Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

Hello and welcome to the Stampin’ Addicts’ Occasions Mini Catalog Blog Hop! I am super excited to be featuring the new a la carte stamp, Candy Conversations. You may have arrived here from Lisa’s blog, Add Ink and Stamp (isn’t it amazing what she did with the Simply Sent Kit?!) If you are just starting here, that’s fine too. All of the blogs link in a circle, so you can start wherever you like, and make your way around.

Candy Conversation is a single stamp, so it is only available as a Wood Mount. It is a super cute stamp, reminiscent of those candy hearts you see everywhere for Valentine’s Day. This first card is a 4 1/4″ square, so it will still fit in a rectangular envelope. I used markers to color the stamp so it would match the new Sweet Shop Specialty Designer Series Paper. This one was quick and easy — I could see making a bunch of these for Valentine’s Day!

Stamps: Candy Conversation
Ink: Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade
Paper: Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White, Sweet Shop Specialty Designer Series Paper
Other: Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon

For my second card,  I decided to punch out the card stock candies so that would look like the real conversation hearts. The Small Heart Punch works great for this! I didn’t want the white backs showing, so I punched twice as many as I needed and glued them together back to back. I cut apart one of the Game Spinner Hands to make the arrow. (I saw this somewhere last Valentine’s Day, but I don’t remember where.)

Stamps: Candy Conversations
Ink: Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Basic Grey
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Other: Heart Treat Cups, Game Spinner Hands, Small Heart Punch, Full Heart Punch, Hearts Collection Framelit Dies, Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon, Adorning Accents Textured Impressions Embossing Folders

For my final card I used only the words on the bottom of the stamp. I feel like this Valentine is a little more masculine due to the color choice. I don’t think you can tell in the picture, but those hearts on the Sweet Shop Specialty Designer Series Paper are raised. There is a lot of texture in this card!

Stamps: Candy Conversations
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Paper: Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Sweet Shop Specialty Designer Series Paper
Other: Hearts Collection Framelit Dies, 1″ Square Punch, Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

I have one more project to show you, a super cute hexagon box! This is made out of two of the milk carton die cuts. I wanted to use the Island Indigo hearts paper from the Sweet Shop Specialty Designer Series Paper Pack, so I looked in my Color Coach to see what matched it. The Color Coach recommended Baja Breeze and Rich Razzleberry, so this is what I came up with. This time I only used the punched out heart “candies.”

Stamps: Candy Conversation
Ink: Baja Breeze, Rich Razzleberry
Paper: Baja Breeze, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Sweet Shop Specialty Designer Series Paper
Other: Small Heart Punch, Milk Carton Bigz L Die, Island Indigo Ruffled Ribbon, Crop-a-Dile

I hope you have enjoyed this stop on the blog hop — it is actually the last stop. You can start over at the beginning at Tinkerin in Ink with Tanya and see the amazing projects she made with the new Paper Doily Sizzlet, or go backwards to Lisa’s blog to see the new Simply Sent kit. Enjoy and Happy New Year!!

Going on vacation is great, but it’s also nice to come back home.  I missed my stamps while I was away! Luckily I had some time to play today, in between loads of laundry. I managed to make a card combining two challenges! This week’s Friday Mashup is to make a New Year’s card that sparkles. I decided to combine that with the SUO Challenge for this week, which is to get “punchy.” I had been wanting to make a New Year’s card, so this was the perfect opportunity. Until I realized that I don’t seem to have any Happy New Year stamps! So I used the numbers from the Look Who’s Turning stamp set, and punched them out with the Pennant Punch. (Note: I embossed first and then punched — much easier!) The numbers are all one stamp, so I used my VersaMarker to ink up just the one I wanted, then cleaned it well in between.

Stamps: Look Who’s Turning
Ink: VersaMark
Paper: Basic Black, Mocha Morning Specialty Designer Series Paper, Silver Glimmer Paper
Other: Petite Pennants Builder Punch, Silver Embossing Powder, Stampin’ Dimensionals

I don’t know if you can tell, but the background paper is flocked. It’s from the Mocha Morning Specialty Designer Series paper, which is almost too gorgeous to use! I hope that you will stop back tomorrow for the Stampin’ Addicts Occasions Mini Blog Hop. It’s going to be great!  Best wishes for a fabulous 2012!

As you know, Stampin’ Up’s Holiday Mini catalog will be coming to an end soon. Very soon. January 3rd is the last day to order the products in it. There are however, some items that Stampin’ Up has announced will continue to be available after that. You can see a flyer with these products, but here is a quick list of the Holiday Mini items that will remain available for purchase:

• Red Glimmer Paper
• Silver Glimmer Paper
• Holiday Stocking Die & Holiday Accents Die
• Peek-a-Boo Frames Die
• 1″x8″ Cellophane Bags (yay!!!)
• Spice Cake Designer Fabric (not the paper)
• 1″ Square Punch
• Dazzling Details
• Shaker Frames
• Pewter Embossing Powder
• Snow Burst Embossing Folder

If you are interested in anything else from there I suggest you get them before January 3rd. You can shop the Holiday Mini Catalog right here. There is always a chance that a few of the stamp sets will show up in the Big Idea Book & Catalog in July, but there are no guarantees.

As long as you are shopping, take a look at the Clearance Rack. Stampin’ Up just added more items (again!) including  great stuff from the Celebrations line, the Play Date line, and the Sweet Stitches line, as well as some fabulous Valentine’s Day bargains! (Note: Be sure to choose “Show All” on the right hand side or you may miss some items.)

The new Occasions Mini Catalog will start on January 4th,, and tomorrow is the Stampin’ Addicts’ Occasions Mini Blog Hop! You can start right here. I will be featuring a new Valentine’s Day stamp called Candy Conversation. The hop will run all weekend. I hope you have a chance to join us. The projects will be amazing!

No, it is not too soon to be thinking about Valentine’s Day, especially with the super cute Valentine themed digital downloads that Stampin’ Up just released! These downloads work with My Digital Studio and any other digital scrapbooking program that allows you to import PNG and JPG files, which is most graphics programs, and even Microsoft Word! (Clicking on the pictures will take you right to the store to purchase these downloads.)

129012 Hearts & Kisses Photocard Template $1.95

Download includes:
* 3-1/2″ x 5″ double-sided postcard designer template
*4-piece stamp brush set
* 1 Designer Series Paper pattern
* 3 embellishments

Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* Includes stamp brush images, embellishments, and Designer Series Paper for use on other coordinating projects.

Coordinating colors:
Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

128996 I {Heart} Hearts Stamp Brush Set $3.95

Download includes:
* 10-piece stamp brush set
* 3-1/2″ x 5″ trifold card designer template

128997 I {Love} Love Stamp Brush Set $7.95

Download includes:
* 20-piece stamp brush set
* One -page 11″ x 8-1/2″ designer template

Features:
* Pieces come individually for versatility.

129010 Owl Be Yours & You Bee Mine Greeting Card Templates $2.95

Download includes:
* Two 5-1/2″ x 4-1/4″ greeting card designer templates
* 4-piece stamp brush set
* 2 embellishments

Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* Includes stamp brush images and embellishments for use on other coordinating projects.

Coordinating colors:
Almost Amethyst, Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Very Vanilla, Whisper White

129013 Reasons I Heart You Swatch Book Template $12.95

Download includes:
* 26-page swatchbook designer template
* 34-piece stamp brush set
* 7 embellishments

Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* Makes the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, or just because.
*Use our print services for a picture-perfect swatchbook .

Coordinating colors:
Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla

129009 Sweetest Ever Valentine's Designer Template $9.95

Download includes:
* 2-page 8-1/2″ x 11″ décor designer template
* 18-piece stamp brush set
* 8 embellishments

Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* Designed specifically to gift treats:

• Lollipops: Guess Whoo Loves you
• Mini chocolates: happy {heart} day
• Cello bag topper: Happy Sweet Valentine’s Day
• Candybar wrapper: Affection Facts
• Additional labels and tags to add to any treat.

* Many of the images included as stamp brushes allowing for customization of colors or use on coordinating cards or other projects.

Coordinating colors:
Cherry Cobbler, Close to Cocoa, Regal Rose, Whisper White

129011 Valentine Postcard Template $1.95

Download includes:
* 5″ x 3-1/2″ double-sided postcard designer template
* 5-piece stamp brush set
* 2 Designer Series Paper patterns
* 1 embellishment

Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* Includes stamp brush images and embellishments for use on other coordinating projects.

Coordinating colors:
Cherry Cobbler, Island Indigo, More Mustard

You can purchase these or any other digital downloads through my online store. (Clicking on the pictures above will take you there as well.) They great news is that they are available for immediate use, with no shipping charges! Just click on Digital Crafting, then Digital Downloads, then Newest Downloads to see all of the recent additions! If you registered your copy of My Digital Studio, you may also receive end-of-the month emails from Stampin’ Up featuring that month’s digital releases.

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. There is also a Resources page on MyDigitalStudio.net that includes an MDS Catalog. It shows all of the MDS software artwork (contained in the boxed-version) and downloads from the October 2009 launch through November 30, 2011! The catalog gives a snapshot of the entire product line with artwork thumbnails followed by product details, which includes the colors of the designer papers! Because MDS is regularly coming out with new artwork, the catalog will be updated every month.

What a fun color challenge from ColourQ this week! It’s black, white, and one other color of your choice!

I used a picture from last New Year’s Eve, and chose Melon Mambo as my third color. My title is a play on words, since my daughter’s name is Eve. It was New Year’s Eve, and she IS New Year’s Eve!! Yes, I love bad word plays. They make me chuckle.

The background paper is from the digital version of the Night & Day Designer Series Paper. Many retired papers are still available digitally. This one is gorgeous for black and white.

(Oh, and that’s sparkling apple juice in her glass, just in case you were wondering…)

One of my colleagues at work is having a baby girl, so I made up a pack of these cards as a gift. Didn’t they turn out super cute?

Stamps: Baby Bundle
Inks: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink
Papers: Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Accessories: 1 1/4″ Circle Punch, 1 3/8″ Circle Punch, 1 3/4″ Scallop Circle Punch, Pretty in Pink Dotted Scallop Ribbon, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Big Shot

I chose not to put any sentiment on them, so she could use them for any occasion she wanted.

One of the really fun things about being a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator is swapping card fronts! It’s a great way to get new ideas and see samples made from stamps and products that you don’t have. I am currently hosting a couple different swaps over at Stampin’ Addicts, for the new Occasions Mini Catalog and the upcoming Sale-a-Bration Catalog as well. I had everything sent to my parents’ house, since I am out here for the week. Here’s a look at the pile of boxes that arrived. (The post-it notes are my organization system for which swap groups are in each box.)

My good friend and fellow demonstrator, Debbi, came over to help me sort them. We had a lot of fun looking through all of the amazing cards together! Because really, what else was there for two Jewish demonstrators to do on Christmas? You can see our sorting process on the table.

How can you see these fabulous swaps? If you are in Simi Valley or the Greater Los Angeles area, contact me to book your workshop for January through April, and I will bring them to you. You may see my version of some of these cards showing up on my blog over the next few months. Or head over to the Stampin Addicts’ Gallery, where hopefully people will be uploading them soon.

One of my colleagues at work is having some pretty significant surgery over break, and I know a lot of people are pitching in to help her out. I figured in light of this that she might need some thank you notes. I asked her what her favorite colors were, and she told me jewel tones in blue, green, & purple. So I made her a pack of thank you notes based on that, four each of three designs.

Here’s a look at each one separately.

Stamps: Perfect Punches
Ink: Pacific Point, Pear Pizzazz
Paper: Pacific Point, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Brights Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack
Other: Pear Pizzazz Poly Ribbon, 1″ Square Punch, Top Note Bigz Die, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Scallop Oval Punch, Punch windows Mover & Shapers Die, Big Shot

Stamps: Perfect Punches
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Elegant Eggplant
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Regals Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack
Other: Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Top Note Bigz Die, Scallop Oval Punch, Punch Windows Mover & Shapers Die, Big Shot

Stamps: Perfect Punches
Ink: Night of Navy, Garden Green
Paper: Garden Green, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Regals Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack
Other: Night of Navy Satin Ribbon, Top Note Bigz Die, Scallop Oval Punch, Punch Windows Mover & Shapers Die, Big Shot

The Night of Navy Satin Ribbon is retired, but you might want to keep an eye on the Clearance Rack. Retired ribbon has been showing up often.

When I saw this super cute box of note cards on Lyssa’s blog, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to make for Eve’s teacher for Christmas this year! Since she loves monkeys, I decided to go with monkey themed note cards. This is the outside of the box:

Here is a look at all of the components. I included 18 note cards and 10 envelopes. Each of the note cards was a tiny bit different.

Stamps: Fox & Friends, Baroque Motifs, Lovely Letters
Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Other: Old Olive Dotted Scallop Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Dotted Scallop Ribbon, Basics Glimmer Brads, Simply Scored, Sticky Tape, Medium Whisper White Envelopes

I apologize for the pictures being blurry. I didn’t notice until after I had given her the present!

Oh there are some great downloads this week! Only four, but they are all so fabulous!! Punches, paper, and a super cute family tree! These downloads work with My Digital Studio and any other digital scrapbooking program that allows you to import PNG and JPG files, which is most graphics programs, and even Microsoft Word! (Clicking on the pictures will take you right to the store to purchase these downloads.)

129015 Alphabet Soup Punches $9.95

Download includes:
* 65-piece digital punch set

Features:
* Includes uppercase and lowercase letters and 0-9 numbers.
* Like all My Digital Studio punches, these are vector files, which allows them to be scaled up or down without losing image resolution.
* These can be filled with digital paper or photos!

129014 Hugs & Kisses Punch $1.95

Download includes:
* 2-piece digital punch set

Features:
*Like all My Digital Studio punches, this is a vector file, which allows it to be scaled up or down without losing image resolution.
* These can be filled with digital paper or photos!

129008 Mocha Morning Digital Designer Series Paper $4.95

Download includes:
* 12 Designer Series Paper patterns

Coordinating colors:
Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

129005 Sweetly Nested Framable Designer Template $4.95

Download includes:
* One-page 8-1/2″ x 11″ décor designer template
* 6-piece stamp brush set
* 8 embellishments

Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* Frame your family tree; sized perfectly for home décor.
* Many of the images included as stamp brushes allowing for customization of colors or use on other projects.

Coordinating colors:
Blushing Bride, Chocolate Chip, Crushed Curry, Marina Mist, Pumpkin Pie, Riding Hood Red

You can purchase these or any other digital downloads through my online store. (Clicking on the pictures above will take you there as well.) They great news is that they are available for immediate use, with no shipping charges! Just click on Digital Crafting, then Digital Downloads, then Newest Downloads to see all of the recent additions! If you registered your copy of My Digital Studio, you may also receive end-of-the month emails from Stampin’ Up featuring that month’s digital releases.

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. There is also a Resources page on MyDigitalStudio.net that includes an MDS Catalog. It shows all of the MDS software artwork (contained in the boxed-version) and downloads from the October 2009 launch through November 30, 2011! The catalog gives a snapshot of the entire product line with artwork thumbnails followed by product details, which includes the colors of the designer papers! Because MDS is regularly coming out with new artwork, the catalog will be updated every month.