Newly organized work in progress

I always like seeing how others organize their stamping area. With the addition of my two new toys for Christmas I need to expand mine. I thought I would share my area with you today.

I used to just have the shelves on the wall and the desk. I added my sewing cabinet, that used to be in another room. It now houses my sewing machine, Cuttlebug and Cricut (THANKS SANTA!).

I also brought in the book case from another room. It houses all my 12x12 papers, photo albums, scrapbooks, alterable items, old catalogs, and several boxes of cards. The drawer at the bottom has most of my retired stamp sets. Some of my favorite retired sets are still on the wall shelves. I want to put the bookcase back where it came from in the house and replace it with a tall closed utility cabinet after the first of the year. I need to be able to lock it up so the kids don't pull everything down. (my DS already broke an ornament when he pulled the box down today. I also want to get clear bins to put on the shelves. I want it all to match and be able to see the contents. The matching just gives me a calm feeling that things are organized.

I also need another small file cabinet to hold my business type supplies. The lower cabinet next to my desk is actually a file cabinet. All of the color families are in hanging files in the bottom drawer. The top drawer has neutrals and a few other items like transparencies and such. My wheels, embelishments, EP powders, cutting tools, adhesives and such are all in the drawers on top of the file cabinet.

My favorite part of my area is my punch wall. I used curtain rods. I am ready for another rod. These are full and I have 6 more punches to complete my SU! collection. Actually I have 7 to get now that they came out with a large star punch for sale starting in Jan. I keep my scrap paper in the drawers below my punches. I am thinking of changing this set up and sorting them into bagies in the file drawers.

Bowmaker Winner

Since I only had 11 people leave comments, I decided to use the random number generator to pick. It picked number 3.
The third person to leave a comment was Angel Wilde.
Please check out her blog. I enjoyed looking at everyones blogs. As always, I thank you for visiting mine. Angel.....please email me, fa_stamper@sbcglobal.net , your snail mail address so I can order your bow maker. Please be sure to come back and tell us all how much you love it when it arrives.
CONGRATS ANGEL!!!

Don't forget about those Inspiration Sheets

Stampin' Up! decided back in June to no longer offer demos the oportunity to purchase Inspiration Sheets. They decided that there are many places on the internet now to get ideas from. They are right. SCS is the best by far. There are also tons of blogs like mine to get ideas from. Besides the magazines, books, old catalogs and straight from your demo themselves.

That doesn't mean though that the Inspiration Sheets don't have their place anymore. Most all of the stamp sets they were designed for have retired, but they are still good ideas. I refer to them once in a while when I need a fresh layout idea or color combination. I made my club members a couple of cards the other day as a gift with their last purchase. Each one is inspired by a sample on the Inspiration Sheets. Sorry about the dark pictures, we are having some gloomy weather here and the lighting is bad in my house.

The first card is from the Balmy Breezes IS. I used the layout from the sheet and the alternate color combination. I colored the image in with my markers. The snowburst punch dangles freely. I even got out some of that Hodgepodge Hardware that I like to hoard. My sentiment overlaps a bit, unlike the original, but it still fits nicely.

The second card was inspired from the Hearfelt Thanks IS. I used the payout, but made up my own color combination. I pulled out the In Color papers and ink for this one. The colored the image with my aqua painter and the ink from the lids of my ink pads. The picture does not show it at all, but the image and sentiment are stamped on Shimmery White Cardstock. The sentiment panel is also edged in the Wild Wasabi ink. I just draged the edge of the paper on the ink pad. The tab at the top wraps to the back of the card and is held down with a little sticky strip.

Public Service Announcement

In case you didn't see this anywhere else, be sure to read it here. There is scam going on with gift cards. If you are even thinking about getting gift cards for your friends and/or family this year, be sure to check out this link.

Gift Card Scam Article

100 POSTS--Candy Time!!

I can't believe how time flies. My little blog is up to 100 posts and I have several regulars and subscribers. I thank you all for joining me this far and appreciate all the comments you leave.

First, how about a card. I got the chance to play a little more with my Christmas present from Shelli (SU! CEO). This stamp set is fun. Not only do I love the double line image, but the combination of flower and secondary images are wonderful. This card did not turn out exactly how planned, but I like it anyhow.

Watercolor Wonder Crayons do not work for the crayon resist technique. I need to steal my DD regular old crayola white crayon. All of the heart outlines were supposed to be white. After sponging on the two different ink colors (Real Red and Pixie Pink) I went back with a White Gel Pen and highlighted a few areas. I got the inspiration for this card from one I saw on Patti Chesky's Blog. Patti's had a little more random pattern to the colors. I wanted my hearts to be the focus with the color.

There is great news in the Stamping World. The Card Ladies are back in business. After a devistating fire that took their home and fur babies, The Card Ladies have some of their items ready for sale in time for Christmas. I absolutely love their Adjustable Bow Maker. It makes the cutest little bows of any size. You don't have to worry about them coming untied and you can put them anywhere on your projects without having to wrap the ribbon around something.

This brings me to my blog candy. I am giving away an Adjustable Bow Maker.

You simply need to leave a general comment. I would love to check out your blog as well, so if you have one please put the address in the comment. Friday morning (when I finally drag my body out of bed to blog) I will randomly draw one name out of a hat from all the comments left on this post and order that person their very own Adjustable Bow Maker from The Card Ladies. Please be sure to check back and see if you won.

Please check out The Card Ladies web site for the other crafting items they have. Their templates for covering tin boxes are also back in stock. She is waiting on her new embroidery machine to get those wonderful t-shirts going again. Their shipping rates are also quite reasonable.

#99--Tag Punch Starburst

WOW! 99 posts so far. Be on the lookout for #100. It may just have a special treat attached.

I have seen these done by many other stampers. For instructions on how to make the tag punch starburt check out this tutorial. It takes a little bit of time and patients, but are not too hard. Many people layer them on top of one another for a larger looking burst, but I also wanted to make a scrapbook page. I could have made more, but these took awhile and the kids were getting fussy.

The outline of my tags were made with River Rock Cardstock. I placed them on a piece of "Dashing" DSP. To hold them in place I used my two way glue pen. I made the center using a 3/4" and 1" circle punch. I also wanted to try and use things I tend to hoard. I hoard Hodgepodge Hardware in a big way. Even here I still only used a page turner.

This scrapbook page came to me as I was making the starburst. It went together super fast. The large Old Olive area is an 8.5" x 11" piece of cardstock. The photo mat on the left is for a 4x6 photo. It is Naturals Ivory over River Rock. The River Rock mat on the lower right is for a 4x4 photo. The other piece of Natural Ivory is for some journaling. The numbers were stamped with Old Olive craft ink using my "Headline Numbers" stamp set. I used a couple more of those page turners here also.

Simple Noel

I played most of the day yesterday with my new toy, but I am still not ready to show my creations yet. I did get 5 layouts done.

I wanted to share a card I made awhile back with you today. It has a simple layout that can easily be adjusted for any stamp set. It is also a great one to show off all that new Designer Paper you ordered this month.

I really like this "Big on Christmas" stamp set. The three stamps have the perfect combination of image and sentiment. I chose the "Noel" stamp for this card. I took most of the colors I used from the Dashing DSP strip. The main card base is Real Red, as is the ornament. The letters and mat behind the DSP are Old Olive. I colored the top of the ornament with my gold ZIG painty pen. There is also a silver tip for those who prefer. I also colored the stripes on the ornament with the gold painty pen. To bring in the gold a little more, I matted the main image panel with brushed gold cardstock and tied a piece of gold elastic cord around the DSP strip.

Any larger image would work will in this layout. The card can also be turned on it's short end to accommodate a tall image like "Frosty". Change out the DSP for an entirely different color scheme.

Happy Post Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. If you half as good a day as mine, you had a great day. We spent the time with friends at various places. Since I didn't cook this year, I had time to stamp that morning. I made cards for the people we were visiting that day. Of course, silly me, forgot to take pictures of those cards before giving them away.

I asked Santa for a couple of new toys this year. One he bought a couple of months ago and it sat under the table since then. Santa gave me permission to take it out of the box early. If you do not have one yet, there is still time to ask Santa for a Cuttlebug. He got mine at Hobby Lobby with a coupon. He also got another present at the Black Friday Early Bird Sale at Walmart, but we will talk about that one another day.

I have the original Sizzix machine also. It is heavy and a pain to get in and out of it's box. I don't have anyplace to leave it out perminately. The dies for it were also pricy when I got them, so I don't have many. When I found out that I could use them in the Cuttlebug, it hightened my interest even more. I did a couple of test items the other day. It was so easy. The plates and embossing folders move through with easy. Even my 3 year old can turn the crank. The carry handle on the top makes it much nicer to move around. It doesn't weight near as much as the Sizzix, but the suction on the bottom helps to hold it to the table when you are working with it. I did cut once with the complimentary die in the box. It left a fairly good groove in my cutting plate, but no more than was left in the Sizzix. I would advice getting an extra cutting plate just for that purpose if you plan to cut alot. I plan to emboss a TON. That is why I wanted the machine. I still like my background stamps, but this gives things a nice texture too. It even works well on the thick cardstock of SU! with little effort.

Here is my latest Cuttlebug card.

The letters are colored in with markers, then with a 2 way glue pen and glitter. Everything else is straight forward, but please ask if you have any questions.

Stamps: Big on Christmas

Paper: Ballet Blue, Real Red, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Markers (Ballet Blue, Handsome Hunter, Real Red, Only Orange)

Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Wide Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, 2 way glue pen, Dazzaling Diamonds Glitter, Dimensionals, Snowflake (Cuttlebug) Embossing Folder

Bright Color Chirstmas

We normally think of red and green when it comes to Christmas. How about ORANGE? It's not just for Halloween. I started this card with the image panel. I wanted to use a bright blue for the letters and thought Tempting Turquoise would be nice. Of course most snowman have orange carrot noses. I wanted to use a little of that on the card itself. I desided to use a lot by making the bottom background Only Orange. The Green Galore went well as a third color for the main card base.

The two colors were rather bright so to tone them down a little I stamped snowflakes from the Flaky Friends set on the top portion in White Craft Ink. I also rolled the Jumbo Snow Wheel on the bottom in White Craft. In the top right corner of the image is a velumn image punched with the snowburst punch.

Clear Ornaments

Once I saw someone else's ornaments, I HAD to have this stamp set. I was sold at first sight. It has taken me a long time to finally make the ornaments the stamps were meant for , but well worth the cost of the stamp set.
I only had time to do two of them the other night, but they are fabulous. I have an ornament exchange next month at church. I am definitely taking one of these. I also think this will be part of my Christmas gift to the family.

1.) Stamp the image in Stazon onto transparency sheets.

2.) After it is dry-turn it over and color with sharpie markers. If you want white, use a Watercolor Wonder Crayon.

3.) Allow that to dry--then cut out the circle to fit inside the ornament. Leave a small tab at the top of the circle for easy placement into the ball.

4.) Coat the back with a thin layer of Crystal Effets. I put CE on one ornament and then squishes them together to get a nice even coat on both.

5.) Cover with Dazzaling Diamonds. Shake off excess. Allow to dry OVERNIGHT.

6.) Wipe off any more loose glitter with a small brush.

7.) Roll up and place inside a clean clear ornament. It will open on its own once inside. Use the tab to hold the circle in place.

8.) Spoon in some fake snow on both sides of the circle. Replace the top of the ornament being sure both prongs are on the same side.

9.) OPTIONAL--Tie ribbon to the top hanger of the ornament. I did not do that here.

Super Fast Peppermint Treats

Everyone loves treats. Here is a super simple way to decorate your treats.

All you need is some scraps of cardstock, a small stamp image, a basic ink pad, something to color with, some adhesive and a few punches.

1.) On a neutral piece of cardstock, stamp your small image with your basic ink. I stamped the mitten from "Flaky Friends" in Basic Black onto Whisper White cardstock.

2.) Color in your image. I colored my mittens with Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore Markers.

3.) Punch out your images with the 1 1/4" Circle Punch.

4.) Punch out coordinating cardstock with the 1 3/8" Circle Punch and the Scalloped Circle Punch. I punched my shapes out of the same colors I colored the mittens with.

5.) Layer your punched items together using the adhesive of your choice. I used my SU! Snail Adhesive.

6.) Attach your layered images to the flat side of some York Peppermint Patties.

7.) The last and best step--Give them away to all your friends, use them as an after dinner mint on your holiday table, or curl up next to the fire and eat them yourself.

Membership has it's privileges

Being a demonstrator for Stampin' Up! that is. I had a stamping sensory overload on Friday. First I stalked the demonstrator web site all day to get an early look at the Preview catalog coming out. Those who have ordered from my within the last 6 months are receiving your own copy sent to your home with the next short time. They come from the distribution center, so I don't know the exact day they will arrive. It finally went online about 3:15 in the afternoon.

At that very same moment the UPS man arrived at my house. He had with him a small bubble envelope from none other than the CEO of Stampin' Up!, Shelli. This woman is wonderful. She sent all of the demonstrators a FREE stamp set.

Which one you ask? A brand new never seen before stamp set. It is called, "Time Well Spent". It is going to be a Level 3 Hostess set in the Spring/Summer Collection coming out in January. It is BEAUTIFUL!! The double line images make shading a breeze. The different flowers, leaves and sayings are perfectly matched.

Oh, I'm sorry, you want to see a picture of it. Well, I can't. Do to copywrite laws I can't show you a photo of the stamp set. I can do one better though. I made a card with it last night. I love the largest flower in the set. I also love the butterfly, but didn't want to overdo it on my first card. As a side note, the Designer Paper I used here was also free. Thanks again Shelli. She felt bad that all the demos had to deliver (newly corrected) and appologize to our customers for the misprinted Holiday Harmony DSP, that she sent us a random free pack of DSP. I received Fall Flowers. I didn't like it too much in the catalog, but LOVED it in person. I may have to order the other papers that I am not sure about. They are probably fabulous in person also.

I used a paint brush to color in the images with ink from the lid of my In Color ink pads. The slot punch made it easy to put some River Rock Double Stitched Ribbon on each side of the sentiment. Again, the Designer Series Paper is from the Fall Flowers Collection. I wasn't sure about Blue Bayou or Groovy Guava separately, but together they really work here.

Here is a stamped index one of the lovely ladies on SCS made for this stamp set. She colored everything in with markers. All of the images are double line and ready for your creativity of color. This stamp set is only available to hostesses with a $500 workshop. With Sale-A-Bration from Feb 1st - March 15th, this is the perfect time to book your workshop and earn one for yourself.

Tripple Treats for Friends

Do you have 12 friends that you would love to make coordinating projects for with minimal supplies? Are those 12 friends worth $9.95 and a few other on hand cardstock and supplies? With the Stampin' Up! November Paper Special (Buy 3 get 1 Free) you can increase that to 48 friends for only $29.85. Change the colors of the paper and have coordinating gifts for any party from Baby Showers to Birthdays.

My monthly club met the other night. Instead of learning a new stamping technique we learned three quick projects for perfect gift giving. The best part is the supplies were minimal and only used one sheet of Designer Series Paper for all three projects. All of the directions for each can be found on SCS. The direct links are at the bottom of this post.

The images on the Criss Cross Card are from the "In The Spotlight" Hostess Level 2 Stamp Set. They were both stamped in Always Artichoke ink onto Very Vanilla. They were puched out using the Snow Burst and Scalloped Circle Punches. The snow burst image is held on with a brad through all the layers of the insert. When we were done with all the projects there was enough pattern paper left over to make a couple of the gift tags I showed you yesterday.

Here is a list of supplies needed to make all three projects.
1 sheet of Designer Paper 12x12 (Cut into three parts 2-6x6 and 1-12x6)
1 sheet of solid cardstock-Always Artichoke used here
1/4 sheet of coordinating cardstock-River Rock used here
1/2 sheet Neutral cardstock-Very Vanilla used here
Scrap of coordinating solid cardstock-Purely Pomegranate used for tag on insert
1 1/2" x 12" piece of cardstock for card band (Optional)-Purely Pomegrante used here
4 brads (3 for bow & 1 for card tag)
1/16th Hole punch
3 Glue dots or dimentionals for bow
Ribbon-Always Artichoke used here
Sticky Strip
Snail Adhesive
Paper Cutter with Cutting and Scoring Blades
Punches, Ink and Stamps of choice

Directions for each project can be found by clicking on the name of the item.

Paper Bow

Party Favor

Criss Cross Card

Holiday Tutorial Blitz

If you have not been over to SCS lately now is a good time to check it out. They are having a Holiday Blitz Tutorial. Each day there is a new tutorial for a gift projects. On Monday was this adorable treat box. Here is a direct link to the tutorial. I used Real Red and a couple sheets of my dwindling collection of "Dashing" Designer Series Paper. I wasn't too sure how sturdy it would be at first glance. After making it I can say that it is quite sturdy. I wouldn't load it full of lotion bottles or anything, but it qill hold some snacks (popcorn or candy) for the table.

Quick favor

I made these for the craft fair at the church. I have seen them several times before on SCS. This is my version. The tag was stamped with an image from "Festive Favorites". I printed out the poem on my computer for the back of the tag. I colored in the image using my stampin write markers. I wanted whoever bought them to be able to take the price tag off, so the angle policy stamp is separate from the tag.

The oatmeal and glitter were put into a small 4x6 zip bag and tied in the middle with some silver cord. The woman who bought most of them plans to give them to her grandchildren.

REINDEER FOOD
Sprinkle on the lawn at night
The moon will make it sparkle bright
As Santa’s reindeer fly and roam
This will guide them to your home

WINNER!!

Sorry I am late. I was stamping for the first time in over a week.
The winner is Melanie aka batgirl. Please email me (fa_stamper@sbcglobal.net) with your address and I will send your candy out.
Congrats to Melanie and thank you to all who entered.
Keep checking back often. I am close to 100 posts, my SU! anniversary and 3000 hits will be here before I know it.

CANDY TIME!

Thank you for being patient with my lack of posts. I have had NO time to stamp. The church bazaar is in it's final day and then clean up begins. I hope to start stamping again on Tuesday making Thank you's for all those wonferful people who helped me this week.
That brings me to my blog candy. I have been over 2000 hits for a week or so. All you have to do is leave a comment to be entered. If you would like a second chance at some candy, please link your comment to a thank you card. It can be one you made or one you plan to CASE. I am looking for simple WOW! cards. Something that I could CASE about 75 cards in a day or two.
You have until Tuesday at 8:00 pm CT to enter. I don't have a picture as of yet. There is a free stamp set involved. I will pick one winner randomly (DD picks out of a hat) from all the comments.
THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK!!

EDIT:........................

Here is a picture of the candy. There is 6 sheets of 6x6 Au' Chocolate Designer Paper (retired), 2 yards of 1/4" Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon (Retired), 4 pieces of "Holiday Trimmings" Chipboard, and the "Blooming with Happiness" stamp set (NUM)

Thank you for all the comments so far and to those of you who linked or emailed me thank you card examples. I'l pick the winner tomorrow.

Thank you CASE

Last week I shared a gift set I made for someone who had just had surgery. When I dropped off the gift set and a meal for her family, she asked if I would make some thank you cards for the ladies who have been making her family meals. I said yes of course. I went home that day and made two for her. Both ideas I got from SCS. When the church bazaar is over I will make her some more.

The first card I CASED from willosmoma. I liked the layout and color scheme she used. I did decide to color my tree differently. Her coloring was beautiful, but I didn't have that kind of time or talent in coloring. I colored mine with a dauber and some classic inks. Though it is hard to see in this photo, I did steal her punched edges on the pattern strip. To make my holes quickly I ran it through the sewing machine without any thread. I didn't put a sentiment on it. If she has enough cards, I thought this one would be perfect to save for any occassion.

The second card I adapted from mommyoftwo. Again I used the layout. I changed the stamp set this time and the colors. I like the verses you get with the "Define Your Life" stamp set. The "kindness" definition worked great for this card. The pom flower is stamped several times without reinking the stamp to give the faded look. Using a sponge I applyed the Groovy Guava onto the white areas. I also added the silver cord to tie the top and bottom of the image panel together.

A baby thanks

I made a sample thank you for the lady who wanted the announcements. Again, she wanted someting simple. Whenever I need a simple, yet effective, card I grab "Greetings Galore". It has 8 stamps in the set. One for each major need. I love the little baby on the rocking horse.

The pattern paper is from the Designer Prints Series again. There are 12 sheets in each package. (2 each of 6 double sided designs) The Banana strip is paper matted behind the print. I off set the oval punches to make room for a brad.

The sentiment is from the same stamp set, but from a different stamp. Under the baby it says "welcome baby", but these are meant to be thank you cards for gifts she receives. You can easily substitute whatever small image you have and change the colors to be more gender specific. This layout is timeless and usefull for everything.

She's having a baby

Not me.
A few people have asked if I would make cards for them. I sat down the other day and made a couple of samples for each of them. I will try and show you one each day this week. I am chairman of our church craft bazaar this weekend and have an incredibly time consuming job with set up this week. Please be patient, I will do my best to show you some new things.
On to todays card.
The first request was for some baby announcements. She wanted them to be very simple. I only own one "baby" stamp set and it was retired in July. This basic design would work with many stamp sets, in many colors, with many sentiments.
The bunny is colored in with markers to match the Designer Prints So Saffron Paper. On the left edges of the image I went over the coloring with a second layer of the same marker color to give it a little shading. The mat for the image and the sentiment is Sage Shadow cardstock. The ribbon is white grosgrain. I cut a length, tie the knot and then attached it to the card with some snail adhesive. The sentiment is from "warm words" and punched out with the small oval punch. It is layer on a piece punched with the large oval punch.
For the announcments, the birth information would be placed on the inside of the card. This card could also be used as a card for the new mom. The colors are very gender neutral, but can be changed easily with the selection of Designer Paper. Then simply color the bow to match the paper or gender of the baby.

Get Well Angela

For those of you who don't know the FA in FA_Stamper stands for Field Artilery. My husband is in the army. We have a group of wives that get together to support one another and be sure we are up to date with any news for the unit. I received notice the other day that one of the ladies had to have emergency surgery for complications from a previous surgery.
I have volunteered to make a meal for her family on Friday. Angela is an on the go person who is always doing things for others. I wanted to make her something special to make her feel better that she has to stop and rest. What better way to do that than with chocolate.

I made her a chipboard coaster box using the "Cutie Pie" Designer Series Paper. I had to hide the candy from my DD, I will add that tomorrow. I covered the four sides of the box with the Designer Paper. The inside is covered with Bashful Blue. The bottom on inside bottom are covered with Old Olive. I used the same image on each side. It is from the "Greetings Galore" stamp set. This set is perfect for any quick note card you could ever need.

I had a few pieces of the Designer Paper left over so I also made her a card and candy wrap. The base of both items is Bashful Blue. The ribbon is Wide Old Olive Grosgrain. The simple tag on the candy is from "Loads of Love". I punched it out with the tag punch and attached it to a scallop circle with a brad. Be sure to check out the after Halloween candy sales. I got this giant Kit Kat bar for only a quarter today. I got a few (19) extras just in case. :wink:
The card uses the largest flower in the Pretties Kit. It is held on with the rhinstone brad that came in the kit. The sentiment, from "Sincere Salutations", is stamped on Old Olive and punched out with the Key Tag Punch.
I used less than one sheet of Designer Paper, 2 sheets of Bashful Blue and 1/2 sheet of Old Olive. This was a quick simple project that will hopefully warm her heart. Try one for a friend of yours today.