Well Said Sentiment Frame

This post is all about the sentiments.  Sometimes I feel as though my projects are more focused on making a pretty picture and less focused on the sentiment itself. So I challenged myself to think of ways to use sentiments in creative ways and as the focus of the project.

For this wedding card the word becomes a frame around the heart. I've tried this concept before with mixed results because in order to get the words parallel and level you need really good hand-eye coordination.

 

But when I bought my Stamparatus everything changed!  That tool is a game changer.

• I placed the white square in the corner of the Stamparatus and centered the sentiment on the paper itself. 
• Then closed the stamping plate to mount the stamp.  
• From there it was a simple matter of ink, stamp, rotate the paper,
  ink, stamp again, rotate the paper again, 
• repeat til all 4 sides are done. 

Voila! perfect square frame made from the word.

The Lovely Lipstick (pink) foil paper is actually one of the free Sale-a-bration choices. Sale-a-bration is Stampin'UP!'s big sale of the year.  Each $50 of product you purchase during Saleabration earns you a free item from the Sale-a-bration brochure. There are 2 colors in the foil pack, 8 sheets total.  The other color is an iridescent grapefruit sheet that is a-maz-ing!

FREE TUTORIAL with a purchase:

The Stamparatus is similar to other stamp positioning tools on the market, but with one significant upgrade: you can change the position of the plates in the hinges.  I'll be posting a project tomorrow that shows that feature.  

If you don't have a stamp positioning tool I'd highly recommend the Stamparatus.  It will take your paper crafting up several notches, seriously.  I have a PDF handout I used in a recent class. I'm happy to send this to anyone who purchases a Stamparatus and wants some ideas to make full use of it.

Can you see some possibilities for using sentiments to make a frame? I'd love to hear what you think about this technique in the comments below. 

I hope this has inspired you to dig through your sentiment sets and try this technique.  The supplies I used on this project are listed at the end of the post.  I'm happy to answer questions about this or any other project.

If you haven't browsed the Stampin'UP! store I encourage you to spend a little time there. This is a great company with wonderful product. I do receive commission on sales and I appreciate your business - thank-you. My commission is paid by the company, you pay nothing extra when purchasing product through me.

Because I do appreciate your business, you can earn extra rewards when you shop with me

Just be sure to use the Rewards Code for the month (found in the left pane of the blog) when you place your on-line order.

Well Said Cling Stamp Set [148796] - $45.00	Stamparatus [146276] - $49.00	Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies [148527] - $35.00	Rhinestone Basic Jewels [144220] - $5.00	Grapefruit Grove & Lovely Lipstick Foil Sheets [149712] - $0.00
	Big Shot [143263] - $110.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11"paper [100730] - $9.75	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" paper [121045] - $8.50	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] - $6.00

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Confetti Stars Graduation Congratulations

How many graduation cards will you be sending out this year? It seems like graduations come in waves.  Birthday's and anniversaries are an annual event so you can plan those cards. Sympathy is usually rare and unexpected so I like to have a few of those cards on hand, ready to go. Weddings you have enough time to plan for. But graduations?  In our family at least they seem to come in waves.  The last several year's I haven't had any and this year I have 4 graduating nieces and nephews.

This card is easy to adapt to any school colors. And if you suddenly find you need a bunch of them its also easy to mass produce.

The mortarboard cap is super easy to make, Cut yourself a small square (I think this one was a 2" square) and turn it as shown. Fold a piece of ribbon in half and secure it with a brad through the center of the black square. I adhered mine to the card with a piece of dimensional foam to give the card a little more "pop". For this card I glued a yellow Candy Dot to the top of the brad, but it would look fine with a plain brad too.

The thing that makes this card special - and also helps you customize the colors - is the vertical star piece. You may be thinking that I sure went to a lot of work to glue on all those stars. NO WAY!  I used Stampin'UP!'s Confetti Star punch to make all the HOLES in the black piece and then I glued a piece of yellow paper behind the holes.

 

The Confetti Stars Punch definitely makes it easy to turn out a customized card for a special graduate.  In addition to the white paper, black paper, black ink and Dimensionals,  here are the other supplies I used.

Confetti Stars Punch [135861] $22.00

Bravo Stamp Set Photopolymer  [135380] $26.00

Daffodil Delight 1/4" Cotton Ribbon [134559] $6.00

Daffodil Delight 8-1/2" X 11"  [119683] $7.00

Brights Candy Dots [130931]$6.00

Thanks for Stopping by: Take a minute and browse previous posts. If you see anything you like I'm happy to help you get the product or just to consult and explain further how the project was made . . . its all about having fun with our hobby.

Z-Fold Congratulations

With the graduation season fast approaching I've had many people asking for ideas for Congratulations cards. This pretty pink flowery card feels very feminine, and I know school colors tend more towards the bold colors. But just imagine this card in whatever colors match for your graduate. The design is easy to adapt.

This card was made by my friend Sue Adams.  The design is a simple z-fold that highlights a vertical sentiment from Stampin'UP!'s B.R.A.V.O. stamp set. Its fun to get a card that opens in an unexpected way.

These pictures should help you see how to do the z-fold. Its very simple, you make your center fold at the normal  4 1/4" and then fold the front flap back on itself.

 

The sentiment Sue chose is from a set called B.R.A.V.O. Just look at all the choices in this set for congratulation anyone (young or old) on any accomplishment. The vertical "congratulations" is perfect for this space. 

By the Way - BRAVO is on the retirement list.

Stampin'UP!'s catalog transition is only 2 weeks away and many people are scrambling to get items they've had on their Wish List. 

You can see Retiring Product that's still available HERE.

Thanks for Stopping by: Take a minute and browse previous posts. If you see anything you like I'm happy to help you get the product or just to consult and explain further how the project was made . . . its all about having fun with our hobby.