Oh, the plans! I recorded a YouTube video yesterday morning showing how I create a watercolor wash, but it’s only processed 57% of it. So that will be my project today, to figure out what went wrong. Hopefully you’ll see it at some point.
Meanwhile, here’s my card for the first Challenge of the Day (C.O.D.).
I see now I need to clean my camera lens; that dot at center left is not on the card, as you can see in this closeup:
I’ll be posting another C.O.D. tomorrow, this time a challenge relating to color. Plan to play along!
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Here in Illinois we are in lock-down mode. Only people performing essential services (a surprising array, really) may be out of the house. Actually, it’s a little more complicated than that, but I’m grateful solo outdoor recreation (or with those in our home unit) is still permissible. So that means, for at least the next two weeks, there will be a lot of quiet time, perfect for stamping!
If you are home, by choice or by edict or by circumstance, please join in! The C.O.D. for today is a simple one: create a card with water. This can be in its tangible form (e.g., for coloring) or in an image with water (e.g., a lake).
When you have completed your project, take a picture of it and add it to a comment it in the C.O.D. #1 post at the Heartfelt Inkspiration Facebook page. Your deadline is the end of the day. I’ll post my entry soon!
How much chocolate can a person eat? I am trying not to find the answer to that question, so I need restore my days to productive work and healthy activities. To be honest, the last few days have been difficult, and it seems impossible just how different things were just Sunday. So this helps: a good walk outside every day, time stamping, rejoicing that the calendar shows it’s spring at last, and (yesterday, finally) time with Peter. The three of us finally played Tripoli together, and I happily recalled many hysterical times together with my Dargatz family. It’s always good to have another board game in the arsenal against — dare I say the word? — boredom!
In the studio, I’ve been stamping and preparing to mail Burgin Bucks coupons. They’re a little late, but I guess I’ve got the time at last to cross them off the list. Look for them, and redeem them soon for your free stamp set, please! It will help my business this month (even though I’m paying for the sets — hah!). Read about the Burgin Bucks program here.
This note card has a sponged tag inspired by Dena Renkow. We used also used it on one of the February camp cards; I’ll share it with you next week.
I’m sorry that the Golden Honey Specialty Designer Series Paper (a Sale-A-Bration freebie) is no longer available and that the Honey Bee bundle is not yet able to be ordered. Hopefully that will change before too long!
Dear friends, I hope this weekend is full of hope and peace. Be kind, be patient, and be loving. See you on Monday with a challenge!
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This is a look back to just a few weeks ago, when life here was happily normal. I have to admit, it’s difficult to write this as if nothing has changed. I don’t want to sound silly and insensitive to the upheaval in people’s lives. Still, stamping and sharing still feels good and gives me (and hopefully others) some measure of peace, so I’ll press on.
I wrote last week about Painted Poppies and the watercolor look of those flowers. At the other end of the spectrum are the blooms built with no stamping at all, just the Poppy Moments dies. You can see examples of those on the cover of the January-June 2020 Mini Catalog.
This is my version, because I love the Heirloom Frames and 3D Embossing Folders. I used the text stamp in Parisian Beauty (as I did on this card) and a strip of Designer Series Paper behind it. Seemed a shame to hide that beautiful pattern!
This is a better representation of the colors used, at least that’s the way it looks on my screen!
If you follow me on Facebook, you have seen this morning’s activities in our front yard.
This is the start of a ditch 8.5-feet deep from the house to the street to replace our sewer pipe, which disintegrated because it is Orangeburg pipe. Orangeburg is “a type of bituminized fiber pipe made from a mixture of hot pitch and wood pulp,” according to the Express Sewer & Drain blog (a site you can peruse when you need some new distraction). Our plumber described the material as “pressed cardboard.”
So I will be keeping myself occupied here as long as the pounding and shouting (thus far only occurring outside the house) isn’t too unnerving. Then I’ll go for a long, long walk!
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If you’re a stamper, you must follow Dawn Olchefske. Not only is she a wonderful stamper, but she is sincere and generous. This camp card from February is her design:
As I’ve said before, Painted Poppies is all about the coloring; a glance at the Peaceful Poppies Designer Series Paper confirms this, with its wild and free watercoloring. So it is with the “filler” stamp to this poppy — it doesn’t exactly match. But that’s the beauty of watercoloring. If this is a little too loosey-goosey, then you might want to watercolor by hand.
I don’t exactly remember why I chose to use this HB sentiment from Sending You Thoughts; there’s a perfectly lovely one in the Peaceful Moments set.
The original card uses a fabulous Gold Faceted Gem in the flower center, but I used a small circle of Gold Glimmer paper for easier (and cheaper) mailing.
I’m happily creating projects for the next All-Occasions Stamp-a-Stack at the end of this month (read more about it HERE) and thought I’d share the final design from February’s SAS. I love the images in Positive Thoughts, from the January-June 2020 Mini Catalog, but my love deepened when Stampin’ Up! introduced limited-time coordinating dies in February!
So just in time for the stamp-a-stack, I was able to use the Nature’s Thoughts dies on this card:
The products from the Coordination Product Release are only available through March 31 — or while supplies last! In this offering are five sets of dies and one set of Designer Series Paper. Sale-A-Bration is the perfect time to add these products to an order so you can qualify for freebies (and don’t forget the new SAB offerings HERE).
This sentiment is from another free Sale-A-Bration set, Sending You Thoughts. It is a keeper!
I created the colors on the feathers by stamping the die cuts with the flower image from Positive Thoughts and the confetti from So Sentimental. (Did you guess?) Because the feather die both cuts and embosses, the flower image only hits the high spots. So neat!
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 so much!
If you were given a day to do whatever you wanted, what would you choose to do? Have you ever had that luxury? Or are you constantly dealing with deadlines, checklists, and pressures and simply can’t put them to the side?
My dream would be to spend a refreshing day or two by a lake, with plenty of reading material and silence, except for someone asking if I’m ready for lunch or want to take the sailboat out again.
I really designed this easy stamp-a-stack card for a birthday, a time when you just might be given time for a little self-indulgence!
Although the Monet-inspired Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper patterns are beautiful, I find them a little overwhelming to use. So this little panel was perfect. Don’t miss this free Sale-A-Bration item — as with all SAB products, it’s available until the end of March or while supplies last.
So, what makes your soul happy? I hope at least one thing on your list is stamping beautiful projects!
Registration for the 2020 March All-Occasions Stamp-a-Stack is at the bottom of this page — keep reading!
Gear up for all kinds of events with this all-occasions camp. This is a “stamp-a-stack”: come and make 10 all-occasions cards (several of the same or a variety) for just $20. There will be six different designs to choose from in different styles—you’ll love the stamps from the new Mini Catalog—and none of the designs from the February Stamp-a-Stack will be repeated! The cards are designed to be completed quickly (in about 10 minutes or so) and have lots of interest but not a lot of fuss, in order to keep the cost low. These cards can be mailed with no additional postage. This event is perfect for the new stamper as you will work at your own pace—invite a friend to join you!
Session 1: Friday, March 27 — 1:00-5:00 p.m. (come any time) Session 2: Friday, March 27 — 6:30-9:30 p.m. (come any time) Session 3: Saturday, March 28 — 9:00-noon (come any time)
Note that registration is
limited to 10 stampers at each session.
Need more than ten? Each additional card you make is $2, payable during the camp. I’ll supply envelopes and Stampin’ Dimensionals, but you need to bring your own scissors and adhesive (I suggest bringing several types).
Paid registration of $20 must be received by Wednesday, March 18. I’ll just need your name/contact information and your session choice in addition to your check, mailed to me at 322 Fairmont Dr, DeKalb, IL 60115. You may also register below. Please note that if I do not have your payment, you are not registered.
I think I’ve included a sympathy card in every general stamp-a-stack I’ve ever held. This one was from last month’s.
I hope this design is a gentle hug for someone who is grieving. (The inside sentiment is “Thinking of you with all my heart.”) Although this die cut is mostly used as a wreath, in this context it feels like a heartfelt embrace.
This layout is versatile enough for a different season or occasion. And never underestimate the impact of a spatter stamp on a simple card!
Watch for an announcement later this week about the next All-Occasions Stamp-a-Stack!
There’s more Sale-A-Bration fun straight ahead! Beginning today, March 3, Stampin’ Up! is offering several new products for FREE with qualifying purchase. But be aware that his promotion ends March 31 — or while supplies last.
