Chevron print Birthday Calendar Rolodex

This is a Birthday Calendar Rolodex I created last month for a special request of Chevron Prints. I love this pattern paper from the Epic Day This and That DSP pack. The bright colors from the chevron print led to the color combination of the month dividers and tabs.











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Pomp & Circumstance - another Graduation Card

Here's another graduation card using the Pomp and Circumstance stamp set from the Occasions Catalog from Stampin' Up! This card also uses the Peekaboo Big Shot Die for an interactive element on the card front. This sentiment pair really works well with the Peekaboo Die. I've been on an embossing kick lately and this card has lots of Heat Embossing, too.

I randomly stamped the cap/tassel image in Silver Encore Ink and Silver Embossing Powder onto the background piece of Brushed Silver cardstock. Then I stamped the two sentiments in Basic Black Craft ink onto pieces of Brushed Silver cardstock. These are also Heat Embossed, with Black Embossing Powder. This is good time to use your Embossing Buddy to prevent any stray pieces of Black Embossing Powder from taking away from the crisp embossed image.

The Curly Label Peek-A-Boo Frame is die cut from Basic Black cardstock, using the Standard Crease Pad in lieu of the top cutting plate. I also used a Shim underneath this sandwich to help create enough pressure to cut and score, but not so much pressure than it cuts everything. This can vary a little from machine to machine, so you'll have to see if you need a shim or not with your Crease Pad. The Crease Pad does help ensure a nice score line, which is part of the peekaboo window. Here's what my sandwich looks like, although with Black cardstock on the black Die, with a black Crease Pad, it's probably hard to see detail. The bottom piece is a cardboard shim, one of the pieces of light weight cardboard that comes with each of the Big Shot Dies.


Recipe:
Stamps: Pomp and Circumstance
Cardstock: Basic Black, Brushed Silver
Ink: Silver Encore, Basic Black Craft Ink
Accessories: Peekaboo Frames Die, Black Embossing Powder, Silver Embossing Powder, Mini Silver Brads.

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Petal Parade - Hello There Brights card

Here is another card using the Sale-A-Bration (FREE!) stamp set Petal Parade from Stampin' Up! For this card I used some bright colors of ink and cardstock, including Gumball Green, one of my favorite In Colors.  I also used one of the new Tag Topper Punches from the Occasions Mini Catalog - so fast and easy to get perfect corners and a ribbon hole on these tags! This bright and cheery card came together very quickly.

I randomly stamped the images from Petal Parade in Raspberry Ripple, Tangerine Tango and Gumball Green inks. The hello there sentiment from Happy Day is stamped in Raspberry Ripple as well with a narrow band of Raspberry Ripple cardstock to set it off from the flowers on the tag. I wrapped the Gumball Green Stitched Satin Ribbon with some White Baker's Twine to top off this tag. The background piece is a piece of Gumball Green Core'dinations cardstock texture embossed in the Big Shot with the Fancy Fan TIEF. Then I sanded it heavily with a Sanding Block to bring out the core color, which is perfect for highlighting the texture of our Textured Impressions Embossing Folders.

{Inside}
Recipe:
Stamps: Petal Parade, Happy Day
Cardstock: Gumball Green Core'dination, Daffodil Delight, Very Vanilla, Raspberry Ripple
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Tangerine Tango, Gumball Green
Accessories: Fancy Fan TIEF, Delicate Designs TIEF, Angled Tag Topper Punch, Gumball Green Stitched Satin Ribbon, Rhinestone Jewels







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Stamp Review Crew: Gorgeous Grunge Edition

 This edition of the Stamp Review Crew features Gorgeous Grunge stamp set, one that was a gift given to me by a close stampin' friend - thank you, I have loved using it!

I did a little Scrapbooking this weekend and one of the pictures I have is this candid shot of my daughter on her way to school. She was dressed in camouflage for a Homecoming Week 'Camo' day last fall. She is 16 and so happy, life truly is good for her, and this makes me so happy knowing her inner confidence and joy.

I found the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set is just perfect for adding some texture to your pages. I Heat Embossed all the stamped images with Clear Embossing Powder for some shine, too. I love how the striped image grounds the single photo on this layout.

Here's a card using the same elements and same colors as the scrapbook page. I Heat Embossed these images with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder for even more sparkle.

Recipes:
Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, Perfect Pennants
Ink: Rose Red, Gumball Green, So Saffron
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, So Saffron, Gumball Green, Always Artichoke, Rose Red, Whisper White, Epic Day This and That DSP
Accessories: Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die, Deco Label Framelits, Hung Up Cute Clips, Clear Embossing Powder, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Sweet Sorbet Accessories Kit (Summer Starfruit Twine), Rhinestone Jewels, Circle Punches ( 2 1/2", Itty Bitty and 1/2")

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to click through to all of the blogs on the Stamp Review Crew: Gorgeous Grunge Edition by using the Previous and Next Buttons below. I also listed the Blog Roll of The Stamp Review Crew: Gorgeous Grunge Edition at the bottom of this post. You'll find tons of inspiration and creativity! Happy Blog Hopping!

 

Gorgeous Grunge Blog roll

1. Heidi Baks  runningwscissorsstamper.blogspot.com
2. Cindy Beach stampspaperandink.typepad.com/
3. Beth Beard   mylittlecraftblog.com/
4. Adriana Benitez  escape2stamp.com
5. Tanya Boser   tinkerin-in-ink.blogspot.com
6. Debra Burgin  heartfeltinkspiration.com/
7. Jill Coleman  jillstamps.com/
8. Deb Currier  artfeltimpressions.blogspot.com/
9. Mike Funke    stampin-style.typepad.com/
10. Shana Gaff   stressfreestamping.blogspot.com
11. Holly Krautkremer  rubberredneck.typepad.com
12. Mary Rindal   maryrindal.com
13. Martha Stewart  seasonsofstamping.com/
14. Dawn Tidd   tiddbitsfromdawn.typepad.com
15. Lisa Young   addinkandstamp.blogspot.com/ 
16. Kerry Willard Bray  kerrywillardbray.com
17. Paula Wright  paulastamps.blogspot.com/
18. Rita Wright  ritascreations.blogspot.com/
19. Betty Traciak kittystamps.blogspot.com
20. Nancy Smith iguanastamp.wordpress.com

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Perfect Pennants - a Blue Valentine

Valentine's Day is exactly one day away - are you ready? Do you celebrate Valentine's Day? Have you made plans? How about a blue Valentine's card with lots of glitz and gold? I stamped this card over the weekend and couldn't stop adding Gold elements! This card uses some images from new sets in the Occasions Catalog from Stampin' Up! The heart image is from Peachy Keen and the sentiment is one of many in the Perfect Pennants stamp set. And of course the background is the ever versatile En Francais background stamp.



The card base here is Baja Breeze. For the background, I stamped the En Francais background stamp in Gold Encore ink onto the Island Indigo cardstock pieces. Then I embossed parts of the stamped background in Gold Embossing Powder. I intentionally left some of the stamped image un-embossed. The Paper Doilie was covered in Gold Encore ink and then dipped in the Gold Embossing Powder before I heat it to set. The thin doilie made the Embossing Powder melt very quickly. Another gold element is an Antique Brad, which I heat with my Heat Gun and dipped in Gold Embossing Powder, then heat it again to set the EP to create this shiny beautiful gold brad. (Remember to use a clothes pin when embossing metal as it gets very hot - also let it cool down before using.) This gold brad is wrapped around two loops of Victoria Crochet Trim to create the bow accent.

The heart image from Peachy Keen is stamped in second generation Island Indigo. I used my Embossing Buddy over this then stamped the sentiment in Gold Encore ink. The sentiment is also Heat Embossed in Gold Embossing Powder. I embossed the oval frame from Designer Frames TIEF around the images, then die cut it with one of the Oval Framelits. I swiped the Gold Encore pad over this ti highlight the dotted edges and to create an Gold mat edging. Finally, I added an arrow from the On Film Framelits, another new product from the Occasions Catalog, cut from Baja Breeze Core'dinations cardstock. This is piece is sanded a little bit for a lot of texture - love that!

{Inside}
Recipe:
Stamps: Perfect Pennants, Peachy Keen, En Francais, Delightful Dozen
Ink: Gold Encore, Baja Breeze
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Brushed Gold, Island Indigo, Baja Breeze Core'dinations
Accessories: Paper Doilies, Designer Frames TIEF, On Film Framelits, Ovals Framelits, Gold Embossing Powder, Victoria Crochet Trim, Antique Brads









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Operation Write Home - Card Donations

 I had a few stampers come over to Stamp Jam on Saturday night and we stamped, assembled, sorted and packed nearly 200 cards for Operation Write Home. If you haven't visited the OWH website or are not aware of their mission, I encourage you to take a minute to check them out! Special thanks to Jacque for all her generosity and great food for tonight!











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Starburst Melange - February Paper Crafters Sampler

There are just a few more weeks of winter.  How about a few rays of faux sun beams to get you thinking of the warmer weather ahead?

The February issue of Paper Crafters Sampler, Starburst Mélange, contains projects with beams radiating from a central point, similar to the sun.  The design team found this theme to be especially challenging, and yet each has come through with such varying designs.  Our projects will open your eyes to the possibilities of designing with Starburst.

Here's a sneak peek of my card for this month, a traditional Starburst design in Gold and Black. Simple and elegant and so very striking! Be sure to go to Paper Crafters Sampler to get your February issue. 

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What does the FOX say Valentines - MDS Life in the Forest

What does the FOX say?! Happy Valentine's Day! My fourth grader thought Fox Valentines were a fabulous idea, so I helped him get started with My Digital Studio and the fox from Life in the Forest brush stamp set. He had a great time creating these valentines. It amazes me how quickly kids figure out how to use software programs and how quick they are to create. I showed him a few things and then he took over. I came back to help setup several valentines per page. We printed these onto Whisper White cardstock and trimmed them down to tie onto a fun size bag of Skittles. He's pretty happy with his valentines for their classroom party this week. He designed a larger Valentine for his teacher, using the same elements, and we wrapped it around a few bars of chocolate. He wanted a Fox themed Valentine box, too, so we just printed some images and add them to a shoe box.

 I uploaded a sheet of Fox Valentine's, without his name, for a free jpeg download What does the Fox Say? Valentines. If you download this file, please let me know how the file works for you - thanks!

My Digital Studio Elements:
Background
     Designer Series Paper\Sun Garden - designer series paper\Sun Garden - 12
Stamps
    Life in the Forest\Life in the Forest - fox, Color = POPPY PARADE 218,57,49
Photos
    Designer Series Paper\Sun Garden - designer series paper\Sun Garden - 11 (re-colored) Color = CAJUN CRAZE 170,66,37
    Designer Series Paper\Sun Garden - designer series paper\Sun Garden - 5 (re-colored) Color = CAJUN CRAZE 170,66,37
    Card Stock\Real Red
    Card Stock\Very Vanilla

And just in case you wanted to have the song stuck in your head all day, here's the What Does the Fox Say? song by Ylvis.







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Purse style Gift Bag - Lovely Romance

 Here is a Gift Bag I put together for a sweet friend. I had fun making this Gift Bag that is just the right size for her gifts and just the right colors for her!

First I cut a 12 x 12 piece of Early Espresso in half, so I had 2 pieces measuring 6 x 12". Then I stamped these in Whisper White Craft ink using two images from the beautiful Lovely Romance stamp set. To create the base for this bag, I cut a piece of Early Espresso cardstock to 6" x 9", then scored 1" off each side. I cut the tabs in and created a shallow tray. Then I adhered the stamped 6 x 12 pieces of cardstock end to end and wrapped them around the outside of the cardstock bottom. I also sealed up the last seam of the bag where the 6 x 12 ends met. These are all adhered with Sticky Strip just to be sure the seams hold. 

To doll it up a bit, I added strips of Cherry Cobbler along the top and bottom edge of the bag and created Cherry Cobbler handles by folding a piece of 1 x 9 cardstock in half and punching the ends in a Circle Punch to round them off. Antique Brads were just the right element to put these handles onto the bag. Finally, I tucked a lip gloss and note into a mini envelope made with the Envelope Punch Board and tied it off with a length of Soft Suede Taffeta Ribbon.

And that Satin Flower is made by layering several circles of satin, die cut with the Big Shot, stacked together and then heated with the Heat Gun to curl and seal the edges.






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Happy Congratulations - Brayer card

Here is a Brayer card using the new Happy Congratulations stamp set from the Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog. This stamp set has only 4 images - the string of paper lanterns, the lantern and the two sentiments. I love the string of paper lanterns and the font of the congratulations, but I especially love the sentiment may happiness be your destination.

For this card I started with a 4 x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White cardstock. I inked up a Brayer with Daffodil Delight ink by rolling it repeatedly across the Daffodil Delight ink pad, picking it up at the end and starting over at the front of the pad to load it evenly with ink. (NOT rolling it back and forth.) Then starting at one corner of the Whisper White cardstock, I rolled the Brayer back and forth laying Daffodil Delight ink heavily on the very tip of the cardstock and then rolling toward the center just a little. I repeated this for the opposite corner, leaving a large area of white in the center of the cardstock. Then using a different Brayer (or after cleaning the first one) I did the same thing with the Brayer and Melon Mambo ink. Finally, I used the same Brayer and added a little Rich Razzleberry ink to the very tip at each of the Melon Mambo corners to darken them a bit more.

Then I stamped the string of lanterns in Rich Razzleberry ink across the top and lower corners, filling them with a variety of bright paper lanterns. The sentiment Congratulations is stamped in Rich Razzleberry ink and Heat Embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. Be sure to use your Embossing Buddy before stamping anything you want to emboss or you will have Embossing Powder all over. I covered the paper lanterns with Crystal Effects and set that aside to dry. Finally, I added the happiness sentiment banner with an anchor of Daffodil Delight Rolled Flower. These Rolled Flowers use the Sticky Rounds, with twisted and wrapped Daffodil Delight Seam Binding.

Recipe:
Stamps: Happy Congratulations
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Tangerine Tango
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Accessories: Clear EP, Crystal Effects, Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Sticky Rounds





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Mary Rindal is an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator in Greenwood Village, Colorado.