Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

I love playing along with Kristina Werner’s color inspiration challenges! It really helps me stretch and grow as a stamper. I decided to add another type of challenge to my week, a sketch challenge! This week I decided to try my hand at the Mojo Monday sketch challemge. This was much harder for me. My layouts are usually fairly simple and straight forward. But I’m really glad I tried! I’m hoping to play again next week.

Here is this week’s sketch:

And here is the card I came up with: (The colors are taken from the Raspberry Tart DSP, though I didn’t actually end up using any.)

Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Cameo Coral, Rose Red
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Cameo Coral, Rose Red, Whisper White
Accessories: Rose Red brad

It’s the end of January and that means it is time to start thinking about Valentine’s Day! I have a Valentine card making workshop coming up on January 31st in Ashby, so if you are in Central Massachusetts and want to stop by, let me know!

Below is one of the cards we will be making at the Workshop.  Thanks to Natalie Swartout for the design! It uses the set A Happy Heart, which first appeared in the Holiday Mini Catalog, and is still available. I fell in love with this image of the dandelion with heart seeds as soon as I saw it.

Stamps: A Happy Heart
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP
Accessories: Clear Rhinestone Brads, Scallop Border Punch

A Happy Heart (set of 6) $22.95 Images © Stampin' Up!

It’s here! It’s here! Out with the old and in with the new! Stampin’ Up’s new Spring Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog is live and ready for your to order from! Oh and it is a beauty! To see what is new in this catalog, you can visit my Stampin’ Up website, click on “Shop Now,” then click on “Specials” to see the new products.

Or, if you would like to, you can download the PDF version of the catalog. (It’s large, so I suggest saving it to your computer so you don’t have to download it more than once.) You can also download the recipes for all of the samples in the catalog. This fabulous list now includes pictures of the projects!

Want more ideas with these same sets? Take a look at the Catalog Sampler!

The Spring Summer edition of Celebrando Creatividad, Stampin’ Up’s Spanish catalog, is also available today. It includes many Spanish versions of sets, as well as some stamps and paper only seen here.

Last, but certainly not least, Phase III of the Decor Elements are available now as well. I love these! There are great sets for boys, girls, tweens, living rooms and more! I just wish I had enough wall to put up all of the Decor Elements that I want.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about Stampin’ Up or its products. Happy Stampin’!

This is it. January 18, 2009 is officially the last day to order from Stampin’ Up’s Fall-Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog. At midnight (mountain time) the door closes. And it is all over. Anything from the  holiday mini catalog will not be available anymore (except A Happy Heart). The retired sets will be gone, as will the retired accessories. So long. Farewell.  Be sure to order what you need before they leave.

But fear not! After a short 12 hour no-ordering break, it will be the dawn of a new day! (Okay, actually the afternoon of a new day.) The new Stampin’ Up Spring-Summer Idea Book & Catalog will BURST onto the scene in all of its glory at noon (mountain time) on Monday, January 19, 2009. And all of the wonderful new stamp sets, paper, ribbon, and other accessories are ready to be welcomed into your home! I’ll give you the link as soon as it is up! Need a catalog? Contact me for details.

Here is one last card with the beautiful Georgia Peach designer series paper. Be sure to stock up on this one! This is a birthday card for one of the girls in Eve’s kindergarten class.

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Ink: StazOn Black and Stampin’ Write Markers in Real Red, Regal Rose, So Saffron and Old Olive
Paper: Regal Rose, So Saffron, Old Olive, Georgia Peach DSP
Accessories: Regal Rose 5/8″ Grosgrain, Large Oval Punch, Wide Oval Punch

One of the great new products products that appears in Stampin’ Up’s Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog are the Embosslits! These handy dandy little items are made for the Big Shot and cut and emboss at the same time! It’s great! As a demonstrator, I was able to pre-order one called the Sweetest Stem. It coordinates with the new Sweet Stems stamp set and the Rasberry Tart paper. I used it to make the card below. In fact, if you look closely, you will see that I made this card with absolutely no stamping at all! Crazy, huh? I could have put a sentiment where the brads are, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to use it for.

Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Raspberry Tart DSP
Accessories: Sweetest Stem Embosslit, Scallop Border Punch, Rose Red brads

There are five different embosslits in the new catalog, all flowers. Only three more days!

I’ve got Valentine’s Day on the brain, so I’m really glad that Kristina Werner’s Color Inspiration #38 had colors that work with that! Today’s colors are:

I decided to use the tic-tac-toe board from A Happy Heart. This set was in the Holiday Mini Catalog that ends on Sunday, but the good news is that it is also in the new Spring-Summer Idea Book & Catalog, so it can still be ordered after that as well!

Stamps: A Happy Heart
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Stampin’ Write Markers, Flower Fusion felt flowers, Pretty in Pink brads, Pretty in Pink 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Border Punch

Love this set! I’ll be showing you a few other cards with it as we get closer to February. Thanks Kristina, for another great color inspiration!

After weeks of watching me play along with Kristina Werner’s Color Inspiration, Eve asked to play along too. Although she is only 5, Eve has been stamping since she was 2, and I completely trust her with all of my stamps and supplies (except the sharp ones.) In making the card below, Eve used the Stampin’ Write Markers to color on the various parts of the tic-tac-toe stamp. Although we both decided to use the same set, Eve came up with her own design. I just cut the paper for her.

This week’s colors are Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White. And here is Eve’s card, her very first Color Inspiration entry!

Stamps: A Happy Heart
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Whisper White
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Stampin’ Write Markers

I think she did a great job for her first time! It was great mother-daughter time, too, sitting down and making our cards together.

Bee-cause I love this new stamp set, I have two more cards to show you from it! I love the expressions on the bees’ faces! They are so cute! And a touch of Dazzling Diamonds on their wings just livens up the whole card!

Stamps: Just Buzzin’ By
Paper: Watercolor Paper, More Mustard, Hostess Level 1 Patterns Pack in Always Artichoke
Ink: StazOn Black
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Always Artichoke Brads, Dazzling Diamonds, Ticket Corner Punch

This second card is inspired by Blaise Hoopes. She does great work! The inside of the card is stamped with the other saying, “Have a honey of a day!”

Stamps: Just Buzzin’ By
Paper: Whisper White, Barely Banana, Basic Black, Candy Lane DSP
Ink: StazOn Black
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Dazzling Diamonds,1 1/4″ Cicle Punch, 1 3/8″ Circle Punch, Scallop Border Punch

Hope you are enjoying these previews of new sets! Less than a week until the new catalog goes live!

I just got my new Stampin’ Up Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog and, wowzers, it is a beauty! I am so excited for new stamps, new paper, new embellishments, new Big Shot dies, new everything! The new catalog will be online when it goes live at noon mountain time on January 19. If you want to see it in print before them, let me know.

Here are a couple cards made with a great new set called “Just Buzzin’ By.” I am excited about this set because it has a great honey stamp that I can use for Rosh Hashanah! And the bees are super cute, too. It was inspired by Rhonda Griffin’s card. I don’t know if you can tell, but there is Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the bee’s wings.

Stamps: Just Buzzin’ By
Paper: Regal Rose, So Saffron, Whisper White, Georgia Peach DSP (retiring soon!)
Ink: StazOn Black
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Regal Rose 5/8″ Grosgrain, Horizontal Slot Punch, Top Note Bigz Die, Dazzling Diamonds

The card below was made by my 5 1/2-year-old daughter. She’ been stamping with me since she was two, and can’t wait to be a demonstrator herself!

Stamps: Just Buzzin’ By
Paper: So Saffron, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa
Ink: StazOn Black
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Scallop Border Punch

This set is available to purchase on January 19th! Isn’t it bee-utiful?

I really liked how the pink thank you notes that I showed you in my last post turned out, but as I was writing the notes I realized that I  didn’t want to send all pink ones to the boys who had given me gifts. So I needed to come up with yet another design! I turned it on its side, and added more designer series paper in the background. I like how this one came out too! It’s such a great stamp, especially when it is paired with the scallop square punch!

Stamps: Elegant Thank You
Paper: Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Maine Blueberry DSP
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: Scallop Square Punch

The Maine Blueberry DSP is only around for one more week, so get it while it lasts!