Stampersjoy

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Love at First Sight!

I have never been one to believe much with Love at First Sight, but today I have changed my mind.  Stampin’Up has a specially made new rubber stamp that is patient is waiting.  These are fantastic and so easy to use.  With one single stamping it looks like three step stamping.  The stamps are called Distinktive stamps.

In the new catalog there are five Distinktive stamp sets: Bokeh Bots, Stylish Christmas, Seize the Day, All Good Things, and Healing Hugs.  You can make beautiful cards with in a few minutes that look as if you spent hours creating the card.

I only have one of these sets at this time, but believe me, I will have all of them shortly.  The set I have is All Good Things.  Here are a few cards I made this afternoon to get the feel of the stamp.  I am sure I will soon find other ways to use these.

                                      

The first card is stamped on Vellum Cardstock and layered of a designer paper in different shades of blue.

The second card is stamped in black on Shimmery White cardstock; layered on black and added to a red card.

Neither of these cards took more than fifteen minutes to make.

Love the New Ink Pads from Stampin'Up

Check Out the New Ink Pads!

Stampin’ Up! is currently doing a Color Revamp.  Some of the current colors are leaving us, but some of the retired in-colors are coming back, along with brand new colors!

During this process, Stampin’ Up! decided to improve on the design of the ink pad cases. On the left is one of the current ink pads, and the new design is on the right.  As you can see, the new pads will be a tad bit smaller and sleeker.

 

The new pads are designed to be easier to open.  They will open more like a compact.  Instead of flipping and turning, the lid will just lie back flat and slide in.

One of my favorite things about the new pads is how nicely they will stack.  The current pads just would not stack together, which could be frustrating when they were sliding all over the place!  The new pads have small bumps in each corner of the bottom, which fit into small depressions in the top of the next pad.  I think they will be so much easier to store.

They do fit into the current ink pad carousel, but in my opinion, not very well.  Stampin’ Up! is in the process of designing a storage system for the new pads.  I can’t wait to see what they come up with!

On the back of each ink pad is a series of peel and stick labels in several languages.  Fun fact:  Stampin’ Up! has demonstrators in ten different countries! 

Just pick your preferred language, peel and stick it to the front of the ink pad.  Or, get a jump start on a new language by using a different label!

At the bottom of the series of labels, Stampin’ Up! has included a colored label without text.  Peel this one off and stick it inside the tray at the end of the stamp pad, so you can easily tell the color when you have several pads out on your work area.

As you can see, Stampin’ Up! heard our pleas for stamp pads that are easier to open and stack nicely!  One of the best things about our company?  They actually listen to, and act on, our feedback!

These new ink pads are available to be ordered now!  You will love them.  You can order yours by clicking on Shop Now

Happy Stamping, Joyce

Great way to Entertain a Class

I have a workshop in my home where I teach card making and scrapbook skills.  These classes are made up of women and sometimes a man or two of all ages.  They can become very talkative and believe me, eight to ten women talking at the same time can get distracting.

Having been a teacher for years before I retired, I found that on days when the students were rather excited and talkative, a way to get them quiet so you could get them back on task, was to get them a project coloring or cutting.  Guess what, it works for all ages.  Recently I found out another way, let someone drop a small framelit on the floor.  Having brown tweed carpeting makes it a challenge to find.  Have you ever seen five or six women crawling around the floor with the flash lights on their phones trying to find something smaller than a dime?  Of course they have to find it, they dropped it and they need it for their projects.  Yep, they all get quiet, even those that are watching.

This has happened several times in class and I was at wits end trying to find a solution in order to save time.  After all, I do not want to be making breakfast for all of them the next morning!

In auto shop when working on cars, they have magnetic bowls where they place the screws and bolts in when they remove them.  Neat idea.  These little bowls come in different sizes.  Now, I figured if they worked for nuts and bolts, they would work in my workshop for framelits.    I keep one on the workstation for the Big Shots and one on our work table.  I can put the  framelit or thinlit that we are using in the bowl for them to take to the Big Shot Station.  Then, as they are used they put them in the empty magnetic bowl.  This has saved a lot of my dies as well as time.

You can purchase these at an auto parts store or if there is a Harbor Freight close to you they carry several sizes and are about half the price as they are in an auto part store.

This discovery has helped save many of Framelits from being stepped on and ruined.

Great Way to Store Your Thinlits and Framelits Dies

Great Way to Store your Thinlits and Framelits!

I have tried several means of storing these wonderful tools.  First, I purchased a box and stored them on magnetic sheets that came with the plastic box.  Soon I found that I was spending to much time going through the box looking for what I wanted.  Each sheet had to be taken out.  This was expensive and bulky.

I liked the idea of the magnetic sheets to hold the Framelits and Thinlits.  Off to the craft store I went to buy magnetic sheets.  Those were expensive also.  A roll was around twenty dollars.  My handy man saw what I was doing one day while he was doing a job.  He wanted to know what I was doing.  When I mentioned the price of the magnetic sheets, he looked at them and then suggestion that I use a magnetic furnace guard.  Well, I found these at Lowe’s and the pack of three furnace grate covers cost around $5 and they provided more magnetic sheets than the one roll.  Plus, they are white on the back side where I could write the name and number.

Cut the magnetic sheet a fraction smaller that the folder the dies come in.  After you struggle getting them off of that horrible tape they are on, put them on your magnetic sheet and slide the sheet back in the plastic holder.  Now these folders can be stored standing up so you can see the names in a plastic shoe box or something about that size.  They are now at your figure tips and ready to be used.

Have you ever needed an inexpensive gift?

Fun and Easy Little Gift

This quick and easy small gift item is something that every woman can use.  So often we would like to give a little gift to all our friends at work or in out social or religious groups.  This is ideal for this type of giving.  I made them for favors for out Mother/Daughter Dinner and they were really a hit.  They are inexpensive to make and do not take hours and hours to make.

One of the great things about this little gift is that you can use items you probably already have in your stash!  It's a great way to use up old Designer Series Paper (you can cut 8 of these from one sheet).

 

Materials

Paper

* Designer Series Paper ("DSP") -- any pattern (6" x 3")

Tools and Accessories

* Scoring Board and Stylus

* 3/4" Circle Punch

* Linen Thread

* Small Button

* Nail File

* Adhesive: Tear and Tape; Glue Dots

Instructions

1. 
2.  Referring to diagram above, cut 1" from top of 6" x 3" DSP to use as Belly Band.

2. Score lengthwise at 1" and 2", then turn sideways and score at 1/4".

3. Use 3/4" Circle Punch to cut a half-circle at top of center panel.

4. Working on back side of DSP, fold up at 1/4" score line.  Apply Tear and Tape to the outside of the folded up section.

5. Remove backing from Tear and Tape, and fold at 1" score line, adhering the bottom folded edge at the same time.  Apply Tear and Tape to right edge of DSP.

6. Remove backing from Tear and Tape and fold at 2" score line, securing both the bottom and the back of the nail file sleeve.

7. Insert nail file (I found the purple one at Walgreens), and wrap Belly Band around sleeve, securing on the back with Tear and Tape.

8. Wrap a piece of Linen Thread around Belly Band and tie in a bow on the front.
9. Use a Glue Dot to add a small button from your stash (the one shown is a retired Stampin' Up! button).  That's it!  You're finished! 
10. 

How quick and easy (and inexpensive!!!) was this?!  Everyone who received one from me was delighted to receive such a cute and practical gift!

One of Favorite Bundles in the New Catalog

A beautiful bundle in the new 2018-2019 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog is the Abstract Impressions Bundle.  I really enjoyed experimenting with the different colors.

At first I started off simple.  I used the Petal Burst Textured Impressions Embossing Folder for the background layer. Then I stamped the flower image and topped it off with a pearl center for each flower. The flowers here are a two layer stamp with Powder Pink and Petal Pink.

Next I stamped the single flower that is a three layer stamp.  The leaves here are made using a two layer stamp that I used for a butterfly in another project.  This flower is a three layer stamp. The first card used Powder Pink and Petal Pink and the second I used Pineapple Punch and Daffodil Delight.

Then I stepped it up and used, for the first time, the new Big Shot Embossing Mat.  Using the big flower die, I embossed the background layer then placed my stamped images on top. The colors here are Pool Party and Coastal Cabana.

Here is a closer look.

I really like the effect.

Here is another card I made with Real Read and Poppy Parade.  I also used the beautiful butterfly which is another thinlit in the bundle. The colors here really make the card pop.

I also made these small pictures on canvas.

 

I hope you can see how fun and versatile this bundle can be and maybe it has peaked your interest.

This great bundle can be found on page 129 in the new catalog.  Abstract Expression Bundle 148348 and is $49.50, a 10% savings as a bundle for the set and the dies.  The set is #147513 and is $26  and the dies #146326 are $29 if you purchase them separately.

Happy Stamping, Joyce

 

Detailed With Love

Detailed With Love Bundle
(2018 – 2019 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog page 39)

This delightful bundle comes with the Detailed With Love stamp set (wood or clear mount) and the Detailed Trio Punch, a 3-image punch.   The Detailed with Love stamp set contains 12 images.  Six of the images contain commonly used text including Happy Birthday, Thank You, and I Love You.  One of the decorative images coordinates with the Detailed Trio punch to create an intricate scalloped corner.  The punch has a corner rounder, delicate petal details and a small oval shape – perfect for making a hole on a tag. The 3 punches can be used separately or together.  This bundle is part of the Delightfully Detailed product suite – see pages 38 – 39 of the 2018-2019 Stampin’ Up! annual catalog for details on the entire suite.

 

This is a great bundle to have.  148327 with the wood mount set for $43 or the Clear mount bundle 148328 for only $36 in the USA.  You can order yours now by clicking on Shop Now. 

These can also be ordered separately:  Wood set 146603 for $28 or the clear 146606 for $20,  The punch is #146320 for $20  There is a 10% saving when purchasing the bundle.

Happy Stamping, Joyce

What makes you happy?

What makes you happy?  I'm easy, just give me some sponges and inks, even a sponge brayer will do.  Yes, this is what I need to for one of my favorite techniques, Brayered or Sponged backgrounds.

                                                                    

Materials: Enjoy Life, sponge brayer or sponges for the different colors, to or more dye inks, solid stamps, Whisper White cardstock.  I used a few of the new In-Colors for 2018-2020: Pineapple Punch, Grapefruit Grove, Lovely Lipstick and then Pool Party and Calypso Coral.  Black Stazon Ink.

1. Starting with the Pineapple Punch ink I used a sponge brayer on the lower third of the cardstock and then started blending in the Grapefruit Grove and Calypso Coral until over half of the card stock was colored.
2. Using the Lovely Lipstick, I ran the inked brayer on scrap paper several times, then used the brayer blending the red into the orange colors.
3. Last, I started coloring from the top with Pool Party and down into the reds.  Keep applying ink until the ink is smooth.
4. After this has had a few seconds to dry, I stamped the body with Stazon ink and then using the grass stamp, I added grass in black Stazon ink letting some of the yellow show.

This picture is layered on Basic Black and applied to a Calypso Coral card.

Backgrounds created with sponge brayers or sponges can be very colorful and fun or an even blend of different shades of one or two colors in the same family.

 

Why do I love thee so?

WHY DO I LOVE THEE SO?

There are countless number of machines on the market for cutting out shapes and many are very expensive.  Frankly, when it comes to things that are mechanical, I am a complete idiot.  I do well to turn my computer on and off.  Most of these machines are out of my bracket in both cost and skills to use them.  That is why I love my Big Shot.  All I have to do is put the correct cutting pads in and crank the handle.  I can manage the correct pads because they have pictures on them.

Now that is settled, I love my Big Shot because even I can use it without a “Guide for Dummies” book.

What do I do with this machine?  I can cut out all kinds of shapes, depending on the chosen die that I use.  This provides extra interest to my card by using different shapes.  Many of my stamp sets have matching dies, so I do not have to do a lot of fancy cutting.

I can add texture with my embossing folders.  These make beautiful backgrounds for my cut-out shapes or stamped images to create exciting, simple cards.

My Big Shot will cut almost a hundred different materials if I use the correct dies.  This also adds wonderful texture for cards and altered canvases.  In fact, my Big Shot was paid for by making and selling pins to wear from colorful drink cans.  At $10 a pin, it is soon paid off.

Did I mention that the Big Shot is very inexpensive in comparison to other cutting machines?  Plus it is light weigh and easy to transport from one area to another.

The selections of different backgrounds and shapes help me create great scrapbook pages.

When you are babysitting grandchildren, you can keep them busy with your Big Shot.  They love cutting out shapes and coloring them to create their own pictures.

When you buy one from Stampin’Up, there is a three-year guarantee.  If it would break, and I have had mine ten years with no problem and with many people using it, Stampin’Up will send you a new one and have UPS pick up the broken one at no cost to you.  I have sold at least thirty if not more since SU started carrying them; and, have only had one customer that needed to send one back and it was over two years old.

Yes, this is why I love thee so.

Do you like fast and easy?

Do you like fast and easy cards to make?  Accented Blooms that will be in the new catalog fits that category.

                                                                

There are greetings to fit most occasions in this set.  The Hello is punched out and added with pop-dots.  

When you use the Stampin'Blends alcohol markers the coloring and shading goes fast and the colors are brilliant and beautiful.  The Blends will be in the new catalog and you can order the regular colors.  The new colors being added will not be available until after the middle of June.

Don't shy away from alcohol markers.  They are really easy to use.  Just use the lighter color and color one petal at a time and shade in with the darker of the color.  Then quickly go over the image with the light color and they will blend in together beautifully.

You can order this set and the blends when the new catalog goes active on June 1 at noon Mountain Time.

Happy stamping, Joyce