More Birthday Bonanza…

Well, it is back to work Tuesday!  I hope your day was not as busy as mine!  Let’s look at the last two projects for Birthday Bonanza:

I have nicknamed this card “Formal AtTIrE”.  (In case you can’t figure that out – A TIE)  This is a new set in the Stampin’ Up Summer Mini Catalog.  I thought it was perfect for any and all men!  This could be used for a masculine get well, happy birthday, Happy Father’s Day, or thinking of you occasion.  Deb designed this card in red, vanilla and black.  She ended up using Jet Black StazOn for the best ink coverage on the ties.  Deb also used First Edition DSP for a decorative but non-descript background.  Although it is very hard to see in this picture, check out the tie tack in the center tie – yup, it is a circle fire red brad.  You will have the choice of using the circle or square fire brad and can use a larger fire brad than I used here.

Let’s Take a Spin on the Wild Side!   I thought it was about time for a different card shape so thought we would do a long and narrow!  As this card is 13” before the score mark, I decided to use 11” Baja Breeze and add on several inches of Early Espresso as I don’t have 13” paper.  The Take a Spin stamp set gives you a choice of 2 1/2” circle or 2 1/2” square images.  As you can see below, I did one of each for my samples.  Swiss Dot was dry embossed on the bottom area of the Certainly Celery, and I dry embossed the spin section with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  While I like the effect, the embossing does make the wording harder to read so you might choose to delete that step.  Check out the frame – this is from the new Four Frames stamp set that will be in the new 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog.  I liked the tiny polka dots on the frame as they coordinate with the Swiss Dot.  This is the most basic image of the Four Frames, but I like the simplicity.  I added a bit of 5/8” Early Espresso satin that hides the mechanics of joining the espresso cs to the Baja Breeze.  Adding the spinner mechanism to the card is quite basic after you realize you can’t tighten the brad too much or the spinner won’t spin.  I used this set for my 11 year-old twins when they had their birthdays in April.

                         

Hope to see you at the Birthday Bonanza Stamp Camp.  I know many of you have plans for this coming weekend, but if you have a chance, stop by for two hours and make 4 stupendous cards.  If you can, drop me a line at paperrose01@aol.com or give me a call at 630-759-3089 to let me know you are coming, but that is not required.  We always have extra kits prepared.  $10.00 is the charge for this stamp camp and all materials are provided.

July is a non-stamp camp month.  However, I will be having an open stamp day and you can stamp/punch/emboss to your heart’s desire plus pick up your new catalog and do a fun make’n’take.  I will have the calendar out shortly and will send it your way.  We will start back up in August with our regular first full weekend in the month stamp camps.  The first weekend in August will be our Summer Stamp camp with new stamps, new ideas and some great door prizes.

Check back tomorrow for some additional cards Andrea created with punches.  They are darling and will give you some clever ideas. 

 

 

Brads for Birthday Bonanza

Happy Memorial Day to you.  Norb and I had a quiet day.  We went out for brunch and I was very good with a vegetarian omelet, whole wheat toast, and fresh fruit!  Did I share with you that I finally reached 30 lost pounds with Weight Watchers.  It has taken FOREVER to get this far and I have several more 30 pounds to go!  Deb also reached 30 pounds yesterday.  I am very proud of her.

I am very excited to share the Build-a-Cupcake punch and Create-a-Cupcake stamp set.  I love these two items.  The card we are doing for Birthday Bonanza has a single cupcake, but you could easily put 2, 3 or even 4 cupcakes on a card.  And check out the brads!

I simply LOVE this set plus punch!  Making the cupcake is so absolutely SIMPLE!  You stamp, you punch, you layer on your card.  I created this card in Real Red and Pink Pirouette after casing the idea from the Stampin’ Up Demonstrator Website.  There is a pennant stamp set coming out in the new Idea Catalog in July, but I simply couldn’t wait for the set.  I loved the way the pennants added the feeling of celebration to the card so I used my graph paper, penciled in 8 pennants and copied them on to the DSP paper.  See the gold brads “holding” the pennants up?   This is one of the 4 cards we will be doing at our Birthday Bonanza Stamp Camp this coming Friday – June 3rd from 3 pm – 9 pm – and Saturday = June 4th from 9 am – ????  Cost is $10 and as always, all card stock, adhesive, and embellishments are provided.  These 4 cards should not take more than 2 hours MAX unless you want to relax a chat for a bit.  Hope you can make it!  

Birthday Bonanza Stamp Camp is almost here

Don’t you just love our weather in the Midwest?  It’s 66 degrees now and supposed to be 90 degrees tomorrow.  Is this really spring?  It seems as though it has either been chilly or HOT – no in-between.  We had a few blossoms on our lilac bush and my poppy is in bloom.  I love poppies.  They are weeds in California, but are treasures in my eyes. Back in my days as a florist, I would take tulip that was starting to open and reflex the petals, giving the impression of a poppy.  I was thinking today how I would love to do a card that typifies this blossom.   Perhaps if I did Deb’s Build-a-Blossom card below in Tangerine Tango with a large black brad, I might have my wish!Every card we are making for Birthday Bonanza features a brad.  This was quite accidental. Each brad has a different use. The brad in our Build-a-Blossom is an important feature of the card while the brad in “Take a Spin on the Wild Side” is simply there to hold the spinner in place.  The Circle Fire/Square Fire brad in “Formal AtTIrE” adds pizzazz and accent color to the card.  The gold or silver brads in Build-A-Cupcake add design flow to the pennants.  Let’s start with Build-a-Blossom.

Deb created this Crumb Cake and Concord Crush card based on a card she saw on splitcoaststampers.com.  She dry embossed the cs with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder before punching out the petals with the Build-A-Blossom punch.  Dimension was added to the flower by slightly curling the center of the top 4 petals before adhering them to the card front.  She also used the Tulip Embossing Folder to add border interest to the  Crumb Cake background.  I sponged crumb cake on one of her samples now shown here, in order to make the tulips pop.  I also experimented on one of her samples by taking the matching blossom stamp set and doing a 2-step image stamp on the leaves before punching them out.  The shaded greens give a realistic leaf image.  The small piece of 5/8” Victoria ribbon adds another touch of interest.  Note that the ribbon only runs on the right side of the card.  This helps provide balance.

This is just one of the 4 cards we will be doing at our Birthday Bonanza Stamp Camp which will be held this coming Friday June 3 from 3 pm – 9 pm, and on Saturday June 4 from 9 am – ????.  There is a $10 charge for this Stamp Camp and all materials will be provided.  You just need to bring YOU!  I know several of you have activities going on this weekend and won’t be able to attend.  For those of you who plan on coming, drop me a line at paperrose01@aol.com or give me a call at 630-859-3089 if you can.  If you decide at the last second to stop by, no problem as I always have extra kits prepared.  We will have LOTS of room at this stamp camp.  If you want to reserve a kit to complete at a later date, or order a kit with the basic punching and stamping pre-done for you, please let us know by 12 N on Saturday June 4th. 

Remember that July is a non-stamp camp month.  The new catalog will be coming out and we will have an “open stamp/stop and pick up your new catalog/free make’n’take’ day.  But our big celebration will be in August when we start back up with new catalogs, new ideas, new stamps, door prize drawings!  We will continue meeting the first full weekend of each month through December. 

That’s all for now.  Check back in tomorrow for Build-a-Cupcake.  Have a safe Memorial Day and say a prayer for all those who gave their lives for our freedom.

                                   

More Birds, Blossoms and Butterflies

Today was a 14-hour day at work and I am tired.  As I was closing up my desk around 7 PM, I printed up my calendar for Tuesday, and discovered that a report I thought I was presenting on Wednesday was actually to be presented tomorrow.  Needless to say, I kept working.  As I told my husband, “I really earned my salary today!”   No time for a pity party, so let’s look at the last 2 project for our Birds, Blossoms and Butterflies Stamp Camp that is just around the corner.

Friends 24-7 is a whimsical card featuring a bird with a bit of bling.  The color scheme is one of my favorites – Marina Mist (textured) and Crumb Cake.  We’ve stamped several images on the Elegant Soiree DSP which increases the interest factor in the focal point.  The touch of Newsprint DSP is a bit of whimsy and the friends image could easily be replaced with another message.  This card could easily be used for either gender, as a  birthday, thinking of you, anniversary or other celebration. 

Our final project is a pillow box done – again – in Marina Mist and Crumb Cake.  I actually CAS’d the box and Friends 24-7 from one of the monthly Stampin’ Success magazines.  I thought both projects were too cute and just waiting to be shared!  I’ve filled my pillow box with chocolates (no – I have not eaten ANY).  The box is quite simple as we are using the Stampin’ Up Pillow Box die from Sizzix.  After the cs has been die cut, we will stamp it with the Woodgrain background stamp in Marina Mist.   A bit of Sticky Strip is used to adhere the sides securely and then we just punch our little double petal card, run it through the big shot to add some embossing, punch 3 holes and we are almost done.  Natural hemp twine does double duty as it  ties our box shut and also holds our card in place!  This would be a fun project to vary with different background stamps and other embossing on the tiny envelope.  The box would look sharp in red and white for Christmas or Valentines Day and is perfect for holding a bit of candy or other small treat.

That wraps up Birds, Blossoms and Butterflies, I hope you can join us on May 6th (3 PM – 9 PM) and/or May 7th (9 AM – ???).  I am guesstimating 2 1/2 hours MAX for all 5 projects or longer if you want to visit and share a couple laughs – I promise not to sing.  The cost is $12 and as always, all the cs will be cut and scored, and envelopes provided.  Water and soda pop are always in the fridge so all you have to bring is YOU!  Give me a call if you have any questions (630.759.3089) or drop me a line at paperrose01@aol.com.  It helps to know if you are coming so Deb and I don’t cut too much paper, but advance notice is not required. 

Also check out the 30% off select stamp sets in celebration of National Scrapbooking month!  This is a limited-time opportunity from now until the end of May.  Sets on sale include:

Party Hearty – # 111532 – $18.87 – found on page 54 in the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog (Also available in French)

Grunge Rock – $14.67 in Wood, $11.17 in Clear – Page 87

Animal Stories – $11.17 in Wood – Page 94

 Printed Petals – $13.97 in Wood, $10.47 in Clear – Page 106

Simple Friendship – $18.17 in Wood – Page 108

Word Play – $29.37 in wood, $20,27 in Clear – Page 147

Sweet Shoppe Alphabet Lower – $ 22.37 in Wood, $16.77 in Clear – Page 162

Let me know if you want to take advantage of this fantastic sale!  See you this weekend!  Take care, Rosemary

Birds, Blossoms and Butterflies

Happy May Day!  When I was a child, May Day always included taking an empty strawberry container, weaving ribbon or paper thru the green plastic pieces, filling it with wildflowers (usually dandelions) and leaving it as a surprise for my Mother or other unsuspecting adult.  There was also the May Pole – winding pastel ribbons around the pole while we sang and giggled.  How times have changed!

Well, on to our Birds, Blossoms and Butterflies Stamp Camp projects for May 6th and 7th.  This is a stamp camp dedicated to nature!

I have titled this card “Ruffles and Butterflies.”  The color scheme is Old Olive and Navy.  We have ruffled by placing a strip of Sticky Strip widthwise at the edge of our Botanical Gazette DSP.  Then, starting with a turned under end of Olive Seam Binding, we for ruffles that adhere to the sticky strip as we proceed across the sticky strip.  We have covered the mechanics with a strip of navy Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border.  The butterfly stamp is part of Nature Walk and carries through the butterfly theme of the DSP.  I added “no. 147” which is a butterfly number indication.  I think it adds to the nature theme of the card.

 

This is “Birds in Blue” and again features the Botanical Gazette DSP and the Nature Walk stamp set.  The color scheme for Birds in Blue is Not Quite Navy with shades of brown.  The bird cage features a small knot of Marina Mist ribbon and a pearl-embellished flower.  The scalloped border embellishing the DSP highlights of Night of Navy tones.  The brown DSP is also part of the Botanical Gazette collection and features faint French script.

 

This card, titled “Nature Walk” may be my favorite of the Nature Walk stamps.  Although difficult to see, the Cherry Cobbler card features a Very Vanilla front with the new embossed Framed Tulips sponged in Crumb Cake.  The background for the stamped images is Botanical Gazette DSP and is perfect for this Cherry Cobbler/Crumb Cake color theme.  The flowers in green and burgundy are created by coloring the stamps in Certainly Celery for the leaves and Cherry Cobbler for the florets, huffing on the image, then stamping on the DSP.  The bird cage is stamped in Chocolate Chip.  The ribbon combination of Cherry Cobbler seam binding and  Victorian crochet  trim provide the finishing “Victorian” touch to this elegant card.

Two more projects to go.  I will add them to the blog tomorrow night so remember to check back.  I hope you can join us this coming weekend for Birds, Blossoms and Butterflies Stamp Camp.  Friday, May 6th from 3 PM – 9 PM and Saturday, May 7th from 9 AM – ???  We will be doing 5 projects which should take 2 1/2 hours max.  The cost for this stamp camp will be $12.  If you can drop me an E-mail (paperrose01@aol.com) or give me a call (630-759-3089) to let me know if you are coming, that would be great.  However, I always have enough packets cut, so feel free to come even if you don’t let me know ahead of time.

Remember to check back on Tuesday for “FRIENDS 24-7” and “Pillow Box in Beige and Blue.”  And June will be Birthday Bonanza on June 3rd and 4th.  Mark your calendars now!