Here it is, the modest grand total of coins in my jar this year! (My assistant wrote the total on the top of this calendar page because I forgot to ask the teller to deposit it.) The winning guess came from Lesley — I’ll get the Posted for You stamp set to you next week!
It seems like it took a long time to get here, but today the Stampin’ Up! 2020-2021 Annual Catalog is live! I’m ready with my order — the ordering system will be available no later than noon (MT). I will be checking frequently in hopes they are “open” early!
How about you — are you ready with your wish list? If so, you might be interested in this promotion:
It’s simple: anyone who holds a party or shops during the month of June will receive an extra $25 in Stampin’ Rewards with a qualifying purchase of $250 in product (before S/H and tax). More free stuff? I’m in!
So don’t wait! Start planning now to hold an event in June.
Can you believe tomorrow’s the last day of the Stampin’ Up! 2019-2020 Annual Catalog? And that means it’s time for the Annual Great Coin Jar Contest! If you’ve participated in previous years, you know that I never spend my change; I put all coins in a vintage blue canning jar. It’s a quart-sized jar, and many years it’s around 2/3 full, yielding $70-$80.
Of course, just because the jar is full doesn’t mean the total is that much greater than a half-full jar. It depends on the coin denominations, right?
All this to say, there’s no science to this: the Annual Great Coin Jar Contest is your best guess. And here’s a picture of this year’s jar:
Yes, that’s the “beauty shot,” to impress you with my Siberian iris, not the contents of the jar! Here’s a better look:
Here’s how the contest works:
Enjoy the contest — and, hopefully, the prize!
You might not believe this is the same Forever Fern panel I stamped for yesterday’s card, but it is. This time I wanted to show off one of the Stampin’ Up! 2020-2022 In Colors. Just Jade is a beautiful green. It’s not as as deep a blue-green as Shaded Spruce — it’s like a younger cousin.
This card has no embellishments, just that playful stitched and holey border at the bottom. You’ll see that die cut a lot from me!
The sentiment is from Celebrate Sunflowers. (More on that next week!) I used a Stitched Rectangle die but made it shorter. I just can’t remember if I’ve shown you that technique. If not, it will appear in a video some Wednesday!
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Thank you for all the comments on yesterday’s video on random stamping! This is the kind of stamping I love. The example I made on camera was not perfect, and that’s OK! I’m not sure I’ve ever thrown a panel of random stamping in the recycle bin unless the colors were just not right; everything seems to work out when you work a piece into a card.
From yesterday’s example, I made three cards; two of them are “identical”:
I mentioned in the video that I didn’t have the spatter stamp to complete the panel. (Well, I had the stamp — it’s in the Forever Fern set — but I didn’t have the ink pad.) That little addition is the perfect finishing touch!
This ribbon is part of a two-spool pack from the Ornate Garden suite in the new catalog — but available now! It’s quite beautiful and a dream to tie. The other color is Terracotta Tile.
Photographing blues and greens gives me fits. This isn’t quite right; the round-leafed image (perhaps eucalyptus?) is much more green-blue.
I cut my stamped panel into three pieces. Again, two cards look like this one (and are in the mail with random stamped envelopes!). Come back tomorrow for something different!
Understanding the “science” behind random stamping changed my paper crafting life! (OK, perhaps an overstatement, but it was pretty important!) I have seen stampers literally freeze when I explain that a card will require them to randomly stamp a background.
I hope this video reduces the anxiety over how to stamp a random background. Using the “triangle technique” of random stamping gives you the opportunity to create patterned paper with exactly the images and colors you need!
Here are the key points to follow:
I apologize for the bouncing effect when my phone is auto-focusing — I find it a little nauseating!
In last week’s Color Coach video, I mentioned the importance of adding neutrals to your color palette. This is especially important when you’re using large doses of color or intense colors.
So how can you use your favorite bright color without creating the effect that your message is yelling at your recipient?
GIVE THANKS!!!!
THINKING OF YOU!!!!
It’s simple: use a lot of black and white and just a pop of bright. Here’s an example (not that Crushed Curry is so bright, but it still needed to be tempered):
Getting my colors accurate in my pictures is a perpetual challenge, and this yellow is not as “lemon meringue pie” in real life. (It hurts me to speak unkindly of that pie, my favorite!) I love Crushed Curry and So Saffron, and IRL this card is more sophisticated than you see here, I think.
Even though I have been trying to use the products I have, I couldn’t ignore the Ornate Layers die set that had just arrived in the mail. So beautiful! I adhered two pieces of Thick Whisper White scraps together before cutting them out with this word die. It’s such a difference! Those of you who miss the Adhesive Sheets that Stampin’ Up! used to have — perfect for adhering fussy die cuts like this — will be happy to see something similar soon!
Click the images below to add current 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’m so happy to hear how you love the Color Coach cards! Aren’t they an easy way to shake things up in your stamping world?
So today I challenge you to create a card using a combination you find in the Color Coach. There’s no deadline for this — share your creation in a comment in the Heartfelt Inkspiration Facebook page post for this challenge. I can hardly wait to see what you do!
This is the card I showed in yesterday’s video, but as usual I cannot get the color correct when working with blue! So this looks like Pumpkin Pie, but the scalloped panel is really Mango Melody.
Click the images below to add current 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!
You can find the Stampin’ Up! Color Coach cards here at the Heartfelt Inkspiration blog > Resources. Here’s how to use them!
