Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

When we moved into our new apartment last summer, I told Eve that she could pick whichever Decor Elements she wanted for her new room. (You might remember that she used to have butterflies on her wall.) She picked the princess, carriage, and castle — all in pink. No real shock there. But when we went to put them up, they just looked strange, floating on her wall with nothing grounding them. So I while I was looking around for some better way to put them up — maybe frames, maybe canvas — Stampin’ Up announced that they would be selling some of the raw vinyl. People could use their Big Shots to make their own Decor Elements! I bought some of the raw vinyl in Certainly Celery, but instead of die cutting it, I used it to create more of a scene with the Decor Elements that Eve had chosen.

It took us less than hour to put all of it up. Steve helped with the castle, since even standing on the bed I can’t reach that high. Most important of all, Eve loves it!

Each package of the raw Decor Elements vinyl comes with two sheets of vinyl (approximately 14-1/4″ x 24″ ), along with two sheets of transfer tape, for $12.95. It is available in the following colors:

118801 Bashful Blue
118814 Basic Gray
118804 Black
118806 Certainly Celery
114337 Chocolate
118808 Clear
114334 Dark Gray
118813 Gable Green
114336 Kraft
118805 Night of Navy
118803 Old Olive
118810 Pixie Pink
118800 Pretty in Pink
118809 Pumpkin Pie
118802 Real Red
118798 Rose Red
118812 Sahara Sand
118797 So Saffron
118799 Taken with Teal
118807 Tempting Turquoise
114335 White

Chalkboard Decor Elements Vinyl Sheets (118815) are also available for $14.95.
You can purchase any of these through my website. Just click on Shop Now.

I had a fabulous workshop over at Heather’s house on Friday night. Everyone there was so excited to see the new Stampin’ Up products, especially the clear mount stamps! Even more exciting was when I totaled up the orders and told all of the women how many free items they had earned! I love being able to give away free stamps, paper, and punches! As a thank you to Heather for hosting the party, I made this super cute ribbon sampler for her. It is one yard of each of the in color ribbons. They are wrapped around a piece of matching card stock punched with the round tab punch. It makes a great ribbon holder!

Stamps: Very Thankful
Ink: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo
Paper: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Dusty Durango, Very Vanilla
Other: Soft Suede Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon , Crushed Curry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Dusty Durango Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Round Tab Punch, Top Note Bigz Die, Big Shot, Medium Cello Bag

Want to earn your own free stuff? There are still six weeks left of Sale-a-Bration! Book your workshop today!

Happy Valentine’s Day! I have one last project to share with you. I saw this super cute Valentine flower with a chocolate in the middle on Barb Mullikin’s blog. We used Hershey kisses for the flower centers. I made this with the afterschool kids’ club. It was winner, since it involved the Big Shot AND chocolate! (I made the one on the left, Eve did the one on the right.)

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Flower Folds Bigz XL Die, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Chocolate

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, full of love and chocolate!

I know that most of the country has been blanketed in snow, but here in Los Angeles we’ve been getting our fair share of rain. My after-school stamping club, which consists of first and third graders, were really sick of making valentines. Really, really sick of valentines. So I thought, with this kind of weather, it would be a great time to make some dog and cat cards! (Get it? Raining cats & dogs?) They were very excited by this idea.

We used the D is for Dog and C is for Cat sets to make two very similar cards. (Did you know that you can get these sets free as Sale-a-Bration choices? How great is that?) I also had to incorporate the Big Shot, because these kids LOVE to use the Big Shot. I help them make the “sandwiches,” but they get great joy out of turning the handle and watching what comes out! We used the Scalloped Square Bigz Die to create these cute cards.

Stamps: D is for Dog
Ink: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay
Paper: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White
Other: Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Square Clear Bigz Die, Big Shot

Stamps: C is for Cat
Ink: Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango
Paper: Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Whisper White
Other: Crushed Curry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Square Clear Bigz Die, Big Shot

On another note, I am proud to announce that my school was awarded the California State School of Character Award. You can read the full article here. Amazing that I put up my “Do Good. Be Kind” sign on the same day we found out!

For those of you that do not know, I am an elementary school librarian. When I saw the new Decor Element that said “Do Good. Be Kind” it really resonated with me. Of all of things we teach children, this is the most important. If they can learn these two items, then our job is well done. It is a theme that runs through most of the stories I read to them, and also what I hope they see in my daily interactions as well.

Directly opposite the door to my office is a wall that is a lovely shade of blue. It was calling out for something, and I think I found it!

Do Good. Be Kind. If only we could all follow this simple advice every day.

I am really enjoying the new clear mount stamps and Stampin’ Up’s gorgeous acrylic blocks. They are so beautiful I just want to stack them up for display! Speaking of displays, here’s a look at Stampin’ Up’s display about them at the Leadership Conference last month:

One of the neat things about these is that you can create a little scene with your stamops by using one of the larger blocks. Eve did just that using the Sale-a-Bration set, Good Neighbors. (Did you know that you have the option to choose your FREE Sale-a-Bration sets in either wood-mount or clear-mount? Excluding the ones from the main catalog, of course.)

First she set up her scene on the acrylic block.

Then she colored each part with the Stampin’ Write markers.

Stamped it on the paper, and voila!

She’s such a good stamper! And she shares my love of these new clear-mount stamps.

The third grade teachers came to me for some ideas for a project their students could make at their Valentine’s Day party. We tossed some ideas around, and decided on having each child make two 3″x 3″ mini cards – one for each of their parents. I put together a supply order for them, and because of Sale-a-Bration and Stampin’ Up’s generous hostess benefits, they managed to get four free stamps sets with their order! We decided to stick with Real Red, Pretty in Pink, and Basic Black as our ink colors, combined with Real Red or Pretty in Pink as their card base. They will be encouraged to use their own creativity to create their cards, but I put together a few samples to get their juices flowing.

Here they each are individually:

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, Whimsical Words
Ink: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Stamps: A Happy Heart
Ink: Real Red, Basic Black
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White

Stamps: A Happy Heart, Sprinkles
Ink: Real Red, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, Whimsical Words
Ink: Real Red, Basic Black
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, A Happy Heart
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Stamps: You & Moi
Ink: Real Red, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White

I can’t wait to see what cards the kids come up with!

Yesterday was super exciting and exhausting as we finally got to meet and take home our new Great Dane puppy! His registered AKC name will be Echo v. Evans Hijack My Heart, but we are calling him Jack. His mother Annie is a champion, and his father Humphrey is only  points away from being a champion as well. We’re hoping that Jack will follow in their footsteps. In the meantime, we are enjoying his adorable puppy self. Eve has wanted to do nothing other than snuggle him since before we even got him! She was so excited when he fell asleep in her lap last night, that I just had to take a picture. It seemed to be the perfect picture to use for both the Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge and the Pals Paper Arts Challenge.

I did it in My Digital Studio, of course, while the puppy is sleeping beneath my legs. One more good thing about My Digital Studio — no small pieces for the puppy to chew on! This is an 8″x8″ page. I figure it’s never too early to start on the scrapbook!

If you are in the Los Angeles area and would like one-on-one lessons in My Digital Studio, please contact me for more information.

Here is another card that could be used as a Valentine if you would like, but could be used for many other occasions as well. It uses the super cute Love Bandit stamp set. I used the Stampin’ Write Markers to color the parts of the stamp differently, and then colored the squirrel in as well.

Stamps: Love Bandit
Ink: Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Old Olive, Going Grey
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Welcome Neighbor Designer Series Paper Pad
Other: Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Trim Corner Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch

We made this card at my faculty card making class, and I have to tell you there is a learning curve with these new punches. (A big shout out to Amy who did it perfectly on her second try!) Luckily, Stampin’ Up has come out with a great video to use these punches.

Stamping 411 also has a size guide, showing you what size paper you need to get the punches to come out evenly as well. It takes a little practice, but it is worth it!

Get ready to accessorize your digital projects with two new digital downloads for My Digital Studio! The Sending Love epoxy brads and the Corduroy Buttons digital downloads are perfect for adding depth and dimension to your digital projects. Of course they coordinate perfectly with other exclusive Stampin′ Up! papers, designs, and colors.

The Sending Love expoxy brads come in three colors — Pretty in Pink, Real Red, and Chocolate Chip.

120169 Sending Love Epoxy Brads $1.95

The Corduroy Buttons come in three styles and five colors — Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip, and Basic Gray.

120170 Corduroy Buttons $3.95

You know what the best thing about the digital buttons and brads? You can use them on as many projects as you want and never run out! I love that! No hoarding necessary! You can order this now and download them immediately! Visit my website and click on shop now!