Creativity With Stamps

Liebster Blot Award, New Layout & Updates

Wow!  I just realized today that I let a month pass before posting something on my blog...I guess I didn't even realize that I had been away from my blog for that long.  I don't know about how anyone else feels but I feel like everytime I blink it's a new month or a new season or a new year...time seems to be going by faster and faster.

I went to Florida with my whole family to see the in-laws.  It turned out to be a really nice family reunion and one that was way overdue and needed.  Florida's weather can be pretty unpredictable though and I think next time we go, we will go in April when we can enjoy the real Florida weather.

Since I am busy taking my kids to all of their activities and paper crafting is not such a portable friendly craft, I have taken up an additional hobby... crochet! and I have crochet three scarves in two months and I will be finishing my fourth one this week.  Next will be a really nice throw/blanket for our couch.

I have also given myself time to focus on my health and have gone to the gym on a regular basis...in just two weeks, I have seen and felt tremendous changes...all good...and I am going to keep at this even though it means less time for crafting.

While I have not taken any photos of my scarves yet, I did manage to take a photo of my latest layout that I finished last week.  It had been two weeks since I had a chance to go in my studio and stamp and I was so happy to finally have some time to do it.

 

All Supplies are Stampin'Up

Stamps: Pennant Parade (see the black stars in the background paper?); Fabulous Phrases

Cardstock/Paper:  crumb cake, whisper white, basic black, Just Add Cake DSP

Ink:  craft basic black

Accessories:  spritzer, smooch spritz, island indigo berkers twine, petite pennants builder punch, Stars #2 bigz die, stampin' dimensionals, subtles designer buttons, retired black cord and retired chipboard from Stampin'Up

Last week I received a super nice comment and award from Susan who nominated me as one of the lucky people to receive the Liebster Blot Award. 

 

Visit Susan in her blog http://craftroomwindow.blogspot.com/

and check out all of her really cute crafty creations!!!

this award is intended to encourage and showcase bloggers with less than 200 followers.

Here are suggestions that come with the Liebster Blot award:

*Thank the blogger who presented your award on your blog, 

and link back to them.

*Show the Liebster Blog badge on your blog 

(copy and paste from the presenter's blog).

*Present the Liebster Blog award to 5 blogs that have less 

than 200 followers.

*Let them know they have been chosen 

by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok so here are the 5 blogs I read on a frequent basis that have less than 200 followers (all from Stampin'Up demonstrators):

Robin:  A super talented Stampin'Up demonstrator (who I secretely admire) that inspires me with her art work and MDS pages

Petronela:  Another uber talented Stampin'Up demo who resides in Australia.  Her Valentine projects this year blew me away!!!

Tara:  You need to check this girl out!!! She does amazing art work with Stampin'Up products and the photos of her art work is sooooo beautiful.  Her latest post is a different technique that I have never seen of coloring your ribbon.

Katie:  This girl has so much eye candy in her blog that by the time you are done looking at her blog you panic realizing that you just spent an hour looking at everything.  Very inspiring!!!

Heidi:  I love her romantic style and all the soft colors she uses in her work.  You must check out her easter bunny box it's out of this world!!!

I hope I can check in a little bit more often than I have this past month but I can't promise anything for now...I am going to start preparing for the Artisan Award projects so I will be very busy in my studio creating up a storm.

New Layout, Valentine Card & 3D Puffy Hearts Video Tutorial

Is that a packed title or what?

I have finally made a video tutorial featuring 3D puffy heart embellishments that can be made from scraps of paper and that are so cute to add a little extra something to any paper crafting project.

Here is a layout I made with these little puffy hearts

 

And here are some closeup pics

Supplies (All Stampin'Up)

Stamp Sets:  Perfectly Penned, Tiny Tags, Love Bandit (retired)

Cardstock: Island Indigo, Very Vanilla, Soft Subtles and Neutrals Patterns Designer Series Paper Stacks, Peach Parfait

Ink:  Craft Black Ink

Accessories:  Daffodil Delight taffeta ribbon (retired), white bakers twine, Island Indigo bakers twine, toothpicks (for the little flag posts), Framed Tulips textured impressions embossing folder, dazzling details

 

And here is a Valentine's Day Card I made for my hubby using these little hearts as well

Supplies:  

Cardstock:  Soft Suede textured cardstock, First Edition DSP, whisper white

Ink: Real Red classic ink

Accessories:  cricut machine (wild cards cartridge), cherry cobbler bakers twine, rhinestones, dazzling details

 

So are you dying to know how to make these super cute 3D puffy hearts?  Sorry to keep you waiting(lol)....here is the video tutorial

 

Valentine's Day is right around the corner...go ahead and make these little embellishments for your last minute cards and gifts...they are fun, fast and easy!!!

 

 

 

Sale-A-Bration & Pennant Parade Birthday Page

Today is the day!!!  The day that Sale-A-Bration begins with Stampin'Up!!!

You can click HERE to see the Sale-A-Bration catalog.

For those of you unfamiliar with Sale-A-Bration, here are all the details:

ORDERS INCLUDE MERCHANDISE FROM ALL ACTIVE CATALOGS AND CLEARANCE ITEMS

 

 

BIGGEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK!

Take your stamping skills to the next level and SAVE up to 60% with the Sale-A-Bration Starter Kit Deal!   

• SAVE $50 on the Stampin' Up! Starter Kit (NOW $125).  Includes up to $340 in products and ships FREE.  Choose and customize either the Standard Starter Kit or Digital Starter Kit.
• SALE-A-BRATION STARTER KIT BONUS!  Receive your choice of either FREE Designer Series Paper (you pay for shipping) or a FREE My Digital Studio Download (no shipping charge) EVERY MONTH that you are active, from Feb. through Dec., 2012.  Up to a $120 value!

YOU CAN SEE SOME VIDEO SHOWCASING SOME TECHNIQUES USING THE ITEMS IN YOUR STARTER KIT HERE

TO JOIN, SIMPLY CLICK HERE AND THEN CLICK ON THE "JOIN NOW" ICON

I am so super excited with all the new  FREE items available in this 2012 Sale-A-Bration catalog.

On a side note, I recently finished a mini album for a girl at my church who just turned 16.  Some of us took her out for dinner and I took the opportunity to shoot some pictures with my new Nikon lens I got for Christmas.  I used a plethora of stamps and a paper collection I have had in my stash for 6 years (yes people, I am on a mission to use my stash this year).  Here is a picture of one of the page using the Pennant Parade stamp set.  I think this stamp set is one of the newer stamp sets that I really love and will keep for years and years.

 

I will be posting a few photos of a recent swap showcasing the sale-a-bration catalog as well as the Occasions Mini catalog in the next few posts so check back soon for some creative inspiration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mini Album with Beaded Binding

During the holidays, I made a special little mini album for a very dear friend of mine who visited me this past summer with her husband.  We managed to take quite a few pics so I made her a little album and decided to try a new binding technique using beads I had seen in a YouTube video.  Since I didn't have a lot of time, I made somthing pretty simple but nonetheless I really liked it:

Like I said before, I plan to use my stash of goodies on hand a lot more this year but I think I started doing this before the new year started because the only thing I had to go get for this album that I didn't have already were the beads.  It's so liberating to use my stash of papers and embellishments I have collected over the years. 

 

Fall 2011 Mini Album Tutorial (For Sale)

THIS POST TO STAY AT THE TOP OF MY BLOG UNTIL NOVEMBER 25, 2011

It took me an entire day to figure out how to work everything out with setting my videos privately and to make room for them in my computer (my disk space was completely full and it took me 5 hours to clean everything out).  Anyway, it's all finally done.

You can also see an introductory video showing the interactive inside pages of this album on my previous post HERE

You can now purchase my Fall 2011 Mini Album Tutorial PDF instructions as well as my video instructions for $4.95 by clicking on the "Buy Now" button below:

 

 

Fall 2011 Mini Album Preview

10-28-2011 UPDATE:  This mini album has a pdf and video tutorial for sale HERE

 

Been MIA for a while now since my kids after school activities have taken over my world.  I have added "personal driver" to my resume since that is what I do every weekday afternoon after homework time.

This is normally my busiest time of the year and with all the holidays coming up I have a number of requests for workshops and classes.  Not to mention I will be doing craft fairs in November and December and I have also been asked to be a guest blogger at Big Picture Scrapbooking next month (will be doing something really fun for that).

I am also in the process of finishing both written and video instructions for my Fall 2011 mini album.  I will teach a local class in Lexington, MA in November but I wanted to have the instructions and class available to anyone out there so be on the lookout for this either at the end of this week or beginning of next week. 

Here is a photo of the mini album

And here is a video showing you all the inside of this fun interactive album

 

 

So I have been creating up a storm even though I have not been posting anything.  Just know that even though I will not be having a lot of time to write frequent posts on my blog, when I do post, I will have something amazing to share with you all.

Stay tuned this week for a few projects I made at one of my last workshops....

 

Birthday Layout - Last Non-Winning Artisan Award Layout

This was the last layout I created for the 2011 Artisan Award. 

Stamp Sets:  Seeing Stars

Paper/Cardstock:  In Color DSP Paper Pack (retired), Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, whisper white, real red, Peach Parfait, very vanilla

Ink:  real red, versamark

Accessories:  In Color DSP Paper Pack (retired), white EP, melon mambo pom pom trim, top note bigz die, small star punch, toothpicks

 

Cousins Beach Layout - Non Winning Artisan Award Project

This is my second scrapbook page I made for the Artisan award.  It is an 8 1/2 X 11 page.  I always loved that picture and it was fun to scrapbook it with one of my all time favorite stamps Circle Circus.  Supplies used are all Stampin'Up.

Stamps:  Circle Circus

Ink:  Craft Basic Black

Cardstock/Paper:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, In Color DSP (retired)

Accessories:  Daffodil Delight Pom Pom Trim (retired), Vintage Type Rub Ons (retired), Soft Subtles buttons, Fancy Flower Punch, Timeless Type Die

Artisan Award Entries - Heart Layout & Tree Card

I've been busy getting ready for a long road trip with my family.  We will be visiting the coastal southeast states and are getting really excited to finally go on vacation...I think my whole family needs it!

I should have the video on the origami dress sometime this week, in the meantime, here is the first non-winning layout (I was inspired by Jennifer McGuire):

All those little punched out hearts were made by using one of the presto DSP and sponging it with three different inks...the entire sheet was then punched out.  Some of those hearts are attached directly to the crumb cake heart and others are popped up with dimensionals.  This is a photo of my kids...they are only 17 months apart and always together.

Stamps:  Cheep Talk

Cardstock/Paper:  Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Newsprint DSP, cherry cobbler, very vanilla, Presto Patterns DSP

Ink:  basick black, marina mist, baja breeze, bashful blue

Accessories:  Vintage Type Rub Ons, Antique Brad, hemp twine, Heart To Heart punch, Full Heart Punch, Lots of Tags Sizzlit Die

 

Here is my third non-winning card.  I wanted to use those awesome wood and cork sheets and make this card very earthy.

Stamps:  Thoughts & Prayers, Woodgrain

Paper/Cardstock:  Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Whisper White

Ink:  Early Espresso, Old Olive, Versamark

Accessories:  Vintage Trinkets, wood sheet, cork sheet, seam binding ribbon, Lots Of Tags Sizzlit Die, Scallop Oval Punch, 1 3/4 X 7/8 oval punch, clear ep, 3/16" corner punch

 

 

Scrapbook Page in a Frame

Hope everyone has had a nice Memorial Day weekend!

I spent the weekend with the kiddos since hubby took a short trip to Florida for his sister's graduation and we had a ton of fun with all the nice weather we've been having....biking, hiking, eating ice cream watching Kung Fu Panda 2, getting our car wash and playing UNO...so fun!!!

Last week my friend Ellen hosted a workshop.  I normally do one scrapbook page using a photo or two that my hostess wants me to use but this time I turned my 8 1/2 X 11 layout into a frame.  This is Ellen's niece with a smile that just lights up everything around her.

 

All supplies Stampin'Up

Stamp Sets:  Fabulous Florets, Defining Alphabet, Woodgrain

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Crub Cake, Daffodil Delight

Ink:  Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Early Espresso

Accessories:  Dazzling Diamonds, Real Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

The journaling on the bottom of the photo was just something I created with my computer.

 

Noel 2010 Mini Album

I forgot to post pictures of the mini album cover...hope you liked the video tutorial for the fabric flower.

Happy Holidays!!!

 

 

 

Woodland Walk & Shutter Speed

So, here is another layout I did with the Woodland Walk DSP....isn't it completely different than the one I showed you in my previous post?  I told you this paper was versatile.  The thing about papers is that you can play with colors and make them warm/cool and fit them to whatever need you may have at that particular time.

I used gray and blue to give a cool effect to this layout.  Ok, the shutter speed thing...I took this online photography class by Elisha Snow and one of the lessons was on shutter speed so I took the opportunity to take an action shot of my hubby jumping...or at least, that is what I asked him to do.

Honey can you just jump in the air for me so that I can take a few action shots?

Sure thing Laura....and there he goes...I thought I was having another one of my crazy dreams because those jumps did not look like normal human jumps but more of grasshopper jumps..but seriously, my camera is complete proof that those jumps were real and that I do have a little bit of a crazy husband (lol).

Stamps:  Circle Circus (sure there is stamping, check out the stamped baja breese cardstock; btw..this stamp is one of my most versatile stamps and I tend to grab it often), Trendy Trees (yes, you can use those pieces for more than building trees)

Carstock/Paper:  Woodland Walk DSP, Baja Breeze, Basic Grey, Going Grey (retired), whisper white

Ink:  Baja Breeze, Basic Grey, white gel pen

Accessories:  Vintage Type Rub-ons, Bitty Buttons, hemp

 

Woodland Walk Layout

Now that my holiday cards are done I can finally catch up on a few other things in my "To Do" list.  One of which is to upload photos of my creations on the computer so here goes one of them.

I absolutely fell in love with the Woodland Walk DSP as soon as I laid my eyes upon it and I just knew it was going to be a versatile pack.  I made a couple of layouts with it.

Here's one of them:

 

We are loving the New England and this fall we went to the White Mountain region in New Hampshire to experience the fall foliage and it truly was breathtaking.  We had a chance to see the wonderful park in this region full of waterfalls and gorges...it was so spectacular!!!

Stamps:  Trendy Trees

Cardstock/Paper:  Woodland DSP, Newsprint DSP, whisper white, cardboard

Accessories:  Little Leaves sizzlits, Naturally Serif sizzlits, Eyelet border punch, designer buttons

 

Come back again sometime this week to see my other layout!!! TFL!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Friends Layout

So I am back creating in my beloved scrap room.  I tell you that it was a challenge getting back into scrapbooking...not creating for an entire month just made my head go blank.

I am now finishing up a mini album with all the pictures I took in Sardinia and then I will start my album for the rest of my vacatin in Italy.  Then it's off to creating my Christmas cards...that's right, I start super early because I have to make over 100 of them and because once September rolls in, the kids will keep me busy with their school, ballet, piano lessons, voice lessons, etc...not to mention all the holidays that roll one after the other and I also will have the pleasure of having guests over my house in October...so yes, I am starting now to do all the things I need to do so that I don't lose my sanity later on.

Without further ado, here is my first layout...a quick one but one I will cherish forever.

 

Stamps:  Paradise

Cardstock:  Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Basic Black, Greenhouse Gala DSP

Ink:  Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: (my favorites...all Stampin'Up) pearls, scallop punch, black striped ribbon, black glitter, scallop punch

Here are a few more detailed pics:

 

By the way, don't forget you only have three more weeks to order from the Summer Mini Catalog before all those goodies are gone forever.

Goodbye Summer 2009

Well...Labor Day marks the last day of Summer and I am already feeling a change in the air...it's not muggy anymore but rather quite dry and crisp.

My dad's birthday was in August and I decided to make a small album for his with some pics that were taken while he and my mom were here visiting us.  I made this album with two pockets:  the right pocket holds a birthday card and the left pocket holds a cardstock-made CD case with a CD containing all of the pictures that were taken during the visit.  The middle portion is the actual album and I made it very interactive.  Here are a few pics:

The album contains a lot more pictures but I didn't want to bore you with all of them.  The final picture below is the birthday card in the right pocket of this project.

I must admit that I had tons of fun making this album and I guess using one of my favorite stamp sets that just came out this summer in the new 2009-10 Stampin'Up Idea Book & Catalog helped a lot. 
Here's the list of all the supplies:

Stamps:  Paradise, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Defining Alphabet, Numbers from 7Gypsies Calendar Stamp (just realized while I was making this that Stampin'Up does not have a number set..guess I will need to write to them and let them know that we will need one on the next catalog)

Paper:  Kraft, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Whisper White, Old Olive, Soft Suede

Ink:  Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Always Artichoke, Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip

Accessories:  1 1/4" Striped Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon, Latte buttons, twine, 1/2" polka-dot bermuda bay grosgrain ribbon, word window punch, modern label punch, vintage brads, backgrounds 1 texturz plate

Holiday Best - A Layout

Ok..I know I promised this for Monday and it's already wednesday but it's finally here...a layout with the final stamp from the stamp set "Holiday Best"...hope you like it!!!

Stamps: Holiday Best (Hostess Set)
Cardstock/Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade DSP,  Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo,Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay, Basic Black
Embellishments: Sherbert Designer Buttons, Basic Black 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Alphabet Simple Bigz Die

Urban Garden Love

Ok..so here is what was inside that valentine's day packaging for my hubby...a 2009 desktop CD calendar (starting with the month of February). 
I must apologize in advance for the pictures but I have had a really hard time getting in touch with my camera lately.
I used my very loved Urban Garden designer series papers and then all my Stampin'Up ribbons and accessories to make these pages even more lovable.

Welcome Fall Colors

I fall in love with the Fall season more and more as the years go by.  I created a page scraplifting one of my favorite scrapbookers Keisha Campbell and created this layout with some fall colors. 

Stamps: Priceless, Define Your Life
Ink:  Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock/Paper:  Textured Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Tangerine Tango DSP, Old Olive DSP
Accessories:  scallop edge punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, coluzzle, 1/8" circle punch, wide oval punch, On Board Loads of Letters, Rub ons