Memory Box Love

I hope everyone has had a very happy holiday season and has a wonderful new year! I know it is going to be a great year! It is hard to believe its already the end of the year and Valentines Day is coming up fast.  I am teaching a class at The Stamp Addict on January 19th using the NEW Memory Box Valentines Day Line, if you want to sign up give us a call at 619-667-5060. Here is one of the cards I will be teaching.

I started by cutting a sheet of the Petal shimmer paper in half then scoring it using the Scor-Pal to make my card base. Next I randomly stamped the Ring and Dot (B1435) all over in versamark making sure to go off the side and bottom of the card to help it look less like a pattern. I then poured my favorite white detail embossing powder on it & heated it. I also stamped Heart Bird Keepsake (F1439) on a pattern paper in the versamark and emboss it in the same white embossing powder, then cut out the heart.  On the same paper I also stamped Love and Hearts (B1423) in versamark and emboss it and cut it out. I used foam tape and adhered the "Love" and "Heart" to the card popped up to give them some dimension. For a final touch I found some glitter heart stickers to put in the middle of the Dot rings. I hope you enjoy the card and have a Fabulous New Year!

Happy Stamping!

 

Valentine Greetings

Winter greetings from simultaneously sunny, snowy, rainy Seattle!  It's a different scene each time I look out the window.  

Here's a Valentine idea featuring our Reverse Bird Grass (E1427) and Valentine Greetings (B1175) stamps, Brocade Design Adhesives from the Memory Box Collection, Pixie 6x6 prints, the Secret Garden 12x12, Vanilla Bean Dots and Baby Pink Pearl Stickers.  Oh yes, there's a card there too - it's an easel card folded from a half-sheet of Soiree Blossom Matte Cardstock.  It fits perfectly into a Soiree Blossom A2 Envelope when the flat section is tucked inside for mailing.

Here are the directions for this card:

Memory Box Supplies

• E1427  Reverse Bird Grass
• B1175  Valentine Greetings
• Pixie 6x6 Set
• Secret Garden 12x12
• Soiree Blossom Matte Cardstock
• Soiree Blossom A2 Envelope
• Vanilla Bean Dots Cardstock
• Memory Box Collection Brocade Design Adhesives
• Baby Pink Pearl Stickers

Other Supplies

• VersaMagic Pink Petunia Inkpad    
• Memento Rich Cocoa Inkpad
• Dauber
• Clearsnap Cotton Candy Glitter
• Soft Round Paintbrush
• EK Success Scalloped Dots Edger Punch
• EK Success Heart Punch 
• Scoring Board and Stylus   

Directions

• Stamp Reverse Bird Grass on the dark brown Pixie print with Pink Petunia and dry the ink
• Trim it along the edges of the design  
• Burnish the large Brocade flourish onto the Secret Garden 12x12 and brush Cotton Candy Glitter onto the adhesive pattern
• Trim it to 3-1/4" x 3-1/2" and ink the edges with Pink Petunia
• Punch three hearts - one from the pink and green Pixie flower print and two from scrap cardstock
• Layer the hearts for dimension, then ink the edges with Pink Petunia
• Cut a 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" piece of Vanilla Bean Dots
• Cut a 4-1/4" x 11" strip of Soiree Blossom Matte Cardstock
• Score it at 3-1/2", 7" and 10-1/8" from the short edge
• Punch the Scalloped Border along the short edge near the 10-1/8" scoreline
• Crease the card at the three scorelines
• Attach 3-1/2" x 4-1/4" of the Vanilla Bean Dots piece to the first scored section of the card so it stands behind the creased border
• Stamp the greeting on a strip of the Pixie floral print with Rich Cocoa and ink the edges with Pink Petunia
• Attach it to the inside of the card
• Assemble the card
• Attach Baby Pink Pearl Stickers to the grass tips
• Coordinate the card with a matching Soiree Blossom A2 Envelope

Hope you like the card...it's "easier done than said!"

 

A Valentine Treat

Good day Memory Box fans! Here's another peek at the new Valentine Delight release. 

I began with the new Adore Peony Collage (G1433) stamped onto a piece of Begonia notecard in Brilliance Chocolate ink. I also stamped it onto a piece of pattern paper from the new Pixie 6x6 pack. Each flower was cut and layered onto the card while the stems and leaves were enhanced with various shades of green Prismacolor pencils, and Baby Pink Pearls were added underneath the "adore" for a little bling. This piece is layered onto Azalea soiree shimmer and then added to a Begonia note card.  I punched two large corners from the same floral paper as the flowers using an EK Success punch.  Finally, I added the Classic Flourish (D991) in the lower left corner, also with Brilliance Chocolate ink. That image is a real favorite of mine that I often use to embellish background space.

This new release is so pretty.  Be sure to keep an eye on the blog to see more great ideas from the design team for using these new stamps and papers. Check your local stores, too - so you can pick up your favorites from the new Valentine Delight.

Birds and Hearts

 
Another beautiful new stamp (Heart Bird Keepsake - F1439) from the Valentine's Delights release. This bird in the heart inspired me to pull out my doily and layer the image and doily over the gorgeous Secret Garden paper.

Recipe:

1. Stamp Heart Bird Keepsake F1439 using Versafine Vintage Sepia on white cardstock.
2. Cut out. Sponge edges using Ranger Distress Inks Victorian Velvet and Memento Rich Cocoa.
3. Sponge edges of doily with Victorian Velvet.
4. Stamp Love and Hearts sentiment using brown pigment ink. Sponge edges using pink and brown dye ink.
5. Add heart stick pin through center of sentiment. Tie ribbon.
6. Punch border using EK Success border punch.
7. Sponge edges of pattern paper using pink dye ink.

Hope you had a lovely Christmas.

Suzz

 

 

Snow Much Fun!

I just love shaker cards!  Here's the Sleek Penguins (C1383) in a blizzard of Polar Ice Flower Soft.  The Sleek Penguins were stamped in black on the Crystalline paper (10113) from the Tinsel Collection.  The Snow and Cedars 6x6 paper pack was used to make the scarves on the penguins. The cardstock layer was embossed using a Sizzix snowflake embossing folder.  The verse Warmest Wishes (B1154) was stamped on the oval cut out of the front of the shaker layer.

 
This is a simple card made using the Crystal Snowflake (E1410) and the Flurries Design Adhesive (D10158).  Stamp the snowflake with white ink on Slate cardstock and layer on Frost Cardstock with foam tape. Apply 3 snowflakes from the Flurries Design Adhesive and cover with slate blue glitter.

Happy Winter!

Peace Poinsettia Collage

Here's another great collage from Sue H, an instructor at the Madison location of Scrapbook Memories. Sue used these stamps: Peace Collage (G1411), Poinsettia Outline (D1396), Woodland Vine (C1032) and these papers: Cranberry Distressed Dots, Vanilla Bean Distressed Dots, Poinsettia Fields to create the collage.  Sue embellished with red jewels and glitter.  The eyelet border is made with a punch.

Wishing you all a peaceful holiday season.

Mint Chip Valentine

   Have you seen the new stamps and Pixie papers from the Memory Box "Valentine Delights" collection?  You're in for a real treat!

   Today I am combining a few of my favorite things- Valentine's Day AND Mint Chip Ice Cream. Huh?  Well, here's why...my husband proposed on Valentine's Day so it has always been a special day for us...and the mint chip?  that was my Dad's favorite ice cream, therefore mine too.  We made frequent visits to the local 31 Flavors (aka Baskin Robbins) for some good ol' father/daughter time. It's all about the good memories.

  So here is my Valentine Card in the unconventional shades of mint and chocolate...

  The new Leaf Canopy (F1430) was stamped in Pumice Stone ink in the background and a simple vellum band was added as an overlay.  I used Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate pigment ink, which works beautifully on vellum, with Valentine Duo (B1424). It has a bonus stamp on the side of the wood--a heart! 

  I swiped the ink pad (Ranger's Pumice Stone again) down the surface of the Reverse Bird Branches(E1426) to get the linear marks or striation effect.  It looks a little like rain, don't you think?  Maybe rain is on my brain because we have had record amounts lately...who says it never rains in California? 

   The heart embellishment adds a little "frilliness" and was easy to make with a 5" length of cotton lace (Webster's Pages) and a heart brad (Creative Impressions).  Simply hand sew a basting stitch along the top edge of the lace then pull to gather and stitch the cut ends together.  Zip-Zip that takes two minutes.  The heart brad attaches the embellishment to the card stock----no glue required.  

  I hope you have enjoyed this little Valentine idea right in the midst of Christmas---just wanted to give you something to look forward to in the weeks and months ahead.  The design team has lots more in store for you---check in with us daily!

Merry Christmas~

   

Valentine Delights

 

The images and papers in the new Valentine Delights release are lovely. The Adore Peony Collage was one of the first stamps I inked up.   I love when the Peonies bloom in the spring they always bring such a beautiful bouquet of color.

Recipe:

1. Stamp the Adore Peony Collage (G1433) onto watercolor paper using the Ranger Archival black ink. 
2. Color petals and leaves using watercolor markers and water brush. 
3. Sponge edges using Memento London Fog.
4. Punch borders using EK Success border punch.
5. Emboss white background using Cuttlebug embossing folder.
6. Stamp Love and Hearts B1423 using black ink.
7. Stamp background using Elegant Damask and grey and black dye ink repeatedly.

Hope everyone is ready for their holidays! Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

Suzz

 

Gettin' Inky with Memory Box

Seems like everywhere I've looked lately people have been making tags. Although I am not what I consider an "artsy" stamper I decided to give it a try.  I started with tags that were cut from manila folders using my handy-dandy Slice machine. Then I chose a varied collection of distress inks, and of course, the new Memory Box Valentine stamps.

 
For the first tag I used Ranger's Chipped Sapphire, Fired Brick and Stormy Sky distress inks.  Working on a non-stick craft mat, I applied the three ink colors and then spritzed them with water so the colors would blend together.  I did 2-3 light sprays cause I like deeper colors. The more water, the lighter your colors will be. The next step is to place the tag on the inked area and lift off. Continue doing this until there are no un-inked areas on the tag. I also like to do a little swirl with the tag before lifting it off the mat. When I was satisfied with the colors, a heat tool was used to dry the tag.

 
With the background finished, it was time to stamp. For the script I inked only the lower half of the Peace Dove(E1103) with Black Soot and stamped in the upper right corner of the tag. Next was the Leaf Canopy  (F1430) stamped with Fired Brick and the Crafty Birds (D1431) were stamped with Black Soot. One very important thing I learned was to dry the tag between each stamped image.  To give the tag an overall shimmer, I spritzed it with Glimmer Mist's Marshmallow.  It still needed something so I stamped the Ring & Dots with Staz-on Metallic Silver in a couple of spots.  One final drying session with the heat  tool and this tag was finished!

The second tag is a much simpler one and an example of "what not to do"...

 

The inks used on this one are Tumbled Glass, Dried Marigold, Victorian Velvet, Stormy Sky and Shabby Shutters. The Vintage Scroll (E1388) image was stamped using Tumbled Glass and the Valentine Duo (B1421) was stamped using Black Soot.  This one did not turn out the way it looked in my head but I wanted to show it to you so you can see what happens when you forget to dry the tag before stamping the next image - once the sentiment was stamped it immediately began to blur and blend into the background colors.  The same thing happened with the Vintage Scroll image but that was ok. I didn't want the sentiment to blend, but unfortunately I forgot the dry the tag before stamping it.

Thanks for taking this journey into artsy stamping with me - it is my first attempt at making artsy tags after taking a class three months ago.  This is such a fun technique and I really want to get better with it,  so it's a safe bet that I'll be getting very inky over the next few weeks!! Hope you give it a try too - the new Memory Box stamps lend themselves perfectly for projects such as these!

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year!

 

Wonderful Winterberry

The Winterberry Wreath (D1414 ) quickly became my favorite stamp from the Winter Nature release.  Paired with the bird from the In the Forest Design Adhesives, it's pure perfection!   Add in some fantastic Memory Box papers and Stickles and you're set.  This card goes together very quickly but I absolutely love the results.

 
Instructions:

1. Stamp Winterberry Wreath with Coffee Archival Ink on White card stock
2. Add “bird” Design Adhesives by removing protective backing.  Lay bird on wreath in the desired location.  Burnish the bird adhesive onto the paper with bone folder, finger nail or popsicle stick.  Remove protective cover.  Lay Colorbox Cherry Pie Designer Foil over the adhesive (red side up) and burnish the foil onto the bird.    LOVE IT! 
3. Distress this piece with brown ink and dauber, then adhere to piece of Vanilla Bean notecard and set this piece aside.
4. Attach the Poinsettia Birds paper to the Meadow card.
5. Attach the long thin First Snowfall paper to the corresponding piece of Meadow card stock and attach the Vanilla Bean Moroccan paper to the corresponding piece of Meadow card stock. 
6. Add these two pieces to your card front by adhering the First Snowfall piece about ¼” in from the left top/side of the card and adhere the Vanilla Bean Moroccan piece overlapping it.
7. Attach wreath to the front of card with foam tape.
8. Finally, add Candy Cane Stickles to berries on wreath.

I hope you enjoy today's post.   And I wish everyone a very merry holiday season.   Hopefully you are able to spend it with those closest to you. 

Peace, Love, and Joy