I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday afternoon.  Yesterday, the first issue of our newsletter went out.  I have received some great feedback about it so if you haven’t already, I invite you to sign up in the top left column of the blog under Newsletter Signup so you don’t miss out on any future issues.  As well as getting a first look at our spotlight technique examples, subscribers also received an exclusive printable download to use in their paper crafting.

I created a card that fits into two different weekly challenges.  First of all, the sketch I used was a Mojo Monday sketch.  Brenda shared a card earlier this week that she created for this week’s Mojo Monday sketch challenge which you can check out here.  For mine, I also decided to combine the sketch challenge with a weekly challenge from the Late Nite Stampers Yahoo Group which was to use butterflies and 100% current Stampin’ Up! product.

My color choices and some of my design elements were inspired by a card by Tessa Wise.  I still want to do a direct CASE of her card, but for this one, it was just inspired by hers.

I love how all of these colors work together.  The designer papers all come from the new Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack in the 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog.  There are such a vast array of beautiful papers in that collection – perfect for card makers or scrapbookers.

I paired the Sweet Pea paper with a few other new items – the Old Olive Satin Ribbon (which is to die for) is so sleek and smooth and easy to tie into beautiful bows; the Sweet Pea Stitched Felt embellishments which are too cute and add instant charm to any card; the Scallop Trim Border Punch which you can get FREE right now during Sale-a-Bration; and of course, the Vintage Vogue stamp set which I seem to be reaching for quite often these days as it has become one of my favorites!

If you have any questions on how I did something, just let me know.  I didn’t do a tutorial on this one since it has so many details.

Happy Stamping

Lianne Carper
CS partner and DTM for Brenda Cook
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator

• Stamps:  Vintage Vogue (WM #117690 – CM# 118598)
• Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Old Olive, Whisper White and So Saffron cardstock, Sweet Pea designer series paper
• Ink:  Chocolate Chip, VersaMark
• Accessories:  Sweet Pea Stitched Felt Flowers, White Embossing Powder, Curly Label and Scallop Trim Border Punches, Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Perfect Details Texturz Plate, Big Shot, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Sponges, Glue Stick, SNAIL Adhesive

Get ready to accessorize your digital projects with two new digital downloads. The Sending Love epoxy brads and the Corduroy Buttons digital downloads are perfect for adding depth and dimension to your digital projects and will coordinate perfectly with other exclusive Stampin’ Up! papers, designs, and colors.  These files can be used within My Digital Studio or other image editing programs.

Hurry and order your digital files today at CARDScraps.

Brenda Cook
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator
Tarboro, NC

 
I know..I know..it is too early for Easter, but the Chocolate Bunny single stamp from the Occasions mini catalog was begging for my attention! I also tried out my first Mojo Monday sketch challenge with this card.

First, I cut my paper. I chose Pretty in Pink for the card base. Then I cut a piece of Barely Banana and Whisper White, each at 3-3/4″ x 5".” Then I did my stamping on Whisper White scraps. I also used scraps for the punched striped square, scalloped oval and the large oval.

Next, I used the Big Shot and the Petals a Plenty Texture folder on the Whisper White and used the Polka Dots Texture Folder on the Bashful Blue oval. Then I rubbed (with my fingers) the Stampin’ Pastels over the flowers. Don’t worry, your fingers will come clean with some soap and water!

Next, you will need to cut your ribbon and thread your buttons. Then start playing around with positioning your components and then start adhering everything layer by layer. I used dimensionals under the bunny and a glue dot under the buttons.

Reminder – our newsletter will be going out in a few days, so be sure to sign up so you will not miss the exclusive FREE printable download, tutorials, samples and more!

Brenda Cook
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator
Tarboro, NC

Stamps:  Chocolate Bunny (#116980), Solid Stripes (#115707), Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Barely Banana, Whisper White CS
Ink:  Chocolate Chip
Other:  Stampin’ Pastels, Big Shot, Ovals Die, Petals a Plenty & Polka Dots Texture Folders, Markers, Oval, Scalloped Oval & 1-1-4″ Square Punches, Sponge Dauber, Dimensionals, Snail, Glue Dots, Ribbon, Thread and Button – My Stash
Inspiration:  lhs43

We woke up this morning to a wintry sight!  It looks great, but it is so cold and messy. LOL  Nevertheless, it gets Buffy excited.  This photo is when she first went out this morning and you can tell that she is thinking “what is this stuff.” She is a brave trooper though and she ventured out a bit farther and figured out that she could have FUN!

Of course, I was enjoying the scenery from inside the garage! I don’t need to get my feet wet and cold! You have to remember that us folks in NC are not used to it snowing. The minute that we hear that wintry weather is coming our way, we rush to the grocery store and stock up and also fill up our autos with gas. We do other cool things like check the lights in the pump house and pick up all of the debri in the yard so that the fresh fallen snow will look beautiful.

Here is another photo of Buffy heading back to the dry garage – she had enough FUN for one morning. I will take her back out to play later today.

Right now it is sleeting and snowing and we are expecting this wintry mix to last for about 24 more hours, so I will go into somewhat of a hibernation mode, just like everyone else in this snow covered historical town of approximately 10,000 households.

Brenda Cook
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator
Tarboro, NC

 
I spend a fair amount of time surfing the net – looking for inspiration. I normally take good notes, but on this one I failed to denote where my inspiration was derived from. Nonetheless, stamping with the Thoughts & Prayers stamp set is always good for the creative mind because it is extremely versatile.

Cut a standard card base out of Whisper White CS and score in the middle at 5-1/2.” Next cut another piece of Whisper White CS at 3-3/4″ x 3-3/4,” which will be used for the image area. Go ahead and stamp the branch with Old Olive ink and set aside.

Then cut the Basic Black CS to 4-1/4″ x 1-1/4″ and adhere the ribbon/bow to it (see photo), which should be adhered to the left side of the card base.

Still using the Basic Black CS, I cut a 1″ x 11″ piece out for the border trim and made the “fancy dancy” punched scalloped border trim and snipped to 3-3/4″ sections and glued them to the backside of the image panel, so that only the scallops were showing. Then take the Stamping Pastels and a q-tip and gently swirl some light blue on the top and light green on the bottom. Adhere to the card base centered in the remaining white space. Take the Black Journaling Pen and carefully stroke the outer sides of the panel, which gives you a defined image area.

Then it is time to place some hearts on the branch. I took some Real Red CS and ran it through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder and then I punched various heart sizes and adhered with glue dots. Lastly, you will need to stamp your sentiment.

Brenda Cook
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator
Tarboro, NC

Stamp:  Thoughts & Prayers, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black CS
Ink:  Old Olive, Basic Black
Other:  Black Journaling Pen, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dot Impressions Folder, Small Heart, Full Heart and Scalloped Border Trim Punches, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Stamping Pastels, Snail, Glue Dots, Qtip – from my stash

I knew that Vintage Vogue was going to be one of my favorites, so it was no surprise when I reached for it to create this card.  For this card, I was inspired by a card created by Tessa Wise.  I loved her color combination and had to play with it.  I had to change up a couple of things because I didn’t have the stamp set she used.  I plan on using this one for the upcoming All Occasion card swap here at CS!  There’s still time to sign up if you’d like to get involved.  Signups close on Feb. 1st!

It’s been a little bit since I shared instructions on how to make a card, so I figured there’s no time like the present!  I love the emboss resist technique – I bet you didn’t realize that the large print paper was actually Whisper White card stock!

1. Using the small flower image from the Vintage Vogue stamp set and VersaMark, stamp around the edges of a Dusty Durango standard card base (4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″). 
2. Cut a piece of Whisper White card stock to 3-1/2″ x 4-3/4″.  Sponge the edges using Soft Suede ink.  Lightly sponge in from the edges about 1/2″ to 1″ gradually getting lighter towards the center.
3. Lightly dust using the Embossing Buddy.  Using VersaMark, stamp the En Francais background stamp on the sponged card stock and emboss using Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder.
4. Sponge over the background again using Soft Suede, this time really working the color into the paper.  Make the edges darker than the center.  Your embossed text should be resisting the ink.  You may need to rub it with a clean dry cloth to clean more ink of of it to get it to really show.  Because I was using a relatively dry sponge, mine showed up just fine without having to use a clean cloth.
5. Glue your embossed card stock to a 3-3/4″ x 5″ piece of Bashful Blue card stock. 
6. Attach a piece of Dusty Durango Grosgrain Ribbon approximately 1-1/4″ from the bottom.  Attach to the card base using Glue Stick or SNAIL.
7. Glue a 1-1/2″ x 3-1/4″ piece of Soft Suede card stock to a 1-3/4″ x 3-1/2″ piece of Bashful Blue card stock.
8. Use the Scallop Trim Border Punch on one edge of a 1″ x 3-1/2″ piece of Dusty Durango card stock.  Use a White Signo Gel Pen to add little dots as shown.  Adhere to the back of the Bashful Blue card stock.
9. Use Dusty Durango and Old Olive markers directly on the border stamp and stamp it on the right edge of a 1-1/4″ x 3″ piece of Whisper White card stock.   Use Old Olive ink with the small leaf stamp and stamp off one time before adding two leaves.  This will create the darker center leaf and one of the lighter side leaves shown.  Re-ink your stamp and stamp of two times before adding the last of the lighter leaves.
10. On scrap Whisper White card stock, stamp the large flower using Dusty Durango ink.  Then stamp two of the smaller flowers, but stamp off onto scrap paper once before stamping so that the smaller flowers are a lighter shade.  Cut each of the flowers out leaving a thin white border. 
    Tip:  leaving a white border makes your handmade embellishment look like a store bought one!
11. Attach the large flower in the bottom right corner using one of the large decorated brads from the Hodgepodge Hardware set.  Attach a flower on either side as shown using a standard silver brad.  Curl each of the flower petals up by rolling them around a pencil or stylus.
12. Attach the matted flowers to the bottom right corner of the card base as shown using 4 Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I hope you enjoyed my card today.  More importantly, I hope you’ll join us in the All Occasion card swap.  You only have to create a single card for the swap so if you’re not comfortable creating multiples, then our swaps are for you!  We have several other card swaps going on right now – I’m sure you’ll find one that will fit your needs!  They really are a lot of fun!

Happy Stamping

Lianne Carper
CS partner and DTM for Brenda Cook
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator

• Stamps:  Vintage Vogue (WM#117690 – CM#118598), En Francais (#109521)
• Paper:  Dusty Durango, Bashful Blue, Soft Suede and Whisper White card stock
• Ink:  Dusty Durango, Soft Suede, Old Olive, VersaMark
• Other:  Dusty Durango Grosgrain Ribbon, Hodgepodge Hardware, Scallop Trim Border Punch, White Signo Gel Pen, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Stampin’ Write Markers, SNAIL Adhesive, Glue Stick, Paper Piercer

Help make a difference in the lives of those who continue to suffer from the effects of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12.  From now until February 28, 2010, Stampin’ Up! will set aside $2 from sale of every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set and donate it to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund.  The Red Cross is already well established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

Contact us today or place your order online today to order the I {Heart} Heart stamp set, and make a difference in the lives of the Haitian people.

Download the Stampin’ Up! Haitian Relief flyer here.

The weather here in SC sure is dreary.  It’s been raining continuously all day and my yard is flooded.  I open the door to see if anything was floating away and there’s a chicken walking around!  Now, this might not seem strange to many people, but I live in the city – more importantly, I live in a mobile home park in the city.  Strange!  Actually, it is the neighbor’s chicken.  They rescued it from a dog somewhere and brought it home.  I’m not real sure what they plan on doing with it.  I do know that my cats like looking out the back window watching it perch on their porch railing. 

Anyway – because I could think of nothing better to do on a rainy day, I decided it was time to make a card (yeah – like I need a reason to make a card…lol).  I got some new goodies in from Stampin’ Up!, so it was time to play!  For today’s card, I used a sketch created by Taylor Vanbruggen over at Taylored Expressions.

The sketch itself is simple, but I liked the little circles at the bottom near the sentiment.  That’s what drew me in as it reminded me of buttons – and we all know how much I love buttons.  Odd that when it came down to it though, I didn’t actually use any buttons on my card.

Let’s take a look at all of these new little goodies I’ve used on this card.  First of all, I’ve used two new stamp sets – both of which are from the 2010 Sale-a-Bration Catalog.  I used the Good Neighbors stamp set for the main focal image and then the sentiment from Whimsical Words.  Both of these can be earned FREE right now during Sale-a-Bration!

I stamped the house images on the Whisper White card stock and then again on Kraft card stock which I cut out and adhered to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals for some depth.  The little clouds are also popped up with Dimensionals which I think turned out too cute!

Have you checked out my frame?  That was done using the new Scallop Trim Border Punch (also from the 2010 Sale-a-Bration Catalog) and the coordinating Scallop Trim Corner Punch which is in the new 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog.

The striped paper is from the Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack which has 24 different designs (2 each for a total of 48 pages).  From soft and beautiful to fresh and funky, this paper stack has it all!  It’s going to take me a while to use all of those papers, that’s for sure!  I also wrapped some of the Old Olive Satin Ribbon around the striped paper.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the satin ribbons – they are so soft and easy to work with!  I’m so glad to see Stampin’ Up! has come out with more colors.

In the bottom left corner, I used the new Sweet Pea Stitched Felt.  These little felt pieces are so cute and the perfect addition to any card.  I’ve seen a lot of people using their Big Shot to cut felt to make embellishments, but here the work is already done for you.and the felt matches SU!’s colors perfectly!

I hope you enjoyed today’s card.  Don’t forget that you can click on the images and view them larger if you need a close-up!  If you have any questions on how I did anything, just let me know!

Happy Stamping

Lianne Carper
CS partner and DTM for Brenda Cook
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator

• Stamps:  Good Neighbors (WM#118378 – CM#119116), Whimsical Words (WM#118386 – CM#119119)
• Paper:  Kraft, Rose Red and Whisper White card stock, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Pack
• Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red
• Accessories:  Sweet Pea Stitched Felt, Old Olive Satin Ribbon
• Other:  Stampin’ Dimensionals, Stampin’ Write Markers, Mini Glue Dots, Glue Stick, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Scallop Trim Corner Punch 

OK..you know my secret, I {Heart} Hearts has quickly become one of my favorite stamp sets and I just LOVE the heart with LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!  I will try to showcase another one of these fabulous stamps in this set, for my next blog post. LOL

This is another one of those 10 minute quick cards. You could use any of the stamps within this clear mount set (or wood mount, if you prefer) and just change up the size of the square mats behind the heart, if needed. This is a simple format. All you have to do is change the papers and the stamp and you will have an entirely different presentation.

Here is how I did it:

I started with a Very Vanilla card base and used the En Francais background stamp and stamped the front panel with the Sahara Sand Classic Ink Pad.

Then I cut all of my cardstock and designer paper pieces. Layer the top pieces first and be sure to wrap your twine around them before adhering to the card base. Then take and layer your square mats and place on the card front. Last but not least, stamp your heart and punch out using the 3 heart punch and attach to the card front, utilizing dimensionals to pop it up.

Brenda Cook
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator
Tarboro, NC

Supply List – All items are by Stampin’ Up!

Stamp:  I {Heart} Hearts, En Francais
Paper:  Cottage Wall DSP, Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence, Pink Passion CS
Inks:  Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand
Other:  Natural Hemp Twine, 3 Heart Punch, Snail, Dimensionals

 
Hopefully by now, you have the Sending Love designer paper in your hands and you are ready to create your own Valentine cards. If not, you can get in touch with me and I will help you get it ordered from the Occasions mini catalog, which expires April 30, 2010. Don’t think it is just for Valentine’s Day though – it is dreamy. full of floral designs, versatile and popping with color. And, don’t forget..the Sale-A-Bration promotion runs through March 31, 2010, which allows you to earn free goodies for every $50 that you order in Stampin’ Up! products.

I used the new clear mount “I {Heart} Hearts stamp set, along with one of my favorites, “Baroque Motifs.”  The Polka Dot background stamp that you see is retired, but I still keep it handy.

I never get rid of stamp sets because I love them all. One day though, I am going to have to think about selling some of the older ones that are retired. Lianne and I counted up the other day and between us both, we have approximately 300 Stampin’ Up! stamp sets and I have only been a SU demonstrator for about 16 months. What does that tell you…we LOVE Stampin’ Up! stamps!

Brenda Cook
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator
Tarboro, NC

Supply List – All products are by Stampin’ Up!

Stamps:  I {Heart} Hearts, Baroque Motifs, Polka Dot Background (retired)
Paper:  Sending Love DSP, Barely Banana, Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White CS
Ink:  Bravo Burgundy, Versamark
Other:  Bravo Burgundy 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon, Heart Punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Sponge Dauber, Snail
Techniques:  Embossing, Sponging