Awesome WOW! Presentation

When I went to the SU! Regional, one of the best Wow! presentations of the day was from a demo in Austin named Cyndee Rust. Her stuff was awesome! She only had 5 minutes, but I think it blew the whole crowd away. Since she didn't have that much time, she was kind enough to take people's email addresses and send them the tutorials on how to do the projects. Here is what she showed us (all images courtesy of Cyndee Rust):

This first one is a peppermint patty box (holds two), which she adapted from Rochelle Wick's blog Impressions.


The next thing she showed us was an adorable mini pizza box filled with gift tags adapted from Jen del Muro's blog I{heart}2stamp.

Here is a scallop box with mini tins that Cyndee adapted from Sheryl Dickinson's blog Stamping with Sheryl. It uses the scallop die cut from the Sizzix, which is a neat tool (just a little expensive).


Here's another view.


This was so adorable. It's a Kit Kat bar cover! Use a 6”x6” piece of DSP. Mono around all 4 edges – completely all the way around. Fold up and around. Then crimp ends. Instructions were from Toni Tessler's blog Toni's Adventures in Stamping & Scrapbooking.

Then there was this criss cross box. Adapted from Nichole Heady's blog Capture the Moment.


Finally, she showed us a wonderful flip album. This picture doesn't do it justice, it was such a Wow! piece. This was adapted from a tutorial on Chiaki Haverstick's blog StampingPro.



She did a great job, and the thing that floored every person in the room? The fact that Cyndee made this all with one (1!) Simply Scrappin' Kit and had so much left over! I plan on attempting my own variations with these projects at some point, so I will post those when that happens. But don't hold your breath, I have to finish my Thank You cards for the wedding, a Thank You swap I joined, also after all these birthdays I need to make cards for - and, AND - I'm in the beginning stages of a rehaul of my designated stamping room. I have a room for everything, but I always bring my projects downstairs to the dining table because it's bigger and the lighting is better, so I am figuring out how to keep it more contained, so my husband doesn't run from the house for fear that the crafts are taking over, hehe. Busy busy, but still excited!

Ranch-ish themed birthday cards

My friend Cody asked me to make birthday cards for his parents. This was fun, because it required me to find and use some stamps that I normally would not use. His dad likes outdoorsy things, but not camping or fishing which are the "manliest" stamps I own. Luckily, Kim from Stamp-a-rama was kind enough to let me use her stamp set to make this little number. I actually like how it turned out, and now that I have used the set, I certainly appreciate it more. The images I stamped in the background could work so nicely for so many things! The ribbon is from the latest Stampin' Up mini catalog, and coordinates very nicely with the new Riding Hood Red In Color paper.


I used:
Card stock - Riding Hood Red (base), Chocolate Chip and White
Stamps - SU! Wanted, SU! Bitty Birthday

For his mom's card, she likes chickens alot, which is one of the only barnyard animals I don't have stamps of. I did find this really cute one of a chicken and some sheep on ChristianBook.com. I colored in the image using Stampin' Pastels and blender pens, and mounted pieces on top of a paper I ran through the Cuttlebug.


I generally don't do anything for the inside of the card since I usually have a whole story to write, so it just gets in the way if I stamp anything on the inside. But this time I decided I would, and I found a great little add on. I found a booklet at Jo-Ann's Fabrics in the scrap book section and it had different little sentiments on vellum. I picked up ones for birthdays, thank you's and love/wedding. So I mounted that on a piece of DSP and attached it with silver brads.

I used:
Card stock - Opulent Orchid (base), Pixie Pink, So Saffron, Prints Pack DSP (retired) and White
Stamps - Sheep and Chicken (Christian Book)

Giving MORE Thanks

So as I mentioned in the previous post, I am making the wedding thank you cards, and thought wouldn't it be nice to have them before (or at least around) Thanksgiving? I've been prepping them for assembly the last couple of days. This weekend my husband and I are going to sit down and just try and crank them all out in one go. I was able to use some leftover wedding ribbon (it has our names and the date of the wedding). I used the Cuttlebug with a really cute birdie embossing folder.


I used:
Card stock - White (base) and Certainly Celery
Stamp - SU! Too Terrific Tags (retired)

So what's actually left to do? Well I tied all the ribbons tonight. So just punching out the tags, stamping the image and punching that out, glueing things down, writing stuff inside and mailing it off. I'll do all the tag stuff tomorrow evening to kill time waiting for The Office. :)

Giving Thanks

Well, it's very convenient that I have a post before Thanksgiving concerning Thank You cards! I signed up for a Thank You card swap and came up with this. It also serves as a nice little tribute to Breast Cancer Awareness, too! The Cuttlebug is an awesome tool and is well worth the price (even though I don't own one myself, but still!) Also, you can kind of see it in this pic, but I used some Crystal Effects for the bra, for added Oooh lala. ;)

I used:
Card stock - Black (base), Pirouette Pink and White
Stamps - SU! Fashion Statements (retired)

I'm fairly happy with the way it turned out, so hopefully the other swappers feel the same! And I really need to kick it in gear with my own Thank You cards for the wedding. o_O I have the design, all the cutting, and all the scoring done, now I need to get started with the meat and potatoes of assembling and writing nice things. Luckily, I will be recruiting (aka forcing) my darling husband to finish them with me.

More from SU! Regionals

So for those of you who don't know the happenings of a Stampin' Up Regional Meet...well this was my first one so I'm no expert - all I can tell you is that it was FUN!
I had to wake up really early, because I was carpooling with Kim from Stamp-a-rama. I got there a little after 5:30 am. The plan was to be out of the door at 6:00 a.m. so we could stake out a good spot. It was a fun drive up to San Antonio. Kim drove her new, pretty SAAB with her friend Keli, Lydia from Understand Blue and her friend Neelam. I'm not really a morning person, but it was a lively group and you couldn't help but feel chipper. We got to the convention center and it was kind of funny. You could tell who was there for the regional meet - a large migratory group carrying their stamping totes and luggage, swap bags in hand. I really like that everyone comes together, and really connect because of a common bond. It sounds cheesy, but that's how it was. Everyone there was wonderfully nice - you can tell that this was a group of very generous and kind people. :)
We went up to the registration table and picked up our free stamp set and our make and take kits. We got there at a good time, because there was hardly a wait.


We staked out a spot in front of the door and people would come by with their swaps. It was really cool, it felt like Christmas, everyone exchanging their handmade gifts. I’m really happy with the swaps I received, there were so many beautiful ones! I’m not sure if I can post them, but they are so pretty I would like to share them. *If you’re the creator of any of these cards, please let me know if you want me to remove them, otherwise give me your info so I can credit you! :D


Then they let us through the doors and I saw Kim make a mad dash to get a great spot in perfect view of the big screen - it was a great spot!
There were also easels all over the room displaying cards to help inspire people.


I also got to meet Shelli Gardner, the founder of Stampin’ Up! and she was a very lovely person. :) Shelli is kind of a rock star in the stamping world, people were cheering and screaming. She started off the regional meet by demonstrating a cute Halloween game. There were so many great projects we got to make. I’ll be posting those with tutorials soon.

San Antonio Regionals

I attended my first SU! event in San Antonio. It was an eventful day, full of lots of cool demonstrations, make and takes, fun fun and fun! I made some swaps for this event, and got so many cool ones back! I only wish I had made more than 15, because there were some really adorable projects people came with! It seemed like enough at the time, (because I was tired of piercing paper) but now I know for next time. Here is what I made:


Cardstock - Tangerine Tango (Base), Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Stamps - SU! Bitty Birthday, SU! Eastern Blooms

I went with Kim from Stamp-a-rama, her friend Keli, Lydia from Understand Blue and her friend Neelam. I'll be posting more pics of the conference in the next day or so, but I want to show a picture of what we got upon entering. I have a new stamp set - Best Wishes & More and a set of 6 make and takes.

My voice matters!

I was picked to participate in the Stampin' Up Survey Panel! I was sent a questionnaire, and as long as I finish at least 80% of it, they will send me a goodie box in the mail after three months. I wonder what will be in it. Oooooh :D
Of course, I finished 100% of my survey (why not finish it up if you got that far, plus everything you have to add only helps the company make better informed decisions). If you want to apply to be part of the panel visit http://www.stampinup.com/us/enu/10796.asp

My first big Stampin' Up event! :D

I've been invited by Kim at Stamp-a-rama to go to the Stampin' Up Regional Seminar in San Antonio. At this seminar, I will get to watch stamping demonstrations, practice stamping
techniques, and make fabulous projects. I'm really excited! I am also having to get creative, because I want to bring some swaps to the seminar, so I have been trying (not so successfully so far) to come up with card front ideas.

My on again off again relationship with eBay

So I've been doing really well not going crazy on eBay, but I broke down the other day because there is this one retired SU! set that I had been eyeing. I saw it in one of the older catalogs and thought it was too funny. I really like punny ones so I saw a good Buy It Now and snagged it at an awesome price. The set is called Please Be Seated and it's a bunch of punny chair ones (like a rocking chair that says You Rock, and a loveseat that says Sofa So Good, hahahah). I can't wait to get it and use it!

Sympathy Card

Sadly, I had to make my first sympathy card. Jared's stepmother's mother passed away. :(
No matter how long and good a life a person has lived, we can't help but miss them and wish they could stay even longer. I know a card doesn't make life easier, but it's a gesture that his father and stepmother are in our thoughts, so I hope it brings at least a minimal amount of comfort. They are very loved.

In this card:
Card stock - Soft Sky (base), River Rock and White
Stamps - SU! Baroque Motifs, SU! Define Your Life, SU! Garden Silhouettes (retired)

Froggy Swap

I finished my froggy themed card, finally! I was getting worried, because I couldn't figure out how to finish it exactly. So here it is:



I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I ran the card base through Nicole and KC's Cuttlebug - which is an awesome tool by the way! You use it to cut a shape, emboss a shape, or cut then emboss shapes with the inspired designs available exclusively with Cuttlebug cutting and embossing dies. Then I used Nicole's Lily Pad roller and colored it and cut out a section. I used water color techniques and I finished off the lilies with Crystal Effects which is officially my favorite add on - it's so shiny and soft.

In this card:
Card stock - Wasabi Green (base), Brilliant Blue, Yo Yo Yellow and White
Stamps - SU! Lily Pad, SU! Very Punny (retired), Hero Arts ?

Wedding Bells

Love is in the air, and it's not just my own wedding that is coming up! I know plenty of people who are tying the knot, so I decided to make a wedding card and am very happy with the way it came out. I used my SU! DSP and a new stamp set my friend KC gave me.

In this card:
Card stock - River Rock (base), Ginger Blossoms DSP and White
Stamps - SU! Together Forever

Happy Diversion

So the other night my best friend Nicole and I were planning to work on some wedding stuff (flower girl baskets), but instead decided to make some cards. :)

We made a couple of really cute ones!

This first one is Nicole's. It's adorable. I especially love the use of SU! hodgepodge hardware with the ice blue brads. We also bought a ton of ribbon at Michael's, and I did the bow for her. I'm pretty ok with bows :)



Mine was a little more low key, but I like it. I made it for my brother's birthday which is on Labor Day. It's a 3x3 with a little piece of wire for the balloon string.

In this card:
Card stock - Rose Red (base), Summer Picnic DSP and White
Stamps - SU! Birthday Whimsy (SAB)

New find - Kaiser Craft

I found a great website called Kaiser Craft. I found their site when I was going through a scrap booking magazine focused on mini albums. They carry lots of embellishments, chipboard, and albums. The best thing about their site is that they have a free workshop magazine with alot of great ideas, so be sure to check it out. I think I want to try and be more adventurous and see what other things I can create. :)

eBay is killing me

I found a really cute stamp on eBay. The company that made it is called Hero Arts, and seems to be somewhat popular. Take a look at the stamp I got and you'll see why - it's simple but adorable! It was a whole set but I only bought the frog (even though the rest of the set is just as adorable). Generally I don't care too much about frogs, but I like this one. Now that I have it, I've joined another swap, this time for frog cards. This isn't a newbie swap, so I have to make sure to do a good job. I've already started some ideas, but just haven't settled on anything yet.

Couldn't Resist...

I found a new place to find interesting stamps: Etsy.com
This may not be a "new" site, but it's new to me! I hadn't really explored it all that much before.

And the one that I thought was too funny to pass up...



A kitty butt! hahahahahhaah

Stamp Culture in Japan

Going back to my previous rant about wanting to go to Japan (for stamp research, yeah...and because it's AWESOME). I found a website that talked a little bit about how rubber stamps there are used very often, and lots of rubber stamps have been created to commemorate special events, as a tribute to historical monuments and simple things like marking your train pass. It was interesting to see how detailed they were for things that seem so mundane, like riding a train.

http://www.dotpattern.com/artwerk/rubber-stamps/japan-rubber-stamps.html

More Anime Stamps

This time I found these cute ones from Tsubasa Chronicles on ebay (but I didn't bid on it, need to save munnies!)
This first one is Sakura and MokonaAnd this second set is Syaoran and Mokona
CUTE!

I wonder what stamping/crafting culture is like over in Japan? I would love to go one day :)
I bet I would find some really neat ones. I definitely dig the design scene over there, from the building architecture to the little things like package design.

My Second First Swap

I got so excited about my first swap, that I signed up for a second spot in the same newbie group. I finished both sets of cards very quickly. (Which could be either a good or bad indicator, not sure yet) The cards aren't due until late August so I am ahead of the game a bit. :)

- I chose to get rid of more Groovy Guava paper. I figure even if I don't like it, someone else might appreciate it.
- The designer paper I used for the dress is from a hostess level 1 gift in the current catalog. I popped it up with dimensionals.
- Then I just added a tag from the same paisley paper for the dress with a flower brad in it.

I really liked the new technique for the dress I learned from Kim (her blog is linked on the left side, called Stamp-a-rama) who is an excellent SU! demonstrator, teacher and friend. :)
I'm pretty happy with the overall design, I dig the River Rock ink and paper.

In this card:
Card stock - Groovy Guava (base), Prints Pack DSP (hostess), River Rock and White
Stamps - SU! Priceless, SU! Fashion Statements
Other - Flower brad

My First Card Swap

I recently joined the Split Coast Stampers online community and discovered "swaps". Basically, you make 5 identical cards and swap with a group of 5 other people (or whatever number, can be 10+) that have made their own set of cards. That way you get 5 new ideas from people of all sorts of different crafting backgrounds. I was a little nervous, but I found a swap group for newbies. So this is my first attempt with a swap and here is what I came up with:

This swap was for full cards (4 1/4 x 5 1/2). The cards could be for any occasion with at least 1 stamp, 2 layers of good quality card stock, and at least one embellishment.

- I chose to use a great retired SU! set I found on ebay. There are a couple of really cute stamps in the set, so I am pretty happy with it.
- I also chose to use the Groovy Guava for the base. I had to get rid of it, because it is my least favorite color of the current "in colors". It actually doesn't look too bad with the things I paired it with, but I'd still never want it.
- I colored in the sweater with Rose Red ink and then put some Crystal Effects to give it that puffy look (which you can't see in the pic). I love very tactile effects.

And here is the final result! I kind of like it for my first swap, and it's a nice to be in a swap group with other people who are just learning like me, so I am thinking we might not be judged so harshly. I mean, I like my swap, but until I see someone else's I have no idea if it is crap or not. Hopefully it's in the "not". ;p

In this card:
Card stock - Groovy Guava (base), Summer Picnic DSP and White
Stamps - SU! Fashion Statements (retired)
Other - Very Vanilla Ribbon

Neato Anime Stamps

I am a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle...) so I was super excited to see his work teamed up with my new stamping hobby. This stamp is of Ashitaka and Yackle from Princess Mononoke and is soooo cool! But I have no idea what kind of card I would use it for. I guess maybe a birthday? It's too neat to pass up though.

It can be purchased at:
JBox


I also found this one, from a cute series called Fruits Basket.
Animate USA

Too adorable!

Stampin' Up and the Anticlimactic Package

So I thought this was kind of funny.

Stampin' Up must be running around like crazy with all the preparations for the new catalog, because here is the package I received:


And you want to see what was inside?



One (1!) pale plum craft ink pad.
I thought it was going to be something really BIG and awesome. A "Congratulations! You're the lucky winner!"

Oh well. ;p

Deals and Things

40% off any one item at Hobby Lobby this week
http://www.hobbylobby.com/site3/weekly/weekly.cfm

They also have paper punches, cuttle bug accessories and other scrap booking items for 30% off.

Also, I picked up a couple of deals I couldn't pass up:

At Target in the $1 bin I found a pack of summer scrap book paper


I also picked up this set from Borders for $5.99

Love Notes For My Loved Ones

I thought this would be a fun first post. For those of you who don't know me very well, my family is super important to me. So, playing around with stamps and sharing my new hobby with the people I care most about is easy math ;)
Well, I have two adorable nieces, one is 6 the other is 12. So I made up a mini card project for them. (It seems to be easier to have something pre-made for kids because they can easily get too excited about all the stamps and then they have inked 14 images on a 3x3 piece of card stock, hehe.)
I started off simple, the base card stock was from SU!, they were the Love Notes. The paper I mounted the stamped image card stock came from a card making set I found in the bargain bin at Borders. (It was a box with lots of paper, stencils, scissors, templates and a book - for $2.99!) Then we used various SU! stamp sets (I will have to look up the names later, sorry!) The butterfly one has a gem brad I bought at Michael's, and I also used Crystal Effects on the butterfly. They had alot of fun, and surprisingly, my mom (who is a really hard worker, she doesn't really sit still very often) also joined us. She had a great time. I liked it because everyone liked having something to look at, but they all still branched out and made it their own with little variations here and there. It was a great time, and I look forward to coming up with something for the next time they are all in town. :)