What I'm swapping today.....Thursday July 31st

Today is the first day of classes and meetings, and my schedule is packed with great swapping opportunities!

First at lunchtime, I will be swapping these little Hostess Gift idea buckets....It is just a little Dollar Store bucket punched with the CropADile and threaded with Very Vanilla ribbon dyed with Kiwi Kiss Reinker.

Next, I will be swapping for mini 3-D items with these black embossed and pastel/chalk embellished Tea Bag Holders that use the Always Set as well as the sentiment from the new for fall Sock Monkey set.

After classes end for the day, I'm in a swap for fun 3D items in which I will be swapping the Mini Book I sent in email last week. It is large enough to hold 4X6 pictures and uses our new Bella Rose designer series paper and the new Dreams du Jour stamp set.

At the same time, and in the same general location, I will be swapping the 6X6 2 page scrapbook layout that I also sent in my email last week with another group. I hope to get some great ideas for you all!

What I'm swapping today.....Wednesday, July 30th

I have two swaps to show you today--one is my Splitcoaststampers Dinner Swap, and the other is a swap for those of us on Splitcoast (SCS) who posted a lot to the swap-making support thread :)

Here is my dinner swap using "A Little Birdie Told Me". I made 54 of these...The new scallop edge punch made making the roof so much quicker, but it was still a bit tiring! A big thanks to Alison (arcopes on SCS) for helping me get these sponged and put together!

This is my swap lovers group Fancy Folds swap...only had to have 16 of these :)

Where's the Fancy Fold? Just a simple V-fold inside.....:)

What I'm swapping today.....Tuesday, July 29th

Today I will just be swapping a few general swaps while I travel. It uses the polka dot background and the Party Hearty set which will be available in the Fall and Winter catalog:

Zig Painty Retired!

I had this prototype in mind for a swap at Convention, but the zig painty was retired. I loved that gold and silver pen for Christmas accents especially. It made a nice leaded look for the grid technique as a faux tudor window....I was pretty excited to offer it for a class. Maybe there will be a suitable alternative? Here's hoping!

On my way to the Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City!

I'm excited for a fun week of swapping cards, meeting stampers, attending classes, seeing great ideas and making wish lists from the new Fall and Winter SU! catalog!

When we arrive Tuesday evening, I will be giving a few gifts to Jessika (my upline) and Pat (my sideline) as well as a couple of ladies who are hosting get togethers and have put in a lot of work for fellow stampers benefit! Shown below are altoid tins, round tea bag containers with Pretties Kit flowers (which can be used for other knick knacks when the tea is gone), one of the cards we made at the Hostess Brunch on Saturday and a candy holder. The strips of the Bella Rose designer series paper make lovely accents so I won't be throwing away even the smallest strip of this new paper.

In this second picture, you can see the iridescent ice embossing powder gives a glittery finish to the butterfly.

New Bella Rose paper Altoid Tin

I finally found time to make something that isn't a convention swap!

Here's a different style of altered Altoid tin using Stampin' Up!'s new Bella Rose paper and three of the new In Colors (Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Pink Pirouette) that will be available August 11th. I also used the butterfly from the Dreams du Jour set and the "just for you" sentiment from the Sock Monkey set. The paper rick rack was made using SU!'s fun new scallop edge punch. I found the idea on http://juliedavison.blogspot.com/ the blog of a fellow SU! demonstrator. Thanks for sharing Julie!
I hope to have more new things for you soon!

Beaded Fresh Cut Notes

Just 12 inches of 28 gauge wire, a small blossom from the Pretties Kit, an Olive Bling Brad and Stampin' Up!'s blue beads decorate this Fresh Cut note that was originally destined for the recycle bin. I had unfortunately stamped the main stamp crooked, so I cut the edges off the die-cut note and used it as a layer on my card. I'm waiting to stamp a sentiment since I'm not sure to whom I will send it yet.

Color.....and the 5 W's!

Odd title?

Well, I took a Journalism class before I decided to major in Microbiology at Oklahoma State, so the 5 Ws do come to mind when planning a card.

Who?

To whom will I send/give this card? We choose colors based on whether the recipient is a male or female. Age can certainly play a role as well. You'll notice in my previous post below that there ~is~ pink on my dad's Father's Day card....of course!....on his granddaughters' dresses. :) We typically think of pastels for little girls, but I might send a pink marshmallow creation to an adult lady....it just depends on situation.

What?

What type of card are you sending? Light Pink or Blue seem to say, "Baby", and one probably wouldn't use cotton candy colors to convey condolences. It is helpful to consider the purpose of your card when choosing colors.

When?

I don't have to mention that seasons affect color choices. Glorious Green and Real Red are one idea of Christmas colors, but any number of choices are available-- even pink and green! (I used Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla and Pretty in Pink for my Christmas cards last year.) Try to imagine something creative and surprising for your recipient while staying within accepted norms.....or not staying within norms!

Where?

If the card or project is for a wedding or shower, it is fun to coordinate with the chosen colors if you know them. A Bride might even want to add your card to a scrapbook. Custom color choices allow much more freedom than buying at the store, and embossing, vellum and sophisticated ribbon add perfectly elegant details. I think the diecut notecards with the Fresh Cuts set available from Stampin' Up! this month also create a sophisticated card.

Why?

Why are you designing and sending a handstamped card? Why are you creating a scrapbook page or 3-Dimensional project? If you are like me, you are crafting something for this person or about this person because they are a friend or loved one. Allowing your feelings for them to show in your work is a challenge worth taking!

Color.....getting started....

When planning colors for your cards, projects and pages, what is your first step? I generally choose colors ~I~ like. We all have our favorites, but what if you want to expand your use of color or just use up leftovers from an assorted pack of SU! color family cardstock? Stampin' Up! provides the Color Coach on page 162 of the current Spring and Summer Catalog which can be helpful. A friend gave me a wonderful color ring of all the Stampin' Up! colors, so that I can quickly put colors together.

If you don't have these resources available, there is a great site on the internet at which you can input one particular color you'd like to use, and it will suggest other combinations. You can also just click on the colors just to see ones you are considering all together quickly. It is http://www.scraptitude.com/colorcombo/ I use it often when I have ideas for two colors especially. I used it on the Father's Day cards below for suggestions for use with Chocolate Chip. Thanks Laura! (designer of the site)

I recently ran across a book called Colorscapes by Susan Sargent. It is a book of home decor, but it provides some lovely examples for the Bold Bright color family which can be difficult for me to use. I requested it from our local library and was surprised by the usefulness of it for paper crafting. Page 126 has a color scheme that reminds me of the colors we've seen will be a couple of the new In-Colors through Stampin' Up! for fall. Other combinations both wild and classic are throughout the book. Perhaps you will find it inspiring as well!


This card uses the Background Basics star stamp, the star punch and the Dad's Day set on page 112 of the SU! catalog. I punched the designer label tag with the slot punch for attaching the ribbon and matted the designer label punch on dimensionals onto a 1-3/8 inch circle punch. It is a bit difficult to see in my picture, but all the layers including the card base are distressed/roughed up to provide texture I consider masculine. The Chocolate Chip and Old Olive are masculine classic colors while the Bashful Blue lightens the card just a bit to provide some fun contrast.

This card was designed with fun in mind. Two light colors (Bashful Blue and Gable Green) are grounded by Chocolate Chip. I used the All in the Family set and computer sentiments. I followed a Splitcoaststampers sketch challenge and used SU! markers to color my family for a quick and simple card my dad will love.

Next time, my topic will be: Color.......and the 5 "W"s.

Teacher Appreciation Gifts

These little gifts I made for teacher appreciation week were easy and fairly quick. Cutting out the hummingbird was the most time-consuming part :). We were to bring something small every day, so I coordinated the wrapping.

These are chocolate holders I remember from a long ago challenge on splitcoaststampers (SCS). They also hold tea bags nicely. Originally this was for the Limited Supply Challenge today (use no stamps), but I added the hummingbird because it improved the look of it quite a bit :)
I just made a little tag for these Post-Its and put them in a cello bag...

I forgot to take a picture of the matching pen-oops!.

A Little Happy Spring Gift

I made this tiny tote with a shower gel and lotion inside and shower mist tag for an online SCS friend and ended up making them for a couple of other friends for Mother's day. I like that they aren't so big they make anyone feel like I've overdone it!

The shape of the tiny tote came from Stampin' Up! I altered their instructions just a bit since they just said wrap a certain box. My base is 4-3/4 inches by 11 inches. I scored at 3-1/2, 4-7/8, 8-1/2 and 9-7/8 inches and then at 3-1/2 the short way :). My Certainly Celery layer is 3-3/8 X 3-1/4, smaller Soft Sky is 3-1/8 X 3 and the Whisper White layer is 2-7/8 X 2-3/4. The Wide Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon is adhered inside with sticky strip for a quick and sweet little tote for tiny gifts.

Today's SCS Sketch Challenge plus

This card is for today's SCS sketch challenge.....it was a lot of fun to use the Rocket stamp from Pun fun and to use lots of embellishments......Below it is a simpler card that I made to give to the neighbors with a pack of diapers. They adopted 2 little boys that are toddlers so it needed to be a "Congratulations everyone!" sort of thing :) The "Have a Blast" sentiment was just printed on the computer.

Tone on Tone Embossing

Today's Inspiration Challenge on SCS was to be inspired by a cow from this site: http://www.toniscollectibles.com/products//Cow_Parade;All_Cow_Parade,_A-M/70

I chose the Hershey bar chocolate cow and made the card below....I think it is both rich and masculine.

While the embossing powders and gun were on my kitchen island, I decided to go ahead and try Vanilla tone on tone for an upcoming class. (Now I've decided to give the ladies a choice between the two I think.) The cards could also be gift card holders.

Vanilla Lime

I made this card for today's Inspiration Challenge on SCS. We were to be inspired by something in our home. I chose this yummy smelling tart burner. I wanted to try some muted colors with the Tart and Tangy set too-I've used the bold brights with it almost each time. I think it gives it a slightly different look and the Wild Wasabi is almost the perfect lime zest color in my opinion. I used Beate's lovely Weekend Sketch Challenge (WSC41) for my layout to create an easy but fun thank you card!

Bloomin' Easy

This card made with the Bloomin' Beautiful set in the Spring and Summer Mini simplifies watercoloring. The stem is stamped in Old Olive on the main image cardstock, and the flower is stamped in Rose Red on a scrap. Simply use the aquapainter to smear the colors. Since, you then cut out the flower portion and attach it to the stem, there is no need to stay in the lines. Add a bit of So Saffron to the center and you are finished coloring. This card also showcases the new Styled Silver HodgePodge Hardware and the new Chocolate Chip polytwill ribbon.

The Inspiration Challenge for today

The Inspiration Challenge item for today was a lovely sea-inspired bracelet. It was fun to use my favorite color and dress it up a bit. This was also for the SCS Dirty Dozen Sketch challenge so it was easy to just plug in the elements.

Cute Card Storage

I covered this lunch tin using the SCS tutorial and Stampin' Up!'s new Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper. It will be available, along with the cute matching Cherry stamp (which I used as a detail on the front of the tin) from the Tart and Tangy Stamp set, on March 1st. I love the fun and peppy colors!

One Floral "Vase" -Two views

I admit the rub-ons are a challenge for me, but this little old bottle will make a nice vase in my retro kitchen once I cover it with a sealer that will allow me to hand wash it. This was originally an eye treatment bottle, but if you can find an old glass Milk of Magnesia bottle, they are a deep blue color as well. My dad found the bottles for me in my grandparent's garage as he was finally cleaning it out. (A tornado destroyed their house itself in 1984.) I wonder what Grandma had planned for these? Probably something fairly similar because she was pretty crafty!

This bottle uses the Sale-A-Bration Rub-Ons that may be chosen as a free gift with a $50 purchase during SAB. The rub-on vine is wrapped all the way around the bottle-you might be able to see that in the picture on the left. Since I made it for myself, I didn't use any of the fun Friend sentiments on it.

Busy Day

I made two of my projects for my next technique class in March today (To see the inside of the criss cross, click on my events blog page.)

This little mini basket will make a quick and cute Easter project and will allow quick and easy paper-piecing work.

This criss-cross card was made using the paper-saving criss cross design, and the little red-breasted nuthatch makes a perfectly small image for watercoloring and cracked glass techniques. It was also for the WT151 to incorporate staples into your design. I didn't want to use brads on this, but a staple was perfect to underline the tiny sentiment.

One of a Kind

This card uses all the stamps in this set....The So Saffron flower image looks so much better embossed. Glad it was the Ways to Use it challenge to use embossing powder today! I used sticky strip to connect the ends of the One of a Kind sentiment into a rounded shape over the ribbon and dangled the For You sentiment using linen thread...I adhered it to the cardstock so that it would stay in the right spot to be a giant leaf too :)