Outside The Box

*Deer* Santa

This graceful duo bring Holiday greetings.  I was feeling a little traditional while making this card even though I'm using non-traditional colors---teal and brown---with polka dots no less!  It's just to show that you can put a twist on any style.

These charming deer are framed within the beautiful Flurry Wreath and here's how it came together...

Center the Large Scallop die on the cover of the card in order to make an opening for the deer to peek though.  (note: I always write the product code number with a Sharpie on the flat side of my dies so that class participants can make their shopping list effortlessly.) 

While making this card I discovered that the scallop circle was the perfect size to create an opening for the Flurry Wreath. You'll see what I mean coming up...

Now to create the wreath.  I have stamped the Flurry Wreath with Ranger's Archival ink (you could also use Brilliance) because it dries beautifully on this shiny coated paper.  What you see below is the die alligned with the stamped image and ready to run through my die cutting machine. 

There you have it---the stamp and matching die working together perfectly.  I used a piercing tool to poke out the small cut pieces between the snowflakes---no biggie.

Now it's ready for the foam dots and bling!  Wouldn't you know that these snowflake gemstones fit the snowflakes in the wreath---that Dave....always thinkin'.  AND see how the wreath fits around the opening made by the scalloped circle die?  Perfect!

It's show time-- bring in the deer...

I die cut one on polkadot paper and one on solid brown Truffle Soire (brown on both sides) paper.

Because the Truffle Soire paper is brown on both sides I can flip the deer over and now he's pointing the opposite direction.

Arrange the deer in a pleasing pose and attach to the inside cover of the card.

Cover the messy inside with a pale blue card stock panel and you have a clean inside cover AND a pretty blue background for the deer.

Now dress them up with a red/white bakers twine bow and a sparkly Happy Holidays greeting.

Here's what you need to make your card:

98152 Graceful Deer Die

98109 (Lg) Scalloped Circle

98199 Flurry Wreath Die

G1792 Flurry Wreath stamp

C1783 Holiday Ticket stamp

snowflake gem stones

This was fun and easy so hopefully you'll make several for your friends and family.  Join us in class to make this and other holiday cards!

Happy Friday!

Changing Seasons

Today feels like summer, but the cooler evenings and the crispness of the air hints at fall.  It won't be long before the leaves turn spectacular colors and the "leaf peepers" flock to Maine for the views of autumn in her glory.  Here's one last card celebrating the green. It's one of the cards we'll create in this afternoon's class at Your Maine Stamper.

Here are the supplies I used.

 

STAMPS

• B1423 Love and Hearts
• D1319 Mod Tree Border (circle on the side)
• D1234 Dorian Border

INKS

• Archival Ink Sepia
• Ancient Page Sage

PAPERS

• 12X12 Memory Box Minuet paper 10128 Skip to My Lou
• apple green cardstcok
• pale pale green cardstock
• white scalloped oval (PaperCut)
• Memory Box notecard Meadow

Other

• ribbon, source unknown
• fabric-covered buttons, K&Company

 

To make this card...

• Stamp D1234 Dorian Border in sepia ink on the bottom half of the scalloped oval.
• Stamp B1423 Love and Hearts "love" in sepia ink on the top half of the scalloped oval.
• Punch a tiny hole and add a fabric-covered brad to the oval.

 

• Stamp D1319 Mod Tree Border on the pale pale green cardstock in sepia ink.
• Stamp the circle from the side of that stamp in Ancient Page Sage on the tops of the trees.
• Trim this down and mount on a piece of apple green cardstock.

 

• Trim the Skip to My Lou paper to 4 X 5 1/2 and adhere to the front of the Meadow card.
• Add the Mod Tree Border piece with pop dots to the top of the card front.
• Add the scalloped oval to the front of the card under the trees.
• Tie a piece of coordinating ribbon around the card and finish in a bow. 

Wherever you are, celebrate the changing seasons!

Happy Stamping!

Get Organized!

 
Ah, words to live by!  In an effort to be more organized with all of my notes and scraps of papers, I created this longstitch journal that's just full of pockets!  Some of the pockets I created simply by folding pages over, and others I created using the Fancy Pocket die from Memory Box.

 
I can now jot down inspirations and tips and techniques and keep them in one convenient place to refer to again and again.  I like using the Index Card and Blank Ticket dies to cut up pieces of scrap paper to put new techniques on.  I can focus more on learning the technique rather than worry about card composition.  On the tags below, I've captured tons of techniques featuring Gelatos and Big Brush Markers from Faber-Castell.

 
I will be teaching both of these workshops at Prairie Art Stamps in Springfield, Illinois on Saturday, October 1.  If you're in the area, please stop by and say "hello"!

Elegant Haunted Mansion

Is there anything quite as elegant as silver? 

I THINK NOT!

Today's card was so easy to make! The patterned paper really provides a terrific background, IMHO.

S U P P L I E S
Memory Box stamps: Haunted Mansion (E1801), Happy Halloween (B1391); Memory Box Jack O Lantern card stock, Memory Box Nighfall 6"x6" patterned paper; Ranger Distress embossing ink, Ranger Distress Super Fine Detail embossing powder (Silver) Memory Box Halloween jewel stickers

T O O L S
Heat tool, stamp positioner
 
I N S T R U C T I O N S

1. Make card out of Jack O Lantern card stock.
2. Cut panel (4" x 5.25") of patterned paper and adhere to card base.
3. Stamp mansion and sentiment.
4. Emboss.
5. Adhere jewel stickers.

And you're finished! A super fast and easy card for your kid's teacher, perhaps?

TFL and have a great weekend!

Cuttlebug Meets Memory Box!

Hello Everyone!

Julia Quinsey, one of the teachers here at The Stamp Addict, is teaching a Cuttlebug Class this Saturday September 24th, and on Monday September 26th, featuring Memory Box stamps and Dies!  Below are some samples of a few of the cards you will be making in the class!

 

 

I love the way she layers all the different stamps, dies and papers! We still have room in the class, just call 619-667-5060 to sign up.

Have a fabulous day!

 

Poinsettia Part II

Okay, so the last poinsettia card was fairly simple, this one I think is a little more elegant.  It's amazing to me how the same stamp can look so different depending on how you use it. 

I used a Poppy Stamp for the background under the poinsettia.  Doesn't it look lovely embossed in gold.  Here are the instructions:

Stamp the poinsettia twice (you need two images, so that you can cut one for the center) with Versamark on glossy paper and emboss with white embossing powder.  Sponge with Distress Ink until you are happy, then spritz with Perfect Pearls pearl and water mixture.  You may need to add a little more color after spritzing -- your choice (I added a little.) Die cut one of the poinsettias.  Trim out just the center portion of the other poinsettia.  Stamp Fancy Background on parchment with Versamark and emboss with  Queen's Gold embossing powder and trim around edge.  Stamp Merry Christmas on Soiree Chocolate scrap and emboss with Queen's Gold and trim closely.  Emboss Soiree chocolate rectangle with embossing folder.  Die cut label from Parchment paper.  Layer everything.  I added pop dots under Fancy background, under the sentiment and under the poinsettia layers.  Add pearls to center of poinsettia.

Supplies:

• G1788 Poinsettia Bloom
• 98203 Poinsettia Bloom Die
• 98209 Chadwick Label Die
• 257G Poppy Stamps Fancy Background
• Sizzix Corners & Damask Embossing Folders Set
• Parchment Note Card
• Soiree Metallic Chocolate Card Stock
• Parchment Card Stock
• White Glossy Card Stock
• Ink:  VersaMark, Distress Antique Linen, Vintage Photo
• Ranger Queen's Gold and Seafoam White Embossing Powders
• Perfect Pearls Pearl
• Memory Box Daffodil pearls

So which do you prefer for your Christmas cards simple or elegant?  Have a great Tuesday, and thanks so much for looking!

Haunted Mansion

Here's a colorful way to use the great Vintage Halloween Words G1802...stamp it with the ColorBox Spooktacular Inkpad.  It's perfectly-spaced to create a colorful background for the Haunted Mansion E1801.  Embossing the background creates a resist - so it looks like the words are poking out thru the windows.  

The Nightfall print border - diecut with the delicate Spring Border Die 98115 - seasonally changes from sweet to creepy when the pretty flowers are snipped off.  Just one of the many ways the Memory Box Dies can be used throughout the year, for all seasons.

I've added the classes that Theresa Laurent and I will be teaching at Impress to the Memory Box Classes Blog - see them here.

Read more... 

Table Decorations

 

I was playing around in my journal,  trying ideas and one of my ideas was stamping the Cocoa Bean Butterfly onto the Museum Tag. That inspired the idea of creating place card tags for my family.  I created five tags with the initial of each family member.  I looked around and found four little vases to attach the tags too. (Need to find one more for the last tag)

Recipe:

1. Stamp museum tag onto Valise papers using brown ink. Cut out.
2. Distress edges using distressing tool.
3. Smear light blue acrylic paint onto tag. Sponge edges with brown dye ink.
4. Die Cut Classic Tags from Valise Paper. 
5. Stamp Museum Tag over circle classic tag.
6. Distress Edges using distressing tool.
7. Smear light blue acrylic paint over surface.
8. Stamp letter using brown ink, apply sticker or hand write the name on the tag. :)
9. Stamp Cocoa Bean Butterfly on Shrinky Dink using StaZon brown ink.
10. Cut out leaving a little extra on the top by the head to allow for a hole punch.
11. Punch hole.
12. Flip over and color on the backside of the butterfly using copic markers.
13. Heat with heat gun or in oven following instructions on packaging.
14. Stamp Cocoa Bean Butterfly using brown ink onto Valise paper.
15. Cut out butterfly.
16. Color using watercolor pencils.
17. Sponge edges using brown dye ink.
18. Spritz Seam Binding Ribbon using blue glimmer mist.
19. Tie initial tag with butterfly using twine.
20. Attach the ribbon and tag to larger tag.
21. Spritz white paper flowers with blue glimmer mist. Attach to center of butterfly.

Here is a close up of one of the Shrinky Dink Butterflies:

Here is a picture of the four vases with tags:

I created all five in a production line. Very fun. I also created additional shrinky dink butterflies. I want to take and tie them into the flowers in the mini vases.

These little tags could have been created with the pumpkins stamps or snowflakes.  I can see a bunch of different place-settings.  The statice is from my garden and I pulled a bunch in and spritzed with the glimmer mist to give it a blue tint.

Have a wonderful day!

Suzz

Ghost Sightings

 

Time to start those Halloween cards everyone! Halloween will be here before you know it.

Here is an easy card, Stamp Vintage Halloween words G1802 with white pigment ink on black card stock. Die cut your ghost and stamp same words with black ink on the ghost. A tip is to use a stamp positioner when stamping the words on the ghost. I find myself using my stamp positioner more and more.

To make the ghost spooky, I put a piece of green glitter paper behind his eyes and added a green gem to make his eyes pop.

The row of tombstones was a border punched in black and sponged with white ink.

Happy Crafting!

 

Bubba's Birthday

I think Bubba the elephant is just too cute - but he's even cuter when he has a friend along. If you want to make a matching elephant, that can face your Bubba, try this: 

Use the matching Bubba stamp and die to cut out two elephants from white paper. Then, if you have one on hand, take out your old light box (yes, I'm dating myself!). These were popular with stencils years ago, but some of us still have one in our stash. In a pinch, you can also hold your work up to a bright window. Flip one elephant over and with the help of the light box, or a sunny window, you can easily see through the white paper for tracing.  Using a black Copic multi-liner, you can trace over the stamped image from the other side to create your second elephant.  Voila - a friend for Bubba!

I used a Copic marker for my tracing because I knew I would be coloring my elephants with Cool Gray 1 and I didn't want any bleeding or smudging. Other materials used to make this card:

Copics: Y38, YG06 & RV13

Blue Poppy Note

Keylime Dots paper for grass, other patterns for hats

Liquid Pearl to accent hats

Bubba stamp: D1741

Bubba die: 98113

Balloon Bundle: B1740

 

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the weekend.