Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

I love the images in this week’s Stampin’ Celebration Inspiration Challenge. They look like summertime picnics, just perfect for Memorial Day Weekend. I decided to combine the colors and images from that challenge with the Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge for this week.

I am really loving my Kraft paper (as you may have noticed). I’m excited for it to become “Crumb Cake” in July with ink to match! I used the Ruby Red ink on Kraft, as well as the summer fruits from the inspiration challenge.

Stamps: Tart & Tangy, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Ruby Red, Garden Green
Paper: Kraft, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Travel Journal Designer Series Paper
Other: Red Gingham Ribbon, Earth Elements Brads (Ruby Red), Modern Label Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Be sure to stop back tomorrow. I will be posting the Last Chance List as soon as I possibly can!

When I first saw the Travel Journey Designer Series Paper in the Summer Mini catalog, I was so excited to have some great masculine colors and patterns. When I saw the maps on it, I knew it would be just perfect for cards for my dad, since he loves maps! I decided to use this week’s Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge as a starting point.

Although the sketch is square, I decided to make a regular rectangular card because I wanted more of the map to show. I sponged the edges of the striped piece of designer series paper with Night of Navy ink so it would stand out a little more.

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Night of Navy
Paper: Kraft, Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Travel Journal Designer Series Paper
Other: Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, Natural Hemp Twine

I’m hoping that this paper comes out in a Digital Version soon! I really want to use it for scrapbooking last summer’s drive across the country. Otherwise, I’ll just have to use it to make a traditional scrapbook!

Whoo-hoo! Kristina Werner has a Color Inspiration challenge on her blog again! I loved when she used to do these regularly, in fact I used to plan my whole week around them! She has a new spin on them, with reader submitted photos, but to me it just feels like the old ones. Here are the colors:

I love the summery feel to this, just perfect for Memorial Day weekend. They also feel very “little boy” like to me — maybe it’s just on my mind since my nephew is due in 5 weeks. Either way, I decided to pull out Bugs & Kisses for this one.

Stamps: Bugs & Kisses
Ink: Ballet Blue, Lavender Lace, Summer Sun, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery
Paper: Ballet Blue, Lavender Lace, Summer Sun, Whisper White

I don’t usually do a partial mat, like the piece of Lavender Lace card stock under the Summer Sun. The funny thing is that I grabbed a piece just to see how it would look, even though it wasn’t the right size, and I realized that I really liked how it looked just going 2/3 of the way! Funny how things work out!

Thanks Kristina, for doing these again. I can’t wait until the next one!

My downline Samantha had her first workshop last weekend. (And she did an amazing job, I might add!) I knew that she was featuring the new Tropical Party stamp set and Tropical Oasis paper, so I wanted to make her a little something that she could use as either a sample or a door prize. Thanks to the wonder of the Big Shot and the fabulous Matchbox Die, I was able to quickly put together this cute little matchbox! That fabulous tag shape is part of the Matchbox Die, too!

Stamps: Tropical Party
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, So saffron, Old Olive
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Tropical Oasis Designer Series Paper
Other: Matchbox Bigz XL Die, Big Shot, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thinking about becoming a demonstrator? I’d love to have you join my team! Worried about the start up costs? I have some great news for you! Starting June 1st there will be a mini starter kit available for only $99. I’ll post more details as soon as they are available. In the meantime, feel free to contact me with any questions.

I know that you’ve seen the pages I’ve been making with My Digital Studio, but maybe you have been wondering what the program actually looks like. well, good news! Stampin’ Up has just released a new video that shows you! It is an introductory tutorial to creating a scrapbook.

My Digital Studio is really designed very well. It is clean and easy to use. If you would like to see it in person, and are in the Greater Los Angeles area, I’d be more than happy to show you!

I love these colors for this week’s ColourQ challenge! They are so fun and little boy-ish! Look:

The first thing I thought of was how perfect these would be for the Build-a-Bear die cuts! Most of the colors are in the Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper, and the bear itself could be Kraft! Eve helped me run all of the pieces through the Big Shot. At age 7, after having used the Big Shot with me for a year, Eve is able to build the “sandwiches” and run things through the Big Shot on her own. In fact, she finds it much easier to use than a certain small die cut machine that was sold specifically for kids to use. Of course, she still only uses it under supervision. Here is the card Eve and I put together last night.

Paper: Ballet Blue, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Kraft, Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper
Other: Bear Bigz Die, Beary Essentials Bigz Die, Beary Boy Sizzlits Die, Big Shot Machine

Super cute, huh? The Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper is still available in the Summer Mini Catalog, but Ballet Blue will be retiring at the end of June. Stock up now if you need it!

In keeping with their new weekly tradition, Stampin Up has released four more digital downloads today. These are all digital “punches” — of course Stampin’ Up has real punches in the same designs if you wanted to punch actual paper, as opposed to virtual paper.

You can purchase these or any other digital downloads through my online store. They great news is that they are available for immediate use, with no shipping or tax! Just click on Digital Crafting, then Digital Downloads, then Newest Downloads to see all of the recent additions!

I’ve seem some cute cards made with the new Sweet Scoops set, including some delicious mint chocolate chip ice cream (my favorite)! When I saw this weekend’s Stamping 411 sketch, I knew it was time to bring it to life.

I started with the ice cream, of course. The best green for Mint Chocolate Chip in my opinion is Certainly Celery. So then I went to see which Designer Series Paper I had that had Certainly Celery in it. The answer was Tea Party. Since that also had So Saffron in it, I used the So Saffron for the cone. Because I bought this set in the Clear Mount option, I did not have to use my Stamp-a-ma-jig for the placement of the ice cream on the cone.

Stamps: Sweet Scoops
Ink: Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Whisper White, Tea Party Designer Series Paper

How refreshing does that look? Congrats on your one year anniversary, Stamping 411! I look forward to many more years of challenges!

This week over at the Stampin’ Celebration Inspiration Challenge they have this delicious looking chocolate cupcake with purple frosting. Mmmmmm! See for yourself:

As I looked at this, I knew I wanted to use a cupcake stamp. But the cupcakes in Crazy for Cupcakes and Party Hearty just weren’t big enough. No, I turned to the biggest cupcake of them all — Simple Birthday Thanks. I used this for Eve last year, when she was in kindergarten, so she could fill in the blanks. It made writing thank you notes a breeze! (Always a good habit to instill early.) For the 10 little yellow flowers, I used the Trio Flower punch, and took Krystal’s advice and sponged the edges. I put a dot of Crystal Effects in the middle of each to jazz them up. The flowers on top are from the Boho Blossoms punch. I sponged the edges of those as well, and put a So Saffron brad through the middle. (As always, you can click on the card to see it larger.)

Stamps: Simple Birthday Thanks
Ink: Elegant Eggplant
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron, Whisper White
Other: Trio Flowers Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Crystal Effects, Rich Regals Brads (So Saffron), Stampin’ Dimensionals, Paper Snips

This was fun to make, but now I want cupcakes…

Memorial Day is coming up next weekend, and this week’s Pals Paper Arts challenge is to create something with Memorial Day as a theme. I chose to use the word “Remember” as part of my card. For that is what Memorial Day is — a day to remember men and women who died while serving our country. (For a history of Memorial Day and more information, visit the History Channel.) Thank you to those who have served or are serving in the Armed Forces. Your service and sacrifice are greatly appreciated.

Stamps: Define Your Life, Classic Stars Jumbo Stampin’ Around Wheel
Ink: Night of Navy, Real Red
Paper: Night of Navy, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Star Punch, Large Star Punch, Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon