Last weekend I held my first ever — and hopefully last ever — Host Appreciation Virtual Open House. In addition to card kits the participants could assemble at home, I showed samples from the stamp sets and bundles used.
Of course, I had to use Forever Fern; it’s never far from my stamping area. I can tell that this set is a favorite of many of you, as well!
In the Block Stamping video, I tried not to slide the block when I pressed it against the card stock. In the example here, you can see what happens when it slides. I think this happened when I lifted the block off the paper. It’s not really a mistake, just different from what I was attempting. I decided to embrace the effect.
As usual, the colors are a bit off here!
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After I recorded yesterday’s video, I started wondering if I had a picture of my Stampin’ Success winning card. I no longer have that issue of the magazine, I’m sorry to say, but I did manage to find this picture from 10 years ago.
The stamp was from a beautiful set called French Foliage, and I believe the block and card base were River Rock. That was such a beautiful neutral! You may be able to see a bit of French script stamped on the card base. To create the tag, I trimmed the postal cancellation image so that it fit in a metal-rimmed tag, then attached it with thin, silky cord. That was the era of romance in Stampin’ Up!’s history!
Again, I didn’t invent the block stamping technique, I just happened to submit the card that won the contest. It was fun to look back through hundreds of pictures from years of stamping (and blogging) and remember what was happening at the time. As I’ve said before, I’ve never regretted signing up as a demonstrator (15 years ago!) and certainly never get tired of stamping!
Here are the details for the card I showed in the Block Stamping video. I hope you’ll try this technique!
It’s funny that the color of the Thick Very Vanilla card stock doesn’t seem identical to the “regular” Very Vanilla cs. It’s like that in real life, too — is it some kind of illusion?
As I said in the video, you could certainly add some color to the sunflower image, but my goal was quick and cute, so I held back!
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I absolutely must get this card in the mail, to the mom of one of students in the Battle of the Books team I coached last school year. This was the first time the school had participated in the city-wide reading competition for grades 3-5. We had a very small team, but still took third place with 655 points, just 14 points behind the first-place team!
Unfortunately, like many things this year, it ended too early, so our celebration was pretty subdued and socially distanced. The librarian and I took balloons, certificates, and goody bags to the readers, but it was no pizza party!
Using an unexpected color for a stamp is a challenge I love. This was easy, because Blackberry Bliss is a favorite color and I love the images in the Forever Ferns set!
I really, really try not to make cards just for show that will languish in a box somewhere. So although I designed this to show off the Forever Fern set, now that I’ve documented it, off it goes!
It’s hard to see — even in person — the fancy vellum mat cut with a die from the Ornate Layers set. But it softens the card a bit (and the edges flip up, due to all that piercing), as does the sheer white ribbon. I hope my friend likes it!
Click the images below to add products for this card to your cart in my Stampin’ Up! online store. Disclosure: I get a commission for purchases made through these links, at no additional charge to you. Thank you!
I love sunflowers. I know it’s early summer (or not even), but I look forward to seeing these happy flowers. Every year I wonder why I don’t plant any …
You’ll see a lot of sunflower cards from me in the next few months. The Flowers for Every Season Suite, beginning on page 10 of the Stampin’ Up! 2020-2021 Annual Catalog, offers us sunflower images in 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper and two different stamp set bundles. Wonderful!
This is a card that you will enjoy making if you love to fussy cut. There’s just no way around it if you want to put a window sheet over the jar to simulate glass, as I did, then mount the jar and bouquet on a different color. But, actually, I do love to fussy cut, and this didn’t take all that long!
Click the images below to add products for this card to your cart in my Stampin’ Up! online store. Disclosure: I get a commission for purchases made through these links, at no additional charge to you. Thank you!
I had three reasons for creating this card: (1) I am making lots of samples for my upcoming Host Appreciation Virtual Open House, (2) I needed a birthday card for a guy, and (3) I wanted to share something special in tomorrow’s Video Vednesday.
Everything on this card is new except for the Whisper White card stock!
My Just Jade ink pad arrived yesterday, as did the Rectangular Postage Stamp Punch. I am thrilled with everything in the box and had a great afternoon stamping like a woman possessed, even as the almost-4th-grader built things with Stampin’ Up! boxes and a hot glue gun (only one Peanuts bandage required) and, in the other corner, my husband looked through his county historical material for a photo someone is requesting. After the sixth time Peter asked Alexa for Macarena, Grandpa declared that was enough!
The two folders in the Greenery embossing folder set create a relatively narrow band of embossing; they are designed for the coming-soon Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. I thought using one of them here on a piece of card stock wider than the folder created a pleasant effect. There’s no rule that embossing must cover the entire panel.
The takeaway here? A series of three (what I call a triplet) is a great layout. Please come back tomorrow for a hint and offer!
I’m actually not going to prioritize these — I’m pretty in love with all of these Stampin’ Up! products from the new 2020-2021 Annual Catalog and I am looking forward to a box on my front stoop early next week with these goodies. Here are my favorites (so far):
Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder (#152718) — Adding texture is one of the easiest ways to increase the appeal of your work. The embossing here is deep, and the pattern more obvious than the Subtle folder (a favorite of mine), yet it is still a supporting player to the rest of your project.
Rectangular Postage Stamp Punch (#152709) — Although I am buying this punch as part of the Posted For You Bundle, I’ll be using it to create faux postage, too. I love creating these little pieces of art!
Blossoms In Bloom Photopolymer Stamp Set (#152684) — This stamp set was not available for demonstrators to pre-order, so it was on my list for my first order of the catalog year. The sample on page 50 is just perfect, and I can hardly wait to ink up these stamps!
Today’s Tiles Photopolymer Stamp Set (#152528) — This set intrigued me from the moment I clapped eyes on it. Images specifically designed to use the “hinge-step” Stamparatus technique are so marked in the little description underneath the stamp set name in the catalog. If you have a Stamparatus, this is a fun technique to learn!
Best Plaid Builder Dies (#152720) — Here again, I was fixated on this product when I saw it! I love plaids, and the thought of making my own from the colors I want — well, this will be in my die cutting machine ASAP! I got this set of dies as part of the Best Year Bundle, because of the excellent sentiment set.
This is an odd group of products, isn’t it? Well, what you’re not seeing are items I ordered several weeks ago and have been using a lot, like the stamp sets Celebrate Sunflowers and Forever Fern. In fact, right now I’m preparing for a virtual version of my annual Host Appreciation Open House and having great fun creating samples. After the event, I’ll share them here.
Posted inUncategorized|TaggedStampin' Up!|Comments Off on Friday Favorite: My top 5 had-to-have new products
Here’s a quick follow-up video to the one from last week on random stamping. I’m stamping this fern in Blackberry Bliss. Unexpected, yes, but wait till you see the card (soon)!
Posted inTip, Video|TaggedStampin' Up!|Comments Off on Tips for stamping an envelope
