March Card Kit --"Priceless"

Images Copyright Stampin’ Up! 1990-2008, Designed by Jackie Bolhuis

Do you love having cardstock pre-cut for you? Then this is for you!

I am expanding my business into monthly card kits. With the Monthly Card Kit Program you will receive crisp, new ideas that are sure to inspire your creativity. This month’s card kit items are listed below, and the price of the Card Kit is $15. This kit includes all of the consumable supplies you will need to create 12 cards. Shown above is just 1 example of a card you can make with your kit. Purchase the kit, and receive 3 additional full color samples for “alternative” cards you can make with the contents of your kit! In addition, you’ll receive detailed, step by step instructions on how to complete each of the 4 card designs.

Already have the inkpads and stamp set needed to make the cards in this kit? Just buy the Card Kit! Don’t have some (or any) of these items? See the “Add-on Products” list to pick out and order what you need to complete the cards. Just want the Card Kit to make your own designs? Go for it!

Orders for the Card Kits must be received by March 15th. You will receive your kits by the end of the month.

Special Offer for March! Purchase the Card Kit and receive the Coordinating Set at 15% off!

The Card Kit ($15) Includes:
§ 12 Pieces of 5 ½“ x 8 1/2” Kraft Cardstock
§ 12 Pieces of 4” x 2 ¼” Wild Wasabi Cardstock
§ 12 Pieces of 3 ¾” x 2” Groovy Guava Designer Paper (Patterns may vary)
§ 12 Pieces of 2 ½” x 3 ½” Purely Pomegranate CS
§ 24 Pieces of 2 ¼” x 3 ¼” Whisper White Cardstock
§ 12 – 4 ½” Pieces of Wild Wasabi Striped Ribbon
§ 12 – Whisper White Medium Envelopes
§ Step by Step Instructions to complete 4 different card designs using the kit pieces

Add-on Products:
§ Wild Wasabi Classic Ink Pad ($5.25)
§ Purely Pomagranite Classic Ink Pad ($5.25)
§ Groovy Guava Classic Ink Pad ($5.25)
§ Key Tag Punch ($15.95)
§ Priceless Stamp Set ($25.95) $22.06 with the purchase of the Card Kit

Other Optional Purchases:
§ Stampin’ Dimensionals: for raising images for a 3-D effect


Please Note: I am glad to ship kits directly to you! If the kit needs to be shipped, there will be an extra $3 shipping charge.

Contact me (fa_stamper@sbcglobal.net) today to order your Card Kit and see how quick and easy card making can be right in the comforts of your home!

March 15th Scrapbook Project

I am having an Easter themed scrapbook class on March 15th. This is the 12x12 scrapbook page we are going to make.

I got ideas for several of the elements on the page from people on SCS. The page holds two 3x3 photos and one 4x6 photo. It also has place for another photo or some journaling on the tag. It features the "A Good Egg" stamp set and the new Boho Blossoms punch.

Here are some close-ups of the page elements.

The chick's egg is covered with Irridecent Ice.

The "happy" is stamped onto Spring Fling DSP.

"For Father"

Here is a sneak peak at one of the stamp sets coming up in the Occassions Mini starting this Saturday. It is one of the images from the stamp set "Fot Father". The sentiment is from the same stamp set. It reads, "May HAPPINESS touch your life today as you have so often TOUCHED the lives of OTHERS." The other images in the set is a tool box overflowing with tools, and a crate of apples with some gardening items.

For this card, I first stamped the sentiment in Basic Brown ink onto Really Rust cardstock. Then masking the sentiment I stamped the "Sanded" background in Basic Brown ink. The image is also stamped in Basic Brown ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock. It is layered onto a piece of So Saffron. The bottom edge of both were torn by hand to follow the angle of the image. The image is colored in with watercolor pencils and softened with blender pens. The pattern paper is from Fall Flowers. Two gold brads were added to the top of the image panel.

Birthday Whimsey

AHhhhhhh!! TAXES!!!! Ok now that I have that out of my system, onto the cards.

I made two quick cards last night using the Sale-A-Bration stamp set "Birthday Whimsey". The first card was made as a birthday card. The second I made to be a Baby Shower card. This set is very versitile. You can use the present for just about anything. The cake also. Simply color it something different to match the scheme of the event. The balloons are nice for many occassions, not just birthday. Make them silver or gold for an anniversary. Color match them to your best friends wedding shower. Turn them upside down for......well check back another day for that one, I still need to make that card.

Both of these cards were simple to do. I colored onto the stamps with my Stampin' Write Markers. Huff of air and stamped them on Whisper White card stock. A few simple embelishments and they are done. They are not fancy or anything, but they work wonderfully for that card you need in a pinch.

This stamp set is available for free till March 17th with a $50 product purchase.

Here before we know it

What is it about holidays that makes them come so fast? I feel like we just got settled down after Christmas. Then Valentine's Day came before I could get cards to all my friends. Now Easter will be here before we know it. It is sooooo early this year. March 23rd will be here soon.

To help get some ideas for Easter projects I joined a swap on SCS with a few other demos. Here is my contribution to that swap. I ordered the stamp set "A Good Egg" a couple of weeks ago. I love it in every way possible. There is so much you can do with the little pieces. For this particular card I thought it would be fun to have a non-traditional fold. It opens just under the grass. The grass and basket fold down and the egg folds up to reveal the hatched chick inside the card.

The grass was simple. A strip of Mellow Moss slightly taller than the bottom edge of the card. Using my paper snips I cut it for the grass blades. The basket was made using the tab punch and both oval punches. The egg was fun to make. The stamp set comes with various things you can use to decorate the egg. I first stamped the egg shape onto Whisper White cardstock. I then stamped the flowers and dots all over it. I stamped the zig zag on a scrap piece of cardstock. After coloring it all in, I cut out both pieces and layered them together. There is also open and closed circles to choose from. You could even stamp the egg onto some pattern paper for a decorated look. You could also use all those other small background type stamps to fill in your egg.

The sentiment comes from the same stamp set. I punched it out with the word window punch to place in the corner. The ribbon is 1/4" grosgrain. The ribbon slider is from the Silver Hodgepodge set in the upcoming Occassions Mini Catalog. A few punches of the ticket corner punch for the inside panel and viola. The coloring of the egg took the longest, but the card was simple to make.

Embossing Class

At my monthly club workshop the other night we did some basic heat embossing. Here are the two cards we made. For each one we stamped the image in versamark and embossed with black EP.

The hostess this month had also requested a quick review of wheels as she had a freind with some questions. So we started with the Groovy Guava strip in the middle. It is wheeled with the "Whimsy" Jumbo image in black ink. (TIP: I clean my wheels with stazon ink cleaner. It helps to get that stubbor ink on the rubber much easier.) The card actually opens in the center, just under the Guava piece. To create this fold I scored my paper 2-1/8" from each side.

We then embossed the flower/heart image from "Merci" onto the Whisper White cardstock. Using aqua painters and several In Color ink pads, we colored in the image. It is then matted onto a piece of Wild Wassabi, and attached with dimensionals to the card front. Using the slot punch we made a small hole in the right hand side of the card. This made attaching the stripped grosgrain ribbon much easier. This card doesn't take long to make and people love that it opens in the middle.

For the second card, we embossed the flower cluster from "Embrace Life" onto the Whisper White cardstock. To add some texture, we used a little strip of pattern paper from "Ginger Blossom" and some textured Groovy Guava for the background. The image was colored in with a Stampin' Write Marker this time. We also added a little glitter with a two way glue pen to the tips of the flowers. The best part about this card is that you can use any of the sentiments from the "Sincere Salutations" stamp set and have a card for any need. Special thanks to the person on SCS whom I CASED this card from. It is one of my favorites.

Also at class I showed everyone the basic techniques for stamping with craft ink and clear EP, heat & stick powder for glitter and the look of Irridecent Ice EP on a project.

MIA

I have been missing in action for awhile now. The kids have been moody lately and not allowed for any stamping time. By the time they go to bed, I am exhausted. I did manage to make a couple of cards last week for Valentine's Day. This is the first chance I have had to post them. DH and I had some much needed Iraq prep shopping to do this weekend and it was the Daytona 500 yesterday.

On to the cards.

The first I made for my DH. I had made him a card a few weeks back, but wanted to make another. I bought "Boatloads of Love" with the purpose of making Valentine cards this year, so I was going to use it. I like the little dingy that the tub boat pulls. The set comes with a heart to put in the boat, but a wanted something special for DH.

I made the envelope using the small tag template sheet. The tag itself is the tag punch. It is pulled out so you can see it, but does fit nicely inside the envelope. The saying is from the "Lots of Thoughts" Sale-A-Bration stamp set. The colors are all from the bold brights family. Change out the tag saying and this card would be good for a birthday also.

The second card I made for a friend of mine. She moved back home when her husband deployed. Then through circumstance they got a divorce and she didn't return here. I miss her dearly. She sent DH and I a lovely card the other week, so I wanted to make a special one for her.

I stamped on the ribbon with stazon black ink. There are two flowers layered on one another. They were stamped onto vellum with versamark ink and embossed in gold EP. I then colored them in with my real red marker. The flower cluster is also stamped on vellum and colored in with marker. A few dimentionals and some brads and this one is done.

Here is a close up of the layered flowers.

-----------------side notes----------------

I switched newsletter formats for my monthly mewsletter sent to customers. Many of you didn't open it. After talking with a few of you, it sounds like most of them went to junk/spam folders. I am looking into new options so you can continue to receive class updates.

Until then, be sure to check out the class calendar on my SU! web site. I have added several in the next few months. http://www.fastamper.stampinup.net/

There is still 3 weeks left in Sale-A-Bration. The Occassions Mini starts March 1st. I also have several surprises on the horrizon, so be sure to keep a look out.

Same layout---Different look

One of the deacons at our church celebrated 55 years of marriage the other day. They are such nice people and have been great advisors and friends to our family. I set out to make them a card and this is what transpired.

The numbers are embossed in gold EP. They are the retired Headline Numbers, but there are some wonderful new ones in the Spring/Summer Catalog that would work just as well if not better. The "Congratulations" is also embossed in gold. Again from a retired hostess set. It was just perfect for this card. The paper and embelishments are all current. Gold brads, River Rock Designer Prints, Brushed Gold paper, and cream Grosgrain Ribbon. The "55" is up on dimensionals.

The layout is SC157 from the Wednesday sketch challenges. I liked it so much I made another card. This one features the Flower Fusion felt flowers. The stamped swirl if from "Priceless" and is done in white craft ink. The "cherish" is from "Warm Words". The papers are Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, and Berry Bliss DSP. There is also some Chocolate Chip thrown in for contrast. I love this color combination. A few pastel brads and Pink ribbon and I am done.

More Rub-on ideas

Here are a few more projects that you can do with rub-ons.

The candle has two separate rub-ons. They are also from the Eastern Elegancy like yesterdays projects. I got the candle from the dollar store. The area around the rub-on is clear so it doesn't interfear with the candle colors underneith.
The fishbowl is also from the dollar store. I wrapped a piece of wide old olive grosgrain around the jar and then placed the rub-on just above the ribbon. The fram is also from the dollar store. (Do you see the trend?) I covered the frame with paper from "Berry Bliss". The flower in the 5 petal punch. It has a rub on in white placed on it. There is a rhinstone brad in the center and it is held to the ribbon with a glue dot. The design on the ribbon is also a rub-on. When putting rub-ons on ribbon the grosgrain works the best. I also found it helpful to rub across the ribbon instead of long ways.

Have fun with your rub-ons.

Rub-ons

I had stamping club last night. One of the techniques we used was rub-ons. Rub-ons are very versitile. We used them on baby food glass jars. A couple keys when using rub-ons on glass items. Make sure the item is clean and dry. After you put on the rub-on you will not be able to wash the item, so they need to be for decoration or packaging of small gifts. Nothing liquid. You can experiment with coatings over the rub-on if you want to wach the item. I have not done this yet. I am also leary about putting a coating on something I may eat or drink from.

I used the Eastern Elegancy rub-on on both the jar and the card. The rub-ons come with two sheets, one black and one white. I placed a piece of paper in the jar to make the rub-on stand out better.