InKollage

Peep!

 

The months - and holidays - are flying by this year!  Here's a colorful Easter card that's quick and easy to make.  

Dancing Tulips 98295 are accented with an extra layer of glittered Tulip Petals 98317.  And the little chick?  He's our favorite Perched Reedbird 98160, diecut from bright yellow felt - then trimmed a bit for spring.  Distressed Garden Record G1848 is simply stamped with ColorBox Grasshopper Archival Dye Ink, then diecut with Index Card 98214.

I enjoy re-purposing Memory Box Dies and finding new ways to use them.  That's exactly what we'll be doing in this Saturday's Beyond the Box class at the University Village Impress.  Join us if you can - you'll be inspired by the great new samples in the store and the fresh spring products Ann has selected just for you.  U Village's lovely landscaping and spring plantings will be an added treat!

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Miracles of Springtime

Celebrate the new season with pretty colors and a bit of glitter.  Combine Poppystamps' Grand Egg Die 829, Chrysanthemum Frame G1857 -  and blendable ColorBox Lilac, Heliotrope and Pistachio Pigment Inks  - to create a delicate garden egg for your spring cards.  It's great to have the option of combining coordinating products from Memory Box and Poppystamps.

The intricate Valencia Border Die 98290 and a stamped Miracles of Springtime B1766 banner add the finishing touch.  I attached a foam dot to add dimension to the center of the banner, a technique I copied from the Impress Facebook page.  I could say I was merely "inspired" by that tip - but honestly, I just copied it.

Next quarter's classes begin soon - Memory Box Design Editor Theresa Laurent  and I can't wait to share more ideas with you.  Till then, are some designs from the Fresh for Spring class at 1:00 PM on Wednesday March 28 at the Bellevue Impress.  It's stampers day there too - Carla and her team another great project to share with you - make it a one-stop day of inspiration and creativity!

 

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Luck of the Irish

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with some easy diecutting - and a splash of bright Emerald Eyes Glitter.  I love how the rich tones of the Violet Notecard and Wildbloom background make the Lucky Leaves Die shamrock sparkle even more. 

The grassy border is diecut with the new Poppystamps Grassland Border - see the new dies here.  It's a must-have for Spring and Easter cards.  The Debutante Frame Die created the soft curves along the bottom of the border.  

Sunday's Fresh for Spring class at the Tukwila Impress features Dave's great stamps, papers and dies. Join us for some background techniques, glitter and the soft greens, teals and lavenders of spring.   You'll love the great seasonal displays and samples too!  Here are some of the class designs - we'll make a little Easter Basket and 4 cards:

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Sweet Treats

Cards sent, gifts under the tree, lights up, and cookies baked...right?  Now it's time to get the dies out and make little treat jars for the holidays.  Arrange them on your prettiest cake plate or cupcake tower as a centerpiece - or add guests' names to create placecards and party favors.  A set of them would also be a sweet surprise for a gift exchange.  Co-workers or carpoolers would love them too!

Here are just a few ideas - featuring Memory Box and Poppystamps Dies - with felt, cardstock and printed papers.  I had such a great time designing these - hope you like them!

The dies, left-to-right and top-to-bottom, are:

Poppystamps Tilda Swirl 804, Small Scalloped Circle 98204, Whimsy Circle 98154, Bianca Snowflake 98193, La Rue Flourish 98218, Tivoli Snowflake 98163, Classic Tags 98105, Amana Circle 98215, Poppystamps Small Tilda Swirl 808, Poppystamps Anna Snowflake 811, Simple Buckles 98185, Poppystamps Meadow Leaf 806, Blooming Rosette and Center 98121.  (I just used the rosette center - but rosettes are great jar toppers too!)

Memory Box Supplies in addition to the dies:

• Yuletide and Tinsel 6x6 Sets
• Grass Shimmer Cardstock
• Cranberry Gingham Cardstock
• Cranberry Distressed Dots Cardstock
• Key Lime Distressed Dots Cardstock
• Lagoon Cardstock
• To and From B1826

Other Supplies

• Clearsnap Top Boss Clear Embossing Stamp Pad
• ColorBox Peppermint Scentz Scented Embossing Powder
• Clearsnap Ruby Slippers, Peridot and Twinkling Turquoise Glitter
• Red, White and Baby Blue Felt
• Diecut Machine and Plates
• Sitcker Sheets
• Canning Jars
• 5/8",3/4" and 1-1/4" Circle Punches
• Screw Punch (for tags)
• Ribbons - Lemongrass 1/4", Turquoise 1/4" Featheredge, Red 1/4" Grosgrain, Red 1/3" Sheer, 1/2" wide strip of Baby Blue Felt
• May Arts Gold Cord
• Crafters Pick Ultimate Adhesive
• Candies and Yogurt-covered Pretzels

Basic Directions

• Cut, layer and attach diecuts with Crafters Pick Adhesive
• Attach adhesive paper (sticker or label sheets) to the felt before diecutting the Small Scalloped Circles and Simple Buckles
• Glittered circles - attach Scor-Tape to turquoise, chartreuse and red cardstock and press glitter onto the tape - then punch the circles using 5/8" or 3/4" punches
• Diecut two each of the Whimsy Circle and Tilda Swirl, then offset and layer them
• Attach the ribbons to the jar rims in two or three areas to keep them from slipping

Have fun with these jars - your guests will love them.  Merry Christmas!

The Meaning of Christmas

Vintage Christmas Words G1797 is a versatile stamp for backgrounds - or, deconstructed, a collage-y tree.  The magnetic poetry version of your typical evergreen.  

Add some bright diecut accents of Retro Border 98170 and Perched Reedbird 98160 - in red flocked ribbon and Ruby Slippers Glitter - to create a unique card of holiday words and phrases.  It's about the time of the year when I start looking for different ways to use the great stamps, papers and dies from our holiday collection.  Hope you're enjoying  - and being inspired by -  the projects Dave and the entire Design Team have created for you. 

Here's another version of this basic design - details and directions are on the Clearsnap Blog:

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A Special Christmas Wish

It's great getting back to InKollage - and sharing more holiday ideas with you. Just getting over puppy Taffy's series of ER vet visits, hospital transfers, x-rays, IV's, ultrasounds - the whole bit.  She's now recovering and bouncing back to her spunky, lively ways!

The combination of Memory Box stamps, dies and papers provides so many options for holiday cards.  I love how the Crystalline Border 98179 and Pastry Labels 98107 Dies let us create custom accents. Distressed Jingle Bells G1827 and Graceful Deer E1772 are classic images - perfect for your collection of holiday stamps.

It's been such a fast year - December's just 4 days away.  Here are some cards from the Winter Bliss class at the Tukwila Impress (phone 206 901.9101) on December 10th.  We'll make 4 un-holiday cards perfect for birthdays, thank-yous and other occasions - including photowheel-style and stairstep cards.  Pretty colors, velvet ribbons and great techniques.

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Wishes of the Season

 

I love combining simple shapes like the Perfect Gift Card Die 98177 with the elegant Fauntleroy Crest 98222 to add dimension to a card.   This would be a fun card to mass-produce because each pear could be stamped and chalked onto different sections of the Yuletide 6x6" background, creating a unique look each time.

For another idea -  here's a link to Dave's great painted pears video - featuring the same Solid and Shaded Pear stamps and Twinkling H20's.  See him stamping the Shaded Pear perfectly over the Solid Pear without a stamp positioner!                                                                     

We're updating and reconstructing our Memory Box Classes blog and will have our classes posted soon. Here's a link for the details on the classes that Lori Champine, Memory Box Design Editor Theresa Laurent and I have scheduled.  Lori is at Ink About It in Massachusetts and Theresa and I teach at the Impress stores in Tukwila, Bellevue Square and University Village.

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Wish Upon a Snowflake

Before we get started here at InKollage...be sure to visit Dave's blog and view his great Snowglobe video. Add your comments to his blog for a chance to win the expertly-engineered (that's Dave!) Snowglobe Dies with special clear, gridded windows for precise placement.  Winners will be randomly-selected from comments added to Dave's blog by 12:00 midnight Pacific time on October 23, 2011. 

OK - back to today's project - meet Colin Bear (D1831) and his matching die (98233) from the new Polar Bear Studio release,  on a rich red background from the Mistletoe 6x6 Set.  His scarf is stamped on red felt, from Impress, adding toasty-warm texture to this holiday card.  A quick Christmas Ticket (C1782) greeting diecut with Bistro Label (98120) and Diamond Jewel Stickers add the finishing touches.

Hope you like the design - view the Polar Bear Studio release here to see the great new stamps and dies.

Jean

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