Inspiration Ink

September Club Contest Winners

Each month, I challenge the members of my Stampin' Clubs to create a project for a contest and submit it to me.  I assign a theme for them each month.  Everyone in the Clubs then votes on their favorite 2 entries and the top entries win their creators a $5 coupon to use on their next order.

For September, I challenged them to create a birthday project.

Only Shannon Aydukovice actually submitted entries so she was the automatic winner. 

Here are Shannon's four beautiful cards:

Uses Best Blossoms Sale-A-Bration Set (retired), Asian Artistry Hostess Level 2 Set (retired), and Small Script Hostess Level 1 Set (retired) plus Pool Party Card Stock, Island Indigo Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad, Lucky Limeade Classic Stampin' Pad, Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad, Blender Pens, SNAIL Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals, Paper Snips, and 1-1/4" Square Punch.

Uses Thoughts & Prayers Set and Sincere Salutations Set plus Chocolate Chip Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad, Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write Marker, Certainly Celery Stampin' Write Marker, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack (retired), Daffodil Delight 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), SNAIL Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Craft Scissors, Ornament Punch, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Standard Cutting Pads, and Top Note Bigz Die.

Uses Watercolor Trio Set (retired) plus Calypso Coral Card Stock, Crumb Cake Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock, Chocolate Chip Card Stock, Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad, Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad, Early Espresso 5/8" Satin Ribbon (retired), SNAIL Adhesive, Craft Scissors, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Multipurpose Platform, Standard Cutting Pads, and Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.
Uses Inspired by Nature Set and Small Script Hostess Level 1 Set (retired) plus Kiwi Kiss Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad, Lucky Limeade Stampin' Write Marker, Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write Marker, Regal Rose Stampin' Write Marker, Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon (retired), SNAIL Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Craft Scissors, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Multipurpose Platform, Standard Cutting Pads, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, and spray bottle of water.

Shannon will receive a $5 Coupon from me to use on her next Club Order.  Great cards, Shannon!

 

Take It Tuesday

It's Tuesday!  So, it's time for my next Take It Tuesday session.  It's also my birthday, so I'd love to have you pop by to help me celebrate!

You can stop by anytime between 2 p.m and 7 p.m. on any Tuesday.  You don't have to tell me in advance that you are coming, just pop by!

This is a good time to pick up any orders you may have waiting for you, pay me for an order or upcoming event, register for an upcoming event, or place an order.  You can browse through samples I have on display and, since I have retired merchandise set out for sale, you can also shop for retired products!  Feel free to bring a camera to take pictures of samples on display so you can use them for inspiration at home.

You can also bring any products you may have that you'd like a little extra instruction on how to use and I'll give you a quick lesson.  So, if you have a punch that is giving you trouble or aren't sure what sandwich to use with a Big Shot Die or want some tips on using Wheels, etc. bring them along and get a one-on-one lesson.

If you have cards or cards to donate for Operation Write Home, bring those too!  Please just remember no glitter!

I'll also have a couple of quick and easy card projects ready for you to stamp if you wish.  These projects will be different each week.  Cost will be $1 per project made.  You may make one of each of the two cards available if you wish.

Today we'll be making these two cards:

Uses Easy Events Clear-Mount Set plus Melon Mambo Card Stock, Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad, Peach Parfait Classic Stampin' Pad, Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad, Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad, Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad, Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker, Note Cards, Melon Mambo 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones Jewels, Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter, Aqua Painter (for sealing the envelopes included with the Note Cards), Blender Pens, Jet Black StazOn Ink Pad, Clear-Mount Block C, SNAIL Adhesive, Sticky Strip, 2-Way Glue Pen, Stampin' Mist Stamp Cleaner, Stampin' Scrub, Craft Scissors, Paper Cutter, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, and 2-1/2" Circle Punch.

Uses Happiest Birthday Wishes Hostess Clear-Mount Set plus Pink Pirouette Card Stock, Soft Suede Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad, Beau Chateau Designer Series Paper, Fleurettes II, Basics Glimmer Brads, Clear-Mount Block G, SNAIL Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals, Paper Snips, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Extra-Large Oval Punch, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Multipurpose Platform, Standard Cutting Pads, and Designer Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folders Set.

Every Tuesday between 2 and 7 p.m. the door is open!  You don't have to be picking anything up or dropping anything off either.  Just pop by and stamp and visit!

Fall Nugget Purses

These cute little nugget purses are the extra goodies I gave to my Club Members who came to Club Classes this month.  Enjoy!

Uses It's a Wrap Holidays Clear-Mount Set plus Pear Pizzazz Card Stock, More Mustard Card Stock, More Mustard Classic Stampin' Pad, Spice Cake Designer Series Paper, Very Vanilla 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Gold Brads, Clear-Mount Block H, SNAIL Adhesive, Sticky Strip, Mini Glue Dots, Paper-Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Craft Scissors, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Boho Blossoms Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, 1" x 2 5/8" address labels, and candy.

The card stock is cut to 1 1/2 x 4 5/8".  Then, it is scored at 7/8", 1 1/8", 2 3/8", and 3 3/8" using the Simply Scored Scoring Tool.

I'm a Winner!

Shelli Gardner, one of the founders of Stampin' Up!, has an awesome blog of her own.  Every month, she issues a creative challenge theme.  All we have to do to participate is create a project that fits the theme and post a comment to her blog post with a link to our blog showing our project.  I've been trying to participate whenever I can. 

Last month, Shelli's theme was Thinking of You.  Any kind of project that could be given to someone to let them know you are thinking of them.  It could be a sympathy card, get well card, encouragement card, friendship card, etc.  I submitted a few posts that showcased cards I'd made that I thought fit this theme.

Yesterday, I found an e-mail in my in-box from one of Shelli's assistants letting me know that I'm a winner!  Shelli actually chose one of my cards as a winning entry.  My name and a link to my winning entry post is listed on Shelli's blog.  Click here to go directly to Shelli's post listing the winners, including me!  I also get to choose a stamp set of my choice for free!  Wooo hooo!

Here's a link directly to my winning entry on my blog (click here) and another view of the winning card.  Enjoy!

Charming Resist Leaf

Here's a pretty card for fall using the emboss resist technique.  Enjoy!

Uses Gently Falling Clear-Mount Set, Charming Set, and You're a Gem Clear-Mount Set plus Pool Party Card Stock, More Mustard Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock, Soft Suede Card Stock, Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad, More Mustard Classic Stampin' Pad, Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad, Spice Cake Designer Series Paper, Spice Cake Designer Fabric, Mini Clothespins, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Powder Pals, Heat Tool, Stamping Sponges, VersaMark Pad, Clear-Mount Block A, Clear-Mount Block D, SNAIL Adhesive, Sticky Strip, and Craft Scissors.

Sunflower Circles Birthday

Sunflowers always seem like a fall flower to me, so I thought this card was perfect for sending fall birthday wishes.  Enjoy!

Uses Sunflower background stamp and Petite Pairs Clear-Mount Set plus So Saffron Card Stock, More Mustard Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock, So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad, More Mustard Classic Stampin' Pad, More Mustard 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon, Spice Cake Designer Buttons, Clear-Mount Block B, SNAIL Adhesive, Sticky Strip, Mini Glue Dots, Craft Scissors, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Multipurpose Platform, Standard Cutting Pads, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, and 3-1/2" Circle Originals Die.

Holly Berry Bouquet Christmas Totes

I made these pretty totes for my August Club Hostesses and the first two Club Members to get their completed order to me in August.  I got the idea for these totes from a tutorial by Connie Babbert.  You can find Connie's great tutorial here.  She calls them Beach Bag Totes.  Enjoy!

Uses Occasions Alphabet Clear-Mount Set plus Wild Wasabi Card Stock, Cherry Cobbler Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock, Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad, Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write Marker, Holly Berry Bouquet Specialty Designer Series Paper, Cherry Cobbler/White Baker's Twine, Cherry Cobbler 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Gold Brads, Clear-Mount Block B, SNAIL Adhesive, Sticky Strip, Bone Folder, Paper-Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Craft Scissors, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Decorative Label Punch, 3/16" Corner Punch, Large Oval Punch, and 1/16" Circle Handheld Punch.

I used the 3/16" Corner Punch on the bottom pieces so they'd fit nicely.  I also added a bottom piece on the outside bottom to hide all the seams and add more stablility.

Weekly Inspiration

Sorry I never posted a Weekly Inspiration last week.  I had just returned from Florida to help my older son move into a new apartment for his new job.  We've also had a lot of health issues lately that are taking some time to resolve.

Today's project was the extra goody I gave each of my Club Members along with their August Club Orders.  These are really easy to make and so fun!  Wouldn't they make cute party favors?  Enjoy!

Supplies

- It's a Wrap Holidays, page 14 of Holiday Mini, Clear - $19.95, Wood - $27.95

- Sweets for the Sweet, page 65, Clear - $18.95, Wood - $25.95

- Brights Assortment 8-1/2" x 11" Card Stock, page 177, $6.95

- Whisper White 8-1/2" x 11" Card Stock, page 180, $8.50

- Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad, page 177, $5.95

- Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad, page 177, $5.95

- Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad, page 177, $5.95

- Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad, page 177, $5.95

- Big Top Birthday Designer Series Paper, page 186, $10.95

- SNAIL Adhesive, page 206, $6.95

- Stampin' Dimensionals, page 206, $3.95

- Sticky Strip, page 206, $6.95

- Stampin' Mist Stamp Cleaner, page 207, $4.50

- Stampin' Scrub, page 207, $16.95

- Paper Cutter, page 208, $24.95

- 1" Circle Punch, page 212, $10.95

- 3/4" Circle Punch, page 212, $10.95

- Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine (includes Multipurpose Platform and Standard Cutting Pads), page 215, $99.95

- Extended Premium Crease Pad, page 215, $19.95

- Extended Cutting Pads, page 215, $19.95

- Matchbox Bigz XL Die, page 221, $42.95

- candy

- 1" x 2 5/8" address labels

Directions

1)  Cut a piece of card stock to 5 1/2 x 6 1/2".  Cut another piece of the same color of card stock to 3 1/4 x 6 3/4".

2)  Build a sandwich of one Extended Cutting Pad, Die with card stock positioned on top, and Extended Premium Crease Pad.  Place the 5 1/2 x 6 1/2" piece of card stock over the area of the die that cuts out the bottom of the box.  Place the 3 1/4 x 6 3/4" piece of card stock over the area of the die that cuts out the sleeve for the box.  Run through the Big Shot.

3)  Fold along all score lines.  You may want to use a Bone Folder (page 207, $6.95) to get really crisp folds.

4)  Fold the bottom of the box together.  You should not need any adhesive.  The tabs on the sides of the flaps should help hold the box together.

5)  Fold the sleeve together.  Place a piece of Sticky Strip along the one small flap on the end of the sleeve to hold it together.

6)  Slide the sleeve onto the box.

7)  Cut a piece of Big Top Designer Series Paper in the pattern you want to use to 2 1/4 x 6 1/2".

8)  Put SNAIL along all the edges on the back side of the designer paper strip.

9)  Place the designer paper on the top of the sleeve so it is centered from side to side.  Wrap the designer paper around the sleeve pressing it in place along the edges as you go.

10)  Stamp the swirled solid candy image from the Sweets for the Sweet Set in Daffodil Delight Ink onto a scrap of Whisper White Card Stock.

11)  Punch the candy image out with the 1" Circle Punch.

12)  Adhere the candy image to the top of the matchbox sleeve.

13)  Stamp the peppermint candy image from the Sweets for the Sweet Set in Real Red Ink onto a scrap of Whisper White Card Stock.

14)  Punch the candy image out with the 1" Circle Punch.

15)  Adhere the candy image to the top of the matchbox sleeve so it overlaps the yellow candy a bit.

16)  Clean the stamp.

17)  Stamp the peppermint candy image from the Sweets for the Sweet Set in Old Olive Ink onto a scrap of Whisper White Card Stock.

18)  Punch the center of the candy image out with the 3/4" Circle Punch.

19)  Adhere the candy image to the top of the matchbox sleeve so it overlaps the red candy a bit.

20)  Stamp the 4You wrapper image from the It's a Wrap Holidays Set in Tempting Turquoise Ink onto a scrap of Whisper White Card Stock.

21)  Use the 3/4" Circle Punch to punch out only the "4You."

22)  Adhere the 4You image to the top of the matchbox sleeve using a Stampin' Dimensional so that it overlaps the three candies a bit.

23)  Stamp the 4You wrapper image in Tempting Turquoise Ink onto an address label.

24)  Clean the stamp.

25) Stamp the 4You wrapper image in Real Red, Daffodil Delight, and Old Olive Inks onto address labels.  Remember to clean the stamp between each color of ink.

26)  Peel up the labels one at a time and wrap them around the candy pieces.

27)  Place the wrapped candies inside the matchbox.

Tips

You will want to use a Crease Pad when cutting with dies that also score for best results.

You may need to use a shim (a thin piece of cardboard or card stock) on top of your sandwich for best results.  Each Big Shot and die is slightly different, so test yours first and determine the best sandwich for you.  Pieces of cardboard included with our Designer Series Paper packs work great for shims.

Take It Tuesday

It's Tuesday!  So, it's time for my next Take It Tuesday session. 

You can stop by anytime between 2 p.m and 7 p.m. on any Tuesday.  You don't have to tell me in advance that you are coming, just pop by!

This is a good time to pick up any orders you may have waiting for you, pay me for an order or upcoming event, register for an upcoming event, or place an order.  You can browse through samples I have on display and, since I have retired merchandise set out for sale, you can also shop for retired products!  Feel free to bring a camera to take pictures of samples on display so you can use them for inspiration at home.

You can also bring any products you may have that you'd like a little extra instruction on how to use and I'll give you a quick lesson.  So, if you have a punch that is giving you trouble or aren't sure what sandwich to use with a Big Shot Die or want some tips on using Wheels, etc. bring them along and get a one-on-one lesson.

If you have cards or cards to donate for Operation Write Home, bring those too!  Please just remember no glitter!

I'll also have a couple of quick and easy card projects ready for you to stamp if you wish.  These projects will be different each week.  Cost will be $1 per project made.  You may make one of each of the two cards available if you wish.

Today we'll be making these two cards:

Uses Four Frames Set, Sunflower background stamp, and Petite Pairs Clear-Mount Set plus So Saffron Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock, So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad, More Mustard Classic Stampin' Pad, More Mustard Stampin' Write Marker, Subtles Collection Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack, More Mustard 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon, Clear-Mount Block B, SNAIL Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, and Decorative Label Punch.

Uses Love & Sympathy Clear-Mount Set plus Pear Pizzazz Card Stock, Perfect Plum Card Stock, Confetti White Card Stock, Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad, Concord Crush Classic Stampin' Pad, Perfect Plum Classic Stampin' Pad, Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad, 2010-2012 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (Concord Crush), Garden Green Stampin' Write Marker, Perfect Plum 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Stamping Sponges, Clear-Mount Block B, Clear-Mount Block I, SNAIL Adhesive, Sticky Strip, Stampin' Mist Stamp Cleaner, Stampin' Scrub, Craft Scissors, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Standard Cutting Pads, 3-1/2" Circle Originals Die, and copy paper.

Every Tuesday between 2 and 7 p.m. the door is open!  You don't have to be picking anything up or dropping anything off either.  Just pop by and stamp and visit!

Triple Layer Punch Video

Check out the video Stampin' Up! has produced on their YouTube Channel with hints and tips for using the new triple layer punches.  You can find the video by clicking here.  Enjoy!