World Card Making Day Contest and Events - 2013

Today is a very special day.  It's a time when card makers around the world have an opportunity to gather together, take paper and ink in hand and demonstrate and celebrate their creative passion for card making.  I hope you're one of them.  

Not sure how to take part in this special day.  Well you can look for events in your neighborhood, join a card making challenge at some of the sites I've listed below, or simply invite some friends in to your home and share this day. 

To help you celebrate and kick off the card making season Stampin’ Up is having a contest . . . to inspire you even further! There are two ways to enter.

• E-mail a photo of a card (or of you making a card) on World Card Making Day to wcmd2013@stampinup.com. 

• Post a photo of a card (or of you making a card) on Instagram on World Card Making Day. Mention us by typing @stampinup and use the hashtag: #wcmd2013 in the description.

This contest is open to everyone—demonstrators, customers, friends, spouses, children . . . you get the idea! However, there are a few conditions:

• You must be over the age of 18 to win a prize.
• You must use Stampin’ Up! products to create your project.
• You may enter as many times as you wish, but each entry must feature a different card.
• The contest will last all day on October 5, from midnight to midnight.
• We will randomly select 100 winners from our English-speaking North American markets to receive a Paper Pumpkin kit.

A selection of pictures will be posted to our World Card Making Day Pinterest board and the winners will be announced in a current update.


Challenge Sites:

Need some card making inspiration.  Just visit any of these sites for current sketches and ideas:

Tis the Season Stamping a new Christmas Card challenge blog, that's posted it's first challenge.  They'll be posting a new challenge every other week, that will rotate between Sketches and Color Combos with a Optional Trimming. Challenges will run for two weeks so lots of time to play along. Check out their first sketch here: tistheseasonstamping.blogspot.com

SU Only Challenge #80 - Welcome Baby.  Their current challenge is to make a card – or other paper crafted project! – for a baby.  This challenge closes in two days time, but there's still time to play with it today.  Check out some of the entries so far and see what the design team has come up with just click here: http://suochallenges.com/

Created by Deanna Boos of http://www.myhomegrownart.com/

Just Us Girls blog site has a World Card Making Day Challenge going on for the next week.  There are prizes being offered. Check it out here:  http://justusgirlschallenge.blogspot.ca/    And here's their current sketch:

Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge for October is happening this week.  Their color challenge experts have chosen Pumpkin Pie, Pear Pizzazz and Baked Brown Sugar (or similar colors) to play with. Check out the samples by their uber talented resident artist's who've created some beautiful designs. occasions to inspire you.  Check out their site here:    http://www.palspaperarts.com/

Paper Craft Crew Challenge Sketches 
The Paper Craft Crew design team has come up with some fun card samples using this week's card sketch. PCCCS #61: Card Sketch which closes on October Check out their site at:  http://www.papercraftcrew.com/

Festive Flurry in a Festival of Colours!

In my last post, I shared my "Festive Flurry Goes Pink" card and details.  This was such a fun and easy card to make and it delivered that WOW factor when I showed it to my friends.

I also posted it on my Pinterest site and Stampin Connection web site (a unique site just for Stampin' Up Demos to share their work and discussions), and I received a lot of wonderful comments about the Pink and Smokey Grey colour combination on a Christmas card.  

One of the things I really liked about this card was the addition of the Chevron Ribbon. This 3/4" twill ribbon is simply beautiful and comes in a host of colours.  So that set me to thinking and got the creative cogs in my brain turning and before you know it I decided to try the same card design but with a myriad of other colours.  

My colour choices for these next cards were based solely on the Chevron Ribbon shares I'd purchased in June.  And, while these colour choices may be a little unconventional for some of you, I found them exciting and fresh.  

If you're interested in CASing this card all the supplies and construction information can be found on my previous post.

Here's a group shot of all the cards I made.  They looked so awesome all together.

I made four cards with the fold at the top.  Right now I'm working on a box to hold them and will give these away as a set.  It will make an awesome pre-Christmas hostess gift, don't you think?

I made three side-fold cards and I'm currently working on a fourth to go with these so I'll have another set to give away.  What fun! 

Wisteria Wonder

Blushing Bride

Marina Mist 

Crushed Curry

Calypso Coral

Pear Pizzazz

This is the inside of the Pear Pizzazz card. I stamped the skate and sentiment images with the retired Winter Memories stamp set from last holiday season.  I added a small amount of Dazzling Details to the mistletoe above the skate to give a little glimmer to this part of the card. It should be noted that the inside of each card matches the colour of the Chevron ribbon and ink, except for the Blushing Bride card where the image is stamped in Smokey Slate.  

Well that's it for today.  Hope you enjoyed this post and will let me know what you think. For example, what colour do you like the best and do you prefer the top folding or side folding card style?  I love them all but I'm most partial to the Blushing Bride and the Pear Pizazz.  

Wonderfall Card - Give Thanks

Fall is just around the corner and you can see all the colourful changes beginning.  The Maple leaves in our front yard are starting to take on the bright hues of Autumn, and the leaves are beginning to drop. 

When I wake up I can't wait to get outside and enjoy a walk in the woods.  I love all the fall colours, the way the air smells and the dew on the ground in the mornings.  Makes me want to go ahhhhhh.   Yes Fall really is my most favourite season.  It's the time of year when I come alive after the heat of summer and begin to  get energetic again.  

To celebrate this coming change in seasons, today's card is all about Thanks Giving and Fall.  It was made using this sample of leaves as my inspiration.  I hope you'll like it.  Leave me a comment or two to let me know if autumn is your favourite season too.  Appreciated.

Supplies:

Stamp Sets:  Wonderfall (128087), Tags for You (131823) and Gorgeous Grunge (130517)

Ink:  Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard (retired - could have substituted Starfruit)

Card Stock:  Old Olive for Card base (8 1/2 x 5 1/2"), Natural Composition Specialty Paper - Wood Grain (126917) 4 x 5 1/4 for outside layer and 5 1/4" x 2" for inside layer.  Very Vanilla for leaves and sentiment, 51/4 x 3" for inside of card. Champagne Glimmer Paper (127885) scraps. 

Accessories:  Big Shot Machine, Autumn Accents Bigz Die (127812), Stamp-a-ma-jig, Label Bracket Punch (132153), Trimmer.

Here's My Card:

• I used Old Olive for the card base and added a layer of Natural Composition Specialty Card stock as a layer. I thought the wood grain worked well with the leaves and the green background. 
•  The card front features two maple leaves and what I believe is an acorn leaf all stamped on Very Vanilla Card stock and layered together with dimensionals. 
• The leaves were all cut out using the Autumn Accents Bigz Die which coordinates with the Wonderfall stamp set.  
• The leaves were stamped in More Mustard ink and the edges were sponged with Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive Ink.  
• When stamping the images, I found it easier to cut out the leaves and  lay the cutout portions onto the inked stamps and then rub over the back of the cut leaves to get the impression.  The stamped image and edges don't have to be perfect because when you finish this step you  sponge around the outside of the leaves with the three inks noted. 
  
• The splot from the Gorgeous Grunge set was randomly stamped in Old Olive and Cajun Craze inks to give that weathered look.
• After all the inking was done, I crumpled and creased up the two Maple leaves to give them some textured.  When I was satisfied with the creases and lines in them I unfolded them and then lightly patted my Cajun Craze ink pad over the leaves.  The dark ink magically picks up the crease lines.  
• Two leaves were cut from Champagne Glimmer Paper and added to the base of the leaf stack for effect.  I used 3/8" glue dots to adhere them.
• A 1/2" by 4" strip of Glimmer Paper was added to the right hand side of the card.
• The Happy Thanks Giving Sentiment is from the Tags for You Stamp Set I got for free at Convention.  I love the images in this set and the fact they have a coordinating punch called the Label Bracket Punch.  It made cutting it out a lot easier.  The image is stamped in Old Olive.

The inside of the card is pretty plain.  I used markers to colour the Acorn shell in Baked Brown Sugar and Early Espresso, and then stamped the image twice using the Stamp-a-ma-jig so I could ensure perfect placement.  I layered the Very Vanilla card stock with the Natural Composition Specialty Paper for a very woodsy look.

Saying Thank You the Photopolymer Way!

Stampin' Up! has just released it's new "Another Thank You" photopolymer stamp set and I think you're going to fall in love with it.

Don't you just love all these images and for $16.95 what a great investment for your sentiment stamp collection. You could use this exclusive photopolymer stamp set for any occasion that calls for a thank you.

If you've used photopolymer stamps before and been unimpressed, you really need to try out Stampin' Ups! photopolymer stamps to see the difference.  They offer a versatile all-clear stamping option, and you'll find they're  top-quality.  Each stamp will give a perfectly stamped image every time. Photopolymer stamps stick amazingly well to Stampin' Ups! clear blocks and they're easy to place just where you want them. And best of all, you get to enjoy tons of images for a great price!

Note: The following clear block sizes A, B, C, D, and F which are not included in the set, work best with it. Click here to check out our clear blocks.

Check out this set for yourself and if you want it, you can order at my Online store, just click here.

Fun With Thinlets Dies

During the Stampin' Up! Convention in July I was one of the lucky recipients of a Label Card Thinlits Die package during one of the Prize Patrols.  I couldn't wait to get home and play with it. You can find the flyer for these Thinlits in my Promotion information, but basically this is what the two Thinlits die sets look like.

So on Tuesday, I was blessed to have Sheri Lee, one of my downline and Serena Marsh a demonstrator from Burnaby, BC come over for a stamping day. We had the opportunity to play with the Thinlits Die and some other great products, and had so much fun!  Here are some of the Christmas themed cards we made using the Thinlits Dies. I wish you could see them in person because these photos just don't do them justice! 

This is the first flip card I made using a card base of Smokey Slate card stock that measured 5 1/2 x 6".  For the inside of the card I used a piece of Whisper White card stock that was embossed with the Northern Flurry Embossing Folder.  I added Rhinestone Basic Jewels to pop those snowflakes right off the page. 

To add some glam to the front of the card I used Silver Glimmer paper that was cut out with the label die from the Label Card Thinlits set.  It fits perfectly on the swing label, showing a perfect 1/8" edge all around the rim of the label.  Love it!  

The smallest snowflake image from the new Festive Flurry Stamp set was stamped twice in Soft Skye ink on Whisper White and cut out with the Festive Flurry Framelit Dies. I purchased the bundle which is shown on page 30 of the Holiday catalogue.  It includes the stamp set and the Festive Flurry Framelits Dies and I saved 15% or $12.00 off the total price.  I'm glad I bought the bundle as the stamps and dies work perfectly together and there's no tedious fussy cutting.  I wasn't going to buy "another snowflake" set this year, but I've fallen in love with this one and I know I'll be using it a lot this year. 

I cut out matching DSP for the back of the swing label and stamped "merry Christmas" from the Petite Pairs stamp set on Whisper White card stock in Smokey Slate ink.  The sentiment was cut out with the large oval punch, and popped up with dimensionals.   

Here's a stunning card made by my downline Sheri Lee. I loved, loved, loved her take on this card.  She chose to expand the card so the base is 5 1/2 by 8 1/2".  I'll provide a picture tutorial tomorrow to show you how to get this perfect extension.  I think it adds so much more to this card, and I probably will use this version the most when making swing cards, as it just adds so many more possibilities for design. 

Unfortunately this is a crummy picture because the lighting has affected the look of Sheri's beautiful card. You'd never know the base is in Soft Skye with Whisper White and Silver Glimmer Paper details, but trust me it is!  Sheri also used paper from the Winter Frost Designer DSP pack. She stamped her sentiment in Soft Skye on the DSP and then cut it out with the large oval punch. The sentiment piece was then mounted on a piece of Whisper White that had been cut with the Scallop Oval punch. 

Here's another card I made using the extended card stock measurement.  I just love it because it gives some extra space to write your message on the inside. The card base is Soft Skye with touches of Smokey Slate. 

I stamped the snow flake in Smokey Slate for this card and then cut it out with the Festive Flurry Framelit Dies.  I also cut another snowflake from Silver Glimmer Paper and mounted it with dimensionals behind the stamped snowflake.  Wow does that ever make the snowflake image come to life.

Over the coming weeks, I will be showing you some tutorials and providing tips for using these awesome Thinlits Dies.  I wish I had the Circle Card Thinlits Dies, but oh well, I've added it to my Wish List!  

Here is a video on the Thinlits Dies from Stampin' Up!  Enjoy!