Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

Great news for all of you Shimmer Paint lovers out there! (Of which I am definitely one!) Due to the popularity of the shimmer paint offered in the Holiday Mini Catalog, Stampin’ Up will continue to offer it as a catalog write-in after the Holiday Mini sales period ends. Starting January 5, 2010, you can order the following products as catalog write-ins:

I hope you continue to enjoy using this fun new product! Look for lots of shimmery Valentine’s coming soon!

Now that Eve has delivered the presents to her first grade teachers, I can show you what I made for them this year! Each of the four teachers received a card purse filled with monogrammed note cards. I decided to use their first initial, since these were fun and whimsical, as opposed to using their last name initial. I asked each of the teachers their favorite colors in advance, and made them up these monochromatic card sets.

Here is a closer look at one of the cards.

This is the card purse. I used the tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers to make it.

Stamps: Lovely Letters, Spot On Jumbo Wheel
Ink: Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango, Melon Mambo
Paper: Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Other: 1 3/8″ Circle punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Gold Brads, Old Olive Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Dusty Durango Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon

I hope they like their gifts! Eve is having a fabulous year in first grade!

I recieved my pre-order from the new Occasions Mini catalog last week. (One of my favorite perks of being a Stampin’ Up demonstrator is getting to not only see new items early but order them early as well!) As I looked at this week’s Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge, I decided the time was right to pull some out and play with them!

The more I turned this sketch over and over in my mind, I decided to take the shapes literally and use hearts. There is a funny story about how I picked the colors, though! I had just finished  making holiday gifts for Eve’s teachers (I’ll post those later in the week), and had scraps of Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, and Melon Mambo lying next to each other. I looked at them lying there and thought to myself, wow, those look really good together! So here they are, together on a card.

Stamps: A Happy Heart
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo
Paper: Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo
Other: Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Big Shot

Both the Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit and the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder are in the Occasions Mini Catalog and will be available starting January 5th. I noticed today, as I looked more closely at the Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit, that those aren’t dots on it. Nope! They are little tiny hearts! How cute is that?

When I saw these adorable purses on the Chic ‘n’ Scratch blog, I just knew I had to try and make one. I gave my Sister-in-law a gift card for Hanukkah last night, and thought I’d try to make it more fun with a cute little gift card purse. Her favorite color is purple, so I based it around Rich Razzleberry and the Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper. I have to say, I think it may just be the cutest thing I ever made. Seriously. Here’s the front:

And this is what it looks like opened up:

Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper
Other: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Flower Fusion, 5/16″ Neutral Brads (white), Velcro

I used a little bit of velcro to keep it closed. My brother and sister-in-law could hardly believe I made it. I was pretty impressed with how it came out myself!

I woke up this morning to a fantastic email notifying me that I was one of the winners of last month’s So Shelli Creative Challenge. This is the card that was picked. And I won a free stamp set of my choice! What a fantastic Hanukkah present! This contest is open to anyone, not just Stampin’ Up demonstrators. You just need to post your card online. If you don’t have a blog, you can always post to the Stampin’ Addicts gallery.

The second piece of exciting news is that today starts Stampin’ Up’s “12 Days of Holiday Sales.” I cannot believe all of the amazing dies on sale! And Decor Elements vinyl in so many colors! You can cut your own and decorate up a storm!

Contact me or shop now! (If you have any questions about the compatibility of these with other die cut systems, please feel free to ask.)

To those who are celebrating, Happy Hanukkah!!!

There’s a cold rain falling here in Los Angeles tonight, so I knew when I saw this week’s Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge that I wanted to do something warm! This week’s colors are:

I was so happy to have the Soft Suede in there, because I knew I could have tree branches! But not a fall tree, and not a bare winter tree! I chose to use the Crushed Curry to make some bright, beautiful flowers! Here is what I came up with.

Stamps: Season of Friendship, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Old Olive
Paper: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Crushed Curry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch

I had a great time making cards with friends this afternoon! This card is dedicated to you!

Here’s another card I made with my Kids’ Class. I gave them their choice of any of the three stamps included in Holiday Line Up. Several of the kids used the reindeer stamp, and it looked great with that too. They colored theirs with the Watercolor Pencils, but I used the Stampin’ Write Markers on mine. I used the layout from this card, but changed the stamp set. It was a pretty quick card, but it looks great!

Stamps: Holiday Line Up
Ink: StazOn Black, Stampin’ Write Markers (Bermuda Bay, Real Red, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie)
Paper: Kraft, Real Red, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White
Other: Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Border Punch

Wow, it sure got cold here in Los Angeles this week. I actually had to wear socks! Guess it’s time to break out the snowman cards!

This card is based on one by Lyn Put. I changed the colors and added some shimmer paint. I’ll be making this one with my after-school kids stamping club. They really liked using the Big Shot last week, so I’m going to let them cut out their own snowflakes.

I used the Frost White Shimmer Paint two different ways on this card. First, I used it with an aquapainter to color in the snowman’s face. The snowman’s face looks funny in this picture, since the shimmer paint is reflecting the flash. In real life, it just looks glittery. Second, I made it into a spray, by combing 1 oz of 70% rubbing alcohol with a few drops of shimmer pain. I then sprayed it onto the snowflake for a glittery look!

Stamps: Big on Christmas
Ink: StazOn Black, Ballet Blue, Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Basic Black
Paper: Ballet Blue,Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper
Other: Snowflake #2 Die, Big Shot, Frost White Shimmer Paint

Welcome to Stampin’ Addicts’ Dormant Retiring Blog Hop! We will be featuring several sets that are currently on the Dormant List and will not be available after January 4th. You may have just arrived from Krystal’s fabulous blog featuring Grand Soiree. If this is your first stop, don’t worry, we’ll take you in a circle!

I am so excited to be featuring Man’s Best Friend. This adorable dog set has four solid dog images, a fire hydrant, and the saying “bark, bark, bark (happy we’re friends).”

The first card I want to show you features the adorable Yorkie. I just had to make a black and red card with it!

Stamps: Man’s Best Friend, P is for Paw Wheel
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red
Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Modern Label Punch, 1 1/4″ Circle Punch, 1 3/8″ Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch

The next project I want to show you is a cute little doggie treat bag. I thought it would look great with some dog biscuits inside, but Biscuit wasn’t real keen on the idea of not eating them. So I put some chocolate caramel candy corn inside instead. (Do not give your dog chocolate. This is a people treat!)

Stamps: Man’s Best Friend
Ink: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay
Paper: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Other: Top Note Bigz Die, Big Shot, Small Cello Bag

The final project I have to show you is an all-occasion card. It could be used for a new baby, a birthday, thinking of you, or thanks for taking care of my dogs while I was on vacation. Because of the Gingham paper, I think of it as my country dog card.

Stamps: Man’s Best Friend
Ink: So Saffron, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Ballet Blue, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Ballet Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper
Other: Spiral Punch

I hope you enjoyed these examples. Remember, Man’s Best Friend will not be available after January 4th! Here’s a look at the whole set:

Man's Best Friend $19.95

Thanks for stopping by! Your next blog is Cindy E, with a look at the gorgeous Ocean Commotion.

Go to Next Blog

I was going to post this card awhile ago, but then that whole “balloon boy” thing happened and it somehow didn’t seem appropriate. I think enough time has passed that I can safely post it now!

One of the fun stamps from the Sweet Centers set is a hot air balloon basket. I love how the Sweet Treats Cup makes the perfect balloon for it! I filled this one with gumballs. To make the awesome sky, I used the sponging technique as shown over on Stamping 411. It was pretty easy to do, and I love how it turned out!

Stamps: Sweet Centers, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Close to Cocoa
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Yo-Yo Yellow, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Sweet Treat Cup, 1 3/4″ Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Real Red 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon

If you like it, get this set soon! It won’t be available after January 4th!