Stampin' Addicts Blog Hop: Summer Time!

Welcome to the Stampin' Addicts Summer Mini Catalog Blog Hop! Whether you are starting here at Lily's Ink Pad, or came from Rhonda's Blog, "The Stampin' Bunny," featuring Sunny Fun, (Isn't she a great designer?) you are in for a treat. There are 22 other demonstrators strutting their stuff. Just click from post to post, comment if you can, and see what Stampin' Up! has to offer in the Summer Mini Catalog, which you can order from starting on Sunday, May 1st!

I must admit--once through the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog and all I saw was the set I am featuring today: Summer Splash. This is exactly my style and I cannot wait to show you what I have created! I am stop #13, right in the middle, so be sure to check out everyone else's blogs! (when you are done gushing over mine).


Centerpiece and Coordinating Card:

I immediately thought of a technique I had seen with gold and black embossing and tried it out with the NEW COLORED EMBOSSING POWDERS! Sorry I yelled, but it's so darn exciting. Turns out, Stampin' Up! featured this great idea in a recent Stampin' Success Magazine that I hadn't read yet. Great minds think alike! The Centerpiece started as a favor bag and became the entire display as I played with my stuff. I just couldn't get enough!


Fishy Card:

I made a card (much simpler) when I first started stamping with a gel packet and a fish. I like this one better--more modern, more stuff on it, more fun!


Fishy Card #2:

The Fishy Wheel was a must have, especially with the coordinating stamp set, but I had to try it out all on it's own on a card. This is reminiscent of a view finder--you can turn the wheel to make the fish "swim," although they do swim a little sideways :)


Boy, I hope you enjoyed your visit to Lily's Ink Pad. Next up, you'll see Tanya's amazing work with Recess on Tinkerin in Ink.

At any time you can visit the blog hop thread at Stampin' Addicts if you get lost or to comment. Come back on Monday for some secrets and the project recipes!

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Pretty Little Basket

I am so proud of myself for this one, I cannot believe, I haven't shared it yet with you!

I designed this myself--it's all me! How cool is that? Inside are two nuggets. I had to glue dot them in to keep them in place, but you can pry them out!

Stamps: Simply Said
Paper: Whisper White, Greenhouse Gala
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Petal Card Punch, Brads, 5/8 inch Satin Daffodil Delight Ribbon

How'd I do that? Well, if you came to my February Workshops, you'd know, but since many of you werent' there, I'll show some tips. First of all, you need 4 petal card punches. Fold along two score lines. Adhere together to make a heart shaped little box. Then, glue two together, down the middle. Place a brad through the middle to hold your ribbon, and you are done. Sounds easy, but it's trickier visually.

From this view you can see how I adhered two bottoms together.















From this view you can see how the middle of the basket has a wall--this provides stability and lets you add a nugget on each side.

My mom even made some of these for our Easter table after I showed her how when we made Ronald McDonald House treats in February, or March, or whenever that was!

Happy Stamping!

Ready for Some New Ideas?

Come back to my blog on Friday, April 29th through May 1 for the Stampin' Addicts Summer Mini Catalog Blog Hop!

That's right, it's time to see the new Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog and all the great things we can do with the new products! Start at my blog and then hop your way around 25 stops by other great demonstrators!

Happy Hopping!

Sew Suite--It's a Card Organizer!

When I started my Stampin' Celebrations Club in January, I decided to reward those members who committed for 4 months in a row with a card organizer. As April came around, I needed to pay up, so I made this:

The inside:

The back:

Stamps: Sew Suite
Paper: Sweet Stitches Designer Series Paper, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink: Regal Rose
Accessories: Spiral Punch, 1 3/4 Circle Punch, Sew Suite Buttons


I used a template from Split Coast Stampers which you can get here. I wanted to make this organizer as perky as possible, so really used a lot of the paper! What fun!

Happy Stamping!

Happy Easter!

For me, Easter is a time for appreciating spring. I designed this card with this in mind:

Stamps: Forest Friends, Teeny Weeny Wishes
Paper: Soft Suede, Marina Mist, So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Elegant Soiree Designer Series Paper
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Big Shot, Elegant Bouquet, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Modern Label Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Chantilly Lace

I designed this one by starting with the base and the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder. Then, I had to figure out how to get my bunny on there!

Happy Stamping!

Sneak Peek: Strength and Hope

In a little over a week, we can order from the Summer Mini Catalog--a fresh collection of new products! I've had one of the sets (I love being a demonstrator) since March as we could preorder it:

Stamps: Hope and Strength
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze
Ink: Whisper white
Accessories: Stampin' Pastels, Sponge Daubers, Decorative label punch, Wide Oval Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Pearls

I love this set's images and I hope you do, too! When you buy this set, 2 dollars goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

I used my favorite technique, Chalkboard, and I think it looks great. (if I do say so myself). I stamped in  Whisper Whited, added pastels for color, and Voila! the images pop. I even used Baja Breeze over White Craft for the H and the  background stamp.

Happy Stamping!

Merry Christmas (yes I know it's almost Easter)

But, spring cleaning on my lap top revealed that I never shared February's set of Christmas Cards with you! Each month I made a few and am encouraged to do so by my friends at Stampin' Addicts. Do you have a good idea for me for April? I must get those done soon!

Stamps: Loads of Love
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Love Letters Designer Series Paper, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Big Shot, Snowflake Embossing Folder, Hemp Twine, Bird Punch, Oval Scallop Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Crop-a-dile, Jumbo Eyelets

Here are close ups of the two colors:

I can't decide which I like better, so I'll send them all!

Happy Stamping!

Elements of Beauty

Some stamp sets just speak to us. Elements of Style is one of those sets. Whenever I need a card that is lovely, I go to this set. May it never retire!

Stamps: Elements of Style, Something to Celebrate
Paper: Whisper White, Perfect Plum, Designer Series Paper Pack, Vellum
Ink: Stazon Black
Accessories: Scallops #2, 3" Circle Die, Petal Cone Die, Finial Embossing Folder, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Whisper White 5/8" Organza Ribbon

I designed the first card and then went to cut cardstock for my Stampin' Celebrations Card Clubs and realized I didn't have enough Elegant Eggplant Designer Series Paper. My go to color to fix this issue was Certainly Celery. It worked. I also used my Pear Pizzaz from the hostess paper pack. That way, each person could have a variety.

I think it works, don't you?
Happy Stamping!

Tooth Fairy Treats

I love it when an idea comes together! I made these to sell at my spring craft fairs:

Stamps: Tooth Fairy
Paper: Cardstock Vellum, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Tins, ribbon, Black Embossing powder, Many Marvelous Markers, 1 3/4 Circle Punch, 1 3/8 Cirlce Punch

Easy to create and fun. The only tip I have is that my images didn't show up well until I added a circle underneath. They are much cuter now!

When I was a kid, I think we just put the tooth under our pillow. This is a much better way to treat the fairy! I mean, really, how did she get under my pillow?


By the way, Saturday, April 15th, I will be at Player's Choice on the North Side of Appleton at the What Women Want: Shopping Expo and Craft Fair from 10 to 4. If you miss that one, I will be at the Sunnyview Expo Center in Oshkosh April 30th. Stop by and say hi!

Happy Stamping!

Hoping for a Honey of a Day/!

Spring weather may or may not be upon us, but I have a cheery card for you today:

Stamps: Just Buzzing By
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Rose Red, So Saffron
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Many Marvelous Markers. Daffodil Delight Ribbon, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8 Circle Punch, 1 1/4 Circle Punch

Like this sketch? I got the idea from Stampin' 411:

This a great blog for all the info you need to get stamping!

On a personal note, I bought this stamp set exclusively for it's daffodils--my Grandma Leone's favorite flowers. I love and miss her! Today is her birthday. Hopefully, she's celebrating in heaven!

Chalked Eggs

My nature girl side is in love with Nature's Walk and I couldn't resist making this card:

Stamps: Nature's Walk
Paper: Marina Mist, Botanical Gazette, Always Artichoke, Whisper White
Ink: Always Artichoke, Basic Black
Accessories: Pastels, Blender Pen, Rich Regals Brads, Paper Piercer and Matte

I love this set and I love the calm it brings in me. Using blender pens to apply chalk color creates a unique texture to the color. I kind of forgot about pastels for a while, but I think I am going to bring them back out more often!

Happy Stamping!

Spring is Blossoming with Stampin' Up!

Well, here in Neenah, the snow is mostly gone, but not much green yet. Thankfully, Stampin' Up! has our backs with a great promotion for April. Who doesn't like sneak peeks and new stuff? You can get both with the Spring is Blossoming Promotion.

Spend $20 and be eligible to buy these great new items!  Want to see what I created?

Stamps: Pendant Park
Paper: River Rock, Bravo Burgundy, Paisely Petals Designer Series Paper
Ink: Bravo Burgundy
Accessories: Fun Flowers Bigz Die, Big Shot, Regals Buttons, Modern Label Punch, Very Vanilla Seam Binding

I made these 4x4 cards for a new look. I was tired of the traditional card size and wanted to be different. I layered die cuts from the Fun Flowers Die and added some fun. I love how River Rock and Bravo Burgundy accent this vibrant paper.

Happy Stamping!

Spring?

The snowbanks are starting to disappear, but it certainly doesn't feel like spring yet here in Northern Wisconsin. Will it ever be here fully? To make me think of spring, I am sharing this card with you today:

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzaz, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Big Shot, Tulip Folder, Paper Piercing Tool and Matte, Dimensionals, Brights Brads

This card was fun to make. Good thing, since I made 15 of them for my sister to use for my niece Clare's birthday thank-you notes. I loved using all the colors--so much brightness!  I wanted these to look really great, so I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig for proper placement of the layers.

Clare on her birthday- she loved the pasta, but not so much the cake:

Cute, huh!

Happy Stamping!

Happy Birthday, Boy!

I love the website Stampin' Addicts for inspiration and appreciate the weekly challenges posted. However, I can't always get to them right away. However, as I planned for My Stampin' Celebrations Club which meet tomorrow night at my Shawano Stamp room, I knew Sketch Challenge 89 would be perfect for this month. Here is one of the cards we are going to make:

Stamps: Fox and Friends, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Whisper White, Pear Pizzaz, Peach Parfait, Not Quite Navy
Ink: Pear Pizzaz, Peach Parfait, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: 1 3/8 Square Punch, 1 3/8 Circle Punch, 1 3/4 Circle Punch,  Brights Brads, Paper Piercing Tool and Matte, Wide Oval Punch

I thought the colors were perfect for a boy card, but a girl may like it too, if she was more like me than my sister. My customers seem to have a need for more boy cards than girl cards, so that's what I focused on! I added some to the original sketch-- the oval and circles, but I kept the four panels placed in the bottom left. I like it.

Happy Stamping!

New Update for My Digital Studio

Stampin' Up! does listen and has improved the functionality of My Digital Studio-making a great program, even greater!

Direct from the Stampin' Up! Website:

Updated Software Functionality: More Ways to Design!

All My Digital Studio users who have the My Digital Studio packaged DVDs (item 118108) are eligible for a FREE 1.0.6 update. The update includes new functionality and print products to give you even more options while designing.

Group and edit: Enjoy the ability to group objects and then resize, recolor, and rotate, them all at once. Access more information: View project dimension information in both inches and pixels when you right-click the project and view the Edit Object screen. Make sure to check out the Info tab on this same screen for more object details.
Get the pages you need: My Digital Studio automatically adds just the number of pages you need for the type of project you’re creating (for example, four pages for greeting cards, two pages for postcards, and 26 pages for calendars). Note that the last page of greeting cards, trifold cards, and calendars automatically includes the Stampin’ Up! and My Digital Studio logos as embellishment pieces which can be removed.
Choose what you view: You can check a box to show the bleed (trim) area in Preview Project, or simply uncheck to hide it.
Crop with confidence: When using the crop feature for Photos or Background Paper added as a page layer, use the ruler or width and height boxes to crop an image to the perfect size.
Keep it quick: Move back and forth between project pages with a quick key command (ctrl+right arrow for next page; ctrl+left arrow for previous page) or from the View menu in the top menu bar. View the Resource Palette with ease: Use your keyboard arrows in the Browse section of the Resource Palette to quickly toggle between artwork.
Add and delete pages in a flash: Do it all at once. Forget the days of adding and deleting pages one-by-one. Simply select the page thumbnails at the bottom of your canvas, right-click and delete. Keep your favorites in line: Remove your favorite colors via the Remove Favorite button from the Favorites tab of the color palette.

To update your version of My Digital Studio go to My Digital Studio Updates.

Here is an example of how I use my Digital Studio in my life:

Happy Designing!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Well, her birthday in March, but I am finally getting around to post it as I've been so full of other fun ideas! I did give it to her around her birthday, so I had to wait until after that! Did I ever mention my mom is a seamstress? That word doesn't really encompass her skills with a sewing machine--she's a genius! This Sew Suite ensemble is perfect for her!

Stamps: Sew Suite
Paper: Rose Red, Sweet Stitches Designer Series paper, Whisper White, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise
Ink: Rose Red
Accessories: Sweet Stitches Fabric, Sweet Stitches Buttons, Sweet Buttons Embosslit, Scallop Punch, Circle Punch, Daffodil Delight Ribbon, Night of Navy Grosgrain Ribbon, Big Shot


Now, this wasn't all--I did enclose a gift certificate that I created on My Digital Studio--using the Sew Suite downloads!

Here's a close up of the card:

She loved it!

Happy Stamping!