2010 Class Calendar

The New Year is approaching and one of my resolutions is to GROW my Stampin' Up! business. This means monthly stamp camp workshops, hostess specials, and special promotions. You won't want to miss out on the fun!

For 2010, I will be hosting a monthly stamp camp in my home on the 3rd Friday of each month. At the bottom of the blog, you will find the 2010 calendar through June, including the planned project for that month. Project prices will generally range from $5 to $10, with class discounts available when you bring a friend, make a purchase of $50 or more, or book a workshop. Our for January through April will be:

January 15 ~ Valentine Sweet Treat Cups

February 19 ~ CD Jewel Case Photo Cubes

March 19 ~ Faux Alligator Matchbox Purses

April 16 ~ File Folder Albums

May and June stamp camp projects are to be announced so check back frequently for updates. For more details and to be added to my invitation list, email me at stampinfrog@yahoo.com or visit my Stampin' Up! website http://www.charityl.stampinup.net/.

The hostess benefits will also be bigger in 2010. As with 2009, I will continue the Book to Look Envelopes. If you book a show you get to open the envelope which will entitle you to free Stampin' Up! TM merchandise on the day of your show. Also, you'll get a free, personal handcrafted item from me.

The beginning of the year is a great time to book your workshops. Beginning January 5th, the new Occasions Mini Catalog will be available and Sale-A-Bration will begin. Sale-A-Bration is a stampers favorite time of year. It is your chance to earn free, exclusive Stampin' Up! products. The promotion goes from January 5th to March 31st. During this time you earn one free Sale-A-Bration product for every $50 you spend. This is also the best time to host a show. Host a show with at least $300 in sales to earn an additional free product. Finally, join my Stampin' Up! team during Sale-A-Bration and you can select a free stamp set from the Idea Book & Catalog ($47.95 value). Stampin' Up! will also allow customers to select stamp sets from the Idea Book & Catalog as their free Sale-A-Bration set (limited list of stamps).

Mark your calendars for our Stamp Camps and book a show TODAY!

God Bless and Happy Stampin'

Slim Line CD Jewel Case Photo Frame

In preparation for an upcoming Stamp Camp, I have been in search of CD Jewel Cases and thought I found some on Craigslist, however, the bulk of them turned out to be slim line cases and I needed the regular size. So, I was left with the dilemna of what to do with more than 40 slim line CD cases. Here is what I came up with- a picture frame.

For this project, you will need:

• 1 Slim Line CD Case
• So Saffron Card Stock, 4 3/4 x 4 7/8 inches
• Whisper White Card Stock, 3 1/8 x 3 3/4 inches
• Certainly Celery Scrap
• 3/4 inch Circle Punch
• Crop-A-Dile
• Petal Party Simply Scrappin Kit Adhesive Die Cuts
• Cheep Talk Stamp Set
• Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
• Only Orange Classic Stampin' Pad
• Sweet Pea Stitched Felt Embellishments (Available beginning January 5th)
  

Prior to starting this project, check to be sure your card stock will fit into your frame. You may have to trim down just a bit depending on the size of your CD case.

1. Punch two holes in the "CD" side of your case using your Crop-A-Dile. Thread your ribbon through the holes and then tie it off at the top.
2. Use the heart from Cheep Talk to stamp three hearts using Only Orange Classic Stampin' Pad. Punch out each heart using the 3/4" circle punch.
3. Adhere the orange polka dot border from the Petal Party Simply Scrappin Kit along the long edge of the So Saffron card stock, approximately 1/2" from the edge.
4. Adhere the Whisper White card stock to your page, this will be the mat for your photo. I will be adding a photo of my kiddos and use this as a gift for my aunt.
5. Adhere 1 circle in the top left corner and then two in the lower bottom corner.
6. Use sticky tape to attach the stitched felt embellishments to the lower left corner.
7. Add your photo(s).
8. Insert your page into the CD case. Use shiny, clear tape on the edges of the case to hold it closed.

Viola! An easy gift which uses recycled materials.

God Bless & Happy Stampin!
Charity

Christmas Projects

We're all familiar with that poem " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the line "not a creature was stirring..." I don't know about you, but in the days leading up to Christmas, I was stirring, stirring up lots of projects!

As usual for December, we had lots going on. This year was no exception. Plus, it really seemed like the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas were shorter than normal. So, right up to Christmas, I was finishing up projects. Since I didn't get a chance to post them before the holidays, I'll post them now so you at least see the ideas. As always, change the stamp set used and you go from a Christmas card to say a Valentine's card.

First, the Lawson Family Christmas Cards. I used the Holy Triptych Stamp Set from Stampin' Up!TM. For paper, I chose Garden Green and Rose Red for my cards. With the exception of the stamp set I purchased, I was trying to use supplies I had on hand so I had some cards in Garden Green and some in Rose Red. I also used designer series papers as an accent on both the front and the inside. I used Merry Moments and Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Papers. I printed my sentiments onto Sahara Sand card stock and I stamped my Holy Triptych images onto Very Vanilla. I used Soft Suede to stamp the images. I used the wise men, angel and Holy Family images. On the inside of the card, I used the sentiment from Christ is Born, stamped Chocolate Chip. I have to thank my pal, Diana, for inspiration on this card. I was struggling with how to simplify assembly and still use all three of the images. She suggested the layout that I selected. It worked wonderful!

For the front of the card, I wanted to recreate a technique I saw Shelly Gardner use at Regionals. She created a beautiful project using pages torn from an old book. It was just beautiful and I wanted something like that for my cards. I didn't have an old book so I decided to print a hymn onto regular copy paper. I did not want to use card stock because it would be too heavy. I found the lyrics to "We Three Kings" online as a jpeg and put four copies on a page. To age the paper, I mixed a few drops of Soft Suede re-inker with some water and softly brushed it onto the paper with a sponge brush and then wiped it off with a towel. After it dried, I crinkled the paper and then tore the edges to get the parts I needed for the card. When I glued it to the card fronts, I very intentionally chose to let the crinkles be raised up to add texture. It worked great and I love the way it turned out.

Holy Triptych is a line art set and lends itself to watercolor techniques. I needed to make 43 cards so this took a great deal of time, explaining why I was working right up to Christmas Eve. Good thing most were hand delivered. I used my pastels for water coloring the images. Although Stampin' Up! does not sell one, I used a chalk blending solution and a fine brush. You get the same look with a blender pen, but I work better with the solution. For colors, I generally stuck to Rich Regals for the wise men, Soft Subtles for the angel, and Earth Elements for the Holy Family.

For the angels wings, I decided to first apply the Barely Banana chalk. After, I went applied a very light coat of White Shimmer paint. I used the same technique for the star above the Holy Family and the "halos" on Mary and Baby Jesus.

It took a bit of time to finish all the cards, but I love the way they turned out. Once all the water coloring was done of the images (3 x 43 =129!), it actually went rather quickly to assemble things. The bulk of the work is in the detail of the water coloring and also cutting all the paper. Everything else goes pretty smoothly after that. Here are 37 of the completed cards (6 had found their way to their new homes by the time I took the photo):

Now, how do you change this up for Valentines? Use Real Red and the song lyrics to the "your song." Also, you can select more romantic stamps. You can also get some cute Birthday Cards using the lyrics for "Happy Birthday to You."

The next Christmas project I want to share is our photo Christmas Card. I handed a few of these to family and friends who would like to have a photo of the kids. I used a card template in My Digital Studio to create this card. The template I chose only had one photo, so I made some changes, adding a background paper and then two photo boxes. I selected photos of our kids from our Church Christmas pageant. When it was complete, I exported the card as jpeg and then uploaded to a local drugstore photo website and did the one hour printing. I took advantage of a sale for printing. If you haven't purchased My Digital Studio yet, it is a well worth the investment. I've always enjoyed the photo cards that people send out but never liked the expense of having them printed. By taking advantage of the sale, I was able to print the 15 photo cards I needed for $1.75. I'll likely do this throughout the year as a way to keep in touch and share family photos with others.

The next and final project for this post are the teacher's gifts from the kids. We decided to use the Big Shot to cut snowflake ornaments using the Snowflake #2 die and a soda can. Yes, I said a soda can. Wear gloves when you do this to avoid cutting your hands. Cut the cans open so that you can lay them flat onto the die and then run through through the Big Shot as you normally would. Once it is cut, the edges roll up and they are no longer sharp. Use twine, ribbon or silver elastic cord to make a hanger. The photos show the finished product hanging on our tree. I also did something similar using a sheet of clear plastic from some packaged stationary. I cut the snowflake and then applied plain white glue and then some glitter. You can also use felt in to achieve a similar look.

Another project that I plan to save for another day as I want to change it up for Valentines Day is a photo cube using CD jewel cases. I will be planning out the 2010 Workshop Calendar soon and I plan to do the CD jewel cases shortly after the first of the year. Come back later for more information.

God Bless & Happy Stampin!

Top Note Calendar and Notes

This project was inspired by a similar calendar that Connie Stewart made and designed. I saw it posted in our yahoo group and knew I would CASE her design. Mine is a bit different, but I love the result.

Recipe:

Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons and Season of Friendship

Designer Series Paper: Thoroughly Modern, Bermuda Bay Patterns and Rose Red Patterns

Card Stock: Rose Red, Whisper White and Bermuda Bay

Ribbon: Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain and 1/4" Very Vanilla Grosgrain

Accessories: Big Shot Top Note Die, Modern Label Punch, Crop-A-Dile, Blender Pens, Stampin' Pastels

I started by cutting three Top Notes using the Big Shot. I cut them from thin card board. I cut additional Top Notes from Thoroughly Modern Designer Series Paper and Bermuda Bay and Rose Red Patterns Designer Series Paper. On the top panel, I cut one Top Note in half and layered it over the other one. Here, I embellished with the stamped image colored using the Stampin' Pastels. Of course, it should be no surprise that I picked the frog. The sentiment is from Season of Friendship.

The center panel is the calendar portion. The mini calendar was done using word processing software and I added a standard size post it note to the bottom panel. All the panels were attached together using the Polka Dot Bermuda Bay Grosgrain ribbon. It works best to punch the holes before adding the post it notes and calendar.

If you'd like more information on this project, please email me.

God Bless and Happy Stampin!

Top Note Christmas Ornament

This project is what happens when I just play. I was experimenting with the Top Note Die as I was practicing for an upcoming workshop. This ornament was cut using the Top Note Die and a thin piece of cardboard (the thickness used for a notepad or similar item). I adhered Merry Moments Designer Series paper to both sides of the ornament.

On a small piece of Whisper White paper, I stamped the cardinal and poinsettias from A Flower for All Seasons. I colored it using my water color pencils. I used the Merry Christmas sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes and stamped that along the side. I then layered that onto a piece of Real Red card stock.

Using my crop-a-dile, I punched two holes in the top and threaded Old Olive grosgrain ribbon as a hanger. Viola! A Top Note Christmas Ornament.

God Bless and Happy Stampin!

12 Days of Holiday Deals!

Just a quick reminder, Stampin' Up!TM is currently running their 12 Days of Holiday Sales. From December 11 to December 22, you can get some amazing deals on Big Shot dies and Vinyl. They are even rolling out some vinyl in colors not presently offered in the catalog, including the chalkboard vinyl!

Visit my promotions page for more details on this great deal!

Don't forget, any order placed by December 15th will be received in time for Christmas!

Tropical Luau Birthday Bash

As promised, I'm going to share the details of Isabel's Tropical Luau Birthday Bash. First, this is not all original inspiration on my part. When I'm planning a party, the first thing I do is head to the internet and do a search on my theme. I love reading through the ideas and picking what I want to use. So, if you are reading this and see one of your ideas, thank you very much for posting your ideas so I can find them.

For decorations, I played off the original invitation and recreated the scene on our wall complete with beach chair to hold all the presents. We also purchased some Hawaiian beach scenes that you hang in a window so it looks like you are looking out at the beach. Almost made us forget the cold December weather!

As previously mentioned, Isabel's party was in December. On a nice cold day in December. By the end of the party, we had some light snow falling. Given the cold temperatures, we decided to forego leis in favor of lei scarves. I used some fun orange/pink tie dye type fleece fabric that I cut 5x50 inches. I cut fringe on the ends. As the girls arrived, they tied the fringe in knots. After, we found their Hawaiian name on the computer using a name transator online. They put these on a note card that they got to color.

After, I split them into three groups. One group was learning to hula by watching You Tube videos, the next group was making a felt flower barrette (flowers cuts using Big Shot dies), and the third group was working on the Hula Bears I shared with you in an earlier post. As they finished their projects, they went to the next stations.

After the activities, we had some cake. For the cake, I made a volcano using my bundt pan and the Pampered Chef batter bowl. To get the exploding lava effect, I made hard candy into the spurting shape and when it was cool, inserted it into the cake. The kids loved it!

After cake, we did presents and a few games involving hula hoops. The kids had lots of fun. Throughout the party, the kids were able to munch on a variety of foods- chicken kabobs, Hawaiian pizza kabobs (ham, mozzerella cheese and pineapple on a toothpick), fruit kabobs, chips and juice boxes. Very easy foods.

And of course, it wouldn't be a party in the Lawson household without some stamps! For the favor bags I used my Fancy Favor die cut from Stampin' Up!TM. I've used this die for other parties recently and I'm sure I've more than made my money back on this one. I wanted the bags to look like beach bags. I stamped the flower from Wings of Friendship (hostess set) on the bags. I then added handles and used the Modern Label punch to create a closure tab. I closed it with double sided tape. The felt flip flops are just some stickers I found at a party supply store. All the bags were made using Stampin' Up! papers- mostly Bold Brights with a few Rich Regals, Earth Elements and Soft Subtles mixed in. For party favors, they got a glow stick, flip flop key chain and a mini notepad. Since they were also getting their bears, barrettes, and scarves, I didn't put too much in the goodie bags. If you have lots of birthday parties throughout the year, this Fancy Favor die is a great investment.

The kids all had a great time, and I had fun pulling the party together. I hope these ideas inspire you to throw your own tropical bash, even in the dead of winter.

And, if you are looking to expand your collection of Big Shot Dies, now is the time! Through the 22nd, Stampin' Up! is having a huge sale on some of our favorite dies! Visit my promotion page for more details.

God Bless and Happy Stampin!

Happy Birthday Isabel

Isabel's Birthday is today! In a few days, she'll celebrate with her friends with a fun luau party. Now is the time to share the invitation.

Before I give the recipe for this card, I have to give credit to the many ladies who inspired me. I CASEd this card head to toe!

Pure Genius over at SplitCoast was a big inspiration.
Julie Masse
Lorri Heiling
Jennifer Einholf
Kim Gasper



Thank you for your inspiration and blogs detailing your cards. I loved that I was able to create Isabel's invitation without even ordering a new stamp set and I love using a stamp set in a non-traditional way.

On to the recipe for Isabel's invitation. The main stamp set is Pick A Petal. I used two of the petal designs to stamp surf boards in Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay (stamped onto Whisper White and then cut out). The sun was stamped in YoYo Yellow using one of the flower centers. I typically do invitations in the traditional invitation size of 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches, which is what I used here. I cut Melon Mambo into this size to create the invitations. I let Isabel stamp the small Hawaiian flower onto both sides of invitation. For the front, I layered a smaller piece of Bashful Blue card stock onto the card. To create the water, I sent pieces of Tempting Turquoise card stock through the Big Shot to emboss using the Stampin' Up!™ Backgrounds 1 (the panel with the swirls). I then sponged some Shimmer White Paint onto the raised areas to give the impression of foaming waves. I cut the wave shape by freehand using my paper snips. For the sandy beach, I tore the paper edges and then layered two pieces, gluing the surfboards and palm tree trunk down before adding the final layer of sand. The sand is made using Kraft card stock. For the palm tree, I cut the trunk from Soft Suede using paper snips. The palm branches are more petals stamped onto Glorious Green with little sections cut out and the stamped side glued against the invitation. I finished things off by stamping a large Hawaiian flower using Eastern Blooms stamp set and Rich Razzleberry.

For the back, I printed the details of the invitation onto Whisper White card stock and then glued it to the back of the card.

I'll post more details about her party, party favors and other fun later.

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

Poppy's Big Old Truck

More fun from our Thanksgiving trip and another scrapbook page, this time using traditional methods. My father recently purchased a semi truck cab for towing his 5th wheel trailer. As soon as our kids heard about the truck, Liam wanted a ride. So, during our visit to Forks, the kids all took a ride. Liam's smile was almost as big as the truck and it inspired me to create a page. In the photos, you'll see Liam with his sister,Tessa, and cousin, Kevin. Liam and Kevin share a birthday, 17 years apart. Liam's favorite part- honking the horn.

For this page I used Real Red, More Mustard and Whisper White card stock. To create the truck in the top right quadrant, I used Pick A Petal. I stamped a solid petal using Brilliant Blue and then an open petal using the same color. I then stamped the petal centers using Basic Black. I cut everything out and then glued it together. The chipboard letters are ones I had leftover from the Stampin' Up!™ Regionals in Seattle, I think they are On Board Timeless Type, but I must confess that I'm not entirely sure. I left them naked, choosing not to add any color to the letters. The overall layout is simple, nothing too elaborate or hard to recreate. Liam loves his special page. I think it will soon be framed for his room.

God Bless and Happy Stamping!