Just Add Ink Challenge - Just Add Hearts

Tonight while I was blog hopping I came across a wonderful new challenge blog from the land down under called Just Add Ink.    The design team have made some fantastic creations to get you inspired.   Anyone can participate!
This week's challenge ends on February 3rd, so there's lots of time for you to join in if you feel inspired and want to play along.
So, to that end, I am including a post of a card I made for my UStamp photo gallery, as it meets the criteria. for this week's challenge #JAI2

Kirsty Brown a Dream Team Member for UStamp With Dawn and Friends designed a fabulous Valentine Card and Matchbox set for her project for "With Love 2010".  I really loved Kirsty's version which used Kraft Cardstock, and an unusual ribbon detail.  I decided to incorporate "ribbon on ribbon" for my version and chose to add the new Stampin' Up designer series paper called "Sending Love Specialty" 117153.   It's a bit more expensive but certainly worth purchasing as you get 2 each of 6 double-sided 12x12 sheets of paper in beautiful patterns with glittery designs on one side.  These papers are truly gorgeous and so if you love working with Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Pretty in Pink this DSP is for you. I love it so much, that I'm going to order more so I don't run out, before the Occasions Mini Catalogue expires on April 30, 2010.

So here is my Heart Valentine Card and the matching Matchbox.  I used the "Heart" and "Heart to Heart" punches for the hearts which I mounted on chocolate chip and then cut free hand to get the little border.  I really loved the feminine look achieved by combining Pirouette Pink (PP)  from last year's In Colour selection and Chocolate Chip cardstock and so I decided to use the PP for the box lid and the first layer on my card.  To jazz it up a bit I scored in 1/2 inch increments across the face of the cardstock. The inside of the card is also done in Pirouette Pink. 

If you enlarge the picture you can see the beautiful glitter on this card and the scoring.  The ribbon and buttons are non Stampin' Up.  Leave me a comment if you enjoyed this card and matchbox gift set. 

Clear Mount Stamps - Now You Have a Choice

"Over the past few years, some customers have asked for Stampin’ Up! to “switch” to clear-mount stamps. Well, now Stampin’ Up! is about to do the impossible and PLEASE EVERYBODY!”  Available in the Occasions Mini Catalogue and the 2010 Sale-A-Bration brochure, Stampin' Up is offering exclusive stamps in BOTH traditional wood mounted and new clear-mount sets.


The new clear-mount stamps are the result of extensive research with the intent to maintain the very best image quality (because that is what makes Stampin’ Up! so great), while at the same time offering the ease-of-use and storability of clear-mount stamps.


Here are some features of the new clear-mount stamps:

• nine different sizes of clear blocks available individually or as a discounted bundle
• blocks have ergonomic grooves on all FOUR sides for easy grip and traditional wood-mount feel (THEY FEEL SO NICE TO WORK WITH!!!)
• stamps and blocks and DURABLE and easy to clean just like your wood-mount stamps
• optional image labels on stamp backs let you decide if you want to see the image through the block or not. (YOU WANT TO SEE IT!)
• tight die-cutting for easy image positioning
• same high quality rubber and foam you expect from Stampin’ Up!
• large clear blocks can be used to create collages or spell words with alphabet sets
• stamps store easily in standard DVD type cases with artwork on front and spine"

Haitian Disaster Relief and Stampin' Up

On January 12, 2010 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, leaving in its wake devastation so overwhelming that the Haitian people and their leaders can only look for help from the outside to cope. As a Stampin′ Up! customer, you can help make a difference in the lives of those who continue to suffer from the effects of this earthquake by purchasing, the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set.

From now until February 28, 2010, $2 from every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set sold will be donated 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."

Product Name Item # Price
I {Heart} Hearts – clear-mount (block D recommended) 118571 $24.95
I {Heart} Hearts – wood-mount 117010 $35.95

Valentines View Finder Card

Hi everyone.  Happy Saturday.  I want to share another card I made based on a design by Lynn Pratt Guest Designer from Vermont on UStamp with Dawn and Friends "With Love 2010".   Can you guess what it is from the pictures below? 

Wow, you've guessed it, it's a View Master Card.  Lynn used the "All in the Family" and "Love You Much Stamp" sets for hers, and she did a great PDF tutorial that was fun to follow. Having only a limited number of stamp sets and tools here in SC  I decided to try using the "A Happy Heart" stamp set and a really cute 4- stamp set from the Idea Book and Catalogue called "Yippee Kiyay Holiday" (114369 page 42). This inexpensive little set was great because I was able to incorporate two of the images and the sentiment for this project.  I really loved the western theme throughout and I think it worked great for this card.  When I mounted my set I cut away the sentiments from each rubber image and glued those to the ends of the stamp block............voila I now have 8 stamps instead of 4. 

Here's what the finished card looked like.  Let me know what you think.

Yippee Kiyay Holiday 114369    Price: $26.95

These country-themed images will lasso your heart. Use them for four occasions: Valentine's Day, Christmas, Halloween, and Easter.  Set Quantity: 4

It's Raining Hummingbirds.................

What a week it's been in Southern California! We've had rain, rain and more rain.  A banner on the front page of the Desert Sun Newspaper this morning said "Drought May Be Ending".......a bit premature, however possibly true!  So many roads are flooded and there have been  power failures in the valley.  The bad news is more rain is expected before the weekend and the good news is there should be lots of sunshine following the storm.  From what I hear, all the snowbirds visiting the area for the Bob Hope Classic this week are in a great flap because "there's no sun" and another favourite whine "if we'd wanted rain we would have stayed home"........ you get the drift. 

I'm kind of enjoying it to tell the truth.  Gives me time to catch up on things especially spend some time stamping........... who could ask for more. 

So after looking at all this rain, I thought I'd share a picture of my little hummingbirds friends that come to visit every day.  They're all shivering and huddled under the canopy and are greedily lapping up the hummingbird food in the feeders. You can see the wet streets in the background.......... just to confirm "it is raining".  Anyway these little guys are so cute, and I love watching their antics out my kitchen window. We usually have between 35-40 at any given time between our 5 feeders.  All our visitors find them quite fascinating.  My DH and I often laugh about how rich we'd be if we'd taken out shares in a "Sugar Refinery".  These little guys are eating us out of house and home.  My favourite statement is "don't forget to buy sugar today", LOL!

With Love Tri Fold Card

Ustamp with Dawn and Friends "With Love 2010" is now underway, but it's not too late to join in.  Just click here if you want more information.  So today is day four and the projects so far have been just fabulous.  How can you miss with a theme like "LOVE"!

Since I am such a huge fan of Tracey Olds I decided to choose her project first.  She made a beautiful Tri Fold Card  called "With Love".  Tracey is the Dream Team representative from New Zealand, and all of her projects are simply awesome.  Here is my rendition of her Tri fold Card.

I've used the "Happy Heart" Stamp Set (11758) " from the 2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalogue to stamp my images.  I used Kraft cardstock for my base, followed by layers of Black, Real Red and Whisper White.  The Love hearts were stamped in Versamark Ink on the Real Red cardstock to give a little more depth.  I used some non-Stampin' Up red crystal hearts to add some bling. 

I think you'll agree that these cards have a definite  WOW factor when opened, and are so much fun to make.  This Tri-fold is a  little different from most templates, and once you master the process they can be made in any size.  You could even use DSP instead of the card stock layers and I'm pretty sure most stamp sets could be adapted to fit the design.  Hope you enjoy this project.  Let me know if you like it!

Winner of Free Pass to "With Love 2010"

Thanks ladies for entering my draw and  for your great comments regarding Valentines traditions or happy memories.   I've run the random number generator and the lucky winner is Paula Jensen of White Rock, B.C.   Congratulations Paula! I will be in touch by email regarding your free pass.  Paula said "We have a jar full of those coloured pebbles. Every time someone does something nice or thoughtful for someone else in the family, you get to take a pebble from the jar & put it into the Love Bowl. The kids love to watch that bowl fill up with love (pebbles) & it makes them want to continue to do more nice things! ♥