A "special" tool for Embossing

You never know what tool a crafter will repurpose to use on a project. As you'll see here, even a drinking straw can be used in the craft room!
Last week, we played with Rainbow Embossing at our Card Maker class. With Rainbow Embossing, we used 2 colors of embossing powder (Iridescent Ice and Sterling Silver). The final result was a beautiful shimmery image that changed "look" depending on how you turned it in the light.
During class, I also shared a sample of stamped leaves that were embossed with many different colors of embossing powder. One of the tricks to making this work is using a special "tool" to drop tiny bits of the powder on different sections of the stamped image. My special tool? A Straw!
Here are some pictures to show you how it's done (1 picture = 1000 words, right?)

 To keep your individual colors of embossing powder separate, pour off the extra powder between each step. (Drop bits of the first color, pour off the extra; drop the second color, pour it off, etc.). Or if you want, put all of your colors on, then pour all of the extra into a separate container. You now have an embossing powder mix. This one will be my Fall mix - I plan to try it on stamped trees using our Lovely as a Tree stamp set.

And here's our heat set image:

Have fun and give it a try! Be sure to leave a comment and let me know how it goes!

Thank you for stopping by!

Need supplies? Click here to Shop Now. Thank you!

FYI - these favorites are gone!

Due to high demand, we are now out of stock on the following items:

117236: On Board Heart Book
117161: Sweet Pea Designer Series paper stack

117266: Sweet Pea stitched felt

These items are no longer available to order. Our inventory has been depleted, and we are unable to order more.

Guest Stamper Lisa S.

Thank you to my friend and walking buddy Lisa S. for this gorgeous card. Don't know when you found time to do this with homeschooling, being a mom and wife but thank you for sending it to me :)

Some neat notes:

• The camera didn't pick it up, but there are little sparkly bits in the centers of the flowers (on the background paper). 
• The pastels she used also have some shimmer to them. So pretty!
• The butterfly and sentiment were created using the chalkboard technique. Isn't it beautiful on the Basic Gray card stock?
• The card base was created using Baja Breeze card stock. This color will be returning to us in July as one of the colors available in our Subtles Collection. (Lisa and I are both very happy about this!)

Thank you for stopping by!

DivaSC80 A Note of Thanks

 Happy Saturday - it's time for another sketch challenge with my Diva (and Dude) friends at Utah Divas Int'l. Can you believe we're on number 80 already? Amazing! Just kick back and enjoy the blog hop today - I'm sure you'll see some more amazing things along the way!

With our simple sketch today, I thought it would be fun to let the colors do the talkin'!  Here are some handy notes:

• What do you do with white card stock besides stamp on it? Mat with it as shown here - look how it makes the Basic Black and colors just POP!
• Because the card base is a dark card stock, I lined the inside with a piece of Whisper White card stock. Another option would be to write my message directly onto the card base with a Signo White Gel Pen. 
• The Treat Cups are a fun way to share goodies with someone. In this case, embellishments provide a no-guilt treat! (Truth is.... I ate all the M&Ms....)
• The colors used on this card are the colors of felt flowers you receive in the Flower Fusion kit (pg 180); I love how they contrast but still coordinate!
• My sentiment was too long to fit in the panel so I cut it apart with my Paper Snips; now it fits just right!

Thank you for stopping by! Next, it's time to head down under to Alisa's blog and see what she's created for us. Remember, if you decide to play along with us, be sure to leave a comment here with a link to your creation so that we can check it out!

Supplies:
Stamps: Note of Thanks
Ink: StazOn Black
Card Stock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red and Old Olive
Tools/Other: 1 3/4" circle punch, Treat Cups, Paper Snips (Inside the Treat Cup: Rhinestone Brads, Flower Fusion felt flowers)
Need supplies? Click here to Shop Now. Thank you!

Rainbow Embossing

 Rainbow Embossing is a technique that I had seen a few times but I had never gotten around to trying it. What took me so long?! It was so fun!
And now it's time to share the love - we'll be creating this card and practicing the technique at our Card Makers class this Friday. If you are in the area and would like to join us, now's the time to RSVP.


 Supplies:
Stamps: Dream Gardens
Ink: VersaMark, Pale Plum Classic Ink, Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink
Paper: Palm Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Tools/Other: Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Sterling Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Silver Brads
Need supplies? Click here to Shop Now. Thank you!

Becky's Purse

 This past Sunday, several of us had fun making this cute purse along with a few coordinating monogram cards.

The purse was created using a tutorial by Becky Roberts. The one above follows her notes; the one below does too but without some of the options to make a simpler version. As you can see, I used only one strap, didn't round the bottom corners and left off the pocket decoration for now. And isn't it cool that you can get a totally different vibe just by the Designer Series Paper you choose? Imagine this same purse with a baby themed paper as a shower gift or with bright colors and flowers for a summery feel. FUN!

Here's the side view for this one - the buckles fit without altering!

Lets' not forget the personalized cards!

Isn't the Monogram G gorgeous? Love it!
Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to check back tomorrow for a preview of what we'll be doing this coming Friday at our Card Makers class. If you are in the Melbourne FL area and would like to attend, please contact me by Thursday morning to reserve your spot!

Stamps: Monogram Sweet
Ink: Basic Gray
Paper: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Nouveau Chic Designer Series Paper, (Retired: Kiwi Kiss & Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper) 
Other/Tools: Basic Gray Wide Tafetta Ribbon, 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches, 7/8 & 1 3/8" square punches, Metallics Eyelets, Crop-a-dile, Big Shot, Floral Fusion Sizzlit 
Need supplies? Click here to Shop Now. Thank you!

DivaSC79 Summer Mini Hi!

 Yup - it's Saturday again and time for another Sketch Challenge.

Several of my customers have mentioned that they need "all occasion" cards and this layout will be a good one to fit the bill! For my card today, I kept them in mind and used a message that could be used for anything. The flowers do make the card girly, but you could always change those out (or leave them out) and make this a card suitable for a guy.

I hope you will play along with us; if you do, please link to your creation in a comment below! Also, remember to scroll down for the link to Elizabeth's blog (the next stop on our hop).

For the vertical strip, I used a 3/4" circle to punch a bunch of circles from card stock and glued them in place.  (Actually, on the first try I tried sewing them onto the card base - "disaster" doesn't quite describe the effort!)
To dress them up and add a little FUN, I punched out some Itty Bitty flowers using a new punch. This punch is one of a set of three that will be available in our upcoming Summer Mini catalog.
These same flowers adorn my sentiment block. A little tiny strip of rolled up paper creates the center of one of the flowers, but a tiny brad would look cute, too!
The "hi" itself is also from a new Summer stamp set called Rough Type. Look for these stamps to be used a lot in future projects - I loved being able to make my own message!
Thanks for stopping by! The next stop on our blog hop is Elizabeth's blog. Or, to visit the UDI site, click here.

Supplies:
Stamps: Rough Type (from the upcoming Summer Mini catalog), Tiny Tags
Ink: Soft Suede
Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White, Bermuda Bay (textured), Thoroughly Modern Designer Series Paper
Tools/Other: Punch Pack Itty Bitty Shapes (also from the Summer Mini), 3/4" circle punch, Mini Glue Dots, Block B
Need supplies? Click here to Shop Now. Thank you!

Class this Sunday is FULL!

If you are attending class this Sunday, please check your e-mail inbox for a message from me. In it, I've included the tools and supplies we will be using. There are 2 lists this time: 1 details things you must bring, the second lists tools that I will have out but bringing your own will save you some time.
Thanks and see you Sunday!

DivaSC78 Happy Flowers

Happy Saturday and Welcome to Sketch Challenge #78 with Utah Divas International!

Carol provided another great sketch for us this week. I'm excited to see what the other Divas come up with today. The sketch looks good as a card front, but it also reminded me of a pocket card or, if turned sideways, a z-fold card. It'll be neat to see what the rest of the blog-hoppers have in store for us!

Some notes about this card:

• 
  
  The Flower Brads coordinated nicely with the flower stamp in our Think Happy Thoughts stamp set and come in a variety of colors (as shown here).
• 
  
  In the smaller punched circle, I stamped the flower image with Chocolate Chip Classic Ink and then inserted a So Saffron Flower brad into it.
• 
  
  Using the same ink, I stamped Happy Thoughts onto a larger circle and simply inserted a Pumpkin Pie colored flower.
• 
  
  This panel is currently held in place with a Clip, but will fold down to show your message (written onto the Whisper White layer).
• 
  
  I used So Saffron ink to stamp this same flower image onto this message layer and topped it off with a Chocolate Chip flower brad.
• 
  
  I chose these colors to coordinate with the pattern on this Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper. And, Yes, I do have other paper - I just can't seem to stop using this one :)

 Thank you for stopping by today. To see more projects using this sketch, click here for Elizabeth's blog or here to return to UDI. Have a great weekend!

Stamps: Think Happy Thoughts

Ink: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron

Paper: Sweet Pea, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Other/Tools: Flower Brads Asst., Circle punches: 3/4", 1", 1 1/4", 1 3/8", Stampin' Dimensionals

Need supplies? Click here to Shop Now. Thank you!

New Digital Downloads for My Digital Studio

Punch up your My Digital Studio projects with eleven new downloadable images from Stampin′ Up! Your customers will love these new punch images and stamp brush sets, and they’ll make a perfect addition to your My Digital Studio library.

To view this list with pictures of each file, click here or click on the Digital page tab.
Item Number Name Price

121061 Vintage Overlay Stamp Brush Set - Digital Download $5.95

121062 Vintage Vogue Stamp Brush Set - Digital Download $3.95

121064 Well Scripted Stamp Brush Set - Digital Download $3.95

121066 Rough Type Stamp Brush Set - Digital Download $9.95

122131 Extra Large Two-Step Bird punch - Digital Download $0.95

122132 Extra Large Fancy Flower punch - Digital Download $0.95

122133 Medium Jewelry Tag punch - Digital Download $0.95

122134 Pinking Hearts Border punch - Digital Download $0.95

122135 Pinking Hearts Corner punch - Digital Download $0.95

122136 Scallop Trim Border punch - Digital Download $0.95

122137 Scallop Trim Corner punch - Digital Download $0.95

On the Wings of Friendship

Good morning!
Last Saturday I made a card that used a bunch of tools and extras. Nice when you have the stuff already, but if I had to buy all of the pieces for one card I'm not sure I'd find the value in it! As much as I liked the finished product, I challenged myself to sit down and make a few cards that show the value of home-made card making. Today's project is one of those cards.
To keep costs down, I used:

• One embellishment (the ribbon)
• One Stamp Set (Wings of Friendship)
• Only a small piece of contrasting cardstock instead of an entire 2nd layer. I was able to use a scrap here, so that helps, too!
• Markers from one color family easily coordinate and keep the costs down when you are trying to get more bang for your buck. (In this case, I used mostly Rich Regals plus the Old Olive from Earth Elements.)
• Take one image and make it your focal point. Here I re-stamped the bird only onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock, cut it out and then mounted it over the original stamped image with dimensionals. It's a basic stamping technique that never goes out of style!

Thank you for stopping by today! Whether you keep it simple or get Lavish with your supplies, I hope you find time today to Escape2stamp!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hostess Set (Level 2) Wings of Friendship
Stampin' Write Markers in: Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Brocade Blue
Paper: Old Olive, Whisper White, Basic Black, Rose Red
Tools/Other: Black Gingham Ribbon, Paper Snips, Stampin' Dimensionals
Need supplies? Click here to Shop Now. Thank you!

DivaSC77

Happy Saturday and Welcome to Diva Sketch Challenge number 77. Here's the sketch for this week.

You'll notice that I didn't do the additional challenge of the "Iris Fold". Sorry, but I will give it a try another day!

You may also notice that my card today is a little product heavy (as you'll see by the list below). I actually had a scrap of the textured paper and also the rose on my desk and realized they would work well together on this card. But, I suppose if we have the goodies - we should use them, right ;)




Here are some notes you might find handy:

• The rose from Fifth Avenue Floral was created using the Floating Reinker technique.
• The texture on the Whisper White cardstock was created using an embossing folder and the Big Shot.
• Disfruta Tu Dia means "enjoy your day"; the perfect sentiment for any occasion!
• The trim punch used here was available through our Sale-a-bration promotion which ended in March. It will be available again in the next Idea Book & Catalog for purchase.

Next stop on the sketch tour is Alisa Tilsner's blog. You can also click here to return to the Utah Divas blog.
Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Dias Felices
Ink: VersaMark, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Summer Sun, Old Olive, Shimmery White
Tools/Other: Aqua Painter, Heat Tool, Silver Embossing Powder, Corner punch, Paper Snips, Scallop Trim Border, Dots Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Fire Square Rhinestone Brads, Modern Label punch
Need supplies? Click here to Shop Now. Thank you!