Sunday, September 29, 2013

Wetlands - a Stamp Set for all Seasons Including Christmas!

Cherokee Marsh, Dane Co, WI
What's your favorite Wetlands? Yesterday was the first day of Duck Season here in Wisconsin and my husband spent several hours in his favorite wetlands. 
I like spending time there too, but I do have another favorite "wetlands": this new stamp set called Wetlands.




Stampin'UP!'s Wetlands has quickly become one of my favorite stamp sets. I love the realistic drawings and the beautiful fonts. These 3 fonts really cover a lot of occasions where you'd need a card.

This set is intended for occasions like birthdays and saying thank-you.  The Thinking of you is a generic sentiment that works well for lots of things.  But how about this - a Christmas Goose!


My local demo group just did a Christmas Card trade and this was my contribution.

The goose was stamped in Staz-ON on Watercolor Paper with a little color painted on.

The wreath is super easy. Just punch a 3/4" circle and then center the 1-1/4" Scallop Circle punch over the hole and punch your wreath.  Add a little Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details (glitter glue) and voila!

Thanks for stopping by.  More Christmas cards will be coming soon. And Halloween and Thanksgiving too.


Happy Stamping
--Katie

Only 2 days left to save 15% on the Bitty Butterfly punch and Papillon Potpourri Stamp set.

Stampin'UP!'s september promotion:  Bitty Butterfly Punch and Papillon Potpourri Stamp Set

Saturday, September 28, 2013

2-Step Stamping with Too Kind

Card made with Stampin'UP!'s Too Kind stamp set and Bitty Butterfly Punch2-Step Stamp Sets allow you to create some awesome images.  One of my favorites is a set called Too Kind. We used it in class this month to make this card.

Here's why its called 2-step stamping:
The 2 tones on the flower actually come from 2 different stamps.  The larger, lighter purple image is one stamp and the smaller, darker part of the flower is actually a 2nd stamp.

This card is actually really easy to make! 
*We stamped the stems first (because they're long and actually go under the sentiment strip. 
*Next we stamped the large, light purple part of the flower, because we wanted it situated right above the stem
*Finally we stamped the darker purple smaller part of the flower. 

Stampin'UP!'s Too Kind Stamp SetThis stamp set is nicely "forgiving" in that the placement of the flower heads does not have to be exact. It looks good pretty much where ever you stamp the 2 images.


Do you sometimes get annoying lines around your image because the ink got onto the edge of the stamp.? There ar 2 ways to avoid that.
1. Ink the stamp with markers instead of an ink pad
2. Trim your stamp to remove the edges.

Trim the edges of your stamp to avoid the ink edges on your project.
YES - I know they come die cut and ready to punch out.  But sometimes the edges are a problem anyway. 

Stampin'UP!'s Paper Snips have a wonderful sharp point and thin blade that lets me get under just the rubber and not the foam backing. 

This has really made a difference in the quality of my stamping.

Thanks for stopping by

--Katie
Only 3 days left to get your 15% Savings on the Bitty Butterfly punch and Papillon Potpourri Stamp set.

Stampin'UP!'s september promotion:  Bitty Butterfly Punch and Papillon Potpourri Stamp Set

Friday, September 27, 2013

3D, 3 Ways to Mount a Punched Embellishment, and 3 Days Left on this Sale

card made with Stampin'UP!'s Bitty Butterfly Punch and Papillon Potpourri Stamp SetYou can add a 3D effect to your projects with some creative mounting of your punched pieces. 

With tape in hand you might just mount the butterflies flat using the tape. And that would look just fine.

Or consider using a Glue Dot or a small piece of Dimensional Foam to raise the butterfly up a bit and then bend up the wings.  Now you have a butterfly that looks like its flying.


Here is a comparison of the 3 ways to mount a punched embellishment
comparison of adhesives

card made with Stampin'UP!'s Bitty Butterfly Punch

By the way: the butterfly was created using Stampin'UP!'s Bitty Butterfly punch.  This punch and the matching stamp set - Papillon Potpourri - are part of the September special. 

Save 15% when you get both the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and the Bitty Butterfly punch.


Stampin'UP!'s september promotion:  Bitty Butterfly Punch and Papillon Potpourri Stamp Set

Stop by tomorrow to see another card made with this cute punch.

--Katie

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Cute Butterfly Table Favor or 3D Desk Gift for a Co-Worker

Candy treats decorated with Stampin'UP! butterfly punchesHere's one more way to use your butterfly punches. Decorate a piece of chocolate.  And its a great way to use up scraps of Designer papers.

**This is a QUICK, EASY table decoration.
**Or it's a cute little treat for a
   co-worker's desk.  

This is super easy to do.
**cut a piece of Designer Printed Paper into
    a 1" x 3" strip
**Punch the butterflies and adhere the parts

butterfly punch - add dimension by bending up the wings  use glue dots to adhere small punched pieces like this butterfly


comparison of Stampin'UP!'s 2 butterfly punchesA few tips:
**Add a little dimension to the project by bending up the butterfly wings
**Glue dots are the perfect adhesive. They're strong and small enough to fit the body of the butterfly.


Do you have butterfly punches that would work?  Stampin'UP! sells 2 gorgeous punches: The Bitty Butterfly Punch and the Elegant Butterfly Punch


Save 15% on Stampin'up!'s the Butterfly stamp set and Bitty Butterfly punch 

Did you know that Stampin'UP! also sells stamp sets to coordinate with many of the punches. Through the end of September you can SAVE 15% when you buy both the Bitty Butterfly Punch and the matching Butterfly Papillon Potpourri Stamp Set  wood mount. or clear mount
Save 15% on Stampin'up!'s Butterfly stamp set and Bitty Butterfly punch

How would you use these candy treats?  Wouldn't these chocolate butterfly treats look cute on a table for a bridal shower or little girl's birthday party?  How about teacher appreciation gifts?  Or just a little gift left on a co-worker's desk.  They're fun and easy to make - and hey - its an excuse to buy chocolate! That works for me.

Order your butterfly bundle HERE
Order Stampin'UP! product here




Stop back later for photos of the cards from our Christmas Stamp Camp last weekend.

Thanks for stopping by

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Cards shared at our Christmas Stamp Camp

I love my customers - thank you all for a fun day.  Everyone was so nice to each other and helped each other when I was busy cutting.  And people even brought cards to show me.  I love seeing your work and I know other customers also appreciate seeing what you do.  Here are the cards my customers shared with me yesterday. 

Anna did this card with her MOPS group.
  • The stripes are a Designer Paper. 
  • The blue on the flowers was added with a marker after the image was stamped.
  • And as a design feature I love the blue strip of paper.  It accents the color of the flowers and the emphasizes the fact that its a horizontal card
  • Anna even stamped the image in brown instead of black - to highlight the colors from the Designer Paper.
Easy to make and well designed - Thanks Anna


Jessica shared these donations she made to United Way.  Her work group does a Silent Auction for United Way and this group of cards was her contribution.
Gate fold Card. Card made with Stampin'UP!'s Pick a Petal Stamp Set.

The left card is a gatefold.  I like the fact that the fold is off-center. I've made a few gate-fold cards  [center fold and a punched center gate fold] but I really like this look of the off-center fold so I think I'll be trying that soon. Thanks for the idea Jessica.

The right card is made with a flower set! Its one of my favorite retired sets: Pick-a-Petal.  It was a set with different petals to build a flower, but there are so many other things you can do with the petals.  Thats the fun of stamping . . . thinking of alternate and creative ways to use your stuff.  Here's a Halloween card also made with the Pick-a-Petal stamp set.

Punch Art Beer Mug CardBaby Onsie Card Masculine Thank-You Card

Jessica has cards for everyone and every occasion. She made her own template to cut the Baby Onsie on the left.

While the bottom card was stamped with Thank-you sentiments, the design would work equally well with a birthday, anniversary or holiday sentiment.  And with her colors and background on this card its a great masculine card.

The card on the right is a cute punch art Beer Mug card - hey, we're from Wisconsin, what can I say.  The sponging around the edges really adds to the look of the beer bubbles, don't you think?

If you are reading this on-line please leave a comment for Anna and Jessica.  I try to encourage my stampers to bring samples to show and to assure them that their work is valued and appreciated.  Your comments below will add to that feeling of appreciation and value.



If you're local to the Madison/Dane County area - why not join us for our next event.  You can check the events calendar  HERE.

I do admit to a little false advertising for the Christmas Card event this weekend. The invitations said there would be 7 choices, but it ended up being 10 choices - which made the bookkeeping a bit of a challenge.


Christmas Card Buffet Tally SheetSince the event was a Card Buffet. I was a little nervous about how things would go, but it was a great day. My nervousness came from the concept of a "buffet" . The idea is that people check out the selection and then choose WHICH cards to make and HOW MANY.   

Preparation was a challenge. This type of event is hard to pre-cut for  since you don't know how many of each card will eventually get made.  I pre-cut lots of pieces in the sizes and colors that I knew I'd use anyway and waited till people asked for special things like the watercolor paper.

Record Keeping issues: I avoided the bookkeeping problems by making it totally on the honor system. Each person got a sheet like this and had to keep track of how many of each card they made. It worked really well.  Like I said, I have great customers.

Thanks for stopping by - come back later this week for close up photos of the Christmas cards we made.


And if you need any Stampin'UP! supplies you can order on-line HERE.  This is a secure ordering site and your product will be shipped directly to your house. 
Or call and I'll help you place the order.  608-220-3450

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Stamp a Stack of Holiday Cards this Saturday: Christmas Card Buffet

This Saturday is the big Christmas Card Stamp Camp, so this week has been spent getting all the projects ready and making other samples for display.  Thought I share a quick peek of 3 cards.  

Handmade Christmas Cards
The important thing for me when creating Holiday Cards is to make them easy to mass produce.  "Bells and whistles" are fine on a 1-of-a-kind card, but when mass producing I want something stunning yet simple.  Hope these three fit the bill.

Saturday's event is a Buffet - which means you get to choose.  You choose WHICH designs you want to make and you choose HOW MANY (10 card minimum). The fee is $12.50 for the 10 cards and you can make additional cards in 5 card increments for an additional $6.25  There will be 7 different choices and tons more samples on display and you are welcome to bring a camera. Please bring your own adhesive.

The event is this Saturday - September 21st. Come anytime between 9am and 4pm and allow yourself several hours to complete the cards. If your weekend time is short, just do the stamping and punching here and then take parts home to finish later. 

Are you like me?  I like sending handmade cards, but sometimes it gets to be so late in the season that I just don't have time. That's why we're doing this Christmas Card Stamp Camp in September - so we can get a head start on the Holiday Stamping.  You can RSVP HERE on my Stampin'UP! Events Calendar, or just shoot me an email.





Monday, September 16, 2013

Favorite Handmade Christmas Cards

Do you send handmade Christmas Cards? While Christmas is still more than 3 months away, its never too early to get a start on the holiday stamping. Are you local to the Dane County area?  Sign up for the Christmas Card Stamp Camp this Saturday.

Poinsettia Christmas Card made with Stampin'UP! set: Joyful ChristmasWhat's your favorite Christmas Stamp Set? You may have noticed a lack of Holiday stamp sets in the new 2013-2014 Annual Catalog. Have no fear, Stampin'UP! does indeed have Holiday stamp sets. The new Holiday sets are published in the Holiday Catalog. My favorite new Christmas stamp set is the Poinsettia set.

Christmas Card made with Stampin'UP! stamp set: Snowflake SoireeI really like the look of this flower - clean and simple, striking color combination and the richness of the gold embossing. This is one of the cards you can choose to make at the Christmas Card Stamp Camp this weekend. And you'll have your choice of making the flower in white or red.


Here's another favorite Christmas Card from last year. This one uses a set called Snowflake Soiree. The colors for the snowstorm on the top of this card are Night of Navy, Pool Party, Perfect Plum and Crumb Cake - and the whole card sparkles with Iridescent Ice embossing powder.


You may notice that the snowflake set is not in the Holiday Catalog. The snowflakes are a carryover item from last year. Here are pictures of all the carryover sets.

What's your style? Ornaments, snowflakes, Christmas tree . . .  Leave a comment below.  I appreciate knowing what you like because that helps me know what to post.

Stampin'UP! Christmas Stamp Sets: Greetings of the Season and Ornament Keepsakes
Stampin'UP! Stamp Sets: Jewish Celebrations and Evergreen, and Ornament Dies and Christmas Punches
Stampin'UP! Christmas Stamp Sets: Snowflake Soiree and More Merry Messages


Stop back later this week to see more photos of Christmas Cards.

Click HERE to shop for your stamping supplies










Sunday, September 15, 2013

WaterColor Wash with the Wetlands Stamps

Watercolor Wash technique with Stampin'UP!'s Wetlands stamp set.
One more card made with my new favorite stamp set: Wetlands.  This card was the one used to showcase the August Technique of the Month, which was Water Color Wash.

The technique is perfect for this card - don't you think it looks like the birds are walking along the shoreline?

The technique is so simple (for best results use Water Color Paper)
  1. Just stamp the image in permanent ink like Staz-ON
  2. Then swish a paintbrush across the image in your desired colors.
Watercolor Wash technique with Stampin'UP!'s Wetlands stamp set.I love how clean and simple this card looks.  All the white space and the color combination of Baked Brown Sugar and Coastal Cabana on White really gives it the look of a beach.

And speaking of colors, did you notice the pearls? The small pearls on this card are Stampin'UP!'s Basic Pearls, which are self-stick, but come only in white.  However, you can color them with a Sharpie.  Amazing how well the Sharpie turquoise marker matches Stampin'UP!'s Coastal Cabana.

Do you like this card?  Leave a comment below.

And if you like learning techniques then sign up for one of my classes. 
You can  see the class schedule here and follow the easy on-line sign-up process.





Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Masculine Cards - A Walk in the Wild

Stampin'UP! Stamp set: Walk in the WildDo you make cards as needed or keep a stash on hand? If you keep a supply on hand, do you ever find yourself searching through your stash of gorgeous, flowery, sparkly, pretty cards looking for something to send to a man?  

Well here are a couple of samples of masculine cards that I received in a recent demonstrator trade.  Both of these cards were made with a stamp set called Walk in the Wild

I love the realistic imagery in this set. We live out in the country and here in Wisconsin we see lots of pheasants so this set is perfect for the men in my life.

Card made with the moose stamp from Stampin'UP!'s Walk in the Wild Stamp set.

Card made with the moose stamp from Stampin'UP!'s Walk in the Wild Stamp set.


I received these cards as trades at our last demo meeting. We have a small local group of women who meet regularly to share stamping ideas and keep up with new product and how to use it with our customers. Attending monthly meetings like this is one of the benefits of buying the Starter Kit . . .  once you buy the kit you are classified as a demonstrator and you get to attend all the demonstrator meetings.

Would you like to try one of these meetings? You are welcome to attend as my guest.
**We do an optional card trade and you are welcome to join the trade if you'd like
**We do 5 or 6 Make & Takes . . . and that's FREE
Its a just a fun night of stamping with a great group of talented people.
Our meetings are the last Tuesday of the month on the south west side of Madison. Email or call (608) 220-3450 if you'd like to attend - like I said, its FREE and there's no obligation. This is not a marketing meeting, no one will pressure you to join anything. Its just a fun night.

By the way: the Starter Kit is a great deal financially -  whether or not you want to be a demonstrator. The word "kit" is a mis-nomer. Its completely customizable. You choose $125 worth of anything from either the Annual Catalog or the Holiday Catalog or the Clearance Rack. After you make your list of $125 worth of product, you pay only $99 (plus tax) and shipping is FREE. There is no obligation to do anything or buy anything else. Its a very smart way to spend your hobby dollars.

Contact me if you'd like to attend a meeting as a guest.
--Katie

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Chalk Talk Banners

Banner Card made with Stampin'UP!'s Chalk Talk Stamp SetBanner Cards are a great way to highlight a sentiment. The visual effect of the banner is to lead your eye to the main focal point - kind of like the tail of a kite.

The highlighted sentiment on this card is from a new stamp set called Chalk Talk.

This banner card with the focus on the sentiment is a very versatile layout.
. . . You can use just about ANY sentiment so the layout works for any occasion
. . . The colors used on the banner allow you to make it work for masculine, feminine. Or choose school colors for a graduation, or choose holiday colors.

Stampin'UP!'s Chalk Talk Stamp Set

Here's a few things to note about this stamp set.

First, why the name: Chalk Talk?  The script and lines are thin not solid, when stamped they do kind of have the look of chalk.

Second: this set has a matching set of Framelit dies and punches. We have punches to match the circle and oval and there is a Framelit Set that matches the 3 label shapes.


Stampin'UP! also bundles some products. If you want both the stamp set and the framelits you can buy them as a bundle and "save a bundle" (OK, sorry, bad pun). You can save 15%. The bundle is available as either wood mount or clear mount.

Do you know the secret catalog code? Click on the image of the stamp set above to see it bigger and you'll notice a red line around a few of the images and a blue line around others.  The red line around any stamp image means there is a matching die and the blue line means there is a matching punch. Matching Stamps and Dies are just one more example of how Stampin'UP! strives to make our lives easier and our crafting more fun.

Thanks for stopping by
--Katie