Valentines Workshop

Yesterday I had a wonderful day attending Cheryl Lefore's Valentines Day Workshop. I always enjoy Cheryl's events.  Not only is she such a great Stampin' Up Demonstrator but she's a superb hostess.   She made the most awesome Red Velvet Cupcakes for the occasion and they were simply awesome!  A good time was had by all.   

As you can see from this picture we made four awesome projects, based on Cheryl's recent involvement in Regionals and Leadership in Phoenix.  Here are some pictures of the projects we made.

Don't you love receiving those little heart boxes at Valentine's with the chocolates in them?  I always have, and now thanks to Cheryl I can make my own!  Isn't this just adorable.  It was a little time consuming to make, but really rewarding when completed.  How do you like the shabby chic flowers made using the new Extra Large Fancy Flower punch (118073), corderoy buttons and felt flowers?  Here's a look at the interior of the box.

The next project, a Heart Card, was really a card within a card.  Very fun and easy to make and the kind of card that really delivers the WOW factor.  This card utilized one 12 x 12 sheet of regal rose cardstock for the exterior card.  The inner card was made using

Old Olive textured cardstock for the base, pretty in pink for the layer and awesome Old Olive Striped 1/2 in Grosgrain Ribbon.  I {Heart} Hearts Stamp set was featured on the inside.  The A to Z Stamp (115711) pg. 41 Mini Occasions Catalogue, was used with Chocolate Chip Ink on  the Heart cutout on the front of the card as well as on the bottom of the Old Olive interior card.  I really liked this stamp as it added just a bit different look for a background.  I also had a chance to work with the Stampin' Up Embosslits Die - Scalloped Heart of Hearts (117332) pg. 15 of Mini Occasions Catalogue, and I've immediately added it to my "Wish List".  Wow is it nice to work with.   Here's an interior view of the Heart Card so you can see the full effect.

The green heart is embellished with Certainly Celery Chunky Sprinkles Stampin Glitter  (11343) and a small Chocolate Chip button from the Button Latte (114333) Designer Buttons featured on pg 180 and 181 of the IB&C.  A small piece of velcro was used on the back of the cover heart to hold the card envelope closed.  So there you have it, a card in a card.  I think this was an awesome project!

The 3rd project was a scrapbooking page that was very quick to make but had several elements that were new to me.  A 12 x 12 sheet of Real Red Cardstock was used as the base and a piece of the Sending Love Specialty DSP (117153) was torn and mounted on the base.  Prior to mounting the DSP we used the jumbo roller I {Love} Love (117084) pg. 15 Mini Occasions cattie, with Real Red ink cartridge on the Real Red base.   The LOVE letters were cut on the big shot using the Serif Essentials die cut (113464) pg. 199 IB&C.  Another Big Shot first for me was cutting out the felt flowers using the Stampin Up Flower Folds die cut (115970) pg. 201 of the IB&C.  I couldn't believe how simple it and fast it was to make these flowers...........another "must have" on my wish list!!!  The rest of the embellisments on this card were layers of Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Very Vanilla Cardstock and some hearts made again from the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set and the Scalloped Heart of Hearts Sizzlit.  Another new item to me was the Glassine Small Square Envelope (117226) pg. 19 of the Mini Occasions.  This housed a number of little hearts punched out with the Heart to Heart punch.  The final touch is a picture of Murphy my little bichon cross dog and me at Christmas enjoying a moment of pure "Love"! 

The final card was made with the Sweet Treats Heart Cups filled with deliscious pink, brown and red M&M's............ one of my favourite snacks.  A layer of Pretty in Pink was added to the Real Read cardstock base and the stamped image was on Very Vanilla.  Once again strips of the Specialty Designer Series paper were used and strips of Chocolate Chip cards stock were punched with the new Pinking Hearts Border punch (117649) pg. 11 of the Mini.  A beautiful 5/8" Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon was added as a finishing touch.  This is just a beautiful card and very fast and easy to make.

So thanks Cheryl for a great day and for all the inspiration you give me.  You are a fabulous demonstrator and I will be sad when I go home to miss any of your coming events.............. oh well next year! 

Matchbox Frame

Matchboxes seem to be all the rage these days and can be used in many ways.  Betty Traciak one of the very talented Guest Designers on UStamp with Dawn and Friends "With Love 2010", designed a really great "Matchbox Frame" using the "Love Bandit" stamp set 117086 from the Occasions Mini Catalogue.   Betty's version used the Matchbox Die cut. Since I don't have my Big Shot here in Southern California, I made my matchboxes from a template I found on SCS.

Recipe:


Cardstock:  Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Old Olive and Soft Suede
Stamps:  Vintage Vogue 117690, Very Vintage Wheel 117693 and Three Little Words
Ink:  Rich Razzelberry
Accessories:  Scalloped Heart Punch, Heart to Heart Punch and Heart Punch, Rhinestones and Ribbon non-SU

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!