Stampers know how to smooch!

I just love the new Smooch Spritz! I am happy to see it in the new Idea Book & Catalog, and am so excited to learn you can mix your own color! That's right! Take a tube of white Smooch Spritz, add a few drops of your favorite reinker, shake it up, and you have your own color! It works wonderfully! I used a few drops of Rich Razzleberry to make this first card. You can even mix more than one color. Just remember that the tubes are glass, so make sure they don't roll off your table or work surface. Fold up a paper towel and place the tube on that. You might also want to use the Color Catcher, because this stuff will spray!







Here's what I used to create the first card:

• Presto Patterns specialty designer series paper - From the current mini. It is white, and white embossed, so when you spray the Smooch Spritz, the pattern appears. Really cool!



• Old Olive cardstock



• Whisper White cardstock



• Blender pens, with Old Olive ink, Rich Razzleberry Ink



• Chocolate Chip ink - for sponging around the flower image, and around the "smooched" piece.



• Any greeting you wish - Teeny Tiny Wishes is a great one - it has so many choices!



• Vintage Brads - now retired, but there are lots of other choices.



• Stampin' Dimensionals - To adhere the stamped image to the "smooched" piece.

I was really in a summer mood when I created the sand castle card! It's so easy with punches! Here's what I used:

Bashful Blue cardstock for the base

Creamy Caramel cardstock for the castle and sand

Spriral punch - to punch the castle pieces (I tore the sand dune pieces by hand)

Chocolate Chip Ink - to sponge edges and pieces of sand castle and dunes

• Word Window - to punch door of sand castle out of Chocolate Chip cardstock


• 1-1/4 Circle punch - for the sun. You could use any yellow, and cut a piece of corresponding ribbon for the castle's flag.



• Stampin' Dimensionals - for the front piece of sand dune.

Cards, Cards & More Cards!

Oh my, it's been so long since I shared cards with you! I apologize for that! I'll try to do better in staying caught up with sharing my cards and projects with you. Here they are:

Birdhouse Card
For this card, I used

• Naturals Ivory cardstock
• Mellow Moss cardstock
• Really Rust designer series paper from the Hostess Level 1 patterns pack
• 1 3/8 inch circle punch
• Two-Step bird punch
• Modern Label punch
• Stampin' Dimensionals
• Two-Way Glue Pen - to adhere the leaves, because it's easier than using a SNAIL
• Crimper - for the roof
• Scallop Edge punch - for the roof edge
• Teeny Tiny Wishes
  

Mother's Day Card

For this card, I used

• Two-Step Bird punch - for the flower, use the wing, and turn so the point is inward. For the buds, and for the green bud bases, cut the round end of the wing off and adhere pointed side on each stem.
• Two-Way Glue Pen
• Fire Brad
• Boho Blossoms punch - for flower center with So Saffron cardstock
• Very Vanilla cardstock
• Melon Mambo cardstock
• Mellow Moss cardstock
  
  I was so excited to have this card win the "wow" category at our monthly demonstrator's meeting. It was a fun card to make, and I am glad I was able to share it with my fellow demonstrators!
  

Workshop Card - Birds

For this card, I used

• The More the Merrier
• Real Red cardstock
• Crushed Curry cardstock and polka dot ribbon
• Real Red Classic Ink
• Crushed Curry Classic Ink
• Sprinkles stamp set
  
  

Shimmery Peacock card

For this card, I used

• Very Thankful
• 1 3/4 inch circle punch
• Scallop Trim punch
• Bella Bleu designer series paper
• Not Quite Navy cardstock
• Stampin Dimensionals
• Sahara Sand Stampin' Write Marker
• Not Quite Navy Stampin' Write Marker
• Brocade Blue Stampin' Write Marker
• Pretty in Pink Stampin' Write Marker
• Frost White Shimmer Paint and a sponge dauber
  
  I think a little instruction is helpful on this one. First, I colored the peacock stamp with the Sahara Sand Marker. Then, I used the Brocade Blue marker on some parts of the bird. Then, I colored a couple of the roses and the peacock's head feathers with the Pretty in Pink marker. Next, I colored the "eyes" on the peacock's tail with the Not Quite Navy marker. Lastly, I applied the Frost White Shimmer Paint lightly over the whole stamp, using a sponge dauber. Finally, stamp the image. It gives a soft, watercolor effect, and dries shimmery. You will absolutely LOVE this effect! Thanks Catherine Pooler for the inspiration and technique for this card!

Chocolate Bunnies card

For this card, I used

• Bashful Blue cardstock
• Chocolate Chip cardstock
• Whisper White cardstock
• Cottage Wall designer series paper
• Stampin Dimensionals
• Black journaling marker
• Chocolate Bunny
• Paper Snips
• Chocolate Chip Classic Ink
• Chocolate Chip Craft Ink
• Brayer
• Scallop Circle punch
  

To create the bunny in reverse, ink the stamp with craft ink. Roll the brayer over the stamp, and your image will be transferred to the brayer. Roll the brayer on the Whisper White cardstock, and you have a reverse image. So totally cool! I jumped up and down after I created this. My family thought I was nuts! Cut out your rabbits, and use the Scallop Circle punch to cut out one bunnie's rear end, and the other bunnie's ears. Thanks to Susan Peters for the inspiration for this card!

Purse card

For this card, I used

• Rose Red cardstock
• Rose Red designer series paper
• Whisper White cardstock
• Rose Red 1/4 grosgrain ribbon
• Vintage Brads and hole punch
• Top Note die
  

Cut a Top Note from the Rose Red cardstock and designer series paper. You can cut both at the same time. Cut them both in half, and trip the "wings" off. That is how to form the purse. For the two top brads, I punched a hole all the way through the Rose Red and Whisper White cardstock, and the ribbon. That makes sure the ribbon won't come out.

Wiper card

For this card, I used

• Rich Razzleberry cardstock
• Orchid Opulence cardstock
• Cottage Wall designer series paper
• Whisper White cardstock
• Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon
• Simply Said
• Ice Rhinestone Brads
• Scallop Trim punch
  

When you pull the sides of this card, a stamped image pops out of the top! It goes back down when you collapse the card, and is why it's called a Wiper card. The collapsed size is 5 1/2 x 4 1/4, the same size as the other cards I make.

Paper Bow

For this project, I used

• Bella Blue designer series paper
• Gold brads and hole punch
• SNAIL
• Stampin Dimensionals
  

This project uses a piece of 6x12 designer series paper. Cut 8 strips 1x6 inches, 1 strip 1x4 inches, and 5 strips 1x5 inches. It's important to cut the 1x4 strip BEFORE you cut the 1x5 inche strips! Fold them over and adhere the ends with SNAIL. The ends will not match up. They will overlap and stick out a little. The 1x4 inch strip will be adhered as a circle for the bow's center. Punch a hole toward the end of the other strips. Make 2, 4-petaled layers. You can put one brad through both of these layers. Use the 1x5 inche loops for the top layer, and place the circle in the middle of that layer. I used Stampin Dimensionals, 2 stacked, to hold the top layer to the bottom two. Pop-up Glue Dots would probably be better, but I didn't have those!

Small and Large Dressers

For this project, I used

• Matchbox die
• Top Note die (for large dresser)
• Rose Red cardstock and designer series paper
• Gold Brads and hole punch
  

For the small dresser, I used cardstock for the frame, and designer series paper for the matchbox die, cutting two of those. Cut them one at a time, so you don't lose the score lines for folding. Insert a brad in the end of each "drawer", and slide them into the frame! I made the large dresser the same way, except I cut 6 matchbox "drawers." I cut a Top Note piece for the top of the dresser. Have fun with this project!

Sale-a-Bration is here!

It's one of my favorite times of year - Sale-a-Bration! For every $50 you spend in Stampin' Up! products, you choose an item from the Sale-a-Bration catalog for FREE! And, if you don't want any of those, you can choose from a select list in the current Idea Book and Catalog! That is so exciting! Host a workshop of $300 or more, and choose yet another FREE Sale-a-Bration item! Just click on the picture of the Sale-a-Bration catalog at the right to see the offerings. And (OK, I'll stop soon), Sale-a-Bration is January through March - an extra full month!

We also have a new Occasions Mini, with lots of new exciting things, including clear blocks for mounting stamps, and new punches that fold flat for easy storage. My mind is reeling! You have got to check out the clear mount stamps! The stamp sets in the Occasions Mini can be purchased with the clear or wood mounts - your choice!

This is also a great time of year to sign up as a demonstrator. I signed up during Sale-a-Bration two years ago. Where does the time go? The starter kit is on sale, plus you can choose a stamp set from the catalog ($47.95 or less, which is pretty much everything), for FREE! And (a lot of those today), there is a Digital starter kit, featuring My Digital Studio, which is also on sale! Whether you want to buy the kit just because it's a good deal, or if you wish to make a little extra money, you are welcome to join my team! Please visit my web site at www.lisachristensen.stampinup.net to find out more, or contact me any time at kirstensmomnc@yahoo.com. I have lots of fun, and would love to share that with you!

Valentine Embossed!

I have been wanting to use my Very Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, AND the dandelion stamp from A Happy Heart, so I designed this simple, elegant Valentine card. Here's what you need:

• Very Vanilla cardstock, cut 5.5 x 8.5, and 3.75 x 5, and a small piece for the greeting



• Rose Red cardstock and 1/4 grosgrain ribbon



• Stamp set A Happy Heart



• Rose Red Craft ink AND Classic ink



• Versamarker



• Heat and Stick Powder



• Fine Cosmo glitter - the red one



• Designer Label Punch



• Stampin' Dimensionals



• SNAIL



• Heat gun



• Ticket Corner Punch

Stamp the dandelion image twice on the vanilla cardstock using the Craft ink. While the ink is still wet, sprinkle Heat and Stick powder over the stamped image. Set with a heat gun, then apply the Fine Cosmo glitter. Heat a couple more seconds. You'll get a bright, sparkly image! I initially tried this card by stamping the image using Versamark, then applying the powder and glitter. However, just the color of the glitter alone didn't give enough "punch."

Finish the egdges of the stamped image and the Rose Red cardstock using the Ticket Corner punch. Adhere these two pieces together. Using the Rose Red Classic ink, stamp the greeting onto the small piece of vanilla cardstock. I used the Versamarker to color the heart, then applied Heat and Stick powder, set with the heat gun, and applied the same cosmo glitter, and heated again briefly. Punch the image with the Designer Label punch.

I ran the ribbon through the front side of the Hodgepodge Hardware, and around the back of the stamped image. I used Stampin' Dimensionals (partly on the ribbon, partly on the stamped image), to hold the ribbon tight across the back and keep the stamped greeting from falling out of the hardware. The punch could honestly be a hair bigger for a tighter fit in the hardware.

Wrap the ribbon around the sides of the larger stamped image, and adhere it all to the vanilla card base.

Cards, cards, cards, cards!

I have gotten so far behind showing our Club projects! I'm going to post 4 of them right now and catch up! I love this time of year when I can create Christmas and winter holiday cards!


The first card features a technique I've been wanting to showcase - having the image appear through a "window" on the card front. Here's what I used:


Acorn stamp from The More the Merrier

1-1/4 and 1-3/8 inch circle punches

Soft Suede cardstock and polka dot ribbon, and classic ink

Naturals Ivory cardstock

Old Olive marker

Blender pen

SNAIL

Polka dot texture plate with Big Shot

First, I ran a piece of 5-1/4 x 4 inch Naturals Ivory cardstock through the Big Shot with the larger Polka Dot texture plate. Then, I used the 1-3/8 inch circle punch in the upper right corner, but not too far toward the edge. Next, I tied a knot in the ribbon and attached to the front of the Naturals Ivory piece. Then, I held the cardstock to the front of the Soft Suede base, and as carefully as possible (probably held my breather a little), punched a hole through the Soft Suede using the 1-1/4 inch circle punch. You'll end up with a thin circle of Soft Suede that frames the Naturals Ivory.


I stamped the acorn image on Naturals Ivory using Black Stayz On, and colored with the marker and blender pen (with Soft Suede ink). I punched it out using the 1-3/8 inch circle punch, and adhered it inside the card, making sure it lines up well with the "window." A simple, but fun card to create!


The snowman card is my personal favorite among these 4. Thanks to Kim Allen for sharing this one at a demonstrator meeting! Here's what I used:





Bermuda Bay cardstock and polka dot ribbon
Black cardstock
Whisper White cardstock
Circle punches - 1 inch, 1-1/4 inch, 1-3/8 inch
Crop-a-dile
Black marker
Pumpkin Pie cardstock
Tombow adhesive
Two-way glue pen
Chunky clear glitter
Greeting from Snow Swirled


Cut a piece of black cardstock 5 x 3-3/4 inches, and adhere to a piece of 5-1/4 x 4 inch white cardstock. Adhere to the Bermuda Bay card base. Cut a piece of white cardstock 3-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches. Rip the top edge along the 3-1/2 inch side. Apply Two-way glue pen to both ripped edges, and then apply the chunky glitter. you'll invert the smaller ripped piece, and adhere slightly underneath the larger piece, giving the look of snowy ground. Stamp the greeting on the bottom of the larger glittered piece using black ink.

Use the circle punches to make the snowman from white cardstock. The larger circle goes on the bottom, the smallest on the top. Tuck the bottom circle in between the two pieces of snowy ground. I used the Crop-a-dile to punch black buttons, the marker for the eyes, and cut a tiny piece of Pumpkin Pie for the nose. I used Tombow to adhere the scarf to the "neck". This is an easy one to make a bunch of, and very cute!


This is probably the easiest of the 4 cards. I can see this one made with various colors for any occasion where a gift is involved. Here's what I used:




Soft Suede cardstock and ink
Old Olive cardstock and ribbon from the Sleigh Bells set
Christmas Cocoa specialty paper
Modern Label punch
Merry Christmas greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes
Stampin' Dimensionals


Adhere the piece of 5 x 3-3/4 inch specialty paper to a piece of 5-1/4 x 4 inch Old Olive cardstock. I used 3 pieces of ribbon for this one. The shortest goes across the small side, the medium across the long side, and the longest piece was used to tie a bow around the small-side ribbon. I stamped the greeting using Soft Suede ink on white cardstock, and punched out using the Modern Label punch. I adhered the greeting to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals. I did adhere the pieces to the card base before tying the large bow, so I wasn't trying to put SNAIL on the back of something bumpy.


Last but not least, I really wanted to use some of the Shimmer paint from the Holiday Mini-Catalog, so I designed this card. Here's what I used:


Frost White Shimmer Paint
Sponge dauber
Snowmen from The More the Merrier
Greeting from Snow Swirled
Snowflakes from Christmas Punch
Stampin' Dimensionals
Night of Navy cardstock
Bordering Blue cardstock
Ticket Corner punch


First, I finished the edges of the Night of Navy pieces (5-1/4 x 4, and 2-1/4 x 3-1/4), with the Ticket Corner punch, and a piece of Bordering Blue, cut 2-1/2 x 3-1/2. I poured a little of the shimmer paint in the bottle's cap (a little goes a long way) and dipped the top of a sponge dauber in the lid. You can dab your stamps with the sponge dauber, and then stamp on the cardstock. I applied the snow under the image using the sponge dauber. Apply the snowflakes and greeting in the same manner. This will take a few minutes to dry. In this case, the Night of Navy paper is so dark that the white shimmer paint appears to be silver. I used Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere the snowmen image to the card base. Fun stuff!


I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday, surrounded by family and friends! I look forward to sharing the new Occasions Mini-Catalog and Sale-a-Bration items with you next month! Happy New Year to everyone!

Pumpkins and Ornaments!

I'm finally getting caught up here after several challenges recently, and realized how far I am behind in sharing the cards I've made! It's long past Halloween, and practically Thanksgiving (hard to believe), but I really wanted to share the pumpkin card we made in Club last month.

Here's what you need to make this card:

• Chocolate Chip cardstock - cut 8.5 x 5.5, score at 4.25; 1 piece cut 2 x 5




• Dusty Durango cardstock - 1 piece cut 5.25 x 4; 1 piece cut 1.75 x 5




• Naturals Ivory cardstock - 1 piece cut 3.5 x 3.75; 1 piece cut 1.50 x 4.75




• Dusty Durango polkadot ribbon




• Black Stayz On ink




• Dusty Durango Classic ink




• Chocolate Chip Classic ink




• Old Olive Classic ink




• Blender pen




• Stampin' Dimensionals




• SNAIL




• Scallop Edge Punch




• Texture Plate for the Big Shot that resembles woodgrain




• The More the Merrier stamp set
  
  

First I ran the larger piece of Naturals Ivory through the Big Shot with the Texture plate, then adhered that to the larger piece of Dusty Durango cardstock. Then, you can tie your ribbon around that and adhere that whole piece to the base cardstock.

Our second card featured a Christmas theme. Here's what you need to make this one:

• Delightful Decorations stamp set




• Greeting from Snow Swirled stamp set




• Baroque Motifs stamp set




• Versamark pad




• Irridescent Ice embossing powder




• Heat gun




• Real Red Classic ink




• Old Olive Classic ink




• Ornament punch




• Gold cord




• Ticket Corner punch




• Real Red cardstock, cut 4 x 5.25




• Whisper White cardstock, cut 3.75 x 5, and one 2" wide piece for stamping the ornament




• Old Olive cardstock, cut 8.5 x 5.5, scored at 4.25




• Paper piercing tool (I didn't have one, so used the tip of my Paper Snips)




• Stampin' Dimensionals




• SNAIL
  

Stamp the ornament of your choice using Real Red ink on Whisper White paper. Cut out the image using the awesome Ornament Punch! Yep, no cutting!

Stamp the viney image from Baroque Motifs across the top of the Whisper White piece. Stamp the greeting using Real Red ink on the bottom left side. Stamp a small snowflake from Delightful Decorations around the piece using the Versamark pad. Apply Irridescent Ice embossing powder, and set with the heat gun. I love this technique for added sparkle to projects!

Poke a small hole in a place on the viney image where it would like like an ornament could hang. Using a couple of Stampin' Dimensionals, stick the punched out ornament at least an inch below the hole. Tie gold cord around the neck of the ornament, and thread the tails of your bow through the hole. You can stick the tails down to the back of the White cardstock using SNAIL. Finish the edges of the stamped image and the Real Red piece using the Ticket Corner punch. Adhere the pieces together and you've got a unique holiday card!

Monkeys on Film!

First, I want to apologize for my lack of posts this month. H1N1 hit our house. Everyone is OK now, but creating anything (even dinner) and posting on my blog was the last thing on my mind! Now to the fun stuff!

As a former professional photographer, I love this filmstrip technique! I know, no one shoots film anymore, so I guess this is an "old timey" technique. Guess I'm old timey, too! What you'll need:

• Bermuda Bay cardstock, cut 4.25x11, scored at 5.5 inches, and a piece for photo corners


• Basic Black cardstock - cut 2x4.5 inches, and a piece for the photo corners


• Whisper White cardstock - 3 pieces cut 1.25 inches square


• Black Stayz On ink


• Bermuda Bay Classic ink


• Close to Cocoa Classic ink


• Blender pen


• Spiral punch


• Photo Corners punch


• Stampin' Dimensionals


• SNAIL adhesive


• I used the Monkey from the Sock Monkey stamp set for this card.

Using Stayz On ink, stamp the monkey head on each of the Whisper White squares. To help create the illusion of motion, I skewed the image a little differently each time I stamped. Color the monkey using a blender pen and Bermuda Bay, Close to Cocoa inks.

Punch both long sides of the Black cardstock using the Spiral Punch. Line up your punches so that they are directly across from each other. Adhere the stamped images to the punched black strip. I adhered this to the card at an angle, again for the effect of motion.

Using the Photo Corner punch, create large black corners, and adhere smaller Bermuda Bay corners on top. I attached these to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

This is a really easy card to create, and lots of fun! I can see this made with a tremendous variety of colors and images. Have fun!