Sale-A-Bration

Sale-A-Bration is here! For every $50 you spend, you get your choice of free products from Stampin' Up! Stamps, paper, accessories, and digital content are available. You don't want to miss your chance to earn some fabulous product.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

B is for Birthday

Our recent Stamp-A-Stack was birthday cards.  Personally, I always seem to need a birthday card so it seemed a good fit.  As with yesterday's card, I wanted to use some of the Sale-A-Bration items since today is the last day you can place an order eligible for Sale-A-Bration benefits.  On this card, I used both the Scallop Trim Border Punch and the Happy Birthday sentiment from Vintage Labels. 

For this card, you will need:

  • Stamp Sets:  Party Hearty, Vintage Labels
  • Card Stock:  So Saffron, Whisper White
  • Designer Series Papers:  Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper
  • Inks:  Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad and Versamark
  • Tools and Accessories:  Corner Rounder, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Designer Label Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Dimensionals and Snail

Again, a simple layout to allow for mass production.  I used Versamark to stamp the presents around the front of the card.  I punched the bottom edge of the Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper with the Scallop Trim Border and adhered that to the card front.  I stamped my birthday sentiment onto another piece of So Saffron and punched it with the Designer Label Punch.  I layered that with a Whisper White 1 1/4" circle onto the designer series paper.  I stamped my B is for Birthday image onto a piece of Whisper White and used the corner rounder to round the edges and then brushed with the Bermuda Bay.  I added this to the card front using Dimensionals. 

Today is the last day for those Sale-A-Bration items!  Spend $50 to earn your choice of SAB items!

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Sale-A-Bration Birthday - Happy Moments

Tonight I'm going to share the cards made at our recent Stamp-A-Stack last week.  This card uses the Happy Moments Sale-A-Bration stamp set.  This is a fun set perfect for using your watercolor pencils, pastels or crayons.  And as a Sale-A-Bration set, it is only available to you until tomorrow!  If you place a $50 order on or before March 31, this stamp set could be yours!  Contact me today or visit my website to make a purchase.

Since the group would be making 5 cards, I wanted the design to be as simple so that it could be easily reproduced.  So, I selected a clean design/layout with limited use of special tools and accessories. 

For this card, you will need:
  • Happy Moments Stamp Set (Sale-A-Bration)
  • Card Stock:  Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise
  • Classic Stampin' Pad:  Tempting Turquoise
  • Tools and Accessories:  Stampin' Dimensionals, Watercolor Pencils
I stamped the birthday sentiment across my strip of card stock. To add some dimension to the card, I used dimensionals to make the stamped image pop from the page and distressed the edges of the paper. This card could easily be adapted as a thank you by changing the image or the sentiment.


God Bless and Happy Stampin'
Charity

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Sale-A-Bration Ends Wednesday!

Have you earned any Sale-A-Bration items yet?  If not, there is still time!  Sale-A-Bration ends Wednesday, March 31.  

Sale-A-Bration, Stampin' Up!'s biggest event of the year, means friends, fresh ideas, and free products! And with three ways to earn exclusive Sale-A-Bration products, there's something for everyone.

•Spend: Buy $50 worth of Stampin' Up! products and get a FREE Sale-A-Bration reward!

•Host: Host a $300 workshop, and get a FREE Sale-A-Bration reward!

•Join: Become a demonstrator, and get a FREE stamp set (up to a $47.95 value)!

The Sale-A-Bration rewards include stamp sets, 6x6 inch Designer Series Paper, and a Scallop Trim Border Punch. You can shop now by visiting my website or contact me.  The sale ends on March 31 and orders must be submited before 11:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.

Act quickly, Sale-A-Bration is only here one time per year and it will soon be gone until next year!

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity

Monday, March 22, 2010

Another Birthday Card

Since I have the birthday stamp-a-stack coming up on March 27, I've been playing with a variety of birthday card designs.  This card uses one of my favorite unexpected color combinations- brown with pink.  To create this card, you will need:
  • Stamp Sets:  Party Hearty, Whimsical Words
  • Card Stock:  Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
  • Designer Series Paper:  Welcome Neighbor
  • Classic Stampin' Pad:  Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
  • Accessories:  1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
This card is pretty simple, stamp the images, layer the pieces together and viola, you have a card.  :O) I stamped the candles using the Pretty in Pink onto the Very Vanilla.  I distressed the edges of the Very Vanilla with my thumb and then wrapped a piece of grosgrain ribbon around the card stock at one end.  I then layered it onto my card front with a piece of the designer series paper.  I stamped the sentiment using Chocolate Chip and then layered it onto a piece of Chocolate Chip and then another piece of the Designer Series Paper I used with the candle image.  I then layered this onto the card front. 

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Burnt Birthday Card

This card is inspired/CASEd from several others that I've seen previously, even retail ones where it looks like the card caught on fire because of the number of candles.  Whenever I see the Whimsical Words set and the sentiment, "The more the candles, the bigger the wish," I think of those cards.  So, I decided to come up with my own version.  For my version of this card, I used:
  • StampSets:  Party Hearty, Whimsical Words
  • Card Stock:  Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Very Vanilla
  • Inks:  Versamark, Dusty Durango Classic Stampin' Pad, Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad
To create the card I first used the Versamark to stamp candles all over the card front.  Then, I tore a portion of the top corner off and rubbed the edges of the card with my Basic Black.  I did the same with a piece of Very Vanilla using Dusty Durango and then layered that on the card with a piece of Crushed Curry.  In the lower corner I layered a piece of Very Vanilla stamped with my sentiment onto the Crushed Curry.  This finished up my card.

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity

Friday, March 19, 2010

R is for Rocket

The minute I saw the R is for Rocket in the Nursery Alphabet Decor Elements, I knew that I would be buying several for baby gifts.  Two co-workers recently had new babies and our family welcomed a new baby girl (my niece Molly). 

I purchased the R is for Rocket in Chocolate Chip and then added them to canvas boards.  The boards were less than 1/4" thick which worked perfect and came in a package of 3 for less than $5.  I purchased the canvas boards at a local craft store and painted them with acrylic craft paint.  I tried to choose colors similar to Stampin' Up!® color families and then made coordinating cards. 

For the wall hangings, you'll need your favorite letter from the Nursery Alphabet Decor Elements, coordinating ribbon, paints, thin painting canvases, and your Crop-A-Dile to punch holes.  Simply paint your surface, apply your Decor Element following the directions included in the package, punch holes and add your ribbon to hang on the wall.

For each gift, I added a coordinating card using card stock and the rocket stamp from the Pun Fun stamp set.  I stamped the rocket on Very Vanilla and then punched it with the 1 3/4" punch coloring it with my In Color Markers or Watercolor Pencils. 

For the girl card, I used Melon Mambo and Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper.  I randomly colored a few of the dots on the Designer Series Paper with my Melon Mambo marker.  The coordinating stamps are Vintage Labels and Teeny Tiny Wishes. 

For the boy card, I used Welcome Neighbor Designer Series Paper and Bashful Blue card stock.  I also used Teeny Tiny Wishes for the sentiment.

These gifts were super easy but packed a lot of punch, especially at work with a bunch of rocket scientists.  You can make these gifts personal for the recipient by picking the letter of the first or last name or a picture that is near or dear to their heart, like I did.  They were also very affordable, less than $10 per gift. 

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Butterfly Hugs and Kisses

This is a card that I made to cheer up a friend having a bad day.  I wanted something that said spring so I used soft subtles and butterflies.  I also wanted to use my new Embosslits Butterfly Die from the Occasions Mini.  It had been on backorder and arrived on Monday.  This is a fun die!  I really like the way it turned out and I think it cheered my friend up as well.

The ingredients for this card are:
  • Cardstock:  So Saffron, Lavendar Lace, Very Vanilla
  • Designer Series Paper:  Sweet Pea, Welcome Neighbor
  • Stamp Set:  Of the Earth
  • Classic Stampin' Pads:  Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink, Lavendar Lace
  • Tools & Accessories:  Big Shot, Dazzling Diamonds, Scallop Trim Border, Stampin’ Up!® Beautiful Butterflies Embosslits Die, 2 Way Glue Stick
So there is nothing really special in terms of technique on this card.  I cut a variety of butterflies in a variety of colors using different DSP papers, adding a touch of Dazzling Diamonds to a few of the butterflies.  For my stamped images, I started with the lightest color and then finished with the darkest color.  I varied the heights of my flowers as they would appear in nature and then layered my image on some of my designer series papers.  I also layered DSP onto my Lavendar Lace border to the left of the card.  I added the butterflies last using my adhesive only on the center part to give more dimension.

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

CD Case Memory Page

This is my second time sharing one of these CD memory cases.  This particular one features a picture of me with my youngest daughter, Tessa.  The photo was taken a few years back and it is one of my favorite photos of me with Tessa.  I made this project for a Stampin' Up!® contest for demonstrators.  Unfortuneately, I did not win the contest but that's ok, maybe next time.  I'll just have to keep trying!  I hope you enjoy this project.

Stampin’ Supplies:

• Stamp Sets- I {Heart} Hearts, Best Wishes and More
• Card Stock- Take with Teal, Pumpkin Pie
• Designer Series Paper- Sweet Pea
• Classic Stampin’ Pads- Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black
• Tools- Crop-A-Dile, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Paper Snips, Paper Cutter
• Embellishments- Twill Tape, Pumpkin Pie ½ inch Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
• Recommended Adhesives- Sticky Strip, Snail or Anywhere Glue Stick
• Non-Stampin’ Up! Product- Slim Line CD Case, clear tape.

Instructions:
1. Determine location of holes on jewel case for ribbon. Apply tape to both sides of the desired area. This will help to minimize cracking of the plastic. Use your Crop-A-Dile to punch the holes, using firm, slow and even pressure. Remove tape. Thread ribbon through the holes and tie a bow.
2. Cut Taken with Teal Cardstock to approximately 4 1/4” x 5”. Use Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin’ Pad and I {Heart} Hearts to stamp hearts onto the card stock.
3. Cut Sweet Pea Paper to 2” x 5” and adhere to the bottom of the Taken with Teal. This completes the page base.
4. Perform a fit check of the page base by inserting into the CD case as you would a label. If necessary, trim sides. Typically 1/8 – 1/16 of inch trims are required depending on your CD case.
5. Cut Twill Tape to size. Stamp hearts onto Twill tape with Pumpkin Pie and I {Heart} Hearts. Using sticky strip, adhere to page base covering the intersection of the designer series paper with the cardstock using.
6. Begin with a piece of Pumpkin Pie card stock slightly approximately ½ to 1 inches bigger on all sides than your trimmed photo. This allows you to trim to achieve full scallops. Scallop punch the bottom edge, trim to achieve complete scallops on both the right and left. Trim the overall length to 3 ½ inches.
7. Trim another piece of Designer Series Paper to fit on the Pumpkin Pie. This piece will be about ¼” to ½” bigger than your photo. Adhere to the Pumpkin Pie card stock.
8. Layer your photo on top of the Designer Series Paper.
9. Attach to your page base.
10. Load into CD case. Seal CD case closed with clear tape.

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Reminder- March Technique Class This Friday!

Our March Technique Class is this Friday, March 19th at 6:00 PM and there is still room for you at the table.  Our class will showcase some fun purses that you can use to give small gifts, party favors or candy.  We will be making the Faux Alligator purses using a tutorial from a fellow Demonstrator, Francine Yee.  Our second purse is a mini handbag using the Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper. 

The workshop fee for this class is only $5.  Light refreshments will be served and as always, you are welcome to bring a guest.

I'll also have a preview of upcoming classes and products!  Email me today to hold your spot!

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity

Monday, March 15, 2010

Liam's Cars Party

I thought I'd take some time to share photos of Liam's party- a Car's Theme party.  I've previously posted the party invitations and favors, so today I'll share some information about the party itself.  Beginning with the cake.  His cake was a replica of the dirt track race between McQueen and Doc.  I saw a similar cake on Coolest Birthday Cakes but since Liam thinks the funniest part is McQueen going over the edge into the cactus and Mater fishing him out.  So, that is what we created.  Liam loved it and it was actually a pretty easy cake.  I wanted to use more characters but we had trouble finding some. 

For decorations, I printed off coloring pages and colored to match the characters.  I also made up a bunch of road signs including one that said, "Welcome to Radiator Springs, Gateway to Liam's 4th Birthday Party."  I also made mini signs that I punched with a circle punch and sprinkled on the table.  I cut out the characters and arranged them on my china hutch with the Radiator Springs sign.  Liam really liked this.

For activities, we kept it simple.  Our party crowd was mostly 2-4 year olds which makes organized games rather challenging.  As they arrived they went to Ramone's Body Art for face painting, most of the older kids seemed to like this.  I also had some orange soccer cones out in the living room with Liam's Hot Wheel cars all around for them to just have some free play.  I created a sign with Sally on it which said "Welcome to the Cozy Cone."  My husband found an inflatable Tow Mater Tool Toss game at the party store so we had it set up for the kids to play.  The final activity was making a license plate at Lizzie's Curio Shop.  I just cut poster board to 3x7 inch size and put out lots of foam letters, shapes and Cars stickers for them.

At the end of the party, each guest got to pick either a Mater or McQueen matchbox car filled with a small race car, stickers and temporary tattoos.  This was a BIG hit.  Check out my last post for more information on making your own.

Pretty easy party, he got lots of car related toys.  Later, I'll upload pictures of the card I made using a Sale-A-Bration set and a paper piecing technique.  And, as you can tell by the photos, he was a happy little boy.  He was also very tired at the end of the day.  He's already made his request for next year, an airplane party. 



God Bless and Happy Stampin!
Charity

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Cars Party Favors- Tow Mater and Lightening McQueen

A few weeks ago I posted the proto-type for our party planned party favors to Liam's 4th birthday party.  It's time to see a the final product and get the details on how to make a car.  Many of the pieces are just cut free hand and I did not really create a template.  If you needed one, I could probably create something and email it to you.  I'll include lots of photos of the finished product and some of the "building blocks" as well.

This approach/technique can be easily adapted for any of your favorite Cars characters depending on the colors you select.  The car top is the same for any of the cars, it is just the personal details that change.
First things first, start with a match box cut using the Big Shot and Match Box die.  Assemble per the normal instructions.  For Lightening, use Real Red.  For Mater, use Soft Suede or another suitable brown hue. 

For the car top/cab, you need to cut a 2 x 2 1/2 inch piece of card stock.  Score at 1/4", 3/4", 1 1/2" and 2 1/4".  Crease each score so that you have two 1/4 inch tabs on each end.  The tabs will be glued to the top of the matchbox to create the roof.   This step is the same for both characters.

I cut the "whites" of the eyes free hand with my paper snips, starting with a piece of Whisper White card stock that matched the dimensions of the car front. I punched two black dots uing a Standard Sized Hole Punch (retired), but you could also use the Crop-A-Dile. For the wheels, use the 3/4 inch Circle Punch and then the standard size punch to add a Whisper White circle to the center. I cut a free hand shape for head lights and tail lights on McQueen.  I added some detail, including the 95 using my Dusty Durango In Color Marker.  I also downloaded free clipart to create a lightening bolt logo for the side and a Rust-eze logo for the back.

For McQueen's spoiler, you need a 1 x 2 inch piece of card stock.  Score at 1/4 inch and fold such that the larger part is going up.  Glue the 1/4 inch tab onto the car.

For Mater's headlights, I used the standard size holes and cut the tow hook/support and teeth free hand. Use the Stampin' Write Basic Black marker to draw a mouth on on both characters.  For Mater, you'll need to add the teeth after you draw the mouth.
The best way to figure out how to add the details and pieces to create your characters is to study any pictures you have from the web, coloring books, stickers and other books.  I think I've also watched the movie a few dozen times with Liam. 

For Liam's party, I'll only be making Tow Mater and Lightening McQueen.  However, someone at work has requested a set so I may try to make some of the other characters as well to fill out her set.  Plus, I think I like the challenge.

Here are some more photos to help show the details:





Now to find some cars and stickers to fit inside.  I'm looking forward to his party and sharing pictures of his cake and decorations.

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Lightening McQueen Birthday Invitations

It's time for a preview of Liam's birthday invitations.  I think I mentioned that he is wanting to have a race car/Cars party.  Since there are no current race car stamp sets available in the current Idea Book and Catalog, I decided to rely on some paper piecing style techniques.  I used the obvious colors: Real Red, Whisper White and Basic Black card stocks.  I also used a Dusty Durango Stampin' Write marker for some of the details on the headlights.

To do this, I found a picture of Lightening McQueen in a book and traced it using graph paper.  I then made a few copies onto some transparency sheets so that I could cut out the major pieces and then use that as my template to trace the shapes onto my papers.  You will cut out the full image as the base, tracing this onto a piece of Real Red, lining the top of the car with the fold in the card stock.  Then, piece the remaining pieces onto the card like a puzzle, trimming to fit as necessary.  For the eyes, I punched holes using a standard size hole punch, but the Crop-A-Dile also works for this.  Viola, Lightening McQueen is ready for race day.  I put the party information on the inside. 

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Birthday Party with Tess!

Time for another birthday card!  This card is one that I designed for a recent stamp camp.  I wanted a card that was easy but looked hard.  I also wanted a card that was well suited for assembly line kind of production since the guests were making 10 cards each.  For this card, you will need the following:
  • Stamp Sets:  Tote-ally Tess, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Party Hearty
  • Card Stock:  Very Vanilla, So Saffron
  • Designer Series Paper:  Sweet Pea
  • Inks:  Bermuda Bay, Basic Black, Versamark
  • Tools/Accessories:  Corner Rounder, Oval Punch, Scallop Trim Border, Watercolor Pencils
The first step to this card is to stamp the candles from Party Hearty around the edges of the card front using the Versamark.  I used the Scallop Trim Border punch along the bottome edge of my designer series paper and then adhered that to my card front.  I stamped Tess onto a piece of Very Vanilla card stock and colored her using my Watercolor Pencils.  I rounded the corners of the Very Vanilla card stock and then brushed the edges with Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad.  I stamped the present from Party Hearty on a scrap piece of Very Vanilla and colored the open space with my Watercolor Pencils and cut out around the present.  I just glued this to her hand and then adhered my images to the card front.  I stamped the sentiment onto another scrap piece of Very Vanilla and punched it with my oval punch.  I then layered this onto the front of my card. 

Nice simple card, easy to make in multiples.  This is also an easy card to change for different occasions.  Add another item to her hand and change the sentiment to totally change things up.  For example, my sister is presently going to cosmetology school and needs to make thank you cards for her clients.  We used this same design using the scissors from Tote-ally Tess in pace of the candles and present. 

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity

Monday, March 1, 2010

March Technique Class - Mini Purses

Our March Technique Class is coming up.  We will be making mini-purses.  These purses are perfect for small goodies or gifts.  They also make great hostess appreciation gifts- fill them with your favorite chocolates, a small scented candle or sample size lotions to make a fun gift.

We will be making two purses.  One is a faux alligator matchbox clutch purse.  The second is a handbag using the Sweet Pea DSP hounds tooth style print.  Our technique class will be on March 19th at 6:00 PM.  RSVP soon as space is filling up.  The workshop fee is $5 to cover materials.  I will be serving some light refreshments. 

I got this matchbox design and idea from another demonstrator, Francine Yee (who credits Gretchen Barron with inspiration).  Francine contributed the matchbox purse to a Stampin' Up!® workshop challenge.  The second purse is a scaled down version of a purse from a demonstrator here in Washington.  We did the larger version at a demonstrator meeting and I scaled it down.  Unfortuneately, I can't find my original instruction sheet to credit the original artist!  If it is you, email me and let me know.  If you know who it is, email me and let me know! 

Both these projects are great examples of how Stampin' Up! makes it easy to be a demonstrator.  We have a wealth of information available to us and lots of fellow demonstrators sharing their ideas with us.  If you are thinking of becoming a demonstrator but are worried about where you will get ideas and inspiration, you need not worry, there are plenty of ideas available to you.

I hope you can make it to this class!  If you are not already on my mailing list for classes, email me to RSVP.

God Bless and Happy Stampin'!
Charity