I’m starting up my after-school kids’ rubber stamping class tomorrow, so I spent some time last night getting ready for it. Just before bed I grabbed some time to stamp for me, using this week’s Color Throwdown. (I love that they post it early on their Facebook page!)
These colors are so rich and gorgeous together, I just love them! I decided to emphasize the richness of the Riding Hood Red by using textured card stock. I’m not sure if you can tell in the picture, but it adds a lot in person.
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers Ink: Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, Pumpkin Pie Paper: Old Olive, Riding Hood Red (textured), Sweet & Sour Specialty Designer Series Paper, Very Vanilla Other: Corner Rounder, Old Olive 5/8″ Satin Ribbon
Thank you to Michelle for inspiring me to use my corner rounder again!
My very talented downline Samantha created a fabulous two-page 8″ x 8″ scrapbook layout for a swap that she was in on Stampin’ Addicts. She was kind enough to let me post it here, and I am excited to share it with you! (You can click on the photo for a closer look.)
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Eastern Blooms Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, So Saffron, Whisper White Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, So Saffron, Whisper White Other: Old Olive 5/8″ Satin Ribbon, Butterfly Punch, Scallop Border Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals
Gorgeous! I love how she made her own patterned paper to match!
Have you seen Stampin’ Up’s new Letterpress plates? You use them with the Big Shot, and instead of embossing, they add ink to a debossed image! So cool! Here, watch this video and then I will tell you more about them. (If you are reading this in an email, you will need to go to my actual blog to see the video.)
How cool is that? There are currently four letterpress plates available, all from the Holiday Mini Catalog.
120980 Trick or Treat Letterpress Plate $7.95
120981 Joyful Season Letterpress Plate $5.95
120982 Northern Trim Letterpress Plate $5.95
120983 Lots of Love Letterpress Plate
To use Letterpress Plates, you’ll need a Big Shot machine, multipurpose platform, one standard cutting pad (as unused as possible), card stock or paper, and Craft Stampin’ Ink™ (pigment ink). Tips:
• Pigment ink, such as Craft Stampin’ Ink, works best for letterpress projects. Classic (dye-based) Stampin’ Ink does not lay down evenly on the plate or transfer evenly to paper.
• Do not apply too much ink, or your image will not look crisp.
• You can use a Stampin’ Spot™, Stampin’ Pad™, or brayer to apply the ink.
• If you want to apply different colors of ink to one plate, it’s easier to use a Stampin’ Spot. Simply dab the Stampin’ Spot on the plate.
• If you want to apply one color of ink to the entire plate, you can also use our un-inked Craft Stampin’ Pad, filled with the Craft Stampin’ Ink refill color of your choice, applying the ink from the pad directly to your Letterpress Plate.
• If you want to apply one color of ink to the entire plate, it might be easier to use a brayer to apply the ink evenly. A brayer is also helpful if you want to create multiple projects because it allows you to re-ink the plate quickly. Simply ink our un-inked Craft Pad with Craft Stampin’ Ink, ink the brayer thoroughly using the Craft Stampin’ Pad, and roll the brayer across your Letterpress Plate.
• Because the Letterpress Plates emboss so deeply into your paper, they may press into extremely small recessed areas, such as scratches in cutting pads. For best results, we recommend that you use a cutting pad that is relatively new and unscratched.
• Letterpress Plates work well on card stock and other paper. Porous paper (such as watercolor paper) or paper with weakened fibers (such as textured card stock) will create a deeper impression.
• Make sure you test your materials before creating your projects to ensure you get the results you want.
Instructions:
1. Apply Craft Stampin’ Ink directly to the plate, using one of the methods described above (Fig. 1).
2. Open the multipurpose platform to Tab 1. Place the inked Letterpress Plate face-up on the multipurpose platform (Fig. 2).
3. Place your paper on the Letterpress Plate (Fig. 3).
4. Place a standard cutting pad on top of the paper (Fig. 4). (Remember to use a cutting pad that has few or no scratches.)
5. Run the sandwich through the Big Shot. Warning: Supervise small children.
Wow! I was so excited to see this super cool technique on Lyssa’s blog! She has a great photo tutorial, but I took a few pictures of my own as I created the card below. It is inspired by Lyssa’s friend Lori’s card, with her great idea of using the leaves from the two-step bird punch as fall leaves. Basically, the idea of this technique is that you attached punched shapes to your card stock, then run it through an embossing folder, which makes it look like the punched shapes are inset into the card stock. This works particularly well with the square lattice folder!
Here are some examples from a card that I am making at a Shoe Box Swap today.
Step one — adhere your punched shapes to the card stock.
Step 2 — run that piece through the Big Shot in the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.
Step 3 — finish your card
Stamps: Perfect Punches Ink: Cajun Craze, Early Espresso Paper: Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Old Olive Other: Early Espresso 5/8″ Satin Ribbon, Scallop Oval Punch, Two-Step Bird Punch, Top Note Die, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder, Big Shot
How gorgeous is that? It is an easy “wow!” Try it with different embossing folders for different looks.
Another great sketch from Stamping 411 this week! I love how clean the lines are!
I was inspired by Carmen’s swap cards to use my Baby Tees Jumbo Stampin’ Around Wheel for these. One of the first grade teachers is about to have her first baby any day now. (Actually, he’s due on my birthday!) I missed getting these done in time for her shower, but I did want to make her a pack of thank you notes. This sketch was just perfect!
Stamps: Baby Tees Stampin’ Around Jumbo Wheel, Baby Bundle Ink: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Real Red Paper: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Whisper White Other: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Bashful Blue Taffeta Ribbon (retired)
I did a neat trick — because I have these stamps in the clear mount, I could put both the onesie stamp and the “thank you” stamp on the same block, and stamp them together for perfect placement!
The clear mount stamps save you not only money, but time, too!
A few more fun digital downloads to share with you today. These downloads work with My Digital Studio and any other digital scrapbooking program that allows you to import PNG and JPG files.
122162 Designer Label Punch $0.95
122168 Spital Border Punch $0.95
123634 Canada Day Stamp Brush Set $3.95
(Yes, I know Canada Day is July 1st, but you aren’t that caught up on your scrapbooking yet, are you?)
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!
There is a My Digital Studio tab to the top right hand corner of this blog. It is a handy reference to a variety of My Digital Studio resources, including a list of all of the downloads and a break down of the printing costs.
When I saw how pretty this week’s Color Throwdown colors were together, I was really excited! They look great together, but how to use them, and only them, on a card… Wow! That was a little tricky!
As I was looking through my stamp sets, I came upon Pun Fun — always a good set in a pinch! I had just shown this card, with the hippo on it, at school while I was promoting my after school stamping club for kids. I decided to use the same layout.
Stamps: Pun Fun Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Pacific Point, Melon Mambo, River Rock Paper: Pacific Point, Melon Mambo, River Rock, Whisper White Other: Scallop Circles #2 Bigz Die, 2 1/2″ Circle Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Big Shot, Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (retired)
The new 2 1/2″ circle punch from the Holiday Mini Catalog sure made this an easy card to create!
When I saw this week’s ColourQ challenge, I knew it had to be flowers. See what I mean?
It’s been a while since I’ve played with Awash with Flowers, so I decided to use that set. I based the layout on a swap card by Jan. I really like how these colors look together!
Stamps: Awash with Flowers, A Word for You Ink: Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, So Saffron, Old Olive, Basic Black Paper: Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, So Saffron, Whisper White Other: Scallop Trim Border Punch
I was toying with the idea of adding some pearls along the scallop border trim. I may still go back and put them on.
The Pals Paper Arts challenge this week is a theme challenge — Halloween! I love Halloween! I decided to use the Clean&Simple sketch this week along with the Got Treats stamp set to make a fun Halloween card.
Because of the size of the pumpkin image, I had to use the 1 3/4″ circle punch to punch it out, and therefore the new, bigger scallop punch behind it. So glad we have a larger scallop circle punch now!
Stamps: Got Treats Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Basic Black Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White Other: Scallop Circle Bigz Die, Clear Circle Die, 1 3/4″ Circle Punch, 2 3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch, Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Pumpkin Pie 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon, Big Shot
Circle cards are fun and easy when using the Big Shot!
If you know me, then you know that I do not make a lot of Christmas cards. However, when I saw Holly’s colors over at The Color Round Up, I knew I had to make one. I put the colors together with this week’s Stamping 411 sketch challenge. Poppy Parade is a bright red with just a touch of orange to it. Paired with Old Olive, it is a winning combination for Christmas.
I found this great Poppy Parade Designer Series Paper in the FREE Hostess Level 1 paper pack. Doesn’t it look like Candy Canes? This is a fabulous 6″ x 6″ paper pack that you can earn for free from Stampin’ Up.
Stamps: Perfect Punches Ink: Poppy Parade, Early Espresso Paper: Poppy Parade, Old Olive, Whisper White, In Color Designer Series Paper Pack (hostess), Autumn Spice Designer Series Paper Other: Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 1 1/4″ Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Big Shot
