deals are "to die for"!  Ha ha!!

3 lower prices on items for the Big Shot:

115961 Perfect Setting Bigz XL Die $42.95 $25.99

114515 Flower Burst Embosslits Die $11.95 $5.99

116760 Pop-Up Three Tier Cake Bigz XL Die $39.95 $25.49

I still have open orders from the weekend, let me know if you "NEED" any of these! 

WCMD II-Stacked Pumpkins

Here is the second card from the Open Houses this weekend-aren't these pumpkins cute??


This is the Pumpkin Patch set from the Holiday Mini. Card base is Pumpkin Pie, background is Chocolate Chip that was textured with the Perfect Details Texturz Plate for the Big Shot. The Top Note was cut from Confetti Cream CS. You will want to start this stack with the Old Olive grass at the bottom, right at the dotted line on the Top Note. Then add your pumpkins with Pumpkin Pie ink, just off center of the Top Note. Next add the faces and stems with Chocolate Chip, and the squiggle with Old Olive. Gold brads were added at the sides of the Top Note, and Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain was layered in between the Confetti Cream and Chocolate Chip. They saying is one of the two in the set (either would work) and is stamped on a strip of Confetti Cream and punched with the large oval, layered on Scalloped Oval of Pumpkin Pie. The ovals are attached with a dimensional, cut in half with half on each end.


Stay tuned for the other two cards in the next few days! I should have the new deal of the week details shortly too, so check back!! Hope your Monday is going well. All I can say is at least it's NOT snowing!!

10/11/2009

WCMD Card 1-Embossed Dasher!

Thanks to all who braved the weather and came to my WCMD Open Houses this weekend. Can't believe it has snowed/is snowing in October! I think Mother Nature has her calendar on the WRONG page!!

This is the quick & simple card for the weekend. I wanted to show everyone how to do this neat trick with the cheap craft frame. It was a hit!! and it feels like Christmas time outside right now!!

Card base is Real Red, White layer is Whisper White. The white was put through the Big Shot in the Petals a Plenty embossing folder with the craft frame underneath. The Merry Christmas is from the All Holidays set. The fancy reindeer is Dasher, from the last page of the catalog. We inked him with markers, Real Red & Chocolate Chip. Round the corners, sponge the edged & add Real Red Gingham ribbon. Pretty cool huh?? Bet the craft stores wonder WHY they are selling SO many of these frames!!??!!

I'm calling it a day and heading up to crash on my couch and catch a couple of TV shows. I'll finish sorting out orders tomorrow, so if you forgot to order something this weekend, LMK ASAP! SOOOO glad I don't work Mondays!

10/07/2009

You're Invited!! World Card Making Day Open Houses

I have TWO Open Houses scheduled to celebrate World Card Making Day! Choose the one that works best for you!!

WCMD Open House I

When: Saturday, October 10
10 am to 2 pm
Where: My House, Crete NE*
What: Create 4 cards using Stampin' Up!'s FANTASTIC products!!

Door Prizes!!
Goodies to Eat & Drink!!
Fun with Friends!!

**************************************************

WCMD Open House II

When: Sunday, October 11
2 pm to 5 pm
Where: Valentino's, Beatrice NE*

What: Create 4 cards using Stampin' Up!'s FANTASTIC products!!

Door Prizes!!
Dessert Pizza & Drinks!!
Fun with Friends!!

Please RSVP so I can have enough supplies ready! Thanks, & hope to see you there!!

*Contact me for the address/directions to either location

10/06/2009

Another Embossed Oval

Can't stop making these embossed oval cards! Just so happened that my swap theme this month, was Big Shot! So, had to do one!! It works perfectly with either image from Thoughts & Prayers.


For this one, I chose the branch & flower and inked it with Certainly Celery & Bermuda Bay. M FIRST use of Bermuda Bay!! I decided it was time!! Card base is Bermuda Bay, White layer is Whisper White. Ribbon is Whisper White Taffeta. Love the simple, yet elegant look!!

10/01/2009

My Digital Studio-NOW Available!

A brand new product is available to customers today-My Digital Studio . An easy to use software based design studio featuring thousands of Stampin' Up! images, colors and accessories! Click the link above to learn more!! AND if you hostess a $400 workshop you can get it for HALF PRICE with your hostess rewards!!

Contact me with questions, or to book YOUR workshop today!!

Deals of the Week are BACK for October!!!

Check back weekly for the current deal of the week! There is a bar is my right sidebar that I will update weekly, or you can stop by my demo site shopping page and see it there!

This week (through October 12, early am!) there are 3 punches, 25% off!

109183 Trio Flower punch $10.99

109041 5-Petal Flower punch $10.99

110709 My Way punch $11.99

Good deals, great punches! LMK if you NEED one!

New Digital Starter Kit!

With the release of My Digital Studio, SU! has also released a new starter kit to join the family of demonstrators! The cost is $185 (valued at $295) and includes the following products:

My Digital Studio software
Party Hearty and Petal Pizzazz stamp sets
Whisper White card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
Earth Elements assorted card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, and Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pads
Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, and Real Red Stampin' Write markers
Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain ribbon
Real Red 1" double-stitched grosgrain ribbon
Button Latte Designer buttons
Stampin' Dimensionals
Mini Glue Dots
SNAIL Adhesive
Business supplies (product catalogs, order forms, training DVD, and other supplies)

Contact me if you need more details!! or click HERE to join my team now!! The password you will need is 1sunflower.