Inspiration Ink

Final Card from Diva Day

Here's the last card I made at Diva Day at my upline's house the other day.  Enjoy!

Uses A Word for You Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Block C, Baja Breeze Card Stock, Daffodil Delight Card Stock, Early Espresso Card Stock, Real Red Card Stock, Crumb Cake Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Subtles Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack, Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad, Two-Step Owl Extra-Large Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, 2" x 1-3/8" Oval Extra-Large Punch (formerly Wide Oval Punch), Clips Assortment, Early Espresso 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, and 2-Way Glue Pen.

Another Diva Day Card

Here's another one of the cards I got to make at my upline's house for Diva Day the other day.  It uses the cool technique with the Distressing Essentials kit where you ink up a Clear Block with one of the pads and then press the inked up block to your card stock to make a distressed looking background.  Enjoy!

Uses Wonderful Favorites Set and Plant Hope Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Block D, Chocolate Chip Card Stock, Old Olive Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock, Play Date Designer Series Paper, Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker, Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker, Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad, Distressing Essentials, 3/16" Corner Small Punch, Extra-Large Tag Punch, Neutrals Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Natural Hemp Twine, and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Weekly Inspiration

One of my Stampin' 12 Club members just bought a new house near her sister in Virginia.  She and her husband will be retiring there in a few years.  I made this card to congratulate her on her new home.  Enjoy!

Supplies

- Artistic Etchings Set, page 125, Clear - $14.95, Wood - $18.95

- Occasional Quotes Hostess Level 3 Set, page 14, available in Clear or Wood for free to qualifying hostesses

- Baja Breeze 12 x 12" Card Stock, page 167, $6.95

- Basic Gray 8 1/2 x 11" Card Stock, page 169, $6.95

- Very Vanilla 8 1/2 x 11" Card Stock, page 169, $8.50

- Elegant Soiree Designer Series Paper, page 175, $9.95

- Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad, page 169, $5.95

- Baja Breeze Classic Stampin' Pad, page 167, $5.95

- Basic Rhinestones Jewels, page 188, $4.95

- Basic Gray 5/8" Satin Ribbon, page 13 of Summer Mini, $8.95

- Chantilly 1/2" Crochet Trim, page 190, $6.95

- 2" x 1-3/8" Oval Extra-Large Punch, pages 202-203, $16.95 (formerly called the Wide Oval Punch)

- Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, page 204, $99.95 (includes Multipurpose Platform and Standard Cutting Pads)

- Lots of Tags Sizzlits 4-Pack Dies, page 211, $21.95

- Stampin' Dimensionals, page 197, $3.95

- Stampin' Scrub, page 198, $16.95

- Stampin' Mist, page 198, $4.50

- adhesive

- scissors

Directions

1)  Cut a piece of smooth Baja Breeze Card Stock to 5 1/2 x 8 1/2".  Score and fold in half to make card.

2)  Cut a piece of Basic Gray Card Stock to 4 x 5 1/4".

3)  Cut a piece of Very Vanilla Card Stock to 3 7/8 x 5 1/8".

4)  Cut a piece of flower swirls with color paper from the Elegant Soiree Designer Series Paper to 2 1/4" x 5 1/8".

5)  Lay the designer paper on the bottom of the vanilla rectangle without adhering it. 

6)  Ink up the sentiment from the Occasional Quotes Set with Baja Breeze Ink.  Stamp the sentiment on the left side of the vanilla rectangle just above the designer paper.

7)  Clean the stamp.

8)  Ink up the stamp again with Basic Gray Ink and stamp it over the first image so just a little of the Baja Breeze color shows.

9)  If you are satisfied with the way the sentiment stamped, then adhere the designer paper to the bottom of the vanilla rectangle.  If you don't like the way it stamped, then turn your card stock over and try again!

10)  Adhere the vanilla rectangle to the gray rectangle.

11)  Adhere a piece of Basic Gray Satin Ribbon to the rectangles to hide the seam between the designer paper and the vanilla rectangle.

12)  Adhere a piece of Chantilly Crochet Trim to the center of the satin ribbon.

13)  Adhere the rectangles to the card front.

14)  Ink up the key image from the Artistic Etchings Set with Basic Gray Ink.  Stamp it on a scrap of Very Vanilla Card Stock.

15)  Punch out the image with the Oval Punch.

16)  Cut a piece of textured Baja Breeze Card Stock to 2 1/2 x 2 3/4".

17)  Open the Multipurpose Platform to tab 1.  Place a Standard Cutting Pad on top of the platform.  Place the large oval tag die from the Lots of Tags Sizzlits set on the cutting pad.  Place the rectangle of textured Baja Breeze Card Stock on top of the die.  Place the other cutting pad on top.  Run through the Big Shot.

18)  Adhere the key image to the center of the die cut-out.

19)  Adhere the matted key image to the front of the card so it is to the right of the sentiment and centered over the ribbons using Stampin' Dimensionals.

20)  Add a medium Basic Rhinestone Jewel to the top of the key image.  Add small jewels to some of the circles or bases of the flowers on the designer paper.

Tips

You can earn the Occasional Quotes Hostess Level 3 Set or any of our other wonderful Hostess Only Sets for FREE just by hosting a show!  It can be an In-Home Workshop or a Catalog Show or even your own private order!  Just contact me for details and to arrange a date!

The 12 x 12" packages of single-color card stock now include 6 sheets of smooth card stock and 6 sheets of textured card stock.

The Basic Gray 5/8" Satin Ribbon is only available through the Summer Mini Catalog.  So, it will only be available until August 31, 2010.  If you like this color satin ribbon, be sure to order some soon!

The 2" x 1-3/8" Oval Extra-Large Punch used to be called the Wide Oval Punch.  It punches the same shape and size as before, but is now only available in our new flat-storage style punch.

Our Stampin' Mist and Stampin' Scrub are the best way to clean your stamps.  The Stampin' Mist cleans and moisturizes the rubber so it doesn't get dry and brittle.

You can use the Stamp-a-ma-jig (page 198, $11.95) to help you stamp images straight and exactly where you want them.  This is useful for stamping a sentiment twice like I did on this card.  However, I'm too lazy to pull my Stamp-a-ma-jig out most of the time, I just eye-ball it!  With the new Clear-Mount Stamps this is easier than ever!

It's always a good idea to stamp before adhering things if you can.  That way if you make a mistake, you can easily turn the card stock over and try again!

I also prefer to stamp images before punching them out.  It's easy to line the punch up over the image to make sure you are getting the image straight and centered in the punched shape.

You can use a small pair of tweezers or toothpicks to help you remove the Basic Rhinestone Jewels from their backing sheet and stick them where you want them on your project.

Diva Day Card

Here's one of the cards I got to make at my upline's house for Diva Day the other day.  Diva Day is an incentive that my upline offers.  If we sell a certain amount, promote, or get a new recruit the month before, then we get to go to her house one day each month to make projects she has designed for us.  It's lots of fun!

Uses Because I Care Hostess Level 1 Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Block B, Clear-Block E, Pear Pizzazz Card Stock, Old Olive Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Presto Patterns Specialty Designer Series Paper, Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad, Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad, Brayer, Stamping Sponges, 2" x 1-3/8" Oval Extra-Large Punch (formerly Wide Oval Punch), Crop-A-Dile, Whisper White 5/8" Organza Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Multipurpose Platform, Standard Cutting Pads, Top Note Bigz Die, Lots of Tags Sizzlits 4-Pack Dies, 2-Way Glue Pen, Sticky Strip, and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Butterfly Smiles

This last card we made at my recent Club Class is so easy!  It can be put together in just minutes!  It's hard to tell in the picture, but I did dry emboss the white panel with the Perfect Details Texturz Plates swirls.  Enjoy!

Uses Fabulous Phrases Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Block G, Pacific Point Card Stock, Rich Razzleberry Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Brights Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack, Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad, Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad, Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad, Butterfly Extra-Large Punch, Linen Thread, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Multipurpose Platform, Standard Texturz Impressions Pad, Standard Texturz Silicone Rubber, Perfect Details Texturz Plates, and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Sunny Folded Flower

It's really easy to make a 3-D flower embellishment for your projects using our new 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Extra-Large Punch.  Just punch out two scallop circles and then score a straight line between each of the scallops all the way across on both scallop circles.  Cut one line to the center of the flower on each scallop circle and then alternately fold up and down along the score lines.  Adhere the two halves together and you've got a cool flower!

We made this card featuring a Sunny Garden Designer Series Paper flower at my recent Stampin' Club Class.  Enjoy!

Uses Cottage Garden Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Block C, Poppy Parade Card Stock, Peach Parfait Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Sunny Garden Designer Series Paper, Peach Parfait Classic Stampin' Pad, Poppy Parade Classic Stampin' Pad, Poppy Parade 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon, 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Extra-Large Punch, 1/2" Circle Small Punch, 5/16" Neutrals Jumbo Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Paper Cutter with Scoring Blade, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals, and Sticky Strip.

 

Vintage Folded Heart

Here's another elegant card perfect to give to a friend to let them know you are thinking about them.  It features the new Love Letter Designer Series Paper, the new Petal Card Extra-Large Double Punch, and a new Hostess Level 1 Set.  We made this card at my recent Stampin' Club Class too.  Enjoy!

Uses Tiny Tags Clear-Mount Set and Punch Potpourri Hostess Level 1 Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Block A, Clear-Block D, Riding Hood Red Card Stock, Basic Black Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock, Love Letter Designer Series Paper, Riding Hood Red Classic Stampin' Pad, Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Petal Card Extra-Large Double Punch, Full Heart Extra-Large Punch, Jewelry Tag Medium Punch, Neutrals Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Basic Black 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, and Sticky Strip.

Weekly Inspiration

I made this card to send to my nephew who will be turning 6 soon.  I was so pleased with how it came out and couldn't wait to show it to all of you.  I started creating this post and looked in the new catalog to make sure I gave the correct new name and price for the one punch.  That's when I realized I'd goofed!  The My Way Punch which I used to create the arrows is retired!  I'd missed pulling it off my shelves when cleaning out all my retired stuff, so I happily used it to create this card.  Phooey!

I debated not posting this card as a result, but I still like it and wanted to give you the idea for the Play Date Designer Series Paper and new Petal Card Extra-Large Double Punch, so here it is!  If you want to buy the retired My Way Punch from me, let me know.  It's for sale!

Supplies

- Teeny Tiny Wishes Set, page 157, $36.95

- So Saffron 8 1/2 x 11" Card Stock, page 167, $6.95

- Old Olive 8 1/2 x 11" Card Stock, page 166, $6.95

- Real Red 8 1/2 x 11" Card Stock, page 166, $6.95

- Play Date Designer Series Paper, page 175, $9.95

- Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad, page 169, $5.95

- Petal Card Extra-Large Double Punch, page 202, $17.95

- My Way Punch, retired, I have one for sale for $5 plus shipping

- Modern Label Extra-Large Punch, pages 202-203, $16.95

- Word Window Large Punch, pages 202-203, $15.95

- Heart to Heart Extra-Large Punch, pages 202-203, $16.95

- Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, page 191, $5.95

- 2-Way Glue Pen, page 197, $3.50

- scissors

- adhesive

Directions

1)  Cut a piece of So Saffron Card Stock to 5 1/2 x 8 1/2".  Score and fold in half to make card.

2)  Cut a piece of Old Olive Card Stock to 4 x 5 1/4".

3)  Cut a piece of the brown number blocks Play Date Designer Series Paper to 3 7/8 x 5 1/8".

4)  Cut a strip of Old Olive Card Stock to 1 x 3 7/8".

5)  Cut a strip of yellow polka dot Play Date Designer Series Paper to 3/4 x 3 7/8".

6)  Adhere the strip of designer paper to the strip of olive card stock.

7)  Adhere the strips to the bottom of the brown rectangle of Designer Paper.

8)  Adhere the designer paper rectangle to the olive rectangle.

9)  Adhere a piece of Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon to the center of the yellow designer paper strip.

10)  Adhere the rectangle to the card front.

11)  Ink up the sentiment with Chocolate Chip Ink and stamp on a scrap of So Saffron Card Stock.

12)  Punch out the sentiment with the Word Window Punch.

13)  Punch a scrap of Old Olive Card Stock with the Modern Label Punch.

14)  Adhere the sentiment to the center of the modern label punch-out.

15)  Adhere the matted sentiment to the right side of the strip of designer paper so it is centered over the ribbon.

16)  Tie a small piece of ribbon to the other ribbon on the left side of the sentiment and trim ends.

17)  Punch a small heart from a scrap of Real Red Card Stock using the Heart to Heart Punch.

18)  Use the 2-Way Glue Pen to adhere the heart to the right edge of the matted sentiment.

19)  Punch a petal card from a scrap of Real Red Card Stock using the Petal Card Punch.

20)  Adhere the petal card punch-out over one of the blocks on the brown piece of designer paper in the upper left corner.

21)  Cut the number block desired from a piece of brightly colored number blocks Play Date Designer Series Paper.

22)  Adhere the number block to the center of the petal card punch-out.

23)  Fold the petals closed over the number.

24)  Use the My Way Punch to punch arrows from scraps of So Saffron and Old Olive Card Stock.

25)  Use the 2-Way Glue Pen to adhere the arrows to each other and to the card front so they are pointing at the petal card.

Tips

It is usually easier to stamp an image or sentiment on scrap paper first and then punch it out.  That way you can line the punch up over the sentiment or image to make sure it is straight and centered.

The Petal Card Extra-Large Double Punch punches out the shape and scores the fold lines for the petals at the same time.  As a result, you do have to use a little more force than usual when using this punch.

I used Sticky Strip (page 197, $6.95) to adhere the petal card punch-out to the card front.  I wanted to make sure it would not pull off when the petals were opened and closed.

I have one My Way Punch for sale for just $5 plus shipping!  If you'd like to own this punch, please contact me. 

If you don't have the My Way Punch, you could stamp the "party this way" inside an arrow sentiment from the new Party This Way Set (page 53, $15.95 for Wood, $11.95 for Clear) and then cut it out by hand and use it instead of the punched arrows.

Other colors that work with the Play Date Designer Series Paper are Crumb Cake and Tempting Turquoise.  You could substitute those colors if you prefer.

Tropical Bag Tag

Stampin' Up! gives us a cool bag every year when we check in for Convention.  Inside the bag are our Make & Take supplies, free stamp sets, and workbooks for all the classes.  But, all the bags look just alike.  I like to make a tag with my contact information on the back so that I can easily identify my bag from all the others and, in case I lose it, people know where to send it.

This is the tag I made for this year's Convention.  It features a neat trick with the Distressing Essentials kit that I learned at my upline's the other day during Diva Day.  Just press the little ink pads in the kit directly onto one of our Clear Blocks.  Cover the whole block with ink.  Then, turn the block over and stamp it on a piece of card stock.  When you lift the block back up, you'll have a distressed image on your card stock that is a perfect background.

Uses Tropical Party Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Block A, Clear-Block C, Clear-Block H, Clear-Block I, Old Olive Card Stock, Marina Mist Card Stock, Certainly Celery Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock, Distressing Essentials, Crumb Cake Stampin' Write Marker, Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker, Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad, Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad, Metallic Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, 3/16" Corner Small Punch, Crop-A-Dile, Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelets, Natural Hemp Twine, and Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon.

Next time you need to label a bag, try making your own custom tags.  You can even laminate them once you've finished to make them more durable.

Blue-Eyed Owl

I love the new Two-Step Owl Extra-Large Punch.  It is just so much fun to play with!  You can make a playful owl, a serious owl, or an elegant owl depending on the colors and papers you use.  I went for an elegant owl in this card that we made at my recent Stampin' Club Class.  I thought he looked great against a piece of card stock dry embossed with the gorgeous new Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  Enjoy!

Uses Watercolor Trio Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Block B, Crumb Cake Card Stock, Baja Breeze Card Stock, Basic Gray Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock, Elegant Soiree Designer Series Paper, Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad, Two-Step Owl Extra-Large Punch, Two-Step Bird Extra-Large Punch, Designer Label Large Punch, Chantilly 1/2" Crochet Trim, Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, Paper-Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Multipurpose Platform, Standard Cutting Pads, Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals, 2-Way Glue Pen, and Sticky Strip.