Retired and Dormant Lists are Here...

Hi everyone...Stampin' Up! released it's famous retired stamp list today...if there is any thing you just can't live without, make sure to get it ordered before August 10, 2008...'cause after that these stamps will be gone forever...

Retired List (alphabetical)
Retired List (numerical)

Stampin' Up! also released its dormant lists...these stamps are still available to order, they just may not be featured in the new catalog (which will be active on August 11, 2008...57 days & counting!!)

Spring/Summer Collection 2008 Dormant List
Fall/Winter Collection 2008 Dormant List

If you see anything on these lists that you want, just let me know and I will get it ordered for you...until then, Happy Stamping!!

Gatefold Card Challenge

So I finally created an "Official" newsletter to send out to all my customers, and in it I offered a challenge...create a gatefold card and I want to challenge my few readers to the same thing...and on a side note, if you are interested in getting my "official" newsletter just send me an email and I will gladly send it to you.

I think the gatefold style card is one of my new favorite folding techniques.

Instead of folding your cardstock in half you score a line at 2 1/8” inches and 6 3/8”. Cut two pieces of Designer Series Paper at 5 3/8” x 2” and layer on each flap. Create your main image and mat as you would like. Just make sure when you attach this image to the card you only put adhesive on half of your image so your card will still open.

You can get very creative with the stamps you use with this folding technique. You don’t have to use one main image, you can use many smaller images and adhere them to the smaller flaps.
I have a challenge to issue to each of you...I want you to make a gatefold card and email me a picture of it. I will post all the pictures on my blog and everyone will be able to vote for the one that is the most creative. Please get your pictures to me by June 30, 2008. The voting will end on July 7th and I will notify the winner who will get a great surprise from me...I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!!

I've attached a few samples to help get you started...but please get creative and more importantly have fun!!

Challege Cards with Kat

Every so often Kat & I will do mini challenges in my craft room. We will agree on the papers we want to use and the stamp set and both create some great cards. We decided to do that last weekend and these are the cards we came up with...for this challege we used Elegant Eggplant, Lovely Lilac Prints Designer Series Paper, Brushed Silver and Shimmer White papers and the Magical & Mystical stamp set.

This is Kat's card. She cut out an extra dragonfly and added it to the background using dementionals to give it a little extra interest. Kat colored her image in with colored pencils and used twinkling h2o's to color in the fairy dust. She used dark purple wide organza ribbon and light blue narrow organza ribbon layered together and knoted to add a little something to the bottom of her card. I think her card came out great!!!!

This is what I came up with. I chose to do a gatefold card. I heat embossed my image and colored the entire thing with twinkling h2o's. Instead of using ribbon I went with sugar coated brads to help add to the whole glitter affect I had going. I also used the ticket corner punch to add interest to the corners of the main image.

Kat & I both really enjoy doing these little challenges and are looking forward to doing more!

Live Your Dream Duos

So I'm back to my double cards...I was inspired by this card by Rachel Stamps on SCS. I really wanted to use a current set with it, so I turned to my new favorite set Live Your Dream.

I really wanted to use as many of the In Colors as I could, especially since they will no longer be available after August...I really like how this card came out...the colors are nice and vibrant and the stamped image came out great if I do say so...the more I use this set the more I love it...I can't believe I waited so long to get this set, but am very glad I got it when I did.

For the "matching" card I used the ticket corner punch on the background paper as well instead of using brads. Other than that these cards do match. They both went together so fast.

Stamps: Live Your Dream

Paper: Soft Sky Blue, Afternoon Tea Designer Series, Groovy Guava, Whisper White

Inks: Pretty in Pink, Cameo Coral, Old Olive, Garden Green, Close to Cocoa

Accessories: Soft Sky Double Stitched Ribbon, Antique Brass HPH

My silly animals...

I know this doesn't have anything to do with stamping, but I had to share some of these silly pics from my furry babies...This would be Clyde, Bonnie and Harley spread out on the couch...believe it or not Harley the cat weighs more than Bonnie the dog...

This other picture would be Bonnie on the couch with Danny & Kat...

This would be Clyde telling me I've been on the computer long enough and now need to play with him...he will take his favorite toy and balance it on the keyboard tray and then nose me until I pick his toy up...which leads to his favorite game...tug-o-war...I love the look on his face in this picture...

Pop Up Card

I fell in love with this card when I saw it and couldn't wait to try it for myself. I did change the colors and the stamp set I used and am quite proud of how this turned out! I added an extra layer to my top slider and used a sugar coated brad to hold everything together. I colored my image using the same colors as the paper and decided to leave the main part of the flower white to keep it from getting too busy. I did take the picture before I added the yellow stickles to the staymens.

Here is the card opened...the sentiment says "time spent with Friends is time well spent." As you can see there will be pleanty of room to write a personalized message.

I didn't take a picture of the second card I made like this because it is just like this one, I didn't change it like I did on the others.

Stamps: Time Well Spent
Papers: Wild Wasabi, Sky Blue, So Saffron, Whisper White
Inks: Stazon Black, So Saffron, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Sugar Coated Brad, Wild Wasabi Striped Ribbon, Staple

from the heart

I was overjoyed when Stampin' Up! sent the set Time Well Spent out to every active demo in December of 2007, I instantly fell in love with the images and sayings, yet I find that I rarely reach for it when I'm creating so I decided to change that...I was looking through the gallery at Splitcoast when I came across this lovely card and was inspired to create these 2 cards...


This first card is the card for my samples, so I stayed with mostly all Stampin' Up! product. I did use some stickes on the flower and the leaves to just add some interest. I watercolored the flower and leaves using my aqua painter and my ink pads. I added a large flower brad from the Styled Silver HPH. I really do like the looks of this card.


Here is the version I'm going to send out to someone...I used some verigated sheer ribbon I got at Michael's in place of the blue stripe ribbon and only used the green stickles in the ends of the leaves instead of all around them. I used a different brad for the center of this card, it has a small flower and says genuine.

Stamps: Time Well Spent, Holidays & Wishes
Papers: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Always Artichoke
Inks: Stazon Black, Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Old Olive
Accessories: Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Dark Blue Stickles, Lime Green Stickles, ribbons

My Dear Friend...

This is the first set of cards I made that were semi-doubles. I was looking on Splitcoast Stampers and came across this beautiful card & knew I had to make it...here is the card I did first.

I did change a few details from the original card, I used black as my accent instead of Chocolate Chip and I used a different version of the DS paper. Since I don't have the same background stamp she used I left my background white and I opted to not do faux stitching along the edge. This card went together so quick and easy and really has a nice look to it. I think this will be one of the cards offered at my next camp.

Here is version 2, which I also really like...I added an extra flower bunch and made my black layer into an 1/8" border instead of a 1/4" border. I'm wishing I would have used Chocolate Chip paper to match the ribbon, but the black paper still has a nice look to it.

Stamps: Blossoms Abound (pg 99), All Holidays (pg 146)

Papers: Rose Red, Whisper White, Rose Red DS, Basic Black

Inks: Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Chocolate Chip satin ribbon (Theater Ribbon Originals)

I like this flower in pink, yet hardly use it that way, so I'm challenging myself to grab any color combo that is not purple for the next few cards I make with this set, which will probably be alot, being this is one of my favorite sets!

Double Cards

Yesterday was all about cardmaking at my house...I wanted to re-create the card I made for my aunt Camilla to be able to show at classes. As I was making this I decided to change it up a little so I added ribbon across the bottom to anchor the knots and used the sentiment that came with this set (Blossoms Abound, page 99, $23.95) and my stamp-a-ma-jig to make it fit in the Styled Silver frame. I used the same faux linen paper on my tag as I did on my main image. Please see here for the original card & how to...

While I was making this I decided to make sets of cards, one to keep for a sample and one to send off. The cards stayed mostly the same but not identical. Stay tuned for pics of each set and the how to.