Sunday Scrappers 2/28/10 Class Projects

These are the full cards from our Sunday Scrappers Class today! We tried fun inking techniques with sponging and brayers and had a blast! Details below!

I originally saw the technique for this card here:
http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/12/18/i-heart-hearts-valentine-tutorial-288-and-blog-candy-friday/ and I absolutely fell in love with the idea! It is so easy to do and requires few supplies. The ladies were worried at first, but all their cards came out fabulously! (The butterfly is one of my absolute favorite die cuts, but is not SU.)

This card uses SU! Glossy Cardstock, VersaMark ink, a brayer and your choice of ink pads. Another quick card that packs a big punch!

Next month's class (well, I guess THIS month, since it's only a few hours until March) is all about Scrapbooking and Progressive Scrapbook Pages! Look for sneak peaks to pop up soon!

Sneak Peak!

Here are some sneak peaks at the cards we'll be doing in our 'All About Inking - Beyond the Basics' class tomorrow for our first Sunday Scrappers class! I'm so excited! Full cards will be posted tomorrow night after class!

Newest Cards for Cards for Soldiers

Here are my newest cards for the most recent Cards for Soldiers challenge on one of my favorite messageboards. I made these a little while ago, but haven't had a chance to post them since we've had a run of illness in the house. Things are finally on the mend, so here are my cards!
These are done with the SU Chocolate Bunny and Well Spoken Stamps from the new Occasions Mini, both stamped in Chocolate Chip ink. The Scalloped Oval punch was also used. The papers are several from a mat stack I've had forever and am finally using up.

Baroque Motifs really is my favorite stamp set, I think. There are so many things you can do with it! On this one, I sponged Bashful Blue ink around the edges to create a softer look for Easter.

Another Chocolate Bunny! This one uses paper from the Sale-A-Bration Good Neighbors paper stack. You can get this paper stack FREE with a $50 purchase during Sale-A-Bration, now through March 31st.

I had so much fun with this Mother's Day card! I used the Greenhouse Garden and Well Spoken Stamp sets, and it was my first chance to play with my Stamp-a-ma-jig and try out Two Step Stamping! It was great! I loved being able to know exactly where my darker image would stamp over the lighter one. Colors used were Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and Always Artichoke. I punched a couple labels with the Modern Label Punch and curved them over the edges of the card, and used a sponge dauber to ink the edges of the card in Always Artichoke.

I hope this inspires you to get crafty!!

Best Quote I've Seen In a While...

I saw a very cool quote online the other day that I wanted to share. I've googled it, but I have yet to find the original author of the quote to give credit, but I wanted to share it all the same. It really reminds me why I do what I do...

"A birth certificate shows that you were born. A death certificate shows that you died. A completed scrapbook shows that you LIVED."

Capture the moment...

Tutorial Tuesday Part 2!

Now, if you're like me and love, love, LOVE the new Clear Mount Stamps that Stampin' Up! has been offering in the new Occasions Mini Catalog, you might have been wishing and hoping that SU! would offer their older wood mount stamps in Clear Mount too. While I can't jump up and down for joy on that front just yet (my fingers are crossed!) I can share with you a super cool way to make your current wood mount stamps into a similar version of Clear Mount! What's so neat about this, is that it works on brand new unmounted stamps as pictured below, AND on stamp sets that you've already mounted to the wood blocks.
For the already mounted ones, just pop the whole block into the microwave for between 10-30 seconds to loosen up the glue, peel the stamp (with foam still attached) and the label off the block and then follow the steps below!

Here's all you need! (Minus the Microwave for the already mounted stamps, of course. Didn't want to lug that in from the kitchen. ;) ) Your Wood Block Stamps - we used A Flower for Every Season here, your Tombow Multi Purpose Glue, and your preferred storage method. I have pictured both CD cases and the new SU! Clear Mount Cases, which can be purchased empty in packs of 4.

For all you new stampers out there, this is what's in the cool little clamshell that your wood mount stamps come in. You get your stamps attached to sticky-backed foam, corresponding labels, and blocks to attach everything to. At this point, you can set your wood blocks aside. (I give them to my son for building blocks - also known as items to throw at the dogs, even though he's been told explicitly not to do that...)

Your stamps come die cut, that means no cutting foam and rubber for you! Simply pop your stamp out of the foam sheet, and you're ready to begin!

Peel the protective sheet off the sticky back of the foam, and find the corresponding label.

Take the label and position it over the foam. Try to line up the image as best as possible so it's straight when you're looking at it through the clear block.

The labels are square shaped to fit the wooden blocks, so you'll need to trim them down to match the edge of your stamp. Some use a hobby blade, but I feel I have more dexterity with my paper snips.

Apply a dot of Tombow multi purpose glue to the back of the stamp over the index label. Tombow is multi purpose in that if an item is stuck down when the glue is wet, it's a permanent bond. However, if the glue is allowed to dry, the glue becomes repositionable, allowing you to stick your stamp to a clear block or a cd/dvd storage case repeatedly!

I use a paintbrush to spread the glue over the stamp evenly. Then just let the glue dry (I like to do it overnight) and then you're ready to store and use (!) your stamps! If you find that your stamp is TOO sticky, stick it to your hand or jeans a couple of times to dull the stickiness. You can "restick' your stamps if you ever need to. I have sets that I've had forever and I've never had to reapply the glue.

About storage, you can store your stamps in full-size CD cased (not the slimline ones) by taking out the center section of the case that the CD clicks into. Then make an index card for the front of the set, and attach your included SU! Set name label to the edge of the case, or you can store them in the new empty clear mount cases from Stampin' Up!

As you can see, some sets are too large to store in one CD case, and this is when the DVD cases come in really handy! You can also create index label covers for these cases as well.

Some Tips for already mounted stamps:

• The longer your stamps have been mounted to wood, the longer you will need to run them in the microwave to loosen the glue. I haven't had to run one longer than about 35 seconds though.
• If you do use the microwave for this, make sure you use it with the mentality of someone popping popcorn. DO NOT walk away from the microwave while doing this, and only turn it on for about 10-15 seconds at a time.
• You are heating wood, so it will get warm to the touch, so please use caution while handling them.
• If the stamp has been mounted a long time, your foam MAY peel off unevenly. This is okay, I promise. At that point, you can peel the foam off of your rubber stamp entirely, and then just apply the label and glue to the rubber directly. This is what many do with bare rubber stamps, and it won't hurt your stamps or the images you stamp with them.

I hope this helps you all enjoy rubber stamping even more, and that it lets you see our stamp sets in new ways. Stampin' Up stamp sets really are customizable to fit your way of stamping and crafting!

Happy crafting!!

Tutorial Tuesday 2/9

Welcome to my first official Tutorial Tuesday! I'm very excited to have TWO tutorials for you today, since I was a bit remiss in posting the tutorial for coloring with Classic Ink Spots, pictured below. We will also have another Tutorial about some neat stamp customization. Here we go!
For this tutorial, we will be using the Very Thankful set from the Idea Book & Catalog, which is also available FREE during Sale-a-bration with a $50 purchase!

First, stamp your image with StazOn Ink. StazOn is great because it dries super fast and is waterproof, which makes it the best for coloring with markers, blender pens or water coloring.

Next, take your Classic Ink Spot and tap it onto your acrylic block. (This gives the same effect as "squishing" the lids of the full size stamp pads.)

Depending on the size of your block, you can stamp many colors, giving you an artist's pallet to work with!

Next, take your blender pen, and swirl it in the ink you choose. Once you're finished with a color, color off onto your grid paper or a scrap until the marker runs clear again. Note: you can see that my blender pen is stained in the photo; this may happen to you, but it is perfectly okay. As long as you color off on a scrap until the blender pen "ink" is clear, you won't have any color transfer.

And voila! Your image is colored beautifully, and you don't have to have the storage space for all those full size stamp pads!

Supplies Used:

Very Thankful Stamp Set

Whisper White Cardstock Scrap

Soft Subtles Classic Ink Spots Set

Bender Pen

Grid Paper

Happy Crafting!!!

SU! to Send Portions of the Sales of

I {Heart} Hearts Stamp Sets

to Haiti Relief!

Through February 28, 2010, Stampin' Up will donate $2 from the sale of every I {Heart} Heart Stamp set to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The funds will be used to provide immediate relief and long term support though supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

I {Heart} Hearts Clear Mount Stamps Item # 118571 $18.95
I {Heart} Hearts Wood Mount Stamps Item # 117010 $26.95

Here are the cards from my first workshop held this past weekend! We played with the Soft Subtles color family and Baroque Motifs stamp set for the first card, I {Heart} Hearts, Really Red and Pixie Pink from the Bold Brights color family for the second card, and more Bold Brights for the third card - for which we colored the image in with SU! Blender Pens. We had a blast!
I will add a tutorial for coloring with Blender Pens using SU! Classic Ink Spots soon, so keep an eye out!

Newest Scrapbook Layout!

I love the Tailor Made Simply Scrappin' Kit! It has wonderful colors for boy pages, and as the mom to a little boy, you know I'm always on the look out for that! The edges of all mats and layers have been inked with coordinating Classic Ink, and I added some Chocolate Chip brads and the new Very Vanilla satin ribbon. See, even boy pages can use ribbon!! I have some fantastic photos of our trip to the beach last year to add to this. :)

I have a blog button!

Here's the link to where you can order Stampin' Up online from my website 24/7!

Special thanks to Kelli at www.froggiestamps.com for helping me figure this whole thing out!

New Cards For Soldiers Challenge!

As you may know, I participate in a Cards For Soldiers challenge on one of my favorite messageboards. Here are the details on our current challenge, if you'd like to participate. If you want to join our card army, email me and I'll give you the details on how to get them to our destination!

Spring Card Challenge - January 25 - February 19 **4 Week Challenge**
Time to think for Easter and Spring Holidays (We also need the usual birthday, anniversary cards, etc.)

The idea is to have fun with the cards while supporting our military. Every card is appreciated. These are cards for our deployed soldiers to send home to their loved ones. Don't forget that there are both men and women deployed sending cards home. Here's the lowdown - make cards in any way that you want. All 15 different, all 15 the same, or a mix of both. Just leave the inside blank to give the soldiers room to write home in and include an envelope. NO stamp necessary, (soldiers get free mail when deployed.) You can make as many or as few cards as you like!